Xs, An Allie Armington Mystery (18 page)

For the briefest second I picture him standing much
the same as he is now, wearing that great-looking sheriff ’s
uniform, his pilot’s sunglasses reflecting the rolling Texas hills
behind me. It’s then I yearn for the heady Kryptonite scent he wore
in Uvalde, the aroma that once telegraphed his presence and made me
go weak in the knees.

I relax, latch the safety on my weapon and toss my
purse on the lonely twin bed I’ve called mine since I moved back
into the Wells.

“What are you doing here?”

He settles into the darkness. “I was beginning to
ask myself that same question.”

The silence hangs between us until he says, “I
shared an early dinner with Aunt Georgina, then caught the ten
o’clock. I was hoping to surprise you.”

“I’m surprised. So leave.”

He moves to stand only inches away. “That’s quite a
change in your attitude from the last time we were together in this
room.”

“You mean when you made love to me and walked
out?”

Bill circles my waist. “You made the first move,
remember? I believe you said, ‘Do you need to go?’ But I’d be lying
if I didn’t admit I was seriously considering the same idea.”

I fight the temptation to stay put and step back. “I
thought you might at least have tried to contact me after that
rather strained meeting in Greenwich.”

“I had every intention of following you into the
city, but after you and Miss Cha left, Aunt Georgina had a bad
afternoon. I was with her until she fell asleep.”

He lets out a long breath. “Being the only source of
comfort to an aunt I barely know has been hard duty. The good news
is my parents are coming to stay with her for most of
December.”

“So, you do have parents. For all I know you could
have arrived here in a spaceship.”

His response is not what I expect. His voice is as
harsh as his words. “Cut it out. After this evening, I’m the one
who should be asking the questions.”

“And why is that?”

“I called your room from the Lobby. When there was
no answer, I stopped by the bar for a drink.”

I’m thankful I haven’t turned on the lights. My
heart jumps and my cheeks go hot. I feel as guilty as a kid caught
with her hand in the cookie jar.

I try to recall if there was someone else at the
bar. When Jaime and I entered and ordered, it was well past eleven
and we were the only two customers. Then. But as time passed,
neither one of us was concentrating on much else but each
other.

A sigh signals Bill’s dejection, then I hear it in
his voice. “I saw you there with Platón.”

I snap on the overhead light. “So what? It’s a free
country. I was having a drink with a friend.”

“And does having a drink with a friend include
letting him chew on your face?”

He’s jealous and I’m enjoying every second of it.
Why not take advantage of the chink in his armor?

My words tumble forward. “The last time we were
together, you said you loved me—only me. Then I hear nothing for
weeks. Did you lose my telephone number? Forget my address? Have a
lobotomy? And when I do turn up, obviously unexpectedly, I find not
only that the person you told me you hardly knew is really your
mother’s sister, but there’s a good-looking blonde glued to your
side.”

At that Bill gives me his wonderful, crooked smile.
“So that’s what this is about? Dierdre Wainwright? Hey, I can
explain that real easy. We met at Yale. I found out she lived next
door to Aunt Georgina. We dated. But that ended when I graduated. I
swear. There’s nothing going on between us.”

Pin a gold star on Mindy Cha. Dierdre isn’t a new
addition to Bill’s life; she’s an old flame, a stunning, well-bred,
well-educated old flame. What can a woman born and raised in
Lampasas, Texas, with a BS and a LLD from UT possibly have to offer
against that stacked deck?

Bill takes a few steps toward me. “I was hoping that
after the other evening—that maybe someday—”

I turn away and move to the window, keenly aware
that if I let him touch me again, my thin shell of defense will
dissolve.

Across the airspace is another hotel room. The
sheers are drawn, but inside I see a woman on a single twin bed
similar to mine, watching television. Alone. If I look at her much
longer, I’ll get depressed. I could so easily be her.

I turn to face him. “So, why are you here?”

“I needed to see you. To tell you what’s going
on.”

When he steps closer, I cross my arms in defense.
“Is this another tall tale? Something else to cover up?”

“I haven’t lied to you, Allie, at least not in the
venial sense.”

“Ahhh, the venial sense. I didn’t know you were
Roman.”

“I’m not.” He shakes his head. “For Pete’s sake,
what difference does religion make? I’m trying to make a point
here.”

“Which is?”

“Until I learned you were coming to scope out Aunt
Georgina, I thought you were safe and sound a thousand miles
away.”

“Gee, that makes me feel so good. To know you
thought I was safe and sound—and, from the looks of it—waaay out of
sight.”

I take a step back. “Was I mistaken? Didn’t we have
something going between us—something more than the usual sexual
attraction?”

It’s Bill’s turn to sound exasperated. “Sex? Is that
all you think I want from you?”

He takes a deep breath. “Keeping space between us in
Texas was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.” Then he murmurs,
“I love you, Allie. I don’t want to lose you.”

When his eyes telegraph the same message, I can’t
help but relent a little. “Okay. Okay. So maybe you didn’t know I
never left town. Though I would have thought you just might have
called to see if I arrived safely in Houston. What I don’t get is
when you found out I was coming to Greenwich, you didn’t at least
give me a heads up?”

He stares at me a few seconds. “I didn’t want to
miss the chance to see you again. Besides, if I had let you know,
would you have made the trip?”

I think about that for a few seconds. “I don’t know.
Probably. But why didn’t you tell me Georgina Kingsley-Smythe was
your aunt? You knew all along there was no way she could be Sigrid
Hale.”

“I told you Aunt Georgina was in a wheelchair.
Remember? They discovered she had a benign but inoperable tumor on
her spine shortly after she and Uncle Jason were married. Poor
thing has enough on her plate without learning what I really do.
She’s an old woman who’s grieving for more reasons than Uncle
Jason’s death.”

He opens his arms in invitation. “Allie, you have to
believe me. I’ve just left a few things out—mainly to protect you.
Can’t you forgive me for that?”

When I back toward the door, his arms lower and he
says, “You can’t, can you?”

“What’s to forgive? You’re doing your job and I’m
trying to do mine. I told you I was committed to finding Carolina’s
murderer, and I intend to do just that.”

He’s been edging my way ever since he started
speaking, but I’m backed against the door and have no place to
go.

Before I can make a move I’m trapped in his arms,
and when his mouth captures mine, every last shred of resolve
disappears.

When Bill murmurs, “I want you, Allie. I want you
now,” I verify all the arousal responses: pulse racing, breathing
shallow and quick, heat throbbing in all the right places. All
systems are go with one minute to liftoff.

Then I check the one site I’ve been ignoring my
gut—where sadly, a voice-over is screaming, “Mayday. Mayday. Abort.
Abort.”

I break the kiss and rest my head on Bill’s
shoulder. “This isn’t going to work.”

He stiffens, then steps away. “Why not? Give me one
good reason why we shouldn’t fall on that bed and spend the rest of
the night there.”

I can’t tell him about the sirens and the mayday. So
I just stand there like a mute and shake my head.

“Okay, you’re mad. I get that. You still think
Dierdre and I are lovers, but we’re not. It’s over between us, damn
it. It’s been over for years.”

I find my voice. “Did I say that?”

“No.” He puts his hands on my shoulders and leans
his forehead against mine. “I need you, Allie. I need you to give
me a sane place to go in all this mess. The DEA can’t get a decent
handle on Hale. The pipeline the Colombians were trying to cut off
at their end is still pumping like hell, and the drugs and
prostitution are still going strong. Damn it, Allie, I’m up to my
ass in alligators.”

He gives an exasperated moan, then his body makes
full contact.

I’m pinned to the door by an aroused male. Worse
still, the erogenous zones of my body have cranked back up to the
danger zone: knees jelly, mouth greedily harvesting his kisses,
arms dangling at my side as my body curves eagerly against his.

But down deep in my gut: the siren is still
screeching, and the mayday calls are louder than ever. There are
too many unanswered questions about Bill. Or as he puts it: too
many sins of omission.

I slide out of his arms and lurch toward the
window.

When Bill turns, he looks like a small boy who’s
just learned there’s no Santa Claus.

He starts toward me and I hold up my hand. “Stop
right where you are.”

His disappointment turns to disgust. “I get your
message. Loud and clear. It’s Jaime. Right?”

I shake my head. “Wrong. I’m in love with the man
you were in Uvalde. But he’s not here. Someone else is. A Yale Law
graduate with a Yankee accent, whose aunt lives in a mansion in
Greenwich just across the hedge from his classy ex-girlfriend,
who’s very busy trying to reclaim her territory.”

Bill slumps on the bed and leans forward to cover
his face with both hands. “I told you weeks ago that what you see
are the exterior traits I alter in order to do my job; just like I
made changes when I was in Uvalde. Underneath, I’m the same
person.”

“Are you? I wonder.”

He peers up at me. “Do you remember the cave? How I
held you in my arms until you fell asleep?”

I can feel my defenses fading. “Oh, yes, I remember
that night very well. But as you so often say, that’s not the
point. The point is that I desperately need to find that man
again.”

I rise and open the door, then turn to face him.
“Keep in touch.”

He joins me and brings my lips to his in a tender
kiss. “You have to know I love you. Why can’t you accept that?”

When I don’t answer, he steps into the hall, then
turns to face me. “By the way, we found out who wore that Foo Dog
mask. You know, the black one with Chinese red accents. It was
assigned to Larry Templeton, the current Cardinal.”

“Guess he couldn’t wait until his best friend died
of natural causes.”

He gives me a fleeting grin. “I hear Larry is in
high cotton now that he’s Cardinal. That’s motive enough for
murder, don’t you think?”

Bill leaves me standing there open-mouthed.

IT’S MONDAY. Time for the Christmas Bash at The
Castle. To say the team’s enthusiasm is at fever pitch would be an
understatement.

Jaime is seated next to Greene, across from Mindy
and me. Ever since our evening together he’s been conducting
himself with the strictest decorum. Not once have our eyes
connected to share a knowing glance. Not one sign that we spent a
few hours together outside of work. On one hand, I’m relieved he’s
not putting the moves on me, but on the other his behavior is very
puzzling.

Maybe I’m the one who’s not in step. Maybe I read
more into that kiss than he meant.

Greene has been lining up tonight’s operation for
over a week. Hampered by having to keep a low profile, he’s limited
the “invasion” force to Jaime, himself and the two men in the van
in the schoolyard across the street from the townhouse. I
understand his reluctance to include Mindy and me, but I’m itching
to get in on the act.

The four of us have been going over the tapes from
the previous evening.

Absolutely nothing happened. Hale stayed in her
suite, and Danes watched television. No communication from
Larry.

Greene looks at Jaime. “Danes has to know the living
room and his suite are bugged.”

Jaime scrunches his shoulders. “I agree. But why
hasn’t he gotten rid of them? He’s not a stupid man.”

“Plain as day to me,” Mindy says. “He wants some
sort of backup for protection. He’s scared. You can hear it in his
voice.” Greene gives her a brief smile, shuffles through the tapes
and slips one into the player. “These particular exchanges made
last week really concern me. I don’t think it would be wise to send
Allie back there.”

He replays the conversation between Cliff and Hale.
In the beginning Cliff seems in charge of the situation. But
minutes later, in reaction to whatever Hale whispers, Cliff ’s
voice goes shaky. Then he calls Larry. That conversation ends on an
ominous note. “Please, Larry, we have to meet. You’re the only one
who can control the situation.”

Greene leans back in his chair and studies the
ceiling. “I don’t like this at all.”

“But,” I say, “I’m the only one who can get in there
without arousing suspicion.”

Jaime turns to me. “I have to agree with Greene. It
seems like they’re making a plan that might possibly involve
you.”

Greene waves him off. “Let’s table this for now and
see what happens tonight.”

He motions to Mindy. “Don’t you have some kind of
new spin on this, Detective Cha?”

She lowers her eyes. “Yessir, I do, but it’s so far
out—” She shakes her head. “I’d like a little more time on this
before I present it to everyone.”

“Fine. But don’t wait too long. Today just might be
the big one.”

Greene motions to Jaime. “Let’s get some coffee. I
need some fresh air.”

When he looks our way, eyebrows raised, we both
shake our heads.

I wait until the men’s footsteps fade, then turn to
Mindy. “Just exactly what did you find?”