Baby Brother Blues (Sammy Dick, PI Series: Book 1)
Page 39
A far different, more mature Michael than the one I’d met that first day in the DICK INVESTIGATIONS office so long ago, told me later of his and Mai’s private conversation. A little shyly, Michael told me how he and Mai had connected during his convalescence and spoken to each other on a deeper level than ever before, not only about their love for each other, which was already re-energized, but their love for Swann, too. He told me how Mai had conducted further research after their talks as she sat next to his hospital bed, clicking away on her laptop and looking up often to glance anxiously at his ruined face. When Michael left the hospital, they approached Sylvester with their researched proposal.
Michael and Mai proposed a redirection of some of the Swann business into a sideline called Swann Arts. Their proposal involved getting rid of the industrial diamond side of Swann’s operations, retaining just the high-end consumer-quality trade. Michael would then interface with their rich clientèle, trading and selling art which their clients did not wish to subject to the exposure of an auction. Many patrons of the arts wished to offload their acquisitions without the exposure associated with an auction, exposure that might advertise their financial distress or other changed status. Other clientele simply wished to quietly obtain fine art without a lot of hoopla and increased exposure for theft. Swann Arts would serve the needs of these kinds of fine art customers. Meanwhile, the highly trusted Tomas would take over many of Michael’s previous duties and get a hefty pay raise in the process, if the business went well.
As Mai described the concept to Sylvester, she would be the rainmaker once again, surfacing the potential for art deals, just as she did so successfully in the diamond markets. Then Michael would be the discreet broker of the transactions among their wealthy clients. Sylvester agreed to the new direction. Michael returned to part-time work soon after leaving the hospital, with a passion he hadn’t experienced in years, if ever. The Swann business boomed and four months later, I got a fat check from Sylvester.
The Dick Agency
Geo and I had been surviving on a series of spouse-watching investigations and other small-time stuff. So when the check came in the mail, I held it up in the air and danced around the room. Geo and I yelled out Holy Shit! in unison and then we laughed hysterically, and I kept on dancing around the room waving it like a flag. Even Snack was happy, but that’s no real indicator, since Snack is always happy.
Geo paid off his college bill and I paid off my Mazda. Ha! How sweet is that!
As far as the Soul Patch crimes, Kathy was cleared completely because there were two eye-witnesses to her plea of self-defense. As the police investigators dove into the information stored on Soul Patch’s laptop, a cesspool of evil revealed itself. The more the police explored the laptop’s links, byways, accounts and files, the more evil they uncovered, a far-reaching net of shell game accounts and evidence of premeditated murder and arson.
At first, Kathy tried to help the police unravel all the title crimes, but it was a hopeless mess. Soul Patch had been acting with one other counterpart in the Madrid office. The Madrid police cooperated fully in the arrest, but the damage to American and International Title was irreparable. The company filed for bankruptcy, unable to surface the funds to pay back all of the misused and misspent escrow funds acquired by Soul Patch using the company’s name.
The bankruptcy saddened Kathy, but she had lots of other things to think about, too. She’d already been promoted in her new title company. She and Geo saw each other frequently during the week and spent almost every weekend together alternating between Doreen’s condo or our house.
After I’d witnessed Kathy’s steely determination to save Geo, my respect for her shot up even higher and I forgave her, well at least somewhat, for stealing Geo’s attention away from me. Besides, Geo seemed calmer, happier, and, in some ways, more focused than ever before. A good thing for our business.
Sonny, Sylvester’s little brother, was never tied to the Obsidian Tower crimes in any way, even in the highways and byways of the laptop information. However, after I’d alerted Sylvester, Sonny took a mysterious, extended cruise for parts unknown, and he hasn’t returned yet. I figure Sylvester loves his little brother and wants him out of harm’s way. I was glad no illegal connection to Soul Patch ever arose.
A week after I’d danced around the living room flapping the check in the air, the phone rang. It was Sylvester.
“Remember Glory Strumheinnie?” he inquired in his suave voice.
“How could I forget the striking Ms. Strumheinnie?” I said, trying mightily not to sound facetious.
Sylvester ignored me. “Well, you’ve done such a great job on the Swann investigation, that I’m recommending your services to Glory. She owns a company called Organic Glory Potions and an employee in their quality control unit just found skin-eating acid in an entire line of massage lotion ready for distribution. She will pay quite handsomely, and she needs someone right away to go in undercover and bring this thing to immediate closure before her reputation is damaged and she gets negative exposure.”
“Not to mention the damage and negative exposure to their skins for those consumers using the lotion,” I chimed in because I couldn’t help myself, which is rare, but I do have infrequent moments when I fail to control myself.
“Of course,” he admitted dryly.
“And of course we’ll help Glory in her time of need!” I responded cheerfully, and that’s how Geo and I launched almost seamlessly into our next major investigation.
Author’s Note
If you enjoyed this book, I hope you’ll enjoy the second one in the series: Acid Test for Yellow Flower, also starring Sammy Dick and her genius cousin, Geo. To check out that book, click here.
To find out more about the Sammy Dick series and other books by Trudi Baldwin, please visit my website or check out my Facebook page. I’d love to hear from you via email, so drop me a line, if so moved.
Thank you so much for reading!