The Taxman Killeth

by Mitchell, Mary Ann

  “Then don’t.”

  “But it’s free.”

  Amy shook her head.

  “You’re right. I’ll get to know him better first, before I go for this major change. Come on. I’ll be late if we don’t leave right away.”

  “I’m staying to do some work. Have fun,” Amy called as Trudy waved ‘bye from the doorway.

  A while later, Amy ran out to fetch herself some dinner. She couldn’t be sure how late she would have to stay and didn’t need a rumbling stomach giving her whereabouts away as she browsed through files where she didn’t belong.

  Around nine o’clock Amy walked the halls, checking each office. The only one with a light still on was Stu’s. An hour later she checked his office again and the light was still shining from under the door. She wondered if he could have forgotten to turn the light off before he left. She decided to wait another hour before lightly rapping on his door several times. The door swung open and Stu stood before her in baggy trousers; his shirt was wrinkled as if he had been taking a nap.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “I was working late, and when I saw the light under your door I thought I’d check and see if you were still here. It gets lonely around here this late at night.”

  “If you’re lonely, Amy, go to the bar down the block, but don’t bother me.”

  The door was closed in her face.

  God, she thought, he’s certainly become touchy since he heard of his pending promotion. Nothing to do, she figured, but go back to her office and wait him out. She left her own door open in hopes of spotting him when he left.

  It was two in the morning, and Amy was dozing when she heard the copy machine next door whip into action. A few minutes later, Stu stopped at her door with a stack of papers and his suit jacket over his arm.

  “Still here?”

  “I won’t be much longer.”

  “Want me to wait? I can give you a lift home.”

  “No, it’s all right. I’ve got a cab picking me up in another half hour.”

  “Okay. By the way, I’m sorry I’ve been so grumpy lately.”

  “It’s okay. You must be under a lot of stress. I mean, I’ve heard about the pending promotion.”

  “Yeah, a lot of stress,” he muttered. “Try not to let it get around about how late I’ve been staying. I’m working on some personal business and would rather not have to go into explanations with the partners.”

  “I understand.”

  “I hope so, because I like you.”

  After Stu was gone she tried to guess at what he had meant. Was it a threat? What had he meant by his last comment? Perhaps Stu’s office should be first on her investigative list. However, when she tried the door it was locked. Unusual in the firm, since all employees were encouraged to keep their work available in case someone else had to cover for them.

  Todd would know how to pick the lock without any problem. Amy went back to her office and phoned him.

  “How does one go about picking a lock?”

  “Amy! Is that you? Where the hell are you?”

  “At the office, but I’ve run into a snag. See, my prime suspect...”

  “Amy, this isn’t a television show or movie. Wait there and I’ll come and get you.”

  “You can’t do that. There’s a guard downstairs in the lobby. Even if he didn’t recognize you, he still wouldn’t let you in without ID. I’ve got a credit card and the lock is simple...”

  “Amy, it will take me a half hour to get there. Be in front of the building.”

  He hung up.

  She rushed out to the reception desk and rifled the drawers for visitor’s cards. Now what excuse would someone have for showing up at two-thirty? Amy checked the time. Make that three in the morning. One of the attorneys kept a Stetson hat sitting on top of his bookcase attracting dust, but it probably would fit Todd, who could pull the brim down over his face.

  Amy scratched her head. He would have to be a relative come to pick her up. No client would show up at that hour. And since she hadn’t completed her work, she was taking him upstairs to wait.

  Amy scrawled a fictitious name across the card. She went back to Stu’s door to try to pry the lock open with a credit card, but she didn’t know how to do it. Todd would, she assured herself.

  At two-fifty five she took the elevator down to the lobby. She didn’t know the guard, but showed her identification and explained that her brother would be arriving soon, and would he mind if her brother came upstairs to wait for her to finish her work?

  The guard nodded and returned to his thick paperback.

  When she saw Todd, Amy rushed out to meet him, topping his head with the Western hat.

  “Perfect fit,” she said, lowering the brim over his forehead. She attempted to yank him into the building, but Todd was immovable.

  “Come on. It’s getting late.”

  “It is late, Amy, and I told you to come home if it was getting too late.”

  “You didn’t specify any time.”

  Todd arched a brow and pulled her into his arms. The smell of his leather jacket mixed with Todd’s own scent seduced Amy into relaxing into his embrace. Her senses were further heightened by the feel of his chest beneath her palm. She looked up into his eyes and found them burning their own heat down toward her face.

  “You’re a mighty handsome cowboy.”

  They both leaned into a kiss. Too soon for Amy they parted.

  “Let’s finish this at home,” he said, his breathing thick with desire.

  Amy almost followed his lead until she remembered the visitor’s card that she held between her fingers. She tore off the backing and stuck the card on his jacket.

  “I think it might be Stu,” she said, tracing the stubble along his jawline. God, he was looking more savagely handsome every day, she thought, a chill speeding through her body.

  Todd hesitated. He hated involving her, but if she was on to something he’d rather be with her than have her poke around on her own. He might never get another chance to enter her office unseen. Todd checked the time. “We stay an hour, then we’re out,” he said.

  Amy agreed and they walked back into the building. The guard looked up briefly to see Amy returning. He didn’t bother to check out her guest.

  In front of Stu’s office door, Amy offered her credit card. Todd ignored her and pulled from within his jacket a small cloth packet. He eased a narrow steel pick from under the packet’s flap.

  “What time did he leave?” Todd asked as the lock gave way.

  “A little after two.”

  “Didn’t I tell you...”

  “Will you be able to open these file drawers? They seem to be locked, too.”

  Within an hour they located legal documents used to obtain green cards for immigrants.

  “That’s it,” she shouted.

  “How do we know they aren’t legit?”

  “Because this firm doesn’t do immigration law. But now that I think about it, Stu used to be involved in immigration when he worked in Texas. He’s the one, isn’t he?”

  “We can’t be sure.”

  “He’s been typing and mailing his own work. Even though he’s not supposed to, he locks his office door. The firm doesn’t do immigration. He’s the one.”

  “Even if he is, do you think he’s capable of murder?”

  “I didn’t think he was capable of swiping pencils from work before we found these papers.”

  Todd put the papers back where they had found them.

  “Let’s go.”

  “To the police?”

  “Are you crazy?”

  “But we have the evidence.”

  “All we know is that maybe, and let me emphasize maybe, Stu Lester is dealing with illegal aliens. That’s all we know.”

  Amy was disappointed. But at least they had a lead, she consoled herself. She was determined to prove Todd innocent. She was also uncomfortable knowing she had opened the firm’s books to a fraud; at least she
wanted to prove he wasn’t a murderer.

  Chapter 10

  So, Where Do You Live?

  “You’d better get some sleep,” Todd said, locking the apartment door.

  “It’s almost time for me to get up.”

  “I’m sorry, Amy. I wish you had followed my instructions.”

  “Then you wouldn’t have known who the murderer was.”

  “Stuart Lester may not be the one who killed Joey.”

  “But the evidence points to him.”

  “Maybe he’s dealing in illegal alien traffic, then again, what he’s doing could be legit. Besides, I’m not certain that the person who killed Joey was actually involved with the alien matter at all.”

  “What should I look for?”

  “What?”

  “Should I copy down all the names of his clients and anyone who has an appointment with him?”

  “You should mind your own business.”

  “But ever since you barged into my apartment uninvited, it’s been my business.”

  “In a few days I’ll be leaving. And here, you’d better take this hat back.”

  “How can I do that? Just go in and say I borrowed the hat for an evening? Thank you very much. Anyway, it looks good on you,” she said, rubbing her hand across the soft brown felt of the brim.

  Todd grabbed the hat out of her hands, flinging it on the couch.

  “Go to bed.”

  Miffed, Amy turned away from him and headed for her bedroom.

  Todd plopped down on the couch. He wasn’t certain they had found any hard evidence. It seemed to come too easily, and he didn’t like the chances Amy was willing to take. Todd rubbed his eyes with the balls of his palms while remembering how crazy he had gotten earlier in the evening, worrying about where she was and how exposed he may have left her. He realized he should never have asked for her help. She was too enticing. It felt too good to be near her. If he hadn’t been so moved by her, he wouldn’t have gone to the beach the night Joey was murdered. Perhaps he could have saved his partner’s life. Hell, that was the problem with Amy, she was too much of a diversion. She channeled his energies into an emotional mode that could also cost his life... or someone else’s.

  He stretched his body across the uncomfortable couch. One leg rested atop the back of the couch, the other lay on the armrest. He closed his eyes and fell into a disturbed sleep, reliving the discovery of the dead body on the floor of his bathroom, except this time it was Amy.

  The next morning Amy slipped out of the apartment without waking Todd. Since her mind was fuzzy from the lack of sleep, she stopped to pick up two cups of black coffee before entering the office.

  Trudy opened her mouth and pointed at one of her teeth as soon as she saw Amy. After setting her coffees on the reception desk, Amy ripped the lid off one cup while Trudy made distorted noises. First Amy took a long drink of the coffee, then peered inside Trudy’s mouth.

  “What am I looking for?”

  “Nathan did one of my fillings last night.” Again Trudy’s mouth popped wide open, and she laid an index finger on a back molar.

  “It’s beautiful.”

  Amy joined Mr. Pickens in the conference room.

  “I won’t be needing any more of Mr. Lester’s material. You can return all his papers to him.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “He’s been hassling me quite enough. Even called me at home last night to question me about how long I would be here.”

  “He’s never complained before,” Amy said out loud to herself.

  “Well, he is now,” Mr. Pickens responded. “Get his stuff out of here.”

  Amy returned the material to Stuart Lester’s secretary then spent the rest of the day slipping around hallways, trying to keep tabs on Stuart. She wanted desperately to collect more evidence, so that they could pin more than illegal alien entry on the lawyer. The only unusual occurrence was the fact that Stuart and Teddy secreted themselves together in an office for several hours.

  “Teddy, I notice you’ve been spending a lot of time with Stuart,” Amy blatantly asked at the end of the day.

  Teddy had been putting on a light jacket.

  “I’m helping to get a case together that should be going to trial soon. The court gave Stuart a beeper the other day, so that they could call him in as soon as they had the case scheduled.”

  “Oh.”

  “You sound disappointed. What did you think we were up to?”

  “It wouldn’t be about some illegal aliens, would it?” she brazenly inquired.

  “What? Oh, you mean the case. Naw, you should know we don’t deal with immigration issues here.”

  After Teddy left, Amy wondered whether she should stay late again. Todd wouldn’t like that and she certainly was tired. But Todd didn’t have time on his side. Just then the telephone rang.

  “Leave,” she heard Todd say to her salutation.

  “But...”

  “Leave, or I’ll come and get you right now.”

  “You can’t do that. There are still people here, and it isn’t dark enough for you to leave the apartment.”

  “Amy, I swear, if you don’t leave now, I’ll either be marching into that office within a half hour, or I’ll be sitting in jail.”

  “I’m leaving.” Amy slammed down the receiver. Idiot, she thought, didn’t he realize that he needed her help? He couldn’t rifle through the documents on file in the law office. She could barely get access to most of them.

  By the time she got home, she had built up a fury, and Todd didn’t lessen her rage by ignoring her when she berated him for his unreasonable behavior. Finally, at dinner there was a freezing silence between the two. Todd’s chin and jaw were covered with the dark beginnings of a beard. His hair, which had been on the long side, was falling low over his forehead. His eyes now seemed to gleam among his hooded features.

  “You’re not leaving, are you?” Amy’s voice was soft as she patted down the lumpy mashed potatoes. He wasn’t as good a cook as he had promised.

  “In another few days I’ll be taking the cowboy hat and riding into the sunset.”

  “That’s not wise.”

  “Amy, I appreciate all you’ve done, but I have to get out there and find out what the hell happened.”

  “Let me do it for you,” she said, reaching for his hand. He, too, was playing with his food.

  “You don’t understand what could happen to you, do you? When I found Joey he was awash in blood, with his guts spilling out.”

  Amy raised her napkin to her mouth.

  “I’m sorry, but maybe you need to be shocked into comprehension, because, lady, that could be you some day if you don’t keep out of this.”

  “Okay. Go out evenings and see what you can find out, but then stay here during daylight hours.”

  “I’m not going to bring danger to your front door, Amy.”

  Todd got up from the stool, leaving most of his dinner in the checkered plate. Swiftly Amy cleaned up then joined him. Once she sat down he used the remote control to turn on the television and flipped through noisy channels.

  “There’s no news, Todd, and I know you can’t stand most of the shows. You’ve complained several times about the trash on the air waves. Can’t we talk and come to a compromise?”

  He muted the sound.

  “Compromise?”

  “If you won’t stay here, at least keep in touch with me somehow.”

  Todd shook his head.

  “You owe it to me, Todd. What if after you leave, someone finds out you had been here and comes looking for you? What if I get into trouble with these people because I don’t know where you are? I’m involved. The minute you took me out to dinner, I became involved. Trudy knows I was with you that evening, and she has a big mouth.”

  He grimaced and flung the remote control on the floor.

  “Don’t be angry,” she said, rubbing her fingers on the back of his neck. His hair was soft and thick. “Please, don’t block me out.”r />
  Todd pulled her closer and buried his face in the warmth of her neck, sensing the throbbing of her pulse and the sensual smell of her perfume. He nipped her earlobe and let his tongue taste the contrast of the tiny diamond earring against her softer skin. Hard, impenetrable stone against yielding flesh. How like himself, in contrast to her, he thought, while exploring further into the convolutions of her ear. He heard her murmur a sound. Not a word, but a simple sigh of longing. Todd began covering her face with kisses, speeding up his journey to her luscious mouth. His tongue slipped between her lips and felt her teeth rake gently across his sensitive taste buds. The sweetness of the nectar she had had with the meal still lingered and inspired a deeper plunge inside the walls of her mouth. Her hand had moved up through his hair and pulled him closer. She wanted him to enter deep and fast, he knew. His own hands worked her clothes, opening buttons, popping those that would not undo quickly enough. A need to reach the ripeness of her breasts and the silky wetness of her arose in him.

  With most of her clothes discarded, Amy lay back on the couch and savored Todd’s weight. She could feel the hardness of him push rhythmically against her mound, prevented from entering by the thin silken cover of her bikini and the rough denim of his jeans. His hand was under her bra, teasing her nipple to a tight taut erection. Amy raised herself and reached around to undo her bra, allowing him to push the material up over her full breasts. As he pulled her bra off his tongue slid down her throat to her breasts and rounded the pinkish brown tips.

  The telephone rang, jolting Todd’s mind back to the dangers that hovered over this match. He pulled away from her.

  “Answer it,” he demanded.

  Confused, Amy obeyed.

  “Hello?”

  “Is Todd there?”

  Amy froze. Her eyes were wide, and she held the phone out to Todd. He took it and listened until the voice repeated,

  “Is Todd there?” The voice was hoarse, obviously disguised, Todd knew. He cradled the receiver.

  “Get your clothes on.” His tone was harsh, steely.

  “But maybe it was a wrong number.”

  “Get your clothes on,” he repeated.