Erica Spindler - Cause for Alarm

"Be sure to mention what good friends we are and that I worked for Senator Jacobson."

"I will."

"You're sure? You won't forget and let me down?"

"Of course not."

"And don't tell him where we met or when. Unless he asks."

"Got it."

"Remember," Julianna said, suddenly so nervous she felt ill, "you're doing him a favor. I'm perfect for this job. If you believe it, he will, too." As Sandy prepared to hang up, Julianna stopped her. "And call me the minute you know something. I won't stray from beside the phone until you do."

Sandy's call came at four-thirty that afternoon. "He's agreed to interview you," she said, sounding excited. "Tomorrow morning at eight sharp."

"Mr. Ryan," Julianna said, stepping into his office and holding out her hand, "it's a pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure is mine." He took her hand, then indicated the leather chairs facing his desk. "Have a seat."

"Thank you." Julianna sat, working to quell her nerves, her runaway heart. Richard Ryan would not be compelled to hire a nervous girl. She had to present herself as a collected, intelligent and savvy woman.

She had to be like Kate.

To that end, she had worn her best "Kate suit," had applied her cosmetics with extra care and stood in front of the mirror for long, precious minutes, practicing Kate's hello, her smile, her gestures.

The transformation had been startling.

Richard cleared his throat, lifting his gaze from her resumé. "It says here that you worked for Senator Jacobson. You seem a bit young to have been on his staff."

She straightened. "Twenty-two. Not that young."

One corner of his mouth lifted. "Wait ten years," he murmured, then returned his attention to the paper before him. "I'm surprised he hired you without a college degree."

Fighting panic, she folded her hands in her lap. "Billy was a family friend. He was kind enough to take a chance on me even though I had no experience." She met Richard's eyes. "I didn't let him down. And if you hire me, I won't let you down either."

Again, Richard's lips lifted in a half smile. "You seem confident. Self-possessed. That's important."

She leaned slightly forward, her heart in her words. "If you hire me, I'll work hard for you. It wouldn't be just a job to me. I believe in your platform. Your policy of being tough on first timers, on using plea bargaining as a last resort, on the three strikes rule."

He smiled, obviously pleased, and she went on, hearing the passion in her own voice, the excitement. "It would be an honor to work with a man like you, Mr. Ryan. A man of integrity and intelligence. It would be a thrill to help you become St. Tammany Parish's next District Attorney."

For a moment he said nothing, simply gazed at her, then he glanced back at her resumé. "I see you performed a variety of tasks for Senator Jacobson. Donation solicitation, mailings, public relations and canvassing." He lifted his eyebrows. "That's quite a broad spectrum of duties."

She scrambled for an explanation, suddenly realizing she might have claimed too much. "I was one of the underlings, no doubt about it. Basically, I filled in where I was needed. One notch above a gofer."

She looked at her clasped hands a moment, then back up at him. "I'll be honest, at the time it was a bit of a pain, but now I realize that having experience in so many areas is one of my assets."

"I agree, Ms. Starr." He cocked his head, studying her. "You look familiar to me. Have we met?"

"No." She shook her head. "At least I don't think so. I haven't been living in Mandeville that long."

He leaned back in his chair. "What brought you all the way down here from D.C.?"

His question surprised her. It was one she hadn't prepared for. She groped around for an answer that would make sense to him. She lowered her eyes a moment, then returned her gaze to his. "My mother passed away last year after a…" she cleared her throat "…after a long battle with cancer. I have no other family and after she died, I just didn't want to stay."

"I'm sorry."

She inclined her head in acknowledgment of his sympathy. "Anyway, I'd always heard about New Orleans, about Mardi Gras and the French Quarter and had always dreamed of visiting." She smiled. "So, here I am."

"But now you're in Mandeville."

She smiled. "New Orleans wasn't quite as I imagined it to be. Then one Saturday, I drove across the lake-and fell in love."

He returned her smile. "I can understand that. I grew up in New Orleans, but now I wouldn't live anywhere but the North Shore." He stood and held out his hand. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Ms. Starr, and I will definitely keep you in mind for the job."

She worked to hide her disappointment. She had fantasized that he'd offer her the position right off. "Do you have any idea when you'll make a decision?"

"Soon. If you haven't heard from me in a week, give my secretary a call. Her name's Nancy."

After shaking his hand, she started toward the door, then stopped and turned back to him, heart pounding, desperation tugging at her. "I want this job, Mr. Ryan. I need it. If you give it to me, I'll work hard. I'll perform any task, no matter how menial. If you give me this job, I won't let you down. I promise."

He looked pleased with her speech. "I'll keep that in mind. Oh, and Ms. Starr?" She stopped again and turned expectantly toward him. "My condolences on the Senator's passing."

"Excuse me?"

"Senator Jacobson. I was a fan of his policies. His murder was more than an outrage. It was a real loss for America."

Julianna stared at him, the room starting to spin. A tingling sensation started at the top of her head and inched downward. "Murder?" she whispered. "Billy's…dead?"

Richard came around the desk; he took her arm. "You're white as a sheet. Come, sit down. I'll get you a glass of water."

He led her to the chair she had occupied only moments before. She sank onto it and lowered her head to her knees and breathed deeply and slowly through her nose. After a minute the dizziness passed. But not her shock.

Billy was dead. Murdered.

Dear God, her mother.

"I'm so sorry," he said, handing her the water. "I never would have said anything…I thought you knew. It was in all the papers."

She shook her head and took the glass, hand shaking. She sipped, then met his eyes. "I haven't…with the move…" She took another sip. "When did it…how…?"

"About four months ago. He was shot, though I don't remember all the details. I don't think they ever caught the killer. Or if they did, I didn't hear about it."

Her mother's lover was dead. Murdered.

They hadn't caught the killer.

John.

She began to shake, though she tried to hide it. She got to her feet, forcing a semblance of calm, though she could see by Richard's sympathetic expression she wasn't doing all that good a job of it. She held her panic at bay by telling herself over and over that Billy's death had nothing to do with her or John. Why should it? People were murdered all the time, it was a tragic fact of modern life. Hadn't John always said so? Hadn't he always said that death was a bullet that couldn't be dodged, not forever anyway?

Richard walked her to his office door. "Sorry I can't give you any more details. You could go to the library and check the back issues of the Times Picayune. "

The library. Of course. "Thank you, Mr. Ryan, I think I will." She smiled weakly at him. "I look forward to your call."

Somehow Julianna managed to make it from Richard's office to the Covington branch of the St. Tammany Parish library. There, the librarian helped her find what she was looking for on the microfilm, then left her alone.