Desperate Play

by Barbara Freethy

  She sat down at the table and unwrapped a croissant filled with scrambled eggs, ham and cheese. "This looks good. I'll start here."

  He took the seat across from her. "Who was on the phone?"

  "Kim Walton. She's director of media relations. She reminded me that I need to finish a few things before tomorrow's press tour, which includes a show that I'm putting together."

  "Can't someone else take care of that?"

  "It's my job, and it's almost done. I just need to add one piece. I have to go by the office at some point today."

  He nodded agreeably. "We can make that happen. I actually want to check in at the office, too. We were already amping up our security for this week, but we need to double it now."

  "That seems like a good idea." She took another bite of her croissant. As she swallowed, she added, "Kim told me that Noelle has been helping out in her department, that she'd tasked Noelle with the job of getting quotes from all the top people at the company to be used in this week's press materials." As Wyatt's gaze met hers, she continued. "I think that's why Noelle met with Jonathan last week. I don't think they were having an affair. It was business."

  Wyatt's gaze gave little away. She couldn't tell if he was convinced or thought she was crazy.

  "What do you think?" she asked when he remained silent.

  "It's something to consider. Maybe you can ask Jonathan and Kyle about it tonight."

  "That's true. They'll both be at my father's party."

  "I'd like to be there, too."

  She wiped her mouth with her napkin. "I don't know if that's a good idea."

  "Where you go, I go—remember?"

  "I'll be safe at my father's house in Calabasas. He lives in a gated community. It's very safe."

  "I'd still like to go. Hamilton asked me to stay close to you, and I'd like to meet your father."

  "And I would like you not to meet my father."

  "Why? Do you think I'm going to embarrass you?"

  "I think my father will ask questions about why you're with me, who you are, what you are to me. I don't need that right now, Wyatt."

  "Just tell him I'm your bodyguard. He'll appreciate that someone is watching out for you."

  She let out a sigh. "Is it really that important?"

  "It is, Avery."

  She sensed there was more behind his desire to come to dinner than to just watch out for her. "It's not just me you want to get close to, is it?"

  "I wouldn't mind having a conversation with Jonathan. Even if Noelle's conversation with Jonathan was completely innocent, it could factor into the FBI investigation. They'll be going through her life—every detail, every phone call, everyone she spoke to. Jonathan needs to know that his meeting with her could come up and put both him and Nova Star in an awkward situation."

  "That's true. You're very persuasive, Wyatt."

  "Does that mean you're taking me to dinner?"

  "Yes."

  "Good. Now that we have that out of the way, I want to ask you for another favor."

  "What's that?" she asked warily.

  "I want you to call Carter Hayes and set up a meeting. Tell him you need to talk about funeral arrangements. See if we can meet him at his place. If Noelle spent time there, maybe whatever she was trying to protect is there."

  Her pulse quickened. "You're right. She just said apartment. She didn't say her apartment. I just assumed it was hers that she was referring to. Carter might be in danger, too."

  "It's possible."

  "I'll call him. I just hope he'll agree to see us. Yesterday, he couldn't get away from us fast enough."

  * * *

  While Avery spoke to Carter on the phone, Wyatt considered telling her that the man who had pulled a gun on her yesterday was dead, but then he'd have to explain where he got the information, which would lead him down a path he didn't want to go. She couldn't do anything with the information; so, for the moment, he would keep it to himself.

  Listening to Avery's side of the conversation, it was apparent that Noelle's boyfriend was not too thrilled with the idea of getting together with them, but when she told him that he might be in danger, he agreed to hear her out.

  Wyatt didn't know what he thought about Carter Hayes, but he definitely needed more information. Hopefully, Flynn would come up with something on his background as well.

  "Carter said to come by in a half hour," Avery said. "I think he's afraid I'm going to hit him up for money, but I told him quite frankly we needed a conversation about much more than that. However, I don't know what we're going to learn from him."

  "We'll find out."

  She sat back in her chair. "Wyatt, we need to talk about a few things."

  His senses went on high alert at those words. There was a very serious expression in her brown eyes now, and he could almost feel the fire at his feet. "What do you want to discuss?"

  "The funhouse on Friday night. You told me yesterday that it was a coincidence you were there, that you went to meet a friend. That wasn't true, was it?"

  "No," he admitted, happy that her first question was one he might be able to get past with a little truth-telling and an apology.

  "Why did you lie to me?"

  "Because I didn't trust you then. You were the person kneeling next to Noelle when her body was found."

  Her eyes widened. "You thought I had killed her?"

  "I wasn't sure what to think, especially when I found you at her apartment."

  "So, why were you there?"

  "I was following Noelle."

  "Because she'd met with Jonathan?"

  "Yes."

  She frowned, her smart brain computing what he'd told her, and obviously things weren't adding up. "What aren't you telling me?"

  That was a loaded question. There was so much he wasn't telling her he didn't know where to start. But he could see the glint of determination in her eyes. She was much more clear-headed today, and she wanted some answers. He would have to give her something.

  "Nova Star has a security leak, Avery. Hamilton has tasked me with finding the mole. Noelle's unusual meeting with Jonathan sparked my interest."

  "You think Noelle was leaking information?" she asked slowly. "But how is that possible? She didn't have access to anything. She didn't work in engineering or any of the labs."

  "She might have been working with someone else. She could have been the middleman."

  "Someone like Jonathan Tremaine?"

  "Or someone else. That's why I followed her to the pier. I saw Noelle go into the funhouse alone, while you waited outside. It seemed to be taking a long time, and I could see you were getting nervous, too. After you entered, I went in, too. I saw you in the mirror, but I did not see Noelle. I was almost out when I heard screams and I was held by the exit. You know the rest."

  Her face paled, his words obviously taking her back to that horrible night. "When you saw me in the funhouse, did you think I might be the leak?"

  "I actually didn't think that until I saw you at her apartment the next day."

  "Really?" she asked, shocked etched across her face. "That's what you thought?"

  "It didn't make sense to me that her friend would go into her apartment so early the next morning and break through the police tape in order to do so."

  "When did you decide I wasn't the leak?" She paused, her gaze narrowing. "Or maybe you haven't decided that?"

  "I knew you were not the mole as soon as we started talking. Your grief for your friend was completely genuine. It was obvious you weren't involved in her death. Everything since then has been about keeping you safe and trying to figure out who did kill Noelle."

  Avery got up and paced restlessly around the room. "I don’t want to believe Noelle was passing classified information to someone. Do you have anything to go on besides this meeting with Jonathan?"

  "Yes. Noelle had a cash deposit of $5000 put into her bank account the day before she was killed. It broke the pattern of her usual banking behavior, and there was no i
ndication of where or who the money came from."

  "How do you know that?"

  "The FBI told me that when I met with them at the police station yesterday."

  "What? Why didn't you tell me that then?"

  "There was a lot going on. And I didn't think you were in the frame of mind to hear it."

  She ran a hand through her hair. "This just gets worse and worse. Why did the FBI give you that information?"

  "Because of my position in security at Nova Star. They've been in touch with Hamilton, too. They know that I am working on the inside while they do their thing. Obviously, Noelle's death raised the stakes. And with the upcoming launch on Tuesday, we need answers fast."

  "Maybe Hamilton should scrub the launch."

  "I've suggested that more than once. He doesn't want to do that. He doesn't want to lose his advantage."

  "But people are dying…" She sat back down at the table. "I knew something was off with Noelle. She was rambling on about trying to be a better person. That doesn't sound like someone who is stealing secrets."

  "It's possible she had a change of heart about whatever she was doing and was looking for a way out. Someone killed Noelle for a reason, Avery. Based on what we know so far, that someone also thought she left something behind at her apartment. It's possible she reneged on a deal she'd made and paid for it with her life. But we're not going to know which side Noelle was on until we find out who killed her."

  "I just don't know why she would do it."

  "Her mom was broke. She was supporting her, right? Money and desperation are good motivators."

  "But she could have just asked me for money, for help. I'm not rich, but I make a good living. I could have given her $5000. That doesn't seem like enough money to lose your life over."

  "I'm sure there was more promised."

  "Do you think Jonathan could be the mole—the person passing information through Noelle to a third party? Does Hamilton believe his oldest son, his heir to his fortune, to his company, would be selling him and the company out?"

  "He doesn't want to believe that. He thinks Jonathan is being framed."

  "For Noelle's murder?"

  "Among other things."

  "What other things?"

  "I can't tell you."

  "You've told me this much, Wyatt. Tell me the rest."

  "Knowing more is only going to put you in more danger."

  She did not like his answer, an angry light entering her eyes. "I'm already in danger. I'm hiding out in a hotel room with you. I have a right to know what else is going on. And if you don't tell me, I'm not taking you to dinner tonight. I'm not giving you access to Jonathan or Kyle or anyone else you want to talk to."

  Despite his dislike of her words, he actually admired the ruthless note in her voice. Apparently, sweet Avery also had a stubborn side.

  He would tell her just enough to get her back on his side.

  "Fine. I can say this much. A Chinese female aerospace engineer by the name of Jia Lin was killed three months ago in San Francisco. She worked for a state-funded aerospace company in Beijing that's in competition with Nova Star. She met with Jonathan for dinner the night before she lost her life in a single-vehicle accident. In her possession were classified specs for Nova Star's Star Gazer Rocket II."

  "What? She met with Jonathan, too?"

  "Yes."

  "But that rocket won't go into production for another year. How are there even specs?"

  "Apparently, they are preliminary but still highly proprietary."

  "What did Jonathan say? I assume someone talked to him about it."

  "Both the police and the FBI spoke to him. This happened before I came on board. Hamilton told me that Jonathan took the meeting because Jia Lin is a top-level engineer, and she was looking for a job. While he doesn't ordinarily talk to recruits, he was going to be in San Francisco for other meetings, so he agreed to see her. He denies handing her any information or having anything to do with her death."

  "I assume there was no real evidence tying Jonathan to the accident, or he would have been arrested."

  "That's correct. But the FBI were concerned that Nova Star's security had been breached by a Chinese national. They wanted Hamilton's cooperation, but when it became clear the bureau was a little too interested in making Jonathan a scapegoat, Hamilton shut them down and told them his security team would take care of it. He hired me shortly thereafter because I have more experience in gathering foreign intelligence than his previous director of security, who had also decided to take an early retirement."

  "Hamilton is very loyal to family, and I can understand why he would have trouble seeing any kind of motivation on Jonathan's part to sabotage the company he will one day inherit. Plus, Hamilton and Jonathan are very close. Frankly, if you'd told me that Kyle was the suspect, I'd have more doubt in my mind."

  "Why is that?"

  "Because Kyle and Hamilton often butt heads over the direction of the company, the priorities, the focus. Kyle is less interested in sending his father and friends to Mars and more interested in how space technology can benefit people on Earth. He fought Hamilton to get the funds to develop this satellite defense system. That's really his baby." She paused. "Which, now that I've said all that, reminds me that Kyle wouldn't sabotage the company, either, not when he's about to get everything that he has wanted for a very long time."

  "Perhaps someone doesn't want Kyle to get everything."

  She met his gaze. "If you're talking about sibling rivalry, I think you're going down the wrong road. Jonathan and Kyle are opposites in personality, but I've always felt there was a strong bond between them."

  "What about Whitney? She doesn't seem to have much to do with the company. Is that by choice?"

  "Definitely. She has no interest in science or the universe. She's into clothes and art and decorating. Although, apparently, she's now very much into bettering her spiritual mindset and becoming at peace with her soul."

  He raised a brow at her words. "You sound like you read that on a brochure."

  "I did. My father gives a class on that; it's in his course description. Shortly after he met Whitney, she took his seminar, and she said it changed her life. She now does yoga and drinks a lot of green juice and treats my father like he's a god. It works great. She adores him, and he needs someone to adore him."

  "Interesting. Now I'm really looking forward to tonight, although, I hope we don't have green juice for dinner."

  "You never know. You haven't met Whitney?"

  "No, not yet. Hamilton said he used to worry about her until she met your father. At first, he was uncomfortable with the age gap, but he soon realized that Whitney was very happy, and she deserved that. I guess she wasn't always a happy person."

  "I think she has struggled with depression, especially after her mother died last year. She had much more in common with her mom than she does with her father and her brothers." She paused. "I know I should probably try harder to like her, but despite her sudden interest in peace and love, she has a high-handed, snobbish attitude that I don't really care for."

  "And it's weird for your dad to sleep with someone who is only a few years older than you."

  She grimaced at his words. "Please, don't talk about that."

  "Sorry. So, can I go to dinner now?"

  She nodded. "I wish you would have told me some of this earlier."

  "A lot has happened really fast, Avery."

  "Well, that's true." She glanced at her watch. "And the world isn't done spinning yet. Time to meet Carter. I'm almost afraid to find out what he has to say." She stood up, then gave him a worried look. "Wait a second."

  "What?" he asked, as he got to his feet.

  "Is it possible that Carter is the one who made Noelle the middleman?"

  "The thought has crossed my mind."

  "You haven't done any research on him?"

  "Very minimal. As I said, Noelle just appeared on the radar a few days ago. We need to be careful what we say
to Carter, Avery. You can't discuss what I just told you." He hoped he hadn't made a mistake in telling her so much right before they met with Carter.

  "I understand. You can trust me, Wyatt. I won't blow this. I want to know what happened to Noelle. And if Carter got her into trouble, if he's the reason she's dead, then he's going to pay."

  "I agree. But until we know that for sure, we need to treat him like he's a devoted, loving, and grieving boyfriend."

  "I can do that. Thanks for being honest with me, Wyatt. We'll get further if we work together."

  He nodded, knowing he wasn't even close to being honest with her. But he couldn’t think about that now. The stakes were bigger than one person, and he couldn't forget that.

  Twelve

  Wyatt had certainly given her a lot to think about, and his revelations occupied her thoughts as they drove across town to meet with Carter.

  The idea that Noelle could have been a spy was just mind-boggling. She didn't even think Noelle had been particularly good at keeping secrets. When she heard something interesting, she had to talk about it. She lived for gossip and drama. How could she possibly have kept something so big, so important, from everyone in her life?

  And if she had been involved in the leaking of proprietary material, then she'd betrayed not only Nova Star but her—her best friend, the woman who had put her own job and reputation on the line to get Noelle into the company.

  Had she been completely blind when it came to Noelle?

  She'd always known Noelle could be flaky, that she was often late, that she didn't always work that hard, and that she'd choose fun over responsibility just about any day of the week. But breaking the law, conspiring with a foreign government—that seemed too ridiculous to be true.

  On the other hand, Noelle had been acting strangely. She had needed money to support her mom, and there had been cash in her account that hadn't come from her paycheck. The facts were adding up in a very bad way, and she desperately wanted to prove the facts wrong. She wanted there to be another reason for everything, a reason that would show that Noelle was a good person and not a criminal, not a traitor.

  "You okay?" Wyatt asked, giving her a concerned look.