by Kaylea Cross
“You never leave anything out, do you?” Janet held her breath, wondering if Laskin also knew about her long-standing and painful history with Alex, but to her relief Laskin remained quiet. At least he did not know about that.
Laskin reddened. “I didn’t mean to sound so harsh. With our new boss, all of our careers are headed for the crapper. Now, what’s your plan? Because if you have one, I sure want to hear it. I don’t like Kingsley any more than you do.”
“I want to get Muller,” Janet said simply. “I thought that together we’d be able to get close to him and see what he’s up to. You probably know this already, but the bride is a very good friend of mine and—”
“Obviously,” Laskin interrupted. “You are the maid of honor.”
Janet shot Laskin an irritated look.
“Sorry, I couldn’t help that one. Spending too much time behind the desk makes me snippy.”
“I can see that. So, a few weeks ago, Lisa told me that David Muller had accepted his invitation to the wedding.”
By the surprised expression on Laskin’s face, Janet was glad to see that the man did not know everything after all.
“The Bostoffs invited Muller to the wedding? I would think that they would hate his guts.”
“And they do. Lisa was just as surprised as you are. Muller’s name was on the original list of the invitees, but somehow it was never taken off and an invite was sent to him. Now, I have no idea why, but not only did he accept, but he has actually showed up.”
“Muller is here?”
“Yes. He was a few minutes late to the ceremony, so he sat in the last row.” Janet opened her purse. “Here, this will help. This is a picture of him from a magazine article published before the investigation. I think he’s keeping a lower profile now.”
Laskin took the paper from Janet’s hand. “You’re not supposed to carry the mark’s picture with you.”
“We’re not spies, Peter. I’m pretty sure that I didn’t breach any security codes by carrying an article about Muller in my purse.” Janet snatched the paper back from Laskin and put it in her purse. “Did you memorize his face?”
“I sure did. Now, what’s your plan?”
“Lisa has arranged it so that we are sitting at the same table with Muller and his date. We’ll have a few drinks, strike up a conversation, and then we’ll try to find out what Muller is up to these days.”
“That’s your plan?”
“You’ve got a better one?”
“Not at the moment, but I could have come up with one if I had had fair warning.”
Janet cast a dubious look at Laskin, convinced that he was just showing off.
Laskin scratched his ear. “Before we go in there, we’ve got to have a story to tell. Okay, I got it. We can’t say that we’re married since we don’t have wedding rings. That would have been a nice prop, had we had more time to plan this …”
Inwardly Janet admitted that Laskin had a point, but she was not about to admit it out loud. “Lots of married people don’t wear wedding rings.”
“You mean lots of men don’t wear wedding rings. But when it comes to formal occasions such as weddings, wives watch their husbands like hawks, making sure that they have the gold band on their fingers.”
“If you say so.”
“I know so. Weddings are prime dating ground, for both men and women, and you know how territorial women can be.”
Janet did not necessarily agree, but at the moment she was not particularly interested in hearing Laskin’s argument on the matter, so she decided not to contradict.
“So, we are going to say that we are boyfriend and girlfriend, and that we’ve been dating for a year—long enough for the woman in the relationship to expect an engagement, but not too long for it to be hopeless. This way you can whine to Muller’s date about how you can’t wait for me to propose.”
“Good one,” Janet agreed.
“And I can gripe to Muller about not wanting to pop the question.” Laskin patted his chin. “Do you know if Muller smokes?”
“I don’t think so, but I’m not sure. Why?”
“Because if we knew that he was a smoker, I would have brought cigarettes. There’s hardly a more conducive environment for men to share confidences than a cigarette break, especially during a wedding. At the same time, there is nothing more annoying than someone you’ve just met bumming a cigarette off of you, so regardless of Muller’s preferences we are going to have to pass on this option.”
“I’m sorry. You are so much better at this than I am.” Janet felt like an amateur. Clearly, she had been too busy obsessing over her hatred for Alex and her unfortunate attraction to Dennis instead of focusing on nailing Muller.
“It’s all right, Janet. The last few weeks haven’t exactly been a walk in the park for any of us. I didn’t mean to make you feel bad. I was just letting off steam, but now is not the time to do that. We’ve got to get our game on. So, we’ve been dating for a year. I’m in information technology and you’re a teacher. How does that sound?”
“Sounds good, Peter.” Janet paused. Laskin did have a good head on his shoulders. “I’m glad that you’re going to be my partner on this.”
“I’m no Dennis Walker, but I’ll do my best.” Laskin lowered his eyes. “Sorry, that slipped.”
“That’s all right, partner. Now let’s go get that son of a bitch Muller.”
Chapter Sixteen
Janet followed Laskin to their table. Her breath quickened when she saw that David Muller and his date were already seated. “Excuse us.” Laskin grabbed Janet’s hand as he maneuvered to their seats, which were on Muller’s right hand side.
“Hi there,” Laskin beamed, quickly picking up the placement cards and sliding them into his pocket. “John Carry. Pleased to make your acquaintance. And this is my girlfriend, Elizabeth Simmons.”
Janet attempted to mask her surprise with a cough: they had not discussed aliases. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Muller looked at them with open indifference. “David Muller. The pleasure is all mine, I’m sure.” Then, with a quick glance at his date, he added, “And this is my girlfriend, Aileen Finnegan.”
“Pleasure to meet you, Aileen,” Laskin said.
“Wasn’t it just a wonderful ceremony?” Aileen gushed.
“Indeed,” Laskin confirmed. “It’s a good thing that Elizabeth is the maid of honor. Had she been sitting next to me instead of standing by the altar, she would have seen me shed a manly tear or two. Oh, well, I guess I gave myself away now.”
“There’s nothing shameful about a man shedding a tear or two. In fact, I think that it takes a true man not to be afraid of expressing his emotions,” said Aileen with a pointed glace at Muller.
“Personally, I find weddings dull,” said Muller. “I’m sure it must all be very exciting for the bride and the groom, but why should the rest of us be forced to sit through it?” An expression of hurt passed over Aileen’s face, and, as if catching himself, Muller added, “But Aileen just loves this sort of thing. I’m glad you’re enjoying this, honey.” Muller patted Aileen’s hand.
“You would too,” Aileen replied reproachfully, “if you would only just give it a chance.”
Janet watched this exchange with fascination. It was clear that Muller was anything but attracted to his date. It seemed like he did not even want to be at the wedding, so why did he come?
“Darling.” Laskin pulled out Janet’s chair and motioned for her to take a seat. Janet thanked him and slid into her seat.
Janet and Laskin turned their attention to the rest of the guests at the table. Everyone smiled politely as introductions were made. There were two more couples who were friends of the groom. Being seated next to Lisa’s friends from college or high school would have presented serious problems for Laskin’s planned cover-up. Janet gave Lisa mental kudos for excellent attention to detail, a skill that Lisa had never before been famous for and Janet used to excel at but now seemed desperately to
lack. At least Lisa and Laskin were both on their game. Now all Janet needed to do was figure out to get close to Muller or his date.
Janet cast a sideways glance at Muller who was examining the menu as though it were the most fascinating thing in the world. His date was leaning on his shoulder in a clear attempt to elicit a token of affection from Muller, but he clearly preferred to focus his attention on the menu.
“So, what are the choices?” asked Laskin, looking over Muller’s shoulder.
Muller looked at Laskin. “I think I see a waiter coming. I’ll ask him to get you a menu.”
“Oh, I didn’t realize that I’ve got one right here!” exclaimed Laskin, reddening under Muller’s icy glare.
So much for Laskin’s bravado, Janet thought. He might be good at laying out a plan of action, but he was not particularly good at executing one. She had to come up with some icebreakers pronto. Her anxiety was interrupted by the announcement of the bride and groom’s first dance.
Accompanied by loud applause, Lisa and Paul walked to the center of the dance floor. Paul offered his arm to Lisa, and the two of them glided into a graceful waltz. Even from the distance, Janet could see the sparks that were shining in Lisa’s and Paul’s eyes. Despite everything that had happened to the Bostoffs, or perhaps because of it, Lisa and Paul seemed to be more in love than ever.
The waltz ended. “We now ask the guests to join the bride and groom on the dance floor,” announced the deejay.
The chords of “Strangers in the Night” filled the room. Couples began rising from their seats, making their way to the dance floor. Janet inwardly cursed the deejay’s selection. She loved this song, but the romantic lyrics did not exactly create a conducive environment for her task at hand. She was about to sneak off to the bathroom to work on some icebreakers for Muller when she felt Laskin’s hand on her arm. “Shall we dance, darling?”
Janet’s first impulse was to refuse. She certainly did not find Laskin’s eyes inviting or his smile exciting, but then she noticed Muller’s date eyeing them wistfully, and so rose from her chair.
Laskin took Janet’s hand into his and slid into a confident foxtrot step. Janet followed him easily. “Where did you learn to dance like this?” she asked.
“Fred Astaire dance studio,” Laskin replied. “It was for an undercover assignment that never materialized, but that’s not important right now. We have to change our strategy.”
“Agreed.” Janet thought it best to omit the fact that they did not really have a strategy, at least not a sound one, as she was mostly to blame for that.
“There’s no way in hell Muller will ever open up to me. He clearly thinks that he is a far more superior specimen of the human race than I am.”
Perhaps sticking your nose into his menu had something to do with it, Janet thought, but bit her tongue: she herself was not exactly bursting with ideas on the topic.
“You go after Muller and I’ll go after his date. She looks bored, so I’ll play the sympathy card, and you can flatter Muller with admiration.”
“Good idea. Let’s switch seats when we go back to the table. That way I’ll be sitting closer to Muller.”
“I’ve got an even better idea. Here’s our opening.”
Before Janet could blink, Laskin’s hand tightened on her waist and she felt herself being literally swept off her feet as Laskin galloped across the floor in a surprisingly nimble quickstep. Janet held on to Laskin for dear life as they leapt across the floor, followed by admiring glances. “Ready? Here we go.”
“Ready for what?” Janet asked.
Just then, Laskin’s nimbleness deserted him, and the two of them nearly tumbled into Muller and Aileen who were slow dancing in the far corner of the floor. “Oops, my apologies,” Laskin panted. “I misjudged the distance.”
“Oh, that’s quite all right,” Aileen smiled. “You are a wonderful dancer.”
“Wonderful dancers don’t smash into people,” remarked Muller.
“My apologies,” said Laskin.
“Oh, don’t worry about it!” Aileen came to Laskin’s defense. “They didn’t smash into us, honey. It was more of a tap, really.”
The music ended, leaving the couples on the dance floor frozen in indecision. “Shall we go back to our table?” offered Muller.
“And now on with our next selection,” announced the deejay. The bold notes of “New York, New York” rang in the air.
“May I?” Laskin offered his hand to Aileen.
“I would be delighted,” Aileen beamed.
Janet hesitated. She knew that the thing to do was to mimic Laskin and ask Muller to dance, but the man looked so glum that her tongue stuck to the back of her throat.
“Shall we?” Muller surprised her.
“I’d be delighted,” Janet replied.
“You are a pleasure to dance with,” Muller remarked after several moments.
“Thank you.” In spite of herself, Janet was flattered. He might be a scoundrel without principles, but it was impossible to deny that David Muller was a very handsome scoundrel. Janet could certainly see how Muller was such a successful crook: he had an aura of effortless charm about him that made his victims fall under his spell in a matter of seconds.
“And of course this is a beautiful song to dance to. I adore Frank Sinatra. “New York, New York” is my favorite.”
“His songs are wonderful,” Janet agreed.
“And so are you,” replied Muller, tilting Janet back. The motion took her by surprise, and Janet nearly lost her balance.
“Careful there.” Muller pressed his hand against her back, pulling her close to him, a little too close for Janet’s taste. “So what’s a girl like you doing with a guy like Carry?”
“What’s a man like you doing with a girl like Aileen?” Janet countered.
“I asked you first.”
“John is a good guy, and good guys are hard to find.”
Muller’s gaze travelled from Janet’s lips to her neck, to her breasts, to her hips, and then, with noticeable reluctance, back up to her eyes. “I don’t see how you would have difficulties finding a man.”
“I don’t want just any man. I want a man who is right for me. So what brings you to this wedding? Are you a friend of the bride or the groom?” Janet changed the subject before her conversation with Muller got too heated.
Muller’s face tensed for a moment. “Just an acquaintance of the groom. We used to do business together, but I am no longer involved in that.”
“Oh? What do you do, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“I used to run a hedge fund but I closed that down. My interest in the financial markets now is purely academic. I run a charity dedicated to sponsoring scholarships for young men and women who are interested in pursuing careers in finance. It’s called the Phoenix Fund.”
“That sounds very noble.”
Muller smiled. “Oh, I don’t know about that, but I do enjoy it, and I hope to be able to help. I know that I would have welcomed a helping hand when I was starting out in my career. The charity is less than a year old. This year we plan to offer scholarships to ten students to the colleges of their choice, and we hope to increase the number of scholarships each year.”
“Sounds wonderful.”
The last notes of “New York, New York” faded away, and was followed by “I’ve Got You Under My Skin.”
Janet spotted Laskin and Aileen gliding toward them. “I think it’s time that I returned you to your date.”
“If you insist.”
“David!” Aileen exclaimed, putting her hand on Muller’s shoulder. She turned towards Laskin, adding, “John, thank you for a wonderful dance.”
“The pleasure is all mine, Aileen.” Laskin bowed. He returned his attention to Janet. “Shall we?”
Before she could respond, Laskin whisked her away. “So, what did you find out?” he asked.
“Muller is not in trading anymore. He runs a charity now.”
Laskin’s eyebrows nea
rly met his hairline. “What?”
“I know. I don’t believe it either. Something is not right. Either Muller lied to me, or he really did decide to become a law-abiding citizen, but I just don’t believe the latter. What did you find out from Aileen?”
“Aileen is quite a remarkable woman,” Laskin replied. “She owns her own public relations company, and she happens to be a very good dancer.”
Janet eyed him dubiously. “Anything else?”
“Of course,” Laskin replied. “I can mix business with pleasure, you know.”
“At least that makes one of us.”
“And very effective at that, I might add. Do you know Aileen’s last name?”
“No, why?”
“Finnegan. Sound familiar?”
“Do you mean that Finnegan, the New York State attorney general?”
“Yep.” Laskin beamed. “She and Muller have been dating about six months, and she is head over heels for the worm, although for the life of me I can’t understand what she sees in him.”
Janet decided not to comment. Despite his lack of moral character, Muller possessed a number of attributes that women would find attractive. “Did she know anything about Muller’s charity?”
Laskin shook his head. “No, it sounds like Muller keeps his business affairs to himself. I’m surprised he told you so much. Could it be because he wanted you to know?”
“I don’t think so. I think he just wanted to show off, but it does sound strange that he keeps it a secret from his girlfriend.”
“When I get back to the office on Monday, I’m going to do a background check on Muller’s charity. What’s the name of it?”
“Phoenix Fund.”
“He sure has a flare for names. First Emperial, and now Phoenix.”
“He certainly does.” Janet frowned. “Something is not adding up. I find it hard to believe that Muller has a charitable bone in his body.”
