Gage (Texas Boudreau Brotherhood #16)

Chapter Eleven

CHAPTER ELEVEN

“D onald isn’t in the office. His assistant said he’s working from home for the next few days.” Suzanna stared at her phone, a bit confused after talking with Donald’s assistant. “It seems he hasn’t been into the office in the last two weeks. Doesn’t that seem strange, especially since he’s pretty much in charge now that Steven is…gone?” She couldn’t bring herself to say dead, even though it had been long enough to sink in.

Almost six months had passed since that horrible morning. She could still remember the shock of seeing Steven lying beside her, his eyes open and sightless. Could feel the warm stickiness of the blood coating her hands, smell the coppery tang in the air. Time may have faded the shock, but the memories remained, sharp and fresh and vivid.

“How upset do you think he’ll be if we simply show up at his house?” Gage drove with the smooth efficiency of a racecar driver, controlled and focused. She envied that. Driving was not one of her strongest traits, as evidenced by her many parking tickets. Which reminded her, she needed to take care of the latest one, which she got a couple of days prior to Steven dying. In the aftermath, with all the drama and hubbub, she’d forgotten to deal with it.

“Honestly, I don’t care if it upsets him. We need answers about what was going on with Steven’s company, and what they were working on with Sandoval Enterprises.” She toyed with the bottom edge of her shirt, running her fingers over the stitching in a nervous motion. Steven hadn’t confided in her much about his business. He’d occasionally tell her when something new and exciting happened; otherwise, he kept the details mostly to himself.

“Is it unusual for Blackthorn to work from home?”

“I have no idea. What Donald did and didn’t do about his working status wasn’t really discussed. Steven liked going into the office. He liked dealing with the employees, checking in on the projects his staff worked on. New ideas, new inventions, Steven was always right in the middle of things. Never afraid to get his hands dirty.”

Gage reached forward and tapped something on the GPS on his phone, which he’d attached to the dash. The mechanical-sounding voice had been turned off, and he simply followed the map. Again, the opposite of what she’d do. She needed the automated voice telling her when to turn, and when the next street was coming up. Probably why Steven liked her to take a driver, because she had a tendency to get lost, even with the best of directions. She might be more than competent with everything else in her life, but put her behind the wheel of a car and she became Donna-doesn’t-know-anything.

It didn’t take long before they were pulling up in front of the Blackstone house. Larger than the one she’d shared with Steven, it always seemed grandiose and ostentatious. She knew Elizabeth loved decorating their mansion, though she’d refused to use Allison’s service, claiming she had someone she used regularly. From the over-the-top formal furnishings, Suzanna wondered if the man had any instincts on what passed for quality and class, or if he simply had lousy taste. She was betting on the latter.

“I don’t see Elizabeth’s car, she might not be home, but the Lexus belongs to Donald.” She nodded toward the sleek black car parked in in front of the home’s entrance. Grand double doors dominated the home’s entryway, their shiny red paint the only bright spot of color anywhere. Even the flowers lining either side of the walkway and entrance were a cold and sterile white. She couldn’t help feeling a splash of color would warm things up, provide more of a welcome. Of course, maybe they didn’t want to make people feel like they wanted to visit, much less stay.

Climbing from Gage’s car, she strode toward the front doors, Gage and Bas quickly catching up with her. A tingle of excitement shot through her. It felt good to finally be looking for answers instead of sitting back and waiting for the other shoe to drop. Her whole life felt like it was in limbo until now, and at least this felt like the first step forward since Steven’s death.

Lifting the ornate brass knocker on the front door, she pounded it several times. When Gage shot her a scowl, she simply shrugged. Yes, she knew he wanted to be in charge, could even appreciate that he was better equipped and had more experience investigating cases like hers, but she was tired of sitting still and letting everybody else determine what happened to her life—to her.

The front door swung inward revealing a tall, slender woman dressed impeccably in a business suit. The dark navy color suited her olive complexion, and her dark hair was pulled back into a neat bun at the nape of her neck. A pale blue button-front blouse with the first few buttons open revealed a pearl pendant on a gold chain with matching pearl drops in her ears. Suzanna didn’t recognize her, but that wasn’t unusual since she’d rarely visited the office.

“Can I help you?” Her voice was as elegant and cultured as her appearance, and suddenly Suzanna felt underdressed and outclassed.

“We’re here to see Donald Blackthorn.” Gage’s deep voice came from just over her shoulder, and from the corner of her eye she saw him flash his ID. Probably a badge accompanied it, she thought, and wondered which one he’d pulled. So far she’d seen the FBI one, the CIA one, and something else she couldn’t remember. Mysterious didn’t begin to describe Gage, and she wanted to unwrap the enigma and delve deep to find the real man.

“I’m afraid Mr. Blackthorn isn’t available at the moment. We’re working and cannot be disturbed, Mr. Newsome. You’ll need to make an appointment—”

“We won’t take much of his time. I’m sure he’d like to see Mrs. Dawkins.”

Her eyes widened at Suzanna’s name, making Suzanna wonder what this woman knew about her. Gossip ran rampant through Steven’s office after his death. Donald and Elizabeth both had mentioned several employees having to be terminated because of giving interviews to the paparazzi and gossip television programs.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Mrs. Dawkins. I didn’t recognize you. Still, Mr. Blackthorn is dealing with business issues and cannot be disturbed.”

“I’m afraid Donald will have to forgive the interruption, but I will be speaking with him now. Please move aside.” Suzanna put as much steel into her words as she could muster. She wasn’t used to bossing people around, it wasn’t in her nature, but she also wasn’t a milquetoast to be pushed around and walked on either.

Without waiting for the woman to say anything else, Suzanna strode through the door, knowing Gage and Bas would follow her. Fortunately, she knew where Donald’s office was from previous visits, when he and Steven would sit together after dinner meetings. Sometimes she and Elizabeth would join them.

Donald was on the phone when she looked through the open door, standing at the large floor to ceiling windows behind his enormous desk. His back was to her, so he didn’t notice her or the others come in. From his posture, she could tell he wasn’t happy with whoever was on the other end of the line. His tense shoulders and rigid posture gave evidence to his stressed reaction to whatever was being said.

“Donald, these people…” His assistant’s words trailed off when he made a slashing motion with his hand, never turning around. Curious. Suzanna would never have imagined Donald being so abrupt and discourteous. He always held himself with such a refined demeanor, always poised and in charge of his emotions. This was the antithesis of what she’d expect of him. She was seeing a whole different side of her former husband’s business partner.

“Get me the information by five o’clock this afternoon. No excuses.” Donald jammed his finger against the phone, disconnecting the call before turning around. His eyes widened in surprise when he spotted her and Gage and Bas standing beside his assistant.

“Suzanna, what a surprise. I wasn’t expecting you…and your guests. Please, come in.” He walked forward, his arms extended, and she found herself embraced for too closely for her liking. Not a touchy-feely person at the best of times, she remained stiff in his arms, almost blowing out a sigh of relief when he released her and stepped back. Luckily, she caught herself just in time.

“Donald, this is Gage Newsome and Sebastian Boudreau.” Donald nodded at the introduction, though kept his focus on her. “I hate to be an imposition, but we’ve got a few questions we’d like to ask you and then we’ll get out of your hair, and let you get back to whatever you’re working on.”

“Nonsense, Suzanna, it’s never an imposition when I get to see your lovely face. Cheryl, why don’t you get some tea for our guests.” His insincere smile had the tiny hairs on her arms lifting like a chill wind across her skin. How had she never noticed that before? His smile hadn’t reached his eyes, which were cold and calculating, and she instinctively knew he was hiding something. No matter his politeness, deep down she knew he wanted her out of his house as quickly as possible. What was that about? He’d never acted this way before. Maybe it was leftover emotion from the phone call, but she wasn’t certain. She just knew it didn’t feel right.

“Nothing for us, thank you, Cheryl. We won’t be here long, Donald. We just need a moment of your time, if you wouldn’t mind answering a few questions.”

“That’ll be all for the moment, Cheryl. I’ll call you when we finished.” Blackthorn indicated for his assistant to leave.

“Please, Donald, I’d like you to answer Mr. Newsome’s questions.” Suzanna waved a hand toward Gage.

“Mr. Blackthorn, would you mind telling us exactly what your dealings are with Sandoval Enterprises? Suzanna mentioned you and her husband were working with Gustavo Sandoval and his company prior to her husband’s murder.” Gage’s voice held just the right amount of curiosity to not arouse suspicion. Suzanna was impressed. She doubted she could have kept the question so matter of fact. She’d have been demanding, not nonchalant. Bas’ posture appeared comfortable and relaxed, like he didn’t have a care in the world, and was simply biding his time, standing just behind and to the right of her and Gage, leaning against the doorjamb, yet somehow she knew if even a hint of danger appeared, he’d spring into action within a heartbeat.

“Sandoval Enterprises? How did you hear about them?”

Suzanna drew in a deep breath before answering. “Steven told me you were meeting with Sandoval, had been for the few weeks before his death.”

Blackthorn shook his head. “We started having talks with Gustavo Sandoval a few months ago, interested in his collaborating with him with regards to transportation. Sandoval Enterprises is one of the largest private courier services in the country, and we were looking into utilizing their services for shipping the new microchips we have in R&D. These microchips are revolutionary.” Excitement laced his voice, his whole body seeming to vibrate with eagerness. “The breakthrough we’ve developed will change not only the way we think about microchips but the amount and capability of transmitting data. We are talking advancements unheard of before. Imagine transmitting data via particles of light instead of electricity. You could transmit gigantic amounts of data within seconds and cut the energy needed to transmit that data. It’s a massive breakthrough and we’ll be the first to have these chips available to the marketplace. The demand is going to be astronomical, which is why Sandoval Enterprises was our top choice. They can provide the kind of security needed to make sure these chips aren’t highjacked on the way to their destination.” Blackthorn stopped and gave a self-deprecating chuckle. “Sorry, I tend to get carried away when I talk about the new particle light technology. Anyway, we were on the verge of signing a contract with them when we had a setback and decided to hold off on distribution of the microchips until we worked out the glitch.”

“How did Sandoval react when you canceled the contract?”

“He was understandable upset. After all, we’re talking about a multimillion-dollar, multi-year contract. Steven assured him when we worked out the minor glitch, we’d revisit utilizing them for transporting the product. Gustavo Sandoval wasn’t pleased. As a matter of fact, he threatened Steven.”

“What?” Suzanna gasped out the question.

“How exactly did Sandoval threaten Mr. Dawkins?” Gage still maintained his air of calm, asking the question without emotion. If Suzanna hadn’t been watching him closely, she might not have noticed the slight stiffening of his shoulders, or the way his muscles bunched beneath his shirt.

“Oh, you know how it is, Mr. Newsome. All bluster and tossing around empty threats. Sandoval demanded to know if we’d awarded it to somebody else, that kind of thing.”

“Of course. What about these microchips warranted using a company like Sandoval?

“Like I said earlier, we investigated several companies for transportation or shipping if you prefer of the microchips. We need a company who can provide not only the trucks and planes needed to move the microchips from one location to another, but also security to prevent hijacking and loss. Sandoval Enterprises presented a contract to provide the resources we need, the fleet of trucks and planes to move our product, and the armed security necessary to maintain a controlled and protected product flow from our facilities to the warehouses. It’s really too bad we had to withdraw our offer, because Sandoval’s offer was the best, and at a substantially lower rate than any of their competitors.”

“These particle light microchips are the ones you’re talking about shipping via Sandoval Enterprises? You mentioned something happened.”

Donald shot a glance my way, as if asking for permission to continue. I understood, what he was talking about was technology not yet available to the masses. Steven’s company was technologically speaking years ahead in research regarding anything to do with computers and semiconductors. Really anything to do with technology, her husband had a hand in it. He’d had the intellect of a genius when it came to anything computer related, while his social skills had been those of a five year old.

“We need to know, Donald,” she said.

“We’re not sure what happened. Everything worked perfectly. All the tests performed to precise standards. We are talking new technology with particle lights, and we had more than a few setbacks. I mean, we’ve been working on this for years. Finally, everything was ready to unveil to the public. The demand for our product would be in the stratosphere, Suzanna. But something happened. The last test, right before we were ready to begin production—some kind of glitch. We had to pull the launch, head back into research mode to figure it out. Steven was devastated. This project is—was—his baby. It’s the biggest discovery we’ve ever had. Our company is big and we’ve got a great reputation, true, but this—this would have cemented us as number one. The company to go to for anything related to technology. And not just computers, we’re talking data transmission of one petabyte per second. It’s just the beginning of a brand new world.”

“Has Sandoval been snooping around since Dawkins’ death?” Bas asked the question, tossing it out there like a live grenade.

Blackthorn froze, the whole deer in the headlights look, before shaking his head. “Other than to offer his condolences, I haven’t spoken to Gustavo Sandoval.”

“Thank you, Mr. Blackthorn, for answering our questions. If anything else comes up, we’ll be in touch.” Gage gently clamped her elbow, letting Suzanna know he was ready to leave.

A gentle spark shot through her at his touch, and her breath caught in the back of her throat. She didn’t look at him, didn’t want him to know she’d felt anything. Later she’d look at what happened, but right now, she needed to maintain her fa?ade of the grieving widow.

“Suzanna, you know how sorry I am about Steven. I know it’s been almost six months, but I miss him every day. He was my dearest friend. I’m trying to keep the company moving forward, because that’s what he’d have wanted.”

“I know, Donald. Steven always cherished your friendship, and I appreciate everything you’re doing. Please give my best to Elizabeth. Tell her I’ll call her, and we’ll set up time for a lunch meeting.”

“I will.”

Without looking back, the three of the left, climbing into Gage’s car.

“Well, that was a whole lot of double talk. Didn’t learn a whole lot.” Bas slouched in the back seat, somehow managing to look boneless, all sprawled out where he sat in the middle. “Blackthorn didn’t spill any information about Sandoval Enterprises that anybody looking into the company didn’t already know. Sandoval runs a private courier service. Yep, already knew that. Provides arm security when necessary. Yep, knew that too. Though it was kind of cool learning about the microchips.”

“Were you aware your husband was working on particle light technology?”

“I knew a little about it. Steven didn’t like to bring his work home with him, didn’t talk about it much. He did mention the new particle light microchip they were working on, basically because he’d hired a new IT person from Massachusetts, somebody who was advancing their innovations by leaps and bounds.”

Gage started the car and pulled into traffic. Highland Park traffic at this time in the afternoon wasn’t heavy but drive a few blocks and it was a different story. Usually the only time Suzanna came to this section of town was to visit with Elizabeth, and that wasn’t all that frequent. It was kind of sad, she realized, that she didn’t have a lot of friends in the area. Most of the people she’d grown up with, her friends, were in and around Houston.

“Not to be morbid, but once Steven’s will is out of probate, who inherits the company?”

“Dawkins, Incorporated, is a privately-held company. No stockholders or corporate partners. The company is owned Steven and Donald Blackstone. Steven owns seventy percent. In his will he left his percentage of Dawkins, Inc., to me.”

Gage muttered a curse under his breath. “And if anything happens to you?”

She nearly choked on her reply. “If anything happens to me, the entire company reverts to Donald.”

“Was Blackstone aware that Steven left you sole beneficiary of his seventy percent?”

“I don’t know. But I would think Steven discussed it with him. I know they had all kinds of contingencies in place in case either of them were incapacitated or died. So, I’d say yes, Donald knew.”

“Ladies and gentleman, we now have prime suspect number one,” Bas piped up from the back seat.

“No, you can’t think Donald would kill Steven. He loved Steven like a brother.”

“And Cain loved his brother, Abel, too. Didn’t stop him from picking up a rock.” Suzanna turned around and glared at Bas, and he shrugged. “Just saying…”

“It’s a logical leap to take, Suzanna. He has to be considered a suspect, if for no other reason than he would have final say in the day-to-day decision making with Steven gone. You don’t know the business, and chances are good you’d have given him control over all decisions, isn’t that right?” Gage glanced in her direction, his expression stoic.

“You’re probably right. I don’t know anything about running a company the size of Dawkins, Inc.”

“And on a less pleasant note, we don’t know that whoever killed Steven didn’t plan on killing you too. Maybe they were interrupted before they could finish the job. That would have meant the entire company would go to Blackthorn.”

She didn’t know how to argue with their logic, no matter how much she wanted to disagree. What they said made a twisted kind of sense. Steven loved Donald, treated him like a brother. Could Donald have actually hired somebody to kill his friend, his mentor, his partner?

“Where do we go from here?”

“Back to Shiloh Springs for now. I want to take a look at the notes that Detective Jansen is sending, and pull on a couple loose threats, see what they unravel.” Gage pointed the car toward the entrance to I-45 South.

“Yes, that should get us home just in time for dinner. Wonder what Aunt Patti’s fixing?” Bas leaned back with a long “ah” sound, making Suzanna laugh. Bas seemed to be led around by his stomach, at least when his Aunt Patti was doing the cooking.

“Tomorrow, we’ll talk to Gustavo Sandoval.” Gage looked in the rearview mirror as he merge into the traffic heading south. They drove in silence for about an hour, the only sounds the soft music coming from the radio.

“Bas, sit up.” Gage uttered the words, reaching to turn off the radio. “We’ve got a tail coming up fast.”

Suzanna stared into the side mirror, watching a black SUV speeding toward them.

“How long have they been tailing us?” Bas glanced over his shoulder, before reaching into his waistband and pulling out a 9mm.

“They got onto I-45 the same time we did. Stayed back for the first several miles, but they’ve been steadily getting closer. I’ve got a bad feeling. Be ready.”

The words had barely left Gage’s mouth when the car jolted, rocked by the SUV colliding with the back end of the car, and they swerved out of control. Suzanna braced herself against the dashboard and prayed they weren’t all about to die.