His thoughts drifted back to what Buddy had told him about the crime scene. “If none of the files were taken, why would Levine have been killed, and what was the assassin looking for? If the motive was to keep Joel from telling what he knew about one of the files, why would she have left them there?”
By now, Frank was heading back to the building locker room. When he was showered and dressed, he went back to his office and stared at the files. Suddenly, Frank had the urge to call Buddy again. He dialed the number.
“Buddy?” Frank asked.
“Speaking,” Gilman replied.
“Hey, it’s Frank again. Listen, how were the files stacked when you found them?”
“On top of each other Frank. You saw them,” Buddy answered.
“Yeah, but I don’t recall if they were stacked neatly like they were going to be gone through or a little sloppy like they had already been read,” Frank continued.
“Neatly Frank. What are you getting at?”
“Follow me for a moment. Let’s assume someone is listening in on Joel’s conversations and they hear him talking to me about something he remembered from a convention a while back. He tells me that something in one of these files that jars his memory and it could pertain to the case we’re involved in. The listener then dispatches someone to silence him.” Frank paused, “Are you with me so far?” he asked.
“Yeah Frank, go on,” Buddy replied.
“They would certainly have to know that whatever is in those files would be duplicated somewhere else. So, they would not want to destroy that particular file, because doing so would lead us right to their man. They would, however, want to make it so we couldn’t focus in too easily on whomever this person is. So, let’s say the assassin takes the files after shooting Levine, and makes sure his prints are on each of them. She then mixes them up and stacks them neatly on the table beside his chair, not realizing that there is another file on the back porch.”
“But Frank, maybe the killer put the file on the back porch on purpose knowing we would look at it first.”
“That’s possible Buddy,” Holden answered, “but the killer still would have made sure the file in question was buried in that stack on the table. Either way, I think it’s still safe to assume that someone in that stack of files is our man, and that pretty much rules out Vincent Marks.
Buddy was momentarily silent as he thought about Frank’s reasoning. Finally, he replied. “I agree that that is a possibility, Frank. You may have missed your calling. If you want to join the forensics team let me know,” Buddy finished.
“No thanks Buddy, too many dead bodies.”
What now?” Gilman asked, stifling a laugh.
“I need your people to follow up on any women who may have been in Joel’s life over the past six months, get hair samples and such. I’ll get our group to work on the female assassin angle,” he continued. “As for myself, I think I may pay Vincent Marks a visit. If nothing else, maybe we can enlist his help.”
“Okay Frank, I’ll be in touch,” Gilman said, ending the conversation.
Frank hung up the phone and picked up Vincent Marks’ file. He knew he would be taking a risk by trying to get Marks to help, but he had a gut feeling it would be the right move under the circumstances. Frank dialed a number and listened as it rang on the other end. After three rings, it was answered.
“Vincent Marks’ office,” the receptionist announced.
“This is Frank Holden with the FBI. Mr. Marks, please.”
CHAPTER
EIGHT
Over a week had passed since Garrett had received Simon’s phone call. He and Anna had seen each other several times since and, as much as he didn’t want to believe it, Garrett was beginning to have his doubts. He had caught her embellishing the truth and lying about little things that really didn’t matter, and he knew if she could lie about the little things, she could lie about the more important stuff as well. Still, he could not break away from her spell. Or maybe he could, but just didn’t want to. His instincts were screaming for him to follow her and discover the truth for himself. But he deferred, knowing that deep down inside it could forever change his feelings for her. He just couldn’t bear the thought of treating her like one of his subjects from the past.
Garrett was at home alone now, just finishing up dinner, when his doorbell rang. He walked to the door and looked through the peephole. Standing on his porch, silhouetted against dusky autumn night, was a tall man in his late fifties or early sixties, holding what appeared to be a notebook or photo album. Garrett opened the door.
“May I help you?” he asked.
The man looked into Garrett’s eyes and responded.
“Hello Garrett, I am Simon,” the man said in his thick Welsh accent, not bothering to offer his hand.
Somehow, Garrett was not surprised. Looking through the peephole, he had a feeling, from the vague description that Anna had given of Simon, that it was he who was standing on the doorstep. “I don’t suppose it matters how you found me,” Garrett inquired.
Simon replied, “I haven’t come here to cause problems, only to talk. May I come in?”
The two men stood assessing each other, like two prizefighters sizing up the opposition, prior to a championship fight. After a moment of hesitation, Garrett gestured. “Sure, come on in,” directing Simon to sit at the dining room table. Garrett was on edge. If Simon was telling the truth, Garrett was clearly carrying on with this man’s wife, something that was not just wrong, but potentially quite dangerous. There was something in Simon’s eyes that chilled him, and left him with the impression that this man could be very ruthless.
“I’ll be brief and to the point, Garrett,” Simon started. “Everything I told you the other day was true. I brought these pictures along to help convince you of that and to fill you in on our Anna.” He laid the album on the table and continued. “You see, Anna is a very seductive woman, and like you, I fell in love with her the moment I saw her. The first years of our marriage were wonderful and we decided to have a child, the one you see here,” showing the pictures he had. “After our baby was born, Anna started to change. She would make things up about her past, lie when there was no reason to, and try to stir up jealous feelings in me. Perhaps it was hormonal or maybe it was because we moved around a lot. I don’t know. All I do know is that I love my daughter very much, and she needs her mother. And in spite of everything Anna has done to me, I do still love her.” He left the album open to his daughter’s picture. The beautiful face, so strikingly similar to Anna’s, stared at him in a two-dimensional gaze. He was torn. He agonized over the deception of Anna and the fact that he had potentially done something so morally incomprehensible. He could hardly breathe. Finally, Simon spoke again.
“So, you see, Garrett, if you are an honorable man, you will quit seeing Anna and move on.”
Garrett remained silent. His life over the past weeks that just a few short days ago had been idyllic, was collapsing around him. Everything these past months had apparently been a lie and now he wasn’t certain if she really loved him or was just using him in some game with her husband. A feeling of disgust overcame him, not only for Anna, but also for himself. Garrett had been brought up better than this, and to find out he had been so cruelly manipulated made him angry as hell.
Finally, Garrett spoke. “I don’t know what to say, Simon, except that I’m going to have to speak with her about this myself.”
“I think it would be better that you didn’t,” Simon responded, leveling a look at Garrett that made him very uneasy. For lack of anything else to do, Garrett stood. Simon followed suit, closing and collecting the photo album. The two men walked silently towards the door. Garrett opened the door and Simon left, neither man speaking another word to the other.
Garrett walked into the living room and collapsed into the sofa, his head spinning, and his heart aching. His anguish was
interrupted moments later by the phone. Before he could think, he picked up the phone and answered.
“Hello, darling.”
It was Anna, and his heart leapt.
“I’m at the store down the street and was wondering if I could stop by for a moment?”
Garrett hesitated and then spoke. “I’m not feeling real great, I think it was something I ate for lunch, but I’d love to see you for a minute.”
“I’ll be right there,” she said hanging up.
Garrett leapt up and ran to the garage. He punched the opener and jumped into the car. Backing out onto the street, he pulled forward and then backed into the garage, closing the door behind him. He went inside and locked the rest of the house, and ran upstairs. Walking to his closet, he opened the door and pushed his clothes aside. Putting pressure on the rear wall of the closet, he heard a click, one that he hadn’t heard in years. The closet wall gave way. Reaching in, he grabbed a pair of dust covered night vision binoculars, closed the panel and then back downstairs and waited.
A few minutes later, he heard a car drive up, stop and the car door slam. His doorbell rang and he got up to answer.
“Hello, darling! I’m sorry you’re not feeling well,” Anna said, hugging him when he opened the door.
“Whoa, I’d better not kiss you just in case this is something I caught,” he said pushing back a little.
“Okay,” she said, a little disappointed. “Can I get anything for you? Something to eat perhaps?”
“No. But thank you,” Garrett responded, suddenly doubling over in feigned pain.
“Ooh. Are you alright?” she asked lunging forward.
“Yeah. I’ll live, but maybe you’d better go. I’m not going to be the best company.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I’m sure.”
“Well, goodbye then. I’ll call you later to see how you’re doing.”
“Okay. Thanks for coming by. I’m sorry I’m not feeling well.”
“Don’t be silly, darling. You can’t help it.”
The door closed and Garrett watched until Anna got into her car and backed out of the driveway. Then he ran to the garage, punched the opener and pulled out onto the street without turning on his lights. He followed her two blocks until she turned left out of the subdivision and onto a busy street. Then he turned on his lights and proceeded to tail her. Anna was out of her league now, totally oblivious to what was happening behind her.
Twenty-five minutes later, Anna pulled into a long, tree lined driveway, which led to a large home. Garrett turned off his lights and pulled past the drive entrance to a spot across the street where he could see her pull into the garage. He raised the binoculars to his eyes and looked. After a moment, the garage door was lowered and Garrett followed suite with his glasses. He sat for a moment, staring off into space. Then he started his car and headed for home not bothering to look back, his mind replaying the vision of a child’s toys strewn around the garage.
* * *
The next few days were agony for Garrett. To have total happiness in his hands, only to suddenly have it ripped away from him was almost more than he could handle. He didn’t call Anna, and screened his incoming calls. She had tried to call many times, but he couldn’t forget the look that Simon had given him nor the photo of her daughter. Garrett did not fear any man, but he wasn’t stupid either. Jealousy was one dangerous emotion, and he did not feel like testing fate. Even the courts recognize killing in the heat of passion as more excusable than cold-blooded murder.
* * *
Finally, the day of the “big game” arrived and he and Charles would be attending together, back to their normal routines. He was driving home from work when the phone rang. Before he thought, Garrett answered. It was Anna. He felt his heart involuntarily do a somersault.
“Garrett, I must see you,” she plead, “You haven’t called me back. Please tell me what’s going on.”
“You lied to me Anna,” Garrett replied coolly, “I guess I should be used to it by now—it’s happened to me before. But lies are unforgivable in my book, honey.”
“Lied? About what? I don’t understand.”
“About you’re daughter.”
“I told you I don’t have a daughter,” she said angrily.
“Please, Anna. I saw her picture. Simon came to see me.”
“Wha…I..I..told you he is a master at mind games…
“Anna, I followed you home the other night when I was sick. Simon had left not thirty minutes before. I saw the toys in the garage, so don’t even try.”
Ann was stunned but quickly shifted tactics. “You must let me explain, Garrett,” she begged. “I couldn’t tell you the truth. Simon is a very dangerous man and you need to know some things. I must see you tonight.”
“Anna, I’m going to the game with Charles and I don’t think it’s a good idea for us to see each other. We can say what we have to say over the phone.”
“No Garrett! I will see you tonight,” she demanded.
“No more games Anna,” Garrett replied bitterly. “I’ve simply had enough. Go find someone else to mess with; it’s just more than I want to handle right now.”
Garrett hung up the phone and continued towards Charles’ office. After all he had been through the past few days, he was looking forward to his friend’s company and council.
* * *
You want to talk about it?” Charles asked as Garrett drove to the game.
“I don’t really know where to start,” Garrett replied, “I feel like I’ve had my insides ripped out. I know there are evil, cruel people in the world, but I never expected them to look like or love me like Anna.”
“Well, maybe there’s more to it than that,” Charles said. “Maybe she didn’t do it on purpose.”
“Nice try old friend, but this whole thing smells bad,” Garrett replied.
“Well, let’s try to enjoy the game and get your mind off things for a while,” Charles said as Garrett parked the car.
The next few hours Garrett started to forget his troubles and he did begin to genuinely enjoy himself. The two men were laughing and talking about some old times as they left the arena and walked to the parking lot.
“Garrett. Garret darling.”
It was Anna. The two men traded glances.
“I’ll go get your car—give you a chance to speak in private. Give me the keys and I’ll play chauffeur tonight,” Charles joked, trying to ease Garrett’s building tension.
The keys flew a few feet into Charles’ hands. Anna stood in front of her car waiting for Garrett to approach. “I had to see you!” she exclaimed, as she hugged him. Garrett stiffened his body to her affectionate embrace; his arms hanging unresponsive at his sides.
“Oh, I see,” Anna said, “so that’s how it is now between us now.”
Garrett stared at her. “You lied to me Anna. All of this time together was some bullshit game, and who knows, maybe Simon was in on it.”
Anna looked hurt and replied, “Garrett, I can assure you that he was not in on anything, and it was not a game. I thought if you knew the whole truth, you wouldn’t have anything to do with me, and it appears I was right,” she blurted, her eyes starting to water.
“Well, that bridge has been crossed and there’s no going back.”
Anna looked into Garrett’s eyes. She knew at that moment that she had nothing to lose. In a sudden outpouring of emotion, Anna let loose. “Garrett, you can’t leave me with him. Simon is a dangerous man. He travels the world and has people around him that are no good. These men and women come to our house from time to time, wherever we live, and I’ve overheard some conversations.” She hesitated and became more animated. “His organization is one of assassins, Garrett. I know it sounds far-fetched and ridiculous, but Simon is the head of a very large group that covers the world, committi
ng and covering up murders. I’m terrified of him, but I can’t get away.” Anna finished, sobbing into her cupped hands.
Garrett’s eyes first widened wanting to believe, but then narrowed as he remembered what Simon had told him about her lies that day at his house.
He looked down at her, not seeing the beautiful, intelligent woman that he had fallen in love with, but a pathetic liar and someone most likely in need of emotional help. “I’m sorry for you Anna. I truly am, but I have to go now. Good bye.” He reached for her shoulders and kissed her on the forehead.
As he walked away, he glanced over his shoulder and watched as she got into her car. He stared for a moment, toying with the idea of running and grabbing her into his arms. “No,” he scolded himself. Garrett turned away, seeing Charles in the distance approaching his car. Suddenly an explosion ripped through the night air behind Garrett, the force of which threw him onto the pavement. The wind nearly knocked out of him and dazed, Garrett turned his body around to the source of the blast, only to see what little remained of Anna’s car, smoldering in the parking lot. The truth of what happened suddenly pierced through the fog in his head. Garrett struggled to his feet and turned to find his friend.
Charles had seen and heard the explosion and, thinking that it would be the quickest way to get to his friend, was running the last few feet to Garrett’s car. Garret screamed to his friend as he put the key into the door. “Don’t Charles. Get away from the car! Get away from ..” It was too late. He watched as metal and glass flew in every direction, the heat from the blast burning his face for an instant. Garrett watched as his car was torn apart; his best friend with it. Time suspended, he fell to his knees, fists clenched in anguish, the bright flash of light etched forever in his memory.
CHAPTER
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