by R A Wallace
As Greyson watched Callie walk away, his phone rang. He recognized the number and picked up immediately. After concluding the phone call, he walked back into the office where Zach and Lenora were monitoring the screens for activity. He watched on one as Callie entered the building where her mother was currently directing the delivery of lunch.
He could see Callie ask her mother several questions. Margaret motioned to one of the caterers. They approached Callie and Margaret. Callie and the caterer had a long conversation. Callie nodded at the end of it then turned to her mother and said something.
“We should have put audio on all of the cameras,” Greyson muttered to himself.
“What’s that, sir?” Zach asked.
“Nothing. Make sure you keep an eye on both Callie and her mother at all times.” Greyson ignored the surprised look that the other two gave him. “I need to meet someone at the front gate.”
***
Callie thought about what she had learned as she returned to the office the team was sharing. She found Lenora and Zach, but Greyson was nowhere around.
Zach looked up from his computer. “He said he had to meet someone at the front gate.”
Callie followed his gaze to the monitors on the wall. She saw her mother on one of them. Rather than cycling to another part of the building, the video feed remained on her. She turned to Zach and smiled.
“Mind if I use a computer?”
“No, ma’am,” he said quickly before dropping his eyes. A red flush began to infuse his neck and cheeks.
Lenora motioned to a desk on the side.
Callie nodded her thanks and sat down. Then she started looking up Sheree Tenley-Mulhern. She didn’t try to find the kinds of databases that she knew Lenora had probably already accessed. Callie knew her limitations. She didn’t have the kind of skillset needed to pull that off. Instead, she focused on social media and the news outlets. Philip Tenley-Mulhern was a very rich man. Like Elliot, his name was often mentioned.
Just as her own mother was often mentioned with Elliot because of her affiliation with him, Sheree was given her own fair share of attention wherever she went. Callie began making a list of the many places she had visited in the world within the last few years. It was a very long list. In addition to the write-ups, there were usually pictures included. She noticed that everywhere Sheree had gone, the tiny dog had been in attendance. If he wasn’t in his little carrier then she was holding him in her arms. He was always in the photos.
“Wow!”
Callie turned to look at Zach. He pointed at the monitor. There was a caravan of dark-colored vehicles pulling into the front gate of the airport grounds. They watched as Greyson stepped out of the gatehouse with a group of security guards. Greyson spoke to the lead driver. The dark vehicles were waved in.
“Who do you suppose that is?” Callie asked no one in particular.
“The cavalry?” Lenora joked.
Callie returned to her searching. After another thirty minutes or so, Greyson returned to the office. He motioned to Callie.
“Got a minute?” he asked.
She sent the information she’d collected to her phone then closed out the screens on the computer. When she stood, she realized that she’d been sitting for a long time. Glancing at the clock, she saw that lunch had been a long time ago. She followed him out of the office.
“What’s up?” she asked.
Greyson continued walking. “Think your mom has any food left?”
“Maybe.” She was willing to find out. “If not, there’s lots of other options here.”
“I want to show you something over there first.” He slid into the large all-terrain vehicle.
Callie climbed in beside him.
“What were you working on?” he asked.
“A social media search of Sheree.” Callie checked out some of the food trucks they passed.
“Find anything?”
“I don’t have the kind of computer skills that Lenora and Zach have, but I did discover what I expected to see,” Callie said.
Greyson gave her a quick look. “What does that mean?”
“In a lot of ways, Philip is like Elliot, right?” she asked.
“Yeah. So?”
“Whenever she travels with him, my mother gets just as much media attention as Elliot. Sometimes, a lot more. Everyone wants to know what she’s wearing, where she eats, who she’s talking with, everything. It’s like she’s some superstar just because she’s dating a wealthy man.”
“Okay. So, you were seeing where Sheree went and what she was wearing?” he said with a dubious note in his voice.
“I thought it might be helpful to know. She’s certainly traveled a lot, and not always with her husband. She often took trips on her own.” Callie named several of the countries she’d been to recently.
“Now that is interesting.” Greyson’s voice no longer sounded dubious. He parked the ATV and slid out.
Callie followed him to the building. “How so?”
“You’ll see in a minute.” Greyson stopped at the table with the food. “Margaret, you’re a life saver.”
“Are you the reason we’ve gone to the dogs?” Margaret asked with a smile.
Callie raised her brows at Greyson as she followed his example and made a quick sandwich.
He bit into his sandwich and motioned with his head for her to follow him. They walked out of the building that Margaret was in and passed through the connecting hall into the large hangar. Several more cars slated for auction had arrived since the last time she’d looked in there. There were also dogs everywhere.
“You’re thinking drugs?” Callie took another bite of her sandwich.
Greyson nodded as he finished chewing. “I got another call. No one is sure yet, but based on some chatter they’re hearing, it’s possible.”
“Were these the occupants of the caravan that just arrived?” she asked before taking the last bite of her sandwich.
“Courtesy of Kate and her people. There are more outside in the car corral, checking them.”
“So, it might not be a coincidence that Sheree has been a frequent visitor to countries who are known to sources of the drugs entering our borders?” Callie said dryly.
“My thoughts exactly,” he agreed as he balled up the napkin in his hand. “But was she there on behalf of her husband?”
Callie let it run around her head. “Maybe her husband sent her there to represent his interests?”
“Wouldn’t be the first time it’s happened.” Greyson watched as the dogs worked the room. “Maybe she goes on shopping trips to obscure the real reason she was there?”
Callie figured it could have happened that way. She wasn’t sure it fit though.
“You really think she had that in her?”
“What do you mean?” He turned to look at her.
“I would think you’d need a certain level of… business acumen to meet with the kind of people involved in ventures like that. Look at my mom again as an example. Elliot gives her free rein when it comes to hosting events like this. Some of the wealthiest people in the world have flown or will be flying into this airport to rub elbows with each other. Elliot knows that my mom can deal with all of that while he handles his side of things. My mom and Elliot are well matched in that regard. They’re equals and they act like it. I didn’t get the impression that Sheree and Philip had that kind of relationship.”
He made a face indicating that he agreed with her. “Your mother held the audience in the palm of her hand in the play we were in together.”
Callie thought Greyson had done pretty well himself in that play but chose not to mention it at the moment.
Greyson turned and walked back to the room where Margaret was.
“Have you seen Philip?” he asked her.
A look of compassion crossed Margaret’s face.
“I did. I spoke with him earlier at the hotel. He’s just devastated with what’s happened.” Margaret walked over to a comfortable
chair and sat down.
“Do you know where he is?” Callie asked.
“He’s at his hotel room. It’s just down the road. Elliot and I are staying at the same place for the week, as are some of the others who are coming in for the auction. Philip said he’d probably be staying there for at least the rest of the day. He just wasn’t up to coming here. Very understandable, after everything that’s happened.” Margaret shook her head.
“What did you two discover about the food?” Greyson asked.
Margaret and Callie shared a look. Margaret answered first.
“I was fully aware of Sheree’s allergies. The caterer assured me they have a lot of experience with such things. They’re certain that Sheree’s death couldn’t have been caused by anything they served.” Margaret met Greyson’s gaze. “I’ve worked with this company in the past and vetted them myself. I believe what they’re telling me.”
Chapter Fourteen
The team met in the office to touch base before the car show began on the third day. After listening to reports from everyone regarding the events of the previous day, Greyson asked Zach to pull up the photo of the six buyer reps they’d initially been tracking.
“As we just discussed, we’ll continue to look at all of the buyers and the representatives who will be in attendance for the two-day auction at the end of the week.” He motioned to the screen. “For now, however, I’m going to stay with these six because of the chatter we’ve been getting and the fact that they arrived so far in advance of the auction.”
Callie’s eyes tracked over to another monitor. The main hangar and the other three that would be used for the televised auction were filling up with cars as the weekend neared. All of the cars, including the new arrivals, had been searched by the dogs.
There were people walking around the hangars looking at the cars as Callie watched the monitors. Many were the spectators who had come for the day to walk around the car show. For the most part, many of them would not be returning for the auction. They could only dream about owning something as expensive as what they were seeing now.
“Callie, you ready?” Greyson stood staring at Callie.
She realized that many of the crew had already left on their assignments. She hadn’t noticed them leaving. She nodded to Lenora and Zach as she followed Greyson from the office.
“Did we lose you back there?” he asked.
She slid her sunglasses on and stepped outside to follow him to the large all-terrain vehicle.
“I was just trying to tie everything together that we’ve learned so far.” She climbed into the ATV but, this time, she climbed into the driver’s seat. She held out her hand.
Greyson hesitated for a moment, then handed her the keys before walking around the large vehicle.
“What have you come up with?” He slid into the other side of the ATV.
Callie tested the speed of the ATV, then slowed to a crawl as they reached another crowd of pedestrians. “This is nice.” She accelerated again as soon as the path was clear.
He shot her a sideways glance.
“You’re saying that the word on the streets, so to speak, is that the buyers are all gathering here for the auction. But that no one is sure if the prize in question is going to be in the car? They also have no idea which car the prize is going to be in?”
“Yes, that’s what we’re hearing now. Based on the intel, it’s no longer presumed that it might be a typical transfer of drugs using one or more of the cars.”
“But your sources still have no idea what it might be if it isn’t drugs?”
“Correct.” Greyson turned to her and made a face. “I don’t like it anymore than you do. I’m just saying that’s what we have to work with.”
“To summarize, the good guys…” Callie glanced at Greyson. “That would be us. The good guys don’t know what the prize is. We can only assume that the bad guys do because, really, why else would they want it?”
“I’m with you so far,” Greyson agreed.
“But even the bad guys aren’t sure if it’s going to show up or which car it will be in if it does?”
“Yep. That pretty much sums it up.” He watched the people they passed as they drove along slowly.
“How will they know which car to bid on?” she asked.
Greyson nodded in agreement. “I can only guess that they’ll learn that when they need to know.”
Callie thought about it. “Okay, that actually makes sense.”
He shot her another look. “I’m glad it does to you,” he mumbled.
“No, think about it. If you had something you knew bad guys wanted, you wouldn’t tell them where it was until you had to. Right? I mean, they’re bad guys. What’s stopping them from just finding a way to take it without any money changing hands.”
He nodded slowly. “Okay. I guess that does make sense.”
Callie parked the ATV at one of the satellite hangars that would also be used for the auction.
“Why are we here?” he asked.
“I saw someone on the monitor in the office that I want to speak with.” Callie slid out and headed for the entrance door. “Tell me why they decided to use multiple hangars for the televised auction. Doesn’t that mean they need a lot more video equipment and staff to pull it off?”
Greyson followed her. “It does but it will also help with eliminating any lags between sales. Moving cars in and out for display during an auction takes time. With the number of vehicles and the space they had available to them, they decided this was a better format to use.”
Callie entered the hangar. There were currently cars parked everywhere. She knew they would be auctioned off during the two-day event.
Greyson motioned to the cars around them. “Right now, the cars are inside. On the day of the auction, the cars all get moved out and the people will be inside with the auctioneers.”
Callie envisioned it. “Each car gets driven in when it goes on the auction block.”
“Or pushed in, depending on the case,” Greyson agreed. “The video feed will cycle between the buildings as the cars are ready, but they’ll also have smaller shots in the corner of the video, like a picture-in-a-picture type deal, so that the television audience can watch the next cars coming up. It will help to build the anticipation.”
Callie stopped walking when she reached a small group of people. She recognized one of the women as one of the buyer reps they’d been tracking. She watched Greyson take a double look at the woman in the center of the group.
“Tessa,” Callie said. “Do you have a minute?”
Tessa nodded to the others as they melted away. “What can I help you with?”
She had the small carrier for the dog slung over her shoulder but that wasn’t what made her stand out in the crowd. It was the fashionable clothes she was now wearing. Callie had noted before that Tessa had favored drab colors in simple styles. Of course, that was when the last Mrs. Philip Tenley-Mulhern was still alive.
“We were wondering if you could give us an update on Philip?” Callie watched the other woman raise her brows. “How is he doing?”
“It’s nice of you to be concerned,” Tessa said with a smile.
She wasn’t wearing sunglasses this time. It was easy for Callie to see that the smile didn’t reach her eyes.
“Well, he is a friend of both Elliot and my mother,” Callie said with a return smile.
“I understand she spoke with him this morning?” Tessa said as her eyes scanned the people walking around the hangar.
“She did. We were wondering if you had any additional information. You are still his secretary, right?” Callie asked. She raised her finger to her lips as though considering it. “I wasn’t exactly sure about the relationship there.”
“Yes, I am.” Tessa’s eyes returned to Callie. “Although they often had very different needs, I acted as secretary to both of them. It required me to have a great deal of… flexibility.”
The carrier began moving a moment before
the dog’s head appeared.
“What, exactly, is that?” Greyson asked pointing at the dog.
“It’s a Pomeranian.” Tessa reached into another compartment in the carrier and took out a treat for the dog.
“Doesn’t it bother you to carry it around all the time?” he asked.
“It only weighs around three pounds.” She fed the treat to the dog. “I need to get back to work. Philip needs me to meet with some of his business associates since he isn’t up to it.”
Callie wore a speculative look on her face as she watched Tessa walk away.
“What are you thinking now?” he asked.
“You didn’t notice the change in the way she dressed?”
Greyson glanced back at the retreating woman. “You’re thinking she wants to be the next Mrs. Philip Tenley-Mulhern?”
“The thought had occurred to me,” Callie agreed.
“Eye on the prize. We’re here to catch some international smugglers,” Greyson reminded her.
“There has been a murder,” Callie pointed out.
“Not really our problem.” Greyson put his hand in the small of her back and began navigating her through the crowd.
“What if they’re tied together somehow?” she asked stubbornly.
“What if they aren’t?” They stopped for a moment to wait for a group of people to pass in front of them. He looked down at her face. “Do you think they are?”
“I think it’s possible,” she said.
He nudged her forward again when the group in front of them cleared.
“Enough to place a bet on it?” he asked.
Callie nearly tripped. “What?”
“You heard me. Are you willing to place a bet on it?”
She was so surprised by his words, she forgot to climb into the driver’s side of the ATV. He smiled and held out his hand. She scowled and dug for the keys in her pocket. He slid into the driver’s side and they began moving.
“What do you mean, exactly?” she asked.
“We’ll both work on the case in our own way. You follow the secretary, if that’s where you think the answer is,” he said.
“What will you be doing?” she asked cautiously.