Fool Me Once (19 page)

Dennis knew he looked a total mess, his eyes red-rimmed with lack of sleep. He knew in that moment, if Allison Matthews, or Adrian Ames, or whatever she called herself, had still been alive, he would have searched her out and killed her himself. If there had been a way to blame the hydraulics problem with his boat on her, he would have.

Dennis signed for his envelope and walked back to his boat. He needed to get a deposit ticket before heading to the bank. Most important, he wanted to sit in his canvas chair and look at the checks that were literally saving his retirement years. Ollie hadn't failed him.
It's just you and me, kid,
he thought. Why did he ever think it wouldn't be any different with three people in the mix?

As Dennis stared down at the checks in his hands, he was seeing the numbers, but his thoughts were back in Winchester with his daughter. She was upset with him. Well, he was upset with her, too. She was waffling where Adrian Ames was concerned because she couldn't bear to accept the truth. If she had to make him out to be the bad guy, that would have to be okay as long as she could come to some kind of peaceful resolution where her mother was concerned.

There was a spring in Dennis's step when he hopped off his boat and started down the dock to his car, a battered, secondhand, open-air Jeep with a stick shift. He'd chosen the stick shift because Lea didn't know how to drive a stick. She had her Honda. Until two days ago, he hadn't realized how divided their relationship was. This was his, that was hers. Sometimes he was really dense, and things didn't register until it was too late. At least that's what Ollie used to tell him. Certainly that had been the case with his first wife!

Forty minutes later, Dennis walked out of the bank feeling like a new person. He then did two things from his Jeep. He called the hydraulics firm and set a date for the work to begin. Next, he made his way to the local newspaper, where he renewed the ads he ran in hopes of getting more charters.

On his way home, he pulled to the curb and bought a hot dog with chili, sauerkraut, onions, and relish, along with a soft drink. He gobbled the hot dog down, finished off the soda, and kicked the Jeep into gear. The check for Lea felt hot in his pocket.

Lea was sitting on the steps, a paperback novel in one hand, a glass of ice tea in the other. The Jeep's wheels squirted gravel as he pulled to a stop. He climbed out. They eyed each other warily. Lea didn't look angry, just resigned. He felt something tug at his heart, and he straightened his shoulders to get rid of the feeling. Lea moved to the side so he could sit down next to her. He waited to see what she would say, if anything.

“This isn't working, is it, Dennis?”

“I don't think so, Lea. It sounded wonderful when we were planning this way back when. We didn't allow for things like the hydraulics. I guess that was my fault. I'm sorry about that, Lea. I really am. I know you're not happy here. I'm sorry about that, too. I overheard your phone conversation with Olivia. I walked home and came in the back-door. I heard you ask for the money from Adrian's estate. How could you do that, Lea, knowing how I feel about it? How, Lea?”

All the fight seemed to have left Lea. Her voice was wan when she said, “It would have made our lives so much easier, Dennis. I can honestly say I wanted it more for you than for myself. These are our golden years. What they've turned out to be are tarnished brass.” Lea moved on the step, her voice now brisk and cool. “What do you suggest we do, Dennis?”

Dennis reached into his pocket and brought out the check he'd had the bank make out to Lea. “I called Ollie yesterday and asked her to take out a second mortgage on the house. Here's all the money you put into the boat and the house. There's a little left from the loan to pay off the boat's gas bill and the house bills. I can get some of the minor stuff done on the boat and hire out to Hemmings or some of the other guys. I'll sell the house and live on the boat. It will cut down on overhead.”

“You're assuming I'm leaving, is that it?”

“We're too old to play games, Lea. Of course you're leaving. This life isn't for you, we both know that. I'm really sorry it didn't work out. I don't think I could ever come to terms with what you did. Just so you know, Lea, Ollie didn't tell me about your phone call.”

Lea nodded sadly. “I'm sorry, too, Dennis. This is all happening so…so quick. Are you sure you're going to be all right? Or…”

Dennis's eyes narrowed in the bright sunlight. “Or what?”

“Are you getting rid of me so you don't have to share Allison's money with me?”

Dennis stood up and looked down at the little woman sitting on the step. He noticed that the ice cubes in her tea had melted. The tea looked like pale colored water. All he did was shake his head from side to side before he walked over to the Jeep. “Good-bye, Lea.”

“Y
ou look cute in the morning,” Olivia teased. “Look! The dogs think so, too.” She burst out laughing when all four dogs hopped on the bed. Cecil or Loopy nibbled on Jeff's ear while Alice tugged at his arm to get him to move. Bea, ever flirtatious, sat on Jeff's chest, making funny, adoring sounds as she licked the stubble on his chin.

Olivia leaned up on one elbow, drinking in the sight before her. It would be like this every morning if she married Jeff Bannerman. Assuming, of course, that Jeff asked for her hand in marriage. If that did happen, who would take care of the dogs during their honeymoon? Where would they go on a honeymoon? Maybe they would have to take the dogs. Four dogs on a honeymoon should be interesting. She felt laughter bubbling in her throat at the thought.

“What's so funny?” Jeff grumbled good-naturedly as Bea suddenly made a flying leap to land half on the pillow, half on Jeff's head. Alice growled, then swatted the suddenly rambunctious Bea. Jeff made a mighty leap and was off the bed. Thinking the game was ongoing, the dogs followed him to the bathroom. When the door closed, as one, they howled their disapproval.

Olivia reached for her robe. She led the parade to the door to let the dogs out. A quick glance at the kitchen clock told her Jeff had time for toast and coffee. She made both. She was spreading butter and jam on the toast when Jeff entered the kitchen. She almost swooned. He was wearing what she would call a power suit of charcoal gray with a pristine white shirt and red-striped tie. His dark, unruly hair was slicked back and he smelled…heavenly. She said so.

“You think so, huh? Do I smell good enough to marry?”

Olivia whirled away from the toaster. “Is…is that a proposal?”

“Well, yeah. I guess it wasn't very romantic, huh? Did I do it wrong? You know, I never proposed to anyone before. I could get down on one knee. Should I call your father to ask for your hand? What? Help me out here.”

He was so agitated, his face so pink, Olivia took pity on him. She handed him a slice of toast with shaking hands.

“Ah…I didn't even brush my teeth yet,” she blurted. “You don't have to ask my dad for my hand, and you don't have to get down on one knee, either. I…no one has ever proposed to me, so I guess we're starting out even. I accept. I do. I mean, I will marry you. When?”

Jeff's eyes bugged out of his head. “When? Well…when do you want to
do it?”

“We should probably think about a date when we have more time. You have to leave now or you'll be late.” God, how brilliant was that?

Jeff looked at the clock. He grimaced as he headed for the door. “I'll leave early and bring some champagne. I'll try to make it more romantic. All I do is think about you, Olivia. I can't concentrate. Is it okay if I call my parents today to tell them?”

Telling his parents would make it official. Olivia nodded, her smile stretching from ear to ear.

“Good! Call your dad, too. Talk me up real good—you know, tell him I don't have any cavities, I'm a hard worker, I'll take care of you. Tell him we'll have beautiful children, and don't forget to tell him I love dogs. Really love dogs! Bye. Oh—I love you!”

Olivia stood in the middle of the kitchen, a blank look on her face. Children. He'd said children. That
really
made it official. He wanted her to call her father. He was going to call his parents. Tonight they were going to celebrate. All he did was think of her. “Wooeee!” she shouted to the dogs. And on top of that, he'd said he loved her. What better way to start the day?

It must be a new game, the little herd decided. They swooped down on her when Olivia crouched down. Soon they were all rolling across the floor with Olivia screaming out her happiness. Yesterday she'd been in a terrible funk—today she felt like she was on top of the world. “Call your dad,” Jeff had said. She would. After all, he would be
giving her away.

Olivia rolled away from the dogs. She could feel the color draining out of her face. It was just an expression. All fathers gave their daughters away at a wedding. It was normal, it was expected, it was the way of things. Unless you got married in Las Vegas.

Olivia raced down the hall to her bedroom, where she showered, then dressed in jeans and a bright yellow sweatshirt. Her feet had wings when she ran to her office to call her father. The moment she heard his voice, she started to babble. When she finally wound down and there was no comment from Dennis, she prodded him.

“I'm happy for you, Ollie. If it's what you want, then it's what I want. I guess you know it won't be ‘
just you and me, kid' anymore.”

Olivia's euphoric mood changed with her father's words. Her voice turned cool and flat. “In case you didn't notice, it hasn't been that way for a long time. Since Lea, actually. By the way, how is Lea?”

The silence on the other end of the phone boomed in Olivia's ear. This time she refused to prod her father.

“Ollie, I overheard Lea the day she called you asking for money. I walked home that day because it was so beautiful out. I went into the house by the back door. I had no idea she felt the way she did. It never, ever, occurred to me that she would do what she did. To make a long story short, I gave her the check, and she's leaving. I plan to sell the house and live on the boat. I just wanted you to know that. I'm happy for you, Ollie. Right now my head is in a hundred different places, so if I'm not coming across the way you'd like, that's the reason.”

“It's okay, Dad. I'm really sorry about Lea, but maybe it's for the best? Look, I have to go. Like you, I have a hundred different things on my mind. Stay in touch, okay?” Olivia had to stab at the
OFF
button three times before she finally broke the connection.

Don't think about this, Olivia. Shelve it—put it out of your mind. Don't even think about crying
.

Olivia sat down at the computer, turned it on, and waited to boot up her e-mail. The only e-mail of any importance was the message from Miki Kenyan of The Private Detective Agency. It was short but meaningful.

The message was signed with the initials MK.

Olivia ignored the rest of the e-mails, going to the Net, where she typed in
Great Rock Insurance Company of Mississippi.
Her printer whirred as she printed out everything that popped on her screen. She searched out the 800 telephone numbers and made a note of them. Maybe, if she was lucky, she could find the insurance investigator who authorized the payoff on the bearer bonds forty years ago.

Olivia left the computer once, around noontime, to let the dogs out and fix herself a sandwich. While she was chewing her ham and cheese, Jeff called to tell her he loved her and was serious about his proposal and couldn't wait for evening. Before he hung up, he asked about Cecil. Olivia laughed all the way back to her office.

Perusing the papers from the printer, she saw that Great Rock was a very large insurance company these days. Forty years ago Mississippi Rock, as it was known then, was a rinky-dink company with five office employees, two agents, and an office in Oxford. Today the home office was in Biloxi and had over four hundred employees, as well as eighteen full-time insurance investigators and four investigators on a part-time basis. A payout like the one they'd made to the bank forty years ago would have hurt the small company big-time. How had they managed to stay in business by paying out close to a million dollars when they insured small life insurance policies and some homeowner policies? Damn, maybe it was all a scam, and the insurance company was in bed with the man who owned the bank? Olivia was smart enough to realize she'd probably never be able to find out the truth.

She leaned back in her chair, propped her feet on her desktop, and tried to think. How hard could it be to track down two insurance agents? If the agents had been in their twenties, or even their thirties, they would be in their sixties or seventies now. There was a good chance that they were dead. She needed names. Without names there was no way she could do a search.

Jeff had said he vaguely recalled seeing something about an insurance company among Adrian's papers. Maybe Adrian had the agent's name. She was certain there was nothing in the diary she'd read in regard to Great Rock.

Olivia looked at her watch. There was no point now in trying to read Adrian's computer files. Tomorrow would be soon enough. She wanted to take a scented bubble bath, get dressed up, and be ready for Jeff's formal proposal. The thought left her giddy and light-headed. What to wear?

A little before three o'clock, Jeff raced home to his apartment, where he quickly showered and shaved, splashing on a woodsy-scented aftershave his brother said would drive women wild. He wondered what a
wild
Olivia would be like as he changed to a fresh suit and clean shirt. He knotted the same power tie at his neck and nearly flew out of the apartment. His first stop was Goldman's Jewelry, where he stewed and fretted over the wide selection of engagement rings, called his mother twice, then chose a two-carat diamond engagement ring that seriously depleted his bank account. It winked and sparkled against the black velvet cloth the jeweler had placed it on. Jeff closed his eyes, trying to picture it on Olivia's hand.

Suddenly Jeff was having trouble with his breathing. Was he going to pass out right there in the jewelry store? He forced himself to take deep, steady breaths. He'd done it! He'd picked out an engagement ring! He'd asked Olivia to marry him. God Almighty!

The red, velvet-lined box felt scorching hot in his hand. He shoved it into his pocket. He started to sweat profusely when he slid into the driver's seat of his car. This was serious business. He'd just committed himself to a woman. A woman he'd known less than two weeks. Did time count when you were in love? He'd always known that someday he'd find someone he wanted to spend his life with. For some reason he thought it would be a long courtship with fights, breakups, then kissing each other and professing undying love. None of that was happening.

Jeff's foot started to shake on the gas pedal. He was getting dizzy again. He needed to keep his wits about him or he was going to go off the road. Think about Cecil. If it wasn't for Cecil, he never would have found Olivia. Good old Cecil. “God, I love that dog,” he mumbled. Maybe he should stop and buy Cecil and the other dogs a hamburger at Burger King in thanks. Yeah, yeah, he'd do that. Some french fries, too. Maybe even some chicken nuggets to round out the meal. Yeah, yeah, Cecil loved chicken almost as much as he loved burgers. Lillian Manning always cooked for Cecil—chicken livers, filet mignon, lamb chops.

Jeff fumbled on the seat for his cell phone. He called information for the number of the Colonial Flower Shop on Valley Avenue. He punched out the number, spoke to someone named Mary, and ordered two dozen yellow roses. “Put a big bow on the box, and put lots of that green stuff in them. I'll pick it up in twenty minutes.” Before he hung up, he rattled off his credit card number. Candy? Should he order candy, too? Nah. Champagne! With no idea where a liquor store was, Jeff redialed the Colonial Flower Shop and asked Mary where he could purchase a bottle. A minute later he had the phone number. A man named Peter promised to have a bottle of his best champagne ready when he stopped by before closing. He rattled off his credit card number for the second time.

Jeff wondered if he was losing his mind as he screeched into a Burger King and ordered the little dogs their burger and chicken nuggets. The moment the young boy held out the bag, he snatched it and peeled out of the drive-through.

Damn! Jeff slapped at his forehead. Was he supposed to bring dinner? For the life of him, he couldn't remember. He was nuts, he was sure of it, when he swerved into the lot of a Chinese restaurant called Pagoda. He was so rattled he just said, “Give me some of everything!”

The food smells in the car were so strong, he rolled down the window as he headed for Loudoun Street—the florist's and the liquor store. He was so jittery, he made two wrong turns and had to backtrack before he finally turned onto Eagle Drive. The moment he stopped the car he heard the dogs barking.

Jeff stood still, rain pelting him and his new suit. He could cut and run if he wanted to. He jammed his hand into his pocket to check the little box. It still felt hot. The dogs were barking louder. The front light came on. He reached into the car for the flowers and the champagne. He tucked both under one arm. The Chinese shopping bag with one of everything and the Burger King bag were in his other hand. He kicked the car door shut with his foot before he ran to the front door.

He felt loved and wanted when the dogs circled his feet, trying to snatch the Burger King bag. He sighed with happiness when Olivia's lips locked on his.

What could be better?

Nothing,
he answered himself.

They were both breathless when the kiss ended, both their eyes full of wonderment. Hand in hand, they walked into the great room, suddenly shy. Jeff took charge, feeding the dogs while Olivia ooohed and aaahed over the yellow roses. She put them in two vases, fluffing out the greenery. “They're gorgeous!” she said, awe ringing in her voice. “Champagne! Oh, I have some beautiful glasses to drink this out of. I love drinking out of fragile glasses, don't you?”