Secret Lover

by Shawna Delacorte

  “Do you think that’s wise, Mr. Buchanan? I mean, you going to Los Angeles? No need to put yourself in a bad spot. I can take care of this. I know I missed him last time, but I can promise he won’t get away from me again.”

  “Yes, Gordon. You are responsible for his still being alive. But after all this time I want to be able to confirm for myself that it really is James Hollander. I don’t want someone running in a look-alike on us in order to force us into acting foolishly. I want to see him, hear his voice and see the fear in his eyes when he realizes that it is finally the end for him. Hollander has cost me a lot of money and untold amounts of irritation. I want to personally make sure that there aren’t any slip-ups this time.”

  “Yes, sir, Mr. Buchanan. How many tickets for Los Angeles?”

  “I think there will be three of us, Gordon.”

  JIM STARED OUT THE kitchen window, peering into the nearly black night. He started to look away when a movement by the back fence caught his attention. He tried to pick out exactly what it was without alerting Andi, but whatever it was had disappeared. If he had really seen something. Perhaps his imagination had started generating assassins at every turn and corner. Then he saw it again. He was sure someone was out there. Someone was watching the back of the house.

  He tried to change the atmosphere that surrounded them without attracting undue attention to his actions. “Why don’t you fix us something to eat? I want to take a shower.” Jim offered her a comforting smile, one intended to smooth over any worries and instill a feeling of confidence. He did not want her suspicious of his activities. His doubts presented themselves again, that nagging question of whether or not he could really trust her.

  She returned the smile. “Sure thing. I’ll see what I can whip up. Any requests?”

  “No. Whatever you fix will be fine.”

  Jim quickly retreated to the bathroom. He turned on the shower but did not get undressed. He put his ear to the door. When he did not hear anything, he opened it a crack to peek out. Andi was in the kitchen. Jim quietly slipped out of the bathroom and into the darkened guest bedroom. He made his way to the window and peered around the edge of the drawn curtain.

  There it was again, a darkened figure moving across the yard. It had not been his imagination after all. He had seen someone and that someone was very real. But who? One of Buchanan’s people? One of the government agents? Then an even more jarring thought occurred to him. Could it be someone following instructions issued by Steve Westerfall, someone with an agenda that would account for Steve’s purposeful departure and continued absence?

  He opened the window, inching it up bit by bit as silently as possible. As soon as it was open wide enough, he eased himself outside and dropped to the ground. He remained silent and still as he listened for anything that sounded out of place. Then he heard it. Someone had bumped into one of the patio chairs. The tension churned in his stomach as his insides drew up into taut knots.

  Jim edged his way along the side of the house until he reached the corner. He took a calming breath and held it for a moment before silently expelling it. He did not know what he would encounter around the corner. He had not thought to find something to use as a weapon. He looked around to see if there was anything handy. The only thing available was the coiled garden hose leaning against the wall. He unscrewed the heavy metal sprinkler head and held it in his right hand while putting his left arm through the center of the coil and lifting the hose.

  He cautiously stuck his head around the corner of the house just enough to get a view of the patio. He spotted a tall man, but could not see his face. The intruder had positioned himself between the French doors and the kitchen window with his back to Jim. It was now or never. He stole silently across the patio, a bitter taste filling his mouth.

  “What the—” The intruder turned around just as Jim swung at him with the sprinkler head, causing the blow to glance off his shoulder rather than making a solid connection.

  Jim dropped the coiled garden hose over the stranger’s head and jammed it down past his shoulders, pinning his arms against his body. He shoved the intruder to the ground and placed a knee at his throat.

  Jim’s words came out in a breathless rush as the adrenaline pumped through his body. “Not a word from you until I say so.”

  “Jim? What’s going on out here?” Andi stood just inside the French doors. Confusion touched with just a hint of anxiety colored her words and tone of voice.

  “I’m not sure. Whoever this is, he’s been watching us. I saw him at the back fence, then again as he crossed the yard toward the house.”

  “I’ll turn on the light.” Andi started to reach for the switch.

  “No!” Jim’s response was immediate and emphatic. “We don’t know who else is out here. Open the door and I’ll drag this guy inside so we can see who and what we have.”

  Andi did as she was told. Jim wrestled the struggling intruder into the house, and she shut the door behind them and pulled the drapes closed before turning to see what was going on.

  “Nick!” The shock that covered her face also surrounded her words. “What’s going on here?” Her gaze darted between Nick on the floor and Jim standing over him.

  Her response startled Jim. He furrowed his brow into a frown as he took a couple of steps back. “You know this guy?”

  “Yes. This is Nick, the ex-fiancé I told you about.”

  Nick’s angry scowl lit first on Jim, then turned to Andi. “What the hell’s going on here, Andi? Are you all right? Who is this guy?” With Jim having backed off, Nick managed to struggle out of the entanglement of the garden hose and scrambled to his feet.

  Andi offered no apologies for the treatment Nick had received, preferring instead to unleash her own anger at him. “I’ve got a better question that begs to be answered. What are you doing lurking outside my house? Why are you spying on me?”

  Nick’s angry scowl quickly turned to a sheepish expression of uncertainty. “I...well, I wasn’t spying on you. I just...”

  “You just what? It’s over between us, Nick. I told you that six months ago, yet you continued to smother me with your presence. It got so bad I couldn’t concentrate on my work and finally had to leave town to get a break from your incessant telephoning. Now here you are again. What were you trying to do?”

  As soon as Jim was satisfied about the intruder’s identity, he interrupted Andi by jumping in with a couple of questions of his own, something far more vital than rehashing old problems. “How long have you been hanging around?” He shot a quick glance at Andi, then returned his attention to Nick, his concerns and questions of a far different nature than hers. “Have you noticed anyone else who might have been watching this house?”

  Nick scowled at Jim before talking directly to Andi. “Who is this guy? Who put him in charge of the world?”

  “It’s a good question, Nick.” Andi’s manner changed from angry to cautious as she realized where Jim was headed with his questions. “Have you seen anyone else hanging around? Some stranger who might have been watching us? It’s important.”

  Nick’s attitude softened as his gaze darted back and forth between Andi and Jim and finally settled on Andi. The hostility in his eyes turned to wariness. “I can’t answer your question until you answer mine. Who is this guy and what’s he doing here?”

  Andi and Jim exchanged a quick look before she responded to Nick’s concerns. “I’m working on a project with Steve. This man—” she indicated Jim “—is one of our contacts. We need to keep him out of sight until Steve’s ready for him, and he thought a private house would be safer than a public hotel. That’s all I can tell you.”

  She noted the hesitation, then finally the acceptance in Nick’s expression. She allowed an inward sigh of relief that they would not be pursuing the topic of Jim’s identity.

  Jim, however, was feeling no such sense of relief. He pressed for answers to his immediate concerns. “That brings me back to my questions. How long have you been hangi
ng around out there, and have you seen anyone else watching the house?”

  Nick stared at him for a moment as he rubbed his shoulder in the spot where Jim’s glancing blow had caught him. “So, Andi’s hiding you here. That’s all that’s going on?”

  Jim leveled a steady gaze at him, attempting to make it as menacing as possible, without responding to Nick’s question. He saw the discomfort come into Nick’s eyes, then Nick awkwardly shifted his weight from one foot to the other. Nick finally broke eye contact with Jim and glanced toward Andi, then looked down at the floor.

  His voice was quiet and the antagonism had disappeared. “I’ve been here on and off ever since you got home. I saw the other man...” he paused for a moment as he furrowed his brow in concentration, then looked up at Andi. “Was that Steve Westerfall? Average-looking guy, dark hair, in his late forties?”

  “Yes, that was Steve.” A hint of anticipation tingled inside her. Could it be that Nick had seen something that could help them? “Now, go on with what you were saying.”

  “Well, right after I got here I saw you pull up in the driveway and go inside. Then a few minutes later I saw this guy—” he indicated Jim “—run across the lawn and into the house. Then a couple of minutes later Steve follows him.”

  “Did you see anyone before that? Anyone who might have broken into Andi’s house and ransacked it?”

  Nick’s expression appeared more and more perplexed with each passing minute and subsequent question. He turned toward Andi. “Someone broke into your house?”

  “Yes. Did you see anyone who looked suspicious?”

  “This guy—” he indicated Jim again while allowing a hint of a scowl to cross his face “—is the only suspicious person I’ve seen. But, in answer to your question, since you’ve been back I haven’t seen anyone else who looked out of place while I was here.”

  Andi and Jim exchanged quick looks. He put forth a silent question by cocking his head and raising an eyebrow, and she nodded her agreement.

  Jim exercised authority over the situation by opening the French door and indicating that Nick should leave. “Next time you’ve got something to say, knock on the front door rather than sneaking up on the back door.”

  Nick started to leave, then turned back toward Andi. “Do the police have any leads on whoever broke into your house?”

  “We didn’t call the—” She quickly caught herself before admitting that they had not involved the police. There was no need to give Nick any more information than he already had. “No, there aren’t any leads.”

  The frown wrinkled across Nick’s brow as he narrowed his eyes while staring at her. “Are you sure everything’s okay here, Andi? I think you’re holding something back.”

  “I’m sure. Everything’s just fine. All I ask is that you honor our need for secrecy about my houseguest. And Nick—” her manner softened and she offered him a sincere smile “—thanks for your concern. I appreciate it.”

  His features softened from the hard look that had been there just a moment earlier. He returned her smile. “Any time. You know if you ever need anything you can call me.” Nick hurried out the back door and Andi closed it behind him.

  She turned toward Jim, a bit of a weary smile turning the corners of her mouth. “Well, that was enough excitement for one evening. According to Nick, there hasn’t been anyone hanging around. It looks like we’re okay for the time being. No one knows we’re hero—or at least they don’t know that you’re here.”

  Andi may have been relieved by the information Nick had provided them, but Jim’s confidence did not quite match hers. “Yeah, so it would seem.” A wrinkle of deep concern furrowed across his forehead. His words were at first tentative. He was not sure where they would take him.

  “Don’t you think it’s strange that no one seems to be watching this house? Why would that be? They broke in and knew you went to Canada. It’s been almost a week since we left Vancouver Island. By now they certainly know you’re no longer there. It’s obvious that someone is living here, in fact more than one person. Nick saw all three of us arrive and so could anyone else.” He stared intently at her. “So, why are we so safe here? And why hasn’t anyone tried to get to us since we arrived?”

  “I...I don’t know. Maybe Steve made arrangements....” The question was in her voice, but the words were left hanging. Her expression said she did not have an answer to his concerns.

  Did he dare risk staying awhile longer? Could everything be over by tomorrow night following the meeting with Benny? He could not stop the scowl that crossed his face. Or would everything be truly over, including his life? He shook off the doubts. No matter how much he wanted out of there, there were still two things holding him to the time and place. He had to follow through with this door that had been opened, regardless of where it led. If he did not exhaust all possibilities, then he would never know if he could have put an end to his exile. And then there was Andi...he simply could not bring himself to leave her to face whatever was going to happen by herself. In fact, he could not bring himself to leave her at all.

  In spite of Nick’s observation that the neighborhood seemed to be safe, Jim still felt very uneasy. But just as it had all begun, Andi having an integral bit of information on an interview tape, it now continued with Andi having set up a meeting with an informant who had an even more vital piece of information—something that apparently would not be produced without his personal appearance. But in the meantime, he did not intend to sit idly by and twiddle his thumbs. He had already done too much of that. After he ran back to the bathroom to turn off the water, he took a pad of paper and pencil into the kitchen and sat at the table. He motioned for Andi to sit down next to him.

  “Let’s put together a list. I’ll write down everyone I can think of connected with the case and we’ll cross-reference those names with the people you came across in your research, which will tell us what they’re doing now. Between the two of us, maybe we can come up with the identity of this mystery man, or at least narrow down the list of possibilities to something manageable.”

  She felt the same enthusiasm that she saw on his face and heard in his voice. A new bit of information that had at first startled her and filled him with trepidation had now turned into a glimmer of hope. There was finally something for them to sink their teeth into, something tangible to work with until it was time for the next step.

  “They may have stolen the tapes, my diskettes and all the information I had in my house, but I still have the notes I took with me plus my memory. I’ll get the notes while you make your list.”

  They each worked diligently, putting everything down on paper. Jim racked his brain for every name he could come up with, anyone he had dealt with during that time.

  “That’s it—a list of everyone I can think of who I came in contact with from the time I walked into the U.S. Attorneys office until the second attempt on my life.” Jim shoved the sheet of paper across the table toward Andi. “How many of these names do you recognize?”

  Andi spread out the notes she had brought back with her from Vancouver Island. They worked late into the evening, matching every name she had with the names on his list. They eliminated the names they felt confident were involved in the initial investigation only and were not involved in the later focus on the prosecution when his location had been compromised. They eliminated the names of anyone who would not have held a position higher than Ross Durant. They also eliminated everyone who was not in a position to have access to vast amounts of information.

  It was after ten o’clock by the time they had finished. Their efforts had produced a final list of half a dozen people working in four different areas involved with the case: five men and one woman.

  Jim looked over the list. “Sally Hanover was the administrative assistant in the U.S. Marshals office with access to the witness files, a real wiz with the computer who had both beauty and brains. Lou Quincy was in charge of the U.S. Marshals office in Chicago and approaching retirement age.
He struck me as being bitter over his lack of career advancements. Cliff Turner headed the FBI’s investigation and seemed to have a lot of expensive toys that should have been beyond the means of an FBI salary. Phil Herman was the U.S. Attorney who very quickly dismissed all charges against Buchanan, then immediately took himself out of the spotlight by resigning and taking an early retirement. Frank Norton was the Assistant U.S. Attorney who couldn’t get his feet into Phil Herman’s shoes fast enough, a very aggressive and overly ambitious man as I recall. And Theo Gunzleman was the court clerk working with the presiding judge on the case, a mousy little guy who sort of blended into the woodwork but had access to a lot of important information.”

  He reached over and took Andi’s hand and gave it a little squeeze. “This is the first thing I feel like rve accomplished since we left Vancouver Island. We should have done this as soon as we discovered your research material had been stolen.” He leaned back in the chair and stretched his arms above his head.

  “You’re right. We should have done this a couple of days ago.” Andi stifled a yawn.

  “Tired?” He reached out and gently caressed her cheek.

  “Yes. It’s been a long day. I think I’m going to turn in.”

  “Me, too.” He rose from his chair and stretched the kinks out of his back.

  She checked the doors to make sure they were locked, then started to turn out the lights.

  “Leave them on.” A sudden urgency surrounded his words and carried over into his voice, as if a thought had just occurred to him. “In fact, turn on all the outside lights. As long as it’s obvious that you’re home, we might as well offer as much discouragement as possible to anyone who might be considering breaking in. With the outside lit up and the inside lights turned on, they couldn’t be sure if we were sleeping or awake, and couldn’t get close to the house without taking a chance on being seen.” His gaze nervously darted around from door to window. “It’s not much in the way of protection, but it’s better than nothing.”