Secret Lover

by Shawna Delacorte

  “Sure thing, Steve.” Andi paused for a moment, a thought having just occurred to her. “We need to return the van to the airport car rental office here.”

  Steve pursed his lips and furrowed his brow in thought as he turned her words over in his mind. “No, I think we’ll keep it for a couple of days. When I get this meeting with the informant finalized, we can use the van as a base of operation to house the recording equipment. I don’t want to take a chance on wiring you. We’ll insist that the meeting be out in the open so we can use a high-powered long-range directional microphone from the van and tune in on your conversation up to a block away.”

  “Hold it!” Jim refused to quietly stand by any longer. The tension was unmistakable and uncomfortable. Not only were others exercising control over what he did and where he went, he was being ignored as if he were not even in the room. “First of all, I resent being treated as if I had suddenly become invisible.”

  “And second?” The twinkle in Andi’s eyes said she was teasing him with his own words, the very words he had uttered while they were in her cabin in the Canadian woods. “Whenever someone starts a sentence with the words first of all, that usually means there’s at least a second point to follow.”

  Jim allowed a subtle grin to tug at the corners of his mouth. It had been an excellent tension-breaker. “Well, young lady, you seem to have a very logical thinking process.”

  She smiled at him, a fleeting show of relief touching her face, indicating that she was pleased he had accepted her attempt to lighten the mood.

  Jim, however, did not allow the moment to linger. He turned his attention to Steve again. “Plans are being made that have a direct bearing on my life. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. I don’t want Andi meeting with anyone. It’s far too dangerous. If there’s a face-to-face meeting of some sort, it’ll be with me or it won’t happen.”

  He stared intently at Steve while turning a thought over in his mind. “In fact, with the interview tape gone along with the written transcription, there’s no reason for me to be here at all.” He saw the quick look dart through Steve’s eyes, but did not know what to make of it or exactly how to read it. Irritation? Perhaps panic? Apparently his words had struck a nerve, just as he had intended.

  “I understand where you’re coming from, but it can’t work that way.” Steve took a calming breath and tried to keep the concern out of his voice caused by Jim’s implied threat to leave. “Do you have any idea how easy it would be for a hidden gunman to pick you off the second you stepped out in the open? And that’s all they’d have to do, because the rest of us pose no direct threat to them. They’d simply blow you away and then disappear into the darkness of the night and it would all be over—everything would have been for naught.”

  Steve continued, presenting his case as clearly and logically as was necessary for the circumstances. “They’re already aware of Andi. They don’t know whether she actually knows where you are or not, but they do know that she’s been doing heavy-duty research on you and the case. It would be logical that she would be the one wanting to meet with someone in order to further her research. Buchanan would not be so stupid as to harm the one person who might be able to lead him to you. I firmly believe that Andi will not be in any danger. If I thought otherwise, I wouldn’t allow her to do it.”

  Jim awkwardly shifted his weight from one foot to the other as he digested Steve’s words. “I suppose that makes sense.” He shot a pointed glare in Steve’s direction. “For now.”

  An awkward moment of tension was interrupted by the ringing of Steve’s cellular phone. While he conducted his conversation, Andi used her phone to order some food.

  Jim’s restlessness grew with each passing minute. His nerves were on edge. As soon as Andi replaced the phone receiver in its cradle he let loose with the building anger that had been churning inside him. “I don’t like being left out and treated as if things were none of my business. This may be some sort of a game, an adventure, nothing more than just a routine job as far as Steve’s concerned, but for me it’s literally life and death. You and Steve are busy, but I’m just standing around doing nothing—nothing, that is, other than being an obvious target.”

  She offered him a sincere smile, one that conveyed confidence and understanding. “The waiting is always the hardest part. I know what you’re feeling.”

  He cocked his head and raised a questioning eyebrow in a skeptical manner. “Do you?”

  “Yes!” Steve’s voice carried the sound of excitement as he clenched his fist in the air. “We have the meeting. It’ll be a two-step process. The first one will be tonight up in Los Angeles near the airport. If all goes well, we’ll proceed with step two.”

  Andi’s excitement matched Steve’s. “Who am I meeting?”

  “Joey is the go-between. We’re meeting with him, then he’ll introduce you to the contact whose name is Benny, no last name. Benny is the one who can finger the federal agent who is on Buchanan’s payroll. Word is that this agent can name the person who attempted the hit on Jim and that he was actually present when Milo Buchanan personally ordered it. Benny also claims that this agent might be persuaded to talk to us personally.”

  Steve furrowed his brow in concentration for a moment. “That part makes me uneasy. If this guy has been in Buchanan’s back pocket, then his sudden willingness to talk to us just might be a power play on his part to insure his own future.”

  “Why would that make you nervous? What difference does it make why he’s willing to talk as long as he is?”

  Steve addressed Jim’s question. “If this guy is trying to pull off a power play by working both sides for his own personal profit, then he had better be very smart and very careful, because Buchanan just might be one step ahead of him. Milo Buchanan did not become as rich and powerful as he is by trusting to luck and assuming that everything is ticking along smoothly. If this guy has even hinted to Buchanan that he might be getting a little greedy, then he’s probably signed his own death warrant.”

  “That might be, or—” Jim voiced out loud what had raced through his mind a moment earlier “—it might be a setup.”

  Steve made some hasty notes on his pad. “That’s why we’re taking it in two steps, checking out the informant first before proceeding any further. If Milo Buchanan thought we had a solid case against him, he could be out of the country in less than an hour. He’s been stashing away millions in a numbered account in the Cayman Islands for the past two or three years, probably for just such an emergency.”

  Andi’s gaze leapt toward Steve, his last words having grabbed her attention. She had not been aware that he had continued to gather information about Milo Buchanan’s activities following the splash in the newspapers back when it had all happened. When she had mentioned the possibility of doing the book—it had probably been a year ago when the idea first occurred to her, then she set the idea aside for a while—Steve had told her that his research files on the Buchanan Chemicals case had not been updated beyond the furor following James Hollander’s disappearance.

  An attempt to mislead her? A deliberate lie? She dismissed the thought. It was probably information he had uncovered during the past few days. He had said that he had a new computer wiz working for him. That was probably the answer, that’s how the money trail had been uncovered. In the back of her mind, however, was a nagging thought that there just might be more to it than that.

  STEVE SLID OPEN the side door of the van, admitting the small man who had been hiding in the shadows of the doorway on the dark side street. Steve’s voice was smooth and steady, setting a calm tone for the meeting. “It’s nice to see you again, Joey.”

  Joey’s dark, beady eyes quickly swept across the interior of the van, noting the other occupants. “Yeah...Steve. Sure...it’s been a while.” The quaver in his voice did as much to betray his nervousness as did the way he kept running his fingers through his thinning hair and clearing his throat.

  Steve continued to set a
calm tone to the meeting. “You remember Andi, don’t you?”

  “Yeah, sure...how ya doin’, kid?”

  “Just fine, Joey. And you?”

  Joey did not answer her. He just kept staring at Jim, whose face was mostly hidden in the shadows. “I don’t know this guy. What’s he doin’ here?”

  Steve’s practiced manner instilled a feeling of confidence as he gestured toward Jim. “He’s okay, Joey. His name is Ron Pike and he’s been working with me on this one.” Steve quickly changed the subject in an effort to divert Joey’s curiosity away from Jim and get on with the business at hand. “Tell me about Benny. How did you make contact with him?”

  “Well...” Joey nervously glanced around the interior of the darkened van, then lit a cigarette as he stared out the front window at the empty street. “It’s like I told ya, see. I was makin’ the rounds of my usual Chicago haunts, droppin’ a word here and a question there just like ya asked, when this guy comes up to me and tells me he heard I was lookin’ for some information. He dropped the name of a guy I know, says that’s where he heard that I was askin’ around. He said he was hopping a flight to L.A. the next day. His name’s Benny. He said he was beginnin’ to feel crowded and wanted to get out of Chicago for a few days. I gotta say, Steve, I was sure surprised at your spottin’ me a plane ticket. I ain’t never been up in no plane before. So—” Joey cleared his throat, then emitted a nervous little chuckle “—here we all are in L.A.”

  Steve clamped his hand on Joey’s shoulder and gave him a friendly smile. “Yes, Joey. Here we all are, in Los Angeles. So, let’s go find out what Benny has to say for himself, shall we?”

  The van moved slowly down the side street until it came to an area of warehouses and light manufacturing close to the Los Angeles airport. Steve turned off the headlights before turning into the alley adjacent to a warehouse. There was a small pickup truck parked half a block down the street. Steve put the transmission in Park but left the engine running. “Okay, this is it. Andi, you and Joey walk toward the pickup but don’t get any closer than halfway. Make him come the rest of the way to you.”

  Joey nervously cleared his throat. “Yeah...sure. Uh...soon’s I introduce the kid here to Benny then I’m gone—headed back to Chicago on the next flight.”

  “That’s a very prudent idea, Joey.”

  Jim sat in silence, taking in everything that was happening. The knot in his stomach grew tighter and tighter as he watched Andi and Joey walk down the sidewalk. He did not like it, not one bit. It was not right, him just sitting idly by while Andi took all the risks in his place. It just was not right.

  Steve brought out the recording equipment that had been hidden from Joey’s sight. He adjusted the directional microphone and did a test recording of the casual conversation Andi had initiated with Joey so Steve could make sure everything worked properly.

  Jim’s worn nerves had reached full-tilt. It was all he could do to sit still. “Why are you letting Joey skip out, leaving Andi all alone with this stranger? Doesn’t that put her in a very precarious position? Wouldn’t she be safer with Joey there?”

  “There’s no way she would be able to count on Joey for any help if trouble popped up. He’s done his part, now I want him out of the picture. Besides, an informant is usually more apt to talk if it’s strictly one-on-one. No corroborating witnesses that way.”

  Steve and Jim watched as a man climbed out of the pickup truck and started up the sidewalk to the place where Joey and Andi stood waiting. Joey made the introduction, then beat a hasty retreat in the opposite direction and disappeared into the shadows.

  Andi studied Benny for a moment. In contrast to Joey, he was a big man. The big was not really muscle, but it was not flab, either. It was more in the nature of just bulkiness. His eyes were in constant motion, his gaze shifting from place to place but never landing on her. He had a nervous twitch at the corner of his mouth. She had never seen him before nor had she ever heard of him. It was true that she had not been actively involved in investigative reporting for a number of years, but she still maintained some of her ties from the old days.

  “Okay, Benny. Tell me what you have.”

  “Hey, like I told Joey...I know the guy you’re lookin’ for, the fed what’s workin’ for the man.”

  “The man... who are you talking about, Benny?” She needed to get him to name names, not put the words in his mouth.

  He nervously shifted his weight from one foot to the other as he did another visual sweep up and down the street. Then he turned his eyes directly on her for the first time. His look was hard, not really menacing but a far cry from endearing. His voice became a harsh whisper. “Look, lady...we both know who I’m talkin’ about here. I’m walkin’ on dangerous turf and I ain’t in no mood to play no stupid little games. Now, I can give you the name you want. I can finger the fed for you...for a price.”

  “A price?” She expertly widened her eyes in surprise, a practiced maneuver she had used many times in the past. “What kind of money are you talking about?”

  “I ain’t speakin’ for no one but me. I want ten grand, cash only and in small used bills.”

  She forced a slight hint of panic into her voice in an attempt to further her cover story. “Benny...I’m just researching a mystery novel, not looking to be the next crime-busting superhero. Where would I get that kind of money?”

  “That ain’t my problem. Maybe your publisher would contribute since he’s the one what’s gonna be makin’ the dough off it.”

  She looked at him quizzically, attempting to convey a little bit of confusion and uncertainty. “Suppose my publisher does advance me that much money, exactly what would it buy me?”

  “That buys you an introduction to the federal cop. It’s up to you to set your own deal directly with him. I hear he’s developed a sort of nervous condition of late and is lookin’ to take a little trip abroad in hopes it will improve his health.”

  “I’ll have to check with my publisher. Where can I reach you?”

  Benny handed her a phone number scribbled on a piece of paper. “This is my pager. Leave your number and I’ll get back to you. You only got twenty-four hours, after that I can’t guarantee I can put you in touch with this guy.”

  She took the paper from him and put it in her pocket. “Right...twenty-four hours.”

  Andi started toward the van, then paused and turned back. “Oh, one more thing, Benny.” She forced a casualness to her voice, as if what she was about to say was nothing more than an afterthought. “My primary interest in this isn’t really Milo Buchanan or the federal agent or even the court case. I want to find James Hollander so I can interview him for my book. Does this agent know where Mr. Hollander is at this time?”

  A crooked grin played across Benny’s mouth. “I was sorta under the impression that you knew where Hollander was hiding.”

  She studied him for a moment, trying to determine if he actually knew something or was just playing the game. “If I knew, I sure wouldn’t be standing here talking to you. I’ll be in touch in twenty-four hours.”

  Andi watched as Benny returned to his pickup truck, then she hurried back to the van. Steve opened the door and she hopped in, sliding the door closed behind her.

  Steve rewound the tape as he questioned Andi. “What’s your take on Benny? Do you think he really knows anything? That’s quite a hunk of change he wants just to put you in touch with this guy.”

  Andi thought for a moment. “The way he put it, it sounded as if the fed would be willing to personally implicate Milo Buchanan in exchange for a sack full of money and safe passage out of the country. I’m sure he finds that idea preferable to a jail term, which is what he would be looking at if he came clean with his department. Of course, the jail term would be better than what Buchanan would do to him. If all of this comes together the way it’s beginning to look, we could have Buchanan on conspiracy to commit murder—a much more damaging charge than the ones originally brought against him five years ago.�
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  “It’s all too easy.” It was the first thing Jim had said in quite a while. “Why would this government agent be willing to meet with Andi? Why would he put himself in jeopardy for the sake of some research on a novel, even with the lure of a big payoff? Is it possible that they know there’s a lot more going on here than just a mystery writer looking for material? I find it all very questionable.”

  Andi looked from Steve to Jim, then back to Steve. “That’s what I thought, too. Why would this guy be willing to come out in the open just to meet with a writer doing background research for a novel? He’s got to know that there would never be the type of big bucks available from a book publisher that he could get from someone else for the information he has for sale.”

  IT WAS VERY LATE that night when they arrived back at Andi’s house in La Jolla. As they had the night before, Andi and Jim closed the door to her bedroom and shut out the world. They lay quietly in bed, Andi snuggled in his embrace as he gently stroked her skin.

  Even though Andi had become very important to Jim, he still wrestled with several thoughts, not the least of which was his very real concern over the direction things were headed. It seemed to him that he was being shoved farther and farther into the background, almost as if he were a nuisance rather than someone who had a major stake in what was happening.

  He felt very uneasy about Steve’s constant flow of incoming information and the fact that he refused to share very much of it. A persistent nagging in the back of his mind kept telling him he should not be passively standing by, accepting everything that was going on at face value. Trust me...he had been that route before and the results had been disastrous. The thoughts continued to circulate through his mind as he dropped off to sleep.