Need to Know

by Fern Michaels

  Myra nibbled on her thumbnail as she stared out the passenger-side window at the scenery that was passing in a blur. Today for some reason, Annie’s heavy foot on the gas pedal wasn’t bothering her in the least.

  “Tomorrow makes more sense to me. But the girls might think traveling at night would be better. We’d have to find lodging if we leave tonight, or else we stay awake all night or take turns sleeping in the van. What’s your preference?”

  “As you well know, I prefer doing something as opposed to talking about doing something. I’m not sure traveling up to Riverville in the daylight is such a good idea. I know there are hundreds of white vans on the road, but why take the chance of someone’s spotting us or remembering us?”

  “Good point. Well, we’ll put it to a vote when we get there. It’s the next turnoff, Annie. You need to slow down, like now. Oh, my God! You took that curve on two wheels, and don’t say you didn’t! I have whiplash! Do you have some kind of death wish, Countess de Silva?”

  “All you do is complain, Myra. Look, we’re here! Safe and sound! Did you forget when I took those defensive driving courses you said were a waste of time? You are more of a danger on the road at the speed you drive than I could ever be. Plus, this vehicle is built for speed. I’m just trying to prove the engineers right! Otherwise, I’ll take the car back for false advertising.

  “You can get out now, Myra. The car is at a full stop, and the engine is already off. You also have to take your hands off those damn pearls, so you can open the door.”

  “I hate you!” Myra grated as she exited the low-slung sports car.

  “Well, I love you, so get your ass in gear, the girls are waiting for us. Look alive, Myra!”

  “I really do hate you!”

  “Uh-huh,” Annie said as she hugged Kathryn, who had run to her. The others followed until all the hugging and laughing was done.

  Annie moved closer to Myra. “Do you still hate me?” She sounded like she cared.

  “I should have pushed you off that cliff in Spain when I had the chance.”

  “But you didn’t. And here we are.”

  Myra laughed. “Yes, here we are. And I wouldn’t have it any other way,” she said, linking arms with Annie.

  “Me too.” Annie grinned. “Okay, girls, let’s get to it!”

  “When you called earlier, I had the boys finish emptying out greenhouse three. We can conduct the meeting in there, and no one will bother us,” Yoko said. “We can sit on the benches. The potting tables are cleaned off. Just follow me.”

  “It smells like gardenias in here,” Isabelle said.

  Yoko giggled. “That’s because this is the gardenia greenhouse. We just moved them all out to put under the overhang. By the end of the day, they’ll all be gone. So why are we meeting like this? What’s up?”

  Annie and Myra took turns explaining about Avery Snowden’s earlier phone call to Charles. “What should we do, girls?” Myra concluded. “Do you want to leave tonight or tomorrow?”

  “Night versus day,” Annie said.

  A long, detailed discussion followed as each sister listed the pros and cons of day versus night travel, with Maggie having the last word. “I have to have the van checked out, and I’m going to have to find a Maryland magnetic decal for both sides, not to mention a Maryland license plate. The decals won’t be too much of a problem, but the Maryland license plates will be. We might need to contact Avery Snowden for those.”

  Annie’s eyes narrowed to slits. In a cold voice that could have thawed a rib roast, she said, “No, we will not be contacting Avery. He left us flat. You all need to remember that. We’re on our own. Getting the Maryland license plates won’t pose a problem. I’ll just call Jackson Sparrow and have him deliver a set to the Post. He has contacts. I feel confident that he can have them to us by late this afternoon. If you can get the magnetic decals by then, we can go this evening.”

  “Which then raises the question, do we get a hotel room for the night? What will we do all day tomorrow while we wait?” Nikki asked.

  “I need some time to gather stuff for my red bag. I have a client coming in at three, but I know him well enough to cancel without his being offended. That’s if we’re still going with the plan we talked about out at the farm,” Alexis said. “Are we going with that plan?”

  The girls all nodded. “Okay, then, make the decision, tonight or tomorrow?”

  The sisters kicked it around for a few more minutes, and the final decision was to leave around midnight. Nikki made reservations at the Riverville Inn for a one-night stay and booked four rooms. She went on to explain that a block away from the inn was a twenty-four-hour supermarket, where they could park the van and walk to the inn. “No sense giving anyone room to speculate why a bunch of women would arrive in the wee hours of the morning in a van. People notice things like that and remember them later.”

  “Good point,” Maggie said.

  “Who is going to get in touch with Avery’s operative to secure the key to Forrester’s condo? Maybe the question should be, will she give it up to us on our say-so? Or does she have to check with Avery Snowden?” Kathryn asked.

  “I can send her a text, if you think it’s okay,” Isabelle said.

  Annie bristled again at the mention of Snowden and his operative in the same sentence. “No, dear, I think I should be the one to contact Mr. Snowden’s operative. I think her name is Sasha. Not to worry, she’ll give it up.”

  “Avery is going to pitch a fit,” Myra said. “He’ll view this as going over his head.”

  “Really!” Annie drawled. “And who pays Mr. Snowden? I rest my case. And remember this, girls, he left us to run down to the boys in Delaware. That is so not cool in my book. You start a mission, you stick with it to the end. I think Mr. Avery Snowden, no matter how good he thinks he is, we’re better. Agreed?”

  No one disagreed. “Good. Myra, you call Jackson Sparrow while I send off a text to Sasha Quantrell. The rest of you finalize our plans, then there is one more item on our agenda before we part company.”

  Nikki looked across at Kathryn and winked. Annie was on a roll. This meant that life was about to get really, really interesting.

  Business taken care of, the girls waited patiently for Myra and Annie to tell them the last bit of news. Myra took the lead and explained the situation with the partners at Arthur Forrester’s old firm.

  “It’s my opinion that we can’t let the partners go down that road when we plan to take out Mr. Forrester. We can’t let them go ahead and ruin their lives and the lives of everyone who works at their firm. It’s not right. They are not evil people. Forrester has them backed into a corner, and they don’t see any way out. Myra and I talked about this on the way in this morning, and neither one of us could say for certain that we would not do the same thing if our feet were put to the fire. What we can do is call them and explain, or maybe even go to the firm and talk it out. I’m thinking they’ll be so grateful they won’t give us a bit of trouble.

  “Don’t let what you know about their case, Tram v Oden, color your thoughts. Yes, at first blush, we all went a little schizzy, but they did not recruit Mr. Spicer to commit perjury. He came to them. And if I am right, he probably believed what he said on the witness stand, so he did not even perjure himself, and they did not suborn perjury.

  “They did what they did, but later made it right, or as right as they could. I say that’s in the past, and this is now. We need to take a vote on what to do. But first, before you make your decision, ask yourselves, and be honest, how far would you be willing to go to protect all that you hold near and dear?”

  “I think we should tell the firm,” Maggie said. “I don’t want it on my conscience that we could have stopped something this serious and didn’t. I’m sure there is a serious cliché that I could trot out to support what I just said, but I can’t think of one right now. There are just too many lives at stake here.”

  The others agreed. Annie and Myra both sighed in relief.
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br />   Another discussion followed to decide who the lucky person to make the call would be. In the end, the vote went to Kathryn. It was also agreed that the others would leave to do what they had to do, to make sure they got off by midnight. Yoko volunteered her office for the call to be made to Ballard, Ballard and Quinlan.

  “You aren’t nervous, are you, dear?” Myra asked.

  “No. Don’t jinx me, Myra. Make some quick notes so I get my facts straight. I think I have it, you all explained the situation very well, but you never know. I don’t want to screw this up for us.”

  While Annie and Myra conferred and scribbled notes, Yoko made tea and offered her famous sticky rice cakes on a huge platter, which Kathryn immediately started to scarf down. Then she left the threesome to oversee what was going on with the greenhouse gardenias.

  Kathryn scanned the scribbled notes carefully. She mumbled and muttered under her breath as she rehearsed what she planned on saying. Finally she looked over at Myra and Annie, and said, “I think I have it. Keep your pens and papers handy in case I make a goof and tell me what to say to correct it. Call the number!”

  Annie punched in the numbers, but not before she blocked the call so the number would not show up on the firm’s end.

  Kathryn closed her eyes as she waited to be connected. She nodded to Myra and Annie to show the connection had gone through.

  Kathryn’s skin prickled at the cheerful-sounding voice. “Ballard, Ballard and Quinlan. How may I direct your call?”

  Kathryn said, “I’d like to speak to Henry Ballard, please. Tell him it’s urgent and it concerns Arthur Forrester.”

  “Who shall I say is calling?”

  “My name isn’t important. Mr. Ballard will understand that when you tell him this call concerns Arthur Forrester. I’ll hold.” Kathryn rolled her eyes at Myra and Annie, who just shrugged.

  Kathryn sat up a little straighter when she heard the rich baritone that was Henry Ballard’s voice. “How can I help you, Miss . . .”

  “Mr. Ballard, my name is of no importance, but what I have to tell you, and share with you, is. I know what Arthur Forrester has asked you to do. I know you agreed because you and your partners thought you had no other choice. I am calling you to tell you that you do have a choice, and that choice is for you to do nothing. My . . . um . . . colleagues and I will take care of Mr. Arthur Forrester.

  “I know you found the listening device we planted in your conference room. What you do not know is that we also planted listening devices in Mr. Forrester’s condo, so we could monitor the situation, which has now gotten out of control. We, my colleagues and I, have no desire to see you do something you will regret for the rest of your life. Now, having said that, I want you to call Mr. Forrester back and tell him that everything is under control. Tell him you have the two people who are willing to perjure themselves, but that it will take at least two days to get them comfortable with what you are asking them to do. If he says that’s not good enough, hold your ground and say it is the best you can do and to take it or leave it. Trust me, he won’t put up too much of an argument.”

  “Who . . . who are you? Why are you, whoever you are, involved in this? When the dust settles, are you going to blackmail me, too? This whole debacle is wildly insane,” Henry Ballard blustered.

  “I think you should consider me a very good friend right now, along with my colleagues. We mean you no harm. We simply want to help you so you do not make a mistake that will haunt you and many others for the rest of your lives. Let’s leave it that my colleagues and I don’t believe that the courts always get it right. When they screw up, we try to make things right.”

  “Oh, my God, are you . . . you are.... ?”

  “The answer to your question is yes. Do you trust us?”

  “If you are who I think you are, then yes, with my life, is my answer.”

  “All right, from here on in, the only thing you have to do is make the phone call and be sure to be convincing. You are ‘off the hook,’ as the saying goes. You’ll know what to do legally to end this mess once . . . Mr. Forrester sees the light. Oh, one last thing, Mr. Ballard. This call never happened.”

  “What call?” Ballard said, but he was talking to dead air.

  Ballard put his head down on his desk and prayed to everyone and anything he could think of. He prayed for thirty full minutes before he raised his head, with tears streaming down his cheeks.

  “There is a God,” he whispered to the empty room. “I always knew there was, but this proves it beyond a shadow of a doubt.”

  In the whole of his life, Henry Ballard never felt such peace as he felt at that precise moment in time.

  * * *

  Kathryn reached for the last sticky rice cake and popped it in her mouth. “We’re good, ladies. He bought it. Poor thing, I felt sorry for him. Should we call Garland Lee?”

  “I don’t think so, not just yet,” Myra said.

  “Then if you don’t mind my skipping out, I want to check on Murphy. Jackson Sparrow said he’d take care of him while I took care of business. He loves animals and watches out for Maggie’s cat, Hero. Don’t look at me like that!”

  “Are you happy, Kathryn?” Myra and Annie asked at the same time.

  Kathryn turned serious. “I never . . . I never thought I could ever be truly happy again after Alan died. I believed it for so long that I . . . Yes, yes, yes, I’m happier than I’ve ever been in my entire life.”

  The women hugged. All three had tears in their eyes. They continued to hug each other, crooning words only women knew to soothe the soul, the mind, the heart, and the body.

  Chapter 14

  One by one, the women arrived at the Post’s underground parking garage. The time was twenty minutes to midnight. With the exception of Alexis, who was pulling her red bag of tricks on a portable dolly, they all wore lightweight backpacks.

  Even though the garage was empty of humans, the sisters still spoke softly.

  “What do you think?” Maggie said, pointing to the Maryland license plates she’d just put on the white van. “Jackson Sparrow had them delivered to my office at seven o’clock this evening in a plain brown wrapper.” She giggled at what she was saying. “There was a note inside saying that they were special plates with a magnetic backing, so they can be changed in and out in a hurry. He said they have a special set of plates for every state in the union at their agents’ disposal. He also included a set of plates for a couple neighboring states, in case we have to do a switcheroo on short notice. We have to return them, of course.”

  “Did you have any trouble with the decals?” Isabelle asked.

  “Yes and no. I had to wait awhile for the paint to dry on the phone number. This van now ‘officially’ belongs to the Rainbow Center for Senior Citizens. I picked this particular decal because the rainbow is so colorful. If you notice, the telephone number is painted yellow and very hard to see. I did that on purpose. The phone number is for the public library. I think it’s all the cover we need, and if not, oh, well!”

  “Then I vote to board this finely decorated vehicle and head on out of here,” Annie said jubilantly.

  The sisters piled into the van, with Maggie taking the wheel. She turned on the engine. It purred like a sleepy cat. She programmed their destination into the GPS and put the big van into gear. “Arthur Forrester, here we come!” The sisters hooted their pleasure as they started to discuss the operation that would take place the following night.

  Gradually, all conversation petered out, with only Nikki keeping a running dialogue going so Maggie wouldn’t get tired and fall asleep at the wheel.

  “How far is it again to Riverville?” Nikki asked.

  “About two hundred fifty miles, give or take a few. It’s going to take us several hours. The weather isn’t in our favor, either. This van is not built for speed, and I want to stay below the speed limit. Why, are you in a hurry?” Maggie joked.

  “You know me. I like to be precise in my thinking. We’re going to sto
p at least once, right? And this van has to be a gas guzzler, so maybe twice for gas, right?”

  “Yes, ma’am. I was thinking I’d turn off at the next rest stop. I can use some fresh coffee and some donuts. You said you wanted to take a turn at the wheel, so you can take over when we start out. We’re almost to the halfway mark. You okay with that?”

  “Absolutely,” Nikki said as she rolled her shoulders to loosen her tense muscles.

  A couple of hours later, Nikki steered the van into the parking lot of the Big Super Saver supermarket and parked as far from the entrance as she could.

  “Rise and shine, girls!” Maggie bellowed as loud as she could. “We’re here, and the time is five-twenty in the A.M.!”

  * * *

  As Nikki Quinn parked the van, just blocks away from the Forresters’ condo, Arthur Forrester paced his kitchen like a caged lion. He felt like his pants were on fire. So far, he’d consumed two entire pots of coffee, eaten two bologna sandwiches, and swallowed twenty-two vitamin pills. In between, he lathered a cooling gel on his face four different times, cursing ripely at the burning sensation, and that was all before five o’clock. He cursed even more when he looked at his face in the mirror. He looked like a scary clown. He fumed and seethed. The rosacea was the one thing in his life over which he had no control. No matter what he did, no matter how many prescription medicines he took, no matter how much gel and ointment he applied, nothing helped. He refused to believe any of the doctors when they told him that stress aggravated the condition. He refused to believe his wife, Nala, who was a nurse practitioner and who knew a thing or two about medicine.

  What do they know? I am not stressed. I never let stress get to me. Never! . . . “Liar, liar, pants on fire.” How apt that little ditty is.

  Forrester was stressed to his limits. No, the stress had gone beyond his limits. Why lie to myself? He didn’t have the answer. Well, now that things are coming to a head, my condition should improve, once and for all.