Magic Moment (28 page)

Arrangements were made to move the women to a secret location and guarded by agents. The location so secret, Chase hadn’t been told where Saunders had placed the women. When he had insisted on knowing where his wife and aunt were being taken, Saunders maintained the confidentiality was for the woman’s protection. At a little past eight that morning, two Baltimore agents had showed up at Lonnie’s front door.

One of the agents had introduced himself as Carl Newrome. Laura recognized him immediately as the man she had observed watching
Madre
in Beach Bay. She gently chastised Newrome for having frightened her that day, and the agent sheepishly apologized.

Chase, his heart heavy, had stood on to the porch watching the brown sedan cruise down the street. Shortly after, in the Honda, he had started his drive to Philadelphia, the federal building, and a briefing with Saunders’ investigation team.

Jake Morgan was on Saunders’ squad. The detective had relieved Chase of his personal cell phone and given him a government-issued replacement to keep in his hip pocket. Chase also wore on his belt a listening device resembling a cell phone. The gadget enabled Saunders and company to monitor Chase’s conversations. They heard Chase; he was unable to hear them.

Now, as the Philadelphia sky dimmed to a gray twilight, it was show time. Chase glanced at his watch and satisfied with the time, he stepped from the car. The air was muggier than it had been in Sea Tower, but he wore his denim jacket with his listening device safely hidden.

He slid the payment card in the parking meter. While parked at a rest stop on the I-95, Chase had made the cell phone call as Saunders instructed. Chase had convinced Dick Donovan that they needed to meet for a badly needed drink. Dick had been aloof, but agreed to meet with him.

The dark, bawdy,
Cockeyed Bumblebee
, in the city’s Olde City section, seldom had a weeknight crowd. One long bar and a series of tight booths against the wall, it was a spot where people actually did stop for a quick drink.

Chase stepped inside, jolted by the saxophone blaring from the jukebox. The waitress, flaxen-haired, tiny, wearing a white cotton T-shirt that read in black script
Trish can do it for you
, approached Chase while his eyes adjusted to the muted light. He saw his father and waved the woman away.

Dick sat in the back booth. Sipping his usual Scotch, he wore his dark Armani suit of the day. Chase thought of Laura. Despite her animosity toward her father-in-law, she had always been complimentary about his stylish suits.

“Hey, Dad,” Chase said with a nod. He slid into the booth facing his father.

“Chase,” Dick said curtly. “I was surprised at your call.”

“No, you weren’t.” Chase and his father had never dealt with preliminaries. They always got to the point promptly. “You’ve been waiting, counting the minutes to gloat.”

Trish stood at the table. Chase ordered an Irish whiskey; his father another scotch.

Dick waited until the woman was back at the bar. “How’s your wife?”

Chase shifted uncomfortably, giving the appearance they were broaching an unpleasant topic. His answer was quick, his tone bothersome. “Pregnant.”

Dick didn’t attempt to hide his contented smile.
Good,
Chase mused,
he thinks I’m unhappy and here to chow down some crow.

“How long before the baby is due?”

Chase shrugged. “A few more weeks.”

“Laura’s healthy? The baby?”

“She’s eating anything that isn’t nailed down,” Chase replied dispassionately.
Not true.
Laura was very conscious of Dr. Silver’s recommendations on eating well during the last trimester. Gone were the ice cream sundaes, replaced by a constant craving for Red Delicious apples.

“Baby’s okay, I guess,” Chase added. “I tune her out when she talks.” He said a silent, thankful prayer that his wife and baby were enormously healthy.

The waitress arrived. Chase grabbed his glass and gulped.

“And how are you?” Dick asked coolly.

“I’ve been better.” Chase swallowed the rest of the whiskey, savoring the sweet taste.

There was a long silence.

“If I’m wrong, feel free to correct me. I’m getting the impression your life isn’t the Norman Rockwell painting I saw during my visit,” Dick said with a pompous chin tilt.

Chase cleared his throat. “Look, don’t get me wrong.” He exhaled a deep breath and leaned in closer. “I want the baby and Laura to get through the delivery okay, but the woman’s getting on my nerves.”

“Who?”

“Who?” Chase signaled the waitress, lifting his empty glass for another drink. “Laura. My wife. She’s on me about my drinking. Can’t enjoy a good Irish whiskey without her nagging.”

“Laura a nag? She hardly talks,” Dick said casually.

His father played it cool. Chase had figured as much.

“You haven’t lived with her. She can talk. Nonstop. Her whining voice grates on my nerves,” Chase mumbled the deceit.

There was a long pause. “Dad.” Chase ran his fingers through his hair, and put on his best hangdog grin. “You were right.” His eyes lowered in a humble gaze. “I mean in the beginning, I enjoyed it. Being Laura’s hero. Gratitude got me great sex. I was pissing you off. It was fun.”

Dick sat patiently, waiting like a priest in a darkened confessional for the next declaration of sin.

The waitress arrived with her tray. Chase grabbed his glass, took a mouthful, and swallowed hard.

“She tells me how a husband and father should behave,” Chase said. “Reminding me I didn’t have the best example. She eats up the money. She wants twenty-five thousand dollars to hold a spot at some fancy preschool. The kid isn’t even born yet.”

Chase had shown Laura an Internet article on the school’s two-year wait list. The absurdity had them laughing for an hour. At this moment, Chase ached to hear Laura’s animated laugh.

“I want out.” Chase snickered. “I want my life back.”

Dick sat back and studied his son.

“Chase, what do you want from me?”

“Help me out of this marriage. I’ll stay with her until after the baby’s born, but that’s it. It’ll cost me, though. She knows how to go through the cash,” Chase repeated, aware of how fondly Dick related to money. “Besides bugging me about the preschool, I withdrew fifty thousand yesterday to put down on a house.”

Chase kept his eyes downcast, focused on his glass like a remorseful little boy. Saunders’ plan called for Chase to crawl with his tail between his legs, hat in hand, and beg to be let back into the fold, the usual humiliating drill. To go along with the set-up, the agent had Chase withdraw the money from the account held in both Chase’s name and his father’s. The money was transferred into a special, dummy account used by Saunders for undercover purposes.

“What does your precious Aunt Lonnie say?” Dick’s tone displayed his distaste for his late wife’s sister. “I’m sure you confided your problems to her.”

“She said pregnancy does strange things to women. Plays with their hormones. Laura will be fine after the baby’s born. Only Aunt Lonnie doesn’t know how Laura and I came together,” he lied. “I haven’t a clue what Laura’s like
not
pregnant. She could be worse.”

Dick raised an eyebrow. “Chase, I’m at a loss,” he said, his tone victorious. “This is an extreme U-turn. You pleaded with me to be a family. Laura, the baby, you, and me.”

“I was naïve,” he said, as if ashamed.

“Unless I’m there guiding you, you generally are.”

Chase choked back his indignation and remained on track. “I’m happy to give her whatever she wants and adios,” he continued. “We’re not even having sex anymore.” He pursed his lips. “She’s either too tired, or too uncomfortable. Besides, a protruding stomach is not sexy. She watches me like a hawk. I can’t even go get laid somewhere else.”

Chase managed not to wince. Insulting Laura was like having a tooth pulled without novocaine.

“Where does she think you are?”

“I told her I needed a part for the boat,” Chase replied. “A part I could only get in Magic Lake.”

Dick swallowed some Scotch. He let the silence be long and painful, his features half exasperated, half sorrowful. Finally, he let out a sigh.

“Chase, sometimes you’re too much your mother’s son. I tried like hell to deter those noble qualities, but apparently I wasn’t successful,” Dick said. “You took one look at Laura in a distasteful predicament, you felt sorry, and she had you eating out of her hands.” He added crudely, “or some other body part.”

“Everything seemed like a good idea at the time.” Chase ignored the ill-mannered comment, keeping his temper in check.
Distasteful predicament?
Is that what his father called a woman being assaulted?

Dick continued. “Clerking in the public defender’s office, where you met every inappropriate lowlife ever created, seemed like a good idea, also.”

Chase shrugged uneasily.

“I told you from the beginning not to get involved with Laura, let it be, and you didn’t listen.”

“I’m sorry, Dad,” Chase said timidly.

“First of all, when you make a woman your wife, you need to show her who’s in charge, even if you have to smack her around to get your point across.” With a smug tilt of his lips, Dick sat back. “Take it from me, women have to be taught who’s the boss.”

By some miracle, every splinter of control within Chase remained fixed. His eyes studied his whiskey, and his only reaction was his heart sinking to the pit of his stomach. Dick had confirmed what Lonnie had always insisted. The man had hit Michelle Donovan.

“Can you help me, Dad?” Chase muttered.

“Do what?”

Chase lifted his eyes. “Give me the money to send Laura on her way.”

Dick’s attention sharpened. “What about the baby?”

“You can go visit on my day. I’m not leaving the blackjack table to change a dirty diaper. Besides, you’re the one who wanted a grandson.” Tossing his head back, Chase finished his drink. “I’m not cut out for fatherhood. Do you know where the hell I have to go next week? Two freaking Saturdays?”

“No.”

“La-something classes.” Chase laughed. “I have to waste two Saturdays while Laura learns to breathe.” He sucked in a deep, disgusted breath and exhaled.
Another lie.
Chase was honestly looking forward to Lamaze classes.
He
had made their reservation.

“I have nothing against the woman,” he said. “I’m past wanting to spend my life with her, or split two
A.M.
feedings.” He bit the inside of his cheek, restraining his zeal. Changing, feeding, holding, rocking this baby and others he and his wife had talked of having, before growing old together excited Chase beyond words.

“I’m telling you. No amount of sex, good or otherwise, is worth this crap.”

“What will it take to get rid of her?”

Chase put his elbow on the table and leaned his chin on a closed fist. “She sees I’m unhappy. Besides a healthy chunk of actual change, she wants a quarter of the warehouse. If she doesn’t get it, she’s going to the authorities about the party you tossed on my boat, and something else she said she saw.”

Dick’s solid frame went rigid. “What did she see?”

“Beats me.” Chase frowned as if the inquiry was a nuisance and not solving his problem. “She’s hedgy. I figure she’s full of hot air,” he said with casual ease. “Don’t worry. When she started her threats, I tossed the evidence, knife, her dress and whatever else.”
Not true.
Chase, with Laura’s permission, had given Saunders the secured bags. “With no physical evidence, who will believe her almost a year after the fact?”

“Chase … ” Dick’s tone was guarded.

Chase went on. “What’s left is what she claims she saw.” He straightened his body, stretching out imaginary kinks. “Like I said, she’s full of it. There was nothing to see, Laura doesn’t know diddly, and that’s why those FBI people let her go.”

Dick was quiet. Chase, in keeping with his role, paid his empty glass more mind than his father.

“Chase, to give Laura any part of the business involves accountants and lawyers,” Dick said warily.

Chase considered. “I am obligated to provide for my kid.”

“I’ll ask you again. Are you sure the child is yours?”

“Pretty sure,” Chase said, sounding defeated. “We can do a paternity test once the baby’s born. I looked into it. To do one before isn’t good for the baby.” He explained what was involved, Internet information supplied for this meeting.

“We can put a small percentage in trust,” Chase suggested. “Laura’s paws get nowhere near it.”

“That still involves people examining the business.”

“A bean counter. So what?”

Dick was direct. “Chase, I can’t have anyone scrutinizing the business. Do you understand?”

“Why not?”

Dick didn’t answer.

Chase pursed his lips. “Dad, I’m not in the mood.” He waited for a response. When none came, Chase’s scowl deepened. “Tell me those agents aren’t still buzzing around.”

Dick took a long gulp from his glass.

“Ah, damn it, Dad,” Chase shouted.

“Keep your voice down,” Dick warned.

“Well, it figures. Because you got yourself involved in some stupid shit, I’m stuck with a wife.”

“Don’t blame your troubles on me, young man. If you’re stuck with a wife, it’s because you followed your childish, rebellious streak,” Dick said hotly.

Chase took a few minutes, pretending discomfort from the dressing-down.

Chase let out a mournful moan. “Damn. I can’t believe I’m in this mess.”

Dick was quiet for a few minutes, then spoke. “Chase, what does Laura claim she saw?”

“You and Oliver Daniels. Some other guys. Hovering, whispering. Claims her FBI friends will be interested. I tuned her out.”

“Chase,” Dick muttered. “Chase, you can be so gullible.”

“What?” He paused. “All this time I thought Laura was blowing smoke. Aggravating me.” Raising an eyebrow, Chase added, “you telling me, she wasn’t?”

There was a long silence. “We need to talk,” Dick said.

“Will it help me out?” Chase knew Dick expected his son to only be thinking of his own quandary.