by Robin Mahle
“I get that you think there are others in the company involved in this, but why can’t you just get a search warrant or something like that to find out? Why does this have to be so secretive?” Her tolerance had just reached its breaking point. It seemed that Sanchez’s request for her to “keep an eye out” was turning into something else altogether. They weren’t telling her the whole story.
Claire opened the passenger door and started to step out.
“Wait!” Sanchez insisted. “Claire, we need your help. We will find Beth and get her into protective custody, if need be. You have to understand that we’ve been watching the inner-workings of WFC for some time and we know there are other players involved; we just don’t have the proof. They’re pinning this on Beth, but until we have more information, there’s no way to clear her name. We are asking that you please continue on as you have. They’re going to slip up, and when they do, you’ll be the one to tell us. You’re in a very good position right now, Claire. One that will give you a great deal of access to higher levels of management. We need to know how far up the food chain this thing goes, and we need your help to find out.”
The weight was bearing down on her hard now. “What do I have to do?” she whispered.
“Your new office is on the seventh floor, right?” Sanchez asked.
Claire faintly nodded.
“You’ll have more access to client files and you’ll be able to keep an eye on your colleagues who have the same authorizations as you do. For now, we’d like you to monitor the activities of the major clients. We know Winters is looking to you to handle Envirotech and others of similar standing.”
“How the hell do you know I was handed that account? It just happened.” Of course, she knew that word had already spread on that particular issue. Not to mention she’d just flown to San Francisco on a private jet yesterday. She imagined these two were keeping pretty close tabs on her.
The look on Huffman’s face suggested that yesterday’s business trip gave it away. “We’ll be in touch as soon as we find Beth, okay? In the meantime, just go on about your job as usual.”
Claire looked at both of them and it seemed she was given permission to take leave. Standing alone on the sidewalk, Claire watched as the car drove away. Suddenly, the cold didn’t seem to matter anymore. One of her closest friends was missing and she had somehow been wrangled into becoming an FBI informant all on her own. All of this in the span of about ten days. Yeah, things were going just swell.
***
By the time she’d made it back to her office, it had already slipped past 10 a.m. She was supposed to meet with Charlie and Lucas this morning. Still reeling, what she needed now was to hear Colin’s voice.
Claire touched the screen on her phone and called her husband. It only took one ring for him to pick up.
“Hi, honey; what’s up?”
His carefree tone was already lifting her mood.
“I just needed to hear your voice. Are you busy?”
“Actually, you caught me between meetings, so I’ve got a minute or two. Are you okay?”
“No, I’m not. Colin, Beth is missing.” She dropped her voice to just above a whisper. Colin was probably still in his office if he was between meetings, but more importantly, he’d be able to hear her clearly in there, unlike when she’d tried to reach him while he was on the production floor. The noise of the aircraft engines always drowned her out and they usually had to text when he was down there.
“Oh my God, she’s missing? For how long? How do you know this?”
Claire knew her call would send alarm bells off in his head, but what choice did she have? She needed him now and, for the first time, felt genuinely afraid for Beth. “I talked to Agent Sanchez this morning. He told me.”
“Christ, Claire. I’m so sorry. Are you in any danger?”
“I don’t think so.” And that much was true. For the time being, she didn’t believe she was. “I told them to check with Steven. He might have seen her or knows where she is. She may even be with him. I don’t know.”
“And the kids?” Colin’s pitch was high and screechy.
“They’re gone too. I’m assuming she pulled them out of school. I don’t know why she’d do this, Colin. I really don’t. Something had to spook her enough that she thought she had to leave town. I just don’t know what that was.”
“This whole thing is getting out of control, Claire. I think it’s best if you just step aside and let the FBI handle this on their own. They don’t need to drag you into this any more than they already have.”
“It’s too late. I have to help them find out who’s behind this.”
“No you don’t, Claire.” His frustration made its way through the line. “You need to consider your family and just do your job. They don’t need you. We do.”
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have bothered you with this at work. We can talk more tonight. No point in me dropping by Beth’s empty house. I’ll come home straight after work.” She was about to say goodbye, but he pressed on.
“Bothered me? What the hell are you talking about? Look, your safety is at risk here. You think I’m just going to stand back and let you get in over your head? I don’t think so. If I need to talk to this Agent Sanchez, then I will.”
“Please, calm down. I’ve got to go meet with Charlie. I promise, we’ll talk tonight. Just trust that I won’t get in too deep, okay? I just want to help my friend.”
At this, his voice soothed once again. “All right. We’ll talk more tonight. I love you, Claire.”
“I love you too. Bye.”
Perhaps it hadn’t been a good idea to call him. It only served to get him worked up and worried even more than he already was about this situation. It had helped, though, to calm her nerves and she felt she could at least begin to refocus her efforts on the tasks at hand.
***
“I’m sending you the audio now.” Lucas attached the file and forwarded it on. Chris Goyal might no longer be employed there, but that didn’t mean he was cut off from access, thanks to Lucas. The guy still had his role to play and he was capable of doing what he needed to do from just about anywhere. His departure was more for show than anything else. Throw off the FBI flunkies who’d been tracking him.
Lucas continued with his text message. “We’ve definitely got a situation here.”
“I’ll send it on,” Chris replied.
They had a system and the system was breaking down. It would be up to the powers that be to take it from here. Lucas couldn’t do anything more than he already had. He was sorry that Claire was getting tangled up in it. They weren’t the closest of friends by any means, but still, he wasn’t a complete asshole. It had been his choice to get involved. Claire hadn’t been given the same option. She was in it whether she wanted to be or not. And Beth? Well, it seemed the attempt to keep her quiet with an attractive bank balance had worked. She was gone and Lucas hadn’t a clue as to where.
CHAPTER 9
THE TABLE WAS set and Colin stood over the stove, dishing out the stew he’d made when Claire walked in the door. The kitchen smelled of roasted turkey and vegetables. It was one of the few meals Colin knew how to make. The aroma was warm and comforting and was exactly what she needed after today. It wouldn’t be long before people noticed that her work was suffering as a result of this preoccupation. She wondered when it would reach her new boss, Frank Winslow, or worse, Winters.
“Thank you for getting dinner ready.” Her lips pressed against his cheek as she wrapped her arms around his waist. He was nearly a foot taller than she was and even in the three-inch heels still strapped to her feet, she had to raise up on her toes just to reach his face.
“I thought you could use something to warm you up.” Colin looked in her eyes in a manner that conveyed his absolute protection of her and their family.
“Where are the kids?” she asked.
“In the living room, I think. I should have them get washed up for dinner.”
“I’ll tell them.” Claire revealed a thin smile and walked into the other room to find both the kids slumped on opposite ends of the couch. “I hope all your homework is finished?”
Anna and Robbie looked up, eyes blinking, presumably trying to adjust to the sight of their mom standing in the arched opening of the room.
“I’m done,” Anna said.
“Me too,” Robbie followed.
“Okay. Dad says it’s time for dinner. Please go and get washed up.”
Claire walked back into the kitchen. “They’ll be down in a minute.”
“Your phone was ringing. I heard it coming from your purse,” Colin said.
She almost didn’t want to look at it, but curiosity won out. Claire pulled it from her handbag. It had been an unknown caller again and she knew immediately it must have been Sanchez. “No voicemail.” A moment later, their home phone rang out. Claire looked to Colin as if needing permission to answer.
“Hello?” She held the receiver, white-knuckled, staring at Colin, who seemed just as interested in knowing the identity of the caller.
“Oh thank God.” Claire’s shoulders dropped in relief. “I understand. Please, Agent Sanchez, you have to keep looking for her. Something had to go terribly wrong for her to leave her kids like this.” She listened to Sanchez speak. “Yes, of course. Thank you for letting me know. Goodbye.”
Colin’s eyes hadn’t left her for a second. “Did they find her?”
“Steven has the kids, but he doesn’t know where Beth was headed. I guess she met him somewhere between L.A. and Santa Barbara. She’d prearranged the meeting.”
“He had no idea where she was going?”
“I know what you’re thinking.” And she suspected the same thing. “Beth probably asked him not to tell anyone. I’m sure he’s completely beside himself right now. I wish I could talk to him, but I don’t think it’d do any good. If he’s not telling the FBI, then I highly doubt he’s gonna tell me where she is. Friend or not.”
Colin shook his head. “This shit’s starting to scare me, Claire. I mean, this is serious.”
“I know that.” But before she could continue, the kids came in and sat down at the table.
***
The hour had become very late and the kids had gone to bed. Claire was beyond simply being tired. Her nerves were shot. She and Colin had been going around in circles about everything that was happening and neither seemed to have a viable solution.
“I know you don’t want me talking to the FBI anymore, but I’m the only one who seems to know what’s going on.”
“But what do you know, really, Claire? That a few bad apples at your work are skimming from the company till?”
“It’s more than that, Colin, and you know it. Beth obviously felt threatened enough to disappear for a while, not telling anyone where she went; not me, not even her own mother. This is much more than a few petty thieves nickel and diming the company and its clients.”
“You don’t need to help the FBI. They can’t make you put yourself at risk. This needs to end here and now, Claire.”
A defeated sigh escaped her. “I can’t talk about this anymore tonight. I’m so damned exhausted after my trip yesterday. Can we just agree that I’ll keep doing my job and whatever I happen to hear that might be of interest, I’ll let Sanchez know. Otherwise, I won’t do any more snooping, okay?”
“Any more? Have you already been digging around at work?”
“Well, not exactly. I mean, I had a look around Lucas’ desk. I didn’t find anything, except a sticky note under his keyboard with what looked like a password written on it.”
“Great. Did he catch you?”
“No. Not really.”
“Not really? Damn it, Claire. Enough, okay? My God, you don’t seem to realize that you may have stumbled on something much bigger than you know. I’ll tell you what, though, I bet those FBI agents know and they’re feeding you just enough to give you a false sense of security. ‘Oh, just keep an eye out, Claire. That’s all you need to do.’ Bullshit. I knew this was a bad idea. Do you even know what this password you found was for?”
“No. I thought maybe Beth would. Maybe it was hers and that’s how he got into her files, but I haven’t been able to get in touch with her. I guess now we know why.”
“And you’ve said nothing of this to Agents Sanchez or Huffman?”
“No, why would I? What would it mean to them?” And then it dawned on her. It was the first time she’d considered that maybe it could mean something to them. The FBI had all kinds of expert hackers of their own. Could they get into the company’s servers and find out who had used this password? It might be a stretch. She was no expert in cyber-espionage, if that was even a thing.
“Nothing, I guess.” Colin glanced at the time above the television. “It’s late; we should go to bed. I was called into an early meeting with Cooper tomorrow, so I’ve got to be up and out the door early.”
“What’s he want? You only meet with him if something’s hit the fan.”
“I know. That’s what I’m afraid of.” Colin stood up and turned off the TV. “Come on. Let’s go upstairs.” He held out a hand for Claire.
She gladly took it and followed him up the steps until they reached their bedroom. Claire fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.
***
The daylight found its way into the large master bedroom where Claire still slept. Colin had quietly gotten out of bed and left for work early as he’d mentioned last night.
She’d felt better this morning, having slept fairly well. Her thoughts had calmed as she remembered that Beth’s children were safely with their father and that, for the moment, she believed Beth had found respite somewhere she thought would be safe. Claire would feel infinitely better, however, if she knew where that place was, praying that Beth would find a way to contact her.
***
Self-preservation had instinctively begun to take hold as Claire was nearing a breaking point. Feeling numb to the matters that continued to press on her mind, an involuntary shift in her trusting disposition was taking place; subtle shifts that threatened to change everything.
Arriving at the office with only minutes to spare before anyone might question her whereabouts, she immediately closed her door, something she almost never did. Colin’s right. Just do your job, Claire.
Her office relocation was scheduled to happen soon, something for which she had yet to prepare. It seemed the least significant of all that was going on around her. However, if she was to keep up appearances, pretend she knew nothing of the seedy undertakings of some in her company, then prepare she would.
It was the meeting request appearing on her screen that caught her off guard. Winters wanted to see her again. This was what it would be like for her now, working for him; always at his beck and call. Claire imagined what it must be like for Frank Winslow, if he was this demanding on her.
She reluctantly pressed “accept” and decided first to see Charlie to discuss her new office arrangements and work on tying up the loose ends that still dangled during this transition.
Claire would stop off in the kitchen first to get a coffee. On the way there, she passed by Lucas. “Good morning,” she said, a nondescript expression masking her face. She was clearly in no mood to deal with him today, but as he had taken notice of her, there wasn’t much choice except to say something.
“Good morning. Hey, what’s the deal with your office? You moving out tomorrow or what?”
His feigned interest in her plans served only to irritate her. “I don’t know. I’m going to go talk to Charlie now, after I get a coffee.” She wanted to confront him, ask him what exactly was written on that note. Enough of the covert operations; Claire was ready for this to be over. The only thing that prevented her from following through was Beth.
“Okay. Let me know. I can help you with getting packed up, if you need it.”
“Will do.”
The brief meeting the three of
them had yesterday hadn’t given Claire the opportunity to discuss Charlie’s words of warning he left her with in San Francisco. Words that had still troubled her.
“Charlie?” Claire leaned in his doorway. “You have a minute?”
“Sure, come on in.” Charlie closed the manila folder he’d been looking at and placed his hands on the desk as if at attention. “What can I do for you, kid?”
He always called her that, despite the fact that she was facing the business end of forty.
Claire closed his door, an action that caused Charlie to raise an eyebrow. “I wanted to talk to you about the other night; when I was in San Francisco with Mr. Winters.” She hesitated for a moment, half expecting him to jump to his own defense, but he remained silent. “Can I ask what you meant?”
Charlie pursed his lips and rested his folded hands over his stomach. “You know you’re like a daughter to me, right?”
Her cheeks flushed a little through her otherwise olive skin. “Of course, I do.” She softened at his change in demeanor.
“Evan Winters is a very powerful man. He has a great many connections in our business and getting on the wrong side of him would not be advisable.”
“Why would you think…?”
“Stop right there. Let me finish. I don’t know of too many people who’ve said no to the man and lived to tell about it. And by that, I mean, lived in the professional sense, not literal. He started this company and he runs it the way he wants to run it.”
“I’m not sure what you mean, but I have no intention of telling the man how to run his business, Charlie.”
“I know you don’t. But there’s also another side to him.” This time, Charlie leaned over his desk, seemingly to make his point clear. “The man gets what he wants; you catch my drift?”
Her face hardened again at the implication. “You think I might become some object of his fancy? You think I’m not capable of holding my own around men, even powerful men like Evan Winters?”