"Yes." Connor told Stephen what Tom had said about Walker being on the borderline in his business dealings, as well as the fact that nothing definite could be pinned on him. He didn't mention their father's part in all this— not yet. Not until he sorted out the various possibilities where Harrison was concerned and what effect they'd have on Stephen.
Right now, Stephen sounded too strung out to deal with even one more thing.
"I also got an interesting call from Marty," Connor continued. "Or, rather, you did. I intercepted it because you'd just left for your meeting with Harry Shaw. I figured it had something to do with mall security. As it turned out, it didn't. I hope you don't mind my stepping in."
"Hardly. Was it about Walker?"
"Urn-hum." Connor relayed that piece of the puzzle to his brother.
"So it looks like our suspicions were right," Stephen murmured.
"It's not just our suspicions anymore" Connor warned. "Be prepared. Marty's going to grill you. His instincts are on red alert." Connor accelerated the car, zoomed up the left lane. "What happened with Shaw?"
"He did some personal digging. Apparently, Walker's been seeing a new woman, frequently, and out of the blue. She's young enough to be his daughter."
Connor shrugged. "So what? He's rich. That's a turn-on to women of all ages. Why did it push Shaw's button?"
"It's who he's seeing that made Shaw leery."
"Who is it?"
"Robin Haley."
Connor's brows went up. "The computer teacher at Brian's school?"
"You know her?"
"We've met She's a friend of Julia's. How did Walker get involved with her? And why now? You think he started seeing her to gain access to Brian's school—and Brian?"
"The same questions I asked. Shaw hadn't pursued the answers yet. He wanted the okay from me. He was more than willing to question Robin. It's my call." Stephen drew in a breath. "I told him to wait I think mere's a better way, one that's less obvious. I know things are rocky between you and Julia, but do you think she'd tell you anything?"
"If she can and it would help Brian, yes." Connor's mind was racing a mile a minute. "I'll call her right now. But I'm telling you up front that she's going to ask questions. And I'm going to give her answers. I trust her. You're going to have to trust her, too."
Stephen gave a tired sigh. "At this point, I don't think we have a choice. Do whatever you need to. Just find out if there's a connection here."
"I will. I'll give you an update when I get home. Figure forty minutes or so."
Connor punched the end button, steeled himself, and pressed the digits of Julia's number.
One ring. Two.
On the third ring, she picked up. "Hello?"
"It's me."
She made a distressed sound. "Connor, I don't want to..."
"Don't hang up, Julia, please. I need your help."
A heartbeat of silence. "Is it Brian?" she asked at last.
"Indirectly, yes "
"I'm listening."
"Your friend Robin Haley, do you know the guy she's dating?"
"Excuse me?"
Connor gritted his teeth. "I asked if you knew ..."
"I heard your question. What has that got to do with Brian?"
"Maybe a lot. I'll explain in a minute."
Julia's laugh was hollow. "I doubt it. But to answer your question, no, I've never met the man. I know she's seeing someone special these past few weeks. But that's ail she said."
"So you wouldn't know if this guy ever came to the school—maybe to see her or drive her home?"
"I've never seen Robin talking to any guy, other than the ones she works with, on school grounds."
"Damn." Connor slammed his fist against the steering wheel. "Is there any way you can ask her some questions, get her to talk about him, without making her suspicious?"
"I don't see why not. Robin loves talking about her social life." Julia paused, clearly perceiving the urgency in his tersely fired questions. "Connor, what is it?"
"Your instincts were right," he replied without a second thought. 'There is something serious going on, something that could hurt Brian. I'd rather relay as little as possible right now—not because I don't trust you but because I don't trust cell phones. Suffice it to say that Stephen's under the gun. Brian's being shoved into the cross-fire. And the man I'm asking you about might be the one with his finger on the trigger. Is that enough for you to help me?"
"Oh, my God." Julia's voice shook. "Is Brian all right?"
"Yes." This much, at least, he could give her. "Nancy called today. They're both fine."
"But she's keeping him away." Julia swallowed. "Okay, I won't push you for details. As for Robin, I'll see her during afternoon recess. She doesn't have a class then, so she always comes out to shoot the breeze. I'll find out everything I can about this man." A weighted pause. "You think he's dating Robin to get close to Brian?"
"I don't know. But Stephen's a wreck. Frankly, so am I." Connor heard the apprehension in his own voice, and he found himself wishing like hell that Julia were there beside him. He needed to hold her, to comfort her and himself.
"I'll call you the minute I can break away from my class. Or, at the very latest, when I get home." "Good." Connor stared at the phone. "Julia?" "Yes?"
"I really appreciate your doing this." "I know." A long pause. "I'm glad you called me." There was a quiet click as she hung up.
* * *
24
April 13 10:45 A.M.
Stowe, Vermont
Nancy sat at the rustic kitchen counter, nursing her third cup of coffee. She'd been at the ski lodge since the middle of the night when Tuesday had become Wednesday, and she'd scarcely slept five hours total. She felt detached from everything, as if she were falling hi slow motion and had no idea when she'd land.
Or maybe she'd stopped caring.
From the other room, she heard Brian changing the channels as he watched TV. That's all he'd done since they got there. He'd gone from bewildered to unsettled to depressed and downright listless. Seeing Cliff had upset him even more, triggering the understandable slew of questions about where Stephen was and why he couldn't have been the one to bring up his medicine.
Nancy hadn't had any answers. But she had told Cliff to stay away.
Cliff hadn't argued. Part of him probably had been relieved. He cared about her, deeply, but Stephen was his best friend. This whole situation had to be tearing him apart. He'd called her twice since then, making sure she and Brian were okay, adding how worried about them Stephen was.
In some ways, it would be so much easier if she were in love with Cliff. He was solid, stable, free of emotional baggage. And he loved her, with an all-encompassing kind of intensity. She'd be the center of his world, not a valued facet.
But she didn't love Cliff. She loved Stephen. Even now, when he'd put his life, and the life of their son, at risk. She probably should have her head examined for feeling that way. The thing was, she knew Stephen—the real Stephen—in a way he didn't even know himself. He was so much more than he believed he was, so much more than Harrison Stratford had trained him to believe. He was a good man, a caring, compassionate man, a man with noble convictions—convictions he transformed into reality. He was a man who made a difference, who inspired people just by being himself, even though he insisted—to her and to himself—that it was all a political facade. He was the man she'd fallen in love with the first time they'd met, during the first conversation they'd shared, at that first instant he'd flashed her his charismatic smile. And, yes, he was Brian's father—a wonderful, loving father whom Brian adored.
Becoming a Stratford hadn't been easy for her. Dealing with Stephen's demons had been harder still. But she loved him, and he loved her. Not in the uncomplicated and absolute way Cliff did, but then, Stephen wasn't an uncomplicated man. And marriage wasn't a starry-eyed romance. It was hard work, a lifetime commitment.
So she'd committed herself to it with a fervor that had
been tested time and again, by forces that had bent but somehow never broken the bond between her and Stephen.
She'd tried so hard to be all he needed, praying it would be enough to give him the strength to overcome his self-doubts, to fill his psychological, voids.
Maybe the time had come to admit that she'd failed. Or maybe she was just too damned tired to keep fighting.
So where did that leave them? Where did they go from here?
Tears filled Nancy's eyes, slid down her cheeks.
A faint noise from the front doorway caught her attention, and she swiveled around on the kitchen stool to check it out.
The rest happened in a heartbeat.
A man wearing black clothes and a ski mask lunged at her, dragging her off the stool and forcing back her head. She opened her mouth to scream, but he crammed a cloth into it, covering her nose in the process. She struggled, inhaling the medicinal smell despite her attempts to evade it. Black filaments of dizziness crept into her brain like spiders, weakening her struggles and crowding out consciousness.
Reality slipped away in rapidly accelerating increments, until there was nothing but blackness and one terrifying fear.
Brian. He'd come for Brian.
2:45 P.M.
Julia was practically jumping out of her skin.
Naturally, there'd been a fire drill that day, which had screwed up the entire afternoon schedule. Regular recess had been canceled, and instead the kids were being given a late-day outdoor play break before the buses arrived.
The minute her class scattered to their respective playground spots, Julia began scanning the area for an aide she could impose upon to watch her kids so she could go find Robin.
As it turned out, it wasn't necessary. Robin found her.
"Hey, you," she greeted Julia, strolling up beside her. "I haven't seen you all day."
"I know." Julia warned herself to stay calm. "The fire drill blew my whole schedule to bits."
"I've been worried about you. Deny it all you want, but you've got it bad for Connor Stratford. And since the night you went out with him, you've been a mess. You look like hell—and it's not all because you're worried about Brian, either. What did Connor do to throw you so badly?"
Julia swallowed. This was the last thing she wanted to talk about, partly because she was too damned confused right now and partly because she had a mission to accomplish—for the very man Robin was asking about. "You're right, Rob. I'm a mess. My feelings about Connor are very intense and very mixed. I've got to work it through before I talk about it. But once I do, you'll be the first one I come to, okay?"
Robin nodded, understanding glinting in her eyes. "Okay."
Time to get to the crucial subject. "So how are you doing?" Julia tried to sound casual. "Are you in your usual, bouncy weekend mood?"
An offhanded shrug. "Not really."
Julia's brows rose. "Aren't you seeing your mystery guy?"
"Yes, but I think I'm going to put an end to it. The whole relationship's getting a little weird for me."
"Weird?" Julia's antenna went up. "What do you mean? I thought the guy was a winner."
"So did I, at first. He's older, he's very sexy and successful, and he literally swept me off my feet. But I'm beginning to get the distinct feeling that the whole thing's a sham, that he's using me for his own ends. Being used is bad enough. But I have a hunch that his ends are not something I want to be a part of."
Chills rippled up Julia's spine. "How so?"
"Like I said, he's successful. He owns a real estate development company, a big one. Well, a few nights ago, he started talking about hiring me to write a special software program for him. I thought that was strange. To begin with, I'd never mentioned to him that I do that."
"Did you ask him how he knew?"
"Um-hum. He claimed he heard about my expertise from a colleague. That's possible, I suppose. But, Julia, the guy's company has a fully staffed IT department. Why would he need me to write a program for him?"
"You're a computer whiz, Robin. Maybe no one on his staff is up to your level."
"Or maybe he doesn't want them knowing what he has in mind."
"What do you mean?"
Robin chewed her lip. "I could be way off base. But I keep reading about that municipal parking lot contract he's bidding on, the one Mayor Stratford and the city council are debating over."
"That's apparently a hot issue," Julia agreed, her wheels spinning rapidly as she recalled the articles she'd read and tried to fit the puzzle pieces together. "There's friction over whether or not the contract should be allocated to a private company." A quizzical look. "The guy you're dating is Philip Walker?"
"Right. And maybe his bid for the contract and his wanting to hire me are completely unrelated. But if they're not, well, the program he wants me to write sounds a lot like something that could be used to automate kickbacks from the lots he'd be maintaining. If he wins the contract, of course. The council's still divided. But Philip is determined. He wants that contract badly. And he's not the type of guy who takes no for an answer."
Julia's stomach turned over. So that was it. Walker was pressuring the mayor. And whatever he was pressuring him with involved a threat to Brian.
"When he talks about the contract, does he bring up the mayor?" she asked, somehow managing to sound normal.
"Constantly. Oh, he's subtle about it. First, he brings up Brian, since he knows I teach him. He asks how he's doing, how his pitching arm is this year—that kind of stuff. He always makes sure to tell me how proud Mayor Stratford is of his son. Then he segues into how tight he and the mayor are, how many projects they've done together. And that leads to his resolve over die municipal parking contract. It's becoming a pattern."
Julia was feeling sicker by the minute. "What else does he say about Brian?"
"About Brian?" Robin looked surprised. "Nothing much. Just what a cute kid he is, how great it must be to have him in class, how hard it must be for him to sit still when he'd rather be out playing ball. Once he asked how often Brian has recess and what he likes to do when he's on the playground. Truthfully, I think he's just acting interested in Brian because he knows I love kids and he wants to charm me. That way, I won't notice when he jumps to the subject of the contract."
Walker's interest in Brian meant something entirely different to Julia, and the implications were almost too much for her to bear. "You said he's much older than you," she verified, trying to keep her voice steady. "I don't think I've ever seen him around. Has he been to the school?"
"Nope. You know me better than that. I don't invite my dates to school. He picks me up at home. And, yeah, he's older, somewhere in his mid-fifties, I guess. I know that sounds really old, but he's one of those guys age looks great on. He's in incredible shape, he's sexy in a rugged kind of way, and he's rich and charming. Too charming, maybe. My guess is, he's a real operator. And I fell for it, hook, line, and sinker. If I'm right about his motives, then he really played me. Right from the beginning. That kind of deviousness isn't something I want to mess with. It gives me the creeps."
Robin turned to her friend and frowned. "Julia? You're white as a sheet. Did I upset you?"
"What?" Julia had to struggle to compose herself. "Actually, yes. I want you to stop seeing this guy right away. He sounds like trouble."
A grin. "Okay, Mom."
"I mean it, Rob." Julia had to make sure she kept her friend away from Philip Walker. He was obviously scum, and maybe a whole lot worse. "You're a wonderful person. You deserve so much more than a jerk who's us,ing you."
"You got it." Robin's smile gentled. "Thanks for caring. I'll break it off with him tonight, on the phone. That way, I'll avoid having to get into any long-winded explanations. I don't want to make him suspicious. I'll just use the excuse of the age gap. That should do it."
She gave Julia's arm a warm squeeze. "Let's both straighten out our lives. I'll find a fabulous new guy, and you work things out with Connor Stratford. You're in lo
ve with him, sweetie. It's written all over your face. And being that you're the one-man-forever type, I'd suggest you snag this guy, pronto."
3:35 p.m.
Snagging Connor was exactly what Julia had in mind when she burst into her apartment that afternoon, although her reasons for doing so, at least for the moment, were a far cry from the romantic ones Robin had intended.
She slammed her apartment door shut and grabbed the phone. Her fingers were shaking as she dialed Connor's cell number.
"Connor Stratford."
"Hi," she responded. "I'm not on my cell phone, because you said you were uneasy about using cell phones to discuss the grittier details. But I had to call on yours. I didn't know where you were. And I didn't want to waste time finding out."
"I'm in Stephen's office. Are you honje?"
"Yes."
"Hang up, and I'll call you right back."
Julia snatched up the phone before it had completed its first ring. "Connor?"
"Yes, it's me."
"You were right. Philip Walker zeroed in on Robin for a reason. More than one reason, I think. She's onto him about one, but the other ..." Julia's voice choked.
"Sweetheart, calm down. Talk to me. What did Robin say?"
Taking a deep breath, Julia relayed the entire conversation to Connor.
"Christ," Connor muttered.
"So Robin is suspicious of Walker's business ethics. She knows he's using her, which I'm sure he is. But the rest. . . Connor, he talked about Brian too much. Why would he want to know what he did at recess or when he had it scheduled? Do you think he meant to hurt him? Robin said he's never been at the school, but that doesn't mean he didn't show up without her realizing it. Could he have..." Julia's words trailed off as a sudden memory struck. "Brian's baseball cap," she breathed. "Remember you said it vanished during afternoon recess? He'd never lose that cap. It means everything to him."
"Walker took it," Connor responded without preamble. "Then he sent it to Nancy with a threatening note. That's why she packed up Brian and left." He rushed on, as Julia started to interrupt. "No more questions, not now. Just know that Brian is with his mother. She'll keep him safe. I've got to hang up now. I need to pass your information on to Stephen."