whoever was involved in this could easily have seen him with her at the restaurant and traced his car license to discover his identity, if they hadn’t already. He was fully conversant with how simple it was to gather information on someone. Anyone with a computer, a modem and decent computer skills could find out that he owned a sailboat and where he kept it.
“Oh.” She looked as dejected as he felt.
He moved to the bed, seating himself on the edge next to her chair. The tone of his voice provided a comforting level of intimacy. “You understand how important it is for you to stay out of sight and avoid all contact with everyone, don’t you? It’s the same concept as when you were under the marshals’ protection before and during the trial…only for the time being it’s just you and me until I straighten out a few things.”
A few things, such as who killed five out of six witnesses, with two of those witnesses having been in the Witness Security Program. A few things, such as figuring out how someone had obtained the new identities of protected and relocated witnesses…whether there was someone inside the Marshals Service selling those identities. A few things, such as a motive for the killings. He reached out, took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Her muscles tensed beneath his touch, telling him just how distraught she really was despite the brave facade she had been trying to display.
A few things—such as who this woman hiding inside the beautiful package labeled Tara Ford was and how she got mixed up in this mess. He continued to hold on to her hand. Warning bells sounded off inside his head telling him he had overstepped the line, but he chose to ignore them. He liked the way her hand felt in his.
“Weren’t you starting to answer my question about how you became involved in this situation when I interrupted you?” He had to have information, but didn’t want her to feel as if she was being subjected to an interrogation.
“It’s not a very interesting story.” The warmth of his touch produced a sensual flow of energy that started with her hand, ran up her arm, then quickly spread through her body. The sensation did more than excite her. It also provided an odd feeling of security that she hadn’t known before. Even during the trial when she was under the direct protection on the U.S. Marshals Service she never really felt safe. For the first time since agreeing to testify against John Vincent she felt that something positive was finally being done to ease her anxieties. Did she dare to trust those feelings?
“I’d like to hear it. I need to know everything I can. Some little bit of information might not seem important to you, but it could mean a great deal to me. So, if you could start at the beginning…”
Tara shifted her weight in the chair, but allowed the comforting sensation of his hand to remain on hers. She didn’t like talking about herself, certainly not to a stranger and especially not to someone like this very disconcerting man who made her heart beat a little faster and her pulse race.
“Well…I guess it started when I answered a help wanted ad in the newspaper. Green Valley Construction was looking for a secretary. I had just graduated from college with a degree in something practical that would guarantee me a secure future…something my mother had insisted on.”
She knew that bitterness had crept into her voice, but she had not been able to control it. It was an old wound and at the same time a fresh one that still hurt. From the time her father had deserted her until the time she’d made the decision to testify against John Vincent, her mother had made every attempt to control her life. All during her school years her mother had denied her permission to participate in extracurricular activities.
Her mother’s excuses fell into two categories – either it was a waste of money or else her mother suddenly developed an illness and Tara had to stay home to take care of her. She knew her mother wasn’t really sick, but there wasn’t anything she could do about it. Things had gotten better when she had been able to get her own apartment after graduating from college and getting a full-time job, but she hadn’t been able to escape her mother’s continuous attempts to dominate her and the constant meddling.
“I got the job and eventually was promoted to the position of John Vincent’s administrative assistant and finally the company office manager. As his assistant I had access to more company information than when I was a secretary. As the office manager I had access to all the company records including the books. That’s when I came across the irregularities in his accounting.”
“What did you do then?” Her tone of voice told him as much as her facial expression when she mentioned her mother’s connection with her choice of educational pursuits and career. Part of his job was to read people quickly and make judgments based on that assessment. She obviously had a very strained relationship with the woman. How deep did the problem go and how much of her life had been affected by it? Questions he would have to put aside until some other time.
“I wasn’t sure if I was interpreting the information correctly, so I finally went to the company’s outside CPA with what I’d found. Phil Winthrope and I—”
“Phil Winthrope was the fifth witness killed. I didn’t realize you knew him before the trial. Did you know any of the others?”
She glanced at the floor, then back at Brad. A sadness covered her face as she spoke. “I didn’t know Phil well, we only had the occasional business contact. He seemed like a nice man. Did he…uh…leave any family? A wife or children?”
“No, no immediate family.”
“I didn’t know any of the other witnesses before the trial.” She shifted her weight as if trying to find a more comfortable position before continuing. “Phil looked over what I brought him and agreed with my conclusions. John Vincent had been systematically looting the pension fund and was also keeping a double set of books as far as taxes were concerned.”
“Did the two of you ever discuss what to do about this discovery or did you both just sort of ignore it?”
A quick flash of anger darted across her face. “Ignore it? Are you accusing me of condoning John’s actions?”
He remained calm despite her outburst. “I’m not accusing you of anything. I’m just trying to get a clear picture of the sequence of events.”
She took a deep breath, held it a moment, then expelled it. “I…I guess I’m just a little on edge.”
“That’s certainly understandable.” He extended a comforting smile and waited for her to continue.
“Neither Phil nor I had an opportunity to do anything about it. The very next day I was approached by the D.A.’s office. They said they were conducting an investigation into John’s activities and questioned me about what I knew. I didn’t know what to do or say. I knew the books had been manipulated, but I really didn’t know for a fact that it was John who had done it. They had me served with a subpoena to testify before a grand jury along with several other potential witnesses. I gave them the information about the books. The grand jury findings were presented and John Vincent was arrested on numerous charges. I was called on to testify at the trial, and the rest, as they say, is history. At that moment my life became chaos. I thought everything would have returned to normal by now.” A look of sadness darted across her features and her voice dropped to a mere whisper. “But I was wrong.”
Brad studied her for a moment. She had already been through so much. In some ways she seemed so in need of protection and so vulnerable. Yet there was an inner strength that radiated from her, something he felt even though he couldn’t clearly define it. Each passing minute proved to be added fuel to a flame of desire that had started as nothing more than a sensual spark. He rose to his feet under the guise of taking another peek around the
