COLLATERAL CASUALTIES (The Kate Huntington mystery series) (3 page)

            She smiled. “I thought you always tried to tell the truth, Miller. You know that’s a barefaced lie.”

            The surly teenager behind the counter plopped the tray with Kate’s food in front of them. Before she could demand payment, Miller said, “Could you get the same for me, please?” The girl grimaced and walked away.

            While they waited for his food, they chatted a bit about their kids. It was obvious the man was incredibly proud of his young daughter and preteen son. “Johnny’s getting a little rebellious now,” he said. “But they’re both good kids.”

            Food received and paid for, they walked toward the tables. Miller took Kate’s elbow and steered her to one that was some distance from the other diners.

            Once seated, he said, “I know I sent you a condolence card, but I’ve got to tell you again how sorry I was when I heard about your husband’s death. It was like a fist in the gut. Here you’d helped me get healthy enough to find a wonderful woman and have the family I’d always wanted. And then you lost the man you loved, before you could even have kids.”

            “Thank you. It was a horrible time, but I did have his child. I discovered I was pregnant a month after he died. And I’m happily remarried now. I have a wonderful family, so you don’t need to feel bad for me.”

            “I assumed both your children were your second husband’s.”

            “Well, they are in his heart. Edie knows about her biological father but Skip is the only father she’s ever known. When she asks me about Eddie, I tell her to imagine Skip, only six inches shorter and a bit skinnier, with the same easy-going personality.”

            Instead of the smile Kate was expecting, Miller’s expression turned serious. He dropped his gaze for a second. When he raised his eyes again, she saw anxiety and determination in them.

            “I have an ulterior motive for this get-together and you’ve just given me the best opening I’m gonna get. I want to hire your husband’s detective agency, but I can’t tell him exactly why.”

            Taken aback, Kate didn’t know what to say.

            “I can tell you because you already know my past, or at least some of it. And I know you’ll keep it confidential. I was hoping you could ask him to do the little assignment I need done, without asking any questions.”

            Kate stared at him, struggling to keep her expression neutral.

            “Take a bite of your food, please,” Miller said. “I’m trying to make this look like a lunch interview between a businessman and a potential employee.”

            She shook her head slightly.
What the hell?
But she obediently took a bite of her wrap.

            “I know I’m sounding a little crazy but it’ll all make sense in a minute.” Miller kept his voice low. “A month ago, new people moved in down the block from us. Another neighbor threw them a welcome-to-the-neighborhood party. When this one couple arrived, the hostess led them around the room, introducing them to everyone. They got to me and Jill and the man was introduced as the ambassador of a South American country. I didn’t recognize his name but as I shook the man’s hand, I realized I was looking into the eyes of a man I killed thirty-two years ago.”

            Kate choked on a sip of her smoothie. Her heart kicked into overdrive as her brain scrambled to process what Miller was saying.

            “He’d had some plastic surgery but I knew who he was. The problem is I didn’t cover up that fact fast enough. He knew I’d recognized him. He said he hadn’t caught my name. The hostess repeated it, then he said it over to himself, like he was memorizing it.”

            Kate gasped. “My God, Miller!”

            “Yeah, not good. Finally I got my wits about me and said, ‘So is this lovely lady your wife?’ He introduced her. Then I said, ‘You know, when I was a young man I did some wild and crazy things, but now I’m so happy to be married and settled down. No man wants to do anything to jeopardize his wife and family.’”

            “Wasn’t that telling him just how to get to you?” Kate whispered.

            “Yes, but Jill was standing right next to me. She’d been introduced as my wife. I figured that was the best way to convey to him that I was out of that life and wasn’t going to jeopardize what I had by telling anybody about his new identity. There was a threat in there too. That I’d go after his family if he messed with me. I gave him a slight nod and he nodded back. Message received, or so I thought. But since then I’ve had some things happen. I think he’s trying to kill me, but make it look like an accident.”

            Miller glanced at his watch, doing a credible imitation of a busy executive a little annoyed that his companion was taking so long to eat. Kate took another bite of her neglected wrap. It tasted like cardboard. She finally managed to swallow it.

            “What does all this have to do with Skip?” she whispered. “He’s a private investigator, not a spy.”

            “I’m getting to that. I’m about to hand you a folder, inside is a letter. Don’t take it out of the folder. It’s on distinctive stationery so if he’s watching he’d probably recognize what it is. Make it look like I’m showing you a job description.”

            Miller handed her the folder. She opened it carefully. On cream-colored stationery, that looked like it was only one step away from pure linen, was a typed note.
I am hoping you will do me the honor of your presence on Friday, 16 September, 2011, for a short chat. I believe you will find the discussion worth your time. I will contact you by Wednesday next with further details. In the meantime, please take care of yourself. A Concerned Friend.

            “That came in the mail last Wednesday. No return address,” Miller said.

            “How do you know this note is even from this ambassador?”

            “I’m pretty sure it is.”

            Kate narrowed her eyes at him. “And what exactly did you want to hire my husband to do?”

            “He doesn’t have to hurt anybody and it’s not dangerous, I swear. I just need to get another look at this guy. I still have some contacts. Had them do some checking on the ambassador without telling them why.” Miller’s voice was still low but he was talking fast. “They got back to me Friday morning. They think they’ve located the residence of the man’s mistress. He goes there every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, for several hours in the late afternoon. If I show up near there and he spots me, that wouldn’t be good. I need somebody he won’t recognize to go to the door with some excuse, like he’s delivering a pizza and got the wrong address. I’ll give him a fake pen. It’s really a small camera. I just need a decent head shot of the man, a close-up.”

            “You’re not sure it’s that same guy, based on his reaction? And I’d think an ambassador would have his picture in the newspaper at times.”

            Miller shook his head. “My gut says it’s him but I don’t have any proof. I don’t want to... take action unless I’m sure. I did a search on him, of course. There’s no official photo on the embassy’s website. And in the newspapers, he’s always standing behind someone or has his head turned away.”

            That
was
a bit strange. “Why can’t one of your contacts get the photo for you?”

            Miller rubbed his hand up and down his face, then stopped suddenly, as if remembering his role as a busy executive interviewing an applicant. He looked at his watch, then put on a polite listening look. “I’ve been doing too much of the talking. Can you act like you’re talking while I try to explain?”

            “I’m not a very good actress, Miller.”

            “Okay, just whenever I pause, say something–the alphabet, the first line of a nursery rhyme, whatever.”

            “Eeny, meeney, miny moe. Hickory, dickory dock... This is ridiculous.”

            “You’re doing great.”

            “Gee, thanks. Did I just pass Spying 101?”

            He smiled at her. “The first test at least. I haven’t told my contacts who I think this guy is because then... uh, they would do something. I need to be sure first. Before I do anything.”

            Kate’s stomach clenched. Bile rose in her throat. She pushed her plate away.

            “You’re going to kill him, aren’t you?” she said so quietly she wasn’t sure he could hear her over the noise from the mall and other diners.

            His expression said he’d heard her, but he didn’t respond right away. “Not exactly,” he finally said. “I’ll tell my contacts who he really is, and he’ll be deported.”

            “And then?”

            Miller hesitated again. “He’ll probably end up being executed for treason by his government. That’s why I’ve got to be sure he’s the man I think he is.”

            The horror Kate felt must have shown on her face because he quickly added, “I have no choice. It’s not just about me. I’m terrified he’ll go after Jill or the kids if I don’t show up for this meeting on Friday.”

            “Why is he waiting so long to have that meeting?”

            Miller shrugged. “He could be buying time while he sets up another hit on me. Or he might be watching to see what I do in the meantime.”

            “Oh, good, so here you sit talking to me.”

            “He won’t think you’re anybody important to me. When we’re done here, we’ll stand up, shake hands and I’ll say, ‘Thank you for your time, Ms. Smith. I’ll get back to you soon.’ Then you thank me, using my real name, and we part company. I’m being very careful to make it look like I’m not worried, that I’m just going about my business as usual.”

            “And do you usually interview applicants over lunch in the mall?”

            “Actually, yes. I work out of my home now, as a consultant on engineering projects. I don’t like to bring strangers to the house so I often meet with customers, or potential temporary employees I might need for a certain job, over a meal out in public.”

            His failure to acknowledge her wave now made sense. He’d apparently been a good spy. Either that or he was having a psychotic breakdown and this was all an elaborate delusion.

            “Have you seen the movie,
A Beautiful Mind
?” Kate asked.

            Miller let out a short bark of laughter. “I’m not crazy. You saw the letter. This is all horribly real.”

            Yeah,
if
the letter was really from this ambassador and not some kind of weird sales pitch or scam that had become part of his delusion.

            “I’m sorry. I’m not going to involve my husband in this. It’s too dangerous. And you don’t even know that this guy means you harm. If he’s an ambassador now he’s probably one of the good guys, in his new identity at least.”

            “I seriously doubt it. Three decades ago, this man was part of a movement to overthrow the government of his country, and they used some pretty nasty tactics to try to accomplish that goal.”

            Kate frowned.

            Miller leaned forward. She thought for a moment that he was going to take her hand, but then he caught himself. “I understand that you don’t want to jeopardize your husband’s safety, but I really don’t think there’s much risk. I wouldn’t even ask just for my own sake, but like I said, I’m scared for my family.”

            “I feel for you, Miller. I really do. But this is totally out of Skip’s league. And I just couldn’t handle it if anything happened to him, not after losing Eddie. I’d... I’d be the one who would be crazy, and I’ve got kids who need me, need their father. I’m sorry.”

            Miller sat back in his chair. “No, I’m sorry. I should’ve realized it was too much to ask. I just thought... I don’t know what I was thinking. I’ll find another way.”

            “Let me ask Skip for some referrals of other detectives. People he knows are good.”
And a little crazy.

            “You can’t tell him any of this, Kate. I really shouldn’t be telling you. I could be prosecuted for treason for breaching security, if it got out that I’m talking about this.”

            “I’ll think of a way to get some names without telling him anything specific. How can I get in touch with you? Should I just e-mail–”

            “No. Don’t make any contact with me in a way that can be traced. I called you Friday from a throwaway cell phone.” He took out a business card and slid it across the table to her, while retrieving the folder with his other hand. “Number on the back is another throwaway. After I hear from you, I’ll toss it. Don’t say your name when you call, just leave the info on the voicemail.”

            Kate shook her head. “This is unreal.”

            “I wish it were. Oh how I wish it were.”

            He stood up and extended his hand. She rose and took it. As they shook, he said his lines in a slightly louder than normal voice.

            She gave his hand a small squeeze before letting it go. “Take care of yourself, Miller,” she whispered. Then in a normal voice she said, “Thank you, Mr. Dawson. I’ll look forward to hearing from you.”

            Kate picked up her purse, turned and walked away. If Ambassador What’s-His-Face was watching, she hoped he wasn’t close enough to see that she was blinking back tears.

~~~~~~~

            When Kate got back to her office, she had a few minutes before her first afternoon client was due. She called Skip and asked him for some names of detectives for a client.

            “It isn’t something I can help with?” he asked.

            “It’s not your kind of case.” She suspected he was dying of curiosity, but he knew better than to ask for an explanation once she’d told him it was related to a client.

            “Hang on a sec.” She heard paper rustling. “Okay, you got a pencil?”

            “Yes.”

            He said a name, spelled it, gave her a phone number. “This guy’s done some subcontracting for us, when we were short-handed. Smart, discreet, won’t ask questions. From the few minimal, minuscule details you’ve given me...” Kate could hear the grin in his voice. “I’d say he should be able to handle the job.”