The sickness that had been residing in Jamie’s belly started to climb up his throat. They were taking the kids away from her. What had she said, that first day he had kissed her? She had nodded to the kids in the play area and said, “That’s the closest thing I have to a family.” No wonder she had turned away.
“You head up the human resources department, right? Fancy yourself a good judge of character?” Jamie asked, taking her elbow, guiding her to stand beside a large potted plant, out of the way of anybody walking by, out of sight.
“You can’t always tell a person is a crook, just by looking at them. The reason criminals are so successful is because they are good at fooling people. She fooled all of us,” Sam said, her voice shaking slightly. “She touched my daughter.”
“You are responsible for keeping certain information confidential, right?” Jamie said, acting as if she hadn’t spoken. When her eyes narrowed on his, he went on to say, “Consider this confidential, or I’ll see you lose your job. And once this is all said and done, Jeb will not be giving you a good recommendation.”
“What are you talking about? And who do you think you are? You’re just a PI, you can’t cost me my job,” she said, her eyes narrowed and her voice shaking with rage.
“Ms. Dowers, I’m a personal friend of the Booth family. My father went to school with Jeb, and he happens to be my godfather.” Arching a brow, he asked, “Still think I hold no influence? I’m here as a favor to him, and I can damn well guarantee that Jeb will listen to anything I tell him.”
Sam’s face had paled, but she composed herself, inclining her head, waiting for him to continue.
Glancing around, Jamie lowered his head the scant inch it took to reach the tall woman’s ear. “Things aren’t always the way they seem, Ms. Dowers. And some of us are right to trust our instincts.”
As he walked away, Sam stood there, confused. She really didn’t know what to make of that.
As for Jamie, he was counting the minutes on the clock, waiting until it was okay for him to escape, preferably to the nearest bar.
♥
“…a thief.”
There was just something about the way they were talking that caught Angie’s attention as she settled down at the table for lunch. They didn’t really notice her. Few people did. She was too young, too plain looking, and too inconsequential. And that was okay with her. People would be simply amazed if they knew how much she had picked up just because they didn’t pay her attention.
But this time, it had her shaking with fury.
“I never would have thought it of Andi. She’s so sweet,” Max Rusher said, frowning.
“Hell, I think she’s a fucking snob.”
Max glared at Frank. “That’s just ‘cause she turned you down flat. You think anybody who ain’t impressed with you is either a snob or a lesbian or both,” he snorted, swigging from his soft drink. “I can’t see it. She’s not the most talkative sort, but she strikes me as an honest one.”
“Not me.” Mike Crown said, shaking his head as he munched on his burger. “I always see her punching away at her computer, all stealthy like. I always figured she was up to something. Stealing from us. Hell, she was probably the reason our Christmas bonus didn’t go up as much as we’d hoped it would.”
Angie’s hands clenched around her sandwich and she slowly set it down, picking up her napkin and wiping her hands clean as she took a deep, slow breath and released it.
What in the hell…
Turning her head, she looked around. All over, people were talking. Some normally, but some…furtive conversations, heads lowered, faces angry. And a few had actually noticed her.
Angie sneered at them and stood, stalking away.
Angie was waiting in Andi’s office later that day, after all the kids had left. Her chubby face was red and her eyes were flashing with anger. Andi was a little surprised. She had never known the quiet, gentle Angie to get upset over anything.
“I overheard a couple of the guys talking at lunch,” Angie said, the words pouring out of her in a rush. “They’re going around saying you’re a thief.”
It must be spreading like wildfire if somebody like Angie had overheard. She wasn’t around the upper management, simply because of where and when she worked. So it had trickled down to the lower and middle levels of management. Andi lowered herself into her chair, rolling a pencil between her hands as she tried to figure out how to handle this.
Finally, she sighed. Angie was a good kid, knew when to keep her mouth shut. So she told the younger girl an abbreviated version of the truth.
“That’s not right,” Angie said hotly, shooting out of her seat, her hands clenched into tight fists. “It’s not damned fair.”
Softly, Andi laughed. Angie, like Andi, was an orphan, had in fact been cared for by some of the same foster families. She knew how life was. “Angie, sweetie, you know just as well as I do that life isn’t fair.”
“It was all an act, wasn’t it?” Angie asked, her soft heart breaking as she thought of how many times she had seen Jamie with her boss, the woman that Angie practically worshipped, and knowing it was all a lie.
Andi didn’t say anything, turning her face away so Angie wouldn’t see the misery in her eyes. “Anyway, I’m waiting to see that the bastard, who shall remain nameless, gets what is coming to him. And then I’m turning in my notice.”
With a humorless grin, she said, “Amy’s not going to be with us for a few days— Ms. Dowers told me earlier. No doubt because of me. I’ll be out of here, once this mess is solved. The A-team is falling apart.”
“I don’t blame you. Hell, I’d go ahead and quit.”
Andi lifted her shoulders in a tired shrug. “I thought about it, Angie. Long and hard. But you know what? I’m sick and tired of people whispering about me behind my back, of the dirty looks, the insults they think I don’t hear. You know what it’s like. Everything that goes wrong, you’re responsible, you’re the trouble-maker.” In a heated whisper, she said, “I want them to know they were wrong about me. I want them to come up to me and apologize, or say, I knew it wasn’t you all along. And then—”
“And then, you’re going to walk away, and not give them the chance.”
“Girl, you know me too well,” Andi said with a faint smile.
Angie remained a few minutes longer, and as she was gathering up her things, she asked, her eyes focused on her books, “Does he know that you love him?” Andi’s head fell back and she stared up at the ceiling.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault,” Andi said, shaking her head.
“It sucks. I swear it does,” Angie whispered through clenched teeth. “Doesn’t he know all he had to do was ask, and you would have gone along with it? Instead, he just used you and set you up.”
Left alone in the silence of the office, Andi had to agree. It really did, without a doubt, suck.
Chapter Ten
She kicked something as she juggled her purse and a bag of groceries while locking the door behind her. Flipping on the light, she looked down and froze. It was the tape recorder. The lid had come open, and the tiny tape, barely an inch by two inches, was lying next to it.
Andi moved away, taking the bags to the table. Then she turned, telling herself she was going to throw it in the trash.
But moments later, she was kneeling in front of it, remembering. The drawn, tired expression on Jamie’s face when he had come up behind her. And what he had said, words that had sounded so cryptic.
Words, that until now, she had forgotten. It was the other words she had remembered, the ones that had torn her to pieces that had replayed themselves over in her mind.
Now, she remembered others.
I need to talk to you, but before I do, there’s something I need to tell you. And you need to believe me.
Easy, girl. No, I’m not married. But if you cooperate, we can change that whenever you want.
Marr
ied. Even before he had told her what was going on, he had said he wanted to marry her, more than once.
I’m not married. But if you cooperate, we can change that whenever you want.
The morning they had made love in the shower, no protection.
If it does happen, what will you do? she had asked. And he had said, I’ll do the same thing I plan on doing if you don’t get pregnant. I’m going to marry you, Andi.
And most of all, she remembered the last thing he had said before he had told her about Letcher and the plan to let him think they suspected Andi.
I love you. I think it started when I walked into your clinic. I don’t know when. I only know that I love you— you’re the other half of me. Do you believe that?
God, she had believed him.
She still did.
Slowly, she reached out, her hand shaking, and scooped up the tape player, slid the cassette in and hit the play button.
A wry sardonic voice filled the air and Andi finally recognized Mick’s voice.
Girl, I had a feeling he wouldn’t be able to keep this up with you. Listen, I know you’re hurt. There was a pause, a tiny scraping sound. A match. It was odd. Both of the men had been smoking in her office that day. Mick still did, she could smell it on him. But Jamie didn’t smell like smoke, and he didn’t have it on his breath. Moments later, Mick sighed, and once more spoke. I know you’re hurt. But Jamie really didn’t have much of a choice. I didn’t give him one, and I’m sorry for that. I’m sorry we dragged you into this, and I’m sorry that you got hurt from it.
But the boy loves you.
I…got this bad habit. I keep this recorder in my pocket, and it records everything. I usually keep what I need and erase what I don’t. I don’t know why I didn’t erase these. Hell, yeah, I do. I knew I’d need them.
Or that Jamie would. Listen.
A moment of dead air played and then a click, followed by more voices, Mick’s and Jamie’s.
Mick, I’m in love with her.
You don’t even know her.
I know everything I need to know. I’m in love with her and I just led that bastard to believe I had every intention of throwing her in jail. I thanked him for it.
Even though it was just a damn recording, Andi could hear the revulsion and the fury in his voice. Mick’s voice followed, his rough, raspy tones soft, trying to console.
You’ve got a job to do. If she’s worth any of the stress you’re putting yourself through, then she should understand responsibility.
Did you fucking hear me? I thanked him. And I’m in love with her. Damn it, Mick, she’s the woman I’ve been waiting for my entire life, and I’ve lost her before I’ve gotten her. The utter fury in his voice had her skin feeling tight.
A loud crash came from the recorder and Andi jumped, dashing away the tears that had fallen down her cheeks.
Jamie, you’ve got a responsibility. Andi will—
Jamie’s voice again, this time louder, all but exploding with fury. Responsibility? Since when did being responsible involve setting up innocent people?
Mick again, his voice getting aggravated and impatient. We aren’t setting her up—
Jamie’s savage voice exploded out of the tiny recorder, making her jump. The hell we aren’t. Will you turn that damn thing off? You don’t need my voice on it, for God’s sake.
Jamie— Mick’s voice ended with a click and then, it flowed from the recorder again. This was the first time, and it’s the original. God only knows why I kept it. The rest is copied from the others I recorded. Now if I know our Jamie well, he will have taken the cassette I conveniently labeled and left out, knowing he’d see it and that his conscience would get the better of him.
Listen to this, then flip it over and listen to what it was that drove him over the edge.
And Andi, don’t be too hard on him. He loves you.
Tears were already streaming down her face, and the fist around her heart started to loosen. She ached as she listened to the pure misery in his voice, while part of her danced in relief. He really did love her.
You’re going…where? The disbelief in Mick’s voice was evident. Andi could almost see those hangdog eyes widen and his normal scowl deepen.
To Andi’s.
That’s not very wise.
No? I think it’s pretty damn smart myself, Jamie replied sharply, his voice growing fainter as he moved away from Mick.
How so?
I’m in love with her, Mick. That’s the bottom line. When this whole thing comes to a head, she’s going to know about it. And I don’t want her hurt. As long as she remembers that I love her, we can get through it.
So you move in with her?
I spend as much time as humanly possible showing her that I love her. Andi grinned slightly as Jamie snarled, Turn that damn thing off. He was talking about the recorder obviously. And just as obviously, Mick neglected to turn it off. Thank you, God, she thought, rolling her eyes heavenward and thanking Him for nosy, spying investigators who liked to record everything.
She loves me. I’m going to make damn sure that she can’t live without me; once this matter is settled…
And what if she doesn’t remember that, Jamie? I don’t want to see you hurt, boy. None of this is your fault. It’s not even anything you could control. You had a job to do; what if she can’t get past that?
I’m not going to let that happen, Mick.
Son, you may not be able to stop it.
There was nothing else. That was it.
She sat there, rocking herself back and forth while she nibbled on her lip. Then she remembered the other side. The one that, how had Mick put it, had driven Jamie right over the edge. She flipped the tape, listening in disgust as the copied recording of Letcher and Mick’s voices filled the air.
Something else inside her eased as Letcher described Jeb’s response to her supposed guilt. He hadn’t believed it. That helped. Some.
After the tape finished, Andi leaped to her feet, stomping to the shower to wash away the dirty feeling Letcher’s voice had given her. While she lathered her hair, she tried to figure out what to do next.
It hurt.
God it hurt.
Sometime later, she drew her robe on and wandered out of the bathroom. Shivering slightly, she roamed the house. Nothing seemed to catch her interest. She didn’t want to read. She didn’t want to write. Andi ended up in the living room, even though she didn’t want to watch TV.
An odd sense of deja vu settled over her as she stared at the framed verse hanging over her fireplace.
Love Is.
Jamie had stood right here, the day she had told him she loved him. He had read it, wondered over it.
Now Andi read it, and felt her heart start to break all over again as guilt flooded her.
Love suffers long and is kind. She hadn’t been patient, or kind, or even understanding.
Love does not envy. Love does not parade itself, is not puffed up. Does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil.
She had thought evil, believing Jamie had worked his way close to her just to use her.
That couldn’t have been further from the truth.
Does not rejoice in inequity but rejoices in the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.
She hadn’t borne anything, hadn’t believed. She had fallen into despair and selfpity.
In short, she had failed him.
Jamie left his condo, rubbing at his gritty eyes as he headed for the steps.
God, he was ready for this to be over.
But he wasn’t ready to go home, wasn’t ready to leave this town, to leave the woman he loved.
He turned the corner, heading for the back of the building where he’d parked. His footsteps faltered as he came around the southern end that bordered the parking lot. Andi was leaning against the wall of the building,
her hands buried in the pockets of a beat up blue jean jacket, one leg drawn up, her foot braced against the brick. Her head was tipped back and she was studying the early morning sky intently.
Her eyes never left the sky but she knew he was there. Softly, she said, “I wasn’t sure how early you left. I’ve been here since about seven.” Shivering, she huddled deeper inside her coat and said, “I’ve forgotten how cool it gets in the morning toward the end of summer. Can you believe Labor Day is already here?”
Bewildered, confused, wary, Jamie rocked back on his heels, buried his own hands in his pockets, distantly wishing he had gotten some coffee. Maybe he was dreaming.
“What are you doing here?” he asked quietly.
She lowered her face then, and he met her eyes. They were dark, almost bruised in her pale face, like she hadn’t slept very well. Her hand left her pocket, holding something. “You left something at my place.” Holding it out to him, she waited.
Looking down, Jamie felt his hopes sink. The tape recorder. She’d probably come because she didn’t want to take the chance that anybody would see her handing it to him. Andi had become a veritable hermit at Booth the past week, only leaving her daycare when absolutely necessary.
Or maybe she had brought it with the intention of making him eat it.
Jamie had heard the rumors flying that the lovebirds had had a fight, but hadn’t answered the questions that had come his way about the sudden change in behavior. If people wanted to think she was acting oddly out of nerves, what in the hell could he say about it?
Reaching out, he said gruffly, “You didn’t have to come out here. I don’t need it.”
“No,” she said. “It’s just a copy, after all.”
As his hand closed around it, she hit a button.
Jamie froze as Mick’s voice filled the air.
Girl, I had a feeling he wouldn’t be able to keep this up with you. Listen, I know you’re hurt. But Jamie really didn’t have much of a choice. I didn’t give him one, and I’m sorry for that. I’m sorry we dragged you into this, and I’m sorry that you got hurt from it.
Coming In Last Page 17
