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Authors: Ellis Vidler

Tags: #Romantic Ssuspense

Cold Comfort (34 page)

BOOK: Cold Comfort
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"Don't ever let them take advantage of you." Frieda winked at Claire. Smiling sweetly, she took the check and marched out of the room, satisfaction radiating in every step. "Mr. Darwin, get your things. You're coming with me."

"Wait." Claire rushed after them. "I have to ask you something, Mr. Darwin. Will you please tell me whom it is you suspect was my

Caroline's friend? I don't know when we'll get to see Sandra Krakowski, and I don't know anyone else to ask."

"I don't like assumptions." He stood and clasped his hands, consternation deepening the wrinkles in his brow. "Mind you, I don't
know
anything, especially about your mother's personal life." He stared out the window.

"Please. I have to know."

Seeming to come to a decision, he drew a deep breath. "What I do know is, Elton Burley and his wife separated about that time. He and Jeffers and Jennings were good friends, and I saw them and their wives a number of times, so I knew. That, of course, proves nothing." He shook his head, deep in thought. "I don't remember any special interest on Caroline's part, but she could have been hiding it."

Burley. Was he man who'd destroyed her mother's life and wanted hers? Claire felt sick.

Darwin frowned and pressed his fingertips together. "Somehow, in spite of the circumstances, I can't see your mother with Burley. I always thought Jennings loved his wife; however, she'd been in a coma for a couple of years by then. She'd been declared brain dead, but her father wouldn't let her go. If you're sure it's one of those two, I'd look to Nolan Jennings. Caroline admired him."

 

Chapter 23

 

 

"Jennings lives in Georgetown. It's an older house on Stillwater Row. Will said he's lived there since he came to Washington." Riley took the Key Bridge over the Potomac and crossed into Georgetown. Through the falling snow, he spared a quick glance at the oncoming, bumper-to-bumper traffic. "It could be worse. We could be trying to get
out
of the city."

Claire hardly noticed. She shivered. "I hope this is the right thing to do. Are you sure we shouldn't have told him who we are? He might be upset if he expects someone from Senator Borg's office. Who is this senator who's willing to cover for you?"

"A friend we did something for. He trusts Will, knew he had a good reason. We were pretty sure Jennings would agree to meet someone from Borg's staff

Borg supports the wetlands bill. If Jennings knows who we really are, he might not see us. We have to surprise him. If he's behind this, and someone got to Sandra, she'll have told them you're here."

"Maybe she didn't tell them." But she pictured Dr. Clary, knew they'd get the information.

"Claire, these are not nice people. If she's smart, she'd have told them whatever they wanted to know right off, and saved herself a lot of

a lot of time and trouble."

"I know, I understand." She gazed at the lights twinkling through the falling snow as they turned onto M Street. "It's just so difficult to think someone who could do these things might be my father. Nolan Jennings always seemed so straight and sincere. At least Carmine Bellante can't be my grandfather."

"Watch for Stillwater

it's close to the park. We're almost there." He checked his rearview mirror. "Will's somewhere nearby. He'll be watching while we're inside

assuming we get in

in case anyone else shows up."

"I think I'm going to be sick." Claire lowered her window and filled her lungs with cold air.

"No, you're not." He maneuvered the car to the snow-lined curb and stopped. "Just take a minute to pull yourself together. I think it's the red brick at the end of the street."

Claire opened her eyes and located the house. "My goodness. It's beautiful."

He eased the car closer to the house, let the engine idle for a minute before he shut it off. Reaching out, he caught her hand. "Whatever happens, I'll be with you."

She knew he meant it. God, how she'd like stay in the car and hang on to him. But she had to find what was behind all this. The answers might be right in front of her.

The house loomed above her, stately and graceful. How could anyone who lived in such beauty be a killer?
Oh, good logic, Claire
. She didn't want to get out or knock on that door. "I don't think it could be him. It must be Elton Burley, no matter what Mr. Darwin thinks."

He opened her door. "Come on, Claire. Even if Jennings is the one, he might not have anything to do with these attacks."

Bracing herself, she let him lead her to the door, where a large green wreath circled a brass knocker. The sound of Riley's knocking echoed her heartbeat. Her father might be on the other side of this door. Footsteps sounded. She stepped back, unsure. What would she say?
Hello, Daddy?

"Yes?" A man peered out at Riley, held the door partially closed against the wind. "Are you from Senator Borg's office?"

Riley nodded and held up a large envelope. "I have some papers for Senator Jennings."

"I can take them. I'm his nephew, Anthony Trapp."

"I'm sorry. My instructions are to give them to the senator personally. I believe he's expecting them."

Anthony Trapp. Claire glimpsed the handsome, dark-haired man framed in the doorway, saw a brief frown cross his face at Riley's words and quickly disappear. Diane's son, the last of Carmine Bellante's line. She hadn't expected to see him here, and she didn't think he'd noticed her yet. Her last hopes faded. If Anthony Trapp was with his uncle, then Senator Jennings must still be close to the old mobster. Here was the Geminelli connection. Nolan Jennings was almost certainly her father.

She backed away a step as a lifetime of dreams shattered before her. Even her belief in the senator.

"Come in. I'll ask if he can see you." Despite his obvious reluctance, Anthony Trapp stepped to the side and held the door.

Had she seen Trapp before? He seemed vaguely familiar. Before she could place him, she felt Riley's hand close over her arm.

He tugged her gently. "Come on, Madelyn."

Madelyn? Where did that come from?
Did he think Anthony Trapp might know her name? At this point, it didn't matter. She was here, she had to do it. Pasting a smile on her face, she stepped through the looking glass into the rabbit hole. A magnificent rabbit hole, to be sure. She turned toward Anthony, thought she caught a flicker of fear in his expression as he assessed her.
Why?
A faint scent reached her. Aftershave? Before she could identify it, Riley introduced her.

"My colleague, Madelyn Burg. She'll have to witness the signatures."

"Of course. I'll see if he's available now. Please wait here." He turned and disappeared through a door behind the stairway, leading toward the back of the house.

A brightly burning fire at the far end of the large living room drew Claire, but Riley immediately opened a door off the entrance hall and stuck his head in. Silently, he slipped inside.

Claire, cringing at the breach of manners, followed. "What are you doing?"

"
Shh
. This is his office

I want to see a phone." He crossed a red Bokhara carpet to a large desk.

She ran her fingers over the desktop. The wood's soft patina testified to its long use. Did her father sit there late at night, working by the light of the brass lamp? Or was Burley her father? At this point, neither possibility enchanted her.

Riley interrupted her musing. "Speedy. See, the light for line one just came on." He signaled her to silence. A fax machine and an answering machine sat on a credenza beside the desk. "Keep an eye on that light. Tell me if it goes off." He turned the volume down on the answering machine and pressed Messages. The first few were "get well" and "thinking about you"

cheerful greetings from well-wishers. He skipped them after the opening words. Finally he found a more interesting message.

"Hello, sir. This is Winnie. You must be feeling better if you're up to working. Did you get the names and addresses? It took me a while to find all of them, but I faxed them before lunch. Your nephew is so nice to stay and help out while you're recovering. Let me know if there's anything else you need. Take care and don't overdo."

"The light went out—he's off the phone." Claire darted back to the hallway. She wasn't cut out for clandestine activities.

Riley trailed behind her. "Now we know how he found Sandra Krakowski. Jennings's office has access to the same information Darwin's friends do. It sounds like Tony's running errands for him."

"Tony...he's

"

Trapp's return cut her off. "I'm sorry, but the senator is sleeping. He's had a bad afternoon, and I don't want to disturb him." Trapp stepped into the living room and opened a cabinet. "Why don't you have something to drink and wait awhile. I'm sure he'll want to see you when he wakes up. He's been asleep for some time now."

Claire bit her lip, holding back tears. She hadn't realized how much she wanted to see Nolan Jennings, see if he recognized her, if he acknowledged her in some way.

"What will you have?" Trapp, now the cordial host, gestured toward a display of bottles and decanters.

"Thanks, but I don't think we'll wait. We'll come back tomorrow. Madelyn?" Riley turned her toward the door and hustled her out before Trapp could respond. "Move," he said, his voice low but intense.

Claire, dazed, slid on the snow-covered front steps, but Riley held her upright and half-dragged her to the car. He had his cell phone out and punched in a single number. "Will. We're out. He made a call, so expect reinforcements." He opened the car door and shoved Claire inside. "Stay down."

He ran to the driver's side and leapt in, turning the key he'd left in the ignition.

She'd never expected to become so familiar with car floors

a twist on the old "assume the position" from cop shows. Above her head, lights illuminated the interior of the car.

"Here they come, like a rapid response unit. They couldn't have been far." Riley drove as fast as the new snow allowed. "Here's Will too."

"I didn't even get to see him." She felt as if she were speaking through a tunnel, watching a film in slow motion. Riley's hand kept her head down. A man she'd never seen, who might be her father, had been only a few feet away, and she'd missed him. Was he really asleep? Or did he just not want to see her? She fought back tears.
Get a grip. He's hardly a loving father—the bastard's trying to kill you.

"We'll be away from them soon. Then we'll talk. Just hang on."

A car pulled out of a side street in front of them. Riley swung sharply to the left. The rear wheels slipped, then caught, but the sudden sideways momentum slung Claire against the door. The solid thump snapped her out of the trancelike state she'd been in since they entered the senator's house. She raised her head enough to see the side view mirror. "How many are there?"

"Two cars. Duck! I don't think they'd dare do anything in this area, but I'm not risking it. The police patrol here all the time, and it's crawling with private security." He jumped the curb to avoid the car coming toward them, drove over the sidewalk, and bumped back into the street. "Fasten your seat belt. I want to get out of here."

"What about Will?"

"Will can take care of himself. He'll meet us at the office. We just have to make sure we aren't followed." He drove across a lawn and cut into a line of traffic on M Street.

Claire pulled the seat belt so tight she could hardly breathe and held on. Riley weaved in and out of traffic, turned off on a side street, whipped through a parking lot, and nosed back into the traffic. "Where are all those policemen you said patrolled here?"

"Good karma. The cops must be tied up with fender benders in the snow." Riley settled to a more sedate speed and stayed in line, but he checked behind as often as ahead. "I think we're clear."

He zigzagged down to the Roosevelt Bridge and crossed the river. Will turned into the lot behind the office at the same time Riley did, parked beside him. Both men looked at Claire.

"Elevator," Riley said, taking her arm.

"Yeah. You look a little pale, Claire. What happened?" Will stepped up beside her.

"I didn't get to see him."

"I'm sorry

I know you wanted to. Maybe tomorrow. It's harder to watch a house like his now, when everyone's alert for terrorists, but I think we can set something up by morning. If Trapp leaves, we can go in." He and Riley exchanged knowing looks and spoke at the same time.

"The carpet cleaner."

Will unlocked the office door and flipped the light switch. "I'll set it up now." He sat down behind Frieda's desk and lifted the phone. The red message light blinked steadily. He covered the receiver and said to Riley, "See what that is while I make the arrangements."

Claire focused on the two men

anything to avoid thinking about Nolan Jennings.

Riley went to another office and listened to the message. "It's Frieda. Urgent." he said, his brows drawn together. He punched the number. "Frieda, it's Riley."

BOOK: Cold Comfort
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