Intrusion (11 page)

“You’ll have to excuse me, Lucian. Della needs her bedtime walk.”

He uncoiled his sinewy frame with spectacular grace. There was something almost feline about his movements.

“I could use some exercise,” he said snapping his fingers at Della. “I’ll go with you. Besides, you need someone to watch your back.”

Lucian had an almost fey sense about him. Della strained to reach him, dropping down at his feet.

“Tell me how you met my husband,” I said. “How did you know Kai?”

“I met him once right before he died.
Can’t say that I really knew him.
Mr. Yancey introduced him as his lawyer. We had a beer and discussed CYBER-MED. Several beers, as it turned out.”

“That makes sense. Tommy respected Kai’s judgment. What happened?”

“They were troubled by something.
Both of them.
Your husband quizzed me about my suspicions, wanted proof, a typical lawyer.” Lucian laughed and took my hand. “I liked him, Elisabeth. He was the kind of man I could admire and perhaps be friends with.”

I gulped and bit my lip. “Most people reacted that way. Kai had a presence. Even now I can feel it.”

Lucian moved closer, putting his arms around me. For a moment I thought … surely he wasn’t wearing Creed? It couldn’t be.

He gave me a gentle squeeze. “My beautiful Elisa, you need more than memories. Some day, I will make new ones with you.”

His certainty confused me. This man was a stranger, yet his actions were so intimate.

“How can you say that? You don’t even know me.”

“You’re wrong,” Lucian whispered. “I’ve known you forever.”

Nine

Sleep eluded
me that night. Lucian planted a chaste kiss on my forehead, patted Della, and disappeared from everywhere but my thoughts. After tossing and turning, I slipped into a troubled sleep that left me restless. As usual in times of stress, Kai crept into my dreams like a sneak thief. I felt his strong arms holding me, thrilled to the feel of his lips brushing gently across my skin. As his fingers kneaded the sensitive spots on my body, he softly murmured my name. Suddenly I pulled away. Something was wrong. Kai didn’t sound like that. In slow motion, he turned his face toward me. Instead of my husband, I saw sun-streaked hair and sea blue eyes. He’d morphed into Lucian Sand.

I leapt up, feeling shaken and ashamed.
You’re pathetic, Lizzie Mae, fantasizing
about a stranger.
Kai would have teased me mercilessly; Tommy would have crowed like a rooster.

 
Not an auspicious start to my first official day at CYBER-MED. Fortunately, wardrobe was
no
problem. Candy had already sent me an e-mail mapping out each detail from lingerie to pumps. I deleted her message. This was a business venture, not a fashion show. I’d adapt to CYBER-MED’s corporate culture by wearing something dull and unremarkable, a navy suit and
Ferragamos
that spelled serious and sensible. My goal was to blend in, not stand out like a parrot in a henhouse.

After feeding Della, I wound my hair into a knot, donned a pair of heavy, black-framed glasses and strolled out the door. For the first time in ages there was a spring in my step, a feeling of anticipation. Those months of passivity were an ill-fitting garment sloughed off and replaced with a growing sense of purpose. Maybe my quest was futile, even dangerous. No matter. The old Elisabeth Buckley, lively and intellectually tough, was slowly reasserting herself.

A badge and access card awaited me at the front desk of CYBER-MED. High marks to someone for efficiency, probably Rand Lindsay. I couldn’t imagine Dr. Cahill doing such mundane chores. The divine
Arun
Rao
was another matter. According to Candy’s most recent report, his talents were limitless.

I settled into Tommy’s old office, comforted by his lingering presence. Inside the top desk drawer I found his usual assortment of topless pens and markers. That man could not remember tops or caps to save his otherwise tidy life. The side drawer yielded something more personal: his iPod, loaded with many of the tunes we had all adored. Some of them were real oldies: “Light My Fire,” “My Girl,” and his special favorite, “The Gambler.” I closed my
eyes,
revisiting the nights we’d danced, smoked a bit and sung those songs. Others might call it morose, but those happy memories strengthened me. Just as Tommy was with me now, Kai’s spirit had never left me. It never would.

“Getting settled, Mrs. Buckley?” Meg Cahill’s sprightly voice bolted me out of the chair. “Oh, excuse me. Did I startle you?”

Gritting my teeth might come in handy at CYBER-MED. It’s a gift.

 
I waved her into the corner chair. “No problem. I was just thinking of Tommy. He was part of my life for a long time, longer even than my husband.”

Physicians are used to maudlin ramblings. Dr. Cahill gave me a neutral, professional smile that never quite reached her eyes.
“Of course.
We can find you other space if this is too painful for you.”

I shook my head.
“Oh, no.
I’m very comfortable here.” The next move was hers, so I stayed silent.

Meg crossed her legs, giving me a peek of a surprisingly sexy chemise. “I have to ask you this. Have the police shared any theories with you? Have they speculated why Thomas … why he died?”

I responded like a lawyer by saying very little. “What did Sergeant Andrews tell you about Tommy’s murder?”

She flinched at the word murder. That’s why I’d used it. People longed to sanitize things, to pretend my friend’s death was routine. A crime like murder didn’t intrude into the tidy, prosperous world of Meg Cahill and
Arun
Rao
. It ravaged lesser beings.

“He said it was deliberate.” Meg flexed her hands. “I find that hard to believe.”

To my surprise, the perfect manicure of yesterday was gone. Polish on her right thumb and forefinger had chipped off leaving a crazy quilt pattern of mauve. I’d done things like that myself when I was worried or angry. What was Meg Cahill’s story?

“Tommy was incredibly fit,” I said, “a natural athlete. He could have escaped almost anything.” I gulped. “A car isn’t your normal adversary.”

“You believe that policeman?” Meg asked. There was a trace of asperity in her voice now.

Before I could digest that,
Arun
Rao
rapped lightly on the glass and stuck his head in. “Hey, Elisabeth. Welcome. I’ll send in Tommy’s assistant to get you settled.” His arms were filled with file boxes. “Naturally, everything we have is on disk. We’re a virtually paperless office.” He bared those perfect teeth. “Still, you know how it is.”

“Were there any sensitive cases that involved Tommy? You know, pending or threatened litigation, anything that might impact on CYBER-MED?” I had nothing to lose by taking a risk.

“I don’t understand,” Meg said. “Aren’t you interested in our fiscal picture?”

“Of course.”
I reached for my Mont Blanc. “Risk assessment is all part of it, as I’m sure you know. Tommy and I both specialized in strategic finance. Damage to CYBER-MED’s reputation would cause waves and lower share value.”

Arun
played for time by shifting the boxes in his arms. “I can’t think of anything. Rivalries exist, of course. That’s pretty
routine
in any business.” He flashed his grin. “Even cosmetics, I’ll bet.”

“No one ever died from using lip gloss,” I said with my sweetest smile. “What can you tell me about Ian Cotter? Tommy had a file on him at home.”

Meg Cahill leapt to the edge of her seat.
“Oh, my God!
He kept files at home?”

She clasped her hands into a knot. “That’s a serious violation of CYBER-MED policy. There are privacy implications. You’re a lawyer. You should know that.”

Rao
read the signals. He sped over to Meg’s chair and put his arm on her shoulder.

“Steady, Meg. After all, Mrs. Buckley is part of CYBER-MED now. I’m sure she appreciates the confidentiality clause in our contracts.”

Their eyes met in a gesture of shared intimacy.
Lucian was right. Those two were closer than mere colleagues should be. I’d bet
Arun
was responsible for the sparkle in Meg’s eyes. Poor Candy.

I flashed the bland corporate smile that covered a million sins. “Now, where were we? Oh, yes, Ian Cotter.”

Meg’s angst vanished, replaced by the media savvy Dr. Cahill who never cracked. “Ian Cotter was one of our clients. He’d had a defibrillator implanted by one of Boston’s top surgeons. The whole procedure went fine. No incidents.”

I watched as she slowly peeled off more of that mauve polish. “CYBER-MED monitored the pump. All indicators were normal; every fail-safe was in place.” She motioned to
Rao
.

His handsome face set in grim lines as he recounted the story. “Ian was a good guy, lots of fun. I trained with him myself. Anyhow, we followed his surgeon’s instructions and set up a 24-7 continuous monitor on that pump.”

It wasn’t easy keeping
myself
in the neutral zone. I longed to shake Candy’s dreamboat like a terrier with a rat. The man was unbearably tedious.
Get on with it.

“The theory was simple: if his heartbeat got erratic,
the
defib
would stabilize him, alert our center, and we’d communicate directly with his doctor. Those things work like a charm.”

“Except when they don’t.”
I scoured any trace of blame from my voice.

Meg Cahill nodded. “Ian was a ladies’ man, a Don Juan, actually.
But charming, very charming.
You must have read about it. They found him in the bed of a married woman. She said he hadn’t complained about anything, except being … aroused.”

Arun
Rao
picked up where she left off. “Something happened. The device activated and shocked him into eternity.” His mouth was set in a thin, hard line. “CYBER-MED had no liability whatsoever. The maker of the device settled up with his family.”

“Really?
Ian was married?”

Meg’s reply was an arctic blast. “Yes, although I don’t see what that has to do with anything. His wife was devoted to him. She understood that Ian was … hypersexual, I guess you’d call it. He loved her, and she knew it.”

“Surely you were monitoring his condition,” I said. “What went wrong?”

“Nothing.
I just told you that.”
Rao
quickly lowered his voice. “Forgive me, Mrs. Buckley. It’s just so frustrating. Our technician saw the screen and immediately called his physician and paramedics, but it was too late. Tony Torres is our finest operative. He would have noticed if anything went wrong.”

Meg Cahill gave a hard, dry laugh. “Our procedures were perfect, but the patient died. Apparently, the device believed that Ian was
flatlining
and took action.” She shivered even though the temperature was anything but cold. “It’s so bizarre, like something from a science fiction movie. It killed a perfectly healthy man, my patient.” She saw the look of shock on my face.
“Oh, not recently.
When I was in practice, Ian Cotter was my favorite patient. He was my trainer, too.”

“I’m sorry, Meg. Isn’t there some kind of fail-safe, you know, where CYBER-MED makes sure things are OK?”

“Impossible. The chances of a defibrillator running rogue are a million to one. This isn’t the Twilight Zone, Mrs. Buckley. There are thousands of lines of code involved.”

I kept my smile in place. “Call me Elisabeth, please. It’s a lot friendlier.”

“OK, Elisabeth. Jesus, you sound just like Tommy. He was obsessed with this Ian Cotter thing. Wouldn’t let it go.”

Opportunity knocked, and I put out the welcome mat.

“Any other skeletons in the corporate closet?”
I flushed. “I’m sorry. That’s a terrible metaphor. I know you have many prominent clients.
Judges, politicians.”

Meg slowly rose to her feet. “We’ve gained the trust of the medical community. Forgive me for overreacting, but in this business, reputation is everything. One casual slur or loose comment, and CYBER-MED is finished.”

“I met Dr. Lucian Sand yesterday. Want to tell me about him?”

Rao
lit up like a traffic light.
“Him!
That bastard used us, gained our trust and tried to ruin CYBER-MED. When I think that I was the one who endorsed him …”

This time Dr Cahill played peacemaker. “I don’t understand, Elisabeth. What’s your connection with Lucian Sand?” Her lips twisted in a faint smirk. “Oh, he’s handsome enough, I’ll grant him that. But I must warn you, stay away from him. Sand is nothing less than an extortionist. Thomas knew all about him.”

Tommy again.
He was in the room as surely as if he’d called the meeting. Whatever caused his murder was here at CYBER-MED, too. I was sure of it.