“No, nothing that really stands out. I know he was a little lost without Brandon when he first moved to Lauderdale, but he seemed to be finding his way around all right since he came up here to Citrus Beach. I think he went out on a few random dates, but nothing serious. He was really trying to learn the ropes of the business I own; he knew it would be handed over to him as soon as he was ready, but even there, he seemed to be getting along with everyone just fine.”
Julie nodded her head to John’s comments before adding a few of her own.
“I know he was worried about fitting into a small town, after being in a large city for so many years. He had big plans on how to bring more business and more young culture to Citrus Beach. But I think he knew it would be a slow process and that frustrated him a bit. Being young, he didn’t understand or appreciate the slower pace of life we have here. He wasn’t serious about dating; he wanted to get his business goals met first. It was just more like friends from the office getting together than dating.”
Aidan nodded his head to show he understood and then addressed them both.
“If it is all right with you, I’ve asked Megan to work along with me on this. With her connections to the island and town, I will have a better understanding of the dynamics of the people I run across looking into this for you. Plus, she has had a part in it, and a stake in finding the murderers as well, they have targeted her too.”
“Do whatever you need to do, Aidan. I know the police are investigating to the best of their abilities, but we hoped, with your connections and background, you would be able to work at it from another angle. I have heard so many good things about Megan, and of course we have worked on several community projects, she can only be an asset to you. We just want answers.”
“John, you know there is the possibility that he was into something shady, or even illegal? I’m not going to be able to hide the outcome of what we find, nor would I.”
“I understand. We just want to see justice done for him.”
“Okay, then. Let’s get started … I am going to need access to his office, paperwork, contacts, and anything else you have. I want to start here in his room and then first thing tomorrow we will head over to the firm.”
“John, I’ll take them up to his room. Why don’t you call the office and let them know what we are doing, so they are ready for these two in the morning.” Without waiting for his answer, Julie stood up and motioned for Megan and Aidan to follow her. As they left the room, she told them that the councilman was having a very hard time with his nephew’s death, and still had not entered JT’s room. Leaving them at the bedroom entry, she told them to take anything they needed and that she was going to force her husband to retreat for some peace and quiet and that they should let themselves out. The Travels would be available tomorrow for any questions they may come up with.
Telling her that they understood and would be fine on their own, Aidan watched Julie turn and walk back to her husband.
“I can’t imagine what they must be going through. JT was the son they could never have, and they raised him from a young age. I don’t know if I could be that strong if it was Brandon.” Aidan said to Megan. Agreeing with him, Megan followed him into the young man’s room.
They did not have to spend much time in the bedroom; it was neat and organized. There was little for them to look through, but they took the paperwork that they could find, intending to look it over later. When Aidan pulled out the drawer to the nightstand by the bed, he found a couple of flash drives for a laptop and a couple of local maps. Adding them to the paperwork piled on the end of the bed, he decided that they had found all they could and suggested they leave. The household was quiet as they walked to the front door and let themselves out. The grounds were now clear of any press or well-wishers, and they quickly walked to the pickup truck and left.
There was silence for the trip off the island, as Megan and Aidan contemplated their visit with the Travels and wondered what they would find tomorrow at JT’s office.
Chapter Ten
Wednesday
Aidan had dropped Megan off and, after they joined Paul and Lucy for dinner, left for the Bloomquest home and a solitary evening.
After he left, Megan also felt the need for some solitary time, as well as a strong need to talk to her daughter. She needed to be reassured that Emma was safe and all was right in her life. Leaving Lucy and Paul to their own devices, she had gone to her room to spend time catching up with her daughter and then get some much need sleep.
Megan awoke to the sound of a phone ringing somewhere in the house and the voice of the morning newscaster on TV. Both were unusual in her home, especially at seven o’clock in the morning. Throwing her robe on, she headed towards the kitchen, hoping for coffee and the early edition of the paper. As she stirred a spoonful of sugar into her drink, she glanced at the paper on the counter which had its bottom half taken up with bold headlines. Groaning, she grabbed it and her coffee and followed the sounds from the TV to the family room were Lucy and Paul sat, eyes glued to the set.
“Have you seen this?” she asked them.
“I know. I can’t believe she pulled this off and got this picture,” Lucy answered her angrily
“What are you talking about, Lucy? I meant this: the storm is still coming our way and has now been named Arlene.” Megan pointed to the headline, but then gasped as she saw the rest of the front page.
On the upper half of the paper, there were pictures of Megan at the Bloomquest property and the front door of the Travels home. The large bold captions made her heart race, and she felt her face heat up with anger: WITNESS TO THE RIVERSIDE MURDER OF JOHN TRAVELS II VISITS VICTIMS FAMILY. IS THERE A CONNECTION BETWEEN COUNCILMAN TRAVELS AND WEALTHY ISLAND RESIDENT CAROL BLOOMQUEST? Kim Heart’s picture was under the headlines, promising a full story and hinting of exclusive details to come.
As if reading her name had conjured Kim up, Megan heard the reporter’s voice coming from the speakers on the TV. She was speculating about the murder of John Travels II, and boldly telling all listening that Megan Cassidy had been an eyewitness. Not only was Megan named, but so was her business and her connection to Carol Bloomquest. Kim had even managed to find some pictures of Megan with the councilman and Carol at a charity function they had all attended. She was giving so many details about Megan and the councilman’s life that she may as well have drawn a map to Megan’s home and office.
While Kim’s voice droned on and on, Paul could be heard on his cellphone. He was talking to the sheriff, making sure that there was extra security here at their ten acres. Megan reached across the table and grabbed the phone. Punching in the numbers for the guest house at Carol’s, she waited for Aidan to answer the phone.
“Aidan, if you haven’t turned on the morning news, you need to.” She said instead of a normal good morning greeting.
Aidan did not question her, figuring that she had something important going on. Switching on the TV, he watched the broadcast for a few moments before he answered her.
“You weren’t exaggerating about that reporter. So much for your staying under the radar. Listen, I’ll finish up here and drive over to your office. Hopefully I can get there before you find yourself swamped with other media.”
“I’m going to get extra security guards out to Carol’s to keep any nosey parkers off the property. If you see the guard currently on duty, let him know what is going on and ask him to concentrate his patrol to the front of the property until his reinforcement arrives. Aidan try not to let the reporters catch sight of you either … who knows what they would do with that information. I’ll call Carol when I hang up with you and warn her about what just happened. Although, knowing Carol, she is going to find this very exciting and will want to fly down to be in the heart of all the action. Do you think you could back me up on this and tell her to stay put in St. Louis?”
“Yeah, you’re right about Carol. I’ll call her on my way over. Paul and Lucy are still there with you, right?”
Megan confirmed that they were and warned Aidan that the gate was going to be locked. Figuring that he was a safe risk, she gave him her code to get in. Telling him she would talk to him later when he arrived, Megan hung up and looked at Lucy.
“Can you believe this? Where is she getting this stuff? Out of thin air? Do you have any idea of how much harder this is going to make it for our staff to work, and what about the rest of my clients, what are they going to think? Boy, I’d love to give Kim Heart a statement now, and she will not want to print what I have to say to her.”
Megan was pacing as she let off steam to Lucy, but stopped dead in her tracks when Lucy observed what she had overlooked.
“Megan, do you realize that she has just told the killers who you are and that you were a witness? Why do you think Paul is on the phone with the sheriff? You are really a target now. And we don’t have a clue who will be trying to keep you from identifying the shooters.”
Megan visibly paled as she realized what Lucy had just said. Sitting down in the closest chair, she cuddled the cat that jumped up on her lap, looking for attention, but giving comfort. Her thoughts were racing; if she thought this was going to be hard on her employees, she had no idea how hard it would be on herself. How do you go about your day-to-day activities when you don’t know the face of the danger that is suddenly a very real part of your life? And what about the people around her, was she putting each of them in danger too?
Paul wrapped up his call with the sheriff and walked over to the women. He gave his wife a kiss and then turned to Megan with a serious expression, while trying not to let her see how worried he was.
“Not the greatest way to start your day is it, Meg?” He tried to make the mood in the room a little lighter.
“Do you think if I go back to bed and then start over, the results will be any better? Does that woman not think through any actions she takes, or care about the ramifications of those actions?” Megan also tried to make the mood lighter, but it was just too serious.
“Okay, here are your orders from the sheriff … you are not to be alone at any time. And he would like you to stay over at your private office. It’s smaller and has only two points of entry. So gather whatever you need for the next couple of hours to keep you busy. Lucy, you and I are heading home as soon as Aidan gets here. Megan, you are going to have to spend the night with us, it’s just too spread out and wild out here. If something is out of place in our neighborhood, it’s noticeable.”
“And Mrs. Potter will be sure to notice anything out of the ordinary.” Lucy laughed along with her husband, easing the tension a bit.
Megan didn’t say much, just nodded to acknowledge Paul’s instructions before she unhappily turned and headed back to her room to get dressed and throw what she thought she would need from the house into her tote bag to take to her office. As she combed out her hair and pulled it back into a French braid, she thought about having to stay at her cousins’ house and decided that somehow she would change those plans, she did not want to put Lucy and Paul in any kind of danger. So far, they were not on the killers’ radar, only she was.
While Megan was getting dressed, Paul had been busy getting hold of their key employees. He arranged for Janice and Eric to start a phone chain to get each of them to go into their emergency plan of operations. Even though they were not under a traditional form of emergency, Paul wanted all personnel to work from the field and not come into the office. Being in a part of the nation that annually had the threat of natural disasters looming over their shoulders during hurricane season, they had had the forethought to have a backup plan to run their business if the office was inaccessible. Today the office was off limits for safety reasons. He had no doubts that the staff of both companies would be able to work off site for a week or more without any difficulties. With all the technology at their hands and their great communication skills, this would hardly be a blip in the day-to-day operations.
It was not too much later before Megan was at her office with the security guard staying close by, and Paul and Lucy were on their way back to their own home. They planned on staying there for the day: Aidan would be taking Megan with him to the office of John Travels II and would be able to drop her off when they were done with their search of JT’s desk and papers. Megan had left two unhappy dogs behind, feeling that they would be better off at the house for the day.
She worked a bit more on her design from yesterday, but did not get very far with it, she just couldn’t concentrate. When Aidan arrived, she pushed the work aside without a second thought and made room for him to spread out the items they had taken from JT’s room.
It had not taken long for Aidan to get to Megan’s office; he must have left within minutes of their phone call. He was dressed similar to the day before, but had added a lightweight jacket. Megan assumed that he wore it to visit the Travels’ office and told him it wasn’t necessary; things were a little more casual in Citrus Beach, and he might find that the heat would make him uncomfortable. Rather than answering her, Aidan had just pulled open his jacket to reveal his gun holster, and smiled.
Realizing that he too thought the threat was now more serious, Megan nodded her head in understanding and unfolded the maps from JT’s room.
“This one is of Citrus Beach and the surrounding areas. I’d say it is about a hundred and fifty-mile radius around the township. The second one is of the town itself. See it shows the business district in orange and the recreational areas in green: there were the main beach area, the nature preserves, the parks and public hiking trails. JT must have been trying to get to know his new home and the areas around us. It looks like he has circled some of our more popular areas of attraction. I guess that would mean that he was trying to get more involved in the activities here.” Megan pointed out two or three circled items on both maps and looked over at Aidan.
Aidan nodded his head in agreement and then pulled out the chair to Megan’s desk and motioned for her to sit.
“Let’s see what is on these flash drives, do you mind using your laptop for this?”
“Of course not, here hand it over and we’ll get the first one up and running.”
Pushing in the flash-drive, Megan held her breath, hoping that the files would open without the need for any passwords. A few seconds later they were looking at files JT had downloaded from the counties public records office. It took a second, but Megan realized that she was looking at a list of local businesses and the information about each, including the owner’s name and property values. It was all public records, but seemed odd that JT had bothered to download the particulars of these businesses. Looking at the menu on the flash drive, they found nothing else but these records.
“Give me the other one and let’s find out what he found so interesting.” Megan held out her hand and waited for Aidan to give it to her. Before pulling out the first one, she made the decision to print off a copy in case they might need it. When the files were finished printing, she opened the next flash drive’s files and waited to see what they would find.
“This makes no sense to me, Aidan. It’s just a list of names and dollar amounts.”
“Look closer, do you recognize the names?”
“…yeah, they are mostly people who are part of Citrus Beach. Wait, most of these are what you would consider the wealthy citizens of the town. There are also some from down south; I can remember meeting some of them at the various fundraisers and charity events we attended this past season. But the dollar amounts? I don’t have a clue, some have one entry next to their name and others have two.”
The two looked at the screen in front of them, trying to understand what they were seeing. After a few minutes, they gave up.
“We need more information to figure this out. Can you print a copy of this file to, Megan? Is this office hooked up to the internet?” Printing the second file, Megan told him it was.
“Do you mind if I send these files to one of my contacts? Maybe they can dig a little deeper for
us. If nothing else, they can compare these lists and see if anything pops out or overlaps. It will save us some time and legwork, so that we can head over to the Travels’ office.”
Not even hesitating, Megan got out of the chair to let Aidan at the computer. She was more than willing to let him lead on this end of the investigation. She put the printed pages into her notebook and added that to her tote bag. After Aidan was finished with the laptop, they closed it down, and Megan also added that to the contents of the bag.
“Are you all set here, Megan? I think we should head out. We’ll go out the back entry and the security can close up behind us. Paul told me this entry was rarely used and most people would not even know it was there. That’s perfect for us for the next couple of days. We’ll take Carol’s truck.”
“That sounds good to me. I’m ready and curious about what we are going to find. Let’s go see what JT was so involved in that it would get him killed.”
Grabbing her tote bag, Megan followed Aidan out the door. Locking the office door behind her, something that she rarely had to do, she turned and walked to the truck and got in with Aidan holding the door for her. Smiling at his old-fashioned manners, she appreciated his actions as she climbed in the cab. Within minutes, they were waving to the security officer who closed the gate behind them and headed to business district of Citrus Beach and the riverside office of John Travels Investors.
It wasn’t long before Aidan was pulling into a parking space in the front of the two-story stucco building. Graceful palms framed the building and large clay containers of hibiscus bushes were stationed on either side of the main entrance. Entering the building, they walked to the reception desk straight ahead of them and identified themselves to the receptionist. She smiled at them and stood up.
“Councilman Travels told me that you would be coming in this morning. If you would follow me, I will take you to JT’s assistant. She will be able to assist you with anything that you need. It’s such a shock to all of us here; we just haven’t completely grasped what happened, or that JT won’t be here anymore. He was such a sweet young man and full of energy and ideas.” Leaving her desk, the woman led them down a short hallway, talking as she walked. At the end of the hallway, they got on the elevator and went to the second floor.
Murder For Neptune's Trident...A Citrus Beach Mystery (Citrus Beach Mysteries Book 1) Page 10