The Naked Truth

by Maggie Aldrich

  “No barbecue and beer?” I asked, holding up the bags of food.

  “Nope. I already spoiled my diet earlier.” She sniffed the air though and sighed out loud, as if she relished the smell of real food. “A wheatgrass smoothie is calling my name,” she said reluctantly.

  As I walked her out, I discreetly asked her if she possibly had a spare bedroom, shooting furtive glances at Fritz.

  “Ha! Not on your life,” she responded. “Nice try though. I feel for you, I really do.” She turned to look at Fritz as we got to the door. “But I have to get some sleep, and I have a feeling he sounds like a freight train when he snores.” Putting her hand on my arm, she squeezed it gently. “Good luck with that.”

  ●CHAPTER 17●

  FRITZ, MICHAEL AND I CLEARED the table before spreading the food out. Michael found a bottle opener and cracked open a few beers. Hard Apple Cider is my personal favorite. Fritz chose Pecan Ale, and Michael tried the Octoberfest.

  “You guys look like you’ve had a rough time of it,” Fritz commented. Michael and I both froze, and I did a mental assessment of things I might have in my hair that would give away what we’d done in the SUV. But I came up with nothing.

  “I mean, you both look exhausted.”

  I exhaled in relief. “I am exhausted, Fritz,” I admitted, pouring barbecue sauce on my pulled pork. “All of these unknowns regarding my dad…well, it’s driving me nuts. I’m not sleeping well at all. It’s all I can think about.”

  “Surely that’s not the only reason you’re not sleeping well,” he said, slapping Michael on the back and causing him to choke, “but I get it.” He shook his head, getting serious. “This would stress anyone out.

  “Darcy and I did some digging earlier and didn’t net a whole lot.” Putting a half rack of ribs on his plate, he continued. “I’m having a helluva time getting more info in those files unredacted. The FBI has really clamped down on them. My sources—and you know I don’t like to work with the feds—are hitting roadblocks everywhere.” He began tearing into the ribs. “Oh yeah, this is some good stuff,” he commented. “Mmmm. Mmmm. Mmmm.” Barbecue sauce soon coated his mustache and beard.

  I gave him a few minutes to eat in silence, marveling at the amount of food he and Michael could shovel in. I can throw down a decent amount of food myself, but sometimes watching the amount of food others can eat makes me feel ill. Fritz was no exception. Ribs, mashed potatoes, beans, fries, corn, Texas toast…and then he asked if we had any dessert. I shook my head no.

  “That’s ok. I’ll have some Hard Apple Cider for my dessert. You got any Fireball to go with this? No? Okay.” He sat back and rubbed his belly, exhaling with satisfaction.

  “Darcy did find some good dirt though on the guy who owns the building that was destroyed.”

  “Really?” I asked, wiping my plate clean with the last piece of toast. I still didn’t want to believe my dad had anything to do with that explosion, but it seemed to be the avenue those two were taking. “What did she find?”

  Fritz stretched out his bad leg and winced a bit. Michael stood up and began cleaning up dishes.

  “Well, turns out the company that owns it is a shell company called C-IZZY. She was able to trace that to an individual listed as C.C. Isaguirre out of Matamoras, Mexico. My intel shows this Isaguirre—Izzy, I guess—is messed up in some pretty bad stuff and is famous for evading authorities and remaining a virtual ghost. No one knows what he even looks like.”

  “Why would someone from Matamoras own an abandoned building in Elkston, Colorado?”

  “Well, that’s a good question. We did some more digging, and Izzy owns quite a few derelict properties in high-end resort towns such as this one.” Fritz let out a loud burp and pounded on his chest. Classy.

  Michael brought over more beers for the three of us and sat back down. “Okay, but what does that have to do with Emily’s dad?”

  “Izzy just happens to be connected to the Morales cartel out of Matamoras.”

  “Oh, great,” I said. “Let me guess. Izzy distributes cocaine to these resort areas.”

  Fritz pointed at me, nodding his head slowly. “Bingo. That’s the theory, at least.”

  I let out a slow breath. “Great. So, you think my dad’s here to strike up a deal with him?” I shook my head at the thought. “But then why would he blow up one of his buildings? Isn’t that just asking for trouble?”

  “It is.” He nodded, frowning.

  “You think maybe he’s working for this guy? Maybe they wanted to destroy the building for insurance money?” I was grasping at straws here, still in denial that we were even having this conversation.

  “That building is valued at $248,000, which is a lot of money, but that’s chump change to a drug cartel that deals in billions. Plus, I don’t think they’d want to draw attention to themselves that way.”

  “So either my dad had nothing to do with it or he’s asking for trouble.”

  “I’m afraid so,” Fritz sighed, stroking his beard. “A man with possible drug ties who’s been in hiding for this long shows up at the scene of an explosion of a building owned by someone connected to one of the biggest drug cartels in Mexico. Unless it was a total accident…I’d say he’s asking for trouble.”

  I went to bed that night with no more answers than I’d woken up with. What the hell was my dad involved in? At this point, I pretty much knew my mom was not in the picture, and it crushed me. I knew with all of my heart that she would have tried to find me if she were still alive. And I was becoming more and more convinced that the one-car accident on the highway in the bayou of Louisiana was not an accident at all. They’d been targeted, and somehow my dad had escaped.

  I could feel the anger in my veins making my blood boil. Fritz’s snoring from the couch in the living room only exacerbated my irritation. I tossed and turned all night, intermittent nightmares the only proof I had slept a wink.

  Morning came, and I hurriedly got out of bed at the first sign of light. I couldn’t try to force sleep any longer. Putting on some leggings and a long sweatshirt, I grabbed my tennis shoes, gloves, and a cap and headed outside for a quick jog to clear my mind. I snatched my cell phone and slipped it in a pocket. Putting earbuds in, I pulled up some classic heavy metal, hoping to pound the anger out one way or another. I didn’t have a punching bag but sure could have used one.

  Sticking to the road, I started to wind my way down the mountain, not even considering that I’d have to haul my ass back up it later. It was such a gorgeous morning…again. Far too bright and cheery to suit my mood. I was hoping that the fresh air and physical exercise would clear my head somewhat and release the stress hormones building up inside of me.

  I jogged down the hill about a mile before coming to a clearing just off the side of the road. Stopping to catch my breath, I forced myself to take in the beauty of my surroundings. I walked into the clearing and found a smooth rocky outcrop on which to sit. Stretching out my legs, I did some light hamstring stretches before standing back up and going through a series of yoga sun salutations.

  The sun peeked out over the ridge and shone brightly over the landscape, making the light frost on the grass and brush glitter. Everything was absolutely gorgeous. I took out my phone and snapped a few pictures, hoping to capture the beauty of the moment. I wanted to remember this part of the trip—the tranquility, the amazing scenery, and the peacefulness—not the worry, panic, suspicion, and haunting questions.

  I laid back on the rocks and basked in the sun for a few more minutes, taking it all in before getting back up and considering the daunting task of running one mile back up the mountain. I had a feeling it would be more of what Lisa calls a “slog”—slow jog. That incline looked pretty steep going back up. Gritting my teeth, I put on some slower paced music, got myself ready for a serious ass and quad workout, and began my ascent.

  Just as I hit the road, I saw a black truck winding its way slowly down the hill. It looked just like the truck we had seen last night a
fter our hurried rendezvous. Sure enough, Dirk was at the wheel. He did a double take when he saw me, pulled off the road, and rolled down his window. He waved at me with his hugely muscled arm, a barbed wire tattoo snaking down and around his nicely toned forearm.

  “Hey, there!” Savannah called, leaning over, looking very perky for so early in the morning. Her makeup was perfect, hair curled and helmeted into place. I wondered just how many hours it took her to get ready in the morning. Maybe she primped while Dirk lifted weights. “You doing some sightseeing early this morning?”

  “Just getting in a morning run,” I replied, walking up to the truck. “It’s so pretty out.”

  “Where’s your honey?”

  “Probably still sleeping. I couldn’t sleep, so I kind of snuck out. I’m just on my way back up the mountain.”

  “Want a ride?” Dirk asked.

  “Uh, aren’t you on your way down?” I grinned and tapped my finger on his forearm. Yep, rock solid.

  “Oh, yeah, I guess we are.” He chuckled and shifted uncomfortably. Savannah swatted him lightly on the arm.

  “Darlin’, you are so silly. I swear!” Shifting her gaze back to me, she brushed an invisible strand of hair behind her ear. “So did you see anything good on your way down? Any signs of life? We’ve noticed it’s pretty remote up here. No other buildings or anything besides the resort.”

  I shook my head. “To be honest, I really wasn’t looking for signs of life. Trying to focus on nature, I guess.” I glanced at the mountainside, seeing only trees, shrubs, and fallen rocks. “I’d guess there aren’t any houses up here, unless they’re pretty well hidden.”

  “Yeah,” she sighed almost wistfully, “maybe.” Her demeanor changed and she was quiet for a moment, staring out the window as if in a daze. She shook her head and the smile returned. “Well, if you do notice anything, be sure to let us know. You know we’re in the market and Dirk’s just fallen in love with this place.” She playfully kissed his cheek and patted his leg.

  “Will do. Well, I’d better get back. Nice seeing you two.”

  I stepped back from the truck, and they continued down the mountain. Maybe they were out looking for properties in the dark last night? Perhaps the land around that abandoned road was for sale? A blush crept up my face as I again thought of how close we’d come to being caught in the act, and I giggled to myself.

  I slogged the rest of the way up the mountain, stopping only two times to catch my breath. It took me twice as long to jog up as it had to jog down, but I still considered it a small victory. Plus, I no longer had the energy to be as agitated as I’d been before. Win, win.

  I opened the door to the cabin and was greeted with the smells of an already cooked breakfast. It was heavenly. A nice spread of food was carefully set out on the kitchen counter. Eggs, sausage, pastries, toast, and cut-up fruit lay in their respective to-go containers, and the smell of freshly brewed coffee filled the air.

  Fritz was piling his plate high, dressed in a white fluffy robe that I’m pretty sure was one of the complimentary robes that had been hanging in the bathroom. On his feet were fuzzy black slippers that looked as if they’d seen better days.

  “I took the liberty of ordering in from the resort’s kitchen while you were out,” he said. “This place has some good grub, and they’re crazy fast.”

  Michael walked out of the bedroom in his flannel pajama bottoms, rubbing his eyes. “Y’all wake up way too early,” he said with a yawn. He did a double take when he saw Fritz. “Nice robe, man. Pretty sure my wife wore that yesterday.”

  Fritz chuckled and put his plate down. “Sorry about that, Emily. You want it back?” He began to untie the belt and open the robe. I wasn’t sure what Fritz was wearing underneath that robe, if anything, but I really didn’t want to find out. My hands flew up and I quickly whipped my eyes up toward the ceiling.

  “Nope! I’m good. Really. Just keep it on. Please, I insist.” He shrugged his shoulders and acquiesced, belting the robe back into place and sitting down at the table with his plate.

  “Darcy texted me in the middle of the night to say she’d found some info and is going to come over as soon as she’s off the air this morning.” He grabbed the saltshaker and began dousing his eggs with it. “I think she’s found something on the infamous C-IZZY.”

  “Did you ever get down to talk to Caty?” I asked.

  “Nope. I didn’t get there yesterday afternoon, and she wasn’t there when I phoned the front desk this morning. The person I spoke with acted like she comes in when she wants to. Damn millennials,” he muttered. “I don’t know how you run a successful business like that. Employees just coming in whenever they want to.”

  Michael got three mugs out of the cupboard and poured us all a generous amount of coffee.

  “G’morning, sunshine,” he said, kissing my cheek. “Why’d you get up so early?”

  “Eh, I couldn’t sleep.” Story of my life, lately, it seemed. “So I went for a jog. Saw Dirk and Savannah on their way into town.”

  “Man, we keep seeing them,” he commented, winking at me. Another blush rose to my cheeks, remembering last night. “You check out Dirk’s biceps as they drove by?”

  “As a matter of fact, they stopped so I could get in a nice squeeze,” I said, teasing him. “Actually, I think they were out looking at properties around here. We just chatted for a second.”

  I grabbed a plate and helped myself to a pastry, a piece of sausage, and some fruit. Michael loaded his plate up to rival Fritz’s, and together we sat at the table to eat.

  “I wouldn’t think there’d be much property for sale around here,” Fritz said before putting a forkful of eggs in his mouth. “Wouldn’t it all be owned by the state or part of some preserve?” He looked at us and shrugged. “Hell, I haven’t a clue who owns these mountains.”

  Michael cut his croissant before stuffing it with eggs and sausage and dousing it with hot sauce. “If it’s not in the national park or part of the national forest, it could easily be private land. I mean, surely this resort is on private land.”

  “I guess so,” Fritz agreed. “But just for the hell of it, let’s look it up.” He got up and puttered over to his laptop, the robe gaping open as he squatted down to pick it up along with his glasses. I quickly turned away until he was back at the table, robe safely closed. Michael spit out some coffee trying to hold back a laugh.

  “Let’s see here.” Fritz set down his laptop and booted it up. He grabbed a piece of toast, buttered it, and slathered it with jam. “I’m going to see if I can pull up the county assessor’s website, and maybe a real estate site or two. What county are we in, anyway?”

  None of us had any idea of the county name, so Fritz Googled it and then opened up the local county assessor website. He typed in the physical address of the resort and waited a beat.

  “Really?” he muttered to himself, looking at the screen. His fingers moved swiftly as he kept typing. “Hmmm, well, you gotta be…” He shook his head in frustration, hit a few more keys and landed his elbows on the table, rubbing his beard. “This is going to take some time.”

  “What’s the problem?” I asked from across the table. I finished the last sip of my coffee and stood up to get more. Walking around the table, I glanced at his screen and noticed several windows open. “Not finding what you’re looking for?” Filling my cup, I walked back around the table, lazily running my hands across Michael’s shoulders before sitting back down.

  “You could say that,” Fritz mumbled, concentrating on the display. His eyes darted from one window to the next.

  Michael yawned, stood up, and began picking up dishes. The man had packed down that whole plate in something like sixty seconds. “I’m going to clean up real quick and get a quick shower.” His eyes caught mine and he started motioning between the two of us. “You wanna join me?” he mouthed.

  I smirked at him and shook my head, knowing there was no way we could pull that off with the bathroom right off the open concept a
rea in which we were sitting. He lowered his head in a mock pout and continued to put the food away.

  “Holy…” Fritz muttered, fingers flying. “Are you kidding me? There’s no way…” His eyes moved back and forth, scanning the information he’d pulled up. I could see him skimming through the pages as quickly as he could, brow furrowed, lips pursed. Finally, he shook his head and lifted his gaze just above the glasses perched low on his nose.

  “You’re not going to believe this,” he said, sitting back. He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. “C-IZZY owns the whole thing.”

  “C-IZZY owns the resort?” I asked in surprise.

  “Not just the resort,” Fritz continued. “C-IZZY owns the whole damn mountain.”

  ●CHAPTER 18●

  MY CELL PHONE RANG, THE SHRILL NOISE jerking us all out of our stupor. I yanked it out of my pocket and looked at the screen.

  “It’s Darcy,” I said. I got up from the table and walked into the sitting area. One of my pet peeves is people talking extra loud on a cell phone right in my face, so I prefer not to do it to others.

  “Hey, Darcy, what’s up?”

  “I just got off the air,” she said hurriedly. She sounded like she was shuffling papers around. “I have a few more things to catch up on here, then I’m bailing out early and planning to drive out to your place. I texted Fritz but wanted to check with you. You good with that?”

  “Yeah, come on over.” I looked back at Fritz who gave me a quick thumbs up as his fingers kept clacking against the keyboard.

  “Tell her to bring her hiking boots,” he yelled over his shoulder.

  “Uh, hiking boots?” I said to him, covering the mouthpiece. “Darcy already told me she doesn’t own any. Why would she need them anyway?”

  “Well, she needs to get her ass to the store then and buy some.” He looked up at me with a sly grin. “That man owns the whole mountain, Emily, and I have a funny feeling about it. So I figure we might as well do some exploring.”