Long Shadows

Chapter 72

A​s she sat in her car, Alex Jamison glanced up at the four-story brownstone located on New York’s Upper East Side. This was the home of the extremely wealthy octogenarian Mason Tanner.

In his email, Decker had given her a rundown on where his investigation stood, and Jamison knew she was taking a risk coming here. She was not assigned to this case, and Tanner, a former U.S. senator, was a very prominent citizen. Still, when Decker asked, her instinct was to deliver as much as she could. And she thought, as he did, that whatever had happened in Miami that night might have something to do with Tanner, or someone connected to him. At the very least, if she could help rule it out, that would assist Decker.

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.