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Part III - Chapter 1
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2021-08-23 02:47:53Flashbulbs ignited the room, causing more confusion as the postal inspector started reading Alex his rights. Rachel forced herself through the crowd and onto the stage where she shoved her New York State Bar membership card into the face of a security guard trying to keep the press off the stage.
“I’m Postmaster Bentley’s attorney, let me through,” she screamed over the noise. Seeing Rachel appear at his side, Alex got the second shock of the afternoon.
“Rachel? What are you...how did you?”
“Alex, I’ll explain later. Don’t say anything. What are the charges?” She demanded of the men who were leading Alex off the stage. But before she got an answer, she was approached by two other men who blocked her way.
“Where do you think you’re going, miss?”
An attractive man of about forty stood directly in front of Rachel. He had a warm smile, but his eyes were telling her she was de
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Rachel found an empty bench outside the courthouse where she could legally indulge her socially unacceptable habit in peace. She was about to light the cigarette when she heard an irritating whine coming from her purse. The LED display on her cell phone revealed the caller’s identity, but Rachel let it ring four times before answering. She had already been reprimanded once that day and was in no hurry to repeat the experience. Reluctantly, she hit the button and held the phone a few inches from her ear.“Rachel, where are you?” Joan’s voice blared through the small receiver. “The next chapters were due in my office three hours ago!”Fortunately, her editor was a lot easier to handle than the postal police. “I’m sorry, Joan. I should have called, but there was an emergency. The chapters are finished,” she lied. “I’ll have them on your desk first thing Monday morning, I promise,” I hope.
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Rachel only had a few minutes to speak with Alex’s attorneys before the proceedings began. In order to avoid running into Mark, Rachel entered the courthouse through a side door and made her way to the conference room where she suspected the defense team was briefing Alex on the case. Not bothering to knock, she opened the door and was immediately greeted by two hostile glares and one look of relief. Ignoring the attorney’s protests, she proceeded into the room, slamming the door behind her.“You don’t give up, do you Ms. Clark?” Dean hissed.“I have important information that will affect your case,” she insisted.“We have all the information we need. You’ll only get in the way. Jeff and I are going to represent Postmaster Bentley and that’s final.”Defiantly, Rachel pulled a chair out and sat next to Alex. She saw the worry on his face, motivating her to continued trying to convince his at
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As soon as they entered her apartment, Rachel noticed the light on her answering machine flashing viciously. She marched over to the table and slammed her hand on the OFF button. After spending the past several hours in oral combat, she was verbally drained and didn’t want to talk to anyone, except Alex.Rachel opened the hall closet and handed him the light blue sweater he had left behind. She remembered how the color made his eyes sparkle and hoped his wearing it now would erase the dark exhaustion and worry from his face. But she knew he was going to need more than a simple change of clothes to achieve the transformation. She opened the portable bar, took out two glasses and filled them with ice.“I don’t normally drink on an empty stomach, but I’m making an exception. What would you like? I have scotch, vodka, gin, bourbon..,”“Bourbon on the rocks would be fine, thanks,” Alex took off his jacket, threw it over the b
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When Rachel first opened her eyes, the sight of a naked man in her bed startled her. Then she recognized Alex, and an overwhelming sense of serenity surrounded her when she remembered how his naked body felt pressed closely against hers all night long.She carefully got out of bed, went into the bathroom and gently closed the door. She turned on the sink and let the water run slowly so as not to disturb him. When she finished brushing the early morning haze from her teeth, she quietly picked her clothes up from a little pile on the floor and tip-toed into Karen’s bedroom to dress.Pausing in front of the full length mirror, she was amazed to see how well rested she appeared, in spite of having been up most of the night. She was not quite so amazed that Alex was still sound asleep, since he had been, quite definitely, up most of the night.Close to exhaustion for several days, Rachel felt miraculously energized. Though it was only nine in the morni
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Alex heard the front door close twice, followed by a penetrating silence. He assumed by the way the windows rattled, the first one to leave had been Mark, followed by Rachel, who was a bit gentler on the building.The shock of walking naked into the living room and seeing Mark had been only slightly less than the shock of hearing Rachel’s unintentional confession.So, that was the old friend she’d had sex with three weeks ago. She told me their relationship was over years ago. And what was he doing in her apartment at nine on a Saturday morning?Alex was asking questions to an empty apartment. But the biggest question of all was; when he queried Rachel, would she give him honest answers. Alex checked his watch. He had told Brad to meet him at Crystal Lake around noon, which didn’t leave much time for a lengthy discussion when - and if - Rachel returned.He dressed in the clothes he had worn the night before, except for his
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Traffic on the New York State Thruway was unusually heavy for a Saturday afternoon. By the time Alex arrived at the Crystal Lake Postoffice it was close to three . Brad unlocked the back door and introduced him to Postal Inspector Tanya Thomas, who paused briefly from her examination of the accounting records to shake his hand.Alex’s initial impression of the attractive young woman was that she could have easily been a model. Her straight blonde hair cascaded over her shoulders and fell to her slender waist. When she looked at him, he noticed her deep blue-green eyes accompanying the warm, friendly smile and a surprisingly firm handshake, which immediately conveyed the message that, looks notwithstanding, Inspector Thomas was a determined professional, a fact Brad soon confirmed.“I’m glad you’re here, Alex. If there’s anything to be found,” Brad said with pride, “Tanya will find it. She was recently promoted to head the Fraud
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With Alex gone, the apartment felt uncomfortably empty. Rachel almost regretted her decision not to go to Crystal Lake with him, but her obligation as his attorney took priority. She needed a clear head and uninterrupted time to begin drafting his defense, neither of which would have been possible if she spent the weekend with him.Rachel refilled her cup with the remainder of the coffee, sat down on the couch and opened the folder Mark had given her. She finished reading though the entire contents of the file before she finished drinking half the contents of the coffee cup.She was beginning to think Alex had been right about Mark’s intentions. The file contained little more than a copy of the arrest warrant and the prosecutor’s witness list, information which could have easily waited until Monday.This was all part of Mark’s stupid little game, Rachel thought angrily, tossing the file on top of the crumpled newspapers. He didn&rs
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I’ve got to call Alex. Rachel thought. She grabbed the phone, nearly knocking it off the table and hit the memory key. When the phone connected, instead of Alex’s voice, she heard the repetitious beeping of a busy signal.“Dammit, get off the phone!” She yelled into the handset. Rachel continued to hit the redial key and continued getting the annoying response.“Karen, can you call Gary on your cell phone and find out if his client Cynthia Anderson works for the Postoffice? I’ll keep trying to get through to Alex,”Karen took her phone from her purse, but when she phoned Gary, she too heard the same irritating sound.“Maybe Gary is talking to Alex?” Karen said, turning off her phone in frustration. “Tomorrow is Sunday, Rachel. There isn’t anything you can do until the offices open on Monday,”“If my suspicions are correct, we won’t have to wait that long. I’ll
Last Updated : 2021-08-23
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The Catskill Mountain region of upstate New York was in the middle of an Indian summer. Although the calendar read October, the temperature was a blissful seventy-five degrees. Perfect climate for an outdoor wedding.Rachel and Alex walked through the opulent glass entranceway and into a Victorian setting alive with color and beauty. The lobby was decorated in vibrant tones of mauve, olive, and gold, as brilliant as the fall foliage of the countryside.Rachel was amazed to find herself in such an elegant setting in what she considered to be the middle of nowhere. The gothic pillars, mahogany registration desk, and the full crystal chandelier reminded her of some of the best European hotels she had visited on her book tour. She couldn’t think of a better atmosphere for a wedding.“I see Brad at the bar,” Alex said, looking toward his left. “Mind if I join him?”“Not at all. I’ll get our room key and meet you in a f
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For the next six weeks, Rachel devoted herself to her extensive promotional schedule. She traveled the European Book Festival circuit, making personal appearances at every small town throughout Scotland and Germany and attended numerous booksigning events in London and Paris.She returned to the States as guest speaker at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, then flew on to personally meet booksellers at Chicago’s BookExpo America and represent Prelude Press at the American Booksellers Association Convention.During the final conference presentations, it was announced that Legal Briefs had received the National Book Foundation’s award in New Fiction. She flew to New York City on the next flight to attend the awards banquet, which took place the night before Brad and Tanya’s wedding.The moment her plane landed in Newark, Rachel called Alex on her cell phone, but the line was busy. She tried the number a few more times before giving
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“Actually, Mr. Williams, I was surprised to receive your phone call this morning, but I’m very glad to be here,”Cynthia had just finished breakfast when Peter called, requesting a meeting in his office at three thirty to discuss her contract. Feeling the rush of future wealth, she immediately took a cab downtown and treated herself to a manicure, pedicure, facial, hair style and entirely new wardrobe.“You presented a very convincing case, Ms. Anderson. We usually don’t sign contracts directly with authors, which is why I also invited Ms. Glickman here. She’ll be acting as your agent on the contract negotiations and Joan will be your editor,”Cynthia ignored the introductions as she waited impatiently for Peter to hand her the contract and her check.“You were Rachel’s, I mean Ms. Clark’s agent, weren’t you?” she asked Sandra haughtily.“Yes,” Sandra said through c
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A melancholy drizzle fell over the Postal Headquarters Building at eight-thirty Wednesday morning. From the plush leather chair in his office, Alex solemnly watched the drops of rain trickle down the windows. It looked to him as if the heavens were crying tears of disappointment over his recent betrayal.He spent most of the previous night with a glass of bourbon in one hand and the remote control in the other, his guilt not allowing him the freedom of sleep. At four in the morning, he made a decision. After finishing his drink, he put on an old pair of jeans, t-shirt, and sneakers and spent the next four hours transporting his belongings from the Voorheesville apartment to his car.He drove to the Albany office under a dark and dismal sky. After signaling the security guard to open the front door, he entered the empty building and took the stairs to his office. He purposefully arrived long before the rest of the staff. He needed uninterrupted time alone to write his r
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A thick fog forced Alex to drive slowly through the streets of Albany. The occasional green traffic light shining through the haze reminded him of the pleading look in Rachel’s eyes when he’d left her at the curb.Once the fog cleared, Alex turned on the cruise control and let his thoughts wander. While his hands directed the car straight toward Voorheesville, his mind returned him to the scene in the lobby of the Prelude Press office hours earlier.The phones rang constantly, keeping Allison distracted as Alex wandered around. He watched with amusement as a short hefty woman about fifty-ish, stormed through the lobby doors like a hurricane, interrupting Allison’s phone call and demanding, in a voice that nearly shook the windows, to see Mr. Williams immediately. Allison started to hit the intercom, but the woman refused to wait, blowing past Alex and disappearing down the hallway.He checked his watch, wondering how long Rachel’
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It wasn’t the six words Peter spoke that terrified Rachel, it was the frightening tone of utter devastation in his voice that paralyzed her vocal cords.“Peter? What’s wrong?” she croaked.“I don’t wish to discuss this over the phone, Rachel. You’ll need to come to my office immediately. I’ve already sent the car to pick you up,”“You sent a car? Peter, I’m not even dressed,”“Get your ass into this office dressed or undressed, within the hour, understand?”The phone went dead in her hand. Rachel jumped from the couch and ran into the bedroom. A concerned Alex followed her.“Rachel, what’s wrong?”“I have no idea,” She grabbed underwear from the drawer and hurriedly changed her clothes.“That was Peter. He said something about a serious problem and that he wanted to see me right now,”&ldquo
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Alex waited in the truck while Rachel met the officers, who were finishing their search of Cynthia’s house. Rachel was handed a stack of credit card receipts, money orders and several bank statements, which she put into her briefcase. She thanked the detective and the officers and left to join Alex.During the short drive to his house, he was unusually quiet. Rachel was excitedly telling him how important the papers were to their case, but his mind was a million miles away. After pulling into the driveway, Alex lefy the truck and waited for Rachel to meet him before unlocking the front door.He took three steps into the house and closed the door behind them. Before Rachel had a chance to sit down, he gently pulled her toward him, his arms encircling her slender body and feverishly began kissing her.Rachel dropped her briefcase and purse, freeing her hands and returned his embrace. His hands gently stroked her back as he lightly kissed her neck, his mousta
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Rachel’s breathing was beginning to return to normal. “I noticed you were leaving, which is why I just ran the three second dash to catch up to you. There’s been a lot of activity in the past few hours and we need to talk about your case,”“I was going to lunch. Can you join me?”“Absolutely. Let me get my purse and briefcase from the car and I’ll tell the officers to go along without me. I’ll be right back,”As Alex got into his truck and waited for Rachel to return, images flashed through his mind with lightning speed. Tanya flying to West Palm Beach. Cynthia getting arrested on her way to the same destination. Rachel showing up in Crystal Lake.The last mental picture froze his thought process. Rachel was here with him and all the other images were no longer of any consequence. He was about to light a cigarette when he heard the passenger side of the truck open.“Got one of those
