Holiday Illusion (14 page)

Anna told Lucas, “The FBI had actually considered that Shawn and Brandon de Chastelain could be twins, but didn't find any evidence of it. We knew the boys had been born in Ireland, but had no idea in what city, and Shawn couldn't or wouldn't tell.” She snorted. “He claims to have no memories of his life before foster care—and he sure wasn't going to spill the beans about being a twin, not having just committed a murder.”

But as long as they couldn't find Brandon, they couldn't prove the blood wasn't Shawn's and couldn't convict him of said murder. “Justin did tell me that they'd contacted the authorities in several of the major cities in Ireland to see if they could turn up something on Brandon. But they came up empty, and they couldn't search the entire country.”

Anna shrugged. “Who knows what the real story was? All we really know is that the boys were put into foster care and lousy records were kept. I wonder if their mother was even an American citizen—and if not, it was probably easy to slip through the cracks.”

She thought about the photo of the two little boys, and her heart ached for all that lost innocence.

The picture hadn't been there when Anna had been in the house four years ago. She wondered if he'd put it there as a reminder. Some kind of penance for killing his brother? She'd been floored by the idea that the dead man was Brandon de Chastelain, but agreed that it wasn't a completely crazy theory. It would definitely explain why no one had been able to track him down. She had run the information by Jennifer, who'd promised to look into it and update them if she found anything.

Jennifer was also aware of the location of the memory card and would take the information back to her supervisor, agreeing to leave Justin out of the loop. The assistant District Attorney would request a search warrant based on Jennifer's report. Now all she and Lucas could do at this point was hurry up and wait. Jennifer promised to call as soon as everything went down.

With all that taken care of, Lucas was back to the decision of what to do about Ted. Anna sat on the sofa and he paced the floor, struggling to come to terms with what he'd found out about a man he'd trusted implicitly.

Thanks to the information provided by his friend/bodyguard, Lucas now knew Ted was actually a former convict. In college, the man had been arrested for being involved in a plot to bomb an abortion clinic.

The information unsettled Lucas, but didn't really fit with the man trying to kill Anna—or the man who'd tried for years to get Lucas's family in church. It just didn't…match up. And Ted wasn't strapped financially. Nor did he seem to have any reason to accept a bribe or be subject to blackmail. Except for the incident in college. Had de Chastelain threatened to reveal this secret to the Bennett family unless Ted helped get rid of Anna?

“You know, Anna, even if de Chastelain had something on Ted, I just see Ted telling the man to do his worst, then coming to me about it.” Even though all the evidence said, yes, to Ted's guilt, Lucas still didn't believe it.

The only way to take care of this was to ask the man.

Which is why he now found himself wearing out the rug in his father's office. The knock on the door had him taking a deep breath.

“Come in.”

Ted entered, nodded a greeting to Anna then shut the door behind him. Concern glistened in his soft brown eyes and his hands played with the chauffeur's hat he enjoyed wearing. “What's going on, Lucas? You sounded strange on the phone.”

Lucas ran a hand through his hair. This was one of the hardest things he'd ever done. “Will you tell me about the abortion clinic you were accused of trying to bomb?”

Surprise flickered then resignation took over. “Ah. What made you investigate my past?” Ted's tone was curious without being defensive.

“All the attempts being made on Anna's life. You came up as the most likely suspect.”

Lucas explained what he and Anna had discussed, how they'd arrived at his name the day they'd almost gone flying.

Ted paced the floor, his right hand rubbing his five-o'clock shadow. “I'd hoped to leave the past in the past, but I guess I'm not surprised it's caught up with me.” He shrugged. “In college, I got involved in a group that had a hidden agenda. Oh, I'm not saying I'm completely innocent. I did my share of protesting the clinics, arguing with the doctors, stepping up on my high horse. When they talked about bombing the clinic, though, I spoke up, told them they were crazy. I was ready to quit the entire organization and start one of my own. A peaceful one. But, that night, my roommate talked me into going to what was supposed to be our regular meeting. Just one last time, he promised. No violence, just talk. And it was a setup. They had bomb materials hidden in the house. Someone tipped off the police and the rest is history. I was guilty by association and served a short time in jail.”

“Does my father know this?”

“Yes.”

Lucas blinked. “Really?”

“He gave me a job when no one else would hire me—an ex-con. I'll always be grateful to him.”

Well, that explained a lot. Like why Ted continued to stay on, and was so loyal to an irascible, cantankerous and even downright rude man.

Ted looked at Anna, who'd been silent during Ted's explanation. “I promise, Anna, I've not done anything to put you in harm's way.”

Anna crossed to Ted and laid a hand on his arm. “I believe you.”

Lucas gave the man a bear hug. “I do, too. I'm sorry I doubted you even for a minute.”

Ted shrugged. “The evidence is certainly stacked against me, isn't it? Hearing you lay it all out certainly makes me stop and think. It's rather scary how much it looks like I could be a part of a plot to kill Anna.”

“But obviously, things aren't as they appear,” Anna muttered. “It's all like some weird illusion. You see one thing, but it's really another.”

“Which means we need to keep digging to find the truth.”

 

The next morning, Anna awoke to her cell phone buzzing. Fumbling around on the nightstand, she finally clamped her fingers around it and looked at the caller ID. Jennifer.

Did she have some news? Already?

“Hello?”

“Hi, Anna, thought you might like to know the ADA managed to finagle a warrant from Judge Bishop. We found your memory card.”

Anna's breath left her in a whoosh. “And?”

“Everything you said was on it, was. Plenty to put de Chastelain away for a long time. I don't know that we'll be able to get him for murder without a body or a weapon. That small amount of blood could be explained by a nosebleed and the blood type did match de Chastelain's, but we've got drug transactions, names of some pretty high-ranking people involved in some nasty stuff. We're still looking for his brother, Brandon, but nothing's turned up on him.”

“He's dead. De Chastelain knows where his body is—you'll just have to get him to talk. Offer him a deal or something.”

A sigh whispered over the line. “It's possible. We're working on Sherry de Chastelain, too. I think that woman knows a lot more than she's telling. Our people are still working with the card, but de Chastelain has been arrested again so it looks like you're home free. Now…are you ready to come back to work?”

A fist in her stomach would have carried less of a punch than Jennifer's innocent question. Swallowing hard, Anna said, “No. Not yet. I need to know if you turn up something on Justin. I trusted him, Jennifer, with my life. If he's the reason those two agents are dead…”

“Yeah, I'm still working on it, but it looks like he's clean. I'll let you know if I find anything. Hey, you want to get together for some lunch tomorrow?”

“Sure, that sounds good.” It did. It sounded wonderful. It took a moment to sink in. She'd done it. De Chastelain was in jail and Anna didn't have to look over her shoulder anymore. She wondered how long it would take for that reality to set in. “What time?”

“How about eleven-thirty at the steak house we used to haunt when we were partners a hundred years ago?”

The steak house. Wow, that would bring back some memories.

“See you there. Thanks.” Anna hung up the phone, staring out the window to study the ocean as the waves lapped against the shore. The magnificent beauty of God's handiwork only briefly brushed her mind as she thought.

It was over.

It was really over. Finally, after four years, she'd helped to put the man behind bars, hopefully permanently this time. She did feel relief, gratitude that Lucas was now safe, but she also felt…unsettled, like she was missing something, something that might come back to haunt her if she didn't figure out what it was.

T
he next morning, she ate a quick breakfast and told Lucas she had some errands to run. He had some things of his own to take care of so he volunteered to drop her off at the steak house to eat with Jennifer while he did his own thing.

Anna took him up on the offer and a couple of hours later they made the drive in comfortable silence. Anna simply enjoyed being with him, yet the feeling was bittersweet as she knew it was time for her to leave, time for her to head back to the orphanage and take Paulo with her as soon as he was well enough. Which would be in a couple of weeks.

Lucas pulled up to the curb to let Anna out. She gave him a smile and said, “Thanks. Jennifer can bring me back to the house.”

“You're sure?”

“I'm sure.”

He shrugged. “I don't mind waiting for you.”

“Thanks, Lucas, but I don't know how long I'll be, so don't wait around, okay?”

“Okay, see you back at the house.”

She slammed the door. Lucas drove off and she turned to greet her friend. “Hey there.”

Jennifer reached over and gave her a hug. “It's so good to do this again. Come on, I'm starved!”

“You're always hungry. I'm glad to see some things haven't changed.”

“Ha-ha. Very funny.”

“Before we set business aside, I just need to ask if the crime-scene guys got anything off the helicopter?”

Pursing her lips, Jennifer shook her head. “They've managed to recover some sort of serial number. I think it's only a matter of time before our people figure out who it belongs to. Not expecting the thing to crash, I'm sure they probably left some kind of evidence behind. We just have to find it.”

Anna nodded. “Well, if you can put a rush job on it, I'd appreciate it.”

Ten minutes later, they were seated at a table for two. Anna placed her napkin in her lap and took a sip of water. “So, what's been going on with you? We've been all business since I popped back into your life and we haven't had a chance to catch up.”

“Life's pretty good, but I'm more interested in you.” The food arrived and Jennifer took a bite of salad, asking, “So, how are things with you and Dr. Delicious?”

The sip of water Anna had just taken got stuck going down the wrong pipe and had her choking with gasping laughter again, but she managed, “Don't do that!” She took another deep breath and giggled. “Dr. Delicious? Oh please. Lucas would be mortified to hear you describe him that way.”

“Sorry.” An unrepentant grin said she was anything but.

Anna shrugged, turning serious. “He's a Christian now. God answered that prayer in a pretty crazy way, but the end result is Lucas realized he needs God.”

“That's wonderful, Anna.”

“Yes, it is.” She toyed with the food on her plate, her appetite suddenly nonexistent.

“Um, so why do you say that like it's a bad thing?”

“Because that means there's nothing holding us back from exploring our feelings.”

“And that's bad because…?”

Anna dropped her fork and looked her friend in the eye. “I can't have children, Jennifer, you know that.”

“Yes, I do, but any man worth anything won't hold that against you. Not if he really loves you.”

Tears came so easy when the topic of children came up. Anna sniffed them back, took a bite of food then wished she hadn't. Forcing herself to swallow, she blurted, “You know the FBI agents assigned to guard me while I was in the hospital?”

Jennifer blinked. “Yes.”

“Do you know what one of them told me before he was killed? He said, ‘Too bad about your hysterectomy. Not much good for any man now, are you?'”

Gasping, her eyes wide with horror at the crassness of somebody saying such a terrible thing, Jennifer reached across the table to grab Anna's hand. “You can't possibly believe that, can you?”

“I didn't think so, but for some reason his words keep going around and around in my head and I can't…” She looked away then back. “I love Lucas so much, I can admit that now. But what if I tell him everything and he looks at me…different? With…disgust or…”

“Then he's not the man for you.” Anna felt her friend's hand grip hers even tighter. “You are a child of the King. He knit you in your mother's womb. He knows the plans He has for you. Plans to prosper you, never to harm you. That's a paraphrase, but you know the Bible. You know God loves you. I think God brought you and Lucas together for a purpose. It's all part of His plan. That man loves you. Tell him, Anna. I think you'll be surprised.”

For the next two hours, Anna concentrated on her friend, the fact that it was wonderful not to have to look over her shoulder on a regular basis, and she forced all thoughts of Lucas and leaving him from her mind.

 

De Chastelain's arrest had once again captured the media's attention. Protesting his innocence all the way to jail, he vowed not to rest until he proved it. The authorities had rounded up several people in conjunction with a number of unsolved crimes. Their names had been on the memory card and they had various associations with de Chastelain. But the afternoon news simply brought more questions for Anna as she sat on the couch in the den flipping through channels just about as fast as she flipped through her thoughts.

She focused on them so she didn't have to think about spending another Christmas without family, without children running around, getting underfoot. Her children. She'd tried to fill that gap, that longing, by falling in love with the children of the orphanage. And it had definitely helped, but it wasn't the same.

So, she paid no heed to the signs of Christmas elegantly displayed before her, or just outside this room, the ivy entwining its way up the stair rail only to curl in and out of the banister overlooking the foyer. The smell of cinnamon and spice coming from the kitchen made her stomach growl, but she ignored it, still trying to think things through in a logical manner, shoving aside the emptiness Christmas always seemed to enhance.

While she was glad to see de Chastelain put away, the loose ends were definitely not tied up.

Who had been de Chastelain's help? He hadn't done all the dirty deeds himself, that was for sure. The incident with the helicopter on the ocean was proof of that. Sure, they'd arrested others in addition to de Chastelain, but had they arrested the
right
others?

Second, there was that missing body that she had seen but no one could ever even prove existed and seemed to have all but forgotten about. Was it really Brandon de Chastelain?

And third, who had pulled the trigger four years ago sending that bullet crashing into her? Who?

She was packed, ready to go. All set to get on the plane and head back to Brazil, to her children, her job as director. Yet, she hesitated. She couldn't let go of the feeling that there was something unfinished. Paulo would be fine. He grew stronger every day, no signs of infection or rejection having appeared.

“You ready for a little Christmas shopping?”

Anna looked up to see Lucas in the doorway, staring at her with a tender look in his eyes. Oh boy, better not investigate that one. Even if the look did make her feel all mushy inside. “I'm leaving, Lucas.”

He froze, then carefully walked over to sit on the couch next to her.

“Why? I thought now that the danger was past and everything was settled…”

“But it's not settled. I've been over and over everything and it's not adding up.”

He blew out an exasperated sigh. “I think you've been looking over your shoulder so long, you don't know how to stop. Could you just postpone leaving and give us chance?”

Biting back an acid retort, she stilled, thought about what he said, wondered if he could actually be right. Could she stop wondering if every person she ran into was after her? Could she slow down long enough to have a normal life? But he wanted children and she couldn't give him that. But still, what if…

Giving a small shrug, she looked him in the eye. “Maybe, maybe not.”

He nudged her shoulder. “Maybe I'm right. So you want to go shopping?”

“What's this about shopping?” Thomas Bennett moved slowly over to the fireplace mantel to straighten an already straight candelabra.

“Hello, Father, I was just asking Anna if she'd like to do a little Christmas shopping.”

“She's planning to stay for Christmas then?” He didn't sound as if he minded terribly.

Anna jumped in. “Ah, no sir, I probably won't be here. I really think I need to get back to the orphanage.”

He turned, studied her, then gave a shrug. “Well, that's too bad. You actually liven the place up a bit.”

Anna nearly giggled at the look on Lucas's face, then he gave a half smile and drawled, “Father, don't tell me you like Anna.”

“Lucas, do grow up, won't you?”

Lucas shot her an amused look out of the corner of his eye. Anna had to look away or dissolve into unseemly laughter. When she looked back, in the blink of an eye, sadness had replaced his merriment and she gulped, her own joy fading.
Oh Lord, now would be a really good time to tell me what You want me to do.

 

Lucas was just about to ask her to join him in a walk outside so they could talk privately when the front door opened, then banged shut a moment later. “Uncle Thomas?”

Godfrey was home.

“In here, boy.”

Lucas's cousin stepped into the room pulling his leather gloves from his fingers. When he saw Lucas and Anna, he stopped, his smile faltering. “Oh, I didn't realize you were here.” He looked back at his uncle. “I just needed you to sign some papers from the bank, but it can wait.”

Standing, Lucas said, “Anna and I were just going Christmas shopping. I'll leave you to talk to Father.”

“Nonsense, son,” Thomas stepped forward and patted Lucas's shoulder as he looked over at Godfrey. “Now that Lucas is home, he'll want to be involved in everything businesswise. Now what are these papers?”

Godfrey cleared his throat. “Just your signature needed saying that you authorize that transfer of stock we talked about last week.”

“Ah yes.” He glanced at Lucas. “Giving some stock away to some charity deal that hit me up a couple of weeks ago. Might as well since it's getting close to the end of the year and the tax write-off will be nice.” Thomas slipped his glasses on and peered at the papers, intently studied them, then said, “Mm-hmm. Looks good.” With a flourish, he signed his name. Godfrey took the papers, set them on the coffee table in front of Anna and signed on the second line. Then he pulled out a second set and the two men went through the same routine. He then slipped them into the folder he held in his left hand.

Of course, there was always something in it for the old man. Shaking his head, Lucas watched the transaction then clapped Godfrey on the shoulder. “See you later, man.” He glanced over at his father and whispered so only Godfrey could hear. “And God bless you.” For dealing with my father. But he left that unsaid. The surprised laughter in Godfrey's eyes said he understood, though.

Anna had watched the entire exchange with a bemused expression on her face. Now, Lucas reached down, clasped her hand and pulled her to her feet. “I still want to go Christmas shopping.”

“Funny,” she said, tongue in cheek, “I don't remember you being that much of a shopper. If I recall correctly, you abhor shopping.”

Refusing to believe she'd actually leave when all he wanted to do was wrap her in his arms and hold her close, he hid his feelings, determined to spend time with her and winked. “All depends on what you're shopping for.”

Twenty minutes later, they walked into Valley View Mall. Christmas lights winked from every surface outside the mall, the charity bell-ringer stood at the entrance listlessly swinging his arm, his bored expression in direct contrast with the cheerful sound coming from his bell. Lucas dropped a twenty into the basket then reached over and took Anna's hand. She smiled up at him, yet the uncertain hesitation in her expression cut him. What held her back? De Chastelain was in jail, Justin had been cleared of any wrongdoing, so that had to make her feel a little better. True, there were still some unanswered questions, but those would be cleared up in time, right?

Anna glanced over her shoulder, her fingers warm yet tense in his grasp. Spying the store he wanted, he felt sweat break out over his forehead.
Um, God, I know I'm new to this praying thing, but if You could make this work out, I'd appreciate it.
Talking to God was becoming a habit. One that he was finding he liked—a lot. It made him feel…safe, comforted, and strong all at the same time. It was weird and if someone had tried to explain it to him, he would have thought they were crazy, but since it was something he felt, something he experienced, he couldn't deny it.

And now that he thought about it, Anna
had
tried to tell him. Wishing he'd listened a lot sooner, he smiled. It was good to be in love with a woman who was not only beautiful but smart, too.