Dangerous Secrets (13 page)

“Hello,” a female voice said on the second ring. The sound of her voice was so familiar, so Elizabeth, that Julie’s stomach knotted.
 

Julie discreetly cleared her suddenly parched throat. “Hello, this is Julie Harrison.”

“Oh, thank God,” the woman said. “I’m not sure this line is safe. Meet me in an hour at the dinosaur display in the Metropolitan Museum.”

Julie’s eyes went to Luke’s. “But-“
 

The line went dead.

Luke cursed under his breath. “This could be a setup. You realize that, right?”
 

She nodded in agreement and pushed to her feet before wrapping her arms around his neck. “Which is why I’m glad I have a big, bad ass, ex-Navy SEAL bodyguard. And in order to save time, I think we should share the shower at my place so I can change.”

***

They were ten minutes late. Julie eyed her watch with concern as she and Luke stepped through the doors of the museum, cold air chasing them through the entry. She shivered and tugged her leather jacket closer, thankful she’d stopped by home to change into black wool pants and a black sweater. That bridesmaid’s dress would have made the cold day even colder.

Luke stood beside her, dressed in jeans, a sweater, and a leather jacket. They scanned the magnificent room with sky high ceilings, and though he might appear relaxed, she could feel the tension rippling off of him. He was not happy about this meeting.
 

A guard walked up to Julie and handed her an envelope. She tore it open immediately and showed it to Luke.“She says to meet her at the dinosaurs. I guess that means we need tickets.”

“Tickets it is,” he said, drawing her hand in his. “I’m keeping you close. It’s safer that way.”

“That’s not how it worked out in the shower, thus why we’re late.”

“I behave in public,” he assured her. “Mostly.”

She laughed, which was remarkable considering her nerves were prickling with so much force that she had to fight the urge to rub her hands up and down her arms. She was used to the adrenaline of negotiations, but this was different. This was darker, and she wondered how Lauren had dealt with the viciousness of the crimes she often took to trial.

Once they had their tickets and reached the fifth floor, they walked to the middle of the dinosaur display. Looking around, Julie sighed. “The whole floor is part of the display. Do you suppose she plans to find us?”

He shrugged. “I would assume that’s the idea. Let’s step to a quiet corner where she won’t feel intimidated.”

“The bench over there.” Julie pointed to a corner with an empty sitting area. “You don’t think she’ll be afraid to approach me with you here do you?”
 

“It didn’t bother her the first time,” he reminded her, as they headed to the spot she’d indicated and took a seat.
 

Luke had hardly said the words, when a woman wearing dark glasses and a scarf over her hair approached.
 

“Thank you for coming.” She glanced between them, removing her sunglasses. “Both of you. I’m Diana Macom, which is Elizabeth’s maiden name, but I’m sure you know that by now.”

 
The woman’s eyes, so like Elizabeth’s, reached into Julie’s soul and twisted.

“The coffee shop is busier than I’d like,” she said. “Maybe we should stay here.”

Luke stood up to let her sit and then squatted beside them and Julie knew it was because he was watching her and not just listening to her. Diana removed her glasses. “I’m sure you’ve figured out I’m Elizabeth’s sister, by now.”

“That’s hard to miss,” Julie commented. “You’re so alike.” Julie decided an introduction was in order. “This is–“

“Luke Walker, I know,” she said. “I checked into private investigators. The Walker brothers have a reputation.”
 

 
Luke’s face was unreadable. “Then you know we do mostly airport and corporate security work.”

“I know you’re all capable of doing whatever you want to do and well,” she said, and pulled a small journal from her purse. “She wrote about you.”

The hair on Julie’s nape lifted. “That’s…Elizabeth’s?”

“Yes.” Her voice hitched and she swallowed hard. “She wrote about a lot of things she didn’t dare say out loud.” Her spine stiffened. “My sister did not kill herself.”
   

“The police say she did,” Luke countered, though his tone was gentle.
 

“They’re wrong,” Diana bit out with no gentleness in return. “Judge Moore is very influential. Of course, Elizabeth’s death wasn’t deemed suspicious. Who would cross the man? I need help from someone who isn’t influenced by him or afraid of him.”
   

“You think he killed her?” Julie asked in a low voice.

Diana’s lips tightened. “Read that journal and then you tell me. If not him, then someone connected to him. Someone close. The question is, how close?” She paused. “There’s so much damning information in that journal and people are named.”

“Did she tell you about any of this?” Luke asked. “Or did you just read about it?”

“She didn’t tell me,” she said. “In fact, she said the farther I stayed from her husband the happier she’d be.” She inhaled and let it out, seeming to fight tears. “I’ve tried to piece together the tidbits in the journal. I’m fairly certain that the Judge is involved in something dirty and that he and another high-level official of some sort double-crossed whoever they’ve been working for.”

“Why come to Julie over this?” Luke asked. “Why not contact Elizabeth’s attorney?”

“Because we both thought he was being paid under the table by the judge,” Diana said flatly.
 

“But Julie worked for the judge,” Luke argued.

“Her best friend is a former Assistant District Attorney, who is connected to any number of trust-worthy people, or organizations, including Walker Security,” she said, and glanced at Julie. ”And because Elizabeth met you and told me that she believed you had no idea what you were involved in.”

“Yet she didn’t tell you what she was involved in?” Julie queried.

Her lips thinned. “No. And believe me, I tried to pull it out of her. Look. All I’m asking is for you both to read the journal, and if you see what I do, and I know you will, then please help me get justice for my sister.” She held up the journal. “I’ll pay the Walker rate. Elizabeth had life insurance and I was the beneficiary. There is no better way to spend that money than to let her rest in peace knowing her killer, or killers, are brought to justice.”

Julie’s eyes met Luke’s, giving him a pleading look.
 

Luke let out a resigned sigh and accepted the journal.
 
“We’ll look this over and get back with you.”
 

Chapter Eleven
 

It was late afternoon by the time Luke sat on Julie’s couch reading the journal, with Cici, the ever-friendly feline, purring and brushing back and forth against his leg. With her stockinged feet tucked under her, Julie was glued to his side, trying not to miss a word. A guy could get used to having Julie this close and this involved in what he was doing.

“Wait,” she said as he started to turn the page. “I’m not done yet.”

He arched a brow at her slow perusal of the material.
 

She gave him a disapproving look with those gorgeous blue eyes. “You might miss something reading so fast.”
     

“This isn’t a contract,” he reminded her. ”It’s a woman’s thoughts. Some of which are none of our business.”

Julie leaned back against the couch cushions as she considered his words. “I know. It is kind of creepy reading a dead woman’s journal, isn’t it?”
 

“Very.” Luke set the journal on the coffee table in front of him. “I don’t like this entire situation. Most importantly, I don’t like you involved.”

“I don’t like me involved,” she agreed. “But I am and we can’t change that.”

He studied her a long moment, saw the pink flush of her cheeks, read the guilt she felt over Elizabeth and didn’t deserve. “You’re involved because the judge and Elizabeth both pulled you into this. Not because of some sort of responsibility.”

“Yes,” she insisted. “There is responsibility for me in this.” He started to object and she held up a hand. “Please hear me out. I know you’re trying to protect me, Luke. I appreciate it, probably a whole lot more than you understand. But there’s right and wrong in life, and I try to do right. Doing something about this is the right thing to do.”

Luke leaned back next to her and turned to face her, falling harder every time he got a glimpse of who she was as a person. “I understand.”

“You do?”

“Yes,” he said, stroking her cheek. “We have to look into this, and we have to decide if, and when, to go to the police. And yes, it’s the right thing to do.”

“What if someone on the police force is involved in this?”

“We don’t even know what ‘this’ is or isn’t, at this point. Let’s not assume anyone is corrupt.”
 

“Come on, Luke,” she pressed. “You read what I did in that journal. That man Elizabeth wrote about, what was his name,” she paused and snapped her fingers, “Paul Arel. That’s it. And then someone called ‘Dragonfly’. Clearly, that’s a code name. It sounds like the judge and that Dragonfly person were doing deals behind Arel’s back. And then there’s the stolen artwork. The journal says it’s hidden behind a wall in the study.”

“We don’t know if it’s true or who the real players are,” he countered. “Give me time to investigate. And for all we know Paul Arel is a code name as well.”

“What if Elizabeth’s threat related to Dragonfly? Maybe the judge didn’t want her to tell him he was being cheated.”

“Dargonfly could be a man or woman,” he reminded her. “It could even be Elizabeth’s sister, and she could be setting us up.”

She sat up. “Surely not? Do you think that is possible?”

“Everything is possible.” Hell, he’d seen SEALs he’d have believed to be unbreakable cry under imminent threat of capture.
 

“I should know that,” she said tightly. “The judge alone should have been a wake-up call, if not the very dark side I see divorce bring out in people.”

There was that cynical part of her that kept the wall wedged between them. “Lauren mentioned you were thinking of leaving your firm, and maybe doing something other than divorce cases?”
 

“Not really,” she said thoughtfully. “I mean, yes, I’ve given it consideration, and at times, fairly seriously. In the end though, I’m making money that I can set aside, and I’m secure. I can’t lose that.”

Because she felt alone. He knew it, but he didn’t say it. Putting her on the defensive was a move that hadn’t worked well for him thus far. “You never see your father?”

She chewed her bottom lip and cut her gaze. “Not since I was a child.”

“And you don’t want to see your mother?” he asked, recalling the past talks they’d had, back when she thought he’d be gone and her confessions wouldn’t matter.

She shrugged and hugged her knees to her chest. “I never know where she is. Vegas, or off traveling with some new man or husband.”

“She still performs?”

She nodded. “She’s still gorgeous, even in her forties. She had me when she was only eighteen and I think she resented being held back, but then, she never really was.”

“Do you talk on the holidays?”

“We talk on Christmas and occasionally on Thanksgiving.”

Not her birthday, he thought. Not in person. “When was the last time you saw her?”

“Her and her new man stopped by three years ago. He hit on me and suggested a threesome.”

“What?” he asked, astonished. “With your mother?”

“Sick, right?”
 

“And your mother said?”

“She’s a prim and proper princess. She doesn’t do those things.”
 

Luke sat there a moment, speechless. When he recovered, he turned her so that she faced him, his hands on her knees. “Let’s make a pact right now.”

“What kind of pact?”

“No matter what happens to us, we are friends, and you are a part of the Walker family. Nothing is going to keep you from Lauren, or from us. You understand?”

Her eyes immediately glossed over with tears. “Luke-”

He brushed his lips over hers. “I’m serious, Julie. No matter what, you have me.” He wiped a tear as it escaped down her cheek. “Let’s get Cici and your stuff and go to my place where I know you’re safe.”

“You want to take Cici with us?”

“She’s your family,” he said. “So yes. I want to take Cici.”

“That means a litter box,” she reminded him.
 

“You mean she isn’t toilet trained?”

She laughed. ”Oh how I wish.”

She wasn’t arguing and that said she was really rattled, or he was getting through to her. Or maybe, just maybe, it was both. Either way, Luke was getting them out of here before she changed her mind. Because not only was he feeling the very male need to have her in his bed, he was far more disturbed by that journal than he’d let on.