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"All hands on deck," Amanda told Matt and Sady as they entered the back door of Knight Investigations. "Mr. & Mrs. Boss have a VIP client in the conference room. We've been waiting for you!"
Sady shrugged and scooted past Amanda, rushing to the conference room for the meeting. Amanda blocked Matt's way and kept an eye on her watch. Then she grinned and let him pass. "You can go now. You're officially late."
Matt bared his teeth as he passed her and made his way to the conference room where CJ paced, glancing at her watch. "It's about time!" she growled at Matt, as Amanda flounced in wearing a satisfied smirk. Before Matt could protest, Amanda claimed the seat next to Sady.
He took the long way around the room to reach the remaining empty spot and deliberately kicked Amanda's chair as he passed. "I'm not sure which is worse. Monday morning or you," he hissed, while CJ hopped around, ready to explode.
Matt flopped into his chair, and she said, "Finally!" She pointed to a block of a man sitting in a chair. Sady thought everything about him was a block, from the shape of his blonde crew cut, to his square jaw, and broad shoulders. She hid her grin, hoping she wouldn't slip and call him a blockhead. He didn't look like he had a good sense of humor. His face was lined and tanned, with a weather-beaten look. With muscles visible through the shirt he wore, Amanda openly admired him.
CJ cleared her throat. "Would you like to check his teeth?" she asked Amanda. Then, without waiting for an answer, she continued, "Never mind, don't answer that because I know what you'll say. It's not funny, Harry," she scolded her husband who sat back with his arms folded. Harry shrugged and wisely refrained from interrupting his wife.
"This is Wallace Shaw," she told the group. Then her eyes lit up. "He runs a boot camp for civilian spy wannabes. Sometimes he gets political or business bigwigs who want to make the news. Well, his last bigwig made the news, and not in a good way. You can read about him in the obituaries."
"So what was it that killed him?" Amanda asked. "Heat stroke, a heart attack, dehydration, exposure..."
CJ narrowed her eyes. "What makes you think it was anything like that?"
Amanda snorted. "Those spy training ranches are really death camps, unless you're Hercules." She sized up CJ, then continued, "Or you. Civilians shouldn’t pay for torture. No offense, Mr. Muscle, but I think tires belong on moving vehicles. They aren't meant to be stationary and placed on the ground for fools to hop through. Once a good tire has outlived its usefulness on a vehicle, it should either be recycled or hung from a tree branch as a swing for children."
Wallace Shaw narrowed his eyes at CJ. "I thought you said I could count on you for help. How am I supposed to put this lot into boot camp with that attitude?"
CJ's throat clearing session drowned out Amanda's laughter. That, and the lethal look in her eyes. "Because I say so." No one argued.
Sady raised her hand. "I hope there's a reason you're sending us- beyond athletic prowess and spy training."
Harry picked up the conversation. "Wallie's bigwig politician didn't die of natural causes. He was found murdered in a remote area of the compound. He'd been stabbed."
Amanda muttered, "Great. We love to hear the word compound because it always has a positive connotation and brings to mind favorable news events."
"You're just worried because you'll fail if you don't get kicked out first," Matt taunted.
"I don't need training- physically, spying, or otherwise," Amanda argued.
A low rumble from CJ grabbed their wandering attention, and she smiled at Harry. He continued. "The murdered politician, Seth Mills, had a lot of friends, enemies, and influence. He was known for having a dish or two on the side as well."
"Why haven't we heard this on the news?" Matt asked.
"The officials want it kept under wraps until they've had a chance to investigate thoroughly. Mr. Mills death may have been politically motivated, and announcing his murder could cause an upheaval in political circles. Everyone wants to avoid that, because his murder may have been personal," Harry explained. "Wallie's afraid news will leak, then he'll have a real mess on his hands. The guests pay good money, and some want their privacy protected for the two weeks of camp. If news reporters start sneaking in, his whole business could be in jeopardy. We will unofficially investigate leads that might solve this case. It's been nearly a week since Seth's death, and there aren't any solid suspects at this point. They have cleared the usual enemies- political rivals, ex-wives, girlfriends, and angry husbands.” Harry raised his eyes to the ceiling. "I think you get the picture of his general character."
"Seth Mills was a player," Sady summed up, and Wallie nodded.
"The investigators aren't forthcoming with their leads, and it leaves me in a difficult position," Wallie told them. "Until this is solved, my compound is at risk of being compromised by outsiders and that could be disastrous for my business. My hope is to expand and eventually have a string of boot camps across the nation. If the murder is never solved, that could put an end to the dream. I already have investors lined up, so I'm hoping you can help. I believe it was one of the guests, since getting into the compound undetected would be difficult for the average person. The authorities don't agree with me, but security is very tight and I trust my staff. Since the official investigation has turned to individuals outside the compound, I'd like you to focus on the remaining guests."
"Well, tell us what you know at this point," Harry suggested.
"Representative Mills signed up for the two-week program, and brought along his assistant/girlfriend, Melody. Two days into the course, he didn't show up for breakfast and he wasn't in his bunk. Naturally, everyone assumed he spent the night with Melody, but she claimed she didn’t see him that night. Her cabin mate backed up the alibi. All guests are assigned a cabin mate of the same sex," he replied to the unspoken question hanging in the air. He did the military version of an eye roll, and said, "Of course, we have to make exceptions for the occasional late night rendezvous of certain visitors. Just so you know, Melody's bunkmate left as soon as she was cleared by the feds. Two married couples left as well. Given their backgrounds I doubt they were involved. Frankly, I expected them to all wash out by the end of the first week, anyway. But the rest of the guests stayed and I believe one of them is the killer."
"So, back to the day Seth went missing. We immediately began a search of all the buildings and then the compound. One of the guards found his body in a distant and overgrown area of the compound, one that isn't used for training purposes. We called the police, and they set up a perimeter and called in the feds. From the amount of blood at the scene, they believe he was killed at that spot. The murder weapon, a knife, was never found. Whoever killed him left behind no clues, other than a partial footprint. It didn't match any of the campers, but that doesn't mean they couldn't have switched shoes. The puzzling thing is we have video surveillance of the main area, and other than confirming that Mr. Mills left his cabin at about 10PM, that's all we have. There's no evidence that anyone else left their bunks that night. The coroner believes he was killed between 10 and midnight. His body wasn't found until around noon the next day."
"Could someone climb over the fence?" Matt asked. "Obviously Mills went to that spot for a reason, most likely a meeting."
"We have razor wire at the top of the fence and a regular perimeter patrol. There isn't much chance someone made it over that wire twice without leaving trace evidence. The feds checked and found nothing. Not even a single fiber and no sign of disturbance on the ground for 100 yards in either direction of the body. That's why I believe it’s someone inside. I brought along a copy of the video from that night, but I don't think you'll see anything out of the ordinary." He showed the footage, and it was as he described. On the evening in question the guests wandered around, then all entered their bunkhouses. Only one person, Seth Mills, left his bunk that night.
"Is there any chance someone altered the video?" Sady asked. The men turned and looked at her like she was crazy. Matt patted her hand, and she snatched it away with a scowl. Then she looked to Amanda. "Was that a stupid question?"
CJ replied bluntly, "Yes. There's no way a person can get past Wallie's firewall to mess with his surveillance. He has the best technology available. Besides, he has several angles of the compound, from different security cameras."
Amanda gave Matt a dirty look. "I think I'll give Joey a call and have a little chat," she said in a lofty tone.
Wallie's unibrow became a V. "Who's Joey?" he snapped.
"A computer genius," Amanda said proudly. "And I bet he can hack your system."
"Uh, Amanda, we're trying to help our client find a murderer, not take down his security," Harry said, with a sideways glance at Wallie.
"I'm just saying if it can be done, Joey can do it," she sniffed defensively.
"I appreciate that," Wallie said, "but the feds didn't find anything."
"Your loss," Amanda mumbled under her breath.
"Well, the fact is we aren't hired to test the security," CJ said with finality. "We're going to check on the guests, since the feds are out of that loop."
"Won't your other guests think it's odd if we just show up out of the blue?" Sady asked Wallie.
"No, I often take on small groups for training in addition to other guests. I'll just tell them you weren't available to start the course with the rest of them," he explained.
"Which means you'll have to bust your humps to make up for lost time," CJ said gleefully.
Matt turned to Harry. "She's going in as an instructor, isn't she?"
CJ grinned and replied, "Extra guests means taking on another instructor. You wouldn't want to be cheated out of the full experience, would you?"
"I believe I'll pass on it," Amanda offered.
"Nice try," CJ laughed. "Anyone else? ... I didn't think so!"
"Oh, my God! She's gonna kill us," Matt groaned while CJ looked proud.