A/N: Intrigue is not my strong suit.
Chapter Fifty-Eight: Finding Angela Bower
Ricky thought long and hard about what Jess had told him without telling him. It seemed that if he wanted to be with Cassie, he had to take her on her own terms. She was starting to trust him enough to let him know when she was lying. Cassandra Ellen Walsh was not her real name, and August sixth was not her real birthday. She wasn't from Ohio. None of them were.
There were some things that she confirmed were true. She had been widowed many years earlier by her only husband, her daughter's father. Since then, she hadn't been in a serious relationship. She had gone to college, but "technically" had not earned a degree. That led him to believe she was only short by a few credits. She loved dogs and her family, had great personal style, and relentless vivacity. There was no faking those qualities.
And she truly loved him as much as he loved her, he believed. A connection like that was rare at any age, but if he let her go, he had no reason to expect to find it again.
It was only two weeks later that she brought up marriage to him.
x
"He's positively scrumptious, Ricky," Jess said. She had been hogging the birth announcement, forcing Jen to look over her shoulder. "Baldwin is such an original name. How did they come up with it?"
"That's his paternal grandmother's maiden name."
"He's really cute," Jen said when she finally got possession of the card with the photo corners tucked into its diagonal slots. "Wanna see, Grandma?"
"I saw," Cassie said. She had actually spent as much time looking at it as her daughter did. When pressed, she admitted that it would be nice to have another grandchild, but she didn't know if it was going to happen for Bobby and Jess. After all, they had been trying for four months already.
"It took her forever to get pregnant with Chris, and that was when she was still young." She didn't bother to mention Jen. They had an understanding about that now.
"We all want things we can't have, sugar."
"Like commitment?" she asked pointedly.
He sighed. "It's alright. I know why you can't do it."
"I've been thinking. Maybe I could, if you were to agree to certain terms and conditions."
"Such as?" He fought his excitement. Appearing too eager might scare her off again.
"Some topics are off limits," she said. "You would have to back me up on everything I tell your family. There are places I can't go."
"I could deal with that," Ricky said. He didn't like lying to his family, but what they didn't know wouldn't hurt them.
Cassie had another concern that she could barely manage to voice. "What if I was able to go back to being myself again? Would you still love me?" she asked in a hoarse voice.
It was a question he couldn't answer.
x
Jonathan started teaching Tony how to use the computer. First, he typed "The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog" hundreds of times. Then he started learning how to format a paper in the word processing program, indenting paragraphs and centering titles. He could even add his name and class section flush to the right side of the page without counting characters. The new skill would come in very handy when it was time to write term papers. When he suggested that Sam learn, too, she told him that she could already type fifty words per minute. She had been saving her papers on a floppy disc and bringing them to the computer lab at school to print out.
Angela was responsible for leading the development of an internal and external communications strategy for a new program at the DOE. The project required her to go in extra early so she could still make dinner with the kids. She managed to push through all week, but when Tony's alarm went off on Saturday morning, she still felt utterly fatigued. "Stay in bed, honey. The kids will be fine," he told her.
Sam developed another crush. Zack was in her history class, and he liked to come to her basketball games. They went on a movie date and kissed in the back row. It was several days before Tony spotted the hickey behind her ear. Angela had seen it right away and advised her to wear her hair down, which worked for a while. Then, there was an unseasonably hot day, and Sam made a ponytail. Her father needed to be talked down. "You are not going to kill the boy," Mona insisted. "And you're not going to punish Jen. What she's doing is completely natural."
"I'm not ready to be a grandfather," he whined.
"Trying to keep her under your thumb is just going to make her rebel. Do you want her sneaking out?" she asked. "Jess has put a lot of work into building an open and honest relationship with her. I'll be damned if you're going to ruin that."
Tony had to acquiesce. Angela was doing as much parenting as he was these days. More, actually.
x
Tony kissed the kids goodnight and made tea. It was finally cool enough that the choice of beverage felt appropriate. He set his wife's cup down in front of her and blew across his own.
"Thanksgiving is coming up. Should we invite Ricky?" Angela asked. He gave up on cooling his tea and set it down next to hers. She pulled her legs over his lap and snuggled into him.
He put his arm around her shoulders and held her outer thigh. "I can't imagine not having him eat with us, but let's give your mother the choice."
"It's too bad his family couldn't get together." She closed her eyes and pressed her cheek against his bicep.
"Well, it's a lot to ask a family with a newborn to host or travel."
Angela saw the wisdom of the statement, but Kelly wasn't Ricky's only child. "Kevin could have come down."
"That family trip to Jamaica sounded pretty nice. I don't blame him for taking his in-laws up on the offer," Tony said.
She sat up a little and looked deep into his eyes. "We should go there, to Jamaica. In a few years."
"You think we'll be able to?" he asked.
"Yeah, I have a feeling about it," she said, circling his neck and sliding into his lap. When they remembered their tea, it was barely lukewarm.
x
Shirley stared at the signature on the termination letter, dated August 4, 1986. Jack would tell her to leave it alone, but how could she when this document had crossed her desk? Finding Angela Bower had become her vocation.
Sterling and Simpkin was conducting a review of all their canceled contracts for win-back opportunities. It was much easier to sign a client that they had previously worked with, especially when their only reason for canceling was budget constraints. The letter on Shirley's desk had come from the Arizona Department of Education, and was signed by a Director of Communications, Jessica D. Moretti. The signature didn't look familiar, but perhaps she could find another document signed by Angela Bower somewhere in the file room. Sterling and Simpkin did partner with Wallace and McQuade from time to time.
It took a few days for Shirley to get ahold of the file she wanted. It was for an optical outfit that licensed various brand names, including a sportswear brand represented by Wallace and McQuade. These kind of situations always required reciprocal agreements that the agencies would not poach or otherwise step on each other's toes. She opened the folder and flipped through it.
There it was, a signature from Angela Bower, back when she was a VP several years earlier. Shirley was no handwriting analyst, but the script looked similar. There was even a loop in Angela's B that matched the loop in Jessica's D. She copied the contract and added it to her file.
When she got home, Shirley pulled her papers out of her briefcase and placed a call to the AZ DOE. "May I speak with Jessica Moretti?," she asked. Her heart was beating in her throat.
"Who is calling, please?"
Panic set in. Her real name wouldn't suffice. She looked at the catalog mockups she was working on for an idea. Keep it simple, stupid, she thought. "Kat Mauck with Graphic Printers, Inc.," she blurted out. "I'm returning her call," she added to increase her chances of getting through.
"I'll put you through to the Communications Department." The receptionist did a warm transfer, repeating Shirley's request to Angela's administrative assistant.
"Mrs. Moretti is in a meeting. May I take a message?"
Shirley noted that her target was married. She couldn't leave her number, so she opted to request a piece of information.
"Actually, I have some samples to send, and I want to make sure they're seen before the end of the month. It's so difficult to make our sales goals in November," she added, hoping for sympathy. "Are you able to confirm Mrs. Moretti's home address?"
Shirley took down the administrative assistant's words and looked at her notepad in disbelief. Mesa. A suburb. She dialed directory assistance. "Mesa, AZ, please. Christopher and Jessica Moretti."
The next call Shirley made was to her travel agent.
X
"There are plenty of seats available on my flight, if you want to come."
"What are you going to do if you find her, Shirley? Have you even considered that?"
"I just want to talk to her and find out her story."
"If you're so desperate for a story, why not read a book? Or see a movie? Or befriend an old person in Central Park?"
"For years, I followed in this woman's footsteps. It's very important to me that I know where she ended up."
"Fine, I'll go with you."
Jack couldn't trust his girlfriend not to screw up in a major way if left to her own devices. He called the travel agent and booked the seat next to hers.
x
In a dingy office full of intelligence analysts, a man in a dark suit approached his manager with excitement.
"What do we have?" the boss asked his report. They had started noticing unusual activity around the Milano witnesses. Agent Miller insisted that this family was not out of compliance, but some suspected Angela Bower was communicating with her old colleagues through her new job.
"I found a line with numerous calls to Fairfield, CT and the Phoenix, AZ area. It belongs to a Shirley Grant, formerly of Wallace and McQuade. We looked at her office line and found a call to the AZ DOE."
"There was an advertising conference in Phoenix recently. Check whether she was booked on any flights to SkyHarbor. And pull her bank and credit card charges."
Later, the analyst went back to his boss with more findings.
"You're not going to believe this. Shirley was at that conference. She has another flight to Phoenix booked for this weekend. I recognized the phone number of the man sitting next to her, a Jack Ballantine, from her call records and figured they must be together. Turns out he's also in the industry and attended the same conference. When I pulled his credit card charges, I found one from Rossini's Fish Market."
"They're not getting on that flight until we pay them a little visit."
x
"I have a big surprise for you," Ricky told Mona.
"I've heard that one before," she deadpanned. "Is it jewelry?"
"No," he said.
"A car?"
"No."
"Well, I'm out of guesses," she said, annoyed.
"Let's go for a ride. I'll show you."
Mona was intrigued. "Do I need to change?"
"You're fine as is, sugar," Ricky said, patting her on the ass.
"That's what they tell me," she said with a smirk.
The couple drove a short distance in his Mercedes. They pulled up in front of a small, low-slung house with a realtor's sold sign on the lawn.
"There it is. I'm in escrow," he announced.
"Ricky, you bought a house?" She was in shock. A proposal, she expected. This was out of left field.
"I was going to buy a property in Flagstaff, but I'd rather be close to you than get out of the heat. I'm going to stay year-round, Cassie. You can move in with me and still be close to Jess and the restaurant."
"I don't know what to say."
"There's a little yard for Libby out back. Double oven and plenty of counter space. Jacuzzi tub. His and hers walk-in closets."
"It sounds wonderful. I'm just overwhelmed," she told him honestly.
"I've been practically living with your family. We need more space and privacy. So do they."
"That's true." Angela and Tony were sharing an office, and there was no guest room.
"You can think about it. No pressure. Take all the time you need," he said.
x
Shirley and Jack took Friday off and spent Thursday night at her apartment in preparation for their trip to Phoenix. They had road maps, hotel reservations, a car rental, and a guidebook, all stuffed into Jack's messenger bag. He made sure to take out the lighter fluid that had caused problems on a previous flight.
The two walked to a neighborhood trattoria for dinner, then returned to her place, full of wine and ready for romance. To their dismay, they had a visitor waiting at her door "Shirley Grant? Jack Ballantine? We have some questions for you."