Dangerous Deception

by Beverly Barton

  “Not necessarily.”

  “Huh?”

  “Mr. Perkins has no idea why we want the personnel files on these women. He’s unaware of the fact that we want photos to show Ms. Raney to see if she can identify the woman she says hired her.”

  “Man, you don’t trust anybody, do you? You still consider Perkins a suspect in Bobby Jack Cash’s murder and his wife’s disappearance and you think the Raney woman is lying about—”

  “I think Lausanne Raney is probably telling us the truth, but I learned a long time ago not to take anybody’s word for anything, especially not if that person is suspected of committing a crime.”

  Bain opened the door and walked into the office. An attractive young woman rose from her desk and met him. “Lieutenant Desmond?”

  “Yes.”

  “Mr. Perkins has told us to cooperate with you fully. Just tell me what you need and I’ll do my best to provide it as quickly as possible.”

  DOM MET BAIN DESMOND and Mike Swain outside the Chicken Coop at seven-fifteen that evening. They took a back booth, ordered coffee and asked Lausanne to take her next break as soon as she could.

  “It’ll be another fifteen minutes at least,” she told Dom. “Does Lieutenant Desmond have some new information?”

  “He has photos of all Bedell, Inc. female employees under the age of thirty-five,” Dom said. “He wants you to take a look at them.”

  Lausanne nodded, then scurried off to deliver chicken salad and iced tea to a customer.

  Dom glanced at the laptop Mike Swain laid on the table in front of him.

  “The employee photos are on a disc,” Desmond said.

  “How many photos?” Dom asked.

  “Out of seventy-six female employees, forty-two are under the age of thirty-five,” Swain said.

  “You realize that with that many photos to look at, it’ll be easy for Lausanne to become confused,” Dom said. “She might not be able to ID the woman, especially considering the fact that the woman probably wore a wig and—”

  “Making excuses for her just in case?” Desmond asked.

  “Just stating a simple fact.”

  “Well, the facts are these—I have a murder case on my hands as well as a missing person’s case. And until both cases are solved, Ms. Raney will remain a person of interest to the Chattanooga PD.”

  “You don’t really think she’s capable of murder,” Dom said.

  “Just because she’s a beautiful woman that any man would find desirable doesn’t mean she’s not capable of murder.” Desmond looked pointedly at Dom. “Believe me, I’d like to see her proven completely innocent, but I haven’t lost my objectivity.”

  The way you have. Those four words hung silently between them.

  “What if Audrey Perkins killed Bobby Jack and she’s on the run?” Dom tossed out a plausible scenario. “Knowing Cash’s body was bound to be found eventually, she arranged to have an impersonator lead police or private PI’s off her trail.”

  “Why hire two impersonators?” Desmond asked.

  “There could be numerous explanations.”

  “Name one.”

  Lausanne showed up that very minute, as if on cue, saving Dom from having to produce a reply when he had none. “Effie told me to go ahead and take my break since we’re not busy now that the car club customers just left.”

  Dom scooted over to allow her to sit by him.

  “So, where are the photographs you want me to look at?” Lausanne asked.

  “They’re here.” Sergeant Swain patted the top of the closed laptop.

  Lausanne glanced quizzically at the computer.

  Swain flipped the laptop open and turned it around so that the screen faced Lausanne. “I have the disc loaded. All you have to do is hit Next when you’re ready to move from one photograph to the next.”

  “Take your time,” Lt. Desmond told her.

  She nodded.

  “Do you need for me to show you how to do it?” Sergeant Swain asked.

  “No, thanks, I know how to use a computer.”

  Dom couldn’t help noticing the way both Desmond and Swain watched Lausanne with more than professional interest. Apparently both men found her attractive. But that was no big surprise. They weren’t blind. What red-blooded male wouldn’t get a hard-on just looking at her?

  Lausanne clicked through photograph after photograph, pausing several times, looking closely, then moving on to the next picture. After she’d gone through the first twenty or so, she stopped and checked her watch. The classy little Rolex had probably been purchased with Audrey Perkins’s credit card. For some crazy reason that bothered Dom. He hated like hell that Lausanne had passed herself off as another woman, spent that woman’s money so easily and had kept all the bounty from her numerous shopping sprees.

  “I’ve got five more minutes until my break is over,” Lausanne told them.

  “Keep looking,” Desmond said. “You’re more than halfway through the file.”

  Lausanne nodded and began again.

  “I’ll check with your boss and see if you can have a little extra time.” Dom nudged her. She slid out of the booth, to allow him room to get out.

  Before sliding back into the booth, she said, “Don’t say anything to Effie that might get me fired. I need this job.”

  Dom nodded, then went looking for Effie Pounders, the fast-food restaurant’s manager. When he explained to the lady that Lausanne was helping the police with a missing person’s case, Mrs. Pounders was more than accommodating.

  When Dom slid back into the booth beside Lausanne, she looked up from her search. “Mrs. Pounders said to take all the time you need.”

  Lausanne immediately returned to the task at hand.

  “How many does that make?” Dom asked.

  “I’m on number thirty-one,” she replied, then clicked Next to move on to number thirty-two.

  She studied that photograph longer than any of the others, but didn’t say anything. Dom inched closer and looked at the laptop screen. The photo, like all the others, was not studio quality, just a snapshot probably taken by a personnel staffer solely for the employees’s files. The woman was sort of pretty, with small features, big blue eyes and short dark hair. Dom didn’t see any resemblance between this woman and either Audrey Perkins or Lausanne.

  “Does she look familiar?” Dom asked.

  “Have you found her?” Desmond tapped the edge of the screen.

  “Give me another minute, will you? I’m trying to picture her with red hair.”

  Seconds seemed like minutes and minutes like hours as Lausanne studied the photo. Finally, she turned to Dom and said, “This is the woman who hired me to impersonate Audrey Perkins. Only her hair was longer and it was red.”

  Dom grasped the edge of the laptop and pivoted the screen so that Desmond and Swain could see the woman’s face. “Who is she?” he asked.

  Swain turned the laptop around and pulled it over to him, then hit one of the keys and typed in something. “Her name is Megan Reynolds.”

  “Does that name mean anything to you, Ms. Raney?” Desmond asked.

  She shook her head. “No. Nothing.”

  “Ms. Reynolds is Audrey Perkins’s personal assistant,” Swain said. “She’s worked for Ms. Perkins for five years and was hired personally by Ms. Perkins herself.”

  Desmond tapped one of the computer keys, then catty-cornered the laptop around so that they all could see the screen. He pointed to the photo that popped up. “You’re sure, no doubt in your mind, that this is the woman who posed as Audrey Perkins and paid you to impersonate her?”

  “I’m sure,” Lausanne said. “No doubts whatsoever.”

  “Then our next step is to question Ms. Reynolds and see what she has to say for herself.” Desmond closed the laptop and handed it over to Swain.

  “What if she denies everything?” Lausanne asked.

  “Then, Ms. Raney, we have a problem,” Desmond told her.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN
<
br />   WHEN LAUSANNE’S SHIFT at the Chicken Coop ended at ten that night, Dom was outside in his car waiting for her. He had spent the past few hours on the phone, first with Lieutenant Desmond, then with his client and finally with his boss. At least with those three, there wasn’t any conflict of interest, not the way it could turn out to be with Lausanne. He’d been up-front with Sawyer about the situation.

  “I have a personal interest in Lausanne Raney,” Dom had admitted. “I’m fairly certain she’s telling the truth about her involvement with Audrey Perkins and if it comes down to choosing sides…”

  “Do you want me to relieve you of duty?” Sawyer had asked. “Deke Bronson’s new assignment got delayed until next month, so he’s free right now. I could send him in to replace you.”

  “Let’s hold off on that for the time being. Okay?”

  “All right, as long as you can assure me that Edward Bedell will have no reason to complain about Dundee’s services.”

  “Right. I understand.”

  Lausanne said goodbye to the other waitresses as they headed for their vehicles. When she saw Dom, she waved at him and smiled. He liked seeing her smile. His guess was that she hadn’t done much smiling in her life, at least not since her mother died when she was twelve. If it were up to him, she’d have something to smile about every day.

  Lausanne opened the car door and slid inside, then faced Dom. “Any word from Lieutenant Desmond about Megan Reynolds?”

  “Yeah. It seems Ms. Reynolds is on a two-week vacation. By some odd coincidence she left Chattanooga the day after you did.”

  “Then she should be back by now, right?”

  “Wrong. It seems she called and asked for more time off and since she had two more weeks vacation time accumulated, the extra time was approved.”

  “Where is she? Have the police been able to contact her? They have to talk to her and find out why she pretended to be Audrey Perkins, why she hired me to—”

  Dom tapped her lips to quiet her. “Slow down, honey. One question at a time.”

  “Where is she?”

  “As far as we know she was in Mexico and then moved on, but we’re not sure where. From cell phone records that the police obtained, it seems when she called Bedell, Inc. to ask for an extension on her vacation, she was in Rio de Janeiro.”

  “Has Lieutenant Desmond contacted her? Has he spoken to her?”

  “He’s tried, but she’s not answering her cell phone.”

  “Damn, I knew something like this would happen, that I’d still come off looking guilty.”

  Dom reached over and buckled her seat belt. He lifted his hand and caressed her cheek. “We’ll find her. I promise.”

  Her gaze met his. “We as in the police or Dundee’s?”

  “Both. Dundee’s always works with local authorities whenever possible.”

  “What did Mr. Bedell say about my identifying Ms. Reynolds as the woman who hired me?”

  “He seemed surprised and very concerned,” Dom said. “He can’t figure out why Audrey would have gotten her assistant to pose as her and then hire you to gallivant around the southeast impersonating her.”

  “Does he believe I’m telling the truth?”

  “I’m not sure. I think he’s confused, just like the police are. This is a puzzle no one seems to be able to figure out.” Dom hooked himself into his seat belt, then started the engine and checked his rearview mirror.

  “You have to find Megan Reynolds,” Lausanne said.

  Dom backed out of the parking slot and drove onto the main road. “Dundee’s is busy right now investigating Ms. Reynolds and trying to track her down. My boss has already authorized me to fly out of the country when she’s found, if it’s necessary. Regardless of how the police handle this investigation, I plan to speak to Ms. Reynolds personally.”

  “Is that what Mr. Bedell wants you to do?”

  “He wants me to do whatever is necessary to find his daughter.”

  “Dead or alive?”

  “Yeah, dead or alive.”

  Silence. What else was there to say? They both knew that if Audrey Perkins came up dead, Lausanne would head the list of suspects.

  USING A PHONY NAME and address, Megan Reynolds had purchased a new cell phone and paid for her minutes up front. When she’d phoned Bedell, Inc. and requested an extension on her vacation, she hadn’t given a thought to the fact the call could be traced. She’d gotten her ass chewed out about that earlier today and ordered to toss that phone in the trash and hop the next jet out of Rio de Janeiro. And that’s just what she intended to do. She certainly didn’t want to answer any questions about Audrey Perkins, those posed by the police or by the private PI that the Bedell family had hired.

  If she was going to have to live outside the U.S. from now on, perhaps even assume a new identity, she was going to need more money. And if she didn’t get what she asked for, then she’d just blow the whistle and expose all the lies.

  Megan punched in the private number and waited as it connected. She hadn’t installed phone numbers or information of any kind in the new cell phone, just in case she had to dispose of it, too.

  “Hello.”

  “It’s Megan.”

  “Did you do as I instructed?”

  “I did. I have a new cell phone. Want the number?”

  “Yes.”

  She recited the number, then said, “I’m at the airport. I bought a ticket to Buenos Aires.”

  “Good. Stay there until I contact you.”

  “Look, I didn’t agree to stay away from the U.S. indefinitely. If you want me to keep under the radar, I’m going to need more money.”

  “You were paid handsomely for your services.”

  “Not handsomely enough.”

  “How much more do you want?”

  “Double what you paid me.”

  Silence.

  “It’s your choice,” Megan said. “Either cough up more money or I come back to Chattanooga and tell the police everything I know.”

  “I can’t wire you the money or overnight you a check. Either could be traced.”

  “Hey, I don’t care. That’s your problem. You figure out a way to get me what I’m asking for in forty-eight hours or I’ll hop a plane home and go straight to the police and spill the beans.”

  “I’ll see what I can do.”

  “And one other thing—I’m going to write myself up a little insurance policy, just in case you’re thinking about bumping me off.”

  “That won’t be necessary.”

  Megan laughed. “You forget, I know just how dangerous you can be.”

  “What are you planning?”

  “I thought I’d write Lausanne Raney a letter, describing in detail why I hired her to impersonate Audrey Perkins and tell her who was behind the master plan. I figure I can find me a lawyer in Buenos Aires who’ll mail the letter if anything happens to me.”

  “You’ll get your money. Once that’s done, I don’t ever want to hear from you again. Is that understood?”

  “If I get what I want, I’ll give you what you want. My silence.”

  She flipped her cell phone closed, left the secluded corner near the wall of windows facing the runway and glanced around at the other passengers waiting for the flight to Buenos Aires. From here on out, she’d have to play it smart or her life wouldn’t be worth a damn.

  DOM TOOK LAUSANNE’S KEY from her and opened the door to her apartment. She was dead on her feet from a long and exhausting shift. This wasn’t the first time she’d worked as a waitress, but after getting the fabulous job as a receptionist at Bedell, Inc., she had hoped she’d never have to be a waitress ever again. So much for hopes and dreams.

  Dom flipped on the overhead light switch, bathing the room with a hundred watt glow. After closing and locking the door, he said, “Why don’t you take a nice hot bath and relax.”

  She sighed. “That sounds like a good idea, but I’m not sure I have enough energy to—”

  Dom swooped her
off the floor and up into his arms. Startled, Lausanne yelped, then flung her arm around his neck and held on while he carried her through her bedroom and into the small, outdated bathroom. He closed the commode lid and set her down very gently, then knelt in front of her. After removing her sweater, he undid the buttons on her blouse.

  She grasped his hand. “What are you doing?”

  “Helping you undress.” He grinned.

  “I think I can manage to undress myself.”

  “Suit yourself.” He winked at her, then got up and went over to the tub. “You get undressed and I’ll draw your bath water.”

  What? He was going to draw her bath water? Surely she was dreaming. This couldn’t be real.

  He turned on both faucets and the water flowed into the tub. He glanced back at her and asked, “Do you have any bubble bath?”

  She shook her head.

  He surveyed her from head to toe. “You aren’t undressing.”

  “And I’m not going to until you leave the bathroom.”

  “Modest, are we?”

  “Yes, we are.”

  He chuckled. “Where do you keep the extra towels? You’ll need one for your hair.”

  “In the bedroom, top drawer in the dresser.”

  “Get undressed, I’ll hand you the towels and I promise not to peek.”

  After he left the bathroom, partially closing the door, Lausanne removed her blouse and slacks and folded them neatly. She tried to get two wears out of her uniform and usually could if she didn’t drop any food on herself during her shift.

  “Here you go,” Dom said.

  She glanced at the doorway and saw his big hand extended around the door, an extra towel dangling from his fingers. Reaching out, she grabbed the towel, then shoved on the door. He moved out of the way, but not before he caught a quick glimpse of her in her underwear. He let out a long, loud whistle.

  Lausanne’s cheeks flushed and heat suffused her body. She slammed the door in his face. “You promised not to peek.”

  “I tried not to, but I just couldn’t help myself. After all, I’m just a man and you, honey, are one gorgeous woman.”