Markie had driven up the coast of Maine that weekend to get away. Jamie had disappeared for a week. It was his wife who had called to say he was fine. Markie never heard from him. Then he returned to work the following week and they never spoke about it.
Leaning her head back on the headrest of the chair she closed her eyes for a moment. She could still hear Sara’s wail of anguish when she’d told the woman about her son.
“Sara was our client. I couldn’t let the news of her son’s death come from strangers. The suicide note, I couldn’t handle. That’s why I had the police tell her about the note.”
“Bastard,” Jamie spat. “Just because he wasn’t given full custody of his son, he would rather kill the boy than have him live with his ex-wife.”
“The file is closed. Let’s not dwell on it. We can’t save everyone.”
Jamie grunted. “If only you believed that. Now you’ve taken on another cause.”
“What cause are you referring to, my sister or Beck? Either way I think you’re out of line.”
“I don’t think Beck is a cause. We had a nice chat when I walked him to the door,” Jamie smiled. A genuine smile she hadn’t seen since the Sara Miller case.
“If you said anything to embarrass me, I’ll fire—”
“Right.” He waved away her threat. “The man likes you. You should’ve seen the look of relief on his face when I told him you were free as a bird.”
“One of these days—” Her warning was cut off.
“Please. I see the way you look at him.”
“That doesn’t mean I—”
“What were the two of you doing when I left the boardroom? Shaking hands?”
That silenced any further protest from her. She didn’t have a leg to stand on. She knew it and he was just stating the obvious.
“Why did you leave the room?” She asked suddenly wanting to know. It was totally out of character even for him.
“Because you look like a train wreck and you needed someone. No need to thank me,” he said with a smug look on his face. “Anyway, I’m on board with helping Beck. What do you want me to do?”
Markie stared at him, shaking her head. There was no point. He had a thick skull and no amount of threats would get anywhere with him. The one thing she knew for sure was that he always had her back and for that she was grateful.
When Jamie had asked to join Brooks Investigations, Markie was concerned that he would be bored. She didn’t have the clients with computer security issues he was used to working with. He’d told her that it didn’t matter and took whatever cases were assigned to him. When the case with Beck was over, she would look into expanding that side of the business and have him manage it.
“Work with Beck and his team to see what you can come up with. The more I think about it, the more I’m convinced it has to be someone on the inside of his company. Get Carlos to run a full security check on all the employees.”
“Beck did that already,” Jamie said.
“I know, but maybe we’ll find something they missed. In the meantime, I want to give Sam O’Malley a call.”
“The detective assigned to Monika Beck’s accident four years ago?” His brows were drawn together. “Why? What are you looking for?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“I reckon when you know you’ll tell me. Not.” Jamie pushed himself up from the chair. “Go home. You’re no good to yourself or to Sydney if you don’t take care of yourself. You look like you’re about to drop.”
“I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not.” Jamie frowned. “Why didn’t you tell me about last night? Beck said you were almost killed.”
“You’re right. I’m not fine, but I also don’t want to talk about it. Okay?”
“You’re not alone, Markie. Remember that. You have a team of highly skilled investigators who would do anything you ask. We all care about you.”
“I know.” It was the second time today she was reminded of that. “Do you think Syd’s okay? I mean if we lost her…”
A picture of her, Nan and Syd in a black wooden frame sat on her desk next to her laptop. Up until a few days ago, it was on the far corner of her desk behind a stack of file folders. Now it was within reach, clear from all obstacles.
The picture was taken when Sydney returned from one of her trips. Nan had insisted they all meet for dinner. They all had a good time and Syd had seemed happy. She had even talked about settling down.
Markie lifted her gaze from the picture to Jamie’s face, waiting for his answer. His eye was clear. Sharp. Sometimes she didn’t even notice the black patch over his left eye.
Jamie knew what she was asking. He knew what she wanted from him at that moment. It was assurance. He had never lied to her or kept anything from her. If he said Sydney was fine then she would believe him. Jamie moved beside her chair, laying a hand on her shoulder.
“If anything had happened to her I think your grandmother would’ve said something.”
“You believe in the supernatural?” She was surprised that he would bring up her grandmother. He always said her basket was a couple of eggs short of a dozen.
“I don’t disbelieve it. Right now it’s all we have.”
Jamie wasn’t one for showing affection so she was surprised when he leaned over and gave her a quick hug. It didn’t matter that her nose smashed into his broad shoulder. The fact that he’d done it made her feel better.
“Go home and get some rest. If we hear anything, we’ll let you know.”
“I’m heading out soon.”
Looking at a box of papers and files she’d taken from Sydney’s apartment beside her desk Jamie said, “Why don’t I believe you?”
• • •
When it rained it poured. It wasn’t just pouring. It was a monsoon. It hit Beck as soon as he’d stepped into his office. His assistant had been taking calls all morning and what she couldn’t handle was transferred to his voicemail. The result: Nineteen messages and counting.
He didn’t get the chance to take off his jacket before his phone started to ring. If it wasn’t his cell phone, it was the phone on his desk.
As soon as he ended one call he was pulled into another. Clients were concerned with their security system. These were people he knew. Shook hands with. They all wanted reassurance from him, no one else, that when it came down to it their alarm system would not fail. All he could promise was a reassessment and even that wasn’t good enough. There were also a handful of messages on his desk that he didn’t even attempt to look at. He would respond to those after his meeting.
He’d left Marklynn’s office just after the lunch hour with renewed hope about two things. One, he wanted to get to know her; the real Marklynn Brooks not the tough front she showed the world. Two, with Jamie on his team they would find Shadoe a lot faster and he couldfocus on business again.
Progress.
That was what he would call today. For the first time in three months he was seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. That put a smile on his face as he left his office for his second meeting of the day in the executive boardroom with his team.
From the sleek custom-made wooden cabinets and oval mahogany table, the boardroom was all about luxury that catered to their clients. Swivel comfortable brown leather chairs could be turned in any direction to enjoy a wall of windows showing off a spectacular view across the downtown core.
As he entered the boardroom and sat down across from Malcolm, Mona Rogers and Peta Ann Taylor, the progress he thought he’d made seemed insignificant. All conversation ceased and all eyes focused on him. It was the dark cloud before the storm.
“How are we going to spin this?” Mona sprang on him. A thin blonde with a pageboy haircut, dressed in a white Ralph Lauren suit and Jimmy Choo shoes, she was all business. A moment ago when he’d entered the boardroom she was in the middle of telling Peta Ann about how her shoe had cost her a mint.
“I understand that a communication message needs to be conside
red, but we need to look at the legal implication before trying to spin anything,” Peta Ann said, tapping her pen upside down on the legal pad in front of her. She was a petite dark-skinned woman with short reddish brown curls dressed in a simple gray suit.
“Don’t you think that’s a little premature,” Malcolm said looking down at his Blackberry when it vibrated then pushed it to one side on the table.
“The Franklin’s are not going to go quietly into the night,” Peta Ann replied. “Their lawyer contacted me this morning to set up a meeting. I’ll put off the meeting until we receive the official report as to the cause of the fire.”
“That’s why we need to put messaging together for our customer service reps. “This should have been done from the first incident in anticipation of this, but you wanted to wait. Now the cat is out of the bag. We need to move now,” Mona said waiting for direction from Beck.
Some progress… One step forward, three steps back. What was there to tell the clients? ‘Your house burned down, sorry.’ Or, ‘Your installed system may or may not work, but trust us? We’ll keep you safe.’
Beck didn’t know how the communication team was going to do it, but Mona was right. Something had to be done.
“Okay,” Beck said exhausted. His sleepless night had caught up to him. “Since I’ve been told that I’m a one-man show…”
“I told him that,” Malcolm said with a laugh.
“Here is what I propose. Mona, craft your wording and run it by Peta Ann. If you are both in agreement proceed.”
“I can live with that,” Peta Ann said looking at Mona who nodded her head in agreement. “Our stance on this should be clear with the Franklin’s. We’re not responsible for what happened to their house.”
“I’m with you,” Malcolm agreed. “The security system was in perfect working order.”
“I’m sure they’re going to want to talk settlement,” Peta Ann said. “We have to at least—”
“If you’re talking settlement then we’re admitting fault and that’s not good for business,” Malcolm said. “If we are going to take the company public then we need to be careful in our wording. Never assume blame. We’re not responsible.”
“We’re not responsible?” Beck asked.
He listened to them arguing about blame, taking the company public. What about the clients? The company had a responsibility to the people who trusted them with their personal possessions. As hard as that pill was to swallow, they needed to see that. And because they couldn’t see beyond the almighty dollar it made him angry.
“The damn house burnt down!”
The room fell quiet. Mona’s mouth dropped open. Her eyes widened as she sunk back in her chair. Peta Ann straightened in her chair looking at Malcolm.
Voices from outside the hall filtered into the quite conference room. Beck rubbed his forehead taking a deep steadying breath trying to calm himself before he spoke again.
“Let’s be rational for a moment. How can the alarm systems be in perfect working order? Our clients are being robbed and their house up in flames.”
“You ran the test yourself and everything was fine,” Malcolm reminded him.
“Yes, but it wasn’t. I don’t understand it,” Beck said shaking his head. “The house in Jamaica Plains is a pile of ashes. What if they were home?”
Malcolm stared at Beck for a long while before he spoke again. “Don’t put this on us. My guys haven’t seen their families since this whole thing started. We’re all working 24/7 to find Shadoe. It’s not enough. I’ve told you that. If you let us get outside help as I’ve requested maybe we can alleviate some of the stress we’re all putting ourselves under.”
The room fell quiet once again. This wasn’t Malcolm’s fault and there was no point in taking out his frustration on the people who were trying to help him. Having his employees working to the point of exhaustion wasn’t good for business either.
“I’m sorry,” Beck said looking at Peta Ann and Mona. “You’re right, Malcolm, about the outside help. I had a meeting with Marklynn Brooks, from Brooks Investigations this morning.”
“You’d mentioned you were going to see them, but weren’t sure if they would help,” Malcolm said relaxing back into his chair.
“They’ve agreed to help us. Jamie Wright, Marklynn’s associate, is an expert when it comes to hackers. He’s coming on board. I need to finalize the details, but it could be as early as tomorrow.”
“He’s an ethical hacker then?” Peta Ann asked, brows raised in concern.
“Is there such a thing?” Mona asked.
“You’ll have to ask him that,” Beck replied, picked up the leather folder and stood up. “Are we done?”
Everyone around the table nodded in agreement. In his present mood they were probably all glad he was leaving.
When Beck returned to his office it was after five. After an afternoon of meetings, he was tired and on edge and needed to unwind. He picked up the phone to call the only woman that had been on his mind since the day began.
Wouldn’t it be nice to end the day with her in his arms?
• • •
Markie gathered the papers she’d taken from Sydney’s apartment and put them back in the box. She hadn’t intended to go through the entire box, but once she’d gotten started the time just slipped away. All she wanted to do now was to go home and crawl into bed. She was about to step out of her office when the phone started to ring. Any other time she would have let the call go to voice mail, but she couldn’t take the chance with Sydney missing.
She hurried back to the desk and picked up the phone. “Brooks Investigations.”
“You sound exhausted.”
Markie sat on the edge of the desk, smiling. “So do you. How did it go today?”
“Long. We can talk over dinner.”
She’d forgotten they were supposed to meet. As much as she wanted to see him, she had to wonder how productive their meeting would be if she were falling asleep on her feet. But to see his smiling face…
“I was on my way home but I could detour.”
“But you would rather go home and kick your feet up.”
“Yes, to tell you the truth. The eye looks bad. I’m starting to scare children,” she said remembering the little boy that pointed and gasped when she’d popped across the street for a deli sandwich earlier.
Beck chuckled. “How about this? I can come by your place and bring food. Then we can both kick our feet up. Should you fall asleep you’re already home.”
His argument was sound and well thought out and too good to pass up. And, she wanted to see him. What if he fell asleep? She wanted to ask, but shied away from the question.
Beck exuded a certain strength that drew her to him and she found that she wanted to be with him. Then she remembered what happened in her office that morning and made up her mind.
“Come by around seven,” Markie said and gave him her address.
Markie glanced at her watch as she hurried out of the office. Two hours. If she timed it right she would get home before Beck’s arrival with enough time for a quick nap. Wishful thinking she thought as she hit I-93. It was stop and go traffic all the way home to Quincy thanks to lane restrictions due to road construction.
When she pushed the key into the front door of her house an hour and half later, she felt drained. Everywhere hurt. Her back and her was neck. Even her eye started to twitch again.
With Beck coming over, she should remove the newspapers from the sofa, straighten up the small living room, and maybe run the vacuum over the area rug. That was as far as that fleeting thought went as she entered the house.
Kicking off her shoes, she struggled out of her jacket and headed for the bathroom. Shedding her clothes, she pushed back the shower curtain, turned on the shower and stepped into the tub. The hot spray felt so good. It soothed her aching muscles sending steam curling up to the ceiling.
Shutting off the water, she grabbed the towel, dried off and put on her robe then h
eaded for the bedroom. She sat down on the bed, resting her head on the pillow and felt herself drifting off.
It was the vibration of her cell phone that pulled her from sleep. She jumped up and grabbed the phone. She cleared her throat. “Hello?”
“I’ve been knocking and ringing the doorbell for the last ten minutes. I think your next door neighbor is gearing up to call the police. She’s standing at the window glaring at me.”
“Beck?”
“Yes.”
“Hold on.”
Markie looked at the clock. It was after seven. Groaning, she raced out of the bedroom to open the door.
• • •
“Hi, I was about to…”
Beck lost his train of thought when Marklynn answered the door in a short black silk robe, tied at the waist. The robe stopped at mid calf showing off long shapely legs. Her hair fell in ringlets around her face. She looked soft, sleepy and sexy all rolled into one. And he stood there, like a kid with his first crush staring at her. He didn’t think she was wearing anything underneath the way the thin fabric clung to her body outlining her tall slender frame leaving nothing to his imagination.
“I…ahh…I fell asleep.”
She ran her hands through her hair then pulled the belt on the robe tighter around her waist. What he should do, is roll his tongue back up in his head and quit making her uncomfortable, he scolded himself.
“I can see that,” he said staring at her. This was not one of his finer moments.
“Come in,” she stepped back from the door. “You can put the food in the kitchen. Plates and glasses are in the cupboard above the sink. Utensils are in the drawer to the left of the stove.” She started towards the bedroom. “Give me a minute to change.”
“I brought chicken and pasta salad, mango cheese cake, a bottle of wine and…chocolate covered almonds,” he said not wanting her to leave.
Marklynn stopped, turning around slowly at the bedroom door. “I don’t think I like you and Jamie talking about me behind my back.”
He smiled as his gaze traveled the length of her body then settled on her face and he felt warm all over.
“The only thing he told me was your food preference. He said anything else would have to come from you.”
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