Chapter 20
"Oh God! Yes baby! That feel so...mmmm." her voice purred, alternating with soft moans and a deep smile. Chet had Callie all the way on his desk. Files and pens flew over the edge with the rhythm of their bodies moving with complete abandon. Fifteen minutes had passed without stopping. Callie was squirming near the edge.
"Mmm... yeah... oh, I'm so close, baby. Please, don't stop!" The words escaped her in rasps as she gasped for breath.
Minutes later, Callie lay on the desk. A smile glowed upon her face. She took a breath and slowly sat up. Chet fell back to a seated position in his chair while Callie edged over and off the desk, and finally sitting in his lap. Her skirt just slightly pulled down. She looked down with a satisfied expression.
"My, my. So impulsive." she said with a broad smile. Chet reached over to the small icebox beside his desk and pulled out a bottle of water. He pulled the lid off and offered it to her.
"Drink, angel?" he offered. Callie nodded thankfully, taking the bottle. She took a deep drink. Chet admired the profile of her neck as sweat trickled down it. Something seemed so very sexy about it. Callie offered the water back to Chet who took a drink.
"Thank you Angel. But what do you mean impulsive?" Callie smiled.
"No protection. And if you didn't notice, you didn't exactly pull out either." Chet took a breath and shrugged.
"That wouldn't be very Catholic of me, would it?" Callie smiled and turned her head slightly away.
"Guess it wouldn't be." Chet started nuzzling on her neck again. Callie perked a bit and glanced down as she was straddling him in the chair.
"Mmmm, feels like your batteries recharged quickly" she giggled. Chet coughed.
"Well, given that position I do find myself coming back to life. But you best give me a few minutes and I'm sure I..." he was cut off by the door to the office opening. Frank and Joe walked in. They stopped short upon seeing Chet with Callie in his lap. To say nothing of the fact Callie's skirt was hiked and Chet's pants were partially open. The glow on Callie's face and the sweat trickling off her gave it away to anyone, much less a detective, that Chet had indeed just used his desk for something more than writing.
"Er, excuse us guys." Joe started. "We didn't see anyone's car here so we figured the place was empty and wanted to check up on things." he finished quietly. Frank took on a perplexed look but managed a smile.
"Hey Chet. Sorry, if we disturbed anything. Were you giving the term 'desk jockey' a new meaning?" Joe shot his brother a look.
"Subtle, Frank." he murmured. Clearly embarrassed by his brother's statement. Callie took on a dark expression. She stood up and pulled her skirt down. Chet stood and zipped up. Callie shot Frank a look.
"Sorry, Cal, Chet. I wasn't thinking." he muttered. Callie bore down on him.
"No, Frank. You weren't thinking. But yes, as you observed, I just finished screwing Chet's brains out on his desk. That doesn't make me loose or a slut in any way. And it doesn't make Chet a bad person either. We seized a moment and enjoyed it. Just because you and I never did it outside of a bedroom doesn't mean those who do are bizarre or without morals." She was almost flustered to tears but her apparent anger kept her from that. Joe looked at his brother.
"Nice going, man." Frank looked critically at his brother.
"Excuse the hell out of me." He said defensively. All three pairs of eyes remained on him. He rolled his eyes. "Pardon me, I have some work I need to catch up on while I am here." he said and walked into the other office. Joe looked sheepishly at the two.
"Sorry guys, not sure what's bothering him, but I reckon he'll get over it" Chet smiled.
"Not your fault Joe. Say, we were about to head back to the new house. Want to come?" Joe rubbed his chin for a moment.
"Iola is there." Callie added. Joe brightened up.
"You talked me into it." He walked into the other room and came back a moment later.
"Yeah, let's go. He's in a fun mood." Callie smiled in spite of the situation..
"You need a break too, Joe. C'mon." she invited. Joe smiled and walked out with the pair.
"I hope I didn't embarrass you guys by coming in..." Joe started. Chet shook his head.
"Well, honestly Joe, maybe ten minutes earlier would have not been great timing. But you caught us between innings." Joe gave a chuckle.
"Well, I'm glad of that anyway. By the way, Iola and I almost got caught doing the same thing, but by dad." Chet raised an eyebrow.
"Whoa, almost caught by the boss." Joe chuckled remembering.
"Yeah, but we had a little more time after to make things look normal. But Iola had accidentally left her bra on the desk. Dad saw that and said something to the general effect of not being overly friendly with the girl Friday during business hours." Chet and Callie both laughed at this thought.
When they walked out of the building, Joe was a bit stunned to see Callie hit the remote entry on a new jaguar XJR. He looked at Chet questioningly. Chet smiled
"An early wedding present, not to mention that Buick was on its last leg." Joe gave a smile and shook his head..
"You live a privileged life, Chet." He laughed getting in. Callie turned the motor over and the car roared to life. Joe felt immediately prompted to buckle his seat belt, and did so. Chet looked over his shoulder.
"What's wrong, Joe. The idea of a lady in charge of nearly four hundred horsepower and just as much torque scare you?" he needled. Joe smiled.
"Nah, just like to be safe, but this is probably the most powerful car I have ever even sat in." Callie giggled.
"I promise to get you to Iola safe, Joe. By the way, she wants one, too!" Joe blinked several times before Chet looked back to him.
"Did you wrap things up in the hollow ok?" Joe nodded.
"Yep, all but the missing cash. Dad finally accessed those discs on the computer this morning and it had all of Sharpton's financial dealings on them. From what we could gather he should have amassed over three hundred million dollars. We were able to account for just over two hundred million which was sitting in Swiss bank accounts. The rest dad suspects is in cash hidden somewhere. He got pinched before he could transfer that and join his international criminal coconspirators in Geneva most likely." Chet gave a low whistle.
"A hundred million in cash. That's not a light load, Joe. Where does your dad suspect it is?" Joe held out a hand.
"That's the million dollar question. But he suspects it is hidden in the hollow yet. Records indicate that he fenced some pretty high-end merchandise and he probably did it in the New York and Pennsylvania areas. Which would at least suggest that he stashed it in the hollow because that was a much less risky place that say one of his known hideouts in the city. The hollow is big and dark. You could hunt in it for months if not years and not find it." Chet shrugged.
"Well, it isn't bad though nailing two thirds of the funds. That plus the main guy is in a cell. Do you really think that they will waste a ton of money and man hours hunting the last third chunk of loot? I mean most all of the goods stolen were likely insured. These people robbed from businesses, not private parties." Joe nodded.
"I'm sure the police will keep their search up for a while to come. But it will eventually die down in the interest of other things that take priority for any given agency. You can't have all of your men searching a huge dark patch of woods looking for a third of the money. And like you said, since most if not all parties were insured there will not be a ton of effort put forth. I mean there is no little guy getting hurt. Even the insurance companies won't get too involved since it is likely divided among several companies. No one of them is going to deem the loss worthwhile to spend a ton more manpower hunting for what may or may not be there." Chet shrugged.
"Then it's basically a treasure hunt? I mean to those who are aware." Joe smiled.
"I'm sure there will be a few enterprising parties out to hunt for it. Though technically the feds can lay claim to any funds connected with the crimes. But don't expect the money to go back to those who suffered the loss. If insurance paid off then that is who is legally entitled to any recovered funds. Law enforcement isn't going to bend over backwards to recover assets that will end up with the insurer. They both feel the other has enough money. That two hundred million that was traced down. I'm sure the insurance company will get in line for it since it was discovered at the time of the crime and they are essentially entitled to it. But if someone private digs up cash in a cave or field, it generally disappears anyway." Callie shook her head in amazement.
"But surely a hundred million has to be pretty ample in size. Even in large denominations. I can't understand it. How can you hide that?" Chet chuckled.
"The criminal mind is a devious thing, Angel. Where there's a will there's a way." Joe nodded.
"Pretty much." he said. A few minutes later Callie pulled into 311 Bayview Avenue. Joe smiled at the sight if the home he thought he'd never be able to afford. He looked at Chet and Callie a bit sheepishly.
"You know guys, I really want to thank you for what you did. I don't even care who actually owns the house. The main thing is the Iola is happy and that means a lot." Chet and Callie smiled to him.
"No problem, Joe. Iola means a lot. You are a dear friend. It's a great house. And I think we can all live together fairly well". Chet said. Callie nodded her agreement.
"Without a doubt, Joe." she laughed as they walked to the door. Joe looked in awe at the stately home he would soon live.
"This is wonderful. I am sure we are all going to have many years of fun here." He opened the door and continued his wide-eyed tour. Upon entering the kitchen, he found Iola on the phone. She looked over and smiled broadly to him.
"Yes, so That's where we are. Sure, anytime. Look, I have to go for a bit, but we may see you later. Sounds good! Bye-bye." She hung the phone up and raced into Joe's arms. They kissed as Chet, Callie and Tony looked about sheepishly.
"Well, hello handsome." Iola said to her man. Joe grinned. He had needed that kiss for some time. Tony Coughed abruptly.
"Welcome home, Joe. Did you guys wrap up things in the hollow?" Joe nodded.
"Just about. But as I was telling Chet and Callie, there is still around a hundred million dollars that is unaccounted for." Iola's eye's widened.
"One hundred million? Wow. Any clue to where it is?" Joe gave a slight shrug.
"Dad is still checking out the discs and running down leads. But so far he thinks it's stashed in the hollow. But no one is sure yet since they are still looking over the evidence and the records that Sharpton kept." Iola shook her head.
"A whole lot of money to have laying around." Tony nodded.
"Should be interesting to see where it pops up, if at all."
Chet brought out some champagne which had found its way into one of the ice boxes. The group sat back on the deck which still had and array of lawn furniture that had remained with the home.
"This is the life, guys." Tony said admiringly at the group. "You have a sweet house. A hell of a view, and the idea of starting out married life in such a place sounds pretty good." Chet smiled.
"It was certainly a blessing to come our way. Though the house is just a bonus. I couldn't have bought anything that was as meaningful as my relationship with Callie. You can't put a value on that." Callie smiled to him.
"Couldn't have said it better. I feel so good I can't really express it in words." She said. The group sat out on the deck for a while. Soon they saw a car drive up. They recognized it as Frank's. Callie took a breath.
"God, I hope he has mellowed from earlier." She fretted with a slight frown. Chet took another drink.
"Hopefully, my dear." Frank got out and walked over to the deck. He looked at the house in awe and smiled to the group.
"Wow, quite a house you have here. Very nice!" his tone was quiet and subdued. Chet sensed Frank was here in peace and smiled.
"Thanks, Frank. How about a nice glass of champagne?" he offered a glass up. Frank smiled and walked over.
"Thanks." He took a drink and smiled.
"Good stuff, Chet. Has dad been here yet?" Chet and the others looked up.
"I thought he was working on finishing up the case. Is he supposed to come over here?" Joe asked. Frank nodded.
"Yes, he called the office earlier and asked where everyone was. I said they were likely here and he told me to get over here. He has some news." Joe looked perplexed.
"First I have heard of it. Guess we will know shortly." he took another drink. Frank looked about sheepishly. He then looked down to Chet and Callie.
"Guys, I'd just like to apologize for basically being a bit of a prick. I guess overall I needed to take a bit more time to adjust than I gave myself. But I have thought a lot and want to say I am very sorry for having been that way to you. I very much respect you both. You are my friends and I hope you still think of me that way." Callie took a drink. She then took a deep breath and smiled. She had, perhaps, been selfish and even outright insensitive to Frank. Despite the turbulent last year, they did have a history and for her to think Frank could get over it so easily may have been a poor assumption. She looked up.
"It will be ok, Frank. We are all friends. This is a very new thing and I sometimes forgot that you may have been hurt by it. I sense maybe I have had more prep time to get over it. But I am not without understanding for you and your feelings. I am open minded and willing to work through it as best as possible." she said. Though she knew it may be harder than she just let on. Chet smiled.
"Frank, we all go back a long way. We are adults, and can sense things about each other perhaps more than the average stranger to be sure. It's all good as long as we have respect." Frank nodded.
"I appreciate it. It could have been easy for you to just shut me out and be done with it. I will do my best." he said. The silence that followed was soon interrupted by another car entering the drive. The group looked over and sure enough Mr. Hardy's car appeared. Fenton Hardy as well as Detective Kelly got out. Joe waved from the deck and signaled to his father who walked in their direction with his associate on his heels. Fenton Hardy looked over the house and the grounds. He then looked out on the vast view of the water from the top of the cliff. He smiled.
"Nice place you have here. Not a bad first house, son." he smiled to Joe, then to the others, "a very nice place." Detective Kelly smiled and looked about.
"That's fer sure boys. I could retire here." he drawled. Joe stood up and offered the two a seat.
"Please, have a seat. Frank told us you needed to see us. What's up?" he asked returning to his chair. The others also looked questioningly at the two elder detectives. Mr. Hardy cleared his throat.
"Well, as you know, I have been trying to nail down the last of the monies that Sharpton managed to hide away. I had initially figured the cache to be in the hollow somewhere. But I am not quite sure that is the case." he said. The others looked keenly to him, obviously on the edge of their seat to know what Mr. Hardy had found out.
"Well, I tracked Sharpton's activities to his last few days before being arrested. I discovered, with help of one of his right-hand men, that he made a trip out west via jet. It seems that Sharpton had a hideout of sorts in the Rocky Mountains. It is just possible that he took that load of cash out there and stashed it in the mountains near his place. The authorities have blanketed that hollow with hundreds of men in the last twenty-four hours. The last report I got about half an hour ago was that there was nothing found. That combined with one of the men we arrested indirectly stating that it would not surprise him that the money would be in a completely other place. Not the hollow. We have verification that he took a private jet to an airfield west of Denver. This offers strong odds that the money may be out there." Frank smiled.
"Well, that is rather interesting. Guess the guys who find it will be lucky. But I am presuming the insurance companies will be all over the place to try to recover monies that they paid out." Fenton Hardy smiled.
"Well, it is amazing the speed in which insurance companies work. Since many of the stolen items were taken from the same place there are only three insurance companies that have the vast bulk of liability, thus interest. Furthermore, these companies have been attempting to seize what Sharpton had secured in Switzerland. However, they are having some problems. Swiss banks are none too friendly to release funds to just anyone. Even if the accounts were held by criminals. It could be months if not years before they can get those funds. Sharpton had enough wits to secure some very costly Swiss attorneys to look out for those funds. They could tie matters up nicely for a long time."
"So..." Chet started, "the insurance companies are now more anxious than ever to get a hold of what funds that could still be in this country." Fenton Hardy smiled.
"Precisely. Furthermore, they have heard of your exploits as far as recovering the Tiffany jewels. They contacted me about their problem and interests. I had to straighten them out that I didn't recover the jewels. But to make a long story short, the three companies have decided to make us an offer."
"Make us an offer?" Joe asked curiously. "Why us?" Fenton Hardy again smiled.
"They want the matter taken care of as quickly as possible and as discreetly as possible. Therefore, they have determined that the people who were familiar with the case and were able to already recover some assets are the people they want to hire. They were very impressed by the parties who recovered the Tiffany jewels. They expressly noted they would prefer those parties be part of the group who goes after these hidden assets." Chet looked up with a raised eyebrow.
"What you're saying is that they want us to find this cache of a hundred million dollars for them?" Mr. Hardy nodded.
"One hundred and ten million give or take. And Yes, they do. They figure that if they have several groups hired to try to recover the money that there may be some loss of funds in the long run. And additional expense if they have various parties attempting to recover these funds." Mr. Hardy looked about the area, then back to the group. "Next to no one knows about the Rocky Mountain lead and the insurance companies want us to investigate the lead exclusively. So far as most everyone who even knows about this money thinks, it's definitely in the hollow. But the stronger lead of it being in Colorado is secret." Frank sat down and took a breath.
"Wow. That is quite the responsibility." Mr. Hardy smiled.
"Well, there is a matter of the reward." Tony looked up,
"Reward?" he asked blankly. Mr. Hardy nodded.
"If all the money is recovered, the reward would be over ten million dollars."
"Ten million dollars!" Iola said wide eyed.
"I can't make any of you do this." Mr. Hardy started, "There are dangers. Sharpton has a few members of his gang that are still at large. They know that there is a possibility he stashed monies somewhere. Money that had not yet been filtered to Switzerland. So, clearly, if any of his cohorts have wind of this..." He paused emphatically and gave a wry smile. "Well, let's just say that a hundred million dollars makes a whole lot of people motivated to do things. But anyone who works this job which results in a recovery will get an equal share. Also, Chet and Callie," he said addressing the two, "As I previously noted, I do know these insurance companies are very interested in having the two of you on the case for sure. That obviously goes with the notoriety of being associated with the jewel recovery." Chet took a deep breath and looked at Callie.
"Well, we don't need the money, Angel. But would hate to let anyone down. I'd imagine the insurance companies would be grateful too. But, I will do what you would like." he said. Callie smiled to him then looked at the others.
"Well, he is right. We don't need the money. But will certainly go along and help out if we can. Obviously those insurance companies didn't know we just happened on those jewels. Anyone could have done that." Mr. Hardy smiled.
"The price of fame I suppose. But it's good of you to throw your hat in the ring. How about the rest of you? I personally have to do a short job for the government which will take about a week. So, I won't be able to immediately jump on this. Kelly has already signed on and will act in my place during my time away. So, how do the rest of you feel about this?" Frank, Joe, Iola and Tony gave shrugs and smiles.
"I'm in." said Tony, "even part of that reward would be mighty nice to have for the future." Frank gestured.
"I'm in too. I can't help but find it an inviting idea. What say, Joe?" he asked of his brother. Joe gave a smile and looked to Iola.
"How about it?" Iola nodded.
"Yes, I will be happy to try." Mr. Hardy smiled.
"Very good. Please pass the offer along to Bill as well. And we can keep our unit tight and above all secrecy is important!" He emphasized. "Although I will have a few more trusted operatives in on this on a straight salary basis. Just to watch our backs. And Frank," he started to address his son, "I normally am one to stick to procedure and all... But, since this classifies as fairly low to moderate risk, may I suggest you see if your new friend wants to tag along with you?" Frank raised an eyebrow. He suspected that his father desired to cut off his son's obvious short fuse and inability to deal with his friends. Namely, Callie and Chet and their new disposition. Frank pursed his lips, then half shrugged.
"I will put it to her." Mr. Hardy nodded.
"That's fine, son. Though I do want to state from the start that she is your responsibility. And also, since she has no training of any kind that I am aware of, I am afraid she can only be considered a guest. And can not to be considered a member of the recovery team. If we do end up recovering these monies, I am afraid it wouldn't be fair to split the reward with just anyone who is tagging along for the ride. Fair enough?" Frank nodded.
"Sure, dad. So, when were they wanting us to start this hunt?" Mr. Hardy looked sternly to them.
"The sooner the better boys. As in tomorrow would be optimal. Here's my idea. Frank, if Tiffany can join you may I suggest that you and she take Chet's SUV loaded with supplies and head out by road. I have to leave later tonight on my other job as well. I also think it wise if Joe, Chet, Tony, Kelly and the ladies head out by means of my jet in the morning. The only thing being is that Jack Wayne is in Hawaii with his family. And that means Joe would have to do the flying. Does this sound ok?" Frank nodded.
"I'm cool with trucking the supplies out." he said with relief, happy with the idea he could get in some time with Tiffany and perhaps become better adjusted for the mission.
Joe nodded with a smile.
"I'm fine with flying out in the jet. The rest of you good with it?" Chet shrugged.
"I'm fine with it, Joe. You're a good pilot and a private jet always beats crowded into a coach jetliner for a long trip. Tony nodded.
"Sounds fine to me. I will give Bill a ring and see if he can come." he stood up and walked into the house. Kelly stood up and smiled.
"Sounds like a plan, boss." he said pulling out a cigar and lighting it. Chet smiled.
"Well, the least we can do for tonight is get everyone together here and have a little send off." Mr. Hardy smiled.
"Wonderful idea, Chet. I can have Mrs. Hardy and Gertrude bring some food out and act as your caterers." Chet beamed.
"No better food I can think of. Thanks, Mr. H!" He got up and looked down to Callie.
"Why not have your mom and dad stop by, too?" Callie nodded.
"Probably will help soften the blow that I have to hit the road again." She stood up and headed for the house to make the call. Iola got up.
"I will call mom and dad on the car phone." she said to Chet and started towards the garage. Mr. Hardy himself took out a cell phone and dialed. Joe looked over to Chet.
"Gonna have a little entertaining, it seems. We will need to get into this host routine quick." he smiled. Chet nodded
"Say, I noticed in the guest house there appears to be furniture. What say we move some of it into the main house so folks can sit and eat and relax." Joe smiled.
"Cool, let's do it!" The pair took to the task. In a very short time they had moved a pair of sofas, several chairs and two large dining tables. Mr. Hardy came up to them with a smile.
"Your mother and aunt will be here shortly, armed with food and things to prepare a meal." Joe smiled.
"Great. Sounds wonderful!" Within an hour Mr. And Mrs. Morton had showed up, followed closely by Mrs. Hardy and Gertrude Hardy, who promptly looked the house over.
"Going to play football in the dining room?" she asked her nephew tartly upon seeing the large hall of a room. Joe grinned.
"Nope, just tennis, auntie." he quipped. Gertrude Hardy looked down at him over her spectacles.
"There's more groceries in the car, young man." she said sharply, steaming a path into the kitchen. She found Mrs. Morton already in the act of scrubbing one of the ranges down. She looked up and smiled.
"Good afternoon, Gertrude. Quite a place they have here, isn't it?" Gertrude nodded.
"Very large." She clucked. "I hope I don't have to clean it." Mrs. Morton smiled.
"With the money Chet got I would hope he'd have enough sense to at least hire someone part time to supplement the large workload that will be required with a home this size. Of course, I think they can handle it for day to day cleaning. But someone once a week wouldn't hurt." Gertrude nodded.
"It would take an average person a day alone just to clean the kitchen." Just then Mrs. Hardy walked in with a load of groceries closely followed by Joe who had quite the armful himself. Mrs. Hardy took in the vast kitchen.
"My word, Joe! You could start a restaurant." his mother observed. Joe smiled.
"It is a large home. That's for sure. But, well, it's going to have two couples living here and it's paid for. So, I can't be too unhappy." Mrs. Hardy nodded.
"Your father told us about Chet and Callie getting the money. It was quite lucky. Now it seems there isn't anything keeping you from getting married." Mrs. Morton smiled at this statement.
"Yes indeed, Joseph. This house is just screaming out for some children." A moment later Mr. And Mrs. Shaw walked in. Totally stunned by the size of the house.
"Hello everyone!" Mr. Shaw greeted. Mrs. Shaw promptly went over to assist the other ladies with their kitchen duties.
"Hello ladies, looks like we got pulled into the kitchen. But my, what a kitchen!" she said admiring the expansive layout that bordered that of any good restaurant. Joe smiled.
"It's very nice of all of you ladies to be preparing this meal. Will make our sendoff all that much easier." Aunt Gertrude looked up with a stunned expression.
"Sendoff!" She echoed. "You mean that you all are going to be leaving again? But I thought you just got back!" Joe nodded slowly. Fenton Hardy was just entering the kitchen and had overheard his sister's reaction.
"It's ok, Joe. I will help you out on the explanation." he smiled. Joe nodded gratefully.
Meanwhile outside, Tony and Chet were walking around the grounds examining the structure of the home.
"Place looks solid, Chet. I don't see any real water damage from the ground and when I walked through the upper floor earlier I saw no ceiling damage." Chet nodded.
"Very good. When we get back we will go over it with a fine-tooth comb." Tony nodded. He seemed lost in thought.
"What do you think the chance is we will recover the cash?" Chet smiled.
"Well, if Mr. Hardy's intelligence is accurate then we will have a good shot. But that is a big place. Stashing something up in the mountains could be an easy hide." Tony nodded then chuckled.
"Say, Mr. Hardy was pretty cute with telling Frank to bring his woman along. You think he saw some bumpy roads ahead if Frank didn't have a release?" Chet smiled and nodded.
"That's why Mr. Hardy is famous. Always knows the best course of action, in all matters..." he was cut short by the sight of Callie walking towards him. She looked somewhat agitated.
"Wonder what's up?" Tony whispered noticing Callie was not her usually casual self. Chet took a breath as she approached. Callie walked up to the pair with a frown.
"What's up, Cal, you look like you just swallowed a bitter pill." Tony asked sympathetically. Callie looked a bit pissed.
"I don't know. Well, maybe I do. Apparently Frank invited that silicone slut over. I was never overly fond of her. But it seems now I am really sensitive to her presence." Chet held her close.
"Is it because she is with Frank, or because she was more or less my old girlfriend?" Callie gave a slight shrug.
"Well, Frank can have her with my blessing. I don't like that she was attracted to you and there is a past, of sorts. But I also never liked her attitude. Overly material and those damn implanted headlights makes her think she's such a goddess." Chet smiled to her.
"Now, now, Angel. You are the only goddess in these parts." Tony nodded and grinned.
"Besides, if you really want to get under her skin, all you need to do is wave the house, that ring and that car you just got under her nose. Then I am sure she will crawl back into her hole." Callie tilted her head thoughtfully.
"Well, true enough. But I find myself a bit uncomfortable with that. You know, I am lowering myself to her level by bragging. But, suppose sometimes you have to fight fire with fire. Ok guys, you have to come with me or I might do something rash." Chet and Tony smiled and followed her. They walked back to the deck where they found Kelly sitting back with Frank who had a striking young blonde next to him. Chet, Callie and Tony approached and took seats.
"Hi Tiffany." Tony said, "How are you? Been awhile." The girl looked up with a smile. Her smooth sculpted face and crystal blue eyes were a sight to behold. Callie did her best to suppress a smirk. She wondered where the natural beauty stopped and high-priced cosmetics started.
"Hey Tony. Doing good." she looked over to Chet and Callie
"Hi Chet." She said with a sweet smile. Batting her eyes briefly. She looked to Callie with less enthusiasm, "Hey Callie. So, I understand you and Chet are now dating? Pretty amazing." Callie pursed her lips with restraint to what she wanted to say.
"Is that what you were told, Tiffany? That Chet and I are dating?" Tiffany nodded.
"Well, yeah. I've only been here for five minutes. Frank and I haven't really exchanged much since the last time we were together before you guys left on that case." Callie rolled her eyes slightly, more agitated that Frank hadn't mentioned that she and Chet were actually engaged. Chet sat up and leaned over.
"Well, Tiff, truth be told, Callie and I are engaged and will be married soon." Tiffany looked visibly startled.
"Wow, hadn't heard that, Chet. Frank just told me that the two of you were dating and had returned some lost jewels or something and gotten a reward and bought this house. But, nothing really more than that." Frank interrupted.
"I was being conservative with my info guys." He noted a bit uncomfortably. "I wasn't sure how much you wanted anyone to know." Chet looked somewhat irritated.
"It's Not exactly a secret, Frank." he smirked, then addressed Tiffany. "Since I am sure you want to know the detail, allow me to tell you. I'd hate for the story to get confused if you heard it from a third party. Callie and I returned forty million dollars worth of jewels. For doing so, we received a reward just under four million dollars." Tiffany's eyes widened.
"Did you say four million?" Callie smiled smartly to her.
"Well, three point eight five million if you'd like to be informed of the specifics, dear." She said pointedly. Chet smiled. He loved seeing his wife to be gaining the advantage.
"Yes, that was the exact figure. And before you ask since I have observed you eyeing Callie's ring. That it is just under twelve carats, flawless and colorless and costs just under half a million dollars." Tiffany cleared her throat.
"Well, aren't you two... fortunate? And Cal, I love the new look. It's so, err, different for you." Callie gave her a cool smile and turned to Chet.
"Shall we go to the kitchen and see how the ladies are coming along?" Chet smiled and nodded.
"But, of course." he said and escorted her into the house. Tiffany stared blankly at Frank.
"Forgot to mention a thing or two I noticed. How did that all come about? I mean engaged? And what is she doing looking like that? Trying to make herself look younger." Tony took on a look of annoyance. He looked to Tiffany.
"She doesn't have to look like anything. And by the way she is younger if you hadn't noticed. She certainly doesn't need a putty knife to apply her makeup!" He said and walked into the house. Frank shrugged.
"This is gonna be a fun case coming." Kelly drawled and took a long drink from his beer bottle. Frank looked over to Tiffany, offering her a kind expression.
"Don't pay too much attention. Come on, lets walk for a bit." Tiffany half smiled and got up and joined him. They walked along, Frank took a breath.
"I'm sorry about that. I have been snapping at her for days now and she has just fired back. I was a little taken back by the engagement. But Hell, they have known each other for a long time. It isn't as if they don't know each other." Tiffany nodded with a half-smile.
"Well, now I know why he never really encouraged our relationship. He has had his mind elsewhere." Frank shrugged.
"I can't be sure anymore to be honest. They sure took to each other in the intimate sense pretty quick." Tiffany raised an eyebrow.
"You sure they weren't into each other that way long before now?" She speculated with a critical air. Frank shook his head.
"It's not her style." he said flatly. Tiffany pursed her lips.
"Is it her style to be such a bitch?" Frank raised an eyebrow then sighed.
"You are of course referring to the little display of power?" Tiffany shrugged.
"Well, she about shoved that diamond ring down my throat, and to make it a point to let me know how much they got as a reward." Frank half grinned as they walked near the garage.
"Lucky she didn't bring that up." he said gesturing to the new Jaguar a few feet away. Tiffany dropped a gaze to the car then back to Frank.
"That is hers? She bought that?" She asked with more than a little indignation in her tone. Frank sighed
"Actually, as I understand it, Chet bought it for her as an early wedding present." Tiffany had walked closer to the car and was looking it over. She noted the window sticker and coughed abruptly.
"He paid a hundred grand for her car? God Frank, if she is that damn good in the sack..." Frank rolled his eyes and coughed strongly.
"Please don't say things like that, Tiff, ok? I know you two apparently have some disdain for each other. But resorting to cheap shots isn't going to do anything but lower the both of you." Tiffany gave a snort.
"Pretty hard when your man's ex, who appeared to be more of the librarian type turns around and sheds half her clothes, gets a tattoo, a piercing and just for kicks finds a few million dollars and my former man. I am Not supposed to be slightly pissed?" she asked incredulously. Frank gave her a stern look.
"You are entitled to be pissed. But it isn't going to help matters to play petty games. Now my dad gave the OK to ask you along on this trip to try to recover the lost money. As I told you there is a reward for it. If we find it I get a share of the ten million dollar reward..." Tiffany looked up shocked.
"Did you say ten million is the reward? How much are you trying to find?" she asked. Frank shrugged slightly.
"It is reported to be around one hundred and ten million that the insurance companies are after." Tiffany suddenly looked a bit more pleased with things.
"So, if you guys find it how much would you get?" Frank smiled.
"Enough to make me happy. Dad wants to keep the unit small so word doesn't get out. So, anyway, you wanna tag along?" he asked. Tiffany gave a half smile.
"Guess I'd have to deal with Callie on this trip, huh?" Frank shrugged.
"It won't be so bad. We won't have to travel out with them. Dad suggested I take you out by road with the supplies while the others fly ahead and get some preliminary scouting done." Tiffany sighed then smiled.
"Well, ok. I suppose if it means you could get a cut of that reward I wouldn't want to step in the way." she wrapped her arms around Frank.