Disclaimers - See Part 1 for disclaimers.

Chapter Nineteen

Rhi's eyes focused sightlessly on the page, the novel she'd started an hour earlier lying ignored on her lap. Instead, her mind was turning over her dream-the dream that she'd nurtured since the first week of being deposited in her aunt's care-the dream that had sustained her for over ten years-and the dream that she no longer used to put herself to sleep at night, or woke to in the early light.

In place of the dream, which had been as vital a part of her existence as the act of breathing, new thoughts now filled her head. She fell asleep with the echo of a warm, affectionate voice in her ears and wakened to an image of gray eyes and pale blonde hair. It disturbed her.

She had never made allowances for anything or anyone disrupting her intense focus on achieving her dream. Her timeline had been set, every penny she'd need was accounted for, and she'd already acquired her passport. But for the first time, depositing her most recent pay cheque had not raised her savings bottom line by the customary amount. It had been a mild shock as she'd realized that she'd used some of her precious funds for...pleasure. Even more startling was the recognition that she didn't care, that'd she'd enjoyed every moment of going to the Stampede, to movies and dining out with her friends.

Unaware of the smile on her face, Rhi's thoughts drifted over the day she'd just spent with Marika. Rhi had taken the bus to her boss' home as per usual just before noon that Saturday, and they gone out for their customary driving lesson. After she'd successfully executed a parallel park for the third time in a row, the lawyer had suggested it was time for some highway driving practice.

They'd headed for the busy Trans-Canada and, although nervous at the volume of traffic heading west out of Calgary towards the mountains, Rhi had quickly gained confidence under Marika's calm encouragement.

"You're doing great, Rhi, just keep your speed steady at 110 and stay in the right hand lane." Marika chuckled softly. "And you might want to loosen your grip a little or your hands are going to be sore by the time we get to Banff."

They'd spent the afternoon exploring Banff and riding the gondola up Sulpher Mountain. On the return drive, the women had taken the old, slower, more picturesque highway north of the Bow River, passing Ghost Lake where boats and sailboards abounded and stopping in the small town of Cochrane for supper.

Since Marika had picked up lunch and the gondola tickets and wouldn't let Rhi put any gas in the car, Rhi had insisted on buying her driving instructor dinner. She'd wanted to take her friend somewhere nice, but the lawyer had insisted on a 1950's style diner, complete with an authentic soda fountain. The younger woman had to admit they'd had a wonderful time, especially as the hilarious soda jerk, dressed in a white shirt, black bow tie and red and white striped hat, had flirted outrageously with both of them, but she still regretted not getting a chance to treat her companion to someplace special.

Arriving back in Calgary by eight, Marika had casually suggested that Rhi stay at her place for the night, and her assistant had equally off-handedly accepted. Completely comfortable now in each other's company, Marika had loaded five CDs on the stereo and they'd settled on opposite ends of the couch to read.

With a start, Rhi realized that the foot she'd been resting her hand on was nudging her thigh. Glancing up, she saw Marika smiling at her.

"You look like you're a thousand miles away, and you haven't turned a page in ten minutes. I know you can read faster than that, Rhi."

Rhiannon grinned at the teasing tone and squeezed her friend's toes as she used her own foot to nudge the lawyer back.

"I was just thinking about what a good day it was. Kinda started wool-gathering."

Warm gray eyes regarded her affectionately. "It was a good day, wasn't it? Hey, maybe we should drive to Lake Louise next weekend. Give you some more practice."

Liking the thought of that very much, Rhi was about to respond when the phone on the end table behind her began to ring. Raising one eyebrow inquiringly, she responded to Marika's nod by picking up the receiver.

"Havers' residence," she intoned formally, smirking at her friend's exasperated expression.

There was an instant of dead silence, and then a voice asked hesitantly, "Um, is Marika there?"

"One moment, please." She tossed the cordless to her grinning friend.

"Hello?"

"You have a maid now, Marika?"

"Oh, hi, Terry. Nope, that was just Rhi goofing around. So what are you up to?"

Terry chuckled. "I might ask you the same thing."

Marika rolled her eyes. "Teeeerrrrry," she drawled warningly.

"Okay, okay. Look, I was just calling to see if you, and Rhi if she's interested, wanted to come with Jan and me to the zoo tomorrow. We're babysitting my nieces and thought that might be a good way to kill a couple of hours. I know it's not normally your thing, but I haven't seen you in ages and it will be a beautiful day for it. I promise you won't have to do anything with the rugrats. Just look at it like a walk in the park with an unusual amount of wildlife around," Terry wheedled.

"Just a sec. I'll check with Rhi." Covering the receiver, Marika asked, "Are you interested in going to the zoo tomorrow with Terry, Jan and Terry's little nieces?"

Rhi, who'd been following Marika's end of the conversation with interest, nodded amiably. "Yeah, if you want to go, I wouldn't mind tagging along. Haven't been to a zoo since I was a little kid."

Marika smiled happily. "Great." Taking her hand off the receiver, she said, "Sounds great, Ter. What time and where do you want us to meet you?"

"You'll come?" Terry's surprise was audible in her voice.

The lawyer chuckled. "Well, why'd you ask if you didn't think I would? I can always turn you down, if you'd rather."

"No, no, I'm glad you guys are coming," Terry said hastily. "Why don't we meet at the entrance about 10:30 then. That'll give us a couple of hours to wander around before the girls start getting cranky and need their nap."

"Take after their aunt, do they?" Marika teased.

"Ha, ha! Besides, I have much better uses for naptime than sleeping these days," Terry shot back laughingly.

Marika gave a genuine chuckle. "Yes, I guess you do at that. We'll see you at 10:30 tomorrow then."

"Great...and Marika, I'm really glad you're both coming." Terry hung up before the lawyer could respond.

Shaking her head in bemusement, Marika handed the phone back to Rhi to hang up. Rhi accepted it and replaced it in the cradle.

"So we're off to the zoo, are we?" Looking down at her shorts ruefully and fingering the milkshake stain there, Rhi said reluctantly, "I should really stop by my place to change first."

Marika grinned. "Sorry 'bout that. The kid made me laugh so hard..."

"That you just had to spit your shake all over me," Rhi finished in amusement. "Yeah, I know. I'm not bothered, but I don't want to go to the zoo in these."

"You could borrow some of mine," the lawyer suggested lightly.

Rhi eyed the long, slender legs stretched out the length of the couch on the outside of her much shorter ones and laughed. "No, thanks. I don't feel like wearing pedal pushers." Calculating rapidly, she said, "It should work out fine. If we're due to meet them at 10:30, we could swing by my place about ten. My aunt will have gone to church, and the neighbourhood is really quiet on Sunday mornings."

Nodding, Marika swung her legs off the couch and stood. "Sounds like a plan. I'm going to make some tea. Interested?"

"Sure." Rhi watched her companion walk towards the kitchen, followed quickly by a hopeful cat that had been curled up under the piano. She didn't even try to deny her admiration of the woman's graceful movements, just shook her head softly at the direction of her thoughts.

On the street outside where the women were enjoying their quiet evening, an older model Honda had been parked discreetly between an SUV and a truck for over an hour. The slight, dark-eyed Oriental man, whose gaze had been flickering constantly between the entrance to the condo tower and the adjoining garage, started at the ringing of his cell phone. Flipping it open, he growled, "Yeah?"

He listened to his caller for a few moments and groaned. "Great, that's just what I wanted to do. Go to the damned zoo. All right. Does it sound like they are settled in for the night?" He jotted a time on his notepad as he listened. "Fine. Give me a call if it looks like she's going to be changing her plans, Perry. I'm going to call it a night."

Gao's brow darkened as he listened to his caller's grumbling. "No, I don't have any idea how long we have to do this. Until she says to stop-you know that." His lip curled up in a sneer. "Oh, no doubt. Well, why don't you include that in your next report? Let her know how bored you are. I'm sure she'd be very interested in your opinion."

When there was dead silence at that, Gao snorted and flipped his phone shut. He was just as discontented with his current assignment, but unlike the electronics whiz, he'd seen the evidence of the Chameleon's displeasure up close and personal, and had no intention of crossing the woman. If she wanted him to spend the next year tailing the unremarkable lawyer, he'd do it unquestioningly. He still hadn't seen anything out of the ordinary. The woman went to work and went out with her small friend. He couldn't understand what his boss' interest was.

Starting his car, Gao pulled out of his parking spot. Glancing at his gas guage, he decided to stop at the first available station. He hadn't counted on the unexpected trip to the mountains and was nearly on empty. Making a mental note to be back at his post by nine the next morning, Gao yawned and drove away down the quiet street.

*****************************************************

Marika was mildly surprised that Rhi pulled up right in front of her aunt's house, though she noticed that her friend surveyed the neighbourhood closely first. Once the car was parked in front of the seedy yellow house, she got out and followed the young woman up the walk, accepting the car keys she was handed.

Rhi unlocked the door and, casting an uncertain look over her shoulder, pushed her way in. Forewarned by Lee's succinct description of her assistant's home as "a dump", the lawyer wasn't at all surprised by the dark, shabby interior and kept her face expressionless. Responding to her companion's mumbled, "Upstairs," she followed close on Rhi's heels.

Trailing her friend down the narrow upstairs hall, she was surprised to see the padlock that Rhi unlocked to get into her bedroom. Raising one eyebrow, she got a noncommittal shrug from her small companion who opened the door and let her enter first.

Marika's initial reaction on seeing Rhi's living quarters was to recoil from the impoverished room, but then a more considered second glance revealed fragments of her friend's personality stubbornly visible throughout. The furnishings were old and worn, but the room was neat, clean and well organized. A bright rag rug added a splash of colour, and the lawyer's eyes were drawn to the walls.

Fascinated by the multitude of drawings that covered every inch of space, Marika examined them closely as Rhiannon changed. Quickly noting the recurrence of the same couple in many of the pictures, she traced a finger over the laughing dark-haired man and the woman who looked so much like her friend.

"My parents."

Marika turned to see Rhi fastening her clean shorts. The younger woman nodded at where the lawyer's hand still rested against the picture. "Those are my parents."

"Kind of thought so," the blonde said as she let her hand drop. "You look a lot like your mother."

"Yeah," Rhi agreed, as she began to peel off her shirt. "Got Dad's eyes though."

Wanting to use the opening to ask after their fate, but unwilling to risk upsetting her friend, Marika crossed to where Rhi had pulled a clean shirt out of the legless bureau.

"Here, let me take a look at your shoulder before you do that."

Rhi held still while Marika examined the healed wound with approval. Pushing the bra strap a little to the side, she lightly traced a finger alongside the scar, which had faded to a dull pink, causing a shiver to run through her friend's body.

Quickly pulling her hand away, she apologized, "I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?"

"No." Rhi's answer was muffled as she pulled her t-shirt over her head. "Not at all. In fact, I saw the doctor at the walk-in clinic on Friday, and he cleared me to start swimming again. Thought I'd go Monday after work."

She turned, tucking her shirt in, and Marika was puzzled by the flush on her face. Before she could say anything, Rhi grabbed her ancient backpack and said brusquely, "Let's go."

Marika followed wordlessly, as Rhi opened the door for her again. Stepping out into the hall, the lawyer gasped, startled at the fleeting impression of a bulky, malevolent presence scant feet away. She heard a repressed growl from behind her, and Rhi stepped out of the room.

"Hettie," she said flatly. "Would've thought you'd be in church this morning."

"I'm sure you did," the elderly woman said with a nasty glee in her voice.

Marika studied Rhi's aunt, conscious as she did so of her friend's palpable tension while she locked her room. Hettie was a large woman, almost as tall as Marika but twice her weight, with small piercing eyes and doughy features that seemed to have run together. Her complexion was sallow, and her hair had been dyed an inappropriate and unflattering platinum blonde.

Deciding to try and defuse the hostile atmosphere, the lawyer stepped forward and offered her hand. "Hi. I'm Marika Havers, Rhiannon's boss."

For a moment she thought the woman would refuse to take her hand, but then it was enfolded in a weak grip for an instant. "Hettie Walker, Anne's aunt."

Blinking at the emphasis on the different name, Marika was going to attempt to make polite small talk when a firm hand took her arm and hustled her by the large woman. She just had time to call, "Nice to meet you," before Rhi was rushing her down the stairs.

An insincere, "Nice to meet you too," floated after them, and they were back out in the morning sunshine.

Marika had to work to keep up with her companion's rapid stride as Rhiannon covered the distance to the Lexus in seconds. Knowing better than to try and get her friend to talk before she was ready, the lawyer simply keyed the remote to open the door and walked around to the driver's side, not even offering to let Rhi drive.

It was over twenty minutes later when they took the exit for the zoo when Rhi finally spoke.

"I'm sorry. I thought she'd be gone. She never misses church."

The lawyer shrugged. "No problem, Rhi." Pulling into a parking spot in the huge lot, she turned the engine off and twisted slightly to face her companion. "Hey," she said softly, laying a hand on her friend's tense shoulder, "don't let her ruin our day, okay?"

She left her hand in place until she felt Rhi relax and saw a tiny smile cross the young woman's face. Defiantly, the stubborn chin tilted and her friend said, "You're right. No way am I going to let her mess up our day."

Marika gave the shoulder an approving squeeze and undid her seat belt. Climbing out of the car, she and Rhi walked towards the main entrance, spying Terry, Jan and two active toddlers waiting for them. She smiled as she watched the little girls scrambling in and out of a large red wagon.

"I don't think I envy Terry," Marika whispered in an aside.

Rhi grinned at her. "But they are cute. Gotta love those glasses."

Both children were sporting bright pink sunglasses under white and yellow sunhats. As they got closer, they saw Jan kneel and push one of the girl's glasses back on her tiny nose.

"Hi, guys," Terry called. Jan waved a greeting and then took off after the other twin who'd gotten tired of waiting and was heading solo for the entrance.

Terry sighed and shook her head. Picking up the remaining twin, who'd started to howl because her sister had left her behind, she thrust the handle of the wagon at Marika. "Here, take this for a minute will you?"

She hurried after Jan, reuniting the twins and calming the traumatized toddler. Marika looked at Rhi wryly. "It's not too late. You could save yourself, you know. Take the car and meet me later?"

"Nope, can't drive without a licenced driver, remember?" Rhi cheerily reminded her friend, taking one side of the handle and helping to pull the wagon.

They caught up with their friends at the entrance and paid their admission fee. Once through the gate, Terry settled the girls back into the wagon and retrieved the handle from Marika. Shrugging, she gave a small laugh. "They have a lot of energy."

Marika grinned at the understatement, falling into step with Rhi as they walked behind the wagon.

"How do they tell them apart?" Rhi asked, eyeing the excited toddlers who were bouncing eagerly in the wagon.

"Kelly-red shirt, Kerry-blue shirt," Terry called back over her shoulder.

Rhi looked up Marika and said under her breath, "So what happens if they mix up the laundry?"

The lawyer chuckled and whispered back, "I'm pretty sure their parents can tell them apart."

They sauntered on, never noticing the slight man with a camera slung at his side, blending with the crowd, but following the same meandering trail that the women and children took through the exhibits and flower gardens.

Marika found herself enjoying the outing immensely, even with the occasional dash to catch up with a fleeing child. She often caught the same look of wonder on Rhi's face as on the twins' faces, when they watched the imposing hippopotamus rise out of the water, the graceful giraffes reach for the leaves on the highest branches of the trees, and the magnificent tigers pace their forested compound. Best of all was the primate house where they spent half an hour watching the antics of the spider monkeys.

Rhi convulsed with laughter at one male brazenly playing with himself. Amused as much at her young friend's reaction as by the monkey, Marika winked and said, "Boys will be boys."

Terry laughed and then nodded to where a small female sat in a bigger female's embrace. Smiling at Jan, she added, "And girls will be girls."

Marika saw the loving look exchanged between the two, realizing casually as she did that all she felt was unadulterated affection for her friends. Her eyes turned instead to the woman standing right beside her, entranced with one swiftly moving monkey swinging across the large cage on ropes and vines. Lost in a study of Rhi's laughing profile, she barely noticed when a hand patted her shoulder.

"Hmmm?" Marika asked, turning slightly to see Terry and Jan grinning at her knowingly. "Did you say something?"

"We were wondering if you two were up for some lunch," Jan said as she shifted a squirming Kelly in her arms. "I think the kids are starting to get hungry."

"Sure," Marika agreed, turning automatically to get Rhi's nod of agreement.

They left the primate house and made their way to the picnic area. Terry and Marika stayed with the twins at a table while Jan and Rhi went to the snack bar for hot dogs and drinks. Once the children were pacified with juice boxes and cookies that Terry dug out of her backpack, she turned to Marika with a smirk.

The lawyer raised an eyebrow at her friend's self-satisfied look. "What?"

"You remind me of me," Terry informed her smugly.

"What are you talking about?" Marika asked, uncomfortably suspecting where this conversation was going.

Terry nudged her with an elbow. "You're smitten, my friend. You've got that same goofy look on your face that I can feel on mine every time I'm around Jan."

"I do not," Marika scoffed, half-heartedly. "For heaven's sake, Ter, are you and Lee conspiring together or something?"

"Nope, haven't talked to Lee recently, but if she figures you're smitten too, then she's obviously a woman of equal insight and keen powers of observation," Terry asserted emphatically. "Though, to be fair, a blind man could see what's going on between you two."

"Terry! There's nothing going on. We're just friends." Marika shook her head in exasperation. "Why won't anyone believe me?"

Terry regarded her affectionately. "Because we can see what's in your eyes, and the way you look at her? Rika, I think it's wonderful. Why are you trying to spurn something that's making you so happy? Why not relax and see what happens?"

Marika was about to rebut her friend's assumptions when she saw Rhi and Jan walking their way, carrying trays of food and deep in conversation. Deciding she'd leave it for a better time, she whispered hastily, "Don't embarrass her, okay?" Without waiting for an answer, she jumped to her feet and went to help, relieving Rhi of the soft drinks.

Lounging under a tree on the far side of the lunch area, Gao set the digital camera at his side, feeling a muted satisfaction. Added to the pictures he'd dispatched to Vancouver the previous night, he was sure that his boss would be pleased with the photographic record of the lawyer's weekend.

Digging an energy bar out of his waist pack, Gao surveyed the lawyer's party glumly as he ate it. Tired of traipsing around after the women and children, he hoped that his target would soon have her fill of the zoo and leave. Because of this assignment, he'd had to leave disposition of the Chameleon's latest shipment in the unreliable hands of the King brothers, and he fretted about what might be happening in his absence. He was glad that he'd assigned Perry the evening surveillance shift, deciding that after he'd sent the daily report and pictures, he'd find his hapless subordinates and demand a detailed report of their activities. Gao smiled slightly. It would also be an excellent opportunity to pump the King brothers about their neighbour, the lawyer's small companion.

*****************************************************

Liang parked the limo and circled around to open the door for the DeAndres. Poker faced, he offered Mrs. DeAndre a hand and was acknowledged with a brief nod.

Palmer followed his wife, stretching slightly as he extracted his tall form from the car. Taking Sandra's hand, he tucked it lightly over his arm as they approached the door, held open for them by a formally clad servant who bowed his head slightly as they entered.

"It was a lovely service, don't you think, my dear?" Palmer asked as he escorted his wife into their home.

"Yes, darling. I thought Reverend Grant outdid himself today," Sandra agreed. "He asked me after the service if we'd be interested in supporting their inner-city teen-retrieval project this fall. I told him to send the information to the foundation office, and I'd take a look at it."

"That's nice," Palmer said absently.

Sandra chuckled, knowing her husband's mind was most likely already on his golfing plans for the afternoon. "Are you going to the club right away, dear?"

Looking apologetic, her husband asked, "Do you mind? I'm meeting Harvey and Peter for lunch first before our tee time."

"Not at all, darling. I still have arrangements to make for the trip next week, so you run along and play this afternoon. Perhaps I'll join you later for drinks, and we can go out for dinner."

Palmer kissed her cheek lightly. "You are the best, my love. I'll see you at the club then."

Sandra watched him quickly climb the long winding staircase before turning to the hovering servant. "Tell Liang I want to see him in my office," she instructed brusquely, before following her husband at a more sedate pace.

She'd barely arrived at her office when her chauffeur presented himself at the door, bearing a large envelope under his arm. She waved him in and took the envelope. "Wait outside," Cass ordered coolly, not bothering to glance after him as she settled behind her desk.

Setting aside Gao's written report for the moment, she fanned rapidly through the stack of colour photos, her visage growing darker by the moment. Ignoring the incredible mountainous beauty in the background, she focused solely on the two women together in almost every shot, intently studying their expressions and body language.

What she saw infuriated her. Selecting three of the photos, she pushed the others aside and set them in front of her. The first was of Marika and her companion emerging from an old-fashioned diner, laughing together. The second was of the small woman pointing at something in the distance while Marika regarded her with a look of open affection and delight. It was the third though, that set Cass' blood boiling.

The women stood at the railing of a mountain observation point. Checking Gao's report quickly, Cass discovered it was at the top of the gondola ride up Sulpher Mountain. They were facing each other, and Marika's companion was reaching out to tuck a lock of wind-whipped blonde hair behind the lawyer's ear. The look passing between the two was of such tenderness and caring that Cass furiously ripped the picture into small pieces.

Calming herself with a mental image of hurling the interloper's small body off the side of that mountain, Cass drew in deep breaths until she'd quieted herself enough to read Gao's report. Curiously, she noted that although Rhi had stayed with Marika the previous night, the women apparently did not share a bed. Frowning, she quickly ran through the remaining pictures again.

Cass was relieved that the women were apparently not sexually intimate yet, but she had no illusions based on the photos and transcripts that it was only a matter of 'when' not 'if' they'd be lovers.

Leaning back in her chair, she let the old familiar rage warm and exhilarate her. Her eyes half-closed, she wished this were one problem she could take care of personally. However, even as she ignored the rational inner voice that warned her just to walk away from Marika, she couldn't entirely abandon the caution that had served her so well all these years.

Taking her cell phone out of the drawer, Cass quickly punched in a number. When her call was answered, she said without preliminaries, "Eliminate the lawyer's companion. Make it look like an accident." Waiting just long enough to secure acknowledgement of her order, she closed the connection and picked up the photo of the women emerging from the restaurant. A cold smile crossed her face as she studied the laughing duo. Very deliberately she tore the picture in half, crumpled one half and stared at the other. Tracing her finger over the lawyer's image, she said softly, "You and I are overdue for a...conversation."

Continued in Chapter 20