Brie was dying inside. “You know about them, Earl, and so do we. Please don’t try to play games with us. I don’t want to see you go to jail.”
Linc’s voice broke the brittle tension surrounding them. “If you turn over state’s evidence, it might mean that you’ll be granted immunity, Mr. Hansen. Tell us what we want to know and maybe you can stay out of prison.”
For a moment, Brie thought Earl was going to faint. The man bowed his head then looked toward the screen door to make sure his wife wasn’t standing there. He twisted the handkerchief between his short, thick fingers, as if waging war within himself. “My wife has cancer, Brie.”
“Oh, no. Oh, Earl, I’m sorry. I didn’t know.” Automatically, she placed her hand on his shoulder.
Linc quickly added up the weight of Hansen’s admission. “How would you like to be in prison and your wife alone here? By herself.” It was a cruel question, but it had the effect on Earl that Linc had hoped for.
Hansen snapped up his head, his eyes filled with tears. “Okay, okay…yes, there is PCB in the grade-two fuel oil. But it was Carter who did it!” He got up, hand pressed against his glistening brow, terror in his eyes. “Carter said if I didn’t go along with it, he’d fire me. And where would I be? My wife needs continuous chemotherapy. I don’t have enough medical insurance. He said if I didn’t keep a second set of books, he’d let me go. Do you understand? I can’t let my wife get worse because I don’t have the money to pay the doctor bills. Carter promised me that if I went along with this, he’d see that I had enough to help Flora.” He turned away, burying his head in his hands, sobbing.
Brie was up in an instant, tears glittering in her eyes, her hand coming to rest on Earl’s rounded shoulder. “Oh, Earl,” she whispered, “why didn’t you come to us? Do you know what PCBs are? What they’ll do to people?”
Linc got up and led Hansen back to the porch swing. Brie sat down with him. Linc took the chair, and he waited for Hansen to compose himself. The man raised his head, his reddened eyes filled with anguish.
“I don’t know what they are,” he admitted miserably. “Carter said it was nothing to worry about. He said he was just doing some friends a favor by taking the oil off their hands instead of having to transport it to a chemical dump where it would cost a lot of money to dispose of.”
Brie clenched her hands in her lap. “Earl, PCBs, if inhaled for a long enough time, can cause cancer. By law, any oil with PCBs in it has to be disposed of and the EPA notified. It’s illegal to do what Carter’s been doing.”
Hansen stared at her. “My God, no…” Then his face turned an angry plum color, his voice wobbling. “Carter’s been putting PCBs in the fuel oil people have been burning for the last three winters.”
A gasp escaped Brie, and she met Linc’s stormy gaze. “That bastard!” Hansen cried hoarsely, getting to his feet. “Carter lied to me!”
If Linc hadn’t caught and held him, Hansen would have gone after Carter. Brie watched the two men struggle briefly on the porch, Linc’s superior strength and height quickly subduing Earl. Linc forced him to sit down.
“Tell us what you know, Hansen.”
Brie sat there for the next half hour, listening to the horror story. Carter had made a contract with a New Jersey firm to haul the PCB-laden fuel oil to Litton where it would be mixed with clean fuel oil. He had been selling the contaminated mixture for three years.
Linc’s face became grimmer. “Earl, do you know if Carter hired some professionals to murder John and Brie?”
Earl tried to wipe his eyes of his tears. He glanced at Brie. “Yes, he did. Honest to God, Brie, I didn’t know about it until later. If I had known before, I swear, I would have warned you.”
Brie forced back all her emotions. Even though she hadn’t been killed, she hadn’t completely escaped Carter’s greedy, inhumane deed.
Linc leaned forward. “Where were these hired professionals from, Earl?”
“Some guys from New Jersey,” he said bleakly. “Or maybe it was New York. I don’t remember.”
“Why did he want John and Brie killed?”
“John came in seven months ago to check the books like he always did. I had been working on the second set of books, the one that kept track of the PCB oil being trucked in. At the time, I didn’t realize the mistake I’d made. John had asked for a copy of those two pages with the information on them, and one of the secretaries ran the copies for him. I had been on a phone call and just told her to give him copies. He thanked me and left.” Earl took a deep breath. “When I realized what I’d done, I lived in terror of Carter finding out. I knew John was onto something when Brie came back two days later. Normally, I keep the second set of books in the safe, and even the secretaries didn’t know what was going on.” He glanced at Brie. “When Carter saw you come in two days afterward, he got suspicious. He was upset. He wanted to know why you had visited us again so soon. He thought you suspected something.
“Carter started threatening me with losing my job and letting Flora die. I finally broke down and told him that John had two pages from the wrong set of books.” Earl closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. “He flew into a rage, then he picked up the phone. He ordered me out of his office and I left. When he came back out, he was calm. He said not to worry, that everything would be taken care of and we’d get those copies back.” Wringing his hands, he stared at his feet, his voice raw. “And when I saw in the papers a couple days later that John had died in an explosion and you were in the Cleveland burn unit in critical condition, Brie, I died inside. I knew then that Carter had called someone.”
“He put out a contract on them,” Linc growled through clenched teeth. He got up, moving his shoulders to relieve the tension in them. He turned to Brie, and his heart contracted. Brie looked devastated. He wanted to protect her from all this, from Earl’s complicity, but he could not. “Okay, Hansen, I want you to come with us. The Canton police will want your affidavit. You’d better get yourself a lawyer while you’re at it. I’ll do everything in my power to see that you get immunity, but I can’t promise anything. Do you understand?”
Earl held Brie’s luminous gaze. “I never meant to harm anyone, Brie. You’ve got to believe that.”
“I—I believe you, Earl. And I’m sorry for Flora. For you.”
He shook his head. “What a mess.” He slowly got to his feet, as if in a daze. “Give me a few minutes, will you?
I’ve got to think of something to tell Flora. I can’t just tell her the truth and then walk away for a couple of hours.”
Linc nodded. “Take as long as you need,” he said softly.
Brie stood after Earl went into the house. She went to Linc and pressed her cheek against his chest, needing his love, his embrace. “So many things are falling into place, Linc,” she said in a strained tone.
He kissed her temple. “They are,” he agreed. “Why did you go back to Carter’s two days after John was there?”
“I was sick the day Earl gave John those copies. The only reason I came back was because John had left his clipboard with our list of contact companies on it. And I remember Carter giving me a funny look when I came in. Normally, he’s civil and cool. That day, he looked like a rabid dog who wanted to bite someone.”
Linc took a deep breath, rocking her gently in his arms. “That also explains why John’s house was ransacked. Carter obviously had someone hired to look for those copies.”
“John never showed them to me, Linc. I was never aware of them. It was three days after he got those copies that the explosion occurred and he died.”
“Maybe he wanted to do more investigation before he told you about it, Brie. I don’t know. We’ll never know. But John did put those notes in that one book, so he must have suspected something.”
“I’m sure he did,” she said tiredly. “John was never one to jump to conclusions, Linc. He was very careful about compiling evidence against any company we were investigating. The reason he probably put those notes in th
e book is that he was doing further study on PCBs. I’m sure he was suspicious, but waiting to gather more information before he said anything to me.” She managed a painful laugh. “John also knew how much I liked Earl.”
“Maybe, in his own way, John was trying to protect you, little cat.”
Brie shut her eyes tightly, tears squeezing out. “Knowing John, he probably was.”
“Like me, he had a soft spot in his heart for you,” Linc murmured, kissing her damp cheek. “Just hang on, this is almost over. We’ve got most of the case solved. Now it’s just a matter of getting Earl’s statement and having the cops pick up Carter.” Dread filled him. The case was solved, and now he had to tell her the awful truth. With a ragged sigh, Linc held her tightly, afraid to let go.
* * *
The phone was ringing when Brie and Linc entered his kitchen. They had just come from her house where Brie had fed Homely Homer. Wearily, he picked up the receiver, expecting it to be another haz-mat call. Instead, it was Carol, asking for Brie.
“Is everything all right?” Brie asked, concerned. It was nearly midnight and totally unlike Carol to call at that time.
“Everything’s fine, Brie. I’m sorry to call you at Linc’s so late, but something just struck me. Remember when you asked me the other day about those boxes of things I brought over to your house?”
Brie rubbed her brow, groggy with exhaustion. “Yes. The three boxes of books that belonged to John?”
Carol’s voice became excited. “There were four boxes, Brie, not three. I was in such a stupor when I brought them over to your house. I remember putting three in your living room and the other smaller one down in your basement. It has a red diagonal slash on the top. It didn’t contain books, just pamphlets, brochures and photocopied stuff. I didn’t think you’d want that in your bookcase, so I took the liberty of putting it in the basement.”
“My basement?” Brie shot a look at Linc’s weary features. He had been up for almost forty-eight hours. “Thanks for telling me that. I’ll go check to see if it’s there, Carol. Good night.”
Brie hung up the phone. “Come on, we’re going to the basement. If we’re lucky, we might find those two photocopied pages,” Brie said breathlessly.
Chapter Ten
My basement looks like a rat’s nest,” Brie apologized, descending into the damp cellar. A lone yellow bulb flickered as she stood at the bottom of the stairs. Linc joined her, staring at the wooden crates and cardboard boxes piled helter-skelter. He frowned, moving with his flashlight toward the far wall.
“Many of the older homes around here don’t have real basements. The people just dug out the dirt. Mine is one of those.” Brie looked around. “I wonder if the men who broke in got down here and looked through this stuff?”
“It looks like it,” Linc muttered.
“Let’s see if we can find that box.”
Linc handed her the flashlight. Exhaustion was making him almost dizzy. “You hold the light, and I’ll lift some of this stuff out of the way,” he muttered. To his surprise, the box had been on the bottom of a pile. They took it upstairs, setting it on newspapers on the table.
Brie opened the box. “It doesn’t look disturbed, Linc. Maybe they missed it in their hurry.”
“Could be.” He scooped out half the contents and handed them to Brie. “Let’s sit down and go through it, then. For once, maybe lady luck’s on our side.”
She glanced at him. “I don’t know why you’re putting so much importance on finding those copies. Earl said there’s a second set of books.”
“Yes, but what if Carter destroys those books and records before the police can get to him? We won’t have any proof then.”
Glumly, Brie agreed with his faultless logic. For an hour, the only sound around them was the movement of papers and opening up of manuals and brochures. Brie got up at one o’clock and made some fortifying coffee. Her eyes softened as she looked at Linc. A day-old beard darkened his face, making his cheeks look hollow. The shadows beneath his eyes told her of his weariness, and all she wanted to do in that moment was take him into her arms and hold him.
“Brie?”
She turned, coffee in hand. “Yes?”
Linc slowly removed two neatly folded papers from between the pages of a manual. “Come here. I think we might have found it.”
Her heart leaped as she walked over to Linc. He opened up the papers, which were damp and moldy smelling. “It’s them,” she confirmed hoarsely, taking a closer look.
There was satisfaction in Linc’s voice. “Now we’ve got that bastard right where we want him.” He traced his finger across the page. “Look, the name and address of the New Jersey outfit.” His eyes glittered. “John didn’t die for nothing, Brie. With this kind of information, we’re going to crack this nut all the way up to the kingpins. I promise you.”
* * *
Brie’s eyes widened in surprise when she saw Chief Saxon at the Canton Police Department. She and Linc had brought Earl Hansen in for a statement. Brie decided to talk with Saxon while Linc went upstairs with Hansen.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
Saxon smiled. “I got the call from ATF that Linc and you had busted the case.” He gripped Brie’s arm. “Congratulations—”
“ATF?” Brie interrupted, frowning.
Saxon’s brows rose. “Didn’t Linc tell you yet?”
“Tell me what?” Her heart started a heavy, warning beat in her chest.
“That Linc Tanner is an ATF agent who went undercover, posing as a haz-mat technician to find out who murdered John.” Saxon smiled sadly. “I’m sorry we couldn’t tell you at the beginning of all this, Brie, because ATF thought you were a suspect. Until ATF was satisfied you didn’t set up John, Tanner had to treat you like a possible enemy. You understand, of course?”
Brie closed her eyes, sagging against the wall, leaning against it for support. Linc Tanner was an agent. An undercover agent! He’d lied to her! She tried to breathe, but it was impossible. Pain, like a knife, sliced through her.
“Oh, God,” she whispered hoarsely. Then her eyes filled with tears. “No.”
“I’m sorry, Brie. I thought Tanner had already told you at this late date. Stupid of him not to.” Saxon came over, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Are you all right?”
She choked down sobs, her anger over Linc’s deceit rising. She loved Linc unequivocally, honestly. His love, if it could be called that, was nothing more than cover. Lies and deceit, that was all he’d given her.
“Brie?”
Brie brushed the tears from her eyes and shoved away from the wall. Breathing hard, she turned on Saxon. Her words came out in hurt, punctuated snatches. “You knew. You knew all along. And you thought I killed John! How could you?”
“Well—”
“You thought I was capable of killing John!” She was almost screaming.
“I didn’t, but Tanner couldn’t be sure,” he sputtered. “Look, I didn’t mean to upset you like this, Brie. You’ve had a rough six months, and I haven’t helped—”
With trembling hands, Brie jerked open her purse. “No, Chief, you’ve just helped me make a decision I’ve been straddling the fence over since John was killed.” She jerked out her badge case. Shakily, she pulled the silver badge out and gave it to Saxon. “I quit.”
Stunned, Saxon looked at the badge he held in the palm of his hand. “But—”
“No,” Brie began in a low voice, struggling to shut the purse because her hands shook so badly. “This has been a long time in coming. Too many hours, too little help from the main office. John did it for five years. I did it for three. I can’t take it any more, and I’m not ashamed to admit it. There are other priorities in my life I want to pursue.”
Saxon shook his white-haired head. “Please, Brie, think this over. I know you’re disappointed that our office planted an ATF agent with you, but it was necessary.”
Her nostrils flared with anger. “It was unnecessary to thi
nk I was a suspect!” She brushed past him. “I’m going home to get my place and myself in order. And tell Tanner I don’t ever want to see him again! Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
Whirling toward the doors, Brie almost collided with a police officer. She muttered an apology and headed into the sunlight. She hailed a taxi. Damn Linc Tanner! He’d used her emotions to get her trust, then her heart. All along, he was just waiting for her to spill whatever she knew.
Linc was always asking questions, always super alert. Why hadn’t she seen it? Recognized it? He’d abused her love just to find out if she was a suspect or a victim! Clenching a handkerchief in her fist, Brie bowed her head, a small sob finally escaping.
* * *
Linc watched Saxon make his way toward him where he stood with Detective Gent and Hansen. The chief looked strained.
“Chief?” The man’s features were positively gray.
“Linc, may I see you privately for a moment?”
Detective Gent gestured to Hansen to take a seat next to his desk. “You’re done for now, Linc. If I need anything else, I’ll give you a call at your apartment.”
“Fine.” Linc managed a slight smile at the sweating Hansen. “Earl, just cooperate, and I believe things will go a lot easier on you.”
“Of—of course.”
Linc followed the chief out the door. “Where’s Brie?” he asked, looking around.
“Gone,” Saxon said flatly. And then he muttered, “I thought she knew you were an ATF agent, Linc, and she didn’t.” He opened his palm, showing him her badge. “Brie’s quit the department.” And then, more quietly, he added, “She’s upset and said she didn’t want to see you again, either. I’m sorry, Linc. I really blew it.”
Linc sucked in a sharp breath, pinning Saxon with a glare. “You what? You told her?”
“I’m sorry. I blundered.”
Linc clenched his fists. His worst nightmare had just come true.
“She’s mad and hurt, Linc.”
His anger turned to frustration, then anguish. Dammit, he loved her! “No kidding,” he snarled, heading for the stairs.
Come Gentle the Dawn Page 19
