Читать книгу Moving Target - Lori May A. - Страница 11

Despite the ease of travel an air ticket would afford her, Francesca had elected to rent a car for the nine-or ten-hour drive to Boston from Richmond.

She wanted the maximum freedom and convenience of swift maneuverability, knowing wherever the case led her, she would be able to get moving from one destination to the next in no time, without the hassle created by waiting to board planes.

She loved driving. The open road, complemented by the ability to process thoughts along the way, offered an opportunity to digest some of the case file information Delphi had sent over, and provided Chesca the chance to think through some of the history of this situation.

Sitting between strangers on an overly crowded popular flight was no place for her to analyze sensitive information. But the opportunity to travel through a few landmark destinations like Washington, Jersey, and Connecticut in the sporty, bright-red Ford Edge she’d rented, was perfect for letting her mind wrap around the beginnings of this puzzle.

Or at least of this particular piece of the puzzle.

Sadly, the Athena Academy and those who supported its existence and purpose were the target of many unfortunate events. For decades, attempts had been made to bring down the Academy, and some of those activities had left bitter results, such as the murder of founder Marion Gracelyn, and that of Rainy Miller Carrington.

But little could be done to dent the conviction of the Athena Force. Nearly two years ago, three graduates had successfully foiled a plot to assassinate Gabriel Monihan, the current president and also, Chesca mused, the significant other of Athenian Diana Lockworth. Though they kept their relationship out of the limelight, they were an incredible match for one another. Chesca and her fellow Athena sisters were truly pleased for Diana and Gabe.

Love like that was hard to find, Chesca knew, never having quite found that perfect someone for herself, but still believing it was possible. Against her parents’ wishes, though, she knew whoever sparked her inner romantic would definitely not be someone whose sole purpose was carrying on socialite affairs and uniting for the basic premise of carrying forward historic family names.

Chesca wanted a relationship like Gabe and Diana’s. She was envious of what they had, but that didn’t equate with jealousy. She was happy for them, and the genuine item they had become. Their relationship was real, something they could count on.

Thankfully the assassination plot on Gabe was shut down so his political career was secured, and his romantic affair with Diana was able to blossom.

It was those moments of happiness for her fellow graduates that Chesca loved to hear about. Between cherished memories of her youthful days at the Academy, and the inspiring careers and personal successes of her friends, there were some truly great moments to celebrate.

The darker moments, like this ongoing struggle with Arachne, were the moments that fueled the drive and passion of Athena’s graduates, the moments where their skills and expertise were best put to use.

As was the case last year, with Alex and Allison solving Marion Gracelyn’s murder and discovering that she had been blackmailed. The truth about Arachne would be found out, with both the Oracle network and Athena women not willing to let anything further happen to bring down what they all held so dear to their hearts.

Throughout the drive, Francesca was able to piece together some of the basic background information on the affairs conducted between Arachne and Giambi.

Between the case file she received from Oracle and the conversation she’d had with Allison, Chesca knew they were each much bigger players in this game than any of them would have originally anticipated.

The ongoing hunt for justice regarding this matter was fortunately being handled by those Chesca could trust. Beth James, gambler extraordinaire, had recently uncovered the connection between Arachne and Giambi, and as Chesca reached her halfway point, she decided to take Allison’s suggestion and dialed a distant friend to exchange information.

“Going back to your roots, are you?” Beth joked after the initial pleasantries of connecting with her former classmate.

“I wouldn’t exactly say that. But, Boston seems to be where the action is, and thus that’s where I’m headed.”

Beth laughed with a familiar chuckle. “So no family dinners, I take it?”

“You know who I consider my real family,” Chesca said.

“Hear, hear. So, what do you want to run by me?”

Chesca was pleased to be able to connect with Bethany. Though she was a skilled blackjack player and a high-stakes poker natural, she donned a disguise each time she played, and kept her identity safe from casino bigwigs. Those who were aware of how well she made her living, however, kept a keen eye out and rooted for whatever persona Beth presented in any televised games.

It was a rush, imagining the sort of life Beth must lead, though Chesca knew all too well there was a good deal of personal vendetta involved. With Beth’s father dying the way he did, at the hands of someone who had been dealt a bad hand, it had become Beth’s personal crusade to bring down known cheaters, but she’d never herself succumbed to the dangerous lifestyle that no doubt tempted far too many a player in Vegas.

“Giambi and Arachne,” Chesca said, getting to the point. “Who’s blackmailing who?” It was half asked in earnest and half as a mockery of what these foolish criminals imagined they could get away with.

“You know the meat,” Beth said. “Giambi’s been making some hefty deposits to a bank account in Puerto Isla on a monthly basis for years. Quite the coincidence he’s also been spared by the IRS, don’t you think?”

Opening the driver’s side window just enough to let in some air on the damp spring afternoon, Chesca turned the volume up a notch on her earpiece. She didn’t want to miss anything Beth had to offer.

“And, I have it on good authority,” Chesca said with a smile, “Giambi came forward to the FBI to cover his assets.”

“You got it. But, Chesca, listen up.” And she did. As her friend took on a more solemn tone, she wanted to pay extra attention to any helpful bits of information. “He needed to do so for serious protection. Whoever was sent to attack him was doing a pretty good job. His car was blown up, for one thing, and that wasn’t the only attempt made on his life. So,” Beth warned, “whatever you’re up to, make sure you watch your back.”

“Will do. And Beth, am I right in this? Giambi referred to his blackmailer as the Queen of Hearts?”

“You’re right,” Beth offered, letting Chesca in on a bit more of Giambi’s background. “He was suspected of trying to firebomb an Arizona prisoner back in 1968, but walked away from the charges. It’s not impossible that prisoner was the Queen of Hearts and Arachne.”

To take down some notes and give Beth her undivided attention, Chesca took an off ramp to stop for a moment in a safe location. “But Giambi had bigger problems.”

“Right. According to him, in his confession of sorts, he admitted the prisoner was his blackmailer and he tried to kill her, but that’s not all.”

“Go on.”

Chesca’s pen was writing as fast as her friend could speak. Amongst the details Beth shared with Chesca, one thing stood out amongst the rest. “Giambi suspects his blackmailer may have been a CIA agent.”

Making a mental note to run this information by Delphi, Chesca was reeling.

If what Giambi confessed was true—though Chesca had known more than one criminal to say anything to get a safe haven—this mercenary, this Queen of Hearts, could have been intrinsic to the many attempts against Athena Academy.

Was it really possible one individual could have so much power, so many connections, as to be involved in such a conspiracy?

Chesca let the thoughts formulate in her head as steady traffic flowed by her on the expressway. She was parked securely off to the side, tucked into a carpool parking lot away from the chaos of the road, but the rumble of the cars couldn’t compete with the traffic in her mind.

What a history of corruption, Chesca thought.

For Giambi to try and kill his rival way back in 1968 meant their relationship went back even further. And he was still running from his blackmailer. Chesca had that gut feeling deep within her that whoever was capable of taunting someone for so many years would be capable of so much more.

She was beginning to get a sense of what she was up against.

But she was never one to tremble in the face of evil. Chesca had seen evil minds at work before, and this wouldn’t be the last she would encounter in her career.

“Thanks for the info, Beth. You’ve been a great help.”

As Bethany James wished her success in her investigation, Chesca returned to the road, eager to get her game on in uncovering the truth about Arachne and the Queen of Hearts. She’d put an end to the question: Are they one and the same?

It would only be a matter of hours until she arrived in Boston. There was so much to do, so many things to sort out. She took a moment to just breathe the air filtering through her window, letting the damp cool spring air refresh her senses.

It seemed any road trips Chesca embarked on were work-related, and for a moment she wondered what it would be like to just take off from work, abandon all sense of responsibility, and travel the countryside with her hair in the wind, music blaring, and nowhere in particular to go.

She laughed, thinking it was impossible for her hair to blow in the wind, with the very short, and very—thankfully—low-muss, no-fuss closely cropped style she preferred. Not one to primp and spend hours of time in front of the mirror in the morning, she had long ago let go of the notion that there was a style to her dark brown hair. The look had grown on her to the point that she became annoyed when even an inch grew in before she had time to make a stop at the barber down the street from her apartment. A barber, for sure, when she discovered she could get the same cut there for a third of the price at one of the fancier salons in the downtown core.

And that whole notion of shooing off responsibility? A road trip might be something she would enjoy, but Chesca was never one to leave work that far behind her.

Perhaps it was the hard-core academic training she’d received prior to joining the Athena Academy. Or perhaps it was the discipline she’d honed while studying amongst the nation’s best. But Chesca prided herself on her ability to focus, set her goals, and go after them with the voraciousness on which her reputation had been built.

Really, she had only ever had one slight pitfall in her academic career, and that had nothing to do with learning or taking on a scholarly challenge. But it had everything to do with why the Academy had recruited her at that time.

That memory had already crossed her mind more than once since receiving this assignment from Oracle.

Returning to her hometown of Boston caused her stomach to turn with mild anxiety, and it wasn’t only her scandalous family that caused her to react as such.

There were other memories there that Chesca preferred to keep in the past. But the past had a funny way of catching up with the present, Chesca knew all too well.

Despite making every attempt to have a normal childhood amongst a family focused on greed, popularity and materialistic gain, Chesca didn’t have it quite so easy as her schoolmates might have thought.

Never would she deny that she’d had every opportunity afforded to her that money could buy, and for most of what her parents could provide for her, she was extremely grateful. She knew well enough not to look a gift horse in the mouth, and she was fully aware she had it pretty darn good compared to some of her schoolmates.

Between being raised by emotionally vacant parents and not having any siblings to count on around home, Chesca had been unprepared for some of the social life she experienced outside of the formal dinners and fancy parties of the Thorne residence. It was difficult for her to connect with “normal” kids, whose families led happy lives and weren’t the subject of gossip for every other parent in the school district.

But that was nothing compared to what she’d endured in fifth grade. Nothing could have prepared her for that.

One of the few friends Chesca had made on the playground was kidnapped, raped and killed.

It stung the core of Francesca, not understanding how something like that could happen with school officials, guardians, and passersby being unaware.

Not only was it a blow to lose a friend to such a tragedy, there was no explaining how the criminal had hidden his identity so well from others.

The murderer was a schoolteacher.

One who had previously had respect and been highly regarded amongst the community. He let them down. He let Chesca down. She had enjoyed his manner of teaching, felt he had a great sense of humor and camaraderie with the students, and worst of all—she’d felt safe with him.

In fifth grade, to be such an age, and lose so much faith and trust in adults, in teachers… Chesca was traumatized.

How could someone like that be revealed as a pedophile who had killed more than once?

The counseling sessions began, then multiplied. No matter how many times a shrink tried to help Chesca heal those wounds, however, there was nothing anyone could do to take away the hate and disappointment she felt toward society.

Even now, so many years after the fact, Francesca Thorne could not make sense of what it was that drove some people to do such horrific things. As a child, it wounded her. But it also propelled her. To survive. To never let anyone get so close to her under such false pretenses.

To pay attention.

To observe and notice hints of personality traits that may subtly indicate something was at work other than what was at face value.

Though she hated admitting it, that unfortunate incident might well have been the foundation of how and why she grew a passion for digging deep into profiling people. It was part of her nature, perhaps, because she felt it had to be, from a very young age.

The old adage that from tragedy rises good, may have had some merit. Perhaps, had it not been for her personal experiences as a child, Chesca might not have taken such a keen interest in human behavior, psychology and social sciences.

Perhaps, had it not been for her own personal experience, she would not have taken her work to heart and excelled to the point that the teachers at Athena Academy noticed her gift almost immediately.

No matter what it was that had led her to the Academy, Chesca was grateful. And being reminded of her roots, the vast differences between her upbringing in a socially corrupt environment and in the nurturing environment of the Academy, was enough to fuel her senses and give her the push to settle the score made against that in which she believed.

She would find out the truth behind Arachne.

She would uncover the mystery of whether Giambi’s CIA blackmailer was the same woman who was doing everything in her power to destroy the Athena Academy for the Advancement of Women.

She would ignore, as much as possible, the reminders of her home life while here in this city, and focus on her task at hand.

Was Arachne also known to some as the Queen of Hearts?

Chesca vowed to find out the truth.

For Oracle. For her fellow Athenians.

For herself.

This was not a social visit. This was about work.

And though her upbringing would argue otherwise, her stay in Boston was going to be anything but a tea party.