The Flower Job
*This takes place sometime after the Season Two premiere.
Eliot glanced down at the four paper shopping bags that dangled from his fingertips. Two steps behind him, Parker was skipping with a fifth bag. Her grin ran from ear to ear as she hummed.
"I just love getting new toys!" she squealed as she reached into her bag.
"Think you have enough? What do you need all this for anyway?" Eliot grumbled.
"This is the best quality," Parker retorted. She pulled a nylon cord out of her bag and scurried up next to him.
"Feel how soft this is…" she rubbed the cord against his cheek. He shook his head away from her and stopped walking.
"What?" Parker pouted. "It makes it quieter." She dropped the cord back in her bag as she walked past Eliot.
"Besides, I go through a LOT of gear. If I don't leave it on a job, you take it."
Eliot's eyes widened, "You don't…"
"No. Simone doesn't carry tasers…that's Ernie," she grinned.
"This is the last time I come to Crazy Town with you," Eliot shook his head and continued down the sidewalk.
"That's funny, Sophie and Hardison both said the same thing."
Eliot opened his mouth to protest but thought better and just shook his head. He took a deep breath and looked at the sky. A sign swung over the sidewalk in the breeze. The bright blue hues drew his attention-Cheyenne's Garden.
"What is it?" Parker asked.
Eliot stared at the door for a moment before deciding to approach the window. Parker followed him with her eyes and pursed her lips in confusion.
As he approached the windows, Eliot could see a man inside near a display of vases. He seemed to be speaking with the woman behind the counter, but his arrogant stance made Eliot uneasy.
"When are you going to understand-I don't care, Toby?" the young woman behind the counter barked. She stood firm staring at him.
Toby rolled his tongue across his teeth and clicked once as he stared at the vases next to him. He shoved two vases off the edge of the shelf. They shattered on the floor.
"Oops," he grinned.
The young woman simply rolled her eyes and returned her attention to the paperwork in front of her. Toby scowled and picked up a vase. He juggled it between his hands for a moment.
"I can't be held responsible for what happens in this store if you don't," Toby explained.
When she ignored him, he glared and threw the vase against the wall just three feet away from her. She winced at the sound but stood her ground.
Eliot had seen enough. He dropped the bags when he saw the vase fly. He burst through the door and grabbed Toby by the nape. His protective instincts went into full gear. He dragged Toby over to the counter. A look of shock came over Toby's face. The clerk stared at Eliot for a moment and her face paled. Parker followed Eliot into the store but wisely took an observational stance near the door.
"I believe you owe the lady an apology," Eliot growled.
"You don't know who you're dealing with!" Toby heckled. Eliot slammed his torso into the counter.
"Neither do you," Eliot replied. "Now apology-let's go!"
"Sorry," Toby spat.
"And I believe the phrase goes-you break it, you bought it," Eliot glanced at Parker, "About how much do you think those vases were?"
Parker grinned and walked over. She removed Toby's wallet from his pants pocket and began to leaf through it.
"Hey! You can't do that! That isn't yours!" Toby protested.
Parker pulled a wad of bills out and set them on the counter.
"I think that should cover it." She replaced the wallet back into Toby's pocket.
Eliot smiled and pulled Toby back up. He marched him to the door and tossed him out to the sidewalk.
"Get out of here," he growled.
Toby snorted, "This isn't over!" He tugged his shirt, stood up straight, smiled at Eliot and strode off.
Eliot returned to Parker's side at the counter. She was grinning with delight, completely oblivious that her bags were still outside on the sidewalk where Eliot had dropped them.
"What did you do?" the clerk sighed.
"What do you mean? We were getting rid of the lowlife," Eliot replied.
"You aren't from around here so I will let that go. Now if you don't mind leaving, I have to clean this up and hopefully try to contain the mess you've made."
"Mess WE made? We weren't the one throwing a vase at you," Eliot argued.
"He wouldn't have hit me!" she snapped. "He makes a mess and he leaves. If you hadn't stormed in here, he would have left anyway."
"He does this regularly?"
"Every month," she sighed.
Parker scowled, "Why don't you call the cops?"
The woman laughed, "I did at first. Everyone around here did. Problem is, Toby works for a man named Andrew Clerich. You want to know who the biggest private donor to Sheriff Tanner's reelection campaign is? Andrew Clerich. If I call the cops, they'll come fill out a report and misfile it with the other complaints never to be seen again. And of course, I find my store vandalized."
Eliot shook his head, "How long has this been going on?"
"I've been here five years, but it was well before that. Every month Toby comes to collect his 'security fee'. I refuse to pay, and he breaks some merchandise. I eat the losses, it beats being cowed around," the woman explained.
"We can help you with that," Parker smiled.
"The best thing you can do is to leave…PLEASE," the woman sighed.
"But…" Parker began.
"Parker…not now." Eliot tapped Parker's elbow to get her attention and direct her out.
"But Eliot…" Parker protested.
"We'll talk later," Eliot spat through clenched teeth. Parker pouted and snorted.
"Fine."
"Sorry about that," Eliot apologized as he led Parker out of the store.
"We can help her!" Parker shouted once she and Eliot were outside.
"I know, but we need to know what we're dealing with here before we can really convince her. Let's just go back and talk this over with the rest of the team before we start arguing with people. We'll need her cooperation."
Parker sighed, "Okay."
Nate placed three glasses on the island. Sophie and Hardison were seated on the end stools.
"Looks like they're running late," Sophie smiled.
"Yeah," Hardison laughed.
"You know he IS going to figure out you tricked him into taking her," Nate stated as he poured them drinks.
"Yeah, but he ALREADY took her," Hardison mused.
Nate nodded, "But we are talking about Eliot." He took a drink.
Hardison and Sophie's smiles turned upside down.
"I didn't think of that," Sophie groaned.
"Oh, man," Hardison winced.
The elevator outside opened but only footsteps could be heard.
"I don't hear any talking…" Sophie bit her lip.
"This isn't a good sign," Hardison sighed.
"You're late," Nate joked as Eliot and Parker entered. They dropped the bags in the kitchen quietly. Parker sighed and looked at Eliot.
"Now," Eliot shook his head.
"We got sidetracked by a new job," Parker shouted. "We found an extortion ring in the local merchants. This guy, Andrew Clerich, has the local sheriff in his pocket and is basically making the store owners give him money not to destroy their stores. I think it sounds like fun."
"And you just found this?" Nate furrowed his brow.
"Yea, we stumbled on it when we were in the floral shop," Parker began.
"What were you doing in a floral shop?" Hardison asked.
Parker thought for a moment, "Why DID we go by the floral shop?"
"The enforcer was trashing a display. We chased him off but the clerk didn't seem too happy with us helping her out. This guy has them all so wound up, they would rather let him run the joint than ask for help," Eliot answered.
"So they never asked for our help?" Sophie looked at Parker.
"No, not really," Parker replied. "But that guy really needs to be stopped."
"We can do that," Nate smiled. "First though, we need to know what we're dealing with-Hardison, we need whatever you can find on Andrew Clerich."
"Let me get my laptop," Hardison smiled.
The next morning, the team gathered to set up their con. Sophie, Eliot and Parker sat on the stools facing the screen. Hardison had his computer on the end of the island typing furiously. Nate sat on a stool on the opposite end. Hardison had spent most of the night sorting through the files he found on Andrew Clerich.
"What have we got?" Nate chirped.
"A whole lot of nothing…" Hardison began. "I checked every account and legal flier. All the donations are legal, all legitimate accounts, and all the money is accounted for in some legit transaction or another. For a sixty-five year old small time business man running an extortion racket- he is clean. I have nothing."
"How do we get Clerich if there's no proof that he is doing anything wrong?" Sophie sighed.
"There's no proof in his records, but that doesn't mean it isn't there," Nate chimed as he stood up and paced. "We just have to look in the right place."
"And where is that?" Parker played with her hair as she spoke.
Nate set his hand on the island and glanced at Parker. "You said police reports were filed the first time?"
"Yes," Parker pursed her face for a moment. "She said all the businesses have filed complaints, but they get misfiled."
"But there IS documentation. It can be misfiled but not completely destroyed. We just have to find the files. We've been coming at this backwards. Hardison-see what comes up on our dear Sheriff." Nate grinned as he formulated their plan. The rest of the team sat in confused silence.
Parker stared at him blankly. "There are indestructible files?"
"Government redundancy. There would be copies of complaints. Our Sheriff friend is misdirecting copies. Once Clerich sends his goons to talk to the owners-no one ever refiles and the complaint is dropped. But the originals still have to be somewhere. My guess is the Sheriff is going to have those files separate to maintain the ploy. They can incriminate him-so he'll want them close."
"He would need to be able to access them at the office in case someone DID follow up," Sophie added.
"So they have to be in the Sheriff's department. We're going to break into the Sheriff's department?" Parker smiled.
"Not exactly," Nate grinned. "We don't have to break in if we are already in."
"I'm not sure I like the sound of that," Sophie wrinkled her nose.
"You believe the flower shop owner would help if we can show her something solid?" Nate asked Parker and Eliot.
"I think so," Eliot replied.
"Good," Nate smiled. "Ok, I'll take the shop, Eliot and Sophie- you're going to be the bait…"
"I should take the shop," Eliot sighed.
"Are you sure?"
"No, but yeah." Eliot shook his head once. "If there's going to be a problem… that's where it's going down… so I should be there."
"Ok," Nate nodded. "How do you plan to explain yourself if Toby does reappear?"
"I got one idea…"
"Then I guess Sophie and I will be the bait. Hardison, Parker- you get distract and search."
"I love this plan," Parker grinned.
Eliot paused outside the flower shop. He knew it was going to be a hard sell, but he also knew that he was in the right place. Nate and Sophie could handle a sheriff. Clerich's men hadn't shown their full force yet, and that made the decision to stake out in the shop an easy choice. The part that made him nervous wasn't so much the job, it was the next few minutes… convincing a victim to trust you to help. Not only did he need to convince her to let them help, but he had to ask her to risk even more by letting them use her shop… it was going to take every bit of charm and tact he could muster.
He took a deep breath and exhaled before entering the shop.
"Hello, how ca…" The young woman turned to greet him when the door opened. The moment she saw him, she turned away quickly.
She picked up the design books laying on the counter and replaced them. "I thought I asked you to leave."
"You did. I wanted to apologize for yesterday. We didn't know what was going on, and we didn't mean to cause you any trouble," Eliot replied as he looked at her suspiciously.
"Trouble?" she laughed. "When isn't there trouble here?"
Eliot walked over to her. She kept her back to him.
"Apology accepted. Now, can you please just leave me alone?" she insisted.
"Actually I didn't come just to apologize," Eliot answered. He reached over and gently grabbed her elbow. She turned and sighed at him. He gaped at the two inch long cut in her cheek.
"Before you ask, it was one of Toby's boys…I returned the money and this was a warning NOT to mess with them again," she explained. "Just leave it alone."
"I'm sorry," Eliot swallowed.
She laughed. "You're sorry? Why are YOU sorry? I did it to myself. I knew this could happen. I should have stopped you yesterday, but I didn't."
"Why didn't you?"
"I don't know… that's not true. I guess deep down I was happy to see Toby get some payback. No one around here would dare fight back, and here two people who have nothing at stake in it step up. I didn't want to feel alone again."
"We brought some help. If you're willing to give us a little help, we can get everyone out from under Clerich and Toby's thumb."
"You want me to help you?"
"Yes."
"If you're so confident you can do this, what could I possibly do that would make the difference?"
"We kind of need to borrow your shop…"
"My shop?" she bit her lip. "I have a couple questions…"
"What do you want to know?"
"First, if I'm going to be giving you my shop, my life… I think I deserve to know who you all are."
"Fair enough." Eliot smiled, "my name is Eliot Spencer."
"Lauren, Lauren Mitchell."
"Nice to meet you, Lauren."
Across town, Nate and Sophie sat in a car waiting on Eliot to confirm that he had gained the cooperation and access to the shop that the plan required. Everyone waited.
"Eliot? How are we doing?" Nate paused and looked at Sophie while they waited for a response.
"She's in," Eliot replied.
"Good. Sit tight and we'll let you know when we wrap up here."
"Right."
"You ready?" Nate smiled at Sophie.
"I'm always ready…" she returned the smile.
"Parker, Hardison…"
"We're ready," Hardison replied. He and Parker waited in a rented sedan. Hardison was decked out in a suit, Parker wore a red wig and horn-rimmed glasses.
"Ready, Nate…" Parker twitched in the seat. Hardison looked over at her and shook his head.
"Do you know anything about this?" Lauren looked at Eliot as he stared at one of the coolers filled with bouquets.
"Not a lot," he admitted.
"Well, if you're going to convince someone you actually work here…first thing we need to do is get you changed." Lauren disappeared into a small office at the back of the shop.
"Changed?" Eliot furrowed his brow. "I doubt I'm gonna fit anything you got there."
Lauren came out of the office with a shirt and apron. "When I got the shop from the previous owners… I kept everything-including Mr. Hall's uniforms. It should fit well enough… You can use the office if you want."
"Thanks," Eliot replied as he took the stack of clothes and disappeared into the office.
"So how will this work again?" she shouted loud enough for him to hear.
"The whole plan or your shop?" he answered.
"I guess my shop," she sighed.
The front door opened as Toby entered. Lauren took a deep breath.
"Hello, Lauren… got some money for me?"
"I told you, I'm not paying you for anything."
Eliot came out of the office, wearing the blue shirt and apron-the shop name and logo embroidered on both. He had pulled his hair back and stopped when he saw Toby.
"Well, THIS is interesting…" Toby snorted. "Hiring bodyguards now?"
"About that…" Eliot fought the urge to toss Toby back out on the sidewalk and tried to appear submissive. "I'm sorry, Lauren just hired me yesterday and I didn't know there was an arrangement here. I'm really sorry."
Toby laughed. "You hired this guy to work here? I guess you must be doing better than anyone thought. Might have to bump you up a bracket. I suggest you get a payment together soon."
"Same arrangement as always," Lauren sniped.
Toby frowned. He turned to Eliot. "You…what's your name?"
"Robert Shaw."
"Well, Rob, I suggest you talk some sense into this girl if you want to keep this job for the foreseeable future." Toby smiled and walked out.
"Real subtle," Eliot stated.
Sheriff Tanner pulled up to the hardware store. His relatively quiet day was disrupted by a phone call that told him there were two people causing a commotion downtown. There were loud voices inside as he climbed out of his squad and disappeared inside.
"Is it against the law to ask a few questions? This IS a store, it is public. I'm not hurting anyone." Nate's voice was loud as it echoed out the door ahead of him.
He came out of the door in handcuffs, Sophie right behind. Sheriff Tanner was shaking his head bringing up the rear.
"You have the right to remain silent. I suggest you take it."
Nate spun around and glared, "I want my lawyer! I know my rights. I'm not talking without my lawyer!"
"Finally," Tanner muttered.
Tanner opened the rear door of the squad. He shoved Nate into the back and shut the door. He then proceeded to take Sophie to the other side and placed her in the back.
"A couple of rabble-rousers, nothing to see folks," Tanner addressed the growing crowd.
"Hey, ah, I need a drink!" Nate pressed his face against the holding bars. Sophie sat on the corner of the bench that ran the length of the cell, quiet and thoughtful.
Sheriff Tanner sat at his desk and shook his head. His office was in the outer wall, the door opened out into the lobby and holding cells.
"And then you'll want to have something to eat, and another drink…don't you EVER stop talking?" Tanner fumed.
"Is this how you treat all your arrests?" Nate frowned.
"Just the ones who irritate me," Tanner sneered.
"Well, I try," Nate grinned as he glanced at Sophie.
"Personally, I can not wait to send you on your way," Tanner muttered.
The outside door opened. Hardison entered in his trimmed suit, sunglasses and carrying a briefcase. He wore a cell phone case clipped to his belt, the phone currently against his ear. Parker followed a half step behind. She carried a notepad and briefcase in her hands.
"Well remind them that the six hundred million in the public court makes our offer pale. They have my number." Hardison hung up the phone and placed it in the case.
Tanner came out of his office when he heard the voices.
"May I help you?"
"I believe you have two of my most prominent clients in your cell and no charges for holding them." Hardison kept the sunglasses on as he approached the Sheriff and motioned toward Nate and Sophie.
"And you are?" Tanner replied.
"Randall Wallace III, I'm an attorney for many of New York's elite- including Mr. Bedford and Ms. Garrett."
"These two rabble-rousers are New York elite?" Tanner almost laughed.
"Are you insinuating that my clients are not upstanding citizens with influence in our fine city of New York? Is this a jealousy thing? You arrested my clients because you are a classist, aren't you?" Hardison sniped.
"Classist? I don't believe that is a word, Mr. Wallace."
"ATTORNEY Wallace. You don't believe I'm a lawyer now?"
"No, no…" Tanner panicked.
"Make a note of the Sheriff's commentary thus far, please," Hardison snapped his finger as he spoke to Parker.
"Yes, sir," she responded and jotted down some notes.
"Note too, that he wouldn't get me a drink of water," Nate added from the cell.
"You refused this man a drink of water? What kind of person are you?" Hardison felt his confidence build as Tanner took the proper missteps for the plan.
"I, I," Tanner stammered.
"You heard Mr. Bedford, make a note, Ms. Marquet. Refused basic necessity."
Parker wrote furiously on the notepad, biting her tongue to keep from laughing.
"Well, I have never in all my years seen a more blatant case of harassment. YOU will be hearing from our office, sir," Hardison scowled at Tanner as he finally removed his sunglasses and slid them into his coat pocket.
"Our office?" Tanner was confused and broken, right where the team needed him to be.
"Our," Hardison wagged his index fingers between Parker and himself.
"Come on, man! It is the twenty-first century! My partner and I. OUR office-this is unbelievable. Do you believe this guy?" Hardison looked at Parker who slowly shook her head.
"Classic case of progress denial," she replied.
"I do not have a problem with progress. You just have me all flustered, that's all," Tanner argued.
"Not a good trait for a man in such authority," Parker added.
Tanner glowered at the door as he collected his thoughts.
"Look, this was a small incident, let's not turn it into the case of the century. We can sign a few papers and get this all settled so everyone is happy."
Nate turned to face Sophie so Tanner wouldn't see the satisfied smile on his face.
"So my clients are going to walk now?" Hardison asked.
"As soon as we cross the T's, you know what I mean. The paperwork is in my office, but we can take it back in that room there," he pointed to a small room down the hall behind the holding cells. Tanner went to his office to retrieve the papers while Hardison and Parker waited in the lobby area.
"Ms. Marquet will be getting our paperwork set, client things," Hardison craned his neck trying to see into Tanner's office as he spoke. Unfortunately, from his angle, all he could see was a large fish mounted on the wall staring at him through the open door.
"That shouldn't be a problem," Tanner replied as he exited the office with a small folder. He pulled the door closed and everyone heard the lock click into place.
"That fish is creepy," Hardison breathed only loud enough for Parker to hear.
"After you, sir." Tanner motioned for Hardison to lead the way into the small room.
"I will be back in a few minutes, Mr. Bedford and Ms. Garrett." Hardison removed two files from his briefcase.
"We'll be right here," Nate laughed.
Hardison entered the room, Tanner closed the door as he followed.
"Okay, Parker," Nate whispered.
Parker handed her notepad to Sophie before carrying the briefcase over to the office door. She stared at the lock for a moment.
"Piece of cake," she smiled.
Nate took a deep breath before prattling loudly, "We were asking some feeler questions: What kind of crime issues have they seen? How frequent? And so on."
"That should be good," Sophie whispered as she jotted notes on Parker's notepad. Nate continued to talk loudly as Parker pulled a lock pick out of her pocket.
Hardly a second passed before she had the door open. She dropped the pick into her pocket and entered the office. Tanner's office was drab gray-well suited to the Spartan décor. The only things Parker could see were stuffed fish on every wall. One photo sat on the desk-Tanner holding a fish. Parker looked up at the fish opposite from her and back at the photo.
"Not a flattering picture is it?" she chirped.
"Parker? Who are you talking to?" Nate's whisper came over the com.
"The fish," she answered.
"O-kay, good…keep looking," he replied. Sophie shrugged at him.
Parker looked around the rest of the room. The desk was the only place that caught her attention as a possible hiding place. She began with the middle drawer-it was filled with supplies and blank file forms. The desk had three drawers running down both sides of the seat. The top two were shallow and the bottom deep. Parker pulled the left side drawers out one by one starting at the top.
She found nothing useful down the left side. As she stared at the files standing in the left bottom drawer, she sighed.
"I don't think this is where the files are."
"Keep looking, Hardison won't be able to stall him long," Nate whispered.
"I am," Parker whispered back. She pulled the bottom right drawer open. More files, but nothing relevant. Parker snorted in disgust. She began to push the drawer closed and stopped. She noticed something was different about this drawer. The files hung at an angle. The folders were larger than the drawer. Quickly, she pulled the left bottom drawer back out. The files in that drawer hung straight down.
"Nate, I think I got it."
Parker closed the left drawer and started to pull the files out of the right drawer. She stacked them on the desk top corner and peered into the empty drawer. A false bottom she thought. Her fingers slid down into the right side and pressed lightly. The left side popped up and she removed the bottom. Under it lay a stack of files. Parker pulled the stack up and lay it on the desk.
"Got 'em," she grinned.
"Good, hurry up," Nate shouted under his breath.
Parker flipped the top file open. She reached into Hardison's briefcase and pulled out a bar document scanner. She quickly began scanning each page.
"This could take a while. There are a lot of files here," Parker mused.
"Work as fast as you can," Nate offered, he cocked his head toward the ear bud side and added, "Hardison-Parker is scanning the files, but there are a lot. Stall him as long as you can."
In the conference room, Hardison rolled his eyes as Tanner continued his epic length fishing tale.
"How are you doing?" Nate sat down next to Sophie.
"Fine. Next time I would prefer NOT to have my performance on THIS side of the bars," she groaned.
"I promise you won't have to get arrested for the next job," Nate replied and patted her knee before standing back up.
"Thank you," she smiled.
"How're we doing, Parker?" Nate was getting nervous. Avoiding capture when caught on the job was fairly simple, however, it was complicated when you started captured.
"Almost done. This thing only scans so fast," Parker opened the last file and scanned the pages. "Done, just give me a minute to put it all back."
"Okay, Hardison, one more minute and we're clear." Nate glanced down at Sophie's 'statements' on Parker's notepad.
Parker exited Tanner's office and carefully closed the door. She hurried back over to the cell and took the notepad from Sophie just as the conference room door opened.
"So you really have never gone fly fishing? That is sad. Well next time you have a few days off, let me know. My cousin has a cabin with the most amazing river fishing," Tanner grinned.
"Right, right," Hardison managed. His face showed exhaustion and frustration.
"Hey, ah, are we getting out now?" Nate interjected.
Tanner turned to glare at him. "I suppose I can unlock the door now. Next time you want to scout new business locations, you may want to check ahead with people-such as the law, Mr. Bedford." Tanner unlocked the door.
"You see, we tend to get more honest feedback when the trouble element doesn't know we're coming. Security doesn't always have a uniform and a badge." Nate exited the cell, Sophie right behind.
"Right. Now which company do you represent again?"
Sophie laughed, "Represent? Honey, we don't represent a security company…we OWN the company."
"So she does speak," Tanner smiled.
"When you boys quit your arguing and allow me to speak."
Parker stifled a laugh, but still drew everyone's attention.
"Sorry," she shrugged sheepishly.
"Well, I believe we have over stayed our welcome," Nate clapped his hands together as he changed the subject. "Sheriff…good day."
Tanner nodded but stared at them suspiciously. A gnawing feeling consumed him.
Sophie and Parker made the door first. Parker opened it and both ladies exited. Nate caught the door and waited for Hardison.
"It was a pleasure, Sheriff Tanner. I am glad we didn't have to get ugly with all that stuff earlier," Hardison milked his position for all it was worth.
"Now don't forget-fly fishing."
"Nah, I won't," Hardison replied. He leaned in by Nate and whispered, "Not a chance."
Nate smiled and nodded at Tanner as he and Hardison exited.
Tanner opened his office and picked up the receiver. He quickly dialed. As it rang, he opened the file he had just finished with Hardison.
"Mr. Clerich, Owen. Them two rabble-rousers own some sort of security firm. Bedford Security Company. I don't think their arrival after that pair in the floral shop is a coincidence."
Outside, Parker pulled the scanner out of the briefcase and handed it to Hardison.
"Beautiful," he grinned as he clutched the scanner. "Let me start digging." He began to head back to the rented sedan.
"Take Parker with you," Nate suggested.
"Right," Parker saluted. She bounded after Hardison.
Sophie blinked, "Now we stay out of the way and wait for Hardison to find something?"
"Coffee?" Nate smiled and walked away. Sophie laughed to herself and followed.
"I think I found something you can handle first…" Lauren joked as she brought a small box out of the office. Eliot stood by the counter and looked up as she entered.
She set the box on the counter and opened it. "These cards need to be sorted on that rack." She pointed at a spinning rack on the end of the counter.
Eliot laughed, "Yeah, I think I can handle that."
Lauren began to head to the office when they both heard the sound of shattering glass.
"What…" Lauren cried as she turned to see the front door crashing down.
"That isn't good," Eliot sighed as he spotted a small device on the floor. Three more devices came crashing through the windows, creating a shower of glass throughout the front of the store.
"What is it?" Lauren asked as the first device began to spew black smoke.
"That." Eliot started to look around as the rest of the devices activated.
The store began to darken in the thick smoke. They both started coughing lightly.
"We need a way out, I doubt they left us an open path out front. Does that door in the office…" Eliot began.
"It leads to the alley," Lauren finished.
"We'll use that," Eliot decided and made his way over to her. "Stay low and move quickly."
Lauren led the way to the office. Once they both crossed the threshold into the office, Eliot closed the door.
"That won't stop it, but it will buy us a minute," Eliot coughed. "Keep down as much as you can until we get outside."
Lauren nodded, "The door is right there."
Eliot passed her and grabbed the door handle. He took a breath and pushed. The door wouldn't move. A second, harder shove yielded the same result. He checked the locks, they were all open.
"It's not opening," he stated.
"It should. That is the only other exit," Lauren replied.
Eliot looked back at the door leading into the store. The black smoke was pouring in under it. He looked at the alley door again.
"What do we do?" Lauren asked.
"We have to open this door. The store is too full of smoke, we'd never make it through there," Eliot answered. Lauren nodded and stood up.
"On three?" she shrugged.
"One…Two…Three!" Eliot counted. They both shoved the door in unison. They heard a clatter outside and the door moved a half an inch. He nodded at her and they shoved the door again. The same sound echoed outside the door, but the door only moved slightly.
The smoke started to cover the office. Opening the door was becoming more and more immediate of a need. Eliot tried giving himself a small running start. The impact moved the door two inches-and left a small sting in his shoulder. He paused a moment for a coughing fit. Lauren continued pushing as best she could. They had managed to move the door approximately 4 inches all together-half the distance they wanted for getting out.
"It is moving easier," Lauren gasped. The coughing fits were getting more frequent for both of them.
"Yeah," Eliot agreed. He nodded once at her. She stepped aside as he gave another small charge at the door. A loud crashing sound echoed outside and the door swung open a few more inches. When he took a step back to cough, the door suddenly closed back toward them.
"No," Lauren cried. She pushed the door open, a little resistance came from the other side. Eliot rejoined her and they managed to push the door back open.
"Go," Eliot ordered as he pushed Lauren through the opening out into the alley. He leaned into the door and slid through the opening himself before the door closed. They both dragged themselves to the other side of the alley before dropping and taking deep breaths of clean air between the coughs.
Nate and Sophie enjoyed a quiet moment walking the street, coffee in hand. The lull as they waited on Hardison offered a rare moment of calm during a case.
A loud siren wail pierced the air and made them both jump. Nate turned in time to see a small group of fire trucks scream down the street past them.
"Someone is busy," Sophie hummed.
"NATE!" Parker's voice was sharp in their ears.
"Yeah, Parker I can hear, you don't have to shout. What's wrong?"
"Hardison says Tanner just got an emergency call…"
"Yeah, we just saw the fire department go through. What about it?"
"There are reports of a fire at the shop."
"Our shop?"
"Yeah."
"Eliot…" Sophie stared at Nate wide-eyed.
"Have you tried Eliot?" Nate asked.
"We haven't gotten a response."
"Keep tabs on it, Sophie and I will go check it out."
"Okay," Parker sighed.
The block was cordoned off and covered in emergency vehicles by the time Nate and Sophie arrived. Dark black smoke was still evident in the shop.
"Where are they?" Sophie whispered.
"There," Nate answered. He pointed at an ambulance off to the side of the street. Eliot sat on the back bumper-the paramedic was just finishing checking him. Lauren sat on the edge of a concrete planter a few feet from him. Both of them used the blankets and oxygen masks issued by the paramedics.
Sophie let out a sigh of relief. "Looks like they're okay."
"Yeah, it does. We should get out of here before Tanner spots us. Eliot will have to handle this." Nate took a deep breath himself. "Parker, we found Eliot- he's okay."
The team reassembled at the condo. Hardison was still combing through the papers Parker had scanned. Everyone waited in silence, nervously glancing at the door.
After a couple hours, the door finally opened. Eliot walked in, Lauren right behind him.
"Um, hello?" Parker forced a smile.
"Sorry, I couldn't leave her alone," Eliot explained.
"Understandable," Nate answered.
"Lauren, this is Nate, Sophie, Hardison and you know Parker," Eliot introduced them. "This is Lauren."
"Sorry about everything," Sophie bit her lip. "We weren't really counting on…"
"Them trying to kill us?" Eliot finished for her.
"I wouldn't have thought they would do that either. We've had some moments but that was…" Lauren shook as she spoke.
"You're okay here, sweetie," Sophie smiled and walked her to the couch.
"You okay?" Nate looked Eliot in the eye.
"I'm fine," Eliot replied. "She's pretty shook up. I didn't think she'd be safe at her place."
"We'll figure something out," Nate answered.
"She can stay by me," Sophie offered.
"See," Nate grinned.
"So what do we do now?" Eliot asked.
"We have to speed things up a bit," Nate replied.
"Is that all?" Sophie asked.
"They missed you, and that is going to mess them up a bit. If they know someone is on to them, they're going to lay low and try to hide. The State cops won't get here in time… unless we give them a reason to expedite," Nate thought out loud. Everyone stared at him.
"Sorry, does that mean you have an idea?" Lauren asked.
"Yes, it does," Nate grinned. "Parker, we're going to need a favor."
"Again?" Parker sighed. "Ok."
"Mind filling us in?" Sophie queried.
"Just a little misdirection," Nate smiled.
Parker and Eliot parked a few blocks from Clerich's home. The neighborhood was quiet but green, enabling them to sneak close to the house without drawing undo attention. Clerich had a ten foot brick wall surrounding his property. A wrought iron gate at the front gave access to the driveway and walk. They chose to approach from the back, over the wall. Parker had a duffel bag with her. One item included a grapple system that they made short work of on the wall.
Once inside the property, they stuck to the thick foliage as they snuck closer. They counted five people inside the home-all of them in a front room. Three vehicles sat in the driveway. Two vehicles were parked side by side against the garage doors. The rear vehicle was a double wide pickup pulled up behind both vehicles..
"What do you have in there?" Eliot asked as he started to poke in Parker's bag. The wheel was turning and he formulated the perfect approach. Parker scowled at him as he dug a hand into her bag.
"They gave us the perfect road block," Eliot explained as he pointed at the truck.
Parker glanced at the truck and put on a devious grin.
"I have just the thing…" she grabbed the bag away from Eliot and tiptoed toward the truck. Eliot glanced around before following her.
They took a position at the rear tire away from the house. Parker pulled out a black mask and the grapple.
"Perfect," Eliot smiled as he picked up the mask. He wrapped it around the valve stem on the tire. Parker pulled one of the prongs off the grapple and handed it to Eliot. He poked the prong through the mask and into the top of the stem. The tire began to deflate.
"Try running now," Parker laughed. She peered over the truck bed to see if anyone's attention had been piqued, but the yard was quiet.
"Anything?" Eliot whispered.
"No. So far, so good," she grinned and ducked back down.
"So far…" Eliot muttered.
Back at the Sheriff's Department, Nate, Sophie and Hardison were all in a lot across the street. The rental car Hardison had used was parked behind Lucille-where the three of them were gathered.
"Okay, here are copies of the text messages and the bank statement," Hardison handed a stack of paper to Nate.
Nate flipped through the stack. "You're sure this is not one of the campaign accounts?"
"Positive, unless campaign funds cover a four hundred dollar charge to Sports Fishing Emporium. I'm positive this is a private account," Hardison answered.
"All right, we just don't want to give him a way to wiggle out of this," Nate replied.
"He won't. I back dated the transfer and looped the request. They won't be able to tell which side requested the transfer. Should be enough to get them to turn on each other."
"And the texts…" Nate started reading the top page.
"I hacked the text log on his phone and added a few messages from our friend Clerich. They should match up nicely with our 'forgotten' reports. I added a few for your arrest and the number they did on Lauren's shop-just for good measure."
"You ready to sell this?" Nate gave Sophie a smile before shoving the papers into the briefcase Hardison had used earlier.
"I'm always ready to con a cop, especially to take down a sleazy crook like Clerich."
"Good. Let's go." Nate handed her the briefcase. Both of them donned suits, Sophie had her hair up in a French twist with a floral brooch on her lapel.
"After you, Ms. Garrett," Nate ushered as he opened the side door on Lucille to exit.
Sophie stepped into the lot. "Thank you, Mr. Bedford."
They both took a breath to settle their nerves. All the pieces for the plan were laid out. Nate silently prayed that they all fell the proper direction.
"Parker?" Nate spoke into his ear bud, "Are we set on your end?"
Sophie watched him as they waited for the reply.
"Sure thing, Nate. State Police received a tip from the FBI."
"And Clerich won't be getting anywhere too quickly," Eliot added as he patted the newly deflated front tire. The truck listed far right, effectively blocking both the vehicles and the garage doors in front of it.
"Good job, now hang tight and stay out of sight," Nate responded.
"Right," Eliot said as he led the way back to their original spot in the foliage.
"I guess we're up," Sophie commented. "Ready?"
Nate straightened his jacket and collar before answering, "I am."
Tanner filed reports into a filing cabinet just outside his office, his coffee sat on the cabinet top. He heard the door open behind him when Nate and Sophie entered.
"I will be right with you, folks. Have a seat," he offered without looking, his nose still buried in the cabinet.
"Hopefully we don't have to wait too long, for your sake," Nate chimed.
Tanner's eyes widened and the folder in his hand slid free of his fingers. He turned and stared at the familiar faces standing there.
"You two again? Change in plans for your business venture?"
"Actually, no, this seems to be the perfect place to put up an office-if we actually had a security company," Nate answered.
"You're frauds! I knew it!" Tanner shouted.
"That is one of many stories available to us. Most people don't take kindly to IA or State Attorney's people poking around," Sophie explained.
"IA? Why would you be here?" Tanner's nerves were taut.
"We were following up on some tips-you know how that is, you get thousands and most of the time it's just someone with a beef not anything actionable," Nate rambled lightly, trying to lull Tanner. He opened his briefcase.
"We received a few calls about this place and decided to investigate. For a while, we figured we were on a goose chase," Sophie commented.
"That is until this got our attention," Nate pulled the account transfer sheet out and presented it to Tanner.
"What is this?" Tanner stared at the sheet. "I never did that."
"No, Clerich did that, and looking at these texts he sent, we know what the money is for also," Nate pulled the pages out of the briefcase as he continued.
"Texts, I don't know anything about any texts!" Tanner cried.
"They're to your cell phone from a phone number registered to Clerich," Sophie argued.
"I never received any texts about this!" Tanner spat.
"So you admit to the texts…" Nate smiled.
"Clerich is a friend and a campaign donor. We communicate in various forms. I don't recall ever getting any texts related to a payment to my private accounts!"
"The text log says you did. Someone had to receive them. The last one was fairly interesting," Sophie grabbed the top page, "Toby handled florist, handle others. It was sent last night. You DO know the floral shop in town was destroyed last night, and that it happened while the staff was STILL inside?" Sophie bit her tongue not to add her own feelings to the incident.
"This is a setup! Clerich is setting me up!" Tanner fumed and slammed the papers down on the counter before furiously pacing the lobby.
"Not Clerich," Parker giggled as she and Eliot listened in on the conversation.
"If they call our bluff, it's over," Eliot worried.
"It'll work," Parker replied.
Tanner picked up the receiver on the counter edge.
"Whoa, what are you doing?" Nate reached over to stop him with his best fake concern.
"I'm going to call that no good…" Tanner growled.
"You don't want to do that. He'll just deny it, AND he'll know we are onto him and what we have," Sophie added calmly.
"It's all on me!" Tanner howled.
"I know, but my office would rather get Andrew Clerich. We are willing to deal," Sophie offered.
"Like what kind of deal?" Tanner was on the hook.
"Well, I don't have the authority to offer specifics, but it's better than the alternative. If we have to settle for you…" Sophie pushed the proper buttons.
Tanner's face was flush as he thought about his options. Nate started counting the seconds in his mind.
Inside Clerich's residence, Toby and his posse were laughing at the stories each made up about the location to which Nate's team had run. Clerich enjoyed a stiff drink and rolled his eyes at the banter. The relaxed atmosphere was shattered by the sound of Toby's cell phone chirping. He pulled the phone free of his pocket and answered the call.
"Yeah… When? Keep an eye on them," he barked. He hung up the phone and stared at Clerich.
"Those two security firm troublemakers are back in Tanner's office."
"What are they doing?" Clerich demanded.
"Not sure but apparently they have been exchanging a number of documents, and it sounds as if our sheriff has been uncomfortable with the visit."
"Documents? What kind?" Clerich was curious to know what these two could have that Tanner couldn't handle.
"He couldn't see," Toby frowned.
"Check with everyone. Make sure we are secure."
Clerich's phone rang on his hip. They all froze and stared at the phone. He tipped it up to see the name. A sigh escaped his lips before he answered.
"Hello, what is it? I am quite busy."
There was a long pause as the person on the other end spoke.
"What? How much? I never authorized that. That coward is setting me up," Clerich hissed.
"What do you want us to do?" Toby cringed.
"Find out how he authorized that transfer," Clerich ordered into the phone and hung up.
"Mr. Clerich?" Toby wasn't sure if it was wise to ask again, but he had no idea what to do.
"Tanner just wired a rather sizeable bonus from one of the accounts. That means he is one of two things. A snitch who is turning us in, or a thief, taking a payday before skipping out on us with his new partners. I want you to figure out which one and handle it."
"Handle it?" Toby squeaked.
"Handle it. You're a grown man, I think you can figure it out."
"Right." Toby motioned the rest of the men to follow him as he headed to the front door.
Parker was watching the front door when the whole group exited the house. Toby came down the front steps before looking at the driveway.
"WHA…MY TRUCK!" he cried as he ran to his disabled vehicle resting on the right rims. "Somebody hurt my truck. They are so dead. I'll deal with them after we get Tanner. Jack, we're taking your car."
Toby approached the back of the car nearest the front door. Jack stood back at the end of the walkway with the other men.
"How are we going to get it out?" Jack grinned.
Toby stepped back and looked at the back of the car. His truck sat mere inches off the bumper. He glanced to the front, the garage door was even closer.
"I told you not to park so close," Jack laughed.
"Shut up!" Toby snarled.
Parker stifled a laugh.
"How long until the police get here?" Eliot whispered. "This won't stall them for long."
"About two minutes, maybe five if they take the other road to avoid the construction," she replied in her hushed voice.
"Five minutes is too long."
She could see Eliot was getting irritated hiding in the foliage. He was ready to move.
"Remember what Nate said…" she reminded him, "…no explosives."
Eliot stared at her wildly, "What?"
"Wait," Parker put a finger to her lips, "that was for me. Well if I can't make the truck explode, you can't go beating them all up."
"How are they connected?" Eliot frowned in confusion.
"It's only fair," Parker retorted.
Eliot rolled his eyes.
"Nate-the State Police are about three minutes off. You guys should go," Hardison warned. He watched the icon flashing on his monitor indicating the State Police cars approaching Tanner's office and Clerich's property.
"I can't believe he would do this…" Tanner was still pacing.
"May I make a suggestion?" Sophie offered. "With your blessings, Mr. Bedford," she added, nodding at Nate.
"Sure," he nodded.
"What?" Tanner stopped pacing to listen to her.
"All the evidence we have will give us Tanner here, but I believe we all agree Clerich is the big catch. We have almost nothing to bring him down." It was hard for Sophie not to smile.
"What about Sheriff Tanner here? I'm sure he has something useful, don't you?" Nate suggested.
"I could sink him," Tanner spat.
"Well…" Sophie hemmed. "I'm not authorized to make specific deals I told you, but I am willing to make these texts disappear in exchange for your story."
"Will that help me?" Tanner grimaced.
'It removes any proof that you knew about the assault on the shop. Should be enough to keep you out of jail. You'll lose your job regardless," Sophie continued.
"But no jail…what do I do?" Tanner was bursting at the seams.
"We're not here officially, but the State Police are on the way. Tell them exactly what you have on Clerich and you should be fine," Sophie nodded slowly as she explained.
Tanner nodded in unison with her, "You weren't here, got it. What about Clerich?"
"The police will be picking him up shortly as well," Nate smiled.
"Ok, we need to get going. We'll take these with us," Sophie took the copies of the texts and slid them back into the briefcase.
"Thank you," Tanner rambled.
"You get Clerich," Nate reminded him. He and Sophie exited, leaving Tanner mumbling to himself.
"He was easier than I thought," Nate frowned.
"Well, either way he's right where we need him to be. What about Clerich?" Sophie inquired.
"Hardison? How are things on Eliot and Parker's end?" Nate leaned to his side to hide his face from any observers.
"Should be there in two minutes," Hardison answered. "Eliot, Parker, you may want to get out now."
"Yeah, we're going," Eliot replied. He and Parker returned to the wall where they scaled with Parker's repaired grapple.
Once over the wall, they both stood still for a moment.
"I have to make sure," Eliot breathed. Parker nodded in agreement. Rather than head for the car, they both crossed the street and headed back toward the front entrance.
Near the entryway, on the opposite curb, another large home sat in the midst of a garden. The elderly woman who owned the home was tending her flora near the sidewalk when Eliot and Parker stopped. Needing to blend in and avoid detection by Toby and his crew still in the driveway, Parker hatched her own idea. She grabbed Eliot's arm in hers and pulled him tight to her hip.
"Just play along," she whispered.
The woman was glancing at them suspiciously as she worked. She held her breath as they approached.
"Hello," Parker beamed. "I was just wanting to ask you, who designed your yard? Do you do all of it? It's just beautiful. We just bought our first home and I have been looking at ideas for the yard. Right, dear?" Parker batted her eyes at Eliot. He stared at her in surprise. Parker elbowed him and he nodded his head.
"Yes, yes you have," he managed to choke. He closed his eyes knowing Hardison was laughing on the other end of the ear bud.
A warm smile spread across the woman's face. She stood up, removed her gardening gloves and strolled up next to Parker.
"I designed the whole thing myself. Thank you for noticing. I think it is an art lost on the young. Bless your heart for keeping it alive, young lady," she began.
Parker smiled at her while Eliot stole a glance back at Clerich's front yard.
Toby and the rest were attempting to back the truck up on the rims in order to free Jack's car. Clerich had joined the circus. He stood on the porch scowling.
"No," Eliot growled under his breath. He started to lunge toward the street. Parker pulled her attention from the woman long enough to stop him. She pulled his arm tight again and smiled.
"Look," she cocked her head down the street as she spoke in a whisper.
When Eliot followed her lead, he saw the State Police rolling down the street.
"According to plan, baby," Hardison chided through the ear bud.
The police were close enough to garner the old woman's attention. She stopped admiring her flowers and focused on the car pulling up to Clerich's residence.
"Wonder what they want," she scowled. " No good I'm sure." She moved up on to her porch to observe the scene.
"Is a police car ever really a good thing?" Parker wondered out loud.
Inside the yard, the men had finally moved Toby's truck, but the police cruiser pulled across the drive, preventing them from leaving in the now free car.
"What do we do?" Toby muttered. The group gathered at the edge of the walkway, Clerich came down off the porch to join them.
"Don't worry. They can't prove anything. I will sink Tanner with his own scheme. Steal my money…" Clerich growled.
Two officers exited the vehicle and approached the front gate. A second cruiser pulled up.
"Andrew Clerich?" one of the officers called.
"Yes, I am," Clerich responded.
"We have a few questions for you and your friends there. It is your choice whether we do it here or…" the officer explained.
"No problems, we can talk right here," Clerich interrupted.
"Would someone open this gate, sir," the officer replied.
"Jack, go open the door for the gentlemen," Clerich ordered. Jack trudged up to the gate and undid the latch. All four officers were at the gate and filed in as Jack returned to the group.
Parker couldn't hide the smile that crept onto her face. She turned her face to Eliot, expecting a returned grin, but Eliot wasn't smiling. His eyes were scanning the scene and a disconcerting frown covered his face.
"You should be happy," Parker chided him. She playfully punched his shoulder. "Smile."
"Something's wrong," he groaned.
"What?" Parker turned her attention to the mass in the yard. "Don't worry, I'm sure Tanner is telling them everything and once they tell these guys-everybody gets arrested," she smiled again.
Eliot shook his head slightly. Something was missing. The four officers were rounding up Clerich and his three accomplices. A shiver ran down his spine as he figured it out-three.
"Toby's gone!" he shouted. He made a break for the wall as fast as he could. Toby had snuck off during the exchange between Clerich and the officer. The property was sure to be searched, Eliot knew Toby had to be leaving.
Parker had to use all of her energy to catch up to Eliot as he slid along to the back of the property.
"I don't see anything," she whispered as she scanned the wall for movement and escape routes.
"He isn't getting out that easy," Eliot swore.
A click in the trees above them startled the quiet air. They both rolled their gazes up slowly. Toby was crossing from a tree immediately inside the wall to a younger tree outside. The young tree creaked under the pressure.
"Why didn't we think of that?" Parker smiled.
The pressure of Toby's weight was too much. The creaking branch snapped and dumped its load onto the sidewalk.
"Oh yeah, that's why," Parker smirked. Eliot shook his head at her.
Toby groaned before untangling himself. Eliot grabbed him by the arm and shirt collar to haul him to his feet.
"Going somewhere?" Eliot chimed.
Toby stared at him before turning his focus over to Parker. "You, who are you people? Cops? What?" he hissed.
"Let's just say we clean up what the cops can't," Eliot answered.
"You think you're so good?" Toby crowed. He took a swing at Eliot, hoping to land a surprise shot. Eliot ducked away from the swing, letting go of his initial hold on Toby. Once he cleared Toby's swing, he caught Toby's arm in the air and pinned it up behind Toby's back.
"I really wouldn't tempt me," Eliot warned him. "Go."
Parker stepped out of the way as Eliot led Toby back around to the front walk.
By the time Eliot and Parker marched Toby back to the front gate, the State Police had begun to arrest Clerich and the others. One of the officers spotted them approaching and joined them at the end of the drive.
"You missed one," Eliot remarked.
"And who are you?" the officer insisted.
Parker looked around before motioning the officer to join her aside. He sighed and took a few steps to join her, out of earshot.
"Special Agent Hagen, I believe you got a tip from Agent McSweeten about all of this," Parker put on her serious face as she played him.
"You're the tipster?" the officer furrowed his brow.
"My partner and I are working a deep cover case, just stumbled over this by accident. We can't really blow our cover for this, so we called you guys in. Since we officially are not here, we have to give you guys full credit for the bust."
The officer looked at Eliot and back to Parker, "He's a Fed?"
"Do you want this or not?" Parker barked at him.
"Yeah, okay." He took a step back.
"Good. Now take him away."
The officer returned to the walk where Eliot was still holding Toby's arm. As the officer pulled a pair of cuffs out, Eliot relinquished his grip.
Parker bounded up as Toby was led off under the droll of Miranda rights. A grin ran clear across her face.
"Now can you smile?"
Eliot rolled his eyes at her. She proceeded to make disappointed faces at him. After a few seconds, he couldn't resist anymore. A little smile cracked on his face.
"I'll take that!" Parker shouted. "This is so exciting. Some breaking and entering, a little vandalism and the other guys are wearing the cuffs."
"I really don't get you," Eliot muttered as he walked away.
"You guys are amazing," Lauren gushed. "You actually did it."
"Apparently Tanner and Clerich are both trying to sell each other out. The Attorney's office will have their hands full sorting it all out," Nate explained. The bartender set drinks down for all of them.
"How did you know Tanner would spook so easily?" Lauren asked. "Seems like a big risk."
"That was easy," Nate grinned. "When Hardison was doing his abrasive lawyer bit, Tanner was so off kilter he would have let us off for murder to be rid of us all."
"Seems Sheriff Tanner doesn't do well with confrontation," Sophie added. "Odd line of work to choose, wouldn't you say?"
"We knew if we came at him with even a small amount of pressure, he would crack. The threat of going to prison scared him enough to play along," Nate continued.
"Those bogus texts were enough to send him over the edge-thank you," Hardison bowed his head for a second.
"But what if he didn't have anything to take down Clerich?" Lauren was beginning to think they had all gotten very lucky.
"Ah, that's the beautiful thing-while Hardison was poking around planting our fake texts, he found real texts between Clerich, Tanner and our friend Toby," Nate answered.
"On their own, they were just random addresses and words, but with the police reports and insurance claims, a nice pattern appeared. I matched the times on the texts to the days that businesses were visited by Toby. The random words were just anagrams of the business names," Hardison illustrated.
"Insurance claims?" Lauren's face was twisted in confusion.
"See, while Sophie and I asked our harmless questions, we were also making notes about insurance providers for each business. Most companies send business clients little bonuses such as pens, magnets, window clings. The businesses use the items without thinking twice. If you look, you can find out more than you need. Once we had the names of the providers, Hardison was able to hack the records and see when the claims were filed and match it to the texts," Nate added.
"Of course, we needed access to Tanner's text log to do any of it. That was the easiest part," Hardison began. "While Parker was scoping out the office looking for the reports, I engaged Tanner in a conversation about fishing. Seeing his office was full of them, I knew he would ramble on and buy us time. He tried to convince me to come on a trip with him, I pretended to be interested and he hands me his cell phone number. Like candy from a baby."
"Wow," Lauren commented.
"Oh, this was nothing," Parker smiled at her.
"Needless to say, you're in need of a new sheriff and a use for the capital you'll be saving," Nate hinted.
Lauren shook her head. "I'm not sure I'll be around."
"You're leaving?" Parker pouted.
"Yeah, I told you I couldn't eat a loss like that. The store is gone. The smoke damaged the computer, the register, the refrigerator units and killed all of the plants. I have nothing left," Lauren explained.
"About that," Nate interrupted. "Apparently you have some grateful neighbors.."
"And old lady Fischer," Parker added. "She has a pretty yard."
"Thank you, Parker," Nate sighed. "As I was saying, your neighbors are happy to be rid of Clerich, too. They started a fund to fix up the shop. The hardware store is replacing all the shelving units themselves. I would say you could be back up and running in a few weeks."
Lauren's jaw dropped. She looked around the room at all of them.
"I can't believe it," Lauren choked.
"Do you want to go see how they're doing?" Sophie asked.
Lauren nodded furiously.
"Shotgun!" Parker shouted.