Jesse sighed and leaned back on the sofa. “All right, I guess it’s time. You’re not going to like some of this; I hope it doesn’t make a difference to you.”
“You just tell me.”
“For a start, my name is Jesse, but not Barron; it’s Warden.”
“Like a prison warden?”
“Like that. I’m a minister’s son.”
“Uh, oh; you know what they say about the minister’s boy.”
“And they’re not far wrong. Oh, I started out as the straightest arrow you ever saw; then I became a cop for the federal government, and being a cop has a way of getting you bent.”
“How did you get bent?”
“I stole some money.”
“A lot of money?”
“Yes, some tens of thousands of dollars.”
“Why?”
He told her about Beth and her illness, and about Carrie.
“So the story about the wife and three daughters—”
“Was a cover; it was somebody else whose name I took. But Beth and Carrie were real, and they’re gone.”
“I’m so sorry, my darling,” she said, running her fingers along his cheek, then kissing him. “That’s more trouble than anybody should ever have in a lifetime. Where’s Carrie now?”
“She was adopted when I went to prison, and I probably won’t ever know where she is.”
Jenny put her arms around him and held him close. “I know how I would feel if I were separated from Carey,” she said, “so I know how you feel. Do you think there’s any hope of ever finding her?”
“I’d like to think so, but I have to be realistic. That’s why I was prepared to leave the country without her. Adoption agencies are a tough nut to crack, and I’m hardly in any position to try.”
“Why not?”
“There’s a lot more that I haven’t told you. I went to prison.”
“For stealing the money?”
“No, they never found out about that. It was drug money that we’d confiscated; I just swept it under the rug, and no record was ever made of it.”
“Why did you go to prison?”
“I was convicted of killing my partner and stealing a great deal more money, but I was innocent on both charges.”
“Then why were you convicted?”
“Because someone in my agency was determined that I would be. It was set up so that I would never have a chance, and, of course, I didn’t. Somebody else wanted the money, and he was willing to kill my partner to get it.”
“How long were you in prison?”
“Fourteen months.”
“So short a time for such serious charges?”
“The man I used to work for and another agent, a friend, got me out, because they wanted something done.”
“What did they want done?”
“Jack Gene Coldwater.”
“They sent you to St. Clair alone to arrest Jack Gene?”
“To find out enough about him so that they could arrest him. I’m not a cop anymore, just a spy.”
“Does Jack Gene suspect?”
“No, but Kurt Ruger does. Not that he knows anything, he just suspects I’m not quite right.”
“Can he hurt you?”
“Not so far. There was a nasty incident earlier today, but Pat Casey and Jack Gene took my side.”
“What happened that was so nasty?”
“Do you know a man named George Little?”
“Yes, and he’s pretty nasty, too.”
“I killed him this afternoon.”
She stared at him. “He wasn’t that nasty.”
“He caught me making a telephone call to my contact in Washington. I was up on the mountain behind the plant, and I found an opportunity to push him into a deep ravine.”
“My God,” she said, putting a hand to her face. “There must have been some other way to handle the situation.”
“There was another way: I could have gone up to Jack Gene’s house at gunpoint with George Little, and I’d be dead by now.”
She put her arms around him again. “In that case, I’m glad you did what you did. And if you have to do it again, you go ahead.”
The doorbell rang, and Jesse let the waiter into the room. They had a quiet dinner by candlelight, not talking much.
As they were finishing the wine, Jenny said, “Everything has changed, hasn’t it? Nothing will ever be the same.”
“You’re right,” he replied.
She raised her glass. “To nothing ever being the same again,” she said.
They touched glasses and drank. In bed they didn’t make love; instead, they lay in each other’s arms until they fell asleep.
Chapter 43
On their first day in San Francisco they walked. Jesse wanted to know if he was still being followed, and walking was the best way. They walked from the Ritz-Carlton to Union Square, and Jenny went shopping.
She had never seen anything like it; there were Sak’s Fifth Avenue, Macy’s, Neiman Marcus and the Ralph Lauren shop, all within a few steps of each other. With his first ten thousand dollar payment from Coldwater in his pocket, Jesse made her shop. After all, he thought, they wouldn’t be abandoning their luggage at the hotel to sneak out of the country.
Jesse watched constantly for a tail, checking reflections in shop windows, never looking behind him, and it wasn’t long before he found his man. He didn’t recognize this one; he was tough-looking, better than six feet, more than two hundred pounds, close to Jesse’s own size. He was very good at his work, Jesse thought.
They had lunch in a pub, then shopped some more. Finally, when they were ready to drop, they took the cable car up Powell Street and walked a block or two to the hotel, lugging many packages and shopping bags.
At Ernie’s that night they were treated as old friends, given a secluded table and served to within an inch of their lives.
“I’ve never seen such a beautiful room,” Jenny gushed, waving at the mahogany paneling and the fresh flowers. “How much is this costing?”
“It’s not costing us a dime,” Jesse replied, smiling. “It’s all on Jack Gene, one way or another. We can take some comfort in that.”
The following morning, Jesse rented a car and they drove north, over the Golden Gate Bridge, through Marin County and up into the wine country. They followed the road up the Napa Valley and found an Italian restaurant, Tre Vigne, for lunch. It was an unusually warm day for the time of year, and they asked for a table in the garden, which they had to themselves.
They ordered pasta and a good bottle of Napa chardonnay and had a leisurely lunch. As they were finishing, there was a sudden scraping of chairs, and men in suits occupied the tables on either side of them. Then, another man in a suit pulled a chair up to their table and sat down.
“May I join you?” he asked, somewhat tardily.
“Hello, Kip,” Jesse said.
“Hello, Jesse. And may I be introduced?”
“Jenny, this is Kip; Kip, this is Jenny.”
“I’m very pleased to meet you, Jenny,” Kip said. “I wonder if you would be kind enough to go to the ladies’ room? Mr. Smith over there will guide you.” He nodded toward a man at the next table.
“It’s all right, go ahead,” Jesse said.
Jenny got up and left.
“Well, Jesse,” Kip said, “what brings you to this part of the country?”
“I’m on my honeymoon,” Jesse replied.
“I thought I told you not to travel without... What did you say?”
“I said I’m on my honeymoon.”
Kip’s mouth fell open. “You got married?”
“That’s what you do, right before a honeymoon.”
“Are you completely crazy?”
“Kip, I thought you’d be pleased; it’s excellent cover.”
Kip stared at him a moment, then smiled. “You’re right, it is excellent cover; I’m pleased. I mean, congratulations. I never thought you’d go this far, Jess.”