On the way to At Your Best rentals, Kathy related all of her suspicions to Geo, who listened quietly and attentively. She loved how he focused so much on what she was saying and in no way questioned the soundness or reliability of her conjectures. He took what she said at face value, even though she herself sometimes doubted the audacity of what she was beginning to suspect. Before they proceeded to the rental shop, Kathy requested that they drive by the western division of American and International Title located nearby on Thomas Road. Geo willingly obliged.
Kathy had looked up the exact address before they left. When they arrived, Kathy’s hands flew to her mouth as she gasped in horror. The western division building of American and International Title no longer existed. All that remained in its place was a pile of cold, black embers and a scattering of jagged-ended, half-burnt beams toppled down upon each other in a chaotic jumble. A makeshift chain link fence had been hastily built up around the rubble to protect the public.
Kathy double-checked the address, but there was no mistake. The fire must have raged through the office recently because the rubble hadn’t even been removed yet. Both Kathy and Geo’s suspicions now locked solidly into place like a jail door clanging shut.
Fear swept over Kathy. She began to twist and turn about in the passenger seat. She felt like a tiny, helpless fly, squirming to break free from a spider’s web of colossal proportions, a web that spread across the globe from Phoenix to Madrid and as far away as Dubai. And she was at the very epicenter of that deadly web.
Chapter 26
Geo, Kathy, Delilah and I all rode together in my Mazda3 to the Annual Swann Charity Ball that night. We picked Kathy up at her new condo. Delilah and I waited in the car as Geo ran in to get Kathy. He was dressed to the nines in a black tux, black cummerbund, black shoes and a black satin bow tie. For Kathy, he’d even consented to wearing a white dress shirt. Delilah and I were amazed that she’d talked him into it. He looked more handsome than I’d ever seen in all the years I’d known him, which was, essentially, his whole life.
Delilah and I watched as he led Kathy down the stairs and out to the car. She was a petite girl with auburn, shoulder-length hair. Since Delilah had already done so, I decided to jump out of the car to greet her. She wore a midnight blue, floor-length gown with layered tresses. Very charming. Her blue eyes sparkled, especially when she looked at Geo. Geo looked as proud as a new father of quintuplets, maybe double that, tentuplets. I groaned inwardly, but then made a rare decision not to be pissed off in such a circumstance, extending my hand graciously in greeting.
“How do you do, Kathy? Geo has told me so much about you, and in glowing terms I might add.” The truth is he’d barely told me anything about her, mainly because he didn’t trust me on the subject.
Her tiny hand was warm and smooth as it grasped mine in a friendly way. “I’m so glad to meet you, Sammy. Geo has the highest regard for you, and we’ll tell you later, but we might need your investigative skills on something right away!”
I tried to catch Geo’s eyes questioningly, but his eyes were all on Kathy. He didn’t even look my way once! Okay, I was really getting pissed off now. Luckily, Delilah, who knew me well, scurried in front. She was dressed in a floor-length maroon silk gown that showed off her perfect figure and creamy brown skin. She’d piled her thick hair on top of her head and bought some tiny, inexpensive rhinestone butterflies attached to bobby pins and inserted them here and there all through her curls. It was just like Delilah to come up with a cheap little idea like that and make it look like a million dollars.
After Delilah wedged herself in front of me, she walked right past Kathy’s extended hand and threw her arms around her in a huge hug, Delilah-style. “Welcome to Phoenix, Kathy. We’re so glad you’re here! I can tell we’re going to be great friends.”
Both Kathy and Geo beamed. I thought I saw a spark of tears well up in Kathy’s eyes in response to Delilah’s generous, loving hug.
Now I was really starting to get pissed off, even at Delilah. I thought to myself, Well now, aren’t we a little smartypants!
I called out tartly from behind Delilah’s back, “Time to get a move on, folks, if we ever expect to make it to the ball on time before we all turn into pumpkins.” No one seemed to notice my discomfiture as we all lodged ourselves into the little Mazda3. Geo probably likes being smushed back there in the backseat with Kathy, I thought as I gunned the car toward the entry of the gated condo community. I barely gave the slow-moving gates time to swing open before I gunned the car again, almost tilting on two wheels as I hung a hard, fast left onto Camelback, and floored it in the direction of the Ritz.
Delilah chose to ignore my immaturity, and Geo and Kathy were apparently too moony-eyed to even notice it. Oh well, I was starting to get a teeny bit used to sharing Geo.
When we arrived at the Ritz, my attention switched off of Geo and Kathy to focus on the night ahead. A long line of cars stood in front of the Ritz lining up for valet parking. As we waited in line, I turned to everyone else in the car and said, “Don’t forget that I am undercover as Tina Brown. Only Michael and Sylvester know my true identity, so you will need to refer to me as Tina. I only pray one of the guests isn’t a former client or acquaintance who knows me as Sammy and blows my cover.”
“Thanks for the warning, Tina,” Geo quipped. “Since we have nearly zero former clients, I’m not too worried.” I didn’t have time to jab him back because just then four valets descended on the Mazda3 and swung open our doors for us. We hopped out as gracefully as possible from the low confines of the little car and advanced into the grand entrance of the Ritz-Carlton. The floors were a light-reflecting marble in huge squares. Enormous sprays of fresh roses and other flower arrangements adorned all the tables. Glittering chandeliers dropped twenty feet down from the ceiling, adding to the sparkle and glow of the magical entrance. I started to forget my pettiness and looked forward to an intriguing night with the handsome, worldly, smoldering, er, married Mr. Michael Oversong.
Just then, Mr. Michael Oversong himself emerged from the hallway at the back and strode toward us. He was dressed in one of the softest gray tuxedos I’d ever seen, with a darker gray cummerbund. His multi-pleated shirt almost shone, a startling white against his darker skin and a dark gray bow tie, nearly black, topped it all off. His hair was in corn rows, pulled together in the back with diamonds at the end of each braid. Diamonds graced each earlobe and one ear sported three diamonds curving up the edge. Holy shit, this was one exotic, handsome dude! Perfect!
I stepped out from the others to meet him, taking long strides in my attire of choice for the evening. Surprisingly, I had chosen to wear an ultra, ultra-short mini dress made from some kind of sheer spandex material that was covered with the tiniest of silver sequins. Every stride I took, the material shivered across my skin. I managed to catch a quick glimpse of myself in the ten-foot-high, gilt-edged, ornate mirror. I figured my body looked like water gleaming and undulating in the moonlight. My heels were as high and spiked as I could withstand and still be capable of dancing. A series of black thin straps crisscrossed my toes, then crisscrossed at my ankles, showing off my slender feet. Rhinestones embellished one of the straps that crossed my toes and then another rhinestone strap encircled my ankles. Kick-ass shoes, for sure! My hair had been somewhat of a challenge, but I’d decided to tone it down some for the night’s festivities. I wore it in some soft waves with the tri-colors flowing through seductively. All in all, I was a great match for my client, Michael, and he looked me up and down appreciatively as I strode with my long, perfectly toned legs toward him.
When I reached him, he bowed and kissed my hand. I forgot all about being jealous of Kathy and Geo as Michael swept me along toward the grand entrance of the Annual Swann Charity Ball. We stepped into the elevator and it jumped upward with a quiet swoosh. Then the doors opened on the tenth floor. Michael guided me three doors down to the Elegante Room.
I glanced inside. Enormous paper swans hung down
in a circle around the ceiling. The swans seemed to glow from within from some kind of lighting, which revolved slowly around the room. Festoons of white satin were tied in bows above each swan’s back and tethered delicately to a central chandelier that looked as if it were actually constructed of diamonds. The effect was like a merry-go-round in the air, with swans instead of horses, that revolved gracefully around the room. A man dressed in a pure white tux was playing Celebrate Me Home on a glossy, black grand piano on the raised stage. I thought I was going to die from excitement and the ball hadn’t even begun yet.
Michael whisked me away from the doorway, though, and whispered in my ear, “The executives will be making a grand entrance, and since you are my date, you will be introduced along with me.”
“Don’t forget that for all intents and purposes I’m Tina Brown, not Sammy Dick in this crowd.”
“I’ve got it covered, Tina,” he smiled and gently guided me through a back entrance where we came upon Sylvester Swane himself. A bosomy blonde with those trendy, store bought, giganormous, perky breasts stood beside him. Clearly a trophy date, and dwelling on his every word. She wore a golden, full-length brocade gown with pearls stitched into the flower pattern throughout. It must have cost a fortune. Luckily my dress was cheap, probably because it took so little fabric to create it. A girl’s gotta save where a girl’s gotta save. Besides, I noticed Sylvester’s eyes immediately withdrew from those of his companion and glued themselves on my legs, stuck there awhile, then crawled up my body, fixated on my smaller but real breasts, and landed, finally, onto my tri-colored hair. He smiled seductively. Ah-ha, the right kind of cheap can trump expensive any day, or night, as it were! I smiled a huge, happy smile right back at him.
I decided to be gracious to all concerned, since I was garnering so much attention.
Sylvester stepped forward, “Good evening, Tina. We’re so glad you could join us in lieu of Mai’s previous engagement with her father. He seldom gets here, you know, since he lives so far away in Hong Kong.”
He might be getting here more often than you know, I thought to myself as I extended my hand to the broad in brocade.
“Gloria, this is Tina Brown. Tina, this is Gloria Strumheinnie.”
“How do you do?” We shook hands lightly, sizing each other up. Sort of like wrestlers at the start of a match, but more subtle. I was thinking, I bet Sylvester does want to Strum your Heinnie! as I shook her hand, smiling.
“Call me Glory,” she said, shaking my hand limply.
Then the music changed. “Ah, I think the remainder of the quartet has arrived,” Sylvester beamed. “That is our cue to make our grand entrance, but let’s wait for Tomas to let us know the guests are seated.”
Just then Tomas burst through the double doors to our right. He was wearing an all-white tuxedo with black tie and cummerbund. The striking contrast showed off his brown skin and doe-like brown eyes to perfection. I almost switched partners, but then took another look at the tall, intriguing man at my side and held my place. I did make a mental note to try and dance with Tomas later, though.
“Sylvester, we have a huge turnout. Almost every seat is full. People are now seated and ready for your grand entrance.” Tomas bowed as he said this, flinging open the double doors. The music surged through, grand and uplifting.
Tomas indicated that Michael and I would emerge first, but motioned for us to wait. Then he scooted out the door, hopped up on the stage and took the microphone in hand.
Tomas looked across the magnificent Elegante Room at all of the assembled guests waiting expectantly beneath the swirling swans. Many were already sipping the champagne in swan embossed stemware. Tomas began the festivities, “We are so pleased that each of you was generous enough to join us for this lovely evening.”
Not to mention that you each contributed 1,000 bucks to get here, I thought. I quickly calculated the contribution of the room at about 300 guests at 1K each.
Tomas’s sultry, Puerto Rican accent was sexy as hell, smooth and engaging, floating out across the room. The music had died down to only the piano playing, “Some Enchanted Evening” softly. Tomas gave some logistics, described the auction procedures for later and then launched into our introductions. By that time, my heart was thumping so hard in anticipation, I was afraid it was going to pop right out of my silver, see-through spandex outfit and onto the marble floor in a quivering heap.
The music rose in tone as the remainder of the quartet joined in, shifting to a grand march. “May I proudly introduce to you Mr. Michael Oversong and his date, Ms. Tina Brown. Mai was unable to join us tonight because of an unexpected visit from her father. Michael is one of the founding fathers of Swann Diamonds. His business savvy, integrity, and many other factors, too numerous to list here, have contributed to the amazing success of Swann. Allow me to introduce to you, Michael Oversong!” The crowd clapped appreciatively as we strode to the dais.
“Ms. Tina Brown currently consults with us as a performance advisor, in our quest to continuously improve the business. We realize that many of you in this room tonight are our clients, and Tina’s role is an example of how we like to keep a close eye on our operations to ensure that you receive the highest quality diamonds to meet your various needs—and at the lowest price possible.”
Michael and I strode slowly through the crowd and then up the stairs to the location on the stage beside Tomas. The room had been darkened except for a spotlight on Michael and me. Not surprisingly, I thrive when in the spotlight. Perhaps not the best quality for an undercover investigator. I happily extended my legs up the stairs as the spotlight played across us. Michael waved at everyone. The audience clapped. We made our way across the stage and positioned ourselves next to Tomas.
Then the music switched again, cued by Tomas, to a modified version of Hail to the Chief. The spotlight zoomed away from Michael and me and focused once more on the double doors. They swung open and in walked Sylvester and Glory. Glory’s gold brocade glowed like undersea treasure in a Disney movie and her blonde hair, falling down past her shoulders, shimmered and shone, a magnificent trophy date, I had to admit. Tomas introduced Glory as a long-time friend of Sylvester’s and CEO of Morning Glory Lotions.
I wondered if Sylvester was part owner of that business. Did he have a life insurance policy on her too? Then I switched from that train of thinking as all attention in the room turned to the man of the hour, Mr. Sylvester Swane.
Sylvester was dressed in a classic black tuxedo with white shirt, black tie. There’s a term used to describe men who work out all the time and have clearly defined muscles: well-cut. But Sylvester stretched the meaning of the term to far greater lengths. Sylvester was well-cut from head to toe. Even his cheek bones were well-cut. His shoulders were well-cut. His tux was well-cut. I couldn’t even begin to calculate what his tux must have cost. Especially since my dress cost $49.95 on sale at Second-Look Designer, but among all of us, he was probably the most striking. His aquiline nose and swept back white hair made him look like an eagle surveying his domain. And there was no mistaking, this was his domain. He was in his element.
However, I was in for a surprise. As Sylvester took the stage, the music stopped and Tomas spoke quietly and with some emotion in his voice, “May I present to you, Mr. Sylvester Swane, a brilliant business man and one of the three founding partners of Swann, but also of many other businesses. His entrepreneurial success rate is unparalleled. Further, his success rate in turning around businesses on a downward slide is phenomenal. Let me assure you, however, that Swann Diamonds has been healthy from day one, in large part due to the leadership of this man.” Tomas put his hand warmly on Sylvester’s shoulder.
“Before I hand over the microphone to this amazing man, I’d first like to publicly thank him. I came to Swann Diamonds as a smart-aleck, upstart from Puerto Rico with not much going for me and barely a dime in my pocket. Somehow, Sylvester, Mai and Michael saw through all that. I started out in the delivery side of the business, where my S
panish came in handy, but through Sylvester’s mentoring and business guidance, I rose up quickly through the ranks. I now have what I consider to be one of the most interesting jobs in the world. I know this company inside and out, and it is a very fine company indeed. I am so proud to work for Swann Diamonds, and especially for Sylvester Swane, and Mai and Michael Oversong. It’s truly a privilege to work with such special, talented leadership!” By now, Tomas’s voice was choking up.
“With all that said, I will now hand the microphone over to Mr. Sylvester Swane, my long-time supporter, mentor and friend, whom I admire beyond words!”
Sylvester stepped into the center of the spotlight amid applause and embraced Tomas in a quick, manly hug. Then Sylvester cleared his throat and began. “Thank you, Tomas; your intelligence, integrity and dedication are largely responsible for the success of Swann as well. Don’t overlook your own contribution!” With that remark, Tomas slid out of the limelight and all eyes turned to the mighty Swane.
Sylvester smiled and nodded his head in the direction of the crowd, “And speaking of contributions, I would like the spotlight to shine on our audience now.” At this point, one of the spotlights flashed and danced across the crowd, highlighting everyone’s finery. The light glanced off the swan-embossed champagne glasses. Michael and I were standing quietly at the rear of the stage in relative darkness. As I watched the spotlight shift from table to table, I now noticed that not only were swans floating gracefully through the air above the crowd, they were emblazoned on all the stemware, and carved in ice at the center of each table. It must have cost a small fortune to decorate the place!
Baby Brother Blues (Sammy Dick, PI Series: Book 1) Page 21