“That’s it,” Gemma said to herself as she hurriedly looked through the pile for the one note she knew had to be in there. She remembered writing it and what it said. From there she could start remembering their translation.
She found it stuck in the middle of a bunch of notes. Gemma had written it to Gia, telling her she had missed a math question because Graham Bullock had asked her to the middle school dance and she’d been so excited, she’d forgotten to answer the question on her quiz.
Gemma picked up the notebook marked with the symbol for One and started to read as much as she could.
“Hello, dear. You’ve been at it for hours and I thought you might like something to drink and a snack before dinner.” Miss Lily set down a tray with a brownie and a glass of lemonade on it.
“Thank you. I am hungry.” Gemma put down the notebook, took a bite of the rich brownie, and moaned. She could get used to the cooking out here.
“What is this you’re working on?” Miss Lily asked as she looked at the notebook.
“I need to decipher it for the investigation. My sister took all these notes, but I’m having a real hard time remembering our twin language.” Gemma paused as she took another bite of the brownie. “Strange, huh?”
“To have a secret language with your twin? Not at all. Daisy Mae, Violet Fae, and I had one growing up, too. It was great to be able to talk about all the important stuff without our parents knowing what we were saying,” Miss Lily winked. “Take, for instance, talking about a hunk of a man with hazel eyes and abs I could wash clothes on.”
Gemma blinked and paused with the last bite of brownie halfway to her mouth. “Excuse me?”
“Oh, don’t tell me for one second you haven’t noticed Cy. You’d have to be dead not to and even then it would be hard.”
“Even if I noticed him, it doesn’t mean anything. He dates actresses and models. I enjoy food too much to be like them,” Gemma popped the last bite of brownie into her mouth as if to emphasize that fact.
“Mmm, hmm. Do you see him married to any of those women? I don’t. Men like women who look like women, not ten-year-old boys with inflatable toys on their chests. Trust me, he’s noticed. You better make a move before the rest of the town descends upon him.” Miss Lily gave her a wink and headed back inside.
Right. Like she had a chance with Cy. But, she did have a chance with some of the notes. Enough that she was able to translate a couple of the photographs. She went through the pile and pulled out the ones she could translate and started writing the translations onto notes and sticking them to the back of the photos. Her trouble lay in the notebooks, though.
Word by word, she slowly made her way through the first ten pages of the notebook. The longer she worked on it, the more it came back, but it was still hard to remember every detail of a language they had developed as children. Determination filled her as she bent her head and went back to work.
Cy parked the truck at Miss Lily’s and walked up the pathway to her front porch. Gemma was curled up on the porch swing with two notebooks in her lap. She didn’t hear him as he approached so he took a moment to observe her. A lock of her hair had escaped from behind her ear. Unlike so many people he knew in Hollywood, Gemma wore no makeup and didn’t seem self-conscious about it. In fact, all he wanted to do was run a finger down her cheek to feel its softness. His brothers’ talks of marriage and relationships were messing with him.
“How’s it going?” he asked as he stopped in front of her. He saw her jump in surprise as her wide eyes looked up at him.
“You scared me.” Gemma took a deep breath and smelled grass, hay, horse, and man. That wasn't something she was used to smelling. Men in L.A. didn't smell like that and it was intoxicating. Images of him shirtless on a horse had her fanning herself with her notebook before she even knew it. Damn Miss Lily for putting those ideas of Cy into her head.
“Sorry. It looks like I’m interrupting. Are you making progress on your sister’s notes?”
“Some. Here, take a look at these pictures.” Gemma swung her feet to the ground and made room on the swing for him to sit next to her. Cy filled the swing and her heart fluttered when his shoulder pressed against hers.
“This girl is twelve years old and was shipped on a container ship with twenty other girls from the Philippines to Europe as part of a sex trade Gia was investigating. Here are some more.” Gemma handed him pictures of young girls of all ages, races, and nationalities.
“They’re so young,” Cy sighed as he shook his head.
“Gia believed the sex trade was run by a mystery man she called Lucifer. She talked to some of these women. While most wouldn’t say anything, some told her of being taken from orphanages and shipped to Europe and the Middle East. Then
these . . .” Gemma handed him another couple of pictures. “These women are all Americans taken via interstate trafficking. They are prostitutes who were kidnapped and traded all across the United States. Do you know what they have in common?”
“Besides tragedy? Let me guess, the rings are all run by Lucifer . . . or Mr. X as we call him at the agency.”
“That’s right. And there’s more. He’s not a low-level criminal living in the dark. He’s very well connected. In her notes, Gia wrote about a man that your Mr. X was preparing to back for Congress. But he bumbled a job and this is what happened to him.” Gemma pulled out the three pictures and showed him the first picture of the body that still made her cringe. “This is what happened to him for messing up a dog-fighting ring, see?”
Gemma flipped to the next two pictures showing people at a dog-fight. Cy grabbed the photos and shot to his feet as he stared at the pictures.
“I don’t believe it. The dead man is Paul Russell. And this woman here,” Cy tapped the picture of the woman in her prim suit taking bets outside of a dog-fighting ring, “that’s Nancy Kincaid. These pictures were taken here in Keeneston. This is the dog-fighting ring that Marshall broke up.”
“What? Are you sure?”
“Yes. This is the whole reason I started investigating Mr. X. Your sister was looking into the same thing I was, and it got her killed. At the same time, I was being hunted here in Keeneston. This is good news. Mr. X’s organization is taking out anyone looking into them and now they know you are.” Cy stood up and started pacing along the wooden porch.
“How is this good news?”
“It means we’re on the right track,” Cy shot her a smile, the one she recognized as his Hollywood smile. He could shell out his smiles to the ladies, but they never reached his eyes. Gemma wondered what he would look like when he finally let go and smiled for real.
“You’re basically going to sit here and wait for them to kill us? I don’t know if I like that idea,” Gemma worried. She had just traveled across the country to try to avoid these guys and now it sounded as if Cy was excited that these guys would be coming after them.
Gemma nibbled her bottom lip as Cy slowly came to stand in front of her. “My plan is to have enough evidence to take them down before they get here. When they arrive, we'll be here waiting to arrest them.”
“That’s what my sister probably thought, too. Instead, she got in too deep and they killed her.” Gemma looked up into Cy’s eyes and wondered what was really happening behind the façade he kept firmly in place.
“I won’t let that happen to you,” he said softly as he pushed a stray lock of her hair away from her face. Gemma felt her breath catch as his fingers brushed against her cheek. For a moment his eyes softened and she caught a glimpse of the man behind the mask.
The screen door slammed and the spell was broken. “Oh dear. I didn’t interrupt anything, did I?” Miss Lily asked innocently as her wide eyes blinked. “I just wanted to see if you two were staying for dinner.”
“Thank you, but we’re going to miss dinner. We’re going to see Marshall . . . and his files.”
CHAPTER TEN
Cy was relieved when Gemma sat quietly in the truck watching the farms pa
ss by. He was tired of playing the playboy. The models and actresses had irritated him when he started working in Hollywood, but it was all necessary for his cover. The thing was, he didn’t even sleep with them—well, not many of them. He guessed that was what made him so popular with the famous women. They weren’t used to having someone say no. Unfortunately, it was an unintended aphrodisiac.
After the first year of undercover work, the acting had turned real. He got used to the secret games and power plays of making movies. He fit in with ease at parties, clubs, and on the set. He was popular, confident, and one of the best at his job. And it didn’t hurt that some of Hollywood’s hottest starlets took a shine to him.
But then Cade had problems with drugs at the high school and Marshall busted up a dog-fighting ring. That’s when he realized he had missed so much in life. Sure, he’d done amazing things and gone to faraway places, but that wasn’t really him. It was Cy Davidson who had done those things. All he’d done with the CIA was try to live up to the legacy left to him by the older brothers he had idolized his whole life. He wanted to give back to his country just as they had done.
Somewhere along the way, though, he had lost himself. Cy had thought as soon as he came home, everything would be as it was; the real Cy Davies would return. But it wasn’t happening. He didn’t know how to be himself anymore.
“Cy? Cy . . . is everything okay?” Gemma’s voice shook him out of his reflections.
“Hmm?”
“Are you okay? I’ve been trying to ask you a question, but you seemed in another world.”
“I’m fine. What did you need?”
“I was wondering what you think Marshall can help us with?” Gemma asked with a concerned tone in her voice.
“I want to see his files. He said he’d call the others and they’d bring everything they have. They found a black book on Nancy and arrested hundreds as a result. I’m hoping some of the names match up with some of those pictures you have. Maybe it can give us a lead to identify Mr. X.”
Cy pulled the truck to a stop in front of the farmhouse he used to live in whenever he came back to visit. It looked like his brothers were already there and waiting for him. The grass in the surrounding pasture had just been cut and the smell hung in the air. The large round bales of hay were tightly coiled, waiting to be used to feed the animals through the winter.
“How is Fred with other dogs?” Cy asked when he opened Gemma’s door.
“Great. He loves running at the dog park with them, why?”
“You’re about to find out,” Cy barely had time to say before Katelyn opened the front door and a herd of dogs came running out. Justin, with his bright yellow bow, led the way as Bob, Chuck, and finally Bill ambled out to see them.
“Aw, look how pretty she is,” Gemma cooed as she petted Justin.
“Don’t say that too loud or he’ll get his feelings hurt. His name is Justin. Pierre, the dog groomer, just doesn’t believe me when I tell him no more bows. But the darn things work at keeping the hair out of his eyes,” Cade said as he came outside. Justin’s big black nose shoved her arm as a way to try to figure out what Fred was.
“Looks like Justin has a mini,” Annie joked as she watched Justin’s big, hairy tail wag and his brown eyes light with glee when he looked at Fred.
Gemma bent over and placed him on the ground and then screamed and jumped when something cold and wet hit her bottom.
“Sorry about that. Bob likes to goose the women. It’s actually rather embarrassing, but it’s the least outrageous of his quirks,” Marshall said, not looking the least bit embarrassed as Bob trotted over and leapt up onto the porch swing.
“He’s not the only one with an embarrassing dog. Paige kicked Chuck and me out of her shop. Someone may have gotten into a whole can of refried beans,” Cole cringed. Chuck let out a timely fart and thumped his thick tail in response as his ears stuck straight out of the side of his head. Gemma could've sworn Bob rolled his eyes as he moved upwind of Chuck.
“It looks like Fred is doing just fine with the gang. Come on in. I have drinks set up for you all and I'll take the dogs for a walk while you all work . . . if that’s okay with you, Gemma?” Katelyn asked.
“That would be great. Thank you,” Gemma smiled. Poor Fred had been pretty cooped up the last couple days.
“Excellent. We’re off then. Marshall, remember you’ve got two hours. Your mom wants us all at the farm for dinner. We’ll meet you there, won’t we, boys?” Fred yipped and danced on his hind legs as Justin’s big tongue hung happily out of his mouth. Chuck had already started ambling down the path as Bob grudgingly got off the cushioned chair and followed, keeping an eye out for any wildlife to chase.
Gemma took a seat in between Cy and Marshall on the couch. She'd never felt so small as broad shoulders towered on each side of her. Cole, Cade, and Annie sat on the other side of the table that was piled with papers and pictures.
“Here are all of the files on the dog-fighting case. Here are the mug shots of the people we arrested. And this final stack has the names and whatever information we have on those who were never caught. These names were in the black book we found on Nancy,” Marshall explained as he pointed out the papers and pictures on the table.
“I’m a little in the dark here. What is it that you have that relates to this old case?” Annie asked as she leaned forward in her chair.
“My sister Gia is . . . was an investigative reporter for International Press. It appears that she was investigating a man she called Lucifer and who Cy calls Mr. X. This man runs sex, guns, drugs, and more. Cy got wind of him during this dog-fighting case and I just found these pictures that my sister had hidden away.” Gemma handed Annie the first picture of Nancy taking bets and handed the picture of Paul Russell’s body to Marshall.
Marshall let out a low whistle as he traded photographs with Annie. “So, your sister was here in Keeneston during that dog-fight. And your sister was just killed because of this?”
“And this.” Gemma showed the group the pictures of the women and told them what Gia’s notes read about the sex trafficking and the dog-fights.
“Damn. I thought this was over. I thought I had cleaned up Keeneston,” Marshall cursed as he angrily stood and started pacing.
“This is so much bigger—but it all relates back to this mystery man. How much of our trouble relates back to him?” Cole asked himself as he flipped through the pictures.
“We don’t know yet. Obviously what happened with Pierce and Tammy, and then Gia and Gemma, are related to this man. What I think we need to do is dig through those files and see if we can draw more connections.”
Cy took the stack of pictures from Gemma and split them up before handing some to everyone. “These are all the pictures we found in Gia’s box. They have to be important. Let’s look through what you all have and see if we can put any names with these faces.”
Gemma was deep in research mode as she tried her best to be her sister. What would Gia think? What would she look for? The blast of text messages hitting Marshall and Cole’s phones broke her concentration.
“Crap!” Marshall and Cole both leapt up.
“We’re late for dinner.” Cole grabbed his black cowboy hat and slid it on as he picked up the notes and pictures he was working on. “Here are the pictures I was able to identify. Mostly they are of mid-level criminals. Some we picked up during the raid and some are still at large. I took notes to tell you everything I know about them.”
“Here are mine. I was only able to find the ones we caught in that raid and some were killed. Beyond that, I couldn’t find much else,” Marshall reported as he handed her his notes and pictures.
“Me too. I’m afraid it’s the same as Marshall. If you want, I can run some of these pictures by the DEA office,” Annie suggested.
“Let’s keep everything in the family right now. If these guys have infiltrated Congress, then I bet they’re in law enforcement. We run a picture through the FBI or DEA database and I gu
arantee an alert will be sent to Mr. X.”
Cy picked up the photos he had been going through and held one up. “This guy is a bad guy. He was in Russia as part of the arms deal that went down. He’s the one I arrested and he’s the one I bet somehow got information on me to Mr. X. Like Cole, I recognize some of these men from wanted posters. But I don’t have any specific information on them. Did you find anything?”
Gemma looked down at her notes. They weren’t much at all. “Not really. I was trying to find a certain name or something that would be the key, but I didn’t see anything like that. I guess that would've been too easy.”
“Don’t worry about it. Leave the identification of the photos to us. We need you to work on those notebooks. You’re the only one who can do that.” Cy helped her gather everything and gave her a little nudge. ”Don’t look so worried. We got a lot done and now you’ll be able to relax at my mom’s dinner.
* * *
Cy lied. This was not relaxing. The food was amazing. She had chicken-fried steak smothered in gravy and a side of homemade macaroni and cheese with chunks of country ham in it. The first bite made her alternately groan in delight and shake in fear at what the scale was going to read the next day. For the past month, she’d been living on salad, tofu, and yucky cleansing drinks.
While her stomach wanted to lick the plate, her mind kept flashing to the picture of the barely dressed actress Cy received early that day. She knew she wasn’t Cy’s type, but she would like to feel she had a fighting chance.
“Dear? Is something the matter with the dinner? Do you want me to make something else?” Marcy asked, her feelings clearly hurt that Gemma wasn’t eating.
“Don’t worry, Mom. She’s just trying to justify eating that many calories. Remember, she’s still on California food. Took me months to give in. Give in, Gemma—it’s delicious.” Katelyn winked as she took a big bite of her food.
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