by Fiona Quinn
His pause was met with silence.
“It says you two are headed to court. I’m just wondering if you feel threatened by the woman in any way. Is she a risk to your work that we need to spend time on?”
“Betty’s my deceased husband’s half-sister. Why would you think she might be a risk to my work?”
“The court documents say she wants to inherit your mother-in-law’s estate. I’d imagine it’s sizeable.”
“It’s not like the Campbell’s were millionaires.” Sophia’s voice trailed off. “Betty wouldn’t be taking anything from me. I’m not in line to inherit.” Her voice cracked. Nutsbe turned the monitor so Brian could see that Sophia had wrapped a hand around her throat, her eyes wide with fear. “Do you think she might do something to hurt my sons?” she whispered.
Brian immediately understood his mistake and wished he’d taken a less direct route. Asked Nadia. Done more digging on his own. “There’s no reason to think that. None. But I can tell I’ve made you nervous. I’m sorry. I’ll give it a thorough look, I promise—but I’m sure there’s nothing there. Can you tell me about her? How do you two get along?”
“Betty was Matthew’s estranged daughter. Jane’s step-daughter. I’ve never met her.”
“She never went to the funerals? Not even her dad’s funeral?”
“No. I don’t think she had any contact with the family at all. I’m not even sure how she found out Jane died. She filed court papers that same week though.”
“Do you know if she ever asked her dad for money as an adult?”
“I heard stories about her as a rebellious teenager. She ran away from her mom’s house, played with drugs, was in and out of juvie. I can’t recall hearing anything about her as an adult. Matthew was in high school when Betty was born. He was way too young to parent.”
“Do you have a photo of her?”
“No. I went through all of Matthew and Jane’s things when I put them in storage. There’s not a single picture of her as a child or as an adult.”
“Interesting.”
Sophia had moved over to the arch separating the office from the kitchen and lay her head against the wooden molding. “Really? That’s your take on things?”
“Wrong word. I meant I’m interested in how and why she feels entitled to your mother-in-law’s inheritance.”
“Because Jane’s money came from her husband, Betty’s father. And because I’m under a perpetual shitstorm, and there’s no practical reason to expect a change in the forecast.” Sophia paused, then whispered, “Brian, you promise you’ll let me know if my kids are in danger?”
Brian kept his tone light and unconcerned, hoping that would ease the stress he’d just put on Sophia’s shoulders. And here he was supposed to be pulling monkeys off her back, not adding to her distress. “I highly doubt there’s anything there, but I promise to follow up. I won’t let anything happen to your boys.”
When he got off the phone Thorn and Nutsbe were staring at him.
Brian said nothing.
Nutsbe cleared his throat. “All righty then, now that that can of worms has been opened and Brian has pledged the safety of two children who are not listed on our contract, at least that promise will be short-lived. The judge should rule on the case Monday after next.”
“Any chance she’ll lose?” Thorn asked.
“We can run it through legal, if need be. On the surface, Betty’s grabbing at air. I’ll bet she’s going to make a pre-trial offer for x amount of money to just walk away. Virginia law says that Jane had to live a hundred and twenty hours longer than Matthew to inherit everything. And she definitely did that, so Matthew no longer has an estate. Sophia is being represented by Graham Danforth. A reputable lawyer. He’s not going to fall for any shenanigans.”
“So this inheritance, it’s big enough that Sophia can dig out of her financial crisis?” Thorn asked.
“The house, for sure. That title is clear. Sophia and the boys could continue to live there rent free. As far as the rest goes, assets have been listed, but they don’t have a numeric value, along with a daunting list of liabilities—again without any particulars. I assume Sophia and her lawyer will present that as evidence when they get to court. Betty’s lawyer didn’t file for discovery or do any of the things one would expect. Too bad, too. It leaves us in the dark. I bet Sophia’ll get out of this with the house and possibly something to pay the lawyer. Maybe make a dent in the debt mountain.”
“Hopefully she can sell the place and move somewhere without that level of insanity,” Thorn said.
Nutsbe pulled up a new screen. “You don’t think she’d just move on to a new catastrophe? She’s kind of a modern-day Calamity Jane.”
“Except that Calamity Jane got her nickname because she was riding with her troop when their leader was shot, turned her horse around, rode up and caught the guy as he was falling from his saddle. She pulled him onto her horse and galloped his ass back to the fort, saving his life,” Thorn said.
“Yeah—definitely not Calamity Jane.” Nutsbe turned to Brian. “Who am I thinking of?”
“I don’t know, Typhoid Mary, maybe?”
The computer pinged, and Nutsbe opened the new file. “It’s from research.” He took a moment to read. “I sent them Pierre and Marla Richards’s names to see if they could get anything on that looney tune.”
Brian moved to read over Nutsbe’s shoulder. “They have Pierre Richards, but no Marla Richards associated. Too many Marla Richards’s in her age bracket in their database. None in the Northern Virginia area. More information required to process.”
“We need her wallet,” Thorn said.
“She’ll be easy to find. I put a GPS tracker on her car so the computer would alert me when she was near Sophia.” Brian pulled his phone from his pocket and checked the app. “She’s at home right now.”
“I’ll follow up,” Nutsbe said. “I’m starting to get middle-aged spread from sitting behind this damned desk.” He tapped the alert button on his computer. “Sophia’s landline has an incoming Syrian phone call.”
Chapter Twenty
Brian
Friday p.m.
“Sophia, we’re onsite.” The heavily accented voice was breathless and jubilant. “You wouldn’t believe what we have here. I’d say this area dates back to the Bronze Age, through maybe the classical period.”
“How much damage would you estimate? I’m pulling up your coordinates now.”
“Surface to air missile batteries. There are three armored vehicles dug in. We’ve uncovered an ammunitions bunker, but it doesn’t look like looters have been given this area yet. We could try to excavate the site ourselves.” It was a male voice, struggling for air as if he were climbing and talking at the same time. “But to be honest, we may be targets for US bombs if we do. With this military apparatus around, they might mistake us for an active enemy.”
“Why do you think ISIS dug in there and left?”
The three Iniquus liaisons watched Sophia on Nutsbe’s screen.
“It is a legitimate military position. Many of our finest archaeological sites are also valuable strategically. Civilizations at war have always sought the high ground. These archaeological tells are prime real estate for ISIS.”
“I saw military movement in that area a while back. Did they abandon their equipment, do you think?”
“Surely not. This puts us in limbo. Do I tell the forces who are fighting ISIS this equipment is here? Do I allow ISIS apparatus to remain, with the slim hope they will leave the tells and the relics alone? If I report it, there is a good likelihood the rebels will bomb the site. The artifacts would be at risk. I don’t know where to turn, what to do. You have the best access to satellite imagery, far better than what I have. What do you advise me to do, my friend?”
“It will take me a minute to get to the right images. As I do that, I can tell you that on the ground, tanks were attacking Qalaat al-Madiq on Wednesday. The Syrian Observation Group for Human Rights said th
at twenty-one people died, four of them civilians. They’ve been shelling in Hama Province for seventeen days now. I’m guessing they’re trying to root out the rebels.”
“What’s happening now?”
“Hang on.” Sophia put the handset down and pushed the button for speaker. “Okay, it looks like the Syrian army’s been busy digging tanks into the top of Tell Kifa. The citadel would be a good vantage point to shoot at the lower town. Have you heard an update from Krak des Chevaliers?”
“It is taking repeated air attacks. There is not much hope left for that area.”
“I am so sorry. It’s a loss for all of us. I’m scanning over the images, and I’m not seeing much in the way of military activity in your direct area. I think the plan right now should be to watch and wait. Let’s see if ISIS is going to come back to this tell. If you can keep me updated with specifics, I have contacts who can get the information to the military. Whether they’ll pay attention or not, I can’t promise. But if you start trying to excavate the tell, surely someone’s going to say something to someone else, and you’ll make ISIS think you’re stealing from them. I don’t want anything bad to happen to the villagers or our friends.” She reached over and picked up the receiver again, pulling her foot under her thigh and leaning her weight onto her elbows. “I’m sending the 3-D cameras that we spoke about soon. I’ve approved them; we have financing in place. The AACP is going to airship them as quickly and quietly as possible. Jael will make sure that your group has what you need. As far as the artifacts on your tell go, we’ll need to be satisfied with documentation for now.”
“Yes, yes. We can do that. Thank you so much for everything. I pray every day for you and Nadia. That you will continue to be able to help our efforts. Thank you.”
“It’s my pleasure,” Sophia said, and the call ended.
Nutsbe blew out a breath as the team watched Sophia hang up the phone and walk out of her office. “When she says ‘my pleasure’ in that bedroom voice of hers, all kinds of pictures pop into my brain.”
Brian sent daggers his way. “Lips and dick zipped.”
“We’re not going to be on this assignment forever, man.” He smacked Brian’s chest with a grin. “Too bad she’ll probably be in super max when we’re done.”
“Let’s get our notes together for Finley and Andersson.” Thorn shifted papers out of the way. “In my mind, there was debt hanging out there on Sophia’s end. It was the perfect reason for Sophia to make a choice to do a deal with the devil. This lawsuit may take some pressure off. On a personal note, I hope that’s true. Another piece to that is, if she is guilty, I’d still like to press the FBI to turn her, keep her out of jail in return for her cooperation. If she’s not helping ISIS for ideological reasons, that is. Her knowledge and contacts are unique, and listening to her on that call, I’m convinced she’d be a good person for Iniquus to partner with. Add in her language skills, her knowledge of the area, and prison would be a huge waste of her talents. Any thinking person could see that. She could still present in court as if she’d been functioning as an informant all along.”
Brian was right onboard with that line of thought.
Nutsbe was bending a paper clip back and forth until it broke. “There’s always the possibility that the perp isn’t motivated by money. You mentioned being ideologically aligned with ISIS. Do we know anything about Sophia or Nadia’s religious views? This new player on the scene, Jael of the effing Rex Deus, that’s got me stymied.”
“If we’re stretching the envelope to see how wide we can make it,” Thorn said. “Why couldn’t the perp be aligned with the Museum of the Holy Bible, or be madly in love with one of the Gilchrest clan? Maybe even be a member of the Gilchrest clan.”
“All right stop.” Nutsbe shifted in his seat. “I can take a look at those things, but in the meantime, there’s one of those cloak and dagger phone calls to Sophia that you two need to hear.” Nutsbe pulled up a video of Sophia at her desk with the sound on mute. Then he tapped to play the audio file that would include both callers’ voices.
“Did you get my message?” Sophia asked.
“We did, well done.” It was a man’s voice this time. “This is exactly the opportunity we’ve been looking for. We passed the information through the channels, and an arrangement was agreed to.”
“Where did you find this package?” Sophia asked, rolling her chair over to enter the coordinates as they were read out. “Got it. I don’t want any mistakes. It’s imperative that it is that particular piece and no other.”
“Understood. It’s in our possession.”
“Is it en route? How is it getting to the US?”
“The courier will hand-deliver the item.”
“Okay, good. And the money?”
“It will be transferred as we hand the piece to its owner on Monday.”
Nutsbe grunted. “I do believe that Sophia has stuck her foot in the FBI web and is about to get stung. The coordinates on her computer are for the site listed for the tablet. It sounds like she’s sent her people to pick up the artifact the FBI is tracking. And it’s headed for the US on Monday. The same day, by the way, their buddy with the Rex Deus tattoo is headed to town.” He lifted his brows. “An interesting coincidence, don’t you think?”
Thorn and Brian left Nutsbe to his searches and headed to the cafeteria for some grub.
“You’ve got your heart on your sleeve, man,” Thorn said quietly as they moved down the hall. “Titus put you in one hell of a fix by asking you to go after Sophia when he knew you had a previous relationship.”
“We had a conversation, not a relationship,” Brian countered.
Thorn put his hand on Brian’s shoulder, moving him toward an empty office and shutting the door.
“We’re all brothers on Panther Force. I’m doing a gut check. This isn’t looking good for Sophia. Even you have to admit that. I like Sophia, I really do. I wish to hell that her life was easier and this wasn’t happening. I’m hoping we can find a way to dig her out. But you’ve got to be prepared for what’s coming. You have to know, I’m going to hate putting those cuffs on her wrists. But if she’s guilty of providing information to fund terror—”
“Then she needs to be punished. Agreed.” Brian was short circuiting. The mental image of Sophia on the ground with her hands cuffed behind her and some asshole’s knee in the small of her back messed with him in ways he’d never experienced before. He needed to forgo his dinner and hit the gym hard. Burn through the chemicals that made his brain crazy. He needed to be the steady, clearheaded force that figured this out and wrangled the best possible outcome. At least Sophia had Lana to keep her kids when the shit hit the fan. If the shit hit the fan. “Let’s not get tunnel vision. There are a ton of moving parts on this one.”
“Means, motive, opportunity, bro.”
“Got it.” Brian moved to the door. “Now we need to find the evidence.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Sophia
Saturday a.m.
“Here it is,” Nadia said from under the pool umbrella. She held up a plastic dolphin and made her way back to Sophia and Lana. The kids were splashing around in the kiddie pool while the women dangled their feet in the cold water.
“They aren’t going to last long. Their lips are already turning blue,” Lana said. “It’ll be a few weeks yet until the water really warms up.”
“Gorgeous day, though.” Nadia pulled her sunglasses from her hair and put them in place, turning her face toward the sky.
Lana handed the dolphin over to Chance. “Hey, guys, let’s keep the splashing down, okay?” She pulled out her phone and flipped through it. “I saw something on TV last night. This guy looked like he was kin to Brian. Hang on. Yeah, Brian’s definitely got a Stephen Amell vibe going for him.”
Nadia pulled her phone from her beach bag “Stephen who? Spell the last name.”
“A-M-E-L-L. A Canadian actor. He played—”
“Hmm. Maybe. Brian’s got a better ja
w line. And better shoulders. But I guess I get what you’re saying. It’s those amazing blue eyes. Like Zac Efron.”
“Not Efron. He’s too unapproachable. Shiny. Like he’s trying too hard. Brainiack is a good combination of a stud muffin and a man willing to take out the garbage.”
Sophia glanced their way, then put her focus back on the boys. “Lana, you’re married.”
“You and Nadia aren’t.”
“Nadia and I aren’t in the market.”
Nadia leaned sideways until she and Sophia were shoulder to shoulder. “Look at this, Sophia.” She pulled back. “No, wait. It says he has a brother—oh wow, yes, Robbie, that dark hair… Yeah, Brian could fit right into the Amell clan.” She leaned back over so Sophia could see as she flipped through the pictures. Sophia glanced down for a second then back up to take a head count of their kids. The pool was filling up as people made their way in for the opening day party.
“I bet you anything Brainiack was raised with a houseful of sisters. Maybe even by a single mom. You can tell how much he respects women. His smile just says nice.”
“Wrong. He grew up on a farm in Idaho with nine siblings. At least seven of them were boys, because he’s the seventh son of a seventh son.”
“That’s supposed to be something, isn’t it?” Lana glanced her way with a grin and a flick of her brow. “Does it give him magical powers or something?”
Nadia kicked Sophia’s leg. “Do tell. What are Brian’s magical powers? Does he sparkle when he’s excited?”
“Shut up.” Sophia looked up just as Marla, Penny, and Kay walked through the gate with their kids. Shit.
“Brainiack is a terrible nickname. Why do they call him that?” Lana asked as she stowed her phone in Nadia’s bag. “It reminds me of those horrible songs mom used to make us listen to in the car. Remember, Nadia?”
“That was the Animaniacs,” Nadia said, bumping Sophia and lifting her chin to make sure Sophia realized Marla was there. “Yeah, I hated them too.”
