Love in Electric Blue (Westlake Enterprises) (10 page)

Finally, he’d have her again, and maybe even Joshua. He’d hounded his niece over the years, not putting much effort into catching her until he’d rebuilt his laboratory. It took a hell of a lot of funding to manage the equipment, not to mention the secrecy of his work. But the past few years he’d been ready to have her back and had had to make do with poor psychic substitutes.

“Speaking of Mexico,” he said slowly. “I think it’s time we took care of Mr. Brooks. I have the feeling I’ve wrung the last dollar out of him we’re going to get. He’s not parting with any more, despite the information Mike feeds him.” Mike, Brooks’s nephew, was the only solid assistant Benjamin could count on.

Lennox nodded, and a crafty gleam brightened his eyes. Carter tried to put the sight from his mind. The last time he’d seen Lennox perk up like that, his man had spent two days bathing himself in blood and tissue. Intestines could be
so
hard to clean up after. The smell alone…

“No problem, Doc.” Lennox smiled. “I’ll take care of it myself.”

Three days later in Cozumel, Lee Brooks gave a strained smile and dabbed a handkerchief at his forehead. Despite the fan swirling in the outdoor patio of his amazing
hacienda
, he continued to sweat like a pig. Of medium height with sandy-colored hair and a rotund frame, Brooks looked like an average businessman, miserable in the heat. Who wore a suit and tie when sitting in paradise? Remy wondered.

“I know Mr. Westlake said he could handle this, but I’ve seen Carter’s men watching me back in California. I flew out here thinking I’d be safer using my own security. You don’t know what Carter is capable of. That’s why I hired Westlake Enterprises for protection.” Brooks frowned. “No way in hell I can return to the States until Carter is handled. Do you understand me?”

“Perfectly,” Remy cut J.D. off before he could say something to alienate the man. Since their sexual rendezvous—as she liked to think of it—three days ago, they hadn’t spoken. Between time spent readying for the trip to Mexico, digging up more dirt on Carter and enduring Cole’s third degree about J.D.’s continual hostility toward him, she’d barely had time to breathe. And in three days, this was the longest time they’d spent together. First the flight, now their time with Brooks.

In their effort to lure Carter’s attention, she and J.D. had boarded a commercial flight to Mexico using fake names. Real names or her previous aliases would have been too obvious. But she knew how Carter worked. He had people monitoring public transportation. So they eschewed Jurek’s private plane in favor of uncomfortable seats, a cramped cabin and tiny packets of airplane peanuts.

Cramped
didn’t describe Brooks’s tropical hideaway, though. His study alone had the same square footage as her entire apartment. Through the glass to her left, she could see smooth teak tables, plush couches and expensive artwork decorating the space.

Where they sat, the expansive outdoor area overlooked the crystal-blue ocean. The terra-cotta terrace was shaded by a lattice full of purple clematis. Flowers and lush ferns complemented the area, a virtual paradise. Yet their host had yet to relax.

A bevy of servants coming and going should have had Brooks seeming more like the fat-cat oilman she’d learned about than the helpless mouse staring down the maw of a mousetrap he appeared.

A small, elderly Mexican woman interrupted the stilted silence. She approached with a tray of refreshments and settled it down in front of them. After she poured them each a glass of lemonade and settled the plate of cookies in the center of the table, she returned to the cool expanse of the house.

Brooks sighed. “I know I seem paranoid, but I’ve been on pins and needles since the last time Carter and I spoke. He’s not stable. And my nephew is unreachable. I’m worried he…” He paused, coughed and said in a calmer voice, “Enjoy Rosa’s lemonade. She makes it from scratch.”

Only after Brooks took a sip did J.D. reach for his glass. She took some, needing the sugar to soothe her nerves. Despite letting themselves play the bait, they intended to see what they could get out of Brooks. And they hadn’t come alone. A small contingent of Westlake’s men scoped the house—five of Jurek’s enforcers, as J.D. referred to them. The men remained nearby but invisible since they didn’t want to scare Carter away.

“This is wonderful, thank you.” Remy took another sip. “But what can you tell us about Carter that you haven’t already?”

“Anything that will help us nail him while keeping you safe,” J.D. added. She glanced at him, not surprised when he refused to look at her. She bit back a sigh.
You’d have thought I’d had my merry way with him and taken
his
virginity. If anything, I should be the wounded party here.
The stubborn man had clammed up tighter than a drum. So much for talking and acting like real partners.

“All of my transcripts of communications with Carter are in my study,” Brooks answered. “Avail yourselves to all of it. I thought I was doing the right thing, you know. I’ve always been involved in science. From my youth spent tinkering in my father’s lab—he was a chemist—to the time I graduated college, I’d always assumed I’d follow in my father’s footsteps. Of course, that was before we inherited from my grandfather.” He sighed. “Someone had to keep the family finances together, so I went back to school and earned a business degree.” He paused to stare out at the ocean.

Remy could tell that his memories of school were happy ones. This was the first time since she’d met Brooks that he actually allowed himself to relax. He didn’t appear a bad sort, and she had a feeling they’d misread the situation. He didn’t seem to be working hand in hand with Carter, not in the way they’d suspected.

Brooks continued, “I was very excited when my nephew—my sister’s boy, Mike—expressed an interest in science. He’s nearly reached his doctorate in biochemistry. Genius of a lad, a real chip off the old block.” His pride was unmistakable. “Mike introduced me to Dr. Carter, and I could tell right away that Carter had that same burning genius my father had. But as our association grew, so did my doubts.”

“You invested three million dollars into his research. Didn’t you look into him
before
you gave him the money?” J.D. asked with disbelief.

Lee Brooks hadn’t maintained his riches by being a trusting, naïve soul. Remy wasn’t buying his ignorance either.

“Of course I researched him.” He glared, offended. “Unfortunately, he came up roses because he used someone else’s credentials, as I only recently found out. Had the government released the confidential records I’d asked for more than a month ago, I would have seen for myself that Dr. Carter is a criminal. But I thought I had everything. His false background was impressive. The ringing endorsement from my nephew, who would never steer me wrong, really swayed me. And I did see one of Carter’s experiments that absolutely amazed me.”

Remy didn’t want to know any more, but she had to ask, “What exactly did you see?”

“I’m not a stupid man. First I researched him, then I demanded to see Carter in action before I invested a penny. He took me to a temporary laboratory, an abandoned school out in the country that had been converted into a lab.”

Which they’d already taken a look at and come up empty.

Brooks shook his head. “It was amazing. Carter had hooked up six men to a central device. Surrounding them was a plethora of electrical appliances. Not one of them had a battery or was plugged in, and Mike verified that they weren’t chipped with radio-control signals. I saw for myself that half of the devices that ran on batteries didn’t have any in them. I checked it all out beforehand.

“Then Carter gave the okay. The men focused, the device roared to life and the appliances started
working
. As he explained it, the men in his study had an affinity for electricity that he broadened into actual power through the device. He used
thought
to power things. Carter showed me data, readouts, even had Mike explain the biochemistry of what Carter was trying to accomplish. It was amazing and something he planned to make accessible to everyone.”

Remy didn’t like the awe in his voice, and neither did J.D., by the scowl on his face.

“He was looking for a way to further develop their gifts and to find a way to enhance it in your everyday, normal person. Of course I wanted to help him reach his goals. We talked about prototypes and marketing, devices for the average consumer to regulate equipment at home. It’s really quite remarkable, if you think about it. Who would need batteries if we could power things ourselves?”

“But?” J.D. nudged him.

“But after that day, I began to question Mike’s involvement with someone that bright. Someone with Carter’s genius should have been teaching at MIT or working in some government-funded workplace. If he really had been working for the universities he said he had, why did he need me for funding when his talents were so obvious?” Brooks sighed. “And that’s when a friend of mine slipped me new information that poked holes in his credentials. That’s when I learned about Carter’s involvement in the ISPP.”

J.D. grimaced. “It always comes back to the ISPP.” He shot her a look and turned to Brooks. “That’s when the shit really hit the fan, right?”

“You have no idea.”

Chapter Eight

Brooks sighed. “When I told Mike I didn’t want to back Carter anymore, my nephew grew quite upset. He must have told Carter about my doubts, because I started getting subtle hints that I’d best be on board—or else. Strange men started following me to work, my home, in my car, making no attempt at discretion. One of his men, a pale man with a scar, made deliberate threats to my wife and family. Carter came right out and threatened my life should I pull away. And should I call the police, he’d implicate me in several
deaths
that have come about because of his experiments—experiments I helped fund.”

Remy was glad to hear his disgust. Brooks should be appalled by what he’d seen, not fascinated. She didn’t doubt that he’d wanted no part in Carter’s schemes once he learned the truth. The man radiated fear.

She and J.D. shared a glance, and she thought she saw his understanding. But then, she wasn’t sure of anything when it came to him anymore.

J.D. pulled a picture out of the bag he carried. “Is this Benjamin Carter?”

Brooks nodded. “Add ten years to him and that’s the guy. And his scary friend?” Brooks tapped the picture of the man in a lab coat standing next to Carter. Lennox, that bastard. “That’s the man with the scar. He’s got black hair, looks albino-white, and he’s insane.” Brooks blanched. “Carved my dog up in front of me—proof of what he’d do if I talked.”

“But you’re talking now,” J.D. said.

“I have to. I’m out of options. I can’t let this continue.” He paused. “I haven’t heard from Mike in a while, and I’m scared for the boy. He’s in over his head, and he needs help.”

“So you went to Jurek Westlake.” Remy nodded.

“Yes. A few friends of mine have used Westlake Enterprises’s services in the past, and I was told they—you—have a unique way of doing business.” He eyeballed her and J.D. “The only way to get close to Carter is going to be by
alternative
means. Trust me. I hired the best and got nowhere. Can’t find the bastard. But he can always find me.”

“Right.” J.D. stood. “Why don’t I make a call and we’ll see where to go from here.”

“You can call from my study. I have a few items to put together, then I’m flying to France to join my family. I have some business overseas and, frankly, the farther I am from Carter, the safer I’ll feel. I need you people to wrap this up.”

“So you don’t want bodyguards?” J.D. asked.

“No. I’ll handle my security. I’d rather you handled Carter. Once he’s no longer a threat, I’ll be fine.”

They followed Brooks inside. Books and ledgers filled built-in bookcases taking up the far wall. The warm gold of the walls complemented the terra-cotta floor tile. A massive desk and chair dominated the room, leaving a small sitting area on the other side. For reading books or taking noon tea, Remy thought with a twinge of envy. Talk about bang for the buck.

“I’ve piled all the information I have on him here. What I know and what I’ve had my people gather. This should help.” Brooks motioned to a large box of paper on the coffee table surrounded by two side chairs and a brown leather sofa. “Now I have plans to make with my pilot and secretary. Tell Jurek I’m sorry, but I need to go. I’ll keep in touch. You two have the run of the place for as long as you need it. I’m clearing out the others, but Rosa and Miguel, my chauffeur, will take care of you while you’re here.”

J.D. blinked. “You’re really leaving?”

“Yes.” Without another word, Brooks scurried from the room, still mopping his brow.

Remy and J.D. stared at the box on the table.

“I don’t know why we bothered to fly out here.” He blew out a frustrated breath. “Nothing like the present to get started, I guess.” He sat on the couch.

After a moment, Remy sat next to him and took a handful of papers.

Two hours later, she rubbed her eyes. It had been a long day, and she was tired and hungry.

“I need a break.” She stood and stretched on a yawn. When she looked back down, she saw J.D. fixated on her stomach. “Problem?”

“No.” The hungry look in his eyes spoke volumes.

She flushed when she realized her shirt must have ridden up when she stretched. The sight of his interest had her responding.