Chapter Ten

Rhys unbuttoned his jacket as he stepped off the elevator with the Weatherby's concierge and hotel manager. "And it's all set up for me?"

"Yes, sir." The bespectacled manager gave Rhys an enthusiastic nod as he led the two men down the hall of the hotel's penthouse suite floor. "I'm surprised you weren't made aware of it before. It was installed as a backup plan for our more security-minded guests."

Rhys gave the manager a cold glare. "Yes, how I wasn't informed about a personal elevator directly from one of the suites to the parking garage just escapes me."

The manager's stride broken slightly as he wilted under Rhys' eyes. Rhys held the look for several seconds until he grinned and clapped him on the shoulder. "Calm down, ol' chap! I'm actually happy I didn't know about it! I'm happy I didn't know because if I knew, then that sour puss of a sister of mine would have known about it also, so all's right with the world."

The concierge stopped at a set of double doors almost to the end of the hallway and fished out a key card from a pocket. He slid it into the security lock and waited until it disengaged. "After I do a quick walk through, I'll have the kitchen send something up," he said as he opened the doors and waved Rhys and the manager inside before pointing to an alcove over to the left of the entrance. "The private elevator is there next to the door connecting this suite to the one next door."

"You're a good man," said Rhys. He walked over to where the bedroom and bathroom area were. "I'll have the chaps rounded up and -

He rounded the corner and came to a halt at the sight before him. Standing on the raised floor where the king-sized bed was situated was a beautiful woman with her hands clasped behind her back smiling down at him, dressed in a blue short sleeved blouse and matching skirt. Her long, blonde hair was braided and draped over her shoulder.

A steady grin formed on Rhys' face as he slowly turned to the manager and concierge standing behind him. "I have to say this is indeed good service, boys!" he said as he rubbed his hands in glee. "And to think I didn't really want this kind of business in the hotel when I signed the papers."

The woman cleared her throat. "Cousin, cousin, cousin. That kind of talk is frowned upon, no matter what part of the world you're from." She sighed and shook her her head. "Tell me where the ledger is."

Cousin? Ledger? Rhys slowly turned back to face the woman, this time giving her a more cautious look.

"What are you talking about? Who the bloody hell are you?"

Instead of answering, the woman smiled as she pulled her hands from behind her back, revealing two small pistols with attached silencers. She brought both weapons up and began firing.

Rhys ran past the manager and concierge as their bodies fell from the swarm of bullets and out of the room just ahead of the hail of gunfire. He bounced off of the far wall and sprinted down the hallway with a speed he did not know he had, determined to make it back to the elevator.

His unspoken prayers were answered as the car they had rode a minute earlier was still stationed on the floor, doors wide open. He slipped inside and frantically pressed the DOWN button while belatedly pulling his pistol from under his jacket. He trained the weapon at the doors until they finally closed.

Rhys slumped against the far wall in a heap and slid down to the floor. He glanced down in surprise at his shaking right hand which gripped his pistol.

"Bloody hell."

#

Christian poured himself another drink. It was his third in the past thirty minutes. "Let me get this all situated in my head here because everything idea you've given sounds … crazy."

Alice nodded. She sat on the chocolate-covered leather couch with Sophie and Tessa. The Hammer stood in front of the apartment door in his customary pose as he kept a vigilant eye on Christian who walked back over to his recliner and sat down.

"My cousins, people whom I never met before, they tried to pinch you for your money and your company. The guy who initiated everything worked you for a year until he nearly succeeds, but not before he falls in love with you. You find out everything about him and the Kensington Firm and began to fight back, but you start falling in love with him. Again. The real him."

Alice nodded again. "You're on the right path so far."

"After your declaration of love for each other, you worked to save him by taking them down, but his ex -,"

"My mum," Tessa said brightly.

"She beats everyone including my father's sister-in-law and takes control of the firm. Your man takes the rap for you for a painting planted in your house, but the FBI gives him and my other cousin a C.I. gig which goes well for a while, but in typical Griffiths fashion, my cousin used that information to solidify his position in L.A. and takes control of the firm."

Christian pointed at Tessa. "But not before you tried to have your mother killed, kidnapped her as well as your father and uncle and take the Kensington Firm for yourself."

His eyes darted over to the Hammer who continued to stand by the door with his hands crossed in front of him. "Is it true you found him on the Internet?"

Tessa shrugged. "What can I say? I'm very resourceful."

"And now you're all working together to take your uncle down, but my father is trying to throw a wrench in your plans."

Alice nodded again. She maintained a patient smile the entire time Christian was talking, but Sophie could see the beginning signs of weariness in her eyes. "I believe you got it."

"I see." Christian looked over at Sophie who sat to Alice's left, close by where the Hammer stood. "And what's your story?"

Sophie jerked a thumb in Tessa's direction. "Her partner shot me."

Christian shook his head as he finished his drink and rose to his feet. "Okay, you guys are blowing my mind, but to each his or her own. What do you want from me?"

Alice relaxed slightly at the question. "We were hoping you could give some insight into what exactly your father has planned. From what we've seen so far, it doesn't look like a joyous family reunion to me."

Christian stared at Alice in silence for several seconds as he considered her words. Finally he walked over to the kitchen counter and pulled a pad and pen close to him. "My dad and I haven't talked for a while, but I do know he pops in and out of Venice every now and then unexpectedly," he said as he scribbled on the pad. "Every couple of months I come home to a fully stocked fridge, enough money to pay my bills and live off of for months, whatever. He knows I don't need it because I've been supporting myself since I was sixteen. But he keeps doing it."

He tore the page from the pad and turned to Alice. "I know he has another apartment about seven or eight blocks from here. I've been there twice in the past year when he was in town. Whatever answers you might be looking for may be there."

Alice accepted the sheet of paper and passed it to Sophie. "Thank you, Christian. I really appreciate this."

Christian nodded and watched as the Hammer opened the door for Sophie and Tessa. He caught Alice on the arm as she turned for the exit. "Miss Vaughan?"

"Please. It's Alice."

"Alice. Listen, can I give you some advice?"

Alice gave him a confirming nod. "I don't know what my father has planned for you and your family. I don't know if my sisters are involved. I hope they aren't."

"I hope they aren't as well, Christian."

Christian nodded. He hesitated at first before continuing. "If it's just my father, you might have a chance. Just my sisters together? Maybe. They all have Type A personalities and always clash if one doesn't get his or her way but a pain in the ass if they're on the same page. Find a way to break them down and … who knows? You might get lucky."

Alice considered his words. She offered Christian a smile and her hand. "Thank you, Christian. That is some very helpful advice."

#

Sophie, Tessa, and the Hammer were waiting outside of the apartment building when Alice stepped outside. "What did dear ol' cousin had to speak to you about?" queried Tessa.

"Just giving me insight on his family," answered Alice as she checked her cell phone. The time displayed made her realize how tired she felt. "Sounds like we'll need it."

The Hammer indicated a westward direction. "If we're ready, the address we were given is that way."

"We'll check it out in the morning." Alice stifled a yawn. "Let's head back to the hotel, check in with AVI and make sure Tilda didn't empty out the mini bar."

#

Dao held up his bureau credentials to the uniformed officer waiting outside the elevator doors. "They're with me," he said, indicating Danny and Ben who stood behind him.

The officer nodded and held up the crime scene tape to allow the three men access. "The owner of the hotel said his silent partner requested for the entire floor to be cordoned off for his personal use," said Dao as he led the down the hall. "He, the concierge and the manager went to check out one of the rooms and ran into a little problem."

The men turned into a room flanked by two more officers. Danny whistled at the sight of the blood stained sheets on the floor beside the sofa.

"Three walk in. One walks out."

Dao examined the shell casings on the floor in front of the bed. "I'll give you three guesses who walked out," he said as he turned to Ben. "When were you going to tell me that the Kensington Firm bought a stake in the Weatherby hotel chain?"

"It wasn't relevant to what we were currently doing," countered Ben. "Rhys would have never come out into the open like this unless he felt he was threatened or provoked."

"I wonder what the reason could be," Dao said softly. He stepped around the sheet-covered corpses and looked over the rest of the room. "This room has a private elevator that connects directly with the parking garage downstairs. Emergency exit for the one percent."

Danny made his way over to the corner that Dao indicated. "Found it," he announced. "I'm going to see if I can pull any prints that we can run."

Dao nodded and turned to Ben. "I'm going downstairs to check with security. They have cameras on every floor including the parking garage."

Ben waited until Dao was outside the room before he joined Danny at the private elevator, a car equal to the size of the ten situated throughout the Weatherby for public use but more exquisite. The marble interior was an exact match to the suite it exclusively serviced.

Danny stood inside the elevator with a small brush as he lightly dusted the buttons with graphite from his shoulder bag. He leaned close and blew lightly on the surface. "Looks like I got some good prints here," he said as he reached down and pulled out a tablet and his cellphone. "From the amount of graphite that stuck, very fresh prints. Couldn't be more than two, maybe three hours old."

He dialed a number and handed the phone to Ben. "Hold that while I take a few happy snaps."

The line clicked on the phone in Ben's hand. "Hey, Danny," said Valerie. "What does it look like down there?"

"Like something out of Scarface," Danny replied drily. He held the tablet in front of the buttons and took several high resolution pictures from different angles. "I'm sending you some pics of a few prints I picked up. Can you run them for me?"

"Let me get back to my office. Is Ben with you?"

Ben quickly glanced around the corner of the hotel suite. "I'm right here, Val. You're on speaker but it's safe to talk. What do you have?"

"Alice and company landed in Venice safely. Before they landed, they found out that Oliver Griffiths is a dad. Three kids. Two daughters and a son. They just ran into him at the apartment the Griffiths own."

Ben's eyebrows arched sharply at the news. He looked over at Danny who simply shook his head as he slipped the tablet back into his bag. "What was the atmosphere for that meeting?"

"A little tense at first. The son thought Alice was going to use him to get to his father. In the end he showed them where there is another apartment his father owns outright. They'll check it out in the morning and then head home."

Ben nearly smiled. The thought of having his arms wrapped around Alice again made him feel as if she had been gone for much longer than the two short days they have been separated. "I can't wait."

"I bet you can't. I received the prints, Danny. Running them through the LAPD database and … oh."

Danny and Ben shared a look. "What is it, Val?"

"It looks like one of the other kids is in town. I'm sending the file to your tablet, Danny."

Danny reached inside his bag and retrieved the device. He thumbed it on and held it out to where Ben can see the screen displaying the picture of a blonde female.

"Katherine Griffiths," he said. "You're right, Val. One of the kids is in town along with Daddy."

Silence replied back to Ben through the cell phone. "Val? Are you alright?"

"Uh, you better come back to AVI, Ben. Under no circumstances are you to bring Jules back here."

The line disconnected, leaving Ben to give Danny a perplexed look. "Wonder what that was all about."

Danny sighed and stepped off the elevator. "I don't know, but you heard the lady. Get out of here."

Before Ben could object, Danny stuck his hand inside and hit the DOWN arrow. "See you back at AVI," he said, waving at Ben as the doors closed.

Danny dusted other areas outside the elevator for several minutes and took more pictures of visible prints he was able to find. When he heard Dao outside the suite, he packed his tools into his bag as the FBI agent rounded the corner. He started to speak but realized something was amiss. "Where is Jones?"

"He took the elevator down to see if there was anything he could find down in the parking garage." Danny jerked a thumb over his shoulder at the elevator. "I managed to pull some decent prints but the software on my tablet is corrupted. I'm going to head back to AVI and see who they belong to."

Dao nodded. "You might as well collect Jones downstairs before you go. Video cameras on this floor were disabled. My boss sees no reason for the FBI to investigate this so he wants it turned over to the LAPD. They're sending their CSI to process the suite."

Danny slung his bag over his shoulder. "Well, maybe I'll have some luck with the prints but if you're off the case, I might as well turn everything over to Detective Nick Turner or whoever the lead will be."

Dao nodded in agreement. "Keep me posted."

He watched Danny depart as he stood in the middle of the suite. The police officers continued to stand watch outside the door. He started to make his way out to ask when a supervisor would show up when he heard an audible beep around the corner.

A frown began to form on his features as he thought Ben took the elevator back up to the suite from the garage. Careful not to trip over the covered bodies still on the floor, he made his way over to the alcove.

The elevator sat open as Dao approached. He peered inside, briefly noting the craftsmanship of the interior before pulling back. He began to turn back for the suite's exit but the gray dust covering the call button caught his eye.

He leaned in close and saw a slightly visible fingerprint covered by graphite. He held out his thumb over the button and peered at it again for comparison.

Dao stepped back and stood in silence for a second, weighing his options. He reached into his jacket and pulled out his cellphone. Holding it over the button, he took a few pictures of the print. Seconds later, he dialed a number to the bureau's crime lab.

"This is Special Agent Jules Dao. I'm getting ready to send pictures of a fingerprint."

#

After a late morning breakfast, Tessa and Tilda decided to take in the sights of Venice, leaving the others to proceed with their continuing investigation. Using a map Tilda had drawn up the night before, they found their way to the spot Christian had indicated that his father had owned with ease. The Hammer used a lockpick set to jimmy the locks while the women kept watch. The door was open in seconds and the three stepped inside.

The two women stood in a room devoid of any furniture except for a cot and nightstand with a small desk lamp in the corner. A fold out table with a desktop computer rested in front of a wall almost completely covered from ceiling to floor with pictures, newspaper and Internet clippings, receipts, and napkins with hastily scribbled notes jotted on them.

Alice took a long look at the scene before her. She shook her head and turned to Sophie.

"On a scale of one to ten -"

Sophie smiled. "Of the walls of crazy we've come across in our line of work? This one is up there."

"Oliver Griffiths has been at this for quite some time," said Alice as she pointed at a picture of Rhys and Margot standing outside of Rhys' car. "Rhys was wearing that outfit the day he and Ben broke into this crime boss' estranged wife and … tried to steal a sperm specimen from her."

Sophie's eyes darted up from her tablet. "Wait, what?"

"Long story. Very classified. But that was over seven months ago." Alice pointed at another picture of Margot standing outside with a trench coat and a umbrella. "That's the outfit she wore when we busted …"

Alice's voice trailed off as both women glanced behind them. The Hammer stood at the door watching them in silence. One quizzical eyebrow arched in question.

Alice grinned. "Good times," she said as she returned her gaze back to the board. "Sophie, how long do you think it will take to pack up everything?"

"We don't have to." Sophie held up her tablet. "I created an algorithm that will create a computer simulation of everything. All I have to do is take one whole picture followed by a separate picture of each item. The algorithm will automatically cut and paste everything for display on my laptop after it finishes compiling."

Alice's mouth gaped open in surprise. "When did you build something like that?"

Sophie framed a picture on the wall in the display on her tablet screen. "I started three months ago during my free time. I finally finished a few weeks ago. It also keeps track of the significance of each picture or note via an Excel spreadsheet."

"Well, I'm very impressed." Alice took a long look at the wall. "How long do you think it will take to record everything?"

"I should be done in an hour or so."

Alice looked at her watch. "I promised my future stepdaughter I was going to treat her for her birthday."

#

Valerie Anderson slowly rose from her office chair and braced her hands on the surface of her desk. "I'm still trying to figure out why the hell are you here."

Sitting on the couch before her, Rhys crossed his legs and smirked. "Oh come on, Valerie. You know you miss me hanging around you guys and your investigating gadgets as you're doing your … investigating."

Valerie stood in stony silence as she glared at him. Rhys swallowed hard and asked nervously, "Might I see your purse?"

Valerie gave a frustrated sigh. "What the hell for?"

"I just want to see if that's where you're hiding a gun." Rhys leaned forward with a devilish grin on his face. "It seems to be a favorite place to store a weapon for the ladies of Anderson and Vaughan Investigations."

Valerie almost in fact reached for her handbag which was on the floor by her chair when Ben pushed her office door open. Rhys looked up at his former friend and shot up to his feet.

"Benji!" he exclaimed happily as he walked over, his arms extended in embrace. "How I missed you."

Ben held up a hand, stopping Rhys in his tracks. "Did I scare you into the Weatherby? The penthouse suite looks like something out of a Bond flick."

"Oh, was referencing a British spy movie your way of saying you forgive me?"

Ben scoffed at the question. "It's taking a lot for me not to beat the hell out of you, Rhys. Don't start. Now why are you here?"

Rhys looked down at his shoes for a long moment, nearly causing Ben to ask the question again. When he finally looked up, his normal cavalier attitude was replaced by a more monotone demeanor. "This … blonde, tall and beautiful - she was in the room waiting when I walked in. She said … she called me cousin."

Ben nodded. "She is your cousin. Looks like one of your uncle's girls is in town along with Daddy. Danny pulled a print from the private elevator."

Valerie had walked around to sit on the front edge of her desk. "Alice spoke with your mother to get confirmation about Oliver Griffiths. Everything's that happening - him being here, his daughter, they have to be after one thing and that has to be the firm."

Rhys shook his head as he reclaimed his seat. "No, they're after the ledger."

Valerie and Ben gave him a puzzled look. "The ledger? What's that?" Ben asked.

"The ledger, my dear Benji, is a record of absolutely everything in Crime Mastermind 101. Every murder committed, every weapons cache, every cutout, secret hideaway, every underling hiding young, old, dead for one reason or another."

He looked up at Val. "It's almost like a … magic eight ball. You ask any question and you are bound to get an answer. It may not be the answer you expect but in its forty years of existence, it has yet to fail."

Ben soaked the information in. "All right. Where is it?"

Rhys shrugged. "I don't know."

"Is it a book?" queried Val.

"I don't know."

Ben gave an exasperated shake of his head. "Well, what do you know, Rhys?"

Rhys took a moment before answering. "All I can say is that it covers maybe dozens of organizations, and a lot of them are not illegal. It's been rumored that Scotland Yard, the KGB, MI6, even your CIA and FBI, they may be listed for one reason or another."

He fixed Ben with a steady gaze as he continued. "Trust me when I say I have no idea where the ledger is. For my newfound cousin to be looking for it speaks volumes because whoever has control of the ledger, he or she will assert control over just about every criminal organization or government agency in the world."

#