TWENTY-FIVE MINUTES LATER, she and Jack slipped into a coffee bar on the south side of town with colorful tables and chairs and an eclectic mixture of pictures on the walls, including coffee quotes, local sports team paraphernalia, and a few signed celebrity photographs. Even in mid-November, Christmas music was already playing, and the owners had a lopsided Charlie Brown Christmas tree in the corner, decorated with coffee-themed ornaments. Not really the kind of place she could imagine her father’s ex-wife hanging out, but maybe that was the point. If she was hiding something—and Aubrey was certain she was—this was a perfect meeting place.
Aubrey studied the busy room, where most of the tables were already filled and half a dozen customers sat on comfortable chairs, glued to their laptops. But there was no sign of Rachel.
“Do you want something to drink while we wait?” Jack asked.
She glanced up at the long list of specialty coffees. “I could use some caffeine.”
“So could I. You still prefer your latte with extra milk and two sugars?”
His hand brushed hers as he started for the counter. “It’s not been that long.”
“The place is filling up, so I’ll get us a seat.”
A strange stir slipped through her at his unassuming touch. Familiarity? Wistfulness? She couldn’t put a name to it, nor was she sure what just passed between them. It brought up memories of carefree Saturdays at the beach she’d always thought would last forever. But nothing ever really lasted forever. She’d come to accept the reality that there were new stages of life, things changed, and that was okay. What she didn’t expect was for her feelings to be so strong at seeing him again.
She slipped into one of the last booths in the back of the room that gave her a clear view of the front door. If she were honest with herself, she’d thought about Jack often over the past few years, wondering why they’d let their friendship drift apart. She really couldn’t blame either of them completely. After he moved, they called and exchanged text messages frequently at first until one day she couldn’t remember the last time they talked. It happened so gradually, and life was so busy, she realized she hadn’t even noticed. Which made her sad.
It felt strange to watch him ordering coffee while she sat waiting for him. She almost expected him to return to the table and start talking about classes and what they were going to do over the weekend. Their relationship had always been strictly friendship. He was her best friend since sixth grade, which was all she wanted. And she’d made an effort to keep it that way. The handful of times she’d felt something more try to trickle in between them, she’d managed to force those feelings to disappear, because she’d been terrified that if they stepped into the water of a relationship, everything they had would change between them. And if they broke up, they might have lost it all.
Like what had happened between her mother and father.
The comparison wasn’t new to her. She knew that was where her fear of a relationship with Jack had originated. Her parents’ relationship had made her gun-shy, but she couldn’t compare her relationship with Jack to her parents’. Her mother and father had been good friends during college, then, two months before graduation, they both realized that they wanted more out of the relationship. Her mother confessed once that she wondered what would have happened if she had taken the scholarship for a master’s degree in musical performance at Guildhall in the UK, but her father had somehow talked her into staying and teaching at a small school on the Gulf Coast, eventually settling in Corpus.
Was that really the only reason she’d always made sure nothing romantic developed between her and Jack? It wasn’t the first time she’d asked herself that question. What if she’d been wrong? But then when Adam asked her out, for some reason she said yes. She always enjoyed Adam’s sense of humor and his love for the great outdoors, but Adam had never been Jack. Not long into their new relationship, she realized Adam wasn’t what she wanted. He wasn’t Jack.
But by that time, telling Jack—or Adam for that matter—seemed too late. And besides, by then Jack was already gone. Telling him how she felt would have made things even more awkward than they already were.
She glanced up and saw him maneuver his way through the busy café with the two drinks in his hands and a small paper bag, making her suddenly wish they weren’t working on a case but were simply here to catch up on the past few years.
He set her drink on the table, then slid into the booth across from her.
“Thank you.”
“The tacos were great, but I couldn’t resist the macaroons.”
She laughed. “You never could. You’ve always had an incurable sweet tooth. Don’t think I ever saw you turn down any dessert.”
“You know me too well.”
“Dipped in chocolate?”
“Of course.”
He held her gaze for a moment, then reached into the bag, pulled out one, and handed it to her before grabbing another one for himself.
“I still have a love for the water and street tacos, and you still love macaroons,” she said. “Maybe time hasn’t changed us as much as it feels like sometimes when I look in the mirror.”
Jack laughed. “Trust me. You haven’t aged a day since I saw you last.”
“And you are just as charming.”
“What about the bucket list you were always going to finish by the time you turned thirty?”
She took a sip of her coffee, then sat back, wanting for a moment to forget the reason they were really there. “For starters, I finally did the sixty-mile Tour de Houston this year and took my first cruise in the Caribbean with the McKenna family. What about you?”
“I went skydiving on my twenty-fifth birthday.”
“Not bad. I’ve still got that on my bucket list.”
“What about traveling?” he asked. “Besides the cruise. I know you always wanted to go to Italy and Australia.”
“Went to Italy and France two years ago. Still hoping for Australia, though it might not be before I’m forty.”
He smiled at her with that broad, familiar grin. Coming from a dysfunctional homelife that had done a number on her self-esteem, she loved the way he’d always made her feel safe and cared for. Somehow, with him involved in this case, she felt just as safe.
The bells on the front door chimed, dragging her attention back to the reason they were here, and it had nothing to do with macaroons or future trips to Australia. Rachel walked through the door. She’d changed into workout clothes and a light jacket. She slid into the booth next to Aubrey, clearly uncomfortable with her surroundings. Or maybe she was just uncomfortable meeting with the FBI.
“I told my husband I was going to the gym, but then again, I didn’t exactly tell you the truth either.”
Aubrey wrapped her fingers around her drink. “Maybe you should explain.”
“I . . . I saw your father a couple days ago.”
“Here in Corpus?”
She nodded. “He called me up out of the blue and asked me to meet him for lunch at the Omni Hotel.”
“What did he want?” Jack asked.
Rachel hesitated before answering. “He needed to borrow some money.”
“How much?”
Jack’s brow rose. “And did you give it to him?”
“No. I’m well off, thanks to my husband, but even he’d notice that kind of money disappearing out of our account. I told him he was going to have to go find someone else. He tried to assure me it was just for a couple weeks and that he could pay it back with interest, but I told him I didn’t want anything to do with him.”
“Did he say what he wanted the money for?” Aubrey asked.
“He said he needed to leave the country and had run short on funds he could access quickly, though he promised me he had a big payout just around the corner. Then again, he was always talking about the next big deal that would change everything. I just figured he had to be pretty desperate to come to me. I also know that he could talk most people into anything, but I already learned my lesson.”
Rachel was right. Her father knew how to be a chameleon and fit in wherever he was. He could give the impression he was rich whether he had a dime in the bank or a couple grand in his back pocket. And she had no doubt that he’d given that impression when he snagged Rachel initially.
“What else did he say?” Jack asked.
“He said he was in some kind of trouble but wouldn’t tell me what. And now the FBI’s looking for him? I guess he was right about being in trouble. What has he done?”
Jack took a sip of his coffee. “I’m afraid that will have to stay classified for now.”
“So why didn’t you tell us this back at your house?” Aubrey asked.
“Because Corey has always been the jealous type. My sister says I ignore it because he has money, but for whatever reason, I know I don’t want him finding out I spoke to Charlie.”
Her response confirmed Aubrey’s lingering suspicions that the woman had only been after her father for his money. More than likely, he hadn’t been the only one good at spending beyond his means. “Do you know where he’s living or how we could get ahold of him?”
“No.” She shook her head. “The number he called me from came up unknown. He told me he had to go off the grid for the next few weeks. That he was involved in something important for his country, but there were some very bad people after him and he needed to disappear for a while.”
“And you believed him?”
“I have no idea if he was telling the truth or not. You know how your father is as well as I do. He could make you believe anything and everything he does is for the greater good.” She tapped a set of manicured nails on the table. “I really think he’s in trouble this time. A part of me feels bad I didn’t help him, but I have no plans to get involved with him ever again. I learned my lesson being married to him.”
Aubrey leaned forward. “If he needs money, who else would he go to?”
“I have no idea. From what I saw, the man hasn’t changed at all. I’m not going to be dragged into his web again. And if Corey found out I agreed to see him . . .”
“We appreciate your meeting with us,” Jack said. “Can you think of anything else?”
“No. I’m sorry, but I thought I should come clean. I don’t want to get in trouble for withholding evidence or anything.”
“Is he really in trouble?”
“Yes, he is. But if we can talk to him, we might be able to help him.”
Rachel grabbed her purse off the seat next to her. “I have a lot of regrets in life, and unfortunately, your father is one of them. When we first met, I was mesmerized. I’d just ended a bad relationship, and he managed to waltz into my life and sweep me off my feet. He was full of crazy spy stories that made me laugh, and somehow I lost my head for a while. Until I realized that beneath the surface was someone completely different than the person he always tried to portray.”
Aubrey frowned. “Thank you for telling us.”
“You have my card,” Jack said. “If he contacts you again, I need you to let me know.”
Rachel nodded, then slid out of the booth before catching Aubrey’s gaze. “I know this is going to sound crazy, but I really did love him. Or at least loved who I thought he was. Turned out I was wrong, but for a while, he made me happy. And for what it’s worth . . . I know now how much he must have hurt you and your mother, and for that I’m truly sorry.”
Aubrey watched her walk away, feeling sorry for the woman for the first time. She supposed the same thing had happened to her own mother. She’d fallen in love with the man she thought he was, and in the end had never stopped loving him, no matter what he’d done. Love did that sometimes. Made you stay when you should run.