Undercover Husband

“‘Lily, your folly and coquetry have broken the spell of your beauty.’” He spoke out loud, feeling her eyes on him. “We can assume this was the author’s way of telling you he couldn’t handle your rejection.”

“The postcard made him furious.” Her voice shook.

Roman nodded. “I agree.” His gaze darted to the next lily entry. “Lily means, I’m dead.”

His frown deepened. But it was when he reread the last line that his heart did a drop kick. “If a flower is offered reversed, its direct signification is likewise reversed so that the flower now means the opposite.”

He raked a hand through his hair. The opposite of I am dead...

His eyes sought the plastic bag and he opened it. Two dead lilies stared up at him. But the petals had been folded downward.

If the flower is offered reversed, the flower now means...you’re dead.

Roman absently tapped the paper against his cheek. This guy was definitely certifiable. But whether he was really dangerous, or just enjoyed threatening his victims, remained to be seen.

To his shock, he was rocked by a savage, unprecedented desire to make certain the lovely woman sitting across from him wouldn’t suffer any more fear at the stranger’s hands.

Already a plan was forming in his mind. Where the idea came from he had no clue, unless it had leaped straight from his gut. Some primeval instinct was warning him this was no ordinary case, nor she no ordinary woman. Diana had sensed the same thing when she’d begged him to take it, rather than give it to one of the other P.I.s.

Though he doubted that this psycho would actually do more than harass her, Roman could never rule out the possibility that Baird meant what he said. If so, Brittany Langford needed help, and she needed it now.

“What are you thinking?” she asked in an anxious voice.

Roman closed the file, schooling his features to show no emotion. “I need to do a little preliminary work first. Are you going home to stay?”

“Yes—”

“Then expect me around seven and we’ll talk.”

“All right.” She got to her feet. “I—I’ll see you then.”

He watched her progress from the room, unconsciously admiring the singing lines of her body while he put everything back in the drawer. With a swift motion he closed it, a little too soundly because it drew Parker’s attention.

“Find what you were looking for?”

“Heaven forbid, I did,” Roman ground out.

“It’s a mail harassment case, nothing more. One of these days the guy will give up.”

That’s why you never made chief, Parker.

The man despised private investigators, especially Roman, the outsider from New York City. But he didn’t have the courage to call him something uncomplimentary to his face.

“Just doing my job according to Hoyle.”

Roman knew his response would pass over the top of Parker’s head. Maybe in six months he’d figure it out. By that time, Brittany Langford could be in serious trouble if her tormentor had the potential for menace.

Once he returned to his office, Roman would fax Pat Flaherty in New York. Pat and he had been partners way back when life had been vastly different, when Roman was still full of noble ideas about changing the world...

The cocky Irishman was still on the force and had active contacts who could put out feelers on Glen Baird in a matter of minutes. Roman had one concern at the moment. To find out if Baird still resided in Wisconsin.

CHAPTER TWO

WHEN the doorbell rang a little after seven, Brit knew it was Lieutenant Lufka. For some unaccountable reason, her heart began to hammer. She’d been counting the minutes until he arrived, wondering what conclusions he’d come to about her case.

Oddly enough she’d been loathe to leave the police station. To leave him. He engendered such a strong feeling of safety, she found that she didn’t want to be out of his sight.

After one brief meeting it was ridiculous to feel that way, but she couldn’t help it. The situation with Glen Baird had been going on almost a month. Her nerves were shot. It was heaven to be able to pour out her fears to someone like the Lieutenant who protected people for a living.

She hurried across the living room and opened the door to her condo. He nodded with a hint of a smile, making her feel a little breathless.

“Come in.” She stepped aside as he entered, then shut the door behind him. He brought the faint nip of the Fall night air with him. It mingled with the scent of the soap he used, bringing her to a strong physical awareness of him.

Startled by this reaction, she knew she sounded too brusque when she asked him if he’d like a drink or coffee.

“Maybe later,” he murmured, taking the upholstered chair opposite the velvet couch after she sat down.

Brit clasped her hands nervously. “Did you find out any new information?”

He nodded, sending her a penetrating glance. “You have every right to be alarmed.”

She had trouble swallowing. “So what are you saying?”

He eyed her soberly for a moment. It made her heart skip a beat. “You’re paying me your hard-earned money. This means I have to call the shots as I see them without wasting any time.”

She could read between the lines. Perspiration broke out on her hairline. “I’m in danger, aren’t I?” Her voice shook.

“It’s only a feeling on my part, but I believe you could be.”

Brit moaned and stood up, rubbing her arms with her hands to get the circulation going.

“I’ve done the preliminary work. There’s no warrant out for his arrest in any of the counties in the State of Wisconsin. But he does have a long history of disturbing the peace, disputing with his neighbors, torturing animals who’ve had the audacity to cross his path.

“He was recently fired from his job for creating trouble with other employees and damaging some merchandise in the warehouse where he worked. His last known address was a trailer court in Madison, but he moved out of there a week ago and drove off in a vintage maroon van with everything he owned.”

The Lieutenant had learned that much already? Brit was in awe of him, and more horrified than ever to think that lunatic wasn’t anywhere to be found.

“I have a plan, Ms. Langford, but we’ll have to move fast.”

Her fear was so great, she could scarcely form words. “What plan?”

He stared at her through narrowed eyes. “The one you put into play when you sent him that postcard. In my opinion, you were given the wrong advice. But since it’s a fait accompli, we’ll turn it to our advantage.”

She shook her head. “I don’t understand.”

“It’s a long shot. But if my hunch is right and he’s headed here, we’ll be able to catch him and prevent him from doing this to anyone else. If I’m wrong, and he’s just another loser who has finally tired of sending you letters because he’s become obsessed with someone else, then no harm has been done. Either way you’ll achieve peace of mind, which is my job to give you, leaving us both satisfied.”

Peace of mind...

That meant everything. That’s why she’d sought a private investigator in the first place, wasn’t it?

Her womanly intuition told her that if this man couldn’t provide it, no one could.

She lifted her head and faced him squarely. “Since those letters started coming, I have to admit I haven’t felt safe. Until something’s done about him, I’ll never feel safe again.”

A strange silence filled the room. He rose to his full height, his intelligent eyes with their black lashes never leaving hers.

“No plan is infallible, but the one I’ve conceived guarantees I won’t be leaving your side until the culprit is caught, or goes away for good.” He paused. “For this assignment, I’m going undercover as your husband.”

A thrill of emotion totally foreign to Brit shot through her body. She started to tremble.

His dark brows knit together. “Before you fall apart on me, hear me out.”

“I’m listening,” she said in a quiet voice.

He put his hands in his pockets, studying the refined features of her upturned face. “We don’t know if he has done this kind of thing to another woman before, but I would imagine he has.” She shuddered at the prospect. “If he has set up some elaborate scheme, it might take weeks, even months, for him to carry it out.”

“Months?”

He nodded. “If you recall, he told you he wouldn’t write you again. It could be a bluff, and he’s going to wait until you think he’s forgotten about you before he makes another move.

“If that’s the case, I need a justifiable reason to be around you twenty-four hours a day. Marriage will accomplish that, protect your reputation and allow both of us to get on with other work we need to do at the same time.”

She couldn’t argue with his reasoning.

“On the other hand, this might be over in a matter of days. According to what you told me earlier, you are single, and don’t have a serious boyfriend. Thus it means that on your tour, no one heard mention of a man in your life, let alone a fiancé.

“Glen Baird knows this. When he received the postcard telling him you were making plans to be married, he knew you were- lying.”

Brit nodded.

“Don’t forget you rejected him throughout the five week tour. Then you ignored his letters. According to the report you gave Officer Green, none of the acquaintances on your tour bus would give him your phone number. He couldn’t reach your best friend, Denise Martin, the woman who went on the tour with you. All doors were closed to him. When he finally received the postcard which told him goodbye forever, he couldn’t take the rejection.

“Unfortunately, it’s my belief that your message represented something else. You betrayed him with a cheap lie, and so doing committed the unpardonable. Now you have to pay for the sin of not loving him. What we don’t know is whether or not the lilies and sympathy card represented the zenith of his rage.”

Everything Roman Lufka was saying made a horrible kind of sense. Her stomach clenched in fear.

He cocked his head to one side. “That’s the quandary, isn’t it? Waiting for the game to begin or be over... Isn’t that why you called my office? Because the suspense is killing you?”

His questions demanded bald honesty from her.

Brit nodded again, and thought she saw a glimmer of satisfaction in the depths of his eyes.

“If he feels further retribution is necessary, then it’s only a matter of time before you’re made aware of it. He may or may not decide to come to Salt Lake. He could appear at your condo, or at work, or just follow you around for a long time, showing up at places you least expect. Though he’s probably harmless, the fact that he hasn’t yet given up on you means you’re going to continue to be frightened.”

She was starting to feel sick to her stomach.

“Unfortunately this is the time where most victims make their mistake. They don’t want to believe such a thing could happen, so they don’t plan ahead and often become immobilized by fear.” His voice had dropped to a lower register.

It sent another shiver down her spine.

“That’s where I come in. My job is to set a trap for him in case he decides to come to Salt Lake. He has already demonstrated that he’s cunning enough to trick you with the mail by sending it from various other states or even countries.

“I hope I’m wrong, but it’s my opinion that postcard probably upset him enough to make him want to see you in person. In his twisted mind, if he can’t wring a response out of you through the mail, then he’s going to make sure you pay because he knows you didn’t tell him the truth.”

She bit her lip. “I regretted sending that postcard the minute I slipped it in the letter drop. To be truthful, I’ve been terrified of him suddenly appearing on my doorstep, or worse, watching me without my knowledge.”

“Unless I miss my guess, he’ll come. If he’s angry enough over your lie, he’ll arrive here soon.”

She buried her face in her hands. “I think he will, too.”

Brit had been going over this in her mind until she couldn’t function anymore. That’s why she’d sought help. Roman Lufka was a professional. If he thought this was the best way to handle it, then she needed to place her faith and trust in him. But—

“Mr. Lufka?”

“Roman,” he came back swiftly. “The sooner you start thinking of me as a husband, the better.”

Adrenaline made her body surge.

“Roman—I don’t have the kind of money it would take for long-term protection.”

He frowned. “Let’s get something straight, Brit. That’s what I’ll be calling you from now on,” he added in an aside. “If my suspicions are right, he’ll make his move soon, so let’s not worry about the money angle right now.

“To those observing from the outside, ours will be the epitome of the loving marriage. On the inside, we’ll be friends, and one of the other P.I.s will always be assigned to guard you when I’m not there. We’ll share everything except the bedroom. That means cooking, cleaning. I plan to get my money’s worth, so let’s agree not to talk about it again.

“When this is all over and we’ve caught him, you can explain the truth to everyone, that you’re not married, and life will get back to normal.”

Another silence ensued before Brit ventured, “Have you ever gone undercover as a husband before?”

“No. But I’ve done just about everything else.”

“I—I’ve never been a wife.”

“The way you’re worrying, you sound like one already. I’m certain you’ll get the hang of it, given enough time.” The teasing mockery in his tone didn’t escape her, but then he grew sober.

“If Baird is on his way here right now, we don’t have a lot of time. Playing the part of your husband makes the most sense because it gives me the optimum ability to keep you safe until we find out exactly what he’s up to.

“If you don’t feel you can go along with my plan, you’re welcome to approach another P.I. I’ll be happy to refer you to several with outstanding credentials. The decision is yours. Remember that a P.I. operates according to the way he or she sees a case. I have to do it my way, or not at all.”

Though his conditions disturbed her in ways she was reluctant to identify out loud, Brit had to admit she looked upon Roman Lufka as a savior.

“I-if you can make the boogeyman go away forever,” she whispered, “I’m willing to commit to your plan, whatever it is.”

“Good. Now tell me about Glen Baird.”

She’d just made the monumental decision to pretend to a bogus marriage, yet he behaved no differently than before. For an undercover investigator, this was all part of a day’s work.

Brit wished she could view it the same way. After all, he wanted to protect her the best way he could. As her husband, he had the legitimate right to be with his wife day and night.

When she really thought about it, his plan was ideal. She’d be a fool to worry about anything else when she believed him to be a totally honorable man. After all, she’d come to him asking for his help, not the other way around.

“Glen Baird is the kind of man who says and does whatever he wants, whenever he feels like it,” she began. “On the trip he kept trying to sit by me, and he’d follow me everywhere. People on the tour instinctively started crowding around me so he couldn’t have access.

“But when we reached Paris, several of them left our tour. I know it was because of him.”

Now that she’d gotten started talking, she couldn’t seem to stop. “He was moody, and didn’t appear to like the tour. None of us could figure out why he’d come. He had a powerful set of binoculars. Sometimes they’d be trained on me from a distance. It was awful.”

“That’s another piece of information that wasn’t in Officer Green’s report. What else do you remember?”

“I’m not sure. Early on, Denise and I considered joining another tour, as well, but because of the wonderful Australian friends we’d made en route, we decided to ignore him as best we could and enjoy the trip anyway.

“That was the difficult part. The first time I saw him loitering in the lobby of our London hotel, he just stared at me out of blank eyes. With all that hair on his face, he scared me.”

Taking a shuddering breath she cried, “I wish to heaven Denise and I had obeyed our first instincts and left the tour.”

A murmur of compassion escaped his lips. “If your guide had had any idea of the terror you’re going through right now, I’m sure she’d regret having given everyone free access to the names and addresses of the people on your bus. But it’s done now, and chances are he would have found another way to get to you.

“Let’s thank providence you had the wisdom to obey your instincts this time and get help. If and when he comes to Salt Lake to look you up, he’ll meet with a surprise he wasn’t planning on.”

Brit shivered at the chilling sound of his voice.

After a brief pause he said, “If he follows the profile, and I happen to believe he does, he’s lost all concept of the guidelines normal people live by. According to his letters, he’s been to Salt Lake before. Sending you brochures of hotels near your condo, plus his old map of Salt Lake, circling the street where you live, was his way of telling you that he knows all about you, that you’re not going to escape him. He believes he’s invincible, and has only one thought—to make you suffer as he has perceived you’ve made him suffer.”

Her eyes played over his well-formed features, noting the lines of experience around his mouth. He sounded so sure. “You’re the one whose credentials are listed in the Yellow Pages. It’s your company, isn’t it?”

A flash of white teeth unexpectedly set her pulse tripping. “Guilty as charged. There are twelve of us.”

“Have you covered a lot of these kinds of cases?”

Oh, sweetheart. You don’t have a clue.

“Too many,” came the grudging admission. “But let’s not dwell on that. We have a wedding to plan. Guests to invite. One of the P.I.s will serve as the minister. We need to talk to your parents and explain the situation.”

At that pronouncement her head reared back, swishing her hair over her shoulders. He moved so fast she couldn’t keep up with him.

“My parents don’t know anything yet. I’ve been afraid to tell them for fear of upsetting them. Dad has heart trouble.”

“We’ll proceed carefully. When they learn the truth, they’ll probably be more amenable to my plan. In any event, your parents are going to have to know, because tonight you’ll be staying with me,” he said in an authoritative voice.

At her startled look he explained, “Before I rang your front doorbell tonight, I checked out your back door and windows. I could have gotten in any of them without your being aware of it. If I could do it, so could he.”

Brit had no idea Roman had been wandering around outside her condo.

“Some voyeur types like to enter their victim’s premises and look at their personal things, touch them, even steal some of them to make a shrine. Baird mentioned your shampoo because he likes the smell of your hair.” So do I. “He might want to take something like that as a remembrance.”

“That’s horrible!” The possibility that Glen Baird could creep into her home anytime he wanted almost paralyzed her with fear.

“Safety isn’t the only issue. If we’re going to make your impending marriage look real to everyone, except your family and Denise who will already know the truth, then it’s probable you’d be making preparations to set up residence with your future husband.

“Assuming your tormentor is en route to Salt Lake, the fact that you’ve changed addresses will lend credence to your claim that you’re getting married. To make it stick, you’ll have to give your landlord notice. It’s possible Baird will case the complex first, even talk to people to learn your habits. I’ll have a mobile unit here on guard day and night, monitoring his activities on tape to give to the police.”

A shiver racked her body. “After what you’ve just told me, I’ll be glad to get out of here so Glen can’t find me, but I’ve signed a year’s lease. I was going to renew it in December.”

“If my hunch pays off, this man will make an appearance shortly. We’ll be ready for him and you’ll be able to resume your normal life without too much delay. In the meantime, my firm will take an option on your place so you can move back in after everything is over. At that point, we’ll explain things to your landlord so that you won’t lose any money.”

He thought of everything! “W-where do you live?”

“In Olympus Cove.”

One of her favorite neighborhoods situated at the base of the mountains.

“Don’t you have a family?”

“No. I’m on my own. Why don’t you call your friend, Denise? Since she was on the tour and Glen Baird mentioned her in the letter, she’s involved, too, and needs to know the truth. I’d like to talk to her tonight. She might be able to remember something important to the case.”

“She’s home tending her younger brother while her parents are away on a trip. What about him? I don’t want him frightened.”

“He won’t be. You can introduce me as your fiancé.”

“But he knows I don’t have a boyfriend.”

A mysterious gleam entered his eyes. “You do now. Tell him I’m the man who once stole your heart, then moved away. Now I’m back to reclaim you.”

This time she felt a quickening inside her, and had the strongest conviction that if he had been her old boyfriend, and had moved away, he might very well have gone off with her heart.

“See if it’s convenient for us to visit Denise before we drop by your folks. You can call them from her house and alert them that we’ll be over around nine tonight.”

Within five minutes they were on their way across town to Federal Heights where both the Martins and her parents lived. En route she was once again seized by the enormity of the decision she’d just made. Only fear could have caused her to enter into a bogus marriage with a stranger, never raising any major objections.

“You probably think I’m the world’s greatest coward,” she blurted in panic.

He sucked in his breath. “On the contrary, any woman who is working in a male-dominated profession like architecture couldn’t possibly be lacking in the courage department.”

Her gaze fastened on him. “You’re one of the few men I’ve ever met who had any understanding of what it’s been like for me.”

“Maybe that’s because in my profession, I have to be a student of human nature. To do my job right, it’s imperative I get close to my clients, whether male or female. So close, I can tell what they’re made of, what strengths and weaknesses form their character. That way I can do my best to protect them. Rest assured I respect your fear, Brit.

“You’re the one who was trapped with that man for five weeks, sensing he wasn’t normal. I’m convinced God has instilled different survival instincts in a woman. Fortunately those instincts drove you to seek help.”

After a thoughtful pause she said, “Then those same instincts are telling me you’re too good a private investigator to take on just any case. What do you know about this man you haven’t told me? Imagination has a lot to answer for as the saying goes.” She lowered her head. “I need to hear the whole truth.”

So help me, I need the answer to that question myself. “That’s the hard part, Brit. I’ve given you the facts. What I’m going on now is like flying blind with no radar.”

She sighed. “I know what you mean. When I’m trying to solve a problem of space and design, and I’ve exhausted every known possibility, sometimes I just have to start playing around, not knowing what I’ll find, but not satisfied until the answer is staring me in the face.”

His mouth quirked. “How well I know what you’re saying. You’ve put it better than I could have myself. The one thing we can agree on is that you could be in danger. We’ll take it from there.”

She nodded before telling him they needed to turn right on South Temple. He followed her directions until they passed Reservoir Park and entered the Federal Heights area where many of the ivy-covered mansions built by the mining magnates of old were elegantly preserved.