by Laura Scott
She looked annoyed. “I’m sorry, but that’s impossible.”
“I assure you, it’s not.” He glanced at the woman behind the check-in desk. “Maybe we can discuss this in private?”
“Fine.” The HR director led him down the hall to another glass door leading into an office suite. When they were settled in her office, she glared at him. “I’d like to see that warrant.”
“Of course.” He lifted his phone. “What’s your email address? I’ll send it to you.”
She curled her lip as if she didn’t trust a warrant that came through email but provided her address. He shot it off to her and waited for her to pull it up on her desktop computer screen.
“This is ridiculous,” she said. “I don’t understand why you need to know the name of every employee working here.”
“Ma’am, I’m trying to prevent a criminal attack on this hotel,” he said calmly. “I would think that keeping something bad from happening would be in your best interest.”
She drummed red-tipped nails on the desktop. “It looks legit,” she said slowly. “But I need to show this to my legal team.”
“Go ahead.” Everett sat back and crossed his arms at his chest. “I’ll wait.”
The woman looked as if she wanted to argue but picked up the phone and spoke in a low tone. He watched as she forwarded the email to someone else. Finally, she hung up the phone.
“Our lawyer says we have to comply, but it will take me some time to run the report,” Ms. Farnsworth said in a grudging tone. “If you wouldn’t mind waiting in the lobby, I’ll bring it down as soon as it’s available.”
“Okay, thank you.” He rose. “Just make sure every single employee is on that list, including you.”
She bristled but didn’t respond.
After returning to the lobby, he called Helena. “Had to jump through a legal hoop, but I should have the report in a few minutes.”
“Great. Call me back as soon as you find anything out.”
“I will.” He disconnected from the call and glanced at his watch. He’d give the HR director five minutes.
And she took every one of those five minutes. Just as he was about to head back into the HR office suite, Ms. Farnsworth crossed the lobby, her high-heeled shoes clicking against the tiled floor.
“Here you go, Officer Brand.” She thrust a sheaf of papers at him. “They are in alphabetical order.”
“Thank you.” He quickly scanned the pages, heading to the M’s for Maddox.
Nothing. No Zoe Maddox.
With a frown, he checked again, going slower to make sure he hadn’t missed it. Then he tried scanning the Z’s just to be sure.
“Wait a minute, are you sure you don’t have a Zoe Maddox working for you?”
The woman gave him an irritated look. “The name isn’t familiar, and if she’s not on the list, then she doesn’t work for us.”
But Luna had found Zoe’s scent near the employee entrance. “Does this list include contracted employees?”
“No. We don’t have that information. All contracted employees are the responsibility of the company they work for.” She actually looked pleased that her employee list wasn’t helpful.
“Do you have a list of companies you contract with?” he demanded.
“I do. But your warrant doesn’t give you access to that information.” She looked down her nose at him. “Have a good day, Officer Brand.”
Anger simmering in his gut, he watched her walk away. Their biggest lead had been a bust. Zoe was not an official staff member of the hotel.
But he felt certain she was on staff with a contract company.
Too bad he had no clue how to find her.
TEN
Waiting patiently was not Helena’s strong suit. She divided her time between watching for any sign of Zoe heading for the employee entrance and keeping Christine entertained. Yet knowing Zoe was close and could right now be in the hotel cleaning rooms as a hotel maid or serving meals made staying focused impossible.
The anticipation of seeing her twin again after a year apart was overwhelming.
Her gaze narrowed on a tall man wearing black jeans and black T-shirt. The same guy who’d disappeared behind the building yesterday? She couldn’t say for sure. He was heading toward the employee entrance, small plastic keycard in hand. She still had the mug shot of Gareth Cantwell on her phone, and this man clearly wasn’t him.
But was he part of the criminal ring? For all she knew, several employees could be involved.
She told herself she was letting her imagination run wild, seeing bad guys around every corner. Finding Zoe was the first step, and her sister could give them the names of anyone else involved.
After what seemed like forever, her phone rang. Everett’s name flashed on the screen, filling her heart with hope. “Are you setting up a meeting with Zoe?”
“I’m sorry, Helena.” Everett’s voice held regret. “She’s not on the list of current employees.”
She dropped her chin to her chest and closed her eyes. “Are you sure?”
“She’s not listed under her current name. Listen, I’m on my way back out with the list. Just wanted you to know.”
“Thanks.” She hung up, her gaze zeroed in on the front entrance. Within minutes, Everett emerged carrying a sheaf of papers in his hand. Shifting her gaze to the employee entrance, she saw another guy approaching, this one much younger and skinnier than the previous man. He also used a keycard to enter the hotel.
Zoe must have a keycard just like it.
Everett slid into the passenger seat, his expression grim. “Do you have any idea if she might use an alias?”
“No. And how would she pass a background check under an alias, anyway?” She took the papers and scanned the names, needing to see for herself that Zoe wasn’t listed.
“The HR director confirmed they use some contract staff, but since that wasn’t covered under the warrant, wouldn’t even share the names of the companies with me.” He scowled. “That woman was less than helpful.”
Helena folded the paperwork and stuffed it in the console between them. “I guess that means it’s stakeout time.”
“Yeah.” He didn’t look enthusiastic about the role. “Let’s drive around, see if we can find a place to hide the SUV, which won’t be easy since it’s clearly labeled as a state trooper vehicle.”
Glad to have something constructive to do, Helena put the car in gear and made a wide sweep of the parking lot that stretched all the way around the building.
“What about over there?” She gestured through the steering wheel to a corner of the lot where there were several large trees. “We might be able to squeeze this in between the trees, backing up enough so that it isn’t readily visible from other drivers.”
“Maybe.” Everett leaned forward, peering at the area in question. “That spot does give us a direct line of sight to the employee entrance, but not to the front of the hotel.”
“I know, but remember Luna alerted at the employee entrance, not the front. Even if Zoe is an employee with a contract company, I’m sure this is where she’d go in and out of the building.”
“Okay, you’ve convinced me,” Everett agreed. “Should we take turns? I don’t think we can keep Christine in the car the whole time.”
“Yeah, that should work. Do you want to take the first shift? Or should I?” She didn’t relish sitting and doing nothing but watching the employee entrance, but sitting in the cabin with Christine wasn’t much better.
“I can take it,” Everett said. “Let’s return to the cabin.”
She swung the SUV in a circle, but then hit the brake. “I’d like to have Luna scent the area again, just in case.”
He hesitated then nodded. “If you think that will help, sure.”
She wasn’t sure it would help the investigation but
considering that nothing was going well on the case so far, having Luna alert on Zoe’s scent once again would reassure her they were on the right track.
Luna gracefully jumped out of the SUV, her tail wagging with excitement, eager to get to work. Helena played with the dog for a few minutes then took out the scent bag.
“Zoe,” she said, presenting the scarf to Luna. “This is Zoe. Seek Zoe. Seek!”
The dog sniffed long and hard then lifted her head. Helena had purposely started in the far corner of the parking lot, to see if Zoe had been in that area. Luna did her zigzag sniffing thing, sometimes doubling back before she made her way closer to the hotel.
From there, it didn’t take long for her K-9 partner to pick up the scent trail. Luna alerted in the exact same location as last time, the parking spot where she’d theorized that Zoe had been dropped off, maybe even by Gareth Cantwell, for work.
“Good girl, Luna. You’re such a good girl.” She praised her K-9 for several moments then said, “Seek. Seek Zoe!”
Once again, Luna followed the trail to the employee entrance and alerted. She praised her some more, feeling relieved.
Luna’s nose was great, but scents could fade over time, especially since there were lots of employees who came and went through this doorway. The fact that the K-9 could still track Zoe meant it was highly likely her twin was still there. Working in some sort of capacity with some sort of contracted agency.
She took Luna back to the SUV, settled her in the rear, and climbed in behind the wheel.
“Everything okay?” Everett asked.
“Yes, I feel better that Luna alerted again in the same two areas. Sitting on the employee entrance is our best chance at finding Zoe.” She put the SUV in gear and left the parking lot.
“If you’d rather take the first shift, that’s fine with me,” Everett said.
“You can take it.” She told herself that working the later shift provided a better opportunity to find her sister. Even though the idea of sitting for several hours at the cabin doing nothing would be pure torture. “While you’re staking the place out, I’ll do some searching on contract employee companies, maybe one of them advertised being hired by the Denali Grand Chalet.”
“That’s a good idea. If I had a list of companies that we knew for sure had employees working at the Chalet, I can ask Trent to try for another search warrant.”
Helena grimaced. “That might be too late. If it takes two days to get another search warrant, we’ll end up missing the grand opening tomorrow night.”
Everett sighed. “I’ll see if my buddy can put a rush on it.”
“Maybe we should both search the companies, might be quicker in the long run.” She glanced at him. “Staking out the hotel is a long shot, Everett. We could have already missed Zoe going in and it could be hours before she comes back out.”
“I know.” He pursed his lips. “Okay, we’ll do the search first and then set up the hotel watch.”
Helena scowled. This case was proving to be more difficult than most, and not just because Zoe was her sister.
It shouldn’t be this difficult to find out who worked for what company. No wonder the string of thefts had gone unresolved for so long.
She turned her attention to the road, eyeing the vehicles behind her. Spotting a tail on Denali Park Road was impossible thanks to the large busses hogging the roads. It wasn’t easy to see beyond them.
When their turnoff approached, she decided to drive past it, to come at it from the other direction. Just in case.
They needed their safe house to remain just that—safe and well hidden.
Christine began to fuss, making her feel guilty. It wasn’t time to eat, but the baby may need to be changed, or was sick of being in her infant carrier.
“Don’t worry, she’s fine,” Everett said when she kept glancing at the rearview mirror. “Better to make sure we’re not followed.”
“I know.” She turned off at the next available road and drove for a mile before doubling back. Christine was building up to a full-blown crying fit by the time she pulled onto the long, winding driveway to their cabin.
Luna didn’t like the baby’s crying and began to whimper, too.
“Take it easy, we’re home,” Everett said, as if the baby, and Luna for that matter, could actually understand him.
“I’ll take the baby, you grab the diaper bag and Luna,” Everett said, jumping out and reaching for the door handle. “That girl has a healthy set of lungs.”
“Yeah.” And anyone within listening distance who knew they had Zoe’s baby could likely hear her crying, too.
Spurred by a sense of urgency, Helena quickly freed Luna from the back of the SUV and grabbed the diaper bag and the dog’s dishes before following Everett and Christine inside.
Luna hadn’t growled a warning, which made her feel better.
Everett unbuckled the baby and held her, rubbing her back in a soothing manner. “Hey now, it’s okay. See? Everything is just fine.”
Christine’s crying softened in volume as he continued to talk to her. Helena’s heart did a funny little flip in her chest as she watched him interact with the baby, talking to her even as he pulled a diaper from the bag and prepared to change her.
Everett had the role of doting father down pat, and Christine wasn’t even his child.
She sensed his actions were based on long-dormant instincts that had risen to the surface the minute he was confronted with a crying infant.
And it hurt to think about how he still blamed himself for the loss of his wife and son.
Especially since he clearly had so much love yet to give.
And wasn’t love God’s greatest blessing?
* * *
Everett was glad when Christine quieted down, seemingly content especially after he’d changed her, then set her on a blanket stretched out on the floor. He’d made a bottle, but she hadn’t been interested in that, so he’d set it aside for later.
“Have you heard of a place called RightSource?” Helena asked, staring down at her phone screen.
“No, are you sure it’s not The Right One?” He moved away from the baby. “That’s the agency I looked into previously. They were hired to help staff the anniversary party, where a large amount of jewelry and cash was stolen.”
“I’m sure it’s RightSource and, interestingly enough, it looks as if they’re helping to staff another hotel here in Denali.” She met his gaze. “Not the Grand Chalet, but the Lodge.”
“Interesting.” He pulled up the information on his own phone. RightSource was so similar to The Right One, he couldn’t help but wonder if the company had simply changed its name. It had been one of his theories all along that these companies kept morphing or changing hands, but the people working there were all the same.
“Do you think it’s possible that the hotel managers share staff between them?” Helena asked. “There’s another agency, by the name of RightChoice, that is being used by another Denali hotel. But again, not the new one. Still, it makes me think they might share staff.”
“Maybe.” He thought of how smug Ms. Farnsworth had been when he’d questioned her about contracted agencies. Was that because she didn’t use them directly, but shared with others? “I wouldn’t put anything past that woman I dealt with.”
“She’ll be singing a different tune if we prevent a big theft,” Helena pointed out.
“I know.” Still the HR director’s attitude bothered him. He decided to call Trent.
His buddy answered with a groan. “Don’t tell me you need another favor.”
“I’m sorry, man, but the warrant was a bust. We now think that Zoe Maddox is working for one of the contracted agencies. If I get you a list, do you think the judge will approve?”
“I don’t know,” Trent said honestly. “I mean, I used the K-9 finding the scent and the grand o
pening of the hotel as leverage. Not sure that will fly with your attempt to cast a broader net.”
“Will you at least try?” Everett figured it was worth a shot. “We want to add RightSource, RightChoice and—” He glanced at Helena, who showed him her phone and the agency listed there. “Temporary Solutions.”
“Three agencies?” Trent’s voice rose incredulously.
“I know it’s a stretch, but please, man. If we don’t find Zoe soon, we’ll lose our best chance to break this case wide open.”
“Yeah, pretty sure you told me that last time, only to come up empty-handed,” Trent groused. “Fine, I’ll try. I’ll head over there right after lunch. But don’t hold your breath, Brand. This is not a sure thing by any means.”
“I hear you loud and clear. Thanks, Trent, I owe you one.”
“You owe me two,” Trent corrected before disconnecting.
“He’ll do his best,” he said in response to Helena’s questioning gaze. “But he’s not convinced the judge will go for it.”
She nodded. “That’s all we can ask for, I guess. I’ll take Luna out one more time, then you can head over to do the first watch on the Chalet.”
“Sounds good.” He stood then froze when Luna began to growl.
Helena was already on her feet and sliding up to the window, weapon in hand.
Instinctively expecting the worst, he swept Christine up off the floor and tucked her into the infant carrier. Then he stuffed the bottle and supplies into the diaper bag.
Luna stared at the doorway, her nose quivering, low growls still emanating from her throat.
“See anything?” he whispered.
She stared for so long then eased back from the window, her face pale. “The front tires of the SUV are flat as pancakes.” Her voice was barely loud enough to hear. “They’ve disabled the SUV.”
“We’re going out the back.” Everett figured melting into the woods was their best chance of surviving. “Hurry.”
Luna stayed close to Helena’s side, and he was frankly much less worried about the dog alerting anyone to their presence.