Tudor Reunion Tour (9 page)

The following morning, we were headed
back to Seattle, and whatever awaited.

Zara

I was taking an armful of clothes to the
laundry room off the kitchen. Amadeus always came home off the road with a ton
of dirty clothes. This time, however, it made me wonder if laundry services had
even been offered during the tour. On top of Amadeus’s I had all of mine and
Elizabeth’s to do as well. I had just turned on the washer when Amadeus
appeared at the doorway.

“Zara, I need some paper and a pen.
Better yet, you take this call and get all the information from Red.”

He handed me his cell phone. I looked at
him curiously as his face was as white as a blank piece of paper. I rushed into
the bedroom and found a notebook, as Red gave me information that sickened me
as well.

Red, as well as the other guys on the
crew, had some of their money sent home once or twice a month to their wives so
they could pay bills and maintain life at home. That had gone on like
clockwork. No problems there. However, when Red’s wife had gone to the bank to
cash the last check Julia had given Red, she was horrified to find out the
account had been closed.

I took down all the information from Red
regarding who his wife talked to at the bank. She had been smart enough to ask
to speak with a manager after the check had been declined.

“Red, if you have access to a scanner, I
also need you to email me a copy of the front and back of that check, along
with the stub. Then put that check away somewhere safe.”

“Sure thing, Zara. But what are we
supposed to do now? Sue and I were counting on that money.”

“I know,” I replied. I really did and
what I saw in my mind’s eye terrified me. “It’s Saturday, and there’s not a lot
we can do before Monday I’m afraid. But you can be sure that between now and
Monday we’ll know more, and hopefully we can get this mess straightened out
completely.” I glanced at Amadeus, who was watching me. I shrugged my
shoulders. I didn’t know what else to say.

“What about Amadeus and Angus?” Red
asked. “Did she screw them as well?”

“Oh, yes. Damien, too, it seems. But don’t
worry, we’re on it. If you talk with anyone else, have them do the same thing
as I’ve asked you to and let them know we’re trying to get to the bottom of
this. I’m sorry, Red, that I don’t have anything better to say.”

“I’m not blaming you guys. Just do what
you can. I’ll get that stuff to you, and I’ll handle the other guys as I hear
from them. I’ll be looking to hear from you or Amadeus Monday then.”

“Okay, Red. One of us will be in touch.”

I powered down the phone. Amadeus and I
needed to discuss this and digest just what we might be facing. It was starting
to spiral out of control. And it was going to be ugly.

“Zara, I knew something was wrong, but I
had no idea…”

“Don’t beat yourself up about it. There’s
nothing you or anyone else can do about it now. We just have to be prepared for
the worst.”

“Let me contact Joe Franco and see what
he has to say about this latest turn of events. I’m sure because she resided in
the area, it would become their jurisdiction, if it’s not federal. He can
advise us.”

“I’m not sure, Zara. But if I had to
guess…”

“Don and Julia are involved. And by
involved, I don’t just mean in a business sort of way.”

“Yep, you’re right about that, love.
Looks as though we may be staying a while longer in Seattle instead of back
home to Scotland,” he replied, drawing me into his arms. “I’m sorry, Zara.”

“Sorry for what? Your instincts are
proving to be true, as were mine. Julia was up to something. How much is just a
matter of time before we find it out. No, don’t be sorry. Once we get the ball
rolling, we’ll be back in Scotland.”

I leaned up and kissed him, trying to
reassure him. I then pulled out my cell phone and dialed Franco’s number. The
call went to his voice mail. I left a detailed message.

With being at a dead end on that road, I
padded into the office and fired up the desktop. I needed to set up a spread
sheet for what Amadeus and I were about to have to do. Pay the crew. Though
their pay should technically now come from a policy, I had no access to it nor
did Amadeus. I knew Amadeus wouldn’t let the crew down. We would pay each one
of them out of our personal funds.

Amadeus followed me in, wandering around
the room as though he’d never been in there before. “Is there anything I can do
to help, Zara?”

“Yes, two things. Find me the contract
you signed with Julia and her firm. Then call Angus or Damien. Let them know
the latest, and tell them we’ll come over for a visit tomorrow.”

“Okay. Is that all?”

“That’ll do it for now. Thanks, sweetie,”
I replied as I focused my attention onto the screen in front of me.

A few minutes later, he reappeared with
my briefcase and his iPhone. I opened the case and found the file folder I was
after. I placed it on my desk, intending to scan it into the computer and also
onto a thumb drive as well. I glanced over at him as he sat in one of the extra
office chairs waiting for one of his brothers to answer on the other end.

I tried to block out the conversation as
I scanned the papers. My mind was whirling enough already. I knew this thing
was huge, bigger than I could handle alone. In fact, there were probably some
areas an attorney was going to have to step in and take over.

Placing the document back into its
folder, I turned my attention to composing a brief email to our attorney. I
knew in order to try and get reimbursed, each of the crew and band would need
to file some sort of document. Joshua Keating, our go-to attorney, would be
able to advise and direct us. It was also highly likely a lawsuit would have to
be filed against Julia’s company. I doubted it would result in any sort of
reimbursement or compensation. No, she and Don had probably sucked that dry,
and I could about bet their website was taken down. I’d take a look in a
minute. I attached a copy of the contract and waited for Amadeus to finish his
call. I wanted him to approve it before I hit send.

“Here, read this before I send it to
Josh.”

He leaned over me. I caught a whiff of
his masculinity, his body wash, his cologne. The scent always had a soothing effect
on me. Large hands began to massage my shoulders as he read. Then he kissed me
on the cheek. “Looks good to me. Send it.”

I hit the enter key, and the document
was gone in an instant. He stood back up and cocked his head towards the door. “I
think someone is awake.”

I sighed, twirling around in my office
chair. I began to get up, but he stopped me. “Lunch time.” I offered.

“She can wait a minute. Let me tell you
first what Angus said. We’re on to go over and visit tomorrow. I told him
briefly what had happened to Red and probably the entire crew, and that we
needed to discuss that among a whole bunch of other things.”

“Good. How’s Damien doing? Did he say?”

“He didn’t go into details. I told him
we’d be over late morning tomorrow.”

“But he’s okay? I worry about this
taking its toll on him, and what it could do to his health.”

“I’m sure if anything was amiss, Angus
would have told me. Anyway, I told him it would only be a day trip because you
had too much to do here.”

I sighed, wrapping my arms around him. I
needed his warmth and strength right now. “Figuring out what to pay everyone is
going to be a monumental task since I have no access to Julia’s records. That’s
another reason I need those check copies and stubs. I know we haven’t sat down
and talked this over, Amadeus, but we have to pay the crew and band out of our
own funds. We have it, let’s do it.”

“I agree one hundred percent, Zara. We’ve
never left them out in the cold, and we won’t do it now. If we get reimbursed
somehow down the road, fine. If not, no one can ever say that Amadeus Tudor
didn’t take care of his band and crew.”

****

I awoke the next morning to the sounds
of a very happy baby. Amadeus had heard her awake in her crib and got up to
take care of her. When I made my way to the living room, I found him tossing
her up over him, Elizabeth screeching with laughter and wanting more.

“I hope you haven’t fed her yet, or you’ll
be wearing her breakfast,” I said, watching the two interact.

He laughed, placing the baby on the
floor as he pushed a wayward lock of dark brown hair out of his matching eyes. “No,
we were just on our way to get it started. You want to make some coffee while I
get her a bottle?”

“But of course,” I replied as I
approached and kissed him. “You slept well last night I take it. You look
rested this morning.”

“When I was able to sleep,” he quipped,
grabbing me on the rear end. “You know you ruined me for any other women years
ago, Zara.”

“I certainly hope so. And I might add
you totally ruined me for any other man, because there is no other man for me,
Amadeus Tudor.”

“There better not be,” he joked. “Or
else I’d have to hunt the poor bastard down.”

We sat at the small kitchen table,
coffee mugs in front of us. Amadeus was attempting to clean Elizabeth up after
her breakfast of baby cereal and banana.

“Would you like some breakfast?” I
inquired, admiring the sight before me. Not just Amadeus, but at the picture of
him and his daughter.

“Why don’t we grab something on the way?”

Sitting inside the SUV during the ferry
ride, I turned in Amadeus’s direction. He was attempting to make himself
comfortable for the trip across the sound, but Elizabeth was having none of it.
He reclined his seat back, only to be attacked by her feet and laughter.

“Why don’t we go up top and stretch? I
have a hat to cover her ears.”

“We might as well. It beats getting
kicked in the head by those shoes of hers,” he quipped, as he quickly turned
and tickled Elizabeth with his hand causing her to cackle with laughter.

I had a carrier to put her in, even
though she hated it. One of those where you carried her next to you. She was
getting a bit big for it, but on a ferry I thought it the safest way to take
her anywhere. She was far too curious. Amadeus offered to take her, knowing there’d
be less fuss from her than if I took her.

We wandered on deck and stood watching
the boats skim across the water. I stood close to Amadeus, entwining my arm
around his as we pointed out different boats to the baby. I was still exhausted
from the long plane ride, and knew Amadeus must be too. It felt good to just
have some quiet time together. It wouldn’t last long.

As we disembarked the ferry, Amadeus
maneuvered the SUV through the small town and headed towards Damien’s compound.
Of course, the baby decided now was the time to take a nap. Secretly I hoped
she wouldn’t wake up so the four of us could get down to business without her
distracting everyone.

The gate at the end of Damien’s driveway
swung open as we stopped. Amadeus drove through and down the long secluded
drive lined with trees and forest growth until we came to a small clearing
where the house sat. As he put the SUV in park and shut off the engine, both
Angus and Damien appeared. They were both clad in water proof jackets as the
weather had turned to drizzle. I grabbed my stuff along with the baby’s bag
while Amadeus got Elizabeth. The four of us sprinted to the front door of the
main house just as the rain started.

Amadeus and I followed them through the
bare house, out the glass doors to the back facing out on the sound. From there
we were able to stay dry as we hurriedly made our way inside the small guest
house the boys were now calling home.

Leading us to the small bedroom, Damien
and Angus had the baby’s pack and play open in mere seconds. Amadeus slowly and
quietly laid her down in it as the rest of us exited the room. I held my breath,
seeing her stir, but she quieted down and stayed asleep.

As everyone settled in, I made my way
into the tiny kitchen, found the coffee container, and began to make a pot of
coffee. I needed something hot, something to keep me alert. While it was
brewing, I grabbed my backpack and took out my lap top and a legal pad. Over
the course of the next couple of hours, the four of us discussed everything we
knew from the planning of the ill-fated tour to the last night. All during the
discussion I was making notes, trying to put the pieces together.

The conversation came around to the
financial mess Julia had left everyone with. Without hesitation, Amadeus
informed his brothers of what we knew and what we were doing. Paying everyone
out of our own personal funds.

“Geez, that’s got to be a huge amount of
money,” Damien exclaimed. “It’s not right that the two of you have to do that.”

“It’s not that we have to, Damien, we
want to. By paying the crew and the band, it means they will remember they were
taken care of, and they’ll come back and work for us in the future,” I replied,
catching a glimpse of Amadeus out of the corner of my eye. He sat across from
me, absentmindedly scrubbing his unkempt scruff with his hand.