'Agent Taylor, sorry to keep you waiting' Henry Saunders stood up as Danny entered his office and held out his hand, 'it's terrible news about Robert, what can I do to help you?'
Danny shook the hand being held out to him and gave Henry Saunders, billionaire owner of Saunders Construction, a once over.
He had seen his photo in the paper often enough, who hadn't? He was one of the richest men in Manhattan and married to Julia Adams a 30 something ex-supermodel turned philanthropist. Danny remembered rushing out and buying Sports Illustrated the year she had made the cover of the swimsuit edition.
Saunders had a smooth, tanned face that told of his time spent in his house in the Hamptons in the summer months (according to the New York Post, worth over £10million) or his ski chalet in Vail in the winter (apparently worth £5million). His clothes, his watch, his cuff links all screamed money as did his office with its original art work and antique furniture. Danny was sure that his whole apartment would probably fit into the room he was standing in now.
Saunders indicated that Danny should sit down and resumed his seat behind his desk, the expression on his face suggested that he wanted nothing more than to help the FBI but Danny couldn't shake off the feeling that the last thing Saunders intended to do was help him.
He pasted a professional smile onto his face; 'Thank you for your time Mr Saunders. I understand that you and Mr Kenilworth are both involved in the Cecily Taylor-Saunders Memorial Charity, which as I understand it is a children's charity set up in honour of your late Mother?'
'Yes that's right. When Robert moved to New York we were introduced by mutual friends. He expressed an interest in aiding our charitable work and we had a vacant seat on the committee so he came on board around 6 months or so ago.'
'And how has that been working out?' Danny couldn't shake the feeling that he was being played with.
'Robert has been a fantastic asset to the charity. He's a marvellous organiser and with his Washington contacts we have seen a 30 percent increase in donations over the last 6 months, obviously, this has been of huge benefit to the children we help.'
Danny nodded, 'You must be pleased. Would you say that you and Mr Kenilworth have become friends?' He watched for a reaction and thought that he may have seen a slight flicker of something in his eyes…………..
'I would say we have developed a friendship over and above our mutual interest in the charity'
Danny waited to see if Saunders would say anything else but he didn't.
'How often would you say you socialised with each other?'
'Well we belong to the same racket ball club and we usually meet for a game once a week and then dinner after and I would say we probably have lunch once a week as well. In addition, we move in the same social circles and so often meet at charitable functions, house parties, dinner parties and the like.'
Danny regarded him thoughtfully; 'Did you ever meet Maggie Carlisle?'
Saunders appeared to hesitate for a moment then his face took on concerned look; 'Yes, we did meet her once. The first function after Robert joined the committee was a black tie dinner. Obviously at this point Robert and Ms Carlisle were still engaged and she accompanied him to the event', he hesitated as if he was choosing his words carefully, 'they didn't seem well suited to me, she seemed uninterested in his career. As I'm sure you know, he plans to run for congress within the next couple of years; it's important that an aspiring politician have a loving and supportive spouse by his side and I got the feeling that Ms Carlisle was more interested in her own career rather than in supporting Robert in his'
Danny stared at him for a moment, wondering if the idea of sexual equality had bypassed the man completely; 'Right, so you weren't surprised when Maggie called off the engagement then?' He watched as Saunders seemed to find this amusing;
'Agent Taylor, Ms Carlisle didn't call off the engagement, Robert did' his condescending tone had Danny itching to plant a fist in his supercilious face. He managed to control the impulse.
'Do you know why he ended the relationship?'
'I suggested to Robert that he should do a complete background check on her, you can't be too careful in politics these days, and when he got the report back he discovered that she had an abortion the summer before she started at law school. He's a right wing politician who supports the right to life, as does the charity he is involved in. If it got out that his wife had terminated a pregnancy it would have been disastrous for him so he ended the relationship.' Saunders sat back and smiled at Danny as if this was the most normal thing in the world.
Danny struggled not to let the dislike he felt for this man show on his face. He glanced down at his notes, took a deep breath and looked up at Saunders; 'When was the last time you saw Robert Kenilworth?'
Saunders looked thoughtful; 'Well, we saw each other the night before Robert disappeared; a discussion about some committee business and then we had a quick drink, we must have parted at around 10pm. That was the last time I saw him; we spoke the following day around 1pm…….' Saunders stopped suddenly and Danny saw something flicker briefly in his eyes, then, 'actually I think I've got that wrong, I think I've confused the day…………..' he opened an appointment book in front of him, 'yes, that's right I was at lunch yesterday with my solicitor to discuss some business we are doing with the city so it can't have been yesterday I spoke to Robert, I do apologise.'
Danny looked at him thoughtfully; many things give a liar away, their breathing pattern, perspiration, a flicker of their eyes; Danny was an expert at spotting the signs. Saunders was good; in fact he was very good. Danny was fairly sure he had lied about his friendship with Robert and the reason for Robert and Maggie splitting up but he knew most of his 'evidence' was his instinct telling him that he was being lied to, but he was certain, absolutely certain that Saunders had just lied about when he had last spoken to Robert.
He smiled again, not letting a hint of his suspicion show on his face or in the tone of his voice; 'No need to apologise, I'm sure that given your busy schedule it is a struggle remembering what happens on any given day', he noticed a tightening of Saunders mouth and a flash of anger in his eyes at this; Danny smiled to himself, the guy clearly needed to feel that he was in control and having to admit a mistake, however trivial, wasn't something he liked doing.
Danny stood up and held out his hand, 'Well I think that's everything; thank you for your time Mr Saunders.' Saunders stood up, the smile firmly in place as he shook Danny's hand. Danny started to walk to the door then turned as if he had just remembered something,
'You know what, I meant to ask you if you had noticed any change in his behaviour recently, you know was he unhappy, anxious…..?'
He watched Saunders reaction carefully. He thought he saw a hint of annoyance before the smooth mask went back into place, 'I can't say I noticed anything in particular', Saunders paused and Danny watched him assume a concerned demeanor , a concern that Danny was certain was faked, 'but I know he was unhappy about Ms Carlisle moving to New York.'
'Why was that?' Danny could feel his dislike growing by the minute
'Well he had mentioned that she had taken the break up very badly and had begged him to try again, in fact he intimated that she was almost blackmailing him'
Danny stared at him, glad that they were separated by at least 10 feet because the desire to flatten the smug bastard was overwhelming; 'Blackmailing him?' he made no attempt to keep the disbelief from his voice.
Again, he saw that flicker of anger in Saunders eye before he could hide it, 'Yes, apparently she threatened that she would make sure he would never get the nomination for the congressional seat in New York. You know that her father chairs the Republican Nominations Committee?'
'I'm well aware of who her father is Mr Saunders. When was this threat made?'
'As I understand it, about a week before she moved to New York'
'OK, well, again, thank you for your time. If you think of anything else you think might, er, help, you will be sure and call me won't you?' Danny walked out of the office certain of two things; one, that almost every word Saunders had said was a lie, and two, that he didn't appear concerned about Robert Kenilworth's whereabouts.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
'How did it go?'
Danny looked up to see Jack and Sam sat at the conference table with Viv; he pulled a face, 'He's a lying bastard and he defintely hiding something and I'm going to find out what'
Jack nodded and indicated the remaining seat at the table, 'we were just about to run through the evidence to see where we are'
Danny dropped his jacket over his desk chair and moved to take the seat that Jack had indicated, 'have we heard anything from Martin?'
Viv nodded, 'they've done the head CT and there's nothing showing on it that indicates a problem but, they've been warned that with head trauma, until she wakes up, they can't be certain of anything.'
Danny nodded, 'well I suppose that's about as good as it's going to be at this stage; how's Martin holding up?'
Sam shrugged, 'I think he would be holding up a lot better if his parents weren't there, he said they're driving him mad'
Danny saw the look Jack gave her as he realised that she must have spoken to Martin, he also saw how Sam deliberately ignored him. The tension between the two of them was apparent to him, and by the look on her face, it was apparent to Viv too; Danny realised that he was starting to agree with Viv's view on Sam and Jack's 'relationship' and its effect on the team.
Jack seemed to pull himself together; 'Right lets review where we are', he looked at Viv, 'what have we found out from Maggie's background check.
'OK, she has an excellent academic record, she was headhunted by some of the premier law firms in the country when she graduated; Lewis, Holden and Rodgers offered her a starting salary of £250,000, plus a benefit package that makes you want to cry plus a guarantee of a partnership within 5 years.'
'And she turned it down for a slot in the DA's office?' Jack sounded incredulous
'I spoke to one of her old law professors, he told me that Maggie always wanted to be a prosecutor; she was never interested in private work. He said she was always honest enough to admit that the disparity in the money wasn't an issue for her because of her family's wealth.'
Viv checked her notes before continuing, 'I've looked at everything I can find, she pays her taxes on time, she doesn't have so much as a parking ticket, no debt, no unusual spending patterns. Other than the phone call's from Robert there is no unusual phone activity; we checked her email both home and work, again nothing unusual.'
'OK, well, what about her relationships with men?' Jack didn't sound particularly happy to be asking the question and none of the team looked happy either;
Viv sighed, 'I spoke to her class mates; she dated a couple of guys in college but nothing serious, but what I did learn was that she and Martin dated on and off through college as well'
Jack and Danny exchanged glances, 'He definitely said it finished the summer after high school didn't he? Jack was frowning
Danny looked thoughtful, 'actually, no he didn't he just didn't say that it carried on past the summer'
'Why tell us they dated in high school but not tell us they dated through college?
'Because of what happened after they graduated' Vivien reached into a box by the side of the table and produced a photo album and pushed it toward Jack and Danny.
Danny turned the pages looking at the combination of photos, tickets, leaflets and handwritten notes that told the story of the summer they had spent together after graduation. From the locations showing in the photos it was apparent that they had toured the west coast from Seattle to the Mexican border; 'so they spent the summer together', he looked at Viv, 'why's this so significant?'
'That I don't know yet but I found a postcard tucked into the back of the album; it's from Martin to Maggie. She took the postcard out and started to read;
Maggie, I understand, really I do but don't push me away. I want to be there for you, I want to help, even if it just as a friend and not as your boyfriend. I love you and I always will, Martin.
Viv looked up, 'something happened during the summer and they split up, and until two weeks ago they haven't dated since.'
Danny looked uncomfortable; 'Henry Saunders told me that it was Robert, not Maggie, that ended the engagement and that he ended it because he found out she had an abortion the summer after she graduated'
They all sat in silence for a moment then Sam picked up the postcard that Viv had been reading from; 'well that would explain this' she waved the postcard slightly, 'but I don't see how it explains what happened to Maggie or to Robert'
Danny sighed, 'Saunders also said that Maggie wanted Robert to take her back and that she was blackmailing him by threatening she would stop him getting the republican nomination for the congressional seat'
They all stared, 'but that doesn't explain the phone call that Martin heard yesterday when Robert was saying he was in trouble and that only Maggie could help' Viv spoke slowly
'Unless it does, unless the 'trouble' was Robert realising that he couldn't get the nomination without Maggie but she's been punishing him, playing hard to get, making him jealous, by taking up with Martin again. Maybe she just pushed him too far and he set Kevin Brown on her to scare her, finds out it's gone too far and he makes a run for it' Jack ran his hands through his hair
Danny sat staring at one of the photos in the album; it showed Maggie sitting in Martin's arms, the caption underneath read 'Stinson Beach – pure bliss'. They looked so happy together and he thought back to breakfast the previous day when he had teased her about how quickly she and Martin had got together and remembered her response; a shrug of her shoulders, a smile on her face and the words that had left him knowing with absolute certainty that she was in love with his friend; 'how long does it take to remember why you love someone'.
He thought back to his meeting with Saunders and his certainty that the man was lying; he looked up; 'OK, so that could explain it but the problem is that I am absolutely certain that Henry Saunders was lying through his teeth, and if that's the case……' Danny looked at Jack who nodded grimly
'And if that's the case then we still don't know what really happened and why...'
