by Kira Reese
I did not speak my thoughts, but the fact that Victoria dated Thornton in private in previous months told me she may have met him alone on a Greek island someplace. It was time to lay it all out, I thought.
“You do know she dated him in private before his disappearance, don’t you?” I asked.
“I know she still saw him. They took getaways together on occasion. That was a while back. Even before his disappearance, they did not see each other for over a month. I had no problem with that. It did not interfere with business.”
Speechless, I looked at him. Could this brilliant man miss the possibility that the woman met face-to-face with Thornton on purpose? He read my thoughts.
“She could have seen him one-on-one while in Greece. If she lied to me, she just dashed all my trust in her to handle important business.”
A rush of red reached his face. Victoria’s possible lie shattered him. Since he chose her for this important trip, he trusted her judgment and expertise. If she spent time with Thornton and lied about it, that was a different matter.
“You have to take this to the police. They can interview her right away and get the truth from her,” I said. He agreed.
As soon as the door closed behind him, I called Ben and told him the latest. I suggested he call Victoria Hahn in right away. I wanted to be there, too, I told him. I rarely asked this of him, but I wanted to see and hear the woman tell what she knew about Thornton Grey.
When she entered the precinct at six-thirty that same evening, she looked as if she was ready to go out on the town. She certainly had not arrived directly from the office. A look of impatience crossed her lovely face. Ben and I ignored it. She crossed her long slender legs when she sat down in his office. Ben got right to the heart of the matter.
“Did you meet with Thornton Grey in Greece recently?”
Eyelids fluttered in such a way as to tell us the habit caused men in particular to connect in a sympathetic manner toward her. I had to hand it to her; she knew how to lure the opposite sex. This time she met her match. Ben was not fazed. She dropped her eyes to her lap and smoothed her skirt. She tensed.
“I did see him. He knew I was going to Greece on business for Jim, because I sent him a text. He gave me his new phone number. I believe I am the only one who has it. He does not want to be found.”
“He is a wanted man,” said Ben. “The IRS is looking for him, and plenty of creditors are after him. The FBI placed him on their list of wanted in the case of the death of a friend of his.”
She jerked her head up. “He said nothing about any of this. He is still the same man I’ve always known.”
Ben reached out his hand. “I’d like your cell phone.” She reluctantly handed it over to the detective.
“Do you know anyone by the name of Theodore Anderrson?” I asked.
“He is a good friend of Thornton’s. I know it sounds as if they had something sexual going on between them. I’ve heard the gossip about his other life. None of it is true. They met one weekend in spring at a lodge in the Adirondacks to talk about shipbuilding. Theo’s family was in that business, and Thornton was interested in that.”
“Did you hear the man found on the beach of Holbox Island was Theodore Anderrson?” I asked.
The gasp that escaped her lips told us she did not know that.
“The boat that exploded on the waters belonged to Thornton,” said Ben.
We waited for her next response. “Thornton showed Theo his boats in dry dock a couple of times. I remember he told Theo he was welcome to try any one of them out when he was ready. It is possible Theo took the boat out. He liked to travel to remote islands at times.”
She gave me the impression she told the truth.
“Do you know anyone who holds a grudge against Thornton?” asked Ben. “Maybe someone who wanted to kill him and murdered his friend by mistake?”
“I imagine someone he did business with may not have liked him, but no one in particular that I can think of. He dealt with all kinds of people.” Dark eyes demonstrated fear. “Do you think someone thought Theo was him and set an explosion on his boat?”
“It is a possibility,” said Ben. “For Thornton’s safety, we need to reach him. That is besides the fact he is a wanted man. Until you give us that information, you are an accessory to a crime. You can be brought up on charges of hiding the whereabouts of a fugitive.”
This bulletin hit home. “I can give you the place we met in Greece. I am not sure he is still there. That was a couple of weeks ago, or less. He told me he found a secluded island someplace. We planned to go there when my vacation time came around. I have no idea where it is.” Her eyes landed on her cell phone in Ben’s hand. “If I have my phone, I can contact him for you.”
“That won’t be necessary,” said the detective.
He excused her and told her he would keep in touch. She was prohibited to leave the country until further notice. We both banked on her not knowing the tycoon’s phone number by heart. She was barely out of the precinct when her phone rang. We allowed it to ring until her voice mail picked up. Once it binged to let us know a message was there, Ben picked it up and clicked on it. He hit speaker and the voice of Thornton Grey came through.
“Hi, Vicki, checking in with you. I want to give you more details about the
island I told you about. It is very remote and made for just the two of us. Call me back as soon as you get this, my lovely.”
“Do you think it’s his voice?” asked Ben.
“I have never talked with him, but I know he is the only one Victoria allows to call her Vicki. It isn’t a name she cherishes.”
Since her phone was in the precinct, we had to wait until the next day to call her at James Butler’s headquarters. We decided she should answer Thornton in Ben’s office.
The next morning I reached Victoria. I told her Ben wanted her back down at the precinct right away. She protested that she did not know how to tell Jim where she was going.
“Leave that to me. I’ll call him right away. In the meantime, you need to come down here.”
The detective had her script ready. He asked Victoria to use her words when excusing herself from not calling Thornton right back. She told him in her words, and he wrote them down.
“Read this exactly as written,” said Ben.
I suggested she take deep breaths first after noticing her hands shook. In the end, she did fine. I admired the way she pressed him for the location of the island. No one could have wrapped Thornton around her little finger like Victoria.
“I really need my phone back,” said Victoria.
Ben declined, stating they needed it a little while longer. He had to act fast before she accessed another phone and reached Thornton to alert him. I walked to the lobby with Victoria on the pretense of asking her more about Thornton and his personality. Ben was busy talking with the FBI, which entered the search for Thornton Grey.
When the detective gave me the sign, I told Victoria thanks for her cooperation and time. I assured her she would have her cell phone back before the day was over. On impulse, I asked her if she would like to have lunch with me. It was eleven-thirty and a little early but she agreed. The first thing she ordered was a glass of Pinot Grigio. I opted for water with lemon. Once she finished her wine, she ordered another one.
“Do you think Thornton is in big trouble?” she asked me.
“I think he is in some kind of trouble with the IRS but not sure what it is all about,” I said. “My intention is to locate him, so Angelina can quit worrying about him.”
“That’s a relief,” she said. She tossed back her tresses with a finesse that told me it was habit of hers. “If he owes the IRS some money, he should have no problem paying them.” Her face scrunched like a wadded paper napkin for a split second. “I don’t think he wants Angelina to know where he is. She follows his every move as if he can’t take care of himself.”
“I’ll have to leave that up to the two of them, I guess. But for now, sh
e is paying me to find him.”
I decided to end the lunch within a reasonable time. So far, it had not dawned on Victoria as to why the police were really looking for Thornton.
Chapter 14
Somewhere in Greece
Thornton thought over the recent conversation with Victoria. Though he could not put his finger on the cause, he felt uneasy about it all. He expected her to call him within a short time after receiving his message. Instead, he did not hear from her until the next day. He reminded himself of their agreement: each could see whoever they wanted to. The exotic beauty probably spent the night with someone. A tinge of jealousy shot through him at the thought, but it was their agreement. Thornton enjoyed freedom more than anything else, and for this reason must let Victoria have hers.
The tycoon spent time on his personal computer looking up successful men. Without a doubt, the men on those sites were looking for far more than Thornton wanted. He wanted a new partner in his business. He desired, most of all, someone he could befriend enough to persuade him to come onboard with him. His goal was financial relief.
Theo was as similar in appearance to Thornton as anyone he had ever seen. At first, this consumed him enough that he wondered if he had a long-lost brother somewhere. He clicked into his profile. They shared a common interest in boats and the waters. Thornton was pleased Theo chose to purchase a yacht he designed. They became friends online right away because of their mutual interest in boats.
The one thing Thornton did not reveal about himself was the immense weight of money owed by him to a variety of the pursuers who swooped in. The IRS was after him, and in ordinary times, he could easily pay them the back taxes. Jackson should have taken care of that part of his life. When the IRS hounded him he confronted his first assistant, who seemed baffled that taxes were owed. In the accounting department, he was met with the same response. Someone knew he owed the government, but he had no idea who tried to sabotage his every move. There was a mole in the company. That fact explained why creditors were not getting paid.
At any other time of his life, he would have pounced on the matter and taken care of it. He had means to track down every employee across the world. Anyone double-crossing him was dealt with immediately and suffered the consequences. He began the process, but it was not moving as fast as he liked.
The IRS matter was minor compared to his creditors. In the past, they were eased once he showed them upcoming figures of his expanding business. The expansion he counted on had been at a standstill for nearly a year. He did not want his internal problems to be his explanation of why bills weren’t being paid. Losing the confidence of customers would only force the company to bankruptcy. He shuddered at that prospect.
Then there was the matter of the thugs at Barbary Hall. He did not owe them another cent. They let up on him, but he knew it was a temporary measure on their part. They were as ruthless as he was in financial areas.
He had met Theodore Andersson at Sunrise Lodge for the purpose of striking a deal with him. Before the meeting, he made it clear he was not interested in the man sexually. He learned much about the Swede and knew he was wealthy. He decided to propose a business deal that included Theo in a partnership with him. He suggested Theo put up the money for a new ship building site. He drew plans for a new luxurious yacht that superseded any he had designed to date. It would be built, and a fair settlement would be reached between the two.
Thornton did not tell Theo the whole project was bogus.
Chapter 15
Discovered
That evening, I arrived home to find a note from Nick. He stated he would be delayed and to go ahead and eat without him. I chuckled to myself. Nick should know that would not happen. An evening meal together to wind down was something I looked forward to with him. I looked in the refrigerator and saw he had made a pasta salad. I cut up and added minced veggies to it. There were chicken breasts thawing. I showered and changed into lightweight sweats. Then I chilled the wine.
Flopping in my favorite chair, I flipped the TV on and decided to catch up on world news. I sat up straight in the chair. The reporter pushed to the front of the crowd with his cameraman close behind.
“Mr. Grey, are you in trouble with the IRS? Is that why the government has been looking for you?”
Thornton Grey appeared much more muscular than I imagined. His dark brown hair tinged with grey in the sunlight. He looked right into the camera thrust in his face and did not back down. Startling blue, almost navy eyes stared at the reporter. I thought he displayed a hint of a smile. He said nothing, and with his hands cuffed behind him, he allowed the cop to lead him to the patrol car.
All of this for tax evasion? I wondered. I did not wait to hear more. Instead, I dialed Angelina. She answered in tears.
“How horrible they put him in handcuffs,” she sobbed. “The IRS is brutal. All they had to do was make him pay any taxes he owes.”
I allowed her to vent for a full ten minutes before offering a feeble apology for his troubles. There was no way Thornton was being pursued for tax evasion unless he owed tons of money. I had no idea how much someone like him paid yearly. I supposed it could stack up fast if years were skipped.
“Angelina, did you know your father not only owes the IRS but many of his creditors, as well?”
Laying it all out now was better than having her hear it in the news reports.
“I had no idea. He always paid his creditors on time. You are wrong about that,” she said.
Again, I let her continue her accusations which were now directed at me.
“It is all true. Do you know anyone in his company who would not pay bills on purpose? I mean, perhaps someone wanted to ruin him?” I waited, giving her time to redirect her thoughts. “Someone in accounting may not have paid the bills and let them pile up. There could be a mole in the office.”
“My father has a comptroller who should have caught anything like that.”
There was more to her father’s troubles than either of us knew about. My job was over. Thornton Grey had been found. I explained to his daughter who had led us to his whereabouts. “If Victoria had not told us of the remote Greek island he was on, he would still be there. I believe he meant to stay there for quite a while.”
Rather than express appreciation for Victoria, Angelina spewed words I never expected to come from her mouth. I overlooked expletives.
“Of course, she is the one who betrayed him,” she said. “I expect nothing less of her. It is just like her to give him away, even after all he gave her.”
It was time to tell her that her father and the beauty remained an item. I did not give her details of how Victoria was trapped into divulging the information. That would come later. Again, Angelina voiced disbelief.
“You paid me to find your father. Whether you believe all I’m telling you or not is of little consequence to me,” I said. “He has been found, and it will be up to his lawyers to sort it all out.”
Two days later I received final payment from Angelina; it was not owed since she had already paid in full. The note simply said thank you.
Little did I know then that the lawyers would have more on their plates than they imagined.
Chapter 16
Partners in Crime
By now, most of the world had received news of the arrest of Thornton Grey. Aware of the fact that they mourned someone unknown to them did not set well. Needless to say, the social and business circles buzzed.
My cell rang. “I want you to come right down, Candy,” said Ben. “I have things to tell you that I am sure will be on the news any time now.”
I grabbed my purse and arrived at the precinct in a very short amount of time. I rushed past the clerk and into the detective’s office. He told me to make myself comfortable. Then he handed me a fresh glass of iced water.
“Do you want a lemon slice? We have some around here someplace,” he said.
I stared at him. “This is fine. Get to your point,” I said.
; His mouth curved upward, and the smug look on his face told me he had something big. It was his way of tormenting me while I waited for what seemed like minutes but was only a few seconds.
“Thornton Grey escaped to get away from creditors and the IRS. He’s in deeper than we can imagine, financially speaking.” I knew all of this already. Ben leaned back and clasped hands together behind his neck. “We have charged him with murder.”
When I realized my mouth was open I shut it. “Murder? Who did he do away with?”
The detective began his story. When Thornton Grey went to the online men-wanting-men sites, he was not searching for a partner for sex. He wanted someone to bail him out of debt.
“He conjured up a bogus company and decided to get to know Theodore Andersson, because he discovered the man was quite wealthy. They rendezvoused in the Adirondacks to discuss a business partnership. After several meetings, they decided to meet in Cancun to complete the deal. It seems Thornton had an idea for a whole new yacht, and Theodore had the money to fund the project.”
“Did Thornton purposefully take him to the island down there to kill him?”
“He did not. According to Mr. Grey, it was all about sealing the deal in private and getting access to Mr. Andersson’s money. He planned to immediately take the money and pay off creditors, then disappear for good.”
“If he ended up killing the goose with the golden egg, something must have gone terribly wrong,” I said. We were silent for a few minutes, each in our own thoughts. I jerked my head up. “I don’t think it was an afterthought at all,” I said. “Thornton must have chosen that remote island with the intention of killing him once he had access to the money. Otherwise, why would there be an explosive on the boat?”
“That’s a good point. I agree with you. I believe they arrived together on the island of Holbox in Thornton’s yacht. They must have gone back onto the water together. Thornton probably had the explosive on the boat already and just had to set it. He expected Theodore to die in the flames.” Ben paused and shook his head. “Instead, he was thrown into the water and managed to swim to shore. He had many heart issues, and he died of a heart attack after he reached the beach.”