“He obeyed the speed limit,” Bonnie said defensively.
“At your request, I’m sure,” Alicia observed.
“Where you’d go? His place? I bet he has a penthouse somewhere.” Rita sighed. “It’s just like a movie.”
“They don’t make movies about forty-something-year-old divorced mothers. At least not the kind of movies you’re talking about.” Bonnie sat back and watched her friends in amusement.
“Yeah. Movies about your age bracket tend to be about women killing their husbands for cheating on them—or being cougars.”
“Is he younger than you?”
Bonnie shook her head in a refusal to answer.
“Where did you go?” Alicia asked.
“He took me home.”
“Oh, my gosh. Your kids aren’t there on Thursday night. What happened?”
“Nothing really. We watched a movie, and he went home.”
“You watched a movie?”
“Yeah.”
“What movie? A romantic comedy? Those are great date night movies.”
“No. A war movie. The Bridge on the River Kwai.”
They blinked at her like two owls. A knock sounded on the door, and Sheila slipped inside with a big smile.
“Might as well wipe that grin off your face.” Alicia groused. “They watched a war movie at her house, then he went home.”
Sheila looked at Bonnie for confirmation, but her smile remained. “How did it feel having a man in your house again?”
“Strange.”
****
Bonnie settled in bed and closed her eyes hoping she could go to sleep, but doubted it would really happen. There’d been another argument with Kayla. She’d cut class today, and the only reason Bonnie had known was because of the cameras she’d installed in the house. When she’d seen Kayla on the camera feed, she’d hardly believed her eyes, so she’d called Kayla’s cell phone and lied, saying the school had called her to find out why she wasn’t there.
“I’m sick,” she snapped.
She didn’t sound sick. “Then why didn’t the school call me to ask if you could check out? Where are you?”
“I’m home.”
How did she get home? Did Rex take her? “Did you even go to school today?”
“Does it matter? I don’t feel good.”
“What doesn’t feel good? Stomach? Head?”
Kayla huffed. “Everything. Leave me alone. I just want to go to sleep.”
It was on the tip of Bonnie’s tongue to lecture her some more, but the dejection in her daughter’s tone stopped her. Throughout the morning, she’d kept the video feed on her computer and had seen Kayla in bed.
At lunch time, Bonnie had gone home and checked on her. Opening her bedroom door, Bonnie walked in the room and stood next to the bed. She touched a hand to Kayla’s forehead.
No fever.
Kayla opened her eyes and cast a glare toward her.
“What’s wrong, honey?”
“I told you, I’m sick. Just leave me alone.”
“Did you and Rex get in a fight?”
Kayla turned over in bed with her back to her mother. The movement stung, like a rejection.
“Mama?” Curtis asked, bringing Bonnie’s attention back to the present. He stood next to her bed, looking at her with those soulful eyes.
She scooted over to make room for him. “Yeah, babe?”
He picked up the pillow. “Can I lie down for a little while?”
“Sure. You can lie down on the bed.”
“No. I like the floor.” He settled down on the far side of her bed.
Bonnie moved to that side and peered down at him. “Want to talk about anything?”
His little boy sigh echoed through the room. She reached over and patted his head. “I love you. You know that?”
“Yeah. You have to though, ’cause you’re our mom.”
“I suppose, but I love loving you.”
“Ugh. Can I go to sleep now?”
Bonnie smiled. “Yes.” She closed her eyes and listened in the stillness to her son’s breathing.
The next morning Bonnie congratulated herself. She’d found the company who had delivered office furniture to the office where David Bentley, or whoever the man was, had grilled her. The same company had delivered and picked up the rented furniture. Sheri Stillthorpe’s name was on the account. That had been the secretary’s name in the outer office. Bonnie had looked for the name in the employee database but hadn’t found the woman. On Bonnie’s lunch break, she’d visited the store and obtained a copy of the order form. Reading it, Bonnie smiled.
She had a phone number.
Once back in her office, she did a search and found it was a Virginia number. She called it.
“Hello?”
“Hi, may I speak to Sheri Stillthorpe, please.”
There was a slight pause. “Whom should I say is calling?”
“This is Bonnie Moore. I work for the Kentucky Commonwealth Retirement Systems. I’d like to send Ms. Stillthorpe some paperwork; may I have your address please?”
“What is this about?”
“Some furniture was rented and placed in a Kentucky office building. I need to send the bill of lading to her.”
“You do, huh?” The woman on the other end chuckled briefly. “Miss Stillthorpe isn’t available, but if you’ll give me your telephone number, I’ll call you back with an address to mail the bill of lading to.”
“That would be great, and what’s your…name?”
The line went dead, before Bonnie could finish her question. She walked out of her office to get a cup of coffee from the break room. The trip there and back couldn’t have been more than five minutes. She entered her office and stopped.
A basketball in a Lucite cube sat on the shelf behind her desk.
It couldn’t be. She strode over to it. The ball had signatures on it, including…Bonnie gasped. The governor’s name.
Brandt. He’d been here. Had to have just been here since she knew that ball in a cube hadn’t been here when she’d left for coffee.
She looked behind her attempting to catch a glimpse of him.
The thief had stolen the governor’s championship ball and put it in her office.
****
The officer—Patton was what his nameplate said—looked at her quizzically. “No one asked you to wait in the lobby.”
The elevator doors opened, and she and the two officers stepped out. “Yes. Sergeant Weeks called me and asked me to wait down in the lobby for you guys.” Bonnie led the way to her office. The door was open, and she gasped.
“There is no—”
Bonnie glared at her bare shelf. “No Sergeant Weeks, right?”
“No ma’am.”
She turned to the two men. “I’m sorry. I think I’ve wasted your time. There was a college championship ball in here, but it seems to have vanished.”
They looked at her then around the walls of her office. “Do you want to tell us what happened?”
Bonnie sighed in frustration. “There was a ball in here that wasn’t mine. It looked like the one in the governor’s office. But it’s not here now.”
They were giving her let’s-humor-the-crazy-woman stares.
Officer Patton cleared his throat. “Who do you think stole the ball, put it in here, then took it out again?”
Bonnie shook her head. “What’s the point? I’m sure you have more important things to do than chase after phantoms.” Or ninjas, as the case may be. She walked back out of the office.
They didn’t follow her.
“Did you take the ball?”
“What? No!”
They stood inside her office and watched her. She walked back in the room. “I’m the one who called you about it. Why would I steal the ball, hide it, and then call you?”
“I don’t know. Why would you?”
“I wouldn’t.”
“Then where’s this ball?”
“I don’t know.
I suppose he took it after he made sure I saw it.”
“Who’s he?”
“Brandt Sherrod. He says he’s a ninja.”
“A what?”
“A ninja. Isn’t that ridiculous?”
“Yes. Where’s your ninja now?”
“He’s not my ninja. I think it’s as crazy as you do. Ninjas don’t exist.”
They didn’t reply, but Officer Patton crooked his head as if he were deciding whether to call someone to bring a straitjacket.
Obviously, this was only going to mean trouble for her. She walked back to her desk. Sitting down, she folded her hands. “Look. Obviously, I’m the butt of someone’s joke. I’m sorry that I brought you into this.”
“We’ll take your name and number, and if anything comes up, we will call you,” the other policeman said.
He was placating her, Bonnie felt sure.
Instead of arguing with him, she nodded. “Thanks.”
The policemen left, and Bonnie was about to get back to work when her telephone rang. It was Tammy, the receptionist from downstairs.
“Hi. You’ve got some flowers down here, and they’re gorgeous.”
Bonnie sat back in disbelief. “Flowers? I don’t think so.”
“Bonnie Moore. It says as clear as day.”
Obviously it was a mistake. All of these interruptions were making work impossible. Walking around the desk, she went to sort out the mess. Downstairs she stood in front of a colorful bouquet of roses, lilies, and delphiniums cascading over a glass vase. It was gorgeous, but this couldn’t be right.
Bonnie plucked the card from its holder.
My number is in your file. Brandt.
“Of all the arrogance! The audacity!”
“What? What does it say?” Tammy stood and craned her head attempting to read the card Bonnie had waved around in her rant.
Bonnie slapped the card down next to the vase and marched to the elevator. “Who’s Brandt?” Tammy called after her. Bonnie didn’t answer. She was too incensed.
It was nearly lunchtime when her friends entered the office with the offending flowers in hand.
“I don’t want those in here,” Bonnie said.
“Did you call him?” Rita asked.
“No, I did not, nor do I plan to.”
Alicia set the vase on the corner of her desk. “Aw, come on, Bonnie. Call him. These are gorgeous, and he’s obviously interested.” She fingered the coral-colored petal of a rose.
“I’m not.”
“Why not?”
“He’s playing games, and I don’t like that.”
“Come on, honey. Live a little. Didn’t he behave himself the other night at your house?”
“He attempted to solicit an invitation to my bedroom after plying me with drinks at the restaurant.”
“We were plying you with drinks. Don’t blame him for that.”
Bonnie retrieved her purse from her desk. “Are we going to lunch? If so, the topic of Brandt is off-limits.”
They responded with a chorus of groans.
****
Three days went by, and the flowers, sitting on her desk, still looked as fresh as the day they had arrived. A tender feeling tugged at her heart. He’d probably paid a lot for the flowers, an apology, she supposed, for pulling a stupid stunt like stealing the governor’s basketball and placing it in her office and making her look like a fool in front of the police.
The telephone on her desk rang, and she picked it up. It was a summons from Vivian Walker.
What now?
When Bonnie arrived at the woman’s office, the door was ajar. From inside, a man spoke, and Vivian laughed. Bonnie raised her hand and knocked on the doorframe.
“I bet that’s Bonnie,” Vivian said. She appeared at the door, her expression friendly and relaxed. She opened the door wide and stepped back. “Hi. Come on in.”
Come on in?
Bonnie walked through the threshold spotting Vivian’s vacant desk and the chair in front of it. She had enough clout that there was a little sitting area in the far corner. On a snow white love seat sat Brandt Sherrod in suit and tie. Bonnie looked back at Vivian, who had shut the door.
“Have a seat, Bonnie. You know Brandt,” Vivian said as she herded her over to the sitting area.
Brandt didn’t change his comfy pose.
Bonnie chose the chair furthest away from the snake. His eyes crinkled at the corners and his lips widened in a smile, which Bonnie didn’t trust.
“What’s going on?” Bonnie asked.
Chapter Eight
“I came to explain what’s been going on and to apologize,” Brandt said.
Bonnie hid her surprise.
“Brandt told me that he was behind the vice president of security office stunt, and why he did it.”
“It was never my intention to cause any problems. In my work, I have to be sure there aren’t any security issues so I just did a little investigating to be sure you were actually looking for Delores Park’s beneficiary and it wasn’t a front for something else.”
“What is that work exactly?” Bonnie asked. “And how is it that you are able to steal property from the governor and get away with it?”
“I thought it was the lieutenant governor you were buddies with,” Vivian purred.
Bonnie rolled her eyes. “Look. I don’t care what business he’s in, who he’s friends with, or what line he’s fed you. Don’t you see he got access to our files, and he was able to put false information in there? That means our digital security is vulnerable. We deal with people’s retirement benefits. If he can create a person in the employee database, he can probably access the financial records too.”
“Oh, I don’t think so. Those are much more secure. Besides, Brandt has assured me that it was an A security breach, and it was done with permission by the lieutenant governor.”
“An A security breach? I’ve never heard of that.” Bonnie turned to Brandt. “What did you do, make it up?”
“I’m sorry, Bonnie. I didn’t mean to make any trouble. I just had to be sure you were who you claimed to be.”
“So, you were behind Sheri Stillthorpe and David Bentley squatting in the vacant offices upstairs?”
“Yes. They work with me.”
“They work with you at your ninja company in Bellini, Kentucky.”
“Well, we tend to be known as a consulting firm.” He conceded.
Bonnie wasn’t falling for his act. “That’s a lot easier to believe than the ninja story.”
He nodded with a twinkle in his eye. “Yeah, I know.”
“So, Bonnie, this solves the mystery of who those people were and why they set up an office in the building,” Vivian said.
Bonnie turned to her. “Which they had no business doing. Are you going to let him get away with this? Let’s call the police right now.”
Vivian shook her head. “No. He has clearance from way above my head. I’ve already checked out his story, and it’s been verified.”
“Really? I bet if you call tomorrow, the number will be disconnected.” Bonnie knew now she had said it, Brandt would make sure it wasn’t, making her look, once again, like an idiot.
Brandt arched an eyebrow at her but kept his quirky smile. He cut his gaze to Vivian, and so did Bonnie. Vivian was studying her. She looked at her watch then back at Bonnie.
“Why don’t you two go out to lunch and sort this out?”
“What? No!”
“Yes, go ahead. But be back in an hour, all right?”
Brandt stood. “Thank you, Viv. I think that sounds like a great idea.”
Bonnie put her hands on her hips. “It doesn’t sound great to me. Why don’t you go with him since you’re so chummy.”
Vivian tapped her chin. “Brandt, do you mind waiting outside for Bonnie?”
“Not at all.” He walked toward the exit. He had something tucked in his hand—tablet perhaps? Bonnie noticed Vivian watched his graceful stride across her office. Gross. She was at
least ten years older than he was. The woman was a cougar. No doubt about it.
When the door closed behind him, Vivian turned toward her. “Go with him.”
“I don’t want to. Why don’t you go with him?”
“Because even though he is extremely charming, he’s also a little too smooth. Find out what you can. I want to know how he breached our computer system. You have a knack for computers. I think you can be very…beneficial for the Commonwealth. Find the back door, so we can close it. Do you understand?”
Bonnie huffed. “I’m not good at this.”
Vivian pinned her with a suddenly serious expression. “You’re very good at this. You’re the only one who tried to blow the whistle on someone who not only breached our computer security, but was able to set up shop on a secure floor, and was unnoticed by anyone else. I don’t like this at all, but he’s got connections, and I wasn’t able to do anything about it. I want to be sure this doesn’t happen again. Got me?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Take two hours if you need it.”
“This is more than a lunch project. It took me a couple of months to find him, and he’s just such a liar.”
Vivian tucked her chin in. “This is top priority.”
“Surely there is someone else you can bring in to find out.”
“I just had the lieutenant governor call me and threaten my job, one of those offers-I-couldn’t-refuse kind of thing. I don’t like that, especially since I didn’t vote for that clown. Do me a favor and help me find the gap, so I can close it.”
“I’m no Mata Hari. This is crazy.”
Vivian watched Bonnie for a moment. “No, you’re not a Mata Hari. He knows those types. He likes you, and he thinks you’re all integrity and apple pie. I think he’ll tell you how they got in the system. Just keep being who you are. You’ll have him eating out of your hand.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Bonnie, do you realize he met with me and disclosed his culpability in this little stunt because he thought your reputation was at risk? There was no other reason for him to come here today because no one really believed you. Until now.”
“I think there’s more to it.”
“Perhaps there is. Good luck.” She turned and propelled Bonnie toward the door. Opening it, Vivian motioned with her head for Bonnie to leave. The older woman’s eyes sparkled with a hunger that worried and intrigued Bonnie.
Unforgettable Heroes II Boxed Set Page 98
