“And Lisa? Are the two of you still friends?”

“Yes. She got married while I was in college, and now has two kids. Her husband’s white, and an investment banker. The last time I was back home, their youngest son had just turned two.”

“It sounds like there were some positives that came out of a really bad experience.”

“Yeah, there were. I think there were a lot of lessons learned. I know it changed my life, and my father’s. He wasn’t quite the same after that. He became a little more protective, and a little less likely to welcome newcomers to the community. But I think even he realized that it had worked out for the best in the end.”

Teren pulled up to the curb in front of Alex’s building.

“I think it did, too.”

The two women looked at each other in the light from the street lamp. It had been an emotional night, and neither of them really knew what to do now. Alex didn’t really want to just let Teren drive away, yet she couldn’t think of a reason to keep her there.

Teren couldn’t decide whether she wanted to leave because she was tired, or because of the intensity of their talk. But when she really thought about, she didn’t want to leave just yet. So, instead of leaving, she sat there, watching Alex.

Alex finally remembered the question she’d wanted to ask when they got in the car.

“Teren, who was the man with George Mather?”

Teren raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t I tell you that?”

“No. You just called him ‘the man’ or ‘the guy.’ Did you ever learn his name?”

Teren nodded. “His name was John Treville. And while he’s not a card-carrying member of anything, he is a part of this, somehow.”

“How do you know?”

Teren took a deep breath. “Because he’s a shareholder in Kittredge. He also is a member of the board of The Talcott Companies, and Vice-President of East Penn Telecom.”

“That’s where Brogan works.”

“Yes. He’s also a member of the Board of Directors for Martin Richmond’s CMF.”

Alex took in this information quietly. She realized things were getting even more complicated.

“How much of this can I share with my team?”

Teren tensed. “Why do you have to share any of it?”

Alex thought about that. “You’re right. I can always work around the fact that I know John Treville had his hands in the dealings in Europe. I can ask Ben and Mark to look at the records here. That should show us the connection.”

Her companion visibly relaxed.

“But, Teren?”

“Alex?”

“I need to ask you to please show me what you took from Mather’s house.”

Teren looked away from the younger woman. She had wanted to open the pouch in the privacy of her home, but Alex had broken the rules by letting her take it from the scene. Hell, they hadn’t just gotten rid of the rule book, they buried it. She supposed this was something she owed the agent.

Slowly reaching into her jacket pocket, Teren withdrew the small leather bag. She turned on the overhead light, and loosened the ties on the pouch. Teren upended it, letting its contents slide into her hand. When she saw what it was, her vision blurred.

“It’s Perry’s pocket watch. George had always wanted it, and when I realized I’d left it behind on Perry’s body, I cried. His father had given it to him, and his father’s father had passed it down to his son. It actually dates to before the turn of the last century.”

Alex gently took it from Teren’s hand, holding it up in the light. It was gold, and the engaving was in Latin.

“Do you know what the engraving says?”

“‘Time is the most precious thing a man has. Use it wisely.’”

“Who’s the quote from?”

“I think it was his great-grandfather.”

Alex reached for the clasp on the watch to open it. She saw the face of the watch, and noticed the diamonds set beside each of the numbers. It was an absolutely beautiful watch, she decided, and she felt no guilt for letting Teren take it from the scene.

Then she noticed that something was stuck in the casing.

“Teren, can you pull out your flashlight? I think there’s something here.”

Teren frowned but did as Alex requested. When she focused the beam on the inside of the watch casing, she drew in a short breath.

There was a key attached to the watch. It was a long square key with holes on each side.

“Teren, do you know what this is to?”

“I’ve never seen it before. It wasn’t there the last time I saw the watch.”

“It looks like a key for a safety deposit box. Do you know if George had one?”

“Not a clue.”

Alex reached in, and carefully pried the key loose.

“I’m taking charge of this, Teren.”

“No problem. I just wanted the watch.”

“It’s yours. Now, we have two problems.”

“What problems?”

“One, where is the box that this key fits. And two, what kind of story are we going to invent as to why the key is here, and not at the scene.”

Teren shook her head. “I didn’t mean to cause you so many problems, Alex.”

“Hey, I don’t mind problems like this. Just do me a favor, please?”

“What?”

“No more pointing guns at my partner.” She met Teren’s eyes with a half-smile. “I’m not gonna hear the end of that for weeks.”

Teren chuckled.

Chapter Thirteen

Alex called David’s house first thing the next morning. Miri answered.

“Alex, what the hell did you do to my husband last night? He came home very late and in the foulest mood he’s ever been in. I could barely get him to talk to me, and when he did, he made no sense. All he could said was something about falling axes and women holding guns in his face. What happened?”

Alex sighed. “Well, I kind of introduced him to an assassin. But he told me wanted to meet her.”

“An assassin? Is she the one who was pointing a gun at him?”

“Yeah. David said the wrong thing, and Teren was tense to begin with. But she never would have pulled the trigger, honest.”

Miri was quiet. “Is this person a friend of yours, Alex?”

Alex had to think about that for a moment. Did she consider Teren a friend?

“Well, um, you see, she’s — well, Teren’s — uh …” Alex bit her lip. Then she drew in a breath and said, “Yeah, she is a friend.”

“Do me a favor, would you? Make sure your friend doesn’t kill my husband. I’ve kind of gotten used to having him around.”

Alex laughed. “I promise, Miri, I’ll protect him from her.”

“Good. Now, would you like to speak to him?”

“Please.”

She heard Miri set the phone down, and walk away. After a minute there were strange sounds coming over the other end of the line.

“Hello? David, is that you?”

“Naaaaah.”

“Arlea? What are you doing on the phone?”

“Ahhh, na ssstsstt laa.”

“Oh, really.”

The baby talk continued for a moment, then Alex heard David in the background calling his daughter’s name. “Arlea, what are you doing? Give me that.”

There was a yell of outrage from Alex’s playmate, then David came on the line.

“Alex?”

“Yeah. Nice to know you’re teaching your daughter proper phone etiquette.”

“Sure. Now if I can just get her to not slobber over the receiver, she’ll be ready for the world.”

Alex had to laugh. The image of David standing in his living room, holding a wet phone between two fingers rose unbidden in Alex’s mind. She couldn’t stop laughing, and after a minute, David got annoyed.

“It’s not that funny, Alex. Now, get over yourself, and tell me what you learned from the tall one with the short fuse.”

“Right.” Alex let the last of her chuckles fade away. “Okay, long and short of it. We talked, we ate dinner, she dropped me off at home.”

“Oh, come on. Details are required, partner.”

“Well, she likes good wine, Spanish food, and her family is Greek.”

“Good. Great. I’m sure those things will help us crack this case.”

“I learned a few other things, but I don’t want to talk about them over the phone. Do you and Miri have anything planned today, or are you available for kidnapping?”