CHAPTER 24
C HAPTER 24
R ae parked in the Fortunate Harbor main lot and walked the path around the central buildings, following the text Curtis had sent with Amiya’s suite number. When she arrived, Amiya opened the door. Curtis was seated at the dining table, his back to the wall. One glance was enough for Rae to know they had discussed the issue foremost in Amiya’s mind and heart.
Amiya asked if Rae wanted anything, then seated herself on the sofa and tucked her feet up underneath. She then looked at Curtis, clearly wanting him to join her. If he even noticed, Curtis gave no sign.
Just so like a guy, Rae thought.
Amiya, on the other hand, exuded a stately calm. It was all out in the open now. The decision was up to him.
Amiya asked Rae, “What is so urgent?”
Amiya’s oceanfront suite was similar to the other rooms Rae had seen, only here everything was kicked up a notch. The suite’s furniture was polished mahogany and cherry, the oils adorning the walls appeared to be original, and the floor was a lacing of marble and some black ornamental stone. Rae thought onyx. The high ceiling held two blown-glass chandeliers with hand-painted wooden sailing vessels. The floor-to-ceiling glass sliders were open to the ocean’s gentle wash. The sea breeze and rattan ceiling fans kept the room fairly cool.
Rae supplied heat of her own.
She paced the room as she described the agents and their confrontational attitude. At the time, Dana’s equally severe response had been comforting. A strong ally had put the agents on the defensive. Where they belonged.
Or so Rae had thought then. Now . . .
Rae’s recounting of events acted like a tonic on Curtis. He lost the waxen complexion, his eyes cleared, his demeanor and body both tightened. Amiya noticed it as well. His transition gradually impacted her own state. By the time Rae finished speaking, Amiya had swung fully around to observe both him and Rae.
When she went quiet, he asked, “Are you happy with how things stand?”
“ ‘Happy’ is definitely not a word that applies here.”
“You know what I mean.” Curtis was back in his element. Focused. Intent. “On the surface, Dana has resolved your situation.”
“For now,” Amiya said.
“Longer than that,” he replied, without even glancing her way. Keeping his gaze tight on Rae. “Any plans for future confrontation have been permanently altered. A move regarding either your files or the property will require them jumping through multiple hoops. If you want, Dana can stonewall them forever. So back to my question. Is this what you want?”
His words impacted her on a very deep level. As if his observations began fitting together her jumble of emotions and unfinished thoughts. She actually felt relieved to respond, “I’m not sure.”
Amiya asked Curtis, “You have an alternative in mind?”
“I do. Yes.” His response was directed at Rae. “But only if you agree.”
Rae said, “I want to hear the alternative.”
Amiya patted the sofa beside her. “Rae, come sit down.” When she settled, Curtis took Rae’s place on the tiled floor and started pacing.
“It all comes down to something Kurien loves to say,” he began.
“Why make an enemy when it’s possible to forge an alliance,” Amiya said.
“I’m not suggesting Dana’s response was wrong,” Curtis went on. “Dana did what was required. A show of strength was absolutely necessary at that point in time.”
Rae asked, “And now?”
He nodded, reached the wall, swung around. “Now is different. Assuming your files on this guy are as clear as you claimed.”
“Sanitized.”
“In that case, why not let them see?”
“I can’t . . . and stay inside legal parameters.”
“Sure, I get that,” Curtis replied. Eyes on the wall up ahead. “But what if a third party could act as a go-between? Say . . .”
“A judge,” Rae said.
Amiya asked, “Is that possible?”
The answer was, a certain friend in the Beaufort courthouse had already sprung to mind. “In theory.”
“An ally of yours goes through the files,” Curtis said. “Then on the record, he or she tells the agents there is nothing of interest.”
“I like this,” Rae said. “A lot.”
Amiya asked, “What about our property?”
His response was to circle around the sofa, walk to the open sliders, and stare out over the sunlit sea. “If you ask me, this is the real reason why they came after you in the first place.”
Rae said, “I don’t follow.”
“This is just a guess. But given what you’ve told us, I think they’ve found something. Evidence that is tied to one of your client’s properties. Right now, they’re not certain which. If they knew it was hidden at Cape Fortune, their tactics would have been totally different. Warrants, raids, seizure. The property would have been lost. Permanently.”
Amiya’s tone sharpened. “We can’t let that happen.”
“No. We can’t.”
Rae felt as if the internal fragments suddenly snapped into new focus, completely rearranged by what Curtis had said. “The way those agents came at me, you’re saying it was all a blind?”
“That’s my take.”
In this moment, the real sense of comfort came from how Dana had missed this as well. “They played me.”
His eyes remained on the sunlit ocean. His voice sounded beyond calm. As if he was removed from them and the room. Searching. “I could be completely wrong. But I think, yes, they came after you so strong because they need to search the house.”
Amiya noticed it, too. “Curtis, what is it?”
“If I’m right, they’re off somewhere looking for another way in. And there’s a very real risk that whatever they’re after is there. Hidden inside that house. So they’ll circle around, fashioning some other way to break through these legal barriers Dana has thrown up.” He nodded slowly. “They’re still on the hunt. They haven’t given up. Not by a long shot.”
Amiya asked for her, “So, what do we do?”
“There’s only one course of action that I can see.” He faced the ladies. “We tear it down.”
“That makes sense,” Rae said. “The house is pretty much a wreck.”
“No, Rae. This isn’t some pipe dream we put in place when it suits us. Our only hope is to get rid of their reason to seize the property while they’re still recovering from Dana’s counterattack. We tear it apart tomorrow. ”
Both she and Amiya responded with an indrawn breath.
“You alert your judge. Then you contact the agents. Tell them you’re making these arrangements for them to see the files. It needs to happen tomorrow.”
Amiya realized, “This time, it’s us who are preparing a blind.”
He nodded. “The judge’s preview of Rae’s documents buys us a little time. Takes their eyes off the target. Momentarily. Nothing more. In the meantime, I alert all the contractors working on the resort property. Drop everything. Bulldoze the Cape Fortune house. Tear it apart. Raze it to the ground. And cart it all away.”
Amiya said, “Stripping away any reason they have to search and seize.”
“Right.” He still had not looked her way.
Rae started to rise. “I need to get things rolling.”
“Wait, I’m not done.” Once she had settled, Curtis asked, “What if they’re right? What if the items they’re after are inside the property? Sooner or later, that might come out. There’s a risk you’d be permanently labeled as a threat. A lawyer working for the dark side.”
Amiya said, “We can’t let that happen, either.”
“No. We can’t,” Curtis agreed. “Which means we have got to search the place. Now. This afternoon. Because whether we find something or not, the dozers have got to start at daybreak.”