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  No matter how hard she tried, Cameron simply couldn’t put the pieces together or form the faintest glimmer of an explanation. During the walk from the elevator to her office she decided to call Kate. Level-headed Kate Steele was always able to find her way through a maze of information.

  No sooner had she set foot in the office, than Ramona assessed her with a motherly look on her face. “Hey, Boss are you okay?”

  Maybe she looked worse than she thought. After all, Ramona was used to seeing her looking impeccable, but this morning even the makeup couldn’t fully cover dark circles from lack of sleep.

  “Coffee on the way. I think you need it,” Ramona chirped. Then the woman set out for the break room while Cameron went to her office, put her briefcase on the floor and plopped into her contemporary Aeron desk chair. Moments later a steaming cup of coffee was handed to her. She looked up with grateful eyes.

  “Thank you so much, Ramona. Listen, hold my calls. I have something urgent to do before my day gets going.”

  “You bet. Is there anything else I can do for you?”

  “Thanks, but no.” She shrugged out of her suit jacket and draped it over the back of her chair. “Not right now, but this coffee is certainly welcome.”

  When she opened her office some years before, Cameron had pirated the receptionist from the Reed/Cunningham Advertising Agency, housed in this very building—a firm that had the bad sense to fire her by voicemail after ten years of loyal and very effective service. Well, they deserved her revenge. She had established her agency in the same building and hired away their wonderful receptionist. That wasn’t all. With carefully planned campaigns she managed to poach some of their most important clients. Revenge was sweet, and she enjoyed basking in the glory of it.

  Unfortunately, only two years later that wonderful receptionist had a sudden heart attack and was never able to return to work. Cameron had used inefficient temps until she finally found Ramona.

  She wrapped her hands around the warm mug and lifted it to her lips. After a few sips, she was ready to call Kate.

  A crisp, professional voice answered. “FraudBusters, Inc. May I help you?”

  “Um, yeah, Angie. Is Kate around?”

  Some warmth entered the voice. “Oh, hi Miss Harsen. She stepped out for a minute, but—wait, she just came back into the office. I’ll put you through. Please hold while she goes to her desk.”

  Moments later Kate’s silky voice came over the line. “Hey, Cami, you never called me back last night. What’s up?”

  Cameron swiveled her chair around to face the spectacular view of Century City and beyond. On a clear day, which of course was unusual in LA, she could actually see almost to some of the downtown high rises in the far distance. She liked looking out that window and considered it one of the best things in her office. With the coffee in one hand and the phone pressed to her ear in the other, she said, “Hold onto your hat, my friend. I think it’s happening again.”

  “What? What’s happening again?”

  A moment’s hesitation, then, “Crime. That’s what’s happening. Why does it seem to follow me? I went to the meeting and the HOA Vice President didn’t show up. Then his wife, who is the Treasurer, rushed out after giving her report. You know we recently received that huge settlement I was telling you about, so even after all of the repair work is done our reserve account will be very healthy.

  “Anyway, there’s this really cute retired FBI agent who lives nearby—don’t worry. I’m not forsaking my honey, but maybe he would be great for you. Bachelor—”

  Kate broke in. “Whoa. Slow down. You’re starting to not make any sense. What does a cute retired FBI agent have to do with a no-show and a fidgety wife? Take it easy, okay?”

  Taking it down a notch, Cameron said, “A lot. After the meeting we thought we should check on the Shadys because she never called to say if her husband was okay. Danny, that’s the cute guy, and me and my neighbor old Colonel Thompson—you’ve met him—went to check out their house on our way home.”

  Kate mused, “That sounds reasonable. So, what did she say?”

  “Nothing. She wasn’t there. Their door was partially ajar, which was unusual, so Danny pushed it open and went in while Colonel Thompson and I waited on the porch. When he turned the light on it appeared the house had been ransacked and the Shadys were nowhere to be found. Kidnapped, maybe. And there was blood. We called the cops, but Danny told us in his opinion the scene looked staged. Today he’s going to see if he can find out what the cops know. One of the cops turned out to be a fan of his.”

  Kate sounded pretty lost. “Why would a cop be a fan of this former FBI guy? Cami, you’re really not making lots of sense. Why are you rambling?”

  “Sorry. I’m upset. Didn’t I tell you that the, as you call him, former FBI guy, is Danny Garrett, the author. He writes those best-selling thrillers and apparently that one cop has read everything Danny wrote. The cop went on and on about seeing the movie, What Happened to Mandy Blake based on one of his books. The only thing missing was for him to whip out a piece of paper and a pen and ask for Danny’s autograph. Oh, you’re right. I feel so confused, and I need you to help me straighten out my thoughts. Do you have a little time?’

  “Sure, just calm down for a minute. For starters, you didn’t tell me he was Danny Garrett, and yes, I do have some time. I’ve never heard you talk about him before.”

  “That’s because I only met him last night. He isn’t on the Board, but he’s a friend of the Colonel.”

  “Okay, like I said, you need to calm down. Let’s try to reason it through. It sounds like your Danny may have doubts the couple was kidnapped. Bottom line, do you think they have come to harm? Certainly the scene you described would lead to that sort of conclusion.”

  Ramona poked her head into the office. She held a fresh cup of coffee. “Sorry to interrupt, but I thought you might need this.”

  Cameron smiled her appreciation and signaled Ramona to put it on the desk. The receptionist did so without comment, picked up the other cup and closed the door behind her without another word.

  “Kate, I really don’t know. Maybe yes, maybe no. They are sort of a strange couple. I don’t know them well at all, but from what I’ve seen there doesn’t seem to be much affection between them, and there’s about a twenty or thirty year age-gap. He’s a retired orthopedist and I think he’s quite wealthy. I don’t know her background except that she seems to be a competent Treasurer. I don’t remember them having much interest in the HOA before the suit was close to settling. That was right around the time we were electing new Board members.”

  For a moment there was no response. Cameron took sips from the second cup of coffee, but it caused her to become even more wired.

  “Kate, are you there?”

  “Just thinking about what you’ve said. Depending upon what the cops have to say, that is if they are willing to share anything with this Danny, maybe I can be of some help.”

  Breathing a sigh of relief, Cameron said, “I was hoping you would say that. Can you come down here earlier? Like tomorrow or the next day?”

  6

  Kate answered immediately. “Would I let you down? If I come down tomorrow, I can take care of some other things while I’m in LA. I was planning to meet with my agent anyway, so I’ll see if we can meet a few days earlier. How is that?”

  “Fantastic. You have no idea how this is messing up my head. I mean, if something really happened to the Shadys do I have to be afraid to walk around by myself at night? I’ve always felt so safe here. I don’t like to even entertain that thought. Truthfully, I know so little about them. Frankly, I’m glad Danny Garrett is involved. He seems to be a very clear and analytical thinker.”

  They talked long enough for Kate to have a calming effect on her.

  Kate said, “If I catch the nine-thirty flight tomorrow morning, by the time I allow for delays—something you always have to plan for these days—and rent a car, I can be at your office in time for
lunch. That way we can go over everything in person. In the meanwhile, try to stay calm. I know you have the meeting with the Colonel and Danny Garrett after work tonight, but that shouldn’t take so long. Maybe afterwards you and Milt can have a late dinner at a restaurant. He always chooses one loaded with celebrities. That way you’ll have a nice dinner and hobnob with interesting people instead of sitting at home trying to put the pieces of this puzzle together.”

  Cameron thought about her boyfriend, high-powered theatrical agent Milton Rosenthal. Kate’s suggestion was a good idea. Sixty-year-old Milt was short with a little paunch and wore thick glasses. He was the love of her life. The most wonderful man she had ever known, although he hardly fit the mold of the hunks she had been involved with in the past. And, Kate was right. Everyone who was anyone in the movie business would be sure to stop by their table, leaving little time to agonize about the fate of the Shadys.

  Although Cameron tried her best to concentrate on critical projects, the day passed slowly. She kept glancing at the clock on her laptop, unable to resist the compulsion to look at it. She really did want to know if Garrett found out anything that could put the case in perspective. But the day dragged on as images of Barbara and Al Shady kept creeping into her thoughts.

  In the afternoon Ramona buzzed through a call from her friend Kimberly in DC.

  “Kim, I’m glad you called. Everything okay there?”

  “Better than you can imagine, but from what Kate told me this morning you’re on the verge of getting entangled in another mess. Just can’t resist the hoopla of a good crime, right?”

  Word sure traveled fast. She had planned to call Kim the next day after she learned what Danny might have discovered.

  “Yeah. I guess I have something in my DNA that attracts these crazy situations. I’m not sure how serious this one is yet, but a couple of Board members from my HOA might have been kidnapped. I hope no harm comes to them. Maybe I’ll know more after my new friend Danny Garrett and the Colonel come by tonight. They’ve been following up while I’ve tried to work—emphasis on tried. I sure haven’t accomplished what I’d hoped to today. It shouldn’t be too long of a meeting, and in her wisdom Kate suggested I ask Milt to take me out for a late dinner to get my mind off of this. I decided to follow her advice.”

  They chatted a bit more until Kim said, “Well, if there’s anything Nathan or I can do, you know the number. Don’t be shy, as if you ever were. Kate said she’s going to LA tomorrow to see if she can help out. You know the two magic words: be careful.”

  Kim was the third part of their amateur crime-solving team. Little did they imagine when they first met years before that they would bring down a massive embezzlement scheme. After that escapade was solved and they split the generous whistleblower reward, Cameron and Kate each started their businesses while Kim married Nathan Hartman, the United States Attorney General, and moved to DC.

  THAT NIGHT WHEN CAMERON got home, she kicked off her high heels, traded her business suit for jeans and a tee shirt and had just enough time to put up a pot of coffee when her doorbell rang. Feeling the need for sweets, she had taken the time to stop on the way to pick up a chocolate layer cake with raspberry filling. One of her favorites. After all, she rationalized, there was no rule that said you couldn’t eat dessert before dinner.

  Danny and the Colonel had walked over together. The Colonel’s aging Afghan hound Clarence stood beside him wagging his tail like a metronome.

  “Hi, you guys are right on time. Come in.” She held the door open as the men and dog entered the living room. She bent down to pat Clarence who rewarded her by licking her hand and giving a grateful doggie mumble. Then he turned around a few times, found the right spot and settled in front of the fireplace.

  “Hey, grab a seat. I’ve got fresh coffee and I’m hoping you’ll help me polish off a phenomenal chocolate cake I bought on the way home. Otherwise, if history is any lesson, I’m apt to eat the whole thing myself.”

  The Colonel said, “Well, I haven’t had dinner yet and I’m supposed to watch my sugar, but who can resist such an offer from a beautiful lady. Bring it on.”

  Danny added, “I don’t have to watch anything, so I’ll take you up on the offer, too.”

  “Great. Don’t move. I’ll be back in a minute with the goodies. Can Clarence have a couple of little carrots?”

  “You bet. When I say we’re going to Cami’s house, I think his head is filled with visions of carrots.”

  They made small talk while drinking coffee and pigging out on the cake as Clarence happily crunched his carrots. Then it was time for serious discussion. By now news about the Shadys’ disappearance and apparent burglary had spread throughout the community and people were afraid.

  “Matt Darwin called this morning,” the Colonel said. “He was really shaken. Starring in those detective movies is one thing, but now that it appears crime has touched our community, he’s finding that reality is quite another story. Our silver screen hero sounded terrified. He kept asking me over and over how we had even happened to see, as he put it, the brutal scene of the crime. Of course, I told him we were concerned Barbara hadn’t called to let anyone know about Al, so all we had to do was cross over to the other side of the canal on the way home. His only answer was ‘Uh huh.’ I guess that satisfied him. By the way, he said we should put the gala on hold out of respect to the Shadys until we know what’s going on.”

  “I hope you told him we agreed,” Cameron said.

  “Definitely.”

  “Okay, so Danny, were you able to learn anything? How did it work out with Officer Barrington? Was he any help?”

  Danny flashed a sparkling grin. “Yeah, as a matter of fact he did share as much as he knew, off the record of course. And not at the station. The Captain wasn’t up for letting his guys talk to me about it at all. But Barrington is a fan, so I made sure to have an autographed copy of my latest book in my trunk. I thanked everyone for their help and tried to keep the sarcasm out of my voice. Then I told Barrington if he had a minute to follow me out to my car, I‘d like to give him a book. He jumped like a fish to a worm.”

  “Good tactic,” the Colonel said.

  “Thanks. Once I got him out there, I played him and got him to agree to meet me at a nearby Starbucks at two-thirty. He couldn’t say yes fast enough. Funny how even though we live in a virtual melting pot of celebrities, some people never get used to it. I’d spotted that in him right away. He couldn’t wait to spend time with his favorite author and have the chance to impress me. The info flowed like water out of a faucet.”

  While Clarence snoozed on the area rug in front of the fireplace occasionally emitting little doggie snores, Danny filled his friends in on everything Barrington had been able to tell him. “Here’s something interesting. He said the reason the cops got there so quickly is that they have had Shady under surveillance. When the call came in they were right in the vicinity.”

  Danny told them Barrington wouldn’t tell him why the doc was being watched, but from experience he deduced it was more than simply keeping an eye on him. Maybe they were trying to build a case about something. “By the way, he was in uniform that night because of the surveillance, so it would look like he was just a cop on patrol in his area. Barrington is actually a detective.”

  Things were getting a little more confused. Maybe Dr. Al Shady was more than a retired cranky old gent with a trophy wife. They talked about it, but none of the trio knew the Shadys well enough to actually have valid input. Just lots of brainstorming and speculation.

  Cameron asked if anyone wanted more coffee. The Colonel shook his head, but Danny said, “Sure, I’d love some.” She poured a second cup for herself and the author.

  “By the way, my friend Kate was planning to come down from San Francisco at the end of the week. I asked her if she could come sooner, and she will be here tomorrow afternoon. I think Kate could be a big help when it comes to unraveling this mess.”

  The news didn’t seem to reso
nate well with Danny. He felt this was a bad time to have a friend visit because they would need all possible concentration to uncover whatever they could. Based upon what he actually learned from Barrington, the position they took was that it was a burglary that had to do with whatever Shady was into. Barrington thinks the Shadys are in hiding and will turn up eventually.

  However, that wasn’t Danny’s take. With the new information about the Shady surveillance, he said he had some friends at the Bureau who owed him a favor or two and would be happy to see if they knew anything about the surveillance on Shady.

  Cameron was about to protest that Kate would be a big help because that was what she did, when the Colonel intervened. “Hey, hold on a second, Danny. This friend of Cami’s isn’t just any friend. This is a friend with talent and connections. Have you ever heard of Kate Steele of FraudBusters, Inc.? Met her a few times when she was here. Really sharp lady.”

  Danny’s eyes flashed with recognition. “You mean the Kate Steele who has been on TV? The gorgeous redhead?”

  “Yep. One and the same, and Cami’s right. Kate could be a big help.”

  They talked a while longer and decided to wait until Kate arrived to work out who would do what. The one thing they knew deep down was whatever the cops were making of this, it was wrong. They also agreed that Matt would have to be enlightened at some point, probably within a day or two. Maybe he knew more about the missing couple.

  7

  Cameron’s boyfriend Milton arrived a short time after Danny and the Colonel left. He wrapped her in a loving embrace accompanied by a long hello kiss. Then he held her at arm’s length and gave her the “once-over.”