by E B Corbin
Roxanne studied Callahan's face for a clue to Chester's response.
"No, not Roxanne. Roxy, Roxy O'Hara. She's alive. She paid a surprise visit to Roxanne last night." Callahan turned his back, making it more difficult to eavesdrop. "It would have been nice to know she was coming before she showed up out of the blue."
Roxanne strained to hear without moving closer but could only pick up a few syllables. Finally, Callahan cleared his throat and swiveled around giving her better access to what he was saying. "There's something else," he added in a soft voice. "I'm afraid I have some bad news."
Upon ending the call a few moments later, he looked at her with concern. "Gramps hasn't heard from Roxy. Claims he didn't realize she was coming back."
"Well, then, where is she?" Roxanne's rhetorical question went unanswered.
Callahan shrugged. "We'll find her. Gramps is pretty upset about his friend. Said Seth left his place around ten o'clock. He has no idea what Seth was doing over here."
When she mentioned Roxy again, Callahan suggested she might have checked into a motel.
"Not likely. She said she was on her way to the cabin." Roxanne rubbed her forehead as the hangover threatened to return. At the same time, a chill ran down her spine as she thought about the danger Roxy may have put herself in by coming here.
"We don't know what happened here. Before we do anything we have to contact Sheriff Walters." Callahan punched another button on his phone without waiting for a response.
Damn. The prospect of a confrontation with that man immediately took her mind off her biological mother. Roxanne drew several deep breaths to calm her nerves as she prepared for the inevitable.
- 2 -
It seemed like forever before the Oilville police van showed up. As Roxanne waited with Callahan, the heater blasting in the SUV helped thaw the numbness in her bones from the frigid February air. The hassle of reporting another death as well as another missing person overwhelmed her . How the hell did she get into these situations?
She groaned when Bud Mercer alighted from the black and white vehicle and approached them with his usual sneer. He nodded at Callahan. "I see you're back and more dead bodies are turning up. Seems to me, Callahan, you bring us nothing but trouble."
The DSS agent ignored Bud's taunt. "Nice to see you, too. In case you're interested, Seth's body is behind the woodpile. We found him when we stopped to check on Roxy."
Bud looked puzzled. "Roxy? You mean Roxanne." He bent over to scowl at Roxanne sitting in the passenger seat.
"No, I mean Roxy O'Hara. She came back last night."
"Came back--like from the dead?" Bud's voice rose an octave as he straightened. "You believe in that stuff?"
Callahan hid a smile behind his hand. "Turns out she was injured by the bullet in her back, but didn't die."
Bud shook his head in confusion. "Does the sheriff know that? What about the state cops? They were investigating up until you feds took it over."
"Don't know. Don't have all the details yet." Callahan's fingers tapped the steering wheel keeping time to a muted tune on the radio. "We were surprised too."
"Seems to me you should know what's going on in your own agency," Bud said. "Doesn't say much for your so-called expertise."
As Roxanne listened to Bud's remarks, she longed to slap some sense into him. But she remembered how he had reacted to the death of his fellow officer and how he blamed her for it. She was afraid for her life at the time she pulled the trigger, but neither Sheriff Walters nor Bud accepted her story of having killed Luke Meyers in self-defense.
Thank goodness, Callahan had believed her and the State Department took over the investigation. She decided it was best to stay out of this new confrontation altogether. Let Callahan handle it.
"Sometimes things happen." Callahan kept his voice neutral, staring straight ahead.
"Lots of strange things happening around here since that little lady showed up." Bud jabbed his head in Roxanne's direction. "Guess we'd better go have a look at this body."
Callahan glanced over Bud's shoulder at a second officer standing quietly off to the side of his SUV. "Who's your friend?"
Bud motioned the man forward. "This here's Pete Sterling. He's new on the force." He deepened his voice to emphasize his point. "He was a homicide detective in Philadelphia, so we don't need to turn everything over to the state, or the feds, anymore."
Pete walked up and offered his hand to Callahan. "Nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you. Hope we can work together without butting heads."
"John Callahan." He shook the extended hand through his window. "I think we should be able to do our jobs without interfering with each other. There are times we can certainly use some local help."
"Well, I'm new in town, but I'll cooperate when I can." Pete ignored Bud's skeptical look.
"Have you met Roxanne Boudreaux?" Callahan leaned back so that Pete could see her.
Roxanne angled over the console and gave a weak smile before muttering hello. She didn't want any more attention from the new guy than absolutely necessary. He'd get an earful about her from Bud and the sheriff before this investigation ended. Even though rudeness didn't come naturally to her, neither did being considered a criminal, so she excused herself for bad manners. To her relief, Callahan covered the awkward pause.
"How long you been on the job?" he asked Pete.
Pete cleared his throat. "I've only been with the Oilville police about two weeks. Before that, I was with Philly for twenty years."
"What brings you to Oilville?" Callahan remained persistent but friendly.
"My sister moved here about two months ago with my nephew," Pete said, focusing on Callahan. "She likes it, so I thought I'd see for myself. I was tired of violence in the streets and back-stabbing in the department. Besides, I thought Katie could use some family support."
"How do you like it so far?" Callahan asked.
Roxanne paid little attention to the conversation between the two men. She knew Callahan's questions were deliberate, covering for her apparent rudeness, and she inwardly thanked him for it.
"We'd better see what we have here." Pete turned to Bud. "You ready?"
"Just waiting for you." Bud had been watching Pete with an impatient look.
"Behind the woodpile," Callahan pointed. "We'll stay here, in case you have any questions."
Pete nodded and started toward the corner of the cabin with Bud following. Roxanne surmised he worked out to maintain his lean, muscular form--broad shoulders tapering to a trim waist. He wore the khaki uniform well, but looked uncomfortable with the gun and handcuffs swinging from his belt. One thing for sure, he was easy on the eyes, in stark contrast to Bud Mercer's shorter stature and moon-pie face.
Callahan glanced at Roxanne and said, "Yeah, he's a good-looking guy. Now close your mouth before you swallow a fly."
"No flies in February," Roxanne quipped as she turned to face Callahan directly. "What? I'm not allowed to look?"
"We don't know anything about this new guy. He might be in cahoots with the sheriff and you'll be in trouble again."
"In cahoots? I think you've been away from DC too long. You're starting to talk like an old-time movie cowboy."
"You know what I mean." Callahan turned his attention to Bud and Pete at the woodpile. "Looks like Pete's taking charge."
"Well, that's good. Right?"
"Maybe," Callahan sighed. "Too early to tell."
Roxanne stared out the windshield, wishing she could hear what Pete said to Bud. After a few minutes, the two police officers walked away from the body. Pete stepped in the footprints he'd made going up. Bud tracked all over the place. Pete said something to Bud, after which the man moved with more care.
When they reached the SUV, Pete leaned over to look in the driver's side window. "We're going to call the state forensics unit. We don't have anyone in town with the skill to go over the scene properly. I'd like to ask you both a few questions while Bud informs the sheriff." He wai
ted until Bud took the hint and started for the police vehicle. "Um, it seems that Bud doesn't like either of you too much." Pete spoke softly keeping an eye on Bud's whereabouts. "I'm trying to be objective about all this, but I'm new around here and don't want to start off on the wrong foot. We need some more information from you two."
"Happy to help as much as we can," Callahan said. "You want to talk here or over at my grandfather's place? It's just down the road. Be more comfortable and Seth was a friend of his. He might know more than we do."
Pete scratched his chin and looked over at Bud. "Why don't you go over there and we'll stop by when we're done here."
"Sounds like a plan," Callahan told him. "See you later." He put the SUV into gear and backed around the police cruiser that stood in their way.
"He seems reasonable enough," Roxanne offered when they were back on the two-lane road.
"Don't get fooled by a pretty face." Callahan kept his eyes on the road.
"So, you agree he has a pretty face?" Roxanne teased as a way to keep her mind off the upcoming interrogation.
Callahan grunted.
"You know you could stand a little competition in town. He might take some of the heat off you with all the local young women. What's the matter? Are you jealous?" Roxanne smiled at him.
"Not in the least." Callahan concentrated on driving. "I merely want to maintain an unbiased opinion and hope Pete does too."
"Are you sure you're not just a little bit concerned about his good looks?"
"Should I be?"
"I don't think so. You're not bad looking yourself." Roxanne enjoyed their banter more than she cared to admit.
"Are you trying to make me feel better?" Callahan took his eyes from the road for a second to turn to her with eyebrows raised giving her his crooked grin.
"Is it working?" When he looked at her like that, she wanted to grab him and plant her lips on his.
"I might need some further convincing." He turned his attention to the road but Roxanne heard the smile in his voice.
She went silent after that, still not certain how she felt about their liaison. She had first met Callahan on the same day the lawyer she'd lived with for the past four years dumped her. In November, she and Callahan had traded a few kisses when he'd been around to rescue her from various dangerous situations. It still wasn't clear if her feelings for him stemmed from gratitude for saving her life or something more.
Besides the kisses, Callahan had hinted at the possibility of a deeper connection. She shied away at the time and then Callahan took off to DC to pull together the case against the Irishman who'd been sent to retrieve money belonging to the IRA. Their personal chemistry and what to do about it had been left hanging.
"I hope we get a chance to talk to Gramps before Pete and Bud show up." Callahan pulled into the lane leading to Chester's farmhouse, stopping close to the front door.
Between finding a dead body and not being able to locate Roxy, she had a hard time remembering why she wanted to talk to Chester. Then it came back to her. Chester knew Roxy had not died and had kept that news from her and his grandson. She needed to learn more about Roxy's disappearing act, along with her plans for the future.
Chester opened the farmhouse door before they had a chance to ring the bell. "Roxanne! Good to see you, my dear. It's been too long."
Roxanne tried to recapture her earlier affection for the old man, but his deception weighed heavily on her. "You knew Roxy was alive!" she blurted. "Why didn't you tell me?"
Chester's smile faded. "I can explain," he said. "Come in and we'll talk about it."
Callahan gave Roxanne a poke from behind and she slowly followed Chester through the hall to the large country kitchen. "Would you like some coffee?" Chester asked.
Roxanne wanted answers more than a hot beverage but when Callahan indicated he wanted some, she followed his lead. Maybe coffee would help get rid of the last dregs of her hangover.
While they waited for Chester to grab the mugs, pour the coffee and take a seat at the table, Roxanne twisted the ring she'd found in her mother's jewelry box a few weeks ago. She had been drawn to the simple yet intricate design made up of intertwined Celtic crosses. Although she hesitated to put it on at first, the ring fit perfectly. Roxanne wore it every day, never quite getting over the feeling that she'd robbed a grave. Now that Roxy was back and there was no grave, she felt more like a cat burglar, wearing the spoils in broad daylight. She vowed to put it back and never touch another thing belonging to Roxy again.
Chester took her hand and held tight when she tried to pull away. "It was what Roxy wanted," he said. "She insisted I go along with the charade and try to find the rest of the IRA money. The money is essential to her game plan. She was... still is... adamant about thwarting any IRA plot to cause more damage and death."
"What about damage to me?" Roxanne said. "I made some major life decisions believing that I had something to fall back on here. Now Roxy shows up without any warning, offers no explanation, then disappears again without a word. It's too much!"
"I know. It's a bit inconceivable to me, too. The last I heard she was going to New York to live. She owns an apartment there under an alias and has friends in the city. I never expected her to come back here." The old man's hand shook as he lifted his mug to take a drink. He looked at Roxanne. "I'm sorry for misleading you about your aunt, er, your mother."
"Why?" Roxanne asked. "Why did she fake her death? And why did you help her?"
"And why didn't you tell us?" Callahan added.
Chester sighed. He looked around the room, everywhere but at the two people across the table from him. "It's... complicated," he finally said.
"We don't have much time," Callahan pointed out. "Bud and the new guy on the force are stopping here to ask us some questions about finding Seth. I'm sorry about that, by the way." He patted his grandfather's hand. "But can you give us the abridged version on Roxy for now?"
"Simply put, Roxy feared for her life after she took the cash that Luke had hidden in the freezer at the diner. She knew there was more hidden around this area and neither Luke nor the IRA would give up trying to retrieve it. Even if she had to blow her cover she was determined to keep as much as possible out of IRA hands."
"Blow her cover?' Roxanne said.
Chester smiled at her. "I believe Maureen, er, your aunt..."
"It's okay, I have trouble knowing what to call them myself. I first learned about Roxy as my aunt, but she's really my mother. I've considered Maureen my mother all my life, now I have to think of her as my aunt. It's so confusing that I decided to call them by their given names. You can do the same."
"Okay, well... Maureen." The name stumbled out of Chester's mouth as he nodded to Roxanne. "Anyway, she knew that Roxy was going back to Northern Ireland to volunteer with a peace movement but she didn't know that Roxy went undercover with the IRA.
"Roxy mucked up as many of the planned bombings as she could by either screwing up the explosive charge or messing with the fuel in a Molotov cocktail. When she couldn't stop one through her regular methods, she called an anonymous tip to the English authorities. She saved many lives through her clever tampering and resourcefulness."
"She was like a... a spy?" Roxanne asked.
"Not exactly a spy," Chester told her. "Nothing official, mind you. But I guess she could be considered a dissident, although she worked on her own with the help of one or two trusted confidants. The IRA section she infiltrated never suspected. That's how she found out about the money being stashed in the US. When she discovered some of it was headed for Western Pennsylvania, close to where she grew up, she came back hoping to find it and keep it out of the hands of terrorists. It took her twenty-five years but she finally found a small portion of it."
"So what you're saying is that her vendetta against the IRA was more important to her than her daughter." Roxanne swallowed past the tightness in her throat. "I guess I'll never be able to understand that."
"You're taking i
t the wrong way," Chester said. "You were very important to her. You were the reason she did what she did. She knew that you'd have a much better life with Maureen and Patrick. Have a normal childhood and two loving parents. She wanted that for you more than anything. She never let on, but I saw the sadness in her eyes when she spoke about you. She was so proud of your accomplishments. Your graduation from Tulane, your wedding, every milestone she could find. But, at the same time, she knew she couldn't take any credit for them. It weighed on her mind, I can tell you."
Although Chester tried his best to show Roxy in a good light, Roxanne could not get over the feeling that she'd been cheated, somehow. Cheated out of knowing her real mother; cheated out of becoming a more courageous person; cheated out of a life she could have lived with enough freedom to make her own choices. How different her life would have been--if only.
Before she could respond to Chester's disclosure, they were interrupted by a loud rapping at the front door.
- 3 -
While Chester went to the door, Callahan studied Roxanne. "You okay?"
"I guess. I just wish I knew what the hell Roxy plans to do. I don't know whether to start looking for a position with another law firm or see if I can stick it out with Sylvia and try to find a place to live around here." Roxanne stopped talking when Chester entered the room with Pete and Bud.
"The state forensics unit made it in record time," Bud announced without any greeting. "Hey, you got any more of that coffee? Pete, you want some?"
Pete shook his head to indicate no.
Chester took a mug from the cabinet and slapped it on the counter in front of the coffeepot. "Help yourself." Instead of returning to his seat next to Roxanne, he positioned himself at the head of the table. Roxanne hoped his attempt to show dominance worked.
Pete pulled out a chair across from Roxanne and Callahan but kept his focus on Chester. "Sir, I'm Pete Sterling, a new hire with the Oilville Police. I don't think we've met."
"You obviously know who I am," Chester grunted. "And I've heard about you. What can you tell me about Seth?"
