Jack shook her hand. “Jack Rudly, we’ve met before.”
She smiled at him. “Yes, we have. And I should be angry at you.”
Jack feigned ignorance. “Why? What did I do?”
“Does Sergeant Leonard Rand of the Jefferson City Fire Department ring any bells?”
Jack took a deep breath. This was just his luck. Of course he’d have to run into Mort’s personal assistant, whom he’d tricked by using a false fire claim in order to get Field’s phone number in New York. “I’m sorry, but it was urgent that I speak to Mr. Fields, and you were doing such a good job of screening my calls… anyway, do you forgive me?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t think it matters much now.”
He looked around. “Place looks empty.”
“Well, since Mort’s death the company has slowed to a crawl. It’s just not the same without him, even though the board is doing their best. Mort was an incredible force and really kept things hopping. We’re consolidating office space with another business.”
“If you have a minute to talk, I’d really appreciate it. I never did get to speak to Mort.”
“Sure. I don’t know how much I can help, but I’m willing to try,” Rachelle said.
“I understand that Mort and Carolyn Lane were in business together.”
Rachelle looked at him, her smile fading. “You don’t mess around, do you?”
“I’m not into wasting anyone’s time,” Jack replied.
“Well, there are certain things I wasn’t privy to. Mr. Fields was a very private man, and certain aspects of the business were handled exclusively by him. What I can tell you is that we did receive a lot of phone calls from Mrs. Lane, but that could have been legal business. I believe he consulted her on several legal issues.”
“But she was a county prosecutor, not a corporate lawyer. Doesn’t seem logical, does it?” Jack asked.
Rachelle shook her head and said. “I have no idea. I wasn’t a party to those calls. The only thing I know is that it became apparent that a strain in the relationship had developed when Mark Dailey started calling on her behalf.”
“When did this happen?”
“I’m not sure, exactly. I think it was about the time Edmund Lane and Mort began spending a lot of time together. It coincided with a shake-up in the partnership. Mort was in a terrible mood for weeks. I would have been happy to look up the paperwork for you and tell you exact dates, but unfortunately I don’t have it anymore.”
“What do you mean?” Jack’s heart skipped a beat.
“Well, the night Mort died, we also had a break-in. Oddest thing, they didn’t take anything of value like paintings or state of the art business machines. Instead, they helped themselves to records, a bunch of files, and all of our computer disks that backed up the paper trail. Most of it pertained to the computer company.”
“Did you tell the police?” Jack knew he looked shocked, but he couldn’t help himself.
“Oh, sure. The minute I got to the office and saw that someone had broken in, I called them. It was before we knew about Mr. Fields. What a day.” Her serious expression accentuated the lines around her eyes. “It was really amazing that the thieves got around Mr. Fields’s security system. He was always a bit paranoid about security and had had an elaborate system installed. But whoever broke in marched right past it and never set off a single alarm. Boy, would that piss off Mort if he was still alive.”
“What did the police say?” Jack asked.
“Well, they did quite a bit of investigating after they found Mr. Fields’s body, but they determined the two events weren’t linked since Mort’s death was obviously an accident. The person most upset over the whole thing seemed to be Mark Dailey.”
Jack frowned in confusion. “Mark Dailey?”
“Yeah, he came to do some investigating right after Mort was found. He blew a gasket when he learned that files were missing. I never did understand why he wanted them. I guess it was just part of his job as a district attorney.”
“Yeah,” Jack responded absently, “I guess so.”
Jack half-listened to Rachelle go on about how Mort loved his Porsche, and what a shame his death was, but his mind was occupied elsewhere. He finally excused himself and left. He wanted to know who had taken those files? Why they were so important? And why had Mark Dailey wanted them?
FIFTY-SEVEN
Jack sat in his room and reread his notes. All of his documentation rotated around Carolyn Lane. Mark Dailey, however, was a new piece to the puzzle. Dailey had worked with Carolyn Lane in the county prosecutor’s office for years and was now part of the White House staff.
Jack lay back on his bed and rubbed his eyes. Could Dailey have the answers? He glanced at his watch, which read midnight. He doubted that Dailey would talk to him. “You’re not trying hard enough, Rudly.” He rolled onto his stomach to continue studying his notes.
Where to go next? Jack wondered with a yawn. As he lay on his bed, he heard a light tapping on his hotel room door. At first, Jack thought he was imagining it and ignored the sound, but then he heard it again. Cautiously he stood. He silently slid to the door and checked the peephole. There in the late night shadows of the hallway stood Katherine.
Jack threw the door open.
“We need to talk.” Katherine said, entering his room.
Jack stepped aside, afraid to crowd her, and not wanting to scare her away.
“I need to apologize.”
“No, you don’t.”
She held up her hand. “Please. I need to finish. I’m moving to Washington to work with Carolyn, and I don’t want to leave without clearing this up.”
Jack nodded.
“I’ve been going over our time together, and I realized that you never once asked me about my job or Carolyn. I accepted your explanation of what happened before, and it’s unfair for me to drag that up again. I know you have an impeccable reputation in journalism, and I believe that you’ve never had to lie, cheat, or steal to get a story. It’s just that I got so stung the last time we were together that I lost it this morning. It was wrong of me to think the worst of you. I’m sorry. I believe that we can balance professional discretion with a personal life. So, what do you think? Can you forgive me?”
He pulled her to him. “Can I forgive
“Can we start over? Again?”
Jack kissed her lips. “We already have.”
They spent the night together in his room. It was a reunion that fed both of their hearts.
Jack was the first to wake up, and he sat contemplating the news Katherine had given him. She was moving to Washington to work for Carolyn. He should have guessed that it was the natural next step for her. And he’d love having her in D.C., but he feared that his investigation would somehow compromise her safety. It appeared that she worked for some very dangerous people. Jack decided to broach the subject as Katherine awoke.
He nuzzled her neck, and she rolled over to kiss him. His intentions of speaking to her immediately about his concerns were good, but he found himself distracted as she snuggled close to him, kissed him passionately, and began stroking him.
After they made love, they enjoyed a hot shower together.
“Kate, are you sure you want to take this job in Washington?” Jack sat back on the bed, watching her brush her hair.
“Why would you ask such a question? You should be happy for me. Besides. I’ll be closer to you.” She met his gaze in the mirror and smiled.
