Landslide

by Robin Mahle

  She understood Sanchez’s meaning, but his choice of words sent chills down her spine. “You didn’t see what I saw in him today. If I walk away now, he’s going to know something is wrong.”

  Agent Huffman returned with Colin, who was still dressed in his golf attire.

  “Claire.” Colin pushed his way inside and knelt down next to her. “Are you okay? What are we doing here?”

  “Mr. McKenna, I know we haven’t officially met, but I’m Agent Gordon Sanchez. I’m investigating the embezzlement charges against Beth Graves at WFC. You already met Agent Huffman and this is Detective Vance, Seattle PD.”

  Colin stood up, shaking the men’s hands. “Colin McKenna. Pleased to meet you. I apologize for my appearance. I was on the golf course.”

  “Please, no need to apologize for getting in a round of golf on a dry Saturday morning. I’m just sorry you had to leave.” Sanchez seemed to want to lighten the growing tension.

  “Claire asked me to come and meet her here.” Colin sat down next to his wife while the agents proceeded to inform him where they were on the investigation and why Claire had come by to see them this morning.

  “So you think Evan Winters knows what happened to Charlie, may even be responsible for his disappearance, and you want to keep working for him?” Colin shook his head. “My God, Claire. Do you know how much danger you’ve already put yourself in?” Colin looked around at the men as if wondering how they could allow this to continue. “Didn’t we already have this discussion, Claire? I knew this would happen. You think because Charlie’s gone missing that it’s reason enough for you to keep tabs on Winters? For God’s sake, if anything, it’s only solidified reasons against it. You need to leave this to the professionals. You see these three men right here?” He extended his arm as if presenting the men around her. “They are the ones getting paid to risk their lives, not you.”

  “Mr. McKenna, I completely understand your hesitation,” Sanchez started.

  “Hesitation? I’m sorry, but is she your wife? Would you ask your wife to put herself in danger?”

  “That’s not what we’re asking of Claire, Mr. McKenna. She’s only being asked to continue with her job. She is in a position of authority now and has the ability to discreetly send information our way. Nothing more than what she’s already been doing. But in light of what we suspect, this may only be an interim measure.” Agent Sanchez looked to Claire, suggesting she not take this to any further extent.

  Colin hadn’t been in on the earlier discussion and maybe she should just explain why she believed she had to continue. “But it’s more than that, Colin,” Claire began. “I feel as though I could have convinced Charlie to work with me. He was having second thoughts.”

  “Second thoughts about what? So you’re saying he was in on it too and you know this for a fact? What about Lucas? And for that matter, where is Charlie now, Claire?” Colin interrupted.

  She looked to the detective. “I think Charlie was going to figure a way out and when Winters got wind of it, he made him disappear.”

  Colin jumped from his chair, appearing completely astounded by the direction the conversation had taken. “This is supposed to make me feel better?” Colin asked.

  “Look, set this whole Charlie Monroe situation aside, because we don’t actually know anything yet. With your continued help, Claire, we can go on as we have been for the past few weeks. Nothing more.” Sanchez turned to Colin. “Mr. McKenna, I can assure you that if it turns out Winters has any culpability in the disappearance of Monroe, we’ll make sure Claire and your family are safe.”

  “I’m sorry I asked you here, Colin. I just didn’t want to keep it a secret. You said to me that you would stand behind my decision to see that Beth’s name was cleared. Nothing’s changed and I still intend to help.”

  “Nothing’s changed? Everything’s changed, Claire!”

  Agent Huffman moved towards Colin, taking his arm. “Mr. McKenna, please calm down.”

  Colin yanked his arm away. “As far as I’m concerned, you are the only one that matters. I’m sorry your friend got caught up in this and I’m really sorry that Charlie is missing. I know what he meant to you. But you need to quit this damn job and forget any of this ever happened.”

  “I can’t.” Claire lowered her head. He wouldn’t understand that she was only doing this to ensure her safety and that of their family. She understood now that Winters was dangerous, but running away from him would only make matters worse. Until the men in that room could find the evidence, find Charlie, she was left on her own to figure it out.

  “Mr. McKenna,” Detective Vance started. “This is the first I’m getting wind of all of this and I understand your point of view. If it were me, well, let’s just say that I’d probably have pulled my wife out of this room and left the city already. But if Claire is right; that could end up being a costly mistake. Now that we understand the situation, we can take precautions. Your family, Claire; we can make sure they stay safe. These guys,” Vance pointed to the agents. “They can only do so much, but I can do a great deal more. This is my jurisdiction and if I have reason to believe Charlie Monroe disappeared under suspicious circumstances, then I can ensure your family stays safe, including Claire. She can continue to help the FBI in any way she can while I do my part to find out what happened to Monroe. Once I get an opportunity to discuss this with his wife, open a formal investigation, if need be, then I can gather the information to determine if Winters was involved. At that point, she’s out. I promise you. They’ll be no need to go any further. These guys will get what they want, and I’ll get what I want.”

  Colin looked at Claire. Anger was written all over his face and she knew the worst was yet to come. But maybe Detective Vance’s words had gotten through to him.

  “How long will it take?” Colin asked the detective.

  “So far as I know, we have no missing persons report, but in the event one is filed today, assuming Mrs. Monroe still hasn’t heard from her husband, then we’ll begin looking for him right away. Thanks to Claire, we’ll have a place to start.”

  “As soon as you even think that Winters is involved, she’s done. Out. You understand?”

  That was enough. Claire knew not to push it any further. “They’re monitoring the company cell phones.” Claire reached into her purse and pulled out two phones. “I started using this one a few days ago, but here’s my company cell.” She continued as if the situation had been resolved, even if it appeared Colin wasn’t completely ready to surrender.

  Huffman took hold of it. “I’ll work to get the call records too. I think we have enough to warrant that, don’t you, Gordon, Detective Vance?”

  “If she’s had communications from Monroe, then you’d better believe we do. These messages he sent, they’re still on the phone?” Vance asked.

  “Yes. The voicemail and texts.”

  “Are we done here?” Colin asked, reaching for Claire’s arm.

  “Yes. Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. and Mrs. McKenna.” Sanchez replied.

  He tugged on Claire’s arm. She did not resist and followed him out.

  “Go with them, Derek. They won’t be able to get out and do your best to calm Mr. McKenna,” Sanchez said.

  “I’ll see what’s going on with Monroe’s wife. Tell her Claire contacted me. What are the chances of getting inside Winters’ office?” Vance asked, appearing to want to waste no further time.

  “I’ve tried. He’s only being as cooperative as necessary, which is to say, not really at all.”

  “So, what do you really have on the guy?”

  “We’ve been watching WFC for a while. Their revenues had shown marked increases over the past two years without a substantial change in growth. Not entirely unusual, but last year at an industry conference, I was approached by one of our agents who resides in the SEC’s enforcement office. Most people don’t realize that there’s actually a good deal of shared information between the SEC Office of Compliance and the FBI. Anyway
, this agent introduced me to an SEC examiner. He was growing concerned over what he was seeing in the WFC filings.

  “That was when we started looking into some of the people there, getting a handle on how they did business. Although we were building our profiles, it really wasn’t until they let Beth Graves go for supposedly falsifying reports on their client Sea-Tech and learning that money had been stolen that we had an opportunity to really get our foot in the door. But Winters has done an excellent job steering clear of any connections. Up until recently, I wasn’t sure the guy was involved at all. I suspected Monroe and possibly Abbott only because he couldn’t do much without higher authority and Sea-Tech was under his region.”

  “Didn’t you mention that Graves refused protection?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Seems a little strange, doesn’t it?”

  “Depends on who you ask. She decided to stop cooperating.”

  “You think someone got to her?”

  Sanchez got up from his chair and moved towards the door. “Either that, or she just got herself a nice big payoff to keep her mouth shut. She’s scared, either way, but she’ll serve time if we find a link between Sea-Tech’s money and her. I’m not sure that fact has sunk in for her yet.”

  “Maybe she’d rather take the fall than risk her safety.”

  ***

  Claire stood beneath the small overhang on Beth’s porch. No car in the driveway, but a few lights were still on. It was almost ten o’clock and Claire knew she had to be home. She was worried for Beth’s safety, now that Charlie was missing and her calls had remained unanswered.

  Colin waited in their car, pulled up alongside the front yard. It was cold and dark and the rain was just starting to fall. The hollow sound of the drops slowly falling on the hood of the car echoed in his ears. He would not take his eyes off of Claire. She’d insisted on coming here and he wasn’t about to let her come alone.

  After several knocks, the door finally opened only slightly. Beth stood before her, appearing gaunt, her bloodshot eyes surrounded by dark circles, her hair hardly brushed.

  “Oh my God, Beth. Are you all right? Jesus, you look like hell.” Claire attempted to walk in, but Beth stopped her.

  Her eyes shifted back and forth before landing on Claire. “What are you doing here? You have to leave.”

  “What? No, I’m not leaving. I came to make sure you were okay. I’ve been trying to reach you for days.”

  “Please—go now.” Beth started to close the door.

  Claire thrust her foot to keep it open. “Beth? What’s going on with you? Why won’t you talk to me? I’ve been worried sick and, clearly, you need some help.”

  “I can’t talk to you. I can’t talk to anyone.” Her voice dropped low as she scanned the area again. “You have to stop now. It’s too dangerous.”

  “Who have you been talking to?”

  As Beth closed her eyes, a teardrop forced its way down her pallid cheek. “Please, just leave me alone.”

  “Where are the kids?” Claire tried to look inside, but Beth was holding the door too close to her body.

  “They’re fine and they’ll stay fine so long as I don’t talk to you or the FBI. Now please, leave!” Beth pushed the door hard against Claire’s foot.

  She finally retreated and the door closed in her face. Claire turned to see Colin staring intently. She pulled her coat up over her head and ran through the yard to the waiting car. The rain was coming down harder now and the water was beginning to flow in the gutters. Colin reached over to open the passenger door and Claire slid into the seat.

  “She’s terrified, Colin. Beth is absolutely terrified. Someone’s still got a hold of her. They’re threatening her kids if she talks to anyone, even me.” She peeled off the wet coat and shook her hair.

  Colin started up the engine and pulled away, saying nothing.

  On the other side of the street, a black Dodge Charger was parked two houses away. A few minutes after Colin pulled out, the car roared to life. In the shadow of darkness and rain, it slowly rolled down the street, no headlights and, when it reached Beth’s house, Detective Vance looked across through the passenger window. The curtains quickly dropped closed and the light in the window extinguished.

  ***

  Colin held the kitchen door open until Claire walked through. He hadn’t said much since they left the FBI office. They’d stopped home briefly to take the kids to Claire’s mother’s house at her insistence. It was time to tell him the truth. She’d had the chance last night, but couldn’t bring herself to do it. But now, after everything that had happened—Charlie, the FBI—she couldn’t keep it from him any longer. His earlier reluctance would seem nothing compared to his presumed reaction to this new information that awaited him. She was terrified he would leave her, but hoped she could convince him it was all the more reason to see this thing through.

  “You want a drink?” Colin asked, retrieving the vodka from the freezer.

  “Sure.” She attempted a thin smile, but could hardly manage one, considering his obvious anger.

  “There’s something else I wanted to tell you—alone.”

  “Oh yeah?” He slammed the glasses down on the counter hard enough to shatter them, but they withstood the abuse.

  “There’s a reason I have to keep going, Colin. A reason that I’m fairly confident you won’t be happy with.”

  He pushed the drink towards Claire as she sat down opposite him at the breakfast bar. “You might as well tell me, then.”

  “The reason I have no choice but to continue to help with the investigation is that I believe Winters has become…” She hesitated to use the word obsessed. It seemed so harsh, but what other description was there? “...infatuated with me.”

  “Infatuated?” Colin took a swig of his drink. “So I was correct in assuming he had designs on you? You seemed so obstinate about it. Why would this make you believe your cooperation was necessary? If it were me…”

  “I slept with him, Colin. In Portland.” She wanted to explain before he might see his chance to simply walk out the door. “I was drunk. I don’t remember any of it. I’m so sorry.” Hers eyes quickly reddened as she worked to steady her trembling hands.

  Colin’s chest began to rise and fall with increasing severity. She could only imagine what was going on in his head. She’d done the unthinkable, drunk or not.

  “You fucking whore!” He slammed his fist down on the countertop.

  Startled, she had to continue. “Please, I swear to you, I don’t remember any of it. I have no idea what happened.” Claire realized how she must have sounded. It seemed a pathetic lie, but she had to convince him it was anything but.

  “Well, isn’t that convenient? I was drunk, I don’t remember.” He raised his voice to emulate hers and threw the rest of his drink down his gullet. “I knew that son of bitch was trying to get into your pants. Who the hell sends a $300 bottle of champagne and a massive bouquet of flowers to their employee? Not someone who had no interest in the person, I can tell you that much. Goddamn it, Claire! How could you do this to us? To our family?”

  “I have no defense.” She couldn’t stop the tears now. “I honest to God have no memory of any of it. I would never lie to you, you know that.”

  Colin shook his head, a sarcastic smirk spreading across is lips. “You’ve been back, what, like two or three days, and this is the first you’ve said anything. If you weren’t lying to me, then why not tell me when you got home? Why wait until now?”

  “Because I was afraid. Terrified, actually, that you would just walk out without giving me a chance to explain.”

  Colin looked at her with cold, apathetic eyes.

  “Charlie was blackmailing me. He had—pictures.”

  “Oh my God.” Colin stumbled back in disgust. “Pictures? Of you and Winters fucking? Jesus, I think I’m gonna be sick.” He dropped his head, grabbing onto the bar top to steady himself.

  “No. They were of both of us entering my hotel room,
and him leaving a few hours later. Charlie threatened that he would send them to you if I didn’t keep my mouth shut about the scam. And when I went to talk to Evan about it, that’s when I knew. I knew there had to be more to it, but I didn’t have the proof. I’m telling you, baby, I don’t remember anything.”

  “How do you know you slept with him then?”

  The only pictures that existed showed Evan helping her into the room and then leaving. Nothing else. But she knew better. She knew exactly what’d she’d done the next day. No point in denying it. And then there was Evan. It would only take a call to him to answer the question. The pictures would have been enough to bring the issue to light and in the end, that was what Charlie had wanted. As it turned out, it seemed that was what Evan may have wanted more so than Charlie.

  “I just know.”

  “So you remember something, then?” He was becoming increasingly caustic. “Why didn’t you go to the police? Tell them you’d been raped. Or for that matter, why the hell didn’t you tell me? Your goddamn husband!”

  “When I went to see him, to tell him what Charlie had done, it was as if he already knew. I was so afraid and I wanted to tell you, but I knew it would go just like this.”

  “I’m sorry, but how the hell did you think this would play out?” Colin paced the kitchen, shaking his head.

  “It’s just that I hardly had anything to drink, I swear. But it was like I had blacked out and when I woke up, I realized something had happened.”

  “Stop. Just stop. I don’t want to hear anymore. I need to get the hell out of here.” Colin stormed into the foyer and snatched his coat from the hanger.

  All Claire heard was the slamming of the door. He was gone.

  CHAPTER 16

  THE WFC TOWER began to illuminate in the approaching nightfall. It’s bluish light casting an aura similar to those of the surrounding buildings that were also lighting up the darkening sky. The stars, blocked by the artificial glow, retreated to places less inhabited.