Found Wanting (43 page)

Tears began to flow again. "There's nothing I can do to change any of it," Addison said. "Don't you think I would if I could?"

Alaina concentrated on taking a deep, calming breath. "What do you want me to say, Addison? What is it you want so desperately to hear?"

"I know I screwed up, Ali. I know what I did cost you. But you did okay, didn't you? You've had a good life."

"Is that what would appease you? Hearing how hunky-dory my life has been?" Rage boiled over, and Alaina struggled to turn down the heat. But it was too late. She'd held it in for too long. "I suppose it has been pretty hunky-dory, when you really look at it. I mean, being eighteen and the mother of a newborn and working my ass off as a waitress was pretty similar to what I had planned for my life." She held up one hand, as if weighing something in her palm. "Waitress." Then held up the other. "Concert violinist in the Boston Pops. Hell, they're practically one and the same."

The color washed out of Addison's cheeks.

"And letting people I didn't know watch Jonah wasn't so bad," Alaina went on. "Even losing my fourth job because the day care center wouldn't take him when he was sick and there was no one I could leave him with ... that was okay. I had plenty of money, after all. Enough to feed him, buy him medicine. Oh, wait, there was rent. And utility bills. And food. We had to have food. Well, Jonah did anyway. I didn't need that much. Once, I went three days without eating. Have you ever done that?" She plunged ahead without waiting for a response. "I don't recommend it. I ended up passing out on the street."

When Addison's mouth went slack with horror, Alaina whirled away, pacing behind a chair, her body trembling, her lungs constricting so tight she couldn't breathe. "And that wasn't even the best of it." She gripped the back of the chair, her fingers curling into the soft cushion. "The best of it was when one of your husband's thugs tracked me down. Things were going pretty well by then. This kind, generous woman had taken Jonah and me in. She showed me what it was like to be loved unconditionally. She got me thinking that things would finally be okay, that the worst of it was over. And then your husband's hired hand cornered me in her kitchen, and right after I slid a knife between his ribs, she --" Her voice choked off, and she clamped a hand over her mouth before a broken sob could escape.

Letting go had been a mistake. She fought for control, but her breath was coming too hard, too fast. She hadn't meant to let it go so far, hadn't meant to say so much. And now grief joined the anger, grief she had never dared allow herself to feel. It was as crushing, as blinding, as she'd feared it would be. Her knees felt weak, and she held onto the chair, suddenly terrified her legs wouldn't continue to support her.

"What did she do?" Addison asked quietly.

Alaina forced herself to say it, forced herself to acknowledge out loud what had haunted her since Emma had fallen to the floor and expelled her last breath. "She saw what I did to that man, and it gave her a heart attack." She swallowed hard against the unbearable tightness in her throat. "I killed her."

"My God."

Addison's stricken words jolted Alaina, and she looked at her sister, saw that her gray eyes were sober and that sorrow had etched lines into her forehead. Alaina's vision blurred with tears, and she focused on the one thing that had always gotten her through. "Where is Jonah?"

Addison closed her eyes, swallowed. When she opened them again, tears swam in them. "He's at the house with Layton."

Releasing the chair, Alaina slid into it as the shakes took hold. She willed them away, struggled to form a plan. "What's the nearest mall accessible by Metro?"

"Pentagon City. Why?"

"Would Layton let you take Jonah to buy new clothes?"

"Maybe. I don't know."

"I want you to bring him to me at the Metro stop at Pentagon City." Stronger now, determined, Alaina grabbed Addison's wrist and glanced at her watch. It was just after one p.m. Assuming Washington's rush hour was as crazy as Chicago's, she figured the crowds of commuters on the Metro would make it difficult for Layton to make a move if he found them.

"Bring him at six."

Chapter 32

"She's losing it," Chuck said.

Mitch was only half-listening, his attention focused on the voices on the other side of the adjoining room door. He'd heard Alaina's outburst, and his chest still burned from the hammer-like impact of what she'd said. Everything that she had been through. How had she endured it? But he knew. She was strong, determined. A survivor. It was one of the many reasons he had fallen in love with her so swiftly.

But now the women had begun speaking in lowered voices, and no matter how hard he strained, he couldn't make out one word.

"Did you hear what I said?" Chuck asked. "We're losing our chief witness."

Mitch faced him, annoyed. "Your chief witness isn't my concern."

"She should be. It's because of her that the Bureau is protecting Alaina."

"The Bureau isn't protecting Alaina. I am. Which raises the question of why you dragged us out of hiding. You said it was urgent."

Chuck rubbed at the middle of his forehead as if he had a headache. "Keller has made arrangements to take Jonah to Belize with him. And he's moved up the date. Their plane tickets are for the day after tomorrow."

"Damn." Mitch glanced back at the adjoining door, imagining what it would do to Alaina if Keller succeeded. Would it be the final blow? He swallowed the lump that formed in his throat, looked at Chuck. "You could have told me this over the phone."

"Addison demanded to see Alaina. She's coming unglued, Mitch, and she's all we've got. If we lose her, we've got nothing, and I mean nothing, on Keller."

"How can that be?"

Chuck looked like he hadn't slept in days. Even the usually perfect creases in his dark suit had wilted. "He knew about the bugs."

"Knew?"

"The listening devices -- every one of them -- have been disabled in the past twenty-four hours."

"Then Addison could be at risk."

"Her role as a witness has been classified information."

"Don't you think Keller's wondering how the bugs got planted?" Mitch asked.

"Our guys seem to think that if he knew it was her, he would have done something about it by now."

"What do you think?"

"I think the investigation's been tainted from the beginning."

"By whoever Keller's got in the Bureau."

Chuck nodded. "We're thinking now that it might be someone in A.D. Potter's office, if not Potter himself. I've got agents checking out him and all his people, but it's a moot point now." Turning away, he massaged the back of his neck. "Something has to break in the next two days or the window of opportunity slams shut."

"What kind of break are you looking for?"

"Dammit, Mitch --"

"Just tell me, Chuck, and then you can kill me. Maybe I can help."

Shoulders sagging, Chuck leaned back against the desk and sighed. He didn't speak for a moment, and Mitch knew from his own experience that he was weighing the fallout of telling a civilian federal secrets. Then, as if he decided that Mitch could be trusted, he cleared his throat. "The Justice Department got a tip about six months ago that a high-tech security firm had successfully hacked PCware's most popular accounting software -- it's used by probably ten percent of businesses across the nation, and the number is growing every day. The firm notified PCware about the glitch, and PCware put out a press release and a patch.

"Couple months later, the high-tech security firm took another whack at the same software, and bingo, they get in through a glitch that appears to have been created by the patch. Except the security firm staffers notice that the bug looks deliberate. No software engineer in his right mind would have written the code that way. At least, not anyone wanting secure software. The firm tipped off Justice, Justice got the Bureau involved, and we launched an investigation."

"What are you looking for?"

"We've been looking for evidence that someone has been exploiting the glitch."

"To do what?"

"The opportunities with this type of security flaw are immense. Essentially, there's a technological back door into any company that uses the software. Anything on the company's network would be accessible to anybody who knows how to get in."

"And Keller's using the glitch to do what?"

"We don't know. Maybe nothing yet. But two months ago, Keller met with a known D.C. mob boss."

"I'd imagine payment for access to such a glitch would be hefty."

"Oh, yeah," Chuck said. "The money-laundering capabilities alone would be worth millions. Add in the access to sensitive information, possible blackmail material, financial information. The list goes on."

"But the scam gets exposed, PCware and Keller go down hard. Why would he risk everything when he's already got money coming out his ears?"

"Hell if I know. He's been wanting to sell PCware and can't."

Mitch nodded. "Because of Paul Chancellor's will."

"He takes the payoff from the mob and skates on out of the country. By the time anyone's on to the scam, he's long gone and couldn't care less what happens to PCware."

"But he's taking Jonah with him. Why would he do that?"

"That's another mystery. It doesn't figure from any angle, unless he plans to off the kid in Belize, where it might not get as much attention from the cops as it would here."

The thought of it sent jitters through Mitch's stomach. "In that scenario, he'd need Alaina dead so she can't raise a fuss about it over here and get something done."

"Right."

"How much evidence have you got to back all this up?" he asked.

"We've got the security firm that uncovered the glitches and Keller's meeting with the mob guy."

"That's it?"

"These guys know they're being watched, Mitch. By the time we realized the Bureau had a leak, it was too late."

Mitch turned his attention to the silence on the other side of the adjoining door. What was going on over there? "Have you tried to get his wife to plant a bug on him? He's got to talk to somebody at some point about what's going down."

Chuck sighed. "She won't do it. She's terrified he's onto her. We haven't even been able to get her to give us access to his computer at home. And, honestly, I can't say I trust her anymore. She's obviously got a growing problem with alcohol."

Mitch glanced at him. "Maybe I can do it."

Chuck's eyebrows shot up. "You've still got an in with him?"

"Last time we chatted, he seemed to write me off as a loose cannon. But I might be able to push the right buttons to get a meeting if he's desperate to take care of Alaina before he leaves the country." He drew out his cellphone. "Let me give it a shot."

Chapter 33

Alaina dried her hands on the fluffy, white towel and studied her face in the mirror. She looked like hell. Dark circles of stress underscored her eyes. The control she had on her emotions was shaky at best.