by Curry, Edna
Double Trouble
by Edna Curry
Contemporary romance/romantic suspense novel
63,499 words
Copyright Edna Curry, 2010
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ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
This is a work of fiction. All names in this story are fictitious and any resemblance to any person living or dead is purely coincidental.
No portion of this book may be reprinted in whole or in part, by printing, faxing, E-mail, copying electronically or by any other means without permission of the author, except for short excerpts for reviews.
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Smashwords Edition, License Notes
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Chapter 1
She could break her engagement now, Rosie realized as she packed away her mother’s crystal. Relief surged and a weight seemed to lift from her heart with the thought.
In the next moment, she bit back a sob at the traitorous thought and pushed it away the bitter thought that her mother’s death had a happy silver lining for her. She could tell Ken she’d never loved him and didn’t want to marry him. But that wasn’t fair; she couldn’t do that.
She held up a lovely crystal goblet to the sunlight and admired the way it sparkled, then wrapped it in newspaper and packed it into the carton. Closing her mother’s apartment had brought out more painful thoughts than she’d anticipated.
The worst of them was the realization that she’d been so willing to do anything, even marry a man she didn’t love, just to please her mother. Shame slid over her.
But then, hadn’t she been willing to do anything to make her mother’s last days on earth more pleasant? She’d had so much pain fighting the cancer in the past months, Rosie had felt nothing was too great a sacrifice. Though how getting her daughter married and settled had become an issue was still a mystery. Somehow it had just happened when she’d commented that Ken had asked her to marry him again, which he’d done on a regular basis for months. If only she hadn’t mentioned it. But she had, and her mother had pounced on the idea and run with it. Ken was delighted when her mother congratulated him and had taken her comments to mean Rosie was saying yes.
And she hadn’t been able to say no and disappoint her mother. What a mess. Thank goodness the wedding hadn’t happened. Praise God for small favors, at least. Even if she didn’t deserve them.
Ken might fire her, and she really needed her job as his assistant at Latham Building Supply. But so be it. She was good at her job; she’d have no trouble finding something else, either here or in another town. With her mother gone, she could go anywhere.
~ * ~
Kirk Latham added his laptop to his suitcase, more out of habit than necessity. There probably wouldn’t be internet access at their northern Minnesota family cabin where he planned to spend his well-earned month’s vacation. He hadn’t been there in years and it was high time he got his share of pleasure out of that property. He’d loved the place as a kid and was really looking forward to going back. He had a couple hours to kill before his flight to Minneapolis.
When his cell phone rang, he debated whether or not to answer it. He should have turned it off earlier. He glanced at the caller ID number. It was the Latham home office, probably Uncle Lester’s secretary with more problems. Damn.
With a grimace, he answered it. He’d guessed right.
Miss Livingston said, “Lester wants to see you ASAP.”
He sighed. He liked Miss Livingston and couldn’t ask her to take the brunt of Lester’s anger if he refused to appear. “Okay. I’ll tell him ‘no’ myself along with my goodbyes.”
Kirk climbed into his Mercedes and drove down to The Loop.
Twenty minutes later, Lester’s tall, thin secretary showed him into his uncle’s plush office. Kirk thanked the middle-aged woman, and her stern face managed a smile for him before she closed the door.
Kirk moved to the black leather chair opposite his uncle’s desk, eyeing Lester and trying to gauge the man’s mood. His uncle was in his fifties, a heavy man with beefy hands and a will of iron. “You wanted to see me?”
Lester frowned at him and moved some papers on his desk, then nodded. He leaned back in his chair, eyed him for a long moment, and then said abruptly, “We have a problem that can’t wait. I need you to investigate a lot of missing money at the Minneapolis branch office. ”
“Minneapolis?” His brother’s branch office? “You’re joking!” Kirk shifted in the leather office chair and stared at his uncle.
“I never joke about family business.”
True, Kirk thought. He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. Lester was a cold SOB and a hard-driving boss. He didn’t joke much about anything. He definitely wouldn’t joke about investigating someone in their own family.
Kirk had only recently transferred here to the Chicago home office of Latham Building Supply from the Cleveland branch. He’d expected a new assignment after his break, but not something like this. “You mean it’s a family internal affairs problem? You suspect Ken is involved?”
Lester nodded, his face grim. “I don’t like to think so, but you know your brother has a gambling problem. It could happen.”
True. Ken and he had identical looks, voices and mannerisms so alike that people rarely could tell them apart. But their personalities and habits were quite different. Ken was a perfectionist, a clothes horse, had always liked casinos, and believed in lady luck. Kirk liked to dress casually and disliked gambling, believing in making his own luck.
Kirk swallowed and stared at the large landscape painting on the wall behind Lester’s desk as he listened to Lester ramble on.
“I thought he’d conquered that problem. Your mother was so determined that I give him another chance after he screwed up before. And I love the both of you like my own, so why shouldn’t I do like she asked? She’s gonna be so hurt if he’s gambling again.”
Kirk knew Lester was right. His mother would be heartbroken. But he couldn’t live his brother’s life for him. Ken had to learn from his own mistakes, didn’t he? He didn’t want to get involved in Ken’s problems. Been there, done that, with nothing but hard feelings to show for it. He didn’t want to do it again. It hurt too damn much. The closeness he and Ken had shared as boys had all but been destroyed because of it.
His uncle knew that, and his proposal was unnerving, to say the least. Kirk shot a glance at him. Lester didn’t look in a mood to be crossed.
Still, Kirk had to object. ”I’m leaving today for the cabin to enjoy the month’s vacation I have coming. Besides, I’d rather you sent someone else on this job.”
“No. I need someone I can trust. I suspect someone’s embezzling. If it’s true, and especially if your brother’s involved, we’ll need to hush it up and keep the information in the family. It can’t wait another month. We’ve lost too much already.” Uncle Lester frowned and puffed on his cigar, releasing a cloud of smoke.
“Yeah, well...”
“What’s the matter, Kirk? I know it’ll be uncomfortable for you to investigate your twin. But someone has to do it.”
“Yeah, I know, but this is different.”
He raised a bushy eyebrow. “A job is a job. You’re good at uncovering business fraud and you know it. ”
Kirk shrugged off his
uncle’s praise. Uncle Lester rarely passed out compliments and Kirk knew he did so now only to manipulate him. He focused on the original oil painting on the wall, idly wondering how much that seascape had cost Latham Industries. Naturally, his uncle would have written it off as a business expense. Lester didn’t mind a few perks himself, but didn’t want anyone else dipping into the treasury. Was that all it was in Minneapolis, Ken’s helping himself to a few luxuries that he felt entitled to have? Or was it more?
Kirk tried again, even though he knew he might as well be talking to the wall. “Sending me to investigate my twin brother is asking too much.”
Lester’s heavy brows dipped. “You haven’t been close to each other since grade school, Kirk.”
Kirk winced. That was true. Their parents had sent them off to separate schools, after listening to a psychologist’s advice about encouraging the twins’ individual development. He and Ken had grown apart, developing different friends and interests. And some of Kenneth’s friends had been the wrong kind.
But he still loved him. They’d been inseparable as children. And had enjoyed vacations at the cabin and holiday weekends at their parents’ house in the Twin Cities. They’d once been close enough to finish each other’s sentences. Once.
“He’s still my brother. What the hell am I going to say when I see him? ‘By the way, Ken, Uncle Lester sent me here because he thinks you or someone in your office is a crook?’”
Lester’s mouth twisted and ash from his cigar sifted down. He ran thick fingers through his thinning brown hair. ”You don’t need to let him know his office is being investigated. He’s been complaining that computer problems are delaying his reports to me. I think he’s stalling, which is why I think he knows something’s not right there.”
Kirk’s stomach knotted. Damn. If Ken was really stalling about sending his reports in, maybe he was involved in something. Or at least knew about the problem and was covering up for someone.
“I sent him a message saying I’m sending someone to help him straighten out his computer problems.”
“And I’m that someone?”
Lester nodded. “Yes. That’s your cover. ”
Kirk bit his lip. ”Did you tell him I was the one you were sending?”
Uncle Lester looked away. “No. I thought he might object or get suspicious and start covering up. There was always a little rivalry between you.”
Kirk laughed wryly. Uncle Lester had never married or had kids, but he understood his nephews pretty well. “That’s a bit of an understatement.”
Uncle Lester grinned, showing his first bit of levity. “You’ll be fine. Just do your job.” Then he sobered. “If I’m right about what he’s up to, it doesn’t matter what Kenneth likes or doesn’t like. He won’t deserve our sympathy, family or not.”
“I suppose not.” A chill ran over Kirk at that possibility. He hoped Uncle Lester was wrong this time. Ken was going to see through that cover immediately. Ken knew Kirk was the company troubleshooter, not just a computer techie. They’d be at each other’s throats in no time. How could he investigate when Ken would be upset and he’d be feeling guilty at having to suspect Ken? Impossible.
“All the same,” he said firmly, “get someone else to do your dirty work this time. I’m off to the cabin for some fishing. I’ve earned my vacation.”
He got up and walked out without a backward glance.
“Kirk!” Lester called.
Kirk kept walking.
His mind in turmoil, he stopped at a restaurant for a late breakfast. He stewed over the conversation with his uncle as he filled up on a ham and cheese omelet, toast and coffee. He watched the other customers as he ate, wondering what Ken was up to.
If he was embezzling, why? He made good money as head of the branch office. He was even engaged, the last Kirk had heard. Why would he risk it all? He certainly must know he’d be found out and lose everything. The Latham empire didn’t tolerate crookedness. Ken wasn’t stupid.
With a sigh, he made up his mind. He’d have to do what his uncle wanted. If the problem wasn’t serious, maybe he could convince Ken to make it right. He owed his brother a second chance. Another investigator wouldn’t give him one.
Kirk drank the last of his coffee, then paid his bill and drove back to his apartment for his luggage. He’d need a few business clothes, along with those jeans and swimming trunks. He called his uncle’s office to tell him he’d changed his mind. Lester was out, but Kirk left a message saying he’d take the assignment they’d discussed.
Kirk really had no choice. Ken was still his brother and had always claimed to be the unlucky one of the twins. Maybe so, though Kirk believed a person made his own luck. Unlucky or not, Kirk refused to believe Ken was a thief. They shared blood ties making him feel obligated to find out the truth, whether or not he liked what he found. And digging out the truth was something he did well.
He left his car in his garage and called a taxi. At Chicago’s O’Hare airport, Kirk Latham boarded a flight for Minneapolis, stowed his carryon and settled down to catch a few winks to make up for a sleepless night.
When Kirk arrived in Minneapolis, he’d check into the hotel, dump his luggage and then take a cab to the office. If he was lucky, Ken would still be there and they could talk. Maybe he could solve the problem fast and go out to the cabin in a few days. But, no matter how long it took, he’d get to the bottom of the problem at that branch office. He always did.
Had Kenneth believed his uncle’s story about sending computer help? If not, how would Ken react when he saw Kirk, the company’s trouble-shooter? Kirk tried to imagine how he would feel if he were the one suspected of wrong-doing.
Wouldn’t he be angry? Outraged? If he was innocent, of course. If he was guilty, how would he fight back? Deny it? Run away? Kirk sighed and closed his eyes, listening to the soft drone of the plane’s engines. He’d deal with Ken’s reaction when he got there.
~ * ~
Kenneth Latham sat at his computer at his office desk. As manager of this Minneapolis branch of his family’s chain of building supply stores, he had complete control over the finances, just the way he liked it. But over the past few months, everything had started to go wrong. Now it was all going to hell fast. Yesterday, it had been Lester’s message; today it was the loan sharks.
He sat with his head in his hands, still shaking from the latest phone threat. Now they were threatening not only him, but Rosie. Somehow they’d learned of his fiancée and their big wedding plans. He couldn’t let them hurt her!
His luck at the casinos had been great for quite a while. Then it had soured. He’d maxed out his credit cards, and gone into debt trying to win back his losses, always counting on the next turn of the roulette wheel to get him out. It hadn’t.
So he’d borrowed from the store for months, intending to return it when his luck changed. He’d been so sure it would.
Now the loan sharks wanted their money. He had no choices left. He had to disappear, and that required “dying” so Rosie could collect the million dollar life insurance he’d taken out, with her as beneficiary. Thank goodness he’d had the foresight to take out that insurance policy as a back-up plan in case his luck remained bad. Which it sure had.
After Rosie collected, he’d call her and convince her to come to him in the Cayman Islands. She loved him. She’d be so happy he was still alive; she’d do that. They could start over on a million dollars.
He sat up. He had to leave now. By the time anyone figured out how he’d cooked the store’s books, he’d be well outside their reach. His uncle’s cryptic message about sending someone to help with his computer problems hadn’t fooled him. Ken had understood, but not acknowledged, the real message. He could no longer fool the home office with falsified or late and missing reports. It was time to wrap this up.
Luckily he’d prepared for such an emergency. After he disappeared, they’d never find the missing money.
Yeah, Uncle Lester was gonna scream. But the fat old
coot had been taking the lion’s share of the profits for himself for too long. Ken was only claiming his rightful inheritance a little ahead of time. Well, maybe a lot more than his share, but what the hell? He had to have something to live on while he waited for Rosie to claim his life insurance and join him, didn’t he?
Besides, it was the only way, now. If the loan sharks thought he was dead, they’d write off his debt and leave Rosie alone, too.
He went on the internet and accessed his online banking account. After moving the last of the store’s available money to his account in the Cayman Islands, he ran a back up zip disk and put it into his briefcase. Then he deleted all the tell-tale financial info from his hard drive, leaving only those files he wanted left on it.
He had back-up copies on disk as well as duplicates on his new laptop, so he didn’t worry about forgetting any of the account numbers or other information he needed.
Weeks before, he’d bought a new identity. Last night he’d bought a ticket under that identity, using cash so he couldn’t be traced. He’d taken his luggage to the airport and stored it in a locker. It would be waiting there for him. He’d even bought his new laptop, briefcase and luggage with cash, and was taking almost no clothes or personal possessions with him. He wanted his office and apartment to look the same as always, with nothing substantial missing that might make them doubt he was dead. He’d left no clues to his new whereabouts.
He’d also prepared his fishing boat the night before. He sighed, hating to lose that favorite toy. But it couldn’t be helped. Besides, later he could afford a new one.
Changing out of his business suit, he slipped into his swimming trunks, and then put on the casual set of clothes he kept here in the office for his leisure time. He’d often left his Minneapolis office for an afternoon of golf or boating, so no one would think his actions unusual.
Picking up his laptop and briefcase, he left. He’d given Rosie the afternoon off, telling her he was going fishing, so they would look for him at the lake when he didn’t show up for his date with Rosie for the Country Club dinner. She loved him and would grieve for him until he told her he was still alive. He regretted causing her pain, and especially hated to hurt Rosie so soon after her mother’s death, but it was too late to prevent that now.
