Healing Hark (Doms of Chicago) (22 page)

“Someone switched the gate over to automatic.” Marius leaned back in the chair. “Once I enter the main building, I’ll be able to tell. The gate can only be switched from the desk in the lobby. It’s a safety feature.”

“Let me know what you find out.” Hark rolled his shoulders. “This shit is getting out of hand. I want the culprit caught – like yesterday.”

“Believe me, so do I.” Marius was in the process of switching back over to the live feed when he stiffened. “What the fuck?” He leaned in, his eyes scanning the footage. “Dammit. I think we have an intruder along the south wall of the building.”

Ad
renalin pumped through Hark’s veins. Next to him, Marius surged out of his chair and unhooked the leather thong securing his gun. A quick glance at the screen had Hark swearing as he caught a glint of metal before the figure blended back into the shadows. This wasn’t good.

“He’s heading straight for Bryan.” Sprinting out of the shack, Hark moved fast. He couldn’t let the man reach the small cluster of people standing next to Taurus. Behind him, he could hear the thud of feet as Marius followed him.

“Stop right there! Security!” The yell echoed through the parking lot.

The figure stumbled to a stop, then lifted his hands
. “Don't shoot. I work here.”

Sliding to a stop in front of the man, Marius pulled his gun. “Step into the light. I want to see your ID. And don’t make any sudden moves.”

“Fine. Just hold your damn fire.”

The voice sounded familiar as
the man stepped out of the darkness and onto the sidewalk leading up to the main doors of building. Just before he stepped fully onto the well-lit path, Hark spotted a long object in the man's hand.

“Son of a bitch.” Throwing his body at him, he tackled
the figure. The startled oomph as they landed on the hard pavement echoed through the parking lot. Using his weight to pin him to the ground, Hark yanked back on his arms, securing the man's wrists.

“Damn, Captain, not so rough. I’d like to still be able to use my arms.”

The familiar rank pulled at Hark, causing dread to pool in his stomach.
Please don’t let it be him.
Rolling the man over, he growled as he identified him. “Goddamn it, Easton. What the hell are you doing here?”

“I live here, asshole.” Easton hissed. “Now get the fuck off me.”

“Okay, spill it. You said you live here?” Marius asked Easton while Hark leaned against the wall of the security office. The large windowless room held a pair of desks and a bank of security monitors adjacent to several file cabinets. With airy ceilings and a soft crème walls, it wasn’t the most intimidating place, but it would work for what Marius and he needed it for. Especially considering Bryan and Diachi were safe and sound several floors above their heads.
As it should be. If indeed Easton is behind the attacks, Bryan doesn't need to witness the betrayal firsthand.

Sitting at
one of the solid oak desks, Easton raked a hand through his closely cropped hair. “Yeah. I live here, in one of the executive apartments above the corporate offices.”

A quick glance at Marius showed the other man's surprise at the revelation.
“I know they've been talking about renting them out, but wasn't aware it had already happened.”

Hark
didn’t like where this was going. Why hadn’t Bryan mentioned Easton lived on the premises when he’d told him the man might behind the attack? It might have explained why the he had been in the hallway outside of Bryan’s office.

Marius sighed. “Y
ou realize it’ll be easy to check out your story, Easton?”

Easton rolled his eyes.
“Of course it would be. If you don't believe me, ask Bryan. He included my place as part of my annual salary once I accepted the position of vice president.”

A disgruntled look passed over Marius’s face. “
Fine, it sounds reasonable. But it still doesn't explain why the hell you were creeping around the building at five-thirty this morning. Shouldn't you have been tucked into bed?”

Easton drummed his fingers on the wood.
“I would've been if I hadn't gotten a call from that damned investigator. His secretary informed me Mr. Tierney would be downstairs in less than an hour to lay some kind of trap for whoever it is who’s been sabotaging the Wheaton-Free line and if I didn’t believe her, I was to take it up with Bryan.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “And since I wasn’t about to call and wake up my boss at five in the morning, I agreed. However I didn't feel comfortable giving out the gate code to the woman, so I told her I’d meet the idiot. Then I went down to the lobby, switched the gate over to automatic, and waited for him to arrive.”

“
We will be checking your phone records to verify this call.” Marius warned him.

Scowling, Easton stood.
“Do it. I have nothing to fucking hide. I've given this company damned near fifteen years of my life. I'm not about to throw that away because of a line I happen to
support
.”

“
Sit down. We're not accusing you of anything — yet. We just need to clear this up, for the sake of the company and your ongoing employment.” Hark pushed off the wall. “You'd have to admit the fact you were on the premises at such an early hour could be considered suspicious?”

Easton reluctantly sat down.
“Yeah, I guess, if you weren’t aware I lived in the building.”

Hark sat down on the edge of the table. “
Now, you say you waited for this investigator? Where?”

“In the foyer. It's fucking February and we're right off the damn lake. Do I look I have a death wish? There wasn't a chance in hell I was about to wait outside for the ass to show up.”

“
So you've met the investigator?” Marius glared at him.

“Of course I have! You know that.” He turned to Hark. “Look, the
board hired him to investigate the new product line
I
was in charge of. I probably met with the man at least half a dozen times during the course of his investigation.”

“
So it didn't strike you odd when he wanted a meeting at six in the morning?” Marius pushed back far enough to snag a file off another desk.

“
No. The asshole is an inconsiderate prick. He liked to interrupt product meetings to ask asinine questions. Hell, once he even contaminated a whole sample batch by attempting to “recreate” the malfunction that took out our main cooler without informing us he was doing it. Let me tell you, not only was I pissed, so was Corbin. It set not only the Wheaton-Free line back two weeks, it also destroyed Corbin's new diet fruit bar samples.”

“
What's this investigator's full name?” Hark asked.

“Kiefer
Tierney. Corbin recommended him to the board as an alternative to bringing in Larson Securities.”

Wondering why the board had been so resistant to Jude’s presence, Hark filed the tidbit of information away, along with the investigator’s name. He’d talk to Bryan and follow up on those leads when they were done here. But first, he needed to clear Easton. “
So, how did you end up outside?”

“
After waiting nearly a half hour, I saw headlights enter the lot. I assumed it was him, so I went outside to meet him, and that's when I managed to lock myself out of the building. I was checking the windows of the lower offices to see if I could get one open when you spotted me.”

“
So that's why you had this crowbar?” Marius plucked the piece of steel off the other desk.

“Yeah, after realizing my stupidity of not propping the door open.” He rolled his shoulders. “Anyway, when I couldn’t get back in I grabbed the tire iron out of my car.”

“You left your car unlocked?”

“No, I had my car keys with me.” He shrugged his shoulders.

Hark gave a mental sigh of relief. The man had a logical answer to everything. It didn’t mean he wouldn’t be checking all the facts out, but something told him they would be verified. A man who’d taken objection to what he saw as Bryan’s infidelity would be the last person Hark would expect to steal from the company. If he hadn’t seen the man on the surveillance tape outside of Bryan’s office, he’d have never considered him as a suspect. “One last question. Do you have to pass by Bryan’s office to come downstairs?”

Easton seemed started by the question. “Yeah. Unless I want to walk down ten flights of steps to get to my office. I use the elevator on his floor. The elevator meant for residents doesn’t stop on the corporate floors.”

“Okay.” Hark stood. “I don’t think you’re behind the attack, but I’ll be checking to make sure everything is as you say. You’re free to go.”

Relief flitted across Easton’s face for a second. “Thanks, Captain.” He pushed back from the desk. “Do me a favor though, if
Tierney ends up being behind this mess, kick his ass for me.”

Hark cocked his head.
Another suspect?
“You think Tierney might have something to do with the attack?”

Easton nodded. “When I ran into Corbin outside his lab that morning, he was escorting Tierney out of the building, so it’s possible. I heard through the grapevine the man asked Sharonda out, but she turned him down. After her nasty break up with Corbin, I’m not surprised. Dating someone from work can be a recipe for disaster, which is why I won’t do it.”

Hark waited for the door to shut behind Easton before turning back to Marius. “Can you pull the video feed from this morning and send it to my email address?”

“Sure.” Marius stood. “Do you honestly believe Easton had nothing to do with the attack or the sabotage?”

Pulling out his cell phone, he hit the number for Larson’s Securities. “That’s what I’m going to find out. Just send me the feeds when you get them.” As the phone connected, Hark stepped out of the office. “Jude? We have a situation at Sterling Foods.”

* * * *

Hark smiled down at
Carmen Mendez, Jude and Jackson's secretary/warden as she showed him into Jude's office. She was a pretty little thing if one went for Latin spitfires. When they entered the office, the conversation Jude was having with his business partner died. It didn’t surprise him to see Jackson sitting on the corner of Jude's desk. Sometimes Hark swore the man hung out in Jude’s office just to irritate him.

“Hark’s here to see you, boss.”

Jude sighed. “I see that, Carmen. But the bigger question is how many times do I have to ask you to use the intercom?”

She smirked at him. “I don’t know. How many times have you already asked?”

“At least a thousand.” Jackson chortled.

“Well then, add a few more hundred thousand, and maybe I’ll consider your request.” She winked at Hark. “These men just don’t seem to realize I know every little detail of what goes on in their offices at any given time.” Then she leaned in and spoke in a loud whisper. “Even how often they boff their ladies across their desks.”

“Carmen!”

Hark couldn’t help but smile. It wasn’t the first time he’d heard the two men speak in unison as they scolded her.

Once the woman shut the door behind him, he joined the men. “She’s incorrigible. I still think someone needs to strap her to the nearest spanking bench and warm her ass.” He settled into the chair across from Jude’s desk. “Thanks for seeing me under such short notice.”

Jude tipped his chair back.
“For our favorite part-time employee? Not an issue.”

Jackson tapped the file he was holding against his thigh.
“We did some digging into your investigator's background as well as the uncle’s like you asked.”

Hark
crossed his leg over his opposite knee and tried to get comfortable in the smaller than average chair. “And?”

Jackson made a face.
“According to the uncle’s financials, he seems like he’s on the up and up. No outstanding debt, other than a small credit card bill. His house is paid for and he donates a hefty sum to the Boys and Girls Club each year. On a personal note, he has a girl he sees on a regular basis — a Domme at one of the local clubs. Other than that he pays his bills on time and has a membership at one of the local golf courses. He’s clean, unless the sabotage is personal in nature.

“Okay.” Hark leaned back in the chair. “It doesn’t completely rule him out, but it’s good to know he’s not screwing over Sterling Foods for money. What about the investigator?”

Jude sighed. “He’s a different story. I don’t know whether to be pissed off that he dares to call himself an investigator, or laugh at the fool.”

Hark frowned.
“Then why the hell did the board hire him over Larson Securities?”

Jude shrugged.
“I have no idea. I spoke with Bryan briefly after the first act of sabotage. He told me he'd take our suggestions to the board and get back to us. He never did.”

Hark's eyes drifted shut.
“Fuck. Looks like I'm going to have to go ask Bryan what happened. So much for hoping I could deal with this quietly without dragging him into it.”

Jackson handed him the file.
“Here's everything I could find on him in the hour you gave me. The man's a joke to the investigation field.”

Hark accepted the file and opened it. Skimming the file, he began to read aloud.
“Height six foot one, brown hair and eyes. Got his P.I. license with the Illinois Department of Financial & Professional Regulation nearly eighteen months ago after completing the basic firearm course and knowledge test. Damn, I swear since the stupid realty show started airing, every cretin with an adrenalin addiction wants to be like Dog the Bounty Hunter.”

“
Yeah, and it doesn’t help that IDFPR will let you take the test online.” Jude squeezed the bridge of his nose. “Which wouldn’t necessarily a bad thing if the person testing is actually the one doing the test.”

“
Yeah, unbelievable.” Hark continued to read. “Okay, here it is. Girlfriend, one Shar Williams.” He flipped through the file. “Did you find a home address for her, or possibly a phone number?”

Jude shot him a 'what do you think' look before
reading it off a pad at his elbow. His fingers tightened around the file at the familiar address. “Say again?”

Jackson smirked.
“What are you getting forgetful in your old age, Akula?”

“
No. But that sounds like the address I sent flowers to last week.”

Jude frowned.
“You're seeing women again? I thought Mistress said Diachi claimed you last night.”

“
My sex life has nothing to do with this. Bryan and I sent flowers to his assistant.” He dug through the file. “It could be coincidence, but it would be a rather wild one. You didn't by chance manage to find a picture of the lady friend did you?”

“
We're good, but not that good.” Jude’s chair creaked alarmingly as he leaned back. “We need more time than sixty minutes to give you such an in-depth report on a mark's girlfriend.”

Hark read the name again.
Shar? Could it be short for Sharonda?
“Fuck. Please let it just be a coincidence.” He dug his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed Bryan's private number. The sound of his sub’s voice did little to sooth the rising trepidation in his gut. “Hey, sweetheart. Are you alone?”

“
No, I'm not. Master is with me and Sharonda is sitting at her desk. Why?”

Hark
’s fingers tightened. “I'm sitting here with Jude and Jackson. Remember how I told you I was going to have them look into the investigator Easton told me about? Well, it might just be coincidence but — just give me a yes or no answer. Does your assistant ever go by the name Shar?”