by Iris Bolling
“It shows more than that,” Gina added. “It shows that woman Elaine somebody’s office too.”
“Yes, it does.” Cainan nodded.
“Everyone calm down,” Myles ordered. “Mike, tell me what’s going on.”
“Jonathan, Jerome and I have been reviewing the video feed from the elevator on the morning that Daddy died,” he explained. “We discovered that someone stopped the recording for ten minutes then started it back up. That tells us there was more than one person involved with Daddy’s death. If what Gina said is true about the monitors in Chrystina’s office, that means Mitchell had the means to turn off the video feed.”
“Let’s take a look.” Myles walked over to the entrance between his office and Chrystina’s.
“I’m sorry, girl,” Gina cried out. “I didn’t mean to get you in trouble.”
“I’m not in trouble, Gina. Don’t worry about it.”
They walked out of Myles’ office with Cainan, and Mike following.
“It’s this one right here.” Gina pointed to the console where she’d looked for music stations the day before.
“Yes, that’s the one we used the day of the shooting,” Cainan said to Myles. “This button changes it to video monitoring.” He pushed. Four monitoring screens appeared. “See, there it is.” He took a closer look.
“E. Jacobson.” Gina pointed. “It says it right there.” She pointed to the print on the screen. “That one says old office.”
“That’s Jonathan’s office,” Chrystina said.
“That used to be Elaine’s office.” Myles glanced at Mike. “Remember?”
Cainan pushed another button. “That’s my office,” Myles declared.
“What?” Chrystina cried out.
“My new office.” Myles grabbed her hand.
“Whose office is that?” Gina pointed.
“That’s Preston’s office,” Cainan answered. “Why would Mitchell be watching Preston’s office?”
“Good damn question,” Mike replied as he glanced at Myles.
“Can you play recordings on here?” Mike asked.
“Sure,” Cainan replied. “What day do you want to see?”
“The day Daddy died….”
“I know the date.” Cainan nodded then searched for the day.
“Start at seven-fourty-seven, elevator one,” Mike suggested.
Cainan hit play. The feed showed the door opening, a foot stepping out, then it was cut.
“Damn,” Mike exclaimed. “It cut before it showed who was getting on the elevator.”
“Well, at least you know it’s a woman.”
They all turned to stare at Gina. “How do you know it’s a woman?”
Gina smirked then pointed. “I know that shoe anywhere. It’s a Giorgio Armani.”
They looked back at the monitor.
“What shoe?” Mike asked.
“Play the video.” Gina shook her head. “Ya’ll need to be more observant. Pause it.”
Cainan stopped the video feed.
“Back up slowly, yep, yep, stop right there,” Gina said. “See that pattern on the bottom. That’s Armani.” She nodded her head. “Oh yeah, I know that shoe.”
“Good looking out, Gina,” Mike said as he studied the bottom of the shoe.
“Could it be Elaine?”
All eyes turned to Chrystina. “I mean, she was working with Mitchell on other things. Is it possible she could have been a part of the murder?”
Myles and Mike stared at each other.
“Murder?” Cainan shook his head. “You cannot accuse people of murder without evidence, hard evidence. I thought Mr. Dunning died of a heart attack.”
“We thought so too,” Myles stated as he took a seat. “We were wrong.”
“Let’s stop here,” Cainan ordered. “This is going too fast and too deep. We have to really take a look at all the facts.” He nodded. “Then we decide what steps to take next.”
“That solves the mystery of the wires.” Chrystina exhaled. “It’s been driving me crazy but now I know those wires under the desk lead to those offices.”
“We need to swipe this office when Jonathan returns.” Myles exhaled. “In fact, I want the entire building swiped down.”
“There is no telling what else Mitchell had eyes and ears on,” Mike exclaimed. “Right now, I’m having a talk with Elaine Jacobson.”
“No, Mike,” Cainan stopped him. “You don’t want to tip her off that you are on to her. Why not use the equipment Mitchell has in place to our advantage?”
“How?” Myles asked.
“This thing have volume?” Gina asked. “Just watch and listen.”
Chrystina began to chuckle. “Gina, aren’t you supposed to be reporting to work?”
“Hey, looks to me like I’ve been working since I walked in the door,” Gina declared. “Would you know about these monitors if it wasn’t for me? I think not. Would you have recognized the bottom of that shoe if I wasn’t here? No. You do not wear Armani. I think all of you should be thanking me right about now.”
Myles smiled. “You are right, Gina. Thank you.” He nodded. “Chrystina.”
“I have it covered.” She turned to Gina. “Let’s get you started on your new job.”
“Ungrateful people. The least you can do is let me see how this all turns out,” Gina said as she walked out the door.
###
Mike’s phone buzzed as the door closed.
“What’s up, Jerome?”
“While reviewing the tapes, we have a visitor to Preston Long’s office who disappeared from the camera for approximately fifteen minutes. I can’t get a good read on the facial recognition. I’m on my way to his office now. You’re on the board with him. He will answer questions from you that he may not answer for me. You feel me?”
“I’m across the hall from his office now. I’ll meet you there. Then I will fill you in on some interesting shit in Chrystina’s office.”
“Chrystina?”
“Yeah, it used to be William Mitchell’s office.” He hesitated. “Look, I’ll meet you at Preston’s office and I will explain then.”
Mike turned to Myles. “Jerome wants to follow up on something Jonathan asked him to look into on the day Daddy died. It’s pretty important, but so is this. How do you want me to proceed?”
“You get with Jerome,” Myles replied. “Cainan and I will handle this situation.”
CHAPTER 28
With her red purse on her arm, earbuds in her ear, Grace chatted cheerfully to her sister. Dressed today in a red and white slim, knee length skirt, white blouse, red blazer with red ankle high spike shoes. Her accessories of matching necklace, earrings and bracelet, contributed to her happy carefree mood.
“I swear, the night was freakin’ amazing, AnnieMarie,” she said as she strutted down the sidewalk. “Jonathan worked my body like it was his mission to brand me as his.”
“Did he?”
“I think the initials JM are sealed into my right butt cheek.” Grace laughed along with AnnieMarie. “I feel like doing the Mary Tyler Moore twirl in the middle of Marshall Street.”
“What are you doing on Marshall Street?”
“My standard nail appointment,” Grace replied as she glanced at her nails. “Speaking of which, my feet are still tingling from the feel of Jonathan’s tongue gliding across my toes.”
“He’s a foot man,” AnnieMarie laughed.
“Jonathan is a full body man,” Grace laughed then continued on her path. “From the top of my head to the tip of my toes, I can testify that the man did not leave an inch of my body untouched.”
“He has you testifying.”
“I cannot lie. The man lived up to the legend I had built up in my mind.”
“You sound like a woman in love, Grace.”
Grace stopped walking, thought for a moment, then smiled. “Yes, I am.” She began walking again. “And believe it or not, I am okay with it. The heavy weight I expected never came. I feel as
light as a feather.”
“It’s because you are with Jonathan. All the other men would have been like a chain around your neck, dragging you into a world you did not want. With Jonathan, every day is going to be an adventure. He is the chosen one for you, Grace. He is the whole enchilada.” She laughed.
Grace’s smile was beaming as she nodded in agreement. “I can’t believe how much I miss him already.”
“Miss him? What are you talking about?”
“Oh, he received a call this morning and had to fly back to London. His mother had some kind of accident.” She checked her watch. “He should be landing in a few hours.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” AnnieMarie replied. “Was it serious?”
“From the little information he received so far, it’s a bit serious, but I did not get the impression that it was life threatening. Since it is just the two of them, he needed to be with her.”
“Totally understandable. Oh…oh, I have news that you are going to love, but you can’t mention it to anyone, especially at the office.”
Her sister sounded excited. “What is it?”
“Myles asked me to help him find an engagement ring for Chrystina.”
“Shut the front door,” Grace exclaimed as she paused, thrilled with the news. “When? When is he going to ask her?”
“This weekend. Chrystina is moving into his place and he wants to do it then.”
Grace beamed with excitement. “Listen, call Lizzy Day over at Intimate Jewelers, tell her I told you to call. She can hook him up with a one of a kind total package that Chrystina will love. And give her the heads up, I might be next.”
“What? Are you serious? You and Jonathan, Myles and Grace. Oh, Winnieford is going to be beside herself.”
“Life is about to get very interesting for all of us.”
AnnieMarie sighed. “For some of us, at least.”
“No for all of us. I believe you and Cainan will work things out.”
“Do you think so?”
“I do.” Grace smiled. “If Jonathan and I can work through all the years of miscommunication, anyone can.”
“I think you should call, just to check on how he’s coping with the news about his mother. That’s a long plane ride to London. He’s probably worried.”
“You know, I think I will do that. Talk to you when I get to the office.”
Grace stopped, touched the earplug once to end the call with AnnieMarie, then once more. “Call Jonathan,” she ordered.
Her phone dialed the number.
“Hello, Love.”
His voice filled her with warmth as it always had. “While I enjoy the way your voice makes my heart skip a beat or two, I really wanted to check on how your mother is doing?”
“The last conversation indicated she was resting well.” Jonathan sighed. “I will feel better when I put eyes on her for myself. The incident as reported to me, is questionable at best. My mother is not the clumsy type.”
“Once you see her, you will feel better. Then you can look into what happened. How long before you land?”
Jonathan checked his watch. “Another two hours.”
“Call me when you touch down.”
“I wish you were here beside me.”
“Well, I’m inside of you wherever you go. Just as you are inside of me.”
“Hmm, I was inside of you,” he chuckled. “Deep, almost undercover.”
Grace’s heart filled with joy as she laughed. “Can’t wait for your next deep undercover visit.”
“There will be no visiting. I plan to reside there for eternity.”
“You are going to make me wet my panties standing in the middle of the street.”
“Put a plug in that until I get back home. I don’t want you wasting not one drop of your sweet essence.”
“Oh my goodness, I have to get off of this phone with you talking like that. Call me when you land.”
“Will do.” Jonathan disconnected the call. God he loved that woman. He laid his head back as thoughts of their love making filled his mind. He exhaled. The pieces of his life were finally falling into place. Grace was his. He was now working with people he liked and admired, doing work he truly enjoyed. Now if he could convince his mum to move to the states, life would be perfect.
###
Grace’s phone buzzed in her ear. “If you are calling with details of your undercover visit, I will have to stop to pick up new panties.”
“Well,” Warren’s voice laughed in her ear. “That should make for an interesting morning.”
“Warren? I thought you were Jonathan.”
“I figured and how deep was that visit?”
“Deep enough to know he is the only man that will be diving in.”
“Oh…we are going to table that conversation for later. Where are you?” Warren asked as Grace walked out of the nail shop.
“On my way to the office. Why?”
“Listen, whatever Elaine is up to is moving at a fast pace. She just instructed her people to get prepared for a vote on BIT by the end of this week.”
Grace slowed her pace. “Did we receive notice that BIT wants to meet?”
“No,” Warren replied.
“So why does Elaine think a vote needs to be scheduled?”
“I don’t have the answer to that one just yet,” Warren declared. “I will try to get more before you get here.”
“Okay, I’m on my way. Good work, Warren.”
Grace disconnected the call as she continued down the sidewalk towards her car. She was about to call Chrystina when her feet gave way. She screamed as her body fell through the grates in the sidewalk. Damn if the grate did not open wide. At least it did not catch her heel, she thought as she braced herself for a fall. She grabbed the handle of her purse, just as her body hit something that caused her to bounce up. It was a trampoline, she thought with a bit of relief. Her body hit again with a little less impact. It took her a moment to grasp what had happened. She started laughing, thinking she really needed to watch where she was walking.
“Whew.” She took a moment to exhale. “That could have been interesting.”
That moment turned out to not be funny at all. She felt the pinch of the needle in her neck, her body went limp and just like that, everything went black.
###
Jonathan was into the last hour of the flight when his cell phone buzzed.
“Hello,” he answered.
“Hello, Jonathan, this is Penelope Lovett. I stay in the flat directly across from your mum.”
“Hello, Mrs. Lovett.” Jonathan smiled as he remembered the frail woman who talked his head off every time she saw him. He had left his number with her when he moved to the states because he knew she was a curtain twitcher. If anything happened in the neighborhood she would know. “You and I have spoken several times.”
“Yes, well, you see I was away from home at the market. When I returned it seems your mum had taken a spill. Well, that’s a load of tosh, I know differently, you see. Your mum did not take a spill a’tall. There was a young fellow there. With your mum being a young woman I first thought it was a gentleman caller, you see. Yet when I noticed him standing behind the shrubbery, I knew then something was amiss. You see, your mum is particular about her garden and would not allow anyone to trample over her tulips.”
Jonathan was doing all he could to not lose his patience, but the woman was rambling on. Penelope Lovett was the exact same age as his mum. It was one of the reasons he’d purchased the flat. The location was near a park, with upscale and varied ages of residents. His mum was up in age, but still had a very young heart. So he placed her in an area where she could still be independent but would not feel out of place.
The woman was still talking. He was about to interrupt her when she blurted out, “It was the brute of a man who caused her to tumble. Now, I was not present to see the dastardly deed done. However, I know that brute was up to no good when I saw him standing near your mum’s tulips. She does
n’t stand for that you know.”
“Mrs. Lovett you saw a man near my mum’s flat?”
“Yes. He was standing to the side of the flat…..as if he did not wish to be seen. As I told……”
“Mrs. Lovett,” he interrupted her. “When was this?”
“As I was about to say before you so rudely interrupted me, this time it was directly before I went to the market. It takes me a little longer with my arthritis and all to…..”
Jonathan sat up. “Mrs……Mrs. Lovett,” he interrupted her again.
“Young man, you need to hold your britches to allow me to get it all out.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Jonathan replied then patiently listened.
“Now, as I was saying. The brute has been seen for over a fortnight now in one place or another when your mum was around. Why one evening I saw him well after half past eight, watching your mum’s flat. Now mind you I would regularly be in bed that time of night, but I couldn’t sleep you know due to the arthritis so I thought I would have a gander behind the curtain, you see.”
Jonathan waited.
“Are you still there?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Jonathan replied. “I was waiting for you to spill it all. Did you mention this to the Constables?”
“Heavens no. I gave you a ring as you asked me to.”
“Mrs. Lovett, do you think you could identify the bloke you saw?”
“Why yes, I believe I can. It’s my bloody knees that’s giving me trouble not my eyes.”
“My apologies, Mrs. Lovett. I will be there by half-past three this afternoon. I’m going to stop by the hospital first. May I come by for a visit with you this evening?”
“I would be delighted. We could have a spot of tea. Cheerio.”
Before Jonathan could say anything further, she had disconnected the call. His mind was reeling now. A man had been watching his mum’s home for over two weeks. Why and who?
He hung up the phone, then pulled out his laptop. His gut was telling him something was off. While he was strategically protecting the Dunnings, he may have left his mother exposed.
Jonathan pulled up the private numbers for the executives at Phase. He found Dewberry’s private number, put it into a program he designed to track calls using cell phone towers around the world. He put in parameters for numbers called from Dewberry’s private line. It did not take long for the information to populate. A map of the world appeared with numbers pinned at the location of the calls. Jonathan reviewed the hits, eliminating the numbers he knew were personal relations to Dewberry then looking closer at those that were not. As he glanced over the towers pinned on the map, he noticed a tower located in central Virginia. His attention went to that location. He hit the button for more details. It showed there were three calls made that hit a tower near Williamsburg, Virginia in the last week. That sounded familiar to him. He closed his eyes to think. Just as suddenly his eyes popped open. That was near the rehab center where Walker Dunning was staying.