Baby In My Arms

by Madeline Harper

  “What kind of run-in?” He was back to Mark.

  “Nothing, really. He’s just…creepy.” She couldn’t help shuddering when she thought about all the massive strength in the man’s upper body.

  Ben didn’t press further except to advise her. “I think you’d better stay out of that place.” He pulled into the traffic. “Ready for some big news?”

  “Only if it’s good.”

  “That depends.”

  “Ben!”

  “Okay, okay. While you were inside, Tina reached me on the car phone to say that Robert Brownley called ESS. He’s in his office and wants you to get in touch.”

  “He’s finally ready to talk!” Kate reached for the phone, but Ben stopped her. “Before you make the call, take a deep breath, stay cool and think clearly.”

  She took a deep breath and tried to do the rest.

  “Ready?”

  She nodded and he handed her the phone.

  “Don’t say anything foolish.”

  “I KNOW WHAT’S on your mind,” Kate said as they finally settled down to lunch at a neighborhood diner. “You think I should have arranged to meet Brownley at his office.”

  “I asked you to be careful about what you agreed to, and under the circumstances, his office would have been the safest place. He wouldn’t dare try anything with his staff around.”

  “But the museum is just as safe. There’ll be people all over, visitors, staff, even guards. It’s no different from your meeting at the Brown Palace. That could have been dangerous, too. Besides, you’ll be there as backup. Isn’t that what the police call it?”

  “We’re not the police. And what about Amanda?”

  Amanda perched on Ben’s lap, plunging her spoon in and out of a bowl of mashed potatoes and getting them as far as her face but not quite to her mouth. “Maybe Tina could watch her while we’re at the museum?” Kate offered tentatively.

  Ben sighed. “She’s already running your office from her home.”

  “Which is what I should be doing,” Kate added.

  “Don’t start feeling guilty. You took a couple of days off during a traditionally slow time. Then there was an attempted break-in. Considering the situation, you’re both entitled to a break. But we certainly can’t double Tina’s workload by adding Amanda to it.”

  “I know,” she admitted.

  “Kate, is there any way I can talk you out of keeping this appointment?”

  She shook her head adamantly. “Brownley knows that I know about Paige Norcross, and he’s ready to talk about it. You should have heard his voice on the phone, so conciliatory, so…well, almost humble.”

  “Maybe he’s a good actor.”

  Kate leaned forward and wiped Amanda’s mouth. “Drink your milk, Amanda,” she said absently. “We won’t know until I meet him.” She looked at Ben earnestly. “We’ve ruled out Amanda’s arrival as the cause of these attacks on me, haven’t we?”

  When he didn’t immediately respond, she continued, ticking off on her fingers, “Amanda’s uncle is in jail. Hedrick seems to run a clean operation. Kim and her boyfriend may be crooks but they’re not after me. We ruled that out, too.”

  She paused for him to nod affirmatively.

  “So that leaves Brownley and the spa and Paige Norcross. Doesn’t it make sense that a prostitution ring is being run out of the spa?”

  “It’s a viable possibility,” he admitted. “But that doesn’t diminish the danger—it increases it. If Brownley tried to get rid of you twice because you saw him with a hooker, what makes you think he’s Mr. Nice Guy now?”

  “Because of his voice—”

  “Kate,” he said, shaking his head.

  “And because he agreed to meet where I wanted. He could have said in a park—or at a roadside café, but the museum…”

  “You could be shot at in a museum just as easily as on the street.”

  She tried to dismiss that thought with reason. “Too many witnesses.”

  “There were witnesses on the street,” he countered.

  “But there was also a getaway car. Isn’t that what you call it?” she asked.

  Ben managed a smile. “After bank robberies, maybe. In your case the shooter was already in the car.”

  “Yes, and all he had to do was drive away. Not so easy in a museum. It’s the perfect place for me to meet him, Ben. Maybe they have a kiddie museum for you and Amanda—”

  “No way am I leaving you alone with Brownley,” he countered.

  She pushed her plate away and slumped back in the booth. “You didn’t bargain for being a full-time bodyguard when you showed up to fix my computer system, did you, Ben?” She meant the words to be light, but a serious tone had slipped into her voice.

  “Let’s just say when I took on the job, I had no idea it would be so demanding, but it’s too late to back out now,” he added jokingly. “So I’ll call my sister and see if she can take care of Amanda for a while. She has a houseful of kids of her own—one more shouldn’t be a problem.”

  “I knew you’d come through!” Kate flashed him a dazzling smile, and he felt his heart tighten in his chest. Every minute he spent with her got him more and more involved in her life. What the hell was happening to him? Whatever it was, he wouldn’t stop until it was over. After that…He shook the thought away and stood up abruptly, handing Amanda to Kate.

  “You clean her up. I’ll make the call.”

  BEN’S SISTER’S HOUSE was on a well-kept street in the Denver suburb of Lakewood. A huge wreath adorned the door, and outdoor lights—blazing colorfully even though it was still broad daylight—were wrapped around two small fir trees. A couple of black-andwhite cats raced across the porch and disappeared over the fence into the backyard where Kate caught a glimpse of a child’s swing set and a jungle gym. Inside, a dog barked at their approach.

  This was a house that celebrated Christmas, children and pets.

  There was only a trace of resemblance to Ben in the high cheekbones and dark eyes of the woman who greeted them at the door. Joan Talmadge was short and a little stout with auburn hair and a wide smile. She immediately held out her arms to Amanda.

  “What a cute baby!” The Blackeagle magic worked again and Amanda went eagerly to Joan, regarding her curiously but not at all fearfully, even though a fuzzy brown puppy scrambled at her feet.

  Joan gave the dog a loving push with her foot, settled the baby more comfortably in her arms and greeted Kate. “Hi, I’m Joan.”

  “And I’m Kate. Thanks so much for baby-sitting for us.”

  “I’m happy to do it.” She cut her eyes at Ben. “It’s not often that my big brother asks me to take care of a baby for him.”

  Kate could tell that Joan was bursting with questions. Her curious eyes darted from Kate’s face to Ben’s, looking for clues, too polite to ask. Instead she said, “How about some coffee?”

  Ben shook his head. “We’ve got to get moving. Kate has a pressing engagement.” He handed Joan the laden diaper bag. “This is packed with enough gear to last for a week.”

  Just then two small figures burst into the room, grabbed Ben’s legs and tried to shin up them like climbing a tree. He picked up one child in each arm and whirled around. Wild laughter ensued, and Amanda, imitating, joined in as the dog barked frantically and jumped around Ben’s legs.

  “This is my number-one niece, Nikki, aged four.”

  “Four and a half, Uncle Ben,” she insisted.

  “Sorry, Nik. And this is Tyler, who is two. Is that right, Nikki?”

  “Uh-huh.” The little girl was now giving all of her attention to Amanda.

  “Where’s your older brother?” Ben asked Nikki.

  “Playing computer games. Can I hold the baby?”

  “Later,” Joan promised, “after you help me get her out of this snowsuit.”

  Nikki almost jumped with joy at the opportunity.

  A few minutes later, Ben and Kate slipped out of the house, and Amanda hardly noticed their departure.
All her attention was on the two dark-haired children wooing her with their favorite toys, and the puppy, amazingly gentle as he nudged her with his damp nose.

  Kate paused in the doorway, and Ben noticed the expression on her face. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing,” she said. “But something’s very right for Amanda. Just look at her. She’s glowing, with a real family, a mother and kids….”

  Firmly he took her arm. “You’re too hard on yourself, Kate.”

  She followed him to the car. “Sometimes I think I’m not tough enough.” The rest of her thoughts she left unsaid. If she were really tough, she’d know what to do about Amanda, what would be best for both of them.

  THE DENVER ART MUSEUM wasn’t as packed with visitors as Kate had expected; in fact, it was almost deserted when they arrived. Apparently Christmas and culture didn’t go together, Kate thought as they picked up maps to the special traveling exhibit where she’d suggested meeting Brownley.

  “American impressionism. How did you know about this?” he asked.

  “I read about it in the newspaper a few weeks ago. It’s here through January so I didn’t rush out to see it since I thought I had plenty of time.” She smiled ruefully. “Obviously I didn’t imagine what would happen in the meanwhile.” Kate chattered on, trying to cover her nervousness, but Ben didn’t hide his concern. They hadn’t gone but a few feet before he began making negative noises.

  “I don’t like this, Kate. Not enough people around.”

  “You’re around,” she said lightly. But her heart was pounding in spite of his presence. Maybe she had made a mistake setting this up with Brownley in the museum, but he hadn’t wanted to meet in his office or home, and she certainly wouldn’t have suggested her office. No matter where they met, she would still be on edge.

  “There’ll be a guard in the room,” she said, reassuring herself as they got closer to the exhibition. “Maybe you should walk behind me so Brownley won’t see us together.”

  Ben dropped back, his words unintelligible. Kate suspected half of them were curses. But she was right, and he knew it; Brownley wouldn’t approach unless she was alone.

  She walked into the first room of the exhibition with Ben close behind, but not too close. There was a bench in the middle of the room. She walked over to it and sat down.

  Ben moved around the room, looking at the pictures but not seeing them. “Damn,” he muttered under his breath. “How does this keep happening to me?” He glanced around. There were two other people wandering from painting to painting, talking in low voices, finally moving on to the next phase of the exhibit.

  They were now alone, Kate on the bench, Ben walking the room, one eye on her. Where the hell was the guard?

  Another couple passed through, quickly, disinterestedly, followed by a lone man. Ben’s body tensed. He made a quarter turn toward the door, watching but with his eyes still ostensibly on the painting. Three of them, alone in a huge room filled with valuable artwork—and no guard.

  But this wasn’t their man. He could tell by the expression on Kate’s face. Damn, he shouldn’t have had to wait for her reaction; he should have asked for a description of Brownley. He could only hope his amateurishness didn’t get them into trouble.

  Then a group of a dozen or more people came into the room, all middle-aged, most carrying catalogs, not the guides given away at the entrance but expensive books. Obviously a serious group, following their professorial docent, who stopped in front of the first painting and began what turned out to be a lengthy explanation of its merits.

  Ben couldn’t decide whether their presence was a detriment to their cause or not. Surely, Brownley would be less likely to try anything with a crowd around; on the other hand, they could inadvertently create a diversion for him. Ben circled the room, casually glancing at the pictures, and made his way to the one across from where Kate was sitting. He positioned himself between her and the door and stepped back to look at the painting, a large landscape resplendent in pinks and greens.

  As he studied it, a stocky, middle-aged man in an expensive suit approached. He stopped a few feet from Ben, whose instinct told him this was Brownley. But as he turned from the painting to look around the room, his eyes swept past Kate to the members of the tour group, clearly none of them the right age.

  He looked back at Kate, frowned and checked his watch.

  What the hell was going on? Ben figured it out just as Kate waved the man over. He hadn’t recognized her in the blond wig. At least the disguise was successful.

  Too bad that he couldn’t keep the woman wearing it under control.

  He watched carefully as Brownley walked toward Kate, his hand extended, perfectly civilized. She remained seated on the bench but reached up and shook hands before gesturing for him to join her. So far so good. Ben quickly crossed the room and took a position directly behind them so he could watch without being observed by Brownley.

  To his surprise, Kate reached up to touch her hair and actually wiggled her fingers at him behind her back. The woman was incorrigible.

  “IT’S THE WIG,” Kate was saying. From the moment she saw him, she felt certain that Brownley was no threat, and she was proud of the wave she’d given Ben to let him know.

  “Yes,” Brownley said, almost wearily, “I was sure I remembered you as a redhead.” He sighed deeply. “I might as well get right down to it, Ms. McNair. I’m in a very difficult situation.”

  Kate bit her lip, determined to keep quiet and listen.

  “The woman you saw me with that night in the house…well, she wasn’t my wife…which you know, since you’ve now met Martha.”

  “Yes,” Kate said, carefully adding, “your wife seems like a fine woman.”

  “She is and I love her very much. That…incident with the other woman—”

  “Paige Norcross,” Kate blurted out, no longer careful.

  “You know her?”

  “I know of her. That is, I saw her one other time.”

  Brownley digested that information. “Well, I haven’t seen her again, and I never intend to. That night was a middle-aged man’s foolishness, a momentary indulgence. I wish it had never happened.”

  “And do you wish I’d never seen you, Mr. Brownley?” Kate challenged.

  He smiled faintly. “Yes, I must admit, I do.”

  Kate felt a momentary pang of pity for him. “I’ve been trying to reach you for a long time,” she said.

  “And I’ve been avoiding you, trying to decide what to do.”

  “Did you consider getting rid of me?” she challenged.

  His expression was incredulous. “Getting rid of you? You mean firing you? Canceling the ESS contract? No, I’ve wanted you to have the contract from the beginning, but after you saw me with…Paige Norcross, well, I thought a lucrative deal might make you look a little more positively toward me.”

  “That sounds like blackmail, Mr. Brownley.”

  “On the contrary, Ms. McNair, I was wondering if you might be the kind who holds men like me up for blackmail.”

  “That’s not my style, I assure you,” she said.

  His mouth tightened. “If you told what you saw at my house that night—”

  “Your career would be ruined….”

  “Along with my marriage.”

  Kate glanced over her shoulder and saw that Ben was now seated on a bench at the opposite side of the room, his long legs stretched out, his attention on a painting. He knew she was safe. What he didn’t know was that the man she’d been afraid of was even more afraid of her!

  “I’m no danger to you, Mr. Brownley, but I expect Paige Norcross could be.”

  “You mean she might tell my wife?”

  “I don’t know,” Kate said honestly. “I don’t know anything about Paige. Do you?”

  He shrugged. “I know nothing about the woman. I met her at a cocktail party. We struck up a conversation, and she gave me her number. I was a little surprised, frankly, but when Martha went out of town…” H
e looked away, embarrassed. “You know the rest of the story. But maybe I don’t,” he observed. “Is there something I should know about her?”

  “I’m not sure,” Kate replied. “Have you ever been to the restaurant at Sky-High Spa?”

  “Coral Lampiere’s place? No, I’ve never been there.”

  “But you know Coral?” she asked eagerly.

  “I met her once or twice at fund-raisers. That’s about it. Did Paige work at the spa?”

  “I don’t know….” Had she been wrong again? Maybe Paige was only a patron of the spa and Edie’s comment about call girls an offhand remark. “I saw her there and thought…It doesn’t matter.” As usual with her theories, two and two weren’t making four.

  Brownley gave a relieved sigh. “I’m glad I finally faced you.” He looked at her beseechingly. “Of course, you’ll keep the contract with United Charities, but because it may be difficult for us to work together, I’ll have one of my assistants handle your job search for us.”

  “You don’t have to worry,” Kate said. “If we run into each other at United Charities, it will be as if this never happened.”

  Brownley got to his feet and said sadly, “But I’ll know and you’ll know.” He held out his hand. “Merry Christmas, Ms. McNair. We’ll talk after the new year.”

  “Goodbye, Mr. Brownley.”

  Thoughtfully, she watched him walk away. Ben was beside her before Brownley was out of the room. “So?”

  “He confessed—”

  Ben looked skeptical.

  “To being unfaithful to his wife. Nothing more.”

  “I figured as much. He couldn’t be scamming you, could he?”

  Kate shook her head. “He’s afraid of me, Ben. That’s why he was hiding out. Now that he realizes I’m no threat, he has to worry about telling his wife.”

  “Do you think he will?”

  “I don’t know, but I put a little scare in him with talk of Paige. That might just prompt him to tell Martha. I hope so. She seems like the type who can handle it.”

  “Meanwhile, back to Paige…”