Killjoy (5 page)

“Yes?”

“Why is my file on your desk? I did follow procedure . . . as best I could,” she pointed out. “And if you didn’t plan to fire me . . .”

“I wanted to familiarize myself with your department,” he said as he picked up the file.

“May I ask why?”

“You’re getting a new superior.”

She didn’t like hearing that. She and the others got along well with Douglas, and change was difficult.

“Is Mr. Douglas retiring, then? He’s been talking about it for as long as I’ve been here.”

“Yes,” Carter answered.

Bummer, she thought. “May I ask who my new boss is?”

He glanced up from the folder in his hand. “Me,” he answered. He let her absorb the information before continuing. “The four of you will be moved into my department.”

She perked up. “We’re getting new office space?”

Her excitement was quickly squelched. “No, you’ll stay where you are, but starting Monday morning, you’ll report directly to me.”

She tried to look happy. “So, we’ll be running up and down four flights of stairs every time we need to talk to you?” She knew she sounded like a whiner, but it was too late to take the words back.

“We do have elevators, and most of our employees are able to ride them without getting their heads caught between the doors.”

The sarcasm didn’t faze her. “Yes, sir. May I ask if we’ll be getting raises? We’re all way past due for our evaluations.”

“Your evaluation is taking place right now.”

“Oh.” She wished he’d mentioned that fact starting out. “How am I doing?”

“This is the interview portion of the evaluation, and during an interview I ask the questions, and you answer them. That’s pretty much how it works.”

He opened her file and began to read. He started with the personal statement she’d written when she’d applied, then scanned her background information.

“You lived with your grandmother, Lola Delaney, until the age of eleven.”

“That’s correct.”

She watched him flip through the pages, obviously checking facts and dates. She wanted to ask him why he felt the need to go over her history, but she knew that if she did, she’d sound defensive and maybe even antagonistic, and so she gripped her hands together and kept quiet. Carter was her new superior, and she wanted to start off on the right foot.

“Lola Delaney was murdered on the night of . . .”

“February fourteenth,” she said without emotion. “Valentine’s Day.”

He glanced up. “You saw it happen.”

“Yes.”

He began to peruse the notes once again. “Dale Skarrett, the man who killed your grandmother, was already a wanted man. There was a warrant for his arrest in connection with a jewelry heist where the storeowner was murdered, and over four million in uncut stones were stolen. The diamonds weren’t recovered, and Skarrett was never formally charged.”

Avery nodded. “The evidence against him was circumstantial, and it’s doubtful they would have gotten a conviction.”

“True,” Carter agreed. “Jill Delaney was also wanted for questioning in connection with the robbery.”

“Yes.”

“She wasn’t at the house the night your grandmother was murdered.”

“No, but I’m sure she sent Skarrett to kidnap me.”

“But you didn’t cooperate.”

Her stomach began to tighten. “No, I didn’t.”

“No one knew what had happened until the next morning, and by the time the police arrived, Skarrett was long gone and you were in critical condition.”

“He thought I was dead,” she interjected.

“You were airlifted to Children’s Hospital in Jacksonville. One month later, when you had recovered from your injuries—a remarkable feat given the extent of the damage—your aunt Carolyn took you to her home in Bel Air, California.” He leaned back in his chair. “That’s where Skarrett came after you again, didn’t he?”

She could feel the tension building inside her. “Yes,” she said. “I was the only eyewitness who could put him away for life. Fortunately, I had a guardian angel. The FBI was protecting me without my knowing it. Skarrett showed up at school just as it was letting out.”

“He was unarmed and later told the authorities he only wanted to talk to you. Skarrett was arrested and charged with second degree murder,” he said. “He was convicted and is currently serving his sentence in Florida. He was up for parole a couple of years ago and was denied. His next hearing should be coming up sometime this year.”

“Yes, sir,” she said. “I regularly check with the prosecutor’s office, and I will be sent notification once the date for the hearing is set.”

“You’ll need to go.”

“I wouldn’t miss it, sir.”

“What about the new trial?” he asked. He tapped the papers with his knuckles and said, “I was curious to know why his attorney thinks he has grounds.”

“I’m afraid he does have grounds,” she said. “The brief that was filed accused the prosecutor of withholding vital information. My grandmother had a heart condition, and the physician who treated her came forward after he read about her death. That information wasn’t handed over to Skarrett’s attorney.”

“But you haven’t heard yet if, in fact, there will be a new trial?”

“No, sir, I haven’t.”

“Now let’s get back to you,” he said.

She couldn’t be cooperative a second longer. “Sir, may I ask why you’re so interested in my background?”

“You’re being evaluated,” he reminded her. “Two weeks after Skarrett was convicted, Jill Delaney was killed in an automobile accident.”

“Yes.”

Avery had forgotten much of her childhood, but she remembered that phone call clearly. She had just celebrated Carrie’s birthday, a belated event since Avery had been in the hospital on the actual date, and was helping the housekeeper put the vegetables on the table before they all sat down to dinner. Avery had placed the mashed potatoes next to Uncle Tony’s plate when Aunt Carrie answered the phone. A funeral director was calling to tell her that Jilly had been cremated in a fiery car crash, but there were enough of her remains left to put in an urn. He wanted to know what Carrie wanted done with the ashes and the personal effects, which included a charred driver’s license. Avery was standing in front of the bay window staring out at some frantic hummingbirds when she overheard Carrie tell the man to throw them in the nearest Dumpster. She could recall every second of that moment.

Carter drew her attention back to their discussion when he suddenly switched subjects.

“You did your undergraduate work at Santa Clara University, graduated with honors with a major in psychology and a minor in political science and another minor in history. You then went to Stanford and received a master’s in criminal justice.” Having said that, he closed her file. “In your personal statement you said you made up your mind to become an FBI agent when you were twelve years old. Why?”

She knew he’d already read her answer. It was there in the personal statement she’d made when she’d applied to the Bureau. “An FBI agent named John Cross saved my life. If he hadn’t been watching out for me . . . if Skarrett had taken me from school, my life would have been over.”

Carter nodded. “And you believed you could make a difference working for the Bureau.”

“Yes.”

“Then why didn’t you become a field agent?”

“Bureaucracy,” she said. “I ended up in my current position. I was going to put in another six months and then request a transfer.”

His assistant interrupted. “Mr. Carter, they’re waiting for you.”

The panic grabbed her again. “Sir, Mike Andrews really should handle the press conference. Any credit should go to him and his team.”

“Look, none of us likes doing this,” he snapped. “But this was such a high-profile case, and frankly, most people would appreciate receiving some recognition.”

“My coworkers and I would rather have raises . . . and windows, sir. We’d like windows too. Are you aware that our offices are located behind the mechanical room?”

“Space is at a premium,” he said. “And when did you get the idea we were negotiating?”

Her back stiffened. “Sir, in an evaluation—”

He cut her off. “You told me you acted alone when you called Andrews.”

“Yes, that’s correct, but the others were . . . integral. Yes, sir, they were integral in helping me go through those files for names.”

One eyelid dropped. “You do realize that lying won’t get you a raise, don’t you?”

“Sir, Mel and Lou and Margo and I are a team. They did help. They just weren’t as convinced as I was . . .”

The buzzer sounded on his intercom. Carter impatiently hit the button and said, “I’ll be right there.”

Then he reached for his suit jacket and put it on, frowning at her all the while.

“Relax, Delaney,” he finally said. “You’re off the hook. I’m not going to make you do the press conference.”

Her relief made her weak. “Thank you, sir.”

She stood when he walked around the desk, the wadded panty hose hidden under the jacket draped over her arm. Carter stopped at the door and then turned back with the frown still creasing his brow.

“Don’t ever use my name again without my permission, Delaney.”

“Yes, sir.”

“One more thing,” he said.

“Yes, sir?”

“Good work.”

Chapter 2

M
ARRIAGE ISN’T FOR THE SQUEAMISH. BOTH HUSBAND AND
wife
must be willing to let their inner children play dirty if they want their marriage to survive and flourish. They must let their inner children roll around in the mud. Mistakes will be inevitable, of course, but a shower of love and forgiveness will cleanse the union, and the healing will then begin.

What a crock. Carolyn Delaney Salvetti sat in wide-eyed disbelief as she listened to the garbage the marriage counselor pontificated from his self-help, self-published manual, aptly and ludicrously titled
Let Your Inner Child Get Dirty
. Was the moron talking about marriage or mud wrestling? Carrie didn’t know, and at the moment she didn’t particularly care.

Without being too obvious about it, she pushed the sleeve of her silk blouse up over her wrist and glanced down at her Cartier watch. Ten minutes to go. God, could she last that long?

She took a deep breath, let go of her sleeve, and leaned back in the plush chair, nodding ever so sagely so her husband and the moron would think she was paying attention.

Marriage isn’t for the squeamish, he repeated in his slow, nasal, baritone drawl. His voice was like a loofah made of steel wool, irritating every nerve in her body.

The counselor was a pompous, fat, flatulent fraud who insisted on being called Dr. Pierce because he felt his full name, Dr. Pierce Ebricht, was too formal for such an intimate discussion. After all, he was supposed to be helping them bare their guts. After the first session, Carrie had dubbed him Dr. Prick. Her husband, Tony, had chosen him because he was “in” at the moment. The counselor, with his drive-through-window degree, was the newest guru whom everyone who was anyone flocked to for marriage rejuvenation. Dr. Pierce was the Dr. Phil for the rich and famous, but unlike Dr. Phil, the prick was a complete buffoon.

But then, so was Tony. He sat beside Carrie, his sweaty palms held together as though in prayer, looking so earnest and engaged, like a wooden Howdy Doody the counselor manually manipulated, nodding in quick agreement whenever Dr. Prick paused from reading his bible to look up expectantly.

Chewing on her lip was the only way she could keep from laughing . . . or screaming. Oh, how she wanted to scream. She didn’t dare, though. She had made a bargain with her faithless sleazebag of a husband, and if she didn’t behave and pretend that she was really trying to save their
Titanic
marriage, she would be paying alimony for the rest of her life. It was a chilling possibility.

The odds were against her. Tony came from a long line of centenarians. His uncle Enzo was still chugging wine out on his postage-stamp piece of land on the good side of Napa at the ripe old age of eighty-six and didn’t seem to be slowing down at all. His only concession to living healthy was, at the age of eighty-five, to quit smoking his unfiltered Camels—a three-pack-a-day habit—and increase the amount of garlic he put on everything he ate, including his morning wheat toast. If Tony turned out to be as healthy and fit as Enzo was, by the time Carrie croaked, she would be drained dry financially, and there would be nothing left in the coffers to leave to the only person she had ever loved, her niece, Avery. If, on the other hand, she cooperated with Tony and attended all ten sessions with Dr. Prick, and the marriage still ended—a foregone conclusion, in her opinion—then, Tony promised, he would give up his interest in the business and not ask for a dime in alimony.

Carrie wasn’t a fool. Cynical to the bone, she wasn’t about to accept the word of a man she considered a habitual liar and a thief. There was a hundred and twenty-three thousand dollars missing from one of their business accounts. She couldn’t prove that Tony had helped himself to the money, but she knew he had taken it, most likely to buy expensive trinkets for his mistress. The bastard. And so, to ensure he couldn’t change his mind and come after her for alimony, she had made him put his promise in writing, then had called in her assistant to witness her husband signing the document. The paper was now safely locked away in her safe-deposit box at First Commerce Bank.

How had they come to this? she wondered. Tony used to be a loving and thoughtful man.

Carrie remembered the night she’d awakened in excruciating pain. She was sure her agony was due to food poisoning—they had eaten dinner at a new Thai restaurant all of her friends had been raving about. She refused to go to the hospital, and Tony was beside himself with worry. He finally picked her up, carried her to the car, and drove her to the hospital. He saved her life that night. After treatment in the emergency room, she was admitted, and Tony sat in a chair the rest of the night watching over her. He charmed the hospital staff into putting up with her complaints and demands, and filled the room with gerbera daisies, her favorite flowers.

Tony was so charismatic then. He still was, damn it, which was probably why all the young wanna-be starlets flocked around him. Was the temptation too much to resist? After all, she was getting older, and the years were beginning to show. Was that the reason he’d decided to be unfaithful?

Surreptitiously checking her watch again, she suppressed a heartfelt sigh. In just five minutes the last session would be over and she wouldn’t have to pretend to be nice to Dr. Prick. Then, like it or not, she was going away for a little rejuvenation of her own. Her Prada workout clothes were stuffed into her Gucci bags, along with her state-of-the-art laptop computer, three battery packs, and two cell phones with chargers. The luggage waited in the trunk of the limo that would take her from Dr. Prick’s office to the airport.

The forced vacation was the first time she would be away from her company, Star Catcher, in over eight years, and she was filled with trepidation. She had a good staff, and she knew they could handle any problems that came up while she was away, but she was admittedly a control freak and couldn’t stand the idea of letting anyone else make decisions, if only for fourteen days. According to Avery, Carrie was a Type A personality. She couldn’t abide being idle or bored. She hadn’t even taken time off for a honeymoon when she’d married Tony. The short weekend in Baja had felt like a year away from her fledgling company, which was damned ironic considering she had allegedly been in the throes of love at the time.

The gold embossed reservation from the posh Utopia Spa had arrived three weeks ago—just after their second session with Dr. Prick, and Carrie, after taking one look at the invitation, had been certain that Tony was behind the scheme to get her out of L.A. Her husband had feigned surprise, but she hadn’t been fooled. He’d been urging her to take some time off for months now and use the hiatus to work on their struggling marriage.

No matter how she nagged him to admit it, Tony wouldn’t ’fess up. He insisted he hadn’t made the reservation or paid the outrageous fee, and because he was even more stubborn than she was, she finally gave up trying to pry the truth out of him.

The reservation was accompanied by an elaborate brochure displaying the luxurious facility and outlining the treatments available at Utopia. There was also a letter attached with a list of testimonials from famous men and women who were regular clients.

She had heard of the spa—everyone in Hollywood knew about it—but she hadn’t known how obviously popular it was with the rich and famous. Because the cost was so exorbitant, she hadn’t ever considered it.

Carrie was torn. How important was it for her to go? Where one was seated at the “in at the moment” restaurants in L.A. was of paramount importance because one was seen and noticed, but a spa? It was so elegantly quiet and hush-hush, who would ever know besides the people attending that she had been there? Would the owner ask her to give a testimonial? God, wouldn’t that be wonderful? If her name went on the list of the rich and famous, what an incredible boost that would be for her company. In her line of work, the only reason for doing anything these days was with the singular goal of impressing others and making them squirm with envy. Only the high rollers who didn’t need to work got work in Hollywood.

What guarantee did she have that her name would go on that list, though? Carrie did the math, figured out to the penny how much each day would cost, and decided to stay home. She wasn’t about to let Tony spend so much of her money. She would call the spa in the morning and request a refund. No way in hell was she going to fork over that much. She must have shouted those very words to Tony at least five times before he began to read aloud the names of those who regularly attended the rejuvenation spa and sang Utopia’s praises. She stopped shouting when she heard the name Barbara Rolands. Everyone referred to the aging actress with three Oscars under her belt as the best face-lift on the coast. Barbara had disappeared for three weeks just last year, and when she next made a public appearance at a trendy fund-raiser, she looked incredible. Had she had the work done at the spa?

Carrie snatched the papers out of Tony’s hands. She read the names of the personnel on call to attend to the client’s every need. Two world-renowned plastic surgeons topped the list.

Would she be getting evaluated by the same physicians who had worked on some of the most influential men and women of the century? God only knew she could use some freshening up. Not a face-lift—she wasn’t even forty-five yet—but the bags under her eyes were getting more and more pronounced, and she really did need to do something about that. Lack of sleep, long hours of work, and twenty cups of strong coffee every day without ever taking time to work out had definitely taken their toll.

According to the letter, she would fly from L.A. to Denver, then go by smaller plane to Aspen. Utopia was located in the mountains, fifteen minutes away from the closest ski resort. She would arrive in the shank of the evening, and the following morning she would be evaluated by the physicians there. Liposuction, she noticed, was offered as one of the choices available. The procedure was listed just below full body massage.

How could she refuse? How could she, indeed, especially after Tony mentioned that the anonymous gift was nonrefundable. She just knew he’d used company money to pay for the trip. The man couldn’t keep a dime in savings. Since they had merged their two companies and she had brought in their first multimillion-dollar account, he had been living high off the hog. He had absolutely no business sense.

Tony said it didn’t matter where it came from and suggested she take the vacation as an early birthday present. He firmly believed one should never look a gift horse in the mouth. He told her he hoped she would use the time to reflect on all the wonderful words of wisdom Dr. Prick had spoken about the sanctity of marriage. She knew Tony was hoping that, once she slowed down, as one was wont to do on a vacation, she would realize how she had wronged him with her accusations and she would know in her heart that she still loved him.

Carrie had her own agenda. While she was being “redone,” she would work on coming up with a killer commercial that would land her company another Clio. It had been too long since she’d received the last award, almost four years now, and she was becoming more and more anxious. Advertising was a cutthroat business, and her competition, based mostly in Manhattan, was fierce. The twenty-year-old set was taking over. Some executives wouldn’t even speak to a man or woman over the age of thirty, which was why Carrie had added three young, with-it, business majors to her staff. She called the Nintendo fanatics her babies.

It was imperative that Carrie stay in the moment, every moment. In her work, it didn’t matter how many past achievements there had been. With all the new movers and shakers pushing their way into her circle of influence, Star Catcher had to be out there as much as possible. Hollywood was a fickle town. Those with the power were only interested in who was creating the buzz that day. If Carrie didn’t keep pushing her staff to grab bigger and bigger accounts, she would find herself in the has-been category overnight.

She owed her first Clio to her niece. She’d begged Avery to step in when the temperamental teen actress she’d hired threw a tantrum and demanded double her fee at the last moment. The silly girl thought she had Star Catcher by the balls because of the time crunch, and if Avery hadn’t come to the set with Carrie that day, Carrie would have had to pay the little bitch. Avery had been mortified by what Carrie wanted her to do, but she had a good voice and a great body, and that was all that was required. The soap commercial was a resounding success, and Carrie, acting as Avery’s agent, could have gotten her at least a year’s work. Avery wasn’t interested, though. As soon as spring break was over, she went back to finish high school and then went on to college.

Her niece did continue to work with Carrie every summer, but she hated leaving the office to meet with company executives. Carrie couldn’t understand her reserve. Avery didn’t seem to know—or if she did know, she didn’t particularly care—that she was, as Tony often remarked, a knockout.

The problem with her niece was that she wasn’t the least bit superficial. She was sweet and wholesome and had a firm grasp on what was important in life, and what wasn’t. But what could Carrie expect? After all, she’d raised her to sort out such things. Ironic, Carrie thought, that she herself should end up working in a field consumed with the superficial. What a hypocrite she had turned out to be. When would she learn to practice what she had constantly preached to Avery? Maybe after she made another couple of million?

Carrie had eventually become excited about the spa. Once she had made the decision to go, she called Avery and begged her niece to join her at Utopia for one week. She knew Avery was using part of her vacation to chaperone teenagers around D.C., and Carrie tried to guilt-trip her into giving her family equal time. Carrie was feeling confident that Avery would come for at least a few days, but knew she would have heart failure if she ever found out how much the stay would cost her aunt. Carrie didn’t have any qualms about paying the fee for Avery. She would do anything for her, anything at all. Probably because Avery never asked her for anything. Carrie didn’t know how her niece could live on the tiny salary she made, and though she offered her money every time she talked to her, Avery always declined. She was doing just fine, or so she said.