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The news reports didn’t exaggerate when they compared every freeway in the LA area to a parking lot. If you knew your way around, you could make better time on surface streets. Once again Cameron chose Venice Boulevard. As she drove toward Overland, the tone of the street changed from trendy and chic to a combination of newer upscale businesses contrasted with rundown buildings.
She passed an auto parts store with peeling paint so faded it was hard to tell its original color. Next to it was a cute little cafe known for good breakfasts and then a Brazilian restaurant with a colorful sign and a large outdoor dining area. On the other side of the street a For Sale sign graced the front of a two-story apartment building that looked like the only thing holding it up were the termites holding hands. She was so deep in thought as she tried to make sense of the events of the night before, she almost forgot to turn left on Overland and then right on Pico.
Questions swirled through her mind even after she reached Avenue of the Stars. So many questions. So few answers. Barbara Shady had seemed somewhat concerned about her husband, but was she really? Cameron wasn’t convinced that it wasn’t an act. Barbara, a tall very attractive brunette, was obviously several years younger than Al. Sure, he seemed to be in good shape for his age, which she estimated to be around sixty-five, but Barbara couldn’t be much more than her early forties.
Not only that but based upon the little bit she had seen at Board meetings, both of them had displayed pretty bad tempers. Maybe the reason Al hadn’t turned up at the meeting was that they had been arguing about something and he took off. Barbara’s aggressive personality could certainly grate on someone’s nerves to a point of instigating an argument. She wondered if either of them had been the one who trashed the house.
No matter how hard she tried, Cameron simply couldn’t put the pieces together or form the faintest glimmer of an explanation. During the walk from the elevator to her office she decided to call Kate. Level-headed Kate Steele was always able to find her way through a maze of information.
No sooner had she set foot in the office, than Ramona assessed her with a motherly look on her face. “Hey, Boss are you okay?”
Maybe she looked worse than she thought. After all, Ramona was used to seeing her looking impeccable, but this morning even the makeup couldn’t fully cover dark circles from lack of sleep.
“Coffee on the way. I think you need it,” Ramona chirped. Then the woman set out for the break room while Cameron went to her office, put her briefcase on the floor and plopped into her contemporary Aeron desk chair. Moments later a steaming cup of coffee was handed to her. She looked up with grateful eyes.
“Thank you so much, Ramona. Listen, hold my calls. I have something urgent to do before my day gets going.”
“You bet. Is there anything else I can do for you?”
“Thanks, but no.” She shrugged out of her suit jacket and draped it over the back of her chair. “Not right now, but this coffee is certainly welcome.”
When she opened her office some years before, Cameron had pirated the receptionist from the Reed/Cunningham Advertising Agency, housed in this very building—a firm that had the bad sense to fire her by voicemail after ten years of loyal and very effective service. Well, they deserved her revenge. She had established her agency in the same building and hired away their wonderful receptionist. That wasn’t all. With carefully planned campaigns she managed to poach some of their most important clients. Revenge was sweet, and she enjoyed basking in the glory of it.
Unfortunately, only two years later that wonderful receptionist had a sudden heart attack and was never able to return to work. Cameron had used inefficient temps until she finally found Ramona.
She wrapped her hands around the warm mug and lifted it to her lips. After a few sips, she was ready to call Kate.
A crisp, professional voice answered. “FraudBusters, Inc. May I help you?”
“Um, yeah, Angie. Is Kate around?”
Some warmth entered the voice. “Oh, hi Miss Harsen. She stepped out for a minute, but—wait, she just came back into the office. I’ll put you through. Please hold while she goes to her desk.”
Moments later Kate’s silky voice came over the line. “Hey, Cami, you never called me back last night. What’s up?”
Cameron swiveled her chair around to face the spectacular view of Century City and beyond. On a clear day, which of course was unusual in LA, she could actually see almost to some of the downtown high rises in the far distance. She liked looking out that window and considered it one of the best things in her office. With the coffee in one hand and the phone pressed to her ear in the other, she said, “Hold onto your hat, my friend. I think it’s happening again.”
“What? What’s happening again?”
A moment’s hesitation, then, “Crime. That’s what’s happening. Why does it seem to follow me? I went to the meeting and the HOA Vice President didn’t show up. Then his wife, who is the Treasurer, rushed out after giving her report. You know we recently received that huge settlement I was telling you about, so even after all of the repair work is done our reserve account will be very healthy.
“Anyway, there’s this really cute retired FBI agent who lives nearby—don’t worry. I’m not forsaking my honey, but maybe he would be great for you. Bachelor—”
Kate broke in. “Whoa. Slow down. You’re starting to not make any sense. What does a cute retired FBI agent have to do with a no-show and a fidgety wife? Take it easy, okay?”
Taking it down a notch, Cameron said, “A lot. After the meeting we thought we should check on the Shadys because she never called to say if her husband was okay. Danny, that’s the cute guy, and me and my neighbor old Colonel Thompson—you’ve met him—went to check out their house on our way home.”
Kate mused, “That sounds reasonable. So, what did she say?”
“Nothing. She wasn’t there. Their door was partially ajar, which was unusual, so Danny pushed it open and went in while Colonel Thompson and I waited on the porch. When he turned the light on it appeared the house had been ransacked and the Shadys were nowhere to be found. Kidnapped, maybe. And there was blood. We called the cops, but Danny told us in his opinion the scene looked staged. Today he’s going to see if he can find out what the cops know. One of the cops turned out to be a fan of his.”
Kate sounded pretty lost. “Why would a cop be a fan of this former FBI guy? Cami, you’re really not making lots of sense. Why are you rambling?”
“Sorry. I’m upset. Didn’t I tell you that the, as you call him, former FBI guy, is Danny Garrett, the author. He writes those best-selling thrillers and apparently that one cop has read everything Danny wrote. The cop went on and on about seeing the movie, What Happened to Mandy Blake based on one of his books. The only thing missing was for him to whip out a piece of paper and a pen and ask for Danny’s autograph. Oh, you’re right. I feel so confused, and I need you to help me straighten out my thoughts. Do you have a little time?’
“Sure, just calm down for a minute. For starters, you didn’t tell me he was Danny Garrett, and yes, I do have some time. I’ve never heard you talk about him before.”
“That’s because I only met him last night. He isn’t on the Board, but he’s a friend of the Colonel.”
“Okay, like I said, you need to calm down. Let’s try to reason it through. It sounds like your Danny may have doubts the couple was kidnapped. Bottom line, do you think they have come to harm? Certainly the scene you described would lead to that sort of conclusion.”
Ramona poked her head into the office. She held a fresh cup of coffee. “Sorry to interrupt, but I thought you might need this.”
Cameron smiled her appreciation and signaled Ramona to put it on the desk. The receptionist did so without comment, picked up the other cup and closed the door behind her without another word.
“Kate, I really don’t know. Maybe yes, maybe no. They are sort of a strange couple. I don’t know them well at all, but from what I’ve seen there doesn’t seem to be much affection between them, and there’s about a twenty or thirty year age-gap. He’s a retired orthopedist and I think he’s quite wealthy. I don’t know her background except that she seems to be a competent Treasurer. I don’t remember them having much interest in the HOA before the suit was close to settling. That was right around the time we were electing new Board members.”
For a moment there was no response. Cameron took sips from the second cup of coffee, but it caused her to become even more wired.
“Kate, are you there?”
“Just thinking about what you’ve said. Depending upon what the cops have to say, that is if they are willing to share anything with this Danny, maybe I can be of some help.”
Breathing a sigh of relief, Cameron said, “I was hoping you would say that. Can you come down here earlier? Like tomorrow or the next day?”