by R E Gauthier
Kelsey said her goodbyes to her father and ended their call. She texted Nikki to come to her office; this information could help them find some clues. Lyle MacConnell may know something that could tell them who would want to hurt her uncle and his family.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Undisclosed Hotel, Unknown Beach, Late Afternoon, March 17, 2012
“Is there something wrong, my dear? You’re more distracted than usual this morning.”
During their yoga practice, Miranda had been trying her best to keep her thoughts positive and not worry about Kelsey, but the concern in Nanna’s voice told her that she hadn’t succeeded. Agents Suarez and Halladay tried to stay behind the scene as much as possible, but their presence in the hotel suite made it impossible for Miranda to ignore why they were there. Smiling and drawing in a deep breath, Miranda made every attempt to slow her heart rate and breathing. “It’s nothing to be concerned about; I just miss her; that’s all.” Keeping her eyes closed and deepening her breath, Miranda hoped Nanna would believe her.
“You’re good at hiding your thoughts and feeling in your mind, but your body language tells a different story. I can see the stiffness in your back, neck, and shoulders. You’re carrying something very troubling around, and it weighs on you, more than you realize.”
Miranda let her chin drop to her chest and attempted to relax her shoulders. Nanna’s keen eyes had picked up what Miranda felt in every muscle. Kelsey came to her last night as she lay thinking of her. Miranda could feel Kelsey’s pain even though they only met with their minds. The first time Kelsey came to her was like a whisper on her lips; then she felt the heat of Kelsey’s arms around her. Last night, Miranda noticed the kiss between the two of them felt different. The kiss was almost desperate, and Kelsey’s arms felt stiffer. Miranda wanted to caress and soothe the pain and worry away, but all she could do was sense the warmth until Kelsey fell asleep. “I’m worried about Kelsey,” Miranda blurted out before she could stop herself.
Nanna sighed deeply. “You’re not used to her on the job and being away from you; it will get easier.”
Miranda opened her eyes to find Nanna’s eyes on her. Shaking her head, she said, “it’s not that. I haven’t told you, but she comes to me every night to kiss me goodnight and hold me until she falls asleep. The first time was the night she arrived in Lansing; I had no idea she could do that.”
“I didn’t know she could either. I have thought she has been different lately.”
“Was she able to do this when she was younger?”
“I had my suspicions that she and Aisling were capable of doing much more than they let on to either myself or their mothers. The connection between those two has always been strong. Why are you worried about my granddaughter; what has she got herself into now?”
“I thought you were able to sense her and what she is doing.”
“I’m thinking my mind or my gift is failing me in my advanced age; I cannot sense her like I used to do.”
Miranda knew that Kelsey may be able to block her grandmother to some extent but wasn’t aware that Nanna wasn’t sensing her granddaughter as usual. “Your mind is sharper than mine; it’s probably because Kelsey’s mind is filled with so much right now, that you’re finding it harder to focus on one thing.”
Shaking her head, Nanna frowned. “I’m afraid my gift doesn’t work that way. Through everything my dear girl has been through in her life, I’ve always been able to connect with her; something is wrong. You know it too; what is it?”
“I’m sorry Nanna, I can only sense her pain and worry, but I don’t know what is causing it.”
“I knew from the moment I saw you two together there was a connection with you that she had never had since Aisling. You are Kelsey’s Anam Charaid, her soulmate or another half of her soul. The relationship with Aisling is similar but not as strong a connection. When Kelsey entered this world, she and Aisling were soul twins, born days apart. If one cried even miles apart, the other would cry as well.”
“I’ve seen the love in her eyes whenever she talks about her. I think that’s why she’s so passionate about looking into that night.”
“I’ve told her so many times that it’s not good for her to live in the past. The pain she experienced when we lost Aisling, Catriona, and Ethan needs to stay in the past. Is this why she’s hurting?”
“I don’t know Nanna. Honestly, she doesn’t tell me about her cases but I know she’s in Michigan on an important investigation. I’m not sure what causes her worry or pain. I wish I could take it all away.”
“You don’t have to worry about that happening again. Kelsey didn’t know she had you in her life; she does now, and that will make her stronger this time.”
Miranda grimaced. She tried to calm her thoughts so that Nanna wouldn’t see what she tried to hide. The idea of Kelsey falling apart after the day on the rooftop and then weeks of drinking and emotional turmoil, made her heart clench. “You’re probably right; I’m just letting my fears get the best of me.” Hoping Nanna wouldn’t see through her thin veil of bravado, Miranda smiled and shrugged.
“We both know you’re not a good liar, my dear. I can see you're trying hard to hide something from me. I won’t pry, but we will have a much better time if you don’t have to work so hard at keeping something from me the whole time we’re here.”
Thinking it wouldn’t hurt to come clean on her lie, Miranda rushed to tell Nanna about what she tried to keep from the astute nonagenarian. “There wasn’t a gas leak in your house; I only said it to get you out of the house.”
“As I said, you’re not a good liar. I knew there wasn’t a leak.”
“Well, then why did you go along with it?”
“I could see that it meant very much to you to get me out of the house. I knew that Kelsey had to be behind it, and I didn’t want to make it more difficult for you. I could see you were caught in the middle of one of Kelsey’s schemes.”
“I don’t know why we had to go, any more than you do, I promise.”
Nanna took Miranda into her arms. “You don’t need to fret. I’m well aware that you’d do anything Kelsey asked of you; you trust and love her, as do I. That’s why I went along with it in the end; if Kelsey wanted us out of the house and away this badly; there had to be a good enough reason for it.”
“It’s that reason that worries me. How do you do it?”
“Do you mean, how do I keep from fretting every time Kelsey goes off to catch the bad people?”
Miranda nodded.
“It was tough for me at first. I would sit up every night wondering where she was and if she would come home again. I could sense her fears, her apprehension, and her worries about the victims. I saw the satisfaction of bringing justice to those victims in her eyes, and this is how I learned to accept her need to be an FBI Agent. I learned to trust her abilities and skills to know she would come home safe.”
“Has she ever been worried about you or her family when she’s working a case before?”
“No, never, because Kelsey used to compartmentalize her private life when she worked an investigation. I would worry about her ability to bottle up her emotions and how she kept us far away from her professional life. She told me it was for the best, but when she met you, that all changed.”
Miranda smiled. Kelsey coming into her life had changed her as well. “She changed me too. I haven’t told you this, but you and all of Kelsey’s family mean so much to me.”
“You don’t have to explain. You’re as much a part of this family as Kelsey. When I met you, I felt like you had been here from the beginning. It was as if I had known you your entire life. I saw in your soul the same as I saw in Kelsey’s.”
Feeling the warmth of Nanna’s arms around her, Miranda closed her eyes and felt the tears flow. Squeezing her lids, she hoped to stop the tears from wetting Nanna’s shirt.
Nanna gently rubbed Miranda’s back. “Now, that we have all that out in the open, let’s go get ready to go t
o the beach. The other reason I went along with this rouse was the promise of getting to walk in the sand and breathing in the warm sea air.”
“You knew we’d be going somewhere with a beach?”
Shaking her head, Nanna said, “I heard vacation and knew Kelsey had promised to take me to the beach; so, I had my hopes.”
Miranda giggled. “When Kelsey calls later, you should tell her that you knew and didn’t care; it may make her feel better.”
“I will, I would have told her last night, but I wanted her to squirm for not telling me the truth.”
“I’m sorry for lying to you…”
“I know you didn’t have a choice. You will always be more loyal to Kelsey, and I’ll never expect that to change.”
“I only wished I had told you the truth as I knew it. I didn’t know why she wanted us to leave and come here, only that it was important to Kelsey, that we did.”
“That’s faith and having faith in her means the world to me. Don’t ever apologize for being the person Kelsey needs the most.”
***
Watching Nanna smiling and closing her eyes as she tipped her head back in the sun, made Miranda see a much younger Isla MacKenzie. Kelsey told Miranda about Nanna’s life before she became a mother and grandmother. Isla grew up on the shores of Aberdeen on the Don River. The area had long sandy beaches, and young Isla would spend many days walking on the beaches, collecting seaweeds and digging for razor clams. It didn’t matter why Kelsey wanted to get them far away from Pittsburgh; today the look on Isla MacKenzie’s face told the story of how fate had played to get Nanna to a beach.
Taking off the throw she wore over her swimsuit, Miranda stood and took off her sandals to let the sand squish between her toes. Walking to stand next to Nanna, she took the older woman’s hand. “Let’s go and look for seashells.”
Nanna’s smile made her look like a child. “Maybe we could look for clam holes; do you think we can dig some up for supper?”
Miranda wrinkled her nose. “I don’t think we’ll find many and if we do, not sure if they’d be edible. It will be fun to look, and then we can go to that little restaurant that Agent Suarez said had the best seafood.”
Nanna clapped her hands. “Okay let’s go to that shop and get shovels and buckets. Do we have to tell those two where we’re going?”
Miranda looked over at the two FBI agents trying to fit into the crowd in their short-sleeve shirts and cotton pants, with earpieces and aviators. She giggled. “No, they’ll follow along. I think you made your point quite clear this morning about them keeping a distance while watching us.”
Tongue in cheek, Nanna, smirked. “I wasn’t too stern, was I? I thought maybe Linda might cry after I scolded her for crowding me.”
Miranda recalled the moments leading to them departing from the hotel room and how Nanna wanted Agents Linda Suarez and Tina Halladay to give them more leeway. Nanna stood to her fullest height and shook her finger at the two agents and berated them for not giving her and Miranda more privacy. Linda Suarez’s eyes welled up as if Nanna scolded her. “They’ll get used to you, the first time I met you, you scared me just a little.”
“Really? Am I that scary?” Nanna asked with her hands on her hips.
Looking at the smiling, ninety-one-year-old woman, who wore a floral wrap type dress, a straw hat, and cat-eye sunglasses, Miranda couldn’t imagine being intimidated by her. “I think it’s more of what you represent and not the real you. It was like when the flight attendant asked you if you needed help getting to your seat; it wasn’t because she didn’t think you could manage it, she only wanted to be respectful. I think when most people look at you, they see their grandmothers.”
“How about you dear, do I still scare you?”
Miranda stood up to her fullest height. “No, of course not; I’ve since learned you’re the biggest pushover just like your granddaughter.”
Nanna chuckled and her eyes filled with laughter. “Let’s go play in the sand before the sun goes down.”
Miranda shook her head and smiled. I know where your granddaughter gets her formidable charm too.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Driving outside of Canonsburg, Morning, March 18, 2012
Nikki found Lyle MacConnell’s address and phone number. They were driving to meet with him at his office outside of Canonsburg. Kelsey was glad for the distraction of this trip. Until they could find Washburg or have an arrest warrant for him; Kelsey had to keep her mind off of wanting to scream. Her frustrations were lessened by talking to Nanna and Miranda the night before, but she still needed to have Paul Washburg behind bars before she could relax again. Nanna explained that she knew there was no gas leak at the house and that she was enjoying herself so much she forgave Kelsey for putting Miranda in a place where she had to lie to her. After a few tears and more apologies, Kelsey explained that they were increasing the security at the house and when she could, she would tell Nanna everything.
Kelsey did sleep better last night than she had in a very long time. Leaning back on the headrest she sighed.
“You’ve been quiet this morning, but I noticed that some of the tension in your back has disappeared. You must have slept better last night.”
Nodding, Kelsey smiled. “I have Miranda to thank for that; I slept better than I have in a very long time.”
“Oh? Please, explain to me in detail. My love life has been non-existent; I think my little black book has cobwebs in it. I could use something to make me remember what it was like when I had some fun most nights, and you were the one sleeping alone.”
Kelsey chuckled. “I slept alone last night; you do know that Miranda is likely hundreds of miles away?”
“You and Miranda could never be too far apart not to share a bed. You told me about how you can transport to a place where she is when you’re both thinking of each other. How is sex during these projections? Is it just as hot as in person?”
Feeling her face heat up, Kelsey cleared her throat. “I kissed her and held her until I fell asleep; that is all.”
“Okay, don’t tell me.”
“Miranda told Nanna the gas leak was a lie, and Nanna and she had a good heart-to-heart. Nanna is enjoying herself at the beach, and they both told me they understood why I had to do what I did. For the first time in my life, I don’t feel guilty about putting my job first when I’m working a case.”
“Mack, you never did that, and never could. Your family will always come first, but your passion for solving a case does cause you to have tunnel vision at times.”
“Well, until today I always wanted to do more, be more because I felt my family needed me, last night, I learned Nanna loves me more because I do what I do and not less like I always feared she did.”
Nikki said, “we’re nearly there; how do you want to approach questioning Mr. MacConnell?”
“I don’t think he’ll remember me, so let’s tell him we’re FBI and we’re following up on things concerning my uncle.”
“One thing I have learned since I met you, is that you’re unforgettable. I think we can tell him you want to know more about your family’s history. No sense in making him feel pressured or think that we’re questioning the facts of the case.”
Kelsey shrugged. “He hasn’t seen me for more than twenty-one years; I only remember his children coming to mine or Aisling’s Birthday parties.”
Nikki winked. “I’ll bet you; he’ll remember you as soon as you step into his office.”
Kelsey said, “You’re on. What do you want to wager?”
“If I win, you drive back to Pittsburgh and come out with me for a drink and pool tonight. You need to get out and get your mind off of everything.”
“And if I win; you drive back, and you call Jess Harrington.” The sharp intake of breath, Kelsey heard Nikki took, told her the images she saw coming from Nikki had been correct.
Holding out her hand, Nikki said, “you’re on, but I want to clarify that it is not fair that you can see wh
at I’m thinking.”
“Sorry, but it’s pretty hard to ignore what you’ve been mulling over ever since we left Lansing. But I’m glad you are not pining for Deborah Norman.”
Nikki pulled the car into the parking space outside the office of Lyle MacConnell’s General Contracting Company. “It won’t matter, because I’m going to win.”
***
Lyle MacConnell’s Office, Morning, March 18, 2012
“Kelsey MacGregor, when Cheryl told me that two women wanted to talk to me about my old company and partner, I had no idea I’d be face-t0-face with the infamous FBI Agent MacGregor. To think you were once a tall, shy girl who could whop all the boys in the neighborhood, and now you’re a beautiful FBI agent, tickles me to no end.” Lyle MacConnell came around the desk and pumped Kelsey’s hand before he drew her in for a big bear hug.
From the corner of her eye, Kelsey saw the wide grin on Nikki’s face. It looks like I’ll be going out tonight. Kelsey smiled and drew a distance away from the large, imposing figure of Lyle MacConnell. “I didn’t think you would remember me since it’s been a long time…I was only a child.”
Lyle MacConnell shook his head. “My son, Connor had the biggest crush on you, but you didn’t have eyes for anyone back then. You broke his heart; we heard about you for a long time until he found a girl who would look his way. Through the years he still keeps track of you; he’s single now.”
Nikki snickered and whispered, “why am I not surprised; even back then, you were breaking hearts.”
“Mr. MacConnell, this is my friend Nicole Hyland, we’d like to ask you a few questions if that’s alright?”
“Pleased to meet you and call me Lyle. I understand now; I always had an idea you weren’t like the other girls back then. Connor never did have a chance, did he? My niece is a lesbian as well.”
Kelsey shook her head; this conversation was taking the wrong turn. “You misunderstand, Nikki isn’t—”