Ellie Ashe - Miranda Vaughn 02 - Dropping the Dime (11 page)

"Miranda, are you busy?" Rob's question startled me, and I exited the server file before he could see what I was doing.

"No, do you need me?" I stood up and went to join him in the conference room, where Kathryn was taking a seat at the table.

"I asked Kathryn to come by to talk about the FBI operation."

She gave me a tentative smile. "Hi, Miranda."

"Hi, Kathryn. How are you?"

She shrugged. "Is everything okay? It sounded important that I come right away. I told my assistant that I had to go to the bank, but I can't be gone too long."

Rob and I sat across the table from Kathryn.

"The agents stopped by this morning with some concerns. They're a little worried that you're a little too close to Simon Leonidis," Rob said. I was impressed with his tactfulness. It was a delicate business, accusing a client of using her feminine wiles to thwart a federal investigation.

"Oh, because he kissed me? I didn't mean for it to happen like that, Mr. Fogg. He's always been a little more friendly to me when there's no one else around, and well, I just thought maybe if I didn't push him away, that would get him to trust me a little more. And that ouzo is a lot stronger than I realized."

Rob gave her a gentle smile. "Well, it would be best if that didn't happen again."

She nodded vigorously. "No problem."

"There's another issue that has come up," he said. "Did you make a large withdrawal recently?"

Kathryn's face paled, even more than I would have thought possible with her alabaster complexion. Then her cheeks slowly turned pink.

"Well, I made a change in some investment strategies." Her answer was measured and contrasted with her obvious alarm at the question.

"What is KAL, Inc.?" I asked, making a mental note to look into the corporation.

"It's just a new company that I researched and want to support."

Rob frowned. "Is there any connection to Leonidis Development? Is it a competitor?"

"No, not at all," Kathryn said, her shoulders relaxing. "It's unrelated."

"Okay, good. Can you provide more details to us?"

Kathryn nodded. "Of course. I'm sure I have some materials at home. I'll bring them in next time we meet."

Rob smiled. "Thanks, Kathryn. I will relay that to the agents. It would be best if you disclose stuff like this to me before I learn about it from the agents. You understand, right? I don't want them to question your integrity."

She frowned, her brow furrowed with worry. "Is the investigation in jeopardy because of something I've done?"

Rob shook his head. "No. But if the agents think you're not being straight with them, the government can pull the immunity agreement, and that puts you at risk of being investigated and possibly charged alongside Simon Leonidis. I don't want you in that situation."

"I understand. I've told you everything. I'm really quite boring," Kathryn said.

Rob sighed with relief. "Great. Boring is good in this case."

She smiled. "I didn't think that was something you'd need to know."

"No problem. I'll let you get back to work." Rob stood and moved toward the conference room door. "There is one other thing. I'll be going out of town in a few days, and I'll be gone a week. I'll be available by phone, but if something comes up, you can call Miranda."

Kathryn looked at me and smiled. "Oh, that's fine. Miranda took good care of me last weekend."

I nearly laughed out loud. No, I hadn't taken good care of her. Under my watch, the whole operation nearly collapsed.

"Yeah, well, I trust she'll keep you out of trouble," Rob said, giving me a look that implied no trust, just a lot of concern.

"I'll walk you out," I offered.

Rob made his way back to his office, and Kathryn and I walked out into the hall and toward the exit to the parking lot, where I saw her dusty and slightly dented Volvo right in front of the building. Her choice reflected her conservative fiscal values and was one I understood well. I'd been broke, and I'd had a good income. And now I was just barely fighting my way back from being broke again. Driving the Golf Ball was one of the ways I was rebuilding my savings account. I was not in any position to judge Kathryn's choice in transportation.

Still, the drab, four-door sedan was an odd choice for a chief financial officer of a large development company who made good money. It struck me, too, as odd that someone who chose to drive an older car like Kathryn's would also drop two hundred thousand dollars on a start-up corporation. That seemed out of character with her risk-adverse personality.

Kathryn pulled her keys from her purse and paused near the driver's side door. She bit her lip in consternation.

"Miranda, can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

She sighed. "I'm worried that the FBI thinks I'm not being honest with them. Is there anything I can do?"

"I'm sure it will be fine. Just let Rob know if you find anything that will back up your suspicions, like any documents at work that might confirm your suspicions," I said.

"I've looked everywhere in the office. There's nothing there. I even poked around in his office last weekend when I knew Mr. Leonidis was out of town for a party," she said. "I couldn't find anything."

"I'm sure you're doing all that you can, Kathryn," I said. "But don't get yourself in trouble. What if your boss had found you in his office? Or someone else had?"

She shook her head. "Oh, no. It was the perfect opportunity. All of the Leonidis family was at a big party at the Bishop Ranch. I knew they wouldn't be near the office."

I nodded, remembering Simon Leonidis glad-handing people at the bar, his eldest son in tow. And Ana Leonidis confronting Quinn about drugs. I frowned at the memory of the way she had treated him. Not that it was any of my business. But it didn't sit right with me, the way people politely rejected him.

"Why didn't you go?" I asked. Kathryn was an integral part of the company, and it didn't seem right that she'd be excluded.

She shook her head. "I'm more of a homebody."

Well, that wasn't news. But it was a surprise that she'd spend her Saturday night snooping in her boss's office.

"Kathryn, is there anyone else in the corporation who might be putting pressure on you?" I tried to adopt Rob's gentle, nonjudgmental tone. "Another of the Leonidis family, maybe?"

She shook her head. "No! Absolutely not." She grabbed my arm, her face stricken. "Miranda, I'm not lying to the FBI, honest."

"I believe you, Kathryn." I tried to reassure her, but I understood her fear.

"I know Mr. Leonidis has something about the vendor somewhere. He doesn't throw anything out."

"But if not in his office, where?" I asked.

"Maybe in the storage area, but that's just for our archives. Maybe in his home office."

"Can you check those places?"

She shook her head. "I have a key to the archives. It's in the basement of the Leonidis offices, but I don't think he'd put anything important there. I don't think I've ever seen him go down there," she said then tilted her head. "And I've only been to his home a couple of times."

"Well, try and get into the archives, and see what you can find."

She nodded earnestly, then got into her car and drove out of the parking lot. I exhaled as I watched her go. She was in a pickle. If she didn't prove that her boss was committing fraud, the FBI might turn its sights on her. And nothing good could come of being the FBI's target. I had firsthand experience of that.

CHAPTER EIGHT

The Bishop Ranch was just under an hour's drive from the city, but it felt a world away. From the valley floor, all I could see on the horizon were foothills in one direction and the Sierra Nevada mountain range in the other. In between them was the greenest, most picturesque scene I could imagine. Horses grazed in white-fenced pastures with a pretty barn in the distance and beyond that, a few of the ranches' outbuildings, which Quinn had told me housed the hay and equipment that let the ranch operate.

I steadied myself on the horse he had chosen for me, a pretty brown mare with a white blaze and four white stockings. Her name was Pepper, but despite her name, she was awfully mild. I reached down and patted her warm and soft neck as I swayed in the saddle. I was grateful for Quinn's choice.

"You're doing great," Quinn said, and I turned to look at him riding beside me. He was on a dark brown gelding named Pedro who seemed a bit peppier than the plodding mare. Quinn sat on the horse's back like he was born to be there, easy and casual.

"Thanks," I said. Being on top of a thousand-pound animal with no seatbelt and just a saddle horn to keep me in place wasn't as traumatic as I'd been expecting.

"We'll just head north and then take the trail east. There's a small lake up there where we can have lunch. The view can't be beat," he said, urging his horse ahead of me as the trail grew narrow.

With Quinn riding in front, I had a good view of him. His broad shoulders filled out his faded brown shirt that flapped open over a worn T-shirt. I watched with appreciation as he leaned forward in the saddle. Now that was a view worth driving an hour to see. Why was I resisting his charm again?

He looked back at me and grinned, and my heart did a little flip. "When we get past this field, we can stray from the trail."

"As long as it doesn't involve going under trees. I had a traumatic childhood experience with that, remember?"

He laughed. "Don't worry. Pepper will take good care of you."

"How's the horse you showed me at the party? Pilar?" I asked.

"She foaled two mornings ago," he said. "A colt, very good looking little guy."

We came to a gate, and Quinn swung a leg over and jumped down from the horse in a fluid movement that I envied. He opened the gate and waved at me to go ahead. I looked down at Pepper, like she might understand the command, but she just stood there.

Quinn smiled and took the reins in hand, leading us through the opening, then went back and led Pedro through before latching the gate. He remounted and made a slight clucking sound and Pedro danced sideways. Pepper just stood there, as if waiting for me to do something, but damn if I knew what it was.

"We'll take the trail to the north canyon, then ride along the ridge. It's a prettier trail."

Quinn kicked his horse who bolted forward and my mare followed at a quick and jarring trot. Ugh. I was going to feel this tomorrow.

After a few minutes, the path we were on disappeared, merging into a meadow filled with the start of what would surely be an incredible field of wildflowers. It was a million shades of green, with a tiny smattering of pink and yellow.

"This is beautiful," I said as Quinn slowed up and began riding at my side again. "Is this all still the Bishop Ranch?"

"Yes, the ranch stretches up to the top of the mountain there," he said, motioning toward a peak in front of us. "Then it heads south to Bald Mountain, the one over there with all the snow on it."

I followed his gaze and tried to comprehend what it would be like to own that much of the planet. And it was one-third smaller than it had been, after the sale to Leonidis Development.

"So you manage the ranch now?" I asked.

He nodded. "Yeah, my dad stepped back a couple of years ago, and I've been taking on more duties. As he lets them go, that is. It's not really a job, more like a lifestyle," Quinn said. "You're never really off the clock."

"It must be nice, living up here. It's so peaceful," I said.

"Yeah, I didn't appreciate that when I was younger. I do now," he said.

I turned and studied him—his light brown hair mostly hidden by a worn hat and his bright blue eyes obscured behind dark sunglasses. His half-smile though, showed he was looking back at me.

"You used to work in Hollywood," I said. "Sarah told me you worked in the movies."

He nodded and the smile slipped slightly. "I trained horses for movie shoots. It was good work."

I started to ask another question, but his horse moved forward, and Quinn looked back at me. "The trail gets narrow again. Pepper will follow me, so don't worry, just do as I do."

The pace picked up, and he was right, Pepper followed along as if she knew the path well. As I studied his back, I wondered if he had moved on ahead on purpose, to avoid talking about why he left Los Angeles. About his conviction.

Jake's words haunted me. Was Quinn really dangerous? Everyone in my life trusted him, except Jake. Jake probably knew things about Quinn that no one else did, except maybe Rob. But Rob was happy to see me spending time with his former client—and I didn't think it was only to get me out of the house so he could be alone with Aunt Marie. Even Burton seemed to be playing Yenta, pushing me toward Quinn, which was something the investigator had never done before.

A peaceful half hour later, the trail wound around a bend, and we were overlooking a small alpine lake. The temperature was cooler, especially in the shade of the evergreen trees. It smelled like Lake Tahoe—all moist dirt and pine needles.

Quinn led us down a trail to the edge of the lake, where there was a grassy area next to a crystal clear stream feeding the lake. He helped me off the horse, and my legs almost buckled as he set me on the ground.

"Yikes," I said, stumbling. He caught me and held me, and that made my knees go weak for a different reason. He smelled good—woodsy and clean with a hint of leather from the saddle. I swallowed hard and took a deep breath as I steadied myself and moved a safe distance away.

Quinn laughed. "You're going to feel this tomorrow."

"Yeah, I know. It's worth it. Look how beautiful this is," I said, taking in the scenery.

He led the horses to a stump and tossed the reins over the saddle horns, then unfastened a pack from behind Pedro's saddle. He unrolled a blanket and took out a small bundle, then spread the blanket on a sunny patch of grass.

"Come have some lunch," he said, and I walked over to him, trying not to look like I was waddling, even though my legs still felt like they were in the saddle.

Quinn had packed a good spread of fruit, cheese, and bread and we made small talk while we ate. The whole time, I was trying to work up the courage to ask him about his criminal conviction.

"Can I ask you something?"

He was leaning back on his elbows and looked at me, giving me a grin. "Is it about prison?"

"No. Sort of. Yes," I said. "I was curious about that. But I was going to ask you about Ana Leonidis. I saw you talking with her at the party. It looked like you two knew each other."

Are you dating? Former lovers? Future lovers?
I left those questions unasked.

He frowned and shook his head. "I've known her since high school. She hasn't changed a bit."

"If anyone in my high school looked like that, I'd still be scarred," I said. "Did—uh, are you two—um, dating?"

He shook his head. "Lord, no. And when I said she hasn't changed since high school, I meant her personality. Ana's always been beautiful on the outside. Inside, well…let's just say she knows how to get what she wants."

"What did she want at the party?"

He turned and rested on one elbow and gave me a crooked grin. "Something I wasn't willing to provide," he said, giving me a wink.

I blushed at his suggestive tone, feeling the heat rise from my neck to my hairline. Of course, Ana was hitting on him. I mean, look at the man.

Quinn reached out and grabbed a bunch of grapes from the napkin between us and ate one, studying me.

"Oh, she wasn't interested in me," he said. "She tried to act like she was. But she was more interested in whether I had any connections still."

"Uh, Hollywood connections?"

He shook his head slowly. "Nope."

"Ah, you mean drug connections."

He quirked an eyebrow and studied me.

"Can I ask you about…that? I mean, if that's not too personal," I asked.

"Like asking if Ana and I are sleeping together isn't personal?" he asked then laughed. "Don't worry—I'm used to the questions. I pleaded guilty to bringing some pills over the border from Mexico. I spent about two years in a federal correctional facility, a camp. The place your clients call Club Fed, I'm sure."

"Lompoc, where Davy's going," I said. "What happened?"

He shrugged. "Rob got me a good deal. I did my time, and I've put it behind me."

He didn't offer any further details, and I felt like I'd pried all I could—for now.

Quinn poured more wine into the plastic glass in front of me. "So, tell me your story, Miranda," he said, watching me closely. "How did you come to be Rob's client?"

"It's kind of a long story," I said. One that I really didn't like having to explain. But Quinn hadn't shot down my questions, so I took a long drink of the wine. "I was charged with fifteen counts of fraud. My boss and his boss pleaded guilty to skimming money from the clients, and they testified against me, said I was involved, that I knew what they were doing. I was lucky. Rob was able to convince the jurors that I didn't do it."

"He's a good lawyer, and a good man," Quinn said.

I nodded vigorously. "I'll never be able to repay him for what he did for me."

"He and your aunt make a nice couple," Quinn said.

"Yes, they do."

A soft breeze moved the branches above us and rustled the leaves, but Quinn and I were silent. He was close to me, and if he leaned in a couple of inches, he would be close enough to kiss.

Did I want that?

His blue eyes held my gaze.

Oh, hell yes, I wanted that.

But he didn't move in, just waited patiently. If I moved a fraction of an inch toward him, I knew he would close the distance. But I stayed frozen by indecision.

Finally, I broke eye contact and started to collect the napkins and the empty plastic glasses. Quinn helped me, and we were packed up in a few minutes.

"Let's head back," he said, helping me to my feet. His hands lingered at my waist as I stood on unsteady legs. "If we continue on this trail, it will take us by the reservoir. Does that sound okay?"

I nodded and smiled. "Sounds great."

What I meant to say was it sounded great, as long as I could figure out how to get back on Pepper without looking like an idiot or hurting myself. While we had lounged on the blanket, my inner thigh muscles had seized up, and each step I took made me wince. The horse now looked about twenty feet tall and as impossible to scale as a castle wall.

Quinn held the stirrup for me as I raised my foot with great effort and gritted teeth. I swear I heard a creaking sound from my muscles. He then steadied me and guided me into the saddle.

"You all right?" he asked, handing me the reins. I gripped the saddle's horn with one hand and tried to find a comfortable position. Pepper sighed and shifted beneath me as I watched Quinn mount his horse as if he were born doing it.

"Yep, you bet," I said.

"It's an easy ride back to the barn," Quinn said with a wink.

The path we took was fairly level and followed the edge of the reservoir. Quinn pointed out important landmarks, like where he learned to swim and the tree overhanging the water that made a great diving platform. His love of the land was contagious and made me forget my aching muscles.

"What's that?" I asked, pointing to a fence that snaked down a hill to end at a cliff about twenty feet above the water's edge. Because of the curve of the lake and where we were on the trail, I couldn't see beyond the locked gate and the warning sign.

"There's a small dam at the south end of the lake. There's a small hydroelectric operation there, so the access is controlled around this area," Quinn said.

He and Pedro turned off the path onto a narrower trail that led up to the gate and the docile Pepper followed them. The trail ended at a wide clearing that overlooked the lake. Quinn jumped down and then helped me off Pepper, and we walked along the chain-link fence, toward the cliff's edge. A weathered sign warned against trespassing onto Bishop Valley Water District property, and I remembered seeing the name on the escrow documents that Kathryn had brought to the office. From here, I could see the structure in the distance, where water met a concrete wall and was allowed to spill into the turbines.

"Does it create a lot of electricity?" I asked.

"Enough to power the ranch and then some. The excess goes into the power grid, and the water district sells it to the local municipal power company," Quinn said.

"And is this the water that goes to Newbury?"

"Yes, partly. The town had to find an additional water source when it annexed the land for the Bishop Valley development or else they would have drained the reservoir dry," Quinn said. "Now that they've got city water, the water district just sells a certain volume to the town's water system, and they get the rest from other water districts."