by Rayna Morgan
“Name one time—”
“This meeting is adjourned,” Warren declared.
CHAPTER FOUR
“Wait,” Lea exclaimed. “I haven’t told you how my lead panned out.”
“From your excitement, I assume it went well. What was the source?”
“Paul was sweet enough to mention our company to his contacts. A contractor used on properties he manages called today to find out more about our services.”
“What kind of business does he have?” Maddy asked.
“He owns a pest control company.”
Maddy puckered her lips. “As in termites? Ugh! Count me out.”
Warren slapped his forehead. “If that’s the criteria you use to choose clients, it’s a good thing you kept your day job.”
He looked at his other daughter. “Please continue, Lea.”
“A year ago, the profits were so good he gave bonuses to everyone in the company. Since then, things have gone downhill. He’s laid off two employees and is barely keeping his head above water.”
“The sluggish economy has affected a lot of contractors.”
“He’s gained enough new customers to offset lost accounts. The problem appears to be expenses increasing at a rate disproportionate to income.”
“I can relate to that.” Maddy inspected the polish on her nails. “But it sounds like he needs a money manager, not an investigator.”
“It’s more serious than that. He suspects embezzlement.”
“What steps has he taken?” Warren asked.
“He’s reluctant to question the employees himself. He’s also afraid to fire someone without cause.”
“Your client is being wise. Either of those acts could lead to a crippling lawsuit for wrongful termination. Besides, there’s no use in sounding alarms which might alert the potential thief to hide their actions.”
“You’re right,” Maddy agreed. “My boss questioning employees would promote paranoia among the sales people, especially Rick who’s convinced his own mother doesn’t trust him. Does your client have any idea who’s stealing money?”
“His opinion shouldn’t matter,” Warren said. “You need to look at everyone. Avoid building your investigation to fit the theory. Instead, develop a theory that fits the results of your investigation.”
“What signs should I look for?” Lea asked her father.
“Embezzlers start small. If they aren’t caught, they get bolder. Check frequent minor transactions. Lower-level theft is a warning sign of more serious fraud. Siphoning petty cash adds up quickly.
“Determine if salaries paid are commensurate with compensation levels in the industry. Ask if there is a bonus system or other acknowledgment of jobs well done.”
“Find weakness in the operation to create a list of suspects. Document everything to produce a paper trail. Note your actions, record your interviews, and keep your evidence organized.”
“That’s a tall order, Dad. What approach do you recommend?”
“Insert yourself into the business a few days to assess who the guilty party might be.”
Lea snapped her fingers. “I’ll pose as an efficiency expert, hired to improve operations. That should give me a valid reason to gather information and interview employees about their jobs.”
“That sounds workable. Since the business is in trouble, employees won’t be suspicious of your motives.”
“Then, it’s settled,” she said. “I go undercover to determine the identity of an embezzler while Maddy gathers information on our cold case suspect.”
Warren leaned back and crossed his hands across his stomach. “That leaves me to man the office. As chained to a desk as I was during my tenure as police chief.”
“We can hire a receptionist,” Lea offered.
“Not until we’ve earned the fees to pay one.”
The sisters shrugged and returned to their desks.
Moments later, Maddy left for her job at the furniture store and Lea went to meet a friend for lunch.
The border collie moved to Warren’s chair. She laid her head on his knee and looked at him with soulful eyes.
He whispered in the dog’s ear as he leaned to pet her.
“We don’t need them. You’re better company anyway.”
CHAPTER FIVE
It was almost two o’clock. Warren was getting hungry.
“If we had a ‘Back in 10 Minutes’ sign, I’d walk out for something to eat,” he said aloud.
Spirit perked up at the sound of his two favorite words. Walk and eat.
“Sorry, boy. We’ll wait for Lea to return.”
At that moment, he saw Barbara angling her car into a parking spot.
He watched as his wife retrieved a picnic basket from the trunk before helping an older woman from the front seat.
He opened the door, eager to see the contents of the hamper.
“You’re a sight for sore eyes and hungry stomachs,” he told her.
Barbara made way for the visitor. “You remember Ida, dear.”
He stifled a groan. “How are you, Mrs. Allen?”
“Shame on you!” She placed a wrinkled hand on his. “How many times have I told you to call me Ida? No more excuses now that you’ve moved and we’ll be seeing more of each other.”
“I can’t express how I’m looking forward to that.”
Barbara glared at him before unpacking a sandwich, fruit, and cookies. Instead of leaving him alone to eat, the women sat across from him and waited.
He put down the sandwich. “Is there something I can help you with?”
“As a matter of fact…”
Warren’s heart sank.
“I have a case for you.” Ida beamed. “The first one for the Conley and Austin Detective Agency.”
“That’s not true,” Warren responded hurriedly. “We already have more than we can handle.”
Receiving a stern look from his wife, he sighed. “Explain your situation. Perhaps I can refer someone.”
Ida leaned forward, basking in the attention. “Cleo is missing.”
Warren’s ears perked up. “I need a description.”
“I can do better than that.” Ida grabbed her purse and withdrew a photo. “Here’s her picture.”
She produced a snapshot of a woman holding a miniature poodle.
He tapped on the woman’s face. “This is Cleo?”
“No, silly. That’s my friend, Polly. Cleo is the dog. Her name is short for Cleopatra.”
“I am not silly.” Warren scowled at his wife. “Nor, am I a pet detective.”
“Of course not, dear,” Barbara said. “But let Ida finish. There’s more to the story.”
The older woman looked at him for permission to continue.
He nodded as he bit into an apple. “Please continue.”
“Normally, I wouldn’t want to bother you.”
His eyebrows shot up but fearing Barbara read his thoughts, he spoke congenially. “I appreciate your concern for my time.”
“You must understand,” the woman continued, smoothing her hands over her dress. “My friend is eccentric.”
“In what regard?” he asked.
“She spends more on that animal than a person should spend on a child. I’ve scolded her about the way she dresses the dog.” She removed her glasses and wiped them with a corner of her dress. “It’s all nonsense as far as I’m concerned. She has no one to blame but herself.”
Barbara sensed her husband’s impatience. “Tell Warren what happened,” she urged.
“Cleo got out of the house while Polly was napping.”
“I’m sure the dog will find its way home. Tell your friend to be patient and wait.”
“You don’t understand. The naughty pooch escaped wearing something she’s only allowed to wear indoors.”
“What would that be?” Warren asked, sarcastically. “Her knitted sweater?”
Ida wrung her hands, sensing Warren’s displeasure.
“The item she’s we
aring is the reason I came to see you.”
The woman’s distress alerted Warren.
“Why are you concerned?” he asked.
“Cleo is wearing a diamond collar.”
• • •
When Lea returned to the office, Warren reluctantly mentioned the ladies’ visit.
“I’m afraid we have a third case on our hands.”
“Great, Dad. What is it? I hope it’s surveillance or a missing person. We haven’t tackled either of those yet.”
He stroked his chin. “I suppose it falls in the missing person category, but—”
“But, what?”
“This case is of a four-legged nature.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Your neighbor, Ida Allen, has a friend whose dog has gone missing.”
“I don’t believe it!” Lea burst out laughing. “You took a missing dog case.”
“Let me explain,” he said, hastily.
He filled her in on the details.
“The matter of concern is the diamond collar, not the dog.” He looked sideways at the border collie. “No offense intended, Gracie.”
Lea wiped tears from her eyes and stopped laughing.
“Are you serious about taking this case?”
“Your mother will never forgive me if I say no.” He shook his head. “I always knew Ida would end up being a thorn in my side.”
Lea stroked Gracie. “We know Cleo, don’t we girl?”
She turned back to her father. “The dogs and I were at Ida’s house when Polly came for a visit. In fact, Spirit was quite interested in Cleo. I told him it wouldn’t do any good since he’s been fixed, but they took a liking to each other.”
The retriever raised his head without bothering to move from his place in the sun.
Warren stood over the dog with a glint in his eye. “How would you like to earn your way to being a bona fide member of the firm?”
“Don’t you mean a bona Fido member of the firm?”
Warren hid a grin. “You may be right. Our business is going to the dogs.”
Lea broke into another round of laughter before telling her plans for the next day and describing what Maddy would be doing.
He gritted his teeth. “I suppose that leaves me with the dog case.”
“Ida came to see you, Dad. It’s only right you work it.”
“I have no experience in locating lost dogs,” he grumbled.
“You’ll find the missing pet. I know how dogged you can be.”
“The least you can do is offer an incentive.”
“Like what?”
“The first person to solve their case gets a bottle of Merlot.”
After Lea left, Warren smiled at the dogs.
“We stand a doggone good chance of winning.”
CHAPTER SIX
Maddy drove through Seagate to a cottage on a narrow lane leading to the ocean. After her first day working two jobs, she was ready for a hot bath and a glass of wine.
When her headlights strafed the house, they illuminated a figure in jeans and a T-shirt sitting on the porch. She parked in her usual spot and sauntered toward the shorter, leaner version of Tom.
The men shared good looks and disarming smiles. The difference was in attitude. The younger brother’s attitude was cocky and insecure at the same time.
“Long time, no see, Jack,” she said. “I thought I recognized you at the donut shop.”
“I hesitated to say hello.”
“Why? You’re always welcome.”
“By some. I’m never sure how Tom feels.”
“Have you been in touch to find out?”
“Not since I got to town.”
“Come in the house,” she told him, rubbing her arms. “The night air is cool.”
She dropped her purse and keys on a table. “Beer or wine?
“Beer sounds good.”
“I’ll be right out. Throw a log on the grate and start a fire.”
He heard glasses being pulled from a cupboard as he walked to the fireplace.
Once a flame was burning, he took a seat on the couch. He extended his arms along the back and stretched his legs, heaving a sigh.
She came in the room wearing jeans and an over-sized man’s shirt.
“Does that shirt belong to Tom?”
A smile played across her face. “None of your business.”
She handed him a beer and sat on the floor in front of the fire. “Are you planning to stay, or just passing through?”
“Is that an invitation?”
She giggled nervously. “Don’t be presumptuous. I’m asking if you plan to move to Buena Viaje.”
He appeared amused by her discomfort.
“I’ve been assigned to an offshore oil rig out by the islands. But, I’ll be returning to Long Beach soon.”
“You’re a roughneck?”
“That’s how I started. I’m higher on the pay scale now, supervising the crew.”
“Are you staying in town?”
“Buena Viaje is too quiet for my liking. I rented a studio apartment in Vista Harbor. It gives me access to the bars on State Street.”
“Why haven’t you been in touch with Tom?”
He shifted uneasily. “Not all siblings are lucky enough to be as close as you and your sister. Tom is not always happy to see me.”
“Why do you say that?”
Jack couldn’t conceal his resentment. “Let’s say I’m not the brother Tom would like to have and leave it at that.”
“What kind of brother are you?”
He held his hands out with the palms up to signal the answer was obvious.
“The black sheep of the family. The one Tom bails out of trouble. In his mind, I’m still the loose-living ladies’ man I was in my twenties. He used to say I was addicted to late night parties and wishful thinking.”
“Wishful thinking?”
“Wishing I could be rich and famous.” His voice softened. “He doesn’t realize I would settle for normal and loved.”
She made no reply, so he continued.
“By most people’s standards including his, I’m flawed in the relationship department.”
“What standards are you referring to?”
“My kid is estranged, my ex can’t stand to be in the same room with me, and I seldom speak to my family.”
“Whose fault is that?”
“Which part?”
“All of it.”
“I take responsibility for the first two. It’s Tom’s choice that we aren’t close.”
“He must have a reason.”
“Oh, he does. Tom does nothing without a reason.”
“I’m listening.”
“It’s not up to me to say. If he wanted you to know our history, I reckon he would have told you.”
He looked around the room. “You’ve changed things a little.”
She moved the log with a poker. “I don’t remember you being here before. In fact, how did you find me?”
“Your sister and her husband hosted a beach party a couple of years ago. I was in town, so they invited me. They stored the goodies at your house. Tom and I came here to fill the cooler with beer and ice.”
“Oh, I remember. You and I didn’t have a chance to talk. Tom and I weren’t together then, but you were with a girl I didn’t know.”
“I barely knew her myself. A chick I picked up at a bar.” He grinned carelessly. “I never saw her again.”
“Her choice or yours?”
The lines at the corners of his eyes deepened in a smile.
“You and Tom may not have been a couple then,” he continued, “but I saw the way my brother watched you. I knew you would end up together.”
“How could you have known? We didn’t know ourselves.”
“Because I know Tom. Maybe you hadn’t fallen, but it was plain he was crazy about you. When my brother sets his sights on something, he usually gets it. It’s like working a case. Once he proves a person’
s guilt, he refuses to give up until the person is behind bars.”
Maddy choked. “Are you comparing your brother’s relationship with me to tracking down a criminal?”
“No slight intended. He’s always responded to a challenge, even when we were kids.”
Maddy eyed him intently. “Does he lose interest when he wins the prize?”
“Don’t worry. My brother will never lose interest in you.”
The color deepened in her cheeks. She changed the conversation. “What’s this about Tom not wanting to see you? I don’t know why you think that.”
“There are things about us you may not know.”
Maddy scoffed. “I dare you to tell me something I don’t know about Tom.”
His lips curled. “Do you know he told me to leave Buena Viaje and never come back?”
“I don’t believe you. Tom would never do that.”
“Ask him. Don’t be surprised if he refuses to talk about it.”
She glared at him. “I’m asking you. Tell me his reason for wanting you to leave.”
The smugness drained from his face. His eyes saddened.
“He caught me with his wife.”
She stared at him in disbelief. “How could you!”
He shrugged. “What can I say? It wasn’t my proudest moment. It’s one of those impulsive actions that cause irreparable damage.”
“What twisted emotion led you to do it? Was it done to spite him?”
“That was never my intent.”
“Then how did it happen?”
He sat back and crossed one leg on top of the other.
“I went to see Tom one night. His wife was home alone. When she answered the door, I could tell she’d been crying. I asked what was wrong. She fell to pieces. Between sobs, she told me she had failed and that their marriage was falling apart.”
“What were her reasons?”
“She couldn’t adapt to a policeman’s life.”
Maddy spoke up in Tom’s defense. “I know how much time his job requires.”
“More than his absence, it was his moodiness she couldn’t handle. Murder cases devoured him. He lived and breathed his work until a case was solved.”
Maddy lowered her head. “He’s better now. I’ve helped him make it less of an obsession.”
He smiled at her. “I knew the right woman could.”