Moonlight Road (30 page)

“Your wife has been the wife of many,” Ron said. “She’s a con—this must come as no surprise, eh?” he asked. “But you were her
second
spouse, while she was still married to her first spouse. Her first husband was and probably still is her partner and partner in crime—his was the name on the back of your check. She’s used so many aliases, we’re not sure we’ve tracked them all yet. The couple are Bosniak—Albijana Kovacevic and Mustafa Zubac. She isn’t going to sue you, smear your reputation or do any of that. She can’t afford to. They’re wanted in five states.”

Aiden couldn’t speak. He could barely breathe.

“Aiden?” Ron asked. “Dr. Riordan?”

“Uh, back up. Are you sure about this?”

“I’ve e-mailed you some photos, but yes, we’re sure. They have a scam they’ve been running all over the place. Pretty young Annalee or Busha or Cerilla or any one of her aliases, marries. Usually a fairly rich older gentleman. Not so rich it would stand out, but with enough in the bank to be a lucrative target—they don’t invest much time. She’s been a masseuse, waitress, dancer, child-care provider…”

“
Child
care?” he asked, flipping open his laptop and getting online.

“I know. Terrifying thought, isn’t it? She treats them to her wild mood disorder and within a couple of months agrees to a divorce without a settlement if there’s a cash incentive. It’s pretty cost effective to give her fifty or a hundred grand to go away and the divorce is actually filed and recorded. Unfortunately for Albijana, some of her victims have had second thoughts after buying her off and reported the scam to the police.”

“But before they marry her,” Aiden said, “she treats them to a sample of her considerable sexual talents. This guy, her alleged partner—I’ve never seen him, nor did I know he existed—is her pimp.”

“Pretty much,” Ron said. “She’s been married and divorced a number of times in a number of states. Yours was a fluke—your lawyer hadn’t passed the bar after four tries, left a big stack of cases on his desk that were neither filed nor recorded, thus your marriage was recorded and not your divorce. That was a major screwup for them. It led to my staff finding that your marriage was not her first, that none of the subsequent marriages were legal. Bingo.”

He looked at the laptop screen where he’d just opened up a photo. Erin, who was listening attentively and hearing little or nothing from Aiden’s side of the conversation, looked over his shoulder. “God,” Aiden said in a breath. The woman was Annalee; the man had a very sinister, mature look about him, but Aiden instantly knew that was only one of his looks. “That’s her,” he said. “And the guy? I caught her in bed with him—a young sailor who said he didn’t know she was married, that he met her in a bar at ten o’clock in the morning. Jesus…he
cried
. I thought he was eighteen and scared to death—the only thing that kept me from beating him senseless.”

“Mustafa Zubac, goes by the name Mujo.”

“How’d you get the pictures?” Aiden asked.

“They’ve been arrested in the past several years. They just haven’t been prosecuted for their pretty simple fraud. They get out on bond and make a run to another location.”

“I knew she saw me coming,” he muttered. “I couldn’t prove it, but I always knew it—she caught me practically getting off a boat after a two-year assignment. A young doctor with money to burn. Jesus. But the navy? She went into the navy?”

“The history is sketchy, but I think what happened was she immigrated with her parents and hooked up with Mujo, a compatriot, after she’d enlisted. Albijana didn’t have it easy in Bosnia—her neighborhood was in constant conflict, but Mujo had it even worse and was a member of the underworld at an early age, the only thing that kept him alive. Both of them learned how to lie, steal, cheat and scam, probably as a matter of survival when they were young. They’re devastatingly good at it. And no one learns to live in the shadows like a couple of kids who grew up in a war zone.”

“No kidding. Now what?”

“Well, here are your choices—when she calls to ask if the payoff and documents are ready, you can tell her you know the whole story and that there are warrants for arrests of herself and Mujo, and I’d be very surprised if you ever saw or heard from her again. Or, you can pretend you don’t know and help flush her out for the police. The local police would love to take them into custody—the FBI would be happy to take them from there. It’s entirely up to you.”

“Much as I’d like to help, I’m going to pass,” Aiden said. “I just don’t want to create any more drama for my family or Erin. This has been as terrible as I want it to get.”

“That’s the option I would have taken,” Ron said. “Don’t be shocked if the local police ask for your cooperation, but it’s entirely up to you—don’t be pressured. In the meantime, we’ll petition the court with the appropriate documentation to have your record of marriage to Annalee Kovacevic nullified and removed. We’ll send you copies. That will take a couple of months, but we’ll keep on it.”

“I appreciate it, since I bought your colleague a big fat diamond and it doesn’t look like she’ll give it back.”

He laughed heartily. “Congratulations! Have a date set yet?” he asked.

“Not till you deliver the all clear, Mr. Preston.”

“We’re on it. Hopefully it won’t be long. Give us a heads-up when and if you hear from Albijana and deliver the bad news, will you?”

“When and if?”

“Well, I’m sure they’ll be tagged as wanted immediately. If they sniff that out, they’ll probably be on the move.”

“Life could only be so kind,” he said. “Thanks, Ron. I don’t know how you did this, but thanks.”

“I have a really good team—they’re relentless at finding the facts. You’d be amazed at the things people try to hide, Dr. Riordan.”

“Well, God bless you for it.”

Ron Preston chuckled. “You won’t be blessing me when you get the bill. Be sure to sit down when you open the envelope.”

He refrained from saying,
Worth every penny
. Instead, he said, “Thanks. Talk to you later.”

He began to immediately regret not participating in that event.

“How can you be so sure there’s something wrong?” Ian asked.

“I can hear it in her voice. There’s a tension, a nervous laugh that Erin
never
had, and she used to call me every day, sometimes twice a day, and now I almost always have to call her. Something’s wrong.”

“You’re just being overly pregnant,” Ian said. “What could be wrong?”

“She went to Virgin River, fell in love, got engaged and is starting a whole new life, all in about two months. What if something is wrong between her and Aiden?”

Ian cradled her little sprite of a face in his hand, looked deep into those mischievous green eyes and asked, “If there is, what can you do about it?”

“I can be there for her,” she said. “If she’ll just talk to me, maybe I can help. I do know more about relationships than she gives me credit for. Erin’s kind of an oddball—she’s pretty old to be having her first serious relationship.”

Ian smiled and shook his head. “She’ll be home in a couple more weeks. We’re having a baby in three. This will keep. When she’s home and the little guy is out, you two can talk about it day and night.”

That was a very husband thing to say, Marcie thought. Were men wired to say things like
just relax?
But it wasn’t good enough for her—she was sure she’d heard something in her sister’s voice that indicated there was a problem. And even if Marcie couldn’t make it go away, she was damn sure going to know what it was.

She was thirty-five weeks pregnant, had just had a doctor’s appointment and everything was perfectly normal and on schedule. She’d be having her C-section at thirty-eight weeks—a couple of weeks before her due date. All was well. She could make a quick run up to Virgin River, spend one night with Erin, get the lay of the land and drive back in the morning. The doctor said no more trips, but not because a trip would throw her into labor or because anything was wrong—only because she was supposed to be near her doctor and hospital in case she went into labor early. If that happened, she could have her C-section early. It was very unlikely, he had said, but he wanted her to err on the side of caution.

Still, everything she read about first babies and labor said it usually lasted
forever
. Worst-case scenario—if she went into labor, she’d pull over and summon help, an ambulance or whatever.

After Ian left for work in the morning, she threw a few things into an overnight bag and wrote him a note.

By the time she neared the cabin, she wasn’t feeling so great. Typical day for Marcie—late pregnancy was no picnic. For one thing she was small and her load was large; sometimes the pressure on her lower pelvis was wearing. She was probably a little dehydrated, though she’d had water with her the whole way. And hungry, though she’d had peanut butter crackers. She’d get a bite and maybe lie down for a while once she got to Erin’s. She’d made fantastic time, she was proud of that—it wasn’t quite noon.

Erin’s SUV was not at the cabin and neither was Aiden’s. They must be off on errands or something, but no problem for her. She’d eat something and rest. She opened the door and walked in; the blinds were all drawn and the place was a little dark. She closed the door behind her and went first to the new French doors, opening the blinds to the view. When she turned, she almost shrieked in surprise.

A blonde woman with a bruised and swollen face was pointing a small gun right at her. “Who are you?” the woman asked Marcie.

Marcie grabbed her chest in shock, then recovered herself. “I’m Marcie Buchanan and this is my cabin! Put that thing down before you hurt someone!”

The gun did not move. “Where are Erin and Aiden?” she asked.

“I don’t have any idea! I just got here! What the hell are you doing here? What do you want?”

“I’m waiting for Aiden. I need a little money,” she said.

Marcie opened her purse. “You can have whatever I’ve got. I must have fifty dollars, at least.”

The woman laughed and it contorted her face. Her lip was swollen and split, her eyes were black and her face appeared a little lopsided. “Really?” she said. “Fifty
whole
dollars?” She laughed again. “Well, little girl, if we multiply that by about a thousand, we’re talkin’.”

“Ohhh,” Marcie said, holding her middle. “I need water or something,” she said. “I’m not feeling at all right….”

“Help yourself. Then sit down and take a load off. You might come in handy.”

“I might be in labor,” Marcie said. “Which would be a very bad thing.”

“Not my problem.” She shrugged.

“I need to use the phone…”

“Not happening, chickie. Get your water and sit.”

“Oh, God,” she moaned.

The woman smiled evilly. “Not at this address, babe,” she said coldly.

The baby was settled for his nap at around two when Shelby answered the phone and handed it to Erin. “Your brother-in-law?” she said by way of a question.

Erin grabbed it. “Ian? Is Marcie all right?”

“I don’t know,” he said. “She was worried about you and left me a note—she decided to drive to Virgin River to see you.”

“Worried about me? But why?”

“She heard something in your voice,” he said. “I can’t explain—but you know Marcie. She said she’d call when she got to Virgin River, but she hasn’t. She should have been there by now, but there’s no answer at the cabin.”

“I’ll go over there right now and wait for her. The minute I see her, I’ll call.”

“I’m on my way up there now and when I get there, if she’s all right, I’m turning her over my knee.”

“Ian, call the highway patrol,” Erin said. “If she should be at the cabin by now and isn’t, have them watch for her car on the off chance she’s had car trouble along the way. Tell them the exact route she would’ve taken.”

“Will do. Call me when you get to the cabin.”

Erin hung up and turned a puzzled look at Shelby. She shook her head in confusion. “How weird. Apparently Marcie decided something is wrong with me. I told her everything is fine—but maybe I sounded a little stressed on the phone. Anyway, she decided she had to drive up here and see for herself. I’m going over to the cabin to wait for her.”

“Want me to go with?” Shelby asked.

“Take advantage of the baby’s nap and maybe get one of your own. I’ll see you later. Just tell Aiden I went home.”

When she pulled up to the cabin a little later, there sat Marcie’s car. “Well, thank heavens,” she said to herself. “The little scamp!” She walked in the door and spotted Marcie lying on the leather sofa. She stood right over her and said, “What the hell were you thinking?”

“Uh, Erin?” Marcie said. “We have ourselves a situation….” She tilted her head, indicating the other side of the room.

Erin turned to see a battered Annalee sitting in a chair on the far side of the room, well out of reach, with a small handgun resting leisurely in her lap. She gasped and jumped back in such surprise, she almost fell on top of her reclining sister. For a second she wasn’t sure what had shocked her most—the fact that Annalee was there, the condition of her face or the gun.

She righted herself. “What the hell is this, Annalee? What can you possibly hope to gain with this little show?”

“Money,” she said with a shrug. “Things have gone south on me, so I’ll need some money.”

“I didn’t see your car anywhere….”

“Parked behind the cabin, out of sight,” Annalee said. “Now, shall we just get down to business?”

“How much?” Erin said. “I’ll write you a check.”

“Right.” Annalee laughed. “It’ll have to be a little more liquid than that, I’m afraid. A cash transaction.”

“And you’re going to take hostages? Is that your plan?”

She laughed again and Erin actually winced at what that did to the appearance of her face. “Hell, no, that would only slow me down.”

“Well, if you hold a gun on my pregnant sister while I go after cash, that would qualify as taking a hostage. I can’t think of any other way you’re likely to accomplish it. Aren’t you in enough trouble?”

“Wait till you hear this,” Marcie said. “It’s actually pretty slick.” Erin frowned at Marcie. “But it is.”

“Lay it on me,” Erin said.

“We’re going to do it on the computer,” Annalee said. “A transfer of funds or a bank draft, whichever you’re capable of. Everyone banks online. I need fifty thousand transferred into my offshore bank and don’t worry, I’ll take it from there.”

Erin just shook her head. “You’re kidding.”

“Not even slightly. You want to handle that for me, or do we wait for Aiden?”

Erin thought for a moment. “I can do it,” she said. “It needs a phone call. Just to my investment account manager. She makes the transfer into my money management account, I can transfer it from there. Online.”

“If you screw this up and tip anyone off, we’re going to have trouble,” Annalee said.

“I won’t screw it up,” Erin promised. “Then you’ll go?”

“Absolutely. Why would I want to hang around here?”

“Where’s your partner? That Mujo guy?”

“Well, that’s the problem,” Annalee said. “When we figured they’d be looking for us, he split. Left me high and dry. Not the first time, and he always comes around when things cool down, but for right now, I can’t go anywhere without money. And as usual, he took what we had.” She smiled. “I’ll find him. I know just where to look.”

“He did that to your face, didn’t he?” Erin asked.

“Mujo has a bit of a temper, but then so do I. I guess I set him off.”

“Annalee,” Erin said, shaking her head. “Why in the world would you want him back? Can’t you manage to get just about any man you want?”

“No one is like us,” she said. “Me and Mujo. No one understands and no one is like us, that’s all. That’s how it is.”

Erin shook her head. “What a life,” she muttered. She walked slowly and carefully to the desk, precariously close to Annalee. She flipped open the laptop and logged on. Then she picked up the phone and placed a call. She cheerily greeted her account manager’s assistant, explained she was making a large down payment on a lake house in northern California and asked that fifty thousand be transferred into the checking account of her trust. When that was done, she looked up at Annalee. “Now what?”

“The account number and transit number are right there, on that pad by the computer, all ready for you.”

Erin took a deep breath and accomplished the rest. The whole operation took less than fifteen minutes, which was incredibly frightening. “Done,” she said.

“I’m going to have to verify that,” Annalee said. “Move away from the computer, please, and don’t do anything stupid. I’d rather not shoot anyone today, but you must know what my freedom means to me.”

“No problem. Verify away,” she said, moving back to sit beside Marcie. “Are you all right?” she asked her sister.

“Well, yes and no,” Marcie said. “I’m doing okay, but I’m having some serious contractions. They’re getting close and hard. The real deal. This means I’m supposed to call my doctor and meet him at the hospital. But at the moment…”

Erin jolted upright and shouted at Annalee. “Do you realize what’s happening here? That my sister is in labor and has to be in a hospital for a C-section? There’s no time to waste! There could be huge consequences if you delay us!”

Annalee looked up from the computer as if bored.

Marcie touched Erin’s arm. “We’ve been over all that. Not her problem, she says.”

“It’s by God going to be her problem if she ignores it! Hurry up over there!”

“It’s not recorded quite yet,” Annalee said calmly. “Take it easy.”

“Just check my transfer receipt,” Erin demanded. “Banks usually take twenty-four hours to register a deposit.”

“Well, you need to shop banks,” Annalee said lightly. “Mine takes twenty-four to make the funds available, but they record almost immediately.” She leaned back in the chair and idly played with her weapon. “It shouldn’t be too long.”

How could the woman be so calm in the face of her sister’s labor, knowing the situation was so dangerous for Marcie? But then, if she was truly sociopathic, nothing would affect her. It was eerie, watching her calm.

It seemed to Erin to take forever, and as she sat beside Marcie she could feel her large abdomen harden and relax a few times.

“Have you timed them?”

“Five minutes or so. Nothing to worry about yet. Maybe she’ll leave and we can carry on.” She took a breath. “Ian’s going to kill me.”

“Once you’re fine, he will. Can you concentrate on not having a baby? Something like self-hypnosis?”

“I don’t know,” Marcie said. “Up till today I’ve been concentrating on having him a little early….”

“Swell.”

There was a little
ping!
across the room. Annalee said, “Well, now.” She closed the laptop. “Nicely done.”

“Hate to see you rob us and run, but we understand.”

Annalee laughed. “You know, one of the things I admire most, especially from a woman under pressure, is a good sense of humor. But gee, that went so well, I think we should wait for Aiden and do it again. Double your pleasure?”

“As far as I know, Aiden isn’t planning to come here,” Erin said. “He’s gone to Eureka with his brother and won’t be back at his brother’s house before dinnertime. I’m to go back over there later.”

“Let’s give him a little time to miss you,” she said.

Erin leaned forward. “Don’t take that chance, Annalee. If you wait till people start to worry about us, you might have waited too long. I gave you a nice little nest egg. Take off before you have a trail of cops on your behind.” As if on cue, the phone rang. And rang and rang and rang. When it went to voice mail, Erin said, “Really. Don’t press your luck. Or, if you need some more money, maybe I should just do it so you can leave…”

“Ordinarily I’d go for that idea, but typically there’s a break point where people start to wonder what’s up with the big withdrawals. In my experience, fifty thousand is on the high but safe side. Let’s give darling Aiden a little time. Besides…I wouldn’t mind seeing him just once more…”

“You do understand that if that was him trying to reach me, he’ll come, but not without help. Law-enforcement help. Annalee, be smart. You can shoot us or even drag us both out of here at gunpoint, but you’ll never get away. If you go now before anyone knows what’s going on, you might even make it.”

“It’s so nice of you to be concerned, but I think everything will work out fine. We’ll give him a little more time.”

Marcie winced and a little groan escaped her. This was escalating.

“I have to go to the bathroom,” Erin said.

“Hold it.”

“I have to go now!”

“Wet yourself, see if I care. Can’t you stay focused?”

“How long do you propose to wait for Aiden? Because I need to get my sister medical attention!”

Annalee glanced at her watch. “Maybe a little while longer. Don’t worry—I’ll be out of your hair before long. If things go well, I’ll have enough money to
stay
out of your hair.”

But Erin
was
worried. She wasn’t sure who might come bursting in the door first—Ian or Aiden. Or maybe Aiden with law enforcement. If it got that complicated and messy, not only were people going to get shot or taken hostage for a getaway by a panicked Annalee, it might push Marcie too far into a danger zone for delivering the baby safely. As Erin understood Marcie’s situation, the danger was to Marcie
and
the baby.

She could not face that. Would not.

She leaned close to Marcie and gently stroked her hair away from her face. “If I create a diversion, can you get out?” she whispered.

“No whispering!” Annalee shouted.

Marcie groaned; a deep and low growl came out of her. And then suddenly there was a small flood as her water broke and began to flow from her body, wetting the couch beneath both her and Erin and dripping onto the floor. “No,” Marcie said weakly. “Don’t think so, no.”

“Jesus Christ, I thought you were faking about having to pee,” Annalee said. “That’s disgusting! Shame on you!”