Miranda Vaughn Mystery 01.00 - Chasing the Dollar by Ellie Ashe Page B
Authors: Ellie Ashe
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gaping opening of my messenger bag.
The massive volume of information on those drives included a large number of Bill Macias 's emails, expense reports for several years, and his daily calendars. With enough time, I could probably learn a lot about the man. But I didn't have a lot of time. I figured I had no more than three weeks to travel before my credit cards either maxed out or the bills came due—and I wasn't sure I'd be able to cover the minimum payments yet.
Palling around with an FBI agent wasn 't part of my plan. There was no way I could tell him everything I knew about his brother-in-law and the bigger scheme, which I was only beginning to understand. And he certainly wasn't going to let me blackmail his family member.
" If I let you search the hard-drives, will you help me get the money back to the Sahara Fund investors?" I asked.
He tilted his head and then nodded. "I won't let you blackmail Bill. Or anyone else."
Of course not. But what he didn 't know…
" Fine, let's look at the drives," I said.
He stood up and walked toward the bathroom. "You get started," he said. "I'm going to grab a shower."
The bathroom door clicked shut, and I turned on my laptop and was happy to find an open Wi-Fi signal. I quickly opened my email program, and at the top was an email from Sarah, just hours earlier.
Hope you're having a good vacation. Hate to be a bummer, but call me when you can. Got some news.
She didn 't say it was good news, just news. That meant it was bad news. I looked at the closed bathroom door and heard the shower running. Then I took a deep breath and reached for my cell phone.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
" Hey, chica ! How's the vacation going?"
It was so nice to hear Sarah 's voice over the phone that I almost wept with homesickness. It had only been a few days since I left California, but it felt like a lifetime ago. The Mandarin had all the comforts of home, and then some, so it didn't feel foreign. But this sparse motel room Jake Barnes was staying in felt a million miles away.
" It's great, really nice to get away, you know," I said, trying to keep my tone casual despite the panic that I could feel within arm's reach. "What's up?"
Over the phone, I could hear her take a deep breath before answering, and I steeled myself for the news.
"I really hate to interrupt your holiday, but I thought you should know what's going on here," she said.
" Lay it on me," I said, closing my eyes and running a hand through my damp hair.
" Well, the lawsuit was filed yesterday."
Okay, I knew that was coming. Rob had warned me that could happen at any time.
"Is that it?"
" No," she said. I could tell she was reluctant to tell me the rest. "They're also trying to get a court order to freeze all of your assets, so you can't dispose of anything you own before the lawsuit is resolved. Since you don't really have any assets in your own name that means it was served on Marie, since you and she are joint owners of the house and the bakery building. Rob accepted service on your behalf."
My eye started to twitch. Rob had warned of this, too. Didn 't make it any easier to think of Aunt Marie getting served legal papers because of me.
" Is there anything Rob can do about that?" I asked.
" He's fighting it," she said. "There's something else, too."
" Is Aunt Marie all right?"
" Oh, yes, she's fine," Sarah said quickly. "Rob isn't going to let anything happen to your aunt."
Again I had that feeling that Rob 's interest in my aunt was growing more than friendly. Or maybe it had always been that intimate, and I was just oblivious to the attraction before. Or maybe I just wanted there to be someone like Rob keeping an eye on Aunt Marie's well-being.
" No, this is about Ralph Tinker," Sarah said.
" What about Ralph?"
" He died. Yesterday. In prison."
" What?"
I sat up in the chair, and my hand flew to my mouth. During the long months leading up to the trial, my feelings toward Ralph Tinker had swung dramatically—from
The massive volume of information on those drives included a large number of Bill Macias 's emails, expense reports for several years, and his daily calendars. With enough time, I could probably learn a lot about the man. But I didn't have a lot of time. I figured I had no more than three weeks to travel before my credit cards either maxed out or the bills came due—and I wasn't sure I'd be able to cover the minimum payments yet.
Palling around with an FBI agent wasn 't part of my plan. There was no way I could tell him everything I knew about his brother-in-law and the bigger scheme, which I was only beginning to understand. And he certainly wasn't going to let me blackmail his family member.
" If I let you search the hard-drives, will you help me get the money back to the Sahara Fund investors?" I asked.
He tilted his head and then nodded. "I won't let you blackmail Bill. Or anyone else."
Of course not. But what he didn 't know…
" Fine, let's look at the drives," I said.
He stood up and walked toward the bathroom. "You get started," he said. "I'm going to grab a shower."
The bathroom door clicked shut, and I turned on my laptop and was happy to find an open Wi-Fi signal. I quickly opened my email program, and at the top was an email from Sarah, just hours earlier.
Hope you're having a good vacation. Hate to be a bummer, but call me when you can. Got some news.
She didn 't say it was good news, just news. That meant it was bad news. I looked at the closed bathroom door and heard the shower running. Then I took a deep breath and reached for my cell phone.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
" Hey, chica ! How's the vacation going?"
It was so nice to hear Sarah 's voice over the phone that I almost wept with homesickness. It had only been a few days since I left California, but it felt like a lifetime ago. The Mandarin had all the comforts of home, and then some, so it didn't feel foreign. But this sparse motel room Jake Barnes was staying in felt a million miles away.
" It's great, really nice to get away, you know," I said, trying to keep my tone casual despite the panic that I could feel within arm's reach. "What's up?"
Over the phone, I could hear her take a deep breath before answering, and I steeled myself for the news.
"I really hate to interrupt your holiday, but I thought you should know what's going on here," she said.
" Lay it on me," I said, closing my eyes and running a hand through my damp hair.
" Well, the lawsuit was filed yesterday."
Okay, I knew that was coming. Rob had warned me that could happen at any time.
"Is that it?"
" No," she said. I could tell she was reluctant to tell me the rest. "They're also trying to get a court order to freeze all of your assets, so you can't dispose of anything you own before the lawsuit is resolved. Since you don't really have any assets in your own name that means it was served on Marie, since you and she are joint owners of the house and the bakery building. Rob accepted service on your behalf."
My eye started to twitch. Rob had warned of this, too. Didn 't make it any easier to think of Aunt Marie getting served legal papers because of me.
" Is there anything Rob can do about that?" I asked.
" He's fighting it," she said. "There's something else, too."
" Is Aunt Marie all right?"
" Oh, yes, she's fine," Sarah said quickly. "Rob isn't going to let anything happen to your aunt."
Again I had that feeling that Rob 's interest in my aunt was growing more than friendly. Or maybe it had always been that intimate, and I was just oblivious to the attraction before. Or maybe I just wanted there to be someone like Rob keeping an eye on Aunt Marie's well-being.
" No, this is about Ralph Tinker," Sarah said.
" What about Ralph?"
" He died. Yesterday. In prison."
" What?"
I sat up in the chair, and my hand flew to my mouth. During the long months leading up to the trial, my feelings toward Ralph Tinker had swung dramatically—from
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