FIRE AND ICE (6 page)

“You weren’t happy,” Regan countered. “Yes, you had to give up your car, but walking is better for you than driving. You still have beautiful clothes even if they’re last season’s. You don’t need credit cards, and you still don’t have a single worry line.”

“Poverty agrees with you,” Cordie said without laughing.

“You asked us to help you wean yourself off your father’s money,” Regan reminded her.

“Yes, but did you have to be so … enthusiastic about it? So rigid? What’s wrong with buying an occasional Prada blouse?”

“The clothes are gorgeous, but taking the money from your father to pay for the blouse is wrong,” Cordie said.

“The money your father gave you was gotten by illegal means,” Regan said.

Sophie reached for her water glass. “How do you know that for certain? He’s never been convicted of any crime, and aren’t you supposed to be innocent until proven guilty?”

“I don’t know it for certain,” Regan said. “That’s what you told us, which is why Cordie and I agreed to help you.”

“Help me be poor?”

“Help you do the right thing.”

Sophie impatiently brushed her bangs out of her eyes and sat back. “I really hate being poor.”

“It’s not so bad,” Cordie said. “You’ll learn to budget like I do.”

“Oh please, you’re not poor. You have a huge trust fund your father set up for you, and Kane Automotive is now nationwide. You know what your problem is? You don’t care about money because you have it. I want to buy … stuff. Oh, God, I sound shallow.”

Before Cordie could argue, Sophie said, “Let’s not talk about money anymore. I’m starving. I want to order dinner.”

Although the room was quite elegant with candlelight and crystal, none of the three had champagne appetites. Sophie ordered salad and soup. Cordie wanted grilled chicken, and Regan ordered a grilled cheese instead of the scallops. None of them wanted to drink anything stronger than iced tea.

“Do you realize it was on this very day a million years ago that the three of us met in kindergarten at the Briarwood School?” Regan asked.

“You two became my sisters that day,” Cordie said.

“I remember you arrived in a limo,” Regan told Sophie. “I thought you were a princess with your white-blond hair and blue eyes.”

“You arrived in a limo, too,” Sophie said.

“My father drove me in his old pickup truck,” Cordie laughed.

“Sophie, you got us into so much trouble with your schemes,” Regan said. “You were always the champion for anyone you thought was being treated unfairly.”

“You’re still that way,” Cordie told her.

“Do you remember the time we got locked inside the coat closet?” Regan asked.

Cordie chimed in. “We were positive no one would ever find us. When we discovered a candy bar in the pocket of Billy Miller’s jacket, we were so relieved because we figured we could ration it among the three of us and survive for days.”

One memory led to another and another as the three reminisced about their childhood antics. Dinner was served and devoured while each of them told her favorite stories.

“I wondered why you reserved a private dining room, but now I know why. We make a lot of noise laughing and carrying on,” Cordie said.

“Aiden suggested this room,” Regan said. “He says we get rowdy.”

“Your brother’s right.”

“When did you talk to Aiden?” Cordie asked. “Is he coming home soon?” She realized how eager she sounded and quickly added, “I’m just curious. That’s all. I lead a very dull life. I do,” she insisted when she thought her friends were going to protest. “Think about it. I teach high school chemistry to kids who just want to blow up stuff, and when I’m not teaching or preparing lesson plans, I’m working on my thesis. I don’t even know anymore why I’m doing it. If one more student brings Mentos to my lab with bottles of Coke, I won’t be responsible for my actions. I need to know that there are people out there doing exciting things. All three of your brothers travel the world building hotels. They lead glamorous and fascinating lives, and I love hearing about them.”

“Not them, him,” Sophie said. “You love hearing about Aiden.”

“Why wouldn’t I? He’s the oldest and the most sophisticated. He’s probably on a jet flying around Australia this weekend. You know what I did yesterday afternoon and all day today? Research. I was stuck in a library doing research.”

“Oh, please. I’ve so got you beat,” Sophie said. “I gave up my Friday night to sit and listen to the most obnoxious, self-centered,
narcissistic man talk about himself. I also had to get up before dawn today to meet him in the park and listen to him yet again. His name is William Harrington. My boss wanted me to write an article on him, but Harrington bailed on me.”

She then told them about the 5K and how Harrington had disappeared.

“Do you think he got sick?” Cordie asked.

“Maybe he was hurt warming up,” Regan offered.

“No, I think I know what happened,” Sophie said. “I talked to a couple of the event coordinators after the race. They told me they knew Harrington and that he’d never checked in. The winner of the race was a newcomer named Brett Mason, and everyone was talking about how fast he was. I think Harrington heard all the talk before the race and was afraid of the competition. He wasn’t about to take the chance that he might lose his twenty-fifth race, so he took off. I can’t believe I wasted all that time on him and ended up without a story. I don’t know what happened to him, but I’m determined to find out and make him apologize.”

Regan shook her head at her two friends and their frustrations. “Do you know what both of you need?” she asked.

Sophie groaned.

Cordie sighed and said, “Let me guess. You think we need to fall in love and get married. That’s easy for you to say, you found the perfect man.”

Regan’s lips curled upward in a dreamy smile. “Yes, that’s true. Alec is perfect.” She quickly switched back to being serious. “But we’re not talking about Alec and me. We’re talking about the two of you. I don’t think you have to get married necessarily. Just fall in love. Make room for a relationship, that’s all I’m suggesting. I know both of you could go out with a different man every night of the week if you wanted to …”

“You’re not going to tell us we’re too particular, are you?” Cordie asked.

“No, no, of course not. But I think you’re doing what I used to do
before Alec came along. You’re dating the wrong kind of men. They’re all … I don’t know … country club. You know what I mean?”

Ignoring their dismissive frowns, she continued, “I want to fix both of you up with real men.”

“Real men as opposed to … ?” Sophie asked.

“I don’t do blind dates,” Cordie said at the same time.

Regan ignored their protests. “Alec has lots of friends. He has a partner now. He’s really good-looking, and he’s unattached. Sophie, I think you should go out with him.”

For a second or two Sophie thought Regan was joking. When she realized she was serious, she said, “He’s FBI. You can’t honestly think I would be interested in him, and he certainly wouldn’t be interested in me. You do remember who my father is?”

Regan shrugged. “I didn’t forget, but I think going out with an FBI agent might help you get over your aversion to anyone associated with law enforcement.”

“What is this? Behavior modification? I don’t have an aversion,” she protested. “You know I love Alec, and I like his friends Gil and John, and they’re both in law enforcement.”

“Gil’s retired, and you’ve known both John and him for a long time. You’ve gotten used to them, and they don’t work with the agents who have been investigating your father. It’s not the same thing. You still have the aversion. I really think you ought to give it a shot. His name is Jack MacAlister, and I’m sure Alec could talk him into a blind date.”

“You’re joking, right? You have to be joking. You are, aren’t you?”

Regan didn’t answer. “I have news. Alec and I are going to be looking for a place to live here in Chicago.”

“You’re staying permanently?” Sophie asked excitedly.

Everyone started talking at once. Sophie couldn’t stop smiling. Regan and Alec had moved a couple of times since he’d joined the FBI.

Cordie was also thrilled. “How did this happen? Did Alec put in for a transfer? I knew he was tired of undercover work, but how—”

“No, he didn’t have to ask. The last year and a half, he’s had cases in Chicago, so the agency has decided to assign him here permanently. His new partner had something to do with it, too. Sort of, anyway.”

“Then I already love him,” Cordie said.

“How was he responsible?”

“When you get home, get on the Internet and go to YouTube. Type in Jack MacAlister’s name. You’ll see.”

“Just tell us,” Sophie said.

“Oh, no. You have to see it.”

“It?” Cordie repeated.

“A video. That’s all I’m going to tell you, and since you just said you already love his partner, I think you should go out with him.”

“Oh, no you don’t,” Sophie said. “You’re not taking Cordie to the dark side. One FBI agent in this family is enough.”

Regan beamed. “So you’ve accepted Alec into our family?”

“I guess I have.”

Regan held up her glass. “Time for a toast. To family.”

W
HILE SOPHIE AND HER FRIENDS WERE CHATTING IN
the dining room, another gathering was taking place on the other side of the hotel lobby. Once a month Alec’s poker club met at the Hamilton. There were a dozen players in the club, and most of them were in law enforcement, but because of their complicated work schedules, never more than half that number could make it each month. During the summer when the weather cooperated, they met on the rooftop garden, and when it didn’t, they met in a private room connected to the bar on the first floor of the hotel.

John Wincott, a sleep-deprived detective with the Chicago Police Department, was a regular, and so was Gil Hutton, a retired policeman who always seemed to know the latest news before anyone else did. Gil didn’t like to drink alcohol these days, and so he was always John’s designated driver because, after one and a half beers, John was usually half asleep.

Since it was unseasonably hot and humid that night, they met in the room off the bar. Gil and John were already at the table when Jack walked in.

“I hate this frickin’ heat,” Gil remarked. “I hate the rain, too.”

“I’ll take hot over cold anytime,” Jack said. His shirt was covered with wet spots, and his dark hair was damp.

There was a small bar in the corner, and it was always fully stocked. Jack grabbed a Diet Pepsi and was opening it when John called out, “Get me a beer, will you?”

“I barely recognized you, Jack,” Gil said. “Without the matted, snarly, long hair and the beard, you look kind of human.”

“Kind of human?” John repeated. “I think he looks like a movie star. Wait, did I say movie star? I meant Internet star.”

The two men shared a good laugh. Jack handed John his beer, took a sip of his Pepsi, then dropped into a chair across from the two men. “I take it you’ve seen the video on YouTube.”

“About ten times now,” John said, grinning. “I don’t think it’s ever going to get old.”

“I found the cinematography visually stunning as well as sus-penseful,” Gil said with a straight face. “The way you held the perp down while you discussed the menu with Alec. Priceless.”

John nodded. “I hear they’re going to show it at the IMAX.”

Alec, carrying a tray stacked with sandwiches, walked in just in time to hear John’s comment. “YouTube?” he asked Jack.

All three men nodded. Since Gil had a knack for knowing what was going to happen before it happened, Alec asked him how long he thought it would take for this to blow over.

Gil scratched his bald head while he thought about it. “I’d give it a couple of days at the most before another video takes center stage. You shouldn’t be on ‘vacation’ long.”

“You know about the forced vacation?” Jack’s surprise was evident in his voice.

“Of course. I’ve always got my finger on the pulse, Jack.” He tapped his wrist. “On the pulse.”