Truth and Justice

by Fern Michaels

  Bella took off her denim jacket, rolled up the sleeves of her button-down shirt, and went at it. She worked quickly and efficiently, Paul noticed. Almost like she was in the military and knew all about precision. Once or twice, she called out a question while Paul rummaged through boxes in what had been Margaret’s master bedroom. The small dressing room was Margaret’s mini office and was around the corner from the kitchen on the first floor. He wished now he had marked the boxes with the contents, but he’d been in such a hurry back then. Now he might have to go through each and every one of them until he found what he wanted.

  “Do you want me to plug in the refrigerator? Are you really going to stay here on the East Coast? If so, I will clean it out. In case you don’t know this, it takes twenty-four hours for a refrigerator and freezer to reach the right temperature.”

  “Yes, plug it in. I told you I’m staying on until I’m satisfied you’re completely safe. I’ll go shopping later for what I need, so wipe it down and plug it in. Please,” he added as an afterthought.

  Bella smiled to herself. He was staying. The thought made her happy for some reason. Some reason my foot. She grimaced. Be honest with yourself, girl. Admit it, if only to yourself, that you are attracted to this man. This man who was your husband’s best friend. Good Lord, what kind of person am I turning into? She felt her face and neck grow warm. A minute ago, she had been shivering.

  She whirled around and whipped out a can of Clorox wipes from the tiny closet. She moved like a whirlwind, wiping down and then drying everything so she wouldn’t have time to think.

  An hour passed, then another, before Paul bellowed, “Enough!”

  “That works for me. I’m done down here. All that’s left is to put the sheets back on the furniture and close up everything. I think I could use some heat right now, so I’m going to turn off the A/C and close all the windows. Everything smells clean and fresh. Is that okay with you, Paul?”

  “Yes. I’m going to order a pizza and some beer. You up for that?”

  “I absolutely am,” Bella said. Then she smiled when she realized she felt happy. Not just so-so happy, but genuinely happy. She couldn’t remember the last time she had felt like this.

  “So you found Andy’s paperwork?”

  “All in one place, too. Of course, it was in the last box and at the very bottom. Here it is,” Paul said, handing over the packet of papers to Bella. She noticed the tremor in his hands but only because it matched the tremor in her own. She took a long, deep breath and looked Paul square in the eye. “Thank you,” she whispered.

  Paul nodded, not trusting himself to speak. He turned around, pulled out his phone, then plucked a magnet off the refrigerator with the name of a local pizza emporium, one he guessed that Margaret used. He called in his order and gave his credit card information. He was told a piping-hot pizza with all the trimmings would be delivered along with two Bud Lights in twenty minutes.

  Paul looked over at Bella. He winced when he saw tears rolling down her cheeks. She looked up at him. She waved the papers at Paul. “I don’t know if you believe me or not, but this is not about money for me. I just couldn’t comprehend Andy’s not taking the time to advise the military of his new status. I took it, right or wrong, to mean that I wasn’t important enough to do all that, and he’d get around to me when he could. And then all those months with no word . . . part of me feels guilty for the way I felt, and another part of me feels justified. Right now, I don’t feel anything in regard to Andy. I hate saying that. I really do because I do not understand how that can be. I know that doesn’t say much for me as a person, but I can’t help it. I’m starting to wonder if I was in love with the idea of love, and Andy just came along at the right moment. I barely knew him. I married a man I barely knew. That’s so sad. Just from the little you and I have spoken, it is clear that you knew him better than I ever did. This is all so surreal. It’s scaring me.

  “These papers . . . He made a new will. I assume it’s legal since you and Zack witnessed it. And here is a new power of attorney with my name on it. Andy was worth millions of dollars. I never knew that. All I wanted was enough money to help pay for his truck. If he had all that money, why did he buy a truck on time? It doesn’t make sense.”

  “Sure it does. Andy wanted to be like every other guy on the team. We were all struggling. He inherited most of what he had. He told me once that made him feel dishonest. He also said that Sara invested his money. He didn’t feel like it was really his. And . . . believe it or not, he had a game plan as to how he was going to give most of it away when he got out and was a civilian. You do realize that what you are holding in your hands supersedes anything Sara has, right? Doesn’t matter whether she filed it or not. It’s now a legal issue. Tomorrow, your lawyer can file these papers at the courthouse.”

  “It’s strange that Andy didn’t leave anything to his beloved sister. I know that sounds snarky, but it’s how I feel. But in the end, everyone believed her, and she got it all. We need to go back to the farm and show all of this to the girls. We need to be on top of it, so she doesn’t pack up and hit the road,” Bella said. “I’m going to send a text off to Alexis so she can alert the men who are stationed out at Sara’s house. Their guy might need to add more people, and he’ll probably want to see all these papers with his own eyes before he does anything. Mr. Snowden was an MI6 agent. A superspy for the queen. He retired and relocated here to work for Charles, who is married to Myra. He was also a spy for the queen. Martin and the queen were childhood friends. Fergus is Annie’s significant other. He used to head up Scotland Yard. The three of them worked together over the years and now work for . . . the ladies. Annie de Silva is Countess Anna de Silva, one of the richest women in the world. Myra, I’m told, is no pauper either when it comes to having money.”

  Paul whistled. “You do travel with some impressive people. I had no idea.” His voice and his expression were so full of awe, Bella burst out laughing.

  “That’s how I felt when I found out. You’ll get used to it. For the most part, all of the women are pretty normal and ordinary.” She laughed again when she said, “Just don’t ever turn your back on any one of them, even Maggie, the reporter.”

  Paul nodded because he didn’t know what else to do. “But one of them said that the house Sara is living in is under surveillance by your people round-the-clock. If she gets spooked and takes it on the lam, they’ll catch her.”

  “There are just two of them out there now. Front door, back door, side door, basement door. Various windows. From what I’ve been told, Sara is a remarkable escape artist, and she also excels at various disguises.” Bella talked nonstop until the pizza arrived. They ate and guzzled until everything was gone. Then they cleaned up, checked all the windows and doors, set the alarm, and left the town house. Paul tossed the pizza box and the beer bottles in the Dumpster in the parking lot.

  “Back to the farm, right?”

  “Yes, we need to bring this to a close as soon as possible. Not us but the Sisters. You do understand there is no way we can interfere in any of this going forward. That’s how they work. We can voice our opinions, but that’s it. Tell me you understand, Paul. Otherwise, I cannot take you back to the farm,” Bella said.

  Paul looked down at her anxious face. He wanted to cup her face in his hands and kiss her. He had never wanted anything more in his whole life. He jammed his hands in his pockets and looked down at his feet. “I understand. Remember, I’m ex-army. I’m trained to follow orders whether I like them or not. Right now, I’m just here to do whatever I can. I won’t botch it up. I know who’s in charge. And it is not me. Okay, let’s go now that we have that all cleared up.”

  “You look upset,” Bella said quietly. “You don’t agree, is that it? I think we need to clear that up before we leave here, or there are going to be problems. Or is it that you resent taking orders from a bunch of women?”

  “What?” The single word exploded out of Paul’s mouth like a gunshot. “Good God, no
! I . . . just . . . I’m fighting with myself here not to grab you and kiss you till your teeth rattle.”

  “Then maybe instead of thinking about it, you should do something about that thought.” Good Lord, did I just say that out loud? I guess so, she thought, as she felt hot lips crushing her own.

  Paul was the first to pull away. He stepped back to stare at the woman whose world he had just rocked out from under her. He needed to do something, say something, but he was frozen to the floor, his tongue glued to his teeth. He was mesmerized as he watched Bella lick at her swollen lips. She said, in a harsh whisper, “I think we should head back to the farm. Like right now would be good.”

  He followed her to his rental car. He really needed to say something.

  “Looks like it’s going to rain,” Bella said. “I like a good rainstorm sometimes, but only if I’m safe inside. When I was a little girl, I would hide under the covers when it would thunder and lightning.” Bella babbled away to hide the way she really felt and what she really wanted to say.

  Paul swallowed hard. He joined in and started to recount his own boyhood tales of storms he’d weathered. So that’s how we’re going to play it.

  That rock-my-world kiss never happened.

  But it did happen. And they both knew it and were hyperaware of it.

  * * *

  “They’re back!” Annie said, looking at the overhead monitor.

  “And they have the goods, as the saying goes,” Nikki said.

  “I just got a text from Avery saying he is three miles out and will be here shortly. He said he has the house surrounded. Six operatives are on duty. Sara with a million aliases is not going anywhere. Well, she might try, but she won’t get farther than the doorway,” Myra said.

  “Isabelle, how’s it going with her finances? Do you have them all? Even the overseas ones?” Nikki asked.

  “I have seventy-five percent of them. Abner’s friend Phil is helping me. He said he’d have the ones that are off the beaten path shortly. He did say she is pretty smart, and that not many people know how to utilize whatever it is he uses to track . . . um . . . other people’s illegal money.”

  Alexis’s fist shot in the air. “The only thing that is important is we got her. We really got her. And all that lovely money. Bella, you are going to be a very rich young woman.”

  Bella held up her hands, palms outward. “Like I said, for me this was never about the money. All I wanted was enough to pay off Andy’s truck, the tax on it, and the insurance. I didn’t want him to go to his maker as a deadbeat who didn’t pay his bills. I was expecting a little to help me with my move. Paul said Andy had some ideas of what he was going to do with his inheritance and his own personal fortune when he retired from the military. I’ll do whatever it was he wanted. I don’t need his money; I can support myself.

  “I thought I would keep Andy’s life insurance, and that would take care of everything. I really thought he would have left his money to his sister. Of course, that was before I knew what I now know.”

  “That’s a lot of money to give away,” Kathryn said. “If you factor in all the money Sara scammed from unsuspecting men, we’re going to be busy distributing it to worthy causes, minus our expenses.” The others agreed with Kathryn’s statement but also agreed they would all be happy doing it.

  “I also made another decision,” Bella said, looking at Alexis. “I’m going to need your help, I’m thinking. I want the clinic to dispose of my eggs and Andy’s donations. I want that done as soon as possible. I have a sick feeling that Sara already . . . I think she . . . I do not think Andy would want Sara to carry his child. He would think that was incestuous even though it wouldn’t be since they aren’t blood relatives. I want them destroyed,” she said firmly.

  “Nikki and I can legally take care of that for you,” Alexis said. “And for whatever it’s worth, I think you are doing the right thing. And from what we know of Andy, I think you are right about that, too. I do not think he would want Sara giving birth to his child. Better, he would think, just to let it fade away.”

  “Avery’s here,” Myra said, as she walked to the kitchen door to let the old spy in. He was grinning from ear to ear.

  “We got her. She’s not going anywhere,” Avery said, as Annie thrust Bella’s papers into his hands. Satisfied at what he was seeing, he started to laugh. “Okay, ladies and one man, what’s our next move?”

  “Everyone, head for the dining room, take a seat, get comfortable. Myra and I will make fresh coffee; then we’ll join you all to decide our final move,” Annie announced.

  As the two women bustled about the kitchen, they whispered to each other.

  “I have to say, this mission ate at me, Myra. I didn’t think we had a snowball’s chance of making this come out right for Bella.”

  “I agree. What we lost sight of was Andy himself. He was, according to Bella, a stand-up guy. He would have done the right thing no matter what. At the last second, yes, and on the fly, but he did do what was expected of him. We can forgive him that laxness, he just got married to the girl of his dreams, and that’s all he was thinking about. I feel so bad for Bella. I’m sorry Andy passed. Life would have been so promising for them both.”

  “Annie, by any chance did you happen to notice anything different between Mr. Montrose and Bella?” Myra asked, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

  “I certainly did. That mouth of hers was kissed solidly for a very long time. Their eyes are glassy. I’m happy for them, but they’re both feeling guilty and don’t know what to do about it. That’s the sad part.”

  “They’ll figure it out and go on from there. It may take a while, but they both have all the time in the world now,” Myra said.

  “I agree. Coffee’s ready,” Annie said, picking up the tray.

  Myra held the swinging door leading to the dining room open. “Just coffee, people, and we’re fresh out of goodies,” she said, setting the heirloom silver tray on the sideboard. “Avery, we’re out of tea, so it’s coffee or ginger ale.”

  “Ginger ale is fine. Okay, ladies and gents, let’s get to it!”

  Chapter 19

  Kathryn waited until Paul Montrose raised the huge golf umbrella so that it covered Bella and himself in preparation to walking Bella back to the cottage, where Myra had invited him to stay before she locked and bolted the door.

  Paul grinned. He didn’t bother to demur. He simply said okay and squeezed Bella’s arm in a show of protection. The little move did not go unnoticed by the Sisters or Avery, who smiled.

  Love was in the air, and it was more than a little noticeable.

  “Okay, people, time to head to the war room and get this show on the road. Avery, what are your operatives telling you?” Annie asked, as she led the way to the bookshelf that would magically open to reveal the moss-covered stone staircase that led to the dungeons below and the war room.

  “Reports have come in, but there has been no activity. They are picking up sound, human and either TV or stereo. It’s doubtful Sara will venture out in this deluge. But, if she does, my people will be on her like fleas on a dog.”

  Myra turned on the lights, and the massive TV on the wall came to life to reveal Lady Justice in all her glory. They all shot off a snappy salute before taking their assigned seats at the table. Except for Nikki and Isabelle, who scampered up to the dais, where the bank of computers awaited them.

  “We’re up and running, so let’s get to it,” Nikki called out.

  “Before we do anything, we need to decide what we’re going to do with all of Sara’s money. I’d like to get on this right now because Phil is waiting to help me, and I hate tying him up any more than necessary. Remember, I’m in training and need all the help I can get so we don’t have to depend on Abner all the time,” Isabelle reminded them.

  “Okay, girls, let’s run this up the flagpole and see what happens. Yoko?” Myra said.

  “Let’s start with Bella. She said all she wanted was enough to pay off And
y’s truck, plus the insurance and taxes. That doesn’t seem fair enough to me. Maybe it’s because I’m a woman, maybe not, but I keep thinking about all the pain, the misery, the unhappiness she went through all those months. I think she deserves to be compensated, and obviously her husband thought so, too, because at the eleventh hour, he came through for her,” Yoko said.

  “I believe Bella when she said she didn’t want Andy’s money. She certainly didn’t marry him for it because she didn’t even know he had any other than his military pay. I say Nikki and Alexis set up a trust of some kind for Bella’s future. If she uses it, fine; if not, that’s fine, too. She can donate it to charity,” Kathryn said.

  “I think three million dollars will do it plus a check for $75,000 to pay off the truck, taxes, and insurance,” Alexis said.

  “I think that will work,” Avery said. “What about the fertility clinics?”

  “Alexis and I are on that. We’ll see that Bella’s and Andy’s ah . . . um . . . donations are destroyed since that is what Bella wants,” Nikki said.

  “That just leaves Sara with a million aliases. What should we do with her?” Annie asked, a tight edge to her voice.

  “Even though we have liberated most of the assets that were in her name or any of the names we know about, we’re going to have our hands full trying to sort out the rest of her false identities and the various bank and brokerage accounts into which she placed what she swindled from her boyfriends, fiancés, and the like. Let us not forget that she is an outright thief. She stole Andy’s inheritance. She made Bella’s life miserable. How could she not tell that girl that her husband was dead? How? She has to pay for that?” Nikki said vehemently.

  “We can do most of that for you and give you a summar y,” Avery said. “Then, if you want, you could attempt to repay some of the men she stole from, like Steve Conover.”

  “All right, Avery, we’ll leave that up to you. Just let us know when you’re finished so we can wrap things up. Our big question right now is we have . . . Sara’s punishment all set up, but now that we think, I say think, she might have gotten herself inseminated and could be pregnant, it kind of throws us into a tailspin. Does anyone have any suggestions?” Myra asked.