Silent Partner Part 28

"But you'd love to."

"Whose side are you on?"

"How do you intend to confirm what he said?" Angela wanted to know, ignoring Liv's angry retort. "Are you going to put on a white sheet and follow him to the next meeting?"

"Maybe I won't have to," Liv replied ominously.

"Why not?"

"The guy gave me some other information as well. Information that might be just as damaging."

"What?"

A satisfied smile spread across Liv's face. "He claimed Dudley was defrauding Sumter Bank. Claimed Dudley was siphoning off millions of depositor dollars into a little company on the side, a company that was supposed to be performing some kind of operational consulting work for Sumter, but was really just a sh.e.l.l. A company Dudley owns. Talk about a conflict of interest," Liv scoffed. "Even if the company was acting in good faith. But the guy said that the whole thing was really a scam. He claimed Dudley himself approved the contract for the work six months ago, but nothing's been generated except some good-for-nothing three-page report. More than ten million dollars has walked out the door straight into Dudley's pockets."

"How does your contact know all this?" Angela asked. The whole thing seemed too easy. "I bet he wouldn't tell you how he got his information about this accusation either."

"Wrong. He said he saw confirmations of outbound wire transfers. He also said he overheard someone very senior at the bank talking about how Dudley controls the consulting company. I think he used the term 'ExecCom.' And he believes that when someone digs deep enough they'll find that the ten million bucks ultimately found its way into a Dudley account. I believe him," Liv declared firmly. "The fact that Dudley approved the contracts and that the company is based in Birmingham is too coincidental. Well, the guy claimed the company was based in Birmingham, anyhow. I haven't had time to follow up yet."

Angela checked her watch. It was after four. Sam was coming by the apartment at six to drop Hunter off for the weekend, and she needed to pick up a couple of things before Hunter arrived. But she needed to go back to the bank, too. There wasn't much time if she was going to be home before Sam and Hunter arrived. "It's still not enough to print any kind of story on."

"I know that," Liv agreed. "There's a lot of work to do before I can approach my editor, and I need your help."

"What kind of help?" Angela asked suspiciously.

"Your enthusiasm is really blowing me away."

"Hey, Liv, I've got other concerns here. What do you think Bob Dudley would do if he found out I was helping you investigate him for fraud?"

"How would he find out?"

Liv didn't know about Jake Lawrence's involvement in the custody battle for Hunter, or how Angela felt as if someone was constantly watching her now. There wasn't any reason to burden Liv with the information in case these people turned out to be cold-blooded. Then it would be better if Liv didn't know. "Bob Dudley is a powerful man, Liv. Don't underestimate him."

"Now you're really sounding paranoid."

"Maybe I have a right to."

Liv grabbed Angela's hands. "Look, if we don't do everything possible to bring down Bob Dudley and expose him for the racist monster he is, the cycle will never be broken. We have to fight him now, because if we don't, there'll be another man just like him when he's gone. Like that little punk who turned down my mortgage application." She took a deep breath. "You know that guy's reaction to me the other day was a result of a directive from the very top of the Sumter organization. He wasn't acting on his own. Somebody told him to keep people like me out of the West End. That's what the memo you found was all about. Why do you think I took you all the way out there to the West End on Monday? I wanted you to see the directive in action."

Angela clenched her jaw. What Liv was saying made sense. "All right," she said quietly. "What do you need from me?"

Liv's expression softened. "I need you to track down the wire transfers going from Sumter to the sh.e.l.l company Dudley has set up. Confirm what the guy told me."

"That'll be difficult without knowing the name of the company. Which I bet your contact didn't tell you because he doesn't really know-"

"Strategy Partners."

Angela stopped short.

"Strategy Partners," Liv repeated. "In Birmingham, Alabama. Track the money transfers and confirm that Bob Dudley controls the company. Please do that for me, Angela."

Fifteen minutes later Angela was back at her desk, tapping commands on her keyboard as she zipped along the Internet. It was almost 4:30, and she needed to get going if she was to have everything ready for Hunter. But she had to confirm several things before leaving. First, that there was a firm named Strategy Partners in Birmingham, Alabama. Second, that Bob Dudley's family was from Birmingham. And, third, that Jake Lawrence had lied to her about his family originally being from Atlanta. That they too originally hailed from Birmingham.

She executed several more commands, closing in on her objective, smiling to herself as images flashed across the screen. In five minutes' time she'd confirmed the answers to her first two questions, and now she was closing in on the answer to the Jake Lawrence question. She clicked "go" and waited.

"h.e.l.lo, Angela."

Her eyes flashed up from the screen. Ken Booker stood in front of her, arms folded across his chest. Her eyes flickered back to the screen as the information she had been searching for appeared.

"What are you working on so diligently?"

"Just some research," she answered evasively.

"Fascinated by Jake Lawrence, aren't you?" Booker leaned forward over her desk and chuckled. "The information on your screen indicates that his family is originally from Birmingham." Booker's eyes narrowed as he glared down at her. "Isn't that interesting?"

She glared back, tempted to ask him again why he'd already derailed her promotion twice. According to Jake Lawrence, anyway. Tempted to grill him on the memo she'd found in his office. To ask him what he knew of it, and how involved he was in Bob Dudley's plan to segregate the city, and perhaps do more than that. But now wasn't the time. "Yes, it is interesting," she agreed, wondering why Carter Hill hadn't contacted her today.

6:45. Sam was late. And Sam was never late.

Maybe he wasn't coming. Maybe all of his suggestions about the two of them developing a better relations.h.i.+p for Hunter's sake weren't so well-intentioned after all. Perhaps he had simply been raising her hopes just to dash them once again. She sighed dejectedly. Now that she could no longer pin her hopes on Jake Lawrence, she needed Sam's help if she was going to get to see Hunter more.

The box lay on Hunter's bed, wrapped in colorful paper. Inside was a toy truck he had mentioned he wanted last weekend. Somehow Chuck Reese hadn't figured out that Hunter wanted it, and she was planning to preempt him and savor a tiny but sweet victory. Now the prospects of enjoying that victory seemed to be slipping away.

The knock on the apartment door startled her. Her heart rose to her throat as she trotted to the door, opened it, and knelt down. And then Hunter was in her arms, hugging her neck tightly and kissing her cheeks over and over.

"Hi, Mom!"

"Hi, sweetheart." She glanced up over his shoulder. Sam stood in her doorway, smiling down at her. "h.e.l.lo, Sam."

"h.e.l.lo, Angie. Sorry I'm late. I had to wait for the right moment to get out of the house, if you get my drift."

She nodded, appreciating that Sam was willing to take such a risk. "There's something in the bedroom for you, Hunter," she whispered in the young boy's ear.

"All right!" he shouted, releasing his grip on her and sprinting toward the bedroom.

"I really appreciate you doing this, Sam," she said, standing up. "I'm sure there's going to be h.e.l.l to pay when your father realizes what you've done."

"I'm sure you're right, but I don't really care. I'm a big boy. I can handle him. You'd be proud of me these days." Sam gestured toward the bedroom. "Besides, Hunter needs to see you more. No two ways about it."

"I know," she murmured.

Sam pulled her close. "I wouldn't mind seeing you a bit more myself, Angie."

His arms were strong and rea.s.suring, and she allowed herself to hug him back. This was dangerous. She'd trusted him once, and there was no reason to think he had changed except that he had followed through on his promise of this weekend.

Her thoughts slipped back to last night and John Tucker on the landing outside her door. How he had refused to kiss her just as their lips were about to meet. She wondered to herself why what came so easily with Sam was so difficult with John.

"Hey, thanks, Mom!"

Angela took a step back from Sam as Hunter appeared in the doorway. But they were still holding hands and she could see in Hunter's eyes that the boy approved. "Is it what you wanted?" she asked.

"Oh yeah. It's great."

Then he was gone, back into his room, and she could hear him playing with the new toy.

"Nice going, Angie. Big hit."

She glanced up at Sam. His hand was so warm. "Thanks." As she gazed at him he brought his fingers to her face, looked deeply into her eyes for a few moments, then leaned forward. But at the last moment she turned her head to the side and he was forced to kiss her cheek. Just as John had done to her. But why? Why had John done that? Even now, with Jake Lawrence gone?

"Well," Sam said quietly, straightening up, "I was hoping for a little more than that."

"Is that why you brought Hunter here this weekend?" she asked quietly. "For that?"

"No. The visit is for real. I do believe he needs to see you more. I was just hoping you might believe that I need to see you more, too."

"I can't, Sam. Not while you're married."

He brought one of her hands to his lips and kissed it gently. "And if I weren't?"

"I suppose I might feel differently."

"How different?"

He still had that amazing hold over her. Even after all this time and all the terrible things he had done. "You know I've never been able to resist you."

"You just did."

She nodded. "Yes, I suppose I did, didn't I?"

"Hunter," Sam called. "Dad's got to get going. Come out and say good-bye." The boy appeared instantly, scampered to where Sam stood, hugged him tightly, then tore back to his room. "That was quick." Sam chuckled as he headed toward the door.

"Now you know how I feel," Angela pointed out.

"What do you mean?"

"That's how weekends with him are for me. I feel like I see him for a few seconds, then he's gone again."

Sam turned back when he reached the door. "I understand, and we're going to work on that."

"Thanks." She stood in front of him, hands clasped together. "You know I really appreciate it."

"Were you serious?" he asked.

"About what?"

"If I weren't married, would you consider renewing our relations.h.i.+p?"

"I thought we already had a relations.h.i.+p."

"You know what I mean," he said.

"I can't guarantee anything, Sam. Besides, your father would have a-"

"Screw my father, Angie. I'm not going to let him run my life again. I'm not going to let him tell me who I can be with and who I can't." He hesitated. "I can't get you out of my head. I want you back."

His strong arms slipped around her and then their bodies were pressed together. He sounded so sincere, and the words were words she had wanted to hear for so long. "You don't love Caroline?" she whispered.

"You mean the ice queen?"

Then Sam's lips were on her neck, and she could feel electricity race through her. But, just as quickly as it had come, it faded. Something that had never happened before. All she could think about was John Tucker, and why he had refused her twice. She had seen in his eyes that he wanted to kiss her, but for some reason he'd held back.

"Mom."

Angela pulled back, startled by the sound of Hunter's voice. "Yes, honey?"

"I'm kinda hungry. Do you have anything to eat?"

She slipped from Sam's arms. "How does a cheeseburger sound?"

"Yes!" Hunter pumped his fist several times.

Angela looked back at Sam, who had one foot out the door.

"I think I'd better get going," he said. "I'll be back Sunday at 7:00 to pick Hunter up." He glanced around. "Nice place you've got here." And then he was gone.

For several moments Angela gazed at the door, then she headed to the kitchen to put the burgers on. As she was taking out plates from the cupboard she heard a knock at the door, and she smiled to herself. Sam. It was the hopeless romantic in him coming out. He had been so certain that she was going to give him that kiss, and he couldn't leave without it. Well, he was going to be disappointed.

"Look, I-" Angela stopped short as she opened the door. John Tucker stood on the landing.

"h.e.l.lo, Angela."

"John." She checked back over her shoulder. Hunter was in his room. "Do you want to come in?"

"No. I just wanted to give you a piece of information I didn't think ought to be delivered over the phone."

Angela's ears perked up. "What?"

"William Colby had us all fooled last night."

"I don't understand."

"That wasn't Jake Lawrence in the helicopter. It was a decoy. Lawrence is alive." Tucker shook his head. "I don't like Bill much, but he knows what he's doing when it comes to protecting Lawrence."

Angela brought both hands to her mouth, a surge of adrenaline rus.h.i.+ng through her body. "My G.o.d."

"Yes. And the message from Mr. Lawrence is that you are to keep pus.h.i.+ng ahead." Tucker shrugged. "Whatever that means. I suppose it has something to do with Proxmire."

"Tell him that I will," she replied, still shocked by the news. "Are you sure you don't want to come in?"