Glass Houses

by Stella Cameron

  “Mama,” Aiden said, with absolute conviction that he had to take back control of the situation. “Could I get Olivia settled? Vanni said she’s to be in June’s old room.”

  “Now that June thinks Sophia’s room is more elegant,” Pia said, examining her fingernails. “I think Sophia’s room is a nightmare. All that red and black.”

  “Of course,” Mama said. “If you’ve had enough to eat, both of you, go on up. Everything you need is there, Olivia. Our home is your home, for as long as you like. Vanni, how can we make Olivia at ease about us? This must be so difficult for her.”

  “I’m easy,” Olivia said.

  Pops coughed. “Wouldn’t advertise that, if I was you. Boss, you gotta job. You go look after our new friend, hear me?”

  “That’s a great idea,” Aiden said, and he felt relieved. He’d have to return to Hell’s Kitchen, which for some reason bothered him. He wanted to be close to Olivia.

  “Thank you,” Olivia said. She got up. “I’m really very tired. Don’t make Boswell stand guard over me. I’ll be fine.” She stepped back from the table and Aiden rose at once. So did Boss. The dog fell in behind Olivia with a look of delighted anticipation on his long-snooted face.

  “I need to tell you one or two things, partner,” Vanni said, also getting up. “One or two developments at the precinct.”

  “Oh.” Olivia paused and looked at the two men. “You’re police partners.”

  “Yeah,” they both said.

  The Zanettos chorused good nights and Olivia felt their warmth.

  “I think the girl needs a human guard,” Pops said. “Get Aiden the cot, Vanni. He can sleep in the corner of Olivia’s room.”

  When Olivia looked back at the old man, he’d developed a sudden appetite for his pasta.

  Aiden picked up Olivia’s bags in the hall and led the way upstairs. Vanni was behind her, Boss beside her. Aiden had the briefest thought that he’d got himself into something deeper than even he had imagined. The biggest potential complication was that he found the woman interesting, a development he didn’t remember happening since his old partner, Chris Talon, met Sonnie Giacano, the woman who subsequently became Chris’s wife. He’d envied Chris then. Now he was really glad for both of them.

  June’s old room was childlike, with a patchwork quilt on a single bed, looped lace curtains at the windows beneath chintz drapes pulled all the way back. Pictures of pop stars covered the walls, and gathered pink fabric ran around the kidneyshaped dressing table and a small stool. Teddy bears were heaped on the bed.

  Olivia and Boss followed Aiden in, then Vanni, who closed the door and listened as if he expected someone to follow and stand outside the door.

  “Now,” Vanni said, “listen up. We’ve got really big problems.”

  Aiden took in Olivia’s strained face. “We know,” he said. “First thing in the morning, we’ll have a powwow and decide on the next step.”

  “Too late,” Vanni said. “By tomorrow we’ve got to figure out how to get Olivia out of here and you with her.”

  Aiden took an instant to hold up a hand. “She’s got to rest, Vanni. And you’ve got to be a whole lot clearer.”

  “Sorry,” Vanni said. “Sit down, Olivia. Or stretch out on the bed. You can sleep if you like. Aiden and I will take care of everything.”

  There were times when Vanni showed no sign of understanding the comfort zones of other human beings. Olivia dutifully sat on a chair, but her back was straight, her slim ankles crossed, and every line in her body screamed that she was on alert.

  Boss sat beside her and rested his head on her lap. Lamplight glinted on his titanium grin.

  There would be no stopping Vanni. “Okay,” Aiden said, “Spit it out but keep it simple.”

  “The chief got a message from Ryan.”

  Aiden frowned and waited for more.

  “He blew the whistle on you. Bad cop in cahoots with a British thief—female.”

  “That’s goddamn ridiculous.” He paused. “But let me guess. The old man bought it. He’s been waiting for me to take another wrong step so he can get rid of me.”

  Vanni didn’t answer Aiden. Instead he glanced at Olivia, whose brown eyes were huge. “Art theft. Seems Olivia’s job lets her be in the right places at the right times. She has the opportunities. And according to Ryan, you’re the one with contacts in the States, Aiden. Collectors who don’t care how you get what they want. You’ve been helping these people find their hearts’ desire. Ryan, so he says, has been quietly investigating you, but now he knows you’re on to him and he’s afraid for his life. So he’s asking the department to apprehend you.”

  “But”—Aiden turned the puzzle pieces over in his mind— “but there’s absolutely no evidence against me except for what Ryan says.”

  “No, and that’s why all this is being dealt with unofficially at first. But Fats is backing Ryan up. He says he’s scared of you, too, but he hopes if you know your cover is blown, he’ll be safe.”

  “What a crock. What an absolute, friggin’—sorry, Olivia. What a pile of—garbage. Not a word of it holds water.”

  Vanni leaned on the wall and propped an elbow. He wiped at his face.

  “What?” Aiden said. “C’mon, Vanni. We can shoot this apart in minutes.”

  “How? Do we hand over Olivia? They’re looking for her in London now.”

  The whitening of Olivia’s already pale face distressed Aiden. “I’m going in to talk to the chief,” he said.

  “Whatever you think,” Vanni said. “I’ll do my best to take care of Olivia. Maybe I can find a place to hide her until everything blows over. If it blows over.”

  “Aiden,” Olivia said, so softly he could hardly hear her. “Vanni wouldn’t say all this if it wasn’t true, right?”

  He wanted to say it was a joke. “No. No, he wouldn’t. Something has gotten really screwed up.”

  “You stepped right in the middle of a plan Ryan must have been working on a long time,” Vanni said. “All he’s doing is fighting back.”

  “What’s my alternative to going to the chief?”

  “Get out of sight until I can work things through,” Vanni said. He took a deep breath. “And pray I can do it.”

  “Why can’t Olivia stay here?”

  “She can’t, and you can’t. They know Olivia’s in the country now. They’re already looking for her. They’ll come here.”

  “And Ryan? Has he said he’s returning to duty?”

  “Yeah. In a few days, he says. He’s coming back to help find you.”

  “I’m not running from that little creep, Ryan D. Hill.”

  Vanni nodded slowly. “Your call, partner. Whichever way you go, I’ll be right there on your side doing what I can.”

  “This is my fault,” Olivia said. “Don’t worry. I’m going to the police at once. I’ll explain that I don’t know what they’re talking about and that’ll be that.”

  She found herself under scrutiny from two pairs of eyes, and they didn’t look as if they thought she’d just had the winning idea.

  “Ryan’s made a good job of this, hasn’t he?” Aiden said.

  “The best,” Vanni said. “And you shoulda heard that creep, Fats. He just about had the chief offering him a safe house. By the time Lemon finished, you sounded like a psycho who’s probably got half-a-dozen should-be floaters doing the Hudson polka in concrete shoes. The cars came up. Your cars. What the collection is worth and so on. How does a guy do that on a cop’s salary?”

  “He doesn’t,” Aiden said, mentally cursing the unfairness of having to address this. “I inherited from my mom. My dad died years back. I don’t have any siblings, so it all came to me. End of story.”

  “I’d suggest you just go out and get lost in a cabin somewhere,” Vanni said, “but if they put a manhunt together. I’d rather they didn’t find you alone out there.”

  “I’m not running,” Aiden said. “I’m clean, so I’m not running.”

  “You’re with
Olivia,” Vanni pointed out. “And even if you can get the chief to buy your own story—“ He stopped and pressed his lips together. “Olivia, you already heard me say they think you’re a big time art thief. I don’t know all the details, but there’s evidence. If you did turn yourself in, they wouldn’t just apologize and say they must be mistaken.”

  She stood up. Aiden watched her and experienced the strongest emotional reaction to a woman he ever remembered having. Olivia raised her chin, and he saw her throat move. Tears filmed her eyes and her mouth quivered, but only until she tightened it and pulled the corners down.

  Vanni waited for her to answer.

  Aiden wanted only to keep on looking at her.

  “I’ve already said I’m ready to go to the police station. Now I insist. You can’t know whether or not I’m this thief some people think I may be. I’m as badly off here as I would be with the police, right?”

  “You are with the police,” Vanni said. “Some of us are open enough to know we ought to wait for more proof before we jump in. But in the ways that matter, what I believe—or Aiden believes—doesn’t count. If friend Ryan has gathered enough phony evidence, they’re going to follow everything up and if you’re really unlucky, innocent or guilty, you’ll be thrown in the slammer.”

  “But you think if I take her and run, you can find a way to string Ryan up?” He’d never been good at relying on someone else.

  Vanni hunched his big shoulders and said, “I hope I can.” Olivia knew what Alice in Wonderland must have felt. In this cozy little girl’s room, the two men were oversized and out of place, and they were both angry and worried.

  “The chief came at me like I was on trial,” Vanni said. “You’d have thought you were in the running to become the next Unibomber.”

  Aiden made up his mind. “This is going to put you on the line,” he told Vanni. “You ready for that?”

  His partner averted his face and nodded.

  “The force means everything to you,” Aiden reminded him. “Still sure?”

  “It means everything to you, too. That makes us even. I’m ready.”

  “So you think I should take Olivia somewhere we’re not likely to be found?”

  Vanni nodded again.

  Aiden said, “Olivia, you’re confused. You’ve got to be.”

  “I’m in a country I’ve never visited before, thousands of miles from home, with people I hadn’t met before today. And I’m accused of being a thief. But I’m not as confused as you think I am. I’ve been going through one shock after another for days.”

  “So you’d consider going into hiding with me?”

  She looked at the floor, “Yes.” And she was frightened but also excited. So much for all those people who told her she needed to get out more.

  “Okay. Tomorrow we get a plane out of here.”

  “They’ll be watching the airports,” Vanni said. “Still unofficially, of course.”

  “Not unless they think you’ve been singing to me.”

  Vanni ran the fingers of both hands through his thick hair. “I didn’t think of that. I’m getting ahead of myself. There’s a briefing at 0600. They were talking about how you and Olivia must have known each other—probably been lovers—and you’d be hanging out in New York at least until you got wind that you were under suspicion. Maybe you’re right. Both of you get some sleep, then leave early in the morning. Where, though?” He frowned. “Where will you go? Key West?”

  “Too obvious,” Aiden said. “I’ve got a reputation for liking it down there. I’m going to Chris. Most people here don’t know he’s on the force in Seattle now. In fact, I don’t know who does other than you and me.”

  Vanni nodded. “I should have thought of that.”

  “He’s perfect for a lot of reasons. He’ll find a place to put us, and if someone does track him, he’ll be so convincing no one will ever believe we’ve been near him. And he’s the best man we could invite into our corner.”

  “Okay. Sounds good. You should get out on the first available flight, though.”

  “I think Ryan D’s going to show up the minute I’m out of the way,” Aiden said.

  “Absolutely,” Olivia said. “He’ll feel really safe then. And when you run away, you look guilty. That won’t hurt his story, right?”

  Aiden smiled at her. “We could use you on the force. But you are right. If I go, I look guilty. But if I stay, they’re going to come after you anyway, and once they’ve got you, Ryan will return with all his carefully constructed accusations. Apart from those two scenarios, both of which can be overcome, there’s the matter of the guys in London. We can assume Mr. Moody and Mr. Fish wouldn’t be anxious for you to talk to someone like me, but I’ve got to find out where they fit in here. And I want to know which one came after you with murder on his mind. The best way to buy the time to do that is to let everyone think I’m otherwise occupied—as in saving my own skin.”

  “Where did you say your friend lives?” Olivia asked quietly.

  “Seattle,” Aiden told her. “He retired from the force here, then ended up there and joined up again. They’re damned lucky to have him.”

  She didn’t look convinced.

  “It’ll be okay,” he told her, and wished he could be completely sure it would. “Wait’ll you see the guy. He’ll make you feel safe.”

  “You make me feel safe,” she said, and turned her back. “I should go to sleep and so should you. Thanks, Vanni. I’m awfully sorry to be such a pest.”

  Vanni took a step toward her, but Aiden shook his head and Vanni retreated again. “Nothing to feel bad about,” he told her. “You aren’t responsible for the lousy people in the world.”

  “The room next door’s empty, isn’t it?” Aiden asked.

  “Yeah. But I’m not going to my place tonight so I thought I’d use it. You can share, though.” Vanni took a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it silently to Aiden who recognized a short computer printout. “What I don’t know for sure is where this originated.”

  “I’ll get ready for bed,” Olivia said, still facing the wall. “Then, if it wouldn’t be too much trouble, and if he wouldn’t mind, I’d be grateful to have Boswell in here after all. Stupid, I know, but it’s all been too much.”

  Vanni wiggled his brows, then mouthed, “Lucky Boswell.”

  “No problem,” Aiden said. He took Boss by the collar and led him to a rug at the bottom of the bed. “Guard, Boss.” He clicked his fingers and the dog dropped, rested his head on his paws, and darted his eyes from side to side.

  Aiden read the paper Vanni had given him: “Olivia here. Hope you get this in time to stop you from leaving for the airport to meet me. Sorry for all the trouble. I’ve changed my mind. I won’t be coming to New York, at least not at the moment. Thank you for all your kindness, Sam.” The e-mail had supposedly been sent from Olivia’s address some hours earlier, while Olivia was already on her way to New York. This was a last desperate effort to stop Olivia from meeting up with Aiden.

  Too late, but evidently whoever wrote it—and Aiden would bet it was Ryan—hadn’t been sure when she left England. But he must have figured out he’d not only posted after the fact, but that by doing so, he’d made sure Aiden knew someone was following Olivia. Now Ryan was moving in to cover for himself.

  Aiden met Vanni’s eyes, and they exchanged a bleak glance. Vanni hadn’t been wrong about the presence of danger.

  Olivia opened her bulging tartan grip and started pulling things out, and Vanni left the room.

  She stood up and dropped her hands to her sides, toiletries in one, underwear in the other.

  Without warning, she walked into Aiden’s arms. She rested her face on his chest, and he couldn’t tell if she was crying.

  “Sorry,” she said, very muffled. “Look what I’ve done to you. I don’t know what to do, but I’ve got to save you from all this.”

  For a moment or two he stood there, his hands raised. Then he wrapped an arm tightly around her, and s
troked her hair with the other. “I told you to quit apologizing. And I’m the pro at this sort of thing, so I’ll work our way out. We’ll end up heroes.” Mostly, he didn’t want either of them to end up dead or in jail. “Meanwhile you’ll get to see some of the most beautiful country in the world. And I’ll get a vacation I never expected.” Some vacation. “Stick with me, kid. I’ll make sure you have a time to remember.”

  Olivia looked up at him, at his lean and smiling face. Now she knew he was lying, or at least embellishing. He’d look after her, but he wasn’t—couldn’t be—looking forward to it. “You’re an awfully nice man,” she told him.

  Aiden smiled through gritted teeth. Tonight he’d learned something; “nice” wasn’t a word that made him feel—nice.

  Ten

  “Toast?” Ryan asked. “No, toast isn’t what you want, is it?”

  “Damn you, Ryan,” Kitty said. He was used to people being afraid of him. Ryan Hill didn’t frighten her—she knew how to manage him. She still shivered with excitement at the memory of seeing him outside the front door of Olivia FitzDurham’s house.

  Ryan clasped his hands behind his neck and stretched. The man had great muscles.

  “I want some sleep, and you know what I want before that,” Kitty said. For hours he’d taunted her, played games with her all over the Hampstead house. He really got off on having her do weird things nude, like slide down the banisters. At least he was naked, too, and that was worth the admission price.

  Ryan was hungry, and a lot more tired than he intended Kitty to find out. He stuck his head into the all-but-empty refrigerator in the FitzDurham woman’s Delft-tiled kitchen and groaned. “Butter. No margarine. And only whole milk. Bacon. Eggs. Sausages. That’s it. Not a piece of fruit or a vegetable in sight. You could hold an orgy in here, it’s so empty. And one look at the food she does have, and my arteries sound Taps.” The bread he’d dropped in the toaster was butter-top-egg.

  “For God’s sake, Ryan, shut the refrigerator door before you freeze off something you don’t want to lose. Forget your bleedin’ arteries and fuck me again. And finish it this time.”