Deadly Justice (27 page)

This could well be her final chance to bring down Richard Webster.  Revenge had driven her every move for years, so long she wasn't sure what direction she'd turn once he was out of the picture.  He was almost within her crosshairs, yet her focus was split.  That had never happened before.   She was a professional who did her job and moved on. 

When had this turned into more than a case?  Samuel Carpenter had tossed the proverbial monkey wrench into her carefully made plans.  From the second her eyes met his, she'd known he'd be trouble with a capital T, and damned if she hadn't been right. 

 A soft knock sounded, and she automatically reached for her piece before remembering she didn't have one.  Hadn't carried one since meeting Carpenter.  Another thing she'd have to talk to Samuel about.  With Webster this close, and after his earlier call, she felt naked without her Glock. 

Ms. Willie stuck her head around the door and wiggled her fingers in a wave.  “There you are, dear.”

“Hey, Ms. Willie.  Samuel's downstairs with the rest of the guys.” 

The door opened further and Ms. Willie walked into the penthouse.  “I know.  I wondered if we might talk.”  She looked around the space.  “Mr. Samuel did a wonderful job on this place.”  She chuckled.  “You should have seen it before the renovations.  Nobody with half a brain would have lived in this place.  The upstairs hadn't been touched since the nineteen forties, and it showed.  Movies and television may romanticize World War II era chic, but give me my creature comforts.” 

Andrea lowered herself onto the couch, and motioned Ms. Willie to join her.  The woman looked like she had something to get off her chest, and Andrea was her intended target.  Her brow furrowed and she opened her mouth to ask, then closed it.  Diplomacy was a better strategy when dealing with the sweet older woman. 

“There's obviously something on your mind, Ms. Willie.  Spill.” 

“Do you care about my boy?” 

Andrea shouldn't have been surprised at her question.   Part of her appreciated the woman's blunt approach.  A blind person could see how much Ms. Willie cared for Carpenter.  From talking with him, she knew that Ms. Willie was more than just his housekeeper.  She was a part of his family, a surrogate mother who'd been part of his life from the time he was a small boy. 

“Yes, I care about Sam.”  She huffed out a sigh.  “Probably more than I should.” 

Ms. Willie folded her arms across her ample bosom.  “I won't let you hurt him.  If you're only using him to get to Richard Webster, it ends here and now.” 

Andrea blinked in surprise.  “What do you know about Richard Webster?” 

The other woman waved a hand at her question.  “My boy isn't the only one with connections, dear.  I also know there's a whole lot more to you than meets the eye, Ms. Kirkland.  Or is it Wakefield?” 

Andrea's eyes widened for a brief second at the mention of both names.  She smirked and leaned back against the cushions, drew her leg up onto the cushion and curved around to face Ms. Willie directly.  “You're good, I'll give you that.  Legally, I'm Andrea Kirkland.  As far as the rest of the world is concerned, Angela Wakefield no longer exists.”

“You can never erase all the cyber footprints of an identity.  Whoever did yours is good, but…” 

“I'll make sure and tell Zach you're impressed.”

A twinkle lit Ms. Willie's eyes.  “That would be Zachary Bennett?” 

“My brother.”

“Hmm.  How did I miss that connection?”  She frowned, all trace of humor gone.  “Does Mr. Samuel know who you really are?  Because either you tell him or I will.” 

Andrea laid her arm along the back of the couch, and drummed her fingers along the cushion.  “He knows everything about Angela Wakefield and my connection, though tenuous, to Richard Webster.  I have my own reasons for wanting to see Webster pay for his crimes that have nothing to do with Sam or his case.” 

The look of sympathy on Ms. Willie's face caused her spine to stiffen.  She didn't need or want the other woman's pity, and wouldn't be swayed by emotions.  Wouldn't allow herself to be steered away from her final goal of taking down the monster.  She'd help Sam and his team find Webster, but when all was said and done and the dust settled, she'd be the one to finish him—permanently. 

Ms. Willie's hand touched her knee lightly.  “I'm sorry for your loss.”  

“Thank you.”  Andrea cocked her head, carefully studying the woman seated across from her.  There was definitely more going on with Ms. Willie than she'd first suspected, and didn't she feel like a fool for not having Zach check her out?  This entire case from beginning to end had been a huge black mark when it came to the skills she'd learned at The Agency.  She'd let her heart lead instead of using her head. 

“Wanna tell me who you work for, Ms. Willie?  Because I'm pretty sure, housekeeping skills aside, your intelligence gathering is top notch.” 

The other woman grinned and that smile lit up her face, making her appear younger and more vibrant.  The twinkle in her eyes revealed the humor lying beneath the surface, as if she was enjoying their back-and-forth. 

“I work for the Carpenter family, dear.”

“And?” 

“And I'm retired MI-5.” 

Andrea rocked back against the cushion.  “MI-5.  As in British military intelligence? 

“Retired, dear.  I have been for a very long time, but I still have a few connections left. Old friends who do me favors every now and again.” 

Now that she knew, Andrea could hear the slightest accent beneath certain words.  It wasn't overt or blatantly obvious, but there—if you knew to listen for it. 

“Why would a British Intelligence operative work as a housekeeper?  I'm not trying to be rude.  I just want to understand going from something like MI-5 to glorified babysitting…”

Her words trailed off when Ms. Willie quirked her brow, and like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, the picture took shape in her mind. 

“Who hired you?” 

“See, I knew you were smart.”  Ms. Willie's hand patted Andrea's knee gently.  “Mr. Samuel's grandfather hired me when Mr. Samuel and Miss Lily were young.  The family's wealth and social standing made them easy targets, and he wanted somebody with specialized training, somebody who could be with the children basically twenty-four/seven.” 

“I can understand that, but why go to MI-5?  Professionally trained bodyguards aren't hard to find in the United States.” 

“Precisely why he decided to look abroad, dear.”  Ms. Willie stood and brushed down the front of her simple black dress.  She headed for the kitchen and pulled a teakettle from a lower cabinet, as if she knew precisely where it was, and filled it.  Reaching into a cupboard, she pulled out two mugs and set them atop the granite. 

“Are you still with MI-5?” 

“Oh, no, I'd left my position with them months before Josiah Carpenter contacted me.”  A wistful smile crossed her lips and she stared off into the distance.  “My situation was similar to yours.  My fiancé died in an automobile accident and I wasn't handling the grief very well.  The job suffered because my heart wasn't in it anymore.  I lacked focus, a purpose or reason to go on.  My former boss gave Josiah my name, and the rest is history.  I've been with the Carpenter family ever since.” 

Andrea watched Ms. Willie bustle around the kitchen.  The kettle whistled and she plunked teabags into each cup and poured the hot water, before glancing at Andrea, her eyes filled with a fierceness she'd never noticed in the older woman.  “I will do
anything
for this family.  They gave me a reason to go on living, and I would die for Mr. Samuel.  Never doubt that.”

“You kept your hand in the game, so you could protect him, didn't you?” 

Ms. Willie leaned against the countertop, her hands flat against the surface.  “Once you're in, you can never really get out.  You know that better than anybody.  After so many years with nothing untoward happening, I got careless.” 

“Lily?” 

Ms. Willie drew in a shuddering breath.  “I didn't see how much trouble she was in.  She hid her drug use from everyone, until it was too late.  Mr. Samuel—he was devastated.  He blamed himself.”

Andrea grimaced, feeling a stab of guilt.  “He still does.”

Ms. Willie handed her a mug before sitting down again.  “He's carried the weight of her loss around ever since her death.  Nothing is going to ease that burden, not until Webster is behind bars.  Mr. Samuel couldn't save her, so he focused on taking down the ones who supplied the drugs, searching for a way to stop the influx.”

Andrea took a sip of the hot tea.  There was something about a good cup of tea that soothed her and helped her relax.  “That's when he went to work for the DEA?”

Ms. Willie nodded.  “Foolish boy joined up without saying a word.  He started at the bottom, but moved up through the ranks like nobody I've ever seen.  Went in under an assumed name, because his granddaddy, Josiah, pulled a few strings, but he didn't get preferential treatment.  Quite the opposite.  They pushed him harder, because they expected him to fail and run home with his tail tucked between his legs.”   

Andrea took another sip of her tea.  With an audible sigh, she leaned back against the couch cushion.  She hadn't realized how stiff she'd been, the tension in her muscles easing as they talked.  Ms. Willie turned out to be a surprising fount of information—at least as much as she was willing to share. 

“Samuel told me a lot of this.  And about his sister.  I've told him about John, too.”  She watched Ms. Willie's eyes widen slightly, though she never gave any other outward indication of surprise. 

“Let's put our cards on the table, shall we?” 

Andrea placed her mug on the coffee table.  “That sounds like a good idea.  Samuel and I both have our own reasons for chasing Richard Webster.  He's a monster with no regard for anyone or anything except himself.  That's going to be his undoing.” 

“Did you know where he was?”  The blunt question took Andrea by surprise. 

“Other than the fact he was in New Orleans?”  She shook her head.  “I only figured that out a short time before Samuel hit me with his car.” 

“What?” 

“He didn’t tell you?  Apparently Stefan Carlisle found a wire transfer that I'd made for my boss that connected back to Simco, which led straight to Richard Webster.  Samuel needed a way to get close to Lawrence Mitchell, and that was through me.  So he arranged a little accident, and bumped me with his car when I was crossing the street.” 

Ms. Willie's eyes roved over her, a speculative gleam in them.  “I always said the boy was clever.” 

“Wait, I didn't tell you about the tracker he put on me the next night.”  She smiled when Ms. Willie chuckled.  “He's definitely smooth.  He's got the whole James Bond sophisticated air perfected.” 

“But you found the tracker apparently.” 

“Of course.  He's good, but I'm not exactly a slouch either.” 

“We're getting off track.  What are your plans once Webster is captured?”  Ms. Willie held up her hand when Andrea started to speak.  “I don't mean with him—his backside will rot in a Supermax penitentiary for the rest of his miserable life.  No, what are your intentions toward Mr. Samuel?” 

“My intentions?  Isn't this usually the conversation that takes place between the man and the woman's father?” 

Ms. Willie smiled though it didn't quite reach her eyes.  “I think we're both liberated women, so the roles have reversed.  Are you planning to stick around once the dust settles, or am I going to have to nurse my boy through a broken heart?” 

What could she say to that?  She didn't really know what Samuel felt for her, not really.  All she knew were the feelings she'd held deep inside, afraid to hope.  Afraid to dream.  She'd lain awake in his arms, while he'd slept beside her, and knew without any doubt she loved him.  Somehow, with all the craziness spinning around them, she'd fallen head over heels for him. 

“I love him.”  She spoke the words, feeling their rightness on her lips.  “I don't know how it happened, but I've never been more sure of anything in my life.  Whether he feels the same—”

A loud crash sounded as the door leading to the rooftop slammed open under the weight of a heavy boot.  Two huge men dressed in black stalked through, guns drawn.  It was obvious they hadn't entered the building through the front door, because they'd never had made it past the men downstairs.  Which only left the fire escape as their sole means of entry.  She'd have to talk to Samuel about that little lapse in security. 

The men's eyes scanned the room, landing on Andrea and Ms. Willie.  Striding forward, they ignored the older woman, one of the men latching onto Andrea's arm. 

Without thinking, her training took over and she spun, yanking her elbow from the man's grip and slamming it backwards into his midsection.  He gave a satisfying grunt of pain and she kicked out toward the other, her foot missing its target, instead landing on his upper thigh. 

Ms. Willie leapt onto the back of the man Andrea had just kicked, wrapping her arm around his throat.  Andrea whirled again to the first man who'd attacked her, freezing when the barrel of his gun centered inches away from her forehead.  Raising both hands on either side of her head, she waited, hoping and praying his attention would waver and she'd get a chance to take him out. 

Unfortunately, his eyes never left her.   “Stop playing with the old broad.  Take her out.  We need to hit the road.” 

Andrea's blood ran cold as she watched an evil smirk cross the face of the other man.  He whirled and stepped back, slamming Ms. Willie's back against the fireplace with a resounding thud.  A grunt of pain escaped her, and her arm loosened from around his neck.  He took one step forward, and her body slumped down to her knees, a dazed expression on her face. 

“No!”  The cry burst from her when he raised his hand and coldcocked the other woman with the butt of his pistol.  Ms. Willie's body slumped to the floor, and Andrea watched as a small trail of blood seep out from beneath her head. 

“Let's go.” 

With a final look at Ms. Willie, Andrea gave a small sigh of relief when she saw the shallow rise and fall of her chest.  She wasn't dead—yet.  Concentrating all her thoughts and energy, she willed Samuel to realize something was wrong and to come home and find the older woman before it was too late.