Shadows of Deceit (A Series of Shadows) (48 page)

“No peeking.” He said with a grin.

“What’s under there?” She asked him.

“You’ll see. Now, take a seat over here and I’ll have Abby get us under way.” Max gently steered her to the first chair in the front row.

“Max...” She tried to say something gracious or profound but she could only manage to say his name again. “Max...”

“Sit.” He winked at her. “Plenty of time to talk after the ceremony.”

Shevaun and Joe appeared out of nowhere and they all exchanged greetings. Joe took a seat next to Lou while Lou’s mother took her position standing up front, to the left of the mystery mound. After a quick announcement by Abby on the microphone, all the attendees began taking their seats. It only took about five minutes before everyone was settled. Abby took her place up next to Shevaun as did Sandra Arthur, one of Shevaun’s dearest friends and neighbor. The rest of the park committee members flanking the mound in a nice balanced line. As Lou tried to turn and look at who all was in attendance, she saw Jane Michaels waving at her from the other side of the isle and a few rows back. Lou smiled and waved back but turned back when she heard Abby’s voice on the microphone and all the guests grew quiet.

“Hello neighbors!” Abby said with a giggle. “Thank you all so much for taking time out of your busy schedules so that we can celebrate this very special occasion. I think you all would agree that even Mother Nature did her part in making this day magnificent!” She fanned her hand about, obviously referring to the beautiful weather. After nearly a week of constant sopping rain, the day could not have been a more picture perfect representation of Spring. “I would like to take this opportunity to thank Shevaun McAllister, Sandra Arthur and the other members of the Park Committee for all their tireless work in making this day possible.” There was a hearty round of applause as Shevaun, Sandra and the others took their bows. Once the guests settled once more, Abby continued. “Now, I would like to introduce the person to whom without, this project would not have been possible. Whose vision for this community is now a stunning reality as we all can see. Please welcome, your new neighbor and our park’s generous benefactor, Mister Max Julian.”

There was a roar of applause as Abby pointed to Max who was seated at the end of Lou’s row. It was evident by the expression on his face Abby had gone off script and he was clearly not prepared for his introduction. Shevaun immediately walked over to him and yanked him from his chair to pull him up to the front. Lou knew as soon as Abby handed him a piece of paper that he had been ambushed. The women must have altered the plan to set him as the centerpiece of the event, along with the park itself, as he well should have been. Lou was biased, she knew, but her heart swelled when she noticed all the guests were on their feet, giving him a standing ovation. After a long moment, Abby stuffed the microphone in his hand and stepped off to the side. Lou was reveling in seeing Max flustered. The normally calm, unflappable Max was blushing and it suited him. Lou doubted she would see him surprised very often so she enjoyed the moment while it lasted.

“Thank you. Thank you so much.” He finally spoke. “Apparently the itinerary I was given got scrapped so forgive me as I fumble through here.” He tossed a glare in Abby and Shevaun’s direction making many of the guests laugh. After clearing his throat, he continued. “I am so grateful to you all for your warm welcome and am privileged that I will be able to count myself and my family as part of this community. You all have been so kind and patient with my situation and I am forever in your debt.” He bowed his head and took a breath as applause were given again. “It is one thing to write a check and sign off on plans. It is another thing entirely to bring a vision to life in such a grand manner which is precisely what these lovely ladies have done with this park. It was my intention to give back to you all with this landscape that we all could enjoy but in the process, I discovered that I am the true receiver of this gift. With all their hard work, tireless efforts, Abby, Shevaun, ladies, you have given me my vision in a grander scale then I could ever have hoped for. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart.” Max tucked the microphone under his arm and applauded the women, as did the crowd.

Lou wasn’t at all surprised to see Max’s elegant graciousness pulled off the cuff. His eloquent words flowed effortlessly and were not contrived or exaggerated. They were sincere and heartfelt. The man simply made her heart melt.

Once the applause died down, he continued. “As my family can attest, I rarely play favorites.” A few snorts and chuckles could be heard from the crowd and when Lou looked, she could see Yuri and Finn covering their mouths to hide their grins. “Alright, perhaps I tend to favor Abby a bit.” He relented with a wink in Abby’s direction. “But! For the most part I do not.” He grinned again. “However, I must confess that I have become especially fond of the McAllisters and am honored to count them among my extended family. Recently, events transpired in my life and I found myself at their mercy. They opened their hearts and home to me and my family, without hesitation, and I have been humbled by their generosity. Their daughter, in particular, played a huge role in my situation. She was a total stranger to me and mine, but her integrity, strength of spirit and amazing sense of decency has moved me beyond words.” He looked at Lou as if she was the only person in the world as he continued. “You saved me. In more ways than I will ever be able to thank you for.” Lou could barely breathe as she listened to his words. “That is why although this park is dedicated to all of you, I now present, officially...” Max moved to the mound and reached for the sheet, removing it with a grand sweep of his arm. “Lake Tallulah!”

As the roar of applause began, Lou looked to see the huge stone that had been concealed beneath the sheet. Affixed upon it’s face was a slab of bronze that was inscribed in beautifully etched lettering.

Welcome to

Lake Tallulah

A place of peace and harmony

Dedicated to the community of Hidden Falls Estates

- M. A. Julian Family Trust

She normally would have been livid at the use of her full given name but she found her eyes welling instead. She could not believe that he had named the park after her. Far too many emotions were rushing through her for her to form a coherent thought but one kept screaming at her as she tried to take everything in. He did care for her. He had to for him to do this. For her.

“Now, let us all enjoy the park and get the celebration underway! Thank you everyone!” Max concluded and quickly shoved the microphone in Abby’s hands.

“Mimosas and other refreshments are flowing so enjoy the afternoon at your park!” Abby beamed a smile at Lou before the crowd swarmed around the plaque to gawk.

“I think you could use a drink.” Niko startled her as he appeared behind her. “Let me help you to the bar.”

“That sounds like a good idea.” She didn’t argue with him. “Did you know he was doing this?” Lou asked him.

“Of course I did.” He smirked. “He, however, had no idea Abby and your mother were going to ambush him and make him the presenter.” Niko waggled his eyebrows in a mischievous manner. “Only they could get away with that without instigating his wrath. And you too, of course.”

Lou scoffed at his assertion. “Right. Like I could get away with pulling that off.”

“You absolutely could.” He informed her as he handed her a glass. “Don’t ever let on I told you that. I’ll totally deny it.”

Lou laughed then took a long sip of her mimosa as she scanned the crowed of people. It truly was a spectacular event. It shouldn’t have surprised her that Abby and her mother were able to pull off such an event without a hitch. Well, besides Lou’s minor disasters throwing a wrench in the mix, that is. The only thing that could have made the day more perfect is if Lou was able to walk through the park without the crutch or without inflicting severe pain in the process. Slowly but surely, people began making their way to her with a myriad of questions that she was in no way, shape or form prepared to answer. Inundated with questions about what she did for Max, Lou tried her best to deflect and dismiss things as having been greatly exaggerated on Max’s part. Fortunately, Abby and Lou’s mother magically appeared to run interference while Niko and Dillon got Lou safely away from the majority of the crowd. It was then that Lou noticed Max was no where to be seen.

“Where did he go?” Lou asked.

“Who?” Dillon wasn’t sure who she meant.

“He snuck back to the house.” Niko answered, knowing right away who Lou was inquiring after. “He was a little pissed that he got ambushed but he also had to handle business. The Timms situation being what it is, requires a few consultations with the Senatus.”

For a moment Lou had forgotten all about their huge predicament and the disaster of a case that had laded in their laps. “I cannot even imagine the mess he has to deal with on you guys’ end.”

Niko laughed. “Our end? Your end too, missy.” She was Principate, after all.

“Right.” Lou acknowledged. “What the hell am I supposed to be doing on that front anyway?” Just at that moment, both Lou and Dillon’s phones beeped. When they looked, they both had 9-1-1 text messages from Vinny.

“Looks like our brief reprieve is officially over.” Dillon sighed. “Let’s say our farewells and head back to your house so we can call in.”

“I never thought I would actually want to stay at one of these things rather than go back to work.” Lou admitted, making both Niko and Dillon chuckle.

Fifteen minutes later they were back at the house and Niko was fixing them all coffee as Lou tried to get settled before she called in. She was apprehensive about taking another pain pill given she had a mimosa and she didn’t know how fast she was going to have to hop to, so to speak. When she finally made the call and heard Vinny’s voice on the other end, the pain was starting to surge a great deal. She knew she had no choice but to grin and bare it for the moment.

“So what the hell is this I hear about you takin’ a header down some stairs? How bad this time?” Vinny had long since given up sounding sympathetic to Lou’s constant injuries. His tone was matter of fact yet there was the distinct hint of concern hidden beneath it.

“Sorry Vinny. It’s not so bad.” She tried to play it down. “I have to use a crutch for a while though. No two ways around that.”

“Hey! That isn’t so bad!” He teased her. “I was thinking this time you would have finally landed yourself in full traction!”

“Maybe next time.” She teased back. “So what’s the 9-1-1 about? Let me put you on speaker since Dillon is here.”

“He’s there?” Vinny seemed surprised.

“Yeah, he came to help cart me around for the park dedication today.” She wasn’t about to tell him that Dillon had been with her for the past twenty-four hours.

“Ah crap, I forgot all about that.” Vinny blew out a breath. “The captain told me you guys worked late but I totally forgot about your thing today. Sorry I wasn’t there, kiddo.”

“Don’t even worry about it!” Lou set him at ease. “It’s not like your plate isn’t full enough, daddy. My mom is having all the leftovers brought back here so you can stuff your face after work.” Lou hit the button on the phone as Dillon took a seat across from her. “OK, you’re on speaker now.”

“Hi Boss!” Dillon waved despite the fact he knew Vinny couldn’t see him. Niko made Lou chuckle by waving as well.

“Hey sport.” Vinny greeted Dillon back. “Alright you two, we got some major developments while you were off getting your beauty sleep, cracking ribs and hob-nobbing with the rich and famous.”

Lou was actually relieved that Niko was sticking around. She wanted his take on what Vinny was going to tell them. She prayed that her first clean-up job as Principate had gone off without a hitch and the dominoes had fallen where they were supposed to. “Start from the beginning and don’t leave anything out.” Lou insisted and he complied.

Vinny had arrived at work as expected and began picking up where he thought they had left off the day before. He had put a call in to Agent Callahan from Homeland Security but got sent straight to voicemail. It was about lunchtime that Vinny received an email from Callahan informing him that they hit paydirt and that the DEA would be calling them in shortly. Callahan hadn’t gone into any detail so Vinny had been fighting the urge to make calls so he could get some answers. It was around 2:00 p.m. when Agent Jessup from the DEA called Vinny and put him on a conference call with Callahan. Vinny learned that Callahan had gotten a tip on a location for their cargo containers and when they arrived at the location, they were greeted by Jessup and his team, along with a hazmat crew and nearly three dozen firefighters. A fire had broken out at the location sometime in the middle of the night and during the course of fighting the blaze, a large quantity of heroin was discovered within bags of Arcano coffee. That was when local law enforcement called in the DEA and Homeland Security. The majority of the building had gone up in smoke but they had recovered a good number of bags of Arcano coffee with the bricks of heroin as evidence. It was clear to all parties that the five murders had been part of a cover up of a drug smuggling operation. Vinny was convinced, as was their captain, at least according to Vinny, that Luis Arcano and Casius Arcano had been murdered to keep them from disrupting the smuggling operation. The Salazar brothers and Esterhuizen had been killed as a message to Carlos Vargas that he better keep playing ball. Casius had been set up by Ernesto Vargas and his brother to fall for Adrianna Vargas AKA Angela Boone, so she could keep him in line, or else. The way they figured it, finding Adrianna and Casius snuggled all warm and toasted to a crisp with the three heads was the “or else” part. Vinny was sure that Casius must have found out about the whole operation and that Angela had been a part of it from the get go. That little discovery was what got him killed and Angela AKA Adrianna was simply of no use to the Vargas brothers any longer and had become a liability.

Vinny went on for twenty more minutes laying everything out. The conclusion he had come to, with the help of Agents Jessup and Callahan, was that it had been a family affair with the Vargas Brothers and their cousin Manuel Rojas. While Ernesto was undoubtedly the kingpin, Manuel served as a contact point for the happy family and probably as a routing point for the drug pipeline. The Salazars and Esterhuizen were just hired hands in the operation and probably screwed up somewhere along the line which ultimately got them killed. Vinny admitted that he and the two agents had gone around and around about how and why Casius’ house had been left empty and it was Jessup that had the most likely scenario.