Deadly Reunion (The Taci Andrews Deadly Series)

by Manemann, Amy

  “Uh, thanks,” I said, holding out my hand to retrieve my things. He may be good looking but that didn’t entitle him to my sandwich. I’d waited in line too long for it.

  Reluctantly he returned the items, flashing me a grin. “You’re welcome. If you’re heading back to the office I can follow. I’d like to get started on my assignments as soon as I can.”

  I unlocked the car door, leaning down to set my things on the front seat. Straightening I turned back to Gavyn. “Actually I wasn’t planning on returning to the office for a couple of hours, I have some leads that I need to follow up on. You’re welcome to hang out in the newsroom today and get acquainted with people but I’m afraid I’ll have to put off showing you around until Monday.”

  Gavyn frowned, digging his hands into the front pockets of designer jeans. I glanced down at my own wardrobe, sensible tan slacks with a long sleeved dark blue shirt. Nothing special, yet somehow next to Gavyn I felt dowdy. “Gee, sorry to hear that. I guess I’ll just have to tag along with you then until we can get started on things tomorrow morning. Bryce did tell you I was to stick with you, didn’t he?”

  My teeth ground together at the cocky reminder. Now that I had the go ahead to do the McAllister case I was chomping at the bit to get started on it. Having a tag along didn’t exactly fit into my plans.

  Giving him a dark look I gave a slow nod. “Actually yes, he did. He also mentioned that you would be in my office at 11:00 this morning for a briefing of your assignments but I guess being considerate of someone else’s schedule didn’t quite cross your mind.”

  Gavyn grinned. “Are you always this pleasant or is it just me that you’ve reserved the venom for?”

  Inwardly I cringed. He was right, I was being purposely rude for no good reason yet I couldn’t seem to stop the words from spewing out of my mouth. Blowing out a sigh I held out my hand. “I’m sorry, you’re right. Let’s start over. Hi, Taci Andrews with the Riverdale Times. Glad to meet you Mr. Davis.”

  Gavyn took my hand in his, his large hand engulfing my much smaller one. “See, now that wasn’t so hard was it?”

  “You have no idea,” I muttered, snatching my hand back.

  “So, are we taking your car or would you rather I follow you?” he asked. A mischievous grin crossed my face before I could stop it.

  “Actually, why don’t you follow me, I think that’d be much easier,” I replied sweetly. Gavyn nodded his head and headed towards a black beamer parked a few cars behind mine. He must be a helluva a reporter to afford a car like that I thought in disgust, giving my head a shake before sitting down in my little civic.

  I cranked the engine over and watched the oncoming cars in my mirror. I knew Riverdale like the back of my hand, so losing Gavyn in town shouldn’t be too hard a feat to accomplish. I just needed the right entourage to accompany me. A few cars cruised by, not enough for a good cover.

  Finally a delivery truck rounded the corner and a slow smile spread across my face. I waited until he was just alongside Gavyn before quickly pulling out, gunning the engine and heading towards the streetlight. I gave a laugh in triumph when I glanced back in my mirror, seeing that Gavyn’d had no choice but to pull out behind the delivery truck. Accelerating down I flew through the first stoplight, cruising down main avenue until I reached South Grape Street, then I did a sharp left. Glancing again in my mirror my mouth fell open at the site of Gavyn’s beamer following close on my tail. How the hell did he do that I wondered in annoyance. Knowing I didn’t stand a chance of losing him when he was so close I slowed my speed down and resignedly continued towards my destination. Parking in front of McAllister Law Firm I shut off the engine, gathering my purse from the passenger seat before leaving the car.

  Gavyn was already waiting for me on the sidewalk, arms folded across his chest. His face was unreadable yet somehow I got the distinct impression he was irritated. Good; that made two of us.

  “This is Jason McAllister’s law office. His daughter Samantha was reported as a missing person last week and I’m doing a follow up piece on the story. Richard Owens was originally assigned to the case but he’s somehow turned up missing as well,” I told him nonchalantly, bringing him up to speed. If he was determined to tag along he may as well know what was going on. Bryce was really going to owe me for this one.

  Gavyn nodded his head. “Don’t worry about me, just do your thing. Just consider me your shadow for the day.”

  I’d like to consider you gone for the day I thought before entering the law office building, Gavyn close to my heels.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  “Oh my god, Taci? Taci Andrews? It’s been forever!” a familiar voice squeaked from behind the receptionist desk. I gave the woman a warm smile, reaching across the desk to shake her hand.

  “Violet Stevens, I didn’t know you’d moved back into town. Last I heard you were up in New York doing some kind of acting thing. What brings you back?” I asked politely. Violet was one of the rare people in school who’d somehow managed to be friends with the entire class, a feat nearly impossible considering the large social gap between our classmates.

  Violet sighed, giving a shrug. “Acting didn’t exactly pay off like I thought it would so I decided to move home and get back on my feet again. Jason was sweet enough to give me this job to help me out.”

  “Yeah, Jason always was a nice guy like that,” I replied with a stiff smile. In truth Jason McAllister rarely did anything unless it benefited him, which made he and Valerie the perfect match. Probably his secretary’d had enough of his crap and quit just when Violet moved back into town and he gave her the job to make himself look good. Not a nice thing to think but it was more than likely the truth.

  Violet’s eyes strayed towards a silent Gavyn, interest evident. I sighed. “Violet, this is Gavyn Davis; Gavyn, Violet Stevens. She’s an old friend from high school. Gavyn just started working for the Times and I told Bryce I’d show him around town.” Or something like that.

  “Gavyn, it’s so nice to meet you! Welcome to Riverdale,” Violet gushed, blushing furiously to her light brown roots when Gavyn smiled and shook her hand. Oh brother.

  “Likewise,” he replied lightly, stepping back to return to his somber position. I somehow had the feeling he wasn’t much of a talker.

  Clearing my throat to draw Violet’s attention I pasted a smile on my face. “So anyway, I was wondering if maybe Jason was around? I was kind of hoping to chat with him about some things.”

  Violet chewed her lower lip thoughtfully, glancing down at a book lying open on her desk. “It looks like he might have a few minutes before his next appointment comes in. Why don’t you two have a seat while I go check.”

  Turning on my heel I walked casually over to one of the chairs in the elegant waiting room. Looks like life’s been good to Jason I surmised, taking in the expensive looking paintings lining the walls. I didn’t know much about art but I’d be willing to bet oil paintings were sold for a pretty penny. Gavyn took the seat next to me, propping his foot up on his ankle while leaning back.

  “She seemed nice,” he commented. I nodded my head in agreement. There really wasn’t much about Violet to dislike; she was one of those truly genuinely nice people.

  “Yeah, too bad her boss is who he is,” I replied. Gavyn shot me a questioning look which I avoided as Violet quickly returned to the waiting room, face flushed.

  “He..he’ll be with you in a just a moment Taci,” she said softly, retaking her seat at the front desk without another word. Hmm, a silent Violet was never a good sign.

  A door opened and Jason McAllister in all his glory walked into the room. He was still as good looking as high school, not all that surprising. Where Valerie had aptly been named Barbie Doll, Jason was definitely her Ken. He was as perfect as she was from his neatly polished shoes, the expensively tailored suit, the handsome playboy features of his face all the way to the perfectly styled blonde hair adorning the top of his head. It was disgusting; really.

  “Jas
on! It’s so nice to see you again. Thank you so much for taking a moment to see me,” I said pleasantly, coming to my feet to offer my hand.

  Jason smiled tightly in response, his eyes filtering toward Gavyn. “Taci it’s good to see you too. And this must be Mr. Davis?”

  Gavyn rose to a slow stance, moving to stand at my side to offer Jason his hand. “Just call me Gavyn, please. Mr. Davis was my father.”

  I tried not to do an eye roll. It was hard, but I somehow managed it.

  “Please, won’t you come in,” Jason said grandly, sweeping an arm towards the open doorway. Following on his expensive heels we entered what obviously was Jason’s office. It was just as grandly decorated as the waiting room with the exception of a trophy case that seemed oddly out of place. Upon closer inspection I was surprised to see it was all of his high school trophy accomplishments. Jeez, and I thought I lived in the past. I’d gotten a few trophies myself in school but mine were tucked safely away in storage at my parent’s house.

  Moving to sit behind his massive oak desk Jason motioned for us to sit as well. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?”

  “Actually this isn’t much of a social visit I’m afraid. I’ve recently been assigned to work the story on your daughter’s disappearance. I just kind of wanted to touch bases with you and see if anything new has developed,” I began slowly.

  Jason’s pearly white teeth flashed at me through a smile. Good lord, a person could go blind with those things! “So the great Taci Andrews has finally come to take me on with a story. I was wondering if our paths would ever cross in our professional lives.”

  Call me crazy, but I wasn’t getting the impression he was feeling overly distraught over his daughter’s disappearance.

  “Yeah well, it was bound to happen sometime I suppose. So, have you heard at all from Samantha since she disappeared?” I asked. Stories like these could sometimes get sticky. I usually liked to go in soft and at least appear to care about the other persons feelings, obviously there was no need to beat around the bush with this one. Now in all fairness I did actually care somewhat about the disappearance of Samantha McAllister. Sad to say it was beginning to look like I was the only one.

  Jason sighed, giving a shake of his head. “No, we haven’t heard a thing and it’s been damned annoying. I have a lot of depositions scheduled this coming week and I can’t be kept tied up just because she decided to run away.”

  “So you think she ran away then?” I asked, a frown on my face.

  “Well of course she did. She’s thirteen years old, she’s a little boy crazy and to tell you the truth she was getting a bit out of control. Two months ago she started going out with Robbie Tompkins oldest boy Drew. She was a real pill while they were dating and drove me and her mother crazy. We were relieved when they broke up,” Jason bit out, looking as if he had a bad taste in his mouth at the mention of Robbie’s name.

  Ugh, I suppressed a shudder. Robbie Tompkins was another all star kid from my high school days. Interestingly enough he and Jason used to be pretty good friends back then; I wondered what caused the falling out.

  “So is Drew missing as well then? When did they break up?” I asked curiously.

  Jason shook his head. “No, that troublemaker is still around and dating some new gal. I think he dumped her about a week ago, just before she disappeared. As I said, Samantha ran away because she has a hard time dealing with things head on. She probably didn’t want to deal with seeing Drew at school with another girl and took off.”

  My spidey senses were tingling again, something wasn’t right. In theory Jason’s story sounded plausible enough but my gut instincts disagreed.

  Jason swung his gaze towards Gavyn, giving a nod of his head. “I take it you’re the silent partner type. Do you always let her do the talking during the interviews?”

  Gavyn gave a slow smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I don’t let her do anything. Taci’s her own person, she can handle her own interviews. I’m just along for the ride.”

  Jason’s eyes narrowed and he cleared his throat in annoyance. “Yes well, you may find it more efficient if you let the men do the talking in the future. Because I know Taci I’m allowing this interview to take place. Don’t presume that I’ll be so accommodating in the future.” My teeth clenched tightly. Arrogant ass.

  Pasting a smile on my face I stood from my chair. “Yes well, I know you’re a busy man Jason so we won’t take up any more of your time. I’ll leave my card if you have anything else you can think of that might be helpful.”

  A brief flash of relief crossed Jason’s features before he shuttered them again. Taking my card he tossed it onto his desk, walking around the edge to show us out. Holding the door open he said politely, “Any time Taci, I hope I was somewhat helpful. For future reference, if you need any more questions answered contact my attorney Alistair Ebbings, or leave a message with Violet at the desk. We’ll be seeing you.”

  For lack of something to say I simply nodded my head, giving a small wave to Violet who was cowering behind her desk. Violet returned the wave, immediately returning to her computer screen when Jason’s gaze swung towards her in displeasure. What a jerk I thought, anger simmering low as I made my way through the waiting room. Three expensively dressed men lounged casually in their chairs, obviously Jason’s next appointment.

  Passing the first two I gave them a cursory glance. It was the third man who nearly made me pause; I recognized him as the foreman for the land development project on the highway. It shouldn’t have been strange to see him sitting in Jason’s waiting room, he was probably just touching up on the legal paperwork for the land but the surprise that momentarily crossed his features made me wonder. My curiosity was peaked, but not enough to gain an introduction; the need to get out of Jason’s domineering presence propelled me quickly out of the building and onto the sidewalk.

  “I’m impressed,” Gavyn’s amused voice broke my thoughts once outside.

  Blinking in surprise I glanced up at him. Not used to having someone tag along I’d almost forgotten he was with me. “Impressed with what?”

  “You handled yourself pretty good with the playboy. I got the impression you and he weren’t the best of friends back in school,” he continued. I rolled my eyes, turning to head towards my car. My sandwich was waiting and my stomach was growling. I really wasn’t in the mood for this. On a whim I tucked the development foreman info in the back of my mind, intending to check up on him later. It probably wasn’t anything much but everyone associated with the McAllister’s at least needed to be checked out.

  Fishing out my keys I unlocked the car door, turning to glance back at Gavyn. “Jason McAllister may be a playboy but don’t let him fool you. He’s a cold hearted snake who won’t think twice about biting the hand that’s feeding him. Just don’t turn your back on him.”

  Gavyn gave me a smart salute, a smile on his face. “Thanks for the tip Ace, I’ll keep that in mind.”

  I stifled the urge to laugh; so much for the silent brooding type. I really wanted to be annoyed with Gavyn but he wasn’t exactly making it easy. Not only did he stand me up for our meeting, he intruded on my lunch hour and then had the nerve to do a tag along. That alone should be enough to keep my temper up but his was making it difficult. Instead I gave him my best glare. “You do that. I’ve got a few other errands to run then I’ll be back at the office. If you’re still sticking around by four I’ll drop in and show you a few things.”

  Gavyn shrugged, digging his hands into the front pockets on his designer jeans, making me wonder yet again about the paycheck he brought in. Either that or he was living at home with Mommy and Daddy. Somehow I doubted it. “Whatever you say boss, I’ll see you around four.”

  I opened my mouth for a smart retort but he’d already turned and was making his way back to his beamer. Snapping my mouth shut I jerked open my car door and slumped inside, shutting the door with a resounding bang. Men. Seriously, why was it that the only men I see
med to be surrounded by lately were those that drove my blood pressure up? Turning my eyes heavenward I stuck out my tongue.

  By the time I scarfed down my sandwich and arrived back at the paper I was in full indigestion mode and in need of the bottle of Pepto Bismol I kept readily in my desk drawer. Unfortunately my desk had now been taken over by Gavyn the Great, which meant I’d have to risk yet another encounter with him if I wanted that bottle of Pepto. I paused momentarily outside my office door, listening to the clicking of the keyboard coming from inside. Heaving a sigh I passed by my office and headed towards Richard’s. I was fairly certain that Richard had worked himself into an ulcer by now so surely he had some antacids hiding in his desk.

  Entering his office, now my office thanks to Bryce, I tossed my purse in an empty chair and headed towards the large desk centered in the room. Opening the middle drawer I nearly did a happy dance at the sight of a pink wrapper with the words chewable pepto tabs on it. Yee haw, Owens was good for something after all I thought cheerfully, snapping them up and tearing open the package. Tossing them in my mouth I crunched happily, my eyes wandering over the office.

  Disgustingly enough it was larger than mine but not much better, the not much better being he was a worse housekeeper than I was. Piles of file folders littered the office, along with post it notes and piles of paperwork that made me grimace. Obviously not one for filing I thought with a sigh. This was going to take longer than I thought. Going on a hunch I assumed Owens had stumbled across something big that accounted for his sudden disappearance. Unfortunately whatever that something was was buried in one of the many piles littering the office.