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Jake had mixed feelings when he was told his “vision” had helped Grace and Logan find Tara. He was glad she’d been found, but the psychic thing rattled his doors—and that was putting it mildly. He’d become used to the other team members having extra-sensory perception, but hadn’t expected to join them in the world of weird.
It wasn’t all bad, of course. Hell, every tool in the box was an asset when it came to solving a case, rescuing someone, or any other mission, but he’d always preferred working in the background, taking the information the others came up with and getting the job done.
“You okay, Jake?”
He blinked and looked over at Rachel where she was working in front of three computer screens.
“Sure.”
“That didn’t sound too convincing.”
He was thrilled to know Tara was safe again, but wasn’t ready to share his feelings with anybody. He went for a reassuring smile. “I’m good. Glad everything worked out and they have Tara back in a safe place.”
“All because of you.”
“I don’t think so. It was a product of teamwork. And they’d have found her anyway.”
“Your vision was what sent Grace and Logan in the right direction. Facilitated a quick rescue. Why don’t you want to take some of the credit?”
He pushed away from his workstation and went to the window, stared through the one-way glass at the cobbled drive leading to the sprawling Meyers house. “Is it true this was a two-bedroom house until the fifth kid was born?”
“Yes. Three rooms were added during Julia’s first reno, and after that, well she just kept adding on. She says the projects helped her get through the worry and isolation when James was away.”
“She did them herself? She should write a book.”
“She has. Well, it’s still a work-in progress, but she’s documented the processes over the years. She calls it her memoirs of house and sanity. Why don’t you want to acknowledge your part in Tara’s rescue?”
“I—”
“It’s the vision, isn’t it? You’ll adjust, we all do.”
“I—”
“I hear dead people.”
“Excuse me?”
“They warn me when someone is going to die because I might be able to prevent it with my healing hands.”
Jake stared at her. He knew she was a healer, but she heard ghosts? And he was worried about a simple vision of a place he’d never been? “Well—”
“Exposure to this family, or maybe it’s the ranch, seems to up peoples’ extra abilities,” she said, waving a hand. “Give it a week or ten, and you’ll be thinking clairvoyance is pretty frosty. Then you’ll need to work at being able to use it as a tool, there at your fingertips when you need it.”
“You seem to be good with the whole idea.”
She laughed. “Believe me, it wasn’t always this way. I fought tooth and nail to keep my independence and stay disconnected. Nearly cost me Quinn.” She rubbed her belly. “And now the kidlets have changed everything again.”
“Tara—”
“Will find this family as hard to adjust to as you have. Give her time, and remind her that both Cass and I survived.”
“Wait. Tara’s not—”
“Care to make a bet on that?” Her grin was wide.
“You see into the future, too?”
“Nope, but you’re in love with her. And that, my friend, is all it takes.” She laughed. “Cass and Gage’s cat, Merlin, is staying with me while they’re away, and this morning, he told me he couldn’t wait to meet Tara and her cats.”
“She only has one cat.”
“Not according to Merlin.”
“A talking cat?” He dropped into the chair. He’d never seen this side of Rachel before. He’d always found her funny and great at keeping Quinn on his toes, but this “not-quite-pushy-with-a-side-of-strange-and-a-dash-of-wise” was a whole new view.
And he was not in love with Tara. Far from it. He refused to be. He was a hell of a long way from trusting her, and he was afraid that underneath the tough outer shell, there might be a needy woman. Sure, they had great chemistry, and he’d never deny he couldn’t get enough of her, and he worried about her, but that was part of the mission. He rubbed his hands over his face.
When other team members began to arrive for the briefing, he returned their greetings but didn’t engage. He took stock of the mood and if he’d had to label it, he’d have gone with expectant.
The minute Quinn joined them, silence reigned.
“We suspect Thomas is on the move. The camera our plant installed gave us a good view of him marching into the main building where the farm owners and an attorney had convened an hour earlier. When Brady left—nineteen minutes after he’d arrived—he looked pissed. He went back to his office in the stable yard and within minutes, was driving off the property.” Quinn’s gaze tracked over the group.
“He was tailed to a bank, which he entered with a large briefcase, and he was back out in eleven minutes with a death-grip on it.”
“A safety deposit box?” said Angie.
“That would be a fair guess. When our man got a layout of the bank, he confirmed Brady had gone left inside the entrance, which is consistent with the location of the boxes and privacy rooms. Brady’s next stop was a strip mall where he made a phone call before walking to a nearby bar. An hour later, he left there, went into the drug store, and came back out empty-handed, except for the briefcase, then drove home.”
“Could’ve shoved a prescription into his pocket. Or anything else small, but with the time lapse after the phone call, my money’s on a ‘script’.”
“Again, points to Angie. That’s been confirmed. Any other questions?”
“I think the farm owners are key here. We need to talk to them, find out what happened today so we get a clue how desperate he is. If it was minor, he’ll deal with it however he deals. If it’s major, he might rabbit,” said Rachel.
Angie nodded. “My reporter persona could work for this. Get in for an interview and play the cards as they come to me. Maybe mention that I met Brady at the sale, you know, open the door a crack and see where it goes.”
“That’s got juice,” said Quinn.
“I’d be more tempted to go in hard,” said Rachel. “Tell them you’re doing a follow-up on the horse that sold so high and caused the commotion, then mention the rumors flying around. You want to give them a chance to tell their side. To help them wipe the smudge off their farm’s name.”
“Nice,” said Angie. “Damn nice.”
“But you saw Brady’s temper that night at the sale, and you don’t really want to bump into him, so you’d better meet the owner somewhere off the property,” added Rachel.
“Yes, Mommy.”
“Hey, just trying to keep you sa—” She blanched. “Oh, hell, I’m doing it already. Blame it on the hormones, dammit.” She held her hands up. “I’m going to be someone’s mother. I can’t have a potty mouth. Heck. Make that heck, and darn it.” She heaved a sigh. “Angie, I know you’re a pro at this stuff and don’t need my warnings.”
Angie winked at her. “Yeah, but you’re fun to tease. You got a name and phone number for me?”
Keys clicked. “Several. A brother and two sisters. Who do you want to meet with?”
“Why fight what works? I’ll take the guy.” She glanced at Quinn and Jake. “And before you two start spewing testosterone, remember, I’m not twelve and I know how to handle myself.” She reached for the landline. “Let’s see what I can set up, then we’ll talk strategy.”
Jake listened to the purr she put in her voice, the sound reasoning she used, and the subtle push of her suggestions.
Yeah, she was good.
#
Twenty hours later, they reconvened in the boardroom.
“Gerald is a real sweetie,” Angie told them. “And eager to do damage control, although much of what he shared was prefaced with ‘off the record,’ and yes, he actually used air quotes. I’ll read you the statement he wanted me to print. ‘Due to crossed wires and the excitement of the busy sales venue, a misunderstanding of monumental proportions occurred. It has since been rectified to the satisfaction of all parties involved.’ Period. But here’s the deal. The guy who’d pre-bought the horse in question came to them squawking because Brady hadn’t returned all his money. Gerald and his sisters were appalled and had no idea Brady had done a pre-sale—which goes against the terms of the agreement he signed when submitting the horses for cataloguing. They’d never heard of such practices before.”
Quinn’s eyebrows went up. “Right, they fell off the turnip truck yesterday.”
“Actually, they’ve only been hands-on in the business for a short time. They inherited the farm from an uncle five years ago and when the manager quit after three, they decided to step in and try their hand at breeding Thoroughbreds. And yeah, Gerald does sound like a total neophyte. He was, however, bright enough to check out the guy making the allegations about Brady. He hired an outfit to do an investigation.”
“Anyone we know?”
Angie grinned at her big brother. “Mooney’s outfit. So I, of course, had a chat with them. As I’d expected, even though the client only wanted to run the guy asking them for money, Mooney also ran the other half of the scam.”
“He get anything on Brady we didn’t already know?”
“Confirmation on his lack of character. A rep for starting bar brawls and then slipping out before law enforcement arrives. And lots of rumor-mill stuff about how he treats the women he dates. Your typical asshole. Starts out sweet as pie then after he gets them hooked, he starts abusing them. And he’s smart enough not to mark their faces or arms. He’s apparently a gut puncher, and he breaks them down—as in ripping away self-confidence and destroying self-esteem. The word bully popped up in more than half the interviews.”
“And they didn’t share this with the client?” asked Rachel.
“No. Mooney offered to do a profile on Brady, but they said they didn’t need it because he’d been thoroughly investigated before they hired him.”
“Stupid.” Quinn tapped his fingers on the table.
“True,” said Jake. “But, nothing they got has any bearing on the sales transaction in question.”
Angie was swiveling her chair back and forth. “They still need to know what kind of man they have working for them.”
“No argument from me,” said Jake. “I’m only playing devil’s advocate.” And trying to deflect some of the feelings trying to seep in when he thought about Tara at the hands of a man like the one just described. Not that her description had been any less, but hearing it this way, from a third party just underscored everything she’d said, and more, what she hadn’t.
“Back to business. What’s the risk he’ll bolt? Pros and cons.” Quinn looked at him, so Jake got it started.
“As it stands now, the debt’s being paid off, and Brady wasn’t the one they were looking at sideways, so he has no real reason to run.”
“But my gut says he’s going to.” Angie gripped the table in front of her. “He doesn’t like looking over his shoulder. He’d rather move on, and if he’s to be believed, he has a talent people are willing to pay for, so there will always be a new fabulous job offer to consider.”
Quinn held up a hand. “I disagree. According to my connections within the racing community, Thomas Brady is a legend in his own mind. I would suspect that if he leaves his current position, there’s every chance he’ll disappear for a while then show up in a new location. Besides this one in Kentucky, he’s run farms in Maryland, Florida, and Arkansas—in that order. Seems like he’s careful to put physical distance between his jobs. My money’s on California as his next stop.”
“My home territory,” said Jake. “And while I have no connections with the Thoroughbred world, I’ll see what I can come up with.” Funny, he hadn’t thought about home for a while. He used to jones for a day on the ocean, but lately, all his spare time was filled with thoughts of an aggravating woman and a cottage on the lake. He hadn’t seen it without snow, but could imagine it was great this time of year with the trees covered in leaves, the lawn sprawling wide and green between the house and the blue water. He’d like to see that and spend real time with Tara. Curl into one of those big chairs in front of the fire with her and—
“Jake?”
“Sorry, what was the question?”
Part Four