Chapter Nine
Ben stirred in the bed as the first rays of sunshine shone through the window. He blinked the sleep from his eyes as he stretched instinctively for the other side of the bed and …
He sat up with a start and grinned ruefully to himself, realizing that he was the only occupant of the bed and his fiancée was half a world away. He ran his fingers through his hair as he swung his legs out of the bed and rose to his feet, heading to the bathroom.
Twenty minutes later, freshly showered and dressed, Ben walked into Alice's kitchen and began making himself a pot of coffee. Once his homemade mix started brewing, he opened the refrigerator to scour for something to eat when the house phone began ringing for attention. He connected the call.
"Hello?"
"Ben, it's Valerie. Are you by a television or computer?"
Ben moved to the eating area and opened his laptop. "I'm turning on my computer now, Val. What's wrong?"
"Bring up KTTV's website."
Ben keyed the television station's callsign into the search bar. The site came up almost immediately, highlighting different stories of the local, national, and international variety.
The largest story in the center of the small screen caught his eye. He scanned it for several seconds before he forgot Valerie was still on the phone. He slowly brought the phone to his ear.
"Val, where are you?"
"I'm heading into the office now."
"Good. I'll see you there in thirty minutes. I need to call Reggie, and I'll also call Margot and Danny to meet us there."
His eyes locked on the banner headline before him.
CRIME LORD FOUND MURDERED
"It's time we all had a serious talk."
#
Margot read the internet posting on the conference room monitor for several seconds. "Well, so much for looking two steps ahead," she said, shrugging as she turned around.
"Margot, this is serious." Ben looked across the table at Valerie and Danny. "We know you personally asked Aldrick Shive to look for the man who you think is your father."
"Yes, I did." Margot started to sit at the head of the table but a withering look from Val changed her mind. She sat down in a seat across from Val and turned to Ben. "The question that comes to mind is how did you know."
"Because he came here and told me. He wasn't sure what you wanted him for, so Shive tracked me down. Why were you trying to chase him down on your own?"
"Maybe I wanted to personally hand him an invitation to Tessa's graduation. Maybe I wanted him to help me pick out a floral pattern." Margot narrowed her eyes as she glared at Ben. "Why were you trying to chase him down?"
Ben gestured past Margot at the monitor. "To prevent you in your usual Kensington Firm style from going to do something crazy that could possibly escalate into something like … this."
Offended, Margot started to retort but Danny broke in before she could speak. "Margot, Alice contacted us last night with some news about the man you think is your father."
Margot glared hard at Ben for several more seconds before turning her gaze to Danny. "And you felt you couldn't tell me last night? Or was page nineteen in that book I brought back from India distracting?"
Danny reddened in the face as Valerie grimaced in mild disgust. Ben simply shook his head. "We asked Danny not to tell you until we looked into it further, but this can't be a coincidence. Margot, that man isn't your father."
Margot slapped her palm on the table. "Well then, if he isn't dear ol' Dad, then who the hell is he, Ben? Because every picture I've seen of him bears an uncanny resemblance."
Ben nodded. "He's your father's twin brother. Your uncle."
Margot rolled her eyes. "I have no uncle."
"Sybil said your father and uncle never got along growing up. That was why you never knew about him because your parents wanted to protect you and Rhys from him. "
Valerie slid a folder over to Margot. "It took some digging in the dark web but Sophie found files on him as well as his daughters and son. Your cousins."
Margot opened the folder and slowly scanned the documents inside. "I have cousins?"
Valerie nodded. "Yes, and based on what I read, I can tell you all are definitely related."
Ben tapped the folder with a single finger. "Based on what's there as well as the fact that Oliver Griffiths is already in town, we have to assume that he killed Shive. Which means he knows about you and Rhys."
Margot sat back in her chair, staring at an invisible spot on the far wall. "We're hell bent on taking Rhys down. I know you are looking after my interests but who is looking after Rhys?"
"I have that covered."
#
Alice looked around the spacious hotel suite she and her companions were ushered into. She nodded as she turned to Sophie. "This will do nicely."
Sophie turned to the bellhop, expressing her approval in Italian as she handed him several euros and led him to the door. Tilda, seated on a couch massaging her right calf muscle, watched in amazement.
"She can speak Italian?"
Alice smiled. "Sophie is one of a kind. She has a law degree, knows several languages, magnificent with computers, and from what I heard can also strum a mean ukulele."
Sophie's mouth fell open. "Kelsey told you?!"
Alice simply smiled as the Hammer exited one of the four side rooms. "The suite appears to be secure," he said.
Alice nodded as she turned back to Tilda. "How far are we from the apartment?"
"Three blocks, I believe." Tilda handed her a folded piece of paper. "Here's the address."
"Good. We're close." Alice glanced at the time on her cell phone. "It's still early," she said as she slid it into her back pocket and reached for her purse.
"Going somewhere?" queried Tilda.
Alice nodded. "Sophie and I are going for a drink. Preferably at a location close to the apartment where we can keep an eye on it for about an hour or two."
Tessa smiled as she stepped out of one of the side rooms. "Perfect. I am certainly thirsty."
Alice frowned. "Uh, Tessa …"
"Please, stepmummy, stop smothering me. Unlike your gathering of colonies across the pond, it's actually legal for me here to imbibe in a glass of wine."
Alice shot a glance at Sophie who shrugged. "Sixteen is the minimum drinking age in Italy."
"Which I turned last month, but we were in the middle of a move and Mum wasn't much for celebrating." Tessa crossed her arms as she regarded the two older women. "Come on! I have been the perfect soldier during this trip! What is one glass of wine going to do?"
Alice carefully considered her words. She finally sighed. "I think it will be too dangerous for now, Tessa," she decided. "But I promise you and I will do something later, okay?"
Instead of answering, Tessa turned and walked back into her bedroom, shutting the door behind her. Alice sighed and looked down at Tilda. "Watch her, please. She tends to put out mob hits over the internet."
Tilda laughed. "I heard all about that."
Alice then turned to the Hammer. He stood at the suite door with his hands crossed in front if him. "You'll watch both of them, please?"
The Hammer bowed at the waist. "Of course. And send word to me when you make contact."
"I have Christian Griffiths' IED class schedule, so we should know when he goes in and out. I just took a look at it and he should be getting out of his evening class in about a hour."
"IED?"
"Istituto Europeo di Design Venice. Apparently the youngest of Oliver Griffiths' children is bigger on education than his sisters. "
Alice shot a look at Tessa's bedroom door. "There is hope for the younger generation, I suppose."
#
Sitting in the sitting area of the Weatherby's bar, Rhys enjoyed a vodka martini while laughing at the video playing on his small tablet. "Ah, the joy a cat video gives a tortured soul," he mused.
He set the tablet down next to him in his seat and took another sip of his drink. He pulled the glass away from his lips and set it on the glass table beside him when an eerie feeling overcame him.
A feeling like he was being watched.
He frowned and considered his options. Liking none available, he slowly turned in his seat as his hand reached for the pistol underneath his jacket.
The motion halted just as his fingers brushed against the pistol grip, his eyes widening in surprise as they focused on the figure behind him. He shot to his feet, straightening his jacket as he did so.
"Benji!"
Ben stood several feet away wearing an impassive expression on his face. His hands were slightly spread to his sides as an indication that he was unarmed. "Rhys."
The two men stood looking at each other for a long minute until Rhys realized this was not going to be a heartfelt reunion. "How are Margot and Tessa?"
Ben shook his head. "Don't stand there thinking you can convince me that you actually give a damn about them, Rhys. If you did, you wouldn't had betrayed me."
"I do, Benji. I really do." Rhys indicated for Ben to take a seat across from his. Ben hesitated at first but eventually stepped past Rhys and sat down.
Rhys followed suit and stared at Ben. "There hasn't been a single day in the past two months where I haven't replayed our last conversation at least once. How you were going to come after me."
Ben nodded. "Same here, Rhys. Same here."
Rhys chuckled. "I can just imagined the motley mob you would scrape together. Let's see. I know Alice wants my head so that's one. And I can assume she would have the full arsenal of AVI at her disposal?"
Ben remained silent.
"If it was anyone else, I would simply laugh, but seeing how she knocked Mum and Margot down a peg or two, I'm deathly afraid." Rhys gave a rueful smile as he shook his head.
"Obviously you're planning the con of all cons. And you step out into the spotlight … for what? What is it that caused you to step away from the shadows and pause your master plan to come talk to me today?"
Ben reached into his pocket and flung a picture on the table between them. Rhys caught it before it fell off the edge. He held it up for a closer look and laughed.
"I swear, Benji, to pay someone to look like my father … I didn't think I deserve all this." He flung the picture back on the table. "You need to do better."
"Oh, this is coming from someone who hired Tommy Vaughan to intercede on his behalf as "Mockingbird?" Ben reached for the picture. "Who's been watching too many heist movies?"
He held up the picture. "I need you to believe me when I tell you that this man isn't your father."
Rhys snorted as he raised his drink. "No doubt there."
"He's your uncle."
The drink stopped less than a millimeter from Rhys' lips. He quickly recovered and set the drink down as he emitted a soft chuckle. "Nice try, Benji," he said, smiling as he pointed a finger at Ben. "That's actually pretty original."
Ben sighed. "His name is Oliver Griffiths. He's your father's older brother by seven minutes. The reason you and Margot never heard of him was because he is dangerous times ten, and that range was set while they were growing up. Sybil haven't had any kind of interaction with him since before Margot was born."
He leaned forward in his chair to drive the point home. "Margot wanted to find this guy to possibly kill him, so she commissioned Aldrick Shive for that purpose. Did you hear what happened to him sometime last night?"
Rhys drew a blank look. "What?"
"He's dead, Rhys. Killed and body left in his car behind a club downtown. The man who was looking for your uncle ends up dead? This can't be a coincidence."
Rhys sat back in his seat, absorbing the news for a long minute. "Let's say I believe you and that this one-eyed Cyclops is my uncle," he said finally. "My question is why did you stop your con to warn me? You miss your ol' buddy Rhys?"
Ben slid the picture in his jacket as he rose. "Rhys, I can never forgive you for what you did. Your greed, your carelessness, your selfishness jeopardized my freedom. Your actions nearly caused your own sister and niece to be arrested. You caused a lot of harm."
He sighed. "But from the information we gathered, Oliver Griffiths is a man not to be underestimated. He may not care that as even though you are not only blood relatives but also the legitimate heirs to the Kensington Firm, he may see you and Margot as rivals who need to be eliminated. I don't want that."
Rhys looked up at Ben. "What do you propose?"
"I propose that we put our current issues aside and work together to take him down."
"I see." Rhys finished his drink and set the glass down on the table before standing. "So good ol' Benji is looking out for his friend after all? In that case, let's let bygones be bygones with a handshake. What do you say?"
He stretched out his hand to Ben. Ben stared at it for a handful of heartbeats without taking it, his expression hardening. He reached into his jacket, causing Rhys to tense at the motion.
"Make no mistake. When we settle this business with your uncle, I will finish what I started. I will take you down." Ben withdrew his hand and flung a business card on the table beside the nearly empty glass. "But if you are serious and want to take him down before he takes you down, my number is on the card."
He stared at Rhys for several seconds before turning for the exit. Rhys watched him until he disappeared from sight before he sat down, staring at the card he had left behind. Sighing, he reached for his glass and downed its contents before signaling for a waiter.
While he waited, he pulled his phone from a jacket pocket and dialed a number. "It's me," he said. "If they show back up, make sure Troy and that clean headed wanker … I can't think of his name - make sure they are both escorted off of the premises. Unharmed, but off the premises immediately. They are no longer welcomed."
He paused while the waiter deposited a fresh martini and stepped away with the empty glass before continuing. "Effective immediately, I will be moving operations to the penthouse suite at the Weatherby. I want the entire section closed off and guards on the floor around the clock."
He disconnected the call and finally reached for the card. He turned it over and again between his fingers as he smiled.
"Ah, Benji," he said. "No matter what, you know you still care."
#
Alice and Sophie sat at a table outside a small Italian eatery watching the evening crowd pass by. Alice sipped on a glass of bourbon while Sophie worked on a computer tablet. Her glass of merlot remained untouched.
"Christian is the only one of Oliver Griffiths' children who has any kind of online presence, or a legal one at that," she said. "Based on his class curriculum, he may be studying fashion or art."
"Soph, put that down and take a sip of your wine. You have been at it nonstop since the Maldives."
Sophie placed her tablet down on the table. "Sorry. Once I get going on research, it's hard to stop."
"Which makes you special and one of a kind." Alice smiled. "By the way, I never thanked you for joining our little getaway. I know you have misgivings about the whole situation but I'm glad you came along."
Sophie returned the smile but did not respond. Alice leaned in slightly. "Where are we on the leaving part? Are you still thinking about going someplace else?"
Sophie smiled. "I don't know. I suppose if I stayed in Los Angeles with Valerie back at AVI, I would have probably been out of there by now. Here at least I know I am safe with you and the Hammer. Even Tilda to a certain extent. Scary thought, but true."
"Soph, the thought of losing you on a personal or professional level sickens me, but whatever decision you make, Valerie and I will respect it. I just hope you know that if you decide to leave, there's always a place for you at AVI."
Sophie smiled. "Thank you, Alice. That means a lot to me. It really does."
Alice nodded and reached for her glass but stopped when she noticed a young man walking towards them. He wore skinny jeans and a blue, sleeveless jacket over a red t-shirt. A fitted cap and backpack slung over his right shoulder completed his ensemble.
Alice cleared her throat and gestured with her glass. Sophie surreptitiously gave a sideways glance as the young man closed in.
The young man had headphones covering his ears as he strolled past, oblivious to the scrutiny he was receiving from Alice as his focus was in his phone in his hand. She watched him stop at a door leading into a four story building two doors down from where Alice and Sophie sat.
Sophie frowned. "I thought he lived around the corner," she whispered.
Before Alice could respond, the door opened and a dark-haired woman stepped out, shrugging on a jacket. She walked up to the young man and laughingly gave him an embrace and kiss.
Alice slipped Sophie her handbag. "I want you to go back to the hotel," she said as she slid out of her chair. "Have the Hammer get ready."
Alice rose and walked down to the couple who continued to stand outside of the apartment building. She slowed her pace as she closed on them and stopped several feet away.
"Christian Griffiths?"
The man turned around and gave her a wary look. He reached for the woman's hand and grasped it tightly. "Who's asking?"
"Forgive me." Alice held up her hands in a peaceful gesture as she took a step forward. "My name is Alice Vaughan. I'm chief investigator and co-owner of Anderson and Vaughan Investigations. It's a corporate and private security firm based in Los Angeles."
"Los Angeles?" Griffiths glanced over Alice's shoulder at the cluster of tables he had past moments earlier. "You came a long way for a glass of bourbon, Miss Vaughan."
Alice smiled. "The bourbon isn't why I'm here, Christian. I'm here about Oliver William Griffiths."
At the mention of his father's name, the young girl gave Christian a curious look. "Baby, who is that? A cousin who owes you money?"
Alice's eyes locked with Christian's, and she saw something in them she did not expect to see. "Actually, it's another matter involving the passing of a family member located in the U.S.," she said as she gave the woman a kind smile. "We're hoping Mr. Griffiths can shed some light in the location of other cousins per the estate's request."
Christian's expression softened slightly as he gave Alice a nod. "This seems pretty serious, Marie," he said to his companion. "Why don't you go ahead to the party? I'll give Miss Vaughan whatever information she needs and meet you in a hour or so, okay?"
The girl pouted but reached up to give him a peck on his cheek. "Don't be all night," she said. Giving Alice a cautious glance, she slid out of Christian's grasp and walked alone down the street.
Christian watched her departure for several seconds before turning back to Alice. "Thank you, Miss Vaughan," he said. The relief was evident in his tone. "You obviously know about my father, but she doesn't need to."
His gaze turned back to where Marie stopped at the street corner. "She doesn't need to know anything about him."
#
Reviewing reports on her couch in her office, Valerie looked up as Agent Jules Dao entered her office. She smiled and waved him to a spot beside her. "And to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"
Dao sat down on the couch. "I thought I'd come by and share with you that the FBI has taken over the investigation into the murder of Aldrick Shive. He took over the organization after we arrested his father for that embassy heist a few months ago."
Valerie drummed her pen on her knee as if in deep thought. "And let me guess. You're lead on the investigation?"
Dao gave her a toothy grin. "It only makes sense because they have been on my radar for three years. I have extensive files on numerous crime organizations here in L.A. Agent Diaz is sitting with the lead prosecutor into her estranged husband's case, so it appears I'll be heading up the Shive case as well as Ben's operation."
Valerie placed her binder on the table. "How's the investigation going?"
The grin disappeared, replaced by a troubled look as he rose and slowly paced around the office. "Not good. We brought in the small timers. Entry-level. They all said that his organization may have already been absorbed by another. The man is not even frozen solid in the morgue and someone is already making moves."
"And that's not all. Several other smaller factions may have also been consolidated. The Gundersons. The Hunts. The Titan Group. All under one person."
Dao turned back to Valerie. "I have a feeling that something big is going to happen, and it will happen very soon. Is Alice here?"
"She's following up a lead, but I'll give her the news."
Dao nodded as he headed for the door. "Then I need to speak with Ben downstairs. He may be to help - Le voilà."
Ben entered the office. "Agent Dao. What's going on?"
Dao nodded "I'm glad you're here, Ben. We need to talk."
Ben glanced at Valerie. The neutral expression her face displayed told him that everything they had concealed from Dao remained hidden. "About?"
Dao gestured to an empty seat. "I need to pick your brain."
#
Alice looked around the spacious living room of Christian's apartment. "I was told that the family has owned this place since your father was very young."
Christian walked out of the kitchen with two glasses in his hands. "You probably know about this apartment more than I do. My sisters lived here until about three years ago. When I decided to go to school here, Katherine, the second oldest, she gave me the keys."
Alice peered through the blinds of the bay window. "Well I understand why the family kept it all this time. The view is spectacular. Breathtaking."
Christian handed Alice one of the glasses. "I'm not big on bourbon. I hope whiskey is okay."
"It's fine, thank you." Alice took a sip as she watched Christian sit down in a recliner. "I just have a question to ask, if that's okay."
Christian leaned forward. "How did I know you were drinking bourbon?"
Alice took a seat on a leather couch across from him. "When I spotted you on the street, you were all into your phone and pretty oblivious to everything."
"Because you spotted me late. Me, I spotted you seconds before." He sat back and swallowed the contents of his glass in one gulp before setting it down. "For years, my father had one rule that he constantly drummed into me and my sisters. Always look around a corner before you go around a corner. Now even though I have been the good little son, I also know I'm the good little son of a very terrible man who would love to snatch me up to get back at him for whatever reason."
He dug into his chair and pulled out a small pistol which he aimed it at Alice with a calm, relaxed demeanor. "It doesn't take a genius to know that you're here to put the screws to him and you want to use me to do that, Miss Vaughan."
Alice said nothing. Instead of showing terror in her eyes, she offered Christian a kind smile as she sipped her drink. "I assure you that's not the case," she said.
Christian frowned as he adjusted the grip on his weapon. "Well I didn't make it this long trusting every beautiful woman who walks up to me, so now I have to decide whether or not to let you walk out of here."
Alice leaned forward and sat her drink on the coffee table. "I have another choice for you. Put the gun down so that we can talk like civilized adults before one of us gets hurt. And I assure you that it won't be me."
Christian gave her an incredulous look. "Uh, you do realize … I have a gun on you, right?"
Alice nodded, grinning from ear to ear.
"So do I." She casually pointed at his chest.
The wide-eyed look on his face slowly gave way to curiosity. His eyes bulged wide open as he saw the infra-red dot tracing a circle just over his heart. The gun he held wavered slightly as his eyes shifted back up to the woman sitting in front of him.
"I guess you have it all figured out."
"Oh I do, but let me tell you a story about the man who's aiming that little dot." said Alice. She rose and walked back over to the window she had glanced out a few moments before. Christian's eyes darted from his chest to a point where the beam slid between the blinds. "A few months ago, my company was hired to track down a man who was hired to take out your cousin Margot. Her daughter hired him. A fifteen-year-old with stolen credit cards and the Internet. Oh, let me."
She plucked the pistol from Christian's hand and worked the magazine release and slide to eject the chambered round. "Now you would think a teenager should not have any kind of ingenuity to hire anyone, but what does she do? She somehow hires one of the best international killers in the world to take out her mother. He nearly succeeds and guess what? He works for me now."
She sat down on the arm of Christian's chair. "That's who is aiming that little red dot above your heart."
Grabbing Christian's glass as well as her own, Alice rose and walked over to the kitchen where the bottle of whiskey rested on the counter. She set the gun and magazine down and poured the contents into the glasses. "So believe me when I say I really mean you no harm. I simply want to talk about your father. That's all."
Christian remained still in his chair as she walked back into the living room with them. "And what assurances do I have that?"
She handed him his whiskey and pointed at his chest. "Take a look."
Christian glanced down. The red dot was gone. He stared at the spot it occupied for a long moment before looking back up at Alice.
"All right, Miss Vaughan. You have my complete and undivided attention."
#
