New Growth (Spook Hills Trilogy Book 2) (9 page)

“Chloroform or
ether
,”
Mathew muttered.

To Callie, he said, “Nothing more.
 
Remember to jot down anything relevant
Susannah does say.
 
Avoid upsetting
her.
 
If
the FBI needs more info, Steve will serve as the go-between.
 
You will need to remain close to her the next
few days, but I am sure you know that.
 
The CARD leader will send us some counseling resources for you up in the
Portland area to help her through this.
 
They will also be in touch with her school to see if anyone might have
seen anything suspicious.
 
Don’t worry
about anything down here.
 
Rick and I
will handle it.”

Callie nodded.
 
Her
weary eyes shone with elation at having her daughter back.
 
John Henry stood close by, staying focused on
Susannah and still seeming annoyed even if relieved.
 
A sob escaped from him when Susannah ran into
the house and hugged first her mother and then him.
 
They cut John Henry out of the rescue and
Mathew bet that did not sit well with him, however hearing the raw, caring
emotion out of the man meant he had some decent feelings.

After seeing Callie,
Susannah
and Lenny off on the Bubird, Mathew stopped at a
twenty-four-hour
coffee shop to pick up coffee and bagels to take
with him.
 
Once back at Callie’s, Mathew briefed
Rick and John Henry about the likelihood the kidnapping was to settle a debt
owed to an underworld mob.
 
Rick seemed
interested and thoughtful.
 
John Henry
appeared to be apprehensive.

“I want to talk with each of you separately,” Mathew
said.
 
“In about an hour, agents will be
here to conduct interviews.”

“You mean to interrogate us,” John Henry said bitterly.
 
“I will not be pushed around in my house.”

Rick stared at the man in annoyance.
 
“This is Callie’s house.
 
She used her inheritance to buy this
place,
and she keeps dipping into that money,
her only security, to pay its upkeep and taxes.
 
Don’t give
Mathew or me
any crap
about your house.”

Mathew put a hand on each man’s arm.
 
“We’re all tired.
 
We need to stay focused on catching the
kidnappers.
 
If you know anything, I may
be able to ease things for you.
 
John
Henry, let’s go into the other room.”

When John Henry picked up his
coffee,
his
hand shook.
 
Mathew realized how much harder handling this
trauma must be for an alcoholic, even one who now drank surreptitiously.
 
He walked with him into the living room.
 
John Henry sat in an elegant flame-stitched
wing chair, his expression arrogant and wary.

“After this is over, I’ll need a counselor to help me
through this trauma.”

Mathew narrowed his eyes, irritated by John Henry, but now
channeling his annoyance into toughness.
 
“Let’s cut the charade.
 
You are
sneaking alcohol.
 
Your recovery is a
sham.”

“Sod off, you weasel-in-armor.
 
You fail to appreciate the pressures I
have.
 
You roar in here and shove me into
the background like I’m a disgraced relative.”

Mathew dug inside himself to stay calm, to put his personal
abhorrence of John Henry aside and find his agent
modus operandi
.
 
“Getting
Susannah back was my sole priority.
 
She
and your wife are on their way to a secure place.
 
I remain here only to ease the process with
the FBI for you and Rick.
 
Let’s put the
posturing aside.”

John Henry brushed some lint off a knee with a gesture of
wishing he could
dispose of
Mathew as
easily
.

“Did you accrue any large debts now in arrears from
gambling, drugs, pleasure houses or whatever?” Mathew asked.

“Are you crazy?
 
I
might imbibe a little too much on occasion, but I have no obligations to the
underworld scum you may be accustomed to wallowing around with.”

“Anyone blackmailing you?”

“No.”

“What about friends or relatives?
 
Did any person approach you for money or do
you know someone with illicit habits they can’t afford?” Mathew asked.

John Henry sat staring at the floor.
 

“I don’t travel in those sorts of circles.
 
I come from three generations of
scholars.
 
My great grandfather was a don
at Oxford,” John Henry raised his head in haughty pride, then rose and went to
the window, staring out at the back garden lit by lights hidden in the flowers,
making the white blooms glow in the subtle light.

The snideness in his protest and his taking refuge behind
what sounded to be
a distinguished
family
tree told Mathew that John Henry was hiding something about himself.
 

“The FBI will start
digging.
 
T
hey will continue to dig, probe and
investigate until they find the link between this family and the criminals who
kidnapped Susannah.
 
This matter has gone
to the head of the Bureau.
 
The assigned
agents will not let it go until it is solved and the guilty parties are behind
bars.”
 

Mathew stopped to let those words sink in and then said,
“They will talk to you, to your relatives, to your neighbors.
 
They will interview your peers and your
department head at Berkley.
 
They will
keep at it until . . .”

“Alright!” John Henry said as he turned back quickly from
the window, his haughty composure slipping away.
 
“A cousin on my mother’s side of the
family.
 
He
would never be so imprudent as to accumulate five million in debt.”

“How much?
 
A
million?
 
What’s
he into
?

“He had issues since adolescence.
 
He experimented with cocaine and other uppers
and he liked to place wagers on football games or whatever.
 
I departed for college and fast-tracked my
doctorate.
 
I lost touch with him.”

“Until?”

“You don’t give up, do you?”

Mathew waited, using a technique he learned from Steve.
 
Give people time and you sometimes learn
more.
 

“I ran into him a few days ago.
 
We partook of some cannabis.”

“You may as well tell me the whole story.
 
If this comes out later, the FBI will not approve
of you withholding information.”

John Henry glared at him, raising his head in an
attempt
to regain what he considered his
superiority.
 
An odd smirk came to his
face, contorting one side of his mouth in disdain.

“I encountered him at an upscale bordello employing
high-class call girls,’ John Henry said.
 
“We spent the afternoon quite satisfyingly.
 
I presume you are going to relate all this to
Callie.”

Mathew kept his gaze steady.
 
He needed to disassociate his attraction for Callie and his loathing of
John Henry from his role as a federal agent.

“Not if I can avoid it.
 
How many times did you meet him?” Mathew asked.

“Only the one afternoon.
 
He
did approach me for money.”

“Is he aware of Rick’s financial status?”

John Henry sat silently, avoiding his eyes and making Mathew
think the cousin knew about Rick’s wealth.
 
Mathew took down the particulars.
 
“I will relay this info to the federal agent in charge of the
investigation.
 
You can expect to
be questioned
more about this relative
and about
your activities.
 
Giving all the facts should make the
conversation go more smoothly.”

“My colleagues cannot be apprised of this at Berkeley.”

“You are the one who mixed up your priorities.
 
For Callie and Susannah’s sakes, I will keep
this information contained if possible.
 
They deserve not to be hurt more over this travesty.
 
I
n all
likelihood, Callie will hear about it from the FBI.
 
This is their investigation now.
 
As Susannah’s parents, each of you will be
briefed periodically on the status of the case.”

Mathew went back to the kitchen to interview Rick.
 
A series of anomalies popped up with his
son’s financials and Mathew needed to pursue them.
 
Rick was just taking a glass of cold water
back to the table.
 

“Rick, can you think of any liaisons, friends or family who
might be into unlawful activities and created
a
massive
debt?” Mathew asked as he sat down.

Rick’s face showed no surprise at the question.
 
“Been sitting here asking myself the same
questions
.
 
Me, no.
 
Way too much to lose,
including my family and my self-respect.
 
Among my friends, relations and associates, none I am aware of and no
deviant behavior that I noticed.”

“What about your son?”

“What do you mean?” Rick asked, his voice a little uneasy.

“The FBI scrutinized the financial records of close
relatives,” Mathew replied.
 
“Your son
systematically drained his bank accounts and his 401K.
 
He took out a second mortgage.”

“Damn it, Mathew.
 
His
investment is legitimate.
 
Some buddies
of his from college offered him a chance to buy into the startup of a new golf
club in a prime location.
 
The money he
put up is part of their capital.
 
I also
gave him a partial advance on his inheritance.
 
For the sake of the estate, the transaction is documented.”

“If confronted, he will be able to show us paperwork,
ownership shares, and other documentation?” Mathew asked.

“Unless he was stupid and invested based on a
handshake
since his friends are doing the
project.”
 
Rick wiped a hand across his
eyes and stifled a yawn, reminding Mathew that none of them had slept much the
last two nights.

“It would be best if you do not tip him off,” Mathew said.

“For chrissakes, you talked with him at my house. We may not
be the closest family, but he is my son.
 
I can’t let an FBI agent knock on his door without first hearing why,”
Rick said, his voice rising in indignation.

“All right.
 
Call
your son
now,” Mathew said although he was
reluctant to relent on his stance.
 
“Tell
him about Susannah and
advise him
the FBI
will be interviewing your family members.
 
No other details.”

“My kids are jealous as hell of Callie and Susannah.
 
They’re going to flip out if the feds come
after them.”
 

“Miserable business,” Mathew said.
 
Rick nodded stiffly, making Mathew concerned
about the outcome of this investigation harming their friendship.

Right then, a car pulled up outside the house and three
federal agents walked up the short path to the front door.
 
Mathew would give his statement before the
agents
questioned John Henry and Rick.
 
He would try to make the interviews less
painful and tedious, particularly for
Rick,
who he admired.
 
He hoped his son
was not associated
with this crime.
 

Juxtaposed to Rick was John Henry.
 
The more time he spent
with
that man, the more despicable he found him
to be.
 
When will Callie come to her
senses about him and realize she needs to
be rid
of him?
 

Up in Dundee, Callie followed Steve as he carried a
sleeping Susannah downstairs to Mathew’s room where they expected to stay until
Mathew and Rick returned.
 
Sassy slept in
the adjacent guest room
.
 
Fred offered to guard them by bunking down on
the floor in the nearby games
room
while
Lenny went for some much-needed sleep in his trailer.
 

Callie crawled between the crisp, clean sheets, checking on
Susannah before laying her head back against the pillows.
 
Despite feeling exhausted and stressed, here
in the comfort of Mathew’s bed, his lingering presence buoyed up her tired
spirit.
 
This trip marked the end of her
marriage with John Henry.
 
The last two
days proved what she suspected – he snuck alcohol even while claiming to take
sobriety seriously.
 
The way he sat
around useless on Susannah’s trauma and how he blamed her for his negligence in
not seeing their daughter into school reinforced her decision.
 

She decided to call Uncle Rick the next morning to tell him
and Sassy together, seeking their guidance on how to approach John Henry.
 
Even though she wanted their kind support
during the rough parts of divorcing her husband, she must be the one to take the
initiative with Susannah coming first in her decisions.
 

Callie laid out her plans in her mind.
 
Uncle Rick had already offered to let her and
Susannah move into his large home.
 
She
would use this trip to leave John Henry and make this move back to Oregon
permanent.
 
At some point she would have
to return to California to pack their things and hire a mover to put the
furniture she wanted in storage.
 
The
house would then go on the market.
 
Since
she bought it with her own money, the deed was only in her name.

Susannah loved her great aunt and uncle as
grandparents.
 
Their vineyard embraced
her like a second home.
 
Now she formed a
special attachment to everyone here at Spook Hills.
 
Susannah even favored the stern Steve and the
gruff Lenny.
 
While Callie worried about
what her daughter might suffer from the aftermath of the trauma, the move back
to Oregon would be an easy transition for them both.