One True Heart (21 page)

H
ARMONY
H
OSPITAL

Everyone was surprised when Beau didn't complain about having to stay in the hospital for a few days of further testing. They didn't know that while he slept most of the day away, he sat up talking all night to Lark.

She'd stand in the corner of his room, watching as the nurse did her final check and tucked Beau in, then she'd appear like a favorite dream and curl up on the bed with him. To their surprise they never ran out of things to talk about.

The second night she'd brought hamburgers and Cokes from Buffalo's Bar and Grill. When she told the bar owner, Harley, they were for Beau he wouldn't let her pay.

“The guy looks rough, like an old biker left in the rain, but he said you were a son to him.”

Beau laughed. “Yeah, right. The first few years we played he locked us in that cage he calls a stage and half the time he forgot to feed us. If we'd been at the pound there would have been citations written for animal cruelty. By the time
I turned twenty, the crowds were getting so big I didn't want out of the cage.”

Lark passed him a hamburger. “Just imagine what he would have done if he hadn't liked you so much.”

“You're right. The first night we only knew four songs. We'd play the same four fast and slow, with words and without. The crowd was so drunk that night Harley was the only one who noticed. He told us not to come back without knowing at least one more song. I had to skip two days of school to teach another one to Border.”

They laughed so hard they bumped heads, making Lark burst into tears thinking she'd hurt Beau.

Just before dawn, she opened the hospital's window blinds and they watched Harmony sleeping. One subject led into another and, by the time she left the third morning, he felt like he'd talked to her more than he'd ever talked to all the other girls he'd known put together.

She'd bought him real pajamas so he could get out of bed without being embarrassed by the open-backed gown. She smuggled in R-rated movies for them to watch, and popcorn, and his guitar.

The last night he played all the songs he'd written while thinking of her and she cried, this time because she swore his words brushed across her heart.

He was falling in love with Lark, only when he touched her, she pulled away. Maybe she thought that the hospital wasn't the right place or maybe she wasn't interested in him that way. He couldn't tell. The few times he'd been attracted to a girl it had been a one-night romance and he didn't want that with Lark.

She hadn't commented on what would happen after he left the hospital. He'd hinted that they could still have their midnight talks at the inn. She could even stay for breakfast. Only she never gave him an answer and he was afraid to push it.

“I'm getting out tomorrow,” he finally said as he walked her to the door of his room. “Promise I'll see you tomorrow night. I could ask Mrs. Biggs to fix us dinner and we could
have a quiet evening, or we could go out someplace. There's a little café over in Bailee where no one would know us.”

She kissed his cheek and shook her head. “I've got bank examiners coming. I may not be able to get away. I'll call you.”

The door closed behind her before he thought to tell her his phone number. She'd disappeared out of his life once before, and he promised himself that he'd never let that happen again.

F
RIDAY

Millanie let Kare in the back door at Winter's Inn at seven thirty on Friday morning. They had work to do on the investigation, but Millanie had simply told the innkeeper that she'd invited her friend for breakfast. If Martha Q thought it strange that an injured army captain and a fortune-teller might be friends, she didn't mention it.

As they talked of nothing while waiting for Martha Q and Mrs. Biggs to disappear, Millanie asked about Drew. The memory of the way he'd held her almost a week ago still warmed her blood. The polite professor wasn't so shy when they were alone. If they'd had a few more minutes in the dark foyer together, Martha Q would have walked into a very hot scene.

Kare didn't seem to notice she didn't have Millanie's full attention. The small, young beauty said she hadn't seen her brother since Tuesday night when she'd found Beau. He'd called a few times but he'd sounded busy. “He's working on a book and when he's deep in his research I sometimes don't
hear from him for days. I tell him he's lost in the past. If he'd had my mother, who dragged me to every historical site in California, he probably would have gotten over history years ago.”

Kare continued talking as she ate her French toast. “Actually I kind of enjoyed those trips. Dad never came; for him it was always about watching sports and hunting, and the less time he spent with
the women
the happier he was. Mom drove me everywhere she thought I should go as part of my lessons. She was usually buried in one of her novels while I looked around, taking in the history of each place. Then when we got home she'd make me write an essay about what I learned.”

Kare swallowed another bite and continued. “My mom didn't like people. Wouldn't even eat in a restaurant unless she had to. Most of the time I got the feeling I was included in the ‘people.' Dinner when Dad was home was mostly sitting at the table listening to him talk. Dinner when he was gone was me eating while Mom read.”

Millanie built a picture of the fortune-teller/assistant as Kare talked. A lonely picture. “She must have missed you when you went away to college.”

A mass of curls bounced as Kare shook her head. “The week I left for a real college, I'd just turned nineteen and was going to spend a night without her for the first time in my life. With no friends around our place, sleepovers weren't an issue at my house. I asked my mom if she wanted to take me to the dorm. Her answer was simply, ‘Surely you can read a map, Kare.'

“My bank account had twice the money I needed for living expenses those two years. I don't know if it was because she didn't want to worry about me or she and Dad were afraid I might come back if I ran out of funds. Even though Drew sometimes disappears on a hunt for some lost place in history, he still keeps up with me a hundred times better than my parents do.”

He disappears for days
, Millanie thought as she and Kare moved to the porch, where they could talk about the
investigation. The two comfortable chairs were waiting for them. Thanks to Kare's help they were slowly crossing off name after name on the list of suspects. Several counties had checked in the past week saying the master criminal wasn't in their area, leaving Millanie less and less sure that she'd guessed right when she'd told the sergeant that no underworld criminal would be hiding in Harmony.

“You know, we may not have who we're looking for on the list,” Millanie admitted. “I thought it would be easier than this, but our list may be cold. The chances are slim that he's even near Harmony and, if he is, he's an expert at hiding. He knows how to play this game.”

“I agree. That's why I went back through all the info I've collected to make sure I didn't miss one person. The one we're looking for.” Kare helped herself to one of the gingersnaps Mrs. Biggs had started leaving in a covered jar between their chairs.

Millanie smiled, thinking the next big mystery would probably be how such a small woman could eat so much.

Kare handed her a new file and whispered, “Remember, you've got a secret weapon. Me. I'm an expert at finding. I found Drew and that wasn't easy.”

“Didn't you know his mother's name?” Millanie assumed it would have been easy to locate a brother.

“No. She died when Drew was eighteen. When I was a kid I dug through every piece of paper my father had and couldn't find any names or addresses.”

Kare was buried in a file and didn't look up as she talked.

Millanie fought to keep her face blank but she wasn't winning the war. Drew, the first man she'd ever thought she could maybe get serious about, had lied. Almost the first thing he'd said when they'd met at the airport had been that he had been traveling to visit his mother.

Drew Cunningham didn't have a mother. He hadn't had one for almost half his life.

“How did she die?” Part of Millanie wanted Kare to be wrong.

“She overdosed on prescription drugs. Drew
Cunningham was listed as her only kin.” Kare shrugged. “I didn't catch it when I first searched. I'd always thought of Drew as Andrew.”

How many red flags had to pop up before Millanie considered the possibility that he could be the man the government was looking for? Drawing her emotions in, she decided not to include Kare in her theory. The girl obviously loved her brother, maybe enough to lie for him.

Millanie stared at Kare and saw the dark circles under her eyes. Maybe the mugging three days before had bothered her deeply, or maybe she was working too hard, or maybe she was fighting to make sure Drew stayed off the list. “What's your gut feeling, Kare? Do you have any idea where we should look next?”

Kare shook her head. “I don't know about the list. I'll keep searching. One will eventually stand out.” She hesitated, then lowered the files to her knees. “I should tell you I detected someone trying to break into my online files last night. Maybe it's just a hacker. I've developed extra walls to protect any government files I work on off-site.” She took a slow breath. “But deep down I think maybe it's someone who noticed I've been searching for information about him. If he's good, he might spot me poking around. The man we're looking for may have found us first.”

“So we may be close to the bad guy?” Millanie's pulse raced. The idea that she might actually find someone who was a real threat to the world was exciting. Once they had him, Kare's job was done and Millanie would take over. Thanks to the brace and the cane, she could watch the guy's every move. Every cell in her body longed to get back in the game and do some good. This might be a different kind of war, but it was war just the same.

“I don't know if we've found the man the government is looking for, but one of these men on the list is not happy about me tailing him online. I have no proof, but I think he's watching me, too. I mean really watching me.” She let out a long breath as if a load had lifted off her chest by telling someone. “Yesterday as a precaution, I drove to the bookstore
instead of walking. When I headed home, my tire was flat. I caught a ride with Mr. Hatcher but when I got home there were marks on my apartment lock. Like someone had tried to pick the lock.”

“Do you think they got in?”

Kare shook her head. “I don't think so. Even if they did, I keep nothing there. I always leave my work computer in my little office where no one would find it. I use different passwords and codes on my laptop at home even if I look up something. Someone would have to be very good to locate me or even know I'm the person searching for them. But then, if this guy launders money, he's very good.”

Millanie didn't want to alarm her. “Maybe the flat was just a flat. Maybe some kid was playing around trying to open your apartment door. The scratches could have been there for days or weeks. You were just more aware because of the mugging this week.”

“True.”

“Don't worry about it.”

“You're right. Drew's the one person I know smart enough to break a fake code.” She covered her mouth with her hand, obviously realizing what she'd said. “Only he would never do it, of course. He's not the one.”

“I agree, but you never gave me his information. He was on my original list.”

Kare tried to smile. “His background was too boring. My brother's not that interesting.”

Millanie could hear the lie, but she didn't push.

“Keep me informed if you notice anything else, Kare. I don't want you in danger, understand.”

“Got it. Don't worry, I'm afraid of my shadow. If anything else happens I'll come running to you.”

“All right. That's settled. Now, let's go over every file again. I have two more names to add. A computer teacher who moved here three years ago and a loan officer at the bank.”

Kare jumped into the search. “I've already checked out the teacher. He might have the skills, but his record is completely clean. Also, he worked his way through college,
married young, and has three kids. If he's our guy, he's not spending any money. Last time I checked he pays the minimum on his credit card every month. I doubt if his wife lets him disappear from time to time. I wouldn't if I had three preschoolers.”

Millanie nodded but still didn't cross him off the list. She thought she'd arrange to at least meet the guy first.

“As for the loan officer, he was transferred from another bank to handle the mess at Harmony's local bank. He has computer skills and was moved up to loan officer a few months ago. Far as I can tell he's made no friends, joined no club, or donated to anything. I might have scratched him off the list, but he does have a pilot's license and can speak Spanish, but then so can half the people in Texas. When I checked he'd used several sick days and all his vacation that he'd accumulated since he's been in town. One of the girls from the bank says no one likes him. Not the profile, but money laundering wouldn't be that hard for a bank officer.”

“Being nice is not one of our essential criteria. Maybe our guy got tired of trying to fit in and is letting his true nature show.”

Kare nodded. “Maybe.”

Millanie had to ask, “How do you know the girl from the bank? She might be a good contact if we have to follow his movements.”

Kare smiled. “I've been reading up on past-life regression. The fortune-teller before me at the bookstore collected books on it. The girl at the bank and I are working on her past lives. We discovered last week that she'd been killed in a concentration camp in Germany last life, and the one before that she was murdered in Scotland in 1870. It appears she's had many lives but always died off before she's thirty. Since she turned twenty-nine we've agreed to do double sessions.”

Millanie tried to act like she understood. “Kind of a good news, bad news thing, I guess. Good news is she comes back. Bad news she dies off by thirty. I'm not sure I'd like to know how I died.”

“That's what I told her, but she keeps wanting to search. I've noticed everyone who goes back always finds out they were a king or famous. No one's story is that they lived life after life in the lower class.”

Martha Q interrupted them with a tray loaded down with a coffeepot and three cups.

They both shifted into a relaxed girlfriend-chat mood as Kare slid the files into her knitting bag and pulled out a ball of yarn.

“Thanks,” Millanie said, inviting Martha Q to join them with a wave of her hand. “It is a little chilly out here. The coffee will be welcome.”

Martha Q grinned. “I thought it might. The news says a cold front is coming in tonight. Might get rain.” She made herself at home on the swing. “I hope you don't mind me joining you ladies while you visit. The vacuum cleaner noise is driving me crazy inside. I hate the sound of work.”

“Not at all,” Millanie lied. “We were just talking about people who believe in past lives. What's your opinion?”

Martha Q shook her head. “Never thought much about it. If people are supposed to learn from one life into the next, it seems to me after all these thousands or so years there's a great many people who weren't paying attention. Some must be dumb as rocks just rolling from one life into the next without picking up a single lesson.”

She continued on, mentioning several people who were probably animals or insects before, if the life they had now was an improvement over the last.

Millanie did her best to act like she was listening, but her mind was turning over the people on the list. One investment broker whom no one seemed to have heard of before four years ago. Max Dewy, now in jail, who always drove new cars but had no visible means of income. The computer teacher. The loan officer at the bank. Drew Cunningham.

None fit the whole profile, but each had a few traits she was looking for.

While Martha Q went inside to get coffee cake to go with the coffee, Millanie asked Kare to run her off maps of all
the suspects' work and home locations, then used her cell phone to call the sergeant and make sure she'd have a car and a weapon by tomorrow morning. It was finally time for her to start her part of the assignment.