The lieutenant sighed. “What do you have up your sleeve, Amanda?”
“What do you mean?” Mandy asked innocently, wiping her nose on the back of her hand.
“I mean that you are hatching some plot back there, missy, I can hear the wheels turning,” Manning said. “I can smell the wood burning too.”
“You’re very suspicious,” Mandy said.
“And you’re very clever, not the type to sit home and knit when your true love has just been hauled off in the paddy wagon. So I ask again, what are you up to?”
“I have an idea to help Brendan,” she said to Brendan’s boss. “It may be a long shot or it may be right on target, I just don’t know. But I have to see my father in order to find out. So please trust that I am following my instincts to get Kelly out of this.”
“I know that you want to help him,” Manning said. “Just be sure you don’t make things worse.”
“Okay,” Amanda said. Manning fell silent and they didn’t talk again until the lieutenant pulled up to the carport at the Redfield house. Amanda went inside as her father came out to greet them and took Ted Manning aside.
“Your mother is waiting in the den,” Jonathan said to his daughter as she trotted past him.
Amanda ignored that and went straight to her father’s office down the hall. She saw that his computer was off and punched the keys to start it humming.
“Amanda?” her mother said from the doorway. “What are you doing at your father’s desk?”
“I need some access codes for Dad’s computer,” Mandy said.
“Whatever for? Does he know you’re in here?”
Mandy rose and went to join her mother, deciding not to press the issue right at that moment.
“He knows I’m here. He’s outside with Lieutenant Manning,” Mandy said to her mother.
“Who is fresh from arresting your boyfriend,” Margaret replied pointedly.
“No flies on you, Mother, I gather you have heard all about it,” Mandy said.
“I can’t say I’m surprised,” Margaret stated. “I have told you from the beginning that boy was no good. I don’t care how many heroism awards he’s won or how many decorations he got in the war, he has an impulse control problem.”
“He does, Mother, when a defeated rival who resents him bitterly torments him about the most important thing in his life, which happens to be me. I haven’t noticed the problem elsewhere, and I can assure you that I have given Kelly plenty of reason to lose control. One night when Cameron was at large I had a hefty drink and felt Kelly up like a chiropractor trying to get him to make love to me. No sale.”
“Please, Amanda, spare me the details,” Margaret said faintly, turning red to the roots of her ashen hair.
Mandy continued without interruption. “He stuck to his police code or whatever it’s called and I spent the night alone, with only his sweater for company. So please don’t try to convince me that Kelly is some rampaging outlaw bent on destroying civilization as we know it.”
“He broke Tom’s nose,” Margaret said.
“So I’ve heard. And from what I remember of Tom’s nose, any alteration could only be an improvement.”
“Don’t be childish, Amanda,” Margaret said frostily.
“Don’t be self righteous, Mother. I’m sorry your little plan to acquire a tame son-in-law who would be acceptable to the country club set didn’t work out but I’m going to do what I can to help Kelly and you’re not going to stop me.”
“I wouldn’t dream of trying to stop you,” Margaret sniffed. “If you can’t see why you should marry sensible and reasonable Tom Henderson instead of chasing after that…hooligan, then I wash my hands of the whole thing.”
“Most people are sensible and reasonable as long as you’re doing what they want,” Amanda said. “For two years I did exactly what Tom wanted and he was the personification of reason and sanity. Then I stopped doing what he wanted and he turned ugly. He had worked hard to get all of his ducks in a row and then Kelly blew them out of the water.” She leaned toward her mother conspiratorially. “I don’t think Tom liked that,” she whispered theatrically, “and he’s been determined to make me pay for it ever since.”
“And so he lured your unsuspecting lover into jumping him. Now Tom will sit back and laugh as Kelly takes the fall and your life with your detective is ruined. That doesn’t make your cop seem very intelligent, Amanda, I hope you realize that.”
“Don’t go there, Mother. I might be tempted to tell you how intelligent you seemed as Tom romanced me while planning to fleece you for a country house or a German car or a hefty campaign contribution. There’s plenty of covert motivation to go around, don’t you think?”
Margaret’s face crumpled suddenly and she said tearfully, “I just wanted you to be settled, Amanda. Your brother is bent on self destruction and I just wanted my other child, my only girl, to be settled.”
“Rick isn’t going to self destruct. Dad will go down there and bail him out again, and maybe this time he’ll refuse to fund Rick’s next venture and Rick will grow up a little. And I’m okay, Mother. Really.”
“I wish I could believe that. Your relationship with this detective has turned you into a shrew who combusts spontaneously when anyone suggests that he might have a few flaws. He’s a risk taker, that’s his whole life, and I just want you to be safe.”
Amanda was instantly sorry for what she had said and promised herself to stop sparring with her mother, no matter how tempting that prospect might be. “I am safe, Mother,” she said gently. “I am the last person on earth who would be in danger from Brendan Kelly, you have to trust me on that. I know he seems reckless to you but you don’t know the situation well and you don’t know him at all.”
“I know he’s living up to his name,” Margaret sniffed.
“His name?” Mandy said.
“Kelly. Like Ned Kelly, that highwayman in 1800’s Australia. Probably an ancestor,” Margaret said airily.
Mandy tried not to laugh as she pictured Kelly, with his soccer shorts and hamburger habit, as the modern incarnation of the bearded Aussie Robin Hood.
Her mother was certainly reaching.
Jonathan Redfield entered the room and said to Amanda, “Ted Manning just left. He confirmed that last evening the police took Detective Kelly into custody tonight for assaulting Tom. Ted also said you wanted to talk to me, Amanda.”
“I do.”
They both looked at Mandy’s mother.
“I’m going,” Margaret said, already walking toward the hall. “Don’t let me keep you from your private discussions.”
She exited haughtily, disguising her disappointment.
Amanda never wanted to talk to HER.
Mandy sat in the leather chair facing her father’s desk and said, “Dad, I need your help.”
“Somehow I thought you might. I never seem to see you unless you do.” Jonathan sat behind his desk and folded his hands on the blotter.
That stung a little, and Mandy fell silent.
“I suppose this concerns Detective Kelly,” Jonathan continued.
“Yes.”
Her father sighed. “Ted Manning thinks he really may have overplayed his hand this time.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that Manning can’t save him now, Amanda. Ted did a lot of fast talking to the police brass to get Kelly out of trouble when he commandeered the squad car during the Cameron case.” Mandy’s father eyed her directly and held her gaze. “Manning also convinced the IA investigators that Kelly was not having an affair with you while he was protecting you,” Jonathan added neutrally.
“He wasn’t. We didn’t get together until after the Cameron case was closed.”
“So he obeyed the rules then.”
“He always does on his job.”
“I find that hard to believe. He has a wild streak, Amanda. He manages to keep that tendency under wraps most of the time, but it comes out under stress. Can you live with
that?”
“I can, Dad.”
“I hope so. I could see even at his award ceremony how much in love with him you were. You couldn’t take your eyes off him. And I can also see why you find him so alluring: his looks, the offhand charm, that direct, inclusive gaze. He has something. I even liked him when I met him. I especially liked his obvious devotion to you, which from what Ted Manning tells me is quite a change from his previous behavior.”
“Is that a hint that he has a past reputation as a player?”
“It’s more than a hint, Amanda, I am very alarmed at the way this is developing. Even if I weren’t worried about his reputation with women I would most certainly be worried about the trouble he is in now. Are you planning to visit him when he goes to prison?”
“He is not going to prison.”
“He thinks he is. Ted told me he got word that Kelly has requested no visitors while he’s being held pending disposition. It was the first thing he said to the intake officers when he was being booked.” Jonathan sat back in his chair and regarded his daughter thoughtfully. “He’s trying to cut you loose, Amanda. He is an experienced police officer and he thinks he is going down hard for this incident. He doesn’t want to drag you down with him. That’s commendable, and even noble.” Jonathan sighed. “He’s a complicated individual, it’s clear. At the same time he’s a bar brawler he’s also a realist with your welfare uppermost in his mind. And he thinks your welfare will be served best by parting company with him when he’s charged with attempted murder.”
“He’s not guilty of attempted murder, Dad! I’m sure that even you don’t think he was trying to kill Tom when he hit him. Tom antagonized him into it and now is going after him with the maximum charge because of me.”
“Jealousy?”
Amanda shook her head. “Ego. Losing the millionaire’s daughter to a salaried public servant has made him look bad to the wealthy townies whose association he covets. Fewer campaign donations and business contacts may result.”
“You make Tom sound very shallow. Is that why you find Detective Kelly so attractive? He seems to have only one concern other than his position with the police force, and that’s you.” Jonathan opened his hands. “Love often finds expression in self sacrifice, Amanda. It may be that he’s trying to do you the biggest favor of your life by letting you go now.”
“I don’t care what he’s trying to do. I’m not going away no matter how much he thinks he’ll save me by taking this on alone.” Her tone had the note of finality that Jonathan recognized from her elementary school days, when she refused to wear an outfit Margaret had chosen regardless of parental persuasion.
Jonathan sighed. “All right. I know better than to argue with you when you’ve made up your mind to this degree. Tell me what you need.”
“I came here to look into your company files to see what Tom has been up to in China. I always suspected it was something not quite above board because it happened so fast and he was so covert about it, but once I broke up with him I didn’t care what he was doing. Now I want to know, but I also want to make sure that whatever is going on with his import corporation is separate and apart from the marina development deal he has with you.”
Jonathan nodded. “It is.”
“You’re not a partner in the importing business, you’re not a signator on the shipping loans, bills of lading or anything else?”
“I’m not.”
“Silent partner, majority investor, board of directors, anything like that?”
“No.”
“So you were just planning to buy the materials and equipment from Tom once they became available and use them in the marina construction?”
“Yes.”
Amanda sighed in relief.
“Why are you asking?”
Amanda hesitated, not sure how much she should tell him.
“You want to get some dirt on Tom but you want to make sure it doesn’t implicate me,” Jonathan said correctly.
“It’s better that I don’t give you the details, Dad. If you don’t know anything you can’t be deposed or subpoenaed for information later. Just trust me. If I find what I think may be there I can use it to force Tom to drop the charges against Kelly.”
“Blackmail?” her father said.
“If you want to call it that.”
“That’s what it is,” Jonathan said flatly.
Mandy paused. “Do you have a problem with me looking into it?” she asked, holding her father’s gaze. “Tell me now. It could make all the difference in getting Kelly off the hook.”
“Amanda, Tom is a partner is one of my businesses. You are my child. My loyalty is with you. And I certainly want to know if Tom is doing anything underhanded. Just…” He paused.
“Yes?”
“Just don’t manufacture anything to help Kelly,” her father said simply.
“I’m not going to do something which would put me on the same footing as Tom,” Amanda replied.
Jonathan closed his eyes and opened them again slowly. “Is this young man going to be worth all the angst, Amanda?” he said.
“I love him, Dad. I realize now that I know him better than anybody else does. You just have to take my word for it that he has more than his share of flaws but doesn’t deserve what Tom is doing to him.”
“But you understand that Kelly is in this trouble because he is recklessly impulsive,” Jonathan said.
“Yes. I also understand that the impulsive risk he took in going after me without authorization when Cameron had me cornered is what saved my life.”
“What do you expect me to say to that, Amanda?” Jonathan asked, frustrated by her ability to refute his every objection.
“I don’t expect you to say anything. I’m just asking you to see it from my perspective.”
“The perspective of a romantic young woman hopelessly in love with a rake she thinks is dashing and everyone else perceives as dangerous?”
“Margaret Redfield is not everyone else,” Amanda said dryly. “Kelly’s boss, your old pal Ted Manning, doesn’t think Kelly is a loose cannon. He thinks Kelly is a great cop and he knows Kelly is getting railroaded with this charge.”
Jonathan considered that for a moment, then nodded. “I guess there is a fine line between two points of view sometimes.”
Amanda sighed restlessly. She was wasting time jockeying with her father while Kelly languished in jail, convinced that his life was over and determined not to see her again.
“Now all I need is a few minutes with your computers and some time tomorrow with Jane and Harold to get into Tom’s system and see what he’s been doing. Can you do without your accountant and your assistant for a couple of days? Can you arrange that for me?”
“Certainly. Be here at eight in the morning tomorrow and they’ll be waiting for you.”
“Good. I’ll work at home. Sam doesn’t seem to care if I appear in person or not as long as I meet my deadlines.”
“There will always be a job for you at one of my companies,” Jonathan said, smiling. “Just in case Sam Rhinegold gives you the pink slip.”
“He won’t have to, Dad. I’m resigning so I can work on Kelly’s case.”
“Are you sure that’s wise?”
“Yes. Sam will probably follow me out with a brass band after all the trouble I’ve caused him. And there is a true conflict now, I’ll be working on behalf of someone his office will be prosecuting.” She got up to go.
“Amanda?” her father said.
Mandy turned back to look at him.
“What if there’s nothing in those files to help Kelly?” Jonathan asked, giving voice to the question Mandy didn’t want to ask.
“I’ll find something. I have to find something.”
Mandy blew him a kiss before she left.
* * * * *
Kelly was booked routinely and then spent several hours in the tank with the drunks and the junkies and the hookers before he was moved to a back room for a cursory interrogation. His
fellow officers didn’t want to question him and Manning didn’t want to set up a case against him so he was processed quickly and then transferred to a holding cell. He lay on a stripped bunk covered with an army blanket. His arm over his eyes blocked out the meager light drifting into the small space from the intake room.
This was the lowest point of his life.
Kelly didn’t wan to think about what he had just lost with Amanda, what his knee jerk reaction to Tom Henderson’s jibe had cost him. If he did that he would surely go mad. He fixed his concentration on keeping Amanda away from his current crisis and making sure that her life would go on normally once he was out of the picture.
If there was one last thing he could do for her it would be to guarantee that his crash landing affected her as little as possible. He wasn’t going to see her again in connection with his case and he would make that break permanent. He no longer cared what happened to him but she had a future without him that he wanted to remain intact. He would be able to bear anything if he knew that she was okay.
Kelly listened to a heroin addict in withdrawal moaning and vomiting in the cell next to his. He turned over and covered his head with his hands as if he were protecting himself from a mortar barrage in Iraq. That was a little better; he could hear less of his neighbor’s misery and he was surrounded by almost total darkness. There was a problem with the void, though, because it was immediately filled with an image of Amanda’s face, laughing at something he had said. He squeezed his eyes shut but he could still see it, the image was carved into his brain. She was so pretty: the bouncy and shiny auburn hair, the lively and teasing green eyes, the beautiful sudden smile, like sunlight breaking over water. “Trusty, dusky, vivid and true; eyes of gold and bramble dew.” He was not a reader, had failed English in high school (twice) and knew almost no poetry by heart, but he had learned that couplet when he was twelve for an American history program. Robert Louis Stevenson had written those lines about his wife, and they had resurfaced in his mind when he met Amanda. Her eyes were hazel green with gold flecks, and the trusty and true part couldn’t be more accurate. He had to make sure that stubborn loyalty wasn’t her undoing.
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