by Carsen Taite
She laughed. She’d been a prosecutor long enough to know that intelligence wasn’t a prerequisite to misdeeds. If it was, she would have spent the last six years twiddling her thumbs instead of sending criminals to prison. She looked longingly at the rows of file cabinets, wondering if they were locked.
Sydney shook her head. The key to sending people to prison was making sure all the right procedures were followed to keep them from getting off on a technicality. Tonight’s adventure was already approaching the bounds of the Constitution, but looking—only looking—around in a house they’d been invited to wasn’t against the law. If she opened a drawer without some urgent reason to do so, she’d be crossing the line, but anything in plain sight was fair game. Plain sight. She repeated the mantra and walked the room, hoping something, anything, would be right there, waiting to be discovered.
“Can I help you find something, Ms. Braswell?”
Shit. Syd whirled around at the pinched tone in Herschel Gellar’s voice, hoping her attempts to hide the surprise on her face was successful. “I’m sorry. It looks like I took a wrong turn on the way to the bathroom.”
Gellar flipped the switch by the door, bathing them both in bright light. “So it appears. I’d be happy to show you the way. I’m looking for Agent Tanner. Perhaps you can help me find her.”
Syd nodded and followed him out the door while Dale whispered a warning to Tanner that Gellar was looking for her. Tanner didn’t reply and Syd crossed the threshold behind Gellar, thanking her lucky stars that she hadn’t gotten caught rummaging through his drawers and praying they wouldn’t catch Tanner doing the same.
Chapter Nine
Wine Cellar. Tanner read the decorative sign over the door and reached out to test the door handle. Locked. Could it be Gellar was worried his holiday guests would take the opportunity of free rein to pinch a bottle from his prized collection? Come to think of it, Gellar didn’t seem like the wine connoisseur type. She started at the door, certain there was a more nefarious reason it was locked.
“Are you looking for the restroom?”
Tanner turned to see Gellar’s wife standing behind her. She was a beautiful woman. Tall, slender, with just the slightest hint of Botox in the immovable smooth skin on her forehead. How had Gellar managed to land a wife who clearly outclassed him? “You’re Amanda Gellar.”
“Yes, I am. And you’re one of Herschel’s work colleagues.”
Tanner reached out a hand. “I guess you could say that. We have worked on quite a few cases together. Tanner Cohen, nice to meet you.”
“Let me guess. Law enforcement? DEA?”
“FBI.”
Amanda circled her, appraising her closely. “I noticed you earlier. You came with Virginia Taylor.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Ma’am?” Amanda threw back her head and laughed. “Please don’t ma’am me. It makes me feel old.” She poked a finger in the middle of Tanner’s chest while letting her eyes rove over the rest of Tanner’s body. “Be careful with Virginia. She doesn’t waste time taking what she wants.”
Tanner, certain Amanda was flirting with her, made a swift choice about the right way to play the situation. “No one can take something I’m not willing to give.”
“Is that right?” Amanda rocked back on her heels. “I can tell we don’t run in the same circles.” She held up a hand as Tanner started to protest. “I don’t mean it as an insult. I merely meant that the women you’ll meet here tonight are used to being able to buy or steal anything they want, no matter who it belongs to or who wants it more. Someone like you…” She paused and ran her finger down the length of Tanner’s arm. “You represent a distinct challenge.”
“And why is that?”
“Because you will resist being bought. But everyone has their price.”
Tanner figured that might be true for these women, but she wasn’t interested in getting into a discussion of the ways people could be bought and sold. Desperate to change the subject, she pointed at the sign above the door. “Who’s the collector, you or him?”
“I don’t collect things. I use what I want and move on. For all I know there’s nothing down there but a man cave stocked with beer and pornography. He keeps it locked and only uses the outside door.” She leaned close and whispered. “If I wanted to go in, nothing would stop me.”
Tanner forced herself to remain still, thinking any sudden movement would send Mrs. Gellar off to seek her next conquest. She pondered the words “outside door,” and wondered if the other entrance was in the front of the house or the back and if any of the lock picks she’d brought with her might pry it open. She needed to extricate herself from Amanda Gellar so she could make a plan. “I doubt anything stops you when you want something bad enough.” She glanced back in the direction she’d come. “But I should get back to my date. Thanks for the conversation.” She edged away, hoping she’d struck the perfect balance of flattery and regret but not lingering to find out.
Tanner avoided the crowd in the front of the house and swiftly located a patio door. A quick look around the backyard and she found a small set of stairs leading down to what she was certain was Gellar’s wine cellar. She took a minute to reach around rocks and planters but didn’t turn up a key, so she reached in her inside suit pocket and pulled out a set of lock picks her mentor had given her years ago. “Only use these if you have to,” he’d said. “Most of the time you should be able to talk your way into places.” She probably could’ve talked Amanda Gellar into giving her access, but the price would’ve been higher than she was willing to pay. Conscious that Dale and company might be listening to her about to commit a felony, she dug out her earpiece, turned it off, and shoved it into her pocket.
Five grueling minutes later, the lock fell open. She leaned an ear against the door and, satisfied at the silence she heard on the other side, pushed it gently open, bracing for whatever she might find.
The room was totally dark and her footfalls echoed against the walls. Tanner switched on the flashlight for her phone and shined it back and forth, surprised to find a cavernous empty space, lined with tall, industrial strength shelves, also empty. She shined the light up high, looking for spy cams, but didn’t spot any. She walked the space and measured it out to be about ten by ten. Wine cellar, my ass. There wasn’t a wine bottle, barrel, cooler, or anything else remotely related to wine in the place.
She found a stairway at the far side of the room and followed it upward to a door locked from the other side. She could hear the sounds of the party going on outside and wondered where Sydney was at that moment. Was she still tailing Gellar around or had Carlos the slick businessman managed to corner her in a room somewhere? The idea of him thinking Sydney was available to him caused her to shudder.
Finally satisfied there was nothing to find in Gellar’s secret cellar, Tanner turned the flash on her phone and shot a few pictures to document her little adventure. She pressed her ear against the door she’d entered, and when she didn’t hear anyone on the other side, she pushed it open and eased her way outside. As she rounded the front of the house, she spotted the valets running back and forth, fetching cars as guests arrived and left for the next house on the tour. If she’d driven her own car, she would leave now, but as it was, she was trapped for the night since Virginia had to make the rounds, stopping at every house on the tour. She wished she’d paid attention to how many more houses that entailed. The best she could hope for now was to slip into Gellar’s house unnoticed and endure whatever was left of this evening.
She waited near the corner until she spotted a group of women dressed to the nines make their way up the front walk. She strode over and did her best to blend in, but when the door swung wide the first face she saw was Gellar’s.
“Agent Cohen, we’ve been looking for you.” He glanced pointedly at the women surrounding her. “Did you decide to abandon Ms. Taylor?”
Damn. Tanner started to reply when she caught sight of Syd standing behind and to the left
of Gellar, motioning wildly. She had no idea what message Syd was trying to convey, but she took her gesticulating to mean she should tread carefully. “No, sir. Just needed a breath of fresh air.” She leaned closer. “I think your house is the most popular one on the entire tour. Good work.”
He hesitated a second before responding like he was trying to decide if she was serious, but then he offered a guarded smile. “Thanks. Since you’re still here, I wonder if I might have a word with you. Alone.” He didn’t wait for a response before ushering her off to a room down a back hallway. Syd shook her head at Tanner as they passed.
She followed Gellar through a doorway and he flicked on the lights revealing an office even nicer than the one he had downtown.
“Have a seat, Agent.”
She slid into the seat feigning nonchalance, but her increasing blood pressure told her she should have spent more time in the pseudo wine cellar looking for hidden cameras since she couldn’t think of any other reason he would have pulled her aside at his own party.
“I assume you know why I wanted to see you.”
“I actually don’t have any idea, sir. Has something come up?”
“How well do you know Sydney Braswell?”
The question threw her, but she struggled to maintain a disinterested facade. What did he know and how much could she get away with fudging? Certain he knew something, she settled on a simple summary. “Not very well. We went to law school together, but that was a long time ago.”
He crossed his arms and fixed her with a stare. “I never knew you were a lawyer, but it explains a lot.”
“Sir?”
“You’re very thorough. And you think like a lawyer, always a few steps ahead, unlike some other agents who can’t be bothered to look at the big picture. That’s why you’re so valuable to me.”
Tanner noted the “to me” but didn’t bother clarifying if he meant him as an individual or in his position as US attorney since she was pretty sure she knew. Instead, she merely nodded and braced for what he was about to say.
“I would like you to keep an eye on Ms. Braswell.”
Whoa. No amount of bracing prepared Tanner for Gellar’s request. She assumed what she hoped was a contemplative expression while she cast around for a response designed to get him to reveal more. “I thought she was here to help with the investigation into Cyrus Gantry and the Vargas brothers.”
“Yes, that’s what I was told as well, but I didn’t get to where I am without being naturally suspicious. I’m sure she’s fine, but she’s not one of us.”
Tanner tapped her fingers against her thigh and waited for him to continue. She was dying to ask who the hell his source was, but years of experience had taught her that silence was the best way to get someone to keep talking. She didn’t have to wait long.
“Use your prior relationship to get close to her, to make sure she’s really on our side.” He dropped his voice to a whisper. “Men like the Vargases and Cyrus Gantry have a wide reach, and they will stop at nothing when their livelihoods are threatened, even if it means bribing or blackmailing a government official.” He wagged a finger. “No one is above suspicion. Understood?”
She nodded, even though understanding what he meant was so completely out of reach. All she could think about was where Sydney was now and how she could get to her.
* * *
Sydney edged past Virginia to beat her to Tanner’s side, too flustered to care about keeping up pretenses. “Where have you been?”
Tanner shook her head and whispered, “Not right now,” before turning to Virginia and lightly kissing her on the cheek. “I’d love to accompany you to the next house, but duty calls.”
“I completely understand.”
Sydney watched Virginia squeeze Tanner’s hand and lean in for another kiss. She averted her eyes, but not in time. She knew the display of affection was for the benefit of anyone watching, but it still made her want to claw Virginia’s eyes out.
“Syd?”
She looked up to see Tanner’s expectant expression. “What?”
“I asked if I could catch a ride with you.”
Not what she’d expected, and she wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to be alone with Tanner, but she answered before she could give it any more thought, “Sure.”
The valet took his sweet time getting her car, and Syd was pretty sure it was because the Corolla she’d rented wasn’t nearly as exciting to drive as the parade of Porsches, Bentleys, and Jaguars arriving and departing the party. Sydney attempted small talk during the wait, but Tanner’s responses were clipped and short, signaling her mind was elsewhere, and Syd gave up until they were finally settled into the car.
“Do you want to give me the turn by turn or just put the address into my phone?”
“What?” Tanner asked.
“I don’t know where you live.”
“Oh, sorry.” She pointed at the stop sign ahead. “Turn right there and take the next left.”
Syd put the car in drive. “Any particular reason you decided to bail on your date?”
“Date? Oh, you mean Virginia?” Tanner laughed. “I didn’t see much point in continuing the charade. Apparently, there are three more houses on the tour. Who in their right mind wants to go to that many parties in one night?”
Syd didn’t respond, but she remembered a time when she would have been the last one to leave a party if it meant the possibility of seeing and being seen. She’d always given Tanner a hard time about not wanting to stick around until the end, but nowadays she got it. The socializing took a toll, and the payoff was never worth the energy it sucked from more important pursuits. “You seemed to be having a good time.” She hoped her voice didn’t sound as whiny as she felt.
“Are you still wearing your earpiece and transmitter?”
Syd instinctively touched her ear. “Yes. You?”
Tanner raised her voice. “Dale, Mary, we’re going offline now. Tell Peyton we’ll report in later.” Tanner reached out a hand. “Time to shut it down.”
Sydney pointed at the steering wheel. “Busy here. I’ll take it off when we stop.” Before she knew it, Tanner was pressed up close against her, her fingers exploring. “What are you doing?” Despite her protest, Syd’s breath hitched and she summoned all her focus for the drive while she tried to ignore the swift wave of arousal at Tanner’s touch.
“Got it.” Tanner leaned back into her seat and held up the tiny listening device with a triumphant smile. Syd grimaced. “How do you turn it off?”
“Little bitty button.” She turned the device over and over in her hands. “Done.”
“And what about yours?”
“I took care of that a while ago.”
Syd thought back to Dale and Mary trying to get Tanner’s attention to tell her Gellar was looking for her and realized Tanner had been out of range on purpose. She didn’t bother censoring her response. “That was careless. Not at all what I’d expect from the Tanner I used to know.”
“It was necessary,” Tanner replied matter-of-factly, ignoring Syd’s other observation. Syd wanted to press the point, but sensed it would start an argument that might keep her from finding out exactly why Tanner was acting so mysterious. “So what did you want to say to me that you didn’t want anyone else to hear?” she asked instead.
Tanner pointed at the intersection ahead. “Turn right there. It’s the parking lot over there, on the left.”
Syd followed Tanner’s directions into the gated parking lot of a double row of 1960s style apartments with a flat roof, clean lines, and geometric metal accents. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected, but the funky, vintage style residence wasn’t it. “Cool place. Apartment or condo?”
“Condo.” Tanner pointed again. “There’s an extra parking space over there.”
Tanner’s condo was on the second floor, and it was every bit as cool inside as out. Syd handed her coat to Tanner and walked around the living room, taking in the well put together ensemble of mid-centu
ry modern furnishings.
“Do you like it?”
“I love it. It’s not what I expected.”
Tanner grinned. “I eventually had to figure out how to decorate for myself or continue to live with whatever garage sale castoffs I could cobble together. Do you remember that air hockey table that Ian helped me drag home?”
Sydney laughed at the memory of Tanner and their mutual friend Ian, moaning and groaning as they dragged the table they’d found on the side of the road into the house only to find out it didn’t work when they plugged it in. She’d made them drag it right back out again despite Tanner’s insistence it would be a great conversation piece that could double as their dining table. “Your tastes have definitely improved.”
Tanner’s expression morphed from amused to reflective. “People change.”
“Yes. Yes, they do.” Sydney traced her finger along the edge of the teak sideboard. A month ago, if anyone had asked her if she thought she’d ever have feelings for Tanner again, she would’ve said no and meant it. Tanner was a piece of her past she’d stored away neatly behind a door marked Done. Even after all of the reasons they’d broken up had fallen away years ago, she’d never even let herself consider reopening the door. Tanner had made the choice to walk away. If they’d been meant to be together, nothing could have come between them. The feelings she had now were the product of residual affection, natural responses to seeing an old lover, but they didn’t signal anything about her future other than it wasn’t going to find root in her past.
“Are you hungry?” Tanner asked.
Syd looked into her eyes, for a split second seeing more than a simple question about sustenance, but just as quickly the desire disappeared and Tanner’s expression became neutral, guarded even. Good. She didn’t need any complications right now. All she needed was to work this case to its natural conclusion and then she’d be free to go home and resume the life she’d built. The one without Tanner. No matter how dull and monotonous that life had become, it was easy and painless and all she needed for now. She’d share a meal with Tanner, talk about the case, and go back to her hotel.