by Lynn Ames
Lorraine stuffed the discarded clothes into the backpack just as Vaughn pulled the cab to a stop. She reached into her pocket, pulled out the flash drive, and handed it to Peter.
“Okay. This is where you get off.”
“Be safe.” Lorraine kissed Peter.
“You too. See you soon.”
“You should have no trouble at this time of day hailing a cab across the street to take you back to the train station,” Vaughn said.
“Roger that.” Peter opened his door. “You two take care of each other and Sabastien.”
“Roger that,” Vaughn said.
Peter exited the cab, waited for Vaughn to pull away, and crossed the street. This was the part of the plan he and Lorraine hadn’t shared with Kate. Lorraine would stay with Vaughn and Sabastien to connect the dots to the Commission. Peter would head home immediately under another alias with the data and follow the leads on the Black Knight.
Kate would not have liked the idea of Lorraine staying behind, but it was not her call. Sometimes it really was easier to apologize than to ask permission.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
From her position across the street, Kate watched the entrance to Carolyn’s office building. She was particularly cognizant of the two men in the sharp suits and shades flanking either side of the front doors, trying for all the world to look like important players conducting business on their cell phones. She pegged them for Feds.
When both men shoved their phones into their pockets as Jay exited the building, her suspicions seemed to be confirmed. She crossed the street and looped her arm through Jay’s.
“Hi there,” Jay said.
“Hi, yourself.” Kate kissed her on the cheek and whispered, “We have company.” She felt Jay’s body stiffen beside her. “Nothing to worry about. I suspect they’re FBI.” She tugged on Jay’s arm to get them moving.
“What do you think they want?”
“They haven’t approached you, so my guess is they’re either trying to intimidate you, or else they’re gathering intelligence.”
“To what end?”
“I don’t know. Most likely they’re building a dossier in case the Feds want to charge you later.”
Jay laughed derisively. “Did you get us tickets to a controversial show? Because if not, I can’t imagine how a married couple going to dinner and a show could help them build a case against me for treason or divulging state secrets.”
Underneath the cavalier attitude, Kate heard the frisson of fear. “I scored us tickets to Fun Home. I do hope they love musicals about lesbians.”
“Presumably they’ll be waiting outside. In which case, I hope they enjoy people-watching.”
Kate pulled Jay a little closer as they walked. “Honey, I’m pretty sure that’s in their job description.”
Dara and George sat at opposite ends of the room, working the phones.
“Ivan, I know you have the capital and the cojones for this one,” George was saying. “I’m telling you, it’s right up your alley. You’d get to thumb your nose at the establishment, and I know how happy that makes you.” George listened for a moment longer. “Right. No electronic copies of this one. This is a read-on-site-only proposition… No, I’m not kidding you. It’s that sensitive… Right. Okay. See you then.” George disconnected the call.
“Did you hook him?” Dara asked.
“I think so.” George stood and stretched. “How many does that make?”
Dara looked down at her notes. “I count eight potentials.”
“How many of those do you think we can count in the ‘likely’ column?”
Dara pursed her lips in thought. “I’d say we’ve got three solids and one definite maybe.”
“Not bad.”
“It was genius telling them they’d have a limited amount of time to peruse the script, and then only in our presence.”
“I’ve done that before in a couple of extraordinary cases. It creates an air of intrigue and mystery around the project—makes folks think this is going to be white-hot.”
“Very shrewd.”
“I have my moments.”
“Who do you see playing opposite me?”
“Good question. What about Trevor Hanscome for the president?”
“Excellent choice.” Trevor was a good actor and a better man. Dara had enjoyed working with him the few times their careers had crossed. “He’s debonair and suave. Plus, he’s got that height so that he towers over his co-stars. You’d want that in a president.”
Dara’s phone rang. She glanced at the display, indicated to George that she needed to take the call, and tapped her Bluetooth to answer. “Hi.”
“Have you had a chance to look over the deal?”
“You do know that normal conversations start with, ‘How are you? Is this a good time to chat?’ Or some version thereof?” Dara imagined Carolyn on the other end of the phone, cup of coffee by her right elbow, folders open all over her desk, and a pen poised over a lined sheet of legal paper.
“If you have time for idle chit-chat, then I’m assuming you’ve already reviewed the contract.”
“As a matter of fact, I have. It seems fair enough to me, so I signed it and returned it to you via FedEx. It should arrive to you tomorrow morning by ten o’clock.”
“I do love your efficiency.”
“Your new client is going to love your efficiency. Has she even signed the engagement agreement yet?”
“Not your business, but I just e-mailed it to her.”
“You sent me the contract before you even had her on board?”
“Let’s just say I’m confident she’ll accept the terms. I can’t wait to tell her we sold the rights!”
“You might want to”—Dara heard the telltale tones in her ear that let her know that Carolyn was gone—“wait until she signs on the dotted line first.” She finished the sentence and then mumbled, “It’s also customary to say goodbye before you hang up.”
Jay yawned and stretched languorously. She reached beside her for Kate, hoping to sneak in one more round of lovemaking before they had to get up and start the day. She opened an eye to find the other side of the bed vacated, and that was when she smelled the unmistakable scent of cinnamon French toast and bacon wafting from the kitchen. She smiled into the pillow and drifted off for a few more minutes, knowing breakfast in bed would be served shortly. “I so love you, Katherine Kyle.”
When next she woke, it was to a gentle kiss and Kate caressing her naked shoulder.
“Breakfast is served.”
Jay sat up and let the sheet fall away. Diffused light was streaming in through the blinds. “What time is it?”
“Late.” Kate smiled at her indulgently. “I thought you deserved to sleep in. That’s what you Hollywood types do, right? Stay in bed all morning?” Kate placed a breakfast tray in front of Jay. It was laden with French toast, butter, syrup, bacon, and a side of fresh fruit.
Jay ran her hands through her hair to settle it. “That’s me, the glamour queen.” She accepted the glass of orange juice Kate handed her and pulled the tray higher up on the bed. “Where’s yours?”
“I’m going to get it right now.”
“You’d better be naked again by the time you get back here with it,” Jay called after her. She inhaled deeply. A wonderful dinner and show, the e-mailed letter of engagement that Jay signed electronically and returned to Carolyn by the time they’d gotten off the train in Albany last night, lovemaking with her wife, breakfast in bed. Life was very, very good.
Kate waltzed back into the room carrying a second breakfast tray and wearing nothing but a smile. Oh yes, life was very, very good indeed.
“Please do not take this the wrong way. As much as I am enjoying your company,” Sabastien said to Lorraine over breakfast, “I am wishing I was back in my comfortable home, poking around in the back doors of these companies for the good guys, and not having to worry about anyone trying to throw me in jail.”
Lorraine put a hand
over his. “I promise you, we’ll figure out all of this and have your name in the clear very soon. We’re making good headway.”
“What exactly are we looking for?” Sabastien asked.
“Ultimately, I’m looking for familiar names—people who I can verify are both part of the Commission and in control or in positions of power within companies holding key government contracts. These would most likely be members of the boards of directors, company executives, or owners. If you can help me trace the relationships between some of the subcontractors and the major contract holders, I’m hoping some of these names will surface. When they do, it should lead us to the end game.”
“The end of game?”
Lorraine smiled kindly at him, something Vaughn never did when Sabastien got lost in American idioms. “We’ll understand what it is they’re up to—why they wanted you out of the way—and what it is they hoped to gain.”
“Oh, I see.”
“And the faster you can make the connections,” Vaughn said as she came into the kitchen from the living room, “the sooner we can clear you and get out of here.”
“Perhaps if you were not so on the edge—”
“On edge,” Vaughn corrected him. “There is no ‘the’ in the expression.”
Sabastien knit his brows together. Although Vaughn always had a tendency to be a little impatient and brusque, lately she had become downright surly. But anytime Sabastien mentioned it to her, Vaughn told him he was imagining things. Perhaps Lorraine could have a talk with her. He wondered, based on the disapproving expression on Lorraine’s face, if perhaps she wasn’t thinking the same thing.
“I guess that’s our cue to get back to work,” Lorraine said. “Are you finished here?”
“Oui.”
She took Sabastien’s plate and put it in the dishwasher.
Vaughn grabbed the car keys off the hook by the back door. “The new encrypted phones and scramblers I procured for us should have arrived at the drop by now. I’ll go check on them.”
When she was gone, Lorraine said, “I don’t know Vaughn as well as you do, but it seems to me like she’s a little…” Lorraine made a gesture with her hands to indicate that Vaughn was tense.
“She is.”
“Any idea why?”
“I do not. I was hoping perhaps you could have a small chat with her.”
“Woman-to-woman, you mean,” Lorraine said.
Sabastien blushed. “I did not intend to… You know.”
“You didn’t offend me, Sabastien. I’ll give it a go when the opportunity arises. In the meantime, let’s go catch us some bad guys.”
“Yes. Let us do that.”
“Here it is,” Carolyn said. She pulled a packet of documents from her briefcase and put it on the counter in front of Jay. “I paper-clipped the check to the inside of the folder on top. I thought you might want to get a look at that first.”
Jay blinked. Everything was coming together so quickly. “Can I just say, I can’t believe you made the trip up here to hand this to me. You could’ve sent it FedEx.”
“I could have,” Carolyn agreed. “But then I wouldn’t get the pleasure of seeing the look on your face when you open that up.” She indicated the folder. “And, I wouldn’t have gotten a tour of your beautiful home.”
“You’re very kind.”
“Just honest.” Carolyn looked around. “I was hoping to see Kate again.”
“She really wanted to be here. Unfortunately, something unexpected came up that she had to deal with.” Jay tried to keep her expression neutral. The truth was, she was worried. Kate ran out two hours ago to meet Peter, who had returned without explanation, and without Lorraine, only twenty-four hours after landing in Morocco. Kate had promised to call when she knew anything, and so far, the phone hadn’t rung.
Carolyn pushed the folder closer to Jay. “You have remarkable self-control. I would’ve opened that by now.”
“I’m savoring the moment.” Jay turned the folder over and pretended to study it from all angles. She really did want to yank the cover open, but she was having too much fun enjoying the twinkle of anticipation in Carolyn’s eyes; it reminded her of a parent watching a child unwrap a Christmas present.
“Oh my God! Please just open it.”
Jay complied. Her eyes popped open wide at the figure on the check. “Is this for real?”
“It is.”
Jay ran her forefinger over the pay-to line. This was as much money as Black Quill paid her for her last three-book deal. It made Jay want to weep—not for the money—but for the validation of her worth. The past few months, her self-esteem and self-identity had taken a beating.
“What’s wrong?” Carolyn’s voice sounded alarmed.
Jay sniffed and cleared her throat. “Nothing. Nothing’s wrong.”
“You looked like you were about to burst into tears.”
Jay’s hands shook as she closed the folder and replaced it on the counter. If Carolyn was going to represent her, she needed to understand her client. “Writing this book was soul-shredding. I had to go back in time and dredge up so many horrible memories and horrific events. I had to relive the worst time in my life and mine every emotion to make the story everything it needed to be.”
Carolyn nodded sympathetically.
“And then, when the classified documents were leaked and the story hit the media and Black Quill bailed on the book, my world came crashing down. For months, my credibility has been questioned, along with my loyalty to this country. Without going into any detail, my friends have been threatened and harmed in real ways too.”
Jay looked away to gather her composure. Sabastien, Vaughn, and now Lorraine, were hiding away somewhere in Casablanca. Jeremy lost his job—a job he loved—and his friendship with the publisher. Peter and Kate were busy hunting leads that hopefully would clear Sabastien. Niles didn’t know which end was up. And somewhere out there, the Commission was having a field day.
“It’s okay, Jay. Whatever it is, it’s okay.” Carolyn came around the island and wrapped her arms around Jay. It should have felt awkward. After all, Carolyn was her agent and this was a professional meeting. But she was also Dara’s best friend, and somehow, Jay believed, Carolyn was her friend too. She was that kind of person—the kind who provided an instant sense of closeness and comfort.
“I’m sorry. I’ve been on such an emotional rollercoaster. To see this check—this symbolic representation of other people’s trust in me and their belief in my work—it hit me harder than I thought it would. I’m usually a cooler customer than this.” Jay pulled back and opened the folder again. It was time to lighten the mood. “Now, where were we?”
Carolyn clearly accepted the change in topic and stepped away as well. “We were about to toast to your first stint as a triple threat—novelist, screenwriter, and executive producer.”
“I suppose that would require that we have something stronger than coffee. Hmm… Champagne in the middle of the day?”
“Why Jamison Parker, that would be incredibly decadent of you.”
“True. But apparently I can afford it now.”
“Touché.”
“If you keep scowling, your face is going to get stuck like that. Didn’t your parents ever tell you that?”
“Don’t deflect, Enright. It won’t work.” Kate was fuming. “You should have told me the whole plan. You knew I wouldn’t go along with leaving Lorraine behind like that. Don’t you ever handle me again.”
“I apologize. We could’ve gone about that differently. But the bottom line is that Lorraine is exactly where she needs to be, and so am I. Together, she and Sabastien are the most powerful one-two combination we have. They are in the best position to identify any Commission connections in that tangled web, and they can only accomplish that while they’re in the same space. We’ve got too many information security issues to take a chance on collaborating remotely right now.”
Kate hated that Peter was right. The Black Knight already had
wreaked too much havoc. “Why didn’t you stay with her?”
“You know why.” He held up the USB drive. “We’ve got work to do. We need to focus on figuring out who the Black Knight is. It’s the only way to clear Sabastien and take the pressure off him.”
Again, Kate resented that Peter was right. Even if they could expose the Commission agents, that did nothing to get Sabastien off the hook. They would have to prove that Sabastien didn’t work for the Commission and that he didn’t leak the documents. Kate briefly considered checking in with Jay, whom she had promised to call hours earlier. She thought better of it. No doubt Jay was in the middle of discussions with Carolyn. To Peter she said, “Let’s get started.”
“I thought you might say that.”
Vaughn stood on the balcony overlooking the sea. In profile, she appeared pensive. Although Lorraine would’ve preferred to give her privacy, time was of the essence and they could ill afford to have discord in the house. She slid open the screen door and stepped outside.
“Penny for your thoughts?”
Vaughn grunted in response. “Not sure they’re worth that much.”
“I’m betting otherwise. Something’s clearly bothering you. Care to share?”
For a moment, Vaughn simply continued to stare out into the distance, and Lorraine wondered if she would answer.
“I hardly know where to begin.” Vaughn went silent again.
“I always find the beginning a good place to start,” Lorraine gently prodded.
“Fair enough. I don’t know if you’re aware, but I’m the one who got Sabastien his gig with the Executive branch.” Vaughn pointed at her chest for emphasis. “I’m the one who put him in a vulnerable position. For all his expertise in electronics, Sabastien is, in his heart, a naïve, sweet, guileless guy. He has no idea what this predicament could mean for him.”
“So your irascibility is about you feeling responsible for Sabastien?” Lorraine leaned her forearms on the railing. “You recognize that he doesn’t understand that, right? To him, you’re just being churlish and difficult. You’re making his job here harder.”