Chapter Ten
Hawk stood with the Stone family across the street from the building that housed their business headquarters; they’d been there for hours.
The media, lookie-loos, and a scattering of employees gawked from the sidelines. But the majority of people had left the immediate area once the police line had been expanded.
As the scene in front of them unfolded, Hawk kept a close eye on Alex.
Once the initial shock began to fade, and perhaps the adrenaline with it, Alex became painfully silent.
When the anticipated explosion didn’t occur and the movement and vacating of authorized vehicles started to happen, Hawk felt his own shoulders relax.
The incident commander pulled the Stone family aside and away from the numerous reporters waiting for a statement.
“This is Commander Owens,” Ed introduced the man.
After a few handshakes, the commander launched into what they’d found.
“Did you find a bomb?” Alex asked straightaway.
“We found what someone wanted us to believe was a bomb,” Owens said.
Hawk saw Alex’s chin lift and stiffen.
“As I told Mr. Vargas, a 911 operator received a call approximately five minutes before we called for the evacuation of your building.”
“The caller must have been very convincing,” Hawk said.
“Why do you say that?” Chase asked.
“Because evacuating the building isn’t the first thing done.”
“He’s right,” Owens stated. “Evacuations come with their own risks. If there is a bomb, it could be anywhere. Scared and running civilians could accidentally set the thing off if it was, say, in a stairwell or behind a door. The caller informed the operator that the security cameras in the garage were tampered with before the building opened for business. But that in-house security wouldn’t have detected the problem. ”
“How?”
“We’re not sure yet. But your security guard was able to confirm that the cameras appeared to be live, but the time stamp didn’t match up. We knew then the caller wasn’t playing.”
“But the bomb wasn’t real,” Max said.
“The threat was. There was enough reason to believe there was an explosive inside the backpack we found. A timer, wires ... a clay substance.”
“C-4?” Hawk asked.
Owens shook his head. “Play-Doh. None of it was hooked up.”
Chase blew out a breath. “A sick joke?”
“Sick, yes. Joke, no. There was a typed note inside the bag. It said, ‘Next time I won’t call.’”
Alex leaned forward. “They’re just trying to scare us? Why?”
“Good question. Answering that will bring us closer to finding out who was behind it. We have a lot of questions.” Owens looked directly at Alex. “Most of which will start with you.”
Alex drew back. “Me? Why?”
Hawk looked between Owens and Alex and back again.
“The backpack was found under your car.”
“Mine?” Alex’s eyes grew wide.
“That could be random,” Sarah said.
Hawk immediately rejected the thought.
“These things are seldom random,” Owens voiced Hawk’s exact thoughts. “The threat was for the building, but it was under your car.”
“I’d like to get a statement, ask some questions, and have you listen to the 911 tape. Maybe you can shed some light on the caller,” Owens told them.
“That’s fine. We’ll cooperate in any way we can. Would it be possible to answer these questions at our family home?” Chase asked before looking over his shoulders at the swarming media. “We might be able to avoid some of this chaos there.”
“Good idea,” Max said.
“Give me about an hour, I’ll meet you there,” Owens agreed before writing down the address of the Beverly Hills home and walking away.
Hawk turned to Chase. “If it’s okay with you, I’d like to hear the recordings.”
“Of course.” Chase turned to his sister. “Alex, why don’t you ride with Hawk. Show him how to get there.”
Alex blinked several times and shook her head as if she were displacing cobwebs. “That’s fine.”
As the six of them started to move in different directions, Hawk motioned for Alex to follow. “I’m over here.”
For a second, Alex looked around her like she was forgetting something.
“What is it?”
“It’s weird. I don’t have my purse, or laptop, phone ...” She glanced up at the building.
“You’ll be able to get back in by morning.”
She nodded and moved alongside him to his car. Avoiding the media that swung their cameras toward her.
Inside, Hawk dialed Ed to fill him in.
“Yeah?” Ed answered.
“I’m going with the family.”
“Good idea. I’ll stay here. Find out if they want me to bring in a team after the police are done.”
“Plan on it,” Hawk suggested.
“Keep me informed,” Ed said and disconnected the call.
Hawk glanced at Alex, who leaned her head back and closed her eyes.
“You okay?”
She rolled her head to the side, those dark eyes looked at him, and a faint smile found her lips. “The shock is starting to wear off. As soon as I start getting pissed, you’ll know I’m fine.”
He huffed a laugh. “I like that.”
Hawk put the car in drive and inched out of the traffic and crowd that still looked on.
“Owens is going to quiz everyone on who they think could have done this. You might want to give the question some thought before he comes.”
“I’m not sure. There were plenty of people that didn’t care for the fact that our father left us the company. Floyd ...”
“Your vice president?”
Alex nodded. “He wanted the CEO chair. We’ve been collecting reasons for letting him go. But ...” She paused. “He wouldn’t have set off a bomb. He was in the building, so that doesn’t pan out.”
“If he is involved, he knew the bomb wasn’t real.”
“I guess. There’s Melissa. We were in the middle of a board meeting, and she was there, too.”
“Who is she?” Hawk asked.
“My father’s widow. She and I are basically the same age. Dad didn’t leave her any more money than what their prenuptial stated.”
“Then why was she there?”
Alex shifted in her seat. “She bought out shares from another unhappy board member, Paul Yarros. Only none of us know where or how she came up with the capital for that. Paul is no longer on the board, so I somehow doubt he is on the list of suspects.”
“Was there anyone from the board missing today?”
“No. Everyone was there.”
“What about enemies of your father?”
“Who knows. One of the reasons I’ve gone out of my way to attend parties like Bakshai’s is to learn who liked and didn’t like our father. I’m sure he made enemies. The man was an asshole.”
Hawk did a double take.
Alex laughed. “Trust me. You might be walking into what was once his estate, but those of us in it hold no love for the man that built his empire.”
Hawk was quiet for a moment. “Mind if I ask why?”
“The short version ... he wasn’t a father.
We were furniture when he and our mother were still married.
Something to be seen once in a while, but never really appreciated.
When my parents split, Mom received what was written in their prenuptial, which also had a cap on what she could ask for child support. It wasn’t a lot.”
“Define a lot ?”
“We weren’t poor. But it was nothing like we have now.
Chase and I grew up in a typical neighborhood.
Had the family road-trip vacations. We were both afforded college by our father.
Somehow, not paying for our education shed a dark light on him.
” Alex offered a sarcastic laugh. “For a short time after the divorce, Chase and I were expected to visit him on weekends, time in the summer. Only we’d go to the estate, and Dad would be in Europe, or the Maldives .
.. wherever he wanted to go. He’d hire nannies to care for us.
Mom put a stop to that right away and took full custody. Dad never challenged her.”
“Wow.”
“That’s only my and Chase’s story. He abandoned Max altogether.”
Hawk turned off the freeway and started up into Beverly Hills. “I looked up Max’s story after we met. Sounds like your father was an ass.”
“We truly never imagined he’d leave the estate to us. Neither one of us wanted it.”
“Really?” Hawk asked.
Alex smirked and shook her head. “It is a lot of money, though.”
That made Hawk laugh. “Understatement.”
“Yeah, well ... if it wasn’t for our desire to find Max, we might have actually walked away from it all.
But then we started taking on the company.
People there were scared they were losing their jobs.
The company CEO dies, business and stock are all over the place.
We ended up roped in. We could have sold it all, but then what?
I’m too young to not have an occupation, and as Max once said, it was too early to become an alcoholic, sitting around doing nothing all day. And none of us golf.”
“Golf?”
She grinned. “It’s an inside joke.”
Hawk was caught up in her smile when the car behind him hit their horn.
“Past the stop sign, then veer right,” she told him once Hawk turned his attention back to the road.
The estates of Beverly Hills were mostly hidden by huge gates and tall fences made of stone and often laced with shrubs. The farther up in the hills he drove, the less the houses could be seen from the street. “We’re the next gate on the right.”
Hawk slowed his car and pulled into the short drive before the iron gates.
Alex told him the key code to open them, and Hawk drove into a different world.
The tree-lined drive opened into a sprawling entry, complete with a fountain and ornamental statues that only the rich spent money on.
The house, if you could call it a house, was something only a millionaire could own.
Rounded stairway entering the home, with columns, massive windows, and two stories of who only knew how many square feet.
To the right of the home was a freestanding garage, where one of the many doors was open, and an SUV had been parked in front of it.
Hawk blew out a whistle.
“Like I said, it’s a lot of money.”
“Who lives here?”
“Max and Sarah. Chase and I didn’t want it. Technically, it belongs to all of us. There have been times we’ve crashed for a weekend. Mainly when the press was hounding us.”
Hawk put the car in park and cut the engine.
“Too many memories of your father?” Hawk couldn’t help but wonder how deep Alex’s daddy issues were.
“At first. It’s easier now. He always had more staff than family here. After his death, the opposite is true. The home has its advantages. Gates, cameras, space that’s hard to find in the city.”
Hawk put his hand on the door handle. “You had me at gates and cameras.”
Alex laughed again and then paused before exiting the car. “Thank you,” she said.
“For what?”
“Taking my mind off of today. For coming. You didn’t have to do that.”
“Well—”
“You didn’t,” she interrupted. “Security threats and bombs are way out of our wheelhouse. Seeing you there ... it was a relief.”
Hawk tilted his head to the side and stared. “I’m glad I can help.”
Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly before she pushed her way out of the car.