Tarnished Image (30 page)

“Release the hounds, Jack. Release the hounds.”

Jack rubbed his chin. This was the backup plan. It was the reason Aldo Goldoni had been hired. “I understand. I’ll get in contact with Aldo as soon as possible.”

“Sooner,” Aberdene said firmly. She stood and crossed the floor to where Jack was standing. She was the same height as he. She looked deeply into his eyes. A smile slowly crossed her face. “I’ve always liked you, Jack. You know that.”

He could smell the sweetness of her hair and skin. Her lips parted seductively. Jack felt electrified. His skin tingled with excitement.

“You’ve been the best possible employee,” she said softly. “I never would have made it this far without you. And I know that I can be difficult to work for. I’m just a little strong willed and opinionated, that’s all.” Her smile widened, revealing brilliant white teeth. She raised a hand and stroked his cheek. He felt flushed, dizzy over the attention he had desired for so long.

He was about to speak words of his love and admiration when she touched his lips with one beautifully manicured finger. “Shh,” she mewed. Leaning forward she kissed him on the forehead.

She does know
, Jack thought.
She does know of my feelings for her.

“And Jack,” she said, her voice silky with whisper.

“Yes.”

“If this goes bad, you’re mosquito bait. Understand?”

Impulsively Jack took a step back. Aberdene raised an eyebrow. She had been playing with him.

“I understand completely,” he said tersely. “I’ll make sure it’s taken care of immediately.”

“See that you do,” she commanded. “Now leave me alone. I have work to do.”

Without another word, Jack turned and stormed from the laboratory. As he closed the door, he was sure he heard her laugh.

“Thanks,” David said, distracted by the file folder he held in his hand. He took the cup of Earl Grey tea from Kristen and set it on the coffee table in front of the sofa. She sat next to him.

“It’s that bad, huh?” Kristen sipped her flavored herb tea.

“Huh?” David looked up from the folder and eyed her with confusion.

“Something’s bothering you. Not that you don’t have enough to think about.”

David chortled. “Kristen the Amazing, mind reader to the stars.”

She smiled. “More like absent-minded reader. The truth is, you narrow your eyes when you read bad news. Personally, I think it’s endearing.”

“You know me that well?” he asked playfully.

“I know all about you, Dr. David O’Neal. It’s a power
women in love possess. We women know the thoughts of our men, no matter where in the world they are.”

“That explains why so many men are in trouble.”

“Exactly.”

David smiled, leaned back on the couch, and put his arm around her. He drew her close to him. The casual embrace felt good. Kristen fit David. Each time they would hug, he was amazed at just how right she felt. It was as if they had been designed to match, like pieces in a jigsaw puzzle. Each time he was forced to spend a day without seeing her was a day he felt incomplete. “I’m glad you could join me for dinner. Sorry you had to cook it.”

“I thought that was a clever ploy on your part,” Kristen said. “Invite me up to your place for dinner and have me slave over a hot stove.” She laid her head on his shoulder.

“It could have been worse. I could have played chef, but you would have been duty bound to eat it.”

“So my cooking was really self-defense?”

“Any court of law would see it as such.” David leaned over and gently kissed her on the lips. It was not a sensual kiss filled with passion, but an expression of profound love. “I’ve missed you these last few days.”

“I’ve seen you every day of the last week.”

“Only in passing or when others were present. What I miss is just being with you. The two of us alone, basking in each other’s presence.”

“We’re alone together now,” she said softly. “Timmy is in your room watching television or, should I say, sleeping through television. He’s fast asleep on your bed.”

“This hasn’t been easy on him,” David said wearily. “He’s sensitive. My arrest frightened him a great deal.”

“He’s afraid that he is going to lose you. I have the same fear.”

David held her tighter. “That’s not going to happen. Not if I can do anything about it.” David felt his resolve tighten within him like a well-wound watch spring. He had spent the afternoon and much of the evening wondering whether to tell Kristen of the latest photo and his plan to flush out his tormentors. The mental picture of him handing the fabricated photo to her and watching as she took in the image of her car in flames with her still behind the wheel had made his decision for him. He saw no reason to inflict such pain on her. He felt enough fear for them both.

There was a silence of words between them, but not an absence of communication. With Kristen nestled under his arm, her warmth pressed against him, they shared thoughts and emotions that were beyond the powers of language. The bond between them grew with each gentle breath taken, with each blink of a moist eye. Second after second ticked by with neither noticing their passing. Enveloped in a cocoon of love, time held no meaning.

“Do you remember the first time we did anything together?” David asked.

“Our first date?” Kristen said.

“No, before we were dating. It was soon after A.J. hired me.”

Kristen nodded. “Coffee. Horton Plaza. We had cappuccinos.”

“I had a turkey on rye with an iced cappuccino and you—oh, forgetful one—had a blueberry muffin and a mocha. I thought it was the woman’s job to chronicle all those details.”

“That’s what we want you to think. What about that day?”

“I wish we could go there right now,” David answered. “I wish we could sit in the summer evening drinking tall lattes and watching the window shoppers stroll the outdoor mall.”

“Why don’t we?” Kristen asked. “I’ve been cooped up in this building for too long. I could use some outside time.”

“You know we can’t do that,” David said sourly. “It’s not safe. Every time someone walked by, I would wonder if he was one of them.”

“Or she,” Kristen corrected.

“Or she,” David agreed. “I would be constantly wondering if that person over there was taking pictures of me, or if the woman over there had a gun. I’m becoming paranoid.”

“Paranoia is an irrational fear. You have a real reason to be afraid.”

“That’s just it, Kristen, I’m not afraid for myself. I haven’t given that a moment’s thought. All my fears are for you, Timmy, and Barringston Relief. My mind is constantly filled with pictures of something going wrong. Of Barringston being forced to go out of existence or of … of something happening to you.”

“Nothing is going to happen to me,” Kristen said, sitting up straight so that she could turn to face David. “Everything is going to be fine.”

“How do you know that?” David said. “There are so many variables and so little time before the asset freeze begins to affect our work overseas.”

“Faith, David. We are a people of faith. You know better than I do that it is our faith in our Lord that keeps us going in bad times.”

“I don’t want to be the spiritual wet blanket here, but bad things do happen to good people.”

“True,” Kristen agreed, “but not to us. Not this time.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Actually I do, I just don’t know how I know it.”

“Gut feeling?”

“Spirit feeling,” she corrected. “That’s more tangible than some innocuous gut feeling. I’m not saying that I’m not concerned. Just the opposite. But I have an overall peace that we’ll be able to do whatever we need to do.”

“You’re a remarkable woman.”

“Not really. This peace is recent, just today. When I first saw that video—” she broke off. “I don’t think I’ve ever been so angry or so hurt. I wanted to lash out at anything that moved.”

“Kristen—”

“I know it’s not you in the video, but I didn’t at first. In some ways I’m thankful that I saw it.”

“Thankful?” David was puzzled.

“I know it sounds odd, even ridiculous, but the emotions that surfaced showed me how much I’ve come to love you. The sight of you—the video you—with that other woman infuriated me. It also wounded me deeply. That wouldn’t have happened if I weren’t in love with you. Now I know just how hard I’ve fallen.”

David took her in his arms and kissed her. He held her tight. “There is no doubt in my mind that you love me, and there should be no doubt in yours that I love you. That’s why we must be careful. We must keep you safe.”

“That’s one of the things that puzzles me,” Kristen said, leaning back in the sofa again. “Why threaten Timmy and me?”

“To influence me, of course.” David took his cup of tea
and stood. He paced in front of the couch. “They want me to confess to something I didn’t do. Clearly I pose some kind of a threat.”

“Do you?”

“What else could it be?”

“Maybe it’s not you that poses the threat. Maybe it’s Barringston Relief, and as the chief executive officer of the organization you are the obvious target.”

David thought for a moment. “What kind of threat would prompt such an elaborate ruse? Who could be harmed by our activities? We’ve had out share of run-ins with rebel groups in Africa and Central America, but I doubt that any of them would attempt this.”

“I agree, but we can’t rule them out.”

“We can’t rule anyone out,” David agreed.

“Still, none of it makes sense, does it? I keep coming back to one question: What do they want? They haven’t attempted to extort money, have they?”

“No,” David answered.

“Barringston Relief deals with a great deal of money. Why haven’t they asked for any? Because they don’t need it. This isn’t about extortion. So what is it about?”

David thought for a moment. “It’s about controlling my actions. It’s about painting me and Barringston Relief in the worst possible light. But I’m not sure what that tells us.”

“Stay with me on this,” Kristen said. “If we can figure out what they don’t want, we might get closer to what they do want.”

“Reverse logic?”

“Exactly.” Kristen picked up her cup of herb tea and took a tentative sip. “We know that they don’t want money. We
know that they don’t want any of our stored goods or research. If they did, they would have demanded it by now. Nor have they asked for any political changes. You know, get out of Rwanda or North Korea or something like that.”

“They haven’t asked for anything at all,” David said.

“So what does it mean when you have nothing they want? My guess is that you have something that they don’t want you to have.”

“I don’t know what that would be,” David said, confused. “I’m not aware of anything that I’ve taken from anyone.”

“What if they’re afraid that you will take something? Or find something?”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know,” Kristen answered quickly. “That’s the rub, isn’t it? It must have been something in the last sixteen months, since you took over Barringston Relief. Probably more recent than that. What have you been working on?”

“You’re the PR head; you know all that.”

“We’re brainstorming here, David. It doesn’t matter what I know. What matters is talking about it. Maybe we’ll stumble over something.”

“OK,” David acquiesced. He set his cup down and took his seat next to Kristen. “I haven’t done anything spectacular. Mostly I’ve been learning the ropes of the organization and traveling.”

“Have you made any changes in the day-to-day operations of Barringston Relief?”

David shook his head. “You mean like the banks we use, that sort of thing?”

“Anything like that.”

“No. We use the same banks, same shipping companies,
same airlines. Nothing has changed except the addition of the RRT. But I don’t see how the rapid response team would be a threat to anyone.”

“I don’t either. What about your travels?”

“I’ve been to many places over the last year,” David said. “Rwanda, Republic of Congo, Burundi, Sudan, North Korea, Madagascar, Belize, and a half-dozen inner cities. All of those trips were to meet with our workers.”

“OK,” Kristen said. “Is there anything unique about those countries? Anything that makes them stand out?”

“They’re all unique,” David complained. “Rwanda is on the verge of another bloodbath, as is Burundi. Sudan is abysmally poor. Same goes for Madagascar. North Korea is besieged by flood-caused famine. Do you suppose that’s it? That someone is after Barringston Relief because of the work we do in North Korea?”

“Possibly,” Kristen answered. “There are some pretty narrow-thinking people out there who can’t see the pain for the politics. They may see our aid to North Korea as support for the Communist regime. Let’s keep that one on our list.”

“I don’t know, Kristen. The Cold War has been over for years. I don’t think anyone in this country sees North Korea as a threat.”

“South Koreans might.”

“That’s true.”

“What about Belize?”

“That one is a puzzle,” David said sadly. “The report I was reading a few minutes ago is about Belize. There’s a new strain of dengue hemorrhagic fever. It’s growing into an epidemic. It’s affecting all age groups but especially children. Even a priest in the area contracted the disease. The report
said he died. As if that wasn’t enough, one of our doctors has it. Her prognosis is not very good.”