Chapter 38

 

 

We’ve got a problem,” Guy said as he set down his coffee.

Yeah, I know. Those two shipments, oops, I mean three stolen shipments have been discovered in a farmer’s field in Quebec. He swears they weren’t there last night but they were this morning when he checked his crops. He’s lawyered up, says there’s no way in hell he’s being blamed for something he didn’t do.”

Guy sat across from Graham at their usual table in the back corner of their favorite coffee shop. It was a good place to meet at 4:00 p.m. on almost any weekday as it was usually fairly quiet in the dining area, so they could talk without worries of being overheard. Once in a while they went there just to get out of the office.

And the trucks are full? Empty?”

That’s the bizarre part. Full. Nothing looks like it’s been touched. So the email we got doesn’t make sense for the 70% off.”

But they can’t take that chance as someone could have spiked the bottles somehow, right?”

Yeah but the packaging looks intact. It’s going to be tied up as evidence for a long time anyway. So the big question is what the hell is going on?”

No, the big question is who the hell is doing this? Do the cops have any ideas?”

None they’re sharing. Walters says he doesn’t have anything new to tell us.”

I’m going to contact our bootlegging swindler, Mr. Amdory. Maybe he’ll work out as an informant. The police are having a hard time finding any solid evidence that links directly to him. So I figure we use him. Did you get anywhere with that email about the wine?”

No.” Graham’s gut clenched as he considered that he hadn’t been able to trace the source. Someone was very good. “And Dorothea?”

You know how she likes to slam her cane on her desk when she’s irked? Well I think she might have actually broken the thing this time.”

Graham choked back a laugh. “I’m sorry, it’s not funny but it is.”

I know, Bailey and I had a chuckle about it, too. She has a temper. In this case, I don’t blame her. We really have to figure this out. And now.”

I agree but we also have another problem.”

Oh?” Guy took a bite of his cinnamon bun.

Yeah, our new employee has been hacking into our emails.”

What?” Crumbs spewed out of his mouth.

Gee, thanks for that shower buddy.”

Sorry.”

Bill has caught her a couple of times here—”

Guy raised his eyebrow.

Yeah, I know I should have told you but you’ve got lots going on—”

I know my life is interfering with work right now but you need to keep me in the loop.”

Okay. Anyway, Bill has caught her a few times leaving the office when we’re not there. I’ll give her credit—she’s good—but I have my safety net, so I’m alerted when someone has been into our account. And I know it’s not you—getting up before dawn is the last thing you’d do unless Bailey was the reason.”

Shit. So now what? Fire her?”

Believe me that was my first thought but there are too many coincidences. That incident at the Park is still a mystery. An arrow almost hits her and she says it was an accident. She acts like it’s nothing. Would you?”

I’d be pissed and want to know who shot the damn thing and why that woman ran.”

Me too. She said the woman she met sent her a message indicating she was scared her ex might have followed her. I checked her emails and she never got one. So why tell a lie? Why not ask us, since we investigate for a living, to help her find out who did it? Why not go to the police? Although again, she said she’d report it.”

This is too crazy. You think she’s behind all the emails we’ve been getting?”

They started before she came but what better way to ensure you get a job?” Graham thought back to the day he’d interviewed her and realized he’d played right into her hands. He’d left her to talk to his next candidate. “Oh man.”

What?”

He explained to Guy what had happened when he’d hired her, how he’d left her to catch his second interviewee while he ran to get a coffee. She said the woman had never arrived but she might have scared her off.

Sorry man. I know I haven’t been much help lately. Damn, this is crazy. Why would she do this though? Just for a job? There has to be more to it.”

Yeah, that’s why I suggest we don’t get rid of her yet. We need to know what she’s doing and why. There has to be a reason. And it better be a damned good one.”

Hey, Bailey’s taking her to the winery today. I could ask her to find out what she can about her. We really don’t know much, do we?”

No. Although I have discovered the article I read in the Vancouver Sun was planted by her. It was never in any of the newspapers. I found another one in the Edmonton Journal. She has set a trail for us to follow and she’s kept us swamped so we have no time to check her out.”

And we fell right into it. Man, this sucks. Okay, let’s figure out what we’re doing. I’ll call Bailey and apprise her of the situation—at least part of it. I’ll have Bailey take her to Grandma’s instead.”

I’m pulling in that favor from Detmier to check out Bronte Park; see if he can track down where the arrow was bought. I’ve also discovered a website she’s operating. I’ll go in and see what I can find out about her past. I checked back ten years on the internet and there was nothing out of the ordinary, but maybe she’s shared information on her site that will give us some answers.” Graham had only skimmed a few posts but now he’d dig deeper. He made his way back to the office but walked past the entrance, rounding the side of the building and headed down the alley to the back door. He rang the doorbell four times with a certain break so Bill would know it was him. The security camera he’d installed would have shown Bill who was there but Bill didn’t trust it, said it could be manipulated. Graham was beginning to realize how easy it was to be played. Two minutes later the door finally opened.

Hi Bill. I brought you some cinnamon buns.”

From Caspers?”

Would I get them from anywhere else?”

Bill snatched the bag and started to close the door.

Graham got the hint. “Good night.” He turned and headed back the way he’d come.

She was here this morning,” Bill said.

He retraced his steps. “Tarin?”

Yup. Standing outside the door.”

Did she go in?”

Bill shrugged and closed the door.

Not sure what to make of that, he made his way to the office to get his bike. It confirmed what he’d discovered when he’d opened his account that morning; Tarin had been in the office early. So had she been leaving when Bill saw her? Or when he had? What was she doing going through the company’s emails? He sent most of them to her anyway. He hoped he was wrong about her but it wasn’t looking that way. And someone was after her—the arrow proved it. But who—and why?