by Linda Hill
“Annie!” I knew my voice was too loud, but I didn’t care. People were staring at me from all corners of the office. Annie didn’t bother waiting for an elevator. She threw open the door to the staircase and disappeared from my sight.
“Come into my office.” I could barely hear Melanie speaking the words close to my ear.
I turned on her, furious and bewildered. “No!” I pulled my arm from her grasp. “What in the hell is going on, Mel?”
Her expression was grim as she grabbed my arm and pulled me into her office. I followed her in a stupefied trance, dropping in the chair in front of her desk while she closed the door behind her.
“Jesus Christ,” she muttered. “What a mess.” She dropped into her chair and rubbed her eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me that you knew her?” She lifted accusing eyes to mine.
“Melanie.” My temper was almost out of control. “I don’t even know what the fuck is going on here. All I know is that my lover is suddenly furious with me and now you’re accusing me of something that I know nothing about.” I shifted forward in my chair. “What is she talking about, Mel? What’s going on?”
“You really didn’t know?”
“Know what?” I could have strangled her.
She stared at me, eyes flat. “Annie is Donald Gold’s wife.”
I stared at her. Not quite comprehending. Not quite understanding. Definitely not believing.
“That’s ridiculous,” I insisted. Annie was divorced, wasn’t she? Didn’t she say that she used to be married? Didn’t she refer to her husband as her ex?
“It’s true, Kate.”
I refused to believe her. “That’s impossible. Donald Junior is married to someone named Hildegard Gold. I reviewed the divorce papers, Mel.” My voice was heavy with sarcasm.
Melanie nodded, her voice quiet now. “Annie’s name is Hildegard Ann Gold.”
“No,” I insisted. “It’s Annie Walsh.”
Melanie took a deep breath. “Walsh is her maiden name. She kept using it because it made things easier for business purposes. Her parents owned Treasured Past and it just made sense to continue using the name that everyone was familiar with.”
I blinked hard and began to panic. This can’t be true. It can’t. But my stomach was sinking and my legs felt weak.
“Jesus Christ.” My stomach began to churn, and I leaned forward, stars snapping and popping behind my closed eyes.
“You had no idea?” Melanie prompted.
“No,” I insisted. “Why would I have any reason to think that Annie was Gold’s wife? She told me that she was divorced.” I thought about it for a moment. “At least I thought that’s what she said.” I shook my head, trying to clear the cobwebs.
“How long have you been seeing each other?” Her voice was quiet and steady.
“A few months.” I shook my head, trying to sift through it all. “We never discussed her husband. She always seemed to avoid the topic.” I stared at my hands, then at Melanie. “Why would she have kept that from me?” I asked, hurt beginning to replace the anger.
Melanie shrugged. “I’m not sure, Kate. Unless it was because she knew she was almost divorced and she didn’t want it to be part of your relationship.”
I kept shaking my head, not believing it. “This can’t be happening,” I said aloud. Then I turned back to Melanie. “This is a nightmare.”
Melanie was nodding. “In more ways than one, Kate,” she began. “I know you’re upset and that you’re questioning your relationship right now,” she paused. “But just think for a moment about the implications on the court case, Kate.”
She had my full attention now. I didn’t think I could take much more. I needed to go after Annie, to talk to her and try to figure out what had happened.
“Did Gold’s father have any idea that you knew Annie?” Melanie was shifting into attorney mode.
“Of course not. He doesn’t know anything about my personal life.” As soon as I said the words, I wasn’t so sure any more.
“Are you sure? Is it possible that he set you up somehow?” Melanie’s eyes were driving into mine.
I tried to think back and remember the timing of everything. “I can’t be certain,” I admitted. “I can’t imagine that he would have any knowledge of my relationship with Annie. But then again, I wouldn’t put it past him to manipulate something if he thought it would get him what he wanted.”
Melanie chewed on this thought for several moments. “So it’s possible,” she began, “that Gold gave you this case knowing that you were involved with his son’s wife.”
My blood was beginning to boil as I joined her train of thought. My fists were clenching as she continued.
“It’s possible that he knew that sooner or later you would figure out who Annie was and that the entire case would blow up in our faces.”
“And if Gold’s main argument is that he found his wife having sex with another woman ...”
“Imagine what kind of ammunition he would have if he somehow managed to twist all this in front of a judge and make it appear as though Annie seduced you in order to compromise your position with your client.”
My head hurt. “This is crazy.” I rubbed my eyes, my mind drifting to Annie. Where would she have gone?
“Maybe.” Melanie shrugged. “Maybe not.” She leaned forward. “We need to tread carefully, Kate. We need to step back and plan our next moves.”
I knew she was right, but I was beyond reasoning. “I know,” I sighed. “We both need some time to think. I need to talk to Annie ...”
Melanie was quiet for several moments. “Then go and talk to her, Kate. See what you can do and what you can find out.”
I was already on my feet.
“But keep me posted, okay? Promise me we’ll put our heads together and come up with something.”
“Okay.” I reached for my briefcase. “I’ll be in touch.”
“And Kate?”
I turned back to face her as I opened the door.
“Yeah?”
Her smile was weak. “Good luck, Kate. Annie’s a sweetheart, and she’s been through an awful lot. Just remember that, okay?”
I nodded, digesting her words.
“Thanks,” I stammered, feeling my throat beginning to constrict. “She means everything to me, Mel.” I tried to smile. “Everything.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
My instinct was to drive to Treasured Past. It was Tuesday, and so I knew that the store was supposed to open. My car came to a screeching halt directly in front of the building. The CLOSED sign hung in the window, and I checked my watch. Almost one o’clock. The store was supposed to open at noon.
Refusing to give up so easily, I threw open the car door and ran to the front door. The doorknob wouldn’t budge.
“Dammit.” I had the key to the store on my key chain, and I held it in my hand, staring at it and turning it over several times. Somehow using the key to get into Annie’s store felt wrong under the circumstances. The way she had left Melanie’s office, it was impossible for me to predict how she might react if she found me waiting for her inside her own store. She would feel threatened, no doubt. I managed the few steps back to my car and slid in behind the steering wheel.
There had to be a solution, a way to find her.
“Well, duh!” I said out loud. I could just go to her house. I placed the key in the ignition and then dropped my hand, a cold finger curling up my spine. I’ve never even been to her house. I don’t even know where she lives!
I fell back against the seat, mouth agape and dejection flooding over me. “Who’s been manipulating who, Annie?” Again I spoke out loud. Things suddenly began to fall into place.
Annie had always been resistant to talking about herself. She avoided talking about her ex-husband and virtually anything else about her past or personal life. She had never even once invited me to her house. At the time I hadn’t given it a second thought. I’d been too happy to have her in my home day in and out. It had certa
inly crossed my mind a few times that she seemed unusually reluctant to share some parts of her life with me, but I had overlooked all the warning signs.
“You lied to me.”
She had told me that she was no longer married. I was certain of it now.
I contemplated going back to my office but dismissed it immediately. Then I remembered the papers in my briefcase, divorce papers that included the address of the home that Donald Gold wanted to take from his wife. His wife!
I could go there now, I thought. I could confront her and demand to know why she lied to me. My mind began to run through various scenarios, none of them playing out well.
Shutting my eyes, I tried to sort through everything that had happened.
What if Melanie was right? What if Donald Gold had somehow set me up to represent his son because he knew that I was seeing Annie? I didn’t know how he could have found out, but I certainly knew it was possible.
The image of Annie happily married to Donald Junior swam into my mind. I still couldn’t believe it and shook my head, forcing the image away.
Why had Annie lied to me? Had she known more about my association with Donald’s father than I realized? Surely she must have known that I worked for Brown, Benning, and Gold. We rarely talked about my work, but there had certainly been dozens of my business cards strewn about the house. My imagination took some creative twists and turns.
Maybe I had been set up, but maybe it had been Annie that had been manipulating me. Had she found out that I worked for Donald’s father before we’d started seeing each other? Was it possible that she had seen an opportunity to short-circuit her husband’s demands by ingratiating herself with me?
I allowed my thoughts to drift along these lines. If Annie had believed that she could make me fall for her, then maybe she had planned it all along. As her lover, wouldn’t I do everything in my power to dissuade Donald from going after their home?
I raised one hand and rubbed my eyes. It was beginning to make too much sense. Was it possible that she could be that shrewd? That cold and calculating?
I let out a long whistle while the thought settled over me.
But wouldn’t she recognize the legal obstacles in her way? I should be withdrawing from the case right now, I reasoned. If our relationship came out, Donald would pull me from the case immediately.
Or would he? Maybe it was Donald who had plans for hanging me out to dry.
I was too confused, too uncertain to try to sort it all out. Trying to push my thoughts aside, I revved the engine and slid the car into gear. I couldn’t get home fast enough.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Three days without seeing Annie. Not a single phone call. Not one. I’d left messages at her home and at the shop every day, telling her that she was completely wrong about what she suspected and begging her to call me. But my phone never rang.
Each day I arrived home from work, hoping and praying that she would be in the great room, inspecting whatever work had been completed that day. Each day I was disappointed.
Disappointed was an understatement. Devastated was probably closer to the truth. I stood in the center of the room now. The first Friday evening in months that I wasn’t going to spend with her. The ache in my heart seemed to radiate throughout my body as sadness and frustration overwhelmed me.
The smell of sawdust hung in the air. They’d finished sanding all the woodwork. The white paint had been completely stripped from the stone chimney. It wouldn’t take long for the workers to finish staining and sealing and applying all the finishing touches.
And for what? Tears of frustration were threatening as I allowed myself to feel pity. It was true enough that I’d wanted to do something with this room. But it had been Annie’s enthusiasm that had propelled me to have the work done. The sheer thrill and excitement on Annie’s face had been the motivation for me. And now I knew that I could never walk into this room without thinking of her.
I had spent countless hours trying to decide whether or not to show up on her doorstep. I’d driven by Treasured Past at least once each day, only to find the CLOSED sign propped up in the window.
The phone began to ring and I rushed back to the ljving room, my heart hopeful as I reached for the phone.
“Hello?”
“Kate?”
My heart sank. “Melanie?” I collapsed on the couch and listened to several moments of silence.
“She fired me, Kate.”
“What?” Could things possibly get any worse?
“Just now.” Mel’s voice sounded hollow. “I received a call from her new attorney, informing me that my services would no longer be needed.”
“Shit, Mel. Did she give you a reason?”
“He,” she corrected me. “Bob Gleason has the case now.” Bob was another old associate that Melanie and I had both worked with or against on many occasions.
“What did he say?”
“That he’d been reluctant to take the case and that he made it plain to Annie that he was dead against what she was doing. But she made it clear to him that she didn’t want me representing her.” I could hear the sadness in her voice. “Apparently Annie told him that she had concerns that the two of us were conspiring against her.”
“That’s ridiculous!” I shouted. “When did she get so paranoid?”
She sighed. “I’m not surprised, really. You have no idea what that man and his family have put her through. She’s convinced that she’ll never get out from under them, and this just plays into her worst fears.”
“But, Melanie, I had no idea about any of this.”
“I know. But there’s nothing I can do about it anymore.” She hesitated for a moment before continuing. “You should probably know that they plan on petitioning the court, on the grounds that the Golds conspired against her, and that you and I went along with it.”
I felt like the wind had been knocked out of me. I began nibbling on my bottom lip, my mind going in circles.
“That’s the worst thing she could do.”
“I know, Kate. I’m not sure if it’s a stall tactic or if she really thinks they can present a case.”
“I need to get her to talk to me, Mel.” Plans began to formulate in my mind. “You have to get hold of Bob. Let him know that he has to convince Annie to hold off on the petition.”
“And how am I going to convince either of them to do that?”
“I don’t know, Mel. And technically we aren’t having this conversation.”
We were both silent for several moments.
“What do you have in mind, Kate?”
“I’m not even sure,” I admitted. “But you have to convince Bob to give me until Tuesday before he files that petition.”
“That’s the court date.”
“I know that. But if they’re going to file, it won’t hurt if it’s at the last minute.” I had to talk to Annie and convince her that she was completely off base about everything. “Do it, Mel. Call him. Buy me some time.”
“I’ll try.” Her voice sounded resigned.
“Try hard, Mel.”
“What are you plotting over there, Kate? I can practically hear the wheels in your head spinning.”
For the first time in days, I actually laughed. “I’m not even sure myself yet,” I told her. “But whatever I come up with, it’s probably grossly unethical and you’d be better off not knowing anything about it.”
“Be careful, Kate.” She sounded grim.
“I will,” I assured her. “Just convince Bob to put things on hold.”
We said good-bye and hung up. Annie and I were going to have a long talk, and yesterday wasn’t soon enough for me.
I picked up the phone again, hesitating only briefly before punching in Annie’s phone number. I slammed down the receiver when I heard the answering machine pick up.
“Fine,” I muttered. “If you won’t pick up the phone then you’re going to have to slam the door in my face.”
I ran upstairs to change into s
horts and a T-shirt. Then I grabbed my keys and headed out the door.
Heading down Storrow Drive, I pulled off at the exit nearest to Treasured Past, thinking it might be at least worth another drive by. I cruised by slowly and noted that the CLOSED sign was propped in its place.
Great. I punched the accelerator and then just as quickly hit the brakes. Something wasn’t quite right. I looked back at the store, trying to see past the sign in the window. The lights were on.
I checked my watch, noting that it was nearly seven-thirty. The store closed at five o’clock every day, and the lights were on a timer that went off at six o’clock. That meant that Annie must be inside.
Steering the car to the curb, I felt my heart begin to race. I didn’t know what I would say to her if she was in there. What if she refused to listen to me? The thought of Annie rejecting me gave me a sickening feeling. But I couldn’t worry about that now. Cutting the engine, I took several deep breaths to steady my nerves.
I stole a look inside as I got closer to the door. I could see no movement, but I was still certain that Annie must be here. I gingerly reached for the handle and turned it, hoping that it would turn easily. It was locked.
Now I had a real dilemma. I could knock, in which case she could either choose to ignore me or simply refuse to open the door. Or I could use my key. For a moment I wondered if she’d changed the locks, but the key slid in and turned the lock easily. My heart pounding loudly, I let myself in.
The bell above the door jingled, and I thought my heart would explode. Trying to calm my nerves, I shut the door behind me, making sure that the lock was bolted before I stepped farther inside. Listening closely for signs of life, my ears were filled with empty silence.
Goose bumps began crawling along my skin, and I suddenly felt reluctant about letting myself into the store. I knew that it wasn’t technically breaking and entering. But Annie could certainly make this look bad if she wanted to.
“Annie?” I called her name softly and listened for a reply, hearing nothing. The hum of fluorescent lighting drew me farther into the room, where I heard a faint scraping sound coming from the back of the store.
