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Luckily, I didn’t have to wait long.
Once our meals were delivered—freaking lasagna Bolognese yet again—he started talking.
“I’m concerned about Lacey,” he said.
“Why?”
“I’m worried. The parties to that confidentiality agreement aren’t nice people.”
“Derek Wolfe is dead.”
“But—”
“Yes, I know. You told me the other is still alive. Lacey figured out the name.”
Blaine went white. “She did?”
I nodded. I wasn’t going to say any more. If I acted like I knew the name, maybe he’d spill something.
“Don’t let the collar fool you. He’s not a good person.”
Collar? As in a submissive’s collar? Geez, get your mind off of sex, Charlie. A collar.
Damn.
A priest’s collar.
A priest.
Father Jim.
James.
Damn.
Had I been talking on the phone with the other party to that agreement? What did they have to keep confidential? And who was the woman with an odd name?
I hoped Dr. Woolcott could help Lacey remember.
Whoever that woman was, we needed her.
“Have you been able to find the woman?” Blaine asked.
Keep cool, Charlie. Let him think you know what he’s talking about.
“Not yet.”
“I’d imagine she’ll be difficult to find. They paid her a mint.”
I nodded again, my mouth full of lasagna.
“Lacey knows this, as an attorney, but I’m going to ask you again, Charlie, to keep my name out of this. I could lose my license.”
Yeah, he could. Especially since Father Jim was still alive. Derek Wolfe couldn’t rise from the grave and sue Blaine for malpractice, but Father Jim sure could, and I’d bet he had plenty of cash stashed away.
“I gave you this information for a reason, Charlie,” he was saying.
I swallowed. “Of course. To help Lacey.”
“Yes, of course. But also because I’m so fond of you.”
“I see.”
“I’d like to—”
I dropped my fork onto my plate and held up my hand to stop him. “Blaine, I’m seeing someone else.”
“Roy Wolfe. I know. I’m concerned. The Wolfes… They aren’t good people.”
“Derek Wolfe wasn’t a good person. Roy Wolfe is a great person.”
“Don’t let all the pomp and diamonds cloud your judgment,” he said. “Apples never fall far from the tree.
I stood and placed my napkin on the table. “Thanks for lunch.”
“Don’t go,” he said. “I only meant that—”
“I know exactly what you meant. You want me to stop seeing Roy. I won’t do it. I love him.”
“You love him? After a few weeks?”
After one week, but I wasn’t going to broadcast the fact.
“I take it that’s all the information you have for me? To tell me once more not to tell anyone where I got the information? To cover your own ass?”
He cleared his throat. “Don’t make a scene, Charlie.”
“I won’t. After all, I’d have to be here to make a scene.” I walked out, a saccharine smile on my face, and hailed a cab.
I’d had more than enough of Blaine Foster for the rest of my life.
To think, I’d slept with that man! Yeah, he was good-looking, but of course he was old enough to be my father.
Eeewww!
My stomach churned. What had I been thinking?
I got into the cab, and my phone was buzzing once more. This time it was Lacey.
“Hello?” I said breathlessly.
“Charlie, it’s me,” she said. “Can you come to the office? I remember the woman’s name.”“Okay,” Rock announced. “Lace has some news, and we think it’s good. Go ahead.”
“I was planting marigolds in a planter today, and I thought about the marigolds and zinnias my mother used to plant every year, and it dawned on me. The woman’s name. It was Zinnia!”
“That is unusual,” Reid said.
“Exactly. I can’t recall the last name, though, but now, it’s like I can see the print on the document. Her first name is Zinnia.”
“And you have no idea what the document is about?” Reid said.
“No. Like I told you, I only saw the signature page.
“Maybe the therapist can help you see the rest of the name,” I said. “It’s amazing—”
Roy darted me a look.
I cleared my throat. “What they can accomplish with hypnosis. I’ve been reading up.”
I hadn’t been about to tell them Roy had seen Dr. Woolcott, but clearly that was his fear.
“Did you happen to remember the last name of the other party?” Roy asked. “The guy named James?”
Lacey shook her head. “It’s weird. I just started thinking about zinnias, and I remembered. I can’t imagine there will be a time when I’m thinking about anyone’s last name.
“So Dad and this James guy entered into some kind of agreement with a woman named Zinnia.” Rock spoke more to himself than any of us. “I’ll get the PIs on a Zinnia.”
“If Dad paid her off with enough—and I’m sure he probably did—we might never find her. She could be anywhere, maybe even changed her name.” Reid shuffled papers.
“Still, there will be a birth certificate on file somewhere,” Lacey said. “We can begin there if nothing else surfaces. Probably not a lot of Zinnias born in New York.”
