by R A Wallace
“Yeah.” Clara put the rest of her sandwich into an empty bag. “Yeah, it is.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
They walked side by side into the conference center where the information technology competition was held.
“Why didn’t you tell them the truth earlier at the office?” Sierra asked.
Michael shrugged. “What? Tell them that we’re the guests of honor at the dinner here tonight?”
Sierra smoothed an imaginary pucker on her skirt. They’d gone home to change before returning for the dinner. “Yeah, I see what you mean.”
“We were just doing our job.” Michael paused at the end of a hall and looked down at her. “You look nice.”
She smiled and leaned into him. “So do you.”
He raised his hand and captured hers, holding it gently in front of him. “I was thinking. Maybe after the dinner, we could…”
“There you are.” Bailey looked from one to the other. “They’re waiting for you in the computer center.”
Shane nodded to Michael. “This way.”
Sierra flashed Michael a look followed by a smile then turned to follow the others. There weren’t as many people in the hallways now. All of the competitions were over. Only the dinner ceremony remained. The winners would be announced and congratulated. A special thanks would be given to Sierra and Michael of Indigo Investigations for their role in ensuring the security and integrity of the competition.
Shane opened the door to the computer room and stepped inside, holding it open for the others. Michael followed Sierra into the room.
“This is the head of the IT department.” Bailey motioned to a woman in her thirties. “Dani Lee, this is Sierra and Michael. Dani has already spent quite a bit of time with Callie and Greyson.” Bailey motioned to other IT staff around the room. After the rest of the introductions were made, Shane turned to Michael and Sierra.
“They’ve decided to make some organizational changes to the security here.” Shane glanced at Bailey. “In the past, our focus was strictly on the physical security of the building.”
“Our training was completely separate from everyone else here,” Bailey said as she motioned around the room. “They focused on the computers and we handled everything else related to the facility.”
“We’ve recently discovered that left a lot of gaps,” Dani said. “In some cases, with very simple things.”
“Until your team did a walk through and we saw things through their eyes,” Shane said. “Callie and Greyson were very thorough.”
Dani gave a wry smile. “It really was an eye opener.”
“Things like routers.” Bailey frowned. “Shane and I never paid any attention to them because they dealt with computers.”
Sierra nodded. “You weren’t really worried about their security because you had no idea what they did.”
“Exactly. Now that we’re working together, and thanks to your team, we’ve realized our mistakes,” Dani said. “For example, I thought I was okay because all of our devices, including the routers, are behind locked doors.”
“Not if it’s a room with a drop ceiling that isn’t surrounded with firewalls all the way up,” Sierra said automatically.
Dani motioned to her. “Exactly. All anyone has to do is remove a ceiling panel in the hallway and go over the wall into the next room. We didn’t think of any of that until the rest of your team pointed it out.”
“We never discussed it because it wasn’t our department,” Bailey said. “It was a serious disconnect.”
“Anyway, we just wanted to let you know that there will be a lot of changes,” Shane said.
“But we’d appreciate any more advice your team has to give us along the way,” Dani said. “Our administration will be contacting Indigo Investigations about a permanent consulting arrangement. We’re looking forward to working with you again in the future.”
Shane nodded. “That goes for all of us.”
***
Jo slowed to take the turn then accelerated again. “What did they say?”
Mack disconnected the call. “They’ve spotted Jesse Dixon on the interstate headed north. Looks like he’s trying to leave the state.”
“I’m not surprised. He knows we’re on to him.” Jo saw a slug of cars in the passing lane in front of them. She hit her lights but not the siren. The cars in front of her slowly moved out of the way. Jo increased her speed once she was safely past them.
“I’d like to be there when they pick him up,” she said.
“This one kept us guessing,” Mack agreed.
“Lucky for us, the dashcam footage of the driver delivering a package to a neighbor shows Jesse Dixon was at the scene of the crime at the time of death.”
“We would have caught him anyway,” Mack said.
Jo didn’t take her eyes from the road. “He knew we were on to him.”
“That he did.” Mack braced himself as Jo took a turn.
“He knew we were asking all of the employees about his status with the owner.” Jo slowed as the flashing lights came into view.
“His biggest mistake was filing that petition for determination.” Mack pointed to the man currently being cuffed. “There he is.”
Jo exited the car and walked with Mack toward Jesse Dixon.
“But if he hadn’t made that bone-headed decision, we would have gotten him anyway,” she said quietly.
“Yeah.” Mack pulled a packet of cheese crackers from his pocket. “Thanks to the dashcam video of the delivery driver.”
Jo flashed him a look.
“What?” He held the crackers up to his shirt. “They match. Besides, this time I’m not sitting down. No way I can get them on my pants.”
Jo watched him rip open the package. He put two crackers into his mouth just as his phone rang. She winced as he reached into his pants pocket to pull it out then diverted her eyes away from the orange streak that he left.
“Callie, yeah. He’s in custody now. Sure. You have a good weekend too.” Mack disconnected and put the phone back into his pocket. He saw Jo staring at his pants and looked down. “What?”
***
“What did he say?” Greyson picked up the bottle of wine and refilled the glasses.
“They got Jesse Dixon.” Callie picked up a piece of baby naan and scooped up more dip from her plate. “This is really good.”
“I agree.” Greyson looked at Ramona. “You outdid yourself.”
“Thanks.” Ramona laid her cards down. “Rummy.”
Greyson checked the cards in his hands. “I’m pretty sure I now owe you thousands of pennies.”
“You get used to it,” Callie said. “She’s been beating me for decades. I owe her millions of pennies.”
“It’s all part of my overall retirement plan,” Ramona said with a smile. “That and playing the lottery.”
Callie scooped up the cards to shuffle them.
“I’ll bet you’re glad the whole thing with Jesse Dixon is over,” Greyson said.
“I’m sure Dad and Leslie are even happier,” Callie said.
“Did Jo or Mack explain why the watch was found at your dad’s worksite?” Ramona took a sip of her wine.
“Jesse confessed to planting it there. He took it after he killed Wade because he was feeling sentimental at that point. He was still under the impression that Guy was his father.” Callie split the deck and shuffled some more.
“But then he decided that implicating your dad was a better idea?” Greyson guessed.
Callie nodded as she began dealing the cards. “He didn’t think the police were looking at my dad hard enough.”
“Whatever happened with the situation at your mom’s place?” Ramona picked up her cards.
“With Simon and his friend, Kevin?” Callie picked up her hand and began to reorder the cards. “Simon booted him out.”
“His own friend?” Greyson frowned at the cards in his hand.
“From what my mom said, they were never really friend
s. In fact, Simon didn’t have a lot of friends. That’s why he was so happy when Kevin showed up unannounced one day for a visit.” Callie watched Ramona pick up a card from the pile.
“What went wrong?” Ramona discarded.
“I guess Kevin found out about Simon’s situation there by searching online. His plan was to take over the whole business from Simon.” Callie picked up a card. It didn’t help. She discarded.
“Margaret told me that Simon managed to worm his way in and Simon just let him.” Greyson picked up a card and kept it. He discarded another.
“Then what happened to end it?” Ramona picked up Greyson’s card and discarded another.
Greyson’s eyes shot to Callie. “According to Margaret, Simon fought back when Kevin showed an interest in Callie.”
Ramona laughed. “Yeah, that would do it.” She nodded to Greyson. “What about the babysitting job?”
“With Makayla?” Greyson watched Callie discard. He made a face as he debated picking it up. Instead, he chose one from the pile. “She pulled together a professional business proposal and presented it to her father.”
Callie looked up from her cards. “And?”
“He asked her what took her so long.” He discarded.
“Oh, that’s nice. They’ll be in business together.” Ramona pounced on his discard. “Rummy.”
Callie and Greyson groaned as Greyson scooped up the cards and began shuffling.
“You’re thinking of going to California?” Ramona asked. She watched them nod. “What are you hoping to find?”
Callie shrugged. “I have to start somewhere.”
“You’ll touch base with Maria first?” Ramona gave Callie a look.
“Yes.” Callie smiled. “I know that I ignored her horribly after Corky died. We talk pretty often now.”
“Good.” Ramona scooped up her cards. “That’s good. No reason for the two people who loved Corky the most to suffer his loss alone.”
Callie nodded her agreement as she scooped up her cards.
“Speaking of which, how was working a case with Ariana?” Ramona focused on her cards as she reordered them in her hand.
Callie looked up. “It was good. Sierra and Michael said that she was very helpful.” Callie narrowed her eyes. “Why?”
“No reason.” Ramona picked up a card from the pile then discarded.
Callie nodded then took a card from the pile.
“I was just thinking,” Ramona said.
Callie discarded. “About what?”
“What she’s going to say when she finds out you kept everything hidden from her.” Ramona watched Greyson discard. She picked his card up and reordered her hand again.
“That wasn’t my call,” Callie said.
“So you keep saying. Still, she is your sister. How would you feel if the tables were turned?” Ramona put her cards down. “Rummy.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Greyson finished spraying the last wall of his house. He turned the pressure washer off and turned to Dex. “You’re right. That’s a blast.”
One corner of Dex’s mouth turned up as took in the soaking wet man in front of him. “I’m pretty sure I said it was a pain.”
Greyson looked down at the pressure washer. “I need to get one of these.”
“You’re welcome to borrow mine whenever you want.” Dex motioned to the house. “It’ll need cleaned at least twice a year. Some do it way more often.”
Greyson set the hose wand in the hook on the handle. “I could use it for a lot of other things too. Like my driveway.”
“The trouble with owning one is that everyone asks you to do their house,” Dex warned.
“Really?” Greyson thought about it. “I could do Callie’s and Ramona’s.”
Dex nodded. “I usually handle theirs but we can trade off.”
Greyson brought both hands up and used them to squeegee some of the water from his hair.
Dex waved at a neighbor as they drove by in a car. “Do you know when you two are leaving for California?”
“Not the exact day, but it will be very soon. She’s not going to let it go.” Greyson kneeled down and began disconnecting the water hose from the pressure washer.
“Can’t say I blame her.”
“You’ll be here to keep an eye on things?” Greyson straightened.
“Yes, sir. But you know if you need me, I can be there in a matter of hours.”
“Let’s hope we don’t need any of your special skills while we’re out there.” Greyson motioned toward his door. “Beer?
Dex hesitated. “Are you expecting Callie for lunch today?”
“No. She’s having lunch with her family at her dad’s place.”
“I’ll bet everyone there is happy now that he’s no longer a suspect.” Dex followed Greyson into the house.
Greyson laughed. “No doubt.”
***
“What do you mean it wasn’t your call? You’re my sister,” Ariana hissed. “You aren’t supposed to hide things like this from me.”
“Not now.” Callie glanced across the room at the rest of the family waiting for them at the table. “We’ll talk about this later.”
Callie grabbed the rest of the salad dressing bottles and carried them over to the far side of the table. “I think that’s all of them.” Callie took her seat as Ariana walked toward her with the fresh pitcher of sweet tea.
“Here you go.” Ariana refilled Josie and Cassidy’s glasses.
“Thanks, Aunt Ariana.” Cassidy reached for her glass.
“You are very welcome.” Ariana took her seat between the two girls. “Do you need more chicken, Josie?”
Josie flashed a smile. “No, thanks. I’d like to hear more about the competition.”
Ariana reached for her tea glass. “Do you like computers?”
Josie nodded vigorously.
“So far, her interest in computers has lasted longer than all of her previous career choices,” Gemma said. Her eyes flicked between Ariana and Callie.
“I really enjoyed my time there.” Ariana took a sip of her tea and set her glass back down.
“What was your favorite part?” Josie picked up a chicken wing and took a bite.
Ariana made a face as though considering it. “To be honest, I think it was the part where my boss treated me like an adult.” Ariana slid her focus to Callie. “An adult who was a valuable member of a team of professionals.”
Wade turned to Leslie. Her brows went up.
Callie set her tea glass down a little harder than she meant to. “And you were.”
“What are you two talking about?” Wade asked.
“I know what I’d like to talk about,” Blake said.
Leslie looked down at Blake’s plate. “You haven’t eaten much. Are you feeling okay?”
“I feel like having a family discussion,” Blake said as he rested his hands on either side of his plate.
“That makes two of us,” Ariana added.
Gemma shot another look at Callie.
Callie raised her hands. “What?”
Gemma sighed. “I agree with them.”
“So do I. This isn’t my fault.” She pointed at Wade and Leslie. “It was their call not to share what was happening with everyone else.”
“You should have told me anyway,” Ariana said. She saw Cassidy’s eyes widen and reached for her hand under the table. Josie’s hand found its way into her other hand.
Leslie looked at Wade.
His eyes roamed around the table. He threw his napkin next to his plate. “Okay. We can all blame me. It was my call.”
“And?” Ariana asked.
Wade looked confused.
“Are you sorry?” Ariana asked.
Wade let out an exasperated sigh. “I was just trying to protect everyone.”
“By not telling us that the police might arrest you at any moment?” Blake pushed his chair away from the table. “How was that helping?”
“What do you mean? I
t saved you from worrying.” Wade looked around the table. Leslie dropped her eyes.
“And how much better would it have been if you were arrested totally out of the blue without any of us expecting it?” Ariana gave each hand a gentle squeeze. Small fingers squeezed back.
“She’s right,” Gemma said. “I would rather be prepared for something like that.”
Wade looked around the table. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that you shouldn’t have asked us not to tell the others,” Blake said. “It wasn’t fair. I wanted to talk to them.”
Wade’s eyes shifted to Callie. She pressed her lips together.
“And I’m saying that Callie, and apparently Blake, shouldn’t have kept it from us even if Dad told them to.” Ariana looked around the table.
Wade turned to Leslie. She tilted her head and looked at him.
“Well? What do you think?” he asked.
Her brows went up. “Now you want my opinion?”
He huffed out a laugh. “Okay, I deserved that. When you tried to give it before, I wouldn’t listen. Leslie thought I should tell you all everything so I could have my family around to support me in my time of need. I told her it was my duty to protect everyone else.”
Leslie reached over and slid her hand into his. “You’re an idiot.”
Wade smiled. “Yeah, I guess.”
Ariana squeezed hands one last time before letting go then reached for the potato salad. “I think we should institute a new family policy.”
“Here, here.” Blake scooted his chair in and pulled his plate closer.
“I’m all for that,” Leslie said.
“From now on, no more secrets between siblings,” Blake said.
“Hey, what about parents?” Wade reached for the potato salad.
“We’re willing to give you a second chance.” Ariana pushed the bowl his way. “But you have to prove yourself worthy before we’ll share our secrets with you.”
Gemma laughed.
Callie reached for her tea again. “Does this mean I’m forgiven?”
Ariana pretended to consider it for a moment. “I think you deserve a second chance too, but don’t mess it up this time.”