Intrusion

by Kay, Arlene

  If he broke my heart, I would never recover. I was playing in a high stakes game that had no rules. I’m a lousy card-player anyhow. Kai used to peek openly at my hand and wipe me out every time.

  Kai … he still visited my dreams, but each time it felt easier, as though he wanted this for me. Another chance at life, a chance to finish the journey we’d started together.

  “You are pensive, ma belle,” Lucian said, playing with tendrils of my hair. “What concerns you?”

  “I just want this thing to end,” I said. “Then Tommy can rest in peace.”

  “You are prepared for any outcome?” he asked. “Things may not go according to plan, you know.”

  I nodded. “But at least I will have tried. It’s the only way I can live with myself.”

  He brushed his lips gently across mine. “Do you believe that some things are meant to be? Kismet, they call it. Destiny.”

  My throat tightened. “I don’t know. Bad things aren’t always inevitable.”

  His eyes were azure magnets pulling me into their depths. “Often they are followed by good things. I would not have met you without your friend’s tragedy. So some good came out of that wickedness.”

  I buried my face in the soft folds of his sweater, content to hear his perfect heartbeat. “You saved my life, Lucian. No matter what else happens, I’ll always be grateful for that.”

  He forced me to look up at him. “Listen to me. I told you early on, Elisa. I love you. As long as you want me, I will never leave your side.”

  ~

  It was almost time. In ten minutes the first guests would arrive at CYBER-MED, and our show would start. I shivered, even though my red dress was made of softest cashmere. I’m no glamour girl at the best of times. With today’s high stakes, fussing over my appearance seemed criminally negligent. Candy had another point of view. She invoked every threat, promise and compliment in her power to inveigle me into primping. She won, of course. Her final taunt about Lucian and the chic image of French women stung me into submission. By the time she finished with me, my hair, makeup and accessories all had the Sweet Nothings seal of approval.

  If the plan worked, which was a big unknown, Tommy’s death would finally be avenged. It wouldn’t bring him back, couldn’t staunch the pain of losing him. But somewhere, he and Kai were watching, cheering us on. I knew that with every fiber of my being. Retribution is a time-honored tradition, but this wasn’t revenge. Not really. I sought only justice. Thomas Yancey would have scorched the earth if I’d been murdered. I could do no less for him.

  Candy was nowhere and everywhere. She flew from room to room, hectoring caterers, nudging workers, and shamelessly fawning over supermodels. Her shimmering aqua silk had a plunging neckline that would pop Chernikova’s eyeballs out. No worries about where he’d be lurking, no sir.

  My other partner was the poster child for poise. Meg trotted around the office, composed and perky, in a subdued satin suit that hugged her body. If she were anxious, it wasn’t evident. To the contrary, her stride and fixed smile proclaimed that all was well at CYBER-MED. Even her husband’s antics didn’t faze her.

  We had police protection, too. Officer Cohen corralled Arun, giving him the big-eyed look, absorbing his words like a reef-building sponge. I knew for a fact that around one shapely knee was a holstered Baby Glock, the ultimate power accessory.

  Lucian held me tight before I left. “Do not fear, Elisa. All will be well.” His palm glided down the length of my dress, skimming the neckline. “So soft and lovely,” he whispered. “Take care today. You are precious to me, you and Candy.” He bit his lip. “If only I were there to protect you.”

  “Hey. What can happen in a room full of doctors, dignitaries and security types? I promise to stay near Francie and her Glock. Besides, you’ve got the most important job, protecting the Secretary of State.”

  His caress made me yelp. “We’ve missed something. I know it. Something obvious. Dr. Cahill is too composed, too assured. If only I could find the key.”

  I stood on tiptoe, pressing my lips to his. “Don’t worry, Lucian. I can handle myself. Candy, too, if I have to.”

  “I must worry, mon ange. I love you.”

  Despite innate caution and lawyerly instincts, those words made my heart quiver. My brave talk of independence was just that, talk. I’d been half-alive since Kai’s death, but things were different now. I had made the transition. Kai was my beloved past, Lucian Sand, my future. I floated into CYBER-MED on a cloud of joy.

  “Where is he?” Candy barked. “Where’s Tony Torres?”

  That brought me down to earth. “How do I know? I just got here, for heaven’s sake. Maybe Tornado had to use the bathroom or something. It happens, you know.”

  “Maybe he’s gone after Lucian. Ever think of that, genius?”

  Even I wasn’t sure when Lucian was. I knew he was close enough to monitor Richard Chernikova and keep him safe. That’s all I cared about. I pointed Candy toward Rand Lindsay. “There. Ask Rand about it. He’ll know.”

  Rand encased both of us in a friendly hug. “Wow, you ladies look gorgeous! Let me stand near you. I could use some glamour.”

  He’d worn his good blue suit with a starched white shirt. No tie. Ties violate some geek commandment.

  “Where’s your buddy?” Candy asked. “Why isn’t he here?”

  “Huh? Oh, you mean Tony. Family emergency. He’ll be in later.” Rand smiled as he surveyed Candy’s handiwork. “This is amazing. Look at those models, my Lord. Wouldn’t Tommy love this? He’d be all over those ladies.” He looked guiltily at us, putting his hand over his mouth. “Sorry. It’s just that he was so … alive. He even liked those stupid little dogs those girls carry.”

  “Tommy loved dogs,” Candy said. “Cats, too. All animals.”

  “No one but old ladies loves those yippy little things,” Rand said. “Ugh! Little rats, and their owners dress them up and put those obnoxious photos all over the place. Now your Della is my idea of a real dog. No need to dress her up like a baby.”

  I patted his arm. “She thanks you, sir. Now I see the security detail. Positions, everyone. It’s show time.”

  Richard Chernikova and a spate of local celebrities swept into CYBER-MED. After Cap Coleman and I welcomed them, most of our guests vaulted over to the open bar and buffet table. Chernikova never moved. His eyes were fixed on the beauteous Candace Ott and her most prominent assets. Poor Meg. She barely contained her fury at being displaced by a makeup artist. Everything was fine, just as we planned it, until Rand tapped me on the shoulder.

  “Miss Elisabeth, may I see you?” His cheeks were mottled, and that spark of Alabama accent was now an inferno.

  “Are you ill?” I asked.

  He guided me toward his cubicle. “It’s not that. I just heard from Tornado.” Rand gulped a lungful of air. “I don’t understand it. He says he’s got the Sandman, that he plans to kill him.”

  “What? Lucian, oh my God! Let’s find Francie. We need the police.”

  Rand clutched my arm. “No. Tony says he’ll kill Lucian if you get the cops. He wants you, you and Ms. Ott. Says he has to explain something.” He was babbling now, almost hysterical. “Please, ma’am. Don’t push him. You don’t know what Tony’s like when he’s angry.”

  I thought of Kai’s Glock, nestled in my shoulder bag. It was loaded now. Lethal. I beckoned Candy with an emphatic wave. After several attempts she eluded Chernikova and joined us.

  “What’s wrong with you?” she groused. “He was really buying my act.”

  “It wasn’t your act he was buying,” I said, nodding toward Rand. “Tell her.”

  She listened without ever losing her pleasant smile. It was frozen in place. “OK,” she said when Rand finished, “how do we know he’s really got Lucian?” She turned to me. “Call him, Betts. Then we’ll know for sure.”

  I masked my fear with a dull monotone. “I already tried. No answer. He told me wherever he’s staying has poor reception. Maybe th
at’s it.”

  We all knew better. Things moved in slow motion as if we were all paralyzed. Candy’s rictus grin, Rand’s pasty complexion, my inertia—none of it mattered anymore. Lucian needed my help.

  “Where is he?” I asked. “We can slip away from here without anyone noticing.”

  “Watch out,” Candy whispered. “Arun Rao at six o’clock.” She threw back her shoulders, giving him a clear view of perfection.

  “What’s the matter?” Arun asked her. “Trading up these days? I saw you with that lecher. He’s Meg’s property, in case you don’t know it.” He slid his arm around Candy. “Stay close to me. He won’t bother you then.”

  “Not now, Arun.” Candy said. “Wait ‘til this thing ends.” She checked her watch. “Meet you at my place at ten o’clock, OK?”

  Arun snarled. “It will have to be, won’t it?” He stalked over to the bar and filled up.

  “That was close,” Candy sighed. “Maybe we should have told Arun.”

  Rand’s eyes widened. “Please. We need to do something. I’ll go by myself, if you want. You ladies can stay safe.”

  Candy rolled her eyes. “Oh, for Christ’s sake. You’re dramatizing. Where are we meeting him?”

  “Around the block on the waterfront,” Rand said. “It’s faster if we drive. I’ve got a car outside.”

  We slipped out the door and into the elevator.

  Candy leaned against the door as if her strength was almost gone. “I guess Tony’s the murderer,” she said. “Too bad. He’s really built.”

  I felt the Glock’s substantial weight in my purse. I would use it to save Lucian. “He killed Tommy,” I said. “I hope he fries in hell.” We exited the front door under the stern eye of one of Chernikova’s security men.

  “This way,” Rand said, steering us toward an elderly Lincoln Town Car. His gait was slow and unsteady. “Do you mind driving, Ms. Ott? I’m not feeling so well.”

  “No problem,” she said, “but this thing feels more like an ocean liner. Ever consider going green, Rand?”

  He helped me into the front seat while he sprawled in the back. “Oh, it’s not mine,” he laughed. “A friend loaned it to me. Turn right on Mass. Avenue. Head toward Fan Pier.”

  “It’s getting dark. I hope you know where we’re going. Lucian isn’t this far away. He’s much closer to CYBER-MED.” My fear grew with each block. “Oh, God. How did Tony find out? We never told anyone, just our little group.”

  “That’s a problem,” Rand said.

  I felt something cold and hard, pressing into my back through the seat.

  “Don’t move, Miss Elisabeth. I’d hate to shoot you.” Rand’s voice wasn’t weak now. It was vibrant, mocking. “Oh, I took the liberty of borrowing your Glock.”

  Twenty-Eight

  I whirled around, looking for my purse.

  “Easy does it,” Rand said, “and don’t try anything funny, Ms. Ott, unless you want me to blow a sizable hole in your best friend. Slow down and drive into that warehouse.” He pointed to a cavernous space that looked abandoned.

  “What’s going on, Rand? Stop this nonsense.” Candy wasn’t scared. She was angry.

  “I’ll take the keys, please, ma’am. You probably figured everything out by now. Right, Mrs. Buckley?”

  It wasn’t possible. Affable Rand Lindsay killed my friend? “I don’t understand. Tony had all that money. You didn’t. We checked everyone.”

  He scoffed, a high-pitched giggle, actually, just like the sound on the tape.

  “Tornado has nothing except tons of debt from those rug rats of his.”

  “But his checking account …” I was babbling, trying hard to focus on this new reality.

  “I gave you that information, Mrs. Buckley. You trusted me. People always do. It’s the secret to my success. Tommy trusted me, too. That’s why he met with me that night. Such a nice guy. So fair.” He snickered.

  “Who poisoned you?” Candy asked. “Your partner?”

  “Forget it, Candy,” I said. “He did it himself. It’s the oldest trick in the book. Agatha Christie used it all the time. Throws suspicion off the murderer.”

  Rand clapped his hands. “High marks, Mrs. B., although I might have overdone things a tad. That crap made me really sick.” His air was untroubled, as if we were three old cronies swapping war stories.

  “Too bad it didn’t kill you,” Candy spat. “Bastard! You and Meg Cahill should both fry in hell.”

  “Perhaps,” he said, “but when you two lovely ladies are found asphyxiated in the trunk of Tony’s old junker,” he spread his hands, “what are we to think? Officer Cohen and Sandman will share your suspicions. They’ll find that fifty thousand in Tony’s checking account, too.”

  “I thought you said …”

  “I did. But that sum was added to his private account this morning.” Rand shrugged. “Hated to part with it, but chalk it up to the cost of doing business. I’ve got plenty more. So does my partner.” There was that hideous simper again.

  “Lucian won’t rest until he finds out.” It was cold comfort, but I was certain of that.

  “Ah, what a man he is. Sandman showed me how to pull this thing off, you know. He trusted me, too, totally bought my act. He was so obsessed about his brother’s death that he didn’t see the real potential.”

  He nuzzled Candy’s neck with the barrel of the Glock. “I hope you’re not counting on some last minute rescue, ladies. That only happens in books and bad melodramas. No one comes around here except junkies and whores. They sure as hell won’t help you.”

  I refused to give up. There were two of us, after all, and Rand was no physical match for us. If I could just distract him long enough to get that gun.

  Keep him talking, Lizzie Mae.

  I said a silent prayer to Kai and Tommy, begging for help. They would understand that I didn’t want to join them now. Not yet.

  “Tony knew all about that Mercedes and the lady’s dog pictures. How could he?”

  “Yeah,” Candy said, her voice quivering, “unless you told him, you prick.”

  “Bingo. I fed Tornado enough information to hang him. Knowing you ladies, I’m sure you shared that tidbit with the divine doctor and Officer Cohen.”

  He had an enormous, insatiable ego. I had to play to that.

  “Pretty clever, I must admit. But you’re a decent guy, Rand. Why did you do it?”

  He shook his head, more in sorrow than anger. “That’s really unworthy of you, Mrs. B. Tommy asked the same thing. Couldn’t understand my motive. I did it for the obvious reason, money. Filthy lucre. My days of begging and scraping for tuition money are long gone. See, I hooked up with Terrell Tate at one of those boring fundraisers. She spent hours telling me about her money-grubbing half-sister and how she wanted her dead.” He gave that warm, familiar grin. “You know how sympathetic people find me. I agreed to check out Mary Alice Tate’s medical info for her. Then one thing led to another and voila, big bucks.”

  I stole a look at my watch. It was nine-thirty. The event ended a half-hour ago. At least Chernikova had escaped this maniac for now. Besides, Lucian was probably searching for me.

  “Do me one favor, Rand. Tell me how you murdered Tommy. Surely you didn’t go over to Wellesley after that woman’s car.”

  His face softened for a moment. “You know, I really do like you, Mrs. B. I wish things could be different. OK, if you must know, it was kismet. Just plain old luck. After Tommy confronted me, he gave me an option. Turn myself in, or he would. He actually thought I’d do the honorable thing.” Rand hooted at that. “Anyhow, I left a few minutes before him and there it was, a miracle. Some stoner drove up in that Mercedes and dumped it keys and all, can you believe it? Well, I put that thing to good use. When Tommy came out, I followed him. Had to get everything right, you know. Then I gunned that sucker and mowed him down.”

  I couldn’t stop the tears that stole down my cheeks. I didn’t even try.

  “You should have seen his express
ion right before I hit him. Priceless! He thought he was such hot shit, but I showed him.”

  Candy was openly weeping now. For Tommy, not for us. Not yet.

  “But Dr. Cahill. How did that happen?” I sighed. “No harm in telling us now. Dead men tell no tales, as they say. Women, too.”

  Rand smiled. “Believe it or not, I met my partner through a referral. Terrell Tate. We found that we had mutual interests, shall we say. Four more at one million per.” He licked his lips. “Made good business sense for both of us.”

  Candy shivered. “Can’t you turn on the heater? It’s freezing in here.”

  “You’ll be glad for the cold when you’re in that trunk. Won’t be long now. My partner’s coming to pick me up.” He grinned. “You didn’t think I’d try to handle both of you by myself. Not smart, and as you know, I’m very smart.”

  Headlights flashed against the warehouse windows.

  “What did I tell you,” Rand smirked. “Ask my partner all those questions about motive. You’ll love the answer.”

  We watched a sleek black car drive in. Some foreign make, probably a Lexus. The driver kept the high beams trained on our vehicle. A car door slammed as a figure inched toward us. Rand hauled himself out of the back seat, making a gallant gesture toward his partner.

  “Here we go, ladies. Ask away.”

  We stared into the fleshy face of Carter Cahill.

  I was speechless, frozen with disbelief. Carter Cahill, that bumbling ineffectual fool, was the last person I’d suspected. He shuffled toward us, his face as blank as scrubbed chalkboard.

  “Come on, Rand. Let’s get this show on the road. Meggie will wonder where I am.”

  He didn’t acknowledge us. That bastard acted as if we weren’t even there. I couldn’t take that. I refused.

  “So you bankrolled this enterprise,” I said. My voice sounded normal. I was proud of that. “Why bother? They won’t be the last ones, you know. She’s addicted to it.”

  Candy caught on right away. “Guess you can’t give her what she needs, Carter. Meg spreads them for anything male. Hell, she probably even gave Rand a tumble.”