Deception (22 page)

The boy’s shoulders slumped. “Sorry.” He threw Jill an apologetic look. “I heard you tell Mom you hadn’t used the snowmobiles for a long time and I thought…” As Joe continued to glare at him’ the boy shrugged. “Forget it.”

“Actually,” Dan interjected. “I think it’s a great idea. Jill used to be quite a sled rider if I recall. You even won a couple of races once, didn’t you, Jill?”

“You raced?” Nick was clearly impressed.

“That was a long time ago, Nick.”

“Why don’t you and I take the boys up one day this week?” Dan suggested. “After what Cecilia told me about your schedule, you could use a day off.”

Mildly alarmed, Jill tried to signal him with a discreet shake of her head. That’s all she needed, to play mother to a couple of rambunctious boys.

But Dan, apparently propelled by some maniacal desire to drive her crazy, plowed on. “How about tomorrow? Wally tells me another foot of fresh snow fell on the area last night. The conditions are perfect.”

“I can’t do it tomorrow. I have a job that has to get out.”

The expression on Frankie’s face was enough to make her heart sink. She took a deep breath, wondering what she was getting herself into. “I tell you what.” She looked from one boy to the other. “Tuesday is good for me. We could go then if it’s okay with you and your parents, of course.”

It was Nick’s turn to be disappointed. “I have basketball practice on Tuesday and I can’t miss it. The coach says I need to work on my foul shots.”

Frankie’s head snapped toward his father. “I don’t have anything, Dad. So, can I go with Jill and Uncle Dan?” His eyes turned imploring. “Please?”

Maria looked concerned. “Are you sure you want to do that, Jill? Frankie can be a handful, even by himself.”

Jill wasn’t sure of anything, except that she didn’t want to disappoint the little boy. “As long as Dan is with me, we’ll be fine.” She turned to Nick. “Let me know when you have a free day, okay? We’ll arrange something.”

His face split into a big grin. “Cool.”

Later, as Dan was taking Jill home, he gave her a friendly pat on the knee. “Thanks for being such a good sport, Jill. I know my suggestion to take the boys snowmobiling took you by surprise.”

“You can say that again.” Up ahead, the lights of the Brooklyn Bridge glittered against the night sky, pretty as a postcard. “What got into you?”

Dan shrugged. “Oh, I don’t know. A spur-of-the-moment thing, I guess. I remembered how much you used to like the sport.” He merged Onto the bridge, blending smoothly into the heavy Sunday-night traffic. “And I thought the boys would get a kick out of it.”

She turned to look at his profile. “You love them a lot, don’t you?”

“They’re great kids.”

“DO you regret leaving New York?”

“A week ago, I would have said no. But after spending these past eight days with my family, surrounded by all the love, laughter and hectic pace, the thought of returning to my quiet, orderly Chicago apartment doesn’t hold much appeal.”

“Have you ever thought of coming back?”

In the semidarkness of the Land Rover, their gazes met. “Once or twice.”

“Maria told me how upset you were over what happened in that barrio three years ago. With that young boy?” Jill glanced at him to see if she was venturing into forbidden territory.

His expression didn’t change. “Eddy Delgado.”

“He’s the reason you left the force, isn’t he? And New York?”

“He had a lot to do with it.”

She could hear the strain in his voice and realized that even now, after three years, the death of that boy still haunted him. “It wasn’t your fault, Dan,” she said in a whisper. “I read every account of that accident, listened to every news broadcast, morning and night-” He glanced at her. “Did you really?”

“Yes. And I know you had no choice but to do what you did.”

“Thank you.”

“And it shouldn’t keep you from coming back to New York if that’s what you want to do.”

A slow grin spread over Dan’s face. “Are you saying you’d like me to come back to New York, Jill?”

There was a brief fluttering inside her chest, but she thought it best not to analyze its meaning. “No.” She stared straight ahead. “I just want what’s best for you, that’s all.”

They rode in silence until they reached MacDougal’s. Thanks to Carol Kranski, the thoroughfare was now well lit and no longer looked as ominous as it had on that cold, frightening night.

Spotting a parking space halfway down the block, Dan slid into it and brought the truck to a stop.

Because it wasn’t as bitterly cold as it had been in recent days, a few pedestrians were walking at a more leisurely pace and with their coats wide open, as if spring was just around the corner instead of months away.

“I hope you had a good time,” Dan said as they reached the front door. “We all certainly did.”

“Everything was wonderful, Dan, the food, your family, the way they made me feel. I didn’t realize how much I’d missed them until tonight.” She took her keys from her purse. “Did Maria tell you we plan—”

The rest of her sentence died on her lips. Without warning, Dan pulled her against him roughly and kissed her. This time there was more to the kiss than the simple brushing of his lips against hers. And this time, oh, God, this time she wanted It.

Responding to the yearning, she coiled her arms around his neck, parting her lips. His mouth was hot and hungry, his need as urgent as her own, his hands impatient as they roamed over her body in those all too familiar strokes.

This was crazy, she thought as she returned his fiery kiss. And not at all what she had meant to do. So why wasn’t she pushing him away? Why was she clinging to him, pressing her body against his so shamelessly?

“God, Jill, I’ve wanted to do that ever since I first saw you eight days ago.” Holding her head between his hands, Dan ran his mouth over her face, along her throat where her pulse beat wildly, before dragging it back to her lips, crushing them in another deep, heated kiss.

“Stop!”

He released her instantly. One moment they were clinging to each other, the next he was drawing back, resting his brow against hers. “Sorry.” He took a deep breath. “I got carried away.”

She laughed self-consciously. “I can’t let you take all the blame.” Her own breathing was slowly returning to normal but her emotions were on a roller coaster she feared would never stop. “Let’s not do this again, okay? Neither of us is ready for that kind of relationship.”

The light did strange things to his eyes. “That’s not the way it felt a moment ago.

“That was a mistake.”

With trembling fingers, she tried to insert her key into the lock. At the third try, Dan took it from her, unlocked the door and pushed it open.

His gaze skimmed her face, settling briefly on her lips, which were still moist from his kiss. For a moment, she thought he was going to kiss her again. She held her breath, wondering if she would have the strength to push him away this time.

Unexpectedly, he took her hand and dropped the keys inside her palm. “Sweet dreams, Red.”

Twenty-Two

Using the level he’d had since his shop days at Evergreen High, Dan held it flush against the wall. Then, taking the pencil from between his clenched teeth, he drew three short lines and backed off. Damn. It was still too high. His mother was only five foot two. She’d never reach this shelf if he kept lowering it half an inch at a time.

He was about to try again when the phone rang. It was Al Metzer with news about the abortion clinic in Fairfax. Dan had asked him to put a rush on it and by God, he had.

“Dr. Laken is one of the area’s most prominent OBGYN doctors,” Al told him. “He’s sixty-three, a graduate of Harvard Medical School and runs a squeaky-clean operation. His clientele is upper class and includes many of Washington’s elite.”

“What about his staff?”

“We may have hit pay dirt there. Cynthia Parson, the nurse you asked me to investigate, has a rather interesting background.”

“What kind of background?”

“Her husband died a little over a year ago and left her with a mountain of debts. Following his death, her little girl developed separation anxiety disorder. Cynthia put the kid in therapy, but the treatments were expensive and when the insurance ran out, she couldn’t afford to continue the sessions.”

“Not on a nurse’s salary.”

“Ah, but here’s the interesting part. Three weeks ago, Cynthia started paying off some of her debts and resumed her daughter’s therapy. And, according to a gossipy neighbor, Cynthia and her daughter leave for Walt Disney World on Wednesday morning, another luxury she couldn’t have afforded a month ago.”

“Where did the money come from?”

“Don’t know that yet. It didn’t come from family because Cynthia doesn’t have any, and since her husband died a year ago, I doubt it’s a life insurance policy, but I can check for you if you’d like. It’ll take a little time.”

“That’s okay, Al. I can take it from here.”

Well, well, Dan thought as he hung up. Things were certainly looking up for Nurse Parson. With a little luck, he’d find out why.

After he’d made his plane reservation to Washington for the following day, Dan called Jill at B&A. He’d have to tell her he couldn’t go to the Catskills with her and Frankie. “Meet me outside the Van gram Building at noon,” he told her. “I’m taking you to lunch.”

New York at lunch hour was a sight Dan had always found exhilarating. A metropolis of perpetual motion and energy, the city truly came alive at noon, as throngs of office workers poured out of buildings, aggressive street vendors pushed their dubiously legal wares and busy intersections turned into a clogged nightmare.

Leaning against a lamppost so he could watch the revolving doors of the Vangram Building, Dan took it all in-the vitality, the pace, the excitement. No wonder Jill loved it here, he thought. This city seemed to be made for her.

“Dan!”

Across the sea of people, Jill waved at him as she emerged from the building. She looked stunning in an apple green coat and black boots. As if to welcome her, the sun had come out from behind a cloud, turning her hair a burnished shade of gold. Catching the gleam of admiration in a passerby’s eyes, Dan felt a pang of jealousy.

He waved back, pulled away from the lamppost and shouldered his way through the crowd, making it a point to bump into the gawker, hard.

“Hi.” Jill tilted her head up, squinting against the sun. “Where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise.”

“Good. I love surprises.” As another man slowed down for a better look at Jill, Dan took hold of her arm and led her to the curb where they crossed Fifth Avenue and headed north toward Central Park.

Jill turned to him, her eyes gleaming with pleasure. “Lunch in the park? Wait, don’t tell me. Hot dogs with the works and two orange sodas.”

“You remember.”

How could she forget? While Jill was interning at B&A during the summer months, she and Dan had met in Central Park two or three times a week for lunch and a stroll. The menu was always the same but

Jill had loved it. “You don’t suppose our vendor is still there, do you?”

“Why don’t we check and see?”

The old Irishman with the easy smile was gone, and his cart had been replaced by a newer, larger model, but the hot dogs were still as good as ever. At the park entrance, a guitarist in moody black was strumming a rock-and-roll version of “Jingle Bells” as tourists tossed quarters into a hat.

Jill and Dan walked slowly as they ate, strolling along the winding path that bordered the bird sanctuary.

“So,” Jill said, licking mustard from her fingers, “what did I do to deserve such a treat?”

“Finish your lunch first.”

“Uh-uh, bad news again.” Trying not to anticipate the worst, she popped the last of her bun into her mouth and washed it down with orange soda. “Okay, I’m ready.”

“What?”

“I can’t come with you to Livingston Manor.”

“Al called-”

Jill wasn’t listening. “I don’t believe you’re doing this to me. The only reason I agreed to this insane idea was because you were coming, too, and now you’re telling me you’re not, that I’m going to have to take care of Frankie all by myself?”

“I can’t help it, Jill.” Dan told her about Al’s phone call.

“If I don’t talk to Cynthia before she leaves for Florida,” he added, “I’ll have to wait until she gets back, and I’d rather not do that.”

Dan gave her an amused look. “What’s the matter, Jill? You’re not scared of a harmless seven-year-old, are you?”

“You know damn well I am.”

“Why? Frankie’s crazy about you.”

“And I’m crazy about him. But when it comes to children, I’m a total klutz.”

“You’ve got instincts. Rely on them. The rest will take care of itself.”

The thought of canceling the trip came and went quickly. She couldn’t disappoint Frankie. Not after Maria had gone to the trouble and expense of buying him a complete ski outfit.

“He’s so excited about tomorrow,” she had told Jill on the phone earlier. “We can’t shut him up. if he keeps this up, we’ll have to put a muzzle on him.”

But what if he got hurt? Jill thought, remembering the mishaps with Ashley’s niece. Or if he became sick? Or had a temper tantrum?

“Actually,” Dan continued, “Frankie is a lot easier to handle than you realize. And he’s pretty self-reliant.”

Dan was right. Hadn’t she been the first one to marvel at the boy’s maturity and quick wit? At the way he cleared the table without being asked? Really. How much trouble could a seven-year-old be?

Still, just to be sure there wouldn’t be any problem, she would ask Ashley to come along. She, too, could use a day off. And her friend was terrific with kids.

It wasn’t until six o’clock that evening, just as Jill was preparing to leave the office, that she thought of using her uncle’s Suburban to drive to the mountains.

Her old BMW could have handled the trip, but with a child in the car, she didn’t want to take any chances.

She went to her uncle’s office to ask him for the keys, but when she realized Cyrus was in a meeting with Paul Scoffield, she started to turn around.

“Jill!” Cyrus called out. “Come on in.