Frost Security: The Complete 5 Books Series

by Glenna Sinclair

  “Honey?” Gen asked, a look of grandmotherly concern on her face as she came around to my side of the conference table and peered down at me. “You okay, dear?”

  I shook my head, dispelling all the negative thoughts and worries. “I’m sorry,” I said, trying to reassure her, “I’m fine, Gen.”

  She smiled, pulled out the chair next to mine, and took a seat, papers in hand. “So, Frank asked me to draw up a quote for you.” She began taking me through the quote line-by-line. “This is our daily rate here for one man, but he mentioned that he was taking Mr. Wayne up to the cabin with him as well. This is what you should expect.”

  I glanced over it as politely as possible, absently following along with her. It really didn’t seem like that much. It was less than what I spent on the new fashions that came out every year. It was less than what I spent at Burning Man the year before, even.

  “Do you take credit?” I asked after she got to the end.

  “Of course, dear.”

  I pulled my wallet from my purse and handed one of my cards to her that I’d used the least this month.

  Gen excused herself and went to run it, leaving me again with my thoughts.

  Deep down, I really wished this was all just teenage assholes being teenage assholes. Really, I did. But, still, something in the back of my mind nagged at me as I chewed my lower lip and stared deeper into the tea like it was some dark crystal ball that could see the future.

  Gen returned to the conference room a few minutes later. “Do you happen to have another card? It seems this one isn’t working.”

  No big deal. It had happened in the past when I hit a limit because it was the end of the month and I’d been a little too rowdy or gone on a huge spree. Without fail, Father’s people just cleared the balance and it was fine the next month.

  “Oh?” I asked, digging for another. “Here,” I said, handing her two more, “one of these should work.”

  She came back a few minutes later though with a frown.

  “Ashley, dear,” she said in that grandmotherly tone again. “Do you have a check, by any chance? Those wouldn’t clear either.”

  “Check?” I asked, confused. “The cards didn’t…?”

  She shook her head slowly, her lips pressed into a tight, thin line. “We can take a check. Our owner knows who your father is, and he knows he’s fine.”

  Worried, I dug back into my purse and pulled out an almost-forgotten checkbook from when I had to pay rent on my old apartment back in school. It was a mystery how it had made it into this purse, but my purses were all graveyards for miscellaneous items. Book of slips in hand, I turned back to Gen, making a face.

  “What’s wrong dear?” she asked, looking me over.

  “I don’t remember how to write a check.” I felt my cheeks burn with embarrassment. I was the epitome of the dumb millennial.

  A look of shock appeared on her face, then she stifled a laugh. “Oh, sweetie. Don’t worry, my granddaughter doesn’t either. Everything’s Paypal this, bitcoin that. She can even wave her phone at some of the gas stations. I’ll walk you through it, dear, don’t worry. We’ll get you set up right, okay?”

  Chapter Five – Frank

  “What do you think?” Peter asked me as I walked into his office and took a seat in front of his desk. “Think we can do anything?”

  I gave him a shrug. “I think we’ve got more of a chance at it than Peak or his deputy, Glick. There's not exactly CSI in this county.”

  “They’ve been up there, right?”

  “Yup. Glick got the call and got to the scene last night. Thinks it’s just teenagers busting in because they thought it was closed up till the first snow.”

  “Well, he’s got a point,” Peter said. “This is the off-season.”

  “There are still hunters that come up this way, take those big game tours all the time.”

  “Not as much as ski and board season, though. He could be right.”

  I shook my head and put my hand on the back of my chair.

  “You don’t think so, though, do you?” Peter asked. “Walk me through your thought process on this.”

  “Alright,” I said. “One, all they did was tear stuff up, nothing major taken.”

  “Which fits Glick’s theory, wouldn’t you say?”

  “Thought about that,” I said. “But nothing was taken. Not even the liquor was touched, as far as she mentioned. You wanna show me what teenage kid busts into a cabin and doesn’t take the liquor? Cause I got you some oceanfront property in Arizona.”

  “Point taken,” he said with a nod. “What else?”

  “Two, I don’t think the alarm went off. Either she didn’t set it, her system’s broken, or something else. But she doesn’t remember it being on.”

  He leaned back in his office chair, his fingers steepled in front of him. “The alarm? Do we have the information for the company?”

  “She’s getting it for us. Apparently, the cabin and everything is under her father’s name, so she doesn’t know if she can access everything. But once we get the information from his people, we can find out if they got a call. Can’t imagine they did, though, else there’d have been security that showed, or a call to her phone. Wouldn’t there?”

  “Depends on the company, but maybe, maybe not. Maybe, for whatever reason, Mr. Martin Maxwell decided to skimp on security for this property. What else is nagging at you?”

  I laughed and shook my head. “Just this girl in there. She’s pretty enough and all, but damn, can you imagine having to depend on your daddy for everything at her age? She’s spoiled rotten.”

  Peter laughed. “Not everyone’s had as bad a shake as us, Frank.”

  “Guess you’re right. But still, can’t imagine just having shit done for me all the time like that.”

  “Something else?”

  I shrugged, turning my thoughts back to the case. “There’s just something about this break-in that seems off, that’s all. Jake is free, so I’m going to drag him along to see what he can suss out from the scene.”

  Peter laughed. “He doing that cold read shtick of his again?”

  I looked up to the ceiling and shook my head a little, clear as day for Peter to see, as Gen cleared her throat behind me. I scooted to the side so I could split my attention between them both.

  “Peter?” she asked. “I had to take a check from Ms. Maxwell. I hope that’s okay.”

  “No card?” he asked, frowning.

  She shook her head. “Decided to stop after the third one didn’t clear. I can go back and try her other ones, if you like. She’s got more cards than I have sense.”

  He nodded, glanced at me, and seemed to look me over. “That’s fine, Gen. Just don’t cash the check till I tell you, okay?”

  “Got it, Peter.”

  That was strange. Normally Peter was as eager as the next guy to get money in the bank. It’s how we paid the bills, after all, and our work didn’t come cheap. Even stranger was the fact that her cards hadn’t cleared at all when Gen had tried to run them.

  “That’s odd,” I said. “They didn’t clear?”

  He hunched forward in his chair a little, his lips almost touching his still steepled fingers. I could practically hear the old hamster wheel turning as he considered the situation.

  “What?” I asked.

  “What do you think of her?” he asked. “Tell me the truth.”

  I bit the side of my mouth and grunted a little.

  She was gorgeous, no doubt about that. Blonde hair and legs that went on forever. Even those blue eyes of hers and whatever smell she was wearing dabbed at her neck were alluring. Amber and something else I couldn’t quite put my finger on.

  But she was spoiled, too, like I’d said. Something about that just rubbed me the wrong way.

  “I think she’s smarter than most people give her credit for,” I said after a moment. “But she was born with a custom-made silver spoon in her mouth, and her daddy’s got more money than you or I have se
en or will ever see.”

  He nodded.

  “Which strikes me as funny,” I continued, “because the outfit she got on looks like something she raided Goodwill for.”

  He laughed. “That’s the look right now,” he said. “You know that, right? Her outfit could probably pay three months’ rent on that place you and Matt share.”

  I didn’t know what was more surprising, that that’s what fashion looked like these days, or that Peter could spot it at a glance. I gave him a look that communicated both of these.

  He shrugged. “What? Gotta keep up with the times, O’Dwyer,” he said. “Besides, the idea of fashion’s always interested me.”

  “Gimme boots and jeans that don’t change from season to season, and I’ll be just fine.”

  He grinned. “Back to the subject at hand, though, I tend to agree with the points you made earlier. I want you and Jake to go up to her place, check everything out, see what you can smell.”

  I nodded as I got up to leave. “Got it, boss.”

  “Frank?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Anything changes, you let me know, alright?”

  “Sure, boss. I’ll let you know.”

  I stopped by the conference room on the way back to my office to grab my sidearm from my desk, and poked my head in. From where Ashley was sitting, with the light coming in from the small window right behind her, she looked luminescent, almost angelic. I didn’t say anything at first.

  “Frank?” she asked, making me realize I was staring. “What’s up?”

  I shook my head. “Sorry, just thinking about your file that’s all,” I lied. “I’m going to go grab some stuff from my office, then Jake and I’ll head on up to the cabin. Everything okay on your end?”

  She furrowed her brows, nodded, and gave a wave of her hands as she clearly tried to exude fake optimism. “Oh yeah, I’m sure everything’s fine. No worries here. I’ll be right with you when you leave so I can let you in and everything.”

  She was lying. I could practically smell it. Well, maybe not lying, but something was definitely off. She was worried because she’d never had this happen to her before. I had a feeling some of her daddy’s people were about get an earful from one angry daughter dearest. I shrugged and gave her a look. I certainly didn’t want to be in their shoes. “Give me just a minute, then, and we’ll get mounted up.”

  “Sure thing,” she said, still smiling that fragile, falsely optimistic smile of hers. “I’ll meet you guys there if you want to leave ahead of me. I just need to make a few calls.”

  “That’ll be just fine. Jake wants to take a look at the grounds around the cabin first, anyways, so we won’t need you there for a little while.” As I turned to leave, I heard her whisper under breath. Even with my inhumanly sensitive ears, I couldn’t make it out quite clearly. But, still, I’d have bet the farm on what she said.

  “Shit, shit, shit.”

  Chapter Six - Ashley

  No matter how sweet Gen had been about everything, as I’d sat alone in the conference room, panicked realization had set in. Something was wrong. I didn’t know if it was because Father was pissed at me or if Barbara and their team had just plain forgotten about me. Yes, something was definitely wrong. Totally uncool.

  Sure, I’d had one card go unpaid in the past. Mistakes happened. But three of them in one month? Maybe all of them? How was I supposed to live without my cards? I mean, I had five hundred or so dollars on me, but how long would that last? A couple days? How would I pay Hannah for dinner tonight and tomorrow?

  A sickening feeling began to grow in the pit of my stomach, like all the nerves had been left basting in the sun, feverish and blistered. I didn’t know if I should throw up or just die.

  I went outside and climbed into the Audi before grabbing my phone and pulling up Barbara’s direct line. I sat there, staring at the number, chewing my lower lip.

  The sickening ache in my stomach had become a feeling of outright dread. And when I got scared, I cried. But I couldn’t cry, not here, not in town. And definitely not with Frank and Jake about to come out of the office.

  At least not with Frank. For whatever reason, I just knew I couldn’t let him see me cry. Not over this. Instead, with my phone still in hand, I focused on them both.

  Frank and Jake came out of the office, their footfalls heavy on the wood planking. Frank and I exchanged polite nods, those dark eyes of his calm and confident as he climbed into the classic silver Mustang I’d parked next to when I first arrived. Jake, on the other hand, seemed like he was trying to avoid my gaze entirely, like my eyes were the plague or something.

  What the hell was his deal? I shook my head, trying to ignore my feelings about it.

  Frank’s car rumbled to life next to me, sending a low, growling bass through mine. He pulled out and took off down the road towards the cabin.

  Now alone in the lot, I returned my gaze to my cell. I hit call and pressed it to my ear, taking a deep breath as the phone began to ring.

  Finally, Barbara picked up on the seventh or eighth ring. “Barbara Hacks speaking.” Her voice was cool and professional. “How can I be of assistance?”

  “Hi, Barbara, it’s Ashley.”

  “Hello, Ms. Maxwell,” Barbara replied, her voice automatically losing any of the previous warmth it seemed to have had. “How can I be of assistance?”

  “How about you tell me why all my cards are cut off? Like right fucking now?” I hadn’t meant to curse, but I couldn’t bottle up my frustration and she was the first familiar voice I was hearing since this whole thing happened.

  “Oh?” Barbara asked, a note of surprise in her voice. “You say they’re not going through? None of them?”

  “They worked just fine last night! I don’t understand what’s going on here!”

  “I’m sorry, Ms. Maxwell, it must just be an oversight of some sort in accounting.”

  “Well, fix it, Barbara!”

  “I assure you, Ms. Maxwell, we’ll get things worked out as quickly as possible on our end and get back to you as soon as possible.”

  “You better, Barbara,” I said in irritation. “You don’t want me to give my father a call about all this, do you?”

  There was silence on the other end of the line for a moment before she cleared her throat. “You haven’t spoken to your father in almost a year, Ms. Maxwell.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “It means exactly what I said. Do you think he’d even take your phone call at this point? His patience isn’t as infinite as you might think.”

  I sucked in a sharp breath and shook my head. On the surface, she was right. I hadn’t spoken to him in over a year. I had my reasons, of course. And they didn’t have anything to do with money. How dare she speak to me that way?

  “Besides,” she continued in that cold, bitchy voice of hers, “Mr. Maxwell is indisposed with meetings all afternoon with investors over a large acquisition. Would you like to leave a message for him regarding this or would you like me to just get with accounting and correct this issue?”

  I bit my lip, trying to keep the words bottled up inside my mouth. No, she was right. As much as I hated her, she was right. Even when we were on the best of terms, he wouldn’t get back to me for days at a time. If it wasn’t about business, he didn’t have time to speak on the phone. He never had time.

  “Just fix it, Barbara,” I replied, trying to make my voice a little more conciliatory, but barely able to keep my teeth from grinding. “Please.”

  “Yes, Ms. Maxwell. I’ll get right on that.”

  I sat there, silent for a long moment.

  “Anything else I can be of assistance with, Ms. Maxwell?”

  “One other thing. The cabin was broken into last night and totally trashed. But I don’t know if the alarm went off, and the deputy is asking. Can you give me the information I need so we can contact the security company?”

  She didn’t reply at first. “Yes, I’ll get you the information
as soon as I can. Anything else I can help you with, Ms. Maxwell?

  I sighed. “Look, Barbara, I know you and I have never been on the best of terms.”

  “I think we’ve maintained a very cordial relationship, despite the difficulties. You call when you need something, and I provide it.”

  I rolled my eyes. Translation: she thought I was a raging bitch. And maybe she was right. I did only call her when I needed something. Luckily for both of us, I didn’t go outside my allowance or my credit limit very often. “Look, Barbara, I need to ask you a question. What’s really going on in New York?”

  She paused for a moment, but picked right up with the same answer as before. “It’s really just an accounting issue, Ms. Maxwell. That’s all. As I said before, I’ll get with them and make sure your credit situation is cleared up.”

  Yeah, that hadn’t helped clear things up. Something about the way she’d said it had just seemed so forced.

  “Would you still like to leave a message for your father?”

  “No, I don’t think that will be necessary. Like you said, he’s busy. He probably doesn’t want to hear from me right now, anyways. I might distract him from work.”

  There was another pause on her end of the line. “Very well, Ms. Maxwell. Anything else this morning?”

  “No, Barbara. I don’t think there’s anything else.”

  “Thank you. Enjoy the rest of your day.”

  “Yeah, you too.”

  I hung up and sat there for a few moments longer, my fist beneath my chin as I looked out the windows at the panoramic view of the mountains and trees spreading all the way west. I still couldn’t believe the way she’d spoken to me. She was my father’s employee, not my mother.

  But, bitch or not, she’d had a point. I hadn’t spoken to him in a year. Of course, it wasn’t like he’d made any overtures. He never called, he never wrote. Nothing. It couldn’t all just be a one-sided thing, could it? The only problem was that we were both stubborn, especially when it came to this. Maybe that’s what the problem was?

  Stubbornness?

  I tossed my phone in the passenger seat as the anger slowly began to recede, like the changing of the tides. I popped my keys in the ignition and pulled out onto the highway and headed for the cabin.