Jerry tensed. “After what happened last time, who’s to tell?”
“Let me know the second you hear anything.”
“I will. The investigator’s going to make regular reports.”
Her brother left, and Julia was involved with a large stack of correspondence when she noted the time. She stopped in the middle of a dictation.
Virginia raised her head, anticipating Julia’s next move.
“We’ll continue this after lunch,” she said, standing and reaching for her purse. “I won’t be back until after one. Cover for me if need be.”
“Of course.” Virginia was on her feet, too, and Julia felt her scrutiny.
“Is something wrong?” she asked the older woman.
“No,” Virginia said with a shy smile. “Something’s very right.”
“Oh?” Julia didn’t understand.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look happier.”
Ten
Freeway Park was one of Seattle’s many innovative ideas. A large grassy area built over a freeway. Green ivy spilled down the concrete banks, reaching toward the road far below.
At noon, many Seattle office workers converged on the park to enjoy their lunch in the opulent sunshine. Each summer the city offered a series of free concerts. Julia didn’t know if there was one scheduled for that afternoon, but nothing could have made her day any more perfect than meeting her husband.
She saw Alek from across the grass and started toward him. He’d obviously seen her at the same time because he grinned broadly and moved in her direction.
“Did you bring anything for lunch?” he asked, after they kissed briefly.
Eating was something Julia often failed to think about. “Oh, no, I forgot.”
“I thought as much. Luckily you have a husband who knows his wife. Come, let’s find a place to sit down.”
“What’d you buy?” she asked, pointing at the white sack in his hand.
“Fish and chips. Do you approve?”
“Sounds great.” She was hungry, she realized, which had become a rarity. Generally she ate because it was necessary, not for any real enjoyment. Anna was sure to change that. Alek’s sister cooked tempting breakfasts and left delicious three-and four-course dinners ready to be served when they got home. By the end of the year, Julia predicted she’d gain weight—from all the wonderful food…and because by then she’d likely be pregnant. The thought produced a deep sense of excitement.
Alek found a spot for them on a park bench. He set the white bag between them and lifted out an order of fish-and-chips packed in a cardboard container.
“Are you trying to fatten me up?” she teased.
His eyes twinkled. “You know me almost as well as I know you.”
“Indeed I do.” She laughed.
“But the question is,” Alek said, eyeing her speculatively, “do you like me?”
It was an effort to pull her gaze away from his magnetic eyes. “More each day,” she answered honestly.
An electric moment passed before Alek spoke. “You won’t be working late tonight, will you?”
“No. Will you?”
He shook his head. “I plan to be home at five-fifteen.”
“That early?” She usually didn’t leave the office until after six.
“I’ll be lucky to last that long,” he whispered.
There was no missing his meaning. Julia’s body went into overdrive. She’d never thought of herself as a highly sexual person, but in that instant she knew she had to do something to appease the overwhelming urge she had to make love with her husband.
“Alek…would you mind kissing me?”
He blinked, then bent his head, meaning only to brush her lips, she suspected, but that wouldn’t be enough to satisfy her. Not anymore. She touched his lips with her tongue, teasing and taunting him.
A deep moan came from low within his throat, which aroused her as nothing ever had before. The kiss deepened and deepened until they were completely lost in each other.
She wrenched her mouth from his, gasping. “Five-fifteen,” she said when she could manage to speak.
“I’ll be there.”
Jerry was waiting in her office when Julia returned from lunch. Without greeting her, he announced, “Roger’s made contact with someone from the lab.”
Julia was stunned into speechlessness. “How do you know?” she asked when she could. There was a cold, sinking feeling in her stomach.
“Rich Peck.”
“Who’s Rich Peck?”
Jerry spun around and glared at her. “The private eye I hired. Rich traced the phone numbers that came into Roger’s home for the past several days.”
“How did he do that?”
“Julia,” Jerry said, clearly exasperated with her, “that isn’t important right now. What is important is that someone from Conrad Industries contacted Roger. They used the phone from the lab.”
“But…who?”
“That’s the point. It could’ve been any number of people. The phone’s used by nearly everyone on staff. What I’m saying is that we’ve got a traitor on our hands.”
Julia found that hard to believe. Almost everyone who was employed at the lab had been with them three years earlier. Their dislike of Roger was well-known. After the fire it had taken months to rebuild, and Julia had tried to keep as many employees on the payroll as possible during that time, in order not to lose her trained and loyal help. There were at least twenty who’d been with Conrad Industries fifteen years or longer. The strain on the budget crippled the company financially. And nearly every employee had hung on, counting on the promise of reimbursement once Julia could get the company back on its feet.
Julia appreciated their sacrifice. And their trust. Her father had recently died, and to say she was inexperienced would’ve been an understatement. The company was on the verge of bankruptcy. It was one of the bleakest times in Julia’s life and in the company’s history.
Ruth’s faith in her to pull the company out of financial disaster had helped Julia survive that grim period.
The idea that someone working in the lab was selling her out now—it seemed impossible. She refused to believe it. Refused to accept it.
“What do you think we should do?” Jerry asked.
Julia walked over to the window and stared down at the street ten floors below. Cars and people looked miniature and seemed to be moving in slow motion. It was as if she was staring at another world that had no connection to her own.
“Nothing,” she said after a moment. “We do nothing.”
“But…”
“What can we do?” she demanded impatiently. “All we have is the knowledge that someone contacted Roger. Should we haul every employee in for questioning by Peck, hoping his expertise at grilling fifty-year-old men and women will flush out whoever wants to betray us?”
“We could have Alek scout around and—”
“No,” she said quickly, interrupting him. “Alek is as much a suspect as anyone else.”
“Don’t be ridiculous! Alek’s poured his whole life into this project. You don’t think he’d betray us.”
“No, I don’t,” she agreed readily enough. “But that doesn’t change the facts. Roger had every reason to hope Conrad Industries would prosper, too, and look what he did.”
“But Alek…”
“Alek is a suspect, like everyone else. I warn you, Jerry, don’t say a word to him. Not a single word.”
Her brother stared at her. “He’s your husband. You don’t even trust your own husband?”
“You’re right,” she admitted. “I don’t. You can thank Roger for that. I wouldn’t trust my own mother after the lesson Roger taught me. If you think I’m coldhearted, then fine. I’d rather have you think poorly of me than hand over the fate of this company to a man who could destroy us.”
Making love to his wife was probably the most fabulous sensation Alek had ever experienced. Perhaps it was because she’d withheld herself fr
om him for so long that he treasured the prize so highly. Julia was open, honest and genuine.
Alek had never lost control of himself with another woman, but he had with Julia. She was fast becoming as necessary to him as the air he breathed. He wanted her, and that need was growing at an alarming rate.
Every time they were intimate, she gave him a little more of herself. A little more of her trust. A little more of her heart and soul.
He glanced at his watch and frowned. It was well past the time they’d agreed to meet. Knowing Julia, she’d probably got caught up in her work and let the time slip away from her.
He waited another ten minutes before calling her office. Her assistant answered.
“This is Alek. Has Julia left the office yet?”
“No.” Virginia sounded surprised. “She’s still here. Would you like me to connect you?”
“Please.” He waited a moment before Julia came on the line.
“Hello,” she said absently. Alek could picture her sitting behind her desk with her reading glasses at the end of her nose.
“Do you know what time it is?”
“Five-forty. Why?”
“We had an appointment, remember?” He lowered his voice. “I’ve got a deck of cards and—”
“A deck of cards?”
He wasn’t sure what he heard in her voice, but it wasn’t amusement. It troubled him, but he didn’t have time to analyze it just then. “Yes, I recently heard about this American card game that I want to play with you.”
“A card game?”
“Strip poker. Sounds like fun. I’ve got everything ready. How much longer are you going to be?”
“Oh, Alek, listen, I’m really sorry, but I could be at the office another hour or more. Everything from last week is piled up on my desk. I really shouldn’t leave.”
“I understand.” He didn’t like it, but he understood. “My game can wait, and it looks like I’ll have to, as well.” He was hoping for a little sympathy, or at least a sigh of regret, but he received neither.
Julia was keeping something from him. He heard it in her voice, felt it as clearly as if it were a tangible thing.
Julia didn’t arrive home until nearly nine. It would be too much to ask that Alek not be there waiting for her. She didn’t know how she was going to look him in the eye.
A headache had been building from the moment Jerry had left her office. Everything in her told her Alek would be the last person who’d sell them out. It would make it much easier to believe in him if she hadn’t so staunchly defended Roger to her father. She’d been wrong once and it had nearly cost her sanity.
Alek greeted her at the door. Without a word he drew her into his arms and hugged her. She was swallowed in his embrace, surrounded by his love, and she soaked it up, needing it so badly.
“Tell me what’s troubling you,” he said.
She had no choice but to sidestep the question. “What makes you think anything’s wrong?”
“I’m your husband. I know you,” he said, echoing his comment from that afternoon. But then he’d been teasing; now his statement sounded like the simple truth.
“I’ve got a terrible headache.”
He studied her as if he wasn’t sure he should believe her, although it was true enough. Her temples throbbed and she was exhausted. “Did you have dinner?” she asked, wanting to turn the subject away from herself.
“No, I waited for you. Are you ready?”
Her appetite was nil. “I’m not very hungry. If you don’t mind, I’d like a bath.” She left him without giving him a chance to respond.
The hot water was soothing and a full thirty minutes passed before she could bring herself to leave the tub. She dressed for bed, craving the oblivion of sleep. But Alek was waiting for her when she finished. He seemed to anticipate her every need, which increased her guilt.
He followed her into the bedroom. “Would you like me to rub your temples?” he asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.
“You’d do that?”
He seemed surprised by her question. “Of course. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you.”
“Oh, Alek,” she moaned.
“Come,” he said, sitting on their bed, his back against the headboard, his legs stretched out. “Rest your head on me and I’ll massage your forehead. Would you like me to sing to you again?” He reached for the light at the side of the bed and turned it off.
“Please.” The meaning of the words he was singing was beyond her, but she loved the deep, melodic sound of his voice. As he sang, his nimble fingers gently soothed the throbbing pain in her head. She was sleepy when he finished. Lifting her head from his lap, he began to leave her. It was then that Julia realized how much she wanted him to stay.
“Don’t go,” she pleaded softly. “Come to bed with me.”
“For a few minutes,” he agreed with obvious reluctance. He undressed in the dark and slipped beneath the sheets, then gathered her in his arms.
Alek held her for a long time and she savored these moments of closeness as the warmth of his love stole over her. Alek alleviated the feelings of abandonment and loss she’d felt since Roger’s betrayal, since her father’s death and now her grandmother’s. He loved her as no man ever had.
Julia was restless. She didn’t understand why she couldn’t sit still. Then again, she could. It was only natural to be nervous, considering the phone call she’d received earlier that morning. It had been a week since Jerry had hired Rich Peck and now Rich had phoned wanting to give them his first weekly report. Since Jerry was out for the afternoon, Julia had agreed to meet with the investigator herself.
Virginia announced his arrival and Peck entered her office. He was tall and wiry, and much younger than she’d expected. Perhaps thirty, if that.
“Hello,” he said, stepping forward and shaking her hand.
“Please sit down,” Julia invited.
He took the chair on the other side of her desk. “This Stanhope fellow is an interesting character,” he began. “I’ve been tailing him for nearly a week. I managed to get photos of just about everyone he’s met. My guess is that whoever’s leaking information to him is a woman. Once you get a look at the photographs you’ll understand why. He’s quite the ladies’ man.”
This wasn’t news to Julia.
Rich brought out a folder thick with photographs, reached for a small pad and flipped through the first couple of pages.
“He had several business lunches, as best as I can tell. Although we’ve got a twenty-four-hour tail on him, there are certain periods of time we can’t account for.”
“I see. Do you think he knows he’s being followed?”
Rich snickered. “The guy hasn’t got a clue. He’s way too arrogant. He lives on the edge, too. I talked to his landlady and learned he’s two months behind on his rent. It’s happened before. His credit rating’s so full of holes he couldn’t get a loan if his life depended on it.”
“What about his position with Ideal Paints? Is that secure?”
“Who knows? From what I’ve been able to find out, he doesn’t have many friends. He seems to get along all right on the job. As for what he does with his money, that isn’t hard to figure out. The guy goes out with a different woman every night. He seems to get his kicks showing off what a stud he is.”
This, too, didn’t come as any surprise to Julia. Roger liked to refer to himself as a “party animal.”
“Go ahead and look through those photos and see if there’s anyone you recognize. Take your time. I’ve got them stacked according to the day of the week. Thursday of this week is on top. He left his apartment about ten. He seemed to be in a hurry and got to his office around ten-fifteen. He didn’t leave again until four, and then came out a side entrance. My tail noted that some girl came out the front of the building directly afterward and seemed to be looking for someone. Our guess is that he was escaping her.
“He waited around ten or fifteen minutes and then left. He went home, ch
anged his clothes and was out again by six. He picked up some chick and they went to dinner. He spent the night with her.”
That, too, was typical.
“Wednesday…” Rich continued as Julia flipped through the photographs. “Again he was late to the office. He arrived about ten and left again at eleven-thirty. He drove to Henshaw’s, that fancy restaurant on Lake Union.”
Julia nodded; she knew it well. An eternity earlier it had been one of their favorite places. The food was delicious and the ambience luxurious but not overpowering.
“Whoever he was supposed to meet was waiting for him outside. I assume this was a business lunch. The guy he was meeting was angry about something. The two of them exchanged words outside the restaurant. We got several excellent photos. It looked for a moment like they were going to have a fistfight. Frankly, Stanhope was smart to avoid this one. The guy would’ve pulverized him in seconds.”
Julia flipped to the next series of pictures. Her gaze fell on Alek’s angry face and she gasped.
Rich’s attention reverted from the tablet to her. “You recognize him?”
Julia felt as if she was going to vomit.
“Ms. Conrad?”
She nodded.
“An employee?”
Once again she nodded. “Yes,” she managed. “An employee. You can leave the rest of the photographs here and I’ll go through them later. You’ve done an excellent job, Mr. Peck.” She stood and ushered him to the door. “Jerry will be in touch with you sometime later this afternoon. I believe you’ve solved our mystery.”
“Always glad to be of service.”
“Thank you again.”
Julia collapsed against the door the instant it was closed. Her stomach twisted into a knot of pain. This couldn’t be happening. This couldn’t be real. She felt nauseous and made a dash to her wastepaper basket, where she threw up her lunch. She was kneeling on the floor, her trembling hands holding her hair away from her face, when Virginia walked into the office.
“Oh, dear! Are you all right?”
Julia nodded.
“Let me help you,” Virginia said. With her hand under Julia’s elbow, she raised her to her feet. “You need to lie down.”