Part 16 (1/2)
Nicole watched her mother's entire demeanor slowly begin to lighten. She lifted her head and her brown eyes grew wide. ”Is that true?”
Kira nodded. ”It is. Not only did Luke do most of his traveling on Davenport's dime, ten years ago, Sinopia stock was worth pennies. His superiors at the agency most likely laughed behind his back, thinking they were getting the far better end of the bargain. But Luke was a geologist and, being on the ground and knowing many people in the oil industry, he was aware of facts few others were. Peers talk to one another. Luke must have heard about the team Sinopia was a.s.sembling-geologists from Amoco, Exxon, and investors from families in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. I'm only guessing here, but I conjecture Luke must have determined the company would one day become quite successful. One of the first purchases Sinopia's board approved was a deal with the Republic of Guinea for oil exploration rights along the country's coast.”
Nicole remembered Guinea was once a French colony. Many still spoke the language. Was that why her father had been practicing those Pimsleur tapes? Had he taken a trip to the country himself?
”The company didn't do much with those rights,” Kira continued, ”at least not until about two years ago when oil prices began skyrocketing and crude was in great demand. That's when someone from Sinopia's West African offsh.o.r.e drilling team hit the mother lode, a well with an estimated three million barrels of oil and twenty-three billion in gas. So you see, Jane, everything is legitimate.” The room was quiet for almost a complete minute.
”I can hardly believe this.” Nicole saw there were tears in her mother's eyes. ”I've done a great dishonor to Luke's memory.”
”And there's cash too,” Nicole said. ”Back at the bank, in his safe deposit box. Maybe another hundred grand.”
One of the doors was suddenly thrust open, surprising them all with the force of the action.
It was Bogie. Cool and calm, he poked his bald head into the room, found Kira, nodded and said mysteriously, ”They're ready for you.”
Kira spoke directly to her mother. ”Nicole has been instrumental in an investigation we've been working on. Very soon, we might be able to identify the individuals responsible for your husband's death and hold them accountable in a court of law. We still have quite a few loose ends to tie up, so if you'll please excuse us, both Nicole and I are needed at a debriefing being conducted here at the hotel this morning. Jim will explain everything to you about the stocks, as well as clear up some confusing issues pertaining to your taxes and other matters.”
Everyone's attention s.h.i.+fted to Nicole.
Her mother, though still clearly baffled by the revelation of the stocks and their worth, and looking a bit peaked at the mention of taxes, was suddenly beaming at her proudly. She could tell that her sister could hardly wait to get her alone, no doubt to interrogate her about Kira. And for once, Liz's husband, Ted, no longer looked bored.
Nicole grabbed her bag up off the floor, then ran around the table and gave her mother a big hug. ”I love you so much, Mom. Everything is going to be okay.”
”Thanks to you. Oh, Nicole, I'm so proud of you,” her mother gushed affectionately. ”You saved me, saved our house.” She looked toward the door pensively and Nicole followed her gaze. Kira was making a silent exit. ”And it looks you're not done yet. You'd better go. You don't want to keep Hillary waiting!”
Out in the hallway, Nicole had to run to catch up to Kira. She was already halfway down the corridor, walking at a brisk pace in her heels.
”So when were you going to tell me that my father was working undercover?”
”I only just learned the full truth about that last night.” Kira said this without even a sideways glance in Nicole's direction. She checked her watch but kept right on walking.
”Oh, while I was pa.s.sed out unconscious?”
Kira said nothing.
”You're not even going to deny that you drugged me?”
”I had no idea Shevchenko was going to slip you one of her sleeping concoctions,” Kira replied, almost apologetically. ”She believed you needed to rest, thought you were too wired to do so without an artificial intervention. She thought she would give you a good two or three hours of sleep, not knock you out for the night. If it's any consolation, she's been disciplined and warned in writing never to do anything like that again. Know that she cares a great deal about you, Nicole, and never meant to harm you.”
And what about you? Nicole longed to ask. Do you care anything at all about me? Instead she said, ”And what are my sister and brother-in-law doing here?”
”I told you at the airport. We needed to ensure everyone was safe. We feared that if Rhyse Taylor's people couldn't get your mother, they'd simply abduct some other family member and use them for ransom. So we grabbed all three of them. You and your mother never have to work another day in your lives. You should be ecstatic, so why are you in such a bad mood? Have you eaten any breakfast?”
Nicole shook her head, realizing she'd missed yet another meal. Her stomach growled on cue. Loudly.
Kira rolled her eyes. They pa.s.sed a conference room; its double doors were open wide to accommodate a large metal cart on wheels piled high with tables and chairs. Inside the room, a silver bowl filled with ripe bananas and green apples sat atop a table alongside trays of mugs and plates. A hotel employee was busy removing the tables, unfolding them and arranging them into a U-shape.
Kira grabbed one of the bananas, smiled, and asked the boy, ”Would you mind?”
”Eat up.” Kira handed it to Nicole. ”Maybe you won't be so cranky with something in your belly.” There was the ghost of a smile teasing the curve of her lips.
”Where are we going?” Nicole peeled the banana, breaking off a piece at a time and popping them into her mouth.
They reached the elevators. She dropped the banana peel into one of the polished bra.s.s waste bins. The lobby of the hotel was now practically empty. Music from the ceiling speakers, softly muted, could be heard above the hushed voices of the three women manning the front desk. ”A room on the second floor.” Kira sighed, a forlorn sound in the awkward quiet between them. ”A debriefing with my superiors. I usually hate these meetings.” She smoothed an invisible wrinkle in her slacks. ”But I have hope today's will be different.”
Kira stepped inside the elevator. Nicole wavered for a fraction of a second.
”Whoa!” She jumped in just before the doors slid shut. A s.h.i.+ny, smudgeless reflection of herself stared back at her from the gleaming elevator doors, reminding her just how inappropriately she was dressed. She looked down at her sandals, then at the fuzzy image of Kira's pressed suit mirrored in the metal. Turning, she was about to beg for a moment to run back to her room and change when she realized Kira had taken a step toward her.
”I have something to tell you.” Kira's voice was husky and warm. Nicole's heart did a somersault inside her chest. Kira took another step closer, and it was suddenly difficult for Nicole to breathe. The smell of Kira, that distinct sweet jasmine and baby powder scent made her insides melt. Kira leaned in. ”I need to-”
And then there was an electronic chime and the elevator doors opened. Kira retreated backward, her face showing her annoyance. ”I need to tell you something before we go into that room.” Her voice wasn't as steady as it normally was. ”Stuart's going to ask you to join our team.”
Nicole was forced to corral her thoughts and her weak-kneed legs.
”I don't understand.” And she didn't. She was confused and disappointed. She'd misread Kira's intention. Again. She thought for sure Kira had not only been about to kiss her, but to say something far more poignant and personal.
”He's going to offer you a job, Nicole.” Kira was back in control of herself, and reached out a hand to prevent the elevator doors from closing. ”Stuart observed how you handled this situation with Rhyse Taylor and was extremely impressed. Bogie and Shevchenko think you'd make a great addition as well. But I doubt you'd be interested. Teaching is your calling, right?”
Nicole was speechless ”C'mon, we're down the hall, on the left,” Kira urged.
There was really no need for the direction. Bogie was standing outside a closed door, making their destination rather obvious. A big grin splintered the serious set of his face when he saw her, his tawny eyes filled with a secret excitement.
Could it be true? Might there be a job offer waiting for her on the other side of the door? And what exactly would she be doing?
She had absolutely no skills and still had another semester of school and a thesis to finish. The few pieces of banana she'd eaten felt like cement blocks in her stomach.
Chapter Twenty-six.
Bogie brushed the back of his knuckles against the panel of the door three times before a voice on the other side beckoned entry. When it opened, Nicole saw three men sitting around a large mahogany table, papers and files scattered all about its surface. The other side of the room contained a wet bar stocked with a bucket of ice, gla.s.sware, and bottles of water. Next to it was a sofa and two reading chairs with a gla.s.s table. The men all looked at her, curiosity in their gazes.
”Well, well, well,” one of the three said in a booming Texas drawl, rising to his feet. ”Is this the sa.s.sy little sprite I've been hearing so much about?”
Everyone else was in business attire, but he was dressed in a pale blue chambray s.h.i.+rt, jeans, and black Frye cowboy boots. For a moment, Nicole didn't feel so self-conscious about her own outfit. She turned toward Kira. There was a persuasive glimmer now emanating from her blue eyes, a gentle rea.s.surance in them (It's all right, I promise, they seemed to say). She would have much preferred a soft touch or a light squeeze to her shoulder. But Bogie gave her an enthusiastic thumbs-up before closing the door behind him, and that was enough to make her feel better.
”Nicole, this is Judge Jay Carper,” Kira said, her manner formal despite Judge Jay's goofy smile and plastic mobility. He was tall, thin, and lanky, reaching out to her, energetically pumping her hand with both of his before pulling her into the room and closer to the morning light spilling though the room's only window.
”Let me have a better look at you, little girl,” he said, grinning. He was around fifty, his gray hair receding at the temples and his face drawn with lines of wear from the sun and age. When he opened his mouth, two rubber bands on both sides of his jaw stretched tautly between a netting of wires encasing the upper and bottom rows of his teeth. It took a second for Nicole to realize he was wearing braces.
”Luke Kennedy's daughter, that she is, eh, fellas? Not in the looks department, little lady, lucky you, not that Luke wasn't a handsome buck, but in spirit, you two are one and the same, that's for dang sure.” He seemed about ready to slap her on the back in hearty acknowledgment but stopped himself, grabbed two folders from the pile on the table, and tucked them under his left armpit. His Texan charm seemed to turn everything he said and did into a compliment.
”You knew my father?”
Jay Carper shrugged. ”Only met him about an hour ago. Pictures and archived computer files. But I could tell we were lucky to have him on our side. By the way,” he turned toward Kira, ”what's this I'm hearing, Anthony? Stuart said you don't want this pretty little filly on the team.”