Chapter 33
Oddly enough, I arrived at work the next day fully awake and energized. With the wedding behind me and the perpetrators in the custody of the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, it was business as usual. Nate seemed to be feeling relieved as well.
He had located Louis, married off Ina, and led the authorities to the men responsible for Theodore Sizemore’s and Roland LeDoux’s deaths. Of course, without actual tangible evidence, it was anyone’s guess how things would turn out.
It felt good to be back at my desk focused on accounts and billing. That was why it came as a total surprise when I received an e-mail alert from Sylena. I had forgotten I’d given her my personal e-mail as well as my e-mail from the office. The message and its related photos took me completely by surprise.
“I couldn’t wait to share some of this, Miss Kimball. My boyfriend and I were up most of the night putting it together. You see, he was scouting around the mountains a few weeks before the wedding and took some shots of your party planners fast at work. Interesting, huh? We didn’t realize it was them until we went over the footage together. Anyway, I’ll get a decent video to you in a few days.”
The small image of the first picture in the slide show appeared at the top of my screen. I clicked the arrow and waited for the program to start. A second later, the images started to appear. “Nate! Get in here! You’re not going to believe this!”
Sylena’s boyfriend, Ian, had inadvertently taken photos of the incident in Petroglyph Plaza involving Antoine/Tony and Roland. It was ironclad evidence. No doubt about it. I wondered why he hadn’t said anything when the deputies interviewed the campers. Unless . . . oh no! Ian was never interviewed. He was out doing his stealth photography, crawling and climbing about. Unseen. Unheard. A regular James Bond with a digital camera.
Nate couldn’t believe what he was looking at either. “Unbelievable, Phee! And there’s more?”
“There’s more, all right, but mostly unflattering pictures of the guests and certain relatives.”
“Let me take a look.”
“There’s really no need.... What was that? Augusta just walked in.”
Nate turned his head and I switched screens. “I’ll make sure Sylena sends you those photos. I’ll e-mail her right now.”
Augusta walked across the office and booted up her computer. “Good morning, Mr. Williams! Good morning, Phee!”
“Your timing couldn’t be better, Augusta,” I shouted back.
Nate added his two cents as well. “Yeah. Couldn’t be better.”
Augusta came into my office and gave us both a funny look. “What’s up with the both of you?”
“We’re just looking at some pics from my aunt’s wedding. I’ll fill you in later.”
“Was it a nice wedding, Phee?”
“It was . . . different. But yeah, nice.”
As Augusta headed back to her desk, Nate spoke. “Hold on. Might as well get this over with now.”
I could tell by the tone of his voice he was anxious and it was starting to rub off on me. “Uh-oh. Is this the interesting news you wanted to share with us?”
“Yep. It sure is, kiddo. And I think it’s good news.”
Augusta leaned on one of the file cabinets and waited for our boss to speak. He took a deep breath and announced he had hired another detective to join the firm.
“It’s about time, Mr. Williams,” Augusta said. “We were afraid you were going to have a heart attack with all that running around.”
“Look.” Nate stared straight at me. “I probably should have run this by you first.”
“Me? You don’t have to run anything by me. This is your firm.”
“True. True. But all of us are a team and this person needs to fit in. To be part of that.”
“Are you saying you’re not sure you made the right choice?” I asked.
“Oh, I think I’ve made a great choice. Someone I can trust. Someone who’ll have my back. All of our backs.”
Augusta took a step away from the file cabinet and cocked her head. “Sounds like you already know this person.”
“I do. Phee does, too.”
“What? Who? Who has my back? Who do I know?”
“Marshall Gregory. He’s taking early retirement in September. Put his house on the market, expecting to make a move to a warmer climate. Guess Arizona is as warm as they get. So what do you think, kiddo?”
My mouth opened but nothing came out. Nate walked toward Augusta and kept talking.
“Marshall’s been with the Mankato Police Department for years. Top-notch detective. Great guy. Single. He can’t wait to start working, and he was tickled pink you were here, Phee.”
“Tickled?” The word came out like a small chirp.
“Are you all right, Phee?” Augusta asked.
“I’m fine. Fine. Just a frog in my throat.”
I coughed a few times for the effect before responding to Nate. “Wow! Marshall Gregory. That’s a wonderful choice. He’ll fit right in.”
“I thought so, too. Listen, I’ve got to get back to work.”
Augusta tiptoed to my desk and leaned in. “Frog in your throat, huh? What was that all about? Is this Marshall Gregory going to be some sort of prima donna? Or worse yet, a bumbling knucklehead?”
“No. Not at all.”
“Then what? You’re keeping something from me.”
I lowered my voice until it was barely audible. “If you must know, Augusta, I’ve had the biggest crush on Marshall Gregory since he first came to work at the precinct.”
“I see.”
Augusta eyed me and crinkled her nose. “If this investigative business keeps booming, we might need a third investigator by the end of next year.”
“You’re not thinking of me, are you?”
“You? Of course not. I was hoping Mr. Williams might dip into that stable of detectives in Mankato and come up with a ruggedly handsome one closer to my age.”
My jaw dropped. Literally. “Um, well, yeah. Guess we’d better keep building up the client base.”
Augusta winked. “That won’t be hard. As long as Sun City West is right down the road, we won’t have any problem.”