by Donna Hill
“I’m glad you accepted,” she said, taking his umbrella to the bathroom. “Make yourself comfortable,” she called out.
“Something sure smells good,” he said.
Dawne returned to the small living room that also served as the dining room. “Nothing special, but I hope you’ll like it. So…how was your day?”
“The usual.”
“Hmm, top secret, huh?” She forced herself to smile.
“Not really, just the usual.” He sat on the small couch.
Dawne sat opposite him on the matching arm chair.
Brian looked around. “You have a really nice place.”
“Thanks. It’s small, but it works. Can I get you something to drink?”
He nodded. “Sure.”
She got up and headed for the kitchen. “Juice, water, iced tea?”
“Juice is fine.”
She was steaming and it took all she had not to launch right into him. But she planned to bide her time. She opened the fridge and took out the container of juice. She jumped when she’d turned and saw Brian standing in the doorway watching her.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“Hope you don’t always creep around like that,” she said, sputtering a nervous laugh.
“I need to talk to you,” he blurted out.
She looked at him. “Okay.” She took a glass from the cabinet, poured his juice and handed it to him. “I’m listening,” she said. She folded her arms.
“This isn’t easy and I don’t know where to begin.” He drew himself up and focused on her. “I like you, Dawne, a lot.”
“Is that a bad thing?”
“Yeah, sort of.”
“Oh. I see.”
“Whatever you’re thinking, it’s not like that.”
You have no idea what I’m thinking.
He looked uncomfortable, shifting from one foot to the other. “I’m working on a case that involves your mother’s friend, Ron.”
She could not have been more stunned by his revelation, but she played along. “I beg your pardon.”
“Part of my job is to compile a list of potential threats to security.”
“How in the world could Ron be a threat to security?”
“I don’t know how much you know about his past…”
She didn’t respond.
“When he was a teenager, he was a member of the Black Panther Party. Well, the government always keeps track of anyone who’s ever been in any kind of militant group, no matter how big or small. They build a file that basically never goes away.” He shoved his hands into his pants pockets. “Anyway, the FBI has been working with Homeland Security to check out everyone who’s ever appeared on the list, bring their files up to date and cross-check the names with any affiliations that appear suspect.
“Ron’s name came up and his association with a supplier in Philadelphia who we believe is getting money from the Middle East.”
“And you think Ron is involved in some kind of way? Is that what you’re saying?”
“Just the opposite. I know he’s not. What I’ve been trying to do is prove that. My partner on the other hand—”
“The guy that comes with you to the restaurant?”
“Yeah. He feels differently.” He hesitated. “See, the thing is, until I can prove otherwise, Adam is determined to take Ron down…and your mother, if necessary.”
Dawne slowly sat down.
“The thing is, Adam found out that I was seeing you outside of the restaurant.”
“How?”
“He…followed me the night we went out.”
“What?”
“I’m in a real bad situation. I’ve compromised the investigation by being involved with you because of your relationship with Ron through your mother.”
She pressed her hands to her head. “This is crazy.”
“The crazy thing is, I need to break this off between us or I could lose my job.”
Dawne raised her head and looked him in the eyes. What she saw there surprised her—regret.
“But I don’t intend to. But, if I turn over the case to Adam in order to stay with you, he’ll railroad Ron right to a grand jury.”
Her heart thumped. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that I have to stay on the case to be sure that Ron gets a fair deal. And I’m saying that, if you can see your way clear, I want to keep seeing you.”
“You’re willing to risk your job for me?” she asked incredulously.
“I’m hoping it won’t come to that.”
“I—I don’t know what to say.”
“I hope you’ll say you’ll at least think about it. I know it’s a lot to absorb, but—”
“I need to tell you something, the real reason why I asked you here,” she said cutting him off.
Brian frowned. “The real reason?”
She ran her tongue across her lips. “My mother and Ron came to the restaurant…”
She told him about their conversation.
“I was so angry and hurt, I saw red,” she confessed. “I thought you were somehow using me to get to them or, if you hadn’t, already, you would. They told me not to say anything to let it play out, but—not me.”
“I couldn’t do that to you,” he said gently. “I’m glad you called.” He paused. “I have another confession to make.”
“Do I want to hear it?” she said with a half smile.
“I liked you from when we were in college, but you wouldn’t give me the time of day. When I ran into you at the restaurant I figured fate had stepped in to give me another chance.”
She looked at him in amazement. “Why didn’t you ever say anything?”
He shrugged. “I was shy, kinda awkward and you were always surrounded by your friends.”
“Wow,” was all she could say. “I always thought you were kinda cute.” She grinned. “But you kinda kept to yourself.”
“Everything happens in its own time, as my grandmother always said.”
“We’re here now,” she said softly.
“Yeah, we are, aren’t we?” He slowly approached her.
She looked up at him and again saw the warmth and sincerity in his eyes; the doorways to the soul.
“I don’t know how all of this is going to pan out,” he said, gazing down at her, “but I’m going to do my damnedest to make it work out for everyone.”
“But your job…”
“I’ll be up front with you. This whole thing, investigating our own people, leaves a real sour taste in my mouth. I didn’t like the assignment from the beginning and maybe I didn’t put my all into it because of that. But I have reason now.” His eyes slowly traversed her face. “And, most of all, I want to give us a shot. A real one.”
She took his hand. “You really are special.”
“Think so?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“So now what?”
“Let’s start fresh,” she said. “I like you a lot, Brian. Maybe more now because you’ve been so honest with me about everything. I want to see where this is going to go, too.”
“That’s what I wanted to hear.”
After Brian left for the evening, Dawne had time to put things in perspective. She’d been so gung ho to point the finger of accusation without giving Brian a chance. It was a quirk in her personality that had gotten her into plenty of scrapes—leaping before she looked.
This time she liked what she saw. Maybe it would work out and maybe it wouldn’t, but she would give it a chance.
In the meantime, she hoped that Brian’s gut instincts about Ron were true.
Chapter 23
“You have a call on line two,” Sterling’s secretary said.
“Thanks.” He depressed the flashing red light.
“Yes, Sterling Chambers.”
“This is Agent Jennings.
Sterling sat up in his chair. “Yes, Agent Jennings?”
“I understand that you’re the attorney for both Ron P
owers and the owners of the spa. I was hoping that we could meet. I’m in your area. I could be there in five minutes.”
“Sure.”
“Good, I’ll see you shortly.”
He buzzed his secretary. “Stacy, I’m expecting a visitor in a few minutes, a Mr. Jennings. When he arrives, show him right in and hold all my calls.”
“Of course, Mr. Chambers.”
He disconnected the intercom and leaned back in his seat. What did Jennings want? He had a feeling it wasn’t good news, but he hoped he was wrong.
As promised, Brian was walking through the doors of Sterling’s office five minutes later. He must have been right outside, Sterling thought.
“Agent Jennings—” he extended his hand to the young man “—I’m sure this isn’t a social call so let’s get to it. Have a seat.” He pointed toward the leather seat opposite his desk.
Brian sat down and unbuttoned his jacket. “Thank you.”
Sterling waited for him to explain his sudden appearance.
“I had a meeting with my supervisor this morning regarding this case. He’s really pushing.”
“And you’re telling me this…because?”
“Everything that I’ve turned up on Powers is a dead end. Everything that involves his wood supplier in Philly is a dead end. Turns out, the reason why no one could get in touch with him and his business is temporarily closed is because he had a heart attack. He’s been in the hospital for the past two weeks.”
Sterling shook his head. “So he wasn’t trying to avoid anyone.”
“Not at all. The agent down in Philly just got back to me with the information this morning.”
“Unbelievable. You guys aren’t very efficient. So, I guess it’s all over.”
“No. That’s why I’m here. I have a search warrant for Powers’s business and for the accounting records at the spa.” He handed Sterling the warrant.
“Let me see that.” He snatched it from Brian’s hands. He snapped the papers open and read the request. He looked at Brian. “I’m going with you.”
“I was hoping you’d say that.”
Sterling got up and put on his jacket. “Let’s go.” He stopped at his secretary’s desk. “I’ll be out for the rest of the afternoon. Call Judge Melvin’s chambers and get a postponement for the hearing this afternoon.”
“Yes, Mr. Chambers.”
Sterling stormed out. He got to the elevator and whirled on Brian, shaking the warrant in his face. “This is a crock, and you know it.”
“I’m doing my job.”
Sterling glared at him. “How do you sleep at night, railroading innocent people?”
Brian looked away. It was going to get ugly, but it was the only way he could ensure that he was the one handling the ugliness and not Adam.
When Sterling got downstairs, he saw a cop car parked out front.
“Brought your boys, I see,” Sterling said.
“I didn’t have to come to you. It was a courtesy. We could have gone straight to the locations and let your clients call you.”
Sterling knew he was right, but he was still pissed. He didn’t reply.
“We’re going to Powers’s place, first,” Brian told the driver of the police car. “You can ride with me,” he said to Sterling.
When they arrived at Ron’s office, Sterling walked in first. Ron looked up from the desk and knew it had to be bad news.
“I had a visit from the FBI.” He showed Ron the warrant. “Give them whatever they need and don’t say a word. It’s only a warrant for your accounting records.”
Ron gritted his teeth. “Fine.”
The two officers walked in followed by Brian.
Ron wanted to punch him right between the eyes. Instead, he led the two officers to the back room.
Sterling stood in stony silence while the officers did their work. Shortly, they came out with two huge boxes each and went to the patrol car out front.
“Now what?” Ron asked Sterling.
“They’ll go through your records try to make some kind of connection…and, when they don’t, they’ll return everything.”
“How long is this going to take?”
“Hopefully, not too long. In the meantime, don’t make any transactions of any kind.”
“What about paying my guys?”
“Pay them and that’s it. Look, I gotta go. They want the spa’s records, too.”
Ron sputtered an expletive as Sterling walked out.
Carmen was at the front desk with they arrived at the spa. Sterling talked to Carmen who told him that Barbara and Elizabeth were downstairs.
Sterling went down first and headed for the office. The door was partially open. Elizabeth was inside. He was surprised to see Ann Marie. He’d thought she was showing Stephanie and Tony some more houses today.
“Sterling…what…” Ann Marie saw the uniforms behind him and the smile vanished from her mouth.
Elizabeth immediately recognized Brian.
Their eyes flew to Sterling.
“They have a warrant to seize all of your accounting records.”
“What?” Elizabeth felt weak.
“Is Barbara here?”
“She’s with a client.”
“Maybe you should go and get her,” Sterling advised.
Elizabeth couldn’t move.
Ann Marie snapped out of her shock and went to get Barbara.
Sterling explained what was going on.
“This is a travesty,” she said.
“Give them what they need, Barbara,” Sterling quietly advised.
She glared at the officers and Brian, in particular. “Fine. They’re in that filing cabinet,” she finally said, and pointed to an old metal cabinet in the corner.
Elizabeth came up to Sterling. “What about Ron?”
“They’ve been there, already.”
She briefly shut her eyes. “This is a nightmare.”
Ann Marie planted her hand on her hip and zeroed in on Brian. “You should be ashamed of yourself! What kinda man you be turnin’ on your own people?”
Sterling grabbed her arm. “Ann. Be quiet. He’s doing his job.”
She let out a string of Jamaican curses that no one could understand, and snatched away from Sterling.
The officers collected what they’d come for and left without a word.
“Now what?” Barbara asked. She was shaking all over.
“Like I explained to Ron, they’ll go over everything and, when then turn up nothing, they’ll return your property.”
“Is Ron okay?” Elizabeth asked.
“Under the circumstances, yes, he’s fine.”
“I’m sorry about this,” Brian said.
All eyes turned on him.
“I’m sorry,” he repeated, and walked out.
“What do we do now?” Barbara asked Sterling. “Go on with your business as usual. Hopefully this whole thing won’t take long. I have to get back to my office. I’ll call you later,” he said to Ann Marie. He kissed her lightly on the lips and walked out.
The trio stood in silence, each caught up in their own turbulent thoughts.
A team of examiners were set up to go over the material once Brian returned to the office.
“Do a thorough job and do it quickly,” he instructed. He left them in the work room and went to call Dawne. He hoped to get to her before anyone else did.
Chapter 24
The ladies were gathered at Barbara’s house. The mood was dismal.
“This is so ugly,” Ann Marie said.
“There’s something I need to tell you all,” Elizabeth said.
All eyes turned on her.
“Dawne has been seeing Agent Jennings.”
“What?” they shouted.
Elizabeth went on to explain.
“What a creep,” Terri said.
“That’s putting it mildly,” Stephanie added.
“Now that she knows, I’m sure she’ll find a way to break it off with him without
letting him know that she is aware of what’s going on,” Elizabeth assured them.
“Just playing devil’s advocate ’ere, but what if they do find whatever it is they’re looking for in Ron’s records.” She looked at Elizabeth who had a mortified expression on her face.
“Ann!” Barbara snapped.
“How could you say something like that?” Elizabeth asked.
“You always put your foot in your mouth,” Stephanie said.
“I’m just asking a question. Now I’m the bad guy.” She popped up from her seat and marched over to the table to fix a drink.
“I hate to say this,” Terri spoke up, “but having spent years in advertising and marketing, it’s no different from the government. They can make something out of nothing if they try hard enough.”
Stephanie concurred. “We need to be able to put a plan in place in the event that…they do find something.”
Elizabeth was livid. “Since when did we start assuming that someone was guilty until proven innocent!”
“Ell, that’s not—”
“I don’t want to hear your rational take on it, Barbara, so save it.”
Her vehemence rocked Barbara back on her heels.
“Ellie, we’re all friends here,” Stephanie said.
“Are we? Friends don’t say things like that to friends.”
“Ellie you are blowing this way out of proportion,” Barbara said.
Elizabeth’s eyes filled with tears. “I’m leaving. You all stay and figure out a plan—when they find Ron guilty of something.” She grabbed her purse and ran out.
“Maybe you should go after her, Barbara,” Terri said.
Barbara slowly sat down. In all the years she’d known Elizabeth, she’d never seen her like that. “I think Ellie may need some time to herself.”
“When she calms down, she’ll see we didn’t mean any harm. But, the reality is, we do have a business to consider,” Stephanie said.
Murmurs of agreement went all around.
“Terri and I will work out a statement, just in case, and we’ll certainly have to reassure our clients if this turns the wrong way.”
Barbara sighed heavily. When they’d all sat together months ago and came up with the plan for the spa, never in their wildest dreams, would they have imagined the series of recent events. And she certainly would never have imagined Ellie turning on her. That stunned and hurt her most of all.