by Judy Kentrus
Edie was still excited when they exited the elevator on the twenty-fifth floor and walked down a short hallway. She’d never traveled so many floors in an elevator. Adams Security and Investigations was boldly printed in black and silver on a pair of double glass doors. They entered a large waiting area and were greeted by a receptionist sitting behind a neat desk. The colors of black, silver gray, and white were neatly blended in the professional office décor. A wall of windows, flanked by miniature palm trees, offered a magnificent view of Manhattan.
“Mr. Adams!” She immediately pushed herself up and nervously blurted, “Cindi didn’t mention you would be coming into the office.”
“It’s a surprise. Caroline, this is Jessie Taylor and her daughter Edith.” The pretty woman acknowledged the introduction with a nervous smile. When she reached for the phone on her desk, Linc touched the back of her hand with his finger. “Don’t tell anyone we’re here.” She paled and jerked her head in acknowledgement.
The slate gray carpeting muffled their footsteps, as they walked down a wide corridor that separated private offices occupied by men and women. Their faces registered looks of surprise, but they gave casual waves when Lincoln walked by. They approached another set of double glass doors. Beyond was his private suite of offices that he shared with his assistant and Logan Chamberlain, his second in command.
When he walked in, Cindi shot out of her chair and smoothed a nervous hand down the front of her black and purple dress. “Boss, what are you doing here?”
“I work here, remember?” Cindi appeared more agitated than ever. First the receptionist and now his assistant. What the hell was going on? “I’d like you to meet Jessie Taylor and her daughter, Edith.”
“Nice to meet you,” Jessie said. “So you’re the one who answers the phone for Adams Plumbing. You do a very good impersonation of a ditzy blond.”
“Thanks, I think.”
“Please notify Logan and Reggie that I need to see them in my office in half an hour. I’d like you to sit in on the meeting also.”
“Ah, you can’t go in there,” she blurted and rammed her leg on the side of her desk, trying to get to the door before her boss. Cindi rubbed the sore spot on her shin bone and winced.
Lincoln crossed his arms over his chest. “Why?”
“There are rats, BIG rats. The office is being fumigated.”
“We’re on the twenty-fifth floor and they chose my office to invade?”
Cindi nodded quickly and twisted her hands together. She was in trouble, big trouble. That’s what she gets for doing a favor for a dear friend. “Do a good deed to help a friend in need,” had always been her personal motto, but damn, it got her in hot water at times, like now.
“Step aside, Cindi Pearl.”
“Boss, just keep an open mind. I had no other choice.”
Lincoln put his hands to her shoulders and firmly moved her aside. “It can’t be that bad.” He turned to Jessie and winked. “Are you armed?”
Merriment danced in her eyes when she nodded. “I’m licensed to carry in New York. I’ve been known to take out a rat or two.”
Lincoln opened the door to his spacious office and his mouth dropped. Waddling around the open area in front of his desk were two white ducks sporting candy pink bows around their necks. Sunlight from the tall windows sparkled off the water in a child’s wading pool. Cracked corn and duck pellets were liberally sprinkled about large blue plastic tarps that covered a good portion of his black and white carpet.
“Cupcake and Muffin,” Edie yelled, running into the office. The ducks came right over and quacked in greeting before circling the nine-year old. “Uncle Lincoln, this is so cool.”
Jessie burst out laughing. “So these are the infamous ducks Vicky and Susan spoke about last evening.”
“What the hell are they doing in my office?” Lincoln demanded, sidestepping white feathers and duck poop droppings.
“I’m taking care of them while Samantha is on assignment with you. My landlord notified me the house was being treated for termites and carpenter ants. I couldn’t leave Cupcake and Muffin. Sam would be heartbroken if something happened to her best friends. She raised them from ducklings. I thought, since you haven’t been here, it would be okay to let them stay in your office. It’s just for a couple of days.”
“Uncle Lincoln, you should be happy that Cindi is doing an unselfish deed to help a friend. She’s a filopathrist like I want to be when I grow up.”
“That’s a philanthropist,” Jessie corrected, thoroughly enjoying the delightful situation.
Lincoln shook his head in defeat. “Out of the mouths of babes. You’ve got till the end of the week to get these ducks out of here. Then I want this entire office fumigated. We’ll meet in the conference room.”
“Thank you! Thank you, boss.” She held out her hand to Edie. “Come with me. I’ll introduce you around, and then we’ll get a snack. Our break room is a solarium that has great views of St. Thomas Church down the street.”
“Can you believe it?” Linc went to sit down, but had to brush white feathers off his padded seat. The top of his black marble desk was perfectly clear, but for a phone and a laptop that was currently closed, along with a few white feathers.
“Very nice,” Jessie said, admiring the view before leaning against the edge of the desk. His hands found her hips and she landed on his lap. Her arms encircled his neck and she gave him an Eskimo kiss. “This is definitely more comfortable. Cindi is very nice.”
“Here I was, trying to impress you, and we walk into an office full of ducks.” He eyed the white fluffs currently swimming in their pool. “I better stay on good terms with Cupcake and Muffin since they will be moving to Laurel Heights.” Linc told Jessie about Samantha giving up her job and plans to open a tea shop and bakery in the vacant store on the other side of the Spoonful. He also mentioned her leasing one of Henry Long’s farm properties.
“That’s wonderful. I love tea and scones. Ever since you came back, good things have been happening to our town. You’ll be expanding your business to provide job opportunities and you’re secretly paying to have the bandstand repaired. Yesterday, Russell mentioned the year-round resort his father plans to build and the expansion of the campground and camping cabins.” Jessie lightly fingered the surface of the black pearl in his ear and purposely wiggled her hip against the hard ridge pressing against her hip. “You still haven’t told me what you were doing on the school property the afternoon we found Leon Price.”
“Stop, minx, you’re asking for trouble,” he warned and lightly nibbled on her bottom lip. “It’s still in the planning stages, so you have to keep it to yourself. I’ve been working with Principal Wayne on a proposal to build a new playground adjacent to the main parking area of the elementary school. Along with the latest playground equipment, it will include a water park for young children, a covered pavilion with picnic benches, and bathroom facilities. The entire area will be fenced off. Why not do something constructive with the wooded property?”
“That is a fabulous idea! And you don’t call yourself a philanthropist.” Devilment filled her eyes. “Let’s call it ‘The Pirate’s Cove’.”
“Very funny. I’m continuing my grandfather’s legacy, so his money is paying for everything. As for a name, I thought about dedicating it to your father. I returned the favor to your mother, but Norman played a big part in keeping me out of trouble and making sure I graduated high school.”
“Lincoln, you are the most wonderful man in the entire world, but I’ve got a better idea. It will cost a great deal more money. Utilize the field on the back side of the school where the teenagers get into mischief. Build a youth or community center. Include a built-in pool, full gym facilities with an electronic scoreboard. Design areas where we can offer dance classes and gymnastic lessons to children for a small fee. You’ll need a staff of trained individuals to run the center and oversee physical activities. Include a café that offers light snacks and decorate it old
school style. We’ll bring over my father’s juke box and hold Friday night dances. He’s got other treasures we can use, and it will be a great way to clean out the garage.”
Linc was warming up to her fantastic idea. “We’ll take it one step further and include a state of the art video and sound system, so we can show movies in the gym. Long and Barrows can design and build the “Norman Taylor Youth Center.”
They’d just started to enjoy a much needed kiss, but the sound of giddy female voices drew their attention. Jessie jumped off his lap and hurried over to watch the swimming ducks just before the door opened.
“Mommy, you can see the tippy top steeples of the church. Wait until I tell Mr. B.!” Edie paused and looked at her uncle Lincoln and sighed. “Your lips are red like Mommy’s lipstick. Susan and Vicky warned me you and my mom would probably be kissing a lot, just like their mother and father. That’s okay, because you can help Mommy practice kissing for her new husband.”
Cindi burst out laughing and winked at her boss, who was wiping his mouth with a white handkerchief. “That is so nice of you to help a friend in need, and for a very good cause. Okay, getting serious. Reggie and Logan are in the conference room. Preston, our forensic accountant won’t be able to join us. His knee was bothering him, so he made an appointment to have his new prosthesis adjusted.”
Linc put a hand to Edie’s shoulder. “Would you mind keeping an eye on Muffin and Cupcake? I need your mom to sit in on our meeting. Then we’ll go for a carriage ride in Central Park.” He had another surprise he was keeping to himself.
The sun-brightened conference room reflected Lincoln’s signature colors. Two men were already seated at the black table framed by a dozen white cushioned arm chairs.
“Jess, this is Logan Chamberlain, my second in command. He was part of our unit when I was in the Army, along with Scott and Russell.”
She held out a hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. Thanks for all of the work you’ve been putting into our investigation.” Logan’s black pin stripe suit molded to his muscular, athletic build. His hair was a dark, golden blond and neatly cut. When he turned his head, she noticed a small hearing aid in his right ear.
“Reggie runs our computer research center. Don’t let the horn rim glasses and skinny build fool you. He eats like a horse,” Linc added.
“Giants fan?” Jessie asked, indicating the soft cap he wore over his reddish brown hair.
“Cindi is a Steelers fan and the hat ticks her off.” He winked at Cindi Pearl when he said it.
Linc sat at the head of the table with Jessie to his right. Cindi elected to occupy the chair next to Jessie, far away from that irritating Giants fan. “I need updates, especially on Sayers. Sergeant Taylor is privy to all your findings.”
Reggie called up a file on his iPad and it appeared on a digital wall screen. “Leon Price was a greedy SOB and helped himself to the coffers of the town of Laurel Heights. Preston was able to come up with, at a minimum, a hundred thousand dollars. His favorite place to gamble was Atlantic City.”
Jessie was shocked at the disclosure, but kept her cool. After the past few days, nothing came as a surprise. “What about the mayor?”
“Humperdinck was getting his money from an unknown source, but steady withdrawals of five thousand a month would indicate a possibility of blackmail.”
“Someone probably knew about his fetish for female underwear,” Jessie said.
“I haven’t turned up any evidence indicating who he paid to keep their silence.”
Lincoln did a quick scan of the financial data on the wall. Preston was very thorough. “Humperdinck, Price, and Thornton had their own little club. Andrew Sayers is part of their illegal activities, but how?”
“Speaking of Sayers,” Logan spoke up, “three of our top investigators conducted a discrete check on his background, friends, job, and current residence. None of his friends or co-workers has heard from him in over eighteen months, and they have no idea where he could be. There hasn’t been any activity on his bank account or credit cards. It’s like he disappeared from the face of the earth.”
Jessie studied the financial sheets on the wall screen. “Mayor Humperdinck made his money in real estate and Leon Price was a dirty accountant. Harvey Thornton is semi-retired, but I have no idea how he makes his money.”
“Hold on.” Reggie opened another file. “He owns seven restaurants with banquet facilities in PA, twenty-three bodegas in New York, eight in Cleveland, and thirteen in Detroit. It took some digging, but we found them under a bunch of fictitious companies.
“Gotcha!” Lincoln grinned and held up his hand to Jessie to share a high five.
Reggie and Logan looked at each other with questioning frowns, wondering what they missed.
“Sorry, here’s the part you know nothing about.” Linc disclosed the liquor in bread loaves and Treig Taylor’s and Nate Haines part of the investigation.
“I’ll contact Detective John Brennan, a friend of mine on the New York Police Department and let him know what we discovered,” Jessie said. “ABC prefers to work with the local police. I’ll also talk to Detective Catcher tomorrow morning so he can proceed on his end.”
Linc hated to burst her bubble. “I hate to bring this up, Sergeant Taylor, but right now this is all supposition. We have to catch them in the act.”
Cindi had been quiet throughout the meeting and tapped her mouth with her finger. Her nail polish was grape purple. “You still need a connection between these three. Is Thornton the owner of the properties or just the businesses?”
Reggie flipped a few pages on his iPad. “He leases all of his properties.”
“Who is the actual owner?”
“Red Door Enterprises, a division of Humperdinck Realty.”
“Who owns the liquor licenses?”
“Red Door.”
“As a business owner, you need an accountant. It makes perfect sense that Price maintained the financial records for Humperdinck and Thornton’s properties. The dead CPA must have questioned their unexplained income and wanted a cut. Suppose Thornton wanted to purchase the properties and licenses from the mayor and he said no, wouldn’t that make Thornton angry? Maybe the mayor wanted more of the cut from the sale of the illegal liquor.”
While Cindi explained her theory, Reggie searched the financial records for Humperdinck Realty and Harvey Thornton. “Hot Damn. Cindi Pearl gets five stars! Price was the accountant for both.” Reggie took off his New York Giant’s cap and set it on the table.
“We still don’t know how Andrew Sayers is involved with these politicians,” Jessie said.
Lincoln turned to Reggie. “Keep trying to locate Sayers.”
There was something else he needed to say before they ended the meeting. “On a personal note, I appreciate everything you’ve done, especially in my absence.” He looked at Jessie, smiled and took her hand, keeping it in full view of everyone at the table. “When I left here a few weeks ago, I had no clue what I might find in Laurel Heights, but my life has taken quite a turn, for the better. I discovered a niece I never knew existed and a very special woman who completes me. Within the next few weeks, I will be making some necessary changes in my life.” He turned to Logan. “As of June first, you will be taking over the New York operations of Adams Security and Investigations, if you’re willing. I’ll be opening a satellite office in Laurel Heights.”
Logan was taken completely by surprise. “I don’t know what to say.” He reached out a hand to his boss and very good friend. “Thanks, Linc. I appreciate your confidence in me.”
Cindy’s sniffles drew his attention. “Don’t worry, I plan to come into the office twice a week to meet with the staff. This is still my company.”
“Linc, I’ll be resigning.” She glowered at Logan. “I can’t work with him. He’s too damn bossy. I’m going home to Pittsburgh.”
“What the hell do you mean?” Logan exploded. “You brought those damn ducks into the office. She used one of our surveill
ance vans to transport them. It’s a good thing the building owners are your friends and we oversee security. She had our guards carry up the pool and the rest of the shit in your office.”
Cindi stood up and jammed her hands on her hips. “See, that’s what I mean!”
“Stop, both of you!”
Jessie gave Cindi an understanding smile. “If Lincoln plans to open an office in Laurel Heights, it stands to reason he’ll need an assistant. I also have an idea where you might be able to live. Better yet, why don’t all of you come out to Laurel Heights a week from Saturday for our annual bed race? There will be all kinds of food and music. It’s really a fun day.”
“Moving to Laurel Heights would solve all of my problems. My parents are getting up in years, and I would only be a couple hours away.” She smiled at Lincoln. “You aint getting rid of me, Mr. President,” she said in her ditzy blond voice.
“I wouldn’t want it any other way,” Lincoln said, with a big grin.
Cindi gave Jessie a silent “Thank you.”
Before leaving, Linc said he would be back to have a private meeting with Logan and the rest of the staff.
A little after noon, the limo dropped them off at Fifty-ninth Street for their carriage ride through Central Park. Edie couldn’t sit still on the red leather seats of the white open carriage during the hour and a half ride through the winding trails of the beautiful park. Linc had made prior arrangements for the driver to stop near the Sheep Meadow section of the park. They walked down the trail, holding hands, with Edie in the middle. The nine-year-old’s eyes widened when she saw where they were headed. Edie dropped their hands and ran ahead to the round building that was home for the carousel.
“You are certainly full of surprises.” Jessie was as excited as her daughter and would have yelled, yippee, but remembered she was a mature adult. She loved riding on carousels. It was one of her favorite things.
Edie dragged her mother by the hand through the one of the wide openings of the building. “Which horse should I ride on?”
“There are fifty-seven horses, take your pick,” Linc said, coming up behind them with their tickets.