Holiday Illusion. Lynette Eason

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      “Right, well, it’s a little more in-depth than that.”

      “Okay.” He held out his hand. “Why don’t we walk down to the cafeteria and get a bite to eat. You can explain over our savory hospital food.”

      Anna was about to agree when the door opened. Dr. Mark Priestly entered, followed by an orderly pushing a gurney. “I thought Paulo might like a roommate. Sometimes it can get awfully lonely when you can’t get out of bed. The television will probably get old fast.”

      A boy about Paulo’s age lay on the gurney. Wide green eyes took in his new surroundings. A shock of red hair stood on end and the freckles on his pasty white cheeks appeared three-dimensional. The portable heart monitor rode in front of him, the oxygen tube blended into his face. A worried mother, the last to enter the room, was in her early thirties and the feminine version of her son.

      Mark spoke up. “Missy, I’d like to introduce you to some friends of mine. This is Anna Freeman and Lucas Bennett. They’re here with Paulo who’s over there sleeping.” He gestured toward the newcomers. “This is Missy and Andy Spears. Andy’s waiting on a new heart, too. He’s ten.”

      Anna shook the woman’s hand. “I wish it were under other circumstances, but it’s nice to meet you.”

      Giving a wan smile, Missy shrugged. “I’m just glad Andy will have someone to talk to…when he feels like talking. He seems to be getting weaker all the time.” Tears appeared but didn’t fall. Just as quickly, they were gone. Anna suspected Missy probably went through this many times during her days—and nights.

      “I know Paulo will appreciate it. I’m sure the two of them will hit it right off, although Paulo is very weak, too. I don’t know how much talking he’ll do.”

      “It doesn’t matter.” Missy stroked her son’s red hair. “As long as he’s willing to listen, my Andy will keep the conversation going.”

      “Okay guys,” Mark said from the door. “I’m off to check on other patients, but let me know if there’s anything else you need. I’ll be back this afternoon.”

      “Thanks, Dr. Priestly,” Missy all but whispered, and sat on the bed beside her son who was fumbling with the remote.

      Lucas waved to Missy and stepped outside to speak privately with Mark. Anna turned to Missy. “We were just going down to grab a bite to eat. Would you like to join us?” Although she really needed to talk to Lucas alone, she felt sorry for the sad-eyed mom.

      “No, we’re fine. I’ll stay here with Andy. Thanks, though.”

      “Anytime. I’m sure I’ll see you later.”

      Stepping from the room, she was just in time to watch Mark disappear around the corner at the end of the hall. Turning to Lucas, she said, “Ready now?”

      “Ready.”

      

      Anna took a bite of her chicken salad sandwich eyeing Lucas while she chewed. How much should she tell him? What would he think about her when he found out? She dropped her focus to her plate.

      Lucas set his cheeseburger aside and raised a red-tinged golden brow. “So?”

      “All right, here goes. I’m an ex-FBI agent. I quit four years ago, signed my resignation and never looked back.” At least not any more than I could help.

      Shock seemed to hold Lucas captive. She went on before he could ask the questions she saw gathering on his lips. “A little over four years ago, I was working undercover as an au pair for a wealthy, big-name family here in Rocking Wave Beach. It was supposed to be a routine sting operation. I was there to get information about this guy who was involved in all kinds of bad stuff. It was a well-known fact that he worked from home, and our main target was his office computer. Anyway, I waited until my ‘employer’ left for a business meeting in India. I got on his computer and went to work.” Talking about Chastelain was hard for her.

      “I think you left a few details out of the many talks we had in Brazil.” He cleared his throat. “So what did you find?”

      “Nothing.”

      “Huh?”

      “Nothing terribly incriminating. Not for the big stuff we were after. There were a lot of e-mails containing numbers. Written almost in something like code.”

      “What did that mean?”

      “I wasn’t sure, but I had a gut feeling it had to do with money. I needed one of our analysts to go over them, so I forwarded them to her, then erased my ‘footprints.’ I just had to take the chance he wouldn’t realize someone had been on his computer. Later, we figured out the numbers were the ones entered into a set of books. Doctored books.”

      “And that’s how you guys were able to arrest him? For illegal books?”

      “Yes, but I wanted more. I knew there was more. He was reportedly into all kinds of things. Thanks to another agent, we had pictures of de Chastelain meeting with a member of one of the top crime families in South Carolina. Anyway, I finally cracked his safe open and found the books. There were two sets. One was a record of income from the legitimate side of his import/export business, the second set of books held doctored numbers. That’s the income that was reported to the IRS. The other one kept up with what they really brought in. Anyway, by the end of the investigation, the only thing he was able to be charged with was tax evasion.” She shook her head, took a sip of her soda. “I had a small microphone planted in his office, but he never mentioned murder, gun running, or the transporting of illegal aliens from Mexico to Texas, then on to South Carolina—at least not in a way that we could pin a charge on him. But he did brag about stealing the IRS blind.”

      Lucas looked a little green. She placed a hand over his. “Are you all right?”

      “I’m not sure. Is there more?”

      “Yes.”

      “How much?”

      “Dr. Lucas!”

      They turned as one to see the nurse rushing toward them.

      Anna’s heart stopped. Paulo.

      Nurse Lindsey, the woman assigned to Paulo, said breathlessly, “Paulo’s in cardiac arrest. They’re working on him now.”

      Anna and Lucas bolted from the cafeteria and took off down the corridor.

      

      Arriving at Paulo’s room, they found him surrounded by medical staff but still alive. Machines whirred, Mark barked orders, nurses jumped…and Paulo fought like a trouper.

      Anna felt tears clog her throat. How did she pray? If she prayed for a heart for Paulo, she was praying for someone else to die. Shutting her eyes, she told the Lord, It’s in Your hands, God, whatever You decide is best.

      For the next hour, she and Lucas paced and she prayed. Finally, Mark came out to tell them that Paulo was bouncing back and would be in good hands for now but said in all seriousness, “I hope he gets a heart soon. He doesn’t have much longer without it.” Lucas followed Mark back into the СКАЧАТЬ