“Good idea.” Andi immediately flipped on the switches for all the outside lights.
They had been so involved in their efforts for the past few hours with his mind so totally occupied, that he had allowed his feelings of trepidation and anxiety to be shoved aside for the time being. But now they erupted again, bringing back everything that had been of serious concern to him earlier.
He looked at her curiously, as if trying to make up his mind about something. He finally shared his thoughts. “If we go out the back door and down the steps to the beach, would we be able to walk along the sand to a motel were we could spend the night? Could we get away from here without anyone knowing?”
She slowly turned toward him. His words had brought out into the open the same concerns that had been running through her mind. So many things he said had also gone through her mind, things she slowly digested and tried to make sense of. She had not been happy with her lack of positive conclusions. Where was Steve Westerfall? Why had he suddenly left them there without any protection? And why had no one made any attempt to get at them? They were sitting ducks, just as Jim had said.
Maybe following Steve’s instructions without question was not such a good idea. It created a moment of sadness inside her. She had always trusted him implicitly, and now she had doubts. Had he changed in the years since they had worked together, or had she never known the real Steve Westerfall? She looked at Jim, at the troubled expression on his face and the anxiety in his eyes. She had gotten him into this mess and it was up to her to try and get him out.
“Yes. There’s a little motel about half a mile down the beach. We can reach it without being seen from the road.”
He turned out the lights that illuminated the back of the house and the patio. “Do you have a timer for these lights?”
She looked at him questioningly. “Yes...why do you ask?”
“We need them off to get out without being seen, but I want them on all night as a deterrent to anyone who might want to get close to the house.” He headed for the bedroom. “You set the timer to turn on the lights in ten minutes while I throw a few of our overnight things in a pack to take with us.”
The decision had been made. They performed the necessary tasks, then they slipped out the back door and ran across the yard to the steps leading down to the beach. They quickly made their way down the beach, walking as fast as they could in the soft sand, ever mindful of the fact that the tide was coming in and shoving them closer and closer to the bluff wall. They finally arrived at the motel and checked in without incident.
Andi sank into the softness of the bed, took a calming breath and closed her eyes. “We made it. Now we can relax and get a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a very long day, especially with the late-night meeting in Los Angeles with Benny.”
Jim whirled around to face her. Had he heard her correctly? “You aren’t still planning to go through with that, are you? The whole thing reeks of a setup.”
“We have to, Jim. How else are we going to find out which one of those names on our list is the culprit, assuming it is one of those names? Whoever it is has hidden his—or her—activities very well and has done a superb job of covering any tracks.”
Jim sat down next to her. “I don’t know.” He held her gaze for a moment as if turning something over in his mind, then leaned his face into hers and placed a loving kiss on her lips. “Maybe...since Benny’s criteria seems to be my presence rather than yours...”
“We’ll both be there.” She wrapped her arms around his waist as he drew her into his embrace. Any further concerns about the meeting were lost as physical desire combined with the closeness of an as yet unspoken love.
Chapter Eleven
Steve Westerfall parked his car at the curb across the street from Andi’s house, then checked the time—almost midnight. He stared at her bungalow with all the lights on, both inside and out. Something was wrong... very wrong. He dialed her phone number again, the third time in the last half hour. And just as with the previous two times, it was her answering machine that picked up the call.
He sat for a moment, staring at the house. Andi had his pager number but had not used it. He did not know whether to be angry that they had left the house against his express orders, especially without bothering to notify him, or worried about what the reason might be for them being unable to answer the phone. Either way, he had somehow lost control of the single most important element of his plan...the fact that he had James Hollander on ice until he needed him—or at least he had thought so.
Steve’s thoughts were interrupted by his cellular phone. He grabbed it on the first ring, his voice angry. “Where are you?”
“Steve?” The feminine voice did not belong to Andi. “What do you mean by that? I’m at home shackled to my computer and I think I’ve found it.”
“Found it?” It took a moment before Steve got his head and thoughts turned around. He had been so sure the call would be from Andi. Suddenly everything clicked in his head. His excitement charged through the phone. “The money? You’ve cracked the numbered accounts?”
“Yep. I kept digging into Buchanan’s money trail. He’s done a good job of obscuring it and hiding things, but I finally locked in to the key. I have two accounts and six million dollars so far.”
“Only six million? I was sure there was a lot more than that.”
“I’m sure there’s one more account. I’ve almost got it, but I need to do a little more digging.”
Steve could not stop the broad smile that spread across his face. “Sweetheart, if you were here right now I’d kiss you like you’ve never been kissed before.”
A low, throaty laugh greeted his outburst, followed by clearly teasing words. “Promises, promises. Actions speak louder than words and you seem to be all talk.”
Steve’s words turned serious. “Have you tapped into the airline records and found Buchanan’s plane reservations yet?”
“Yes, all three of them.”
“So, they’re together. That’s pretty foolish. Buchanan must be more eager than I thought. Everything is coming together perfectly.” Steve glanced at Andi’s house with all the lights glowing brightly. Well, almost everything. “Can you do the funds transfer without any problem?”
“Yes. You want it done as soon as his flight takes off and they’re in the air?”
“Yes. As soon as Buchanan is in a position to no longer be able to easily deal with any business situation.”
“What about the third account? If I haven’t found it by the time we need to do the transfer of the funds, do you want me to continue looking for it?”
“I sure do. You keep looking and transfer that money the moment you find it.”
Steve disconnected from the call and returned his attention to his current problem. He continued to stare at Andi’s house. Why wasn’t she answering the phone? He wanted to go up to the house and check, but did not dare with all the outside lights on. A bit of an appreciative grin tugged at the corners of his mouth. He did not know whose idea it was to light up the outside of the house and the yard, but he suspected it had been Jim Hollander’s idea and it had been a good one.
He dialed another number. “She’s not answering the phone. What’s going on?”
“As far as I know, nothing’s going on. There’s been no activity since they turned on all those lights.”
“Nothing? Are you sure?” Steve’s irritation at the lack of information bristled over the phone.
“Well...a few minutes after they turned on all the lights the backyard lights went out for about ten minutes, then came back on and have been on ever since. The man from down the street walked his dog just like he does every night. The couple two doors up had a pizza delivered. Other than that the block has been quiet.”
“Okay. I’ll check with you later.” Steve disconnected from the call and thought about the information he had just received. The ten-minute span when the backyard lights had been off must have been when Andi and J
im slipped out. They could have gone either direction along the beach without being spotted. He finally came to the conclusion that the plan had been a result of Jim Hollander’s uncanny survival instincts. But the questions remained...where did they go and would they be back?
JIM SAT ON THE EDGE of the bed while he waited for Andi to finish dressing. He leaned back on his elbows as he looked around. Even though the motel room was small and sparse, it was clean and had provided them a safe haven for the night. But now it was morning again and it would soon be daylight. Decisions needed to be made. He had given it a lot of thought. There would be no more incidents of other people making plans about his life while leaving him in the dark. He desperately needed to regain control.
“Well, I’m ready.” Andi replaced the last of her toiletries in the pack along with Jim’s belongings. She sat down on the edge of the bed next to him. “So...what now?”
He took her hand in his. “I’ve been giving it some thought. My first instinct was to keep on going. But now that I’ve gone over everything in my mind, I think we should go back to your house. I want you to put in a call to Steve’s pager and—”
“Steve... I wonder if he tried to get in touch with us last night to find out the results of my conversation with Benny. If he did, then he’s probably furious about our taking off without letting him know.”
A scowl crossed Jim’s forehead as he clenched his jaw in a tight line. “You can tell Steve it’s a two-way street. If he expects people to keep him apprised of their whereabouts, then he needs to make sure those same people are made aware of his plans.”
He unclenched his jaw. “As I was saying, put in a call to Steve and tell him I demand a face-to-face meeting with him right away, that I’m not showing my face in some dark alley tonight until he and I iron out a few problems and he satisfies me about what’s going on. That should produce some results.”
Andi eyed him curiously. “Do you think that’s wise?”
“I think it’s a reasonable request, considering...”
He did not need to say any more. Andi understood exactly what he meant and where his anxiety came from. She, too, had been giving the situation a lot of thought. She felt as if she were being pulled in two directions. Her loyalty and trust where Steve Westerfall was concerned had always gone without saying. But now she had to agree with Jim that Steve’s actions were very curious—she could even call them suspicious without fear of contradiction.
“Do you want me to call him now and have him call back here?”
“No, let’s do it when we get back to your house. There’s no need to let anyone know we used this motel. We might need to do this again.” The words had slipped out without him realizing their impact until it was too late. He had just committed to staying at least one more night.
Jim picked up the pack, put his arms through the straps, then took her hand in his. “Let’s go.”
They walked back along the beach as the first gray streaks of dawn began to penetrate the night sky. Andi started up the steps to her backyard, but Jim stopped her before she reached the top.
“Wait a minute. Let’s check it out first.” He edged past her until he could see over the rim of the bluff. The outside lights continued to illuminate the house and surrounding area. He scanned the yard and the neighbors’ houses. One house was dark and the other had lights on in a couple of rooms that appeared to be a bathroom and a bedroom. Everything looked okay. If someone had been planning to make an attempt on the house, they would have done it before the neighbors woke up.
He turned to face Andi. “It looks all right. Let’s make it quick, though. I’ll go first.”
“I’m right behind you.”
They dashed across the lawn and into the house. Jim did a quick survey of the interior. “Nothing seems to have been disturbed.” He pulled aside the edge of the drape at the living room window just enough to see outside. “Nothing untoward out here, either. So, how about some...” A warm smile lit up his face.
“I’m ahead of you.” Andi measured the coffee into the filter, then poured the water into the coffeemaker.
As soon as the coffee was ready, she poured a cup for Jim and for herself. Next she placed a call to Steve’s pager. Jim gave her some quick instructions on what to say when Steve returned the call. “When the phone rings just act natural, as if we’ve been here all along. Give him the results of your conversation with Benny, then turn the conversation over to me and I’ll give him my demands.”
“What if he tried to get in touch with us last night and knows we weren’t here?”
“Let him be the one who tells you that, don’t volunteer the information. Then let me talk to him.”
Their conversation was interrupted by the ringing of the phone. She grabbed the receiver from the cradle.
Steve’s angry voice did not wait for her to say anything. “Where the hell have the two of you been? I tried to call several times and all I got for my trouble was your answering machine.”
Steve’s verbal attack surprised her. He was normally a very controlled person. However, nothing was any longer normal. Things were very tense, with everyone’s nerves exposed and on edge. Andi was no exception. “Where the hell have we been? I’ve got a better question. Where the hell have you been and what have you been doing? You walked out and left Jim and me sitting here without a clue as to what was happening or what was going on inside your head. We could have been dead for all you knew. I can’t begin to tell you how—”
Jim took the phone from her. Now was not the time for unleashing anger. He briskly clipped his words, showing neither warmth nor anger. “Steve, we need to talk and we need to do it now.”
“Fine, what’s on your mind?”
“Not on the phone. I want a face-to-face meeting with you right now. You get no further cooperation out of me until you tell me exactly what’s going on and what you have planned. There’s no way I’m showing up in some dark alley until we’ve gotten a few things straightened out.” There was a pause. Jim waited for Steve to respond to what he had said.
“I take that to mean Andi was successful in putting Benny off until tonight.” It was a piece of information Steve already knew, but he was not ready to share that knowledge.
“Maybe it does and maybe it doesn’t. When do we talk?”
“Okay. I can be there by lunch. Now, let me talk to Andi again.”
Jim handed the phone back to her, then leaned against the kitchen counter sipping his coffee.
Andi had calmed down a little from her outburst, but not much. She snapped out the words. “What do you want?”
“This is no time for petulant behavior, Andi. Now, let’s get on with the business at hand. Tell me what Benny said.”
She could not totally erase the sharp edge from her voice. “I thought you already knew since you never bothered to check back to find out if there was a meeting still set for last night.” It was a thought that had been swirling around inside her head, but one she had not given serious consideration to until the words were out of her mouth. Just exactly how much did Steve already know and how did he know it? And why was he keeping it from them?
“I told you it had to be changed and I trusted that you were able to accomplish it. Now, what specifically did Benny say?”
Andi was not satisfied with his answer. For the first time since she had known Steve, she felt as if she did not know him at all. She recalled his looking at the piece of paper Benny had given her with his pager number on it. Had Steve been in contact with Benny on his own? Again, she returned to the same thought—why the deception?
“He didn’t say anything about Ross Durant’s death. He did say there was someone else besides Durant who was also on Buchanan’s payroll and for an additional ten thousand he’d give me that name, too. In addition to the money he insisted that Jim be present. When I tried to tell him that I didn’t know where Jim Hollander was, he laughed it off and said he knew better—no Hollander, no name. The meeting is at the same place and s
ame time as the last one.”
“So, he wants another ten thousand. Did you agree to it?”
Andi furrowed her brow and pursed her lips for a moment. Steve had shown no reaction to Benny’s insistence that Jim be at the meeting or the surprise disclosure of another person above Ross Durant. Yet another puzzling bit of behavior coming to light. “I didn’t really need to agree to anything. Benny apparently assumed that he would get what he wanted.”
“Okay. I’ll see you in a little while. I seem to have a command appearance for Jim’s benefit.” Steve’s last words carried a touch of sarcasm. He disconnected from the call without saying goodbye.
Andi looked at Jim. “What do you think?”
“Judging by your end of the conversation, I’d say Steve already knew everything that was going on. He has some source of outside information that’s keeping him apprised of everything...except for what you and I know, such as when and how we left here and where we were last night.” A hint of a bittersweet chuckle escaped his throat. “It’s nice to know that there’s one little thing where we still have some control.”
Without saying anything else, Jim went to the bedroom and began packing the belongings he had brought with him. Andi followed him and watched for a couple of minutes.
“Jim?” Her voice was hesitant. “What are you doing?”
He did not turn around to look at her. “I thought it was obvious. I’m packing. After tonight...assuming that I’m still alive...I could well be on the run again. In fact, if my conversation with Steve isn’t satisfactory, I could be out of here even sooner.”
He took a calming breath, then turned around to face Andi. The expression on her face tugged at his heartstrings. More than anything he wanted to be able to lead a normal existence and have Andi be an important part of his life. He allowed a little sigh of resignation. But apparently it was not going to be. He reached out and pulled her into his arms.
“I know I keep contradicting myself every time I open my mouth—I’m leaving...I’m staying...I’ll wait and see what happens...I’m going to go along with what happens...I’m not going to cooperate—but things are rapidly moving from unsettled to rotten. Before this began I at least had control of my own decisions. Even that seems to have been taken away from me. Right or wrong, I need to regain control of my life...such as it is.”
Secret Lover Page 16
