Part 55 (1/2)
”Stranger and stranger. Good thing I trust you and those instincts of yours. Call you back shortly.” He hung up.
”He's going to make the calls,” Gage told the others.
”What do we do now?” Meredith asked.
”Wait and see where his fis.h.i.+ng expedition leads. He may find out that she really is with a sick relative. If she is, we can fly to wherever she is and get a sample of her DNA.”
”And if she refuses?”
”We find a way.”
She nodded.
”Dom?”
Dom didn't look happy. But after a moment he nodded. ”The b.a.s.t.a.r.ds,” he muttered.
Meredith reached out and took his hand. ”We'll find her,” she said.
The call came an hour later.
”What in the blazes is going on?” DeWitt said. ”I've never heard so much tap dancing in my life.”
”Did you get a location?”
”h.e.l.l, no. d.a.m.ndest thing I've ever heard. Most politicians would jump through hoops for this kind of interview. Ames is 'out of town.' I asked to talk to his wife. She wasn't 'available.' I asked where she was. I was told, ”Taking care of a relative.' I asked where. 'She can't take questions now.' What city is she in? 'Sorry, she wants privacy.'
”All this from an aide, as if he were programmed. I insisted on talking to the candidate himself. He couldn't be reached. Important session in Baton Rouge. I checked with our capitol guy. Nothing's going on. As far as he knew, Ames was politicking in New Orleans. Started checking back in our clips. No one has seen hide nor hair of Mrs. Ames in nearly seven weeks.”
”You didn't leave it there, did you?”
”h.e.l.l, no. Called back and said there were rumors that Mrs. Ames has left our candidate, and could his spokesman verify or deny. He denied of course. I said the only way I won't begin speculating is if I hear from the lady herself. Otherwise, I'll really start probing.”
”What did he say?”
”He sounded nervous as h.e.l.l. Said he would get back to me, but I was all wrong. Mrs. Ames was committed to her husband and the campaign, but she had a family obligation. h.e.l.l, I checked on her family. There's d.a.m.n little of it. Her mother is dead. She has two aunts, and neither of them has heard from Holly Ames in months. Her father is Supreme Court Justice Matthews. Couldn't reach him, either.
”Gotta tell you, Gage, I'm beginning to sniff a story here. Who is the person who wants to talk to her? I fulfilled my part of the bargain. It's time for you to fill in some blanks here.”
Gage looked at Meredith and raised an eyebrow. They had talked about this. Meredith had told him to use his own judgment.
”Meredith Rawson.”
”My G.o.d. The Meredith Rawson who lost her father in the hit and run? Who has been attacked, witnessed a murder and been shot at by a rogue cop?”
”An accurate a.s.sessment. Yes.”
”Do the cops have any clues in the hit-and-run?”
”No. They are dismissing it as accidental rather than an intentional murder.”
”You aren't?”
”No.”
DeWitt cursed on the other end of the line. ”Will you stop saying yes and no? This whole thing is beginning to smell like rotten fish.”
”Try a little harder to find her,” Gage said. ”Without involving Ms. Rawson. Then we'll talk.”
”I'll try the justice again.”
”You might try to find out a little more about Holly Ames. Hobbies, community involvement--you know, things like that.”
A silence. ”You think something bad has happened to her?”
”I don't think anything. I just want to locate her without being involved.” Gage paused, then added, ”But as you said--it's beginning to smell. Someone else involved in the situation is also dead. Merely because of questions asked. Be careful.”
An even longer silence. ”You think Ames is involved? And maybe Judge Matthews? I need to talk to you.”
”I'm not at home.”
”And you're not going to tell me where you are?”
”No.”
”I can call the department.”
”You would never get anything from me again.”
”Dammit, Gage.”
”Find her,” Gage said, and hung up.
Meredith made them all toasted cheese sandwiches. She included two for Beast since they hadn't brought his dog food.
He gulped his as the three humans sat at the table and ate. She liked Dom. It had taken a few hours. There had been awkwardness, even resentment. All this began with an affair that took place thirty-three years ago. If it hadn't...
But then there never would have been a sister. Her mother would have never known love, even as cruel as this one had been.
She was beginning to learn the value of love. The glory of it. The joy. She knew it every time she looked at Gage. She wondered whether he felt the same delicious s.h.i.+vers up and down his spine when he looked at her as she did when her glance wandered his way.
What would happen when the danger was over? When the partners.h.i.+p ended? When the adrenaline ebbed?
She didn't want to think about that. She wanted to know more about the man who had incited dangerous feelings in her mother and who had fathered her half sister.
”How did you meet Mother?” she asked.
”She and her friends came to my father's tavern. They'd heard we had a great Cajun band, and basically they were slumming. Except for your mother. She loved the music. She didn't laugh at the grandfather dancing with his six-year-old granddaughter.” He caught the look on her face. ”Yes, children came to eat and dance. You have to understand. Cajuns are big on family. It's the most meaningful thing to them.
”Your mother fell in love with my family, with the music. The others got bored and decided to go. I had danced with her. I didn't want to let her go. I offered to take her and her friend, Lulu, home.