He had seen it-he tried to recall.

He just couldn’t place where.

CHAPTER EIGHTY-SEVEN

“Listen, Charles, this is important.” Karen reached out and touched his arm. “We’re not the only people who know you’re alive.”

He ruffled his brow. “‘We’?”

She nodded. “Yes, ‘we.’” Karen told him about Hauck. “He’s a detective. From Greenwich. He was trying to solve the Raymond hit-and-run that happened the same day. The boy had your name and number in his pocket. He looked after me a bit in the days when we weren’t sure if you had died. Then all these crazy things began to happen.”

“What kinds of crazy things?”

“People were suddenly trying to find you, Charles. Or at least all that money. I told you, they were talking about millions. They were coming to the house. Then they threatened Samantha. At school. I didn’t know who else to turn to, Charles.”

He looked concerned. “People as in who, Karen?”

“I don’t know. We didn’t find out. The police, or Saul. But that doesn’t really matter now. What does matter is, this detective, Hauck, he found out. Listen, Charles, they seem to be looking for you, too. Not just for the money. You! They’re tracing you through these bank accounts down here. This person, his name is Dietz… Do you know him?”

“Dietz?” Charles shook his head.

“He was a part of the Raymond hit-and-run. He was a witness, in Greenwich. But the thing is, he was also there at Jonathan Lauer’s, too! They were both arranged hits, Charles. Not accidents. But you know that, don’t you? You know what they were trying to protect. And now I think they’re down here, Charles, trying to find you. They somehow know, Charles. You’re in danger.”

Charles pushed up his cap and massaged his brow, as though running back in his mind through a series of events, and the conclusion he seemed to come to alarmed him. “They know about the fees,” he said, looking at her glumly.

“What fees, Charles?”

“A lot of money, Karen. Money I earned,” he said, “I didn’t steal. One and a quarter percent, on a couple of billion dollars. Accumulating over the past eight years. I always kept it offshore. It was for our island,” he said. “Remember? We’re talking over sixty million dollars, Karen.”

Karen’s eyes grew wide.

“I never cared about the money, Charlie. I never cared about your stupid island. That was never going to happen. That was just our stupid dream.” She looked at him. “What I cared about was you, Charlie. I cared about us, our family. These people are onto you. They can trace you, as I did. What are you going to do, Charlie, run from them the rest of your life?”

He hung his head, ran a troubled hand across his scalp. A wistful smile appeared in his gray eyes. “You know I came back once, Karen. Sam’s graduation. I looked up the date on the school’s Web site.”

“You were there?”

He nodded fondly. “In a way. I took a car up and watched you come out after the ceremony from across the street. You had on a short yellow dress. Sam had a flower in her ear. I saw my folks there. Alex…He’s gotten so tall…”

“You were there!” Karen felt a pang grab at her heart. “Oh, Charlie, how long can you let this mess keep going on?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know,” he said. Then, “Tell, me”-his eyes brightening-“how’s his lacrosse?”

“His lacrosse?” Tears of confusion formed in her eyes. “I don’t know, Charlie, he’s second string, attack. He’s on the bench mostly. Sam had a good year, though. She scored the winning goal against Greenwich Academy. She-” Then she caught herself. “Oh, Charlie, why are we doing this? You want to know how it was? It was hard, Charlie. It was fucking hard. Do you know how they would feel if they could see you here now? It would kill them, Charlie. Sam, Alex-they would die.”

“Karen…”

Some strange force impelled her, and she leaned toward him, Charlie scared and confused, and they both took the other into their arms. It felt so strange, to have his arms wrapped around her. So familiar, yet so awkward. Like a ghost. “It’s been hell, Charlie. First with you gone, then…You hurt me so.” She pulled away, something between pain and accusation flashing in her eyes. “I can’t forgive you, Charlie. I’m not sure I ever will. We had a fucking life, Charles!”

“I know it’s been hard, Karen.” He nodded, swallowing. “I know what I’ve done.”

Karen sniffled back some tears and wiped her eyes with the heel of her hands. “No,” she said, “no, you don’t know. You don’t even have a clue what you’ve done.”

He looked at her. For the first time, he seemed to look her over. Her face. Her figure. How she looked in her dress. A faint smile came to his eyes. “You still look good, Karen.”

“Yeah, and you don’t wear glasses anymore?”

“Lasik.” He shrugged. “Occupational necessity.”

She smiled. “Finally drummed up the nerve, huh?”

“You got me.”

Karen’s smile broadened, a ray of sun reflecting brightly off her freckles.

“I want you to be happy, Karen. I want you to move on. Learn to love somebody. You ought to have happiness in your life.”

“Yeah, well, you picked a wonderful time to suddenly have all this concern for me, Charlie.”

He smiled ruefully.

“Listen, Charlie, it doesn’t have to be like this. You can turn yourself in. This detective, Hauck, he’s here with me now, Charlie.”

Charles looked concerned.

“You can trust him, Charlie. I promise. He’s my friend. He’s not here to bring you in. You can explain what you did. You didn’t kill anyone. You falsified collateral, Charlie. You lied. You can give back the money. Pay a fine. Even if you have to spend time in jail, you can get back your life. The kids, they deserve their father, Charlie. Even if we can’t go back the same, they’ll forgive you. They will. You can do this, Charlie.”

“No.” He shook his head weakly. “I can’t.”

“Yes you can. I know you, Charlie.”

“I can’t do it, Karen. I’ll be in jail for twenty years. I can’t. Besides, I’d never be safe. Nor would you. This is better, whatever it seems.” He looked at her and smiled. “And just to be honest, Karen, neither of us would want to explain this to the kids.”

“They would want their father, Charlie.” She drew in a breath. “What are you going to do, run for the rest of your life?”

“No.” He shook his head. Then a light of understanding seemed to go on in his eyes. “Listen, there are some things, Karen. You say these people are looking for me. If anything happens to me, I have these safe-deposit boxes, in different places around. St. Kitts. Panama. Tortola…”

“I don’t want your money, Charles. What I want is for you to-”

“Ssshh…” He took her hand and stopped her. Squeezed. “You still have the Mustang, don’t you?”

“Of course I have it, Charlie. That’s what you said. In your will.”

“Good. There are things you’ll want to know. Important things, Karen. If anything should happen to me. The truth. The truth has always been right inside my heart. You understand that, Karen. Promise me you’ll look. It’ll explain a lot of things.”

“What the hell are you talking about, Charlie? You have to come in with me. You can testify against these people. You can go into custody if you have to. But they’re going to find you, Charlie. You just can’t keep running.”

“I’m not going to keep running, Karen.”

“What do you mean?”

He glanced at his watch. “It’s time to be getting back. I’ll think about what you said. No promises.” He got up, looked out at the water, and waved. On the Sea Angel, Neville signaled back. Karen heard the engine start. Farther out, a larger craft had come into view from around the bend. “That one’s mine,” Charlie pointed. “Pretty much my home for the past year. Check it out on the way back. You might get a kick out of the name.”

Karen’s heart kicked up, worried, as she watched her launch putter in. She was positive there was something she had failed to say.