Passionate Investigations (12 page)

But first he had to decide whom to trust. That, of course,
was the sticking point. If Tanya had been blindsided by the knowledge of who
couldn’t be trusted, of how deeply into the Council the treason reached, then
that meant for now he couldn’t turn to any of his most trusted friends or
advisors.

So that left the B team.

“I’ll see them all burn,” he swore to the teenaged image of
Tanya. He didn’t need to say more, it was as solid as an oath bound in blood.

For a short minute he pondered calling Eric. His oldest friend,
his school buddy and godfather to both Tanya and Zahra, Grant could not believe
Eric capable of such a deception. The still-fresh image of Tanya, pale as
death, lying in her coffin stayed his hand.

He didn’t—
couldn’t
—believe Eric was a part of this.
Zahra’s safety might rely on his decision. Grant knew should something happen
to his baby girl his life would effectively end with her death. It was
something he simply couldn’t risk.

Decision made, he strode confidently back to his desk and
picked up the gilded telephone receiver. Pushing the numbers from memory, he
waited a few pauses while the phone rang on the other end.

“Hello?” Miles Lancaster answered.

“Miles, Grant here. You called earlier expressing concern
about Zahra when you heard about the assault against her. I wanted you to know
she’s fine, I’ve been in touch with her.”

“Oh what a relief,” the younger wizard answered with a sigh.
“Is she there with you now? Can I speak with her?”

“No, no, she told me the most amazing tale, that’s the other
reason I’ve called you. She said Tanya had discovered that Robert Padden was
framed. He wasn’t the information leak at all. Apparently Tanya had some
Investigators look deeper into the conspiracy and she unearthed something, I
heard a tape of her findings myself.”

“Really? What did she say?”

“Zahra has it, I only heard a small bit, but it was
explosive. More than a few Council members will be covering their asses and
putting out fires when we’re done with them. Listen, I’m going to need to make
a presentation to the Council about this and I want your help to prepare for
it. You’re just the wizard I want to groom for my position eventually, and this
could be the perfect platform to base your standing on.”

“I’d love to,” Miles replied with clear enthusiasm. “We can
start a motion for a series of trials into the Council members who are
corrupted. Who are they?”

“I’m not sure yet, if that was on Tanya’s tape I didn’t hear
it,” Grant replied. “Zahra said she and Rob had a few more loose ends to tie up
before they took all their information to the Enforcers, but I want to preempt
that. If we’re seen to be cleaning up any treason in-house first that will go a
long way toward restoring the public’s faith in their governing body.”

Grant paused thoughtfully for a moment before continuing.

“Why don’t you come over here and we can brainstorm a bit,
make some contingency plans for various outcomes of how far this corruption
goes. I’ve got Padden’s cell number so we can give Zahra and the wizard a few
hours to wrap up their loose ends. Hopefully by the time they have whatever
evidence Tanya found we can get a jump on this ourselves.”

“I’m honored you chose me to come to over this, Grant. But
if Tanya was truly murdered then it follows the attack yesterday was really
meant for Zahra, that it wasn’t random at all. It follows then that your
house—which is so well known—might not be safe for you right now. Why don’t you
come over here? My condo is comfortable enough for us both to have our own
space and is quite secure. No one would think to look for you here, either.”

Grant thought about that. The young wizard had a point.

“Okay, thank you. I expect I’ll only need to stay there
today, though. Padden seemed quite determined, as did Zahra. I won’t need to
impose on you for long.”

“It’s no imposition at all, Grant. You’re welcome here.”

“I’ll pack my briefcase and head right over, then. Expect me
soon.”

Hanging up the phone, Grant felt much better than he had
over the last few hours. Zahra was safe and he had a solid course of action
planned. He loathed nothing as much as sitting idle waiting for things to
happen. His mind buzzing in full-blown planning mode, Grant packed up a few
belongings and readied himself for one of the busiest days of his career.

* * * * *

The Fig Tree Café

Zahra struggled to not tap her foot impatiently. She stirred
her rapidly cooling mug of hot chocolate. Rob had ordered a full hot breakfast
of bacon, eggs, sausage, tomato, hash and baked beans. Not only had they been
at the café long enough for the kitchen to fill his order, but he had already
finished more than half of it.

“She’ll be here,” Ben remarked as he waved for the waitress.
She swung by their table and refilled his mug of coffee. Too nervous to drink,
Zahra merely nodded and continued to scan the passing crowds, searching in vain
for Layla.

“What if something happened to her? They might have ambushed
her like they tried to do to us yesterday evening. We should have had her meet
you there, Ben. If you’d escorted her here—”

“Then you’d be just as impatient for my arrival as hers,”
Ben pointed out logically. “You and Rob arrived early. Layla is barely ten
minutes late and you can see how crowded the street is with all the morning
commuters. Give her a chance.”

Zahra nodded her head jerkily, knowing he was correct but
unable to force herself to be calm. She wished she were in her small garden, or
at her father’s house in
his
garden, or practically anywhere other than
here, waiting impatiently for the information that had very likely directly
resulted in her sister’s death.

She decided she didn’t like this kind of work so much after
all. She didn’t appear to have the necessary fortitude one required. Glancing
up as the door opened again, Zahra sat back in the chair in abject relief as
Layla entered with a large tote slung over her shoulder.

Warm brown hair spilled down her back almost to her waist.
Large, deep-blue eyes searched the crowded tables until she caught sight first
of Ben and then of Zahra. She immediately headed toward them with only a slight
hitch in her step as she caught sight of Rob with them. Zahra readied herself
to stand and meet the willowy brunette should she change her mind knowing of
Rob’s presence, but after her momentary indecision she seemed to adjust well to
his being there.

“Ben, Zahra…Rob,” Layla greeted them all as she sat down at
the fourth place setting. Rob set his cutlery down and nodded in return. Zahra
ignored her hot chocolate and sat forward in her chair.

“I know this must seem beyond weird, but thank you for
coming to hear me out,” she said earnestly. Layla appeared puzzled, but willing
to listen.

“Over the phone you said you’d explain,” Layla said, holding
her tote on her lap and making no effort to open it. “I want to know what’s
going on before I hand over Tanya’s file. I know you could make life difficult
for me, but technically whatever is in here belongs to the company, not your
sister. I need to know what you’re dragging me into before I possibly dig
myself further.”

“I appreciate you doing this,” Zahra said. She cast a look
to Rob, offering him the chance to explain the events of the last day.

“You go ahead,” Rob replied to her silent question as he
picked up his cutlery and finished the last of his meal.

“Basically before she died Tanya called Rob to say she knew
he’d been set up, that she had discovered he was innocent and had been used as
a scapegoat to stop an investigation that had been going on involving leaking
of sensitive data. Rob came to me to see if the files had been recovered. We
searched her apartment, and then her cubicle and only found her Dictaphone. On
it Tanya had spoken about how upset she was, how deeply the corruption had
penetrated into the Council and how she was keeping a copy of her file down at the
bottom in your drop box just in case. That brings us to here and now, where
hopefully we can find from her notes what’s going on.”

“Well, that’s not the craziest story I’ve ever heard,” Layla
replied with a dimpled grin. “I hope you all don’t have any plans for the rest
of the day.”

Waving for the waitress to come over, Layla nodded to Rob’s
empty coffee mug, Ben’s half-drunk coffee and Zahra’s now-cold hot chocolate.

“Could we please have refills off all these and I’ll take a
strong black coffee too, please?”

The waitress nodded, picked up Rob’s empty plate and left
them again. Zahra helped Layla clear some space on the table then the brunette
dug a five-inch-thick folder out of her tote. Zahra’s eyes widened at the sheer
size of her sister’s work.

“This is what I found at the bottom of my drop box,” Layla
dropped the file with a small flourish.

“Oh hell,” Rob groaned. “Tanya must have photocopied every
scrap of paper and just dumped it in here. This will take hours.”

“You wanted evidence, man,” Ben whistled. “If it ain’t in
here then you’ve got no hope.”

Zahra accepted her fresh, steaming-hot drink gratefully.
They all remained silent as the waitress topped up their mugs from the carafe
and took away Zahra’s untouched cold drink. Zahra eyed the pile of papers and
took a steadying breath.

“If we divide this four ways we should be able to manage it,”
she suggested.

“Will you be staying? Or do you need to get back?” Zahra
asked as she met Layla’s gaze. The pretty brunette grinned, dimples flashing in
her cheeks.

“I wouldn’t miss this for the world, honey. Tanya was my
friend, too.”

With that sobering reminder of why they were doing this in
the first place, they divided up the paperwork and all set to work.

Zahra pressed her fingers against her closed eyes. A small
pounding had started earlier in the top of her head. She’d gone through three
mugs of hot chocolate and now two glasses of chilled water. If she had another
drink she’d float away. It felt like forever but she’d finally managed to scan
almost all of the reports, notations and flow charts that had been in her
quarter of Tanya’s file.

She’d never had much interest in politics or the gritty
details of how the government functioned. Now she
knew
she had no real interest
for it. The amount of double talk, subterfuge and sheer amount of ass covering
staggered her.

“From what I can gather a lot of this is just regular
political intrigue,” Zahra finally said, expressing the conclusion she’d been
growing more certain of in the last half-hour or so. “Tanya seems to have done
a remarkable job of highlighting who has been talking to whom, the directions
of favors being exchanged and following the trail of the information that was
leaked. But much of it seems fairly standard for under-the-table arrangements
and not strictly treasonous activity.”

“I have to agree,” Rob said as he rifled through some
papers. “But I’ve caught a whiff of the thread I think Tanya narrowed her focus
on. Look at these. It seems as if originally a few of the Council members
thought she,
Tanya
, might have been the traitor.”

Zahra frowned as Rob pulled a half-dozen sheets stapled
together and placed them in the middle of the table. They all four peered over
to try to scan the document.

“I don’t understand, I never heard anything about Tanya
being under suspicion,” Zahra said, puzzled.

“That’s because Grant kept a lid on it, insisting on a full
Investigation being run. He said a proper, though secret, Investigation would
clear your sister’s name. It did, he was proven correct. That was when they
discovered it was supposedly me and I was brought to trial.”

“You suggesting that Gower set you up?” Ben asked.

Zahra gaped, but Rob shook his head before she could snap
out a reply to that insinuation.

“No, but the Council was aware Grant wouldn’t let it rest,
not once his daughter had been brought into the equation.”

Zahra started to see where Rob might be going with this.

“Once the Council had been officially notified of the leak
and the potential that there was a traitor in their midst, possibly a high-ranked
Investigator working closely with the Enforcers as well as their own governing
body, someone had to take the fall. Which is where you—the scapegoat—comes into
it.”

“Bingo,” Rob winked at her. Zahra flushed with pleasure. “They
couldn’t ignore it or sweep it under the rug, those who were innocent wanted
the guilty punished, so the real culprits had to put up a sacrificial lamb to
close the case. That’s where this all started.”

“But if they had already pointed the finger at Tanya, why
not set her up as the target?” Zahra asked. “If there was enough evidence
already to make her appear shady—regardless of her innocence—then why not just
add more weight to the shadiness surrounding her and set her up instead of you?”

Silence fell between them all as they rummaged further
though their data. Rob’s cell phone rang inside his jacket pocket. At first he
ignored it, but instinct nagged at Zahra.

“That might be important,” she advised him. Rob didn’t move
his gaze from the papers he scanned, but he did reach inside his pocket to grab
the small device. Glancing at the screen, he frowned. After a second, clearly
curious now, he answered.

“Hello?”

Whatever was said had his eyebrows rising, his attention
riveted to the other end.

“Where are you? Wait, let me put her on.”

Rob handed the phone to her with an intent look.

“It’s your father, he’s in trouble.”

Zahra’s stomach sank. Her hand shook faintly as she reached
out to take the small cell from Rob.

“Daddy?” she asked, a faint wobble in her tone. She was
confused and utterly taken by surprise. What was her father doing calling them?

“Baby, you need to get out of town, right now. Take Rob to
protect you and stay away from Mil—”

The sickening sound of flesh and bone crunching together cut
off her father’s words. Air rushed out of Zahra’s lungs and she didn’t even
notice as she gasped, a hand flickering up to her mouth.

“Dad? Dad, talk to me, please,” she pleaded, her voice
rising in pitch.

“Now you listen to me, bitch,” a familiar voice came over
the cell. Her eyes moving over the three others at the table, Zahra tried to
place the wizard on the other end of the line. “I’ve shut your father up for
now, but he’s fine as long as you’re following my orders exactly. I know Rob is
there with you, I could hear him speaking to Grant. Have you found whatever
lead it was you told Grant you were following?”

Tears washed her eyes, blurring her vision so she could
barely see anything. Zahra thought as quickly as she ever had before, using
every scrap of political savvy she had ever learned from her father and Tanya.
Knowing in this sort of situation answering the question and only what was
asked, not offering a single iota more information than necessary was key, she
choked out a single word as she sought a small loophole to exploit.

“Yes.”

“Right. I want you and Rob to bring everything you’ve got,
including that tape of Tanya’s, and bring it to me,” the wizard commanded. The
way he spoke Tanya’s name rang a bell. She recognized who it was.

Miles Lancaster.

Revulsion turned her stomach sour. She felt physically sick
with the sure knowledge it was he who was responsible for all of this.

And Tanya’s death.

“Please don’t hurt my Dad, Miles,” Zahra pleaded as tears
ran down her cheeks. “Rob and I will bring everything to you. There isn’t much,
I don’t think Tanya knew it was you who was responsible. We’ll do what you say.
Just please don’t hurt him.”

She heard her father groan in the background, followed by
another sickening sound of flesh meeting flesh. Zahra pressed a hand to her
mouth to stifle a sob. Both Ben and Rob stared angrily at the phone, as if they
could strangle Miles through the connection with their will alone.

Zahra struggled to control herself.

“I know Tanya had no proof against me, I killed her before
she could hang me with anything, but she got damn close,” Miles spoke harshly. “Then
you and that fucking wizard had to stick your noses into it all. Why that
bastard couldn’t just roll over and play dead… Well, it doesn’t matter anymore.
I’m going to tie up all the loose ends before
I
become one myself. Get
here quickly, Zahra. The longer you dally the worse condition your father will
be in when you arrive.”

Without another word Miles hung up. Zahra stared at the
phone then replaced it to her ear.

“Hello? Miles? Dammit.”

Zahra hit the End button and held the small gadget out to
Rob.

“We have to get to Miles’s condo. Right now. We need a stack
of these papers, anything that doesn’t seem connected or important. He said we
had to bring Tanya’s notes with us.”

“Hold on, one minute won’t make a difference,” Ben insisted
firmly as he held up a hand to stop her. “Explain it to us slowly. Walking into
a trap and getting yourself fried won’t solve anything and it certainly won’t
save Gower. What does Lancaster know?”

“He knows Rob and I have been looking into Tanya’s death,”
Zahra said quickly, her words all but stumbling over each other. She wanted to
answer Ben’s question then race out to assure herself her father was okay. “He
knows we have been following a lead and that we have the tape from Tanya’s
Dictaphone. He wants everything and us all over there—probably to try to kill
us. He’s hurting my Dad right now, Ben. The longer we wait the more damage he
promised to do.”

“So he didn’t know about Layla here, or me?” Ben confirmed.
Zahra finally understood where the dark man was going with this.

“No, he didn’t mention either of you at all. We didn’t tell
my father about Layla so there’s no reason he or Miles should know about her or
this file. But we can’t turn up empty-handed. He’d know there was a double
cross if we did that.”

“Even with a hostage, I should be able to overpower one
politician,” Ben seemed to speak directly to Rob. Zahra watched as Rob pulled
his silky shoulder-length hair back into a ponytail and restrained it with an
elastic tie.

“I’m not going to chicken out just as this gets interesting,”
Layla insisted passionately. “You can count me in for the action. I’ve seen my
own fair share of showdowns.”

“You ever shot a weapon?” Ben asked, clearly skeptical.
Layla snorted and tossed her long hair back over her shoulder dismissively.

“I have weapons you can’t even imagine, big guy. You Sharp
Shooters are all alike, thinking anyone who can’t toss a fireball or shoot a
rifle at a thousand yards is virginal and helpless.”

Despite the fear gnawing at her stomach, Zahra had to smile
at this. She liked Layla. In any other situation she’d love to talk shit and
get to know the witch better. But right now wasn’t the time for that.

“Fine. So I’ll put a bunch of these background papers back
into the file. Rob, we can keep that report you found and anything else that
might genuinely be useful in the satchels of your bike. Then we need to go to
Miles’s and save my Dad.”

They spent a minute collecting the papers, passing things
back and forth as they decided what to risk handing over to Miles and what they
needed to keep. Zahra felt as if insects crawled over her skin. She could
practically feel every second passing with torturous slowness. She feared what
Miles in his temper and impatience might be doing to her father.

Pushing those thoughts from her mind, she forced herself to
not think about it. She didn’t really want to know at all. She’d never have
believed Miles might be violent, let alone their enemy. The man was a jerk, a
cheat and a slimy bastard, but murderous and a power-hungry villain she would
never have guessed.

Her hands shook as she stood up, unable to wait any longer.

“It will be all right, sunshine,” Rob tried to soothe her. The
numerous drinks from earlier started to roll uncomfortably in her stomach.
Sweating lightly from the sick sensation her overwhelming fear caused, Zahra
could only nod jerkily.

“I’ve got this,” Ben indicated as he withdrew his wallet. “Where
does this asshole live?”

Zahra had to collect her thoughts. She recited his address.
Ben nodded.

“I know where that is,” he assured her. “Go on. You and Rob
get out of here. Gorgeous here and I will follow you out there in a minute.”

“Did you come prepared?” Rob asked as he wrapped an arm
around her shoulders. He pressed a soft kiss to her temple. A faint, calming
jolt of energy passed from him to her. A small amount of the tension that had
her body almost clenched in fear eased. Zahra focused on not panicking, trying hard
to release the muscles in her neck, shoulders and back. Rob massaged her with
an absent air. She hadn’t said a word, but somehow he’d picked unconsciously up
on her strain.

If the situation were different, she’d have got a rush from
the indication they were growing more and more attuned to each other as their
relationship deepened.

“Are you kidding?” Ben chuckled, clearly thinking Rob teased
him. “After those jokers tried to fry us, then shot at us in the street I came
locked and loaded. I told you, man. I got your ass covered. Layla and I will
bring in reinforcements. You two go over there and keep him busy. We’ll bring a
few Enforcers I can call in a favor from, catch him in the act of kidnapping
and hopefully seal him up for far more than that. Just don’t let him run out on
you. Get moving.”

The two wizard bumped fists. Zahra tried to smile at Layla,
but she didn’t think she managed to do a good job. Clearly they needed to keep
Miles talking while Ben and Layla staked out the condo and waited for reinforcements.
At this point Zahra didn’t care what they did, as long as they did something.
Sitting by while she knew her father was in danger, possibly life-threatening
danger was not something she appeared capable of.

She and Rob left the café at a quick pace.

“How long do you think we will need to keep Miles busy for?”
she asked Rob as they hurried to his bike.

“Ben will be only a little distance behind us,” Rob said as
he unlocked their helmets. “With a weapon and a clear line of sight we could
well be protected after a few minutes. If Miles makes a wrong move while Ben
has him in sight Ben will take him down, with or without any Enforcers around
to validate his actions.”

“And if Ben doesn’t get a line of sight?” Zahra asked with
nerves twisting her stomach. Rob climbed onto the bike, not meeting her eyes.

“He will. Ben always manages to get a good angle.”

Zahra climbed on behind Rob and tried hard not to think
about it. She had no real reason to doubt Ben, but this was her father’s life
they were discussing. Even more than that—once they entered Miles’s condo it
would be her life, and Rob’s. She wasn’t particularly comfortable leaving that
sort of risk to chance, but neither did she see any other option.

Rob appeared to have immense faith in Ben. Zahra hoped Ben
had earned every iota of that belief. The health and lives of the two wizards
she loved most in the world, her father and her lover, depended on his accuracy
and professionalism. She hoped it would be enough.

* * * * *

Zahra knocked on Miles’s front door, her hand shaking
slightly. For the first time since she had climbed up onto Rob’s bike she hadn’t
been able to enjoy the ride. Worry had crowded every other thought from her
mind. She had leapt from the bike when he’d parked, nearly forgetting to remove
her helmet. Hurrying up to the door, she tapped her foot impatiently while she
waited for Miles to answer.