Chapter 7 More Questions
A turf war. Just like I thought. Tucker came out of his seat and started pacing the subterranean security control room he and the rest of the Lonestar Security guys were hunkered in.
They were glued to the live feed of the security camera in the room where Mallory and Chip were chatting.
Mounted on the walls of the control room were several other computer screens flashing through scenes across the historic community.
Conrad Cavender had left them to monitor the security feeds while he and his ranch hands finished moving his herds to safety.
“A turf war.” Gil Remington glanced up from his laptop, where he’d been digging deeper into the Silva family’s background. “You don’t look surprised, Pratt.”
Dave, who’d been leaning over his friend’s shoulder, glanced Tucker’s way. “Either you were right about her, or she’s a better actress than any of us gave her credit for.” He was fiddling with Mallory and Chip’s cell phones.
Tucker gave him a hard look. “Lemme guess. You think she’s figured out she’s being filmed, and she’s feeding us nonsense to control the narrative?
” It was something Mallory was capable of, though Tucker doubted it was the case.
Her body language, which he’d gotten especially good at reading lately, wasn’t giving off any red flags.
However, if the only attorney in the room was determined to keep raining suspicion down on her head, far be it from Tucker to spoil his fun.
He understood the process of ruling out suspects and had every confidence that Dave would eventually arrive at the right conclusions.
“If that’s what she’s doing, she’s got Hollywood-level acting skills.” Gage Hefner glanced up from the card table where he and his younger brother, Rock, were playing cards. Rock’s old leg injury from his Special Forces days must be acting up, because he had his cane resting between his knees.
“Or…” Gage shot a bemused look at Dave. “Maybe someone is just trying to get a rise out of the only single guy on our team.” He slapped a card down on the table. “It’s kinda hard to miss the tension between you and a certain spitfire rancher.”
Oh, brother! “Can we get back to the game plan?” Tucker knew all too well what his supervisor was talking about, but he refused to give anyone in the room the satisfaction of admitting it.
“Sure.” Gil took off his Stetson and rested it on his knee. “Right after we settle how Mallory Evans is going to pay for it.”
Dave, ever Gil’s me-too guy, nodded eagerly. “Yep, it costs money to scramble a helicopter crew. It’ll cost even more to keep us on your six when you hit the road again.”
Alarm curled through Tucker’s gut. “You do realize she’s teetering toward bankruptcy?
” Clearly, he hadn’t thought this through when he’d called for backup.
“I’m the one who called you guys in. She didn’t know I was doing it.
Guess you’ll just have to charge it to me.
” It would put a dent in his savings for sure, especially after how much he’d already spent on purchasing the hundred-acre parcel of land.
“Relax.” Gil Remington cocked his auburn head in consideration at him. “You made the right call. We take care of our own at Lonestar Security, which means everything we’ve done up to this point is on the house.”
Tucker’s shoulders relaxed.
“But if we’re gonna keep tailing her cattle transport,” he continued, “someone will have to pick up the tab.”
“Not her.” Tucker shook his head, thinking hard for another way to come up with the funds.
“Definitely not her.” Dave leaned forward to flick his fingers against Gil’s computer screen. “Thanks to the bug you planted for us on the computer Mallory does her bookkeeping on?—”
“You mean the computer Martina Silva works on,” Tucker cut in, not liking what he was implying.
“Exactly.” Dave didn’t look the least bit ruffled by the interruption. “We’ve discovered her ranch is bleeding money all over the place.”
“What are you talking about?” Tucker stalked closer to Gil’s computer screen to peer over the shoulders of the two men.
“It’s not the cattle rustling that’s gonna put her out of business.
It’s the fact that she’s being skimmed to death.
” Dave’s voice was grave as he pointed out several line entries on the monthly expense sheet for Evans Ranch.
“Just about every time money comes in or goes out of her accounts, someone’s taking a haircut off the top.
We’re talking inflated vendor fees, nonexistent service charges, and here’s my favorite one.
” He wagged a finger at a particular line entry.
“Pest control fees to a company that doesn’t exist for an attic that’s probably harboring nothing more than the usual dust and cobwebs. ”
“Well, I’ll be!” Tucker scowled at the numbers. “No wonder she had to sell off some land.” At the rate her ranch was losing money, the proceeds from the sale weren’t going to last long.
He fisted his hands in his hair. “Not sure this is the best time to bring it up, but I’m trying to talk her into letting me go into business with her.”
All eyes in the room turned his way.
“No kidding?” There was no mistaking the grin spreading across Gage’s features. Or the smirks on everyone else’s faces.
“That would certainly change the billing side of things on our end.” Gil leaned lazily back in his chair.
“How so?” Tucker was ready for some good news.
Gil waved a hand casually. “As a Lonestar Security employee, you get unlimited backup—few questions asked. One of the perks of risking your backside for us, day in and day out.”
Hotdog! Tucker’s eyebrows shot toward the ceiling. “Meaning all I’ve gotta do is get her to agree to our partnership, then this…” he waved his hands between them, “is free?”
“I wouldn’t call it free,” Gil said carefully. His expression grew serious. “Like we did for you, you’ll have to respond to the call of duty when any of the rest of us are in trouble. That’s how this works. That’s the only way it works.”
“It also means we’ll have to help bring the key members of not one, but two drug cartels to justice,” Dave announced flippantly. “That way we can collect the reward money the local ranchers are offering for any information leading to their arrest. Gotta pay for this investigation somehow.”
“I’m in.” Tucker would’ve helped anyone in the room with no strings attached. That said, he liked the strings he was being presented with. “I was already in.”
“We know.” Gil’s expression relaxed. “That’s why there were so few questions asked about your SOS earlier.”
“Appreciate it. Appreciate all of you.” Tucker had never worked with a brotherhood of investigators who were this loyal to each other.
It was gratifying and humbling. Deeply humbling.
And mildly uncomfortable. He’d spent so much of his career operating as a lone ranger that he was constantly having to remind himself he was part of a team now.
There was a pause across the room, along with a feeling of expectation as the other men continued eyeing him.
Right. The ball’s in my court. Tucker cleared his throat. “I took their cell phones, remember?” He waved at the video feed where Mallory and Chip were having their sibling-like heart-to-heart. “There’s no way to continue negotiating with Mal from here.”
“Oh, ye of little faith.” Gage stood and tossed his cards face down on the table. “This is Disney World, remember?”
“Oh, you want me to do it now?” That surprised him. It shouldn’t have, but it did. He’d pictured a one-on-one discussion with Mal, but he could understand why Lonestar Security preferred to speed things up.
“No better time than the present.” Gage moved across the room to tap a few numbers into the security panel on the wall. A door popped open, leading deeper into the subterranean maze of passages. “We’ll be anxiously awaiting your report. ”
Tucker huffed out a chuckle. “Like you guys won’t be listening the whole time.”
“True.” Gil pointed at the yawning tunnel. “But we have no idea when the cartel might return, so…”
His meaning was clear. Tucker needed to hurry. “I’m on it.” He stepped through the doorway into the dim passage on the other side.
“One more thing,” Dave called after him.
Tucker glanced over his shoulder, surprised to see the attorney swinging something and preparing to toss it. He cupped his hands and nodded.
A cell phone thudded into his hands. It was Mallory’s. “Was it bugged?”
“Nope.” Dave’s expression told him that Gage was right.
Dave didn’t truly suspect Mallory. He probably never had.
He’d just been baiting Tucker to get a rise out of him.
It was what lawyers did best. In doing so, Dave had verified to himself and everyone else in the room that Mallory Evans was more than Tucker’s client.
“Neither was Chip’s.” Dave tossed a second cell phone to him. “Thanks to the rush the sheriff put on the warrant, the Heart Lake Police are now tapping Chip’s line. They’ll be able to read every text and listen to every phone call.”
“Perfect.” Tucker gave a low whistle.
“Find out whatever else you can about Chip Silva,” Dave advised. “Mallory’s got him all softened up for you. Should be as easy as pie to go in there and play bad cop.”
“Roger that.” Slipping the cell phones into his pocket, Tucker dug his own out and turned on his flashlight app.
It proved to be unnecessary. A few steps into the tunnel, his movement triggered the motion-detecting recessed lighting.
He was able to switch off his flashlight app as he traversed the surprisingly clean and well-lit passage.
It didn’t take long to reach the room Mallory and Chip were locked in. He pressed his ear against the door. Sure enough, he could hear their voices on the other side.
He rapped lightly on the door with his knuckles.
The voices grew silent.
He knocked again, a little louder this time. “Mal? It’s me, Tucker.”