“You don’t plan on giving these clowns any money, do you?” Paul asked.
“No. We’re going to put them off, which reminds me, they promised to email me a copy of the profit and loss statement.”
After dinner, Gloria hurried to the computer. The email was in her inbox and Liz pulled up a chair so the women could pore over the papers together.
At first glance, the companies looked legit but Gloria wasn’t convinced. She printed off the statement so they could do some research. Several were legitimate companies and she was beginning to wonder if they were on a wild goose chase.
It wasn’t until she got to the bottom of the list, her radar went up. Gloria waved the paper at Liz. “Check this one out. This company’s website claims they’re a luxury resort on some remote island I’ve never heard of. Pelletree.”
They found a couple more that raised red flags and Gloria highlighted them so she could dig a little deeper into their backgrounds.
Paul wandered into the dining room. “You ‘bout ready for bed? I have a full day at the museum and we gotta get up early.”
“Yeah.” Gloria pushed her chair back. “We may be onto something.”
“Just be careful,” Paul warned. “You don’t know if these people are dangerous. If they’re running an illegal scheme and they think you’re onto them, you could all be in danger.”
“I’ll have Lucy go with us. She’ll be packing heat,” Gloria said.
Paul rolled his eyes. “Great. Now I am concerned.”
“Don’t worry.” Gloria hugged her husband. “I’ve got it all under control.”
Chapter 19
“Let’s go over the plan one more time,” Gloria said. “Ruth, you and Dot are going to stay inside Ruth’s van for audio and visual surveillance.”
“Andrea, Lucy, Liz and I are going to go inside and mingle with the club members and also mention to them we’re considering investing with Club NED members to see if any of them react.”
“I’m going to track down Rex Wetzel and hopefully figure out if he’s involved with the investment group,” Liz added.
“Lucy is going to stick close to me in case Ed or Nolan start acting weird when I question them about some of the investment prospects and tell them I need to think about it over the weekend.”
Lucy patted her pocket. “We may have a problem if the club’s security is checking each of the party attendees with those handheld weapon wands.”
“You brought a weapon?” Dot stared at Lucy’s pocket.
“Are you surprised?” Andrea asked.
“No, I guess not.”
“I’m carrying it legally,” Lucy said. “And I don’t intend to fire it unless absolutely necessary.”
Visions of Lucy brandishing her weapon and people stampeding out of the clubhouse filled Gloria’s head. “It’s probably a good thing I only have a month membership. Tonight might be the end of it if things get out of hand.”
“They won’t,” Lucy said confidently. “I know how to handle tight situations.”
“Like the one in Nantucket where Barnacle Bill was shooting at you?” Gloria teased.
“It wasn’t my fault,” Lucy argued. “The man was crazy.”
Ruth drove into the parking lot and circled it once before deciding on the perfect stakeout location. She backed into the spot and shifted to park. “This spot is perfect. I can keep one surveillance camera pointed at the front door and another on the entrance to the parking lot.”
“You can’t watch both at once,” Liz said.
“I can’t.” Ruth pointed at her eyes. “That’s why Dot is here. She has a sharp eye.”
“Thanks Ruth.” Dot beamed. “I didn’t think I had a useful skill.”
“Don’t sell yourself short,” Ruth said. “You’re a perfect partner in non-crime.”
Gloria reached for the side door handle. “Remember, no matter what you do or what you see…do not engage.”
“Pfft.” Ruth waved her hand. “This ain’t our first rodeo.”
“I know but a reminder never hurts.” Gloria glanced at Lucy. “It’s time to roll.”
Despite the modest wedge heels Gloria was wearing, she teetered when she stepped onto the asphalt. Lucy was next. Liz piled out after her and Andrea brought up the rear.
Gloria eyed Andrea’s shimmering party dress. “Wow. You look smokin’ hot. Brian let you out of the house dressed like that?” she joked.
Andrea tugged on the beaded collar. “Yeah. Does it make me look like a hoochie?”
“Not at all. You look classy,” Gloria said.
“Yeah. You’ll be a useful distraction,” Liz said. “The outfit is perfect.”
The girls joined the small group of guests waiting in line to get inside. Country club personnel stood guard at the door, checking the guests’ names against a clipboard list.
“I hope Rex didn’t forget to add your name,” Gloria whispered.
“Don’t worry. Even if he did, I’m going to get us in there,” Liz promised.
“Great. It makes me feel so much better. Not.”
They reached the front of the line.
“Name please?”
“Liz Applegate.”
The man, pen in hand, scanned the list. “I don’t…”
Gloria’s stomach knotted. Visions of Liz creating a scene flashed through her mind.
“Uh. There you are.” The man checked her name off the list. “These are your friends?”
“Yes.” Liz nodded and the man waved the women through.
“That was close,” Lucy said as she patted her pocket.
The soft strains of a piano filled the reception area. Uniformed butlers carried trays of champagne flutes as they offered them to the new arrivals.
“No thanks.” Gloria shook her head as one stopped by to offer a drink. “Let’s head into the main reception room.” She led the way and the women crossed the entry, passed through a large set of double doors and entered an enormous reception room.
Large tables filled the four corners of the crowded room. Liquor bottles filled one of the tables. A second table was loaded with hors d’ oeuvres, the third light entrees and the fourth was a decadent dessert table.
“We might as well indulge in the goodies.” Liz made a beeline for the array of bite size appetizers.
“She’s right,” Lucy said. “I don’t know if I’ve ever been to such a hoity-toity event.”
The women trailed behind Liz. Gloria stood off to the side and perused the offerings. She wasn’t a fan of sushi or food she couldn’t identify. “What is that?” She pointed to a small round piece of red meat. In the center was what appeared to be raw egg yolk.
The woman behind the table placed her hands behind her back. “Steak tartare.”
“Steak tartare?”
“Raw red beef with an egg yolk in the center,” she replied. “Would you care to try it?”
Gloria made a gagging sound and Lucy snorted. “That would be a big no.”
There were several other unidentifiable offerings and Gloria finally settled on a piece of crusty bread with a red sauce and melted cheese. She nibbled the edge as she cased the joint. “I don’t see any of the Club NED peeps yet.”
“Liz found Rex.” Andrea tilted her head to the side. “Hopefully she’s thanking him for the invite.”
Liz snaked her arm through Rex’s and leaned close to whisper in his ear.
Gloria popped the rest of the tasty morsel in her mouth. “Yeah. She’s thanking him all right.”
After Gloria finished her appetizer, they strolled over to the entrée table and she let out the breath she’d been holding when she recognized cooked meatballs floating in brown gravy, petite sausage links, a platter of flaky dinner rolls, bowls of pasta with cream sauce and a tray of seasoned asparagus. “This is more like it.” She sampled one of the pasta dishes, a spear of asparagus, a couple meatballs and a dinner roll.
“I wonder if they would be willing to give me the asparagus recipe,”
she whispered to Andrea, who joined her near the end of the table. “Mine always turns out mushy and under seasoned.”
Lucy quickly finished her entrée and made a beeline for the decadent dessert table. “I’m surprised it took this long for Lucy to hit the sweet stuff,” Gloria said. “I figured she would have headed there first.”
Lucy loaded two plates and wandered over. “Check these out.” Lucy held out her dishes, crammed full of sweet treats. “There’s a cheesecake-swirl brownie, carrot cake, red velvet cake. They even have baklava.” She balanced both plates, reached for the layered sugar-filled pastry and nibbled the edge. “This is delicious.”
Gloria had tried baklava once and it was too sugary for her tastes, which meant it was probably perfect for her best friend. She snaked past Lucy. “Where did Liz go?” She caught a glimpse of Rex, mingling with other guests. Liz was nowhere in sight.
Lucy shrugged. “Hard telling with Liz.”
“Hello ladies.” Gloria jumped at the deep voice behind her and spun around. It was Ed Shields and he was alone.
“Hello Mr. Shields.”
“All my friends call me Ed,” he said. “I trust you got the information we forwarded yesterday?”
“I did.” Gloria nodded. “I’m still reviewing it, although I do have some questions.”
“So you still haven’t reached a decision?” he asked.
“N-not yet,” Gloria stammered. “I decided to give myself the weekend to mull it over. Twenty thousand is a lot of money to just hand over.”
“I’m thinking of investing, too,” Andrea chimed in. “Unless, of course, you’re not looking for more investors?”
“We are.” Ed Shields smiled, his gleaming white teeth filling his face. “We’re always looking for solid investment partners. Perhaps we can have lunch Tuesday?”
“Perhaps.” Gloria quickly changed the subject. “What a lovely party turnout. I think someone mentioned Mr. Holt was one of the owners. Are there many more?”
“There are three partners who jointly own Montbay Hills Golf & Country Club. Mr. Holt, Dylan Nestor. He’s a silent partner who lives out in California and then there’s Becky Stone. I believe she was golfing with us the other day when we met.”
Warning bells rang in Gloria’s head. When she had questioned Margaret about Becky Stone, Margaret claimed she didn’t even know who the woman was. As a long-standing member, surely Margaret knew who owned the golf club.
“I see. It sounds like a well-rounded group and I like the fact that the golf club is equal opportunity.”
A butler approached and tapped Ed on the shoulder. “If you’ll excuse me.” He spun on his heel and then wove his way through the crowd to the other side of the room.
“Did you hear that?” Andrea whispered. “He said the woman is a co-owner and Margaret had no idea who she was.”
The list of potential schemers was growing. Not only was Rex Wetzel on the radar, so was Ed Shields, Phil Holt, Nolan Bolton and Becky Stone. Perhaps they were dealing with a larger ring of scam artists than Gloria originally thought. What if one of them was not only a scam artist, but also a killer?
Lucy hurried toward them. “I’ve looked everywhere for Liz, including the women’s restroom. She’s gone.”
Chapter 20
“Is she in Ruth’s van?” Gloria asked.
“Nope.” Lucy shook her head. “I already checked.”
“Let’s spread out. Andrea, you take the appetizer and drinks side. Lucy, you take the entrée and dessert side. I’ll search the front reception area and the restrooms again. We’ll meet up outside the main doors.”
The women split up as they searched for Liz. Lucy was right. Liz had vanished.
Gloria met the women out front a short time later. “The last time I saw her, she was talking to Rex Wetzel.”
“Try her cell phone,” Andrea suggested.
“Good idea.” Gloria pulled her cell phone from her purse and dialed Liz’s cell phone. It went directly to voice mail. “Liz. We’re here at the party and can’t find you. Please call me as soon as you get this message.”
She dropped the cell phone inside her purse and gazed around. The sun had set and it was starting to get dark. Gloria’s eyes fell on Ruth’s van, parked near a street light and she hurried across the parking lot.
Ruth opened the side door. “Still no Liz?”
“No,” Gloria said. “I’m getting worried. You didn’t happen to see her come out?”
“Nope.” Ruth shook her head.
“We haven’t taken our eyes off the entrance to this place or the front doors,” Dot confirmed.
“We haven’t searched outside,” Lucy said.
“True. Let’s circle the building. I saw a large terraced patio out back. Maybe she went out there with someone.”
Gloria, Andrea and Lucy headed to the side of the building and Ruth promised to call Gloria’s cell if she was able to get a visual on Liz.
“When I find her, I’m going to strangle her,” Gloria vowed. “She knows better than to run off without telling us where she’s going.”
“Maybe she wasn’t thinking.” Andrea picked up the pace to keep up with Gloria.
“I’m sure she’s fine,” Lucy said. “You know how she is when she gets something in her head and acts impulsively.”
“That’s what I’m worried about.” Gloria stepped off the sidewalk and passed the pro shop where she noticed the lights were on. She didn’t slow her pace as she glanced in the windows.
She had almost passed by the window when she caught a glimpse of Liz’s blonde head. She was behind the cashier’s counter, peering at a computer screen.
“Liz,” Gloria gasped. “She’s in the store.”
Gloria retraced her steps to the store door and grabbed the knob. The door was locked so she tapped on the window.
Liz glanced up, a deer in the headlights look on her face. She held up a finger and turned her attention to the man standing next to her.
Andrea eased in next to Gloria and peered into the store. “I hope she’s onto something good.”
A few moments later, Liz hurried to the door and opened it. “What are you doing here?”
“I might ask you the same thing,” Gloria hissed. “We’ve been tearing this place apart, looking for you.”
“We thought something happened to you,” Lucy added.
“I’m fine. I’m just taking a short break from the party,” Liz said. “Ivan, one of the golf pros, was just showing me a few things. I’ll be back inside in a minute.”
Gloria opened her mouth to say something but before she could speak, Liz shut the door in her face. They heard the lock click.
“She makes me so mad.” Gloria clenched her fists. “I have half a mind to leave her here and let her find her own way home.”
“What if she’s onto something?” Andrea asked. “We should give her the benefit of the doubt.”
Gloria turned on her heel and stomped down the sidewalk. “Maybe she’s looking for Martin. I hope she finds him.”
“I’m going to grab a couple more goodies,” Lucy said when they reached the reception room. “I want to try one of the chocolate cupcakes.”
“Wait.” Gloria grabbed her arm. “Check it out. Over by the fireplace.” Becky Stone and Phil Holt hovered near the fireplace. They were talking to Rex Wetzel and none other than Ed Shields.
Gloria turned so her back was to them.
“Ah.” Lucy narrowed her eyes. “Judging by the serious expressions, they’re having a very important conversation.”
Liz returned a short time later and when Gloria tried to question her sister about what she was doing, she was vague. “Ivan was kind enough to show me the ins and outs of their database. It was all very fascinating.”
“Were you able to track down lover boy?” Gloria asked.
“Maybe.” Liz shrugged. “I had an interesting conversation with Rex Wetzel earlier. I think he’s in on the scheme. He told me he had the inside scoop on how
I could make substantial sums of money.”
“When I pointed out the other day he said something about a money scheme, he told me he was only joking but I think he was lying.”
Liz studied her nails. “I broke a nail trying to type on the keyboard.” She lowered her hand. “Anyhoo, I’m meeting Rex for lunch tomorrow. He said he could hook me up with some great investments and outright warned me to steer clear of Ed Shields and the others. He seems like a sincere guy but I still get an uneasy feeling he might be trying to pull one over on me.”
“You’re such a great judge of character, Liz. I’d be shocked anyone could pull one over on you,” Gloria said with a hint of sarcasm.
“Dig all you want. At least I’m onto something,” Liz sniffed. “What have you come up with?”
“We found out Becky Stone, the woman Margaret had no idea who she was, is one of the co-owners of this joint.”
Liz’s eyes widened. “Really?” She shifted to the side and glanced at the group, still standing in front of the fireplace. “What if the owners are in on the money making scheme? Think about it. This is a prestigious golf club. Many of the members have big bucks. What a perfect place to find suckers.”
“I think you’re right,” Lucy said. “Ed Shields wants to meet Gloria Tuesday. If you can’t find anything out from Rex when you have lunch with him tomorrow, we might have to move onto Plan B.”
Gloria started to shake her head. “I don’t think Paul will be keen on the idea of me meeting a man alone. I’m not sure I like the idea of meeting that man, or any man, alone.”
“Don’t worry,” Andrea said. “I’ll come with you. After all, you want your daughter to help you make sound financial decisions.”
“Andrea, you’re an angel,” Gloria said. “We’ll see what Liz manages to find out tomorrow and go from there. I have Ed’s contact information from the questionable financials. I can call him tomorrow night.”
The women stayed for another half an hour and mingled with several of the guests as Gloria introduced herself as a potential new member. Despite dropping several hints about looking for investments, none of them mentioned Ed Shields or his “investment opportunities.”
Greed with Envy (Garden Girls Christian Cozy Mystery Series Book 15) Page 12
