Love Vs. Illusion

by MJ Rodgers

  Zane had already noticed the folder filled with papers resting in the crook of Vanack’s arm. He wondered whether they referred to the good or bad news.

  “Better give me the bad first.”

  “My friend at the courthouse can’t find out why Adam Justice refused to defend Linbow. All she can tell me is that there was a very secret meeting in Butz’s chambers on the second night of the trial. Only ones present were Justice, Scrater and Butz. No one else. Not even a court reporter. And Justice, Scrater and Butz are talking to no one about it.”

  “A.J. thinks her brother resigned because he found out Linbow was planning to lie on the stand.”

  “Well, if that was really what Linbow planned to do, why didn’t Justice just refuse to put him on the stand?”

  “Adam Justice isn’t your average legal shark. If he found out a client had been lying to him about something important, I can see him taking a hike. Besides, a defendant always has the ultimate decision of whether to testify or not. If Linbow wanted in that witness box, Justice couldn’t have kept him out of it.”

  “So you think A.J. is right?”

  “Let’s just say I’m not ruling out her explanation. So what’s the second item of bad news?”

  “Fran Temark and Patsy Harper are still refusing to talk to any of our people. We’ve approached them as hairdressers, cosmetic sales reps, day-care center operators, even passed ourselves off as clergy. No go.”

  “Why are they playing it so closemouthed?”

  “Don’t know, Zane. Could be because when their exes first filed this case nearly fourteen months ago, the press descended on these women and made their lives miserable. Yet I can’t find one quote from either of them to any reporter. These women refuse to have anything to do with this case against Fabulous Fantasies, and that includes discussing it or their experiences at the VR theme park with anyone.”

  “Maybe that’s why Adam Justice never included them on his witness list. Hostile witnesses, even when they’re supposed to be helping a case, don’t go over well with jurors.”

  “No doubt because the jurors sympathize with their plight. Who wants to be forced to testify, particularly in a civil suit?”

  “Okay, Vanack, you’ve covered the bad news. I could use some of the good stuff about now.”

  The investigator grinned as he removed the file folder from the crook of his arm and slid it onto Zane’s desk.

  “What would you say if I told you that in this file you’ll find all the reasons Patsy Harper gave for getting rid of her husband?”

  Zane came forward in his chair and picked up the folder. His quick scan brought a whistle to his lips. “You got hold of the confidential discussions with her attorney?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Is this the reason you didn’t get any sleep last night? No, forget that question. I don’t think I’d better ask you how you got this.”

  “That would probably be best,” Vanack said, his smile broadening.

  “Have you read these yet?” Zane asked, looking up.

  “No. I thought you should be the first. By the way, a fax came in a minute ago on the line we have listed under the Olympic Mountain Guide Service. It’s from the ticket broker for the Fabulous Fantasies theme park and says something about how it would cost five big ones to get a Lamont Cranston on a certain plane to the island this weekend. Know anything about it?”

  “Yes, I faxed the request a few minutes ago. The ticket broker’s response was fast. Looks like money talks with him.”

  “Zane, what in the hell is going on?”

  “A.J.’s going to the island this weekend. I figure I better be there to keep that loose cannon from firing.”

  “But we’ve worked for months setting things up for next weekend. You can’t risk this.”

  “I can’t let her do this alone.”

  “Can’t you stop her?”

  “Short of having her locked up, I don’t see how. Until last night I didn’t realize how far she’d go to try to free her brother. She must be very close to him. She’s lost that cool, detached reason that’s been such a big part of her trademark.”

  “Does that mean you have to lose yours, too?”

  “Relax, Vanack. It’s not like I’m going in with a novice. Who knows? This teaming with A.J. might be just what you and I need to finally crack this case.”

  “I can see I’m wasting my breath. So what are you going to take with you?”

  “Every gadget we’ve got that can pass airport scrutiny.”

  “The new plastic components should help, but we still don’t know yet whether the sensors will screw up some of our more sophisticated stuff.”

  “Looks like we’re going to find out.”

  “I had regular trials set up for later this month.”

  “Now I’ll be testing them.”

  “It’s going to be a hell of a way to discover our new recording equipment doesn’t work, especially if you run into trouble. And speaking of trouble, why this Lamont Cranston alias?”

  “I’m taking the Lamont Cranston name because A.J. is going to the park under the alias Margaret Lane.”

  “So? A.J.’s chief investigator is Piper Lane. They’re probably just using the ID of one of Piper’s relatives for A.J. I still don’t see the connection to the Lamont Cranston alias.”

  “You’re not a fan of old forties radio shows, are you?”

  Vanack crossed his beer-keg arms over his barrel chest. “Zane, you’re thirty-seven. You weren’t even a sperm when forties radio programs were airing.”

  “You don’t have to be born during a time to appreciate some of the things it offered. My dad left me a four-drawer file full of his tapes of old radio programs, and I’ve added to them since. I’ll invite you over some night and introduce you to a whole new world of entertainment.”

  Vanack shook his head. “A radio is what you turn on in the car to get the news or weather. When you go to a buddy’s house, it’s to break out some beers, watch a game and shoot the bull.”

  “Looks like I won’t be inviting you over for a whole new world of entertainment,” Zane said with a smile.

  “For which I’ll be forever grateful. If Linbow and company check on that Lamont Cranston alias, you’ll be in trouble.”

  “Using my own name won’t work. He screens for P.I.s. I know it’s short notice, but I’ve dummied up a driver’s license for use at the airport. If they check the fax number for origin, it should pass.”

  “You realize that as soon as you get on that plane for the park, A.J.’s going to know you’re following her.”

  “She already knows. She turned around a dozen times these last two weeks and almost caught me. It’s like she can feel me behind her.”

  “Well, she and her bunch are a talented lot, I’ll give them that. Although they can’t hold a candle to us when it comes to possessing the latest in electronic surveillance stuff.”

  Zane laughed. “Most countries can’t hold a candle to us when it comes to possessing the latest in electronic surveillance stuff.”

  “Since you’re going to try to recruit A.J., maybe it would help you to review the complete dossier we have on her.”

  “I reviewed it last week and it isn’t quite as complete as it might have been,” Zane said absently, a new smile lifting the sides of his lips.

  It certainly had not prepared him for the things he had found out about her last night.

  Hers wasn’t the normal woman’s body, all soft, giving flesh rounded with fat. Hers was a hard body, all firm muscles shaped by purposeful conditioning.

  He had never held such a woman in his arms before. Or kissed one who tasted like a warm, succulent, right-out-of-the-oven buttermilk biscuit. She even smelled different. Her skin and hair were mixtures of spicy rum and the barest hint of wild wisteria warmed by a spring sun.

  It surprised him that he had noticed the differences in how she tasted, how she felt, how she smelled.

  He had been attracted to her from the f
irst. But for a very long time now, the women who had attracted him enough to briefly enter and exit his life had all blended together in a pleasant but indistinguishable sameness. A.J. did not blend in.

  “Zane?”

  “Hmm?”

  “You didn’t hear a thing I just said, did you?”

  “Sorry, my mind wandered. What is it?”

  Vanack frowned, clearly put out.

  “Aren’t you going to read that damn file that I sacrificed a week’s pay, a night’s sleep and my honor to get for you?”

  Zane chuckled as he gestured his investigator into a side chair. “Considering this cost you your honor, I suppose I could spare it a glance or two.”

  “SO HAVE YOU figured out why Coltrane caught you right in the middle of a B and E and then just let you go?” Piper Lane asked.

  A.J. leaned back in her office chair as she faced her chief investigator, a woman of sense and strength, a woman A.J. called friend as well as colleague.

  “I’m not sure, Piper. But I’m beginning to suspect that despite the security guard uniform he was wearing, Zane Coltrane had no more legal business being in that building than I had.”

  “Yes, I thought it a little strange that he would personally be performing as a night security guard. After all, even if Linbow hired his firm for some extra surveillance, one would hardly expect to see the Zane Coltrane on duty at the premises in the middle of the night.”

  “I should have thought of that immediately, too. I was just so shocked when he loomed up so suddenly It was like he materialized out of nowhere, Piper. I never heard a thing.”

  “They say he moves as silently as a shadow.”

  “Which is incredible, considering he’s as big as a mountain. What in the hell did he do when he was in the Marines? Take beaches with his bare hands?”

  Piper chuckled. “Well, if not by himself, I’m sure he could manage it with those half a dozen, huge ex-semper fidelis types he’s hired over the last three years to work for him at his detective firm.”

  “It’s curious that he only keeps his female operatives on an occasional employment status, and he’s turned down applications from very competent ex-police officers, both male and female, to work at his agency,” A.J. said. “I wonder why he only hires his Marine buddies for the fulltime stuff?”

  “He’s probably trying to help out his friends who need a job now that the defense industry is downsizing. Anyway, right now we have far more important concerns facing us than Coltrane’s hiring policies. If he and his guys aren’t working for Linbow, who hired them?”

  “That’s a good question, Piper. Coltrane is obviously up to his earlobes in this case. That’s why he was in the courtroom when the mistrial was called. And I’m certain he’s been following me. I’ve felt someone behind me ever since that day.”

  “Let me put a tail on you. We’ll flush him out.”

  A small smile found A.J.’s lips. “I do owe him one for scaring the hell out of me last night. He played it to the fullest trying to make me believe he was going to turn me in.”

  She owed him for that kiss, too, although that wasn’t something she felt comfortable discussing—even with Piper. She wasn’t sure why she was so hesitant to bring it up, although she suspected it had something to do with the very unprofessional, warm feeling the memory of that kiss was still spawning at the back of her stomach.

  “Any success in getting the ex-wives to talk about their experiences at Fabulous Fantasies?” A.J. asked, determinedly shoving aside her thoughts and unsettling reactions to Zane.

  “None. These ladies are very tight-lipped.”

  A.J. exhaled. “Those transcripts from the first three days of the trial are filled with the testimony of Patsy and Fran’s family and friends, all swearing that the women spoke highly of their husbands until after they returned from their Fabulous Fantasies weekend.”

  “Still, Adam did a great job of pointing out how often family and friends are the last ones to know about serious trouble between husbands and wives.”

  “But why did these women both choose to file for divorce after that particular weekend? If the problems had been there all along, what was the precipitating event that made them decide to publicly admit their matrimonial problems and dissatisfaction with their husbands?”

  “Maybe that weekend they just talked it over like friends will. They could have decided it was time for both of them to make the break. That’s what Adam implied when he cross-examined Patsy’s parents. He got them to admit it could have been just as simple as that.”

  “And I suppose it could have been. This is such a crazy case, Piper. If we believe what these two husbands are saying, then we have to believe that Linbow somehow brainwashed their wives. I know Linbow is scum, but it seems like such a ridiculous claim even if it were possible, which I sincerely doubt. What was the point?”

  Piper slid into a side chair, leaned an elbow on A.J.’s desk and rested her jaw on her knuckles.

  “That’s the bottom line here, isn’t it? What could Linbow possibly gain? Neither Willy Greene nor our team can find even the slimmest of connections between Linbow and the Temarks or Harpers prior to Patsy and Fran’s attendance at his park.”

  “And according to the trial transcripts, none of the other wives who have attended his theme park have returned home to divorce their husbands.”

  “Plus which, Bruce Harper is just one of those guys who likes to sue. He’s brought a half-million-dollar case against a previous employer for alleged violation of contract and a quarter-million-dollar case against a real estate company who he claimed sold him a bogus time-share vacation home.”

  “Since both suits were settled out of court, Piper, it’s hard to judge the merits of Bruce Harper’s actions.”

  “But not hard to judge that this is a guy who seeks financial solutions to his problems. No doubt he was the one who talked Raymond Temark into going after Fabulous Fantasies when their wives took a hike. A.J., you do realize that Adam’s withdrawal from the case may have nothing whatsoever to do with whether these husbands are guilty or not?”

  “I know, Piper. I know.”

  A.J. rubbed her throbbing temples. She was tired. It had been a hectic two weeks with little to show for all the effort. She shifted some papers on her desk. “Where are those financial reports we got on Linbow? Maybe Adam found something there that wasn’t right. Damn it, I had them a minute ago.”

  “They’re right there on the edge of your desk. You’ve been over them at least ten times, and so have the rest of us. Linbow has been on the leading edge of VR for years and has leased that island from the Air Force and built his park on it with the money he’s earned from his earlier technological offerings. It’s all legit. He’s clean as far as finances are concerned.”

  “Maybe we missed some connection between the Temarks or Harpers with one of Linbow’s employees. I’ll go over them again just in case. The background on these college students he’s hired is pretty sketchy. Piper, we need more information.”

  “I couldn’t agree more. But getting the right kind of stuff takes time. I wish you’d reconsider going to the park alone this weekend. Our team should case the place first, explore all the options, figure all the angles. Then when you’re ready to make a move, we’ll make it together, with plenty of backup.”

  “We don’t have the time to send in a team, Piper. Linbow’s office was a washout. Whatever he’s hiding, he’s hiding it at the island. It took two weeks and a hefty bribe to get even one seat on that plane to the Fabulous Fantasies theme park.”

  Piper rose and angled around the desk corner to rest a hand on A.J.’s shoulder.

  “Why don’t you let me go to Fabulous Fantasies in your place? I look a lot more like my cousin’s ID you’re borrowing, if they get down to checking it.”

  “Thanks, Piper, but I have to do this one myself.”

  “I’m not sure you’re prepared for the demands of this undercover assignment.”

  A.J. droppe
d the financial report onto her desk top as she looked at Piper, surprise peppering her voice. “Are you saying you don’t think I can handle it?”

  Piper removed her hand from A.J.’s shoulder and sat on the edge of the desk.

  “What I’m saying is that your wounds are still not healed.”

  A.J. patted her right side and raised her right arm. “Not even a twinge. Doctor said the bone knitting is way ahead of schedule.”

  “Those are not the wounds I was talking about.”

  “What is this, Piper?”

  “All right. Straight from the hip. You were hired to protect a client and you lost him to a professional hit man. I know you. You think you failed the guy.”

  “Think I failed him? He’s dead, Piper. That’s not thought. That’s fact.”

  “What is also fact is that you tracked down and killed that professional hit man, Wessel. And then you dragged your wounded body through two miles of forest so you could drive yourself to the emer—”

  “And can’t even remember doing it.”

  “That’s not surprising. The doctor said that some memory loss is perfectly understandable, even expected. Hell, they had to pump two pints of blood into you before you even came around. You were shot up and in a state of extreme shock. It’s incredible you made it back alive.”

  “Yeah, that’s me. Ms. Incredible.”

  Piper crossed her arms over her chest. “Okay. You’ve been growling and snapping at anyone who’s even mentioned the case for weeks now. What’s wrong?”

  A.J. rubbed her temples, hearing the strange, rhythmic distant thunder that had been echoing in her ears since she woke in the hospital.

  “I don’t know.”

  “It’s because you can’t forgive yourself for Klamm getting killed, isn’t it? A.J., even the police told Klamm they couldn’t help him when he wouldn’t cooperate. Klamm never told us the truth. He refused to comply with every one of our suggestions to protect him. You never had a chance of saving him.”

  A.J. exhaled a long, heavy sigh. Piper’s words sounded right. She wanted to believe them. Maybe someday she would.

  A.J.’s private line suddenly pealed. She snatched up the phone. “Yes?”