Hearts in the Crosshairs (14 page)

“So, Dave,” Penny said quietly. Jillian felt the seat cushion compress as she leaned forward. “Are you going to Dick St. John’s retirement party on Saturday?”

Dave said softly, “This really isn’t the best time to discuss it.”

The seat cushion shifted again as Penny sat back. Jillian sneaked a peek from beneath her lashes. Arms folded, frown in place. No, Penny was not happy.

Dusk settled around them and Jillian closed her eyes again. God was in control, and Dave was at the wheel. She let go of the troublesome questions and eased into pleasant oblivion.

A
ndrew met Dave at the bottom of the staircase leading up to the governor’s family quarters on Friday evening.

“I got here as fast as I could,” Dave said.

“She’s in the den next to her office, waiting for you.”

“Did you call Carl Millbridge?”

“The governor asked for you,” he said.

Dave threw him a sideways glance. Andrew kept his expression neutral. They mounted the stairs, and Dave looked along the hallway. Beyond the entrance to the den, Stephanie stood on duty outside the office door. He nodded to her, turned in at the first doorway and swept his gaze over the room.

Naomi sat on the sofa with Jillian, one hand protectively on the governor’s arm. Jillian’s mouth was set in a tense line, but her eyes lit when she saw him and she straightened her shoulders. Beyond them, Penny stood before the connecting door into the office, and Bob bent over the windowsill, studying the woodwork.

Dave walked across the room, conscious that every eye followed him. He dropped into the chair nearest Jillian. She wore a cream-colored dress that draped her elegant figure to perfection. A necklace of light purple stones glittered at her throat.

“Are you all right?”

“Yes.” She started to reach toward him, but pulled her hand
back and clasped it tightly in the other on her lap, as though forcing herself not to touch him. “It seems like a small thing, but…I admit, I’m frightened.”

He nodded. “Tell me exactly what happened.”

“I came home late from the statehouse—about six o’clock. I was due for a dinner at the Calumet Club at seven, so Detective Millbridge wasn’t coming tonight. One of the maids—Kelly—helped me change my clothes. We left about twenty minutes to seven.” She cut her gaze to Andrew, who stood a yard away, and he nodded.

“Andrew drove you?” Dave asked.

“Yes. Bob went with us.”

Dave looked up at Andrew. “Was anyone on duty here while you were gone?”

“Just Stephanie.”

“Okay. So then what?” He looked back into Jillian’s eyes.

“When we returned, I came upstairs and I stopped by Naomi’s room. I hadn’t seen her all day. We chatted for a few minutes. I was tired, but I wanted to look over my schedule before I undressed. I do that in the evening, so I don’t have any surprises the next morning.”

That was like her—always prepared. “So you went to your office?”

“Yes. The first thing I noticed was that several folders I’d left on the desk had been moved. I’d put the printout of Monday’s schedule inside the top one, with notes Lettie had prepared for me about the first meeting of the day. But when I came in tonight, the schedule was on top of the folders.”

“Oh? What’s the meeting about?”

“A proposal for more wind turbines on the outer islands.”

“Anything else?”

“I don’t think so,” Jillian said. “I looked in the file cabinets and in all my desk drawers. I think someone pawed around a
little, but I can’t say for certain that anything’s missing. But my computer had been used.”

“You’re sure?”

She nodded. “The list of recent files opened includes a couple I haven’t looked at for a while.”

“And you didn’t go into the office before you left for the dinner?”

Jillian shook her head.

“So it could have happened anytime between when you left this morning and when you got home after the dinner this evening?”

“No, I came over for lunch. That’s when I dropped off the folders. About one o’clock, I’d say. Everything was fine then.”

“I’d like to look around your office now.” Dave went into the office and carefully examined Jillian’s desk and the folders on it. Andrew watched him, not touching anything. Jillian peered in from the doorway.

“Let’s take some prints off this desk,” Dave said.

“Sure.” Andrew turned toward Jillian. “Ma’am, whose prints can we expect to find on it?”

Jillian licked her lips, frowning. “Well, mine for sure. The staff—sometimes the maids come in to clean. Probably Naomi’s. The administrative assistant down the hall. Maybe some of your EPU officers. How far back should we go? My mother’s? And Colonel Smith was here a few weeks ago. The majority leader met with me in this room last week.”

Dave sighed. The list was too long. But he could deal with it. He turned to Andrew.

“We need a list of everyone who’s been in the house since the governor left her papers here at one o’clock.”

Andrew took out his pocket notebook. “Stephanie and I have already started a list. We got the names of all the staffers who worked this afternoon—the chef and one kitchen helper, two
maids, the administrative assistant and one clerk. Most of them left between 5:00 and 6:00 p.m. I also put down the security officer who was here during the day, Bob, me and Stephanie. And then there was a tour group at two o’clock, with a total of ten people in the group. They toured the public rooms downstairs with the clerk I mentioned. I’ve been assured none of them left the tour area, but we’ve got the contact information if you want to talk to them.”

“Okay, good.” Dave looked at Jillian. Her shoulders shook. He walked toward her. “Why don’t you sit down for a minute, ma’am?”

She sobbed then, and the tears let go. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. Come on.” He gently took her elbow and guided her to the big chair behind the desk.

Jillian sat down and pulled open a drawer, then drew her hand back. “Oh, you’re going to take prints.”

“Go ahead. It’s fine.”

She snatched a tissue from the drawer and put it to her eyelids.

Dave shot a glance toward the hall door. Penny stood, watching them.

“Penny, could you get the governor a cup of tea, please?” Dave called. “Hot and strong.”

Penny nodded and disappeared. He looked around at the circle of faces. Bob, Naomi, Stephanie and Andrew had closed in a circle around the desk.

“Let’s give the governor some space,” Dave said.

“Sure.” Andrew turned to the others. “Bob, take the hall door. Stephanie, you stay with Miss Plante. I’ll watch this entrance.” He herded them out and quietly closed the door that connected to the den.

Dave ignored the chairs and went to his knees beside Jillian. She blotted her incredible blue eyes and focused on him.

“Thank you,” she whispered raggedly. “I don’t know why, but this shook me up more than anything else that’s happened. Dave, someone was here, in my private space. How did this happen?”

“I don’t know. The entrances are kept locked all day.”

Her eyes widened. “The staff are all loyal. I mean…I think they are.”

“One of the maids may have gotten curious and done a little snooping. Who knows? So, tell me—do you have a password on your computer?”

“To open it? No. I did.” Jillian gritted her teeth. “It was such a pain, I took it off. Pretty stupid of me.”

He reached for the mouse beside her keyboard. When the Microsoft Word program came up, he studied the list of opened files.

“I have an external hard drive for backup,” Jillian said. “It saves every file I open.”

“Great. We can find out when these files were accessed and see what else the snooper looked at.” He faced her and laid one hand on the back of her chair. “I assure you, we’ll take care of you. We’ll increase the guard.”

A tear rolled in slow motion down her cheek. It was more than he could bear. He stopped trying to resist and pulled her tenderly into his arms. She laid her head on his shoulder.

“Jillian, I’m so sorry this happened. I don’t want you to be afraid.”

She pulled in a deep, shuddering breath. “This is my nightmare. Not the intruder. Me taking it so hard. Dave, I can’t fall apart. If it gets out that I cried…” She sobbed again, and he tightened his hold on her.

“It’s okay. You’re a strong person. Lately you’ve been under a lot of stress. Let it out now, and you’ll be fine when you have to face people. I promise.” He stroked her hair, wishing he
could stay here forever and comfort her, but knowing he was pushing the envelope every second he held her. This was way more personal than the job warranted, and they both knew it.

Dave was about to walk out of his apartment Saturday morning when his phone rang.

“Hutchins? This is Lieutenant Wilson.”

“Yes, sir?”

“I want to see you in my office. Now.”

Dave didn’t dare think about the reason for the summons. When he arrived at headquarters twenty minutes later, Colonel Smith and Wilson were both waiting for him. The meeting went quickly. Though Wilson seemed to choke on his words, Smith had no trouble pronouncing his sentence.

“This is it, Hutchins. You’re taking a week off, and when you come back, you’ll be assigned to the most boring drudge work we can dig up for you at the public safety office until further notice. No contact with the governor.”

Dave could almost see smoke coming out his ears. “May I ask why, sir?”

“I’ll tell you why. We received a tip this morning that you’ve been getting way too cozy with the governor, if you get my drift.”

Dave clenched his fists and fought to control his outrage. “That’s not true, sir.”

“Whether it’s true or not, I have to take it seriously. Can you give me a good reason not to?”

“Because it’s a lie. Who delivered this so-called tip?”

The colonel looked him over and said carefully, “We have a policy. Employees need to be able to report violations without fearing that their privacy will be breached.”

“It was a department employee, then.”

“You’re dismissed, Hutchins.”

“But, sir, the investigation—”

Smith glared at him. “The rest of the team will have to get by without you.”

“But—”

“I’ve talked to your colleagues. At least two of them say there’s something between the two of you.” Smith shook his head. “I wouldn’t have thought she’d be that foolish.”

“She’s not. Sir, I assure you, nothing improper has happened or will happen between us. I’m sure the mere suggestion would be abhorrent to the governor.”

Smith glared at him for a long moment, then turned his back. “My order stands. I never should have let Wilson put you back on the case.”

Wilson winced and refused to meet Dave’s gaze.

Smith headed for the door. “Any more of this nonsense, and you’re back on traffic duty.”

He exited, shutting the door forcefully behind him. After several seconds’ silence, Wilson gritted his teeth and picked up a sheaf of papers from his desktop. “I’m sorry, Hutchins. He wanted to fire you, but I convinced him the allegations didn’t merit that and that the evidence was thin anyway. I’m very sorry.”

“Thanks for supporting me,” Dave said. “But again, nothing happened.”

“I believe you. But Colonel Smith hates being woken up on the weekend with bad news.”

“What on earth are people saying? This is stupid.”

Wilson nodded. “The implication was…sordid. Even if it’s an outright lie, it’s best if you keep your distance from the governor. For her sake, as well as your own.”

More than a week later, Andrew Browne arrived in the governor’s Capitol office on Monday afternoon to escort her
home. Jillian went to the doorway and caught his eye. Andrew walked toward her.

“All set, ma’am?”

“Actually, no.” Jillian looked over his shoulder to be sure no one was listening. “At the risk of getting you in hot water, could I have a private word with you?”

Andrew glanced around. Lettie huddled over her desk, straightening her things for the night. Beyond her, the receptionist was just walking out the main door.

“Of course, ma’am.”

He followed her into the large inner office, and Jillian swung around to face him. “Andrew, what have they done to Dave Hutchins? I’ve heard rumors that he’s been fired because he violated some protocol rule.”

“No. He hasn’t been fired.”

“On leave, then?”

“No. Well, yes, he was, but he’s back now. He’s just…They’re making him push paper at the office. I heard today they might let him work on the investigation again, under Millbridge’s supervision. They need him badly. I wouldn’t ask Carl about it, though, if I were you.”

“He and Dave don’t get along.”

“They’re all right, but…” Andrew frowned. “None of us like this, Governor, but the colonel insisted.”

Jillian studied his face. “Sit down for a minute. That is…if you dare.”

Andrew cracked a smile. “If I can make a suggestion, ma’am, how about we talk in the car? It’s just me today, but Ryan Mills will meet us at the Blaine House.”

She nodded. “Excellent idea.”

A security guard helped Andrew check the parking area before Jillian went out the back door to the vehicle.

“Tell me quick,” she said as soon as Andrew was in the driver’s seat. “We only have a minute.”

“Apparently someone told the brass that you cried on Dave’s shoulder the night you found your office had been ransacked, and implied there was more to it. That your relationship with Dave is…That’s it’s gone a lot further than that.”