She stepped out of the doorway and motioned them inside. “This man claims to be a beneficiary, but he refuses to show me any identification, and I have reason to believe he has been pretending to be a custodian so he can go through the trash and look for government information.”
“Gentlemen.” The man claiming to be Brandt Sherrod smiled at the two of them without a hint of unease. He stood and placed the chair back in its original position. “Where shall we go for the interrogation?”
They blinked at him. Obviously, they hadn’t expected to have to interrogate anyone. Or to have that someone so willing to be interrogated. They didn’t move, and their indecision irritated Bonnie. Geez, did she have to do everything?
“Why don’t you take him down to your office and call the police?” Bonnie snapped. “Let them deal with him.”
Steven sucked his tongue over his teeth in thought. “Are you pressing charges, Bonnie?”
“He’s not who he claims to be, and he’s trying to acquire benefits that don’t belong to him. I think the Commonwealth will want to pursue this, yes. I’ll talk to Mr. Brewer, and we will meet you down at the security offices. All right?”
“Okay.” Steven cleared his throat and motioned to the ninja. “We’ll need you to accompany us.”
“Certainly.” He nodded and walked toward Bonnie.
She resisted the urge to step out of his way. Just before reaching her, he pivoted to the door but not before he winked. At her! “Ms. Moore.”
His address to her was more like a…a…caress.
“It’s been a pleasure. See you later.”
Bonnie huffed. She hated arrogant men. Hated them.
The three of them walked across the open space of the department, passing the desks of several people who stopped their work to watch the security guards and the well-dressed man between them. Bonnie stalked to Mr. Brewer’s office.
She explained the situation to him. He nodded his agreement to having the police involved unless Mr. Sherrod could prove he was, indeed, Mr. Sherrod. Mr. Brewer alerted Karen Silver in their legal department, and when he hung up the telephone with Karen, he and Bonnie walked to the elevator to go down to the first floor where the security guards’ offices were.
When they arrived, they found the door locked.
“That’s odd,” Bonnie said. “I know they said they were bringing him down here.”
“Maybe they went on to the police station,” Mr. Brewer supplied.
“Surely not both of them.” Bonnie walked to the receptionist’s desk in the main lobby. “Would you call security? We were supposed to meet Steven and Luke at their office.”
The receptionist did as Bonnie asked. In a few minutes, Steve entered the lobby. The expression on his face caused Bonnie alarm.
“What’s wrong?” she asked even as he walked toward them.
“He’s gone.”
“What?”
Steve shook his head. “I can’t explain it. First he was there, then he wasn’t. We rode down in the elevator, we got off, he was there. We walked right across here, and then Luke said, ‘Where is he?’ And I turned around, and he was gone.”
“But how could you let him leave?”
Steve sighed. “Luke and I did a search. Tammy”—he indicated the receptionist sitting in front of them—“says no one was with us when we came into the lobby, but he was. He had to be. He was with us on the elevator because he made some comment about UK basketball.”
“UK basketball?”
“Yeah, so Luke said something about the game, and then I started talking about the last quarter, and then Luke noticed he was gone.”
Great.
The man who claimed to be Brandt Sherrod, ninja, had disappeared.
Chapter Four
Bonnie parked in her driveway and walked across the street to pick up Andy and Curtis from Veda’s house. Veda, a retired schoolteacher, kept the boys after school each day until Bonnie arrived home from work. The arrangement had worked out well for Bonnie when Curtis started kindergarten in the fall, and Veda enjoyed the boys’ energy and appreciation for her homemade cookies. A win/win situation.
Bonnie opened the door and walked into the foyer. Veda had admonished her long ago about knocking. “Knocking is for strangers,” she said. “You come right in.”
“Shouldn’t you lock your door?” Bonnie had asked.
“Now why would I do that? Matilda is my security guard. Anyone comes inside who isn’t supposed to be here is going to have a hunk of meat taken out of his hide.” She had patted her German shepherd’s head affectionately.
Matilda greeted her at the door now, her big tail thumping against the wall. “Hey, girl,” she scratched her fur behind her ears. “How have the boys been today?”
Woof.
Bonnie walked through the house toward the living room Matilda accompanying her.
Veda sat in her favorite chair working Sudoku. Andy was at the computer in the corner playing a video game, and Curtis was watching television.
Veda looked up and smiled.
“Hi, everyone.”
No response from the boys. “Hello, Bonnie,” Veda said. “How was work today?”
“Interesting. Hellooo, Curtis and Andy. No one wants to say hi to their mom?”
Andy turned his head and grinned. “Hey, Mom.”
Curtis raised his hand in greeting but otherwise didn’t move.
“Come on, boys. Let’s go home so I can get supper started.”
“Aww, Mom.” Curtis finally granted her a glance. “Can’t you let us stay until you get supper on the table? It’s just getting to the good part.”
“What? You can’t watch this at home?”
“It’s public TV. I’ll miss something while we walk across the street, and there ain’t no commercials.”
“There aren’t any commercials, young man,” Veda admonished.
“That’s what I said.”
Bonnie laughed.
“I’m sure you can miss the couple of minutes it takes you to walk across two yards and a paved road, son.”
The boys gathered their things, and they walked to the house. Curtis headed to the television as soon as they were inside, but Andy walked into the kitchen ahead of Bonnie. She took off her jacket and hung it on the back of her chair at the table.
“So, what should we have for supper?”
Andy’s soulful gaze met hers. “Miss Veda says if you haven’t decided what’s for supper by ten in the morning, then you’ve already failed.”
Bonnie opened the refrigerator and pulled out a pound of meat. “Hamburger Helper says differently.” Opening the cabinet, she retrieved the box with triumph. With two cans of green beans, she could have the meal on the table by a quarter after six.
And speaking of time… She glanced at the clock. Kayla ought to be home by now. Bonnie fished her cell phone out of her purse and texted her daughter.
Where r u?
She set the phone down on the counter and started to brown the meat. If that child didn’t text back in five minutes, she had better have a good reason and better not have anything to do with Rex.
At four minutes, the text came.
Band running L8. Home @ 7.
Bonnie pursed her lips at the message. Practice ended around five, and Kayla rode home with Carrie who lived the next street over.
Andy pushed a chair over to the counter and climbed on it. He took plates out of the cabinet and crouched to set them on the surface top before jumping down and moving the chair back to its place. He then set the table.
He was such a thoughtful child.
Bonnie moved the hamburger meat around in the skillet with a spatula.
She hated for all of them not to be together for supper, but the boys were used to eating sooner than seven. Sighing, she continued with the meal preparation. Kayla would just miss eating with the rest of the family.
Andy stood back from the table and placed his hands on his hips. He looked at the table, and Bo
nnie wondered if he was trying to decide what else to do. “It looks great, son. Thanks.”
He nodded. “You’re welcome. You think I should put drinks on the table too?”
“Let’s wait a bit. But good thinking. How did school go today? Who got in trouble?”
“Kerwin. He bit the bark off of a tree on the playground.”
“Yeah? Did he get sick?”
“Not at school. But the teacher sent him to the nurse, then to the principal. He’s already been in trouble in the past for eating stuff. Something’s wrong with that kid.”
Bonnie laughed. “Maybe he’s trying to get more fiber in his diet.”
She and the boys ate. The front door opened, and Bonnie glanced at the clock from where she stood in the kitchen wiping down the counter. Two minutes to seven.
Her daughter’s footsteps sounded on the stairs.
“Kayla? Come in here and eat, honey.”
She paused then continued upstairs. “Not that hungry.”
Not that hungry?
Bonnie wiped her hands and followed her daughter. She found her in her room, her backpack already open, and Kayla rifling through it.
“Hi.”
Kayla barely glanced up. “Hey, Mom. I have a ton of homework tonight.”
“How come you had to stay two hours longer at band practice?”
She shrugged. “Guess we weren’t getting the music right. We’ve got state competition coming up.” She pulled out a notebook and opened it.
“You need to eat.”
She sighed finally gracing her mother with a hard stare. “I’m fine. Quit trying to force feed me.”
“I’m not trying to force feed you. I just think it would be good to eat something for supper unless you and Carrie grabbed something on the way home?”
“We didn’t. I’ll get something later, but right now I’ve got three chapters to read in biology. Okay?”
Hurt ached in Bonnie’s chest, but she hid it. Her little girl didn’t want to give her the time of day. “Okay, honey. I’ll be downstairs if you need me.”
Just before she shut the door, she heard Kayla’s soft response. “I won’t.”
The next evening was the same—Kayla coming home late and holing herself up in her room. That night when Bonnie went to bed, she found Curtis asleep on the floor on the other side of her bed. She knelt beside him, straightened the blanket he used as a pallet, and leaned down to kiss his cheek. At five, he didn’t remember when his father had lived with them, since Guy had moved out when he was still a baby. Curtis had been unplanned, conceived at a time when her and Guy’s relationship was already falling apart, or at least when Bonnie had finally realized things weren’t going to get any better. Within a month of returning to work from maternity leave, Bonnie received divorce papers. Instead of betrayal, she’d felt relief. The house was more peaceful with Guy gone.
But even though he couldn’t possibly remember the terrible fights Bonnie and Guy had before the divorce, Curtis seemed to pick up on any kind of tension in the house. He wasn’t as verbal about his feelings as Andy, yet he sought contact with Bonnie by sleeping next to her bed at night. It was as if he was trying to make up for Kayla’s withdrawal from the family, as if he knew how much it hurt Bonnie though she’d never said anything out loud to the boys. In the morning when Bonnie would get up, he’d slip back into the room he shared with his brother and sleep in his own bed for the hour before she called to them to get ready for school.
Bonnie mulled over these issues at the office the following day, too lost in thought to see what was on the computer screen in front of her.
Her telephone rang and she answered it absently. “Bonnie Moore. May I help you?”
“This is Charles Brewer. I received your email.”
Bonnie had sent an email to him about the incident in which someone impersonating a vice president of security had interrogated her. She’d detailed the use of a vacant office on a hallway where no one should have had access, and her concerns there was a security risk involved. Even though she’d mentioned it to Mr. Brewer earlier, he hadn’t done anything about it. In fact, it seemed he hadn’t been that concerned.
“Why don’t you come to my office, and we’ll talk about it.”
Bonnie pursed her lips. She’d copied the email to Vivian Walker, the vice president of Kentucky Revenue Services. Either Mr. Brewer wanted to meet with Bonnie to lambast her for going over his head, or he was now taking her concerns seriously.
Bonnie logged off her computer and headed over to his office. Once there, she waited at his threshold, and he waved her in. “Shut the door, why don’t you.”
It was going to one of those visits then.
Bonnie shut the door and walked over to sit on the chair in front of his desk. He watched her for a moment.
“I wish you hadn’t sent that email to Ms. Walker.”
“Don’t you think she needs to know someone is squatting in one of the offices upstairs and harassing employees?”
“The office is vacant, Bonnie. Nobody saw those people but you.”
“What are you saying? You think I made it up?”
He sighed angrily. “No, I’m not saying that.”
Bonnie felt her own anger rising, but she kept her cool. “Then what?”
“It was probably just a joke, like I said. You take things too—”
“It wasn’t a joke. The guy was trying to get me to tell him something. The entire room was set up like an office. After I got the call, I looked him up in the employee database. He was there—title and everything. So, not only were they able to claim an office under false pretenses, but they were able to enter and delete information in our files. Doesn’t that make you uncomfortable?”
“If someone like that had access to our computer files, then why question you? Why not just hack your computer?”
“I don’t know.”
“What exactly did he ask you?”
Bonnie hesitated. She didn’t want to get in trouble, and especially didn’t want to get Marla in trouble. After all, Marla hadn’t willingly let her use her computer. “He asked how I find missing beneficiaries and if I look at unauthorized files to find out information.”
Mr. Brewer leaned back in his chair. His eyes narrowed at her. “What did you tell him?”
“I said I was a model employee, and I didn’t like his intimidation tactics. I told him I wanted you to sit in with the interview since you were my supervisor. He picked up the phone, and actually spoke to you, or acted as if he did. But you said you didn’t know him, and you didn’t talk to him.” Bonnie studied him to see his response. Sometimes Mr. Brewer was a hard man to read.
“None of this makes sense.”
Bonnie didn’t say anything. None of it made sense to her either, but at least now Mr. Brewer was taking her seriously.
Bonnie stood up. “Is there anything else?” Bonnie was hoping Mr. Brewer would say they were going upstairs to meet with Vivian Walker, but he didn’t.
“Not right now. We’ll see how this plays out.”
Bonnie entered her office. Her telephone was ringing.
She reached across the desk and picked up the receiver even as she circled her desk to sit down. “Bonnie Moore. May I help you?”
“I hope so. I’m hungry, and I’d like to take you to lunch.”
Bonnie blinked, trying to recover from the shock of hearing Brandt Sherrod’s voice.
Or whoever he was.
“Who is this, please?”
His slow laughter made her skin tingle. He knew she knew who it was.
“This is Brandt Sherrod.”
“If you are Brandt Sherrod, why did you leave the custody of the security guards the other day?”
“So, no lunch?”
“Why would I go anywhere with you? You could be a serial killer for all I know.”
“Or I could be a very nice person.”
“A very arrogant person. Why do you even assume I’m available for lunch?”
“Because you haven’t given me a reason to assume otherwise.”
Bonnie snorted. “When you have some identification proving you are Brandt Sherrod, I will be available to meet with you here in the building. Until then, have a good day. Goodbye.”
She hung up the phone wondering if steam were coming out of her ears. What was this guy’s deal? If he was Delores’s beneficiary, then he needed to prove it. But why go to all this trouble if he really didn’t want the money as he claimed? She drummed her fingers on her keyboard wondering if she should call security again. But for what purpose? They’d let him walk away from them while they were supposed to be escorting him to their office. Obviously, either he was a very good ninja, or they were very poor security guards.
A knock sounded on the threshold, and Sheila, Bonnie’s friend stood at the doorway. “Ready for some lunch? I’m starving. Rita and Alicia are already in the cafeteria.”
Bonnie opened her desk drawer to retrieve her purse.
“You okay? You look mad.”
Bonnie shook her head. “Difficult benefits case.” She stood, and they walked toward the elevator.
“What?” Sheila cast a sidelong glance at her. “Are they fighting over who gets the money?”
Where should she start? There was no easy explanation, and Bonnie wasn’t one for gossip. She shook her head. “Not exactly.”
The elevator doors opened, and they entered the small space, turning around to face the door that began to close but opened again in defiance of something unknown to either of them. This was an older part of the building, and the elevator sometimes expressed the gremlins of age.
Sheila arched an eyebrow, and they both stepped backward—testimony to conversations of the past blaming proximity to the threshold for the doors flying back open.
A few seconds passed, and the door closed, this time without any reluctance.
“What then?” Sheila asked.
“Let’s talk about something else. I’d like to enjoy my lunch break.”
“That bad, huh?”
“How’s Robby?” Robby, Sheila’s husband, had prostate cancer, though they’d caught it early.
“We go next week to see how the radiation is working.”
Unforgettable Heroes II Boxed Set Page 94
