Rondell put his arm around Michael’s shoulders. “That’s right. He’ll always be Danny Boy to me.” He squeezed Michael a little too tight. “What are you up to now? Do you live up this way?”
Michael’s skin was crawling under the weight of Rondell’s arm. “Oh, not too far away.” He slipped free by turning his chair to face Rondell.
Caroline narrowed her eyes in disapproval. “We live here in Westport. Only about ten minutes away, actually. This is our local.”
Don’t tell him anything. Michael waved frantically at the waiter. “The check, please,” he mouthed before smiling at Caroline. “Honey, we’re going to have to leave soon to make it back in time. You said you don’t want us to be late.”
“But we have time for another coffee. Won’t you join us, Ron?”
“That’s real kind of you. The name’s Rondell, by the way.”
“I’m sorry. I must have misheard you.”
The waiter came over with the check. Caroline ordered three coffees before Michael could do anything about it, and the waiter went to pick up the check to amend it.
“Don’t worry about that,” Rondell said to the waiter. “Put the coffees on my bar bill.”
“That’s very kind.” It was clear Caroline was charmed by their good-looking visitor.
Michael bit the inside of his lower lip. How long would he have to sit through this charade? He couldn’t stay here and watch Rondell tell Caroline everything. He had to get away from this slow car wreck, and quickly.
“Do you live here, too?” Caroline said.
“No. I’m not from around here. I had some business to take care of up this way. That’s all.” Rondell smirked at Michael. “I was sitting over at the bar with my guests and, as they left, I looked over here and spotted Danny. I just had to come over and say hi.”
Caroline threw her husband a quick look of disapproval. “So you’re here on business? What do you do?”
“It’s really boring. I’m an investment fund manager in New York.”
“Really,” Michael said, pretending to be interested for Caroline’s sake. He felt like smashing the grin right off Rondell’s face.
“What line of work are you in, Danny?” As Caroline was about to answer the question, Rondell raised his hand before she could say anything. “No. Let me guess.” Rondell looked Michael up and down and made out he was thinking. “I bet you’re a lawyer or something like that. You look like a big-shot lawyer to me.”
“Amazing,” Caroline said. “You guys should meet up in the city. Michael’s an equity partner at Dudek, Collins, & Hamilton.” She said the last part slowly and with pride.
“A partner at Dudek’s, eh? You always were a bright one.”
“And many of his clients are fund managers and investment banks.”
“Is that right?” Rondell’s face lit up. “As Caroline says, we ought to get together. I’m sure there’s a lot of business we could do.”
Michael stared at Rondell, but said nothing.
“That sounds like a great idea, doesn’t it, honey?” Caroline did her best to continue covering for her husband’s lack of effort.
Rondell scrolled through the calendar on his smartphone. “What are you doing on Friday? I’m free for lunch then if you are.”
Michael’s breathing started to return to its normal pace. Maybe Rondell wasn’t about to blurt out everything now after all. Maybe this was a warning shot, a reminder that he held Michael’s entire life in the palm of his hand. “I’d need to check my schedule, but if not Friday, some other time certainly.”
“Let’s really try to make it Friday.” Rondell turned his head to Caroline. “This is an unexpected bonus. First I bump into an old friend after all this time, and it turns out we might be able to do some business together.”
“Sure is a stroke of luck.” Caroline glared at Michael. “Isn’t it, darling?”
Rondell handed over a business card to Michael. “Here’s my card. Do you have one?”
Michael patted his suit pockets. “I must have left them in my briefcase. I’ll e-mail you my details.” His cards had their home telephone number printed on the back. They were used for clients who needed to contact him in the middle of a transaction. Rondell was not getting that number.
Caroline lifted her purse from the floor. “Don’t worry, I have some in here.” She took one from her silver card holder. “Michael’s still not used to giving out his new cards.”
Rondell tilted his head at her.
“He’s just had new ones printed up,” she said, sliding the card over to Rondell. “Look, they say equity partner on them.”
Rondell held the card up at arm’s length. “Man. I’m impressed. I bet you get to do some important deals at Dudek’s.” He stood up. “Well, I must leave you lovely people alone. I’ve taken far too much of your time already.” He extended his arm toward Michael.
Michael took his hand and shook it, though it turned his stomach.
Rondell held the grip for a split second longer than necessary. “It was great to see you again after all this time,” he said, before finally letting go of Michael’s hand. “I really hope we can meet up in New York on Friday.” He walked around the table to Caroline. “If I may?” Then he kissed her on both cheeks.
As Rondell walked back to the bar, Michael wanted to throw up.
Chapter 13
TEN YEARS OF MARRIAGE had taught Michael to recognize when Caroline was pissed at him. In fairness, stony silence was not a difficult signal for any man to spot. As messages went, this one was pretty obvious, and he deserved it. The pressure to say something was overwhelming, but what could he say that would make things better? Whatever he volunteered now would have to be another lie, but leaving Caroline upset wasn’t fair, either.
“You’re very quiet,” he said when they were about halfway home.
“And why do you think that is?” Caroline’s tone was laced with more than a hint of venom.
“Have I done something wrong?”
“You know full well.” She pursed her lips and gazed out of the car’s side window.
They pulled up at a red light, and he tried to look busy by squirting the jet washers at the windshield. “That’s better. I can see now.”
“You were rude to that man.”
“Who?”
“Don’t play games, Michael. You know exactly who I’m talking about.”
“If you mean Rondell, I hardly remember him. What was I supposed to say?”
Michael took his foot off the brake when the lights changed, checked his rearview mirror, and touched the gas. Normally second nature to him, suddenly all of his driving actions required immense concentration and elaborate movement; anything to avoid an argument with Caroline.
“You could see he was excited he bumped into you, and you treated him like something stuck to the bottom of your shoe.”
This row wasn’t going to go away. “Okay. I admit I was a little abrupt with him.”
“Abrupt? More like incredibly rude.”
“The truth is, I never really liked him when we were kids. He was a bully, and those people rarely change.”
“Which is it? You don’t remember him, or you don’t like him?”
Michael had always thought Caroline would have made a great prosecuting attorney. She was quick-thinking and had an incredibly logical mind. Over the years, he’d learned to keep his stories short and thin on detail if he had something to hide.
“Both.”
“It was embarrassing.”
“I’m sorry.” He reached over and squeezed her left knee. “I accept that I could have played it better.”
Minutes later, they were home, and Michael made sure he became absorbed in asking how the girls had been and saying goodbye to Caroline’s sister. Once she’d left, very few words were spoken before they went to bed. He hoped all this would be forgotten by the morning and he wouldn’t have to keep lying. Whatever happened, Rondell could never be allowed to meet Caroline again.
Michael struggled to fall asleep, with Rondell dominating his every thought. Why had he showed up at the restaurant tonight, and how had he known they’d be there, anyway? What was the man hoping to achieve? Michael hardly needed reminding of what was at stake here. In spite of the risk, he’d already decided Rondell would have his information and that the first deal was going to be Spar.
An hour after they went to bed, Caroline turned onto her side to face him. “Why did he call you Danny Boy?” She spoke as though the earlier conversation had just taken place. Like him, she must have been lying awake, thinking of nothing else.
“It’s all such a long time ago. I can’t even remember.” Michael stayed flat on his back, unable to look at his wife.
“There must be some reason.”
“I really don’t know. Maybe it came from the song, somehow. Does it matter?”
“Seems a really strange thing to call you, that’s all. Mikey, maybe, but Danny? I don’t get it.”
“Can we please get some sleep? I have a heavy day tomorrow.”
Caroline turned onto her other side and faced away from him.
He nestled up to her and gave her a spoon. “I’m sorry if I embarrassed you tonight.” He put his arm around her.
She said nothing, and they lay quiet for several minutes.
“Why did he say you were from Chicago?”
Michael could either deal with this now or pretend to be asleep. If he left it, Caroline was not the type of person to just drop the subject. The questions would play on her mind all night, and the whole thing would take on a life of its own. It was better to handle it now. At least that way, he didn’t need to look her in the eye when making up his story.
“Because I lived there once.”
“You said you grew up in Baltimore.”
“I did, but I was actually born in Chicago.”
“So how old were you when you moved to Baltimore?” Once more, Caroline’s voice took on an investigative tone. She could tell something wasn’t right. He’d need to tread carefully now.
“Around nine. Not long after my parents died in the car wreck.”
“So they died in Chicago, not Baltimore?”
“Yes.”
“Funny how you never mentioned that before. Nine years is a long time to live somewhere and not mention it.”
“It was a difficult time for me. I tried to block it all out years ago.”
Caroline turned over to face him again, and he returned to lying on his back.
She’s not going to let this go.
“So how come you ended up in Baltimore?”
He exhaled loudly through his nostrils. “At first, I was placed with foster parents in Chicago. You know I had no other family there.” He swallowed. “Shortly after, a couple from Baltimore took me on. The idea was they were going to adopt me, but that didn’t work out, so I was placed in a local children’s home. The rest you know.”
She kissed him on the side of his head. “That rejection must have been hard after your parents died.”
“It wasn’t an easy period for me. I guess it made me the person I am today, though. I knew I couldn’t rely on anyone else to get along, so I knuckled down and concentrated on my school work.”
“So you knew Rondell when your parents were alive?”
“Yes. We lived in the same block, but I didn’t see him all that much.”
“Funny how he remembers you so well.”
“He was always in trouble with the police. My mom never liked him.”
“He seemed quite charming to me.”
“Stay away from him.” Michael’s voice was raised.
“Calm down. All I said was—”
“Listen, you don’t know him.”
“I can only go on how I found him tonight.”
“Yeah, well, don’t be fooled. I’m surprised he’s done as well as he says he has. My money would have been on him becoming a career criminal.”
“We can all change, Michael.”
“Some of us can, but he’s not the sort. I wouldn’t trust him one bit.”
“You don’t really think he’s a crook now, do you?”
“I’d put money on it.”
Caroline was quiet for a few seconds. “I see.”
“Maybe now you can understand why I kept my distance at the restaurant. The last thing I want is to hook up with his sort. How would that look to my partners?”
“I’m sorry I misjudged you. I should have known you had good reason to behave the way you did.”
“Don’t worry about it. How could you have known what I was thinking?”
“I love you.”
“I love you, too. Now, let’s try to get some sleep.”
Chapter 14
AN HOUR AFTER MICHAEL ARRIVED, bleary-eyed, at Dudek’s the following morning, he asked Rachel to make sure he wasn’t disturbed and then closed his office door. Rondell’s business card was tucked in a zipped pocket at the back of his briefcase. He retrieved it and punched in the number on his iPhone.
“What the hell were you playing at last night?” Michael kept his voice low to avoid anyone hearing the conversation outside.
“Why did I know you were going to call me today?” Rondell’s tone was arrogant and unapologetic.
“Is this some kind of game to you?”
“I know I’m not playing.”
“So what were you trying to achieve, turning up like that?”
“Call it insurance, if you like, Danny Boy. I need to know you’re going to deliver your part of the bargain.”
“Listen, I’d already had the message from your muscle-heads who jumped me last week.”
“Yeah, well, they weren’t sure you got it. In fact, they wanted to go pay your wife a visit, but I said I’d handle it. I thought I’d have a little more…what’s the word? Finesse. That’s it.”
“Let me be clear. You come anywhere near my family again, and you’ll see nothing from me. Is that understood?”
Rondell snorted. “I don’t think you’re in any position to dictate what happens here. Besides, next time, I won’t have to waste my time traveling all the way to Westport to see the lovely Caroline. And she is delightful, by the way. I’ll just put a copy of those Chicago press cuttings in the mail to her. Can you imagine her looking at them over her muesli one morning?”
Michael’s spine stiffened. “That would only expose you as a killer.”
“Oh no. That’s not what the newspapers said at all, Danny Boy. You need to take a look at them to refresh your memory, my friend. One of them has a great photo of you and me standing together. Do you think they got that one from school?”
“Who gives a shit?”
“Anyway, I’m certain Caroline would recognize you from the picture.” Rondell laughed. “You want to know the best part? Underneath it, there’s a caption that says: ‘Child-killers—Danny Seifert and Rondell Williams.’ Funny how they named you first, don’t you think? Kind of implies you were the leader and all.”
“We both know what happened. You know I tried to stop you.”
“Hmm. I’ll check, but I’m fairly certain there’s no mention of that in the papers.”
“Then their stories were wrong.”
“It doesn’t really matter. Can you imagine what Caroline would think of her loving husband if she saw them? How long do you think you’d stay married if she found out you’ve been living a lie, Danny Boy? And I know she knows nothing from her reaction last night. Are you ready to blow everything you have?”
“How do I know you won’t show them to her anyway?”
“You don’t. You’ll just have to trust me. I’m sure we’re both men of our word.”
“You think I’d take your word?”
“What choice do you have?”
Rondell was right. He had Michael over a barrel, and they both knew it. What else could he do? “I could go to the police.” It sounded weak the moment the words left Michael’s lips.
“Yeah,
like you’re really going to do that. I’d like to hear what you’d say to them. That would be fun.”
“How about the truth? A convicted criminal is blackmailing me.”
“And what name would you report this under? Danny Seifert, or Michael Hoffman?” Rondell snorted again. “Difficult choice for you that one.”
“My name’s Michael Hoffman.”
“It’s all academic anyway. We both know you won’t go to the police. You have much more to lose than I do, so stop wasting my time.”
Michael took the phone away from his ear and stared at it. He wanted to throw it against the wall of his office. Like it or not, the man had him trapped. He returned it to his ear, but said nothing, struggling to find an argument to counter Rondell.
“Well, what’s it to be, Danny Boy? I’m not going to wait on you forever.”
“I’ll bring you something tomorrow.”
“Let me check my schedule.”
“Don’t play games with me.”
“Good news. The twelve thirty lunch spot is still free. I’ll see you here.”
“Twelve thirty.” Michael ended the call, threw his phone onto the desk, and then gazed at the mountain of Spar papers in front of him.
Sharing the Spar deal with Rondell meant he was about to jeopardize his most important business relationship by breaching client confidentiality, and it wouldn’t be some minor infringement, either. No, breaches of trust didn’t come any more egregious than this. Investment banking giant, Corton Zander, had taken years to build into a major client, through hard work, dedication, and constantly demonstrating that Michael and his team were professionals who could be trusted with secret information. Most major law firms in the country would do anything to win a trophy client like them. And then there were the personal relationships to consider. Amanda Etling was not just a client. She’d become a friend over the years, someone with whom Michael had mutual respect. What would she say if she knew the Dudek partner working on the biggest deal of her career was about to leak price-sensitive data about it to a criminal network? She trusted him without question, and he was about to abuse her faith. Then, of course, there was the legal position to think about. He was about to break a long list of laws. If he was ever discovered as the source of the leak, he’d be facing years in prison, and his career as a lawyer would be over.
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