Nanny

chapter 6

When Summer reached the aquarium, Audra was nowhere to be seen.

Frowning, she checked with the nearest guard. “School group number three finished fifteen minutes ago, ma’am.” He studied a column on his clipboard. “Their bus just left. Number twenty-three.”

“Have you seen their student docent? Small girl, brown hair. She was wearing a red jacket and a black shirt.”

“You mean Audra O’Connor? Sure, I saw her. She took group three today.” The guard shoved back his hat. “Come to think of it, I haven’t seen her around since the tour finished.”

Years of training snapped into place as Summer motioned to Sophy. “Stay beside me, honey. Stay very close.” She scanned the room, searching for dark hair and a bright red jacket. “We’ve got to find Audra.” She held out an aquarium map to the guard, noting his name and badge number. “Please show me the route the tour took.” Her voice fell. “And this is no rehearsal, Simon. I’ll need three of your guards to patrol the other floors. Please give a radio description to all staff members, too.” Her voice was crisp. “How many other exits?”

“Loading and Receiving. There’s the rear deck facing the ocean, but—”

“Alert them all, and give them Audra’s description.” Summer was already shaping a field plan, sorting through her options. Most would involve approval of the aquarium director. “I need to speak with your head of security.”

The guard looked worried as he traced the tour route and handed the map back to Summer. “You don’t think—I mean, her mother told the museum director about what’s been going on, but—”

Summer cut him off, glancing down at Sophy. “Call me on my cell phone with any news, Simon. And give your security director my number.” She rattled off a string of numbers.

“Yes, ma’am.”

Summer was at the far stairs when he called her back, his walkie-talkie raised to his ear.

“I’d better take you upstairs myself, Ms. Mulvaney.”

“Did you find Audra?”

“No, ma’am, but we found her red jacket.” His face was grim. “A guard noticed it behind a bench near the sea-otter tank.”

“Simon, get people on the exit doors immediately.” Summer had a cold feeling in her stomach as she tried Audra’s cell phone. Again there was no answer.

“What’s going on?” Sophy demanded. “Why is everyone frowning? Audra’s late all the time.”

“It’s probably nothing, honey, but let’s you and I check things out. Just like in Mission Impossible.”

“Cool. Let’s go.” Sophy skipped toward the stairs, too young and protected to understand that life didn’t always deal out Hollywood-style happy endings.

Tate Winslow stared at the woman he had loved irrationally since even before their first date in law school. “What’s wrong, Cara? Talk to me.”

“There’s very little to say.” Her shoulders were a stiff, unrelenting line. “Several new cases are taking far more time than I imagined, and two of our staff are out on leave. The girls need me, too, with their new nanny coming.”

She sounded exhausted, Tate realized. She’d been tired before, but never like this, as if she couldn’t find enough energy to focus.

Fool that he was, he hadn’t seen it until now.

“You can turn the Costello appeal over to Tony or Tristan. Either one would take it in a second.”

Cara’s eyes hardened. “The day I can’t do my job is the day I quit.”

“It isn’t professional failure to step back and take a breather now and again,” Tate said quietly. “Maybe it’s time you dropped the pace a little. You’ve been working twelve hour days since I first met you.”

She had been sorting linens at the college laundry, her hands moving fast and expertly. Her face was flushed, her clothes sweaty, and Tate had loved her at first sight. So had most of the male students in the law-school dorm. The linen service had had a huge run on towels that week.

She had created quite a stir when she had shown up with black boots and sleek black jeans in the front row of Contracts I the following Monday. The first week she had twenty offers for dinner and a study date, but she turned them all down—including Tate’s.

After that, the queue in the linen service had wound down the hall and out to the street. Tate had been somewhere in the middle.

“Talk to me, Cara.”

“There’s nothing to discuss.” She sounded calm, at least on the surface. “My decision is made.”

“Last time I checked, there were two of us involved in this wedding. I’d say that gives me the right to ask a few questions when you try to call it off.”

“I can’t discuss this now. The girls are expecting me for dessert, summer school–homework check and bedtime stories.”

Her face was pale. Did Tate imagine it or was there a hint of fear amid the exhaustion there?

“Is it your boss? I know he’s been giving you hell. If so, I can make a few calls.”

“I don’t want or need special favors. You of all people should know that.”

He shrugged his shoulders. “Hey, it was worth a try.”

Cara didn’t smile. “I’ve got to go.” When she reached for the door, Tate cut her off. “I’m not letting you leave. You’re working too damned hard, Cara.”

“And you aren’t? You’re the one with back-to-back breakfast meetings, thirteen-hour days, and power naps in the limo on the way to another policy meeting.”

“That’s different.”

“Why? Because you’re a man and I’m just a little ole woman who belongs at home in the kitchen anyway?”

“You know that’s not what I meant.” Tate held down his anger. She was baiting him, but try as he might, he couldn’t figure out why. “I only meant that you’re worn out. No one works well in a state of exhaustion.”

“You do.”

“I get by,” he said roughly. “And I get by because I’m thinking about a woman with soft skin and crooked eyebrows. A woman who tells me straight when I screw up. A woman I mean to make my wife, in front of our families and closest friends, then disappear somewhere and make love to her until neither of us can stand up and walk.”

She closed her eyes. “Don’t. This is already hard enough.”

“Then talk to me, damn it.” Tate gripped her shoulders, turning her to face him. “Tell me what you’re afraid of, Cara. We’ll work it out together, whatever it is.”

“Not this time.” The words were a whisper.

Tate heard the sound of regret—and terrible pain. In that moment, he realized he was losing her.

Her cell phone pealed twice from inside her purse. She still insisted on using the tune from Gilligan’s Island so she could recognize her calls amid all the others in public places.

“Hello?”

Tate watched her face change.

“When?” Blindly she grabbed for the door. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“What is it, Cara?” He put a hand on her shoulder, another on the door. “Damn it, tell me.”

Her fingers trembled as she slid the phone into her pocket. “It’s Audra. Today’s her docent day at the aquarium.” Her voice broke. “No one can find her. She’s gone.”

Tate pushed her into a chair and grabbed his shirt. “I’ll drive you to Monterey.”

“There’s no need. My car’s parked outside.”

“Damn it, I’m driving you.” Tate worked hard to hold back his anger. “There’s no further discussion.” He tucked in his shirt while he looked for his shoes. “I’ll get a police escort to save time.”

This time she didn’t protest his interference.

“My car will be waiting in front by the time we get downstairs.”

She nodded jerkily. “They’re searching the aquarium now.” Her hands locked. “What if they don’t find her? What if someone—”

“Don’t.” Tate pointed to the nearby phone. “Call Margo and tell her what’s happened. Tell her I’ll be in touch when I can.”

He was dialing his cell phone as he disappeared into the bedroom.

“No sign of her on the third floor, Ms. Mulvaney.” A guard with thinning hair met them at the stairwell outside the kelp tank. “I checked with people at all the exits, and no one saw her go out.”

“What about the front?”

“That could be a problem.” He looked down at Sophy and lowered his voice. “The regular guard was sick today. The replacement worker just left ten minutes ago, and no one’s been able to reach him.”

“Keep trying, please.” Summer studied the floor plan. “What about the rooms over here?”

“Private offices, ma’am. Administration mostly.”

“Has anyone checked them?”

“I don’t believe so. I’ll get someone on that right away.” He turned away, his radio squeaking.

Sophy tugged at Summer’s arm. “Why are you so upset? Audra’s probably in the cafeteria sneaking a cup of coffee or flirting with that cool new boy who started working there.”

Summer motioned to the guard. “Maybe you should check the cafeteria. Try the restrooms, too.” She tapped on the map. “Meanwhile, we’ll start here and work our way clockwise, room by room.”

“You think Audra’s hurt or something?” Sophy’s eyes were huge and unblinking.

“Don’t worry, honey. She was probably confused and went to the wrong place.” Summer checked her watch. “I have to phone your mom again.”

“She’ll be so frightened,” Sophy said gravely. “She worries a lot lately. She tries to hide it, but we can still tell.”

So much for fooling the kids, Summer thought. As they crossed the corridor, she dialed Cara O’Connor’s cell phone.

Cara answered on the second ring, sounding breathless.

“Ms. Mulvaney here. We’re checking the building now. So far no one has seen her leave.”

“Thank God. Did you try the cafeteria? She sometimes sneaks coffee from a nice young man who works in there.”

Summer smiled slightly. “Sophy just told me that, so I sent someone to have a look. Don’t worry, ma’am. We’ll find her.”

“We’ll be there as fast as we can. How is Sophy?”

“Just fine. Would you like to speak with her?”

“Please.”

Sophy took the phone eagerly. “Don’t worry, Mom. Ms. Mulvaney and I will find her. She’s probably sitting on a bench somewhere playing her Walkman.” Sophy listened for several moments, then nodded. “Yes, I’ll stay with Ms. Mulvaney. She told me that, too.” She looked up at Summer. “I like her, Mom. She’s nice—and wait till I tell you about my ballet class. Okay. I love you, too. Bye, now.”

She handed the phone back to Summer. “I’m glad the senator’s with her. She sounds upset.”

Summer smoothly guided Sophy behind her before she pushed open the door to the women’s bathroom. A mother with a baby in a carrier was washing her hands at a sink, and two teenagers were combing their hair. Otherwise, the room was empty. After checking each stall, Summer headed to the next room. With every minute that passed, the possibility of foul play grew.

A woman in a museum uniform met them down the corridor. “Are you Ms. Mulvaney?”

“That’s right. Any news?”

“No, this area’s all clear. I covered every inch. One of the guards brought up her jacket for you.”

Summer took the coat, shoving down a stab of disappointment. “Thank you.”

“I’ll carry it,” Sophy said gravely. “Audra always leaves things lying around.” She folded the jacket, frowning. “I don’t think she was going down to the cafeteria or the gift shop, though.” She ran a hand over the red fabric. “I think she was meeting someone.”

Summer nodded at the guard. “We’ll check, honey.”

“No.” Sophy didn’t look up. “Not up here. I think she—”

Sophy was cut short by the whine of the guard’s radio. “We have the girl. Repeat, we have the girl.”

Summer said a silent prayer of thanks. “Is she hurt? Do you know her status?”

The guard nodded. “She’s fine. They’re on the way up now.”

Audra appeared at the far end of the floor, looking pale and anxious, and Sophy immediately charged toward her. Summer followed, scanning the area for any undue interest shown by the half a dozen people scattered among the marine exhibits.

A female guard motioned to Summer. “She was in a restroom on the ground floor. Said she met a girlfriend after the tour. The two of them were in there talking, and she says she didn’t realize the time.”

Summer noted the woman’s name and badge number. “Thank you for all your help. I’ll call her mother, then have a word with your head of security. I’m sorry for the trouble.”

“Just glad it was a false alarm. Everyone is jumpy these days. I’ll call off the search.”

Summer watched the two girls, leaning close in a bar of late-afternoon sunlight. Audra was as tense and closed off as her younger sister was full of innocent enthusiasm, but different or not, the bond between them was deep.

Audra waited stiffly as Summer walked closer. “I-I’m sorry, Ms. Mulvaney. I didn’t realize how late it was. I didn’t think that being a few minutes late would matter.”

“Twenty minutes is not a few minutes.” Summer was halfway into an angry speech when she caught herself. Punishment was for Audra’s mother to set. Right now Summer had to handle damage control.

As the aquarium’s security director appeared, Summer frowned at Audra. “You’ve made trouble for quite a lot of people. You could help by apologizing to some of them.”

Audra flushed. “Oh, all right. Even though I think you’re all making a big, stupid deal out of nothing.” She faced the security director squarely and made a credible apology, then thanked him for his concern. Summer was struck by her aplomb as she turned to thank two other guards.

When she was done, Summer pulled out her cell phone. “Why don’t you give your mother the news that you’ve been found. She and Senator Winslow are on their way here.”

“You called my mother?” Audra’s shoulders snapped into a tight line of anger. “Why did you do that?”

“Lower your voice, please.” Summer reined in her temper, aware that Audra knew nothing about the recent threats. “I phoned your mother as soon as you didn’t appear with your group. It’s my job to keep her informed.”

“She treats me like a baby. Everyone does.” Audra slung her jacket over her shoulder. “I hate it.”

Then don’t act like a baby, Summer wanted to say. Instead she held out her cell phone. “She’s very worried about you, Audra.”

“No kidding. She worries about everything.”

Another reason to tell the girls the truth, Summer thought grimly. But it still wasn’t her call. While Audra paced the room, phone to her ear, Summer sat down with Sophy.

“She didn’t mean to cause any trouble.” Sophy watched her sister pace. “She just likes to talk. When she saw her friend downstairs, they started gossiping and forgot the time.”

“Then she’ll have to learn not to forget. Audra inconvenienced a dozen people today and frightened her mother badly.” Summer frowned, remembering that Sophy had been about to tell her something earlier. “What did you mean before when you said Audra was going to meet someone. How did you know that?”

Sophy looked away, fiddling with her backpack. “It was just a thought. It doesn’t matter.” Audra was still talking on the cell phone, arguing with her mother, when Sophy pushed to her feet. “Can we go now?”

Sitting beside Tate Winslow, Cara put down her phone with a sigh of relief. “They found her in the bathroom. She was talking with a friend and didn’t notice the time.”

“Thank God.” Tate looked away from traffic and squeezed her shoulder. “Is Sophy upset?”

“Ms. Mulvaney says she’s been wonderful. The two seem to have hit things off in grand fashion.”

“That’s the new nanny, right? How is Audra taking that?”

“Too soon to say. The girls loved their old nanny, even though she was getting very lax.” Cara laughed. “Maybe because she was lax.”

“What was the problem again?”

“Appendicitis. It ruptured while she was shopping in San Francisco on her day off. She’s still very sick, and I’m just glad I could find a dependable replacement on short notice.”

“Where did you find Ms. Mulvaney, by the way.”

“Oh, a friend of a friend,” Cara said vaguely. “I have my own network, too, Senator.”

“I don’t doubt it for a second, Counselor.” Tate smoothed a strand of hair off her cheek. “Now tell me what’s really going on.”

Cara stared out at the line of lights sprawling south toward Carmel. “Sometimes I wish you weren’t so smart. And so damned stubborn.”

“Same goes, Counselor.”

“It was all a very long time ago. I thought it was finally over.” Cara closed her eyes. “Buried deep.”

“I haven’t got a clue what you’re talking about, honey.”

“You aren’t supposed to.” The exhaustion was back in her voice. “No one is. I worked hard to be sure of that.” Cara’s voice wavered. “But someone found out, and they’ll use it against me. Tate, I don’t how to tell you this, but—” She stared down at her locked hands. “I was pregnant. It was years ago, back in a different universe. It was sordid and hopeless and I had school debts to repay, my mother to support, my sister to worry about. There was no way in heaven I could—” Her voice broke. “What could I give a baby when I could barely feed myself?”

“I’m pulling over—”

“No, keep driving. Otherwise, I won’t have the nerve to finish.”

She closed her eyes, swept back to the cramped student apartment in West Philadelphia, with the trolley tracks right outside her window. She remembered the cold clack of metal wheels late at night, and she remembered feeling frightened, alone, and desperate. Then she’d gotten sick, and a simple bout of flu had developed into pneumonia.

A worse nightmare had followed.

“Who was the father?” Tate’s face was set in grim lines.

“Do you really want to know?”

“Tell me his name. I know the rest already. If he didn’t want the child, that makes him a coward as well as a bastard.”

“Close enough.”

He stared into a line of traffic. “I could kill him for leaving you like that.”

“Forget him. He was—a mistake. A colossal, inexcusable mistake.” Cara sat back stiffly. “I was taking a class with him, and we happened to meet at the library once or twice. It seemed so casual at the time. We did some research together, and the next thing I knew . . .” She gave a broken laugh. “What a pathetic cliché. He was my professor, Tate. Older, experienced, handsome. Like a fool, I fell blindly in love, right into bed with him.”