She moved closer and in one swift movement, he maneuvered her to his lap.
He hit the speakerphone button and interrupted Marcus’s tirade. “Marcus, Patti wants to talk with you.”
As much as she enjoyed where she was sitting, Patti stood and moved away from Carter. “I have an idea. I want you to send me to the people whom Jamie was dealing with. My showing up will shock them so much it will bring the leader out of hiding and I’ll be able—”
Carter exploded. “No way, Marcus. There’s no way that’s going to happen.”
Marcus was yelling the same thing to her from the other side of the phone.
“Just listen to…”
She tossed the phone on the table. “I am going to do this. She may have…have…” Patti took a deep breath and said the words she’d been avoiding. “She may have... I’m not going to let her die in vain. I can find out who the man is and I’m going—”
The two men took turns telling her why she couldn’t do it.
She tuned them out. Her mind was made up.
Carter hung up the phone. “Patti, I know you wanted to…”
“I can’t believe you took Marcus’s side. I need to help Jamie. I would think you, of all people, would understand that. Wouldn’t you have done anything to keep your wife safe?”
“There’s no way I’m going to help you get yourself killed. Nancy and Jamie were trained to handle themselves and things still went wrong. You’re not trained. It’s far too dangerous. You wouldn’t have a chance.”
The argument grew more heated. He didn’t care about her or he’d understand she had to do this—for Jamie.
“I need to go.”
“Patti, let’s get this settled. I don’t want this to affect our…our –” Carter searched for the word.
Patti forced her thoughts back to her sister.
Carter said he wanted to help her find Jamie. Now he was arguing against that. He’d kissed her a few minutes before, perhaps trying to make her forget her quest?
She stared at him, her heart breaking. “I’m exhausted. I need to go to a hotel and get some rest. It’s been a really bad day.”
“You can rest here for a while.” Carter offered. “Or you can go back to the safe house.”
“No, I want to go to a hotel, and you need to return to the station before you lose your job.”
“That doesn’t matter.”
“It matters, Carter. Go talk with your boss.”
“Fine, I’ll take you to a hotel and get a cab. You get a few hours sleep and when I’m done, we’ll go out for dinner, later.”
“No, I want to go to a hotel by myself. I need to be alone.”
“Patti, don’t shut me out.”
She turned away from him. “I just need…need to rest.”
On the drive to the hotel, Carter attempted to talk, but she remained quiet. There was nothing left to say
He drove around until they were sure they hadn’t been followed. Then he took her to a nice hotel.
As they were about to get on the elevator, Patti turned with a sad smile. “Thanks, Carter. I can take it from here.” She stepped on the elevator alone and went to her room.
With or without Carter’s help, Patti knew what she had to do.
****
Carter stormed around his house picking up dishes and other clutter. What an idiot he was! He’d blown it with Patti. He’d seen it on her face when he didn’t stand up for her against Marcus. He’d failed the test. But all he wanted to do was keep Patti safe—if she’d let him.
The look in her eyes when he’d left her at the hotel…Patti felt betrayed...by him.
Carter tossed the cup in the sink. He heard the sound of breaking glass.
Oh, great.
He couldn’t even do the dishes right. Picking up the broken pieces of the cup, he threw them in the trash much harder than necessary. He stomped back into the living room.
Patti had been sweet, kind, and understanding, as he talked about Nancy.
He stared up at the picture for a long time, remembering two women...Nancy…and Patti…
“Nancy, I loved you and I still do, but it’s time to put away the past.” He reached up to take the picture down, but hesitated.
Not yet.
With a sigh, he put the picture back. He hoped Patti understood the next time she came--if there was a next time.
By morning, she’d realize how dangerous it would be to go into the lion’s den, so to speak. Patti was smart. She’d figure that out on her own. He reached for the phone but decided against it. They needed a cooling off period. Then they could talk in a more reasonable way. He’d call her first thing in the morning.
Then they could come up with a plan.
21
San Francisco, California
Patti’s taxi turned off Fillmore onto a side street, leaving behind the bustle of business for the more tranquil residential area of Pacific Heights.
It was one of the trendier areas of San Francisco, the cab driver told her.
The streets were lined with chic boutiques, elegant cafes, and high-priced condos.
Patti ran fingers through her new haircut, then stopped. She wasn’t Patti, the school guidance counselor, any longer. She was Jamie, always confident, always charming, and always the center of attention. If she was to be successful with this deception, she must think like Jamie—not Patti. And she had no choice but to succeed.
Her first act of deception would be to get a key to Jamie’s apartment. She hoped she could pull off the charade that long.
Carter would go ballistic if he knew what she was up to. He’d pretended to be someone she could count on, but when she’d needed him most...Patti shook her head as if that would erase Carter from her thoughts.
She had only one job to do—find Jamie.
Swallowing back her tears, she paid the cab driver. She stepped out of the taxi and sauntered towards the door in true Jamie fashion. It opened as if by magic.
A short bald man with a big smile stepped out of the building. Although he wore a cream-colored linen suit instead of a traditional uniform, Patti assumed by his demeanor he was the doorman. He looked to be in his early forties but it was hard to be sure. His bald head glistened in the last fading sunlight of the day.
“Ms. Jakowski, you’re back. I was beginning to believe you were never coming home.” His smile seemed genuine to Patti. He must like Jamie.
“It was a long trip this time.” Patti smiled back at the man. So far, so good.
“That’s for sure.”
Jamie would have used his name, but since she couldn’t she gave him her best Jamie smile. “I can’t tell you how glad I am to be back. How are things?”
The man’s smile disappeared and he leaned in close. His voice was a whisper. “Two FBI agents were here looking for you. Is everything Ok? They had a warrant and made me take them up to your apartment. I tried to stay and see what happened, but they sent me on my merry way.”
Her heart pounded.
The FBI.
Of course, Marcus would have searched Jamie’s apartment.
Stay calm.
Patti desperately tried to think of an answer to satisfy the waiting man. “Did they tell you anything?”
“No.” The man shook his head. “Just asked about you and went to your apartment, but they didn’t mess anything up. I checked afterwards to make sure everything was OK. Tomas was very agitated by the whole matter.”
Who was Tomas? This was getting more complicated by the moment. She would never be able to pull to this charade off. She flashed a Jamie smile at the man. “Don’t worry about it. You did what you had to do. Everything is just fine.” Patti stepped in and spoke in a hushed confidential tone. “The FBI was looking for missing files from my company. They checked every one of the employees. It wasn’t personal.” Patti hoped her answer made sense.
His bald head was nodding up and down.
So far, so good.
“Of course, of course. I knew it was something like that. I knew you’d never do anything illegal.”
Inwardly, she breathed a small sigh of relief. One bullet down. Patti wondered how many more bullets were heading in her direction. She gave him a meaningful look. “Everything’s marvelous. No need to worry. They didn’t ask you to call them when I came home, did they?”
He looked aghast at the suggestion that he might call the FBI on her. “They did, but I always respect tenant privacy, you know that. Where’s your luggage?”
Anna had told her Jamie never took luggage with her. Time to improvise. She sighed with exaggeration.
Jamie had been known as The Drama Queen in high school.
“You know the airlines. Which brings me to another problem. I can’t get in the apartment. My keys were in my luggage.”
“We haven’t used keys in years, but I know what you mean. Don’t worry about it. It will only take a minute to get you another card. I’ll be right back.”
As the man left, Patti rubbed her temples. Her nerves were as taut as if she were living the nightmare of showing up at school for her job, but hadn’t done that year’s scheduling. Terrifying.
The lobby had two elegant Victorian chairs. A dark, shiny mahogany end table between the chairs sat on a small Persian rug. Off to the side was a reception counter and a door.
Looking around, she found three elevators. She knew some elevators were programmed to only go to certain floors. Hopefully, she would pick the right one.
The doorman rushed towards her with his hands full of mail. As he handed her the mail and the key card, panic set in.
She didn’t know Jamie’s apartment number. She looked down at the mail, but the address didn’t show a number. Obviously, residents shared a main street address and picked up their mail at the front desk.
With a flash of brilliance, Patti let the card slip from her grip. With another exaggerated sigh, she smiled at the doorman.
He bent to pick up the key card.
“Be a dear and ride up with me. My hands are full.”
“Certainly, Ms. Jakowski.”
The doorman walked to the elevator on the far right side. He put the keycard into a slot.
The elevator door slid open.
They stepped inside.
He looked at her and she smiled back though her heart was racing.
How was she going to know which button to hit? Her pulse quickened. She waited to see what floor he would choose, but was surprised to see no numbers announcing the floors.
He slipped the key card into another slot Patti hadn’t noticed. The elevator quietly started its upward climb.
Of course, everything Jamie did was first class. The penthouse apparently had its own private elevator.
“Did anyone else come looking for me besides the FBI?” Patti asked, with what she hoped was nonchalance.
“Just Mr. Hamed. I told him you weren’t here, but he does have his own key card so...” The man held up his hands in mock surrender. “He went into your apartment but didn’t stay long.” The look on his face told her he didn’t exactly approve of Mr. Hamed.
“Did Mr. Hamed come before, or after the FBI?”
“Mmmm.” The man tapped his head as if to jog the memory loose. “It seems to me he came after the FBI, but I’m not sure.”
“Did you tell him the FBI had been here?”
“Certainly not. It wasn’t my place.”
The elevator stopped.
He slid the key card in yet another slot.
The elevator doors slid open revealing a spacious apartment, not a hallway.
Patti managed to hide her surprise.
She smiled at the doorman. “It sure is nice to be back home.”
“Traveling is OK, but the best part is always coming home, don’t you think?” He chuckled.
“Isn’t that the truth?”She thanked the doorman as he handed her the key card.
“I’ll let Tomas know you’re back.”
“Hold on a minute.” She reached for her purse.
A look of surprise crossed his face and he waved her away. “That’s OK, Ms. Jakowski. You take good care of me. I don’t need anything extra.”
Another faux pas.
The doorman walked to the elevator, but then stopped and turned back to Patti. “Are you sure everything’s OK? You seem different.”
“I’m just exhausted.” No lies or deception there. It was the truth. She felt as if she might collapse at any moment.
He nodded with understanding. “Well, don’t worry about a thing. Perhaps, you want me to wait until the morning to place those calls.”
“No, no, go ahead.” She had no idea what he meant, but acted as if she did. “That would be fantastic.”
He stepped on the elevator.
As the elevator doors closed, she crumpled to the floor.
22
Patti sat on the floor, hugging her knees to her chest. That hadn’t gone well at all. Even Jamie’s doorman hadn’t been fooled. If she couldn’t deceive him, how could she expect anyone to believe she was Jamie?
Her breathing quickened and her pulse raced
. Oh, no. Not now.
She knew the symptoms of an anxiety attack well enough to recognize them.
No time to fall apart. Breathe.
With each slow deliberate breath, her body relaxed a bit more.
After a few moments, she was able to stand up. Staring around the room, she shook her head.
Jamie had a knack for the dramatic when it came to decorating. It was as amazing as Jamie’s house in Florida.
She stood in the center of one huge room. A combination of living room, dining room and kitchen, though a counter did separate the kitchen from the other areas.
The furnishings were expensive and elegant like at Jamie’s house, but instead of traditional, they were sleek and modern. A wall of windows formed one side of the apartment.
In front of the bank of windows, Jamie had arranged a loveseat, a chair, and a small table.
Patti walked over and stared out at the city. It gave her the unnerving feeling of open space, but it was spectacular.
The summer sun was dropping down over the horizon, casting orange, yellow and red hues across the evening sky. The twinkling city lights mixed with the sunset.
Down below, she could see the shimmering water.
Awesome.