by Curry, Edna
Luke eyed her. Candi looked pale and genuinely shocked. Her reaction assured him this was the first time she’d heard of this possibility. Should he continue? He felt guilty upsetting her after the kind of day she’d had already, but he had to ask.
“He also implied your father had done the same thing,” Luke said. “’Just like her father’, was how George put it, I believe.”
Candi shook her head. “I didn’t see Daddy much the last few years after he and Mom divorced. But Daddy was always honest. He’d punish us more for telling him a lie than for whatever we’d done wrong in the first place. He liked to gamble and Mom was furious about that. I don’t believe he’d do anything illegal or unethical. Not my father.”
“I see.”
She gave him a wry smile as the waitress brought their seafood platters and refilled their glasses with iced tea.
“No,” Candi continued after the waitress left. “I don’t think you do see. You think Daddy was no better than these crooks he worked for, driving them around and following their orders.”
Luke shrugged and dug into his food. According to their information, that was a pretty good picture of Bart, all right.
Candi sipped her tea. “The father I knew was a fun-loving Daddy, a man who taught me to ride a bike and took us swimming. He read us stories and drove us to ball games and ballet and piano lessons. He bought me my first car and grounded me when I got my first traffic ticket. He was not a crook!”
“Candi, I didn’t say he was,” Luke said gently. “I said George claimed he was. There’s a big difference.”
She glared at him and began eating, appearing only slightly mollified.
“I also told you because I needed your take on that idea. Thank you for giving it to me.” He sent her a wry grin. “Am I forgiven?”
She shrugged. “I’ll try.”
“Fair enough,” Luke agreed. They ate in silence a moment.
Candi said, “Jolene thought the diamond necklace George gave her and she hocked, might have been stolen. Do you think that’s possible?”
He nodded. “It’s not only possible, but a fact. A woman recently robbed in the same hotel identified it as hers.”
“You’re sure the necklace is the one Jolene had?”
“Yes, we recovered the necklace from the hock shop and the owner identified a picture of Jolene as the person who’d sold it to him. That’s why we followed her. We thought she might be carrying more stolen jewelry and planned to connect with someone who would sell it for them.”
Candi stared at him, open mouthed. In a strangled voice, she asked, “So when you first came to my door, you thought I was a fence for jewel thieves?”
Luke flushed and grinned. “Crazy idea, huh? I had to check you out to find out what was really going on.”
“Well, I never!” She swirled the ice cubes around in her glass and glared at him.
“I know you better now.”
She laughed. “I should put that in a novel. Make my heroine a real fence. Might be interesting.”
Luke raised an eyebrow. “But not exactly heroic of her.”
“I guess not. Scratch that.”
He agreed. “You have to admit Jolene acted in a suspicious way. She did her best to lose us as we tailed her.”
“Too bad you didn’t arrest her then and be done with it,” she said bitterly.
Luke’s stomach tightened. Hadn’t he berated himself for the same reason? “You’re right. I wish I had. At least she’d still be alive.”
Candi patted his hand. “I’m sorry. That slipped out. It’s not your fault she got mixed up with these guys.”
“I know, but I can’t help feeling—”
“Yeah. Me, too.” She drank some tea, stared into the glass for a minute, then glanced up at him. “What about Jolene’s luggage? When George asked this afternoon, I got the impression you had something to tell me later.”
Luke nodded. “They still don’t know what happened to her luggage. Someone found her purse in a trash can and turned it in to the Chicago PD. No cash, of course, but several different sets of ID.”
“Several different IDs?” Candi exclaimed, her eyes wide. “Why would she have those? Where would she get them?”
Luke smiled wryly. “George and his pals have access to all kinds of stuff. He may have had them made up for her so she could travel with him at some time or other. I guess I didn’t tell you Jolene traveled under a false name when I was trailing her from Las Vegas.”
“No, you didn’t.” She sent him an accusing glare.
“Sorry. Anyway, whoever killed Jolene must have been in a hurry and didn’t search her things thoroughly. In an inside zippered pocket of her purse, they found a couple of business cards, a key and a letter.” He reached in his pocket and pulled out a paper. “Here’s a copy of the letter they faxed down to us.”
With trembling fingers, Candi reached out and took it from him. She read it and nodded. “Jolene told me she found this. She said it was in the back of an address book Daddy always carried with him.”
Luke frowned. “He always carried it?”
“Yes. As a young teen, Jolene liked to burn designs in leather. She made something for everyone in the family for Christmas. For Daddy, she made a leather cover for a small address book he liked. She and Daddy were close and he treasured it.”
“But if he meant this as a letter to Jolene, why did he keep it with him in the back of his address book? Why didn’t he mail it to her?”
Candi shrugged and sipped her tea. “I don’t know. Jolene moved around a lot. Even in college, she was switching dorms and roommates all the time. She’d call Mom and tell her where to send money when she wanted some, otherwise, she didn’t bother to contact us. She seemed to have trouble settling down and getting along with people. Perhaps Daddy intended mailing it later when he had her address again.”
“Oh. What does he mean by checking on it and taking good care of the birthday gift? What was his gift? A dog?”
Candi laughed. “Hardly. Daddy gave us shares of IBM common stock.”
Luke straightened in his chair. “Shares of stock! Wasn’t gambling in Las Vegas enough for him? Bart played the stock market, too? ”
“No, I don’t think so. He bought shares as an investment for us. He said we needed to learn about investments to safeguard our future.”
“Huh. Seems like an odd thing to give a young girl.”
“We thought so, too,” Candi agreed. “Dad had some pretty far out ideas. He said if he gave us shares of stock, we’d be interested enough to learn about them. And it worked, for me, at least.”
“You learned about the stock market?”
“Sure, why not? It’s not hard. You can find plenty of information about anything on the internet.”
Luke nodded. “Of course. If your dad always carried this address book, it was probably on him when he died? Did you get it back with his personal effects after his accident?”
Candi shook her head. “We had no idea what happened to it. Jolene told me she found it in George’s suite and recognized it as Dad’s.”
Luke frowned. “So how did George get it?”
“That’s what we’d like to know. I wondered, if Daddy and George were friends, Dad might have left it in George’s suite when he was there for some reason, like bringing up luggage from the limo or something.”
“I suppose that’s possible.”
Candi shook her head. “No. Jolene said she asked him and George refused to say where he’d gotten it. He was furious that she took it and wouldn’t give it back to him. She only wanted it for a keepsake because she’d made it for Daddy.”
“Hmm. Could George still be looking for the address book?”
Candi chewed a fat shrimp and considered, then shrugged. “But why would he want it? As far as I know, Daddy only had stuff like family addresses and phone numbers in it. Probably info about his limo customers, too.”
“Perhaps some of those customers didn’t want anyone
to know they were Bart’s customers,” Luke said grimly.
“Why not? Who would care who got a limo ride?”
“Maybe they doing something illegal on their rides, or at the places he took them. Like dealing drugs or selling stolen property.”
Candi sipped her iced tea and laughed derisively. “Yeah, right, Luke. And they conveniently told the limo driver what they were up to? I don’t think so.”
“They wouldn’t have had to tell him. He could have overheard, or guessed. Bart may have been a lot smarter than you give him credit for.”
And that idea fit with George claiming Bart had blackmailed people. If he had info on crooks, he could easily have tried to cash in on it.
Candi still looked doubtful and he decided to drop the subject which was obviously painful for her. The waitress appeared with their bill and he signed the credit card authorization. “Ready to go?”
Luke put his arm around her as they walked out to his car. He wished he could prolong the evening and make love to her again. This wasn’t a good time. It was a lovely spring evening and lilac blossoms from a hedge beside them scented the warm, moist air.
He’d bent his head to kiss her when he heard a rustle in the hedge.
Years of training made his reaction lightning fast as he turned toward the sound, shoving her behind him. Damn, he’d let a woman distract him again. When would he ever learn? Business and pleasure didn’t mix.
Out of the shadows, a tall man wearing a nylon stocking pulled over his head appeared beside them. A glint of light off metal told Luke the man had a gun.
In a raspy voice the man growled, “I’m tired of your games. I want what Jolene handed over to you and I want it now.”
Candi peeked around Luke and angrily demanded, “What are we supposed to have? I’m sick of being threatened and followed. Jolene didn’t give me anything except her baby and you’re sure as hell not getting her!”
The man stepped closer and said, “What would I want with a baby? You know what I mean. The boss says you have the stuff and you won’t like the consequences if you don’t give it back. So don’t play dumb with me, you greedy bitch! He won’t pay you a penny of blackmail money.”
Luke held his breath, his eyes on the man, taking in every detail of his thin, jeans clad body. He prayed Candi wouldn’t react foolishly, that she’d let him handle the situation. Would she? Sweat trickled down his chest and his heart pounded.
The man’s eyes swung from Candi back to Luke. Just take another step, fella. Come close enough for me to get the gun. Come on, a little closer.
“I’m not a blackmailer or a bitch!” Candi hissed at him.
She sounded angry. Shut up, Candi. Don’t tempt him to use the gun. The guy’s head swung to her again.
The guy stepped closer, his attention on Candi.
Luke kicked out at him, trying to get the gun out of his hand. The man grunted in pain as Luke’s foot connected his arm, but succeeded in holding on to the gun.
As they struggled, the man raised his arm and swiped the gun downward, catching Luke on the back of his head. He fell to his knees, fighting waves of nausea and blackness. He heard Candi grunt and she dropped to the ground.
Damn, he’d hit Candi. Not again. Another woman will not die on my watch.
Fury lending him extra energy, Luke struggled back to his feet and hit the guy again and again until he fell to the grass and lay still.
Quickly, Luke secured him with handcuffs, and turned to Candi and knelt beside her. “Candi?” She didn’t respond. He couldn’t leave Candi. He couldn’t be sure the guy acted alone. He saw no one else around for the moment.
Picking her up, Luke carried her to his car and put her inside, turning on the light. She had a large bruise on her forehead. As he touched it, she groaned and her eyes opened. “Is he gone? Are you okay?”
Luke nodded. “I’m fine and he’s handcuffed over there. Do you feel okay? Do you hurt anywhere besides your head?”
“No. I’m fine.” She shuddered. “Who was he?”
“I’ll check in a minute. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yes, Luke. Come on, let’s get out of here before anyone else shows up.”
“You’re right.” He grabbed his cell phone and called the other agents and told them what had occurred. As he talked, he walked over and pulled off the nylon stocking masking the guy’s face. “Do you know him?”
Candi moved closer to look at him and shook her head. “No. I’ve never seen him before.”
“I know him. His name is Harvey Cushing, but he uses a lot of different last names. He’s one of the jewelry gang.”
Luke relayed that info to Curt and left investigating the incident to them. They waited a few minutes until Curt arrived, then Luke started the car and said, “Let’s get you to the ER to have you checked out.”
“No!” Candi said. “Really, Luke, I don’t need a doctor. I just want to go back to Mom’s house and make sure they and little Jessie are okay. What if the guy went there, too?”
“They’re fine. The other agents are guarding them. You’re still shaking. Are you cold?” Luke took off his jacket and draped it around her for extra warmth.
“No, I’m not cold. I—I can’t help it. It’s just a nervous reaction. I’m fine, really.”
“All right, if you’re sure.”
“I’m sure.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t stop him before he hit you.” Luke put the car in gear and tried to concentrate on driving.
“It was my fault for taunting him.”
“No, that worked out good. I needed him to get closer so I could get the gun before he could use it.”
She shuddered. “I think I’m more scared now than at the time.”
“Me, too. I didn’t want you to get hurt.”
“I was hoping he’d explain what the heck he wanted me to give him,” Candi said.
Luke nodded. “So was I. Let’s hope Curt can get him to talk.”
Darkness had fallen by the time they reached Maggie’s house. “It looks like everyone is in bed,” Candi said, using the key her mother had given her.
She turned to say goodnight but Luke said, “I’ll come in to be sure everything’s all right.”
“You don’t have to do that, Luke.”
“Humor me, Sweetheart. Besides, you need to at least put some ice on your head.”
“Okay.” They went inside and turned on the lights. Everything seemed fine. In her bedroom, Jessie slept peacefully. They tiptoed back to the kitchen. Luke examined the bruise on her head under the bright overhead light and commented, “Lucky he didn’t break the skin.”
He rummaged in drawers for a plastic bag and a soft dishcloth. He went to the refrigerator and filled the bag with ice, then wrapped it in the cloth.
“Make yourself at home,” she said wryly, accepting the makeshift icepack and holding it to her head.
“Thanks, I did.” He grinned, leaned down and kissed her, then cupped her face in his hands. “I was so scared he’d really hurt you. I couldn’t stand for that to happen.”
“You’re sweet,” she said. “Honestly, I’m perfectly okay. I need some sleep, though, before tomorrow. The service is at eleven in the morning.”
Luke nodded and grimaced. “And you still have the graveside service in Minnesota to get through. I’d forgotten how exhausting these things can be.”
“True. It’s the tension that gets you. I’d like to sleep around the clock. I don’t know how I’m going to find the energy to get back to finishing my book after all this is over.”
“Your editor is okay with giving you more time?”
Candi nodded. “Yes, thank goodness.”
Luke kissed her again. “I’ll let you get some rest. We all have to fly back to Minnesota at four, so you need to get packed in the morning, too. Do you want me to help? I’ll be on guard outside, so I could come in.”
“No, I’ll pack in the morning, but I think we’ll wait and pick up everything after the
funeral. I didn’t bring much. Goodnight.” She reached up and kissed him again.
He walked out, and stopped to talk to Curt who was watching the house tonight, updating him on the latest attack.
“My best guess would be that he was with George at the visitation and followed us from there,” he told Curt.
“Most likely.”
Back at his motel room, Bill and Randy told him they’d consulted with their boss and were to return to Las Vegas with Harvey after the service the next day.
Luke fervently hoped they could wrap this case up soon. He dreaded being called back to Las Vegas without knowing whether the danger was past for Candi and little Jessie. If that happened, he’d just have to convince the boss to let him stay with them.
***
The next morning all seemed quiet during the memorial service at the small church Maggie and Amanda attended. Luke sat with Candi and Jessie while Curt remained at the back of the room. A cousin who was a pastor did the service and another cousin sang Amazing Grace. George didn’t appear and Candi felt both relieved and angry about that. Obviously, he hadn’t cared as much about Jolene as he’d pretended.
Since her body was being shipped directly from Chicago to Minnesota for burial, their ladies’ circle served a lunch in the church basement immediately after the service. Luke still hadn’t found a moment alone to talk to either of the two older women. He’d have to make time soon.
By one o’clock, most people had left and Luke said, “We’d better leave now or we’ll be late for our flight.”
They went back to the house for their luggage. As soon as they stepped inside and saw the mess, they knew they’d had unwelcome visitors.
“Stay out here,” Luke said, He pulled out his cell phone to call his partner, but closed it again when Curt appeared from the other room, saying, “Sorry about this. The police have already been here. I told them you had to fly to Minnesota today, so they promised to come back later to talk to you. We’re supposed to call them if we figure out what’s missing.”
“Okay.”
“I thought you were watching the house?” Candi said.
Curt nodded. “Bill was, but they got in anyway. He saw them leave and got a license plate number though, so that will help. Anyway, it’s okay to go inside and get what you need.”
