“Mr. Farley.”
He frowned. “And just who are these men?” he asked, getting annoyed. Camille hadn’t reported to work for the past couple of days and calls to her home hadn’t gotten a response. He wondered what the hell was going on with her. Whatever it was, she definitely owed him an explanation since the woman pitching in for her was doing a lousy job as far as he was concerned.
“One of the men is Detective Adams and the other is Larry Griffin from the FBI.”
“What!” He immediately rubbed the back of his neck in an effort to ease the tension he suddenly felt knotted there.
“I said that—”
“I heard what you said. Send them in.” He immediately stood and went around his desk. His heart hammered against his rib cage, but he forced the anxiety to pass and remained calm. Why would the FBI be here? Everything was going as planned, although they’d paid out more for Coroni’s land than they had intended. The old man had turned into a money-sucking vulture before their eyes. But still, Coroni was happy, the city of Oklahoma was happy, and they were happy, so why was Adams showing up now and with the FBI in tow? Farley didn’t like it one damn bit.
Before any more thoughts could occur his office door opened and Adams and another man walked in. He could tell from the smirk he saw on Adams’s face as well as the man’s cocky walk that whatever reason they were there was not good news.
“Detective Adams,” he said with more than slight irritation in his voice after introductions to Larry Griffin were made. “Although I sympathize with Ms. Standfield’s misfortunes, I must again reiterate that Whitedyer had nothing to do with it. And really, was it that serious that you had to involve the FBI?”
“That’s not why we’re here, Mr. Farley, although your claim of innocence is wearing thin in light of new developments.”
Farley frowned. “What new developments?”
Adams took a step back so Griffin could step forward. “You might want to contact your boss,” Larry Griffin said, smiling, as he handed Farley a sealed document. “This is a court order to excavate a certain section of the land Whitedyer recently purchased from Roger Coroni.”
The color almost drained from Farley’s face. “And for what reason?” he asked in a subdued tone, trying to project a dispassionate expression.
“We have reason to believe the body of a man we’ve been looking for is buried there.”
Farley shook his head and tried to stay in control. “And just whose body is supposed to be buried there? Had we known anything about that we would not have pursued the purchase of the land so diligently from Coroni and—”
“Can it, Farley,” Adams said, rolling his eyes. “Save the drama for the courtroom; I’m sure you’ll have the opportunity to give the performance you’ve been lusting for. And to answer your question, we have reason to believe that the body of former Cunningham employee Aaron Gerhard is somewhere on that land.” He then glanced around. “And where is Ms. Yeager today? We need to ask her some questions.”
Farley leaned back against his desk to stare at Miller. His expression was no longer unruffled. “Why would you want to discuss anything with her?”
“To make sure that she doesn’t know anything about Gerhard’s disappearance, since it appears she’s kept constant contact with Mr. Coroni’s personal attorney, Lamar Perkins, during the entire Coroni-Whitedyer negotiations.”
Farley shook his head. “Sorry, but you have your information wrong,” he said, smiling, with certainty in his voice.
“Sorry, but I’m afraid our information is right. It’s our understanding that she and Perkins are close, personal friends.” A smile touched Griffin’s lips. “But then, she was your close, personal friend as well, wasn’t she? Now where is Ms. Yeager?”
Farley looked down at the document he held in his hand before lifting his gaze back to Adams and Griffin. “I don’t know where she is at the moment.”
“We’ll find her,” Griffin said with the same certainty in his voice as Farley had had earlier. “And by the way, excavation starts Wednesday.”
“I’ll file a petition to have it stopped before it begins,” Farley threatened.
Griffin chuckled. “Yes, you can try to do that but the order was given the stamp of approval by the governor himself. Good day, Farley.”
The agent, along with Adams, then turned and walked out of the office.
Late Thursday evening Mackenzie received a call from Alex. “It’s all over, Mac. I just got a call from Griffin who said that the remains of Aaron Gerhard were found on Coroni’s land.”
Mackenzie shook her head, saddened by the news. Although she knew it brought needed closure for Gerhard’s family, she regretted how the man’s life had ended. “So what’s next?” she asked.
“Everything will hit the papers and television tomorrow and the FBI will reveal everything, including Whitedyer’s eagerness to purchase the land from Coroni to keep the murder covered up. It’s my guess that someone with power over at Cunningham decided to get rid of Gerhard when he discovered the two companies had joined forces and were selling illegal electronic supplies to some terrorist group holed up in an area near Pakistan. Everyone was brought in for questioning, even Coroni, Perkins, and Yeager, to make sure they didn’t know why Whitedyer wanted the land so badly. So chances are Mr. Coroni won’t be leaving town for a while, at least until there’s absolute certainty that he wasn’t aware of the real reason Whitedyer wanted his land.”
Alex chuckled. “And your city leaders are embarrassed to say the least. In essence, Whitedyer cunningly used them to make sure they got that land from Coroni. And from what Griffin said, things got pretty interesting when Camille Yeager had to face both her lovers. Farley was livid when he found out just how far Yeager’s betrayal went.”
Mackenzie shook her head. It seemed everyone’s penchant for greed had backfired. The people who had really lost were those who’d truly believed that job opportunities would come with Whitedyer’s purchase of the Coroni land. “Thanks for keeping me informed, Alex.”
“Hey, no problem. Because of what went down with you, I began to investigate further and it was only then that the FBI were able to link the two companies. And Griffin wanted me to let you know that both sides, Coroni and Whitedyer, are still maintaining that they had nothing to do with those incidents involving you.”
Mackenzie rolled her eyes. “Well, considering everything, I’m sure you understand that I’m not quick to believe them. I don’t know which side is responsible but we do know those things did in fact happen so someone was behind them.”
Later that night when she prepared for bed Mackenzie tried putting everything dealing with Whitedyer and Coroni out of her mind and shifted her concentration to Luke. She was excited about seeing him this weekend and like a number of his relatives she would be arriving in Reno early Saturday to see him compete in the rodeo that night. There was no doubt in her mind that he would be victorious in getting his title back, and then the two of them would have even more reason to celebrate.
“Hey, man, wake up. I just got a call. The boss is pretty damn upset and wants to meet with us in the morning. From the way it sounds, it’s time for us to take things further.”
“How much further?”
“Let’s just say that by the time it’s all over, Ms. Standfield is going to regret the day that she got on the boss’s bad side.”
Alex couldn’t sleep and that didn’t bode well. He hated not finishing a puzzle because of missing pieces and he felt there was something in the Whitedyer case that was still out there. Something he was clearly overlooking. What?
He eased from the bed, careful not to wake Christy. He smiled thinking she definitely needed her sleep. Making his way to his office, he eased down in the chair behind his desk and turned on his computer. He was determined to find the missing link. No one wanted to claim responsibility for the mischievous incidents involving Mackenzie, not even when Whitedyer had tried shifting the blame from themselves to Cunningham
Electronics to avoid a murder conviction.
An hour or so later, Alex still hadn’t been able to figure anything out, but he refused to give up. He shut down the computer determined to check out a few more things tomorrow. That missing puzzle piece was still out there and he intended to find it.
Chapter 28
Mackenzie glanced around the arena, trying not to recall what had happened the last time she’d been at a rodeo to watch Luke compete. It was the last night of the Professional rodeo Championship and just like that night in Oklahoma, the stadium was packed. The only difference was that she wasn’t the only person in attendance tonight rooting for Luke. Some of his family members were on hand to cheer him to victory. Everyone knew that this competition, to regain his title, was an important one to Luke.
She had talked to him earlier on her cell phone when she had arrived in Reno that morning, and he had tried talking her into coming down to the arena to give him a good-luck kiss. She had laughingly refused, reminding him of what had happened the last time she’d done that. So she had yet to see him and would do so for the first time when he flew out of the chute.
“It’s been years since I’ve been to a rodeo,” the woman sitting beside her leaned over closer to say.
Mackenzie smiled over at Tori Warren. Tori and Sir Drake had arrived in Reno on the same flight as she, and like the rest of the Madarises and their friends, had managed to get rooms at the same hotel. In fact their hotel room was right next door to hers.
“I can feel the excitement,” she responded. “Luke should be coming out in the next segment.”
“Let me know when he does so I can put my hands over my eyes,” Syneda, who was sitting a couple of seats down, leaned forward and said to her with a smile.
Mackenzie couldn’t help but laugh, knowing how Syneda felt. But she had a feeling that her fearless husband-to-be would be just fine. During their phone conversation he had assured her that he was ready and felt confident in his abilities for tonight.
“The next bull rider up is Luke Madaris,” the announcer blasted out over the speakers. “This will be Luke’s first competition since tangling with a loose bull in Oklahoma and we’re glad Luke is back with us and ready to try and regain his title for this event. Let’s give him a big round of applause.”
From the sound that radiated from the stadium it was easy to see that Luke had become a favorite among the seasoned riders and fans. The arena nearly shook from the noise, and excitement had spread when everyone began applauding and throwing out cheers. Mackenzie pulled in a deep breath, overtaken by a rush of adrenaline driven by all the excitement. She couldn’t help but be proud of Luke and what he’d accomplished.
Once the noise had finally died down the announcer then added, “And to even the score, the bull Luke will be riding tonight is Scar Face, that same bull that tried doing Luke in a couple of months ago in Oklahoma City. Scar Face is the one bull Luke hasn’t been able to tame but he intends to change things tonight. And as most of you know there is no love lost between Luke and Scar Face.”
Mackenzie swallowed deeply as her rush of adrenaline changed direction and panic nearly engulfed her. She couldn’t help but recall what a mean-looking and ferocious bull Scar Face was and how upon rushing out of the gate that night he had immediately gone after Luke.
She held her breath while watching Luke ease his legs over the huge brindle’s back. Moments later Luke gave a nod indicating that he was ready. No sooner had that nod been given than the gate swung open wide and bull and rider flew out.
Scar Face was in rare form, but so was Luke. Mackenzie saw the smile on his face and she realized that even with all the danger involved in what he was doing, Luke was actually enjoying himself. That was evident in the way his face would light up each and every time the bull lurched and tried with all its might to buck Luke from his back. It was as if the raging bull had gone mad, but Luke held on as if he anticipated the bull’s every bucking move. It was clearly a defining moment for man versus beast.
The crowd’s roar exploded in Mackenzie’s ears. She nervously sat on the edge of her seat wondering how long it would last. How long could Luke hang on? And as if her question had been heard, the buzzer sounded, and when it was safe to do so, Luke jumped clear of the angry bull.
While the announcer was belting out Luke’s score over the speakers, proclaiming there was no way he hadn’t broken the current record-holder’s score. Instead of waiting for the judges to post his score, Luke glanced up in the stands in her direction, to the area where he knew she would be sitting.
Their eyes met and a huge smile touched his lips. It took her a second to realize he was racing across the arena toward her.
“What on earth is Luke doing?” she heard Blade ask.
“Not hard to figure out,” was Slade’s amused response.
Before she could catch her next breath, Luke had jumped over the rail, sprinted up a couple of seats, and landed right in front of her. “Now for that kiss, sweetheart.”
He pulled her into his arms and at that moment she forgot everything. Including the fact that everyone in the packed stadium was watching. Watching and hollering their approval.
When Luke finally released her mouth, leaving her in a somewhat dazed state, he smiled again before sprinting back the way he’d come and then disappearing behind the chutes.
“Wow! That was some kiss,” Tori said, smiling over at her. And from the looks on the faces of the other women in the Madaris family, who were staring at her, Mac had a feeling they agreed.
But then she inwardly concurred that it had been some kiss as well.
Alex looked up from the computer when Christy walked into the room. Less than an hour ago, he had left her in bed naked after they’d shared hours and hours of lovemaking. Even now he could recall how before leaving the room he had glanced back to see how the glow from the lamp flowed over her, highlighting her features, especially the redness of her hair. She was and would always be the most beautiful of women to him.
Their eyes held as she slowly crossed the room to him and he eased away from his desk to accommodate her when she gracefully curled her body into his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck.
He automatically lowered his head.
His lips brushed hers. Once. Twice. And then he parted her lips with his tongue to go deeper and inwardly reminded himself there was no hurry. The baby was still sleeping and, hopefully, would sleep through the night. This was the time he enjoyed with his wife. Mommy and Daddy time. And Christy had a way of making it so special.
Moments later, he pulled back. “I think,” he murmured in a husky voice close to her moist lips, “that you’ve become an addiction.”
She smiled as her arms closed tighter around his neck. “For you. Always. I won’t deny I want to get in your blood.”
He shifted position in order to ease her closer. “Trust me, sweetheart, you’re already there.”
His gaze left her face to glance at his computer. “Now, if I could already be there with this thing involving Mac.”
“You still think you’re overlooking something?”
“Yes.”
She slowly nodded. “All right then. Tell me about it. It might help to have another ear.”
“Okay.” He then told her everything, the incident involving the mailbox, the ransacking of Mac’s office, and the poisoning of Jake’s cows. He also told her how the Coroni and Whitedyer situation had panned out with the finding of the body on land now owned by Whitedyer.
“And you’re saying that Whitedyer and Coroni are claiming they’re innocent of doing those things to Mac?”
“Yes, and when you think about it, neither had a motive to do so. Farley wanted to go up against Mac in the courtroom so he had no reason to scare her off, and then Coroni’s group would not have done anything to scare her off because they needed her to finalize the settlements they were aiming to get.”
Christy nodded. “In that case, there has to be another person involved
, one not connected to either of those two.”
She tilted her head and studied Alex’s features and smiled. “But you’ve considered that already, haven’t you?”
He returned her smiled. “Yes. But who would want to harass her? I checked out her old boyfriend, the one both Detective Adams and Ashton told me about. His name is Lawrence Dixon. I found it odd that almost five years after their breakup he was still calling her; especially considering how he dumped her to marry a woman from a wealthy family.”
He didn’t say anything for a moment and then added, “But he appears to be clean, although his mobile phone records—which I was able to obtain a copy of last week—indicate he did call Mac on occasion. The last time was six months ago.”
Christy frowned. “Why would he bother calling Mac?”
“According to Detective Adams, when he went back and questioned Mac about it, she said Dixon only called when he wanted to gloat about a case he’d won and wouldn’t say anything about his wife. Their conversations were always brief and impersonal.”
“Umm, but . . .”
Alex lifted a brow. “But what?”
“But what if his wife didn’t know that and found out about the calls he’d made to Mac? A jealous woman is known to do some pretty crazy things.”
Alex nodded. “I thought of that as well. But the Dixons were vacationing out of the country at the time of those incidents and—”
He stopped talking and suddenly frowned. “Wait a minute. That might be it. The one thing that I didn’t consider.”
Taste of Passion (Madaris Novels) Page 27