Long Shadows, page 29
The problem was she couldn’t just knock on the door and ask to speak to Tanner, who she had found out had round-the-clock care. And she had no idea if there was anyone around now who was with him back during his time as a senator.
Then she had an idea and called the man she was dating. She was thinking of breaking it off with him because their priorities were very different. She had struggled to rationalize why she had begun dating him in the first place and decided she had allowed herself to be swept off her feet by his family wealth, and the prestige of his position in the financial world. But he was part of the same world that people like the Tanners inhabited, so it was worth a shot.
“Hey, Kevin.”
“Alex, great to hear from you finally. You’ve been avoiding my calls.”
“It’s just work, Kevin. Being an FBI agent means I don’t control my days.”
“Well, like I’ve told you, you could just chuck it. I’ll take care of you.”
“Not really what I want. I worked hard to get where I am.”
“I know it’s not PC for me to take care of you. But the reality is, I can. And want to.”
She decided to cut through his me-me ramblings. “I was actually calling for a favor.”
“Name it.”
“Do you know Mason Tanner?”
“The former U.S. senator? My grandparents did when they were alive, and my parents do. I hear he has dementia or something.”
“I was wondering if you know anyone who might still be with him from the early 1980s.”
“Why the interest? You’re not investigating him, are you?”
“I just need to talk to someone who might have known him back then. Nothing is going to happen to Mr. Tanner.”
“I’ll have to ask my parents.”
“Could you check with them as soon as possible? ”
“And you swear this will not reflect badly on Tanner?”
“I’m sure he’s done nothing that would get him in trouble, right?” she replied, neatly turning the tables on him.
“Well, my parents always spoke very highly of him.”
“I’ll wait to hear from you. But as quickly as you can.”
“I’ll call them now. When can we get together again? I was thinking of taking the family jet down to St. Barts. We have a compound there. It would be fun.”
“I don’t have any time off now, Kevin, I’m sorry.”
“See, another reason to let me take care of you,” he said.
He clicked off, and she slowly put her phone away.
A kept woman? Yeah, really my life’s ambition.
She couldn’t deny that it had been fun flying around on private wings, going to great restaurants, and being driven from one fabulous family estate to another. But she could not see herself doing that for the rest of her life. It would seem a cop-out after all she had worked for. And she could only imagine how much Decker would hate it.
She settled back in her seat as a light rain began to fall. She thought about Decker down in Florida doing what Decker did better than anyone she had ever met.
And while I love the guy, and admire all that he can do, I can’t see myself working with him for the next twenty years, either. It’s just too exhausting. And while I like unpredictability to a certain extent, I can’t take it every single moment of every single day.
That was one reason she had sought the transfer to New York in the first place. Not to exactly get away from Decker, but just to have a reprieve, for a bit.
An hour later her phone rang.
Kevin said, “Okay, I spoke with my mother. Mrs. Tanner died three years ago, but there’s a daughter, Deidre. She’s in her fifties. She might be able to help you. I have her contact information. I’ll text it to you.”
“Thank you, Kevin. I owe you.”
“I’ll hold you to that,” he said. In a more earnest tone he added, “I really do love spending time with you, Alex. And I’m sorry for what I said before about chucking your job. That was stupid. And you don’t need anyone to take care of you. You do fine all by yourself.”
“Why this sudden change of heart?” she asked, her tone suspicious.
“Talking to my mother. Listening to her made me think how narrow-minded and shallow my family is.”
“Your family gives a lot to charity.”
“We only give enough to keep up with our ilk and put our name on buildings.”
“But you still do it, when you don’t really have to.”
“I suppose.”
This sort of talk was unusual for him, Alex noted, and she wondered where it was leading.
“I spend all my time making money because that was what I was taught that you did with your life. The fact is, my family has enough money. You’ve showed me another slice of life, Alex. One I needed to see. But for you, I’m just another guy born with a silver spoon in his mouth who thinks he made it all on his own. I had no clue about the reality of most peoples’ lives. Not that I couldn’t have discovered that on my own, and I should have. But I can thank you for showing me that side of life. It’s…it’s made me think. It’s made me think about what’s important. And what’s important is…I love being around you. Because…you’re just a terrific person. And you make me want to be a better person.”
This caught her by surprise. “That’s…that’s really nice to hear you say, Kevin.”
“Do you think we can get together at some point?”
She hesitated. “Yes. I’ll give you a call. And thanks for doing me this favor.”
“Okay, Alex, I hope it will help.”
“Me too.”
He clicked off and Jamison sat there, once more full of doubts.
Chapter 73
THANKS FOR THE INFO, ALEX,” Decker said. “I really appreciate it.”
She said, “No problem. I hope it helps.”
“So, this guy you’re seeing? You don’t think it’s going to work out? Does that mean you’ll be heading back to DC at some point?”
“Um, I’m not sure, Amos. I’ll have to let you know. But keep me in the loop on your case.”
“Sure, okay.”
He clicked off and stared down at his phone.
It’s her life, Decker, not yours.
He looked at the contact information she had forwarded him. Deidre Fellows. Divorced and in her midfifties. That meant she would have been a teenager back in 1981. He wondered if she had been in Miami that night. Fortunately for him, Fellows now lived in Florida. On Sanibel Island, not that far from Fort Myers.
He called White and filled her in.
“Sanibel tomorrow morning then?” she said.
“Yeah. I’ll call the woman ahead of time. Hopefully, she’ll agree to meet with us.”
“And if she won’t?”
“A bridge to cross if we get to it.”
* * *
The next morning they set off.
“So she said she’d talk to us?” asked White as she guided the rental out of the hotel parking lot.
“I left a message. She didn’t call back.”
“Okay, so why are we going there?”
“To cross that bridge.”
There were actually three separate bridges to cross to get to Sanibel from the mainland, although all three were referred to collectively as the Sanibel Causeway.
When they arrived at the house, there was a large gate blocking access. Between Fellows’s house and the property next door, they could see the water. A call box was set up next to the gate. White rolled down her window and pushed the button.
“Yes?” a voice said.
“It’s the FBI. Agents White and Decker to see Ms. Fellows.” She glanced at Decker before turning back to the call box. “We left her a message last night.”
“Ms. Fellows is not available.”
“When will she be available?”
“You’ll have to call and make an appointment.”
“We did. But no one called back.”
“Thank you.”
“Hello? Hello?” White looked over at Decker.
“Roll your window back up,” he said.
She did.
Decker said, “Okay, I’m sure someone is watching us. Let’s drive away. Off this street we turn right, go halfway down, and wait in the parking lot of the dry cleaners we passed. That’s the only way in or out.”
“Okay, but wait for what?”
“A black Mercedes convertible was pulling out of the garage up there. But then it stopped and reversed out of sight. You didn’t notice because you were talking to the person on the box. I think that was Ms. Fellows. If we leave, she might just go on her way. And we can follow.”
“And if it’s not her?”
“Then it’s someone who knows her and we can talk to that person as a way to convince Fellows to see us. Short of that we’ll need a warrant or a subpoena, and we don’t have nearly enough evidence to get either one.”
White did as Decker asked, and they parked in the lot with the dry cleaners.
A half hour later, a black Mercedes convertible drove past. Its top was down, and driving it was a stylishly dressed woman in her fifties.
“I looked her up online last night,” said Decker. “That’s her. Hit it.”
White pulled out into traffic and kept three cars behind the Benz. They followed for about ten minutes until Fellows pulled into the parking lot of a spa. She got out and headed toward the door.
“You want to snag her now?” asked White.
“No, let the lady have a nice spa treatment. She might be in a better mood to answer our questions.”
White looked at him in surprise. “Decker, I didn’t expect that nuance from you.”
“Yeah, I actually shocked myself with that one.”
White parked the car and they settled down to wait.
“How is Alex doing?” asked White.
“Seems to be doing fine,” he replied. If conflicted.
“Nice of her to score this lead for us.”
“Yes, it was.”
“Guess she’d do anything for you, huh?”
He glanced over at her. “And where exactly is this going?”
“Just making an observation.”
“Uh-huh.”
“What do you expect Fellows to tell us?”
“Everything.”
“Seriously?”
“Why not shoot for the stars?”
“And end up always being disappointed?”
“There are far worse things in life than that.”
White was about to launch a retort but said, “I guess you’re right about that.”
An hour and a half later, Fellows walked out of the spa, her skin glowing, her fingernails and toenails painted aquamarine, and her hair shiny.
“I wonder how much all of that cost,” said White.
Decker opened his car door. “Who cares? Let’s go swing for the fences.”
Chapter 74
THE FLASH OF THEIR CREDS made Fellows’s large eyes widen even more.
“You were the one who left a message last night. Look, why are you harassing me? Talk to my accountants. They’re handling everything. I just spend the money, I have no idea where it comes from. And I know nothing about taxes!”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” said White. “We’re investigating a series of murders.”
Fellows almost fell against her car. “Murders? Why the hell do you want to talk to me about murders?”
“Maybe we can go someplace very private and talk it through?” suggested Decker. “Like your home?”
They followed her back to her house, driving through the open gate after her.
“Wow,” said White as they pulled up in front of the three-story mansion set right on the water. “So this is how the other half lives.”
“It’s not half,” replied Decker. “It’s more like a handful.”
They were led inside by Fellows and passed a woman in a maid’s uniform. “Coffee, Jane, by the pool,” Fellows said to her.
“Yes ma’am.”
Decker looked around and noted a large shelf full of photos. He walked over and ran his gaze along them. “Your father?” he said, indicating one large photo of a group of people.
She crossed the room and joined him. “Yes. This actually is his home and all of his things are still out.” She gazed at her father’s picture. “He looked every bit the politician, didn’t he?”
“Were looks deceiving?” asked Decker.
“Did you ever watch the film The Candidate, with Robert Redford?”
“Yes.”
“Well, God bless him, that was my father. He was a delightful man. Loved to campaign, loved glad-handing people, loved the limelight, but was clueless about what the job entailed and didn’t want to put in the work. He never managed to write and pass a single piece of legislation in all his years on Capitol Hill. I’m not telling tales out of school, it was common knowledge.”
“And yet they reelected him over and over,” said Decker.
“Seems to be the norm now, doesn’t it? Okay, let’s get to it, shall we?”
They followed Fellows out to the rear lanai, where an infinity pool was situated along with luxurious plantings, furnishings, and sculptures. Just beyond was an enormous dock, where a boat large enough to qualify as a yacht was tethered.
“So, you have tax problems?” said White, looking around as they sat down at a table.
“Everyone in my income bracket has tax problems. As I said, my accountants are handling that.”
“And your husband?”
“Divorced. That’s why I have tax problems. My father inherited a lot of money. He had great financial advisors who turned that inheritance into a lot more money. He set up trust funds for me starting when I was a little girl. I was a millionaire many times over by the time I was a toddler. My ex-husband did his best to make me poor. But because of my prenup he’s poor, and I’m just working through some issues. I’ll still be rich when I die. Now, why are you here?”
Decker gave a brief description of the case before getting to the night in Miami in 1981. He did not mention Kanak Roe.
“Were you there with your father?” asked Decker.
She said sharply, “Where are you trying to go with all this? My father has Alzheimer’s.”
“We know. And where we’re going with this is, if you were there with your father, do you have any recollection of anything unusual that happened the night of the speech?”
“Okay, yes, I was there. My father was originally from New York, but we moved to Florida when I was little. My parents liked the weather, and the taxes were a lot lower than New York’s. We lived in West Palm at the time. I traveled with my father to Miami. I wanted to meet the president. I was only fifteen.”
“So, anything unusual?”
“Unusual how?”
“Anything out of the ordinary.”
“Not that I can think of. The president gave his speech, then my father followed him with his remarks. There was the photo op and shaking the hands of all the big donors. I got to meet Reagan. He was quite charming. And looked quite robust, considering he’d almost been killed not that long before. Then the president left. No one could leave before him—that’s standard procedure, you know.”
“And then what?”
“And then I went back to the hotel with one of my father’s aides. Then I went to sleep.”
“And your father?”
“I’m sure he came along later. He had some more people to glad-hand.”
“But you didn’t see him that night?”
The maid brought the coffees out and then departed.
Fellows took a sip of hers. “I don’t think I saw him after I got back to the hotel. I mean, I wasn’t a little child he needed to tuck in.” She paused and added, “Why do you think anything unusual happened that night?”
When she said this last part her gaze dipped, and her hand shook a bit, Decker noted.
White said, “That night a Secret Service agent saw something that, let’s just say, changed his life completely. He was never the same since.”
Fellows looked startled. “A Secret Service agent? You mean from Reagan’s detail?”
“Yes.”
“You’re not suggesting that the president—”
“No, of course not,” said Decker. “Reagan was in bed long before then, surrounded by his protection detail. And the agent in question was off duty. Some of his fellow agents went out for dinner and drinks, but he didn’t. He stayed at the hotel.”
Fellows looked thoughtful. “And that’s when you think he saw something unusual?”
“Yes.”
Decker watched her closely. “But since you never left your room and saw nothing, I guess you can’t help us…?”
White added, “And that means the recent murders we’re investigating, I guess the guilty people go free.”
Fellows shot her a stern look. “So now you’re trying to guilt me into talking, I guess?”
“We’re just trying to get to the truth,” replied Decker.
She took another sip of coffee and then looked down at her freshly done nails. “I was very excited that night. After meeting the president and all.” She glanced up, seemingly trying to read their reaction to this. “It made it difficult to sleep.”
Decker shifted his large bulk in his small seat as he perceived what she was trying to do. “And when you couldn’t sleep, what did you do?”
“I might have gone out into the hall and…walked around, gotten some fresh air.”
“And saw…something, perhaps?” interjected White.
“What did this Secret Service agent look like?” Fellows asked abruptly.
Decker took his phone from his pocket, pulled up a file, and showed her a photo of a far younger Kanak Roe from his company’s website.
She looked at it and nodded. “Yes, that looks like the man I saw that night. At least I think so. It was a long time ago, after all,” she added with a touch of defiance. “Memories are not infallible, you know.”
“Yeah, I know,” said Decker, drawing a surprised glance from White. “What was he doing?”
