“I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone,” he replied. “My mom—my real mom—died a few years ago, and she charged me with taking care of my sister, whose picture you’re staring at.”
“She doesn’t look a thing like you, except for the hair. She looks like—”
“It doesn’t matter,” he cut me off. “Here’s the deal. Anabel—my half-sister—is Jonathan Martin’s daughter.”
“That scumbag has a daughter?” I asked. “I get it. You’re sending me to Caereon?”
He nodded. “There’s a situation with my sister. You see, Anabel used to have a babysitter, whose name was Marilyn Jessmyn. Marilyn kept her perpetually busy, but her father fired the woman.”
“Why?”
“From what my sister tells me, her father was in love with Marilyn, and Marilyn was in love with Jonathan’s second-in-command. Apparently Jonathan became overcome with his feelings and had decided to tell Marilyn that he’d been in love with her for years and years . . . and he walked in on her and Charlie.”
“Oof.”
“Yes. And let’s face it, Jonathan’s not known for having a good temper. So Marilyn was sacked. Anabel tried to stow away on the helicopter, to no avail.”
“Got to give her credit,” I acknowledged. “But Jonathan’s not your father. He’s much too young.” I studied the picture again. Sam and Anabel had a similar smile.
“No, he isn’t,” Sam affirmed. “Let’s keep the focus on her, okay? She just called me about an hour ago. She’s miserable and lonely, and I’ve been trying to get her out of there for years, but it’s very complicated.”
“I can see that. So you want a report?”
“Yes, detailing everything you see. Check up on Jonathan, too. I like to keep him on his toes, even though he does a fantastic job running the place.” He glanced at his watch. “Look, we don’t have a lot of time. I need you to leave tomorrow.”
“I have Caps tickets, Sam.”
“Not anymore, you don’t,” he ordered. “We’ll fly you to Los Angeles, and you will go from there to Maui. From Maui you will be leaving on a freighter, and from the freighter, a helicopter will take you to the island.”
“I guess I better go pack,” I stood up.
“You should also know that Anabel is not in a good mood right now. She had made a friend with an inmate, and he has been banned from the island.”
“From what I understand about the people housed there, I can’t believe she was allowed to talk to one of them.”
Sam took off his glasses and looked at me. “She wasn’t. It was a very unfortunate circumstance. Anyway, you should know my sister’s temper rivals Jonathan’s.”
“I look forward to meeting her then,” I noted, walking toward the door.
“One last thing,” he called.
I turned.
“She’s my sister. You know better.” He didn’t look up, but I knew what he meant.
“She’s a kid, Sam. I definitely know better.”
***
Ms. Fischer turned to me. “Tell us about when you first got to Caereon.”
So it begins. “Well, I left right after that conversation with President Sallinger, and when I arrived on Caereon, Anabel and I were thrust together a lot, mostly as a ploy by her father to prevent me from doing a proper investigation of the premises. I do not think he was aware, at the time, that I had been sent there to investigate her.”
Ms. Fischer leaned forward. “Why don’t you start off by describing your relationship with Miss Martin?”
Anabel squirmed in her seat. Sam watched her, concerned. He hated me, and every glance he sent my way was filled with a cold fury that I had never seen on his face before. I was doing really well. The girl who used to adore me and my former best friend both could care less whether I lived or died. Still, I smiled and said something that I knew would make both of them even more uncomfortable.
“I didn’t know what to say to Anabel sometimes. The truth is, I didn’t know what to say to her the majority of the time, especially when she thought that she loved me,” I revealed, making eye contact with her. She shrank back in her seat, and the damage was done.
Sam looked hard at her. “He’s not serious, right? That was for show, to throw off your father. You didn’t really love him?” It was more of a statement than a question.
Anabel sat there motionless, her face devoid of emotion. I had never seen her like this, not even right before we were rescued. The Anabel Martin I knew was always warm and engaging. I wanted to shake her and bring her out of it. But I knew better. I had ruined her life and she would never trust me again. Not that I faulted her for it. We’d been in the same room for only a few hours, and every word out of my mouth was hurting her.
I was a jerk. That was what they paid me for, right?
***
The first time I saw Anabel was that day I stepped off the helicopter and onto Caereon. It had been a long journey, but I had reanimated at the prospect of meeting her. It had been hard for me to stomach that Sam had a sister—especially one that was more than twenty years younger than he was. She was there on the helipad, standing next to Jonathan. She was a sight, though. It was windy, so her hair was blowing all over the place and her skirt was climbing to dangerous levels above her knees. My eyes flicked from her (still no glimpse of the face, hidden by all of her hair) to Jonathan, who was approaching me. You would have thought that he was nearly seventy by his way of walking, but I knew better. Jonathan wasn’t much past fifty, and his daughter . . . well as I’d said to Sam, was a kid—a kid who I was supposed to babysit and at the same time keep my distance from.
It was the most nonsensical assignment I’d ever had.
At dinner I got a good look at her. She didn’t look anything like Jonathan. Her bright blue eyes were inquisitive, her smile alluring, and (from what I could tell) her figure wasn’t too bad either. You couldn’t help but feel bad for her, as she looked out of place in the odd grouping that consisted of her father, the head of security, Jonathan’s assistant, and a couple of older ladies. Doing some quick calculations, there was at least a fifteen year age gap between her and anyone else in the room. Studying her further, I still didn’t see any resemblance to Sam—who was it she looked like? That was driving me crazy—and it wasn’t until she started talking that I realized she shared the same shrewd intelligence that characterized her brother.
“Miss Martin,” I began, “I’m curious. It must be a boring existence for you on this island. What do you do all day?”
Anabel stared into my eyes. She had a very disconcerting gaze. “I study a fair amount,” she replied. “When I leave the island—” and here was a pointed look at her father—“I would like to study English literature and maybe go into library science. I was on a rigorous course of study until my father fired my instructor.” The bitterness in her voice was overpowering, and it almost made me chuckle. She wasn’t one for subtlety. “When I’m not doing that, there’s always something to do around here. Sometimes I help Charlie with the data and information, and—”
“Our Annie is quite the bookworm,” interjected Charlie, his hand lingering on Anabel‘s shoulder. “If you are ever at want for reading material, Mr. Sorensen, you should see Miss Anabel’s library.” Anabel did not look pleased at this suggestion, which I took some twisted pleasure in. Still, I was incredulous.
“She has a library?”
She nodded. “My personal one. My father has a much larger one, but I have a small one with my book collection adjacent to my bedroom.”
“You must show me later, Miss Martin,” I smiled at her.
She looked uninterested, but nodded. “I’m getting tired of this ‘Miss Martin’ routine. My name is Anabel. Understood, Jared?”
That was when I decided that I liked her. Here was someone who I could at least count on to give her real opinion. It was a refreshing change from Washington. I answered her question with a curt nod, but thought to myself, All right, Anabel. You and I are going to be fr
iends.
***
After dinner I asked her to show me around. Jonathan Martin’s place is practically a castle, and since we were on an island in the South Pacific, I figured I might get some time on the beach. That particular evening, however, Anabel wanted to stick to the house, which was fine with me—as it was, I had a long trip over there. She didn’t seem to want to walk next to me, keeping her pace just above mine, no matter how much I increased my step. Watching her move, a slight wiggle in her hips, caused me to lose focus and stare at her.
“What do you like to read?” she asked, shaking me from my thoughts.
“Why do you ask?”
She turned and rolled her eyes. “You asked to see my library. I was merely curious as to what you liked to read.” She quickened her pace again.
I decided to give her a surprising answer. “Byron,” I called.
Her steps came to a halt. She turned to me with an amused glance. “You read poetry?”
“Stranger things have happened,” I offered.
She still looked unimpressed. “Are you a fan of the Romantics then?”
“They were much less depressing than the Victorians,” I replied.
She smirked, and I could tell she was trying not to laugh. Then she flung open a door. “This is my library,” she proclaimed.
I was floored. Never before had I seen such a collection of books. Bookcases were wall to wall, with patterned rugs over the stone floor. Two armchairs sat in front of a blazing fire.
“Anything you don’t find in here, well . . . you’ll find in my dad’s library, but it’s all the way on the other side of the building and I don’t feel like walking over there.”
“Have you read all of these?”
She grimaced. “One gets bored.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder. “Surely you don’t expect me to hang around with Jonathan all day?”
I laughed, letting my guard down. That left me unprepared for when she pushed a strand of hair out of her eyes and glared at me. “Why are you here, Jared?”
“What do you mean?”
Again, she smirked at me. “Come off it. I know you’re here for some other reason than to pay a visit to the island.” She flopped into a chair. “It’s not exactly the most happening place. Did my brother send you?”
I wasn’t going to lie to her. “Yes, Sam sent me. He’s concerned about you.”
“He must be,” she remarked. “He doesn’t normally share the fact that we’re related, but you knew it, didn’t you?” She tilted her head. “I was a bit of a shock to my sister-in-law, I can assure you.”
She had trapped me. I improvised. “Well, he brought me into his confidence two days ago. He sent me here because he thought I was the one to get the job done.”
“Oh?” queried Anabel. “And what job is that, exactly? I mean, my father thinks you’re a snake, and Charlie spent the first part of my day warning me to watch my tongue around you. I’m not even kidding,” she continued, taking in my stark surprise. “Jonathan went on and on about what a horrible person you were, and I think if he had the resources, he would have had me fitted for a chastity belt then and there. So what’s the deal, Sorensen? Why does everyone think that you’re the big bad wolf?”
I cleared my throat. “I don’t have the best reputation in DC.”
“And why is that?”
“I have a lot of girlfriends.” There was no point in evading her.
“I bet you do.” She uncrossed and recrossed her legs, and I really needed to not watch her do that. Your best friend’s sister, I scolded myself. Anabel was only nineteen, and I had to remind myself that she was still practically a girl.
But looking didn’t hurt, right? “So will we be spending more time together?” I asked her.
She sighed. “Probably not. I don’t care much for other people. I’m fairly self-absorbed.”
At least she was honest. She was smiling at me, though, with the bright eyes, so I took it that she might deign to tolerate my presence.
Anyway, the conversation ended well. I think Anabel was starting to like me, despite her cool demeanor. We agreed to meet the next morning after breakfast and take a tour of the facility. She suggested that I should bring my walking shoes, and I looked forward to my time alone with Miss Martin.
How could I have known things would have turned out the way that they did?
“Alright, that’s enough for today,” Ms. Fischer announced. “This hearing will reconvene next Monday.” She banged her gavel and they filed out of the room.
I looked at the floor, figuring that I would just wait for everyone else to leave. I had hoped to avoid the two people at the end of the table the most and I was certain that Sam would not allow Anabel to talk to me.
But somehow she eluded her brother’s grasp and came to stand before me, scowling. “Looking didn’t hurt, right? You’re such a pig.” She let out a brittle laugh. “But hey, at least I’m honest, right? I love this revisionist history, Jared. It’s classic.”
I met her eyes, but what could I do? She had every right to be mad.
“Is there anything I can say?” I asked her.
“No,” she pronounced, and then Sam was at her side.
“What are you doing?” he hissed at her.
“Leaving. With you,” she responded. As they left I heard her say to him, “So what exactly do these Congress-people have to do that’s more important than solving Jonathan’s murder? I can’t believe we have a whole week before we come back. I mean, seriously! This is why people whine about government, Sam!”
I almost smiled. At least she still called it like she saw it.
Chapter 3—Anabel
The week passed by in relative tranquility. I spent the bulk of my time reading and taking walks when nobody was looking. I was getting lazy and fat, not being on the island where I had to walk everywhere. I felt restless and had a fair amount of wanderlust. Nearly every day I proposed an excursion; I had been here for over four months and had never ventured into a single Smithsonian Institution. My brother protested he was too busy; Alexis was constantly gone at some charity function or on the phone with her nanny about the children, who had been removed to Martha’s Vineyard while we dealt with the fallout of, well, me existing. So in vain I begged the bodyguards, but they refused to go anywhere not authorized by Sam.
Sam at least acted like he felt bad.
“I’m sorry, Annie,” he offered in an attempt to console me. “But the press wants to talk to you, and we’re in a delicate place right now. You don’t have the coaching to handle this sort of situation.”
“What if I wore a disguise?” I whined. “Sam, this is so unfair. I have a case of cabin fever so severe that . . . that . . .” I trailed off.
He raised an eyebrow, and I knew he was getting annoyed at me. “You can’t tell me this is worse than where you were before. All you did was complain and swear up and down that if I got you off of the island, you’d never ask me for anything again. I held up my end of the bargain.”
“I just didn’t think I would be going from one prison to another,” I lamented.
“This will soon be over, and you can do whatever you please,” he snapped. He turned away, but over his shoulder came, “I expected better of you, Anabel.”
After that I felt so terrible I maintained an aura of obedience for the rest of the week.
Before I knew it, it was Monday again and I was in the car with Sam. “You’re quiet today, Anabel,” he remarked.
I stared out the window. “I’m just not looking forward to this, that’s all.”
He cleared his throat. “I’m sorry about the other day; I know you are probably a little stir-crazy.”
I cracked a grin. “Oh Sam, I know you’re just trying to protect me.” When he answered in the affirmative, I said, “Just remember that Jonathan also said he was trying to protect me.”
He colored, and we finished our car ride in silence.
When we got into the hearing room, I took my se
at at the front and waited impatiently for the members of Congress to arrive. When they did, and Ms. Fischer had called us to order, I raised my hand.
“Miss Martin?” she acknowledged.
“Ma’am, I really would like to take charge in handling any of your questions about my relationship with Mr. Sorensen. I feel that he is imagining things that I may have said, and he is extremely misguided in purporting that I had any supposed regard for him.”
“Objection, your honor,” Jared interrupted. “She was completely in love with me.”
I let out a dramatic sigh. “Yes, Jared, of course I was. By the way, this isn’t a courtroom.” The room filled with laughter, and Jared looked almost embarrassed. I stood up. “Ms. Fischer, here’s what really happened.”
“So, Jared and I met up the next morning at seven. I had spent the night unable to sleep, visions of Kevin haunting me. I hoped nothing terrible had befallen him, but the fact was, I had watched a lot of specials on maximum security prisons. I had overheard Charlie mention to Evelyn that Kevin was sent to ADX Florence, and a quick perusal on the internet made me horrified. I knew what happened there, and the anxiety caused me to toss and turn for hours.
“What did I think of Jared? Well, I wasn’t impressed at our initial encounter, but Sam had sent him, and I trusted my brother’s judgment. I know that I haven’t exactly been a huge presence in my brother’s life, but we had become close—despite the thousands of miles that separated us. After the death of our mother, Sam had gone out of his way to make sure that I was tolerably happy on the island, and I appreciated it a great deal. After all, I’m a lot younger than he is, and Sam had never let me down before. Therefore, I had every reason to believe that Sorensen’s presence on the island was a sign that things were going to improve for me. I did not think that things could get any worse.
“Anyway, so Jared and I met up in the front hall, and we went outside. It was a bright, sunny day, and we walked along the outer wall of the storage facility. It’s beautiful there, you can really see the ocean, and a lot of conversation is drowned out by the crashing of waves against the shore. To be honest, I had wanted that—I was starting to realize that I was uncomfortable talking to Jared. I couldn’t explain why to myself, exactly. I think part of it was he was so unlike everyone else around me. We walked for about an hour and a half, neither of us saying much. He turned to face me at several points, but I avoided his eyes. It was starting to get hot, and a few beads of sweat exploded onto his forehead. I had taken care to wear plenty of sunscreen and a hat, and wasn’t all that bothered, but I felt a twinge and thought I shouldn’t make him suffer.
Anabel Unraveled Page 3