Gemini Rising (Mischievous Malamute Mystery Series, Book 1) (9 page)

Chapter Twenty

After talking with Leah, I decided to check in with Abe, Elijah and Anna to see how things were going on their end and at the same time, fill them in on what Leah and I had discovered. I hadn’t had a chance to find out how she’d gotten that last bit of research so quickly. Leah likely would have claimed trade secrets, which I could have easily gotten her to divulge with a batch of my white chocolate macadamia nut cookies, but perhaps it was better to let sleeping dogs lie.

Anna put me on speakerphone and I began by telling them the medical records from UCMC had arrived, which elicited raucous cheers.

“Nice work, AJ,” Elijah exclaimed.

“Cheryl Earley is the one we should be throwing a parade for,” I chuckled at their enthusiasm, “but if you like that, then you’ll like what Leah and I found
in
the documents.”

I proceeded to tell them everything we’d learned, from the guardianship document to the details of Alison’s medical records. From there, I explained how Martin and Alison had worked for competing genetics firms while managing to keep their relationship secret, how both companies were involved in human cloning projects that were privately funded by similar benefactors and how the projects fizzled, and the money dried up after Martin and Alison had died, ultimately, putting one out of business while forcing the other to pursue alternate projects. And finally, how Martin’s company footed Alison’s entire hospital bill.

“Wow, you got all of that—from medical records?” Abe asked.

“Well, from that and the research Leah managed to scrounge up afterward,” I replied.

“Shoot, that girl works fast. Maybe we should offer her a job?” Elijah said, only halfway joking.

“After this, she might need one. I’m not exactly sure how she’s getting the info, but her editor is going to catch on sooner or later.”

“For the sake of this case, let’s hope it’s later,” Abe added. “But after that, let her know we’d like to talk.”

I laughed. “I’m sure she’ll appreciate that.”

“In the meantime,” Anna gracefully shifted gears, “we should fill you in on what we’ve discovered the past couple of days.”

“Absolutely, let’s do it,” I replied, thoroughly excited to hear what they’d learned. I wished Leah was on the call. She would have loved this. I mentally kicked myself for failing to think of that earlier, but made a note for the next time.

“Actually, your research filled in one of our blanks,” Elijah began. “When we dug into Sterling Joy’s background, we found they were owned by a genetics firm by the name of GenTech. At the time, it didn’t mean much, but when you told us they were Martin Singer’s employer, a piece of the puzzle fell into place.”

“GenTech owned the Sterling Joy Agency?” I asked as another thought rumbled around in my brain. “Wait…that means GenTech undoubtedly would have already known about Martin and Alison’s relationship before Victoria and I were born.”

“It certainly appears that way, doesn’t it?” Abe agreed, then pressed forward, “We also believe Silverton was Sterling Joy’s inside man. We aren’t completely sure how the whole thing worked, but he typically served as the lawyer for both sides of the adoption. We think the Baumgardners recommended him and encouraged the adoptive parents to utilize his services as a means of ensuring the adoption went smoothly. If this was the case, the Baumgardners essentially used the adoptive parents’ insecurities—knowing they wouldn’t risk losing the opportunity to have a child—to successfully cover their own bases.”

“What about Silverton’s other clients?” I asked, still reeling from what I’d heard.

“Regardless of what the man told his wife, we couldn’t find any,” Abe responded.

“So, what happened to the Baumgardners?”

“They disappeared into thin air. We haven’t found a trace of them since they closed the agency. We think Silverton’s files went wherever they did,” Elijah said.

“So much for pursuing those other opportunities,” I commented. “Speaking of the Baumgardners, the other thing that bothers me is their claim Martin and Alison requested separate adoptions, yet there’s nothing in the documentation substantiating it.”

“It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if the Baumgardners made it up,” Elijah responded. “Not to be insensitive, but maybe it was more profitable for them to secure adoptions for two different parties, rather than being saddled with a two-for-one deal?”

“Perhaps,” I replied, but something told me whatever the Baumgardner’s reasoning, it hadn’t been isolated to greed.

“Changing the subject to another, slightly less-illuminating topic,” Anna piped up, “we are still working our way through the Christmas party photos from the dealership, trying to identify who or what caused Victoria to bolt.

“After you suggested it, I asked Switzer if the missing assistant manager, Dolby, had worked at the dealership at the time the photos were taken. Switzer confirmed he had and agreed to have Bonnie run through the images on her computer to see if anyone had captured Dolby in any of the holiday shots.

“So far, we haven’t found anything useful yet—it’s taking a while to get through all 13,000 pictures—but I appreciate your insight.”

“Hey, no problem,” I replied, “I appreciate you letting me know. I can’t imagine having to look through that many photos. Even my own.” They all laughed.

“Speaking of photos, you reminded me of one that was delivered to my neighbor by accident. Well, actually, I think it was delivered to me by accident.” I proceeded to tell them how Suzy had received an envelope addressed to my name but to her street number.

“When I opened, I found a single photo of a bunch of people I don’t know at what looks like a holiday party. There was no return address on the envelope and no notation on the back of the picture other than the proprietary information from the photo lab. Anyway, I think it was actually meant for Suzy.” I laughed, noticing the lack of response from the other end of the line.

Anna broke the silence, “AJ, is there a photo number or a jpeg reference next to that proprietary information?”

I knew what she was talking about, but hadn’t looked that closely at it the first time. I went to the counter, pulled the photo from the envelope and flipped it over. “Yeah, there’s a jpeg reference, it’s labeled as IMG 011120.jpg. Does that mean something to you?”

“Maybe,” I heard fingers clicking on a keyboard, “describe what you see.” I did as she asked, describing everything down to the silly lighted bow ties several of the guys were sporting. Now that I look more closely, I realized the photo was unmistakably of an office party, not a family gathering.

Suddenly, the sound of clicking fingers was replaced by a collective gasp.

Chapter Twenty-One

“What is it?” I asked as my heart thudded against my chest.

“We recognize one of the people in this photo,” Abe replied, a tremor in his usually-steady voice.

“It can’t be. It makes no sense. Why would he…” Elijah’s voice trailed off.

“What? What can’t be?” I asked nervously.

Ignoring my queries, Abe spoke to either Elijah or Anna, “Let’s get Bonnie on the line and have her pull up that photo. Get Switzer involved if you have to.”

“What’s going on?” I asked again, a little more loudly and forcefully than I had intended. Blame it on the nerves.

“Hang on, AJ, Anna’s calling the dealership,” Abe replied.

I sat tight and strained to hear Anna as she spoke to Bonnie, but I all I could hear was mumbling. Minutes passed, and I started squirming like a kindergartener anxious for recess.

Finally, the mumbles faded, and Anna’s voice came in crystal clear, though there was a hint of shakiness to it, “Both Bonnie and Switzer confirmed it. The person in the photo is Tanner Dolby.”

“Unbelievable!” Elijah’s voice raged with fury.

Abe’s voice matched his brother’s, “Bloody hell, there’s no way—no possible way!” I was sure I heard something break on the other end of the connection.

“I…I don’t understand,” I stuttered, struggling to keep from sounding whiney.

A moment passed before Anna spoke, her voice calmer than either Abe’s or Elijah’s, but still troubled, “After she saw it, Bonnie was almost positive it was the same photo that had been on the employee bulletin board—the one that went missing after Victoria was there.” Tightness began to fill my chest as I waited for her to continue, though I knew where this conversation was heading. “It’s the same picture you are holding right now.”

“So you think Victoria took the photo from the dealership and then sent it to me after she got to Phoenix?” I thought of the postmark from a few weeks earlier. The timeframe did fit with her arrival from L.A., but why send it to me? Something else was troubling me.

“This makes no sense. I thought you had never met Tanner Dolby?”

“We hadn’t…met him as Dolby,” Abe replied, his voice tense. “When we the met the man in the photo, he introduced himself to us a Winslow Clark.” The name sounded familiar, but I had read so many documents the past several days that when my mind panned through its index, it came back with a big fat goose egg.

“Clark handled the investigation of your parent’s plane crash,” Elijah reminded me after my extended silence. 

I quietly considered what he was saying: the crash investigator and the missing dealership manager were the same person. The other shoe had dropped. 

“Tanner Dolby
was
Winslow Clark.” Though my voice was barely a whisper, I was sure they heard me, loud and clear.

Chapter Twenty-Two

“It appears that way, otherwise Dolby was Clark’s twin. And frankly, that would be too much of a coincidence,” Abe replied. I winced at the thought. Way too much of a coincidence.

I looked at the photo in my hands, at the faces smiling back at me. “Which one is he?” I asked.

“Third from the right,” Elijah offered tersely.

Winslow Clark/Tanner Dolby was surprisingly attractive—a pretty-boy type you’d expect to see in a Calvin Klein ad—with artfully-tousled surfer hair and deep-blue eyes that crinkled ever-so-slightly at the corners when he smiled. His teeth were brilliantly white—of the toothpaste commercial variety—which annoyingly, only enhanced his chiseled good looks. I pegged him for my age, but he could have easily gone five years either way. The only flaw in his appearance was the noticeably burnt-out lights on that ridiculous bow tie, and even they curiously added to his magnetism. For as attractive as he might have been, however, Clark/Dolby—or whatever his name currently was—gave me the willies.

“You all knew Victoria, do you find it interesting she would have inadvertently gotten my address wrong on something she believed to be so important?” I asked, after shaking off the unsettling, icky vibe I got from looking at the photo.

Anna replied without hesitation, “Knowing Victoria, she probably intentionally sent the photo to your neighbor, to make sure you got it.”

“Especially if she felt she was being followed, or was in danger,” Abe added.

“Or was concerned that AJ might be,” Elijah thought aloud.

“But why,” I asked, “why this picture?”

“It’s the one thing that links Clark…Dolby to both the Winestones and your parents,” Abe explained. “It’s too much of a coincidence that the same person—posing in two entirely different roles—could have been associated with the Winestone’s car crash and your parent’s plane crash. This was Victoria’s proof he was not only tied to both, but was involved as well.”

I thought for a moment. “Ok, I see where you are going with this, but the Winestones knew Dolby from the dealership, whereas Clark was an investigator on my parent’s plane crash after-the-fact. He never actually met my parents,” I pointed out.

“True. But who else could do a better job of covering up their handiwork than the person investigating the scene?” Elijah countered. “If he’s even a real investigator.”

“You’re thinking what? That he was in the perfect position to monkey with my parent’s plane and the Winestone’s car? Without leaving a trace of evidence?” I asked incredulously, though the longer it rattled around in my brain, the more it made sense.

“At this point, anything is possible,” Elijah replied. I heard a muffled agreement from Abe, but nothing from Anna.

Something occurred to me. “Wait—didn’t you guys talk to Clark? To see if Victoria had followed up with him.”

“Yeah, he said he hadn’t heard from her since the three of us had met with him,” Elijah said.

Abruptly, Anna came on the line. “Well, that confirms it. While you three were talking, I popped into the other office and tried Clark’s number. It’s been disconnected.”

I froze, “What would you have done if he had answered?”

“Don’t worry, I was fully prepared to play the bar floozy and give him a sad little but-I-don’t-understand-he-gave-me-this-number song and dance,” she chuckled lightly. “Plus, the phone I used is blocked.”

“Our girl Anna, both brains and beauty,” Abe teased.

“Obviously,” she replied sarcastically.

Though I typically would have appreciated their repartee, my head was swimming. Whoever had killed Victoria had done so viciously, publicly and without a hint of remorse. Had Clark/Dolby left a trail of bodies—masked as accidents, deaths by natural cause or suicide, or as people who had appeared to have fallen off the grid? Considering that, I made a mental inventory of possible victims—no matter how far-fetched—that included my parents, the pilot of my parent’s plane, Victoria’s parents, Jonathan Silverton and of course, Victoria.

If Clark/Dolby was a cold-blooded killer, one thing became apparent as I contemplated my list. If you followed his sick progression, a name was conspicuously missing. Mine. I may not have figured out his end game, but I had a bad feeling about his next move.

Once again, I stared at the photo. Could that enigmatic smile belong to a sadistic killer? I blanched—people had asked the same thing about Ted Bundy.