by Elaine Meece
That’s when he noticed the writing on his windshield.
I want to fuck you.
Obviously, the call in Utah hadn’t been a wrong number. He glanced around but didn’t see anyone.
♦♦♦
Megan remained in her bed, feeling nauseated. It wouldn’t matter. They’d still expect her to get up and work. Blisters covered her fingers from hard work.
Dan and Hawkins had searched every inch of the room. He had thrown the pillows and linens in the floor before raising the mattress and then the box springs and checking beneath them. Thank goodness, they hadn’t paid any attention to her feather pillow. If they had taken it from the case and checked the far end, they would have seen where it was sealed with duct tape.
All of her sister’s letters and the money Annie had given her were in a bundle surrounded by feathers.
When they didn’t find anything, they left.
She slipped the linens back on the bed, returned her few clothes to the drawers, and placed the pillow at the headboard. Then on top, she tossed three old decorative pillows over it.
On the way out the door, she spotted the Craven’s truck coming up the driveway. Since she was good with math, and the others had very little education, Dan allowed her to handle his bills.
She returned inside and tore out the June check Dan had already signed.
Outside, she greeted the Cravens as they stepped from the truck. Mr. Craven made small talk as he walked to the rear of the truck to unload the tank.
Mrs. Craven handed her a clip board with the bill attached. As she signed it, she felt the thickness of the envelope behind it.
“They’re coming this way,” Mrs. Craven whispered. She took the clip board, removed Annie’s letter, and stuffed it in her pocket.
Megan quickly handed her the letter she had written Annie. She didn’t dare look back. “I can’t be caught with it.”
Mrs. Craven stuffed it in the pocket with the other one. “There’s an old tire just up the drive. I’ll leave your sister’s letter inside it.”
Megan nodded.
Though she’d denied it, Dan and the others were suspicious she had been communicating with Annie.
Dan and Hawkins greeted the Cravens, then studied them for a moment. Dan positioned his hands on his hips. “Did she give you anything?”
Mrs. Craven frowned. “She gave me a check like she always does.”
“Has she ever asked you to mail anything for her?” Hawkins asked, glaring with his wild eyes.
Mr. Craven, who stood six, four and had a heavyset frame, stepped up. “Something wrong?”
“We think your wife has mailed letters for Megan.”
“She’s never done that.” Mr. Craven scowled at Hawkins. “Let’s go, Sarah.”
They climbed into the truck and left.
Hawkins motioned for some of the men to follow them out.
After they left, Dan approached her. “Get inside.”
In her bedroom, he made her strip down including the body garment she wore.
When he didn’t find anything, he appeared to be thinking. “In August, Connie will pay Mrs. Craven. I don’t want you around her.”
Megan nodded.
Since meeting with Annie earlier, she knew what was in her letter. If she rushed down to the tire to retrieve it, Dan and Hawkins might follow her or have her followed. But she couldn’t leave the letter in the tire for long and chance someone finding it.
Megan debated whether to tell Libby about the letters. Could she be trusted?
The next morning, Megan dressed before daybreak and cut through the pasture. Her greatest fear was stepping in cow poop. She considered it the worst smell of anything on the farm. Before crossing the barbed-wire fence, she glanced around. She walked down the drive hoping like hell no one came in or out of the commune. At the huge tractor tire, she peeked inside it. There wasn’t a letter. Her heart leapt in her chest. Had someone taken it?
Then she recalled the truck that followed them. Mrs. Craven wasn’t able to leave the letter. If she couldn’t contact Annie, how would they plan her escape? She mulled over what Connie had said about leaving with her.
♦♦♦
Feeling stressed and uncomfortable, Brice loosened his tie. He sat next to Cynthia on the flight to Jacksonville. “I have gone over our conversation. We only spoke of Crammer Industries and Garner’s shares on the trip to Utah.”
“Security didn’t find bugs on any of our jets,” Cynthia said.
“Then I can’t explain it.” Brice stared out the jet window, wishing he were somewhere besides here.
“I can’t believe she purchased every single share of Garner’s stock,” Cynthia said. “Once again, it’s like she knew what we planned to do and beat us to it.”
Brice shifted his attention to Annie, sitting in her special seat. Though she’d pretended to read a magazine, he suspected she had heard a good deal of what Cynthia had said.
On top of everything else, MX7 had failed again. Until recently, it had been the super compound.
Cynthia Conners sighed. “I feel like Randall has come back from the grave to haunt me.”
Brice didn’t think that was the case, though marrying Kayla Miller and giving her control over Novik was the second-best thing he could’ve done. “I’m thinking more of hackers than ghosts.”
“Are you saying we’re not really failing the tests?”
“Could be. We may want to bring in some IT specialist.”
“They’ve probably covered their cyber-tracks.”
“True. But we can clean out the bugs and repeat the tests.”
“That’s actually a good plan. Let’s do it.” Her face relaxed. She glanced at her Rolex. “Mallory and Gina have a dance recital this weekend. I’m supposed to pick up their dresses.”
“I’ll need to pick up the boys on Friday night and keep them through Sunday. Too bad I don’t have someone like Sierra to help with them. She’s so dependable.”
“Yes, but she’s in college now. Gina is almost old enough to babysit. Sometimes, we leave them alone for short periods.”
“There’s no way I can leave Shawn and Gabe for a second. I’d come home and find the house on fire.”
Cynthia laughed softly.
Brice really liked her. It was nice to see her smile again.
Annie served Brice and Cynthia coffee. She handed Cynthia a large white mug, and Brice a spill proof sippy cup. “Enjoy.”
Cynthia laughed. “At least, she didn’t spill it on you.”
Annie returned with his pants still in the package. “I hope these are the same ones.”
He stared at them. “You didn’t have to do this.”
“I wanted to.” Her eyes shined with empathy. No doubt, she’d recognized his stress level had reached the top. She returned to the front.
For the rest of the flight, no one spoke. Brice thought of Annie and the sippy cup she had served his coffee in and smiled.
Cynthia’s phone rang, and she glanced at the screen. “It’s Detective Tabor. I’ll put it on speaker.” She pressed the button. “Detective Tabor, to what do I owe the pleasure of this call?”
“Since Mr. Garner was a major stockholder and a board member, we need to ask you some questions.”
She glanced at Brice with concern. “What did the toxicology report reveal?”
Tabor continued. “Garner’s death has officially been ruled a homicide.”
Chapter Eleven
Brice pulled down the shade of the small jet window, then gave his full attention to the conversation between Cynthia and Detective Tabor over the speaker phone.
Cynthia’s eyes appeared apprehensive. “What killed him?”
“Potassium chloride,” Tabor said. “He had a level of 160.0. Normally, the nurses’ station would’ve been alerted to any cardiac stress, but his readings came across as normal.”
Cynthia sighed. “And during that time, he died.”
“First autopsy didn’t pick it u
p. When the hospital realized his monitor had been hacked, they took a closer look and discovered potassium ions in his blood.”
Brice shuddered at the thought of how far someone had gone for money. “How’d the potassium chloride get in his system?”
“That’s Brice Jordan, Zurtel’s new CEO,” Cynthia explained.
“Intravenous injection. We’ve pulled all hospital surveillance from the night he died. Someone boldly walked in and administered the potassium and left.”
“With the monitors hacked, no one knew he needed help,” Brice said.
“It required more than one person to pull it off.” Tabor cleared his throat. “I understand you were in Utah when he died.”
“That’s right. Why?”
“Just checking. And you, Mr. Jordan.”
“I was with her.”
“Did Mr. Garner have any enemies?” Tabor asked.
“I wouldn’t call them enemies. He had disagreements with other members, but not anything that would lead to this.”
“Do you know of anyone besides his daughter who’d benefit from his death?”
“There’s only one I can think of,” Cynthia replied.
“That is?” Tabor asked.
“Kayla Miller. She’s made threats against Zurtel.”
“So, how does she benefit?”
“Mr. Garner was our largest stockholder. She purchased all of his Zurtel stocks before he was in the ground. That along with what Randall left her will give her a foothold in my company.”
“I’ll speak to her and get back with you.”
After Cynthia disconnected, she shook her head. “Damn, Randall for marrying her. Something tells me, she’s thought all of this out very carefully.”
Brice decided they’d underestimated Kayla Miller.
The plane landed at Cecil Field in Jacksonville.
He had studied everything he could about the company, but still, he didn’t feel comfortable in the brainstorming sessions with Cynthia and the engineers.
By the end of the day, Brice, Cynthia, and the engineers had no idea what had caused air craft parts constructed of MX7 to break apart in the simulator. She turned to him. “This isn’t about the test results being hacked. Someone has done something to the composition of MX7.”
“It has to be contaminates,” Ed Sawyer said. “There’s no other explanation. It’s the same formula we’ve been using.”
Cynthia pushed her hair behind her ears. “Where would the contaminates have come from?”
“It’d have to be at Komar in Utah,” Ed stated. “The problem’s not on our end.”
“Agreed,” Brice said.
“I’ll contact Komar.”
“I’d be glad to take care of that,” Brice said.
She flashed a look of distrust. “I’d rather handle it.”
Tension zipped up Brice’s spine, then tightened his shoulders, making his neck and head ache.
Before leaving, Cynthia called a mandatory meeting of all the employees working at the lab and testing facilities.
With a stern expression, Cynthia stood before them and motioned to the screen. An image of the newspaper picture of Kayla Miller with her copycat robot flashed on it. “This is our competition. She owns Novik. Her sole purpose is to put her company ahead of Zurtel at any cost. At this rate, we’ll be out of business.”
While her employees stared at the picture, Brice let his gaze roam over them. No one looked panicked or guilty.
“Zurtel has always tried to look out for its employees. Not only do you receive the highest salary in your field, you also receive excellent health benefits and retirement packages.”
Brice smiled. Now she was hitting them where it counted, their wallets.
“But if Novik manages to climb ahead of us, we all have a lot to lose. I suspect she’s paying someone in this facility. And you’re not just hurting Zurtel, you’re hurting everyone who works here.”
The flight back to Atlanta had been a quiet one. Cynthia stared out the window, and Annie read a book.
Brice’s previous company hadn’t had the stress and drama of Zurtel. Last thing he wanted was to get caught in the middle of two corporate titans like Cynthia Conners and Kayla Miller. He assumed part of Cynthia’s anger rose from her father being so nice to Kayla at Garner’s funeral. He had to admit he didn’t understand her father’s reasons for it. Kayla was Zurtel’s enemy.
When they landed in Atlanta, he waited for Cynthia’s limo to pull away. He wanted to ask Annie to dinner to thank her for the pants and sippy cup. Before she came out, he received a text.
Boys at Moms. Need to talk. Meet me. 9:00. Our coffee shop.
Brice couldn’t have been happier. Maybe Shea had come to her senses. He knew the café well. It was her favorite hangout.
If he made up with Shea tonight, he’d be attending the wedding that weekend with her instead of Annie. Hopefully, Annie would understand. Apparently, their display of affection Sunday night hadn’t made Evan jealous.
Brice drove off. While driving he couldn’t forget the look of distrust in Cynthia Conner’s eyes.
That night Brice picked up a small bouquet of miniature roses on the way to Java Veno on Highland. He stopped by the outdoor section behind the small gray wall. He didn’t see Shea at any of the tables. He stepped inside the trendy place. The aroma of freshly baked cakes and coffee brought back memories. He scanned the tables looking for her. She hadn’t arrived. Seeing an empty table, he decided to grab it. He sat and kept an eye open for Shea. A third chair had been pulled over. Rather than push it away, he placed the flowers on the extra seat.
“What can I get you, sir?” a waiter asked.
“I’ll have coffee, black. Go ahead and bring a hazelnut latte and two slices of cinnamon pound cake. My wife will be joining me soon.”
The waiter returned with his order. Brice watched the door thinking any minute she’d walk through it. He texted her to let her know he was there.
While staring at his phone screen, someone walked up beside him. Thinking it was Shea, he glanced up with a sincere smile. His expression shifted to a frown. “What are you doing here?”
“I come here all the time. I spotted you sitting alone.” Kayla Miller sat across from him. She stared at the latte and cake. “Are you with someone?”
“I’m expecting my wife. And it wouldn’t look good for me to be with another woman.”
His phone pinged with a text. Brice clicked on it.
What are you talking about? I didn’t send you a text. I’m at the boys’ karate class. Shea.
A rock sank to the bottom of his stomach.
This is a setup.
Before he could stand, Cynthia and Tristen Conners walked up to them. Cynthia scowled. “I received a tip about this meeting. I had to see it for myself.”
“This isn’t a meeting. I thought I was meeting Shea.” He flashed Kayla an eat-shit look. “She’s somehow behind this.”
Kayla ate several bites of cake and washed it down with the latte. “I think we’re busted. You might as well tell her the truth.”
Brice frowned. “You planned this. So, how did you send the text?”
She gave him a gloating smile. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He pulled out his phone. He scrolled through his messages not seeing it. “It was here. I received a text saying Shea wanted to meet here. This is her favorite coffee house, so I never questioned it until Mrs. Miller showed up.”
“Be in my office first thing in the morning.” Cynthia shifted her attention to Kayla. “Stay away from my employees and my company or you’ll start a war that won’t end well for you.” Cynthia stormed out.
“She’ll cool down.” Tristen said to Brice, then caught up with his wife.
Kayla laughed gleefully. “She sounded angry. You really should consider working for me. You’d have your own jet.”
He remembered what had happened to Mr. Garner. “Look, I’m not sure what kind of game you’re play
ing, but I want no part of it.”
She flashed him a seductive smile. “I know a lot of bedroom games. Working for me could have a lot of benefits.”
“No thanks.” He recalled the two calls he’d received from a woman. “And stop calling me.” He scooted from the booth, walked over to the waiter, paid, and left.
He dreaded facing Cynthia Conners in the morning. He expected her to fire him, and he couldn’t blame her.
♦♦♦
Megan and Libby kept their distance from one another in the daytime, but in the evenings after dinner, they had started meeting in the barn.
“Did you find anything?” she asked Libby.
She shook her head. “No, but I didn’t get a chance to go through the file cabinets.”
“To leave Arizona, I’ll need an official picture I.D. and we may need your birth certificate. We can’t rent a car or buy a bus or airline ticket without one. We won’t be safe until we’re back in Atlanta, and even then, I’m not so sure.”
“With so many living here, it’s almost impossible to search without being caught.”
Megan didn’t want Libby to get in trouble. “There may be another way. Someone mentioned leaving the commune. She said we could go with her, but I’m so afraid it’s a trap to see if I’ll run away.”
“We have to chance it.” Libby stretched her hand out flat and fed a big farm horse half of an apple. “You were right about these people. They’re crazy.”
Though Libby had been miserable since realizing Joseph Hawkins didn’t really care about her, Megan didn’t fully trust her. She wouldn’t mention Connie’s name.
“I heard your room was searched. What were they looking for?” Libby asked.
“They think I’ve been in contact with Aunt Annie.”
“Have you?”
Megan didn’t want to lie. “The less you know, the better.”
“We’d better get back before we’re missed.” Megan hugged Libby. “I love you.”
Megan waited until Libby was on the path to the house to turn and go in the opposite direction.