The Cain Casey Series

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Cain had her driver stop in front of the Piquant, and she and Lou walked quickly through the boutique section to the elevators. From the lobby on the third floor, they crossed to the bank of elevators and punched the eighteenth floor. When the doors opened they headed for the stairs at the end of the hall and jogged down a couple of flights in case their tagalongs made it in on time to see what floor they’d gone up to. By the time they ran background checks on the guests on eighteen, Cain planned to be home.

She could hear the television when she opened the door of the room farthest away from the elevator, but closest to the stairs. Katlin was sitting with Nathan Mosley, who was in town at Cain’s request, and when they were done he’d be on the next flight to Los Angeles. She wanted him gone as quietly as he’d come.

“Mr. Mosley.” Cain walked in and offered him her hand. “Cain Casey, and I want to thank you for agreeing to meet me.”

Nathan was an even five foot, slender man with the reddest hair Cain had ever seen on an individual, and judging from his age someone had concocted the color for him in a bottle. He was stylishly dressed, wore a pair of wingtips whose heels were higher than normal, and glasses that overall made you want to peg him as an eccentric accountant.

“Your bonus made it hard to refuse.” After turning the television off, he sat back down and Cain took Katlin’s seat. “And don’t worry. If anyone looks, the room was occupied by Edward Miller. Just another tourist from the Midwest and no one anyone will concern themselves with.”

“I’m sure that as long as no one actually gets a look at you, you’re right. Your work, after all, speaks for itself.”

“I love a woman who knows how to flatter an old guy like me, but I doubt you went to all this trouble for that alone.”

“That’s not why you’re here, Mr. Mosley, but before we start I do need to know if you’re as discreet as you are talented.”

Nathan picked up a gold-plated cigarette case and held it up before taking a stick out. When Cain nodded once, he lit his smoke with the matching lighter. “I’ve been doing this for close to forty years, and I haven’t had a problem yet. The whole purpose of coming to me is that you want to start fresh. If I give you up the first time someone asks, what’d be the point?”

Cain smiled at him because he showed absolutely no fear, considering who he was sitting across from, and she wasn’t alone. “Before we’re done then, both of us are going to have to bend a little and trust a lot.”

“Agreed, Ms. Casey. I can assure you that if anyone asks, we’ve never met. What can I do for you?”

“Dallas Montgomery.”

He took some drags from his cigarette and stubbed it out in the crystal ashtray the hotel provided. “Actress, I believe, with relatively good success recently.”

Cain’s laugh was heartfelt. “You’re discreet all right, or do you work for Entertainment Tonight? I know who she is. What I don’t know is if she’s a former client of yours.”

“Tell me first why you need to know.”

“Where she started from doesn’t matter to me, but Dallas has recently come to mean something to a friend of mine. Like I found you because of what you do, I’d hope you know who I am before you accepted my invitation. If you do, then you realize in my world I can’t afford to let someone with no past in without question. My friend is in the same position.”

He lit another cigarette and seemed to be strategizing his next move. “Why are you here and not your friend?”

“She ran into your carefully constructed brick wall and asked for help. In my opinion, there are ways through it, no matter how well built or how high you made it.”

“Are you a blaster, Ms. Casey?”

“If the situation calls for it, but not today. What I want today is the key to the gate, and I believe it’s up here.” She tapped the side of her head then pointed at him. “Is Dallas one of your creations?”

“I’m not saying I won’t answer, but one more question before we move on. Is your friend good at keeping secrets? Dallas is a lovely girl I won’t have hurt.”

“Remi Jatibon is as honorable as they come, and you have my word Dallas won’t suffer from this.”

Nathan waved Cain closer and started to talk. In a low murmur he told Dallas’s story, or as much of it as he knew. When he finished he fell back in his seat and spread his hands in front of him. “I’ve had all kinds come to me, and she was the first I almost did for free. It’s good to know the papers I forged have worked up to now.”

“I know how I broke through, but how did Bob Bennett?”

“Dallas never did give up all her secrets, but I think Bob was there before she came to me. He’s got time and history on his side.” He pulled a black book from his bag. “I’m not sure if he’s aware I drew up more than one set of papers for her, but Remi needs to know if she wants to help her.” His finger went down the page and stopped near the middle. “Dallas Montgomery wasn’t the only one who I gave birth to that day. There was a Kristen Montgomery as well, but her I never met.”

“On the documents you forged, what was their relationship?”

“Kristen is her younger sister, or at least that’s what she was when I was done. She’s a better-kept secret, though, than who Dallas really is.”

“Thanks for your help, Mr. Mosley. One more thing,” Cain said as Nathan repacked his stuff. “Because of who Dallas has become, you might get other requests similar to mine. Before you’re tempted by the money, I want the chance to counteroffer.”

“After today I plan to destroy any connection between us.”

The decision made Cain raise her brows. “She must’ve really made an impression.”

“She did, but that’s not why. What Dallas paid me was a fraction of what you offered, and your money finished burying who Dallas was and whatever she did. If anyone finds out what I told you, it won’t have come from me.”

“Still,” Cain said tapping her finger on the briefcase where he’d put his book of potential blackmail, “sometimes the money’s hard to pass up.”

“That’s true, but let me play the devil’s advocate.” Nathan picked up his gold case and lighter and slipped them into his front pocket. “What happens if I renege on our agreement? No amount of cash is worth gambling my life. Your friendship guarantees her past stays buried.”

“It’s been a pleasure,” Cain said as she shook his hand. “If social security doesn’t cut it for you, give me a call.”

“I’ll do that. If you’ve got the occasional job it might be good to stay in practice, in case I get bored out of my mind playing shuffleboard.” Before Cain opened the door Nathan had one more thing to say. “If Dallas finds out I told you, could you apologize for me.”

“Because of you I’m going to wield whatever power I have to wipe her slate clean. Instead of requesting an apology, she’ll probably want to send you a thank-you card.”

“You’re an interesting woman, Ms. Casey.”

“It’s the romantic in me I didn’t know existed until my wife came along,” she said, making him chuckle before she disappeared behind the door.