CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: TIGHT-LIPPED CONSPIRATORS

Lee tapped his fingers anxiously on the steering wheel as he sat waiting at the curb in front of Amanda's house. It was five to eight and if she didn't come out soon, they'd miss the window to make it down to Warren's on time. Traffic on the bridge was already starting to get crazy when he'd driven over.

The front door opened and Amanda came through, her steps tiny but brisk. She was in full Miranda Keene costume: pencil skirt, turtleneck, long coat. It took him a moment to realize he'd seen the turtleneck and coat before; the pencil skirt was new, and he took a moment to appreciate it as he got out to open the door for her.

"Morning, Mr Pendleton," she said, planting a quick kiss on his mouth.

"Morning, Miss Keene," he said.

He waited for her to slide into the seat the way she usually did, but the skirt constricted her movements and she struggled for a moment, using his arm for balance as she lowered herself into the car and tucked her coat around her legs.

"You in okay?" he asked, ducking his head to look at her.

"I'm fine," she muttered. "It's this skirt. No wonder I've only worn it once."

"It looks good," he said, as he slid into the drivers' seat. "I mean, you look like Miranda Keene. Did Francine give you notes again?"

"No," Amanda said. "I just rooted around in the closet for something I thought would pass the test." She settled her bag on the floor beside her feet.

"I got an update on our mysterious murder case before I left this morning," Lee said, as he drove out of Amanda's neighborhood. "They went through that room three times, and it looks like they found fibers from another carpet all over the floor."

Amanda's brow wrinkled. "What does that mean?"

"Well, our best guess is someone put another rug over the one that's already there."

"Oh, and then staged the body on it?"

"Yeah. They couldn't find any prints in the room at all, which is weird. Especially in a fleabag motel."

"Huh." Amanda chewed on her lip, lost in thought. "Mr Warren wouldn't have known if there was extra carpeting in the room."

"No. He only took a couple of steps inside before he saw the body, and then he said he turned around and left."

"So he didn't check for a pulse, either."

"No, probably not."

Amanda shifted in her seat. Silence filled the car, but he waited. He knew she was turning the case over in her head.

"What about Nancy?" she asked, after a while. "Terwilliger said Nancy was in on the whole thing. Do you think she was the woman?"

"I don't know. You and Francine saw her — what do you think?"

"She fits the description," Amanda said. "And there's something about her. She smiles, but not with her eyes. Know what I mean?"

Lee chuckled a little. "Huh. Yeah," he said, marveling at how Amanda could read people so quickly. "Wouldn't Marshall Warren recognize her, though?"

"I don't know. I don't know how much time he spends at the store," Amanda said. "And he never said if he saw her face." She frowned. "I saw a picture of him last night with someone from the Goodwin family. Do you know about them?"

"Not really."

"They started the original store with the Warrens, and then someone happened and the Goodwins either left the business or were squeezed out. Mother worked with one of the Goodwin girls at the store before she got married and she said there was still some bitterness between them."

"Why would she work at the store, then?"

Amanda shrugged. "I don't know. Good question. But in the picture she looks pretty chummy with Marshall Warren. It's from the seventy-fifth anniversary, so… 1960 or so?"

"So they made up."

"Maybe." Amanda shook her head, and Lee got the feeling she wasn't going to let it go until she was sure there was nothing to it.

"If it is Nancy, then she's our connection between the two oddball things he talked about," Lee said. "But there's something else that doesn't feel right about this whole thing."

"What's that?"

"It all seems too complicated."

"Yeah." Amanda nodded. "It does. It feels like we're being led in a thousand directions. Like someone is distracting us from something else."

"Terwilliger doesn't care about the Agency connection," Lee said. "He's concerned with something else."

"Stealing money and pinning it on Warren?"

"Yeah, but why?"

"You don't think it's because of his intel about the black market goods?" Amanda asked. "Isn't that enough? I'm sure a competitor out there could lose their entire business over it."

"Maybe. But Smyth said nothing much came of it."

"That doesn't mean they aren't afraid, though, does it?"

Lee slowed the car as they came up on a red light. "No," he said, thoughtful. "So you think they're hitting back at Marshall Warren for raising the alarm? How would they know it's him?"

Amanda sighed. "I'm not sure. But Robert Terwilliger knows."

"And Nancy knows." The car inched forward as the light turned green. "I ran a background check on Terwilliger and he came up clean, but maybe we need to do a real deep dive on him and Nancy."

"And Pendleton?"

Lee laughed. "I found out this morning that Pendleton isn't a real person, either."

Amanda's eyes widened. "He isn't?"

"Well, we can't find any trace of him. There could be someone in Seattle using the name Albert Pendleton but none of the information Carrington Textiles has on file matches a real person. He's an amalgam of about seven people."

Amanda shook her head in disbelief. "Someone has gone to a lot of trouble."

"Yup." Lee slammed on the brakes and muttered a curse as a cab cut him off. In the past he'd have waved a finger out the window, but Amanda and the case both tempered his reaction. "I think we need to see if we can get Terwilliger to really confess to whatever he's doing. He's been cagey, but let's try to draw him out."

Amanda nodded. "Maybe we can build on what he told me yesterday," she said. "He might open up more if he thinks you're in the driver's seat."

"Yeah, he didn't seem too keen on Miss Keene yesterday."

Amanda rolled her eyes. "You wanted to rattle him."

Lee grinned. "I did. I think that suit rattled him." He paused. "What did your mother say when she saw your makeup today?"

Amanda laughed. "I put it on right before I left the house, actually, lIke a fourteen year old. She didn't see my face. But she had a few things to say about the skirt. She thinks I should wear it more often and then maybe you'd come for dinner."

"I'm coming for dinner anyway, did you tell her that?"

"I told her the other day, but I don't think she believed me so I told her again. A week from Friday." Amanda's eyes twinkled. "She's excited."

"Uh oh."

Amanda laughed. "She's already got the entire menu planned. Roast chicken and all the trimmings. Cake. You should stop eating now because if you don't put away two helpings she'll never forgive you."

"I'll starve myself accordingly." The traffic eased, and Lee felt his tension ease with it. He could see Warren's department store up ahead. "Let's get this over with so we can start having some free time again."

Robert Terwilliger was just as anxious as he had been the day before. He tried to cover, welcoming Mr Pendleton with a hearty handshake, but his fingers were cold and when he greeted Miranda Keene, he was far less ebullient. Lee wondered if Terwilliger was afraid of her.

"We brought you a little something," Lee said, gesturing to the wheeled case at his side.

"What's that?" Terwilliger asked.

"A few Liza Deveaux originals. Hot off the clothes press," Lee said.

"I, uh, don't understand," Terwilliger said.

"Mr Terwilliger, we talked about this yesterday," Amanda said, leaning forward in her seat. "If anyone ever asks, Liza Deveaux is a real person. Warren's purchased her entire winter collection. Remember?"

Terwilliger cleared his throat. "Right."

"So these are the sample garments," Lee said, patting the case. "Maybe you'd like to have someone show them to your merchandising team? Talk them up a little?"

Terwilliger nodded. "I'll do that."

"Now," she glanced at Lee. "This entire thing was going well until the other day."

"What do you mean?"

"She means the scenario with the woman," Lee said. "It was too much."

"I told Nancy it was over the top," Terwilliger muttered. "I told her the bank accounts were enough. But she wanted to be sure."

"Is she here today?"

Terwilliger hesitated. "She'll be here later. I wanted to have this meeting without her, to be honest. I'm concerned."

"I understand," Amanda said, almost sounding compassionate. "You've gone to a lot of trouble."

"That's right," Terwilliger said. "We have. A lot of trouble. Not just the financials, but making sure those knock-offs you sent were on the floor. This has all been a lot of very dicey work, and I'm starting to wonder if the payoff is going to be worth it."

"Oh, it will, Mr Terwilliger," Amanda said. "I feel sure of it. Don't you?" She turned and looked at Lee as she spoke. They weren't going to get Terwilliger to lay out the entire plan. For whatever reason, he was keeping mum about the actual outcome, but they were sure now that Nancy was their connection. Lee felt frustration rise in his chest and tamped it down. He was used to a less discreet class of conspirator, he supposed. One with looser lips. He pasted a bright smile on his face, instead, and nodded.

"I do," he said. "I think the payoff is going to be exceptional."