A Taste of Tragedy (13 page)

The tiny clock in the bottom right corner of Morgan’s computer showed she only had thirty minutes left of her day. And her week. She was anxious to get on the road to Sedona and put some miles between her and Giant Cactus Foods.

She heard that
Preston
was back from his business trip. She successfully avoided seeing him all day, and had limited contact with Aaron. Every time she said anything to Aaron, she felt as if she might as well be speaking directly to Preston. Something would have to be done, but she wasn’t sure what, and at the moment, she feared she might have bigger problems to deal with.

Generally, Morgan left for the day well after Aaron. Working late had benefits. The silence was conducive to high productivity and had become a habit over the years. Today, she decided to make an exception and bolt the moment the clock hit 5:00.

She read through and responded to all e-mails that couldn’t wait until Monday and took a last look at her calendar. Next week was filled with the usual staff meetings, but Aaron hadn’t added anything else since she had last checked.

Her phone buzzed. “Yes?”

“I’m about ready to head out for the week, is there anything else you need before I go?”

“No, Aaron, have a nice weekend. See you Monday.”

“Odd, I guess he’s leaving early too,” Morgan whispered after hanging up the phone.

She quickly logged off her computer but left it on her desk. She had no intention of doing any GCF work over the weekend. Her nerves were strung tight, and she really needed a strong dose of the outdoors to loosen them up. Gathering her purse and jacket, she stood to leave.

“Looks like I almost missed you.”

The sound of Preston’s voice nearly made her jump. She had thought she was home free when Aaron left early.

“Yes, I thought I’d try to go home at a decent time for a change.”

He smiled and walked up to her and stood so close she felt trapped between her desk and chair. He reached up and tucked a stray strand of her hair behind her ear. He cocked his head and smiled down at her while staring at her lips.

She wanted to slap his hand away. Instead, she turned and set her coat and purse down, the movement allowing her to insert some distance between them without looking too obvious. “Is there something you need before I go?” she asked.

“I just wanted to check in with you and make sure we’re okay. I need to know that you’ve been able to put those unfounded accusations behind you so we can move on. In order for us to have a successful and profitable working relationship, we’ve got to trust each other.”

Morgan feared it was too late, though wasn’t sure why. So far, there was no solid proof that he was lying about MFHG3. The only thing
Preston
had done to shake her faith in him was the incident with Aaron and her desk key. How could she ever believe again that her privacy would be respected? On top of that, she wasn’t naïve enough not to recognize the signs that he was interested in a personal relationship. It wasn’t the first time she had to deal with unwanted advances in the work place.

She thought about her response, hoping she had been careful enough with her inquiries over the past few days and he wasn’t fishing around. Surely her office wasn’t bugged, though it wouldn’t surprise her, but he didn’t seem satisfied that the situation was resolved even after their discussion on the way to the airport. She’d have to be much more careful.

I’m probably just being paranoid, she thought as she forced a pleasant smile.

“I appreciate you following up even though you believed there was no basis to the erroneous e-mails. I sent you so many message while you were gone on other issues, that I assumed my desire to move past the incident was a given. Did you have a chance to look at the e-mails I sent you concerning introducing a seasonal line and adding some new options to the permanent line?”

“Yes, I did, and I was pleased to see you were looking forward rather than in the past. I think the seasonal selections concept is excellent. I gave R & D the go ahead to pursue your ideas and see what they can come up with.”

“Thank you. The holidays may seem a long time away, but I think we’ll still need to work fast to make it happen this season. I also have another related idea I’d like to run by you that I hope will also boost employee morale, but we can discuss that next week.”

“In-laws are gone if you’d like to talk about it over a drink now.”

Morgan didn’t like the way he always looked at her. No, that wasn’t entirely accurate, she hated the way he ogled, lingering over places his married eyes had no business being. She tried to never lie, but she had no intention of spending any time alone with him outside the office, especially now.

She had managed to be cordial, but she feared if the conversation continued on for too long, issues would be brought up that she didn’t want to discuss. Even the thought of the MFHG3 accusations and her attempt to dispel them made the vial in her jacket pocket feel heavy. Her imagination reeled and she envisioned the outline of the small bottle in her pocket standing out like a circus clown in church.

“I appreciate the offer, but I’m getting a facial, which is why I’m trying to leave on time for a change.”

“Too bad, I’d really like to get to know you better. Another time?” He winked and then left her office, making it unnecessary for her to respond.

She waited until she heard the elevator arrive, indicating he was going home and not back to his office down the hall. She peeked out her door.
Preston
was nowhere in sight. She waited for a full five minutes to avoid running into him in the parking garage and then left.

As Morgan drove north, distancing herself from the worst of the interstate rush-hour traffic, she activated the voice command system in her car, allowing her to make calls without taking her hands off the wheel. When a friendly receptionist at her favorite Sedona spa answered, she was relieved that she wasn’t too late in the day to make an appointment.

With the appointment made, she disconnected, feeling much better about the lie she had told. She hadn’t said she was getting the facial that evening or that she was doing it in Phoenix. And she did have to leave the office on time in order to make the appointment before the facility closed for the day.

Morgan exited the interstate at her usual quick stop before the businesses thinned out completely. While fueling her vehicle, she removed her blazer and set it gently on the seat, ridding herself of the vial which had rested next to her ribs all day. It felt like a heavy weight had been lifted from her body.

After going through a fast food drive-thru, she returned to the interstate. Sipping on her soda and plucking fries out of the bag next to her, the tension slowly drained away.

Her mind drifted from the vial to Nick. They had only made it two years. They’d had some good times, but most of what she remembered from that period of her life was work and social obligations that seldom included Nick. She inherited much of her parents’ charity work and society functions, which she attended alone since her and Nick’s schedules seldom synced up. They never participated in each other’s social events at work. She made sure people knew she was married since it helped deter any unwanted advances, especially when she told men her husband was an FBI agent, but she wondered if Nick’s colleagues even realized he was married.

Their divorce was amicable, quiet, quick, and hardly a blip on her or Nick’s calendar. The thought saddened her. How could something that started out so hot end so coldly? She should have fought for him, and she wished he had fought for her.

Things were different now. Leaving
Atlanta
had freed her from her parents’ former obligations. All the moves to climb the corporate ladder were taking its toll and leaving her with the feeling of not belonging anywhere. She wanted roots. Most of all, the time alone had given her the opportunity to reassess what was truly important in life, and she was slowly coming to realize it wasn’t her career. GCF was reinforcing that recognition in spades.

The more memories of Nick filled her mind, the more the good times pushed through. The stolen weekends in Sedona, the rare quiet evening at home together, and staying in bed late on Sunday mornings. Thinking about the way he would hold her, kiss her, and love her made tears spill over onto her cheeks. Wiping the moisture from her face, she couldn’t help but wonder if there was any going back, and if she had the courage to try.

The conference room was full of agents and officers, some of whom Devyn didn’t recognize. She took a seat next to Nick and scanned the room. Gordo sat near the front next to Gerald Conroy, sweating and squirming. Even though she had no interest in any kind of personal relationship with the guy, she hated seeing him so uncomfortable. He still held a bit of innocence which she found endearing amidst all the cynicism of her hard-edged coworkers. And she had to admit she was flattered by his attention.

She imagined it might be a little intimidating for some of the new techies to work with a bunch of confident, uncompromising, and often arrogant agents. Gordo was young, new, and idealistic, and she didn’t want to see him lose his optimism too soon.

Conroy stood and cleared his throat and the room silenced. “Thanks to a successful operation a couple days ago, we identified a major drug distributor in our city. We were able to plant listening devices in his business, and we busted a dealer that has been singing like an opera star ever since. Using information we obtained from the dealer and through video and audio surveillance, we believe with relative certainty that a large shipment of drugs is coming in via the airfreight terminal in a shipment of flowers. Gordo, explain what we’ve got and then we’ll go over details of the sting.”

Gordo stood and Devyn noticed him wipe his palms on his jeans. He looked up and she gave him the most reassuring smile she could, and it seemed to give him confidence. He picked up his remote and the screens at the front of the room flared to life.

“There you go again, leading that poor boy on,” Nick whispered.

“He was about ready to hyperventilate. I couldn’t let him take a floor dive in front of the
DEA Metro Narcotics Task Force
and TSA Transportation Security Inspectors, not to mention Gardner. He’s brutal.”

She listened as Gordo explained the increased volume of unusual chatter. He confirmed that six extra men had been called in by the florist to work Sunday for the shipment. Through monitoring the comings and goings from the back door of the floral shop, Gordo and Fitz had been able to identify all but two of the additional hires.

“The four we’ve identified have pretty extensive criminal histories. Most charges involve assault and drugs, and three have been investigated for suspected murder. Not much has ever stuck, but all have done some time for lesser charges. Sundays are common for the incoming air shipments of flowers, but bringing in six ex-cons is not. These guys are not your usual delivery and dock-worker types. The shipment is from
Guatemala
. We’ve been able to do a little background on the flower supplier in Guatemala, and they don’t really seem large enough to be international floral distributors,” Gordo stated.

Devyn noticed that Nick kept his cell in his hand and continuously looked down at the small screen. Apparently, he was still waiting on the call he refused to talk about. She wanted to help but didn’t know how. Maybe she’d call Gage and see if he had any advice. No, that was probably her problem. Before he came back into her life a few months ago, she wouldn’t have worried about Gordo or Nick. Now, suddenly, she wanted everyone to be happy. He was definitely having a bad effect on her.

Next thing you know, I’ll be adopting a stray puppy
.

She nudged Nick with a light elbow jab to the ribs. He gave her a scowl, but at least she could tell he was paying attention as Agents Jones and Thompson took over from Gordo. The two men took turns outlining each agency’s responsibilities.

The TSA inspectors would verify the drugs were in the shipment before the cargo left the plane. If the drugs were in the crates, they’d allow the goods to be off-loaded onto the truck. From there, the DEA Metro Task Force and the FBI would track the cargo to the floral shop and make the bust once the off-loading began so there could be no doubt where the shipment was headed. The FBI would provide additional agents, tech support, and communications, and the arrests would be a joint effort. Gauging by four of the six additional Sunday hires, the agencies suspected it could get ugly and they’d need all the manpower they could get.

Devyn looked forward to a complex operation to rid the streets of a bunch of thugs and drugs. She had no doubt the men would be well-armed and wouldn’t hesitate to engage law enforcement. Her skills hadn’t suffered, but maybe a tough assignment was just what she needed to sharpen her edge back to pre-Gage precision.

Morgan was exhausted by the time she pulled up in front of the house in Sedona. Despite the fatigue and the awful week, an overwhelming sense of contentment flooded her. This was home.

Once inside the house, she flipped on the lights, punched the power button on her computer, and turned on the television. A quick check of the house, and she felt fairly certain nothing had been disturbed since her last visit.

By the time she unpacked her bag, washed her face, poured a glass of wine, and sat down on the sofa, the clock read a few minutes after ten. It was late, but she doubted Nick was asleep. She punched in his number, still programmed into her phone. He picked up on the second ring.

“Everything okay?”

It wasn’t the greeting she had wanted but one she should have expected. Nick was always intuitive, especially when it came to her emotions. Despite her message telling him everything was fine, he probably hadn’t completely believed it.

“Yes. Sorry it’s so late. I drove up to Sedona after work and just got in.”

“No problem. How have you been?”

“You know me. I’m kind of like a dog with a bone. My boss told me everything was okay, but he didn’t show me any proof. I know I should take his word for it, but I just can’t.”

“Morgan, you’re going to have to tell me more if I’m going to be able to help you.”

She hated to divulge company secrets, even to Nick. If she was wrong, she would have gone against her principles for nothing. She was also uncomfortable asking him for help. She had made it clear that she felt her career was more important than his, and now she wanted him to use his resources to help her. But there was only one person she had ever trusted aside from her own small family, and that was Nick.

“I came across some disturbing e-mails from my predecessor, Stan Jacobson, making some pretty serious accusations about the safety of one of GCF’s products. That’s why I wanted to find him, so that I could ask him about the claims. Anyway, I felt I had to give GCF the benefit of the doubt and went to my boss, Preston Hoyle. He claimed no knowledge of the e-mails and promised to have the product retested. He told me a couple days ago that the product is fine and the e-mails are wrong. He expects me to just take his word for it.”

“I thought you said nothing was left in the office. Where did you get the e-mails?”

“That’s part of why I’m uncomfortable about all this. My desk drawer wasn’t shutting tightly, so I crawled under my desk one night and found a tiny flash drive taped to the guiderails. I had already powered down my work computer and was on my way out for the night, heading here. I dropped the drive into my purse and forgot about it until I was searching in my bag for my cell phone.”

“If you press this issue and you’re wrong, it could really damage your career. I know how important that is to you.”

Morgan paused. Nick knew better than anyone how important her career was, but she had changed and so had her priorities.

“I’ve learned there are many things more important than my career, especially public safety. I can’t promote a product I fear may be dangerous.”

“What you’ve told me so far isn’t that damaging. What else haven’t you told me and what do you want me to do?”

Morgan told him about
Preston
ordering Aaron to unlock her desk and retrieve the drive, and about all the secrecy and odd practices surrounding the sweetener. She could tell he wasn’t entirely sold, so she plunged forward.

“I don’t have any proof, but I think someone was in my duplex.”

This definitely got his attention. She explained about the garage door opener and the computer being powered up when she was
almost
certain she had logged off.

“Your boss took the printed copies and the flash drive, and your home computer may have been searched, so are you saying the files are gone?”

“No. Thankfully I had downloaded the files onto my computer here in Sedona, which brings me to the second part of your question of what I want you to do. I was able to retrieve a small sample of the sweetener today. If I sent you the vial, could you have the lab there test the substance and verify its composition? I’ll print and send the e-mails as well, so you’ll know which claims I’m hoping to verify or dispute.”

“I’ll see what I can do, but all lab requests should be tied to a specific case number. Agents can’t just use the resources around here for personal inquiries.”

“I understand, but please try. If you don’t feel comfortable, maybe you know of an outside source you could use for testing. I’ll reimburse you for any expenses.”

“Don’t worry about that.”

“I’ll go into town first thing in the morning and send the vial to your office via overnight delivery. I think some companies deliver on Sundays.”

“I’m going to be pretty tied up Sunday, but I’ll see what I can do first thing Monday morning.”

“Thank you.”

“Try to relax and enjoy your weekend. I have some pretty good memories of spending time there. It was about the only place I’ve ever been able to get the job out of my head for a few days. Sometimes, you even left your career behind too. The quiet open spaces and that stunning scenery were a therapeutic combination that made for some great weekends.”

“And the wonderful company,” Morgan added weakly.

“And the company,” Nick agreed. “Goodnight, Morgan.”

When the line went silent, Morgan stood and walked over to the fireplace. If he could see the mantle, he would realize how much she missed him and that she hadn’t moved on. She wondered if he had found someone else. She wanted him to be happy but wasn’t selfless enough to let go.

She picked up the photo of the two of them grinning, covered with red dirt, and clutching each other tightly. The image was a little crooked. Nick had taken it with his cell phone when they were four-wheeling in the Jeep behind the house, but it was one of her most treasured possessions. She set the photo down next to the figurine at the end of the mantle and burst into tears.