Tough As Nails

by Jackie Manning

  “Brianna, we need to talk first.” The somber tone in Mike’s voice caused her to look up. His deep-blue eyes were shuttered from any emotion.

  “Sure. Why don’t I see if there’s a vacant room available?”

  Five minutes later they were seated in a small conference room on the first floor. “I was going to tell you, but I didn’t think things would happen this fast,” Mike said.

  She waited, a thread of worry forming in the pit of her stomach. “Tell me what? What’s happened? You’re scaring me, Mike.”

  “I ordered a security camera to be installed in your office.” He ignored the surprised look on her face and went right on talking. “Liam did the work right after you found the photo of Kristi in your office.”

  “A security camera?” she asked. “You mean a video camera that records everything that goes on in my office?”

  “Yes. The camera is triggered by motion.” He could see the anger in her eyes, but she remained silent. “I have a judge’s signed warrant,” he said defensively. “And I’ll be honest, Brianna. I didn’t ask your permission and I didn’t tell you about the camera because I knew you’d fight me. I didn’t want an argument. But it was the only way to protect you. I knew the stalker needed to reconnect with you and he’d do it at your office. This morning, Liam found the camera tripped. Someone went into your office last night and put in another listening device. Only this time, we’ve got the guy on tape.”

  “You know who the stalker is?”

  “Liam said we’ve got a good image. He’s processing a print from the video. We’re hoping you’ll be able to identify him.”

  “Good. Then I can get my life back to normal.” She turned and moved toward the door.

  “I knew you’d be angry. This is why I didn’t want to tell you. Dammit, Bria. I’m trying to save your life.”

  She stopped and whirled to face him. “How could you think I wouldn’t know that. And yes, I’m angry. But I’m not angry about the camera. I’m furious that you wouldn’t trust me enough to tell me. Instead, you went over my head, without even giving me the courtesy of telling me, for God’s sake.” She put her hands on her hips and turned to face him. “Just when had you planned to tell me?”

  “When the opportunity presented itself.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “Let me get this straight. You planned this all along, but you just never got around to telling me?” She narrowed her eyes. “Because if I knew, maybe I wouldn’t go to bed with you?”

  “Brianna, that’s not fair.”

  “I notice you’re not denying it.” She turned and grabbed the doorknob.

  “Go ahead. Run away. You’re good at that. Just don’t storm back here, blaming me for not communicating.”

  Her hand froze on the door. She edged a look back at him. “I wasn’t the one who ran away,” she said, the anger in her voice matching the fury in her eyes as the memory of that night, seven years ago, came alive as if it were yesterday.

  “The hell you didn’t.” Anger made his voice tremble. “You didn’t put up much of a fight, if I remember.”

  “How would you know? You weren’t there.” Her words rang with accusation. “I paced the length of that tiny apartment, frantic when you didn’t come home from work. You always called, even if you were only a few minutes late. I’d begged you not to take that bartending job in that dangerous part of town. But no, you wouldn’t listen. You wouldn’t take a cent of my money. You and your damn pride.”

  She stabbed at the tears that glistened in her eyes. “But instead of your Thunderbird roaring up the driveway that evening, it was my father’s Mercedes that pulled up to the door. He wasn’t alone. He brought Marcus Boynton, the company lawyer, who showed me the divorce papers that you’d signed earlier. The ink was barely dry before you left town and never once looked back.”

  “Is that what you believe?”

  “It’s the truth, isn’t it?”

  “Do you deny that you married me to show your old man you’d finally grown up and could do whatever you wanted? You lost no time in returning to your fancy life. School in England, or was it France?”

  “I couldn’t believe you would sign those divorce papers.” She glared at him, feeling all the confusion and betrayal of that long ago night. “How could you just leave, without standing up to my father?” Her chest tightened with pent-up fury.

  “What good would it have done? Come on, Brianna. Everyone in town knew you married me to flaunt the most unacceptable choice in your father’s face. It was only a matter of time—”

  “If you thought that, then why did you marry me?” The question hung between them. She studied his eyes and wondered if her own heartbreak and disillusionment showed as openly as his. “Why, Michael?”

  He swallowed. “Because even though the whole town didn’t think our marriage had a chance, I wanted to believe we could make it. I loved you. I loved you so much. But when your father and his hotshot lawyer came barreling into the mill office, armed with a briefcase of legal mumbo jumbo, I wanted to fight them. I wanted to tell him to go to hell. But I realized that what he’d said was true. You weren’t happy. You never liked it that I was always gone, leaving you while I worked double shifts.”

  “I never asked you to. I had my mother’s inheritance—”

  “We’ve been down this road.” His voice was cold and hard like steel. “Whatever my faults, you can’t say I didn’t love you.”

  Her chest ached with loss. Fighting to keep her voice steady, she murmured, “Love is nothing without trust.”

  “Come on, Brianna. Quit the platitudes. I noticed you didn’t answer my question. Admit it. You married me to show your old man that his little girl had a mind of her own.”

  You’re so wrong, Michael. Why won’t you believe me? She felt her control slipping and her breath quickened. If she blinked, hot tears might pool at her eyes. She drew herself up.

  “You can keep accusing me, Michael, but it simply isn’t true.” All anger was finally spent from her voice. All she felt was a deep sadness. “I really wouldn’t have been angry about the video camera, Michael. But I’m mad as hell that you didn’t trust me enough to make the right decision.” She gave him a lingering look before she opened the door and left the room.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “David Malden! There must be some mistake.” Brianna stared at the grainy, black-and-white photo Liam had placed in front of her.

  Behind her she heard Mike swear and punch the conference-table top with his fist. “Damn! Your secretary’s boyfriend! He’s been right under our noses. I’ll bet that’s not his real name, either!”

  Liam’s gaze lifted from Brianna to Mike. “You’d said that it might be more than one person working together.”

  Brianna spun in her chair to face Liam. “You can’t think Simone knew about this?” She jumped up from the table, skidding her chair. “Mike, there must be some other explanation. I—I can’t believe—” She glanced down at the picture of David Malden in her hand. Any further attempt at denial died in her throat. How could she ignore the evidence? He was caught in her office, screwing another listening device into the ceiling-sprinkler head. How much proof did she need?

  Liam looked at Mike. “If the secretary is innocent, there’s still a chance she could be charged as an accomplice. We need to find out whose side she’s on.”

  Mike’s blue eyes flashed dangerously. “For Brianna’s protection, we’ll assume Simone is guilty until proven otherwise.” When his gaze turned to her, the fury she thought she saw disappeared from his face, locked away behind an expressionless mask. Had she only imagined it?

  “What exactly have you told Simone about our investigation so far?” Mike asked her gently.

  “Exactly what you told me to tell everyone. I told her I was taking some time off from work for a few days. She expects to report for work this Thursday, when I told her I’d be back. Simone also knew I was having all the locks changed at the end of this week.”

  �
��Is that all?” Liam asked. “Did she know about the stalker, the photos?”

  “No. I didn’t want to upset her. I thought if she knew, she’d worry herself sick like my aunt Nora did.” Brianna stood and stared out the window, then pivoted toward Mike. “Dear God, I refuse to consider that Simone knew David was stalking me.”

  “We’ll sure as hell find out.” Mike spun around and punched a button on the intercom. “Bailey, bring in all the info we have on Simone Twardzak,” he ordered. “Plus David Malden. And bring in all the info on outstanding requests you’re waiting on for answers, okay?”

  “It’ll take a few minutes,” Bailey said over the speaker.

  Mike clicked off the intercom and whipped out his handheld computer from his jacket breast pocket.

  Brianna leaned against the table and picked up the photo of David Malden. She recognized the high forehead and thin, cruel lips of the priest. “Yes,” she said finally. “And with a wig, a false beard and body padding, he could look like Leonard Braewood.”

  “He could look like the priest, too.” Liam added.

  She pulled out a chair and folded herself into it. “Dear God, what does he want from me?”

  “Good question,” Liam said. “If Simone is in on it, Malden could easily get any client information he wanted.”

  Brianna nodded. “Simone has access to all the files. Both open and archive cases.” She rested her gaze on Mike and wrapped her arms around herself. “I can’t believe Simone knows that David is the stalker. And if I’m right, Simone may be in mortal danger if David finds out we’re on to him.” Her chest tightened. “He might even kill her.”

  She stood and started to pace back and forth. “It’s me he’s after. He said as much in that note. ‘No more games.’ I’m his next victim.” She winced. “Unless Simone accidentally stumbles onto the truth.”

  Mike leaned his hip on the edge of the desk. “I’m giving you an order, Brianna. You’ll treat Simone as if she’s working with Malden. No warning her, no information. Nothing. I want your promise, okay?”

  “But what if Simone doesn’t know anything about him? She’s in grave danger.”

  “I’ll hire a team of bodyguards to watch over Simone. She won’t know she’s being tailed. Round the clock, like we did for Kristi.”

  “Look what happened to Kristi!” she retorted. “No offense to you, Liam, but even you couldn’t keep watch over her every minute.”

  Liam spoke up. “Mike is right, Brianna. We can’t jeopardize catching this guy by tipping off Simone. Bodyguards pulling 24-7 surveillance can be extremely effective.”

  She bit her lip but said nothing.

  Liam’s eyebrows drew together as he looked up at Mike. “Should we call in Clete or Russell? Who knows how wide the net will be before this case is over.”

  “They’re on assignment in Saudi,” Mike said. “I’ll check with Ben at Clancy’s to see about using a few freelancers. Or we could see if Jake is out of the hospital yet.”

  “If the stalker wants me, why not set a trap and draw him out?” Brianna said suddenly.

  Mike spun his head around. “What do you mean?”

  “Regardless of what you say, I know Simone is loyal. She’d never condone what this stalker has done. If he is learning my whereabouts from Simone, he’s doing it without her knowledge. So let’s set a trap for him.”

  “Not with you as bait,” Mike said.

  Liam leaned back in the chair, his fingers tented, as he silently listened.

  “Mike, hear me out,” she countered.

  “No. End of discussion.”

  Brianna turned to Liam. “What do you think?”

  He studied her from behind his arched fingers. “I appreciate where you’re coming from. You’ve just found out that your employee is, whether knowingly or not, providing information to a very dangerous man. You’re angry. You’re frightened. You have a right to be. But I’d listen to Mike. You’ve hired the best. Let Mike protect you.”

  The door opened and Bailey entered with two piles of folders. She dropped the reports on the table, and gave the top clipped file to Mike. “The fax on top came in a few minutes ago.”

  Mike’s expression remained neutral as he glanced at it, then handed the fax to Liam. “According to the DMV and the Bureau of Vital Records, no David Malden exists,” he directed at Brianna. “Now, why am I not surprised?”

  “Hmm,” Liam said after he scanned the fax. He unfolded his lean frame from the chair. “Looks like I’ve got a job to do.”

  “What do you mean?” Brianna asked, bewildered.

  “It means, my fair colleen,” Liam said, “that I’m going to lift a set of fingerprints from Simone’s boyfriend.” He raised his eyebrows and chuckled. “Just one of my many talents.”

  “You’ll find Simone’s home address in this file,” Mike said as he slid a blue folder across the table at Liam.

  “Mike, would you care to explain what Liam means?” Brianna repeated.

  “That I would,” Mike said as he came around the table and wrapped his arm around her waist. “I’ll tell you all about it over a loaded pizza at Clancy’s.” He led her toward the door.

  “Give Clancy my regards,” Liam said with a smile, his gaze never wavering from the pages inside the blue folder.

  “MIKE, YOU KNOW THIS is the chance we’ve been waiting for,” Brianna said after she watched Mike finish the third piece of pizza and reach for the dimpled-glass mug of nonalcoholic beer beside his plate. They’d been in Clancy’s Pub for over an hour and neither one had broached the subject of setting a trap for the stalker.

  He took a gulp, then plunked the mug on the shamrock-shaped blotter. “I agree completely.”

  “You do?” She was genuinely surprised.

  He nodded, then took another swallow of beer, eyeing her over the edge of the mug.

  “Here’s what I think might work.” She was encouraged by his willingness not to interrupt her. “I’ll go into the office tomorrow and call Larry on the pretext that I need more time away. I’ll need to confer with him about taking over some of my caseload. If he asks why, I’ll say that I’ve been under a lot of stress lately. David will believe the stress angle,” she said derisively.

  “Let’s not forget about Simone,” Mike said. “I know you don’t want to believe it, but you can’t rule out that she’s involved.”

  Brianna knew in her heart that Simone could never do such a thing. She also knew that Mike was only doing his job. “You’ll be with me all the time, Mike. I’ll be safe.”

  He said nothing, but a muscle above his jaw ticked.

  “We’ll go over beforehand what I’m going to say. From my conversation, the stalker will hear where you’re taking me and when. Someplace he’ll believe. An isolated area, out of the city. We’ll specify the time. When Malden comes after me, you and the police will be waiting.”

  Mike leaned back and wiped his chin with a napkin, his face expressionless. “Okay, with one small change.”

  She leaned closer. “What?”

  “I’ve been thinking of a similar plan all along. After all, Malden installed this bug, expecting to hear something. Yeah, we give him something all right. Only, after that, you’ll be far away from the designated target sight. No one but the TALON-6 team will know where you really are.”

  “Okay, but you’ve said all along that the stalker has access to sophisticated surveillance equipment. What if he watches and knows that I’m not where I said I would be?”

  “Let me think about it.”

  “Mike, what’s to think about? Do you remember Aunt Nora’s family estate in the Catskills? It’s over two hundred acres of woods, very isolated. Simone spent several weeks with us there last October. She’d be able to answer any questions if David asks her about the place.”

  Mike leaned his arm across the table. “Do you think Simone can give this jerk accurate enough directions to find it?”

  “I’ll make sure she can.” She felt a rush of hope. “Mike,
it will work.”

  He leaned back, thoughtful. “Let’s see. David hears the plan, then makes his move. We’ll know where and when and we’ll be ready for him.” He paused a minute. “If I remember, the estate is located on an unpaved camp road near a river.”

  “Norton Hill Stream,” she said. “It feeds into the Catskill Stream.”

  “I’ll check out the area ahead of time,” he said. “We can bring in our equipment and set up before Malden hears of the plan. TALON-6 will take care of him then turn him over to Detective Sanchez.”

  He leaned back and studied her. “Yeah, I think this will work.” He smiled, the first time she’d seen any humor from him since they’d identified the stalker as David Malden.

  “But once we pick up the bastard,” Mike said, “we’ll have enough to put him away for good.”

  LIAM HAD BEEN SITTING at the bar watching Simone Twardzak and David Malden hold hands and gaze at each other over a leisurely dinner and drinks for over an hour. Damn, he wished he’d had time to grab a hot dog from the corner stand before he hopped a cab and followed them to the upscale restaurant.

  Liam’s stomach grumbled and he fished another handful of peanuts from the bowl next to his club soda. With a twist of lime, for show.

  Just then, David stood up and Liam watched him move around the table to escort Simone to the dance floor. Finally, here was the chance Liam was waiting for.

  The pretty red-haired waitress, who he had been giving the eye all evening, sauntered toward Malden’s table, swaying her hips provocatively. She leaned over and gave Liam an eye’s worth of cleavage as she picked up the empty glasses and placed them on a tray. He trained his eye on her, and sure enough, she met his eyes and winked.

  He winked back, then gave her a slow smile, watching her pick up the tray and move toward him. She threw her shoulders back as she strolled in front of him.