by Cathie Linz
She should ask him about that now. She really should. But she wasn’t ready to hear his answer yet. So instead she referred back to the case. “I thought someone was following me when Megan and I were at the stained glass museum the other day. Do you think it was Fred Jr.?”
Caine nodded. “He did babble something about that while you were in the bathroom before the police took him away. You should have told me about it earlier.”
“I thought I was just being paranoid or something.”
“He was also the one tailing Weldon.”
She paused for a moment before quietly saying, “I looked for you at the hospital today, but you’d left.”
“I went to the cemetery. Did you know my dad liked model trains? He collected several of them. They’re packed up in a storage unit. He hated celery and liked watching NCIS on TV. I’d forgotten that kind of stuff. The little things. He taught me to love broccoli. I never told anyone else that. And he made these weird fried egg and ketchup sandwiches.”
Faith knew Caine’s staccato sentences were a sign of his stress. Blinking back the tears, she softly said, “I wish I’d gotten the chance to know him.”
“He was a good guy. A special guy.”
“I’m sure he was. After all, he had a son who’s a pretty special guy.”
“I thought my dad wasn’t tough enough to fight off the depression that sucked him in every year on the anniversary of my mom’s death. I thought he was weak to give in instead of fighting.” Caine’s voice grew hoarse with emotion. “But he wasn’t weak. He was murdered.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“Yeah.” He stopped pacing and sat on the couch next to her. “Me too.” He gently wiped away the tears rolling down her cheek. “Don’t. Don’t cry.”
“I’m sorry. I’m usually tougher than this.”
“I know you are.” He kissed her. Words were abandoned in favor of caresses that started out tender and became increasingly passionate until he carried her to her bedroom and made love to her with a deep desperation that had her gasping his name as she came again and again.
“I’m so glad you’re okay!” Megan grabbed Faith the instant she opened her front door the next morning. “I’m sorry I didn’t call first. I had to come see for myself.” She looked over Faith’s shoulder. “Am I interrupting something?”
Faith turned and caught sight of her blouse still draped across her couch where Caine had left it last night when he’d undressed her. “No. Caine left before I woke up this morning.”
“Our parents are kind of nervous about what Caine’s going to do next.”
“Me too.” He’d made love to her with a newfound sense of intensity that both thrilled her a lot and unnerved her a bit. Was that his way of saying good-bye? He’d left without waking her. He’d never done that before.
Back in Italy he’d threatened to make her father pay big time for falsely accusing his dad. She didn’t know if he still planned on doing that, and she hadn’t felt right about asking him after he’d shared his memories of his father with her following his visit to the cemetery.
“Did he say anything?” Megan said. “Give you any clues about his plans?”
“Not really.” Faith smoothed the red wraparound jacket she’d worn her first day at West Investigations. Today she teamed it with a black pencil skirt and comfy shoes. Lifting her hand, she touched the cameo she’d bought for herself in Positano. This was the first time she’d actually worn it. “I’ve got to get going, or I’ll be late for work.”
“You could take a day off. Don’t you need some time to recover?”
Faith really needed time to figure out what to do next. And not just regarding her relationship with Caine but the rest of her life as well. Last night she’d dreamed she was back at the library, and she felt happy. She woke this morning wondering if she’d tossed the baby out with the bathwater by leaving the library.
“I may have made a mistake,” Faith said. “I mean, I’ve made plenty of them, but . . .” She shook her head. She didn’t have the words yet, because she hadn’t made a decision. Once again she was the Queen of the Question Mark in the Punctuation Hall of Fame but lacking any answers. “Never mind. Come on. Walk down with me.”
They stepped into the elevator together. “Did you hear that Alan showed up yesterday?” Faith said.
“No. He had the nerve to come here?”
“I didn’t let him in the building.” Faith pushed the button for the lobby. “I’ve got to say it felt really good to kick him to the curb.”
“Good for you.” Megan shared a fist bump with her. “You go, girl!”
Faith arrived at work to find Gloria waiting for her. “I’m so glad you’re okay!” Gloria hugged her tightly before standing back to look at her outfit approvingly “Red. Good for you. Show the world who’s boss.”
“Her father is the boss,” Abs said as she joined them. “I heard you had a busy day yesterday. Wilder than story time at the library, I’ll bet. I can understand how a hostage situation can spook you.”
“I’m not spooked,” Faith said. She wasn’t having second thoughts because she was afraid. She was having second thoughts because she thought she was going to die at Fred Jr.’s hands, and that made her reassess her life. All this time, Faith had wanted to be more like Abs. But looking at her now, Faith suddenly realized that was no longer the case. She didn’t want to be permanently emotionally detached like Abs . . . And that’s how Faith would eventually become if she stayed here on a full-time basis.
Talk about an aha moment. She’d just had one, big time. She did still have a few questions for Abs, however.
“Why did you warn me off investigating Karl Hunter’s case?” she said. “What was your stake in this?”
Abs eyed her with newfound respect. “You’re suspicious. Good. That’s a good thing.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
“You kept going on about intuition and trusting your gut. I don’t work that way. If the case was flawed, that meant your intuition stuff was right, and I’m not happy with that. I prefer the world based on facts. It may not always be right, no system is. But it works for me.”
“It doesn’t work for me,” Faith said.
Abs nodded. “Yeah, I figured.”
“A gut feeling?” Faith teased her.
Abs smiled. “Something like that.”
Faith wasn’t looking forward to telling her father about her decision. And it was now a decision. She was a children’s librarian at heart. That didn’t make her weak. It made her strong. She loved watching kids’ eyes light up at story time or finding a new book for a beginning reader. Hooking books with kids gave her a sense of satisfaction that she’d found lacking in her new job.
Sure, finding that missing money for Candy Haywood’s divorce case had felt good, but those moments were too few and too far between all the other nasty stuff. And, yes, she enjoyed research, but she’d rather research what a sixth-grader who loves horses should read next.
It turned out she was more like Jane Austen after all. A new kick-ass version of Jane Austen.
Her dad showed up in the office later, right after lunch.
“I thought the doctor said you were supposed to take it easy,” Faith said as she trailed after him.
“I am taking it easy. I took the entire morning off, during which time your mom and I booked a trip to England for our anniversary.”
“That’s great.”
“So how are you holding up today?” he asked.
“We need to talk.”
“I was afraid of that.” He sat in his ergonomically designed chair behind his desk. “You’ve decided to go back to the library, right?”
“How did you know?”
“You’d be safer.”
“I’d be stronger,” she corrected him. “Because I’d be following my heart. That’s not to say that I’m not willing to help out around here from time to time. But this isn’t where my passion lies.”
�
��I got the feeling from the way you were looking at him that your passion might be with Caine. Is that right?”
“I’m not ready to talk about Caine yet.”
“Notice I’m not asking you to talk to him on the company’s behalf.”
“Good. And before you ask, no, Caine didn’t have anything to do with my returning to the library.”
“I can’t say I’m not disappointed that you’re not staying, but I can understand. Maybe Caine would like to work with us. He’s a good investigator. Not as good as you, of course. He could make sure we don’t screw up again like we did with his father’s case.”
“You’d have to talk to Caine about that.” Faith went around the desk to hug her dad. “I’m glad you’re okay. When I saw you unconscious in that chair with blood on your face . . .” She shivered.
He stood and gave her a giant bear hug like he used to do when she was a kid. “And I’m glad you’re okay.” He patted her back. “I know I don’t say this often enough, but I do love you, you know. And if being back at the library is where you want to be, then I’m for it a hundred and ten percent.”
Faith sniffed back the threat of sentimental tears. “Thanks, Dad. I love you too.” She had yet to figure out how her love for Caine and her love for her father could coexist peacefully. But she was determined to figure it out somehow.
“You’re back!” the kids shouted as she walked in on afternoon story time at the library later that day. The three- and four-year-olds gathered around her like sheep returning to the flock.
“Thank God!” a frazzled Maria said. “I’d just about given up hope.”
Faith was surprised to see that Maria was handling story time. Usually the branch manager had plenty of other duties to fill her time. But Maria did have five kids. She should be able to manage story time with one hand tied behind her back. Come to think of it, her kids were all older. There was an art to dealing with little ones this age.
“I should have called first,” Faith said. “But I wanted to talk to you face-to-face.”
“Just tell me you’re back.”
Faith nodded. “If you’ll have me.”
“Great. Here, finish this.” Maria handed her the book she’d been reading.
“Charlotte’s Web?” Faith shook her head. “I’ve got something else in mind.” She reached into her Golden Books tote bag and pulled out her Scaredy Squirrel book.
“We thought you were never coming back,” one little kid said.
“Never say never,” Faith said.
“Why?” a little girl named Latisha asked. “Is it a bad word?”
“No, but you never know what could happen next.”
“You just said never.”
“Yes, I did. Never mind.”
The kids giggled. “You said it again.”
“You’re right.” Faith grinned. Damn, it felt good to be back. “So let’s find out what Scaredy Squirrel is up to now.”
“I told you West had messed up the investigation on your father’s case,” Vince crowed. “Time to break out the good booze and celebrate.”
“No, thanks.” Caine didn’t feel like celebrating.
Vince shrugged and poured himself a generous splash of high-priced Scotch from the Irish crystal decanter on his mahogany sideboard. “Well, I’m going to celebrate. Why aren’t you smiling?”
“Because my father was murdered.”
Vince frowned. “So? You knew he was dead. Dead is dead. The bottom line here is about West Investigations screwing up royally. I’ve scheduled a press conference for later this afternoon. I want you to get all emotional and tortured about how West ruined your dad’s life. Then you can announce you’re suing them.”
“I’m not going to sue them.”
“Why the hell not?”
“Because I’m done letting you use my father as a pawn in this war you’ve got going on with Jeff West.”
“I would have thought a man like you, a former Marine, would know how to wage a war.”
“I know this particular war isn’t worth it.”
“It is to me. And it used to be for you too. What changed? Wait, let me guess. It’s the girl, right? You got whipped by a fancy piece of tail—”
Caine grabbed Vince by his Armani suit lapel and growled, “Watch what you say about her. Not another word.”
Vince just shook his head in disappointment. “Never allow your emotions to affect your business decisions.”
Caine let him go. “Call off the press conference.”
“Why should I?”
“Because you played a part in this mess. You sabotaged the investigation by bribing the West employee originally in charge of the case not to dig any further. Oh, yeah, I know about that. The guy doesn’t work there anymore. He isn’t even in this state anymore. But I tracked him down and convinced him to talk. I have a copy of his sworn deposition. I really don’t think you want me flashing that at your press conference.”
“West still had the chance to review the case for himself, and he didn’t.”
“There’s plenty of guilt to spread around,” Caine agreed.
“I thought I could count on you. I thought your hatred of West equaled mine. But no, they got to you. Weakened you. I hate weakness. Weak people ruin everything. They always let you down. You’ve let me down, Caine.”
“Same here, Vince. Same here. By the way, I quit.”
“Going to work for the enemy now?”
“I don’t know.”
“If you tell him about the deposition you have, I’ll sue you until you don’t have a penny left to your name. You signed a confidentiality agreement when you came to work for me,” Vince shouted after him as Caine left. “Don’t forget that.”
Caine had no intention of forgetting anything. He was still working on forgiving. With that thought in mind, he crossed the street to visit West Investigations. He called ahead first. “We need to talk,” Caine told Jeff West as he entered the high-rise building. “I’m on my way up.”
“I’ll be waiting,” Jeff said.
Jeff was standing by his open office door when Caine arrived. “Faith isn’t here right now,” he told Caine. “Just in case you were wondering.”
Caine didn’t say anything. He took the chair facing Jeff’s desk and waited until the other man was seated before speaking. “I’m not going to sue you, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“I’m glad to hear that. Again, I can’t express how sorry I am that this case wasn’t handled better. I’ve been reviewing the work done by one of our employees, and I have the feeling that Vince King played a part in there. The person involved no longer works for my company. Even so, I should have caught the problem when I reviewed the case. I didn’t. I’m not trying to pin this on King or heat up the vendetta he has against me. I will, however, be much more vigilant regarding cases and employees in the future. But the bottom line is that even if King had a hand in messing up the case, I should have caught that. The buck stops here with me.”
Caine bluntly said, “I no longer work for Vince King.”
“Faith no longer works for me,” Jeff said just as bluntly.
Caine couldn’t hide his surprise at this news.
“She didn’t tell you?”
He shook his head.
“She’s gone back to the library. She says that’s where her heart lies. She’s a damn good investigator, as are you. If you want a job here, it’s yours. I’d be honored to have you.”
“Thanks for the offer, but no. I’ve got other plans.”
“Involving my daughter?”
“Some of them. I’ve had enough of the investigative business. I want to work with returning Marines, help them merge back into civilian life—get jobs, health care, affordable housing, social support, family therapy. I’ve talked to a couple former Marine buddies of mine who are setting up a nonprofit organization.”
“I’d be honored to make a generous donation to such a worthy cause,” Jeff said.
“Y
ou can’t make up for what happened to my dad by writing a big check,” Caine said.
“I know that.” Jeff looked older than his years. “Believe me, I know that. And I’ll regret to my dying day that I didn’t detect something was wrong.”
Caine knew what his father would want him to do. He’d want him to forgive. “Even if you had, there’s no guarantee that you would have caught Fred Belkin in time to stop him from murdering my father.”
“That’s generous of you to say.”
Caine cleared his throat. “There’s another matter I wanted to discuss with you as well. It’s about Faith. I’ve got this plan.” Caine told Jeff about it. When he was done, he said, “What do you think?”
Faith’s dad smiled and nodded. “I approve.”
Two weeks later:
“I’ve never been to a Crosstown Classic game,” Caine told Faith as they stood in line outside Comiskey Park aka U.S. Cellular Field. He was wearing jeans, a Cubs T-shirt and baseball cap and garnering jeers from the White Sox fans nearby. “The Cubs versus the White Sox. A classic rivalry. Well, we know which side you’re rooting for.”
Faith was wearing a White Sox jersey along with black shorts, her black Keds and plenty of sunscreen. It was a hot summer day.
Caine shook his head at the White Sox mascot.
“That’s Southpaw,” Faith said.
Caine tried to think of something nice to say about the tall fuzzy green thing. “It must be hard being green.”
Faith socked Caine’s arm. “Be nice.”
“That was me being nice.”
“I can’t believe you got tickets for the Scout Seating section two rows behind home plate.”
Caine shrugged. “I’ve got connections.”
“You must have. You do realize that this is the place to watch baseball, because White Sox fans actually do watch the game. Cubs fans are at Wrigley to see and be seen and to download apps onto their iPhones.”
Caine narrowed his eyes at her. “Those sound like fighting words to me.”
“Just wait and see.”
“You can count on it.”
She could also count on Caine and have faith that it would be okay. She’d learned more about Caine in the two months since she’d first met him in Italy than she’d known about Alan after two years. She certainly knew Caine moved fast. He’d already made a lot of headway with his nonprofit organization to help returning Marines. He was determined to make a difference.