that's two murders and I haven't gotten to the kidnapping. The police in Park Beach are investigating all of their dealings. They’re already tracing ten grand found at her house, and guess who the money is going to lead back to?” She made up some of that. Eventually it might be true.
“Who are you anyway? Whose side are you on? Aren’t you in with them?”
“Stop thinking that money is going to get you out of this. I don’t want any money. I need to know what happened. I witnessed Abby Olin shooting the guy from up north. Later, Toby told me about the beach affair, and then someone, maybe you, shot him in front of me. Also in the middle of all this, someone kidnapped Abby’s ten- year-old daughter. Maybe you were in on that as well.”
He brought his hands up to cover his face for a moment then shook his head slowly.
“What did Toby have on you? You’re involved in something criminal, aren’t you?”
“No, absolutely not. I thought you knew what happened. You were talking as if you did. You seem to know a lot about everything else, however I see they didn’t tell you what happened on the beach.”
“You tell me. Then I can help you. I don’t want to just take what I know, together with all my guesses and dump it on the desk of the state attorney.”
“You’re here just fishing around and guessing. I’m not going to say any more. I’ve already told you too much. You think I’m foolish? You expect me to tell you why I’m being blackmailed? I can’t risk that. I must be careful. The less you know the less threat you are. Somehow, I’ll get through this. I think you should probably leave...never come back.”
“I know more than you think and there’s more I haven’t told you. So what are you going to do? Wait until the police knock on your door?”
He stood from his desk, stared at her for a moment, and then sat again. In a low voice he sighed, “I can’t do that either.” He folded his arms across his chest.
Obviously, Toby was blackmailing him. The image of Toby on that beach with the dead body was clear in her mind. The situations must be connected. She decided to run another bluff. “Toby admitted he was on the beach. He told me you were there. He blackmailed you because of what happened.” That stretched what she knew, but from the look on his face, she hit it. He was silent offering no denial, so she went on, “The best thing for you to do is make known what happened. Have your people put some kind of spin on it. Get out in front of it and come clean before it all blows up. Your problems didn’t die with Toby. If you come forward now, Abby will have nothing to blackmail you with. The blackmail will stop and you can get back to normal.”
“Normal might not ever happen again. I’m not certain how you’re in any position to help me. And I’d still have to worry about the police.”
“I brought the police report with me. No foul play detected before death. Death by asphyxiation, yahta, yahta. They aren’t even looking for you, Freddy. Go get yourself disconnected from all this. I need to know what happened on the beach that night. You and Toby were there. Who else? Why were you there? Tell me the story.”
“I don’t think I should tell you. Anyway, if I did, the entire story would be rather long.”
“For a long story I’m going to need a cup of coffee.”
He buzzed Mrs. Wolff for coffee. “And if I tell you, you’re going to set up a quiet meeting for me and the police, no media. Agreed?”
She nodded. “There are ways you can spin it. Perhaps you’ve been busy with important duties on Capitol Hill. You didn’t realize the matter was unsettled. You want to cooperate in any way you can.”
“That sounds good, Miss Reid. Would you like a job in Washington?”
“Under the circumstances let’s go with first names. I’m Sandy, okay?”
“Okay. I suppose it might be an appropriate way for me to come forward. If I don’t trust you then what?”
“If you don’t tell me, I’ll have to make guesses and they might be more embarrassing than the truth. Did you know that woman? What brought you there? Who else was there? What happened on the beach that night, Freddy?”
Mrs. Wolfe knocked, entered, and placed a carafe and coffee service on a side table. She held an impolite stare at Sandy long enough to transmit her displeasure at having her office routine upset. The incompatibility of the staid congressman who kept his suit jacket buttoned even at home, and the impudent tousle-haired young woman who parked her undersized vehicle in front of the entrance, was intolerable. Obviously, her boss was in distress and not in command of whatever was going on. When she left, Sandy pictured her listening with her ear to the door.
He didn’t make a move so Sandy helped herself to a cup and offered one to him. He seemed frozen and didn’t respond.
“What happened, Freddy?”
He tilted his head back and gazed up at the ceiling as though looking for guidance. Finally he said, “Okay, I’ve no choice but to trust you...I hope I can remember everything she told me. I first noticed the woman at a convenience store when I exited from I-95 just south of Richmond, Virginia...I can’t tell you all this. It’s embarrassing.”
“Let me help you out on the embarrassing part. The woman turned you on and you wanted to screw her.”
“Good Lord, is that how I’m supposed to talk to you?”
“Just a wild guess. I pretty much hit it, didn’t I?”
“Well, I suppose some people might assume that, however there’s much more to it than just that. As embarrassing as it is, I must explain all that was in my mind so you’ll understand.”
“Go ahead, Freddy. Lay it all on me. The good, the bad, and the weird. I want to hear it all. If I start to feel as though I’m watching an R-rated movie with my mother, I’ll stop you.”
“Okay, you asked for it. Here goes.” He shifted in his chair, crossed his legs, and leaned back. “I hope I don’t regret telling you this.”
Chapter Nineteen
It all started last November. I first noticed the woman at a convenience store when I exited from I-95 just south of Richmond shortly before noon. Congress had adjourned for the holidays and I was driving back home here to Florida. Normally, I fly back and forth, but with Congress in recess for two months, I wanted that car in Florida for the holidays.
This remarkable looking woman was immediately behind me in the cashier line. Women usually protect their space when queued with men. I sensed she stood closer to me than necessary. In fact, I could detect her perfume, which normally sets me off. Her fragrance was like the musky scent of fall leaves and was unobjectionable.
Unexpectedly, she spoke to me. I turned and was a bit overwhelmed as she was tall and I had to look up into her eyes. She wore all that exaggerated dark eye makeup, which I find unpleasant, and a mass of long curly-brown hair surrounded her face. Admittedly, it wasn’t unpleasant to have those smoky eyes focused intensely on me. She held her gaze unnecessarily long, as though transferring energy to me from some inner source.
In the drab confines of that convenience store, her appearance was indeed dramatic. Too extraordinary by far for someone standing in a service station in broad daylight. We exchanged a few routine words about how those dreary little stores all appeared the same inside.
A few minutes later, I saw her outside and could judge her better from a distance. Trim body, long legs, and over six foot in those wedge-heeled shoes. The shoes, with a black and white zebra design, didn’t harmonize with anything. I guess you can buy any puerile thing these days. She had struck a pose standing relaxed with her weight on one leg and her hip cocked out in case anyone had failed to notice her exceptional shape. I thought she was dressed rather cheaply, but she certainly knew how to wear it all. I tell you, that woman did not intend to be anonymous when she dressed that morning.
She noticed me looking her way. She swung her black leather handbag onto her shoulder and walked over placing one foot precisely in front of the other as though crossing a stage. She had noticed my Florida plate, she said, and guessed I was heading south. Could I possibly give her a lift back to her disabled car just down the highway? The station was sending out a tow truck when it returned from another call, but she preferred to wait with her car. She worried about it being out there on the highway. Besides, she didn’t want to ride with some
