by Kaylea Cross
“Yes, I like them.” Aileen nodded. The earrings were beautiful, and David’s voice was so tender, just the way it used to be when they had first met.
“Am I forgiven?”
“Yes.”
“Well, are you going to try them on?”
Aileen did as David asked. The cool blue stones did go with her eyes, but it was not the earrings she yearned for David to give her; it was a ring with a solitaire diamond. Still, the earrings were a good start, and they had brought her luck. She had been wearing them to client meetings and she had closed every deal since then.
Aileen checked her watch. It was six p.m. She had planned to stop by her new apartment to measure it for furniture. From a bed to a kitchen table, she would need to furnish the entire place from scratch, and she only had about two weeks to do it. But, on the bright side, moving out of her parents’ house would be a breeze, as she would only be taking her clothes. Well, at least the physical process would be a breeze, for Aileen could already foresee the emotional ploys her mother would use to get Aileen to stay.
Aileen navigated her way down the convoluted West Village streets. The neighborhood was new to her and, unlike Midtown Manhattan, one could not figure out one’s way by street numbers. In the Village the streets had names, and unless you knew the sequence in which each name followed after the other, you were lost. But Aileen was not worried. She would learn her way around the neighborhood soon enough and there was no better time to start like right now.
* * *
Janet Maple paced the floor of her apartment while Baxter observed her curiously from the couch. It was seven p.m. and she was expecting visitors—two visitors to be precise: Dennis Walker and Peter Laskin. Needless to say, the prospect of Dennis being in her apartment made Janet jittery with apprehension. Still, this option was far better than the alternative of meeting at Dennis’s place. At least Janet would be on her own turf, and Laskin would be there to prevent her from making a fool of herself. The three of them needed a safe place to discuss their plan of action for nailing Muller. Speaking at work was out of the question, and even meeting at coffee shops or bars was risky.
So far, Alex remained completely unsuspecting of their extracurricular activities. The majority of the credit for this feat belonged to Janet, as she had endured several lunches with Alex and even one after-work drink. During their rendezvous she fed Alex with elaborate lies as to the activity of the department, assuring him that the Bostoff and Muller case had long been forgotten. She repeatedly assured Alex that Dennis Walker was nothing more than a pompous womanizer whose only concern was increasing the number of female conquests, and that Laskin was nothing more than a mindless data mining machine. Alex seemed to eat these figments right out of Janet’s hands, an outcome that she had achieved by allowing Alex to believe that they were indeed headed for reconciliation. She herself greatly doubted that Alex’s intention to get back together with her was genuine. In fact, Janet was certain that the only motivation behind Alex’s rekindled interest in her was for Alex to be sure of the truthfulness of the information that Janet was supplying him with. If the two of them were to get back together, Janet would undoubtedly be on Alex’s side, or so Alex believed.
But if Alex thought that she was foolish enough to fall for this lame ploy, he had another thing coming. Of course Janet had to admit that she had been flattered when Alex had first showed up unexpectedly during her evening walk with Baxter, proclaiming that leaving her was the biggest mistake of his life. What girl wouldn’t feel flattered hearing such a speech from her ex? But the flattery wore off quickly once Alex showed his true colors by unleashing on Baxter for something as minor as biting off a piece of his trouser. While Baxter had not been on his best behavior, Alex’s reaction was downright pathetic, just like the man himself. The image of Alex’s frightened face as he jumped away from Baxter’s scowl brought a smile to Janet’s face. Alex was nothing more than a bully with a tough exterior that contained cowardly insides.
“You are my knight in shining armor, Baxter,” Janet complemented Baxter, patting him behind his ear.
The doorbell rang and Baxter jumped off the couch, heading for the door.
“Wait up, Baxter!” Janet rushed for the door, sincerely hoping that Laskin would be the first to arrive, for despite all her talk about being impervious to Dennis Walker’s charms, Janet could not vouch for her conduct if she were to be left alone with Dennis Walker for too long.
“Hi there, Janet.”
“Good evening.”
Both Laskin and Dennis stood at the threshold of Janet’s apartment.
“I thought you guys were going to arrive separately to maintain cover and all that,” Janet replied, stunned by the look of her guests: both men were panting for breath.
Dennis shrugged. “That was the plan, but our timing overlapped.”
“I see. Come on in.”
“I thought we might get hungry.” Dennis motioned at the pizza box he was holding under his arm. “And thirsty.” He handed Janet a beer six-pack.
“Wonderful. You must have psychic powers because my fridge is empty.”
“Nah, I just remember it from last time.”
Laskin cast a questioning glace at the two of them, and Janet flushed. The last time Dennis Walker had been a guest in her apartment was when they were investigating the Bostoff case together. In fact, there had been several last times, as the two of them had made Janet’s apartment their meeting spot to discuss the evidence they were gathering for the case. And then there had been one occasion when Dennis had spent the night on Janet’s couch. She still remembered the sound of his breathing while she lay unable to fall asleep in her own bed. When she woke up the next morning, Dennis was gone, leaving her with nothing more than speculations as to what might have happened had she acted differently.
“Have a seat on the couch,” Janet offered. “I’m going to get plates from the kitchen.”
A few moments later they were gathered on Janet’s couch, digging into Dennis’s pizza. “This is what we’ve got so far,” Laskin began. “While attending the Bostoff wedding, Janet and I established that Muller is dating Aileen Finnegan.” Laskin paused to chew the last bit of his pizza slice.
“Peter, didn’t your parents teach you that it’s rude to talk with your mouth full?” asked Dennis, tilting the beer bottle to his lips.
“Dennis, I think that you will forgive my faux pas once you learn what Janet and I have discovered.” Laskin paused for emphasis. “Aileen Finnegan is the daughter of New York Attorney General Cornelius Finnegan.”
“Janet already told me about that.”
Laskin continued unperturbed. “Excellent. Nonetheless, this important piece of information warrants repeating, as it is vital to the premise of our case. From Aileen Finnegan I learned that Muller has established a charity, Phoenix Fund. Apparently, all proceeds go to funding education efforts in the area of finance.”
Dennis yawned. “How noble of him.”
“That was precisely the reaction Janet and I had. Muller does not strike me as the charitable type. So, I’ve begun the process of looking up trading activity for Phoenix Fund. The analytics will take some time, but I hope to have some data for us to look at in about three to four weeks.”
Dennis groaned. “Three to four weeks? For all we know, Muller could be brewing something this very moment. In two weeks he could be gone to the Bahamas or Mexico.”
Laskin threw up his hands. “You’ve got a better idea?”
“Tell me more about this Aileen Finnegan character. What’s she like?”
“Average-looking, not the type of girl that Muller usually dates,” Janet cut in. “And I don’t think he likes her very much. I’m pretty sure that the only reason he’s dating her is her father.”
“What makes you so sure?” Dennis asked.
Janet paused; she didn’t exactly feel comfortable about summarizing Muller’s attempts to pick her up.
“Muller was flirting with Janet,” L
askin offered. “It was quite obvious, and in my mind extremely rude to his date.
Dennis’s eyes lit up. “Oh, was he?”
“It was nothing like that, Dennis.” Janet had had it with Dennis’s sarcastic comments. After all, Laskin and Janet were the ones who had found the information about Muller, and Dennis was just being sore for having missed out on the action. “We danced to a couple of Frank Sinatra songs, but that was it. Muller told me about his charity. His overall demeanor made it clear that he did not really care for his date.” Janet halted, reluctant to reveal the more sordid details of her conversation with Muller.
“The two of them danced for quite a while, so I had to keep Aileen occupied,” Laskin added.
“Excellent. And did you by any chance get Aileen’s phone number?”
“As a matter of fact I did. I told her that I had an information security consulting business, and that I was looking for PR representation.”
Dennis rubbed his forehead. “Jeez, Peter, couldn’t you have come up with something more upbeat? An online pet supplies store would have been a far better choice.”
“Janet didn’t think there was anything wrong with an information security consulting business cover.”
Dennis glanced at Janet, and she shrugged. She really did not see a difference either way and thought that Dennis was just gloating.
“Never mind. Have you called her yet?” asked Dennis.
Both Janet’s and Dennis’s eyes focused on Laskin who had suddenly turned crimson red. “Well, no. I thought it would be best for us to meet first and decide on the course of action.”
Dennis shook his head. “I can’t believe we’re even discussing this. Look, Peter, it really is quite simple. When you get home tonight, dial Aileen’s number and ask her out.”
“What if she refuses?” Laskin asked feebly.
“If she refuses, we’ll explore a different avenue. But right now this seems like our surest bet.” Dennis eyed Laskin suspiciously. “You’re not actually attracted to this girl, are you, Peter? Because if you are, we’d better come up with something else. We can’t afford to botch this.”
Laskin straightened up with indignation. “Unlike you, Dennis, I don’t run after every skirt that walks by.”
“Then what are you waiting for? Get out there and find out everything you can about her!” Dennis clasped the lapels of Laskin’s jacket and steered him toward the door. “We’ll reconvene here in a week’s time,” he added as he shoved Laskin out the door.
“Well, I think that went well,” said Dennis after Laskin was gone. “We’re off to a great start.”
“Sure, but I think we could have discussed a few more details, like where should Laskin invite Aileen, as well as make sure that he has a sound cover.”
“Laskin is a pro at this kind of thing. He’ll be fine.”
Janet raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t you tell me that Laskin sucked when it came to field work? And that his best strength is being stuck behind the desk?”
“He used to suck, but he’s learned a lot from me, and he is a lot better now. I mean he has to be, or why would you pick him over me as your wingman?”
Janet groaned. “Is that why you kicked Peter out? To bicker over this nonsense with me? I already told you why: I thought you’d be otherwise engaged. And, as it had turned out, Laskin is pretty good in the field.”
The hurt expression on Dennis’s face made it clear that Janet’s remark had hit him hard. “Better than me?”
“Do you really expect me to answer that? Come on, Dennis, you know better than that. Right now is not the time for us to fight among ourselves. Alex is breathing down our necks, and Muller’s got Finnegan in his back pocket. Unless we act together, we don’t stand a chance.”
“What was that about Alex breathing down your neck?” Dennis took a step closer to Janet. “I don’t think I like the sound of that,” he added, taking another step closer to her, too close for Janet’s taste.
“Enough, Dennis! I thought this was important to you. I thought you wanted to get back at them for what they did to Ham, for what they did to our case and our careers.”
Dennis straightened up, taking a step back. “Of course I do. But I need to know that you’re with me, Janet. I need to know that you’re not falling in love with Kingsley all over again.”
“Are you kidding me? Is your opinion of me that low? I might have been a fool for falling for him once, but not twice. I thought we’ve been over this already.”
“We have, but I need to be sure.” Dennis rubbed his forehead. “I need to know …”
Dennis halted, and Janet held her breath. Was he going to say it? Could it be that he too felt the same way as she did? “I need to know that you’re my partner, Janet,” came Dennis’s words.
Doing her best not to sound disappointed, Janet reassured him. “I am your partner, Dennis. You know that.”
“I do now.” Dennis stood up. “I’m sorry about this. I didn’t mean to make a scene.”
“That’s all right. I’ve got your back, Dennis, and now I know that I can trust you with mine.”
“You mean to say that you doubted me before?”
“Let’s just say that I wasn’t sure about your priorities, but I’m sure now.”
“Good night, partner.”
“Good night, Dennis.”
Janet shut the door behind Dennis and pressed her back against it. Then she groaned with exasperation. “Good night, partner” were not exactly the words she wanted to hear from Dennis Walker, but apparently that was all she was going to get out of the man.
Chapter Twenty
Peter Laskin stared at his watch. He was supposed to meet Aileen Finnegan for drinks in exactly one hour. How hard could it be to take a woman out? The answer of course depended on who was being asked the question. If the question were directed at Dennis Walker, the answer would most likely be “a piece of cake” or something to that effect. But if the question were addressed at Peter, the answer would be “nerve-wracking,” especially when the outcome of the said invitation could impact Peter’s career. Peter had never been a ladies’ man, so the idea of using his male magnetism on Aileen Finnegan in order to get the needed evidence on Muller was as appealing to Peter as getting his chest waxed, not that he had ever waxed his chest, or planned to. He would rather spend hours behind his desk, analyzing rows of data, than take his chances romancing Aileen Finnegan.
“Damn you, Walker,” Peter muttered. Despite the constant jabs, both Peter and Dennis had mutual respect, at least Peter hoped so. While he might not approve of all of Dennis’s investigation techniques, Peter recognized the results that Dennis achieved—the man had great instincts, and he had closed more investigations than anyone in the department. Still, Walker’s laurels did not give him the right to pressure others into adopting his tactics. Peter was particularly pissed off at Walker for putting Peter on the spot in front of Janet. But then the reason for Walker’s behavior was only too obvious: despite his numerous conquests, Walker had been pining for Janet ever since Janet had joined the department, and probably from even before then, since the time Walker had been assigned to an undercover job at Bostoff Securities. An assignment that was supposed to be Peter’s but had been snatched from under his nose by Walker. Not that Peter held a grudge against Walker, at least not for this particular incident. Despite the fact that most of the time all the attention was undeservedly lavished on undercover specialists, Peter liked working behind his desk. His analytical skills were his strongest point, and he was quite content with shining behind the scenes.
So why on earth had he allowed Walker to bully him into romancing Aileen Finnegan? Peter did not really have an answer to this question—at least not the answer he was willing to admit. The embarrassing truth of the matter was that Peter liked Aileen, and part of him actually wanted to take her out, albeit under a different set of circumstances. True, she was no supermodel, but to Peter’s mind supermodels only looked good on TV, and even that was n
ot always the case. But when it came to real women, Peter liked them to be, well, real. And Aileen was most definitely real. Some would argue that she was a bit too plump, but Peter liked it when a woman had some meat on her bones. He also liked it when a woman was genuine and sincere, and Aileen seemed to encompass all of these characteristics. In fact her only flaw was that she was foolish enough to fall for David Muller. Had Peter been left to his own devices, he would have liked to ask Aileen out, and he certainly would not make David Muller the subject of their conversation. But as things stood, Peter would be forced to do just that. Even worse was the fact that he had lied to her about his name: John Carry—what an idiotic moniker! Unfortunately that had been the combination that popped into his mind when he had to come up with an alias for himself at the Bostoff wedding, and now he was stuck with it. The lying made Peter feel even guiltier about using Aileen in order to get to Muller, but that was not the end of his worries. What if he grew to like Aileen even more? And, even worse, what if she grew to like him? What was he to do then? Manufacturing elaborate cover-ups was not Peter’s forte; in fact, the prospect of such activity seemed torturous to him. That’s it, Peter thought grimly as he rose from his desk, I’ll have this one date with her, and after that, Walker can date her himself if he wants to.
* * *
Aileen Finnegan applied a powder puff to her face with trembling fingers. What was she doing going on a date with another man when she was in a relationship with David? She for one did not have an answer to this question. It all had happened so quickly that she barely had time to think. In the middle of a busy work day, her phone rang. The number on the caller ID was unfamiliar, but she picked up, thinking that it might be a new business prospect. Her guess had turned out to be correct; well, sort of.
“Aileen?” the voice on the phone asked tentatively.
“Yes?”
“This is John Carry. We were sitting at the same table at the Bostoff wedding.”
And we also danced two foxtrots, Aileen thought, her memory of the occasion springing up with crystal clarity, in fact too much clarity for her taste. She had been upset by David’s abominable behavior, and she had wanted to do something, anything, to spite him, so she had danced with this John Carry character who kept pressing her against him rather closely, too close in Aileen’s opinion, but she had not resisted. Had in fact gone along with it, allowing this stranger she knew nothing about whisper pleasantries in her ear, and had given him her business card to boot. The next morning David apologized to her for his behavior, blaming it on work-related stress, and Aileen’s world became perfect again—well, almost perfect. She had forgotten all about John Carry but, apparently, he had not forgotten about her. “Yes, of course, I remember,” Aileen managed.
