Circle of Shadows (8 page)

Something was definitely wrong.

Lili had followed the format he’d
given her exactly, with only an added item or two for expenses that were unique
to her store. Sales figures were good, yet the profit percentages were
certainly on the low side. He could find no reason for that.

Line by line, he read through the
expenses again. Then, he took the CD copy that Renee had made of Lili’s report
to his computer. Carefully, he ran it through various tests: profit percentages
for each department, sales per man-hour in each department, sales per customer,
and percentage of total profit for each department.

Some of the figures he came up
with were very good; others were extremely poor. Yet the tonnage, or total
number of cases of product handled, was high for that size store, indicating
that her staff was working very hard and moving a lot of product.

Ken turned off the computer and
went to stand at the window, staring out at the moonlight shimmering off the
lake below. He could only conclude that something was very wrong at Adams’
Foods, and he had better find the problem fast and fix it, if he wanted to stay
in business there.

Could the profit difference
possibly be due to the fact that she bought from another warehouse? Could the
percentages be that different? Reason told him no, that stores buying from that
company would soon be out of business if Lili’s profit percentages were
typical.

Just the same, Ken was glad he
had set up the warehouse change. He trusted the people at
Allied
,
and if the problem were at the warehouse level, that change would solve the
problem. He would wait for the results of the change in future reports before
making any accusations.

Because, like it or not, another
possibility was that someone was stealing from Adams’ Foods in large
quantities. That thought made Ken furious, since that was only possible if someone
inside Adams’ Foods was the criminal, or at least the criminal’s partner.

Perhaps he would be wise to make
time to get to know all of Adams’ Foods employees better. He was glad Renee had
invited them to the housewarming. Maybe later he could also have a cook-out on
his pontoon, since fishing season was open.

***

Ken stood back, enjoying the
cheerful hub-bub of the housewarming party. Just as he had imagined when he had
purchased this house, the huge recreation room was filled with chattering,
laughing people. All of his managers and their spouses were there, along with
representatives of the various companies and the warehouse from which his
stores purchased their groceries.

A long table along one wall was
covered with bowls and trays of food and drink that his managers had brought
from the deli departments of the various stores. As usual, they had vied to
outdo one another, and there was an amazing variety of barbecued chicken,
salads, smoked sausages, cheeses, crackers, breads and rolls. Ken had hired a
waitress, made coffee and purchased sodas, champagne and bags of ice cubes to
complete the party.

Everyone seemed to be mixing
well, carrying plastic plates full of food and drinks, and enjoying themselves.
The weather had co-operated beautifully. Through the sliding glass doors, Ken
could see the sun setting over the opposite shore of the lake, sending its long
rosy fingers of color shimmering across the water.

He spied Lili among the people
who had gone out on the patio to enjoy the flower-scented spring evening. She
stood laughing with Tom, his warehouse rep, and had her arms wrapped around
herself as though she were chilled. Ken took off his sweater, and went out to
place it around her shoulders.

As he approached her, it suddenly
dawned on Ken that he’d forgotten to warn Tom that Lili didn’t know of the
impending warehouse change.

Quickly Ken moved to separate Tom
and Lili. He went to her and slipped the warm sweater around her shoulders. She
flashed him a grateful smile as they exchanged greetings.

“Lili, I don’t believe I’ve
introduced you to all of my managers yet. You’ll excuse us, won’t you, Tom
?
”

Tom looked a bit surprised, and
opened his mouth to protest, but Ken was already leading Lili across the patio
towards the house.

“I think we all should have worn
name tags,” Lili said, laughing. “My mind is whirling, trying to remember all
of these names, and what their connection is with Northern Lights.”

“I have the same problem, I’m
afraid I can’t remember half of your employees names yet.” Grinning, he added,
“And you know that nothing is worse than for a boss to forget his employee’s
name.”

Lili tossed him a sideways
glance. He was always surprising her with some comment that showed he cared
about what other people thought. She didn’t want to think of him as a nice guy,
as someone with feelings. It was hard to stay angry with him when he was trying
so hard to be nice to her employees.

As she and Ken circulated, she
smiled and answered questions. She was only too aware of the scent of his
aftershave and the firm touch of his warm fingers on her bare arm. She liked
the way he stayed at her side.

Ken had an ulterior motive for
staying with Lili, and concentrating on getting to know each member of her
staff. His suspicions after reading her financial report refused to go away,
and he knew he had to find out the reasons for the discrepancies as soon as
possible. But he hated anything underhanded, and using a party to get
information on her employees was definitely that.

Of course, he assured himself,
she was new, and that gave him an excuse to stay beside her to introduce her to
people. The way her nearness was making his pulse race was beside the point,
and he must ignore it. Emotions and business didn’t mix.

Renee was deep in a discussion
with Arthur as they approached him, her long brunette hair almost hiding her
thin face as she leaned towards him. They made an odd couple, Lili thought.
Arthur was short and bald on top. The ring of hair he had left was a dark brown
streaked with gray. Renee, in contrast, was tall and very thin. Renee looked up
and smiled at them as Ken made the introductions.

“Nice to meet you, Lili,” Renee
said politely. She gave her a quick assessing, and then dismissing, look.
Renee’s eyes swung back to Arthur, who moved closer to her as though he feared
Ken meant to take her away from him.

“Arthur was just telling me about
his new red Jaguar,” Renee gushed. “I can’t wait to see it.”

Arthur sent her a rapturous
glance. “How about tomorrow afternoon? I don’t work on Sundays.”

Renee batted her eyes prettily.
“But I have to go back to Minneapolis tonight.”

“That’s only an hour away
—
forty minutes if the cops aren’t
out. I’ll drive my Jag down and take you for a spin.”

Ken laughed and led Lili on to
the next group, saying, “I don’t think they’ll miss us. Renee is nuts about
sports cars, in any color.”

“Arthur’s looks are deceiving. He
may be short, middle aged and chubby, but he’s always very good with the
ladies. That’s a major part of his success as a meat man. He charms all the
women into being faithful customers.”

“A valuable asset,” Ken agreed.
“I gather that your acknowledgment of his skill means that you are immune
?
”

Lili laughed. “Yes, I’m immune.
I’ve been watching him charm the women and listening to Dad fuss about his
smutty jokes since I was little. Besides, he still sees me as a child.”

“Even though you’re his boss, now
?
”

“Oh, that’s nothing new. He’s
always treated all of the Adams family respectfully as the ‘boss.’”

Ken frowned. “How can he afford a
Jag on his meat-cutter’s salary?”

She shrugged. “I heard he
inherited a lot from his mother out in California a few years ago. Her new
husband had money.”

She spotted Ralph across the
crowded room and waved him over to them. “Ralph, here, is another story,” she
said as the young produce manager threaded his way towards them, his dark wavy
haired head bobbing through the crowd. “He drives the oldest, rustiest brown
Chevy in town, yet the girls fight over him.”

“Well, at least you know they’re interested
in him and not his car,” Ken commented, stopping the waitress who was passing
drinks and taking one for each of them.

“Yes, I suppose that’s true.”

“Of course, I suppose it helps to
be tall, dark, and young, too,” Ken added eyeing the handsome younger man.

The waitress waited for Ralph to
join them and smiled warmly as he helped himself to a cola.

“See what I mean
?
” Lili murmured to Ken.

Ken good-naturedly teased Ralph
about the girl’s attention, which pleased Ralph immensely.

“Great new computer you got for
Lili,” Ralph said, and was off asking Ken lots of the technical details.

Lili listened in amazement. Since
Ralph was a high-school dropout, she had assumed he knew little about such
things.

“I have a computer at home and a
couple of buddies with computers,” he explained with a grin. “We play games on
them all the time.”

Anna joined them a moment later,
a smile on her face.

Lili held her breath, wondering
if Anna would allow her hostile attitude toward Ken to show tonight. But Lili needn’t
have worried, Anna was in a mellow mood, and gave Ken a bright smile.

“A lovely party, Mr. Mills,” Anna
told Ken, and Ralph seconded the thought.

“Give Renee, Harry and Rudy the
credit,” Ken said. “They did most of it.”

“Well, they did a great job
!
” Anna said.

Someone turned up the music on
the stereo, and Ralph moved off to ask Sally to dance. Other couples followed
suit, and the non-dancers quickly moved off to the sides of the room to watch.

Harry appeared to ask Lili to
dance and she moved off with him. Glancing back, she was surprised to see Ken
and Anna dancing together. Since Anna had a big smile on her face, Ken must be
winning her over.

Harry danced awkwardly, but
seemed determined to make the effort, and Lili found herself liking the older man.
Sweat glistened on his brow under his snow-white hair as if he wasn’t used to
this much exercise. Lili was touched by the way the other managers went out of
their way to make her feel a welcome addition to their group.

“Coming to the Food Fair next month
?
” Harry asked.

Lili frowned.
“Food Fair
?
”

“Yeah, you know,
Allied’s
annual buying show
?
”

“I don’t think so, I don’t buy
from...Oh, sorry,” she gasped as someone bumped into them in the crowded space.

“May I cut in
?
” Tom asked, taking her arm. He
grinned and waved a good-bye to Harry before she could object.

Tom was no longer young either,
but the tall, older man danced with surprising grace, and Lili found it easy to
follow him. When the music stopped, Lili begged off and headed for the side-bar
for some food and a much needed drink.

Ken joined her there. “Enjoying
the party
?
”

“Very much. Who chose the music?”
Lili asked, as the Tennessee Waltz drifted over the buzz of conversation.

“Guilty,” Ken said. “Do you like
it?”

“I love it. I still have some of
Mom and Dad’s old records, myself.”

“I have a collection of old
‘fifties’ 33 rpm records. I found that stereo at an auction,” he nodded at the
long cabinet along one wall. “It’s almost as good as new. Dance?”

At her smile and nod, Ken took
her glass and set it and his own on the table behind them. He held out his arms
and she moved into them.

It was ages since she had danced
an old-fashioned waltz. She had forgotten how romantic it felt to be held close
in a man’s arms as a soft melody floated around them. Her body was sending out
a four-star alarm, and her skin felt on fire where her hand was captured in
his. Along her side, her body burned where his fingers rested lightly on her
waist.

He smiled down at her and their
gazes locked together. Suddenly it felt like they were alone in the crowded
room. She thought he was going to kiss her, right in front of everyone.

She touched the tip of her tongue
to her dry lips, remembering his kisses, then looked away when she saw that his
eyes had followed the movement.

Renee and Arthur stopped beside
them, breaking the spell.

Renee pushed back her long dark
hair with red-tipped fingers and asked Ken, “Can I change to something livelier
for the younger set? They don’t know how to waltz.” Renee nodded toward the
chattering group standing along the wall next to the food, cans of cola in
hand.

“Suit yourself.”

Ken watched Renee and Arthur head
for the stereo, and sort through the stack of records.

“She can’t be that young,” Lili
commented.