The Reckoning

by Kathryn Shay

  “Aidan, it’s Jamie. Something’s come up and I can’t get Ben off the bus. Could one of you do it for me?”

  “Sure. I’ll duck down. He gets home at four, right?”

  “More like four-fifteen.”

  “Is it okay if I bring him back here? Katie’s with me already. Mama’s entertaining her, and Liam’s around, too. Pat left.”

  “Sure. I don’t know when I’ll be able to get him.”

  “No worries. We got him covered.” He waited. “Honey, you sound agitated. Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine. This is a temporary blip.”

  “Okay, well, call us if you need help.”

  She disconnected and Halstead’s brow arched. “Honey?”

  “Yeah, like you’d call your sister honey. He’s happily married. They all are.”

  “Hmm.” He gestured to the couch. “Make yourself comfortable. I’m sorry there’s not much to do in here. Nigel said no Internet.”

  “You could do something for me so I’d have work. I’m finishing up my thesis paper for school. If you go into my online account, I always email myself a copy. You could print it off for me, and I’d have plenty of revision to occupy me.”

  “Don’t see any harm in that.” As it ran off, he asked, “Mind if I ask what this is for?”

  “I’m finishing my degree at Hunter College next month. In teaching.”

  “You’re going to quit here?”

  “Yes. Mr. Moran knew the job was temporary. If I get a position, I wouldn’t start till the end of August.”

  “My sister’s a teacher.”

  They made small talk about his family, then the printer stopped.

  She took out the draft her fifty-page thesis that catalogued what she’d learned about teaching in her four years at Hunter. Examples had to be given in the form of five of her best lessons. Thankfully, she’d already downloaded the lessons and she’d worked on perfecting them. Now all that was needed was a final revision, then proofreading. That would take a while.

  She pointed to an empty desk. “Can I sit there?”

  “Sure. Are you going to be able to work without a computer?”

  “As a matter of fact, I’m at the point where I do a hardcopy review and proofing, so this is perfect. Thanks, Tom.”

  A smile she’d never seen before. “You’re welcome, Jamie. And thank you for making this easy on me.”

  She revised all morning. When she ran into a couple of snags, one by one, she fixed them. Tom had left to take care of some business, but he walked in now. “Hi. How’s it going?”

  She told him.

  “Are you hungry?”

  “Yes.”

  “Come on, let’s go out. I’ll keep an eye on you, though I think this whole thing’s ridiculous.”

  “Thanks. I do, too.”

  They enjoyed a pleasant lunch of burgers and salads, and returned at 2:30. “Do you have any idea of how long Mr. Moran will be?”

  “He said he’d be back at five. The client had a dinner thing. In a few more hours I’ll be out of your hair.”

  “Like you’re so tough to handle. You’re a good sport, Jamie.”

  “I learned a long time ago when to pick my battles. This isn’t one of them. But I’m going to make a stink about Nigel ordering you to do this. I’m not sure he has the authority.”

  “Be a shame if he got fired.”

  Jamie saw the smirk on Tom’s face.

  “A cryin’ shame,” she agreed.

  Fuming, Kinley entered his office building. He hurried upstairs and found Nigel waiting for him when the elevators doors opened. “I’m not happy, Nigel.”

  “You shouldn’t be. I think she’s been sabotaging you.”

  He stopped short. “Who?”

  “Ms. Ralston. I explained what happened in my phone message.”

  “What you thought happened.” His words curt. That wouldn’t be the end of it, either. Going behind his desk, he buzzed the security office. “Hey, Tom, how’s Jamie?”

  “She’s a nice woman, Mr. Moran. Hasn’t given me a whit of trouble.”

  “I can’t believe any of this happened. Could you bring her up?”

  Soon after walking into his office there was a knock on the door, which he’d left ajar for Tech. “Hey, Joel and Nate. Thanks for staying so late.”

  “No worries, Mr. Moran.” Joel, the head guy was deferent. “Somebody broke into your computer?”

  “Yes.” Kinley knew in his gut Jamie hadn’t deleted any emails.

  “We’ll scour the computer until we find out who did this.”

  Another knock. Tom Halstead entered with Jamie.

  He said, “Hello, Mr. Moran.”

  Kinley walked to her and said to the others, “I’m going to talk to Jamie alone for a minute.”

  She followed him to the hallway without a word. Then she said, “Kinley I—”

  Before she could finish, he took her in his arms. Held her. “I’m so sorry. What got into Nigel?”

  “He doesn’t like me. But this is way out in left field. I didn’t do anything to hurt you. I never would.”

  “I know.” He kissed her head. Let’s go back in and solve this once and for all.” He opened the door and they walked into the office. Tom was watching Nigel. The techs were busy, Joe on his computer, Nate on his phone. “Would you like us to stay or leave?” Kinley asked them.

  Joel looked up. “Give us an hour alone.”

  They left the office and went into the conference room down the hall. Kinley took charge. “All right, I want the exact incident, blow by blow.” To Jamie he said, “You first.”

  She began with his call, how she got into his office and his computer. She went on to say what she did, while Kinley stayed on the line. Tom scowled through the whole thing.

  “Tom?”

  “That wasn’t the way Mr. Pembroke explained things.”

  “Nigel, talk to me.”

  “I thought she was lying about having access to your office and your computer.”

  “Why?”

  “Because she was where she shouldn’t be. And she acted guilty.”

  Jamie rolled her eyes. “A man with a hammer sees everything as a nail.”

  “What does that mean?” Nigel asked.

  “That you were looking for me to be guilty and you saw it. But I’m not.”

  Kinley listened to Tom talk about how cooperative Jamie had been in his office all day. Kinley’s eyes flamed. “I can’t believe you ordered for her to be held so long.”

  “Kinley, Tom got my paper…” She told him how she was able to finish it with a whole day’s revision. “I never have that much time and I’m thrilled it’s done.”

  “Still, it’s the principle. People are innocent until proven guilty.”

  Nigel said, “With access to the computer and your office, she could have done more damage.”

  “None of this was yours to decide.” He faced Jamie. “I apologize for Nigel’s overstepping and for this whole, unfortunate solution.”

  “I’m fine, Mr. Moran.” She gestured to the desk. “Can I have my phone. I want to call Aidan to see how Ben is.”

  “You asked Aidan to help you?”

  “No, I called the pub. Anybody who was there would help. But I’d like to talk to my son.”

  Tom turned over her phone. She went to a corner of the room, and she returned just as Joel strode inside. “We know who deleted your emails from the IRS.”

  “Who?”

  Joel transferred his gaze to the culprit. “Nigel Pembroke.”

  Jamie waited at home for Aidan to drop Ben off. She sighed as she sat in the living room. How could Nigel have been sabotaging Kinley all this time and no one knew? And why did he do it?

  Her phone rang, taking her away from the awful news. It was Aidan. “Hi, there. Everything okay?”

  “Not yet. Katie’s throwing a tantrum that Ben’s leaving. C.J. said that he was welcome to stay overnight and I objected because I don’t want to re
ward her bad behavior. But we’re letting you decide.”

  “I don’t want to reward that either. At the same time, in the larger scheme of things, I’d let Ben stay. Why make both of them miserable?”

  A chuckle. “That’s almost exactly what C.J. said.”

  “I can drop him off in the morning. Katie has dance class at ten near the pub.”

  “I appreciate that. And Aidan, don’t worry about spoiling your kids. Life’s short.”

  He laughed.

  When she hung up, she called Kinley’s private number. “Moran.”

  “It’s Jamie. I know you’re not done, but I wanted you to know something.”

  She explained about Ben and Katie.

  “Meet me at my place.”

  “You come here. I’m in my jammies already.” She waited. “I bought you some, too.”

  “You did?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, that’s a bright spot in an otherwise horrid day.”

  “You can tell me all about it when you get here. Liam brought me enough supper to last days.”

  “Why did he do that?”

  “He knows I’m busy. He does that sometimes when he works dinner and I’m not there.”

  “See you soon.”

  She put the Cornish game hens and rice pilaf in the oven and left the salad in the fridge. In an hour, Kinley rang the bell. “It’s unlocked,” she called out as she walked to the door, opened it. “You can just walk in when no one’s here.”

  “Thanks.” Inside, he shed his suitcoat and yanked off his tie and tossed them on the back of a chair. “Can I wind down before we eat?”

  “Sure. A drink? I have the scotch you like.”

  “Yeah.”

  When they finally relaxed on the couch, she sipped her white wine. “What did Nigel say?”

  “He denied it. When the techs gave their proof, he stuck with his story. He kept suggesting you sabotaged him.”

  “Like I have the skills to do that.”

  “I had Tom and another guard escort him out and I got a court order for him to stay off the premises.”

  “What happens now?”

  “I called my lawyer and he arrived after you left. He said we should press charges, so I’ve been dealing with the police. They waited for the warrant, then went to his place as soon as they left me.”

  “Wow. What would be the charges?”

  “For me, it’s breaking into a computer system to change or alter it, with malicious intent.” He let out a heavy breath. “There’ll be more complaints because when he deleted IRS emails and phone messages, federal crimes were involved.”

  Reaching out, she took his hand. “At least you caught him before he did any real damage.”

  “I think so. But I won’t know until I go through the entire list of my emails that were deleted. By him or me.”

  “Could I do that?”

  “I don’t think so. It needs an experienced eye.”

  “Okay. I wish I could help.”

  He leaned over and kissed her. “This helps.”

  She drew back. “I mean in a professional way.”

  His brows furrowed. “Have I offended you?”

  “Some, I guess.”

  “I’m sorry. I’m exhausted. Of course, you can help at work. We’ll sit down tomorrow and figure out how. Again, forgive me.”

  “Of course. How are you doing with all this?”

  He laid his head back. “I’m pissed as hell. I did a background check on him. Nothing to indicate he had devious intentions. I’ve been thinking about it. This had to be long-range planning. Meaning that’s why he came to work for me.”

  She gave a sardonic laugh. “In spy novels, there’s often a grudge involved.”

  “Lord knows I made a lot of enemies.”

  “Seriously?”

  “You don’t get to where I am without hurting some people.”

  “I didn’t know that.”

  “Because you’re such a good person.” His eyes narrowed on her. “Why are you so surprised, though. You know what I’m doing to the O’Neils.”

  “That’s in the past, right? You’re forging a relationship with them.”

  “I guess I am.” Again, his eyes closed briefly. “Why did you have to get Aidan to take care of Ben? Where’s Jean?”

  “Grandma went on a casino trip with some of her friends. As I said, I called the bar because anyone who was there would get him off the bus.”

  Kinley didn’t respond. He looked drained.

  “How about if we go upstairs. You can either take a nap now, or…after.”

  “After what?”

  “Take a wild guess.”

  Kinley was exhausted, physically and emotionally. But he needed to be close to Jamie right now. He took her hand and climbed the stairs with her. There, he began to disrobe her. She stayed his hands. “I’ll do it. Take yours off, Mister.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” He removed shoes, pants and underwear and shirt in record time. When he looked up, she was naked. He moved in close. Ran his hands down her. Soft silky arms. Slender hips. He dipped his head to her breasts. Laved them with his tongue. And sucked. She startled as she did every time he touched her like this. The notion made him hard. She ground herself against him. But then she stepped back. Circled him and drew back the covers. “Get in.”

  Brow raised, he slid into the bed. Instead of stretching out next to him, she straddled his thighs. Bent her head and without warning took him into her hands. His eyes closed and his body bucked. “Hell, Jamie.”

  “You like?” she asked.

  “I do, but I’ll never last. For you.”

  “I know. That’s okay. You can return the favor. Later.” She massaged him gently.

  “Ugh. Harder.”

  “Hold on buddy.” She took her time increasing the pressure. When she lowered her head and took him in her mouth, the world got blurry. All he could feel was her strong long strokes.

  In seconds, he went off, and the pleasure kept coming and coming until he emptied himself.

  She let him calm, then got up to go to the bathroom. He turned on his side and closed his eyes. The world went dark.

  In the kitchen, dressed in her pajamas again, Jamie got out a Cornish game hen, rice and beans, set them and the salad bowl on the table. She dished some out, ate the lettuce which crunched between her teeth, then a cherry tomato burst open adding sweetness to the tangy dressing.

  The rice was a little over done, now. But Liam had put spices in it: oregano, a taste of garlic, salt and pepper which made up for the texture. Then she attacked the chicken. It was still moist and succulent, and she devoured a whole hen.

  Sitting back, she sipped her Chardonnay and thought about what happened upstairs. She’d come back from the bathroom and found him totally zonked out. She’d kissed his head, turned off the dim light in the corner and closed the door softly. She’d planned this of course, thinking she’d wake him in a couple of hours. She’d taken his phone, too, to make sure he slept. The oral sex had made her itchy, but he needed to blank his mind.

  After she cleaned up the dishes, she went to living room, to the desk in the corner. Called up her paper. She began to type in the revision she’d done while sitting with Tom to pass the time. This kind of work took a while, but she got to the end, and thought the document was as perfect as she could make it. She checked the clock. Wow, three hours had passed.

  She’d just switched on the TV when his phone buzzed, indicating a text. It was from his lawyer.

  The police went to Pembroke’s apartment, but he wasn’t there. They called his phone. No answer. They tried the same thing an hour later. Now they’re thinking he’s taken off somewhere. Call me when you get this. Derek.

  Huh, the guy was in the wind. She hoped he was far away. She hoped she never had to see him again. But Kinley would need closure so Jamie wondered where Nigel was.

  Nigel watched the house. He couldn’t believe Moran had gone to Jamie Ralston’s house. As he
’d kept vigil, he saw the light go on in an upstairs bedroom. The kid’s room? If not, who was up there?

  It hit him then. She was sleeping with Moran! But what did he see in her? His roots?

  Nigel felt the gun in his pocket. He could take Ralston if she was alone, but what if the kid was in the house? He couldn’t kill a kid. Besides, Moran was there, and he probably couldn’t handle both of them unless he shot one at the door.

  They were having a sordid affair. He’d been blind. Oh, there had been signs. Moran’s favoritism of her. How he watched her at times, as if he was disturbed by her. His Guardian trip and their time in the car afterward. How never once had Moran criticized her when Nigel complained about her work. He’d wondered why Moran hired someone like her.

  Now he knew. Moran was fucking her.

  He smiled. Now he knew how to get back at Moran, personally if not professionally. By hurting those the guy loved.

  Just like the great Kinley Moran had hurt his father.

  Chapter 12

  Kinley sat back in his chair waiting for the police to arrive. What a whirlwind the last twenty-four hours had been. An employee had betrayed him and he didn’t know why. Then there was Jamie’s selflessness in taking care of him last night. The episode confirmed something he already knew: he’d fallen in love with her. Finally, the firm would be in an upheaval over Nigel and Kinley had to deal with that. He’d called a staff meeting for ten o’clock.

  His door was open and Jamie walked inside. Because Nigel no longer worked here, she’d offered to cover for him every day this week and at full time hours, as she was done with classes and with her thesis. “Good morning.”

  “It was that,” he said making a show of checking the time. “About two hours ago.”

  “Why Mr. Moran, whatever were you doing at 6 a.m.?”

  “Come here and I’ll show you…again.”

  “I volunteered to come in to work, not for hanky-panky.”

  He laughed heartily. “Hanky-panky? I haven’t heard the term in a long time.”

  She smoothed down the pencil-thin beige skirt she wore. “I’m picking up the slack today for Nigel. Speaking of him, have you talked to the police yet?”