She buried her face in her hands and took several deep breaths. When she looked up, her vivid blue eyes seemed enormous in her pale face. “I have to center myself. I thought I was about to die when I realized someone was in the room. Tucker was probably as shocked to see me as I was to see her.”
“What did you do?”
Her voice sounded shaky when she said, “At first when I heard sounds, I thought about slipping behind the drapes and creeping out onto the balcony, but then realized I had no idea if there was a balcony. You know how crazy thoughts fly through your mind when you’re scared. Well, I figured I would climb down a trellis and come back in through the front door like they always do in the movies. Have you ever noticed? Somehow a trellis is always right there, and it’s always strong enough to hold the weight.” She stopped to take a breath. “I’m such a klutz, though, I probably would have broken a leg or something.”
I shoved the glass of white wine I’d been holding into her hand. “Here, take a slug of this. By the way, do you suppose Charlie’s Angels ever felt this nervous?”
“Them? Heck, all they had to do was flip to the end of the script to know they’d be safe. After all, the writers couldn’t kill off an Angel.” She gave a little shiver. “I’m not sure I’m cut out for this.”
I shrugged. “I don’t think any of us are. Hell, accountants aren’t known for being overly adventurous. So, there you were with Tucker—what happened next?”
She sat down on the closed lid of the toilet, rested her elbows on her knees and cradled her face. Her eyes remained closed as she strained to remember everything.
Kate and I sat on the edge of the bathtub overwhelmed by the scent of lavender room freshener. Lavender is supposed to be relaxing, but this batch must have been defective because I was as nervous as a rabbit being chased by a pack of dogs.
Cameron blinked a few times. “Let me see. The first room off the stairs is an office with a beautiful carved desk and some file cabinets—wooden ones that matched the desk. Neither the desk nor the cabinets had locks. I figured I’d check the bedroom out first, then hit the office.”
“But the office is where we would be likely to find anything. Why the bedroom?”
“Well we know it’s her signature on the papers for the house, but I wanted to find out if she’s actually living here. You know, maybe she was just part of a group that bought it. I thought I had time to check out both.”
Kate smiled and touched her forehead like a seer. “Depending upon what you found, I see an undercover mission in our future. Of course we’d have to figure out how to get back in, but I’m sure we’ve all read enough books and seen enough detective shows to at least have some ideas. Right?”
I interrupted. “That’s not getting us anywhere right now. Besides, it doesn’t happen in real life like it does according to a script. You’re talking about actually breaking into some-one’s house. We’re better off if we find out as much as we can tonight.”
Cami held out Kate’s camera. “Good thing you brought this. It’s so easy to use and I love that nice wide angle. We can upload the pictures later, but at least I confirmed she’s not just a signature on escrow papers. Julia definitely lives here.”
She got up from the toilet and looked in the mirror, running her fingers through her hair. “I managed to hustle Tucker out of the room before she could see much. I told her I’d been looking for a bathroom but the master bath was locked. I made it sound urgent when I said we’d both better get out of there quick before we got in trouble.”
“Did she say what she was doing in forbidden territory”?
Cami looked like her mind had suddenly gone blank. She tapped her chin, thinking. “Yeah. Something about wanting to see what else the designer had done and how much she missed decorating elegant houses. I sort of felt sorry for her, but then all of us have given up what we thought we’d have forever, haven’t we?”
My patience had worn thin. Cami always drew things out for the dramatic impact which probably stemmed back to “selling the sizzle” in her advertising days. At that very moment, she was the ultimate drama queen. We had to speed things up. “Look, we need to get back out there before we’re missed. What—did—you—find—in—the—office?”
“Office? Oh, I didn’t get into the office. I was too scared. But man, you should have seen that bathroom. Fit for a queen.” She wrinkled her nose. “I tried to imagine a sexy movie star in a tub of bubble bath, but the image I got instead was a naked Julia looking like one of those fat babes in a Rubens painting.” A weak chuckle escaped. “Her rolls of fat had rolls.”
“Big deal. It was a fantastic bathroom. If you never got to the office what are you so pleased about?”
Cami bit her lower lip. “Well, perched on the edge of a huge marble Jacuzzi tub, right where she could look at it while soaking, a beautiful silver frame held a photo of her and Bruce in a very cozy pose. It looked like it was shot in some tropical place—maybe Hawaii or the Caribbean.” She flashed a triumphant smile. “That proves they were involved. Even if they’re not together now, my bet is he’s definitely part of all of this.”
Kate interrupted. “Geeze, Cami. That’s interesting, but it doesn’t show they’re stealing money. Only that they had an affair.”
The blonde sleuth’s eyes filled with tears. She continued as though Kate hadn’t said anything. “I think the picture was probably taken long ago. She was wearing this sarong and looked about fifty pounds lighter. With her hair down and a pretty curvy figure, I really could picture them as a couple. I couldn’t help wondering if that was before or after Bruce got married.”
Kate smirked. “With Bruce, it could have been either.”
I’d just about had it. “Cami, look at me! Did you find anything we can use? Anything at all?”
“Well, when I peeked in the closet, which by the way was as big as my own bedroom, it was filled with enough expensive clothes, shoes and handbags to open a plus-size boutique. Who knew they made such sexy clothes for big women?”
I couldn’t resist saying, “If she keeps gaining weight like she has been since we joined the company, she’ll need a tent maker, not a dressmaker.”
“Aw, I guess I’d eat for pleasure, too, if I had to spend so much time in Paradise with Lena. I did find an XXL tee shirt. I think the cartoon on the front was supposed to be a prison warden. He was shouting “Start Spreading the News.” I actually laughed out loud looking at that stupid drawing. Except for the uniform he looked more like an inmate who needed a shave. Apparently it was from a prison conference a few years ago.”
“Oh, that will be wonderful evidence.”
“Hey, Smarty, there was a Louis Vuitton briefcase on a shelf in the closet. I almost had it open when I heard Tucker.”
I didn’t mean to be hard on Cami. She did the best she could, but it seemed so futile at that point. We had nothing but a picture of Julia and Bruce in a love nest.”
I’m not sure what got into me, but I stalked out of the bathroom, determined to get into the office. I’d made it halfway up the stairs when I heard Julia call, “Kimberly, where do you think you’re going? You know the second floor is off limits.”
Shrugging my shoulders, I turned and came back down while my heart did a lively cha-cha. “Sorry, Julia. This is such a beautiful place I didn’t think anyone would notice if I sneaked upstairs for a peek.”
~24~
By the time we rejoined the party, Bruce was making a speech. As he strutted back and forth on the makeshift stage, he reminded me of a peacock spreading its tail feathers. “Folks, we both want to thank all of you for taking time from your busy schedules to come to our party and listen to our little spiel.”
He gave a practiced smile while waving his hand in the direction of the elegant bar and sumptuous buffet. “Now it’s time to eat, drink and be merry. The Columbia Valley is considered the Rolls Royce of grape growing in this region, and it’s nothing but the best for our guests. I invite you to enjoy the best white and
red wines Washington has to offer. Let’s celebrate—the night is young.”
Bruce placed his arm around Julia’s shoulder, but quickly drew back. At least he didn’t grimace. The plastic smile remained pasted on his face. “Let’s give a big hand to this incredible woman for leading what she likes to call ‘The Cause.’ We look forward to doing lots of new business with all of you.”
Most people wouldn’t have noticed the slight twist of his mouth when he complimented Julia, but I did.
She took the mic off as a loud round of applause erupted. I have to give her credit. With one slick motion, she elbowed Bruce out of the way as though he didn’t count. It was almost poetic. I had to wonder if the guests were really buying this BS, or were they simply playing the game.
Matt lounged at the back of the room taking everything in. Looking at him, again, I hated the feeling he had been playing me. Not only that, but he’d spent quite a bit of time in the tented yard chatting with three of the contracting officers, all from supply depots. They kept smiling and slapping each other on the back. It didn’t escape me that several of the suspect orders I’d flagged were from their facilities.
When I looked again, he had moved out of sight and the contracting officers had drifted back into the house. I tried to spot Matt, but didn’t see him anywhere. He appeared to be far more familiar with this house than one should be from a visit or two with the caterers. It was obvious he knew his way around and I couldn’t stop wondering what he was up to.
On the surface it looked like the party had accomplished what it was intended to. Julia headed into the final stretch of her righteous speech about the guests joining The Cause, and wrapped up by saying they were entering a future of an unprecedented volume of business with FACR. At this point, I was pretty well convinced The Cause was her name for making lots of crooked money for one Julia Harris, Bruce, Matt and whoever else might be involved.
If nothing else, Julia had energized everyone. I picked up snatches of conversation between manufacturers and procurement people, all yakking about our wonderful rehab program and how they were happy to be part of it. Some gushed about increasing the level of business and others about what it meant to actually rehabilitate criminals. Of course, that made me happy because it meant a bigger override for me and more commissions and bonuses for the team. On the other hand, I wondered how much we’d be cheated out of if tomorrow’s meeting was any indication. But, most of all, I simply couldn’t stop agonizing about where Julia got enough money for the mansion.
I couldn’t bring myself to speculate might happen when everyone realized how much less they were getting than what they expected, but I knew it wouldn’t be pretty. The bus was scheduled to bring them back to the mansion at 10:00 sharp the next morning. If it was up to me, the meeting would have been at the office, but Matt insisted Julia wanted it this way.
~25~
The party broke up about 11:00. Before everyone streamed out to the bus we agreed Cameron and Kate would go back to the hotel with the others, wait about 15 minutes and then come back downstairs. I’d be parked just past the entrance to the hotel. That way my car couldn’t be seen from the inside. We definitely had to talk in private before the next morning’s meeting.
A slight drizzle moistened the lawn surrounding the hotel, the fragrance of roses and gardenias spicing the damp air. Cameron held her hands over her hair as though that would prevent it from frizzing. Good luck.
It was nearly midnight by the time we huddled in the back of a nearby 24 hour coffee shop. The bored barista played a hand-held video game and didn’t give us a second glance. We sipped lattes, talking at once, trying to figure out our next moves.
“We have to get into that upstairs office. I’ll bet that’s where she’s got everything stashed. Can you imagine? A mean cow like Julia with a fantastic place like that?” Kate shook her head then shrugged. “Oh well, she’s got more than I can ever hope for, I guess.”
Cami screwed up her cute little nose, “Yeah, but what did Miss Julia have to do to get it? We’re automatically thinking Bruce helped her buy that place, or maybe he actually owns part of it, but the more I thought about it, the stranger it seemed. Bruce really appeared to think the place was rented for the weekend. Did you get that feeling?”
I’d definitely gotten that vibe, so when Kate agreed as well, it began to look like this went deeper than we originally thought. Somehow I couldn’t picture Julia pulling off whatever was going on by herself. Quite frankly, she’s sly and sneaky but I didn’t think she was that smart.
“What about Matt disappearing for a while? I spotted him out in the yard with those supply depot guys. They seemed pretty chummy…”
“…and maybe there’s more than one thing going on,” Cami said triumphantly. “Maybe dreamboat has something of his own going with them.”
Now I had to wonder if he was double-dealing Julia. Matt had been my anchor in a very choppy sea, so I tried to rationalize. But then there were the invoices from a handful of supply depots with the mysterious HRF commission notation. And Matt did seem overly friendly with those guys in the yard. There were so many loose ends.
We finished our coffee, still uncertain about the next steps. I dropped my friends at the hotel and drove home assailed by doubt. So many thoughts flashed through my head, so many possible situations, I simply couldn’t turn my mind off. What did we get into? How can we get back into her office? I’d tossed and turned until about six the next morning, then stumbled into the kitchen and brewed a pot of coffee. There was no way I’d get through the day without a java jolt.
Dark circles rimmed the eyes reflected in the bathroom mirror. Bless my concealer—I needed a few layers of it that morning. I brushed my teeth, splashed my face with cold water and followed the aroma of fresh coffee back to the kitchen.
Instead of reading the Saturday Times I’d picked up from my front porch, I brought a yellow lined pad with me. The newspaper remained unfolded on top of my nice new maple table. Damn Ryan. The table he’d taken was worth a lot more than this one.
I alternated between sipping my coffee and nibbling on a lightly toasted raisin bagel topped with strawberry jam and cream cheese, as I tried to sort things out. Between sips and bites, I jotted everything that came to mind onto the pad. Then I went through all of it and assigned numbers, giving them an order of priority. The last two items read, “Cheat the salespeople out of what they earn,” and “Live lavishly.” I was about to make a list related to Matt when my phone rang.
“Hey, Beautiful. I didn’t wake you, did I?” Was he reading my mind? I looked at the clock. The display read 7:30. Our meeting at the mansion was scheduled to begin at 10:00, so I guess it was a reasonable question. But, it was pretty early for him to be calling me.
“No, Matt. I’m sitting here with a delicious cup of coffee and major anxiety about what will happen today. As soon as everyone hears…”
“That’s what I’m calling about. You’re right. No one is going to be very happy when they see how much their checks are. You’ve got it straight, haven’t you? Julia wanted me to touch base before you got there.”
I took a deep swallow and said, “Go on.”
“All you have to do is stay calm and say that shipments missed the cutoff date by a few days and they’ll get those commissions next quarter.”
I felt a flash of anger, and snapped, “Duh-uh. An idiot could remember that after the way she hammered at me. Of course I’ll do my little fast dance.”
He hesitated. “Uh, be sure you don’t say anything about HRF either. No one needs to know about the referral fees. For that matter, don’t bring up Alaric, either. If they find out we can bypass the system and have things shipped direct with a pass-through, they’ll all be trying to use it. Particularly if they feel slow shipments screwed them out of money. Remember—and Julia was emphatic about this—not one word about Alaric to anyone. Are we clear on that?”
Did those two think I fell off a turnip truck? Yeah, I know that sounds corny
and trite, but it fits. At least give me credit for having more brains than that. I was sure they didn’t give a damn about our team pushing for pass-throughs. What they were worried about was exposing gold-plated embezzlement. HRF and Alaric, my foot. They didn’t know who they were messing with. I could just picture Kate and Cameron laughing their heads off when I told them this one.
I said sweetly, “Why, I never considered saying anything. That’s confidential information for management, isn’t it? I’m surprised you and Julia would even be concerned.”
I’d allowed my voice to rise as I spoke. “Give me credit, okay?” It was important to give him the impression I was insulted. Miss Icon of Integrity—that’s me.
“Um, sorry Kim, I mean Kimberly. Julia insisted that I remind you. See you later, okay. Just keep your cool and it will be over before you know it.”
Easy for him to say. I was the one they’d set up to feel everyone’s wrath. If they had nothing to worry about, why would he even mention HRF and Alaric?
“No problem. I forgive you.” You ass!
As far as I was concerned, Mission Impossible was underway and Matt had just put the first nail in his own coffin.
~26~
During the drive to the mansion, my thoughts ran rampant. It wasn’t my fault Julia was playing games, but everyone would wind up thinking I was the one responsible for the unpaid commissions. As for Matt, thank goodness I hadn’t jumped into bed with him. That would have made this very awkward. Any doubts I’d had were gone. He was part of whatever was going on. I didn’t know what his role was yet, but his hands were definitely dirty.
• • • • •
The caterer’s tables, chairs, tent and much of the paraphernalia from the night before were still spread all over the mansion. Julia and Matt both greeted me at the door, ready to hammer me with more instructions.
“Kimberly, good, you’re here a little early. The bus should arrive in about half an hour. Matt said he told you not to make even a small mention of HRF or Alaric this morning, but I’m saying it again. Do not mention either of them!”
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