Fatal Attractions

by Jeanne Foguth

  During desert, when Link started talking about their upcoming business trip to Valdez, Stone couldn’t resist teasing him. "Aren't you afraid Mavis will eat you alive?" Link choked on a cherry.

  Ariel gave him a sharp glance, but when she realized Link was dramatizing a non-existent illness, partially in jest, her attitude thawed.

  "No." Link finally said.

  Stone forced himself to ignore Ariel and focused on Link. "Could have fooled me. You've avoided the Southern run for the past couple months. I figured you'd taken her threats to heart."

  "What threats? Who's Mavis?" Tempest asked. Her expression became belligerent. "His girlfriend?"

  "Our Office Manager," Stone said. He tried not to look at Ariel, because she was staring at them as if she'd never seen two grown men banter.

  Link stabbed a huge fork full of pineapple cake.

  "What'd you do to Mavis to make her angry at you?" Tempest asked.

  Stone pantomimed talking on the phone. Link grimaced. Stone laughed. Tempest frowned and said, "I don't get it."

  Link sighed. "Mavis hates phones with a passion. About six weeks ago, I got myself on her roster when I called one too many times."

  "He does this all the time. I think he figures I like the Valdez run because I keep Dolly down there."

  Link snorted.

  Tempest laid down her fork. "Well if she works for you, you should make her be polite or fire her."

  The thought of anyone making Mavis do something she didn't want to do made him laugh harder. Ariel's eyes widened. Tempest's mouth flattened.

  Tempest threw her napkin on the table. "I don't get what's wrong with you people." She glared at them. “You are her bosses, aren’t you?”

  "If we fired her, we wouldn't know what to do or when to do it," Stone admitted, then he smiled across the table at Tempest. "Mavis has been with us since the beginning and in a lot of ways she knows more about our business than we do."

  "Why are your offices so far away?"

  "Because Mavis lives there and we have contracts all over the state, so it doesn't matter where we live," Link said.

  "And we like it here," Stone added. "Fairbanks is in the middle of the state, which makes it more or less convenient for most any job." His voice faltered, when he realized all of Ariel's attention was focused on him.

  "I still think you should fire her." Tempest pouted.

  "She's really good at her job," Stone admitted. "We'd have to hire at least three people to replace her."

  "How come you have to go down there at all?"

  "Mainly to look over the new contracts and sign them." He grinned at the kid. "Mavis always has everything organized so it goes quick, then I get to spend my time on Dolly."

  Ariel nudged the cherry from her pineapple cake into the chocolate frosting. As she toyed with it, red tinged her cheeks in such an attractive way that he forgot what he was going to add.

  Link cleared his throat. "Either Stone or I could run the business, if we had to, but neither of us really likes typing contracts or making sure the accounts are collected. Mavis revels in that and she's worth every penny we pay her."

  "She knows it, too." Stone added a chuckle to soften the statement. He squinted at Link. "Exactly how many times did you phone her the last time?"

  "One too many times while she was nit-picking the Haverguild contract."

  Stone winced. “That one was a pup.”

  Link nodded in agreement, then added, "Actually, technology did me in." He looked simultaneously disgruntled and embarrassed by the statement and Stone sensed Link was telling the truth. Nevertheless, Tempest laughed out loud. Link flushed crimson. She put her hand over her mouth and appeared mortified.

  "Technology, huh?” Stone said. Link nodded. “The redial button get you again?" Link nodded, looking as forlorn as a lost lover, but the Danners appeared to be suppressing laughter. If either of them had ever witnessed Mavis in full fury, they wouldn't think it was so funny. Thankfully, her anger was directed at Link. "You have to understand Mavis," Stone explained. "To her, Lucifer and Alexander Graham Bell are one in the same."

  Link took a gulp of wine, then started coughing. Stone couldn’t tell if he was acting or not, but Ariel and Tempest let our shrieks of laughter, as if they thought it was a big joke. For the first time since she'd touched him while flicking her hair, she looked at him as a person instead of a potential rapist.

  What kind of pervert had her ex been?

  "She can't be that bad," Tempest said around a mouth full of chocolate cake.

  "Worse," Link and Stone said in unison. Tempest clasped her hands over her mouth and laughed until brown oozed between her fingers.

  As the merriment died, Stone studied Link and asked, "You sure you're ready to face her? It's only been a few weeks."

  "I have to go sooner or later. Might as well make it sooner so she doesn't get the idea I'm scared of her."

  "Where's Valdez?" Ariel asked.

  "Just off the Prince William Sound," Stone said. She looked mystified by his point of reference.

  "It’s the south terminus of the pipeline, where they pump the crude onto tankers," Link said. Ariel got a 'now I understand look' on her face. "If you're not busy fussing over Dolly, I thought we could take her out fishing."

  "Great idea!" Stone grinned. "I knew there had to be an ulterior motive for getting your apology over with. Is there a competition?" Link looked at the ceiling as he shook his head. "But you are after a prize," he said. Link nodded. "Okay, we'll all go fishing. An ocean run would do Dolly good."

  "All?" Tempest said. "Do you mean we get to go, too?"

  "If it's okay with Ariel" Stone said. Maybe the freedom of the high seas was what she needed to feel she could be frank with him about her past. Face flushed, and lips slightly parted, Ariel stared at him. Tempest bounced in her seat, as excitement gushed forth. If he was lucky, Windy would get in touch with him before the trip and he'd know whether to comfort or confrontation was his best bet. He focused on Ariel. "How about a weekend in Valdez? Dolly has plenty of space."

  Her blush deepened.

  "Oh, can we, sh-Mom? Please? Pretty please?"

  Ariel swallowed twice, then nodded. Tempest shrieked with glee and leaped out of her chair to do a victory dance. Stone hoped Windy returned his call soon.

  The sooner, the better.

  Chapter 24

  As they walked home, Tempest bubbled with excited anticipation over her first deep sea fishing trip. "It's going to be so much fun!" she concluded the thought with a twirl. Ariel stared at her, marveling at her ability to compartmentalize her emotions. "What's wrong with you? Aren't you excited?"

  Ariel didn’t want to tell her sister that the only reason she’d jumped at the chance to meet Stone’s lover was because Valdez represented their best possibility of escape, so she said nothing.

  Tempest barred the door with her body and glared at her. "Trust you to be the wet blanket."

  "Trust you to forget that we're being followed," Ariel hissed. Tempest stared at her. "Did you ever think about the fact that Broncos can’t follow planes or boats?" Tempest swallowed and shook her head. “Well, I did.” But mostly, she'd thought about the fact that she didn't want to see Stone with his girlfriend. Still, this was an opportunity to escape the trap Fairbanks had become.

  Tempest’s eyes watered. "Are we suggesting, that we pack everything possible, because we won’t be coming back?"

  "Would you mind leaving Mozart?" Ariel's throat felt blocked and her own vision began to blur. Tempest stepped aside and allowed her to unlock the door. It took several tries to get the key into the lock.

  A tear dribbled down her cheek. "I don't wanna think about it, but if that's what it takes t-" Her voice broke.

  Both of them managed to keep the real deluge in check until they got inside, but as soon as the lock clicked, there was no stopping them. They held each other tight in the dark and cried. "I hate myself," Tempest wailed.

  "No you don’t.
You just hate the lifestyle we’ve been forced into. We should have sent him to Elizabeth, long ago."

  "Poor Mozart won’t understand."

  From the living room, Mozart squawked.

  "He just said that he loved us and wants us safe." Ariel's throat constricted. “Want to go downstairs and kick the stuffing out of the bag?” Tempest nodded. After working out to the point when she could barely climb back up the stairs, Ariel went to her bedroom. Keeping the lights off, she tugged a folding chair close to the window, so she could sit down while she studied the street below. Then, she cracked the curtain. The midnight light illuminated the to-do list lying on the vinyl drop cloth, but it also allowed her to watch for the Bronco.

  If Peter hadn't taught her anything else, he'd taught her not to become complacent. And regardless of his faults, Peter always investigated everything thoroughly before an attack. His preparedness to win despite any fluctuation in circumstance made him a worthy opponent because he did not get caught committing crimes and generally his felonies were labeled accidents. Anyone likely to implicate him either disappeared or was involved in another ‘accident’.

  To evade Peter, she had to plan their escape as thoroughly as he would an assassination.

  Since he was still having his lackey follow them, and had personally attended her lecture, he obviously wasn't certain of their true identity – yet. But she knew their time was limited and prayed they could afford to wait for the weekend. She hoped that when she’d finished her lecture, then confronted the Bronco's driver and filed an official report, instead of running, she’d confused him.

  Before he totally gave up, he would search their possessions and find Mozart. And no matter how well they’d built their new identity, they were caught. It was how Peter had caught them the first time. Since then, they’d kept the drapes drawn, which had probably become one of the things Peter looked for. She frowned at the parked cars and wondered it the Bronco's driver had already peeped in their windows and noticed that the thick curtains were always closed. He'd had three days between the time she'd first noticed the new vehicle until she'd confronted the man, and whatever he’d reported to Peter had been enough to get him to try a personal confrontation.

  Gooseflesh swept over her.

  The hand holding the curtain turned clammy, but she couldn’t stop staring at the street. Couldn’t stop imagining Peter was watching their townhouse, while she peaked out from her hiding place, like the trapped prey she was.

  The only things she could really do between now and when they took off for Valdez were write explanatory notes to Stone, Link and Elizabeth about Mozart, then pray for the best. She picked up her sketchpad and a fine-tipped charcoal pencil. Hand unsteady, she poured her hopes, fears and dreams unto the paper, but she stopped herself from revealing her deepest feelings. As her hand hovered above the white space, she began sketching Stone's profile. She inhaled deeply, thrust her pad away and told herself to get a grip.

  Make a plan.

  Perhaps create a diversion, to get a head start. She frowned, trying to think of something that would trick Peter, but she couldn’t even figure out how to get Mozart to the airport, so she could send him to Elizabeth.

  Shoot, she wasn’t even certain she and Tempest would make it to the airport alive.

  Too upset to do anything else, she peeked out the curtain. And stared at the road. Time seemed to simultaneously zoom by and last forever, as she tried to think of a way out of the trap she’d planned them into. All other thoughts were thrust aside when the black Bronco slowly cruised past. Its mirrored windows hid the watcher, but such a numbing chill gripped her that she knew in her heart of hearts Peter was in the vehicle.

  They needed run now, not wait.

  Her heart slammed against her ribs like a trapped animal. Was this how rabbits hiding in a briar patch from fox felt? If so, she needed to control her panic and stay quiet. Her dry tough flicked over her lips and she wondered if every hour she procrastinated was a step closer to triumph over Peter or disaster.

  After the Bronco disappeared, she glanced at her alarm clock. The ominous red numbers glowed 2:30. She groaned and knew it would be a long night.

  And it might be her last one.

  She shut the curtains and lay, fully clothed, on her bed and prayed she’d made the right choice.

  Chapter 25

  Stone dreamed of gulls flying through ocean spray as he taught Ariel to steer Dolly. He smiled at the way she leaned against him. Suddenly his dream was shattered by the phone. Blindly, he grabbed the receiver, heart slamming with the knowledge that it had to be an emergency for anyone to call in the middle of the night. "Hello!"

  "Are you all right?"

  "Windy! What in the hell are you calling for?”

  There was a pause. "Sorry. I forgot to reset my watch. I'm still on Central time. I'll call b-"

  "No!” The fierceness of his response surprised him. “I'm awake.” His heart rate returned to normal. “Have you found anything?"

  "I wish I could tell you what you want to know, but I haven't had much time to check out the Danner info."

  Or she hadn’t wanted to bother. "Strange. I haven't seen any airline disasters making headlines."

  Windy chuckled. "That's the problem. My division finished their analysis of that Boeing crash and I got put on temporary assignment in Anchorage. Isn’t that great?" His grunt must have sounded like agreement. "I'm taking the weekend off. I don't care who dies or what falls out of the sky."

  “And?”

  “Well, do I have to invite myself or are you going to ask?”

  He chuckled. “What do you think?”

  "I called to find out what you were doing this weekend. After all, I'm three quarters of the way to a visit with my favorite brother."

  "I'm your only brother."

  "Same difference."

  "A few of us have a deep-sea trip planned this weekend. Want to meet me in Valdez?"

  "You sure I won't put a cramp in your style?"

  "My style is so wrinkled no one would ever notice." He smiled at his own attempt at humor. "How about it? Can you get there by Friday?" He glanced at his clock. “Er, later today?”

  "Count on it."

  “And can you find the time to check out the Danners by then?” She mumbled something. “They’re the ones we’re taking fishing and I’d really like to know what they’re hiding.” This was turning into a nice convenient way to nudge Windy or it could turn into a major fiasco.

  There was a soft rustle of papers being shuffled. "Stone?" He grunted. "There's only one entry for Ariel and Tempest Danner and I had to backtrack to find it."

  "Well?"

  "Do you know of any reason why they might have had their names changed twenty-two months ago?"

  "She's divorced. Maybe she took back her maiden name."

  There was an ominous silence then Windy cleared her throat. "Their previous names were Joan and Nancy Harmon." Her tone spoke volumes.

  "You think they're criminals."

  "Between your frantic need to get this info and the fact people don't change their identities on a whim-" Her voice trailed off.

  He swallowed and tried to think of a new topic. Anything so she wouldn't figure out how desperate he was to know Ariel's background. "At least their name didn't used to be Baldwyn."

  "Why do you say that?" There was a frown in her voice.

  "That obnoxious ass who tramped all over Dolly's deck before the oil dried."

  "Ah, yes, Peter Baldwyn.” Stone grunted. Her tone became guarded, "Why did he focus on you, again?"

  "His kids were runaways and he was looking for them." There was an odd silence punctuated by the rustling of more papers on her end of the line. "What?"

  "Was that one of the names you already gave me? It seems familiar." The frown in her voice was stronger. "The most interesting one you asked about was Mitchell Keen, who was a North Carolina State Trooper."

  "Who?"

  "Keen was the officer who in
itially bought the suburban at an FBI auction. He immediately sold it.” Paper rustled. “Odd that I don’t have the name of the new owner.” She paused. “He recently died while performing his duty."

  A chill shook him. "Are you saying the car was stolen?"

  "Nothing like that." She cut off his worst fear. And he remembered Tempest making some fly-by comment about her Uncle Mitch who had died. "From what I can gather, Keen was a good cop and if he hadn't been shot, he would have died of cancer. According to the coroner's report, he was quite ill."

  "Perhaps he's Tempest's uncle."

  "She the kid?" He grunted in agreement. "Doubtful. He had one younger sister, Danielle, who was married to Franklin Pendleton, both deceased."

  "Murdered, like Keen?"

  "Franklin died in a car accident eighteen years ago. Five years ago, Danielle stepped in front of a busin London, England. Hmm, it says ‘suspicion of foul play’ in both files.” She paused and he assumed she was reading. “Franklin was a hit and run. They never found the driver.” Papers rustled in the moody silence. “I don’t understand why Danielle’s death was listed as possible foul play when she probably forgot which side traffic ran on … let me log onto the system and see if there is anything more about this."

  "So you think Danielle killed her husband, then years later faked her death, changed her name to Joan and now Ariel?"

  Windy chuckled. "Ariel couldn't be Danielle. I mean cosmetics are good, but you couldn’t hide twenty-some years with them. Particularly if you'd been hit by a bus. And even if she could, five years isn’t enough time to give birth to teenager."

  He's figured Windy's information would sort the facts from theory, but she was only making him more confused. "Bummer to die on vacation."

  "That's an assumption."

  "And that's something you never make?" He hoped his teasing tone masked the confusion he felt.

  Windy snorted. There was the chime of a computer logging on then the sound of typing. "Okay. Here's the file. Hmm. That's interesting." He was going to strangle her if she didn't start reading out loud. He made an impatient sound. "Oh-ho-ho! Guess who Danielle was married to when she died and who was accused of her wrongful death, but wasn't convicted."