Undercover in Glimmer Creek

by Julianna Morris

  “That sounds like the plot of one of those sappy made-for-TV Christmas movies,” Gabe muttered, a second later realizing how rude he must have sounded.

  Tessa’s lips thinned, then she smiled. “It does, doesn’t it? We used to joke about it. Pop would say he wanted Tom Hanks to play him and Meg Ryan to play my mom.”

  “Did your mother have Meg Ryan’s blond hair and blue eyes?”

  “Yup, just like me. Only Mom was taller. I’m the shrimp in the family.”

  “I’m having trouble sorting out your relatives. They seem to be everywhere.”

  “That isn’t surprising. My mom’s side of the family is all over Glimmer Creek, and a lot of them work for us.”

  “But your paternal grandfather owned Poppy Gold?”

  “That’s tied up with the town’s history and how Poppy Gold was originally called Connor’s Folly. Glimmer Creek was a mining camp during the 1849 Gold Rush, and Seamus O’Connor, my great-great-something grandfather, got rich here.”

  Gabe tried to recall the California history he’d learned as a kid. “I thought most of the forty-niners barely found enough gold to buy food, much less become wealthy.”

  “Yeah.” Tessa grinned. “That’s because they were paying three dollars for a single egg and twenty-five dollars a pound for cheese. Seamus quickly realized he could earn more gold selling groceries to prospectors than by breaking his back panning for it. Eventually he sold supplies from Placerville to Sonora. Made a fortune, even by today’s standards.”

  Gabe frowned. “Where does the folly come in?”

  “Well, in the late 1880s Seamus dropped the O from the beginning of his last name and moved his base of operations to San Francisco. But his great-grandson, James Connor, was a huge believer in preserving cultural heritage...or at least the heritage of the family business. So during the Great Depression, James came back and bought the old part of Glimmer Creek, piece by piece, to preserve it.”

  “He was buying when everyone else was losing their shirts,” Gabe mused.

  “That’s one way to look at it. James paid top dollar for the Victorians and remaining gold miners’ cabins, along with two hotels, the concert hall, courthouse, stores and city hall. Heck, he even purchased the old 1851 jail. Basically, almost everything from the town’s historical and cultural heyday. He couldn’t get the library that Andrew Carnegie built for Glimmer Creek, but almost everything else went.”

  “Which is why the townspeople called it Connor’s Folly,” Gabe guessed.

  “Yup, they laughed all the way to the bank. Even more after James bought the train station—trains had long since stopped running through the area. But he gave the town enough funds to build a new city center and modernize the water and sewer system, so Glimmer Creek thought it was worthwhile to relocate their operations.”

  “Generous of him.”

  Tessa nodded. “The way everybody saw it, James Connor spent a fortune on worthless land and buildings, and they got the money they needed to survive the Depression. Everybody was happy, though Glimmer Creek often worried that the Connors would eventually sell to developers.”

  “Which meant they were happy when your father fell in love with a local girl and decided to live here.”

  “Thrilled.”

  “So how many relatives do you have?”

  “Quite a few, though on the Connor side it’s just Pop and my grandparents in San Francisco. Mom, on the other hand, had nine brothers and sisters. Except for Uncle Kurt, all of them have three or more kids, as well. Most live around Glimmer Creek, along with great-aunts and great-uncles and all sorts of first and second cousins.”

  Gabe suspected that tracking Tessa’s relatives could be a challenge. Rob had suggested asking her to help in the investigation, but she was still a suspect. Even if she wasn’t guilty, it seemed as if half of Poppy Gold employees were her relatives—and statistics alone suggested that one of them might be involved in the information thefts from TIP. Being related to Tessa wouldn’t necessarily keep them from seizing an opportunity to make illicit money.

  And if she was responsible for the thefts, the damage to Poppy Gold Inns would be incalculable.

  Before he could say anything else, Tessa straightened her shoulders. “I need to get going. As I said, be sure to put in for overtime. Thanks for your extra effort.” Her brisk tone was reminiscent of Charlotte Angstrom’s no-nonsense manner. “Have a good evening.”

  Gabe watched her walk away with wry acceptance, surprised he’d gotten her to talk as much as he had. He just wasn’t the sort of guy who grew on people.

  After signing out, he found Liam Connor in his office, gazing at a picture, oblivious to everything else. Recalling how the older man’s hands had trembled while working on the roses, Gabe looked around, half expecting to see a bottle of whiskey or another alcohol of choice. He’d seen the same tremor in his mother’s hands often enough.

  “Is everything all right?” he asked finally.

  Liam blinked and focused on him. “What? Yes, of course. I was just thinking about how much everything keeps changing, no matter how hard we try to keep it the same.”

  Gabe sat in one of the chairs and stretched out his legs. For the past few days they’d chatted for a long while after work and had even gone out to eat together, though he still hadn’t asked the questions he wanted to ask. Maybe now was a good time.

  “Do you miss managing Poppy Gold?” he asked.

  “No. My...my wife mostly handled the business end. Things got a bit out of hand when I began running it alone. I considered selling, so Tessa quit her job in San Francisco to come back and take over.”

  Interesting. Did “out of hand” mean they’d had financial trouble? Yet even as the question formed in Gabe’s mind, he dismissed it. Money problems could lead to bad decisions, but Poppy Gold still appeared quite prosperous.

  “Tessa seems competent,” he said. “She never seems to stop moving.”

  “She’s been that way since she was little. Full of energy, just like her mother. She came up most weekends from San Francisco to help out, even before my wife...” His voice trailed, and pain filled his eyes.

  Gabe thought about Liam’s nickname for his daughter—Tessajinks. On the wall hung a photo of a mischievous-looking golden-haired toddler—presumably Tessa—who fit the cheeky name. Looking at it gave him an odd sensation. His years in the service had carried him into every corner of the globe, and he’d encountered children in the worst circumstances. Injured, hungry, sometimes staring into space with blank eyes... His gut clenched, and he forced his thoughts away from the images he could never quite forget.

  His cell phone rang, and he pulled it out, seeing his brother’s name and number on the display. Talking to him would have to wait; Gabe turned the phone off and returned it to his pocket.

  “Does Tessa hope to move back to San Francisco at some point?” he asked casually.

  Liam seemed surprised by the question. “I don’t think so. She always wanted to run Poppy Gold Inns one day, but after getting her MBA, she went to work for my father’s company to gain management experience.”

  Gabe raised an eyebrow. “She couldn’t do that here?”

  “Of course. She just thought it would please her grandfather to spend time with him. He’s getting on in years.”

  “He must have hoped she’d step into his shoes when he retired.”

  Liam let out a snort of laughter. “Patrick Connor will never retire. He enjoys empire building too much.”

  It didn’t sound as if Liam got along any better with his father than Gabe did with his own. “Isn’t Poppy Gold an empire?”

  “Poppy Gold is modest by comparison to Connor Enterprises, but it doesn’t matter. This is our home. After we started the bed-and-breakfast business, I discovered an interest in historical restoration, so that’
s been my primary focus. I’m grateful to my grandfather, James Connor, for preserving the old part of Glimmer Creek. Dad, of course, didn’t feel the same. He felt it was a waste of money.”

  “So he agreed with calling it Connor’s Folly.”

  “That’s right. Once Dad was grown they would have arguments about keeping ‘useless’ property with so much expensive upkeep, though he didn’t try selling until James was gone. Sadly, Granddad died in a boating accident soon after handing the company over.”

  “Maybe that’s why your father doesn’t believing in retiring.”

  This time a genuine laugh came from Liam. “Yup, he says it’s dangerous. Mostly I think he’s seen too many men of his generation retire and die of heart attacks within a year. It’s a question of priorities. Don’t define yourself by work, Gabe. Family is what matters.”

  “I’m not that close to my family. Most of them, anyway.”

  “Sorry to hear it.”

  Gabe checked his watch; Rob would be getting impatient, wondering if something was wrong. “I wish I could stay, but I need to make a call.”

  “Of course. By the way, if you have navy friends who want to visit, they can stay in the John Muir Cottage. We keep it reserved for active service members, as well as veterans and military families going through a rough time. We might have to coordinate visits, but the house is separated into several different spaces, so a room is usually available.”

  “No.”

  Liam looked taken aback by the emphatic refusal, and Gabe was annoyed that he’d let down his guard. He didn’t know how to define the members of his former SEAL team. They were men he’d trusted with his life more times than he could count. At the same time, he couldn’t afford to disrupt his investigation.

  “That is, I appreciate the offer,” he added quickly, “but it isn’t necessary. I don’t know anyone who could get leave right now, and California is a long way from where they’re stationed. It’s good to know about the cottage, though. Do service members just ask to stay here?”

  “Not exactly. It began with an old friend from the army. We stayed in touch after getting out, and Randall rose quickly through the ranks. When the wife of one of his men was ill and the family needed a break but couldn’t afford to go anywhere, he called and asked if they could stay at Poppy Gold for a week. Everything evolved from there. We also get referrals for veterans having trouble finding jobs.”

  “That’s nice.” Gabe was impressed. A number of places offered discounts to the military, but Poppy Gold was going beyond that.

  “It’s the least we can do. Have a good evening, Gabe. Thanks for all the help today.”

  “Uh, sure.” Both Liam and Tessa had a habit of thanking Poppy Gold employees for their work. Gabe was never certain how to respond since he was in Glimmer Creek with ulterior motives.

  Back at his studio cottage, he quickly connected with Rob via Skype. “Sorry I didn’t answer earlier, I was talking to Liam again,” he explained.

  “No problem. I understand there was a bit of excitement this afternoon.”

  “Minor quake, barely worth mentioning.”

  “Good to hear.” Rob leaned closer to the camera on the computer. “I wanted to tell you that my research doesn’t show any direct benefit to Connor Enterprises from any of the information leaks.”

  Gabe was unaccountably relieved, maybe because he didn’t want to think Liam was guilty. “That’s good. Did you find out who recommended Poppy Gold as a place for TIP’s executive retreats?”

  “It was through Poppy Gold promotional efforts. The personnel department says they kept getting brochures in the mail, stacks of them, and thought the place looked interesting. Then they got a phone call from the Poppy Gold marketing department, discussing the facility and amenities. It seems innocent enough.”

  “Except that TIP is an import-export company and the Connors are connected to a company in the same line of business. That’s why I wanted to know how you started coming here. Coincidences bother me.”

  Rob shook his head. “You’re still trying to pin this on Liam and Tessa?”

  “I’m trying to pin it on whoever is guilty. There’s a difference.”

  “Whatever. What have you discovered on your end?”

  Gabe thought back to the last time he and his brother had spoken. “For one, I’ve learned more about why Tessa returned to Glimmer Creek, rather than staying in San Francisco.”

  “Anything questionable?” Rob asked.

  “No. Tessa’s mother died, and her father had trouble running the place alone. I also gather that Liam and his father are radically different.”

  “I’d say that was like you and Dad, except the two of you might be more alike than you realize.”

  “Not a snowball’s chance,” Gabe retorted. “It’s okay to be a workaholic if you don’t have a family.”

  “If you say so. What else?”

  “I keep thinking that someone in Housekeeping or Maintenance could be our culprit. If one of those employees was found in a guest’s rooms, it probably wouldn’t be questioned. So I’ve got an idea for setting a trap.”

  Quickly he laid out his plan. A small group was coming for the supposed “executive retreat,” and Rob had reserved one of the large mansions on one side of Poppy Gold. Gabe wanted his brother to request a last-minute change to a Victorian on the other side of the historic district. That way, the thief might reveal his or her identity by asking for a switch in work assignments. At the very least it would give Gabe someone to investigate.

  In the past five days he’d mostly learned about two employees who seemed to be spending more than they earned, though he had to be careful about asking too many questions. He was also compiling a list of Poppy Gold staff from various posted work schedules and would soon have a private security firm do background checks.

  “I’d have to come up with a good excuse. Even then, Tessa may not be able to accommodate us,” Rob said at length.

  “She’ll try. From what I’ve seen, she’s obsessed with client satisfaction.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with that.”

  Gabe narrowed his eyes. His brother seemed to offer a defense whenever he said something that might be critical of Poppy Gold’s manager. “Hey, are you interested in Tessa? I hope not, because that could make things sticky.”

  Rob chuckled. “She’s appealing, but I’ve got enough to think about without starting anything like that. How about you?”

  “Give me a break. Anyway, I’m going to make a copy of the work assignments for when you’re here and track any alterations.”

  “All right. Good night for now.”

  “Night.”

  Gabe disconnected. While he’d love to have already solved the case, he hadn’t actually expected to learn much before his brother’s visit to Poppy Gold. He’d just wanted to spend a few days getting familiar with the facility.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  ON TUESDAY MORNING Tessa raced into her office and grabbed the phone ringing on her desk. “Poppy Gold Inns,” she answered.

  “Hi, Tessa. It’s Robert McKinley.”

  “Good morning, Rob. What can I do for you?”

  “Well, one of my executives wants to bring her eleven-year-old daughter to the retreat. Normally I’d say no, but Kate is getting a divorce and Natalie is upset about it. The thing is, Natalie loves to swim and her mom doesn’t want her at the pool when she’s in planning meetings clear across Poppy Gold. I hate asking, but I need to switch our accommodations from the El Dorado Mansion to a house near the recreation area.”

  Tessa nearly dropped the phone. The weekend had been exceptionally hectic, and she’d just finished saying goodbye to Charlotte Angstrom and the Talmadge Guild Association members. She didn’t need any more headaches. “You...uh, are going to be here in a few hours.
”

  “I know, but the weather has been perfect, and it would be great to give Natalie a chance to swim. Naturally I’ll pay any expense and surcharges involved. It would mean a lot to me if you could work it out.”

  Tessa tried not to hyperventilate. How could she refuse? “I’ll see if the reservations can be shifted around. What if I can’t get one of the Victorians exclusively for your group?”

  “It wouldn’t be ideal, but we’ll work with whatever you can manage.”

  “Okay, I should know by the time you check in. I can already tell you there isn’t another set of rooms available similar to the Joaquin Murrieta suite in the El Dorado. They’re all occupied.”

  “That’s okay. I appreciate whatever you can do. See you this afternoon.”

  Tessa hung up in disbelief.

  How was she supposed to move TIP? With the exception of December, late spring and summer were their busiest seasons. They had two family reunions and a large destination wedding in progress, along with dozens of other guests who were either already checked in or due to arrive.

  Still, TIP was one of her best repeat clients. The executive retreat this week was smaller than usual, but they’d given Poppy Gold a good deal of business over the past two years. It was worth bending over backward to accommodate them.

  Dragging air into her lungs, she hurried to Old City Hall. She could access the reservation system from her office, but it would be easier to do it at the central hub. That way nobody could innocently book guests into rooms she was trying to clear.

  “Morning, Aunt Polly,” she said, sliding into one of the empty computer stations. She entered a command so no one else could make changes for the current week until she’d finished.

  “What’s up?”

  “TIP wants to move across Poppy Gold to a house near the pool.”

  Polly blinked. “That’s impossible. I know you don’t like disappointing anyone, but they arrive today. You’ll have to tell them it isn’t feasible.”