Once he hung up, Meg raised her hand.
“What?” he asked in a semi-feral tone.
“I didn’t say he set the fire.”
“No, you didn’t. However, it’s damn likely he did. As of now, you are to have no further communication with the son of a bitch. And if he manages to contact you and suggests you need to come visit him, you let me know at once and stay the hell away from him.”
She wanted to protest Cobb’s innocence because she’d really liked the old sheriff. But she had four ex-fiancés she’d loved with all her heart, and they proved to be nothing but fortune hunters and con-men. She’d leave this matter in Steve’s hands.
Chapter 13
The car fiasco resulted in George storming out of the apartment a few minutes later. Steve stayed, but by his clenched fists and rigid jaw, man, was it killing him to do so.
“May I presume all travel plans for today are canceled?” she asked softly, trying not to set him off.
He released a long stream of air, calmed a bit, then met her gaze. “Yeah. And I’m going to need to commandeer your bedroom. Also, I need you to consult with me before you make any communications whatsoever.”
His intense stare silenced her.
“This is serious, Meg. The mafia doesn’t normally act so boldly against the FBI. While you are still important, this case just got a lot bigger than you.” He gripped her arms and pulled her against him. “I need you a hundred percent trouble free. Otherwise, I’m afraid my boss will cut you loose as we go after bigger fish. Can you do this for me?”
For the first time since her life of hell had begun, she was truly terrified. And of what, she had no clue. However, the worry in Steve’s eyes struck her hard.
The only way she could prevent herself from breaking down into a sobbing ball of Jell-O was to think professionally. “May I call and invite Mr. Barkman to visit my land with Tess as his guide?”
“You can’t go with them.”
“I understand.”
“Then you may call and arrange his tour.”
“And may I google various people on my computer?”
“Just don’t call anyone without clearing it with me. And if I say no, just accept it. This day is going to be a nightmare.”
She nodded.
“Then I’ll get my computer and stay in here…until I need the bathroom.”
His hard eyes studied her face as if trying to find deception. Finally, they softened and he caressed her cheek. “Thank you for trusting me. I know it’s not easy.”
Oddly, it had been. The moment all hell broke loose, he was her rock.
She hurried from the room and gathered her computer and purse.
He stared at the purse long and hard. “Remember, don’t accept or make any calls unless you clear them through me.”
“I won’t.” She then rushed back to the kitchen and plugged her laptop into the apartment’s 1-gigabit fiber-optic internet service.
Joe had sent her two lists. The first one was for the meeting on Wednesday, which had forty-two people attending. He hadn’t arranged a meeting; he’d gathered a riotous angry mob.
The other meeting had three names listed: the governor, Joe, and a Mr. Callinici. She Googled Callinici and discovered him to be the governor’s public relations advisor.
Bullshit! Nothing meshed with what Joe had said on the phone.
First, she called Mr. Barkman. “Mr. Barkman, I’m Meg Williams.”
“The woman who recently bought two hundred thousand acres of the finest trees left in the state. I’m glad you called. I asked the governor for your number, but he didn’t know how to contact you.”
What a crock! All he’d have had to do was ask his brother-in-law for the number. But she held her temper and focused on the task at hand. “It is my hope to donate this land and make it a state park in perpetuity.”
“Then you don’t intend to harvest the trees?”
“We will need some parking lots for visitors, but otherwise no.”
A sigh of relief and a small chuckle traveled over the phone. “I’ve been worried sick since I heard the land had been sold. You’ve just made my day.”
“I’m glad to do so. There’s a meeting planned for Wednesday to discuss the details.” She glanced at the list of names, not finding his. “Are you planning to attend?”
“No, I heard about it, but I never received an invitation.”
“Well, the person who set up the meeting made a huge error then. I apologize. I really want you to go. It’s at noon in the governor’s conference room.”
“I’ll be there.”
“I’m hoping you can tour the forest with Tess Campbell before the meeting. I know it’s short notice but—”
“I will certainly make time to see it,” he assured her.
“Great. Would you call Tess and set up a time for your hike? She’s been maintaining the property for years, and she knows it better than anyone other than Helen.” She then gave him Helen’s number, recalling some concern Tess’s phone was bugged. “This is Helen’s number, but Tess is staying with her.”
“Thank you, I’ll call the moment we get off. I have to admit I was literally sick when the governor said it was slotted for development.”
“When did he say that?”
“Yesterday.”
“It must have been before I talked to him.”
“Well, I’m very glad to hear your plans. You’ve no idea how precious those trees are.”
“Helen made sure I did. But I’m thrilled you feel the same. It will help move this donation along.”
Once she hung up, she took notes. It was possible he talked to the governor before she’d met with him. But after her discussion earlier with Joe, she suspected the governor was going to try for an imminent domain land grab, and Joe had been laying the groundwork for it when he brought up the possibility of Indian mounds.
She moved up firing Joe to her number one priority. But first she’d need a new lawyer to take over matters. Once on the internet, she searched for lawyers who had dealt with land donations. To her amazement, there was an abundance of lawyers claiming expertise in the area.
Too many.
So she tried a different angle. Instead of looking for lawyers, she searched for major land donations in the past. She sorted through the documents until she found the name of the lawyers involved. For each land donation, she noted the size of the deal, if it had to get legislative or gubernatorial approval, and length of time from the first document to completion.
It was lunch before she finished, but she had located the lawyer most qualified to help her. She rewarded herself with a long needed bathroom break. Running from the kitchen through her bedroom to the bathroom, she waved at Steve as he yelled at someone on his phone.
When she came out of the bathroom, Steve waited on the other side. “Sorry about my language. Nothing is going my way.”
She pressed her hand to his heart. “Welcome to my world. However, I found the lawyer I want. He’s done twenty-three major land donations, including several parks. Had I done my homework the first time, I would have chosen him.”
“How did you end up with Joe?”
“Jonas recommended him.”
“And the new guy is?”
“Sedgewick Collins.”
“Give me an hour to clear him.”
Her stomach growled.
He frowned her way.
“I didn’t growl at you. My stomach did. Any chance we can get food delivered?”
“Crap!”
“Or not…”
He pulled her to him and kissed her forehead. “I’ll get you food. But you’ll have to cook.”
She nodded.
He released her and gently pushed her toward the kitchen door so he could no doubt return to yelling at people.
An hour later, he led five agents carrying bags into the kitchen to the six cooling and freezer units. “Set ’em down here.” He then glanced at Meg as if debating something.
In return, she received earnest thanks from everyone. The five agents practically ran from the room and Steve followed.
She hoped he was only bolting the door after the men left.
When he rushed back through the kitchen into the bedroom suite, she smiled with relief. She had no idea what the hell was going on, but she was very glad Steve remained with her.
It took her over a half-hour to put everything away. Steve must have memorized her entire eating habits when he watched from the camera he’d installed in the kitchen of her New Jersey home. The thought of him waiting for the serial killer to arrive put chills down her back.
What if the monster had come? Could he have saved her? Or would she have been victim thirteen by the time the police arrived?
She recalled how much happier Steve seemed the last day he’d stopped by. She had her new identity and the only issue holding her up was her refusal to let the broker cash in her stock so they could send cash. Steve had quickly pointed out how foolish she was being for not just cashing out and buying back the same stocks in her new name.
Her life had been in mortal danger while she fretted over four hundred thousand dollars. He couldn’t tell her about the serial killer. He could only try to prod her along. Poor guy was probably getting an ulcer from the stress.
And how had she rewarded him? She bit his head off the first time he let her see he had feelings for her. If only she could take it back.
God, how she wished she’d never bought the damn lottery ticket. But if she hadn’t, she would have never received the death threats, never given the town money for a new police station, and thus never met Steve.
Meg needed to stop wishing for a different past and take care of her life from here. Another rumble from her stomach told her where she could start. Opening one of refrigerator units, she extracted a slab of salmon and cut it in two, placing one piece on a platter before putting back the rest. After seasoning the salmon, she placed it on a lightly oiled baking flat, and placed it in the oven. Then she worked on the accoutrements.
A half hour later, Meg placed a small fillet on her plate and a bigger one on Steve’s, both served with brown rice, grilled tomatoes, squash, asparagus, and broccoli.
Proud of the meal she had concocted, she opened the bedroom door. Steve was on the phone, pacing intensely. When he noticed her, she pantomimed eating, but he shook his head. Sighing, she returned to the kitchen and placed aluminum foil around his food and put it in the refrigerator…then ate alone.
She wished she understood why one stupid garage fire turned the world upside down.
The rest of the afternoon she googled each of the men invited to Wednesday’s meeting and grew angrier by the moment. Why the hell would the head of the labor union for construction workers need to be at the meeting? And three of the men worked for Jeffrey’s partner, the developer. Five of the men didn’t even register on google. What bureaucrat didn’t have his name on something?
Damn it all, this wasn’t a meeting for her to explain her plan. This was a lynch mob.
She wished Steve would tell her if she could contact her new lawyer.
Finally at three o’clock, he entered the kitchen, fatigue and anger etched upon his face. “Any chance there’s any food left?”
“Sit. I’ll warm it up.” She slid the platter in the microwave and poured him a glass of ice tea. He downed it in one long gulp. After pouring him another, she left the pitcher with him.
“Sedgewick comes back clean. You can call him. Don’t say anything about the mafia. Just tell him what you’re planning to do with the land.”
She brought him his food. “I think he needs to know a few more details. The meeting Joe set up for Wednesday has people I want uninvited.”
He paused in the devouring of his food. “Like who?”
She named off the ones she wanted removed. “Then there are five who Google can’t even find.”
“Let me see.”
She pulled up the email and pointed them out.
“Son of a—” He gripped the edge of the counter and closed his eyes. “You may contact your new lawyer on Thursday. Have him set up a new meeting, calling in only people absolutely necessary to get this donation completed. Do not call Joe or cancel his meeting. However, under no circumstances will you attend.”
“Why?”
“I can’t tell you.” He met her stare. “Just trust me. You don’t want anywhere near this place.”
“I invited Mr. Barkman, so I’ll need to call and let him know Joe invited too many people and Joe can talk to this mob while I have a smaller and hopefully more productive meeting.”
“No. Let him attend this one. If they let him in, you can apologize later.”
“But I need to get this moving along.”
“Right now, you can’t leave this apartment. Any meeting you have must be done over the internet.”
“I don’t think I can get this done if I can’t talk to people face to face. What if I bring you and your posse with me?”
Steve met her gaze. “Sorry, it’s a lynch mob, not a meeting. And while tables are turned over in outrage at your stealing jobs, and chairs are being thrown for ruining their lives, at least, two of these are known aliases of hit-men who will take you out. And since you have not written a Will under your new name, nor have any known relatives, all your assets will go to the state.”
Her heart pounded so hard it felt like it might burst from her chest.
She gripped his arm for comfort. “I would like to leave Iowa and handle this matter far, far away from here. I’ll move the land to a trust, which will run it as a private park in perpetuity, and I’ll leave everything else to you.”
“I’d love to get you the hell out of here, but we have zero confidence in the police force. We cannot safely move you right now. As far as the trust idea, hold off on creating it. This may be over sooner than you think.” He then stood and pulled her tight against him. “And for your clever idea to leave your cursed money to me, not happening. Leave it to someone you hate. And that had better not be me.”
She smiled at his point-blank refusal to be the recipient of her money. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking straight. I would never want to put such a curse on you. I take it back. I’ll leave the money to…Traver, or would if I could remember his last name or knew his address.”
“No, you will not. Leave it to some group protecting forests from developers. Someday, we are getting beyond your Lottery Curse, which won’t happen if you push it on me or enrich con-artists.”
She smiled. “So you see a future for us?”
He studied her. “Since you’re smiling, I’ll risk answering your question. I do. I’m picturing something a bit quieter than it’s been so far, but perhaps just as exciting in other ways.”
Meg’s heart fluttered with happiness, and not a single flicker of fear made itself known.
Chapter 14
Steve returned to running command central from Meg’s bedroom-living room while she spent the day googling the remainder of the attendees to her meeting. They were basically everyone who had reason to hate her plan.
Lesson 1, 2, and 3: Do not take recommendations from other people you do not know. Do your own damn research.
If she had run her investments the way she had managed this land donation, she’d be a pauper by now.
Meg decided to research conservation groups who might like a billion dollars.
Her phone rang. She almost answered it before she remembered Steve’s warning. It was Sheriff Cobbs. With reluctance, she turned the phone off. While Steve was angry at the sheriff, she still liked the old fellow. His only crime, as far as she could see, was assuming all people were good.
Tess called an hour later. Ignoring her call was really hard. Sheriff Cobbs hadn’t left a message, but hopefully, Tess would.
She got up and poured herself some tea and decided Steve might like some, too. She entered the master sui
te. Steve was staring out the window while he talked to someone on the phone.
As if he had a sixth sense, he turned and frowned at her. She pointed to the glass of tea.
He walked briskly over to her, smiled as he took the drink, downed it in one swallow, and handed her the empty glass. When she didn’t leave immediately, he pointed to the door.
Sighing, she returned to the kitchen. Recalling Tess’s call, she checked her messages and smiled. Tess had left one.
“Meg. The head of the Park Commission called me this morning and asked for a tour of the forest. I told him to come on out. We just finished a four-hour ridge walk. He is so nice. He must have complimented me a hundred times on the condition of the trails and the forest. He asked me about my plans for the future, so I told him I start my first year of college this fall. He declared it ridiculous I had to take classes in stuff I probably knew more about than the teachers, but he agreed, getting a master’s degree is important.”
Meg smiled. At least, something looked positive. But then who wouldn’t be impressed with Tess?
“Then he said he hoped I’d return in the summers and work for him at this site. So I’m guessing you didn’t tell him about your plan. Grams said you were smart not to because he hadn’t met me yet. But I hope you’ll tell him soon because I kind of feel like I’m lying to him by not saying anything. Call me back when you get a chance.”
Meg picked up her phone. What possible harm could occur if she called Tess?
She glanced at the door between Steve and her. If he found out, he’d see it as a huge betrayal. He was out there trying to save her life, and all he asked of her was she stay in here and not communicate with anyone.
She pushed away the phone and decided to fry up chicken for dinner. She dipped each chicken breast in egg whites and then rolled them in a whole wheat flour, oatmeal, and Cajun seasoning mix. She was in the process of flipping them when Steve’s hands settled on her hips. “Any chance you can cook some more. The crew will be hungry, too.”
A Fortune to Die For (White Oak - Mafia Series Book 1) Page 15