Semiautomatic Marriage

by Leona Karr

  She savored the endearment as she nodded. “But I’m holding you to a promise to make it up later in the day. Give me ten minutes.”

  As she made her way to the bathroom, she felt his eyes on her and was grateful that Lisa had talked her into the silk gown that clung to her body and slithered when she moved. She didn’t think she’d ever felt so happy. So at peace with herself. She’d given herself in almost total abandonment to love. Whatever happened, she would never again doubt that life could be beautiful, if only for a few hours.

  WHEN THEY ENTERED THE business office at Horizon, it was empty of staff. No one occupied any of the cubicles or offices. Susan’s office was at the back of the department and was a reflection of her personality. All the surfaces in her office were un-cluttered, and the walls were bare except for calendars and public relation posters about Horizon. Her desk held the usual array of pens, notepads and filing baskets, but no personal pictures or mementos. When they opened the desk drawers, they found nothing of any consequence.

  “She cleaned out everything,” Carolyn said with a catch in her throat. “She knew what she was going to do. It wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment thing.”

  “I’m afraid so.” Adam eyed the computer. What were the chances she’d left anything incriminating on files or disks? Almost none. Everything about Susan’s manner and appearance had radiated competency. Adam wondered how such a woman had allowed herself to get pregnant. Susan’s emotions must have overridden her basic nature.

  A quick search of the office verified what they already knew. Susan had cleaned house recently. “I need time to view her computer files. If I could take the computer to the hotel, I could do a better job. What do you think?”

  She nodded. “I’ll leave a note that I’ve taken it, so no one will report a theft.” Carolyn sighed. “Della will have a fit. I’m afraid a showdown with her is coming before I’m ready.”

  “You could be right,” Adam agreed. The Dragon Lady had all her resources in place, and the minute Carolyn tried to exert her authority, she’d meet with fierce resistance. Adam just didn’t know what the battle lines would include—corporate management or the illegal activity hidden within the company.

  They put Susan’s computer in the car, having satisfied security that the owner of the company was the one making off with it.

  They decided to have a quick breakfast at the same restaurant they’d met Susan and Cliff that day at lunch. Carolyn couldn’t get the dead woman out of her mind as they ate. Questions whirled like dry leaves in a windstorm. Was Cliff the father of the unborn child? Was he dallying with Lisa at the same time Susan was turning on the gas? Were both Cliff and Susan involved in the black-market scam?

  Carolyn sighed as she pushed away her second cup of coffee. “What’s next?”

  “I’d like to look over the packaging department and have a talk with Elinor. Hopefully she’ll be able to tell us what were in those boxes that burned.”

  “I doubt she’ll be very cooperative if she’s the one who set the fire,” Carolyn countered flatly.

  “Then we’ll hope she trips herself up in some fashion.” He gave Carolyn a reassuring smile. “We have to treat everything she says as pieces in a puzzle. They’ll all fit somewhere.” He added silently, And it better be soon!

  When they returned to Horizon, Elinor was busy assessing the damage to the packing room; only one corner of the large department had been affected.

  “It could have been worse,” she admitted. “Most of the boxes ready to be moved to shipping were on the other side of the room. Once we get everything cleared out, we can give production the green light and slowly get everything back to normal.”

  “Do you have any idea what was in the boxes that were destroyed?” Adam asked.

  She looked at him as if he’d just delivered a major insult. “Of course I know what was in them,” she answered testily. “Do you think all the labeling and tracking we do is some parlor game?”

  “You’ll have to educate us, Elinor,” Carolyn said quickly with an apologetic smile. “Do you stack the boxes in some order before they’re moved to shipping?”

  “Not all of them, but controlled substances and experimental drugs are kept on this side of the room. The orders are checked twice before they leave this department.”

  “And the boxes that were destroyed, what was in them?” Adam prodded.

  “They contained a drug, a new antibiotic Horizon hopes to market that’s being tested for FDA approval by Eventide Research, Inc. They’re conducting a three-year study to determine if there are any health risks.”

  Adam’s mind raced. Experimental drug. Was this the unapproved antibiotic that had killed Marietta?

  If Elinor truly was innocent, he speculated that only legitimate orders were being packaged for delivery to Eventide Research, Inc. Someone there would have complained if their orders were not being fully filled.

  “That’s a reputable research center,” Carolyn said thoughtfully. “I know they have several different programs and the hospital made quite a few referrals to them.” She frowned. “But I don’t understand why anyone would want to set fire to their orders.”

  Elinor shrugged. “Lots of crazies in the world.”

  “Any ideas?” Adam prodded.

  She shrugged. “I tend to my own business.”

  The way she said it made Adam think that it was not necessarily true. This brisk, no-nonsense woman was in exactly the right place to know if bogus orders were coming through the packaging and production departments. She was also in a pivotal position between the packaging and shipping departments. He decided to ask her exactly what he needed to know.

  “Elinor, how could extra boxes of experimental drugs get through Horizon’s carefully monitored procedures?”

  “They couldn’t,” Elinor said flatly. “Too many checks and balances. Every labeled drug has to have a legitimate order number, and every shipment has an address that matches the invoice. At least six people have to sign off on every order.”

  Carolyn’s chest tightened.

  Could Adam be wrong about Horizon’s involvement? Was he on a misguided crusade?

  As they left the packaging department, Carolyn said, “I feel like having a talk with my dear uncle this morning. Alone.”

  “I think that’s a good idea,” Adam answered. “You know your way around a laboratory, and you have every right to ask all the questions you want.”

  Carolyn didn’t tell him that the questions she wanted to ask her uncle were of a personal nature. It infuriated her that Jasper was so closedmouthed about Alicia. Most siblings would have had some childhood memories about the family to share, but not Jasper; all he had were a few snapshots of himself, and he’d deliberately avoided any mention of his sister or his own father when talking to Carolyn. The frustration and disappointment of her attic search firmed her steps as she made her way upstairs.

  Jasper was in his office. She could see through the windowed wall that he was sitting at his desk, poring over some papers. She gave a polite knock on the door and without waiting for an invitation to enter, opened it and went in.

  He looked startled, and the beginning of a frown deepened the lines on his forehead. Then he seemed to catch himself as he stood up. “Carolyn. We missed you at breakfast this morning.”

  His tone had the edge of a reprimand, which Carolyn ignored. She wasn’t going to be treated like a child who had to account for her whereabouts.

  “I’d like to talk to you for a few minutes, Uncle Jasper, if you have the time.” She didn’t wait for his reply, but sat down in a chair at the side of his desk.

  “Yes, of course.” He hesitated for a moment as if reluctant to sit back down. “If you’d like to look over the lab—”

  “No, not right now,” she answered firmly. “I have some personal questions that need answering.”

  The tone of her voice must have warned him because he visibly stiffened. “I’m not sure I can supply the kind of information you’re seekin
g.”

  “You’re the only one who can tell me why you seem to hate even the mention of my mother,” she said bluntly.

  He stared at her for a moment as if about to deny it. Then he sat, clasped his hands on the desk and said wearily, “So it shows, does it?”

  “Can you tell me why?”

  He stared at his clasped hands. “I can’t remember the first time I realized I disliked my sister intensely. I think it was the Christmas Alicia was four. There were all kinds of exciting presents for her under the tree, and all I was given was a set of serviceable new winter clothes. When I tried to play with some of her toys, I was made fun of.” His eyes hardened. “My parents really only had one child—Alicia. They gave their daughter all their attention and love. Unfortunately they neglected to teach her anything about responsibility. And she broke their hearts.”

  He leaned back in his chair. “After she died, my father focused all his energy on business. He ignored my mother and me, and when she died, he just had me to shut out of his life.”

  Carolyn wanted to go around the desk and put a consoling hand on his shoulder, as if the contact might help make things up for the lonely boy who was never loved. In a way he had lived the same kind of lonely life as she had.

  “I tried in every way to make my father proud of me. I thought if I succeeded in business, he’d accept me.” Jasper issued a bitter laugh. “All I did was prove that I didn’t have his business sense and was exactly the failure he’d thought. Then he found you, his daughter’s child, and gave you all of this.” He waved his hand. “Funny how the past repeats itself, isn’t it?”

  The way Jasper looked at Carolyn told her the hatred he’d felt for her mother had been transferred to her. She had a sickening feeling that Jasper was capable of the treachery that could have killed Arthur Stanford and set Horizon’s black-market trade in motion.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Adam’s determination to find a discrepancy in Susan’s records kept him working in his hotel room way into the night.

  Finally, exasperated, he called Angelica. “There’s absolutely no record of any orders going to a company that is not approved for testing new drugs. I’ve checked and double-checked her records and computer files. It doesn’t seem reasonable that she could have left a completely clean operation that involves so many people and departments. Someone is initiating orders that are going to the black market, but I haven’t a clue who and how.”

  “You’d better bring what you have and come to D.C. Sometimes a fresh eye helps. Take a red-eye flight out tonight. I’ll expect you at the safe house tomorrow.”

  He opened his mouth to protest, but changed his mind. Angelica could be right. Maybe he was overlooking something obvious.

  Adam called Carolyn from his hotel, and woke her up to tell her that he had to make a quick trip to D.C. “I have to report to my superiors. I’ll leave the hotel in a few minutes and go straight to the airport.”

  “But it’s the middle of the night,” she protested as she peered at the clock.

  “I know, but I can get a red-eye to D.C. I’ll grab the few things I have here in the hotel room and buy whatever else I need.”

  “How long will you be gone?”

  “A couple of days at most,” he assured her with more confidence that he felt. “You have to promise me something. While I’m away, you need to pretend you’re not feeling well and stay away from the office.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I don’t know what in hell is going on. You could stumble onto something without even knowing it. And don’t leave the house—for any reason! Are you listening to me?”

  She mumbled something.

  “Sweetheart, promise me you’ll do what I say.” He softened his voice. “I love you. How can I do my job if I spend my time worrying about you?”

  “Why do you have to go without me?” she protested. “We’re in this together and—”

  “Carolyn, you can’t go with me,” he said firmly. “I’ll call you. Trust me on this, and do as I say.”

  He could tell she wasn’t convinced, and after he hung up, he wondered if she’d do as he ordered. She could be as stubborn as any woman he’d known, and he had an uneasy feeling that he should cancel his trip and make sure she stayed safe.

  CAROLYN HAD TROUBLE getting back to sleep. She could tell from Adam’s voice that he was uptight, worried about leaving her and less than pleased about having to fly to D.C. Sighing, she turned over in bed and hugged his pillow. Maybe his superiors would find the answers they’d been looking for. She hoped, more than anything, that they could get on with their lives without the constant threat of danger hanging over them.

  She was surprised when Adam called her again the next morning and exacted another promise from her that she wouldn’t go to the office until he got back. This time she didn’t argue. Their separation seemed to crystallize the deep feelings they’d developed for each other.

  After she hung up, she realized that she was glad to have some leisure time. She couldn’t remember when there’d been no demands, no obligations and no one in authority breathing down her neck.

  She dressed comfortably in jeans and a T-shirt, and spent the day going over company reports, eating and wandering around the estate grounds. Mack seemed more than willing to have her in his greenhouse, and she gave in to the temptation to swim in the heated pool. Everything she did during the day seemed to remind her how much she wished Adam was there with her. She missed his smile, his intense gray blue eyes and his tender touch.

  She was waiting for his call when he phoned her at about eight that evening.

  “I’m planning on taking a flight back tomorrow afternoon,” he told her. “There’s nothing more we can do here. We’ve looked at everything in depth and haven’t found the answers. Our next step will be placing one of our people in every area of Horizon’s operation. That’s where you come in, honey. You’ll have to take charge and do the firing and hiring so we get everyone in the right place.”

  She groaned. “I can’t think of anything I’d hate more. Della will throw a fit if I start interfering with personnel.”

  “There’s no other way. Besides, you have to start taking control sometime, don’t you? Your grandfather put you in a position of authority. He could have left Della fifty-one of the company, instead of you,” he reminded her.

  “In some ways I wish he had.”

  “Hey, that isn’t the Carolyn I know,” he chided.

  “Maybe you don’t know me all that well.”

  “Oh, yes, I do,” he said. “When it comes to your courage, determination and loyalty, I’d stake my life on it—in fact, I have.”

  The tone of their conversation changed, and they began to share their feelings for each other. Their forced separation made it clear they’d fallen deeply in love.

  After Carolyn hung up the phone, she was too restless to read or think about going to bed. Buddy and Lisa were out as usual, and so were Della and Jasper, who were attending a college lecture that had interested Jasper.

  When Carolyn heard a car pull into the garage, she glanced at her watch. Only nine o’clock. The lecture must have ended early.

  Carolyn decided that there was no time like the present to face the Dragon Lady. Della had told her that she usually worked a couple of hours in her home office every night before retiring. Maybe dropping a few hints about her intention to review the staff might prepare Della for the changes Adam wanted her to make, Carolyn thought hopefully. She’d rather have the scene here at the house than at the office.

  Bracing herself for an unpleasant confrontation, Carolyn made her way to the other wing of the house. She’d been in Della’s office once before and was relieved that the door was open and the lights were on.

  Taking a deep breath, she walked into the room. She expected to see Della at her desk, but it was Buddy who was sitting in front of the computer, his back to the door. Probably playing a computer game, she thought. Wasting his time as usual.

>   As she walked up behind him and quietly looked over his shoulder, a teasing remark died on her lips. He wasn’t engrossed in a computer game. On the monitor was a sophisticated software program that made little sense to her, with her limited knowledge of software.

  Before she could say anything, he acknowledged her presence.

  “Hello, Carolyn. Your sweet perfume gives you away.” He swung around to face her, and at the same time reached into an open leather bag on the desk beside him. “I’m really sorry about this.” In a split second he had a gun pointed at her.

  She stared at him in disbelief. The truth hit her with the devastating force of an avalanche. “It’s you!”

  “Yep, it’s me, all right. Good for nothing Buddy. Playing a game as usual.” He gave her his happy-go-lucky grin. “Only this time it’s a game with a real payoff. A game that I’m winning and you’re about to lose, Carolyn. Who would have thought it?”

  Swallowing hard, she echoed, “Yes, who would have thought it? But how…?”

  “How did I pull it off?” Buddy gave a satisfied chuckle as he kept his gun leveled at her. “How did I run my black-market scheme right under everyone’s noses and no one saw it? Easy. Everybody trusted the numbers the computer reported because they looked fine. And why not? The computer program that controls the entire production process at Horizon is an amazing piece of software. Everything that happens in the entire production process from start to finish is reported. But the numbers the computer reported were wrong. I ran extra orders through the process that were never reported.”

  Even Carolyn’s limited knowledge made such a cover-up seem virtually impossible. “How?”

  “How did I defeat the security and audit trails built into the production software? I guess you deserve to know now that the game is over, but first I have to make certain that this little talk remains between you and me. You and your nosy husband didn’t fool me for a minute.” He shook his curly head. “Too bad. Now I’ve got to make things a little messy for all of us. You and I have to take a little trip in my boat.”