Close Your Eyes Page 3

  “I’ll have to think about it.”

  “Every minute counts.”

  “Don’t push me. I’ll think about it. If you want my final answer right now, I’m afraid it’s going to be—”

  “Okay, fine. Just think about it. Call me.”

  “Do you have a card?”

  He shook his head and pointed to her phone. “My information is in there. I transmitted it to your address book about thirty seconds ago.”

  “I don’t think so.” She pulled up the phone’s address book and scrolled through the entrees. “You’d need my permission, and I still haven’t received any—” She froze as she spotted a new name in her list of contacts.

  LYNCH, ADAM. The address and phone number fields were entirely filled in.

  She looked up. “How did you do that?”

  He smiled. “If it runs on electricity, I can make it do pretty much anything I want. I suppose we all have our special talents, Kendra.” He strode out of the room as he called over his shoulder. “I can help you better secure that thing. Sorry if I’ve invaded your digital space, but like I said, every minute counts.”

  She watched the door close behind him. He had invaded more than her digital space. Because of the intensity of the problems she faced every day, she needed serenity and a sense of order in her life away from the studio. Adam Lynch had marched in and disturbed that serenity within minutes after he’d come into her studio.

  Lord, she didn’t want to dive into another ugly horror like the ones Jeff had dragged her through.

  Yet if Jeff was missing, then he might be in trouble …

  And was she supposed to go to his rescue? Why, dammit? She had told him the last time he had called her that the split was permanent, and she didn’t want to hear from him again. Jeff couldn’t accept friendship with her without trying to bend it to suit himself, and she couldn’t keep the hurt and anger from upsetting her when he did it. She had desperately wanted to keep him for a friend. She didn’t let many people close to her, and there were moments when she had come close to loving Jeff Stedler. She did love his passion for justice, his dedication. Even when she was furious with him for trying to use her, she could understand that he couldn’t help himself.

  Okay, so she would feel guilty as hell if she didn’t try to help Jeff if he was in trouble.

  But how did she know that Lynch was telling the truth? What did she know about Adam Lynch?

  Zilch.

  Then, dammit, find out about him.

  She reached for her phone. Jeff had introduced her to a few of his fellow agents on cases, and surely she could find out about Lynch from one of them.

  If they’d talk to her. There were times when she’d been very impatient with them.

  Jeff had said substitute “rude” for “impatient.”

  Well, perhaps. But they’d kept arguing with her when she’d known she was right.

  She found a name in her directory. Agent Bill Santini. Yeah, she remembered him. He hadn’t seemed to be too antagonistic toward her.

  Maybe.

  She dialed the number.

  He answered the call on the second ring.

  “Santini, this is Kendra Michaels. I need some information.”

  Silence.

  “What kind of information?” he asked warily.

  “Adam Lynch.”

  “He contacted you? I’m surprised. We told him it wasn’t worth his while.”

  “I told him the same thing. He doesn’t listen. Has Jeff really disappeared?”

  “Unless he just decided to take off for the South Seas. No one has seen him for seventy-two hours. We’ve all been worried as hell.”

  “And what does Lynch have to do with it?”

  “Who the hell knows? Lynch’s a secretive bastard. He just showed up and started asking questions.”

  “And why would you answer them?”

  “You must not have been around him long. People usually do what Lynch wants them to do.”

  “Why? He’s not with the Bureau any longer, is he?”

  “No, but he has friends in high places.” He added impatiently, “Look, why pick on me to question? If you’re so smart, why don’t you work it out for yourself?”

  “It would waste time.” She added honestly, “And I chose you because I don’t think you dislike me as much as the other guys at the Bureau do.”

  “Don’t count on it.” He sighed. “Okay, that was rude. I shouldn’t have been that blunt. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

  “You didn’t. It was just an error of judgment on my part.”

  “Kendra, I don’t really … You just manage to piss me off. You made me look like an idiot on the Salvatori case.”

  “You were wrong. And you argued with me. I had to show you how foolish that argument was.”

  “And you did. You have a tongue like a buzz saw. You embarrassed the hell out of me.”

  “Then you shouldn’t have argued with me. It was so clear.”

  “To you.” He added resignedly, “But I honestly don’t think there was any malice in you. Though some of the other guys don’t agree with me.”

  “Then I was right about your not disliking me as much as they do?”

  “Aren’t you always right?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “Yeah, I was the right choice. What else do you want to know about Adam Lynch?”

  “Everything.”

  “I don’t know everything. I wasn’t with the Bureau when he was here. I’ve only heard rumors.”

  “Rumors are good.”

  “Nothing much good about the rumors about Lynch. He’s notorious. Or maybe it depends on your viewpoint. Some agents think of him as a legend. They call him the Puppetmaster.”

  “Absurd. Why?”

  “He’s a master manipulator. He had a dislike for the court system and didn’t trust it worth a damn. When he was an agent, there were stories about how he’d manipulate criminals into situations in which they’d bring about their own deaths, forcing them into corners or tricking them into taking lethal chances.” He added, “Probably his most high-profile case was when he went undercover with two different crime families in New York and Philadelphia and pitted them against each other. They crippled each other’s operations and murdered many of each other’s top men. It was much easier for us to step in and bring them down entirely. He was a hero for a while until he got into trouble again for disobeying orders and going his own way.”

  “How long did he get away with it?”

  “For a long time. Until Lynch clashed with a new FBI director, and he parted company with the Bureau. He’s now a black-ops strategist for U.S. Intelligence agencies.”

  “Lynch said he met Jeff. How?”

  “That I don’t know, Kendra.”

  Kendra was beginning to have an idea of the connection between Jeff and Lynch. Jeff would have been intrigued and enthusiastic about an agent with Lynch’s capabilities just as he had been with her gifts.

  “Jeff didn’t mention Lynch to me when he spoke to me recently. He didn’t speak to any of you about him?”

  “No, I told you I don’t know anything about a connection between them. Is that all?”

  “What do you think of Lynch?”

  “Are you asking my opinion? Will wonders never cease?”

  “I don’t have anyone else to ask.”

  “I’m glad you put me straight. I wouldn’t want to get a swelled head. Lynch? I barely know him.” He was silent, thinking. “I’m not sure I’d trust him, but I’d be glad to have him in my corner if I was in trouble. We were kind of glad when he showed up after Jeff disappeared.” He hesitated. “Look, I know that you cared about Jeff. I want you to know we’re doing everything we can.”

  “Thanks, Santini.” He had been helpful. She should probably say something else. “You probably did better than anyone else in the Bureau could have done on the Salvatori case.”

  He gave a mock groan. “Condescension. That was worse than the verbal slap on the face
. Good-bye, Kendra.” He hung up.

  She pressed the disconnect and sat there thinking. She shouldn’t really have asked Santini his opinion when she’d probably discard it anyway. He was an okay agent but not particularly brilliant, and Lynch could probably manipulate him if it suited him.

  Puppetmaster?

  She made a face at the corny term. She could imagine Lynch being just as scornful as she felt. He was much too sophisticated to want to be labeled in any way.

  Yet she admitted that she had definitely noticed him trying to pull her strings. She was glad to know where he was coming from and what she could expect.

  But that didn’t mean that she wanted to deal with him, even if he was trying to find Jeff. He made her uneasy. She would have to think about it.

  And how she felt about being involved in the search for Jeff. If it was trouble, then she—

  Her phone rang.

  She tensed. Lynch?

  No, her friend, Olivia Brandt.

  She breathed a sigh of relief. No challenge, just warmth and affection. “Hi, Olivia, how are you doing?”

  “Great. How did your day go?” Olivia asked. “Any breakthroughs?”

  “A possible with Jimmy.”

  “I celebrate possible. Come over to my place and have a drink.”

  “I just got home. I need to shower and change.”

  “Nope. It’s cocktail hour. I’ll see you in ten minutes.” She hung up.

  Kendra shook her head. Olivia could be immovable when she wanted something. Well, maybe she needed to talk.

  And maybe Kendra needed to talk instead of brood.

  Why not?

  Olivia was in a condo in the same complex, and Kendra could be there in five minutes. She’d have a drink and relax, and she could be back in an hour or so.

  She grabbed her handbag and headed for the door. It was ridiculous that Lynch had made her this uneasy. She was in control of what she did or did not do.

  Why the hell did she feel like she needed that drink?

  CHAPTER

  2

  OLIVIA STEPPED OUT OF THE kitchen with a bottle of Chianti and poured it into two wineglasses on the living-room coffee table. She positioned her index and middle fingers on either side of the glass stems to position them as she poured.

  “How was that?” Olivia said. “Did that look too ‘blind’?”

  “You are blind.”

  “I don’t want it to show every minute of every day. Tell me, did that look too blind?”

  “No. You can pour wine with the best of ’em. But I wish you would stop.”

  “Easy for you to say.”

  It wasn’t easy, Kendra wanted to tell her. She and Olivia had known each other since they were small children at a school for the visually impaired. Back then, they had banded together against their challenges and discovered new ways of defying expectations.

  And in the bonding had come a deep and abiding love.

  Olivia had been genuinely happy for Kendra when she was suddenly given the gift of sight through an innovative new stem-cell operation, with no trace of jealousy. To the contrary, Olivia had reveled in each of the opportunities available to Kendra, and she almost seemed to live vicariously through new experiences they had only dreamed about as girls. Recently, however, Kendra noticed that her friend was concerned more and more with her outward appearance and behaviors, especially those that might reveal her as a sightless person.

  “What in the hell is going on?” Kendra said. “Since when do you care about ‘looking blind’?”

  Olivia sat on the couch next to her and took a sip of her wine. “I’ve always cared about it. Even when I said I didn’t.”

  “Not like this. Are you doing this for a guy? Because any guy who can’t accept you for who you are isn’t worth—”

  “It’s not for a guy.” Olivia made a face. “Give me some credit.”

  “All the credit in the world.” She studied Olivia as she sat there on the couch. If she could see herself as Kendra saw her, she wouldn’t be this insecure, dammit. Dark sleek hair that hung in a shining curve to her shoulders, olive skin, enormous brown eyes, and lips that were almost always smiling. As usual, Olivia was dressed in the latest fashion, black velvet trousers, silk blouse, and a leopard-print vest that made her look svelte, trendy, and totally beautiful. “I’m just trying to figure this out. This isn’t like you.”

  “I’m not one of your puzzles that you can just crack, Kendra.” She grinned. “As much as you’ve always liked to try.”

  “Then don’t be such a puzzle. Out with it.”

  Olivia spoke quietly. “I want people to talk to me … like they talk to you.”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “I noticed it almost from the moment you got your sight back. The people you meet are more relaxed, more themselves with you now. I know that you’ve noticed.”

  “Of course. But we always knew how awkward some people could be around us. We used to laugh about it.”

  “Believe me, I still laugh. But if I can do a few things to make people forget that I can’t see, at least for a little while, I want to try. Oh, I know it’s pretty obvious in most situations, but occasionally I can pull it off. My cousin took me to a dark little bar downtown on Saturday, and I met and talked to a guy for over a half hour without his knowing. It was great.”

  Kendra sighed. “I knew this was about a guy.”

  “It isn’t. I don’t care about him.”

  “Did he freak when he found out?”

  “A little. But by then the ice had been broken. Look, I don’t expect you to understand.”

  “Of course I understand. I just don’t want you to think you ever have to do that around me.” She added quietly, “I know how lucky I am. I wish with all my heart that I’d been able to bring you with me out of the darkness, Olivia.”

  “I wasn’t lucky enough to be a candidate for the operation. And someday I may come out on my own. They’re making all kinds of medical strides these days.” She suddenly grinned. “But in the meantime, I do the best I can with the help of my friends. Hell, no. I’m not going to pretend to be anything but what I am around you. But I’m still going to practice around you once in a while. I need constructive criticism.”

  “If you insist.”

  “I do.” She took a sip of wine. “But you didn’t come here to talk about my insecurities. What’s bothering you? Is your mom okay?”

  “Blooming. She just left on a cruise to the Caribbean with her cousin, Jan. She told me she might bring back a sexy beachcomber from Cancún.”

  “That sounds like her. Then what is it?”

  She should have known that Olivia would sense her disturbance. As much credit as Kendra received for her powers of observation, it was Olivia who had a way of cutting to the emotional cores of the people in her life. “A man came to see me today. He’s working with the FBI on a murder case, and he wants my help.”

  “Another one of those. You said you were through with that bullshit.”

  “I know. It’s the same case Jeff talked to me about a few weeks ago.”

  “I remember. You sent him packing.”

  “That’s right.”

  “Good. You promised, no more detective work. I can’t stand to go through another one of those cases with you.”

  “And I’ll keep my promise.”

  “So what’s the problem?”

  Kendra looked away. “Something has happened to Jeff. He’s disappeared.”

  “And that’s what they want? They want your help to find Jeff?”

  “They think his disappearance may be related to the case. I don’t have all the details, but I don’t believe he would just take off without telling anybody.” She frowned. “At least, I don’t think he would.”

  “But you’re not sure.” She smiled. “And that’s the reason you came here, Kendra.”

  “Since when do I need a reason? I came here because you offered me a drink.”

  “You came he
re because you want me to tell you it’s okay to do this. Maybe even that you should do this.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. I don’t need anyone to tell me what to do. That’s not why I’m here.”

  “The hell it isn’t.”

  Shit, Olivia knows me too damned well.

  “Okay. Maybe I am worried. What if he’s in trouble? I’d never forgive myself if anything happened to him if I could have prevented it.”

  “Guilt. That’s exactly what he used to rope you into the Racine kidnapping case.”

  “I got one of those kids back. Another few hours, and he would have been buried alive.”

  “But he’d already murdered the other two children, and you almost died in the process.”

  “You’re exaggerating.”

  “Am I?”

  Probably not, Kendra admitted to herself. The children had been abducted by a local politician’s aide, and the case had totally consumed her night and day for the better part of three weeks. By the end of it, she was ill, numb with exhaustion, and her relationship with Jeff was in tatters.

  “It’s been over a year, and sometimes I still wonder if you’ve recovered,” Olivia said grimly.

  “This is different. This is … Jeff.”

  “Jeff … who you swore you never wanted to see again?”

  “I still don’t,” she said tartly. “But I can’t erase him as if he never existed. And it doesn’t mean I want to see him floating facedown in the river.”

  “Listen, Kendra, it’s not as if he was the love of your life. You came together because you wanted a little stability after those first few years of sowing your wild oats when you gained your vision. Jeff Stedler was the perfect choice, steady and yet offering you a chance to do something different and interesting. Only it didn’t turn out that way. Something ‘different’ damn well nearly blew you apart.”

  “We were together almost a year. I can’t just shrug that off.”

  Olivia shook her head. “They’re using your feelings for him to draw you into this investigation.” She leaned forward. “Dammit, remember how hard it was for you? You had never been in such a dark place before, Kendra. You scared the hell out of me.”