“Eric got really paranoid about her, so Marcus called her pretending to be some guy named Paul Larson, just to find out how much she knew. He might have left her alone, but she asked him about the Alpha Project.” He shrugged. “They were in too deep. She could ruin the fifty-million-dollar deal he and Eric had made. She had to go.”
As Jack and Alec delved for details, Halpern became more verbose. His answers turned into lectures.
“Now I’ll explain how I lured Marcus to the storage facility. It was so simple really. I called him, all befuddled, and said that this reporter had contacted me saying she knew about some secret scientific study that was going on at our camp, and she said she had found out where the missing tapes were that would prove it. She was on her way to get them.”
He stopped for a moment, a slight smile tilting the corners of his mouth as he remembered the call.
“I put him in such a panic, he couldn’t wait to get off the phone and rush to his hidey hole. He never questioned how she could have found out.”
“How did—” Alec began.
“Do not interrupt me,” he snapped. His head twitched at his outburst, and he took a breath to calm himself before continuing. “Luring the woman was a little chancy, but all I really needed to do was get her out in the open and isolate her, and I had her. I caught her in Nelson Park. I hit her hard. Didn’t know my own strength, really.” His gaze bounced back and forth from Alec to Jack. “She was out cold. I must admit, I didn’t really care all that much about her, but when she called me at my home, I could tell she was getting close to the truth, closer than any of those agents who questioned me. I knew I had to get rid of Marcus, so why not two birds with one stone?”
“Why would you want to get rid of Marcus? Why not just turn him in to the authorities?” Alec asked.
Halpern studied his fingernails and smiled. “The money, of course.”
“What money?” Jack asked.
“The fifty million. I knew Marcus would come after me when he found out that I had done a little wheeling and dealing of my own. His contact in Dubai was happy to get the formula and the research early. He didn’t care who sold it to him.” He sighed and looked off in the distance. “Fifty million. It’s in a secure place, and it’s all mine.”
“You won’t need money where you’re going,” Alec told him.
“But Agent Buchanan, what have I done?” he asked innocently. “I didn’t kill anyone. If my punishment fits my crime, I’m sure I’ll be a free man in no time at all.” He paused to reconsider. “No, I’ll be a free rich man in no time at all. Face it, gentlemen, I’ve outsmarted you. That money is in a safe place, and you’ll never find it.”
The interrogation went well into the night. When it was over, Jack and Alec handed in their preliminary reports and headed home.
Jack was beat. He needed some fresh air. He needed a shower. And he needed Sophie.
THE SOUND OF running water woke her. She rolled to her side and looked at the clock: 2:20. For a second she thought she was hearing rain, but then she heard something drop in her bathroom.
“Damn.” It was a whisper, but loud enough for her to know that Jack was getting out of her shower.
The television was still on, but the remote was on the table on the opposite side of the bed. She never put it there. It was too far to reach.
Jack came out of the bathroom. He was yawning, and he wasn’t wearing a stitch of clothing.
“Did I wake you, sweetheart?”
“Why are you here?”
He got into bed and reached for her. “You needed me here.”
“I was sound asleep. I didn’t need—”
“I needed to be here.”
He grabbed the remote and turned off the television, then pulled her into his arms.
“How did you get into my apartment?”
“Shh. Go to sleep. You need your rest.”
She was so happy he was there. She snuggled closer to him. “I’m changing the locks tomorrow.”
“It won’t matter. I’ll still get in. You’re not getting rid of me, Sophie.”
She didn’t know how to respond. He sounded serious, as though he really wanted to stay with her. Knowing who she was, he still wanted her. What was wrong with him? Why would he want her…except maybe for the sex. He surely wasn’t staying for her cooking. Her mind began to drift.
His deep breathing told her he was asleep, yet when she tried to roll away, he tightened his hold.
SOPHIE WOKE UP MIDMORNING. Jack was stroking her back. She turned in his arms and kissed him.
“I love you, Jack.”
“I love you, too.”
“This can never go anywhere. You know that, don’t you?”
“I’m marrying you, Sophie. That’s what I know.”
She kissed his chin, the base of his throat. “Daddy won’t approve.” Her hands slid down his chest and his stomach. She smiled at his indrawn breath. “You’re a disappointment.”
Jack growled low in his throat. She was driving him crazy.
“You know…FBI,” she said.
He couldn’t pay attention to what she was saying. She was stroking him, teasing, tormenting.
“He won’t think you’re good enough for me,” she continued. “He’s probably right.”
Jack rolled her onto her back, braced himself on his elbows, and looked into her eyes. “No one will ever love you the way I do.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him toward her. “Prove it.”
FORTY-FIVE
THE ENGAGEMENT PARTY WAS HELD AT THE HAMILTON Hotel at Aiden’s insistence.
There were over seventy guests. Jack’s brothers were there. His father had died several years ago, and his mother was on her fourth or fifth honeymoon. Her sons couldn’t keep track.
Jack was talking to Alec and Gil, but he never let Sophie out of his sight. She chatted with Mr. and Mrs. Bitterman and their daughter, who Sophie thought was lovely.
“Did you hear about the job our Sophie was offered? Big-time stuff,” Mr. Bitterman told his wife. “It wasn’t the only job offer. Isn’t that right? It was after she wrote that story about William Harrington.”
“I read that,” Mrs. Bitterman said. “It was wonderful. ‘The Forgotten Man.’”
“She turned them down,” Mr. Bitterman said.
“I must be crazy, but I did,” Sophie laughed. “I didn’t want to change jobs after all. I just wanted to be asked, I guess.”
“What will happen when your father is on the outs again with the police? You know it’s coming.”
“Jack says he’ll take him in for questioning…if he can find him.”
“You’re okay with that?”
“Mr. Bitterman, you know my father. They can’t hold him long. He’ll negotiate his way out.”
“Speak of the devil…”
Bobby Rose walked into the party. He was suave and debonair and, according to Mrs. Bitterman and her daughter, made the women feel giddy.
To Sophie, he was simply her father. He was heading for Jack, but guests surrounded him and delayed his getting to his target. Sophie excused herself and hurried to Jack’s side.
Gil came to stand beside her. “How’s your father handling this? His only daughter getting married.”
“He’s not happy about it.”
“Oh, sure he is.”
“No, he isn’t,” she insisted. “He doesn’t like Jack.”
“Now, Sophie, how do you know that?” Gil asked, thinking she was exaggerating.
“I know because he said, ‘Sophie, I don’t like Jack.’”
Alec choked on his drink. Gil looked nonplussed.
“It’s okay,” she said. “Jack isn’t particularly fond of my father either, but they’ll get along.”
A few minutes later Bobby Rose faced the happy couple. He shook Jack’s hand and kissed Sophie.
Mr. Bitterman joined them. “I was telling Mr. Rose that I had heard rumors that Kelly’s Root Beer was going to reopen.”
Bobby nodded. “It’s a good investment.” He winked at Sophie. “It might happen.” He turned to Jack and said, “I read in the paper that Kirk Halpern is trying to make a deal.”
“Not a chance,” Jack said.
“Is it true he’s hidden fifty million dollars?” Gil asked.
Jack nodded. “Yes. He says no one will ever find it.”
Bobby Rose looked at his daughter and smiled. “Wanna bet?”