“So when I ask you a question, you’ll answer it honestly?”
“I will. We have nothing to hide here.”
She didn’t miss that he’d changed from “I” to “we”.
“I’d like to find out more about Alex, Frank, and Greg. What were they recruited to do for Evandria? How involved were they?”
Archer sat back in his leather chair. “What I think you really want to know is if there’s a connection between the three men’s deaths? Is that correct?”
“It is. I think it’s all a little too much of a coincidence. My friends agree.”
He suddenly leaned forward, his hands on the dark oak desk, and his expression intense.
“I think you and your friends are on to something, Willow. Since I got your call, I’ve pulled their files plus found as much as I could about their deaths. The whole situation is disturbing to say the least and I think it’s something that Evandria should look into. They were our brothers and we owe them – and you – the truth.”
Was he serious? An investigation that would clear Evandria of any wrongdoing?
“Why are you suddenly so interested? Alex died five years ago and no one from your organization cared then.”
“And for that I apologize, Willow. I’ve only been in my position for a little over a year so I wasn’t familiar with the circumstances of their deaths. Now that you’ve brought this to my attention it’s going to become a very high priority for us. If there’s any connection in their untimely passings, we’ll find it. You can trust that.”
Josh stiffened in the chair next to her; she could feel it even if it wasn’t visible. He’d already told her they couldn’t trust anyone and she agreed. The last person she’d trust was Archer Caldwell.
She glanced over at Josh and then back to Caldwell. “We’d like to be part of the investigation. Transparency and all that.”
Shaking his head, Archer managed to pull off a regretful look. He’d missed his calling. He should have been an actor. “I’m afraid that’s out of the question. It would expose you to our internal workings, which are a secret. However, you have my personal guarantee that we will share with you even the smallest of details that we find.”
A personal guarantee, huh? Lucky me.
Willow didn’t press the issue. She wasn’t going to change his mind, but then neither was she going to change hers.
“There isn’t anything you can tell me about Alex? I find that hard to believe.”
Archer reached over to the low cabinet behind his desk and retrieved a brown folder.
“Actually there is something. Here are the member files for all three men. Normally we don’t release these but I think this is a special case.”
She took it from his outstretched hand and laid it in her lap. She’d look through it when she didn’t have him for an audience. “Thank you. I do appreciate this.”
“I want to do everything I can to help you.” He tapped his temple and smiled. “Speaking of helping, I need to let you know that I’ve located Peyton Nelson’s family and informed them of her accident. They’re on my private jet as we speak heading to Williamsburg.”
Okay, this she hadn’t expected. How did he know…? Right, he was Evandria. He knew everything.
She must have been silent for too long because Josh spoke up. “That’s very kind of you. Peyton’s recovering well and I’m sure she’ll want her family there when she wakes up.”
“Although you and your friends weren’t Evandria members, Willow, your husbands were and that makes you one of us. We’re here to help in any way possible. Just let me know what you need and we’ll make it happen.”
One of us. It sounded rather ominous.
“I just want the truth about their deaths.”
“We’re going to get that. You don’t need to worry about this anymore. Just leave it to us.”
In other words, back the hell off and stop sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong.
“One more thing, Mr. Caldwell.” It was time for Josh’s part in this little farce of a meeting. Everyone knew their lines perfectly. “We found this in Willow’s home. Evandria wouldn’t know anything about it, would they?”
The bug, wrapped in a handkerchief, was produced from Josh’s pocket and laid it out on Archer’s desk. To his credit, the older man didn’t even flinch, although she would swear he turned a shade paler.
“What is that?”
“It’s a listening device, better known as a bug. I can’t imagine who would want to listen in on Willow’s conversations but here it is, so someone obviously does. Is it Evandria?”
Shaking his head, Caldwell straightened his tie. Finally…a tell. He was nervous. Good. She wanted him to know that she wasn’t buying his particular brand of bullshit.
“As I said before, Evandria is a philanthropic organization, Mr. Coleman. It’s about brotherhood and friendship. Helping people in crisis and making the world a better place. It is not about spying on people. Are you even sure that’s what it is? Are you a police officer?”
Archer knew exactly who Josh was. Hell, he probably knew more about him than she did. He wouldn’t have let someone into his home without checking them out first.
“I’m sure,” Josh said, his features neutral. At this moment she applauded his laid-back personality. “If it wasn’t Evandria then it was someone else. Does it concern you that someone or several someones wants to know what Willow is talking about? Especially as she’s one of you and all.”
Archer stood, indicating that the meeting was over. Just as well as he wasn’t going to reveal anything more anyway. “It does concern me. If you’ll leave that, we can make a few inquiries.”
Josh scooped the bug back up and shoved it in his pocket. “Sorry, I can’t. It’s evidence.”
“Evidence? Has a crime been committed?”
The corners of Josh’s lips turned up slightly but it wasn’t much of a smile. “I’m guessing there have been quite a few.”
With that Willow and Josh also stood, her shoes sinking into the thick carpeting. She hadn’t learned anything about Alex at this meeting but she’d learned about Caldwell and Evandria. Guy Eckley was probably telling the truth. The vibe from this man was off the charts – strange and creepy. She could absolutely see him plotting the takeover of the world.
Had Alex believed in this organization at some point? Was he killed because he stopped?
“Thank you for meeting with us.” She held up the folder. “I appreciate this as well.”
Archer came around the desk to shake their hands again. “Let your friends know that you and they will be receiving some long-overdue gifts soon.”
“Gifts?”
“A simple plaque of service,” Archer dismissed. “A few other things to show our gratitude for their years of dedication to the organization.”
“Thank you, that’s very kind.”
“Alex gave of himself and it’s the least we can do.” Archer led them to the door of his study. “I’m not sure what you’re doing this Saturday night but we’re having a little party at The Retreat that evening. Black tie. Lots of members will be there and some of them may have known Alex, Frank, and Greg. You could come Friday night and make it a weekend. Lots of things to do. I think if you saw what we’re all about, Willow, you might consider joining. You’d make an excellent addition to Evandria. We should have done this years ago. What do you say? You’re welcome too, Dr. Coleman, as Willow’s guest.”
The Retreat? An actual invitation? Now this was completely unexpected.
“I wouldn’t miss it. Thank you. We’ll be there.”
With bells on.
Josh drove down the long driveway and onto the road before speaking. After that meeting, he was as paranoid as Willow. Sign him up for a tinfoil hat. Maybe a scarf too.
“You know you can’t trust anything that guy has to say, right? He reminded me of something out of The Stepford Wives. He was just a little too perfect and smooth.”
Willow laughed, clapping her hand
over her mouth. “Do you think they’re planning to kidnap and kill us, replacing ourselves with incredibly lifelike cooking and cleaning robots?”
“I think that with this creepy organization that it is entirely possible.”
Her brow furrowed. “You know, I never bought into that movie. It wasn’t realistic.”
“The Stepford Wives? I don’t think it was supposed to be realistic, honey.”
Snorting, she began to count on her fingers. “But it’s supposed to be plausible. One. It was like the town of Stepford was completely isolated. Didn’t their friends and family notice anything different and ask questions? Two. Not every man was a member of the Men’s Association. So what if one of those wives was in a terrible car accident or something? Wouldn’t the EMTs see the wires and crap? That’s kind of a dead giveaway that they’re not real. Three. And this is the big one. Where were they hiding all of these bodies? I mean, get real. Dozens and dozens of women replaced and they don’t have a storage issue?”
The more he was with Willow the more she enchanted him. And worried him.
“You’ve been thinking about this a long time,” he observed. “I assumed you were going with the battery angle. How did they keep them powered up? Or maybe the sex angle. Were they that lifelike that the men enjoyed the sex? I always wondered about that. They could have made a fortune in sex toys instead of turning evil.”
This conversation had taken a weird turn.
“Eww, I never even thought about that. The hygiene factor is a question right there. As for batteries, maybe they plugged them in at night.”
Josh shrugged. “You’d think people might notice that no one ever had any more kids after they…what’s the word…changed. That would be a giveaway as well. As for the bodies, I’m guessing they cremated them. That’s what I would do.”
Josh had to laugh at the side-eye he was getting from Willow. “You kind of scare me a little. You’ve thought it through enough to know how you’d dispose of a body. That’s kind of disturbing. I’ve heard it’s the quiet ones you have to worry about. I’ll sleep with one eye open tonight.”
That’s how he’d slept every night since agreeing to guard Willow.
“Getting back to Archer Caldwell, you know that this weekend is going to be one big performance. We won’t learn anything.”
“I know. He wants us to stop investigating and he wants to keep an eye on us. He thinks if we’re there that we aren’t nosing around. But I intend to ask lots of questions this weekend. Someone there had to have known Alex.”
Josh turned down the street that led to Willow’s house. They needed to check on the bug sweeper’s progress. “But will they admit it? I have a feeling Caldwell has a tight grip on his members.”
“One thing I learned early in life. There’s always a loose cannon. Someone who can’t wait to talk and tell everyone their life story. We just have to find out who that is.”
“You make it sound easy. I think it’s going to be tougher than that.”
“Giving up already?” she teased, a smile on her face.
“Not even close,” he said grimly. This was an opportunity they hadn’t even dreamed of. “But let’s not lose sight of the goal here – the truth. And it won’t be in that folder he gave you. Whatever is in there is a distraction to send us down the wrong path. He wants us out of the way.”
She tapped the file sitting on the seat between them. “This is either useless or filled with lies. It doesn’t matter which one or both. I won’t be run off.”
He wouldn’t either but he had a feeling they should be scared. A vast, wealthy secret society that wanted to run the world. He and Willow just might be roadkill on the way to that goal.
Chapter Six
The “Sweeper”, a short man with a receding hairline who mumbled to himself, had a neat stack of listening devices – bugs – on the kitchen island when Willow and Josh returned to her home after picking up the dogs. Josh counted out eight, which meant that they’d been spread around the house to pick up every word spoken. Willow was visibly upset as she studied the pile, finally reaching out and picking one up to examine it more closely.
“Where were they?” she asked, her voice shaky.
The Sweeper, whose name they didn’t have because of “reasons” Ellis wouldn’t go into to, listed them off. “The kitchen, the dining room, the living room, the study, the master bedroom, the poolhouse, and the back patio area.”
“That’s seven locations,” Josh pointed out. “But there are eight bugs here.”
“There were two in the living room since it’s so large. These aren’t that effective much past ten feet or so.”
“Even outside?” Willow sat heavily onto a barstool. “We went to such trouble to stay outside when we found the first one but they were way ahead of us.”
Josh placed his hand on her shoulder, hoping to reassure her. Give her some sort of strength because he had a feeling things were only going to get worse before they got better. This was probably only the tip of the iceberg.
“Then there were the cameras,” the Sweeper continued as if she hadn’t spoken. “There was one here in the kitchen and one in the living room. I disconnected them and I’m having my team try to chase down who was uploading the footage. I can’t tell how long you were being watched, ma’am, but I can tell you that the camera had almost a week of footage that was ready to be sent to whomever planted it.”
Josh sat next to Willow as her skin paled. This was what she’d been afraid of. Cameras. God knew what she did when she was all alone, but apparently God wasn’t the only one now with that knowledge. “Son of a bitch. Those perverts were watching me. That’s sick. I guess I should be grateful it wasn’t the bedroom.”
Hating to ask but needing to know, Josh turned his attention back to the man. “Did your associate find the same at Ms. Scott’s home and Ms. Nelson’s?”
Willow seemed to be holding her breath waiting for the answer.
The Sweeper nodded. “They did. About the same number of devices and cameras although there was one difference. There was a camera in Ms. Nelson’s bedroom.”
“I’m glad Peyton isn’t awake for this,” Willow muttered under her breath. “How on earth are we going to tell her?”
Josh held out his hand. “We appreciate your help and how quickly you got here. Ellis said you would be taking these bugs with you so you could have a further look?”
“I will. If I see anything distinctive about them I’ll let you know.”
“Wait,” Willow said before the man could leave. “Where were the cameras hidden in our houses?”
The man smiled and pointed to a framed black and white photo on the wall of Clearwater Beach at the turn of the century. Willow had these old Florida photos all over the house.
“Good question. They were hidden in the pictures.” He walked over and pulled the photo from the wall and set it down on the island. “Look here. There’s a small hole in the photo. A dark area, of course. The camera was positioned behind it and attached to the frame. Fairly standard and not very imaginative. I found it in the first fifteen minutes. They even hacked your WiFi password and used it to send the video to their servers. You need to get better security, Ms. Vaughn, and stop using your dog’s name as a password. I could have all of your banking and shopping information within seconds.”
Josh rolled his eyes and Willow gave him an indignant look. “I have a bad memory, okay? Using Scout or Brodie’s name is just easier.”
The Sweeper laughed. “If it’s easy for you, it’s extra easy for a hacker.”
“Believe me, I’ve learned my lesson.”
“Where were the cameras located in the other homes?” Josh asked. “Frames again?”
The man checked some notes on his clipboard. “They were only slightly more imaginative elsewhere. In Ms. Scott’s home, one camera was hidden in a small sculpture and the other was mounted on a frame just like here. In Ms. Nelson’s house, she had one in a painting, one in a lamp, and the on
e in the bedroom was mounted on the drapery rod.”
Rubbing her temples, Willow sighed. “I’ll have to ask the girls if we all use the same decorator. This is too creepy to be believed.”
The smile the man wore fell and his expression turned somber. “Ms. Vaughn, you need to wake up and believe this. Someone or several someones have gone to a great deal of trouble to put surveillance on you and your friends. This is not your run-of-the-mill cheating spouse investigation, which means they aren’t going to take my cleaning them out lying down. They’re going to do everything they can to infiltrate your life again. Every pizza you have delivered, every box from your online shopping, every person that comes on this property has to be looked at closely. Until you find out who this is, trust no one in your home. Whoever did this was someone you knew and trusted. They have access to you and they won’t hesitate to use it again and next time they’ll make my job much tougher. I have one more request before I go.”
Visibly shaken, Willow nodded. “Of course. What can I do for you?”
“Can I pet your dogs?”
Willow glanced at Josh but nodded. “Sure, they love the attention and they’re friendly.”
The Sweeper scratched their bellies and allowed himself to be licked on the face. Josh thought the guy was simply a dog-lover until he ran his fingers around their collars and onto to the tags.
“Is this a tag you placed on their collar, Ms. Vaughn?”
The Sweeper pointed to a tiny silver circle that was sandwiched between the county tag and the microchip tag. Frowning, Willow crouched down to have a closer look.
“No. No, that’s not anything I’ve put on their collars. Where did it come from?”
The man smiled and reached for a pair of metal clippers in his tool bag, quickly removing them one at a time and then tossing them on the pile of bugs.
“The same place these others came from. Where do you have your dogs groomed? Do you have a dog walker?”
The Sweeper slapped the stack into a black box and locked the lid. “They’re going to be mad. Upset. They’re going to come back. They know that we know. Call me if you have any more trouble. I’ll be in touch.”
Midnight Of No Return (Midnight Blue Beach Book 2) Page 4
