The Caspian Wine Mystery/Suspense/Thriller Series

by Maggie Thom

  Chance. How’s Bobbie making out with babysitting him?

  Tarin placed her hands on the desk in front of her and took a deep breath. It wasn’t a great start to her first day at her new job. She couldn’t believe she’d actually been hired. The guilt of how she’d got it crept in to dampen her mood but she pushed that away when she thought about why she was there. She was going to find the answers she needed.

  Did I dress okay for work? She looked at the navy blue blouse and beige skirt she’d finally settled on that morning after trying multiple outfits.

  “And so?”

  That tone catapulted her back to the here and now. Her mind was like a butterfly flitting from petal to petal, not really sticking with anything.

  What did he say? Graham’s hard stare let her know he wasn’t going to give her any help.

  “So you want—”

  “Hi. You must be Tarin.”

  She tamped down the instant sense of gratification at the interruption and stood to shake the hand of her other boss.

  “I’m Guy and this is Bailey, my fiancé.”

  “Nice to meet you.”

  “You too. I’m sad to see you cut your gorgeous mane.” Bailey shook her hand.

  Tarin felt the color leave her face. “Excuse me?”

  “I’m sorry. After Graham interviewed you last week, he was rather evasive about describing you, so I went on the internet.”

  Feeling shaky, she rested her hands on her desk. “Oh?”

  “Hey look. I like the new blonde, short style. Totally changes you, though. I’m sorry; I can tell this is bothering you. I’m here because these two don’t like doing paperwork, so they asked me to help you make sense of all the forms you have to sign.” Bailey grabbed the stack of papers out of Graham’s hands, pulled up a chair beside the desk and sat.

  A distinct bell rang. Ignoring it, Tarin sat as well.

  “Is that yours?”

  Tarin waved her hand. “Yeah, it’s my cell. It’s nothing,” she said, a little more abruptly than she’d meant. The last thing she wanted was to draw attention to her personal life. Thankfully, from the distinct tone, she knew that one was from Bobbie, checking in with updates about Chance. She’d have shut it off or muted it but knew that wasn’t going to happen for a while. Leaving her child behind after two years of staying at home with him was tearing her apart. Her son had waved good-bye with his porridge-filled hand and tear-filled eyes. She hoped he was okay.

  “Okay, so we need to...” Bailey was all business, setting the forms down in front of her, explaining their purpose. It wasn’t long before Guy and Graham disappeared into their office and closed the door. There wasn’t a peep coming from behind it, which Tarin found intriguing. She was tempted at one point to stop Bailey’s awkward and stilted explanation of what the forms were for and let her know she was well versed in hiring practices. Even though it had been a few years since she’d had to deal with them, it was coming back fast. Since she hadn’t shared that experience on her resume or in her interview she kept her mouth shut and listened and signed where directed.

  An hour later, when her eyes felt glazed over and her mind had gone numb, she was rethinking that. She signed the last document.

  “All right, there you go. You’re all signed up. Graham said you handed in your Criminal Record Check already. So that’s done. I think that’s it.” Bailey stood and moved to the door.

  “Thank you for your help.”

  Bailey returned her smile before knocking and entering her new bosses’ office.

  Tarin was tempted to stop her but instead watched as Bailey disappeared into the other room. If she’d kept her mouth shut, Bailey might have remained friendly rather than turning business-like. Then she reminded herself she wasn’t there to make friends. She was there to get answers. She stared at the closed door, realizing for the first time in a long time that she was on the outside, and she didn’t like it. In her job in the hotel business, she’d always been in upper-management so she’d been involved in most meetings. In fact, she was the one who ran them. It was unsettling to think she wasn’t part of the team that made decisions. Although, as she looked around at the sparsely furnished office, she reminded herself that it didn’t look as though it was a booming company—but that was precisely what played in their favor. If her cursory investigation was correct, they were pulling in nearly a cool million annually. She pushed away those thoughts; it was time to get to work.

  The look that Graham had given her before going into his inner office stuck with her, as if he doubted she could do the job. It made her wonder how desperate they really were, and why they needed to hire someone so quickly. When he’d called to tell her she’d gotten the job, he hadn’t sounded like he was very happy about it.

  A distinct musical note interrupted her thoughts. She closed her eyes for a moment before pushing away the knowledge of who would be texting her. He would stop soon, she was sure. Stephen had never been one to waste his time with something that was labor intensive, at least not when it had come to her. One or two texts were fine but that was his limit or had been until the day she’d left. It wasn’t as though he loved her; thankfully, his girlfriend kept him rather busy. So was it all about losing face. The thought made her sick but it reminded her a lot of her father. She’d sworn she’d never marry anyone similar in any way to him and yet along comes the first man to offer his hand and she jumps in as though he’s her lifesaver only to discover he’s going to drown her in his obsession for status and power—exactly like her father.

  Blowing out a heavy breath, she considered her new position. She felt almost giddy about it. It had been the first one she’d gone after and gotten on her own. In fact, it was the first one that wasn’t under her father’s thumb. Guilt crawled over her shoulder like a slithering snake, which made her wonder if Graham knew she’d sabotaged his other interview, leaving him with little choice but to hire her. It had taken a bit of convincing to sell the other woman on the idea of the company being investigated for fraud but she’d finally left, more than happy to get away. If Graham had known, he’d never have offered Tarin the position. His attitude made her wonder, though. From the time she’d gotten in that morning he’d been as cold as an arctic front and as abrupt. Rather than wait for her to start her laptop, he’d reached over and turned it on and then he’d talked about antispyware and antivirus programs as though she’d never heard of them. For some reason, he’d taken an instant dislike to her. Or for all she knew, maybe he treated all women that way. She would have guessed he was one of the good guys but her history only reminded her she had no clue when it came to men.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Cal stood at the massive plate glass windows and stared out over the city. He loved the view more when he looked straight down and could see people roaming the streets like so many tiny ants. It reminded him where he had come from; a place he never wanted to return to. He glanced at his expensive jeans, which he never wore in public, and his equally expensive running shoes. Both made him feel like the jock he’d never had the opportunity to be. Living on the street hadn’t left him any time for school let alone sports although some in his neighborhood referred to dodging bullets and taking drugs a sport.

  It reminded him how far he’d come from the filthy secondhand clothes that were fought over and sometimes even worth killing for. He was not about to give up his current life, at least not easily or willingly. Mr. J, who had found him and taken him in, held the key to this life he presently enjoyed. He seriously debated the call he needed to make. Did he or didn’t he? In all honesty, that really wasn’t the right question. It was whether to tell Mr. J what was really going on. The longer he waited the worse it would be. If he shared the information now... he considered it but didn’t see a way that he could without revealing that he’d kept secrets. Mr. J liked to know everything, and what he should have shared years ago and what he had to share now would definitely change things.

  “There’s a problem.”


  “Oh. What do you mean?”

  “I mean with the package I’m watching.”

  “So what’s happening?”

  “Things are moving—”

  “What do you mean moving’?”

  “I mean changing.”

  “Changing how?”

  “Let’s just say that its lifestyle is about to change.”

  “When?”

  “It’s in progress.”

  “I thought you were keeping tabs on it.”

  “I am but nothing has happened in a long time.” The truth was that he was well aware of the moment things had changed—not that he’d shared a lot of what had been happening with Mr. J. The embarrassment would harm him and his business and wasn’t going to do Cal any good either. If there was one thing he’d learned on the streets, it was to take care of himself first.

  “I don’t track the person’s daily movement. You want me to stop it or...” He held his breath as he waited for the answer. For once, he hoped that he was going to be able to do what he did best. And it would mean that ‘it’ would be gone, out of both their lives, for good. That would only mean one thing. He would finally be able to take over the position that was meant to have been his in the first place.

  “No, not that. Find... ‘it’. You know this is a bit ridiculous, I’m sure with all the security you have set up, no one is monitoring our conversations. No one will know who we’re talking about.”

  “Better to be safe.”

  “I tried to call he—keep watching. Let me know of any more changes.”

  “All right. And if the person decides to come and get some answers? Then—”

  “You seem to be in a big hurry to do away with it.”

  “Well, there’s always the possibility that—”

  “Your job is to keep tabs on it. To keep me informed of what it is up to. I want to know that I’m not going to be embarrassed by what it is doing. You’re not to do anything that can’t be undone. Understand?”

  “Yes.” After a few more instructions, Cal hung up. Angry, he slammed his fist into the wall. The pain barely registered. ‘It’ was one of those things that had always been his headache but he was sick and tired of watching and waiting. Waiting to see what it would do... which could screw up his life and his plans, big time. Getting rid of that one person would solve all of their problems, his for sure.

  Mr. J had started to tell him something, ‘I tried to call...’ Was Mr. J in contact with that person? That could change everything. He’d have to keep a closer eye on the one person that could send him back to the streets in an instant.

  Maybe he’d act now, get rid of the problem and convince Mr. J later.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Since no one seemed to be coming back to orientate her, although she was pretty sure that’s what Graham had tried to do first thing, she opened her website. She hadn’t meant to neglect it but she hadn’t had much time to devote to it lately. The action on the site had dropped drastically since that sex video had been posted. She skimmed through a few pages and was about to close it out when she noticed there were messages for her.

  She opened one email. The subject line simply read, ‘me too’. There was no message and no signature. Tarin knew the woman had responded to the posting she’d put up about date rape and not having any memory of what happened. It had been a general article she’d found on the internet but she’d posted it for a reason. She hadn’t shared her personal story yet but really wanted to find others who’d been through what she had. A faint conversation, a distant, faded memory from that week she’d lost, nagged at her.

  It better work this time.

  And if it doesn’t?

  Well there’s always another one isn’t there? But you better make sure it’s successful this time.

  The voices faded but lingered like a song she couldn’t remember the words to. What had someone wanted with her? Why her? Why had no one contacted her since then? What could they have wanted to achieve?

  The depraved mind of what someone had done to her, made her not only nauseous but angry. She felt as though she was waiting for the gavel to fall that would drastically change her life and not in her favor. None of it made sense. Something told her other women had gone through what she had, and if that was so, she had to find them. Maybe they had better memories of what they’d been through. Until then, she could at least help other women heal through airing the abuse that had happened to them.

  There was another message from a woman who was looking for her daughter. She sent a quick response, telling the woman not to lose hope.

  Tarin felt a lump form in her throat. It brought up bad memories from her childhood. She’d always hoped her mom had left temporarily and that she’d return to take her away one day. Instead, she’d been told she’d died and was never coming back which left Tarin to live the perfect life... perfectly orchestrated... perfectly sterile... perfectly lonely.

  Every day I dressed up in a frilly pink or white dress. My best shoes. My hair perfectly curled and styled, with a white ribbon to hold it back. ‘Yes sir. No sir.’ were the only words I was allowed to speak, unless asked for more information. I had to greet any guest that came to the house ‘Good day. Nice to meet you.’ I had to sit for hours, staying quiet and listening. Always listen. Learn. But never talk. Never interrupt. Never yell, even if a bee stung me.

  There was the barest of sounds as the door whispered open. Without looking up, Tarin swallowed a few times, forcing back her emotions before quickly logging out. Once the website was closed, she reminded herself she’d have to remove that digital footprint from the computer before she left for the day. She glanced up. Bailey was staring at her with a quizzical expression.

  “Is everything okay?”

  “Fine.” Tarin forced herself to rein in her emotions. Now was not the time to react to the injustices these women who’d joined her site had suffered. She’d have to be more careful in the future.

  There was a long pause but no break in eye contact.

  “Just leaving. Congrats on your new job. Good luck with it. Don’t let these two run you ragged and when it’s quitting time, leave. They’d work you through the night if they could. They aren’t like normal mortals; they forget some people need to sleep, eat and have a life.”

  Tarin forced a smile, glad that Bailey was back on friendly ground with her. “I’ll remember that. Thanks.”

  She logged into the email address to which Graham had given her access. There was a ton of spam, which made her wonder how good these guys really were. She waited a while to see if either of her bosses was coming out. After ten minutes, she took a chance and logged back onto her website. She read through several comments on her latest posting about believing in oneself. There was also a new message. LJ had replied.

  ‘I’ve decided I’m going to look for my daughter. I need to know that her life turned out better than mine.’ LJ

  ‘I’ve wanted to meet my mom my whole life. Your daughter would be happy to meet you. You’re doing the right thing. A Mom is so important.’ Tarin

  With one last look, she logged out and immersed herself in the work for her new position. She spent the remainder of the hour going through all the junk mail to make sure that’s what it was. She deleted most of it but kept a few that looked a bit fishy. She hoped to organize things, and since they hadn’t given her a clear outline of her duties, she figured this was a good place to start. She was tempted to back trace where the emails were sent from, because she was sure that’s where she’d find the information she needed.

  “Tarin?”

  She rocked backward and looked at Guy, who was staring at her in a way that made her guess he’d called her a few times.

  “Sorry. I was trying to get myself oriented and organized.” She smiled. “What do you need?”

  “Come on into our office, so we can talk to yo―”

  “What the hell?” Graham yelled from the other office. A moment later, he was at the door glaring at her.


  Her cheeks heated up in response. He stormed over to her. Reflexively, she shoved her chair back, stood up and put up her forearm as a protective shield. When nothing happened and she realized the room was so silent that an ant crossing the ceramic tiled floor would have been heard, she slowly lowered her arm and looked up. Her gaze darted between the two stunned men, who were staring at her.

  “You’re upset. What did I do?”

  It took a moment and after a quick telling glance between the two men, Graham said in a much gentler tone as he stepped back, “You’ve started working on the emails.”

  Tarin could feel the red heat creep up her face. “Ah. You don’t like what I’ve done. No worries, I can easily undo it.”

  “If you don’t mind my asking, what exactly did you do?” Guy asked.

  “She rearranged—”

  “I was trying to organize—”

  Guy laughed. “I’ve been on his case for a while to get the files in order. He says they are. Just don’t ask him to find anything within five minutes because he can’t.”

  Graham rolled his eyes before spinning on his heel and returning to his office, shutting the door behind him.

  “He’s stressed. Don’t let it get to you. Show me what you’re doing and I’ll see if I can help you set up a system he can live with.”

  After a quick stop for lunch, Guy spent the afternoon conducting an orientation with her. He explained how they repaired computers downstairs and did internet researching for companies upstairs, finding what was legitimate and what wasn’t. He went through some emails to show her which ones they might consider and which ones they wouldn’t.

  “So how come so many requests? Many that look—”

  “Well that’s why we hired you. We think we have a prankster out there trying to make our lives difficult, probably some fifteen-year old who’s bored. So we really need you to divide them into bogus, maybe bogus, could be something and sounds good.”