Forbidden

by Pat Warren

  “If it’s a problem, make it go away,” Adam said by way of greeting.

  “It may be a problem. There’s a Lieutenant Lou Genovese on his way to see you. He’s investigating a red Porsche that crashed into the rocks off the coastal road in Ocean Beach last night. No sign of anyone in the water or at the scene, though they found a jacket and handbag. This morning he checked with Avis, and it was rented last week by Diane.”

  “Oh, Jesus.” Adam reached to rub the back of his neck as Fitz filled him in on all the details he’d learned from the police. “Maybe she wasn’t driving it. Maybe someone borrowed the car.”

  “I suppose that’s possible. There was no ID in the handbag, but it was filled with newspaper clippings going back to ‘75, all about you.”

  Adam frowned. “That’s odd. I’ve never known her to cut out clippings except the ones on her own public appearances.”

  “Thought I’d better warn you. You want me to come back?”

  “No, I can manage. Please make a couple of calls for me. Try the Georgetown apartment and the Del, where she usually stays when she’s in California. If that fails, call Harlan and see if he’s heard from her lately.”

  “Will do. I’ll call you later.”

  Adam hung up the phone, his mind racing.

  “What is it?” Liz asked.

  He scarcely had time to fill her in before the lieutenant was at the front door. Introductions were made all around, and Lou Genovese followed them into the family room. He took the wingback chair across from where Liz and Adam sat on the couch.

  “I assume your brother filled you in, Senator?”

  “Yes. Are you sure it was my wife who rented the car?”

  Genovese pulled out a folded yellow sheet from a leather case and held it out to Adam. “I picked this up from Avis this morning.”

  Adam perused it carefully. “That’s her signature all right. Rented a week ago.” He looked up. “We’re legally separated, Lieutenant. I last saw Diane six days ago in my San Diego office. I’ve been out of the country, and I don’t know where she went when she left there.”

  Lou knew all that, had already checked out the senator thoroughly. He held up a ring of keys. “Recognize these?”

  “No. Diane carries a designer key chain. Yves St. Laurent, I believe.”

  They were Avis keys, duplicates for the rental car, but he’d asked anyway. “How about this lipstick?”

  Adam took the tube, opening it. “Looks like her shade, but I couldn’t swear this is hers.”

  Genovese removed a small pile of newspaper clippings from the leather case and passed them to Adam. “How about these?”

  Adam flipped through the articles, holding them so Liz could see. After several moments he shook his head. “I have no idea why she’d have these with her, if, in fact, it was Diane.” He handed them back. “Has anyone searched the area? Swimmers, I mean?”

  “We had two frogmen in the water for over an hour last night. Nothing so far, but I’ve got two more out there now. We’re also checking the coastal areas south in case anything washes up on shore.” Lou put the items back in his case and pulled out the red bag. “Could this belong to your wife?”

  Adam drew in a sharp breath. “Diane has a bag like that.”

  “One last thing.” Lou withdrew the jacket and held it up.

  “Oh,” Liz said softly.

  Lou swung his gaze to her. Class would always tell, he thought, studying Liz Fairchild. Classic looks, good bones, expensive clothes, and her eyes when she looked at the senator were filled with concern. “You’ve seen this before, Mrs. Fairchild?”

  Liz glanced at Adam, whose mouth was a grim line. “Yes. I’ve seen Diane wearing that jacket over a red dress.”

  Nodding, Lou put everything away. “Senator, what size shoe does your wife wear, do you know?”

  Adam rubbed at a spot on his forehead. “A six, I think. Maybe six and a half. Why? Did you find shoes, too?”

  Lou zipped up his case. “No, we found a fresh footprint at the scene made by a high-heeled shoe, probably a six. We’ve taken a cast of it. Could you get a pair of her high heels for us, for comparison?”

  “I’ll see to it. Do you think the driver lost control of the car and… and…”

  “It’s possible.” Lou stood, very aware he was dealing with a powerful politician, but he had a job to do and no one was exempt from the law. “For the record, where were you last night around midnight, Senator?”

  A muscle twitched in Adam’s cheek. “Right here, Lieutenant. We flew in from Washington and arrived about seven in the evening. Mrs. Fairchild, our daughter, my brother, and I. None of us left the house until this morning.”

  He’d seen the television interview and knew how far back the senator’s relationship with Liz Fairchild went. “I see.”

  Adam also rose. “Are you suspecting foul play?”

  “It’s my job to consider all possibilities until we arrive at the truth. Thank you for your time.” He started for the door, then turned back. “By the way, what size shoe do you wear, Mrs. Fairchild?”

  Liz felt Adam tense and reached to place her hand on his arm. “A size eight, Lieutenant. Big feet are the bane of my existence.”

  He smiled, looking down at his own. “Try living with a size eleven. Thanks again. I’ll be in touch when we learn more.”

  After he left, Liz moved close to Adam. “What do you make of all that?”

  He stroked her back, staring off into middle distance. “I don’t want to be married to her any longer, but I don’t want her dead, either. I don’t know what to think.”

  The ringing phone interrupted his reverie. It was Fitz.

  “Diane left Washington a week ago, took a cab from the San Diego airport to the Del, and checked in. She took another cab to your office in town the day you last talked with her. After she left there, she walked two blocks and rented the Porsche. She’s been at the Del ever since, taking all her meals in her room. She had her hair done yesterday morning and checked out about one. Not a single phone call was made from her room. We can’t find anyone who saw her after one.”

  “And she didn’t fly back to Washington?”

  “No airline records of her leaving San Diego.”

  Adam ran a frustrated hand over his face. Lord, but he’d never thought things would end this way, Diane in a fatal accident. But if she went over with that car, where was her body?

  “Harlan hasn’t heard from her, but says he’s flying in from L.A. to talk to the cops. He’s going to do some checking on his own. He’s mad as hell.”

  Adam let out a whoosh of air. “Let’s cooperate with him. I don’t like the man, and he’s done a smear job on us, but I very much want to learn what happened. If you hear anything else, let me know. I’ll be here.”

  Something didn’t add up, Adam thought as he hung up.

  They learned nothing new until Monday morning when Fitz and Adam were preparing to leave for the airport to fly back to Washington. The call was for Fitz. He took it in the kitchen.

  In the den, Adam set down his bag and turned to Liz. “I hate to leave you alone here.” Sara was in school and would be back at two, but it was a big house and he knew Liz would be lonely during the day.

  “I hate to have you leave,” she told him, already missing the feel of his arms around her.

  “As soon as the divorce is final, we’re going to have to do something about this long-distance affair.” What exactly was the status of his divorce now that Diane was apparently missing? he wondered.

  She smiled up at him as her arms twined around his neck. “ ‘Affair’ has such a sexy sound to it.”

  “You are sexy.” He kissed her.

  “Hey, you two,” Fitz said, walking into the room. “You better sit down for this piece of news.”

  “What now?” Adam asked.

  “That was Ted Montgomery from Metropolitan Savings. Tracked me down from the office. He’s been away on vacation, and his assistant manager was in charg
e. Last Friday, Diane cleaned out your entire bank account.” In the high six figures, it was quite a bundle. At least she hadn’t touched his stocks, bonds, or other investments, Fitz told them.

  Adam raised a brow. “Are they certain it was Diane?”

  “The assistant says she had ID and of course, he got her signature. We need to stop in and check it, and to notify the lieutenant. The transaction took quite a while because she wanted it all in cash.”

  “Oh, my,” Liz commented.

  Adam began to pace, thinking out loud. “Did she withdraw the money and plan to take off for parts unknown, then fall asleep at the wheel and go off the cliff? Maybe they should send divers to search for a satchel of money. Or did she miscalculate the turn on that road and crash?”

  “There would have been marks on the road if she’d tried to turn out of a slide. Unless, of course, she didn’t awaken until she’d left the road.”

  “Maybe she was unfamiliar with that road and got lost,” Liz suggested.

  Fitz was skeptical. “Sunset Cliffs Boulevard going south dead-ends at the park that runs along Point Loma College, and then there’s the naval reservation. You wouldn’t be going that way unless you knew someone who lived down there. Do you know if she had a contact in that area?”

  “None that I know of.” Adam thought of another possibility. “I have another account at First Federal Savings in Washington. Maybe we ought to check to see if that’s gone, too.”

  Fitz left the room and returned ten minutes later. “No, that one hasn’t been touched.”

  “Well, that’s something, at least.” Restless, he continued his pacing. “Damn, I wish I knew what happened.”

  Liz walked to him and slipped her arms around his waist. “I can’t believe Diane would commit suicide after cleaning out the bank account. She certainly never appeared the type. If there were no skid marks, she must have fallen asleep, maybe after drinking too much. It’s really dark along there, and the road winds and twists. Perhaps she was on her way to meet someone and became disoriented. She might have gone into a turn, and before she could swing back, she was over the edge.”

  “Odd that there were no witnesses,” Fitz stated calmly. “And where’s her body?”

  “They’ll find her,” Liz insisted.

  Adam sighed heavily. “If she’s managed to disappear, you realize we won’t be able to marry until she’s declared legally dead. That could take seven years.” It would be just like Diane, he thought, to come up with a way to have her cake and eat it, too, to get away with the money and punish him at the same time.

  “No.” Liz’s voice was uncharacteristically adamant. “I refuse to believe that. If she wanted to disappear, she wouldn’t have had to concoct such an elaborate hoax. She could have withdrawn the money while you were in Ireland, put on a disguise, and left the country. Why go to so much trouble?”

  Adam saw that she was getting agitated. He took her in his arms. “You’re right. The police have divers and a search party out. They’ll find her. I’ll check with Genovese later.”

  Liz rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. Please, God, let them find her.

  CHAPTER 26

  Six Months Later

  Barbados in the Caribbean

  At the legendary Sandy Lane Hotel, an attractive blond woman sat down at the pool bar. She was wearing a red cotton dress by Armani and a diamond tennis bracelet on the wrist of her ringless left hand. She gazed toward the distant sea, looking contemplative. Then she picked up her clutch bag and removed a gold cigarette holder. As she chose an Eve cigarette from a slim case, the setting sun glistened off her red nails.

  Almost lazily she reached for her lighter, but before she could snap it open, a tall man with neatly trimmed black hair appeared next to her. “May I offer you a light?” he asked in a deep, smooth voice.

  Silently she bent her head to his ebony lighter, inhaled, and straightened to blow smoke upward. The bartender nearby tossed ice into a silver mixer and watched disinterestedly.

  The man sidled onto the stool next to the blonde. “What are you drinking, honey?”

  She took her time looking him over. He wore a colorful Burberry shirt, white linen slacks, Italian leather loafers. A thick gold cross hung on a heavy chain around his neck, nestling in his dark chest hair. There were no rings on his long, tapered fingers.

  Slowly she raised her eyes to his and smiled sweetly. “Bourbon and branch, sugar.”

  The man signaled the waiter. For six long months he’d tracked her sparse clues, followed endless bad leads, and been maddeningly frustrated; but patience had always been Lieutenant Lou Genovese’s long suit, and it had finally paid off.

  He returned the blonde’s smile. “My name’s Lou. What’s yours?”

  HE CHOSE POWER SHE CHOSE ANOTHER MAN

  Liz Townsend’s love for senator Adam MacKenzie life of a prominet attorney’s wife, yet she never forgot the charismatic politician who, years ago, had chosen his career over their future. Now, as a vice presidential candidacy promises to send Adam MacKenzie to the White House, fate put their lives on a collision course. Widowed for some time, Liz senses Adam still wants her—and the ambitious, brittle beauty he married feels it too. But if Liz can get him back, the price may be too terrible to pay. For beyond her control is the scandalous secret she has hidden for years, and the undeniable passion driving them both toward a happiness too long denied, too long…

  FORBIDDEN

  “[WARREN’S WORK IS]

  CONSISTENTLY

  EXCELLENT.”

  —ROMANTIC TIMES