| |
FOR ABOUT FIFTEEN MINUTES we discussed in detail how everything would work. The three men took turns giving us engaging smiles and asking questions for which they should already have had the answers. Vashti kept glancing at the contemporary clock on the wall.
“Keep calm,” I told myself. “We’re almost there.”
Finally the time came for Kate to place her attaché case on the table and open the lid. I had no doubt the stacks of hundreds inside would convince them we were on the up-and-up. If everything went according to plan the sight of the money would trigger a meeting with whoever was at the top. Things couldn’t have gone better.
That is until Vashti picked up a few of the stacks and fanned through them. He said, “I have a little surprise for you. There is no need to wait until tomorrow. Mr. Monnigan will be attending this meeting, after all.”
Surprise? Shock was more like it, and it got worse.
The door opened. A good-looking man with a full head of steel gray hair strode in, stopped dead in his tracks and pointed at me. His good looks turned to a mask of surprise mixed with disgust.
“You!” he bellowed.
My mouth fell open, but I found myself unable to utter a word.
The man I’d known as Jonathan Reid for so many years yanked me out of my chair and spun me around to face the other three. His fingers dug into my shoulder muscles so hard pain shot up the side of my neck and down my spine. I was unable to move in any direction.
Kate stood up and demanded, “What is the meaning of this? Mr. Monnigan please release my partner. This deal is teetering on the brink of becoming history right now. What you are doing is unthinkable.”
Through the pain I managed to grunt out, “N-not Monnigan. R-Re-Reid,” but had no idea if they understood what I meant.
Jonathan Reid turned to his three partners, his voice filled with venom. “Gentlemen, I don’t know who you think this woman is, but her name is not Cameron Wolf. It’s Cameron Harsen and she is the CEO of an advertising firm. I don’t know the other two, but I’d wager a bet they aren’t who they represent themselves to be either.
Laganga said, “Easy, Ken. I don’t understand. Their company checked out, that case is filled with money and we are all set to make a huge deal. Maybe she just looks like someone you’ve come across in the past. In all due respect, Sir, please calm down.”
Then all Hell broke loose.
I realized these men had no idea the person they knew as Kenneth Monnigan had a dual identity. I later found out that was only part of the entire awful truth. Of course I knew he was involved in other businesses, but Kenneth Monnigan—the notorious Ghost who had managed to evade authorities? The man who was possibly behind the murder of Marjory Newfield? My God. What had we gotten into?
We didn’t have to wait long to find out.
“Wait a minute,” Jonathan Reid said. “I know who these other two are. You’ve been had. The redhead owns a company called FraudBusters and I’m not sure about the other one. I just know her face. These three made national news a few years ago when they brought down an embezzlement scheme. This is all some kind of a setup, and now I’ve stepped into it thanks to you three!”
Vito Laganga got up from his seat and loomed over Kate and Kim as though daring them to try to get up or get out. This was one situation where our black belts would not help us one bit. My two friends sat there like stone statues, realizing they were no match for the four men in the room. We were trapped.
“Listen, Vito,” the man they knew as Monnigan boomed, “go out to the factory and get something to tie these women up with. They aren’t going anywhere. I need some time to figure out what to do with them.”
His gaze swung to the clock on the wall. “Quarter to five. Your employees go home at five and we can figure out how to get out of this mess after they’re gone. I never planned to show up today, but it’s a damn good thing I decided to after you called.”
The third man, Greg Clark, paced back and forth at one end of the room. He muttered under his breath, “Dammit. I knew I shouldn’t have gotten involved. Now what?”
My mind was racing like a car in the last lap at the Indie 500. There had to be some way out of this. I couldn’t stand Jonathan Reid, but I’d never in a thousand years have suspected him of something like this. One of the things that really scared me was the realization he was not just an advertising man with interests in other businesses. He was a hardened criminal in bed with the Rojas Cartel, capable of violence and probably murder. I wondered how long he had been on the other side of the law.
Laganga came back with several lengths of fabric and first bound my wrists and ankles, then moved to Kate and Kim. Not at all the way we planned it. We sat there immobilized with no idea of what would happen once the employees went home. In the meantime, after making sure we were securely bound, Vito Laganga went back out into the factory so everything would appear normal. With the door closed, not a sound could be heard from what was now our prison. The best I could hope for was that we would make it out alive.
“So, you think you’re really clever, Cami,” Reid snarled. “Baby, you’ve got a lot to learn. Unfortunately, I don’t think you and your friends are going to have that luxury. Now that you know who I am, everything has changed.”
It looked like Kate couldn’t stop herself from blurting out, “It was you, wasn’t it? You’re the one who had that poor Marjory Newfield murdered. If only she hadn’t remembered your name, if that really is your name. Who are you—Kenneth Monnigan? Jonathan Reid?”
He looked a bit surprised. “Too bad that dame decided to check into more than she’d been hired to do. See, I never enter into anything unless I have someone inside to act as my eyes. It is amazing what a bank clerk will do for some extra money, so I got reports on everything she was doing. But, I never guessed she had seen my name before.”
Cruelty edged his half-laugh as he walked over to Kate and grabbed her shoulders. That man apparently loved the tactic of digging into someone’s shoulders to cause extreme pain. I understood why Kate said what she did. After all, what did she have to lose at this point?
“You’re right,” she said.”She did recognize your name, or at least she recognized the name Kenneth Monnigan. Her memories were not good. I know she was auditing the bank that you and a group of underlings were trying to buy to make money laundering even easier, because she contacted me in confidence after seeing my website. With all the information in place, it’s easy to see why you wanted a bank. Trust me, you are under investigation. By the way, Marjory was very thorough. She made records of everything she found.”
My old boss looked like he was ready to explode. “BITCH! Tell me what you have and why. Tell me now.”
Kate just smiled at him. “Why should I? It looks like you plan to kill us anyway.”