Chapter 5 Mallory Plantation—Remy
Mallory Plantation—Remy
When Remy drove through the security gate at Mallory Plantation, his phone dinged, and the truck’s Bluetooth displayed a message from McBain: Come to the clean room.
Clay shook his head, chuckling. “How did he know we were back?”
“He’s Mr. Eyes-in-the-Sky.” Remy drove straight toward the parking lot. “McBain’s sitting at his desk, watching a bank of security monitors. He saw a vehicle drive in and would have gotten an alert with my ID number.”
“Having all your movements monitored seems like Big Brother’s watching.”
“He is.” Remy parked beside the plantation’s fifteen-seat passenger van. “There are billions of dollars’ worth of gemstones, gold nuggets, and sixteen brooches in the safe in the clean room, plus the antiquities spread out all over the place. If anyone broke in, we’d never recover from the loss.”
“Sixteen? I thought we only had thirteen.”
“Ruby, sapphire, emerald, amethyst, diamond, amber, pearl, topaz, sunstone, bloodstone, moonstone, Erik’s garnet, Violet’s sardonyx, Sten’s jacinth, Erik’s second brooch—the sardius he left in the cave, and the Robertsons’ jasper. That makes sixteen.”
“Are you assuming Erik told the truth about the number of brooches and that he didn’t add more later? We could have all of them, or he might have hidden several in case he needed to return and rectify the mess he created. Regardless, I find the surveillance here intrusive.”
Remy eased the truck toward the curb, his foot feathering the brake. “If it gets to you, go to the Hamptons.”
“You trying to get rid of me?”
“No, but your house is the only place David isn’t monitoring.”
Clay barked out a laugh. “You believe that? I don’t. Not since a dozen preteens made plans to stay there this summer. Kevin and JL agreed to chaperone in July and August.”
“I didn’t know that. I wonder if Elliott and Meredith will spend some time there, too.”
“Does that mean you’ll go? There are some great waves in Montauk.”
“I’m not the Hamptons type. But if you go, I’ll bite the bullet and head up there for a few days, get in some surfing, and listen to some world-class jazz,” Remy said.
Clay unbuckled, half-turned in his seat. “You could take your band up there and play a concert on Main Beach or at the Stephen Talkhouse.”
Remy opened the door and stepped out of the car. “Let’s get it back together first.”
“And to think I was living blissfully in my little world. I knew about the MacKlenna Clan because of Patrick, but I didn’t know about the secrets the family protected.”
“And we doan know about the secrets your family protected.”
“I spent a third of my life in Buffalo with Uncle Archibald and never knew he was hiding so much from me. If only he’d told me, we could’ve traveled like Erik and Tavis.”
“And Erik and Mark.”
“And you and Elliott.”
“Nobody would’ve been stupid enough to make the trips we made.”
“I don’t know about that. Erik traveled back to ancient Egypt. You and Elliott didn’t go back that far.”
Remy would never fess up to that one. He reached into the back seat for his bag and Marcelle’s belongings. Then he gestured toward the golf cart parked in a designated Over Sixty space. “Guess we’re walking. That’s the only cart around.”
Clay grabbed Bastien’s gear. “I’m going to find Rory first and give him the sweatshirts. I’ll meet you in the clean room.”
Remy shut the door a little harder than necessary and shot him a look. “You can’t ignore David’s message.”
“He didn’t say to come directly there.”
“Assume it’s a demand from Elliott. You can’t brush it off. It’s not worth an ass-chewing. And besides, he doesn’t want the rest of the family to know what we’re doing.”
“Elliott sends me demands several times a day. His first demand came at seven this morning to run with him and again at ten when he needed a chess partner. If you hadn’t rescued me, I’d be saying yes to his third and fourth demands of the day.”
“You’re new to the family. He’ll let up once he trusts you to be there when he calls.”
“And how long will that take?”
“It takes what it takes. That’s why you should go to the clean room before seeing Rory.”
“What is he, a five-year-old?”
“Brooch business is dangerous, and Elliott has to be sure everybody’s on board,” Remy said. “But if you doan want Elliott bugging you, find a project to keep yourself busy.”
“I’m building a house, settling my uncle’s estate, and helping Rory and Robert adjust to life in the twenty-first century. How many projects do I need?”
“What are you doing for you? Doan you want to write a book about Roosevelt? Have you started it? If not, why? What are you waiting for? And doan say inspiration. You can find that sitting on the bank of the James River. Try telling Elliott you’re writing and see what happens, but you’d better produce pages, or he’ll know you’re using it as an excuse. ”
“How do you know that?”
“I’ve been glued to his side for a while.”
“What are you doing for yourself?”
Remy wasn’t expecting Clay to throw the question back at him. Only one person knew his secret, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to share it with anyone else. “If I tell you, keep it to yourself.”
Clay held up his three middle fingers. “Scout’s honor.”
Remy scowled. “For that to count, you had to be a scout.”
“I was an Eagle Scout. Uncle Archibald insisted I go through the program. It was important to him.”
Remy paused, one hand resting on the hood of the truck as he considered that. Then, without ceremony, “Okay, Eagle Scout. I’m taking the MCAT in May.”
Clay straightened, surprise breaking through his casual stance. He let out a low whistle. “Medical school? That’s no joke. Has that been your plan for a while?”
“I considered it as an undergraduate, but it was too expensive, and I didn’t want to accumulate student debt. If the NFL had drafted me, I would’ve made enough money to go later, but that didn’t happen.”
“What was your major?”
“I graduated with a double major in biology and statistics.”
“Have you told Elliott?”
“Charlotte knows, so what does that tell you?”
Clay chuckled. “Okay, now I understand how to play the game. As soon as we’ve recovered Bastien, Marcelle, and the Robertsons, I’ll tell Elliott I’m heading to Buffalo for a few days to pack up the rest of Uncle Archibald’s library.
When I return, I’ll need an office for my books and research, as well as a place to write until the builder finishes the house.
By then, he might find another chess partner. ”
“He has plenty. He was waiting for pushback, and then he’ll challenge you to do something for yourself.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I thought you were smart enough to figure it out.”
“Give me a break. I’m new here.”
They had almost reached the mansion when Remy stopped and turned toward Clay.
“Here’s the deal. There are a couple of unoccupied offices in the resource center.
If you take one of them, you’ll have to be productive.
Are you ready? If you’re not, you’ll continue to get the first call to entertain Elliott. ”
“Let me think about it. I might be more clear-headed when we get everybody home.”
“If you’re not, you’ll be forever stuck at the chess table.”
“There are worse places to be, and besides, I’m not challenging enough to be a constant partner. He’ll get bored with me.”
Instead of wandering off to find Rory, Clay followed Remy to the clean room, where they walked in on David, Elliott, and Braham gathered around the refreshment center, deep in conversation.
Remy removed his aviators. “This looks serious.”
“Ofello located all the Illuminati accounts from the information ye collected in Buffalo, and we transferred all the illegal money to an offshore account,” David said. “But we’re still missing a big part of the money laundering operation.”
Clay put a pod in the single-serve coffee maker and turned it on. “Archibald did that, but the organization found it and stole it back. How do you know they won’t find it this time?”
David finished his coffee and rinsed his cup.
“We took several steps to hide our tracks that Archibald didn’t.
We spread the funds across multiple accounts.
If the organization finds one, the system will move the remaining funds to other accounts.
By that time, we’ll know what’s going on and can shut down that part of the organization. ”
Clay offered the cup to Remy, but he declined, so Clay sat on a barstool and sipped his brew. “I hope that works. I’d be happy if I never heard about the organization again. But if we keep shutting down the Illuminati, won’t that make the leaders or officers more determined to destroy our network?”
“All they have now is a figurehead,” David said. “With Sten gone, they have little power, and we’re not even sure if they still have a brooch.”
“They can still amass another fortune,” Remy said.
“David and Braham will work on those details, and ye two go find the LeBlancs and Robertsons,” Elliott said. “Then we’ll all go to New Orleans.”
“How soon will ye two be ready to go?” Braham asked. “I have four hundred dollars in cash, a small fortune in gold nuggets and diamonds, and brooches ready for ye there on the table.”
Remy looked in the direction Braham was pointing. “What about clothes?”
“Roisin’s last text said she was pressing the suits. Ye have enough time to say goodbye to Rory while Remy gathers yer firearms,” David said.
“If we get shot by a machine gun, there isn’t much my bag of tricks can do for us,” Remy said.
“Pack body armor and drugs for pain management,” Clay said. “We’ll be fine until we get home.”
“Glad you have so much confidence.”
Clay threw up his hands. “Isn’t this a low-drama extraction?”
David chuckled. “According to Burns, the best-laid plans of mice and men—”
“Often go awry.” Clay finished the famous quote. “Burns’s poem is about the futility of planning, so why even bother? It will all go awry once we arrive.”
“Doan be such a pessimist.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. That’s your job.”