Chapter Five
Rhys dropped an orange peel into his martini glass and watched it float to the bottom while he stood behind the bar in his office. "Let me get this straight. You were about to make contact with the boat owner, but you stopped because she was talking to some old bloke, and it scared you off?"
Reggie sighed and sat down in one of the chairs at the circular table. "You didn't see this guy, Rhys. Whatever he told the girl had her spooked. She started looking around the park after he left. I didn't want to get made. He was older, but looked like he could handle himself in a fight. Tall, tanned -"
"Does he have a beard? A tattoo? Any facial piercings?" Troy looked up from the newspaper he was reading at the table. "The first features relate to twenty-nine members of Argosy."
Reggie rolled his eyes and dug his phone out from his jacket. "I took a few shots of him as he was leaving," he said, rising to his feet and walking over to the bar. "Take a look at him for yourself."
Rhys glared at Reggie for several seconds before he took the phone. He thumbed it on and accessed the photos folder while raising his martini to his lips. "If this bloke looks like that Andy Capp fellow, I'll -"
Silence fell on Rhys as his bulging eyes stared at the image on Reggie's phone. The martini glass slid from his fingers to shatter on the floor. A mixture of tiny glass shards, alcohol, and orange peel laid at his feet, ignored completely as he stumbled over to a barstool and sat down.
Reggie glanced over at Troy and received a confused look in response. He turned back to Rhys, whose eyes were still transfixed on the phone.
"Rhys, you look like you just seen a ghost."
Rhys looked up from the phone at Reggie, visibly shaken.
"I think I just did."
#
Margot drained the contents of the glass Danny set in front of her in one gulp. She slammed it down and snatched the bourbon bottle from him, pouring the amber liquid in the glass until it was three fourths full before Danny reached for the bottle.
"Okay, sweetheart, let's slow down, okay? You have to tell us what's going on."
Margot gave Danny an incredulous look. "What are you trying to do? Interrogate me? Trust me when I say that I have no earthly idea what's going on!"
She took a healthy swig from the glass, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand before looking at the conference room monitor. The image of the man who conversed with Princess Zara was displayed on the screen.
Margot rose to her feet and walked over to the monitor, pointing at the image several times. "That man may look like my father, he may talk like my father, but he can't be my father."
Margot rubbed her forehead with her free hand and exhaled audibly while she continued to stare at the monitor. Danny turned to Tessa, who stood at the door. "Have you ever seen him before?"
Tessa's head tilted slightly to the left. "Uh, you seemed to forget that my invitation to the Griffiths family gatherings was misplaced for fifteen years or so. I haven't seen so much as a photograph of my grandfather, so I wouldn't have known him if I passed him on the street."
The three continued to talk in the conference room while Alice, Ben, and Valerie exited the elevator onto AVI's floor. Valerie glanced into the room as they walked past and shook her head.
"That family, Allie, I swear they are like an emotional soap opera. Brother goes against sister, daughter almost kills mother, daughter betrays mother, father, and uncle, and now father returns from the dead. It's - it's a never ending loop."
Ben shot a glance at Margot, who marched over and begun pouring yet another stiff drink for herself. "How do you think I feel, Val? I've known Rhys and Margot for more than sixteen years and they always find a way to surprise me."
"Except this time, it's not them doing the surprising, and that's the surprising thing," said Alice, leading everyone into her office. She reached for three glasses on the credenza behind her desk. "I hate going against someone we have no information on. Alive, dead, or undecided."
"Are you guys sure we shouldn't loop Dao and Diaz in on this resurrection?" Valerie sat down on the couch. "I don't feel right keeping them in the dark on this, especially when it comes to Ben's deal."
Ben smiled down at her. "Val, I'm touched."
Alice pulled a bottle of bourbon from a desk drawer and poured some into each of the glasses. "We don't have much to go on ourselves. No. We need to find out why he isn't dead, and why he's here messing around with his son's affairs. And it seems like we can get that process started right now."
Margot entered the office with Tessa in tow. "Oh good. I was wondering if this distillery had another bottle stashed somewhere," she said, eyeing the bourdon and glasses on Alice's desk.
"Oh no." Ben stopped her before she could get close and turned her to sit down in one of the office chairs. "We need you as close to sober as you can get so you can tell us how your father is still alive in the first place."
"What is there to tell?" Margot shrugged. "It happened a few short months before I met you. Mum told us that he was sick, and then he died while I was in Denmark. I might have seen him maybe two or three times before the end."
Alice handed Val and Ben each a glass and sat down with hers in the other chair. "Your family is dysfunctional, Margot. You had no idea whatsoever what happened to your father?"
"Dysfunctional? That's a bit harsh, don't you think? I admit we all may have had our moments, but name one thing that led you to such a drastic conclusion. "
Instead of responding, Alice glanced up at Tessa, who leaned against the wall looking at something on her phone. Margot caught the look and gestured in defeat. "Bollocks. Name two things."
"Margot, enough." Ben sat down on the edge of the desk. "How sure are you that the man is really your father?"
"I'm one hundred percent sure that the man is dead," she responded, confidence evident in her tone. "And I look at him and all I see is an older version of my brother. He looks like Rhys before he turned to a life of martinis and backstabbing and shagging whores."
She sighed and rose to her feet. "I have had a long day. I think I need to go to my room, open a bottle of wine, and go to sleep hoping today was just a horrible nightmare."
Margot reached the door, stopping to look over at Tessa. "Coming?"
"In a minute, Mum. I just need to say goodbye to Daddy and Stepmummy first."
Margot nodded and moved over to where Danny sat at his desk. The second she was out of earshot, Tessa hurried over to Alice's desk, grabbed an ink pen and began scribbling on a sheet of paper. She looked at Ben and directed his attention to her writing.
"You want answers?" she whispered. "Call that number."
She dropped the pen on the desk and hastened out of the office after her mother. Ben glanced at Alice, who rose from the couch and walked over to him as he reached for the paper Tessa scribbled the digits. "What is it?"
"An international phone number." Ben looked up and watched as Danny and Tessa guide Margot to the elevators. "I wonder who's going to pick up on the other end."
Alice took the sheet and walked behind her desk. "Only one way to find out," she said, dialing the number on her desk phone.
"Who do you believe it is?" asked Valerie, now on her feet and stepping close. "Old rival? Another member?"
Ben hit the speakerphone button. "We're about to find out."
The three anxiously waited for several seconds as the ringing shrilled from the phone. Suddenly a click issued from the instrument, followed by a feminine, accented, and very familiar voice.
"Hello? Hello, who's there?"
All three looked at each other in surprise. Ben recovered first and cleared his throat before answering.
"Hello, Sybil."
#
Reggie looked over at Troy. "What about you? Do you know if this is Rhys' father?"
Troy glanced at the phone in Reggie's hand. "Everything I have on the Kensington Firm only goes back two years. If that's his father -"
Rhys angrily snatched the phone away from Reggie's grasp and slammed it on the bar. "Enough! Right, I know how to handle this. We're gonna find this bloke, and we're gonna end this welcome back from the dead party before it even gets good and going."
"How are we going to do it?" asked Troy.
Rhys reached underneath his bar and pulled out his nickel-plated 9mm pistol with attached silencer. He held it up to Troy for maximum effect. "This is how we'll handle it."
"Rhys, you're too close to this." Reggie picked up his phone and slipped it into his jacket. "Let me and Troy look for him first. Find out where he's staying, who he's working with."
Rhys briefly considered the suggestion before a grin formed on his features. "That does sound like a fabulous idea … uh, Reggie. Yes, a fabulous idea indeed. Get to work to that while I find someone to clean this mess."
Rhys slid his pistol back underneath the bar and walked to his office door. Reggie expelled a sigh of relief as he and Troy shared a quick look.
#
Alice, Valerie, and Ben looked at the office phone in disbelief. "Sybil Griffiths? Really?" mouthed Alice.
Ben held a finger to his lips as the former head of the Kensington Firm responded. "I must admit, you are the last one I expected to hear from. Especially after hearing what had happened to you and the rest of my brood a few months ago."
Ben raised a quizzical eyebrow. "How do you know about what happened?"
"Who do you think Margot and Tessa stayed with during their exile, dear? I lost count of how many times I sat up late at night and listened to the stories, the apologies, the foul language."
"Well, I think we both know that Margot is a handful, Sybil."
A light chuckle emitted from the phone. "Oh, dearie. I was talking about my granddaughter. Such an interesting young woman. I can't tell if she's going to follow in your footsteps or Margot's.
"Or maybe Alice Vaughan's."
Alice glanced at Ben and was about to speak when Sybil continued. "But enough about that. Tessa was the only one who had my number. By you calling it, something terrible has happened. Is … one of my children dead?"
"No, Sybil," Ben said quickly. "Margot and Rhys are fine. I'm calling you about a different matter."
"Well, then. If they're alive, then I see no reason to continue this line of conversation."
"Sybil, please." Ben sat down at the desk. "This is very important."
"I treated you like a son for fifteen years, Ben. What do you do? You betrayed everything and everyone. The firm, me, Margot. You betrayed everything because you fell in love with Alice Vaughan."
Ben rubbed his forehead in frustration. "Nothing I can do will change the past, Sybil, and believe me when I say you are the last person I would want to call about this. It turns out that you may be able to share some insight into what happened with your husband."
Another chuckle could be heard from the phone. "And why would I want to talk about my late husband?"
Ben steeled himself. "Because we saw him walking around at a park earlier this afternoon."
An air of silence fell upon the room. Alice looked at the phone and saw the line was still connected. She looked across the desk at Ben and mouthed the words Keep Talking.
"We are trying to take Rhys down, but a man interfered in our con. Margot saw the video of the meet and identified him as her father. Your husband."
It was almost a full minute before Sybil finally spoke. "Impossible," she whispered. "Simply impossible."
Ben slightly leaned forward. "Sybil?"
"Oh, alright, Ben. If Margot realizes that the man she saw may be her father, then … there's a possibility. I will provide whatever information I can. On three conditions."
Ben frowned. "What conditions?"
"First, I need you to gather whatever video or audio evidence you have supporting the claim that Trevor, my dear late husband, is alive."
"I see no problem with that. What is the second condition?"
"The second condition is that I would like to see said evidence."
"Uh, Sybil, I can email you this stuff with no problem."
"Oh, please, you know I can't be bothered with YouTube and email addresses and computers. No, I want everything brought to me."
Alice heard a soft rap on the door behind her. She turned and hurriedly gestured for Danny to enter and handed him the sheet of paper with Sybil's number scribbled on it. She traced her finger over the first few numbers before Danny nodded excitedly and rushed outside to his desk. Valerie followed him.
She turned back to Ben as he said, "Agreed, Sybil. I'll bring everything and show you myself."
"And that brings us to my third conclusion. I'm afraid that if I see you, I would have the urge to kill you myself. I don't need to be worked up like that at my age, so it would be to your best interest not to be anywhere near me."
It was Ben's turn to chuckle. "Sybil, how do you expect -"
"I want Alice Vaughan to bring me this evidence."
A hint of anger fell on Ben's features. He quickly composed himself as he rose to his feet. "If you think that I would let Allie -"
Alice grabbed his arm. "Where and when?" She ignored Ben's look of shock and surprise. "Sybil? I'll come meet you. I'll bring what you want."
A short few seconds passed before Sybil responded. "I should have known Alice was somewhere close by. Marvelous. Well then. Miss Vaughan, keep your cell phone close by. Oh, and have a jet ready at a moment's notice."
A pause before she continued, her tone hardening slightly. "And I will say this one time and one time only. If this is a ploy to lure me back so I would end up in the hands of the FBI once again, this will not end well. I am serious."
"I assure you that is not the case, Sybil," said Alice. She held up a finger to cut Ben off from speaking. "I will await your call."
"Our first meeting was, shall I say, eventful," said Sybil. Her tone returned to a more jovial state. "I look forward to sharing a cup of tea with you this time around."
The call disconnected on Sybil's end. Ben stared at the phone for a few seconds before raising his gaze to Alice. She stared back, awaiting the inevitable fallout.
#
