Devil's Deception (28 page)

Angela put her head in her hands. “I can’t be sure of anything. I don’t know what to think. I have never been this confused. It’s getting to the point where I can’t decide what to wear when I get up in the morning.”

“Angela?”

“What?” Angela looked up, blinking.

“You’re not pregnant, are you?”

Angela shook her head. “Not that we ever did anything to prevent it. Very irresponsible, I know, but with Brett everything was always so . . . sort of impulsive, spontaneous . . .” She trailed off and then started to cry.

Holly got up. “I’ll get some tissues.”

Angela wiped her eyes. “I’m sorry about this. All I seem to do is cry. Do you think I’m having a nervous breakdown? How can you tell?”

“I think that if you have the presence of mind to worry about it, you’re not.” Holly handed Angela a box of Kleenex.

“Thanks.” Angela wiped her eyes and blew her nose. “I must look a fright.”

“You’ve looked better.”

Angela had to laugh. “I wish you weren’t quite so frank, Holly. This would be a good time to start sugar coating things for me, I could use a little finesse.”

“Sorry.”

Angela hiccuped and took another drink of tea. “That’s all right. Devlin didn’t have much use for glossing over the unpleasant either, so between the two of you I’m very used to it by now.”

The door opened and Chris blew in on a blast of cold air.

“Hi, ladies,” he greeted them. “Dinner is in the bag.”

Holly stood. “Let’s get to it, I’m starving.”

Angela got up and followed the two of them into the kitchen.

* * * *
 

Angela left Holly’s at ten in the evening and took a cab back to the town house. Devlin had made her feel uncomfortable about using the limousine, and she couldn’t ride in it now without feeling a subtle sense of guilt. Angela shifted impatiently on the seat and stared out at the late autumn night. Damn the man. He had invaded every corner of her life.

She dismissed the cab at the curb and climbed the steps wearily. She was rooting in her purse for her keys when she was grabbed violently from the rear, a hand clamped over her mouth. She struggled, unable to scream, as her arms were wrenched behind her back and bound together with a length of rope. She gasped as a gag replaced the hand in her mouth.

Two men held her, one on either side of her, and escorted her back down the steps so swiftly that her feet barely touched the stone. The street was deserted, and even if there had been anyone in view, Angela was incapable of making a sound, a gesture, to draw attention to herself. Whoever had planned this abduction had done a very thorough job.

A car sped to a stop in front of her and she was thrown unceremoniously into the backseat. She sat up, tossing her head to get her hair out of her face, and looked into the terrified eyes of Philip Cronin.

Her abductors jumped into the front seat, and the driver took off on screeching tires as the car vanished into the night.

* * * *
 

“Are you sure there’s nobody here?” Matt Hendley said in a stage whisper as Devlin fitted the key into the lock.

“I told you, the guard will pass this way again on his rounds in fifteen minutes. Will you hold that flashlight closer? I can’t see what I’m doing,” Devlin replied.

Hendley complied. “I feel like I’m breaking into the principal’s office to steal the test questions before final exams,” he said.

“Yeah, well, if we get caught, they’ll do more than suspend us,” Devlin stated, pushing open the door to the office.

The two men crept inside, trying so hard to be quiet that they made more noise than usual.

“Shut up,” Devlin hissed.

“I didn’t say anything.”

“Then what was that noise?”

They both stopped to listen and heard nothing.

“Where did you put it?” Devlin asked.

“It’s in the top drawer. I left it at the back where we couldn’t miss it.”

Devlin pulled open the top drawer of the filing cabinet.

“It isn’t here!” he said, alarmed.

Hendley pushed past him. “What do you mean it isn’t there?” He reached over Devlin’s arm and located the file, putting it in Devlin’s hand. “God, man, you are a wreck. If it were a snake it would have bitten you.”

“I have a lot riding on this,” Devlin said grimly, riffling through the pages. “Did you read it?”

“I sure did. Your girl won’t have to be F. Lee Bailey to figure out that Frank is guilty as sin.”

“Good. Now we have to get to the copy machine.”

They shut the door of the office, leaving it unlocked, and made their way down to the alcove near the secretarial pool where the duplicating equipment stood.

“Make it snappy,” Hendley warned. “That’s a thick file and we have only ten minutes left.”

Devlin bent over the machine, and then groaned.

“What is it?” Hendley hissed.

“This thing takes three minutes to warm up.” He plugged it in and pushed the “on” button. The machine hummed into life.

“It should be okay, it works really fast once it’s operating at peak capacity. It’s supposed to be the best one made,” Matt said.

“Skip the lecture and keep your eyes on the hall,” Devlin responded.

They both waited impatiently for the “PRINT” light to go on, and the second it did Devlin began to feed the pages in Patria’s file into the machine one by one. The copies slid out into a well at the side of the machine.

“Six minutes,” Hendley announced. “Maybe the guard will be late.”

“I wouldn’t count on it.”

“Can’t you do that any faster?”

“Do you want to try it?” Devlin grabbed a pile of the duplicated material and shoved it into his jacket. “I don’t know what the hell I’m copying, I’m just duplicating everything.”

“It’s all pretty damning. I was really tempted to risk copying it this afternoon, but you know how those secretaries are. They keep an eagle eye on every move you make. I couldn’t risk it.”

“You’re doing enough to help me. I appreciate it.”

“I’ll bear that in mind while I’m selling pencils on the street corner,” Hendley replied.

The machine mangled a copy and Devlin swore under his breath.

“I feel like just taking the damn file and sneaking it back in tomorrow morning,” he said.

“How can you be sure you’d get it back before somebody would miss it? You know what a hot item it is right now and full time security begins again at six a.m. How could you explain your presence back here at that hour?”

“All right, all right,” Devlin muttered.

“Knock it off, I see a light,” Hendley whispered.

Devlin hit the “OFF” button and crouched on the floor. Hendley squatted next to him. Devlin swore he could hear their hearts pounding in unison in the still room.

The beam of a powerful flashlight swept across the frosted windows of the office and a hand tried the outer door, which they’d been careful to relock. Devlin held his breath as sweat broke out on his brow and his mouth became as dry as the Gobi Desert.

After an eternity the guard moved on down the hall. Hendley slumped against Devlin, clutching his arm.

“That one took three years off my life,” Hendley said.

Devlin jumped up and punched the machine back into life.

“This woman better be worth it,” Hendley added.

“She is,” Devlin said, and grabbed another handful of pages from the file.

* * * *
 

Later that night Devlin sat in a coffee shop on Broadway, reading the file he’d just copied. He chain smoked and drank four cups of black coffee before he finished it, and then he sat back, relaxed for the first time in several months. He crushed the butt of his last cigarette in the glass ashtray on the counter before him.

Angela would have to believe him once she read this. She was a good law student and would soon be a fine lawyer. She knew how to interpret evidence and draw the logical conclusion. This would convince her in a way he never could, by appealing to her intellect.

Devlin stood and threw a couple of bills on the counter, signaling to the waitress to keep the change.

He went out into the street and caught a cab, giving the address of Angela’s house.

* * * *
 

Josie answered the door when Devlin rang the bell, and he knew something was wrong the minute he saw her face.

“Angela?” he said, his eyes darting beyond Josie into the house.

“Oh, Brett, thank God you’re here. I’ve been trying to reach you but I didn’t know how to get in touch.” She clutched his arm, frantic.

“What is it?”

“Angela didn’t come home last night. She’s disappeared.”

Chapter 10

Devlin followed the woman inside, turning her to face him. He put his hands on her shoulders, looking into her eyes.

“Calm down, Josie. Think a minute. Tell me exactly what happened.”

Josie nodded, taking a breath. “Well, when she didn’t come home the first thing I thought was that she just went away someplace to think. She’d talked about it, when all this trouble about Frank was so big in the news, but I thought she had decided against it. And even if she had gone away, I know that she would call me, she always does. She’s a good girl. She would never worry me this way.”

Devlin nodded. “I know she wouldn’t. Have you called Holly, and that other girl, what’s her name, Carol?”

“Yes, yes, and even a friend she had in college who moved to Chicago. No one has heard from her.”

“And Cronin?”

“Well, I tried his office but he wasn’t there. That place is chaos right now, you know.”

“There was no note, no message anywhere?”

“No.”

“Are any of her clothes missing?”

“No, and her luggage is still up there in her closet.” Josie’s eyes beseeched him, her mouth working. “This isn’t like her, Brett. I’m worried.”

Devlin put his arm around Josie’s shoulders, walking her through the hall. She watched the changing expression in his eyes as his mouth became a hard line.

“They’ve got her,” he finally said softly.

Josie’s heart leaped into her throat. “Who? Who’s got her?”

“Frank’s men. They think she knows where the missing drugs are.”

“Missing drugs! What are you talking about, she doesn’t know anything.”

“But they think she does. So did I when I first came here. She’s Frank’s niece, a law student, smart, capable. Why wouldn’t she be in on it? They’ve been tearing up the town looking for that dope and they think Angela knows where it is.”

“You mean they think Frank double crossed them, hid it away for himself, and that Angela can tell them where he put it?”

“Exactly.”

“Oh, my God. Brett, I’m scared.”

“So am I,” he said grimly. He took a pad from his breast pocket and scribbled a number on it. “Here’s a number where you can reach me twenty-four hours a day. Always. If anybody contacts you, or if Angela gets in touch with you, call me immediately.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to find her.” He turned for the door.

Josie grabbed his arm to stop him. “By yourself?”
 

“If necessary.”

“You can’t go alone! Those people are gangsters.”

“I’ll try to get some help from the Bureau first. She wouldn’t be in this fix if it weren’t for my interference, and theirs.”

“Don’t blame yourself,” Josie said as he tried to brush her off and leave. “You’ll do something foolish.”

“Let me go, Josie. I’m wasting time here.”

“Promise me you’ll be careful. And call me when you find out something.”

“I can’t promise either of those things, but I’ll do my best for Angela.” He bent swiftly and pressed his lips to the worried woman’s forehead, handing her his copy of Patria’s file. “Save this for her.”

“What is it?”

“The proof of Frank’s guilt. I wanted to show it to her, but I guess she’s in no doubt about that now.” He shook his head at his own stupidity. “It never occurred to me until tonight that they might take her, and it should have.”

“You are not responsible for everything and everybody,” Josie said gently.

“I’m responsible for Angela,” he said simply, and opened the door.

“Be careful,” Josie repeated.

“Keep your cool, Josie,” Devlin flung over his shoulder, and then ran down the steps.

Josie stood at the open door and watched him continue down the street, not stopping for a cab until one passed him and he flagged it down.

Josie clutched the manila folder to her bosom, her face a mask of fear, and then slowly closed the door.

* * * *
 

Angela sat up on the cot, pushing her hair out of her face. She looked around the bare room and realized that this was reality, and not a nightmare. She had hoped for the latter until she knew she was awake.