"Do you know Tania Vaile?"
Silence met her question. Then he said, "Dani, what are you doing? I thought of all the Monroes, you were the least interested in pursuing the past."
"I was, but sometimes the past drags you back. Someone contacted me suggesting that the problems at MDT go back farther and deeper than anyone knows. They think Tania might be someone who is ready to blow the whistle."
"Why would she do that?" TJ challenged. "She's been at the company for more than a decade, and she's very high up on the financial side. She's also tight with the Packers and lives a big lifestyle."
"It sounds like you know her pretty well."
"Not at all. We did not move in the same circles, but Tania was one of the few women at MDT in a top-level executive position, so she stood out."
"You said she was tight with the Packers? Do you think there was a personal relationship between Tania and one of the brothers?"
"Probably. There was a rumor that she was sleeping with one of them, but I don't know which one." TJ paused. "Who is this person who suggested that Tania might be ready to talk? Because from what I heard during the recent FBI investigations, Tania went along with the party line."
"Well, they might be wrong," she said, choosing not to say that the whistleblower they had was a blind source. "I saw that Tania was in Mexico at the conference you were at before you were kidnapped."
"I forgot about that," TJ said slowly. "But there were at least two dozen other executives there as well, so I'm not sure that matters."
"Did you have any contact with her there?"
"You know, I did," TJ said, surprise lacing his voice. "I forgot about that. She bought me a drink. I thought she was unusually friendly. Like I said, we didn't travel in the same social circle. But then again, we were in Mexico, and everyone was more relaxed. However, I don't recall her saying anything of interest."
Dani paused as Patrick typed something on his computer then showed it to her. It was a question for TJ.
"Were either of the Packer brothers at the conference in Mexico?" she asked.
"They both were there for the first night, then they left. I told the FBI all this, Dani, and I think you need to back away from whatever you're doing. It's too dangerous."
"I'm being careful."
"That may not be enough."
"Thanks for your help, TJ."
"I don't know that I have helped, but you're welcome."
She ended the call and looked across the table at Patrick. "What do you think?"
"That TJ is right, that this could be dangerous," he said seriously. "I keep thinking I need to get you out of this, Dani."
"It's not your decision, Patrick. And I'm already in too deep. We are where we are. Someone, or more than one person, knows we're investigating your mother's crash and asking questions about MDT. We've shown ourselves. I think the only way we're going to be safe is to figure out what happened and who's responsible."
"You left out one thing," he said.
"What's that?"
"It's not just about solving the mysteries of the past. We need to figure out what's going on now…is there a bigger plan? Are there weapons somewhere else besides Mexico, and if there are, what's the end game? What's the long-term goal of this shadow company?"
His questions sent a shiver down her spine. She'd been so focused on the past, she hadn't considered the present or the future, but Patrick was right. If they kept looking back, they might not see what was right in front of them.
"But first things first," he continued. "We'll go to the stables this afternoon and see if we can make contact with Tania. Depending on that encounter, we'll figure out our next move."
"I need to think about how we should approach Tania." She sat back in her seat. "I think I'll do that in the shower. The night is starting to catch up with me. I need to wake up. Do you think there's any coffee in the house?"
"I'll check," he said, getting to his feet. "My father keeps this place well-stocked. In the summer, he comes down here quite often. If I find some, I'll make it, or I can run down to the market and get some."
"Don't do that," she said, feeling a little panicked at the thought of him leaving.
He must have seen the sudden fear in her eyes. "Okay. You're right. We'll stick together for now. In fact, if you want me to join you in the shower…"
His teasing, light smile took her stress away.
"Just being in the same house is close enough," she said dryly.
"I seriously doubt that, but for now we'll play it your way."
Sixteen
After Dani went upstairs to take a shower, Patrick found some coffee and made a large pot. He was tired as well. It had been a long night, and they still had a long day ahead of them.
He checked the cupboards to see what other snacks he could find and came up with a box of granola bars. He unwrapped one and bit into it as he headed back into the dining room.
Clicking off the search results for Tania Vaile, he put in the pilot's name—Sean Carruthers. Most of the results had to do with the plane crash.
He skimmed through several of them, noting the same facts repeated in numerous stories. Sean Carruthers had served in the Air Force for eight years and then had gone into commercial aviation. He had only been working for Franklin Aviation for three months when he was assigned to pilot the plane carrying his mother.
He perused several more articles, searching for something beyond the basics. Unfortunately, most of the news reports had been focused on his mother and Senator Stuart, with little mention of the two staffers or the pilot who had also died in the crash.
It was difficult to see his mother's name appear over and over again with words like
deceased
and
dead
next to it. He felt like he was getting stabbed by a knife over and over again. But he forced himself to keep going. He needed to find some connection between Sean Carruthers and MDT, or one of the Packer brothers, or someone else at the company.
Finally, a familiar name popped into a news article. Sean Carruthers had been a test pilot for Vanderlane Aviation after leaving the Air Force and before moving to Franklin. More research into Vanderlane yielded another familiar name—Jerry Caldwell. Jerry had also flown for Vanderlane as a test pilot before moving to MDT's aviation division.
Had Carruthers and Caldwell known each other? Was that the connection between Carruthers and MDT that he'd been looking for?
His stomach churned. He felt like he was close to a breakthrough. He was so lost in thought that he didn't realize Dani had come back into the room, until she put a hand on his shoulder. He jumped at the touch.
"Sorry. Did I startle you?" she asked, worry in her green eyes. "Is something wrong?"
"No, I was just thinking. You look—refreshed."
She actually looked more than refreshed; she looked beautiful, her skin shiny and clear, her eyes bright, a touch of pink on her lips, her hair a little damp but draped in soft and silky waves around her shoulders. She'd changed into a pair of jeans and tank top that clung to her curves, and now he got totally lost for another reason.
Dani moved away, perhaps sensing she was a little too close. By putting a table between them, she brought his thoughts back into focus.
"What were you thinking about?" she asked.
"Sean Carruthers, the pilot who died in the crash, worked for the same aviation company as Jerry Caldwell nine years ago."
"But Jerry worked for MDT," she said, sitting up a little straighter.
"It appears that he worked for at least one other firm, Vanderlane Aviation."
"Well, that's interesting. A link between Jerry and Sean Carruthers is huge. We know that Jerry was a traitor, and that he'd been stealing technology for years."
"But the one thing that doesn't make sense is Sean dying in the crash," Patrick put in. "If he was working with Jerry or anyone at MDT, and they had some responsibility for the accident, then why wouldn't Sean have known about some issue on the plane, or a bomb, or something? Unless it was an accident, and everything else is a coincidence." He ran his fingers through his hair, not really happy with that conclusion.
"No, you were right when you told me to stop thinking anything is a coincidence. Let's go the other way. Jerry Caldwell killed one of his fellow conspirators at MDT when she came to him and told him that she thought she'd been compromised. He told her he'd handle it. But what he did was kill her and the man who'd discovered her treachery, and made it look like the man's ex-wife had committed the murder."
"That's bold," he said, realizing he hadn't studied the details of Jerry's crimes but maybe he should have.
"If he could kill a woman who'd been bringing him classified information for years, then he might have been willing to kill Sean Carruthers, too."
"If he thought Sean was going to turn, he might have wanted to take him out at the same time," Patrick mused. "Maybe Jerry convinced the other pilot to call in sick. He could have put Sean on that plane on purpose."
"Or he could have had someone mess with the food from the takeout restaurant, thereby ensuring Carruthers would be on board."
He let out a sigh. "It's a hell of a theory but once again we have no proof."
"But we do have the link between Jerry and Sean. We just have to figure out how it matters, because I think it does." She gave him a smile. "Good work."
He smiled back. "Thank you. It's my turn for a shower. There's coffee in the pot and granola bars if you need a snack. After that, we'll go to Barclay's Barn."
* * *
After Patrick went upstairs, Dani poured herself a cup of coffee but instead of heading back to the computer, she walked out on the deck behind the house. The cabin had a beautiful view of thick trees, a green meadow, and a creek rippling with water. It was quiet here, peaceful. She'd almost forgotten what quiet sounded like. Not that she didn't like the big city, but she wasn't used to sirens at all hours of the night, the stink of car exhaust, and the continual blare of horns in rush-hour traffic. There were always sounds—in the apartment next door, in the office next to hers, on the crowded sidewalks when she walked to work.
Sometimes the sounds and the people and the crowds gave her energy and made her feel like she was part of something bigger, grander, but other times she felt small, alone, isolated in a huge city of strangers.
DC had been both everything she'd dreamed about and nothing like she'd expected. But that was the fun of it, she told herself. That was the adventure. There would be time in the future for quiet vistas like this. But that time was down the road. She had things to do.
Going inside, she returned to the dining room and saw her cell phone vibrating on the table. She saw she had two missed calls from Erica and one from Tracy. Tracy often asked her to get lunch, so that was no big deal, but Erica knew she'd called in sick, so why had she called twice?
She picked up her phone to call Erica back, then remembered what Patrick had said about using her cell phone. She didn't know if someone could or would try to track her phone, but since she didn't want anyone in the office to know she was in Texas, she set her phone back down on the table. Maybe she'd just see if Erica sent her a text. After all, she had said she was sick. She could be sleeping right now.
Moving on to her computer, she checked her email to see if Erica had forwarded any pressing piece of business there, but there was nothing.
Her calls couldn't have been that important.
Her phone buzzed again—this time with a text. It wasn't from Erica; it was from Stephen Phelps.
Sorry I came down on you yesterday. I hope that's not the reason you're out sick today. Let's talk.
Why would he think their lunch conversation would have bothered her enough to call in sick? She frowned, thinking maybe it would be best not to talk to anyone from the office today.
Patrick came back from his shower, looking sexy and handsome, and it was all she could do to stay in her seat. It was easier when they were focused on business, but the in-between times were tough. Her desire for him seemed to grow more intense each day. Logically, she knew she needed to resist the attraction. Patrick was a complication she didn't need. But he was also a complication she really, really wanted.
She got to her feet, needing to take some action that didn't involve throwing her arms around him. "Are you ready to go?"
"I am," he said, giving her a curious look. "Everything okay?"
"Fine. I've had some missed calls from Erica and an odd text from Stephen asking me if our conversation yesterday was what prompted my sick day."
"That's weird."
"Very, but I don't want to think about them right now. We need to focus on how to approach Tania. If we do it the wrong way, we may miss our only opportunity."
"I agree. I was thinking about that in the shower."
She was envious that he'd managed that kind of thought in the shower. When she'd been standing under the warm stream of water, she'd imagined Patrick in there with her, soaping her up with his strong hands.
She cleared her throat, feeling a wave of heat run through her. "So did you come up with anything?"
He gave her a quizzical look. "Did I miss something, Dani? You seem distracted."
"No. You haven't missed anything. How do you think we should pitch Tania on helping us?"
"I think there's only one way to bond with her."
"What's that?" she asked, seeing a devilish gleam in his eyes.
"You should tell her that you slept with Reid, too. You're pissed off he married the French swimsuit model Yvette. You want to get revenge, and you thought she might want in."
It was crazy and bold and perfect,
she thought in amazement. It was probably the only way they could get Tania's attention.
"You work for the senator," Patrick continued. "You say you met Reid at one of the senator's parties. Let's take it a step further. Say you two hooked up and started an affair, maybe during the time Reid and Tania were together. We can figure out the details in the car." He grabbed the keys to the truck his father had lent them.