“How big are the awnings? Will they impede the view?”
“From this angle, not substantially. Now that I know where you’ll be, I’ll make sure of it.”
“Okay. There’s no rain in the forecast, so as long as everyone stays outside where the band’s going to set up, I should get some interesting pictures of who’s talking to whom. I’ll position myself behind that knoll. Xavier’s putting people near the estate entrance and on the west side of the house, but the garage blocks the view of that wing of the house where you figure they’ll hold the meeting.”
“Yeah, I was afraid of that.”
“We’ll be monitoring what we can.”
“Just make sure none of Fitzpatrick’s guards spot the glint from your toys.”
Bergstrom laughed. “Toys, eh? State-of-the-art photographic technology and he calls it toys. What’s wrong, Tucker? Coming down with a case of—” he paused and lowered his voice “—equipment envy?”
Sam lowered the binoculars and wiped the rubber collars from the eyepieces on his shirt as he glanced at the man beside him. Bergstrom kept his muscular body honed with as much dedication as he devoted to the upkeep of his cars. And if even half his stories were true, there was nothing wrong with any of his equipment. “It’s not what you’ve got, it’s how you use it that counts,” he said. “Some of us don’t need to rely on technology to enhance our performance.”
“Oh, yeah? Next time you can be the one to cozy up to a telephoto lens and I’ll take the woman, how’s that? By the way, how is she?”
“Who?”
Bergstrom sketched a generous shape in the air with his hands. “Your intended. The blushing bride.”
“Miss McPherson has been very cooperative.”
“The quiet ones really go for cops. Something about danger and guns always excites them. You show her yours yet?”
“Knock it off, Berg. It’s strictly business.”
“Uh-huh,” he drawled. “Sure.”
Sam ground his teeth. It was strictly business between him and Audra. And if he kept telling himself that often enough, maybe his brain would get the message to his body.
Bergstrom twisted around to reach for a black nylon backpack that was on the back seat. He searched through it for a minute, then pulled a small plastic bag from an outside pocket. “And speaking of equipment, here’s your transmitter.”
“Forget it. If Fitzpatrick beefs up his security tomorrow, that would blow my cover. I already told Xavier I don’t want to wear a wire.”
“You might humor him this time. He’s still complaining about you being in there solo.”
Sam took the bag Bergstrom handed him and looked inside. “Why? You know that’s the way I usually work.”
“And you know how Xavier likes to prepare for the worst-case scenario. He wants us to be able to move in fast. If something goes down, you’re going to need backup.”
Sam shook his head, handing the bag back to Bergstrom. “I’ll carry a cell phone. Between that and the surveillance you’re putting in place, it should be enough.”
“Hey, fine by me. I just thought you might consider using one of my toys this time, seeing as how you’re always so concerned about protecting civilians. So far the McPherson woman’s the only one who knows, right? Sure would be a shame if her family got caught between some of the big boys—”
“What else have you heard?” Sam demanded.
“I’ve already filled you in.”
He gestured toward the transmitter. “If that’s more than Xavier’s belt and suspenders paranoia, I need to know.”
“It’s not.”
“Because if there’s going to be trouble, I don’t intend to play around with the safety of civilians. I’ll tell John McPherson to cancel the job, and the hell with gathering evidence—”
“Whoa there. We’re not expecting problems. Let the McPhersons do their job and you do yours and everyone will be happy.” Taking the binoculars from Sam, Bergstrom stored them carefully back in their case and tucked it under the seat. “Relax. It’ll all be over by tomorrow night.”
“Yeah.” Sam watched the estate disappear behind the trees as Bergstrom eased the car back toward the road. One way or another, it would all be over. The undercover job, the engagement, his association with Audra...
He should be pleased it was all working out the way he’d intended. He didn’t know where the regret came from. As long as they got what they needed to put Fitzpatrick away, that’s all that mattered. Right?
The guards at the gate were the same as the last time, except that their khaki windbreakers had been replaced by sober black suits. The suits, and the white carnations on their lapels, were obviously the security staff’s idea of appropriate clothing for a wedding. There was still a telltale bulge under their left arms, though. For a crazy instant Audra wondered whether they’d polished their guns for the occasion.
“Drive straight to the end of the lane. Don’t stop anywhere.”
Audra was unable to suppress her shudder as she heard the steel gate clang shut behind her. This was it. The real thing. All she had to do was get through this day and she could start scouting for locations for the restaurant of her dreams. As long as Sam was successful. As long as the evidence he was after was deemed worthwhile enough to earn that reward. As long as she was able to keep her nerves under control—
“Oh, my goodness. This place is like something out of a magazine.” In the passenger seat, Esther leaned forward, her face lit up in a smile of pure pleasure. “Look at those flowers, Audra.”
“Marion Fitzpatrick is quite an avid gardener. That’s why she wanted the wedding outside.”
“I can understand that. Oh, the roses are stunning.”
“Yes, they certainly are,” she answered, doing her best not to glance at the camera in the birch tree that Sam had pointed out the last time they’d been here. They rounded the bend in the driveway and she caught a glimpse of blue and white stripes.
“Great. It looks as if they’ve managed to get everything set up,” Esther said. “I was worried about that, since the Fitzpatricks didn’t give us much time to work with.”
Audra slowed as they started up the hill. The terrace with the fountain was covered with neat rows of white chairs that were shaded by a scalloped nylon awning. She spotted Nathan and Jimmy moving tables on the patio at the side of the house, and Judy balancing on a stepladder to tack a string of lights along the edge of the French doors, but there was no sign of Sam.
He had arrived two hours ago to help with the setup. It had been a surprise to her when he’d told her they wouldn’t be arriving together—like the rest of her family, she’d begun to think of them in terms of a couple.
Where was he? Had he decided to try snooping around again? What if he got caught? What if...
Her heart gave a sudden thump as she finally saw Sam. He was standing outside the rear entrance of the house, and he was toe-to-toe with a dark-suited guard. Pulling up behind Norm’s van, Audra yanked on the parking brake and opened her door.
“Where are you going?” Esther asked. “We have to get these canapés into the kitchen—”
“I’ll be right back,” Audra said over her shoulder as she hurried toward Sam.
She heard the tail end of what seemed to be a discussion about ice buckets just before the guard shrugged his beefy shoulders and turned away.
Sam glanced past her for an instant, then caught her gaze and broke into a broad smile. “Sweetheart, I was wondering when you’d get here.”
Audra came to a stop in front of him. “What was all that about?” she asked. “Is everything okay?”
“No problem,” he said, catching her by the waist. Without hesitation, he lifted her off her feet and planted a solid kiss on her mouth.
Speechless, she could do nothing but cling to him, his kiss filling her senses. Even like this, when she knew it was only for show, with half her family looking on, the feel of his lips on hers sent tingles racing along her nerves
.
She liked how he made her feel. She hated how helpless she was to prevent it. God, she was a mess.
“You’re doing a good job, Sam.”
“I’m glad I could help, Mr. McPherson,” Sam said, taking the tray of glasses from Audra’s father. He was getting to be an expert at balancing a tray on one hand. He was also getting to be pretty good at setting up furniture and serving dinner.
He was doing a good job, all right. But it wasn’t the one he’d come here to do. Gritting his teeth while he put on a polite smile, he wove his way through the crowd of wedding guests.
The limos had started arriving mid-afternoon. Sam had been too busy in the kitchen to see them all, so he hoped Bergstrom had managed to get some good shots of the occupants. From what he’d heard, the ceremony had gone off right on schedule without any complications—he’d been too busy to see much of that either.
At least he’d been able to take careful note of the seating arrangements during dinner. In his caterer’s standard clothing of white shirt and black pants, Sam was virtually invisible to the people he served. No one bothered to stop talking as he hovered at their shoulder with the plates, but so far he hadn’t overheard anything worthwhile.
After everything he’d done in order to have this opportunity, it was frustrating to see that his time was running out. The dinner had long since finished. The bride and groom had left half an hour ago. Although people were still dancing to the music from the band on the terrace, the crowd was starting to thin.
He paused to unobtrusively scan the gathering, searching for Fitzpatrick’s red hair. The man had been everywhere during the course of the evening, shaking hands and slapping backs, playing the jovial host to the hilt. To look at him, it was difficult to imagine he could be anything more than a successful businessman celebrating his daughter’s wedding. And apart from the individuals that Bergstrom had warned him about, the rest of the people here seemed to be totally legit, which they probably were. After all, that was the way Fitzpatrick liked to distance himself from the dirty end of his business.
When Sam didn’t spot Fitzpatrick, he worked his way to the other side of the crowd, searching more carefully. Now it wasn’t only Fitzpatrick who had disappeared, it was Packard, Dryden and Falco.
“I’ll take one of those.”
Sam kept the tray steady as a large, white-bearded man exchanged his empty champagne flute for the only remaining full one. This had to be Hasenstein. Sam had only seen him in out-of-focus surveillance photos, but there was no mistaking that hooked nose. “Of course, sir,” Sam said politely.
The man took a quick sip and moved away. Sam waited until he was almost out of sight, then hoisted the tray and followed. Instead of remaining with the other guests on the patio, Hasenstein slipped through a door and disappeared into the house.
Sam’s gut tightened. This had to be it. The players must be gathering for the meeting he’d figured would happen. He entered the house and moved toward the corridor that led to the wing with Fitzpatrick’s office.
He hadn’t really expected it to be as easy as the last time he’d been here. Not only was the door at the end of the hall closed, there was a dark-suited man lounging against the wall on one side of it. Frowning, Sam shifted direction and headed for the kitchen.
Two of Audra’s nephews were stacking the dinner plates back into their cartons while Norm and Judy maneuvered a large stainless steel coffeemaker onto a wheeled cart. Audra stood at one of the counters, a pencil between her teeth and a clipboard in one hand as she counted flatware.
Setting down his tray of empty glasses, Sam stopped beside her. “I need you to do something for me,” he said.
She removed the pencil and made a note on her clipboard before she looked up. “What?”
“Can you fix up a plate of food? I want to take it into the meeting.”
She turned to face him. “The meeting?”
He tipped his head toward the hallway.
“You mean in the room with that...table? It’s really happening?”
“Looks like it. I need an excuse to get down there.”
She glanced around quickly. “How about coffee?”
“Audra, I don’t have time to—”
“Coffee,” she repeated, moving toward Norm and Judy. She grabbed the handle at the end of the cart. “Here, Sam and I’ll do that.”
Judy smiled tiredly and blew her bangs off her forehead. “Thanks, Audra.”
Sam helped her wheel the cart into the hall. “Okay. I’ll take it from here.”
She didn’t loosen her grip on the handle. “I’ll come with you. I might be able to help.”
“Audra, I appreciate the concern, but if you really want to help, then leave me alone to do my job.”
“We usually do the coffee in pairs, so this is doing your job. You can push the cart and I’ll pour—Oh, God. That guard. He’s the one who...you know.”
Sam recognized him at the same time the man caught sight of them. It was the guard who had found them the last time. With a leering smile, he escorted them to the conference room, then took the cart himself and pushed it inside. They had only a momentary glimpse of the half-dozen men seated around the glass table before the door was firmly closed.
Scowling, Sam stepped back. The dim corridor was deserted for the moment, but that wouldn’t last long. Moving quickly, he strode to the door of the next room.
Audra was right on his heels. “What are you doing?”
“Plan B,” he muttered. He twisted the doorknob and pushed lightly, letting the door swing open slowly. In the light from the hall, the same curving sofa and high-backed chairs he’d seen before loomed from the shadows, but otherwise, the room appeared to be empty. “If I told you to go back to the kitchen without me—”
“I wouldn’t go,” she said immediately.
“That’s what I figured.” Grasping Audra’s wrist, he tugged her inside with him and closed the door.
“Sam—”
Covering her mouth with his hand, he brought his lips close to her ear. “Remember those vents I found when I was checking out that mirrored room?”
She nodded.
“If they connect to a central system, there should be corresponding vents somewhere on the left wall of this room.”
She pulled his hand down and twisted to the side. “But that guard’s going to wonder where we went.”
“He’ll figure we went back to the kitchen. And if he does decide to check and can’t find us, he’ll figure we’re off somewhere doing what we did last time.”
“What... Oh. But people don’t really...”
“Have sex at the drop of a hat?”
“Well, no. I mean, we’re working. We wouldn’t...”
“It’s what he believes that counts. Wait here and don’t move, okay?”
Sam closed his eyes, giving himself a minute to let his vision adjust to the darkness, then started forward carefully. With the sliver of light that seeped under the door to the hall and the square of starlight that shone through the window, there was barely enough illumination to see his hand in front of his face. Stretching out his arm, he touched the wall with his fingertips. If he remembered correctly, the closest vent was about six feet from the corner of that conference room, just at the edge of the long mirror. Methodically, moving a few inches at a time, he ran his palm along the wall.
Two minutes later, his fingers touched a metal grill. He held his breath and squatted down, tilting his head to listen.
A muffled voice reached him from beyond the wall. It was disappointingly garbled, too faint to distinguish more than a few words.
The floor behind him creaked just as a hand settled lightly on his back. Annoyance warred with pleasure as he recognized Audra’s touch. He should have known she wouldn’t stay where he’d told her. Twisting carefully, he reached behind him to grasp her hand. Tracing his way up to her face, he pressed his finger to her lips. She nodded in understanding, her soft breathing the only sound she made.
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Sam shifted his position to press his ear against the vent. He recognized Fitzpatrick’s voice now, but he was speaking too quietly for Sam to catch all the words. Frustrated, he moved another inch to the right when there was a brief silence, followed by the scrape of chairs and the sound of the conference room door opening.
Acting on instinct, Sam swiftly straightened up and made a grab for Audra. Latching onto her arm, he pulled her across the room toward the window. One glance at the old-fashioned hand crank was enough to make him realize he wouldn’t have time to open it. Turning around, he wedged himself into the window frame and pulled Audra against him. Stretching his arm past her, he caught the edge of the velvet drapes and yanked them closed.
Seconds later, the door to the corridor opened. “We can talk privately in here while the rest of them have their coffee, Ben.”
“I don’t think the others are going to support this idea, Larry.” There was the click of a switch and the sound of the door closing. Light flowed around the edges of the drapes. “Specifically, if Emilio doesn’t agree, you’re going to lose Green for sure. Possibly Dryden.”
“Don’t worry about Emilio Falco. I’ll deal with him.”
“He didn’t sound too pleased with your offer.”
“Then I’ll make him one he can’t refuse.” Low laughter followed the comment. Heavy footsteps came closer, then furniture creaked as the two men sat down. “If he’s out of the picture, do you think you can bring the others onside?”
“Depends what’s in it for me.”
“Let me explain it to you, and I’m sure you’ll see my plan is to our mutual benefit.”
Sam forced himself to keep his breathing slow and steady. The edge of the windowsill was digging into his left hip, his shoulder pressed hard against the glass, his legs were braced apart with the tips of his shoes precariously close to the lower edge of the drapes, but he couldn’t risk moving so much as an inch.
Audra had landed off-balance when he’d pulled her against him. She’d done her best to steady herself, flattening her palms on the window frame on either side of him and straddling his thigh. If it wasn’t for the hand he kept clamped to the back of her waist, she’d end up sliding backward. But there wasn’t enough space for her to straighten up without setting the drapes into motion. He tapped his fingers on her hip in a silent warning.
Engaging Sam Page 15
