Claire didn’t feel the pangs of attraction or regret she once had. After all he’d put her through, seeing Pip just reminded her that the shallow nature of teenage attraction was a poor predicator of long-term suitability. He looked like trouble wrapped in ignorant bliss; he smelled like pot smoke.
Claire took a deep breath of clean, crisp air, looked up and was amazed at the number of stars visible in the dark sky. She had forgotten how beautiful night could be away from all the ambient light of the cities she’d lived in.
“C’mon,” Pip said.
Without discussing it first they walked down to the old depot, which was where they used to secretly meet over twenty years before. Back then it had been a boarded up relic, and now it was the “Mountain Laurel Depot Bar and Grill.” They sat on the steps to the platform, facing the river.
“What happened to Tuppy?” Claire asked him, moving as far away from him as she could on the broad stairway, cradling Mackie against her chest.
“What kind of name is Tuppy?” he asked her.
“His last name was Tupworth,” she said. “It was a nickname.”
“Was he your boyfriend?”
“We worked together,” Claire said. “He was Sloan’s personal assistant.”
“How is Sloan these days?”
“Ruthless and evil, same as ever. Now cut to the chase. Who killed Tuppy?”
“It was an accident. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“Did you see it happen?”
“No, but I got there right after it happened.”
“Why didn’t you tell the police?”
“It’s complicated.”
“Which just means you’re involved somehow and afraid you’ll get in trouble.”
“I saw you with Scott, earlier. He hit on you?”
“You know, Pip, not everyone lives their day-to-day life as if it’s a porn movie. Sometimes men just talk to me and there’s no sexual subtext.”
“Not straight guys,” he said.
“You have five seconds to start confessing what you know. Five, four, three …”
“You always were a ball buster.”
“Two … one …” and she got up to leave.
“I’m in trouble, Claire,” he said. “I’ve got this situation with these two ladies I’ve been dealing with and they’re both being complete bitches about something that is totally not my fault. On top of that there’s Knox, who I’m pretty sure has a hit out on me.”
“So you’ve been screwing around with Meredith and who else?”
“Knox’s secretary, Courtenay.”
“How is this related to Tuppy’s death?”
“I’m getting to that. Let me finish. You’re always in such a hurry to twist my words and think the worst.”
“And zero,” she said, and stood up.
“C’mon, Claire,” he said. “You never let me finish.”
“Hurry up,” she said. “I’m freezing.”
“Knox bought this condo for Courtenay after he married Meredith, to keep her happy on account of he had been screwing around with her but then didn’t marry her. Meredith’s from some powerful political family and Knox is running for something; congressman, governor, I forget what.”
“Senator.”
“Okay, yeah, whatever,” Pip said. “He has this second post office box where he gets all the mail he doesn’t want anyone to see, right? Well, somehow Meredith found out about it and talked the lady at the post office into giving the mail to her. Knox’s credit card bills were in there and some other stuff. Anyway, Meredith figured out about the condo and all the crap he gave Courtenay. She called him out on it. She was super pissed, and said she was gonna divorce him, take him to the cleaners. He talked her out of it; said Courtenay was blackmailing him, which is bullshit.
“Meredith likes the idea of going back to DC as a politician’s wife and after she thought about it awhile she decided he could keep on seeing Courtenay until after he’s elected, and then they’ll figure something out.”
“Like kill her,” Claire said, “and throw her body down in the Hell Hole where no one would ever find it.”
“That’s a good idea,” he said, “but no, nothing like that; more like pay her off.”
“So how did you get involved?”
“I was doing some odd jobs for Knox at their house and Meredith asked me to work on some stuff at her store. One thing led to another …”
“I get the picture, fast forward.”
“So Meredith comes up with this plan where I bone Courtenay and get her to fall in love with me, and then she’ll quit bothering Knox.”
“I immediately see the flaw in this plan.”
“What?”
“Courtenay likes money and power, and you have neither.”
“Meredith was going to bankroll me, see, so I could buy Courtenay all that crap she likes.”
“I know seducing Courtenay was a cake walk for you, so let’s skip past that part, assume she’s now crazy about you and ready to break up with Knox.”
“Yeah, she is crazy about me but she doesn’t want to break up with Knox, and he doesn’t really want her to.”
“But what about Meredith?”
“After he’s elected Knox is going to pretend to end it with Courtenay but really he’s going to move her to Virginia so they can keep seeing each other. Meredith won’t know about it.”
“What about you?”
“Courtenay wants me to go, too, but Knox can’t know about it.”
“Does that bother you at all? I mean, sharing her with Knox?”
“Not really.”
“Of course not. Proceed.”
“I can’t see any reason not to go along with it. As long as we keep Meredith and Knox from finding out what’s going on, we’ll be rolling in it.”
“What does this have to do with Tuppy?”
“I’m getting to that. The other night I was at Courtenay’s when Knox was supposed to be in DC. He came back early and I had to climb out the second floor window to get away before he saw me. I was buck naked.”
“So you’re outside in the cold with no clothes on.”
“I was hiding in the bushes trying to decide the best route back to Mom’s house when Meredith’s car turned in the driveway and her headlights almost caught me.”
“She was following Knox.”
“Yep. She was loaded, too. She pounded on Courtenay’s door and liked to scream down the neighborhood. When she stopped long enough to take a breath I heard the window above me open and there comes Knox.”
“Did he see you?”
“He almost landed on me.”
“Was he dressed?”
“Yeah.”
“I would’ve loved to have seen the look on his face when he found you hiding underneath his girlfriend’s window with no clothes on.”
“He was super pissed off but he decided we would be better off working together. He boosted me back up into Courtenay’s window so Meredith would catch me in the bedroom instead of him.”
“Then what happened?”
“I got my clothes on, and Courtenay and I went down to the front door.”
“Meredith was surprised.”
“Uh huh; she thought Knox was gonna be there. She was so pissed.”
“Then what happened?”
“She left. I got the hell out of there. I took off across Marigold and cut through the Davis’s backyard. Phyllis was having a party but the keg was empty so I didn’t stay. I got to Peony Street right after it happened.”
“Who hit him?”
“I don’t know. Meredith and Knox were both outside of their cars, looking at the guy in the road. Then Meredith screamed and Knox slapped her hard across the face. She went down and was just crying like crazy. Knox hauled her up, put her in his car, and took off. I got the hell out of there.”
“Why didn’t you check to see if he was still alive?”
Pip shrugged.
“Why didn�
��t you call 911?”
Pip shrugged.
“Did Knox come back and get Meredith’s car?”
Pip shrugged.
“If Meredith left Courtenay’s first she must have hit Tuppy,” Claire said, “or she was waiting around the corner to see if Knox’s rental car left Courtenay’s condo and followed him. In that case Knox could have hit him.”
Pip shrugged.
“Did you tell Meredith you saw them at the scene of the accident?”
“No. Today was the first time I saw her since that night.”
“When I was in the store.”
“Yeah. You surprised the crap out of me. I didn’t know you were back.”
“It was supposed to be a surprise for my parents. You know the county cops think I killed that guy.”
“Why would they think that?”
“I found the body and I’m the only one who knew him.”
“Damn, that’s harsh.”
“So you have to tell Scott what happened.”
“No way.”
“Pip, you have to tell him what happened or they’re going to blame me.”
“Yeah, well, that might be sorta complicated.”
“Why’s that?”
“I kind of stole Meredith’s car.”
“You what?”
“After Knox left with her I got in her car and the keys were still in it.”
“Where is the car now?”
He shrugged.
Claire remembered the lying shrug very well. It meant he didn’t want to tell her the truth because he knew she’d be mad.
“What time did all this happen?”
Pip shrugged.
“Phillip Hobart Deacon, I am this close to calling Scott. What time was it?”
“I know it was after 2:00. I went to get a drink at the Thorn afterward but it was closed.”
“So at the scene of a crime, instead of assisting the victim, or calling the police, you stole what may very well have been the vehicle in which manslaughter was committed. You stashed the car, probably in your mother’s garage, and then walked down to the Thorn for a drink.”
He shrugged again.
“Pip,” she said.
“It was cold,” he said. “She left the keys in it.”
“Jeezus, Pip.”
“I told you I was in trouble.”
“Yeah, and now I’m in double trouble. Now they’ll think we conspired to commit the crime together. They’ll get us for manslaughter, hit and run, and grand theft.”
“What should I do? You gotta help me.”
His bottom lip turned down and his eyes squeezed almost closed as he started to cry.
“Turn off the waterworks,” Claire said. “That doesn’t work on me anymore.”
“That’s really mean, Claire,” he sniffed. “You used to love me.”
“I need to think about this,” she said. “Does anyone else know what you did?”
He shrugged.
“Who did you tell?”
“I told Courtenay.”
“Great.”
“She’s crazy about me. She won’t say anything.”
“You’re such an idiot,” Claire said.
“Well, you’re a bitch.”
“I’m going home,” Claire said. “I’d tell you to stay away from both women but I know that’s impossible.”
“Give me a reason not to,” he said, in what she knew he thought was an irresistibly seductive manner.
“Get knotted,” she said and got up to leave.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I don’t know, exactly,” Claire said. “But it perfectly describes what I wish you would do with that heat seeking missile you cannot keep in your pants. Tie a knot in it or something.”
“You never had any complaints,” he said.
“I didn’t know what I was missing until I had better,” she responded.
Mackie Pea whimpered and Claire cradled her through her coat as she ran all the way home.
Back inside her parents’ house she changed into her nightgown, got back in bed, and turned off the light on her bedside table. Mackie curled up next to her and laid her little face on the pillow.
“Your life with me has been one big crazy adventure so far, hasn’t it?” she said to the little dog. “Don’t worry, though. I’ll figure it all out.”
Mackie Pea licked Claire’s chin and then snuggled down to sleep. Claire turned over, stared at the ceiling, and worried.
The next morning when Scott left his house at 5:00 a.m. he saw someone walking down Sunflower Street towards him. Although the morning fog was thick he recognized this person’s unusual gate.
“I was coming to see you,” Sam said.
“Come in and have some coffee,” Scott said. “I need to show you something.”
Sam’s prosthetic lower limbs were undetectable to someone not looking for them. Walking close next to him, on a quiet night like this, Scott could hear the subtle hiss and click of the gas-cushioned pistons adjusting to the pressure of each step. They were a miracle of engineering developed by Sam’s MIT roommate, who was inspired by Sam to make designing prosthetics his life’s work.
As they entered the house Sam said, “Where’s your big cat? I haven’t seen him prowling around town lately.”
“Maggie has Duke,” Scott said. “I guess you could say I lost custody.”
Scott made some coffee and they sat down at his kitchen table. Scott took a small plastic bag out of his jacket pocket and handed it to Sam.
“What’s this look like to you?” Scott asked.
“It’s a tracking device,” Sam said.
“Not a bug?”
“No,” Sam said, “just a GPS transmitter. I’ve installed them myself.”
“Are they illegal?”
“They’re perfectly legal,” Sam said. “You can, however, use one to engage in illegal activities.”
“It was in the victim’s phone.”
“May I see it?”
Scott gave Sam some disposable plastic gloves from a stash he kept in his work bag. He then took the phone out and handed it to Sam, who used a couple tools on his Swiss Army knife to expertly remove the back and take the phone apart. When he was through he put it all back together.
“There’s nothing else in there that doesn’t belong,” Sam said.
“That’s good,” Scott said. “After our experience with the FBI a few years ago I have mixed feelings about being tracked and bugged. On the one hand I resent it; on the other hand it saved my life.”
“Is Claire in any real danger?”
“She’s nearly in the clear. It would help if we could find the cell phone she lost in the UK before she flew home.”
“Where did she leave it?”
“In a cab.”
“Has she checked to see if anyone returned it to her last address?”
“She thinks that’s unlikely, but even if someone did, she thinks the rental company may throw it away out of spite.”
“Do you have the name and address of the rental company?”
Scott got out his notebook, found the page with the address, and slid it across the table to Sam. Sam took out his cell phone and called someone.
“Rodney, hey, this is Sam Campbell; how are you?”
Scott got a refill while he listened to one side of the phone call. After some pleasantries and some gossip about a mutual acquaintance, Sam asked his friend to go to the rental agency and get the phone if they had it. When Sam hung up Scott offered him a refill, which he accepted.
“It amazes me that you can pick up the phone and make a request like that,” Scott said.
“Rodney and I were in the same unit. He works at the embassy, which is on the other side of Hyde Park from South Kensington. It’s just past 10:00 a.m. in London, so he’s going over there now.”
“Have you done any network security work for the embassy?”
“I couldn’t say if I did,” Sam said, and smiled one of
his enigmatic smiles.
“Don’t you worry about scanner grannies?” Scott asked him.
“Well, first of all, this is a satellite phone, not a cell phone; and it’s encrypted.”
“Of course,” Scott said.
“Police scanners manufactured before the mid-nineties can still tune into analog home phones and some cell phones, even though it’s illegal. Nowadays most home phones are digital, and you can’t legally buy a scanner with cell phone frequency capability. Plus the newer cell phones use a more secure system.”
“Meaning if our victim made a cell phone call on a smart phone the scanner grannies with newer scanners probably didn’t hear it, but the ones with older equipment might have.”
“It would be worth checking,” Sam said, and made another call.
“Hi honey,” he said, “I’m with Scott and we’re talking about Claire’s predicament. Would you check in with some of your grannies and see if they heard any unusual calls around two a.m. the night that guy got killed? Thanks, babe.”
Sam put his phone back on the table and took a drink of his coffee.
“There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you,” Scott said. “I’ve been reading about all the trouble in the middle-east, and how the governments there managed to turn off the Internet. It seems like that would be an impossible task in this country, even if someone wanted to do it.”
“It wouldn’t be hard at all,” Sam said. “It could be done within a few hours, actually.”
“But with all the different service providers there are, how could they get everyone to cooperate?”
“They wouldn’t have to,” Sam said. “Our Internet system is attached to the rest of the world through submarine communications cables. Cut the cables and we’re cut off.”
“What about satellite connections?”
“We could easily interfere with the signal,” Sam said, “or destroy the satellite.”
“I never feel better after I talk to you,” Scott said.
Sam laughed and his phone buzzed at the same time.
Peony Street Page 13
