“About us. Sounds intriguing. What did you have in mind?”
“I want us to start over. I mean I want to start over with you. I know it’s a little late to pretend nothing has happened between us, but I want us to start fresh. Honest, without any lies or any games.”
“What are you talking about, David? I haven’t lied to you about anything.” I searched his eyes. “Have you lied to me about something?”
“I have…I have been lying to myself all along. There’s something I’ve wanted to tell you ever since that night you came to my flop of a showing. I was too scared at the time to say anything, but now….” He stopped dancing and held me close. “I love you, Nicci. More than anyone I have ever known. I don’t want to lose you, but I’m afraid—”
Sammy appeared behind David and tapped him on the shoulder. He let go of me and spun around.
“How sweet,” she professed in a saccharine voice. “You two make the cutest couple. I have to steal your man away for a minute, Nicci. There’s a banker here who has a keen interest in art and I want David to meet him.” She scowled at David.
“We’ll pick this up later. I’ll be back in a moment.” He squeezed my hand and went off with Sammy.
I stood on the dance floor completely flabbergasted. In one sentence the man told me that he loved me, and in the next breath he was off with his former lover to talk about art.
I stomped my foot on the floor. “I’m not going to stand by and let Sammy dictate the terms of this relationship.”
I hurried after Sammy and David. Pushing my way through a small crowd of people, I found myself outside on the white stone steps to the building. There were six massive fluted columns lining the entrance. I searched the portico but there was no sign of Sammy or David. Then, I heard a familiar voice.
“No! Damn it, Sammy, no! I told you, I have had enough of this stupid deal.” It was David. His voice was coming from behind one of the columns to my right.
I approached cautiously and hovered behind the stone structure, just out of sight.
“Keep your voice down.” It was Sammy. “Do you want everyone to hear? You had better do as you’re told, or I’ll stop the deposits into that bank account of yours in Zurich. I want you to tell him that the deal goes down in three days. Everyone is in place. Push Beauvoir to buy the stock, as soon as possible. Once my engineer’s report that the leases are worthless, the drilling stock will crumble and Beauvoir Scrap with it.”
“Sammy, you are not listening to me. I said no. I mean it this time. I’m not going through with this anymore. These are good people.”
“Do I care if they’re good people? Since when has that stopped the likes of you? I hired you because I was told you were the best there was in this game. Sleeping with that little bitch was a bonus. I told you to seduce her, not to fall for her. You were supposed to just go in there, win everybody’s confidence, feed them the false information, and get out. Now you’re telling me you don’t want to hurt anybody. Please,” she scoffed. “I’ve got millions riding on in this deal. And I’m not about to change gears now. You had better do as you are told.” Then she laughed. It was an evil sounding laugh that chilled my bones. “I was guaranteed results by your employer. Are you trying to tell me, David, that now you want to settle down with this little scrap of a girl and paint pictures? I don’t believe it. The best spy in the business does not give up everything for, what would we call this…love?”
I was glued to my spot. My heart wanted to run away, but my mind was determined to listen. Tears were streaming down my face, and I could not find the strength to wipe them away.
There was the sound of David’s hand smacking the side of the column in front of me. “I told you, Sammy, I’m done with this.”
“You’d better think twice about that. I could go in there right now and tell that girl everything. All the nights you came to me after she had just left you. You could never be satisfied with that silly little thing. You always preferred real women on your own level. You told me so the day after Val’s party. What did you compare that night to…your first high school prom?”
“Don’t talk about her like that!”
“Well, my, my. The tiger has a heart, after all.” Sammy’s voice deepened. “You had better think hard about this, David. I could hurt you a lot more than you know. Screw this up and you will never see that girl again.”
“What are you saying?” His voice was strained.
“Accidents happen. Now get Beauvoir to buy the phony stock and she won’t get hurt.”
“I should just kill you now and end all of this,” he hissed.
“You won’t. Admit it. You like the smell of money more than the smell of blood. Three days.” Her heels ticked on the cement, as she came out from behind column and strutted back to the entrance.
She slithered back into the crowd milling around outside the door, smiling at all the guests and shaking hands. I could still hear David’s heavy breathing just on the other side of the column.
“Nicci?” a voice softly said.
Eddie appeared. “Are you all right?” he implored.
David was instantly in front of me, startling Eddie. I could not look into David’s face. I just kept my eyes on the ground, watching my tears fall like raindrops against the cold stone.
“What did you do to her?” Eddie yelled. When I looked up, I saw him going after David.
David quickly moved to the side and Eddie went tumbling down the long row of steps to the street. When he settled at the bottom, he did not move.
“Eddie!” I screamed.
David’s hand clamped down on my forearm. He pulled me back against the building, while I struggled furiously against his grip.
“Let me go!” I hollered.
People around us were already making their way down the steps to Eddie.
“What did you hear?” David’s voice was drenched in panic.
“Everything. I heard everything.” The tears streamed down my face. “Get the hell away from me.” I shook off his hand and headed toward the steps.
Suddenly, someone grabbed my shoulder and spun me around. It was my father.
“Nic, what’s going on?” he demanded.
David joined us. “Bill, I need to speak with you, now,” he pleaded.
I jerked away from David’s side. “Dad, don’t listen to him! He’s some kind of spy working for Sammy. He meant to talk you into buying those stocks. The leases he told you about are worthless. That is how Sammy was going to destroy Beauvoir Scrap. She was going to make you lose money in a bad investment and then buy you out.”
My father faced David. “Is this true?”
David nervously rubbed his hand over his chin. “I need to speak with you, Bill,” he softly said. “Yes, it is true. But you have to believe me. I want to protect you from what Sammy has planned.”
A shrill scream cut through the night air. Sammy emerged from the crowd. “Oh, my baby! My baby boy!” When she saw David standing next to my father and me, she froze. “You did this!” She pointed at David. “You bastard. You hurt my little boy.” She moved, as if to leap at David, but my father and another man held her back.
Sammy was escorted back inside while two men helped an unsteady Eddie up the steps.
My father returned to my side. “I’ll need to talk to you about all of this. Would you be willing to repeat everything to my lawyer?”
David nodded and his eyes found mine, but I could not stand to look at him.
“Nicci, I’ll take you home first,” my father affirmed. “Let’s go find Uncle Ned.” He put his arm around me and we headed back toward the reception hall entrance.
Before we stepped inside Gallier Hall, I saw David bounding down the steps and into the darkness.
A short time later, Eddie was hauled off in an ambulance along with his mother and new wife. Colleen had to be given a sedative, but it was Aunt Hattie who kept her cool during the entire affair. I have to admit, I was amazed. She kept going around to all
the guests, trying to reassure them that everything was fine, and to go on with the party. Even so, most of them departed after the ambulance. I guess they figured there was no point in celebrating when the bride and groom were in the local emergency room.
The reception was winding down when my father met up with my Uncle Ned. While the two men disappeared into a quiet room in the back of the hall, I took a seat on one of the chairs next to the empty dance floor.
I had been sitting there for no more than a few minutes when Dr. Fagles approached.
“Are you all right?” he inquired, taking the seat next to me.
I wiped the tears away from my cheek. “No.”
“I know this must be very traumatic for you. It’s all right to be upset. It is okay to cry, Nicci.”
I glanced over at him in dismay. I wasn’t sure if I was being treated as a potential client, or a potential girlfriend. “It’s nothing.” I tried to collect myself. “I’m fine.”
“Are you sure?” He patted my hand. “I can take you home, if you like?”
“That’s a good idea.” My father’s voice made me flinch. “Take her home for me. Get her out of here.” He peered down at me, his wide brow furrowed with worry. “Nicci, I’m going over to the office with your Uncle Ned. I’ll meet you at home later.”
“What…what about…?” I stumbled through the words.
“If he shows up, let him wait on the porch for me. You don’t have to speak to him again. I doubt seriously if he’ll show.”
I looked up at my father, trying to imagine what was going through his mind at that moment, but he seemed as numb as I felt. He turned to Michael, mumbled some directions to our house and then walked away.
Michael offered me his hand. “I guess that’s it, then.”
I clasped his hand and let him help me up from the chair. The weight of standing seemed to be too much and I was sure I would topple over.
Michael put his arm around me. “Lean on me,” he instructed. “I’ll help you escape from this mess.”
Desperate to believe him, I did as I was told.
***
Dr. Michael Fagles talked during the entire drive home. Fortunately, I was spared the necessity of having to participate.
“I had many of the residents I was working with tell me I was very talented, especially in neurology. I even had a few professors who tried to persuade me into going into cardiology. They said I had the temperament for it. However, I knew only psychiatry would give me the lifestyle I wanted.” He would glance over at me every now and then. “I don’t like to use the term wacko, but for some patients that’s the only term that fits. I have had a wide variety of weird ones. I guess all psychiatrists get their unforgettable patients, but sometimes I think I have had more than my fair share. I remember this one lady who thought she was continually in labor. She would grunt and strain all the time. It was really nerve-racking trying to have a session with her.” He rambled on.
Finally, we arrived at my house, and he drove his red Porsche up to the garage. I had not even realized the engine was turned off when he appeared at my car door, rousing me from my stupor.
“I’ll come in and wait for your father to get back,” he maintained, after opening the door.
With a little difficulty, I stood from the car. “No, that won’t be necessary. I can manage.”
“You shouldn’t be alone. Or are you expecting someone else?” His blue eyes casually browsed my face. “I only ask because you father gave me the impression someone else was coming. I could wait until they arrive.”
My lips were icy and it was hard to talk. “No, there’s no one else coming.”
He offered me his arm, and I gratefully took it. We slowly made our way to the door, climbing the porch steps one at a time. I caught sight of Michael’s face as we made our way up the steps. His concern was obvious. Reaching the door, I fumbled in my purse for my keys. The purse fell from my hands and Michael bent over to pick it up for me.
“I’m going to stay with you until your father gets back.” He found my keys and opened the front door.
“Really, Dr. Fagles.”
“Michael,” he insisted.
“Really, Michael, I’m fine. I just had too much champagne.”
“I wouldn’t be a very good psychiatrist if I didn’t know the difference between champagne and what you’re exhibiting.”
Michael closed the door, as I stepped into the entrance hall. Being back safely inside my home, made the events of the entire evening seem surreal. I was debating what to do next, when I felt Michael’s arm slip around my shoulders.
I don’t remember anything after that. The world went black.
Chapter 14
I came out of my darkness to discover I was laid out on the living room sofa. There was a cool hand towel over my eyes, blessedly blocking out any light. My father’s voice rumbled somewhere in the distance, and then an unfamiliar voice answered.
“It’s some kind of mild shock. Whatever happened at that wedding hit her pretty hard. Just let her rest for a few days. Physically, she’s fine. It’s the emotional repercussions you have to watch out for.”
“Thank you, Dr. Fagles, for everything. If you hadn’t been here…I should have never left her alone.” I could hear my father pacing in the entrance hall as he spoke.
“Don’t worry. She’s a strong woman.” There was a moment of silence and I heard the front door open. “Call me if you need anything. I’m only a few minutes away.”
My father mumbled some response then closed the door. I could hear the oak floors moan under his weight, as he came over to the sofa and sat down next to me.
“I’m not having a breakdown or anything like that,” I announced, my eyes still closed. “It must have been a combination of champagne and all the rest.” I removed the hand towel and sat up.
My father took my hand. “I was worried. Thank God, that young man was here. I came home about ten minutes after you passed out.” He shook his head. “Been one hell of a night, huh?”
“That is an understatement.” I rubbed my face. Every nerve in my body felt raw and exposed. “I thought you were going to the office with Ned.”
“Hattie had other plans. She dragged Ned to the emergency room to check on Colleen.” He moved closer to me on the sofa.
“Everyone okay?” I questioned.
“They’re fine. Eddie has a broken nose and a wrenched shoulder. Sammy and Colleen were sent home. They’re going to keep Eddie overnight for observation, something about a concussion. So much for his wedding night.” My father put his arm around me.
“David didn’t hit him.”
“I know. There were several people around who saw Eddie take a dive down the steps.” My father sat very still for a moment, and then he uttered a very loud sigh. “I need to know what David told you.”
My body sagged into the sofa and I took a deep breath, trying to clear my head. “I overheard David and Sammy arguing about a deal. The plan apparently was to have David use me to build a relationship with you and gain your trust. Then when Sammy gave the word, David was to encourage you to buy up her stock. The information on the oil leases was false. They wanted you to spend everything you had on the stocks and when the real information came out in three days, you would be ruined.”
“Go on,” he encouraged.
“David said he wanted out of the deal because he thought we were good people…or something like that, and then Sammy threatened to expose him.”
He arched an eyebrow. “That’s it?”
“Yes, that’s all.” I could tell he didn’t believe me, but he didn’t press the issue.
“Okay. I spoke with Ned briefly and he says no real damage has been done to our company. We hadn’t bought up any of the stock, yet. I was waiting for payment on a big shipment we delivered a month ago. The money was to be wired into our accounts tomorrow.” The phone in the entrance hall started ringing. “It’s probably Ned. He said he was going to call me on the house line.”
My father got up from the sofa and went to the phone.
I heard his muffled voice in the background, as I rearranged myself on the sofa. It wasn’t until Dad started yelling that I realized it wasn’t Ned on the phone. I got up from the sofa and went to the doorway to eavesdrop.
“You’ve got some nerve calling me at home, after all the shit you put my daughter through. I don’t give a damn what has happened between us, Sammy, but if you ever get Nicci involved in any of this again, I’ll destroy you.” There was a moment of silence and then I heard him laugh. “I’ve got enough to put you away for a long time. What would be the fun in that? Then my only adversary would be gone and business would get boring. Just watch your step from now on.” There was more silence. “No, I don’t know where your spy boy went.” He slammed down the phone.
I ran back to the sofa and got comfortable. A few minutes later, Dad came back into the room and took a seat next to me.
“That wasn’t Ned, I take it.”
“No. It was Sammy calling to apologize for the confusion. She claims she never had any such plans concocted for the collapse of Beauvoir Scrap.”
“You don’t actually believe her?”
“Hell, no. Unfortunately, without David to prove anything I’ll have to let it go. Just chalk it up to another of her failed plots against me. I will keep my eyes open in the future, though. If anything, this whole episode has shown me how vulnerable the company is. We need to make changes, big changes.”
“What about David? What will happen to him?”
“I think he has probably skipped town by now. Men in David’s profession don’t hang around at the scene of the crime to find out what happened. They know how to disappear quickly. I’m sure he made plans for his departure long before he began this little caper. However, there’s one thing he didn’t count on.”
“What could that possibly be?” I whispered.
“You,” he disclosed. “Whatever his reasons were for getting involved with you, things didn’t turn out the way he planned.”
“I was just a diversion for him. Nothing more.” I got up from the sofa and trudged across the room to the mantle. My legs were like wet noodles.
The Nicci Beauvoir Collection: The Complete Nicci Beauvoir Series Page 17