“You’re right,” she said quietly. “I’m Aunt Shereen. I had to leave here to protect myself after...after your mother disappeared. I had to make myself look different. But I’m back because I was worried about you.”
“Yeah, sure.” His tone was harsh. “Are you a friend of my father’s? What are you trying to do?”
Kelly had known this wouldn’t be easy, but she pressed on. “I came here because I saw you on some social media sites looking...well, looking sad again. And more. And I couldn’t let...” She stopped, but only for a moment. “Look, let’s go sit down and I’ll tell you about it.”
* * *
The affair at the Blue View was huge. Alan hadn’t been in town long enough to meet, or even see, most of Blue Haven’s muckety-mucks, but he expected that everyone he saw here in their big smiles and expensive finery was among them—either them or their minions.
Many milled around with drinks in their hands, since the meal had yet to be served. Some stood near the large windows, looking out at the gorgeous and vast view.
Alan stood near the door to the kitchen, watching the crowd. He wished Kelly were here with him, and not as a server. But it was probably better that she not be present. She almost certainly wouldn’t be recognized, but why waste her time, too?
Alan couldn’t get near enough to Stan, who stood among the tables, to eavesdrop on his conversations with Jerome Baranka and Dora Shallner, whom he was hanging out with, but he doubted anything they were saying would be of much assistance to reaching his goal anyway.
So, for now, he just watched.
And he became very interested when Stan apparently got a call, since he reached into his coat pocket and extracted his phone. He looked at the screen first, then moved toward the window to talk.
His expression turned dark. In moments, after hanging up, he made his way through the crowd, headed not back to those he had been speaking with, but toward where Paul Tirths stood with some other assistants from Government Plaza.
They talked for only a moment. Paul nodded, and he headed for the door as Stan, still appearing miffed, returned to Baranka and Dora.
The whole thing left Alan wondering what that was about.
And boy, did he have an urge to follow Paul.
* * *
They were sitting on the plush antique sofa in the living room. Eli still looked at Kelly as if she was a stranger he didn’t trust.
She understood that. Even if a tiny part of him thought she was his aunt, she had betrayed him before by running away. And now, no matter what she said, he might have a hard time believing she had come back to help him.
She sat back on the sofa with her right leg crossed over the left one. It was a pose that she had struck often back when she was only Shereen. She had changed all of those habits when she had assumed her new identity. Eli still looked dubious but, unless it was her imagination, maybe a little less so than before.
“Here’s the thing.”
That was a phrase she had also used often as Shereen, one that, when she started using it around the ID Division at first, she had been told to drop. Eli’s light eyebrows lifted at that.
The ID Division. Should she tell her nephew about that? Not now. She’d already betrayed them by coming here—as Alan never let her forget. But describing their existence and what they were? No, she wouldn’t do that.
If nothing else, she would protect those who had protected her—and she would do nothing to jeopardize Alan. If only he were with her now...well, if she succeeded in this mission, he would be the third to know about it, after Eli and herself.
She continued. “I didn’t think anyone would be home today, and I know where your mom used to keep some of the documents and things that we inherited when our parents, your grandparents, passed away. She’d told me not only their location, but that she kept some other important stuff there, as well. When the police were looking into your mother’s disappearance, I told the investigators, but I heard that your dad and his lawyer followed them around, and—well, with your dad being such an important personality around here, maybe the authorities were intimidated enough to take shortcuts, and never checked the places I mentioned. I just figured that while I was in town I’d check them out.”
“Like that hidden area under the steps upstairs?” A sardonic look appeared on Eli’s young face.
“Yes.” But Kelly felt her insides fall. If he knew about it, then Stan would, too. That was where Kelly had assumed Andi had hidden the concerns about her personal and professional life that she’d hinted about documenting. The detectives, promising they would reveal nothing to the man they were investigating, had claimed they hadn’t found anything, but Kelly had wanted to look anyway. She had to ask, “Is there anything there?”
“No. Not now. But—” Now Eli’s expression grew triumphant, if Kelly was reading him correctly. “I found something that tells what she was thinking. That’s why my dad has been mad at me.”
“Really?” Kelly found herself standing, grinning down at her nephew. But then she realized there could be problems. “Does your dad have it?”
“No. I’ve been able to hide it, and it’s driving him crazy.”
Crazy enough to strike his son, Kelly thought, and possibly more.
That suggested that, whatever it was, it might be the answer to bringing Stan down.
* * *
He had to be realistic. Alan knew that. He had a job to do here, at the Blue View. Two jobs. His cover was to stay here and make sure all went smoothly from a security perspective with all of the town’s top politicians.
Then there was his real job—and he was in the presence of his main target.
So for the moment he remained in the restaurant. He had gotten the assignment to patrol inside, which was not too bad considering the posh facilities and the people who were there.
Yes, there was a police presence, too, but their assignment was to keep an eye on the whole place and make sure nothing went wrong from a regular police patrol perspective.
Private security here was to blend in and also make sure nothing went wrong and nothing happened to make the attending city council members and their business associates unhappy.
Theoretically, that would gave Alan more opportunity to stake out Stan Grodon and his cronies, eavesdrop on them, hopefully learn something new.
That hadn’t happened yet.
And he hadn’t been close enough to hear Stan talking with the now-absent Paul. This remained on Alan’s mind, even as he smiled and maneuvered through the crowd of people holding glasses of alcoholic beverages and chattering about inanities, from all he could tell.
Where was Paul?
Should he have followed him?
What was he up to?
* * *
“So tell me about this mysterious thing your dad is after.” Kelly tried to keep her voice light as she sat back on the couch holding a glass of water. Eli had insisted on getting them something to drink before they talked. She knew it was just procrastination, but that had been fine with her...temporarily.
Still, would this revelation from Eli be the key to what had happened to Andi?
Why else would Stan brutalize his son over it? Although it could just be the SOB’s excuse...
“It’s Mom’s tablet.” Eli’s young face suddenly seemed a lot older as it assumed a dual look of both guilt and defiance. He, too, remained seated on the sofa, but his posture appeared stiff, as if he held himself there to keep from fleeing.
Which only made Kelly feel worse. But she had to press, especially because she was suddenly filled with an optimism she hadn’t felt since...well, since Andi had disappeared.
Andi’s tablet could be a really big clue. She had used one in her real estate transactions, for one thing. Nothing she’d included about her deals was likely to provide any indication of what had happened to her, but maybe some more detail about the dispute between her company and Baranka’s, and Stan’s interference in it, could shed a light on it.
“I see,” Kelly said to Eli in a normal conversational tone, her mind scrambling to determine how best to play this. She had to reassure him she was on his side. And yet she sought possible possession of something he clearly considered important. “Any idea why your dad wants it so much?”
“Yeah.” Eli glared at her as if challenging her to push him—figuratively and literally, as his father had undoubtedly done.
Kelly leaned forward. “I understand that you have good reason not to trust me,” she said quietly, not taking her eyes from his. “I disappeared when you needed me most. But I think you were old enough even then to understand that I felt...well, threatened. Things kept happening to me after your mother disappeared, and even so, I didn’t stop looking for her, and pushing the authorities to find her, too. I didn’t want to give up, but getting killed wouldn’t help me to learn the truth, nor would it allow me to help you.”
“You thought my dad was trying to kill you.” His tone didn’t sound accusatory, just realistic. “I figured that at the time. And I wasn’t much younger than I am now, so don’t try to play that card on me. That’s one thing my dad does, and he knows I hate it.”
There was so much in what he had just said that she wanted him to elaborate on—and that made her ache to scoot over to his side of the couch and hug him.
“Okay,” she said. “You’re a teenager now, but you weren’t then.” She hadn’t been around for his thirteenth birthday...and she also hadn’t been sure she would ever be with him again for any other birthdays.
She still wasn’t.
“You were smart beyond your years even then. And if I could have found a way to bring you with me and keep you safe, I would have. But I figured that, even if your dad had killed your mom, he loved you and wouldn’t hurt you, no matter what he thought of me.”
“Yeah, when we first couldn’t find Mom, he kept acting all sad around me, said she’d run away, that kind of thing. And anyone who thought he’d done something to her—like you—well, you were all wrong. That’s what he said.” Eli’s voice was low and practically a monotone, and he looked down at his hands clasped together in his lap. “I wanted to believe him. I did believe him. Until...well, I started worrying when he cleaned out all of Mom’s things, although when I mentioned it to Cal’s mom she just said it was probably because my dad was grieving so much that he wanted to try to put everything behind him.” Eli looked up at Kelly as if searching for her opinion on her face.
“Some people do that,” she agreed, without stating the reasons Stan had probably wanted to get rid of all of Andi’s belongings—even those that had belonged to her family, those that should now be Shereen’s.
“I got it, even tried to help him, but he didn’t want my help, which made me feel even worse. And then...well, I started removing some stuff right after school, before Dad got home. I took it over to Cal’s, and he didn’t tell his mom but helped me hide it in a big box he kept under his bed.”
The idea excited Kelly. What was there? Anything that might lead to answers about what had happened to her sister? But she knew she had to play this cool and not upset Eli. “That was a good idea,” she said simply.
“I figure you’ll want to take a look at it, won’t you?” His expression had turned as wry as an adult’s, and Kelly grinned as she nodded.
“And the tablet?” she asked. “Where was it? And where is it now?”
“It wasn’t in her things under the stairs, so it’s not your old family stuff.” Eli’s voice was chilly now. “The thing is...well, she’d hidden it in the bureau in my room, in a padded envelope in a drawer that had some clothes I hadn’t grown into yet...then.”
Smart lady, Kelly thought. But then, her sister had always been smart. Except the bit about marrying Stan.
“So now that you’re a little older, and bigger, you found it,” she stated to her nephew, not making it a question.
“Yep. With all that had happened, I wanted to look at it without my dad knowing, so I went through it on afternoons when I got home early. It was mostly boring real estate stuff in those computer files, but—” Eli stood up and was suddenly right in front of Kelly. “She was scared, Aunt Shereen. She didn’t tell anyone, I don’t think, but those files...they were almost like a diary, and she kept notes about how my dad was against her in some real estate stuff and was going to kill her if she didn’t let him get his own way. She also...she bought a cabin way up in the mountains, it said, where she was going to take me and run away if things got any worse.”
Well, they’d gotten a whole lot worse, Kelly thought, also standing and hugging Eli close against her as the boy began to cry. Tears came to her eyes, too.
Could Andi have run away to that cabin?
If so, why had no one seen her since then? Was she like Shereen, undercover with a new identity?
Where was Andi now?
“Did you tell your dad about the tablet?” she asked, assuming he had, since his father had started abusing him.
“No, but—well, I got scared and yelled at him about the way he’d acted with my mom, and he asked me what I found. I just said it was something important.”
Then Stan had made an assumption, and Eli hadn’t denied finding something. Even if Stan didn’t know what it was, he would undoubtedly do a lot to retrieve it—even hurt his own son.
“We need to turn that tablet over to the authorities, Eli,” Kelly said firmly.
“No.”
“But—”
“They’ll just destroy it. All the cops and everyone here in town are my dad’s friends, or at least they want to impress him.”
She knew Eli was a smart kid, but this observation was not only very true, it was also something an adult might not even recognize.
There was an answer, though. A perfect answer. “Eli, you’ve met that nice security guy Alan. He has a different agenda from the regular police and others.” Not that she could explain what it was, or how she knew... “You can give him the tablet, and—”
“You can give me the tablet,” a gruff male voice said suddenly.
Eli cried “No!” and ran to the far side of the room. As Kelly gasped, she turned to the door into the living room, expecting to see Stan there. Instead, it was Paul Tirths.
Kelly swallowed hard, struggling to come up with a story that she could sell to Paul—about who she was now, not who she used to be. “Oh, hello,” she said. “I met Eli at Government Plaza, and he called the Haven Restaurant where I worked and asked me to bring him a sandwich. He’s such a nice young man that I—”
“Shove it, Shereen.” Paul was staring straight at her. “I don’t know why you look that way, but I was listening for a while.” He turned to Eli. “Your school called your dad and said you left without permission. He sent me to find you. Good thing I did. Now, give me that tablet.”
Walking toward the entrance to the room, Kelly planted herself in front of Paul. “Please, Paul,” she said, using her old voice, the one from before the coaching she had undergone. “You used to be on my side. You understood. We may have a way to learn the truth now, even have evidence. You—”
“You don’t need to know my reasons, Shereen, but I’m on Stan’s side now. In fact, he’s on his way here.” He sidestepped her and faced the cowering Eli. “Give me that tablet, kid. I’m going to tell your dad about it anyway, and he’ll get it from you no matter what. If you volunteer it, things will be a lot easier on you.”
“You can’t promise that!” Kelly yelled. “Eli, don’t listen to him.”
“I won’t.” The boy sounded firm and belligerent. “I’m not telling you where it is.”
Paul moved suddenly, and Kelly felt his arm go tightly around her throat.
“If you want your aunt to live, kid, go get that tablet.”
Chapter 21
&nb
sp; Alan had been across the room listening to Councilwoman Arviss promote her student internship program to a couple of other council members—and keeping an eye on the rest of the room—when he noticed Stan pull his phone from his pocket and look at it, presumably reading a text message.
His eyes widened, then narrowed, or at least that was what Alan thought he saw from this distance.
Stan said something to the group of business executives around him, smiled, waved—and started toward the restaurant door.
He was leaving? This was his event...or maybe he just needed to go outside for something.
Alan had to find out.
It was his turn to smile and nod as he headed through the crowded restaurant, between the filled seats at the tables and the groups of people that had formed in areas between those tables. Fortunately, he spotted Dodd in the direction he was going. Dodd had also gotten one of the plum assignments of the afternoon—to stay inside the restaurant and ensure the crowd’s security. Alan headed toward him first.
“Sorry, got a personal matter to attend to,” he told his more senior colleague. “Not sure what my timing will be, but I’ll try to come back as soon as possible.”
“Personal—as in that luscious Kelly?” Dodd’s suggestive smile would have made Alan want to slug him—if he’d had the time.
The other problem was that he was afraid the situation did involve Kelly. That was just a hunch. Or maybe it was really a fear, since she wasn’t with him. Whatever Stan was doing surely had nothing to do with her. It couldn’t.
But he had to find out for sure, and learn what Stan Grodon might be up to.
“That’s my business,” Alan said, but he made himself smile back at Dodd and stick a suggestive leer on his face just so his friend wouldn’t ask more questions.
Then he made his way out the door—just in time to see a valet turn Stan’s expensive silver sedan over to him.
Alan’s own car wasn’t far from the restaurant entry, but he was concerned he’d lose Stan before he could start to follow him. He ran to his car and, once inside, began heading down the narrow mountainous road after him.
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