Chasing Victory (The Winters Sisters) (3 page)

“I need you on the road asap,” Wyatt snapped.

“I packed this morning. I’m ready to leave anytime.”

“Okay, follow her trail and see where it leads. I’ll keep the others on standby and have them wait for any new intel. There are a bunch of dog shows in California. San Francisco has a show on Friday. My guess is Payton took the time off to go. There are shows all down the state for the next three weeks. I’d say that seems to fit her time line.” Wyatt turned and left Tristan’s office. Walking away he had another thought. “And Tristan.”

“Yes sir.” Tristan responded using Wyatt’s proper title in front of the other men.

“Make sure you keep in touch. Or I will keep informed using my own means.” He said without so much as breaking stride toward his office.

“Yes sir, always threatening.” Tristan returned with a slight smile.

THREE

Tristan’s Porsche 911 maneuvered the highway with ease. Driving gave him the time he needed to work through the last few days’ events, still trying to fit the pieces together. His cell phone lit up and he tapped the screen on his dashboard. “Hey Jack, what’s up?”

“I tracked an outgoing call from Victory’s cell a few seconds ago. The call oriented from San Francisco, looks like she is at the fairgrounds.”

“So, it’s a high probability Victory has reached her destination and is meeting up with her sister at the dog show. Question is how long will they stay put?”

“The show goes for two days. You think they will take off before that?” Jack asked.

“No telling. Depends on Victory’s state of mind, and Payton’s reaction to what happened to her sister. Thanks Jack, I’ll talk to you soon.” Tristan tapped his screen off, grabbed a Red Bull out of the cooler in his passenger seat, popped the top and turned up the volume on his Phil Collins disk.

* * *

Two hours later at a private airstrip outside of Seattle, a black Lincoln Navigator with black tinted windows pulled up to the tarmac where a Cessna 400 sat idling. Two men got out of the Navigator where they were greeted by a third man at the plane.

“Hey Max, sorry to pull you back from your day off, but we needed a man with your experience on this job.” Dave Anderson walked toward Max, greeting him with an outstretched hand.

“That’s okay, Dave. The boss said he would pay me double time. So, who are we tracking?” Max asked shaking Dave’s hand.

“We’ve been trying to locate this Vic. We think she is the woman that Jeffery told Ken he was supposed to meet up with. We located a woman who we believe might be this person. Her name is Victory Winters.”

“How much does she know?” asked Max.

“That’s part of the problem, we have no idea. She could be totally in the dark,” said Dave.

“Come on guys,” Jerry jumped in. “Are we going to stand out here all day shooting the breeze or get on the damn plane?”

“He’s a little cranky,” Dave snickered. “He thinks someone beat him to Jeff’s condo and searched it before he got there.”

“I know they did and it was a pro. Couldn’t tell that anything was misplaced, but the hairs on my arms stood up. I’ll bet I just missed him.”

All three men loaded their bags and got into the aircraft.  Ten minutes later the Cessna taxied down the runway, lifted off and disappeared into the steely gray sky.

* * *

Victory arrived at the San Francisco Fairgrounds and was given directions to her sister’s motorhome parking space. She pulled up alongside Payton’s forty-five foot custom-made Prevost. With four sliders, a king size bed, full bath, and washer/dryer, it was everything a girl could ask for. The interior was done in a warm shade of sage with a coffee-colored leather overstuffed sofa and two huge chairs to match. The floor was wall-to-wall light cherry hardwood. There was even a small office where Payton did all her work while she was on the road. She called it her own private island
.

Victory opened the door and was greeted by a big black Doberman madly wagging his short stub of a tail. “Hey there, Parker.” She lovingly rubbed the top of his head. “You holding down the fort? I guess everyone else must be ringside.” As if understanding every word she said, Parker responded with a whine. “I know it’s terrible to be retired. Look at it this way, you get your pick of the furniture while everyone is out.” Victory rubbed his head one last time and closing the door she headed toward the show grounds.

The show grounds were humming with activity. People were pulling carts stacked high with dog crates and grooming supplies in one hand and leashes with excited dogs in the other. The dog show scene was its own little world distant from the day to day responsibilities of everyday life. It was no wonder Payton loved it so. What could be better than spending the day with your dogs with not a care in the world, at least for that moment in time?

Victory followed the flow of people towards the main building. Stepping through the door the activity magnified; she was enveloped by barking dogs in crates, vendors, the loudspeaker, and the flow of exhibitors and their dogs warming up around the rings. Victory stood in the doorway surveying the building’s layout.

For the first time since Jeffery’s murder, Victory felt a soothing feeling flood her body. Being around all the dogs gave her stability, made her felt safe. She wandered through the building, stopping every now and then to look at all the different breeds of dogs and some interesting items at the different vendor booths. She could feel the excitement in the air radiating off the dogs. This was a great socializing environment for them and for the most part she could sense that they loved the sport.

Victory was so tuned into the animals that she was totally oblivious to the people around her. Leaning against a far wall, away from the frantic pace of the exhibitors, Tristan remained motionless, only his eyes tracking Victory’s movements. The second she walked into the building he had sensed her. Even amidst the potpourri of grooming supplies, perfumes, hair products, perspiration, and various other human and canine odors, he was able to distinguish her scent as she was approaching the building. As she entered the main door once again he was hit with the subtle aura of lavender and chamomile. He didn’t need her description or picture, Tristan could pick her out of the crowd solely by her essence.

Remaining deadly still so as to blend into his surroundings he scanned the entire building, looking for anyone that appeared out of place. Not seeing anyone that looked a threat, he refocused his attention on Victory. As she walked toward him Tristan studied her. She walked with lightness to her stride.  She was dressed in a sweater and jeans but radiated sophistication. Her eyes were a deep jade and for a fleeting second he caught a flash of anguish. Her shiny golden brown hair had a natural wave and fell slightly past her shoulders. Her skin was flawless with a touch of pink on her cheeks, and her smile could light up a stormy night. As Victory approached him, he was mesmerized by her natural beauty, losing all focus on his assignment.

“For crying out loud, I feel like a school kid,” he muttered to himself.

“Geez, I was getting worried. Your thoughts are very unfocused. I guess she’s a real looker. I got a little warm flush going. ”
Wyatt popped into his thoughts and broke the spell.

“It’s nothing, I was daydreaming for a bit,”
Tristan said.

“Don’t, this is no time for daydreaming. Keep on task. You’re likely not alone.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know, I’m fine. I’ve located our target.”

“Good. Your only assignment is to keep tabs on her for now, don’t engage,”
Wyatt said.

“Roger that.”

As quickly as Wyatt entered his mind, Tristan could feel his presence fade. All their lives they had been each others’ constant companions. It was a wonderful feeling, but sometimes, like now, having another person in his head was a real pain in the neck.

Whenever Victory was in an enclosed space or in a crowd of people, she would often get the feeling of being watched. She realized however that it was merely her ability to sense people’s emotions. Couple that with her sharper-than-average hearing and it could make anyone neurotic, she thought. Had she not taught herself years ago how to filter out the bombardment of noise and emotion encompassing her, she would have fallen to her knees from the deluge of sensations.

Victory felt a whisper of electricity run the length of her spine. She paused. She didn’t hear a specific conversation and yet she could feel a conversation; this was new- what kind of sensation was this? Slowing her pace she glanced around, surveying her surroundings. People seemed to be going about their business, grooming dogs, or talking with friends. For one brief instant she saw the back of a massively built man with jet black hair; her attention had been drawn to him, but in the blink of an eye he was gone out the door. “Geez, now I’m really getting jumpy,” she muttered to herself.

“Wyatt, she knows I’m here.”
Tristan’s thoughts pushed to reach for his brother as he turned and left the building.

“She can’t possibly know you are there, you said no one was there when you found Jeffery. How would she even know to look for you?”
Wyatt responded.

“I didn’t see anyone. She wasn’t there by the time I reached the scene. Nevertheless, when you and I first communicated I watched her pace visibly slow as she scanned the area.”

“Really. That’s interesting. Could be no more than women’s intuition.”

“I’m not so sure. It seemed like more than that. Get Jack to use those cyber skills of his and do some more digging, see if he can find anything more on Victory Winters. I think she may have telepathic skills.”

“I’ll get him right on it, but in the mean time watch yourself,”
Wyatt warned.

FOUR

Payton stared at Victory in disbelief, tears trickling down her cheeks. “Poor Jeffery. Are you okay? I can’t believe it. I spoke to him about one of my research projects only last week.”

“Maybe I should have called the police. But seeing Detective Howard there really spooked me. I wouldn’t know who I could trust.” Victory said.

“No, Victory. You did the right thing. You have no idea who else might be involved in this, or how high up the ladder this goes. You left the scene. You could be a suspect as far as the police are concerned. No. Whoever these men are, they are dangerous. They didn’t see you, so you are safe. There’s nothing you can do for Jeffery now. Contact the police and you could find yourself in real trouble. Getting away for awhile and leaving town was the best idea.” Payton rambled on, trying to soothe her own mind.

“Detective Howard was the officer that interviewed all the department heads after my work colleague Lisa was found murdered in the company parking garage. That can’t be a coincidence. Somehow these two events must be connected.” Victory slumped in one corner of the sofa. Her big red Doberman Dax laid next to her, resting his head on her leg and staring up at her soulfully with his infinite dark chocolate eyes. She ran her hand down his head and neck then started rubbing his ears, his velvety soft coat flowing under her hand. This constant connection with him helped her to get through the horrors of the past few days.

“I keep playing out what you told me in my head, over and over again. I can’t believe Jeffery is gone,” Payton said.

“I know what you mean,” Victory said as tears again welled up in her eyes, making it difficult to focus on Dax’s ears. “I wish he would have given me more details on the phone, but I guess I’ll never know how I could have helped him. I can’t believe he would have willingly been involved in anything so dangerous. Associating with those men, that wasn’t the Jeffery I knew.” She wiped at her wet cheeks. “I realize it’s been five years since we last saw one another, but at one time I believed with all my heart that Jeffery was the one.”

”He hadn’t changed that much. He didn’t know how dangerous those men were,” Payton said. She sat quietly for a moment watching her sister stroke Dax. “Dax really missed you this time, Sis. He’s been sitting by the door for hours looking out at the yard and waiting for you to come home.” Payton whispered trying to ease the pain she saw shimmering in her sister’s eyes. “I’m glad you will be able to spend time with him. Maybe you should think about taking him on your next project.”

Victory’s job kept her moving around over the last year. Her home base was their family home, now owned by herself and her two sisters, Payton and Willow. She was currently working on a research project which required constant travel. Since Payton was able to stay at the family home she kept Dax, along with the three other family Dobermans and numerous canine guests. “Wow,” Victory remarked. “You really did a great job putting this all together,” she said, as if just noticing her surroundings in the motorhome.

“Yeah, it has everything I could ever need, my home away from home. I’m really glad that you decided to find me. I keep thinking about those two men in the woods. Do they know you were the one Jeffery was going to meet?”

“No, at least I don’t think so. They were questioning him about me, but he never revealed my name,” Victory said. She thought for a moment. “He was trying to keep me safe.” That revelation made the tears fall even harder.

“I wish I would have asked him what he was working on last week,” Payton said. “Since the two of you were out of touch for so long, I can only assume that he wanted your help with a current project.”

“Five years,” Victory repeated. “We didn’t see each other or speak to one another for five years. I’m not sure what Jeffery wanted. He phoned and basically asked me to meet him out at the picnic spot. He didn’t elaborate about what he wanted to talk about. I have no idea how our research projects would coincide with the other.”

From habit she stared down into Dax’s bottomless eyes. She could feel that he sensed her distress, it radiated off of him. She was born with the ability to read animals’ feelings. It was as natural as breathing to her.

While practicing veterinary medicine at a cutting-edge clinic in Seattle, she worked on an Australian Shepherd for a soft-spoken gentleman named Todd. No one had been able to diagnose the problem with his dog, Sassy; the only real symptoms Sassy presented were that she didn’t want to eat or play. Victory mentally connected with Sassy and discovered that she had two ribs stuck out of place. After only one chiropractic adjustment and a few acupuncture sessions, Sassy began acting like a puppy again, playing Frisbee and eating with gusto. Todd was very impressed with Victory and marveled at the fact that she diagnosed the problem so quickly. Todd had taken Sassy to three other vets, all did extensive tests and x-rays, but none of them could diagnose the problem.

“She told me,” was Victory’s only response when Todd asked how she diagnosed Sassy. He was amazed at her bluntness.