Undercover Passion (13 page)

The cat stared back for a moment, golden eyes inscrutable, but then her ears flattened against her head and she slunk off down the hall toward the laundry room.

Abby laughed and abandoned herself to Daniel's caresses. As he pulled away her clothing and explored her body, she closed her eyes and let herself sink into sensation. His touch was so wonderful. She'd never dreamed it could be this way.

She'd thought she wasn't made for love. Her past experiences consisted of a few furtive near-disasters and nothing very satisfying. It was always a bit embarrassing, a bit humiliating.

But this…this was so different. The way he touched her made her feel special, adored, cherished. He made it very clear that her body excited him, that as things built to a climax, he got wild and crazy with need for her. But she never got the feeling that the sex was all he cared about. It was always him and her, not him and generic “woman” set on earth to fulfill his needs. He was making love to her and she was responding in kind.

She loved him. She loved the way his mouth felt on her breast, loved the way his fingers found her most sensitive areas and stroked her to arousal, the way his hard body took control of hers and sent her to the moon.

He towered over her as she lay back on the couch, and then he was plunging into her and she took over, wrapping him in her body, taking possession of his soul for that final moment of ecstasy.

He was hers. At least for now.

 

The seminar was even more crowded than usual. Dr. Richie's fame was spreading and people were flocking in to see what he had to say about life—and to pick up some NoWait oil. Daniel surveyed the crowd and had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He wanted to warn them all, but he had no leg to stand on without those test results.

Looking around the room, he saw a lot of people he knew, including some who were familiar with his role as a police detective. He saw Arline looking very friendly with a handsome young intern, and Carrie Martin looking nervous in a seat by herself. The sight of Wilbur Mason wasn't surprising, but when he saw Ella sitting beside him, his jaw nearly dropped.

He couldn't resist ribbing her a little and he made his way to the seat just behind her and leaned forward.

“Ella Crown, what are you doing here?”

She looked back at him and grimaced. “If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.”

“Ella, tell me it isn't so. I never thought I'd see you surrender to the cupid faction.”

She glared at him and jerked her thumb toward her companion. “Wilbur talked me into it. He said the doc might be able to help me calm down a bit and not be so cranky all the time.”

Daniel grinned. “He said that and you let him keep his head?”

Ella turned so that she could talk to him without being overheard. “You know, it's not all that much fun being cranky. I figure, what the heck. I'll give peace and love a try for a few days. I might even like it.”

Daniel laughed and patted her shoulder before rising and heading back to the outer fringes of the room where he could keep an eye on things. Then he settled back and waited to see if there were going to be any fireworks tonight.

 

Carrie's hands were shaking and her heart was beating very fast. This was going to be hard. But it had to be done. Dr. Richie—her ex-husband—was winding down his lecture. It was time. If she was ever going to do it, it had to be now. She had to get this over with because she couldn't live with this burden hanging over her any longer.

Rising from her chair, she started for the front
of the room. No one tried to stop her. She saw the stairs ahead and she mounted them. Looking up, she saw surprised faces on the stage. She turned toward the audience.

“Hello, everyone. I'd like to be allowed to make a statement.”

“Ms. Martin,” Abby said from the rear of the stage, smiling at her with a worried look in her eyes. She was coming toward her as though she was prepared to escort her back to her seat. “I'm sorry but—”

“I have something I need to say about Dr. Richie,” Carrie said urgently, her voice louder now. “Please let me say it. I just have to tell you all what I think of Dr. Richie.”

The rest of the staff on the stage, obviously thinking this was going to be some sort of a testimonial to the doctor and his work, began to smile and encourage her. Abby followed their lead, but she was looking more and more worried.

“Well,” Dr. Richie said graciously, smiling at her, “if you feel you must.” And he relinquished the microphone to her.

Carrie looked at him. He was giving her the smile he reserved for conquests. He must be
thinking she'd had a change of heart from the other day at the bus stop. She yanked her gaze away. She couldn't look at him if she was going to get through this. Gripping the podium with all her might, she tried to keep her knees from knocking. Looking up, she began.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I've known the man you call Dr. Richie for over twenty years. I knew him back in Apopka, Florida, when we both were kids. I probably know him better than anyone else in this room.”

The faces were still pleasant, turned up to her expectantly. She went on.

“And I'm sorry to tell you, Dr. Richie is a fraud.”

There was stunned silence for a moment as people looked at each other and waited for the punch line that was surely coming. When it didn't materialize, gasps were heard here and there among the participants. The staff onstage was paralyzed with horror and astonishment. Dr. Richie looked stunned.

“What are you talking about?” someone called from the audience.

“This is what I'm talking about,” she said. “I
know a lot of you love him. I know you depend on him. It's all very well if you think his products and his methods work for you. That's wonderful. And that's just what I know he wants. But I think you have to know the truth about him. A life based on lies will crumble and poison everything and everyone around it. And the lies must stop.”

There was a murmur in the crowd and everyone on stage was looking toward Dr. Richie, obviously waiting for a sign from him as to what they should do. But Dr. Richie was standing as though rooted to the ground. He was staring at Carrie and looking white as a sheet.

“I know you believe your Dr. Richie is wonderful,” Carrie was saying. “And I know he really wants to be everything you think he is. But it's time to tear away the curtain. Richard is a flawed human being, just as we all are. He's not the perfect paragon you think he is.”

“Sit down, woman,” someone called furiously from the audience. “Who are you to say these things about him?”

Carrie lifted her head and went on. “My name is Carrie Martin,” she said. “But it was once Carolyn Strokudnowski and I was married to a man
named Richard Strokudnowski. We loved each other very much, but we had different goals, and our marriage was torn apart. I went my way and married a man named Ralph Martin. Richard went his and became a fitness guru named Richie Strong.”

The gasps were louder now. Carrie kept her gaze firmly toward the crowd. She knew she wouldn't be able to go on if she saw Richard's face.

“I'm afraid my ex-husband has been presenting himself as something he isn't,” she said. “He has his talents, but medical miracles will never be among them. Richard always tried hard, but he was all thumbs when it came to chemistry. He could talk you into anything, but he couldn't get formulas right. He couldn't even manage to make a decent oil and vinegar dressing when we had dinner. And he had to retake several courses in the process of getting his doctorate in Nutrition Systems. He doesn't tell you that. And he didn't graduate from Harvard as it says on his brochure. Actually, it was the University of Jasmine Island off the coast of California. A decent place, but hardly the prestigious institution he claims.”

By now she had the full attention of the crowd
and the staff. She felt it and she took a deep breath, forcing herself to relax a little.

“He was never much good at facing reality,” she said. “If you read his material, you would think that he was a miracle worker. He lists a string of marvelous results he claims he's had in the past. Well, let me set you straight. He can't work miracles. Those things he lists are exaggerations. He will do his best for you, I'm sure, but you must be careful of anything he tries to get you to use and you must take his advice with a grain of salt and understand that anything he recommends is just an experiment, not a cure-all. And with experimentation there are often unforeseen consequences.”

“Like what?” a voice from the audience challenged.

“Beware of the NoWait oil,” she said, her voice gaining power. “Haven't you noticed that people who take it are changing before your eyes?”

There was a sudden commotion and people began to cry out. Looking over her shoulder, Carrie saw Dr. Richie disappearing off the stage into the back area. And then Daniel O'Callahan was charging the stage and running out the back way, obviously in pursuit.

Carrie slumped against the podium, all energy suddenly drained. It was over. Richard was unmasked. Perhaps he was ruined. She wasn't sure. But she was sure what she'd done was the only thing she could do. The lies had to be countered with truth. That was the only way he could go on and maybe do it right the next time.

But she still hadn't told him the biggest secret of all. She hadn't told him that they had a son together, a son he never knew about. That would have to wait for another day.

 

Abby sat staring at her hands. She'd been doing that for hours, it seemed, but she couldn't make herself get up and do anything else.

Ming jumped in her lap and looked up into her face with a worried meow, but she didn't notice. She stared at her hands.

Her mind was filled with Daniel and Dr. Richie and Carrie Martin and the fact that her life had pretty much melted away tonight. Dr. Richie wasn't what she'd thought he was and Daniel wasn't what she'd thought
he
was. The two most important men in her life were both frauds. Where did she go from here? She wasn't altogether sure she could handle this.

When the bell rang, she knew it was going to be Daniel. What was he going to say to her? What could he say?

She felt wooden as she went to greet him and she let him in without a smile. He searched her face, then swore softly.

“Did you catch him?” she asked.

“Dr. Richie? No. He got out the back way and locked a steel door. We had to go back around and by the time we got there, he'd already driven off. The state troopers are looking for him now.”

She sighed, nodding, then looked into his face. “Is it that I'm just so stupid?” she asked him quietly. “Or are all the men I deal with really good liars?”

He winced. “I guess you've already figured it out, haven't you?” he said.

“That you're not a journalist? That you're a cop who was investigating Dr. Richie all along?” She turned away from him. “Yes. I got the general idea when you took off after the doctor the way you did, but others in the audience who know you filled me in on everything I didn't know.” She turned back and stared at him, her eyes clouded. “It's somewhat humiliating to be told by perfect
strangers that the man I've been sleeping with is not who I thought he was.”

He winced and took a deep breath. “I'm sorry,” he said softly.

She shook her head. “Sorry isn't good enough.”

“What can I do to make it up to you?”

She closed her eyes. “Be that other person. Turn back the clock and tell me the truth this time.”

He took her by the shoulders. “Abby, I'm the same person. Honest. The only difference is—”

She opened her eyes and glared at him. “The only difference is you're a liar.”

He pulled his hands back and stared at her. Pain shivered in his gaze, and then a sort of anger. Wordlessly, he turned away and went out the door.

And that was when Abby finally could cry.

An hour and a shower later, she was making plans. She had to get out of here, she had to get away. Things were so confused. Did she still have a job? Was there still going to be a Healthy Living Clinic? For all she knew, the hospital might want to jettison the whole enterprise and start over with a new staff.

Funny how suddenly success didn't seem like
the most important thing in her world any longer. There were more important things than getting prizes.

The phone rang and she stared at it, letting the answering machine pick up.

“Abby?” The voice was Phoebe's. “Abby, I need to talk to you. Please call me back as soon as possible.”

Abby stood where she was, debating. Should she talk to Daniel's grandmother? Or should she cut off all ties to that family as quickly as possible? It was a big decision. It might even determine the rest of her life.

 

Daniel opened the door to his cold and empty house and threw his briefcase on the table, shrugged out of his suit coat and stretched, trying to get the feeling of doom out of his head. He'd spent too many hours in a hearing room for the last three days and he was sick of it.

“Gram?” he called out, wondering why everything was so dark and quiet.

He'd brought his grandmother home from the hospital a couple of days before and settled her in his guest room. It had been nice to have some
one to come home to in the evenings. But now there was no answer.

Frowning, he took the stairs two at a time and looked into the bedroom his grandmother had been using. It looked too neat. And then he noticed the note pinned to the pillow. He picked it up with a bad feeling coursing through his veins.