Cold Target (44 page)

“I didn't know you had a cabin.”

“It's not a cabin. It's a shack.”

“Okay, I didn't know you had a shack,” she admitted, wondering whether he was just trying to divert her from a very bad yesterday.

“There's lots you don't know about me,” he said with a hint of defiance.

“I'll grant you that,” she said.

“I just think we shouldn't be seen with Dom,” he said.

“No arguments here. I want to see your shack.”

He called Dom on his cell phone and gave him directions.

Meredith watched as he put his canoe from the backyard on top of his vehicle. Two people getting away from problems.

Two hours later, they arrived, but not until Gage was sure they weren't followed.

The shack was exactly that. Minimal furnishings. A double bed, one big easy chair that was slightly torn. An unsteady table, some mismatched chairs. A small refrigerator and stove that ran on a generator. Meredith smiled. “You're right. It is a shack.”

“It's a good place to use when I'm canoeing,” he said. “But I do have a telephone line and modem. I sometimes come here to work and think.”

Dom arrived an hour later and viewed the interior with furrowed eyebrows. “Didn't know you were a swamp rat.”

Gage waved one hand toward the table and its mismatched chairs.

Meredith watched as he led the meeting. He ran through the list of those men who had attended the funeral, and crossed some off immediately if they didn't have children of the right age.

Dom recognized many of those who had attended the funeral and suggested knocking two more of them off the list. One of them, he knew, had two sons, no daughters. Another had lost his only child in an accident three years earlier. She'd been twenty-two.

Using the modem and his laptop, Gage then accessed the newspaper files on-line, searching one name after another, learning what they could about each one. Through news stories, they were able to eliminate seven more names of men who had been featured in various articles with their families.

They were down to seven names.

They zeroed in on those with a more detailed search. Another two were eliminated. That left five.

Two were prominent attorneys, one was an executive with an insurance company and a major contributor to charities in the city, one was Judge Samuel Matthews, and the last was the owner of one of New Orleans's premier restaurants.

Meredith almost asked Gage to cross out Judge Matthews. He was a state supreme court justice and one of the finest legal minds in Louisiana. Meredith had respected him for years. He had been reelected by a huge margin each time he stood for another term.

She also saw surprise on both Gage's and Dom's faces at his inclusion on their thinning list.

“It couldn't be,” she said.

“He definitely would have a lot to lose,” Gage said.

“So would the others, if murder was involved,” she countered.

“True.”

Dom studied the name for a long time. “His daughter is married to Randolph Ames, who is running for Congress. I attended a fund-raiser the other night for him. I hate the darn things, but some of my sponsors thought I should go since grants would go through his office.”

“Was Matthews's daughter there?”

“No. I thought it was a little strange at the time. It was one of those affairs at which the candidate wants to show off his family values.” Irony laced his last words. “Ames did say that she regretted not being there but that she was across the country, caring for an ill friend.”

Meredith watched as Gage searched on Randolph Ames. A campaign website appeared as an option. A click.

She stared at the congressional candidate. He was a handsome man, but she already knew that. He, too, was an attorney and they had crossed paths more than once at Bar Association functions. She had never faced him in a courtroom, though. He did have a good reputation.

She also knew she'd probably met his wife at some function or another, but she couldn't remember any particulars.

“Try to find a photo of the wife,” she said.

Gage clicked on one of the options on the website, and a photo of Ames, his wife, Holly, and a boy of about four appeared. A slight smile was on the mother's face as she looked down at her son, love glowing in her face.

Her stomach knotted and a suffocating sensation tightened her throat. Holly Ames's hair was the color of honey, deeper than that of Meredith's mother, but the clear blue eyes and delicate bone structure were similar.

Gage saw it, too. She saw the recognition in his eyes. The woman in this photo bore a strong similarity to the young Maggie in the photo, far more than Meredith did to her mother. Without looking for a connection, though, Meredith might not have caught it. Many people have look-alikes. Blue eyes were common enough, and so was blond hair. And the appearance of bone structure was often affected by hairstyle. Her mother had short hair; the woman in the photo had long hair.

She looked at Dom, who was staring intently at the screen. A muscle throbbed in his throat.

“Dom?”

He raised his face. Stared at her for a moment. “It could be her,” he finally said in a choked voice.

The others agreed.

“Keep looking,” Meredith said.

He scrolled down until he found an announcement of the state senator's candidacy for a congressional seat. The wife was not pictured. The story mentioned she was out of town to care for a sick relative.

“Something's wrong,” Meredith said. “I've been around politics all my life, and I know how important a family is, especially in a congressional race. She should be at his side, particularly during the announcement.”

He scrolled down the news articles about Ames again, and they read them all, including photo captions. No Mrs. Ames.

“That's very odd,” Meredith said. “There's even a photo of him at the symphony ball. She should be there.”

“Maybe there's a perfectly good reason,” Gage said, trying to be the devil's advocate.

“Let's find her,” Meredith said.

“We could be wrong,” Gage reminded them all. “It's conjecture. There's no proof other than facial similarity and coincidences.”

“I'll try to contact her,” Dom said. “I could use the shelter as a pretext. Invite her to be on my board.”

Gage shook his head. “You shouldn't be involved now. No one knows that you're working with us. I would like to keep it that way. And think of the shelter. Those kids need you.”

They all stared at one another.

Meredith began, “Then I—”

“No,” Gage said. “I'm not sure whether the attack on you was meant to be fatal or not. But I'm not taking any chances, not until we know more. Exactly what do we know about Randolph Ames?”

“He's given money to the shelter and has been active in a number of causes,” Dom said. “But he's never been out to see it. I've always felt he's a little too slick and programmed.”

Gage agreed. He'd seen Ames once when he was doing a photo op at the police department. Since Gage held all politicians in disdain, he'd pretty much ignored the entire event. Now he wanted to know more. A great deal more.

Someone wanted to stop Meredith from finding out the identity of her half sister. An ambitious husband or a prominent father would have excellent motives.

But Ames would have been a young child when Meredith's half sister was born. Why would he become involved in something that had turned so violent?

“I think I know who can help,” Gage said reluctantly.

The other two looked at him.

“I know a reporter. I've given him some tips in the past. He's never revealed me as the source. I could suggest he seek an interview with Senator and Mrs. Ames.”

Dom looked skeptical. It was obvious he wanted to take more direct action. “You sure you can trust him?”

“I'm not sure of anything, but I think he's the best route without tipping our hand.”

“Will we be putting him in danger as well?” Meredith asked.

“An innocent query from a reporter? I don't think so,” Gage said. “But he's persistent enough to get to her. If he doesn't, he'll damn well get suspicious and won't stop at anything to find her. He has one hell of an antenna if I point him in the right direction.”

His gaze followed Meredith's to Dom. He obviously wanted to go after Holly Ames himself. Every time her name was mentioned, his dark eyes roiled with anger. His anger wasn't any deeper than Gage's. Dom had just discovered he had a daughter. Something precious had been taken from him decades ago. Now Gage risked losing someone who had become very important to him.

He knew Meredith wasn't going to stop looking, and he respected her for it. But she wouldn't be safe until they found her sister and uncovered the mystery around her.

“Can you tell us who the reporter is?” Meredith asked.

He hesitated, then shrugged. They were in this together. “Sanders DeWitt.”

Meredith raised an eyebrow.

He knew why. DeWitt was the best investigative reporter in the city, particularly on police and city corruption. It was a measure of his faith in her and Dom that he mentioned it.

“Might we be putting Holly Ames in danger?” she asked.

“She's probably already in danger, if she's who we suspect she is.” Gage watched as his words registered.

“Call DeWitt,” she said in a low, choked voice.

He took out his cell phone and punched in some numbers. “Sanders?”

“Yep.”

“Gage.”

“Got something for me?” No Hello or How are you? DeWitt never wasted time.

“I might have. Need you to do something for me. It could be a big story for you, as well.”

“What is it?”

“Do you know anything about the wife of State Senator Randolph Ames.”

“The future congressman?”

“That sure?”

“Sure as hell looks that way from here. He has the money and backing. What about him?”

“Seen anything of his wife?”

“No, but I haven't looked.”

“Do me a favor and call. Tell him you want to do an interview. A family type of thing.”

“I'm not a political reporter.”

“You're anything you want to be on the paper.”

A pause. “What am I looking for?”

“Her whereabouts. A friend of mine wants to reach her without anyone knowing about it.”

“Including the husband?”

“Right.”

“You think there's a story here?”

“I'll be honest. It could be nothing or it could be the biggest story of your career.”

“Coming from you, I'll take it. I'll see what I can manage. My editor might be a little startled at my sudden interest, but hell, he's used to my quirks.”

“Thanks. I owe you.”

“You want to tell me who this friend is?”

“Not now.”

“Stranger and stranger. Good thing I trust you and those instincts of yours. Call you back shortly.” He hung up.

“He's going to make the calls,” Gage told the others.

“What do we do now?” Meredith asked.

“Wait and see where his fishing expedition leads. He may find out that she really is with a sick relative. If she is, we can fly to wherever she is and get a sample of her DNA.”

“And if she refuses?”

“We find a way.”

She nodded.

“Dom?”

Dom didn't look happy. But after a moment he nodded. “The bastards,” he muttered.

Meredith reached out and took his hand. “We'll find her,” she said.

The call came an hour later.

“What in the blazes is going on?” DeWitt said. “I've never heard so much tap dancing in my life.”

“Did you get a location?”

“Hell, no. Damndest thing I've ever heard. Most politicians would jump through hoops for this kind of interview. Ames is ‘out of town.' I asked to talk to his wife. She wasn't ‘available.' I asked where she was. I was told, ‘Taking care of a relative.' I asked where. ‘She can't take questions now.' What city is she in? ‘Sorry, she wants privacy.'

“All this from an aide, as if he were programmed. I insisted on talking to the candidate himself. He couldn't be reached. Important session in Baton Rouge. I checked with our capitol guy. Nothing's going on. As far as he knew, Ames was politicking in New Orleans. Started checking back in our clips. No one has seen hide nor hair of Mrs. Ames in nearly seven weeks.”

“You didn't leave it there, did you?”

“Hell, no. Called back and said there were rumors that Mrs. Ames has left our candidate, and could his spokesman verify or deny. He denied of course. I said the only way I won't begin speculating is if I hear from the lady herself. Otherwise, I'll really start probing.”

“What did he say?”

“He sounded nervous as hell. Said he would get back to me, but I was all wrong. Mrs. Ames was committed to her husband and the campaign, but she had a family obligation. Hell, I checked on her family. There's damn little of it. Her mother is dead. She has two aunts, and neither of them has heard from Holly Ames in months. Her father is Surpreme Court Justice Matthews. Couldn't reach him, either.

“Gotta tell you, Gage, I'm beginning to sniff a story here. Who is the person who wants to talk to her? I fulfilled my part of the bargain. It's time for you to fill in some blanks here.”

Gage looked at Meredith and raised an eyebrow. They had talked about this. Meredith had told him to use his own judgment.

“Meredith Rawson.”

“My God. The Meredith Rawson who lost her father in the hit and run? Who has been attacked, witnessed a murder and been shot at by a rogue cop?”

“An accurate assessment. Yes.”

“Do the cops have any clues in the hit-and-run?”

“No. They are dismissing it as accidental rather than an intentional murder.”