Marked for Murder

by Colleen Helme

  The name of the company was BioTech, and the husband’s name was Jameson Beal. My breath hitched. JB. Could this be it? I tried to remember if this man’s voice sounded like the person who’d called me, but I drew a blank.

  I thought back to the experience, remembering that my first meeting with Olivia had been at her office. She’d told me her suspicions and, when she was done, she asked if I had any premonitions about her husband.

  Since I needed direct contact with him, I’d asked if I could observe him for a moment. She took me straight to his lab and showed me around. He’d been there, but he was in the middle of an experiment, so she walked me through the lab, lingering over some equipment, and then took me back to her office.

  I’d picked up the affair pretty quick, mostly because of his lab assistant, who’d kept thinking about his hands during the experiment, and how much she loved them, especially when they were all over her.

  Back in Olivia’s office I told her that, based on my premonitions, the affair was most likely true, but, to know for sure, it would be best to have a chat with him.

  Olivia promptly arranged a meeting with her husband for the following week. She told him that I was a writer for a medical journal, and I wanted to interview Jameson about his research. She’d also given me some reading material to study so I’d know more about the company.

  I had to admit that the research had interested me, mostly because Jameson had come up with a supplement that was supposed to improve the cognitive abilities of the brain, especially in older people. Because it was touted as a vitamin supplement, it wasn’t regulated like a real drug, but they were still running tests on its viability.

  It was easy to pick up that the opportunity to help people with Alzheimer’s and dementia could make them a ton of money. With that much at stake, I knew exposing Jameson could hurt their business and turn things nasty fast.

  But there was no question of his cheating. During the interview, I managed to talk about his research assistant and asked if she could join us. He’d quickly agreed, and though they were professional in every way, I couldn’t miss those stray thoughts of their many indiscretions. I may have even blushed a few times.

  Jameson was so full of himself that he didn’t even suspect that I had no idea what he was talking about. Not until the interview was over. I’d opened the door to leave and found his wife waiting in the hall.

  “Well?” she’d asked, stepping inside and closing the door before any of us could leave the room.

  Uneasiness filled me, and I knew that this was going to be unpleasant. I glanced at Jameson before speaking. “He’s having an affair with… her. It’s been going on for at least six months.”

  Olivia’s breath hitched, but she nodded stoically. “Thank you Shelby.” She turned her gaze to the assistant. “You’re fired. I want you out of this building in the next ten minutes. There’s an escort outside this door waiting for you. Leave everything here but your personal items.”

  The assistant paled, then looked to Jameson for a sign that he would defend her, but instead he stared at his wife in shock. Dread pooled in his stomach, and I was afraid he might have a heart attack.

  Finding nothing from her lover, the assistant huffed with fury and shoved past me. I wanted to leave too, but Olivia halted me with a touch to my arm. She stared at Jameson, daring him to deny the affair.

  His face contorted with anguish. He was thinking this couldn’t be happening. How had I figured it out? Had I been spying on him? Even so, he couldn’t think of one time he’d messed up. Not once. There was still a chance. He just had to convince Olivia that I was wrong.

  “How can you believe her?” he asked his wife, then turned his scathing gaze on me. “She’s got to be a spy from our competitors. They’re trying to undermine us. Can’t you see that?”

  “Are you denying it?” Olivia asked. Even if she believed me over him, she wanted to wipe that smirk off his face and watch him grovel.

  “Of course I am. She’s just making this up, and I know how to prove it.” He glanced at me with ice in his eyes. “Show Olivia the proof. In fact, I’d be very interested in seeing it myself.”

  They both looked my way, and I cringed inside. Olivia hadn’t doubted me until that moment. She’d given my psychic abilities the benefit of the doubt, but now she wasn’t so sure. What real proof did I have? So far, it was my word against his, although, deep down, she knew something had changed in their relationship. But could there be another reason?

  I let out a sigh, knowing I’d been backed into a corner, and my only way out was to tell them both the sordid details of the affair. With reluctance, I met Olivia’s gaze and began.

  “They never meet outside the office. If you care to look, you’ll find a room not far from the lab that they’ve been using. He’s got the only key to open it, and he’s furnished it quite comfortably with a sleeper sofa and other amenities.”

  Jameson sucked in a breath. “This is bullshit. Olivia knows I would never have an affair.” He turned his pleading gaze to hers. “She’s right that I have a place to sleep, but with the deadlines, you know how much time I’ve needed to spend here for my research. I needed a place for a quick nap so that I could keep going. That’s all it is.”

  Olivia glanced my way, wanting to believe her husband more than anything. I turned to him, ready to call his bluff. “If that’s true, then I’m sure you won’t mind showing it to her. We can take a look right now.”

  Jameson hesitated, knowing that we’d find the bed in disarray, along with the evidence of their lovemaking just that morning. We’d also find the extra clothes they kept there.

  “Or don’t you want Olivia to find your assistant’s clothes?”

  He glanced my way, his eyes full of hate and barely-controlled anger. He was thinking that this couldn’t be happening. I was ruining him and everything he cared about. This was his company. If Olivia wanted to, she could push him out, and he’d lose everything. He couldn’t let that happen.

  Olivia had heard enough. “It’s over, Jameson. I’ve already spoken with my lawyers. We’re done, and I want you gone.” She opened the door and motioned toward the men who waited in the hall. “Please escort him out.”

  Looking at Jameson, she continued. “Take nothing with you. All of your work here legally belongs to the company. Don’t bother going home either. Just let my secretary know where you’ll be, and I’ll send your things there.”

  “Olivia wait. You can’t do this to me. This is my research, my life’s work. It’s mine.”

  “You should have thought of that before you cheated on me. It’s all in the pre-nup.”

  “I’ll fight it.”

  She smirked. “I would expect nothing less. But mark my words. You’ll lose.” With her head, she motioned the security detail to come in. We watched them take his ID badge and security clearance, then escort him out of the office. In the hall, he glanced over his shoulder, sending a look of pure rage my way. Then he was taken out of the building.

  Olivia glanced at me, grateful she’d made all the necessary arrangements before confronting her husband. “I’m sorry I doubted you. I had no idea about the office. That was… what you did… how did you know?”

  “My premonitions,” I answered gently.

  She nodded. “Of course.” She believed that my psychic abilities were real, and she knew she’d have to find the room I’d mentioned, but right now, she couldn’t face it. “Thank you. Your fee is at the security desk. You can collect it on your way out.”

  She needed some time alone, so I nodded and left. She’d given me a thousand dollar bonus, so that was a plus. I never heard from her again.

  So what had happened to Jameson?

  I searched the Internet for any mention of him, and found a reference in the paper about the divorce. It didn’t include any juicy details, but if the divorce had been messy, with a lot of legal battles between the two of them, it made sense that he might blame me.

  If Olivia had transf
erred all of her assets into the shell company so he couldn’t touch it, he’d be pretty upset. In fact, he probably knew all about the shell company. Maybe he’d even had a hand in creating it, and it had backfired on him.

  This was it. Jameson Beal was my stalker. JB Sizemore. It all fit.

  Olivia was probably the only person who might know where Jameson was, so talking to her was my next step. I’d call her first thing in the morning and set up an appointment. She had to be related to the Patton family, but I’d be sure not to mention Uncle Joey during my visit.

  A thrill of elation along with a wave of relief crashed over me. I’d done it. The next time I spoke with Uncle Joey, I’d know where to find my stalker.

  “Mom. Wake up.”

  I jerked out of a fitful sleep and opened my bleary eyes to find Savannah standing over me. “What time is it?”

  “It’s eight-thirty. You’re supposed to take me to Ash’s house, remember? We’re helping her mom make decorations for her aunt’s wedding.”

  “Right. Let me get dressed, and I’ll take you over.”

  I threw on my jeans and a t-shirt, slipped on my flip-flops, and rushed downstairs. After dropping Savannah off, I got home and called Olivia Beal.

  Her secretary told me I could stop by between one and two in the afternoon. I hated to wait that long to get my answers, but I had a good feeling that she’d know where to find Beal. This whole nightmare could be over before anything else happened; even better, it could end before the wedding.

  Elated, I called Thrasher Development and spoke to Jackie. Uncle Joey was in a meeting, so I told her I’d stop by between one-thirty and two.

  That settled, I called Chris to tell him the good news. He’d been asleep by the time I got to bed last night. He answered right away, but didn’t have a lot of time to talk. I gave him the short version and heard the relief in his voice.

  “Do you really think it’s him?”

  “It sure seems like it, but I won’t know for certain until I talk to him.”

  “Yeah, that’s true. If you get an address from her, just promise me you won’t go after him alone. Take Dimples with you.”

  “Oh, don’t worry about that. I’m not about to go charging after him by myself.” Since I hadn’t said it was Dimples I’d take, I changed the subject. “Hey, is Ethan there today?”

  “I think so.”

  “Maybe I’ll stop by before my appointment. I’d really like to know what’s going on with him. I thought that I could offer my help if he needs it. What do you think?”

  “Sure. That’s a great idea.”

  “Okay. I’ll get ready and come over.”

  “I’ve got to be in court soon, so I might not be here, but stop by just in case. Okay?”

  “Will do.”

  With time on my hands, I woke Josh up and fixed us some breakfast. He didn’t know anything about my stalker, and I wanted to keep it that way, so I told him I had a couple of appointments today. His shift at the country club was this afternoon, but since he usually rode his bike there, he didn’t need me to drive him.

  “So what are you working on?” he asked.

  I hated lying to my kids, but I rationalized that it was a good kind of lying, so that made it okay. “I need to help Ethan out. He’s a junior lawyer at Dad’s office, and he needs some help with a case.” Before I knew it, I was telling him all about Claire and the DNA test. “We’re hoping to prove that she’s her own twin. Isn’t that weird?”

  “Whoa,” he said. “I didn’t know that was even possible.” He was thinking that maybe he ought to consider becoming a private investigator. Just look at all the interesting things that I was involved with. And there was never a dull moment.

  That shocked me to the core, and I had to slap my hand over my mouth to keep from shouting no way. Then I picked up that he thought there were some downsides, and one of them included working for a mob boss, so maybe not. But it was worth looking into.

  I let out a relieved breath. At least he was being rational about it, so I didn’t have to worry. Still, I decided then and there to start talking about some great careers that might interest him so it would get his mind off what I did. Besides, he was only fifteen. There was plenty of time to choose a career.

  After cleaning up our breakfast dishes, I hopped into the shower. I dried my hair and put on some make-up, then riffled through my clothes, looking for something dressier than my regular jeans and a tee. Since it was June, I decided to wear a floral-print pencil skirt with my white, scoop-neck, stretchy top and wedge sandals.

  For good measure, I threw my favorite jeans and t-shirt, along with socks and my running shoes, into my gym bag, so I could change into them later. After telling Josh goodbye, I hurried out to my car and drove to Chris’s law firm.

  I found Ethan in his tiny office pretty quick. He wasn’t expecting me, and his eyes widened with shock. The dread I caught from his thoughts would have hurt my feelings if I didn’t know he was hiding something.

  “Mrs. Nichols. What are you doing here?”

  “I think it’s time we had a little chat.” If anything, his dread worsened, and I was afraid he’d make up some lame excuse and run off.

  Instead of using intimidation to get to him, I decided to be nice. Moving some files off the chair by his desk, I sat down and leaned forward in a conspiratorial manner.

  “Look, I know you’re in trouble, and I’d like to help. What can I do to get you out of this situation? I know Strickland has something on you. Maybe I can help with that?”

  He shook his head. “It’s too late.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I did something stupid when I interned for him, and he caught me. When he realizes that I’m not going through with the plan, he’ll throw me under the bus. You can’t stop him.”

  “When did this… indiscretion happen?”

  “About three months ago. But time doesn’t matter. He’ll have me disbarred no matter what happens now.”

  “What did you do?”

  Ethan didn’t want to tell me, but I picked it up just the same. Apparently, Ethan had falsified a police report that came through the prosecuting attorney’s office in order to keep a friend from going to jail. Strickland caught him and then decided to let it go so he’d have leverage over Ethan.

  “Is Strickland holding something over your head? Why would he do that? Did he know you were going to work here?”

  Ethan sucked in a breath, thinking how uncanny it was that I picked it up so fast. He ran a hand through his hair before catching my gaze. “Yes. I’d just gotten an offer to work here, and Strickland thought it was the perfect way to get dirt on Chris so he’d give up Manetto.”

  He was thinking that he’d done it too, not that it was real. The recording he’d given Strickland wasn’t incriminating until Strickland had it altered. If Strickland arrested Chris, Ethan would have to tell everyone the whole damn story.

  That was why he’d gone to Strickland yesterday. He’d told him the deal was off, and, if Strickland used that recording, he’d let everyone know it was falsified. Sure, it would ruin Ethan, but it would ruin Strickland too.

  Strickland had been furious, and Ethan knew it was only a matter of time before Strickland ‘found’ the police report Ethan had altered and had him disbarred. At least Ethan didn’t think he’d go to jail for it, especially if he asked Chris to represent him. But how could he ask Chris, when he’d gone through with the plan in the first place?

  Too bad he couldn’t take off and leave this all behind. But that would just make things worse, and he couldn’t do that to his family. So, either way, he was screwed. He didn’t want Manetto to kill him, so it had to be Strickland and disbarment, and maybe time in jail. He was such a stupid idiot.

  Yikes! This was awful, and I had no idea how I could help him.

  “Wow,” I said. “So can Strickland have you arrested… you know… for what you did?” Since I wasn’t supposed to know the details, I had to be careful.<
br />
  “Yes.”

  “Okay. Uh… I’m going to see if I can help you. I can’t promise anything, but let me work on it. Do you know how much time you have before Strickland makes his move?”

  Ethan’s eyes widened. He couldn’t believe I’d help him. Not after what he’d done to Chris. Of course, I didn’t know the details. If I did, he was sure I wouldn’t be so nice.

  “I’m sort of expecting it to hit the fan today but, if not, it will probably be tomorrow at the latest.” He thought if I was smart, I’d tell Chris what I knew and have Chris fire Ethan. Yeah, maybe it was better that way. If he got fired before it all came out, he wouldn’t have to see Chris’s disappointment. He was such a loser.

  “Look Ethan, don’t give up so quickly. I’ll figure something out. In the meantime, try not to be so hard on yourself. You made a mistake. Don’t we all?”

  He huffed out a breath. I was only saying that because I didn’t know everything. “I guess so.” Now he had to live with the guilt of deceiving me. Maybe he should tell me to stay out of it, but he couldn’t bring himself to say the words. It was nice having someone on his side, even if it was misguided.

  Sheesh. Talk about a downer. “Good. Now tell me about Claire’s case. I missed out on that.”

  He explained what he’d done, happy that he’d helped someone before the end of his career. He just hoped I was right about the chimerism. But, on the bright side, if it didn’t work out, someone else would have to tell her, since he’d probably be in jail.

  “Thanks for helping her. We’ll get this figured out. I’ll see what I can do. In the meantime, don’t give up hope.”

  He smiled. “Thanks Mrs. Nichols. You’re a good person.” Then he ruined it by thinking even if you work for a mob boss.

  I smiled back and left his office. Wow. What a mess. It seemed the only way to help Ethan would be to get some dirt on Strickland and threaten him with it. Uncle Joey could probably do it. He might even have something on him already. But did I want to go that route? I needed to talk it over with Chris and see what he thought.