Missing You

by Shereen Vedam

“It doesn’t matter,” Morgan said. “They can call back.”

  “It might be an emergency or your grandfather.” She shrugged. “I left my cell charging in my room, so it could even be Aunt Helen. Maybe they had car trouble.”

  Reluctantly, he reached for his cell while she retrieved her glasses. Then, he handed the phone to her. “It’s for you. It’s Brenda. Seems Lenny told her you were here.”

  Phoebe hesitated before accepting the phone and then held it out and hit the speaker key. “Hi, Mom.”

  “Come home,” her mother said. “Now!”

  “Why?” she asked, rolling her eyes.

  “Your boss just arrived looking for you.”

  The loud click as her mother disconnected echoed in the quiet bedroom.

  Chapter 10

  Phoebe handed back Morgan’s cell, questions running rampant. Why was Conroy here? Had something happened to her partner, Matt?

  “I have to go.” She headed for the door, tucking her shirt in and pulling her hair into a band.

  “Why is your boss over at your house so late?” Morgan asked, following her with a frown. “What do you really do for a living?”

  She hesitated at the doorway and glanced at him.

  “Would you like me to come with you?” he asked.

  “No. I’ll call you later, Morgan. Sorry about tonight.”

  Not waiting for his reply, she raced out of his room, down the stairs and out the front door. Phoebe burst into her living room and halted at sight of Conroy beside her parents and Grandfather Walter. It was a startling scene. Her parents appeared stiff and uncomfortable with their unexpected guest.

  “Ready to return to work yet, pet?” Conroy asked with a wide cheerful smile. He was a large-set man in a business suit. Yet, he reminded her of John Wayne, minus the cowboy hat.

  “She can’t.” Morgan said from behind Phoebe.

  She spun around, surprised he’d followed her home.

  Morgan stood in the living room doorway, arms crossed. His earlier concern was replaced by a sternness that appeared uncompromising and spelled trouble. Not only did he look capable of carrying Randy up the stairs – she'd spotted him doing so earlier – but also of tossing John Wayne out her front door.

  “What do you mean ‘she can’t’?” Conroy asked. Few men hesitated to respond to his commanding voice.

  Morgan studied the older man as if he were in no rush to reply. The silent two-way contemplation sent Phoebe’s nerves humming. Finally, Morgan said, “Phoebe is sentenced to three months community service. She can’t leave town until that’s complete.”

  Conroy’s keen gaze swung her way. The knowledge she remained at home for Morgan rather than a court sentence shone in her boss’s gaze. “Why didn’t you call me, Phoebe?” he asked in a mild tone filled with underlying challenge. “I hope this court ordeal hasn’t upset you. I’ll arrange a dismissal.”

  “This isn’t the time or place for this discussion.” Phoebe kept her focus on him. “Let’s go to Dad’s study. We can talk about business in there.”

  “Not on your life,” her mother said. “This is the perfect time and place for this long-overdue chat.”

  “Correct as always.” Conroy’s voice was as smooth as honey.

  Phoebe’s glance swung from him to her mother. “You know each other?”

  “Of course.” Conroy strode over and put his arm around Brenda’s shoulders. “You’re a lucky man, David. She chose you and broke my heart.”

  Eeww. “What are you talking about?” Phoebe asked. Her mother didn’t look as if she even liked Conroy. She was about to usher her boss out when her father forestalled her by leaving the room without a word.

  Brenda shoved Conroy’s arm off her shoulder. “Look what you’ve done. You’ve upset David.”

  “I forgot he’s an overly sensitive man,” Conroy replied. “Never could see what you found so appealing about him. Who’s your friend, Phoebe?”

  “Her lawyer,” Morgan said, who had watched her father’s departure with a worried glance. He faced her now, his expression unreadable.

  Grandfather Walter approached in his walker. His tired and frail movements touched her heart. “What business are you in, exactly, Conroy?”

  “It doesn’t matter,” Phoebe and her mother spoke together, then looked at each other in consternation.

  “Shoes,” Conroy said without hesitation, his gaze dropping to Grandfather Walter’s threadbare loafers. “All kinds, all sizes. I’d say you’re a size ten wide. I’ve got a nice sample pair of Ted Baker in my jeep that I recently sourced out. You’d absolutely love it. Want to try them on?”

  “Walter, it’s late,” Brenda said, interrupting his response. “You should turn in.”

  “Hmmph,” he replied. “Just you remember who you’re married to, missy.” Then he turned back to Conroy. “My boy may be an Ear, Nose and Throat man, but he is not sensitive. Call him that again and I’ll pound you. I can do it, too. I’ve trained at the gym. Worked up lots of muscles.”

  Phoebe couldn’t resist a smile as he rolled himself out the door. She wouldn’t put it past him to try.

  “I see you have a great deal to discuss with your boss, Phoebe, so I’ll see myself out,” Morgan gave her a cautious glance over his shoulder. “Remember, we have a meeting the day after tomorrow with the prosecutor to discuss the terms of your community service.”

  At her nod, he shut the living room door and Phoebe faced her boss with a grim look. “What are you up to?”

  “Exactly what I’d like to know,” her mother said.

  “Whatever do you mean?” Conroy asked, shrugging, as if perplexed.

  “You were deliberately provoking David by implying we have feelings for each other,” her mother said.

  “Doesn’t he trust you?” he asked.

  “Trust has nothing to do with it. You and I had a working relationship. Anything else we may have felt for each other ended long before I left the Company.”

  Phoebe’s ears rang. She reached for a chair. Had her mother just admitted to working for Conroy, the CIA, and that they’d had a personal relationship?

  It was Company policy to not divulge her CIA work status to anyone, not even to family, so Phoebe understood why her mother might have kept her work a secret. Why did Conroy not tell her, though, when he recruited her?

  After Johnny’s death, Phoebe had switched her major from science to languages, something Johnny loved. It was her way of paying him homage. Her mother had gone ballistic.

  Phoebe refused to switch back and that decision seemed to kill their relationship. Heartbroken at losing both Johnny and her mother, Phoebe withdrew into herself. Then one day, Conroy stopped to speak with her during a career fair at the university. He took her under his wing, encouraged her new interest in languages and spoke of an opportunity to serve her country. Phoebe had jumped at his offer of employment, adventure and a chance to leave painful memories behind.

  Learning her mother, too, had worked for Conroy, shone a troubling glare on her relationship with her mother. The slender loving housewife transformed into a woman Phoebe knew nothing about. Who was this stranger?

  Phoebe now examined the tall woman with short straight black hair styled in a bob over a narrow face tensed with anger. “Mom, why didn’t you say something?”

  “What was I supposed to say?" Her mother asked. “You’d made up your mind to leave and I knew Conroy must be behind it. He never gave up on me returning to work for him, and has kept an eye on all my children in the same feverish manner. I thanked heaven when each of my boys went into medicine. Best of all, they had no interest in spying or exposing people’s secret lives.”

  “Is this true?” Phoebe asked Conroy, rising to her feet. Sitting down put her too much at a disadvantage. “You wanted my brothers to join the Company?”

  “Your mother is exaggerating,” Conroy said. “Sure, I kept an eye on them, but only because I was fond of your mother and was interested in how her family fared.”


  “I know better,” Brenda said. “My sons told me about your meetings. You tried to entice every one of them to join. They had too much of their father in them. They wanted a quiet settled life.”

  Conroy laughed. “You’re right there. They certainly took after David.”

  Brenda glared at his scoffing tone and he hid his smile behind a hand. She addressed her next remark to Phoebe. “As for you, Johnny’s death spoilt everything. I knew it would be trouble when you switched your major to languages.”

  Phoebe nodded, finally understanding their fight.

  “You could have spoken to me,” her mother said, “let me help you. Instead, you shut your family out. Don’t you see, Phoebe, nothing could have been worse? You made yourself a prime candidate for him.”

  “You never explained,” she said. “You could have told me the truth.”

  “What truth? That you might be recruited by an intelligence agency? Would you have listened? Believed me? What could I have said then? That the life you chose would force you to discount people’s feelings and rights? That it would draw you into the darker side of human nature where the only important thing is to get the job done? That life drains your soul, Phoebe, forces you to fight a never-ending battle, one in which you would be the ultimate loser. If I’d explained that, would you have paid attention?”

  “I enjoyed my work,” Phoebe said. “It didn’t drain me.”

  “See?” Conroy said. “She isn’t a touchy-feely person.”

  “Then why did you pursue Morgan?” Brenda asked her, sounding frustrated. “Why come home and mope around as if you never want to leave? The child I brought up had joy in her eyes, touched and hugged and loved being around people. She wasn’t withdrawn, reserved and ever on guard. That was how I was, too, before I quit. I would have moved heaven and earth to prevent you from becoming the same. Only, I was too late.”

  “Is that why you left the Company?” Phoebe asked, lost in thought. “You lost interest in your work?”

  Brenda raised her arms as if she were supremely frustrated. “There’s no use talking to you. You’re still caught up in the thrill and excitement of the job. You believe an ordinary life could never live up to that adrenaline rush. Well, it can. When you realize that, then you can think about settling down with Morgan. Not before.” Her mother slammed the door on her way out.

  Conroy came over to gently pat Phoebe’s shoulder. “Your mother gave up on her career and she’s regretted it every day since. You’ll never get her to admit to that, though, but I know it’s true. I won’t ever let that happen to you, pet. However, I should have told you she worked for me.”

  “Why didn’t you?” Phoebe asked.

  “It might have adversely affected our association.”

  At least he was honest. Phoebe wanted more. “What happened after she left?”

  “We kept in touch,” Conroy said, shrugging. “Your father didn’t approve, but I hoped she’d realized her mistake. Brenda was one of my best agents. She wouldn’t budge from her decision, though.”

  He turned her around to face him. “You’re much like your mother. You have the same drive, energy and quick reflexes. Perfect tools for a career with us. Best of all, Brenda’s philosophy that good must win out in the end is in you as well. Your country needs you, Phoebe. More than that,” he gently squeezed her shoulders, “I think of you as my daughter. The one she and I...well if things had been different, who knows? With you, I hoped to keep in contact with her and get a first-rate agent in the bargain. A win-win.”

  His revelations made Phoebe’s head spin.

  “I can see this is too much,” he said, releasing her. “Why don’t we turn in and talk tomorrow?” He walked over to the French doors as if just now realizing it was dark outside. “Could your family put me up? It’s pretty late to go hunting for a hotel room.”

  This from a man who could make court records disappear overnight? Phoebe wasn’t fooled. “I’m sure you’ll be able to score a room.” She gave him the name of a nearby hotel.

  With a confident smile he nodded. “Thanks. How about you meet me for breakfast there tomorrow, just the two of us? I can give you a run-down on Matt’s current status in locating the thieves who stole the Trincomalee Eye. The Indians are growing impatient to retrieve their stolen jewel. We can also discuss your future. Let’s talk it out before you make up your mind to leave.”

  Despite her mother’s doubts, Phoebe was serious about moving back to HB, working with Lenny, and forming a relationship with Morgan. Especially after this latest cat-rescue attempt. She'd learned a lot about what she wanted in her life tonight. She'd enjoyed working with Lenny again and she and Morgan had grown closer. It was the first time in years that she'd wanted to speak to someone about Johnny. For her to make a success of her future, though, she could use Conroy’s help. If he cleared up her criminal record, she could get her PI license without delay. That meant leaving the Company on good terms.

  “Okay.” She walked him to the door. “We’ll talk tomorrow.”

  MORGAN SAT ON HIS FRONT porch steps and watched Helen drive up to drop off his grandfather. The two politely shook hands. Helen waved as she drove off.

  “How’d the date go?” Morgan asked as his grandfather came closer.

  “It wasn’t a date.” Tucker sat beside Morgan.

  His tone wasn’t encouraging. Must not have gone as well as Tucker had hoped. “Did Helen apologize for breaking into our place?”

  Tucker groaned. “She spent the entire dinner telling me how sorry she was for breaking in here. How Phoebe didn’t mean to offend me. How nice the weather’s been. Oh, and would I like coffee after dinner?”

  “You hoped for...?”

  He glared at Morgan as if he were a cadet asking a lame question of his superior. “She never said or asked about anything personal. Not one question about what I liked or what my plans are for the future. Did she say anything about what she liked to do? No.” With each sentence, Tucker’s tone became more disgruntled. “After dinner I asked if she wanted to drive up to the lake and take a walk.”

  “Romantic.”

  “We walked for close to an hour and she didn’t volunteer a thing. I was ready to call it quits, but then I realized it was...nice, just walking with her. I’m a man of action, Morgan. Had to be, for my job, but tonight, I wanted nothing more than to do nothing with Helen.”

  “Sounds good so far,” Morgan said.

  Tucker gave him a side-glance. “Did you see her offer me a kiss goodnight?” he asked. “Or even a hug? No. We shook hands. She might as well have been out walking her cat.”

  Morgan pressed his lips together to keep from laughing. He took a deep breath. “Sorry, Gramps,” he said. “Well, if it’s any consolation, I struck out, too.”

  “Phoebe?” Tucker asked.

  He nodded.

  “Came here to look for her aunt’s cat, didn’t she?”

  He gave Tucker a stunned look. “You knew she would?”

  His grandfather nodded. “Doesn’t give up, my Helen. One of the things I love best about her.”

  Morgan’s eyebrow rose at those words. Did his grandfather realize he’d just admitted to loving Helen?

  “So?” Tucker said. “Did she find the cat?”

  “How could she?” Morgan asked, “since you didn’t take her.”

  Tucker chuckled.

  “You didn’t, did you?” Morgan asked, still half worried about the Clay women’s conviction his grandfather had stolen their cat.

  “What are you doing here?” his grandfather asked, avoiding the question about him taking the cat. Morgan hoped that when Tucker finally talked, it wouldn’t be to admit he had the cat all along.

  Morgan remembered the feline with fondness. Whenever he went next door, it would be out on the front path, lazing in the sunshine, wanting a tummy rub. Since it went missing, Morgan had checked with his local fire station, then called the Oregon Humane Society and nearby animal shelters to see if any stray, short
-hair, tuxedo cats had been brought in or even if there were reports of road kills that fit the description of Helen’s cat. There was no sign of the cat anywhere.

  “I thought you were supposed to go to Portland tonight,” Tucker added.

  “I had originally decided to stick close to home in case Janet caused any trouble, but then I caught sight of Lenny and Randy hanging out with Phoebe. I could tell they were up to no good. If they came over here, I wanted to teach them a lesson.”

  “Did they, and did you?” his grandfather asked with keen interest.

  “Yes, to both questions. After tonight, those boys won’t be coming around here again anytime soon.”

  “Excellent,” his grandfather said. “What about Phoebe? Bet she wasn’t that easy to dissuade.”

  “The evening was starting to turn surprisingly entertaining,” Morgan said. “It might have ended better than I’d hoped. Except, Brenda called to say Phoebe’s boss had arrived. His name’s Conroy and he hinted that he can pull strings and get her off the court’s injunction so she can return to work.”

  “If he’s so powerful,” Tucker said, “why didn’t she call him earlier?”

  “I don’t know. That’s our entire relationship in a nutshell, Gramps. I know very little about her and now her boss is here, I doubt I’ll ever find out.”

  “What do you intend to do about it?”

  Morgan shrugged. “Sleep on it, I guess.”

  “Don’t wait too long,” Tucker warned, rising, “or she might be gone before you say a word.”

  His grandfather left him with that troubling thought as he went into the house and shut the door.

  Next door, a car started up and drove away. Morgan glanced over the hedge. Could Conroy be leaving? Alone? He raced over to check, but all he saw was tail lights disappearing into the horizon. The house next door was quiet and still. Then the lights were turned off.

  Chapter 11

  After tossing and turning all night, Phoebe was not impressed by someone shaking her awake. She opened bleary, salt-encrusted eyes, ready to blast whoever it was, only to find her mother perched on the edge of her bed.