The Deception (25 page)

C
arrie awoke to the sound of her ringing phone. It sounded somewhere far away. Fully awake, she remembered it was in her room, and she was in Alex's suite. She started to get up, but as she stirred she felt an arm reaching over, pulling her back into the bed.

"No," whispered Alex as he wrapped his arm around her. "Don't answer it. Let it go to voicemail."

She snuggled close to him. "So how'd you sleep?"

"Like a rock. I was exhausted. You wore me out." He paused for a moment before asking the inevitable question. "So, how are you feeling this morning, Carrie-Anne? Are you all right with this?"

"Yes, I think I am. How 'bout you?"

"I'm good. No, I'm better than good. I'm fantastic. But can I tell you something?"

"Of course."

"Carrie-Anne, what has happened between us didn't just happen on the spur of the moment. It's been a long time coming. Probably longer than you know."

"What do you mean?"

"This goes way back," he said. "My feelings for you were beginning to change about the time we getting ready to graduate from high school. Did you know that?"

"No."

"Then I won that scholarship to Cornell. Remember how I was going to turn it down?"

"And I told you you'd be nuts if you did. It was a golden opportunity for you, Alex. I wasn't about to let you throw it away."

"I know, and in hindsight you were absolutely right. I wouldn't be where I am today if I'd turned it down, so I decided the next four years would be a test. I'd keep in touch, and if you were still available by the time we finished college, I'd take it as a sign and we'd go from there."

"Alex, I had no idea." Carrie stroked the back of his hand. "I wish you'd said something to me. You were my best friend too, although it was starting to become a little more than that for me as well, but I blew it off as a teenage crush. Then you faded away, right after I met what's his name. But as the years went by, I always regretted that we'd lost touch with one another."

"I didn't exactly fade away. At the time, we were thousands of miles apart. You'd met some other guy and I'd met someone else too. I figured we weren't meant to be after all, so I cut you loose. Did I regret it? You'd better believe I did. Then, after Casey, I let myself drift. I debated with myself, many times, about trying to find you, but by then, so many years had passed that I figured you had to be married."

"I had no idea, Alex, but would you believe me if I told you I almost looked you up this past Fourth of July?"

"You're kidding."

"No, I'm not. For some strange reason you'd really been on my mind. Then, when I was at Steve and Allie's party, I overheard someone mention the name Alex. Of course I had no idea that they were talking about you, but after hearing the name, you were all I thought about for the rest of the evening. I was going to look you up on Google when I got home, but then I changed my mind. I thought it over again and I too assumed that you were probably married."

"Dang," he said. "You know, I'd planned on going to that party, but then my brother called me at the last minute, so I went to San Diego instead."

"It's okay, Alex. It was only a week later that my entire world turned upside down. Thank goodness you were there." She heard Alex let out a sigh. "Uh-oh. This is about my case, isn't it? Are we going to get into trouble over this?"

"Not exactly, but, since you've brought it up, I need to let you know that I'll have to recuse myself."

"Oh no. Alex, you're not going to be brought up on some sort of ethics charges, are you? Because if you are, then I'm a willing accomplice, and I'll swear to that in court if I have to."

"No, Carrie-Anne." He laugh
ed
as he began stroking her hair. "I'm not going to be disbarred or anything like that. In fact, I'm hoping that we can wrap up your case very soon. I've proven, conclusively, that your signature was forged and that you couldn't have possibly been in the room when the release was signed and the files were uploaded. I sent a detailed letter, along with a copy of Jonathan's report, to Louise's attorney late Friday afternoon. It's over. She doesn't have a case, at least not one against you. It's only a matter of time before she figures it out. I don't want you worrying about this anymore, Carrie-Anne. It's time for you to move forward."

She looked around for her negligee. She found it lying on the floor next to the bed. She grabbed it and put it on.

"Where are you going?"

"To freshen up and make some coffee. Don't worry, I'll be back."

She gave him a quick kiss before stepping away. Alex soon smelled the delicious aroma of fresh coffee brewing. He stepped away to freshen up as well. He'd just returned to bed when Carrie came back into the room.

"I've plugged your phone into my charger and the coffee's ready. Would you like a cup?"

"In a minute. Can you come over here? I need to ask you something."

"Sure, what is it?"

"This." He reached up, pulled her back down on the bed and began to kiss her passionately. The coffee was momentarily forgotten and once again Carrie's nightgown ended up on the floor.

* * *

"Are you sure we can't stay over for an extra day?" Carrie was stroking Alex's chest as they basked in the afterglow.

"That would be nice, wouldn't it? Unfortunately, duty calls. I have to be back in the office bright and early tomorrow morning."

"Yeah, me too I'm afraid. So when's check-out time?"

"Noon."

She looked at the clock on the nightstand. It was almost ten-thirty. She let out a sigh as she put her nightgown back on and brought the coffee back to their bed. As they were enjoying it, she heard her phone began ringing once again.

"Well, someone's certainly persistent," he said.

"Yeah, and I guess I'd better go find out who it is. It's probably the only way to get rid of 'em."

She headed back into her room and picked up her phone. Both calls had come from Billie Hughes' cell phone. She hit the call button and waited for Billie to answer.

"Hey, Billie, Carrie Daniels. I'm returning your call."

As she was speaking, Alex entered the room. She motioned for him to take a seat on one of the beds. As soon as he did, she sat down next to him and put her phone on speaker.

"I wanted to let you know we've made an arrest in your case," said Billie.

"Really. So did you finally get the goods on Maggie Andrews?"

"No, I'm afraid not. The person we arrested was Scott."

"Scott?" Carrie's voice sounded incredulous. "Why him? All the information we got from George McCormick points to Maggie, and last weekend Allison caught her following us around the mall."

"It wasn't my call, Carrie. However we decided to bring Scott in because it was his computer, he has no alibi, the two of you had a prior relationship, and he has a really bad habit of lying."

"Tell me about it."

"Anyway, he decided to waive extradition. He's in custody, here in Phoenix, and they'll arraign him sometime tomorrow. I just wanted to let you know."

"But what about Maggie? I'm no fan of Scott, but I know he's not the one who did this to me. It had to have been Maggie."

"That's what Ken O'Dell thinks too. He's still investigating her, so you may want to speak with him."

Carrie thanked her for calling and said goodbye.

"They've got the wrong person, Alex. I'd bet my life on it."

"I know, and all the evidence against him is still circumstantial. However, it's out of our hands."

"Will I have to testify?"

"I'd say it's a good possibility," he replied, "but I don't want you to be concerned about it right now. It could be six months to a year or more before he goes to trial, and between now and then he may decide to plea bargain his way out, assuming his case doesn't get tossed out first."

"But what if it doesn't? I don't want to be forced to take the stand and rehash a part of my life that I desperately want to forget."

He took her in his arms and kissed her on the forehead. "If you get subpoenaed, you'll have to testify. If that happens you just get on the stand and tell them the truth. I know it may seem scary, but I promise I'll be right there with you. You didn't do anything wrong, Carrie-Anne. You're not the one who's on trial. It's going to be all right."

The time had come for them to start packing. Both were sorry to leave, and both were unusually quiet on the drive back. It was midafternoon when the Camaro pulled into Alex's garage.

"I wonder if it's safe for me to return to my apartment," said Carrie, stepping inside the house.

"Nope," Alex replied definitively as he carried their bags inside and set them down in the living room. "That's all I thought about on the way back. As long as Maggie's walking around free she's still a threat to you. No doubt Scott will post bail, and as long as he's on bail, Maggie has the perfect scapegoat."

"Won't he go back to Kansas City?"

"Possibly, although I doubt his bail-bondsman will allow him to travel that far. I'd like to give Ken O'Dell a call. Have you got his number handy?"

Carrie nodded as Alex pulled out his phone and took a seat on the corner group. She gave him the number and he put the phone on speaker. Once they were connected Alex introduced himself.

"I know why you're calling, and I have a hunch we're on the same page," said O'Dell. "The good news is Scott just gave us the information we need to bring Maggie in questioning."

"What's that?"

"It seems that Maggie had a little accident the day the photos were uploaded. According to Scott, she accidentally knocked one of them off the wall and broke its frame. He says that when he got home that night both photos were out being reframed. He says they were back on the wall the following day. The day after that he took them with him to Kansas City."

"Which would have given her plenty of opportunity to scan them into his computer," observed Alex. "Have your forensics guys been able to determine when they were scanned?"

"Unfortunately, no. Whoever scanned them apparently deleted the files once they were done. Scott had a Mac, and it was configured to automatically delete files securely. Several months passed before we seized his computer. By then, whatever was left of the files had been completely written over, so we were unable to recover them."

"I see," said Alex. "So, have you brought her in yet?"

"No, not yet. It's Sunday, and I want to do this while the kids are at school. They've been through enough of an ordeal, and I don't want to put anymore stress on them than I have to." 

"I understand."

"I'll pick her up first thing tomorrow morning, as soon as the kids leave, but unless she slips up and incriminates herself we won't be able to hold her. I have a hunch she'll spend her time pointing the finger at Scott. That's all she's done so far."

"I see." There was a tone of disappointment in Alex's voice.

"Don't worry, the investigation is still ongoing. We still think that she and Scott may have been working together."

"Well, at least that sounds encouraging," said Carrie after they wrapped up their call. "I'll feel a lot safer once they have the right person. Maybe then I can finally move on with my life."

She picked up her bag, not sure for the moment where she should take it.

"That way." Alex pointed toward the master suite. As she headed down the hallway, he picked up his bag and followed her.

"Oh good, you have a king-sized bed. So, which side do I take?"

"Whichever one you want, my dear."

"Okay Carrie, think... Aha! There it is."

"What?"

"The remote control." She pointed it out on the nightstand. "I know how you are about your remote control."

"I am not."

"You are too."

"Am not."

"Okay, then in that the case you won't mind if I do this." She picked up the remote and began walking out of the room with it.

"Oh no you don't."

"Gotcha!"

Carrie laughed as she started to play a game of keep away with Alex. Every time he'd reach for the remote she'd toss it into her other hand. He played along until she finally slipped in down her front and tucked it into her bra.

"There you go. Now you can't get it. Ha, ha."

"Yeah, like it'd be safe from me down there. I'll show you who's the keeper of the remote around here." He reached down her front. His hand brushed against her breasts as he scooped it out. "Hey, that felt nice. Can I do that again?"

"Nope." She plopped down on the bed, rolling over on her back. "Move over, Montoya, I'm staking this claim for me. You and your remote can go hang out on the other side."

"What remote?" He dropped it on the nightstand and plopped down bed next to her. He started patting down her chest and squeezing her breasts. "So, what else have you got hidden down there? I may have to strip search you."