Part 18

”What are you talking about?” Izzy held Tiffany gently by the shoulders. ”You're not making sense.”

”Oh, Izzy.” Tears streamed down Tiffany's pale cheeks. ”You don't understand. I...I'm responsible. I was there to take care of him.”

”Tiffany?” Joan Tremayne frowned and placed her glass on the table. ”Whatever you think you did—”

”Don't you get it?” Tiffany freed herself from Izzy's attempt at hugging her. ”I was there to take care of him. I brought him his food every day. I prepared the trays, I made sure he ate, and he kept getting worse and worse. The doctor came every day the last few weeks and I tried to convince him and my dad that he needed to be hospitalized, but neither of them would listen. The doctor administered intravenous nutrition and medication at the house, and said they wouldn't do anything different at the hospital.”

Dawn straightened quickly. ”The doctor medicated him personally?”

”Every day,” Tiffany said gloomily. ”I just don't understand how he could've missed that I must've fed Dad something that poisoned him?” She slumped back next to Izzy. ”I just don't understand.”

”Sweetie-girl, you didn't do anything wrong.” Izzy was certain of it. It broke her heart to watch Tiffany's agony and self-doubt.

”I agree,” Dawn said, flipping open a folder and making a few notes in the margin of a dossier. ”From what you're saying, I'm starting to see a pattern though. This doctor, you have his full name?”

”Dr. Harper. That's all I know.” Tiffany wiped her eyes with a paper napkin. ”What pattern?”

”Bear with me for a moment.” Dawn scribbled a few more notes. ”So this Dr. Harper, is he the family doctor?”

”Until this spring, I don't think Dad's been sick a day in his life. Dr. Harper blamed this sudden condition on his lifestyle, but that didn't make sense to me. Dad's always kept fit. He climbed mountains, went hiking, played golf, tennis...you name it. He tried to introduce me to his outdoor interests, but I guess he was kind of disappointed that I was such a wimp when it came to that.” Tiffany blew her nose. ”I don't think he's even had a proper family doctor, since he had never needed one.”

”So a healthy man is hit by something this doctor interprets is a heart condition.” Joan read from the dossier. ”That's interesting and you might find it equally curious that this Dr. Harper seems to have vanished completely.”

”I didn't make him up!” Tiffany gestured emphatically. ”I wouldn't lie.”

”We never said you did. In fact, your father's housekeeper and cook both corroborate it. We have their testimonies here. A Dr. Harper, whom they never met before he started coming to the house, apparently he was recommended to Mr. Ozland by one of his associates.”

”So what made you think you had anything to do with the poisoning?” Izzy asked Tiffany, wanting this issue dealt with, once and for all.

”I was responsible for everything he ate. I thought he must have gotten the poison that way. I never thought of the medication, the IV solutions. A doctor is beyond reproach...or should be, right?” Tiffany rubbed her forehead and Izzy wanted to wrap her up in her arms and protect her from whatever made her look so frail. ”So if the food I gave him was okay, what was in the drip then?”

”Arsenic,” Joan said softly.

”Ar—” Tiffany looked dazed. ”You must be joking.”

”Not at all. That's why it took the coroner a while to determine it as a wrongful death.” Joan shook her head. ”Arsenic is hard to detect unless you know what you're looking for and examine nail clippings and hair follicles.”

”Oh.” Tiffany was still pale and faint tremors reverberated from her to Izzy. ”So...it wasn't because of me?” she whispered.

”No. Not because of you. Well, I guess that depends on how you look at it. We're starting to piece the clues together. Dawn and I have worked this case for quite some time. Long before your father became ill.” Joanne looked vaguely uncomfortable. ”Edgar Ozland's name began to show up in several of our investigations into organized financial crimes. There's no easy way to say this and I realize this must be extra hard to hear so shortly after his death.” She paused and looked kindly at Tiffany. “You father laundered money and we're close to finding out for whom, and for what.”

”What can I get you ladies?” A waitress showed up at their table, pulling a pencil from her hair. Barely twenty, Izzy thought, she looked utterly bored, but took their orders in record time and brought their beverages with commendable speed.

The seconds ticked by, and Tiffany seemed increasingly brooding. Izzy tried to determine how Tiffany felt, but the normally brilliant blue eyes had taken on a dull hue and she seemed detached from reality.

”Tiffany? Are you all right?” Dawn asked, halfway out of her seat.

”I'm fine.” Tiffany began to crumble a paper napkin and then shred it to fine strips, one by one. ”I may sound really selfish, but I'm glad I wasn't responsible for killing him.”

Izzy was shocked to hear the tone in Tiffany's voice. ”That's not selfish,” she blurted out. ”You've been through hell these last few days, running for your life, the car crash, ending up at the mercy of a stranger. You've handled yourself exemplary.” She didn't add that Edgar Ozland didn't deserve a daughter like Tiffany, but that was how she felt.

”Yes, there is still the question of whom among his associates that's behind this pursuit.” Dawn tapped the stack of documents in her folder with the back of her pen. ”I doubt they're at the top of this either. I think this goes much further up.”

”National security?” Izzy asked, her curiosity increasing.

”Ah. I think we need to establish your identity before we continue this part of the discussion.” Joan looked at Izzy with a firm gaze.

Izzy knew she'd come to a crossroad. If she was going to be able to remain by Tiffany's side throughout this, she couldn't remain anonymous. She wasn't kidding herself either. It wouldn't take long before the FBI agents had figured out her identity. This was her chance to show good faith and score brownie points.

”My name is Izabelle Delainey. I'm a former captain in the army. I came across Tiffany when her car veered off the road and she crashed not far from my cabin. I helped her, and soon realized that she was in deep trouble.”

“And you became friends.” Joan's eyes softened marginally.

“Yes.” Izzy wasn't going to elaborate as to just how good a friend Tiffany had become, but she didn't think anything escaped the two FBI agents' keen observation skills. “I'm not going to let her go through this alone.”

“Izzy...” Tiffany sounded stronger now, with some of her old spark back in her eyes. “Things have changed. It might not be such a good idea for you to stick around.” Her eyes darkened to a midnight sky blue.

“What do you mean?” Suddenly dreading Tiffany's reasoning, knowing how fair-minded and honorable her lover was.

“You heard what Dawn and Joan had to say about my dad. He wasn't truthful. He was involved in illegal activities that we have no way of knowing how far they extend. If you get involved, even only to care for me, it could rub off. You could be dragged into this in ways that would destroy everything for you. People tend to think where there's smoke, there's fire, and they don't give a damn about who started it in the first place.”

“No matter what you say, it's not going to work, Tiff.” Izzy spoke gently. “I'm in this, with you, for the long haul. You're going to need someone like me who can help you, by always being in your corner. Don't worry about your father's reputation when I'm concerned. Besides, your father hasn't been found guilty yet, so we shouldn't assume.” Izzy let her words sink into Tiffany's mind for a moment before she returned to her previous train of thought. “What's your plan now?” she asked, turning to Dawn.

“We were originally going to take Tiffany in protective custody, but since some things have changed, and we think we might have an unexpected window of opportunity here.” She looked over at Tiffany, clearly a bit apprehensive. “We have to talk about it later, when we're in a less public location.”

As if to emphasize Dawn's words, the waitress appeared with their plates.

“Sounds like it could be dangerous, especially for Tiffany.” Izzy looked at the other three with narrowing eyes once the waitress was out of earshot. “You want to use her as decoy, don't you?”

***

Tiffany's numbness began to ease up, and she could breathe normally again. Her veins seemed filled with red blood again, instead of the eerie sensation of having ice cold water flowing through her system. She listened to the FBI agents arguing with Izzy, but couldn't quiet take in what they were saying. Instead Tiffany gathered the massacred paper napkin and tucked the shredded pieces into her pocket.

“She's been through enough. I'd say you two have enough to go on without endangering Tiffany further,” Izzy said, her voice increasingly colder.

“That's not true.” Dawn spoke quickly in a low voice. “Even if we bring in the entire board of directors for Ozland's empire of companies, chances are that they have hired professionals to carry out their dirty work for them...”

“...and they'll keep going until their job's done,” Izzy filled in. “I see.”

Tiffany looked back and forth between the other three women. “So what do you need me to do?”

“Not here.” Joan help up a hand. “We need to take this discussion to our headquarters.”

“I disagree,” Izzy said. “If you bring her in, the risk is you tip them off that you've figured out that she's a threat to them. We should remain within this area, where I know the terrain like the back of my hand and that I can count on the locals for support and loyalty. As soon as they spot something suspicious, they'll let me know.”

“What if they're less observant than you think?” Joan asked.

“It didn't take them long to tell me about the two of you, did it?” Izzy placed both palms on the table. “Tiffany is safer here where people who really care look out for us.”

“All right. I still maintain we need to talk about the details in a more private setting.”

“I won't take you to our hideout. We need to be certain you two weren't followed before we reveal where we're staying. Still, there are plenty of places we can talk undisturbed. Why don't we finish up here and I'll take you to one of them?” Izzy speared a mushroom with her fork, looking calmly at the FBI agents.

“Very well.” Dawn spoke slowly. “But just so we're clear. You have the advantage around here when it comes to the terrain and also the help of the locals, Izabelle, but this is an FBI matter. Joan and I have invested countless hours trying to solve this. Any moment that we feel you're steering us in a direction that's detrimental to our case, you won't have any say in what's going on.”

“I hear you.” Izzy spoke non-committal voice, and Tiffany knew by now what that steely look in her green eyes meant. The FBI agents might be in for a surprise. Tiffany shifted closer to Izzy, suddenly craving the warmth of her strong body.

“I've got you,” Izzy mouthed. “Don't worry.”

Tiffany sighed. Easier said than done.