DeliciousDanger (32 page)

But Kelly’s eyes held a haunted look and Mike could see the
banked rage in Rick’s eyes.

“Thought I’d make myself useful.” He indicated what he was
doing and grinned. “Just don’t expect a caterer every day.”

“Let me give you a hand.” Kelly began opening cupboards and
drawers, searching for plates and silverware.

“You can set the table but that’s all. You guys have had a
rough couple of days and after we eat we’re going to have an intense skull
session. So take what you can get when you can get it.”

One corner of Kelly’s mouth turned up.“Yes sir.”

No one said a word about the previous night until they were
seated at the table. Mike pulled his cell phone from his pocket, pushed the
button for pictures and handed it to Kelly.

“I debated about showing these to you but you’re entitled to
see them.” He touched her hand briefly. “It’s bad but try not to freak out,
okay?”

She nodded and began scrolling through the pictures. She
said nothing as scene after scene of destruction rolled across the screen but
fat tears leaked from her eyes and ran unheeded down her cheeks. Rick leaned
closer to view the shots with her, the rage in his eyes growing more and more
intense.

Kelly’s hands were shaking by the time she’d finished.

“There’s nothing…”She swallowed hard and tried again.
“There’s nothing left. Nothing. Everything’s gone.”

“It’s okay, Red. When this is all done, we’ll build it again
as good as new.” Rick slid an arm around her shoulders and pulled her tight
against him.

“Be careful,” she told him. “You almost skewered yourself on
my elbow.”Even in her grief her first concern was for him.

He rubbed his chest lightly with his free hand. “I’m good.
Didn’t you see how good when we showered just now?”

Mike swallowed a grin as he looked from one to the other and
Kelly cursed out loud at the blush that rose to her hairline.

When they had come to the picture of the note, the look in
his eyes had been close to murderous.

“That tears it,” he said in a tight voice. “We need to get
these bastards right now.”

“Don’t even think of starting that business about sending me
away from here,” she warned. “I don’t want to waste time arguing about it,
okay?”

Tactfully changing the subject, Mike pointed to the sheets
of paper on the table.

“I see you two were busy while I was gone last night.”

“Busy but maybe not too productive,” Rick told him. “I laid
everything out for Kelly from the day GC hired us to set up their security in
Iraq. Threw everything on the table, hoping she could spot something I hadn’t.”

“And?” Mike prodded.

Rick rubbed a hand over the stubble on his chin. “I just
don’t know, Mike. There’s so much information out there I can’t make sense of
it but no answers.”

Mike’s jaw tightened. “I know Greg Jordan’s the key to this,
so don’t spare my feelings. Somehow along the way I missed something about him.
The question is, did he have a contact in his pocket all along, waiting for
something like this, or was he approached by someone who sensed he could be
had?”

“How would they know?” Rick mused. “You can’t just walk up
to someone and say, hey, I’ve got a quick way for you to make a lot of money.
You’d have to be pretty sure that person would be amenable and not toss you to
the authorities.”

“There’s gotta be something in his history. Some little
thing that’s a clue. And we have to find it.”

“And what about the Iraqi who’s been helping him? What’s
going on with him?”

“Amin?” Mike shrugged. “Ken says he’s still working, helping
with the few locals that stayed on. He says he gets strange vibes from him but
he can’t pin it down. Right now he feels better keeping him close and knowing
what he’s doing all the time. But he’s doing his own checking there.”

Rick rubbed the back of his neck. “You know, there’s
something lodged in my brain that I can’t knock loose. I have this gut feeling
that if I could we’d have the answer to everything.” He sipped his coffee, then
slapped the mug down, his eyes suddenly alight. “What a dummy I am. I am so
totally stupid I need a keeper.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Where’s the phone. I need to call Faith. Her Aunt Vivi will
know someone from The Lotus Circle who will be able to help me.”

Kelly looked skeptical. “From this distance? Without being
here with you?”

“I hope so. Let’s give it a try.”

“Fine. I want to talk to her too. Go ahead and call.”

* * * * *

The man sat in his car, deep in thought. Unpleasant thought.
Everything was coming unglued and what he’d learned just made it that much
worse. How did a man work all his life to reach the pinnacle of his business,
his profession, his career and suddenly see it dissolving beneath him like snow
turned to slush?

For whatever reason, no matter what they did, no one was
able to locate Rick Latrobe. The man knew all about making himself disappear.
Apparently Latrobe was as good at it as he was. But the knowledge that he was
out there running around loose, with the ability to blow everything to kingdom
come, made his ulcer burn and his head throb.

He should have had better sense than to do this. Temptation
had always been his downfall. Nothing was surefire. But when he had the whole
picture in front of him he realized how enticing it had been. And his ego had
blinded him to the pitfalls.

Stupid, that was the word for it. Just plain stupid. He had
to find a way out of this and come out clean but nothing seemed to be working.

Since he couldn’t find Latrobe, then he had to get rid of
Greg Jordan. He’d have to find someone to do it just as he had the incident in
Maine, someone more afraid of him than the police or the government. Someone
who could do the job so it would never come back to him. That meant the body
would have to disappear completely and all traces of the man be erased. With
enough money, he mused, anything was possible.

Although, on second thought, this might be something he
supervised himself. He was tired of other people’s incompetence.

He’d never be able to get rid of al-Dulami but that wily old
Arab wouldn’t open his mouth, anyway. His son was another matter. A car
accident might be in his future. That one he could handle himself.

He sighed, feeling the weight of everything pressing on him
like a mountain of concrete. At least it would be worth it for the money. He
could walk away from everything and never have another worry in his life.

He hoped.

* * * * *

“Tell your friend the arrangements are being made,”
al-Dulami told his son. “But first we have to locate the elusive Mr. Latrobe
and that he can do better from there.”

“He won’t like that,” Zarife pointed out.

“I’m beginning not to care what this man likes. Tell him
there is no sign of the target and he should put out his feelers.”

“I’ll tell him,” Zarife agreed with a distinct lack of
enthusiasm.

“On the other hand, perhaps this is something
you
can
do for us.”

Zarife held the phone away from his ear and looked at it.
What was he supposed to do now? “I don’t understand. How am I supposed to find
a man who doesn’t want to be found?”

“Use the people you’ve met. Your sources. Whoever was the
conduit to bring your name to this man. Someone will know something.”

“Just like I told you before, I could be killed sticking my
nose in where it doesn’t belong,” he protested.“You don’t know these people.”

“Use your contacts,” his father insisted. “Use that fancy
computer you have. Use the brains I spent so much money educating. And do it
quickly. There’s a clue there somewhere. Find it.” He paused. “None of us can
afford to have this man alive. It could be the end for everyone.”

“But why? He’s no one special. He’s just the man who ferried
the shipment.”

“In Rick Latrobe’s head are the pieces of the puzzle if he
ever puts it together. None of us can afford that. So do this. And quickly.”

Zarife would have argued again but the call had been
disconnected. The old man was gone, leaving him only empty air and a sick
feeling.

* * * * *

Kelly had done her best to concentrate on helping Rick but
now he was busy at the computer, emailing with Andy and doing his own research.
By late morning her nerves were rubbed raw. She paced, Xena paced with her and
Rick, glancing at her every so often, watched through narrowed eyes.

They had both talked to Faith’s Aunt Vivi. She’d given them
the name of a woman who could give them mental exercises to do that would help
loosen the block in Rick’s brain.

“I’m delighted to finally get to speak with you,” she told
Kelly. “Emails can be so unsatisfactory.”

“That goes for me too,” Kelly told her, suddenly shy.

“I’ve talked to the others about you and as soon as this
nasty business is wrapped up, we’d love you and Xena to come to San Antonio.
Meet all of us. Let us help you learn more about how to harness this gift.”

“I’d love to. Thank you very much. I’m looking forward to
it.”

They decided they’d try the exercises after Mike left and
they had the cabin to themselves again. Rick went back to the computer and
Kelly resumed pacing. She nearly threw herself at Mike when he finally returned
from Blue Fork.

“Well? Did you find out anything? Does the sheriff know any
more? What’s happening at the farm?”

Mike’s chuckle was dry as he held up his hands. “Whoa,
honey. One thing at a time.”

Kelly backed up, a blush heating her cheeks. “Sorry, Mike.”
She blew out a breath. “I didn’t mean to attack you. It’s just I’ve been
so…so…”

“Edgy. And I understand it. If you can pull Rick away from
the computer, let’s have some coffee and I’ll tell you what I found out. It’s
not much but it’s something.”

He had very little news to relate as far as the situation at
the farm itself. Nothing they didn’t already know.

“It’s completely gone,” he repeated to Kelly. “I’m very,
very sorry about that. But they were able to contain the blaze so it didn’t
reach any of your trees. The land is intact.”

“I just wish I could see it.” She squeezed back the tears
that kept hovering near the tipping point.

“Tell you what. In a few minutes how about if I fly you over
the scene. I’ve got a camera here, you can take pictures with for yourself, if
you want to.”

“Thank you. And again, I’m sorry I leaped on you like a
starving lion.”

Mike winked at her, breaking the tension. “I understand how
you feel. Now, I do have a few things to report. Business first. I called Dan
and he’s got our attorney on top of it with your insurance company.”

Kelly’s jaw dropped. “But I didn’t even get you the
information.”

“The Dragon knows all,” Rick told her. “Andy pumps in your
name and all your secrets are revealed.”

“No privacy with you guys, I guess.”

Rick had the good grace to look uncomfortable. “Sorry, Red.
I didn’t think about the fact we’d be invading your privacy. We just thought it
important to get on this right away. Our attorney will have his own
investigators on it, just in case the locals miss anything.”

Kelly fiddled with her coffee mug, then the tension in her
body eased visibly. “That’s okay. I have nothing to hide, away. It’s
just…weird.”

“Back to the news,” Mike broke in, defusing the situation.
“Blue Fork is a small enough town that everyone knows what everyone else
drives. If a strange vehicle shows up at all, people will wonder who it belongs
to.”

“And one did?” Kelly’s voice was edged with excitement. “Did
anyone find out who it belongs to?”

“Not yet. But a black panel truck that no one recognized—”

“Around here,” Kelly interrupted, “that means it didn’t have
the requisite number of bumper stickers.”

“An unfortunate oversight for our unsub. Whoever it was
stopped at Henry’s Gas-and-Go yesterday for gas and food, then again for coffee
last night. We got a little lucky here. Henry’s got a kid working for him
nights and Saturdays that apparently he doesn’t trust too much so he installed
a hidden camera.”

“Only inside?” Rick asked.

“Yes but it also catches activity through the big glass
window.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a mini-computer disk,
handing it to Rick. “We may or may not get something but it’s worth a shot.
Let’s take a look.”

Kelly and Mike watched over Rick’s shoulder as he inserted
the disk, typed commands into the computer and instantly a video came up on the
screen.

“It’s fuzzy,” Kelly complained. “How can we see anything?”

“Hold on, Red.” Rick’s fingers danced over the keyboard. “We
can fix that a little bit.”

The end result wasn’t a whole lot better and the driver
managed to keep his face away from the camera, even when he was inside the
store. But kissed by a stroke of luck, they were able to make out part of the
license plate.

“I’m sending this to Andy,” Rick told them. “He can run this
faster than I can. Hold on.”

In seconds the email with the information had been sent. In
less than a minute an animated dragon flashed on the screen at them, waving its
tail. A text balloon carried the words, “Got it.”

Rick typed back, “I need it yesterday.”

The dragon replied, “Would I expect any less? Running it
right now.”

“I found some other things,” Rick said, swiveling around in
his chair, “while Kelly was pacing and Xena was guarding the door. Mike, about
a year before you contacted Greg Jordan he was working a long stretch as
security at a private resort on Camellia Cay in the Caribbean.”

Mike raised his eyebrows. “And?”

“And, using a program Andy sent me, while he’s trying to
track the money, I’m going to run through the list of guests for the entire
time Greg was there. Let’s see if anyone we know shows up. That could be where the
original contact was made.”