Moses (Men of Versteck Valley Book 2), page 9
“Mr. Angeleno?” Honestly, what was Amelia talking about?
“Mamma’s boss. He’s been calling all day, wanting her to come back to work even though she wasn’t feeling well. He’s really bossy and tells her what to do even when she’s not at work. Daddy hates him and wants her to quit, but he doesn’t make enough money to take care of the bills,” Amelia said in the way bratty pre-teenaged girls talked as if they knew everything.
“I see,” Taylor said when she had no clue. Fiona and Turner were both missing. Mr. Angeleno and Fiona’s husband might have something to do with Fiona’s absence especially if she had been with Taylor’s father talking.
Would Fiona’s husband have followed her if she went to talk to Turner? Possibly. Would he have gotten angry? Tried to fight the man who knew his wife before him? Men had killed for less. Turner was a seasoned veteran and warrior, it would take quite a bit to take him down, she thought. But would his guard be down if he was protecting a woman? Could the mother of his children be used as a leverage to make him stand down? Yes, definitely. Especially if she called him crying and hysterical.
Damn. She hated they ever went to Milan and opened this can of worms.
“So your father’s at home? He’s not missing?” Taylor asked to be clear.
“Yes. He said he was going to work and Aunt Salome came over. She’s single, don’t have any kids and lives close by,” Amelia said. “Will you find Mamma?”
“What? No. Why would you ask that? No. No, let the police find her if she’s missing.” Taylor and Travis were searching for their father, he took precedence. What if he’s with Fiona? She didn’t want to think about that.
“Oh.” Amelia sounded deflated. “What about your brother? He’s tall with muscles, I bet he could find her.”
What did height and muscles have to do with finding a lost person? Taylor wouldn’t ask. “Sorry, he’s busy working.” She would research Fiona’s husband once they returned to the house, then she would research the boss. If flags turned up for either of these men, she and Travis would need to talk to them.
Taylor didn’t believe in coincidences. Had Fiona reached out to their dad? Did they talk on the phone first and agree to meet in person? Was that the appointment he had yesterday? She hoped not.
“Amelia… listen to me. I don’t know where Fiona is, if I find out something I’ll call you at this number, okay?”
“Oh, thank you. It’s going to be great having a big… I mean older sister. Call me anytime,” Amelia said with more enthusiasm than the conversation warranted.
“I didn’t say… never mind. How old are you?” Taylor had thought the girl was 15 or 16, but she acted much younger.
“I’m 12, Penelope is 10. How old are you?” Amelia asked.
“If I find out anything I’ll call or send a text. Do not give this number to anyone, understand?”
“Promise I won’t,” Amelia said.
Taylor disconnected and sent Travis a text with the highlights.
<<<>>>
The drive back to the house was done in silence. Taylor understood Travis’ felt guilty for stirring up ghosts of the past with that visit to Milan. They didn’t lie to each other. It was his insistence on meeting Fiona that caused the woman to hyperventilate with a guilty conscience causing diarrhea of the mouth. The people Fiona shared her youthful indiscretion weren’t happy over her decision to wait over 25 years to come clean, and it might end her relationship with her husband.
What did that have to do with their father not calling and telling them he was alright? Nothing. Was Fiona’s disappearance tied in with her father in any way? Possibly. They didn’t know and until they did, neither would rest easy.
When they reached the house, she headed toward her father’s study to access his databases to investigate Cristopher Jilani and Farik Angeleno. Travis headed upstairs. Taylor leaned back in the chair as she waited for information on Jilani.
She was surprised to see he had a criminal record. Most of his past indiscretions from his youth included car-jacking, identity fraud, passing bad checks and one assault against a former employer. Nothing in the past 25 years.
Mr. Angeleno was a different matter. Older, in his early 60’s, married three times, currently living with a woman half his age, and no children. That alone would scar an Italian mother who expected all her children to reproduce. The company dealt in the top of the line fabrics with a who’s who client list of famous designers. Fiona had joined the company in its infancy and rose in the ranks as they grew.
There were comments regarding unethical business practices, but nothing is proven. Few made it to the top without stepping on several toes, and Angeleno’s company was definitely at the top in the industry. Taylor looked at a picture of Angeleno. The man aged gracefully with a head full of wavy dark hair, an angular face boasting sharp cheekbones, hawkish nose, and dark blue eyes. Handsome in a classical way. The longer she stared at his image, she saw a sense of ruthlessness in his gaze. The idea that this was a man not to be crossed lingered even after she pulled up Jilani’s photo. He was a man who seemed to hold no secrets. Work hard, pay the bills and if you’re lucky, have a decent life.
Cristopher Jilani didn’t dream big, he would never understand a man like Angeleno who started his business from nothing and built it into an empire. Jilani had no vision while Angeleno had it in spades.
Why in the world did Fiona choose such a man like Jilani? They were the same height, average build, although Cristopher had a potbelly. Maybe it was the contrast to her boss that held the appeal or his contrast to their father for that matter. Maybe Fiona wanted someone who was perfectly content to stay in the shadows and not shine all the time.
Taylor read the bio’s of both men again and performed a computer generated assessment which would tell her the likelihood of either of these men being involved with her father’s disappearance. Each man had high probability scores for interfering in her father’s life.
Damn.
Next, she pulled up the name and location of every restaurant and hotel on the way to Milan. There were a lot along the coastline, tapering off once the highway went northward. If she and Travis split up, they could make better time, but that went against all their training. It would take two, possibly three days to stop and check all these locations with a photo of their dad. She frowned. Travis had taken a picture of Fiona, they could print it out and ask about her as well.
She printed the lists and coded them on the map to make sure they didn’t miss anything. Her gut said he went to meet Fiona and would’ve headed in the direction of Milan to meet her half-way. But he could’ve headed toward Cannes or another coastal town, she didn’t know and went with her gut.
Hungry, she headed toward the kitchen, fixed a few sandwiches and pulled out a soft drink. “Trav, come eat. We need to get on the road soon,” she yelled and returned to her father’s study.
Moments later he entered the room holding a plate with his food. “You got into his safe?”
“No, didn’t try. Not at this point, anyway. If he’s gone much longer, it’s something we can try to break into, although I doubt we could,” she said.
“You think dad and Fiona got together and what? Did someone ambush them? Captured them or something?” he asked while sitting on the corner of the desk.
“Too many coincidences,” she said handing him the probability printout and background information she gathered on the two men. He read them in silence while she continued coding all their stops onto the maps.
Travis whistled. “Definitely high probabilities, although I’d give Angeleno higher marks. Chances are Fiona knows where all the bodies are buried and can bring him down at any moment. Can’t see the husband doing anything to her, he’s never done anything violent before.”
“Maybe he’s got her tied up somewhere as penance,” Taylor said off-handedly. “Damn there’s a lot of places to check.”
“What?” he asked looking over at the map.
She explained her plan.
“Makes sense but it’ll take a lot of time. Why not bring in some help?” he asked.
“Henri? A couple of the others?” she asked surprised. Those men were seasoned ex-military who saw a lot of time in war-zones. They never did this kind of work for their father. Normally, it was her and Travis.
He waved down her comment. “No. The two American soldiers, they want to find Turner and are heading to Milan to search for the traitor. It’s a good starting place for them.”
“People won’t talk to them and will expect to be paid for anything they tell them,” she said dismissing the idea.
He didn’t say anything for a few moments. “What did you think of them?”
“Not much. Although I don’t believe the amnesia thing,” she said thinking about Moses and his memory loss claim.
“It’s highly possible. He’s back here so soon after almost dying, Finding a traitor is a strong motivator to live. Plus, you pulled your weapon on Dr. Garace to save the man, now you’re saying you don’t think much of him?”
Taylor leaned back in her chair and gave the matter serious thought. “At the time I felt they had been through so much and the idea of them dying because he thought the man was beyond help pissed me off. What kind of doctor does that?”
“A realist? Why spend precious time on someone beyond the scope of your abilities when there are four others who need your help just as badly? I didn’t think it was wrong to focus on the ones he could help first.”
“Then you would be just as wrong as Garace because Sanderson is alive, walking and talking. Good thing Garace’s gut was wrong.”
“Good thing which is why I’m thinking to let them help with this search for daddy. We need to get to Milan but can’t ignore the basic search rules. Someone might have seen him, and we can be that much closer to finding him,” Travis said.
She frowned.
“We ride together in two separate cars. Looking at that map, a lot of the places are really close together, we each go with one of them to stop the scammers and move that list along. I think it’ll work and who knows maybe Sanderson will remember something else from his conversation with daddy,” Travis said.
She met his stare and understood he needed to make this right but was bringing in strangers the way to handle this? “Are you alright with them knowing about me?” Most times, Travis preferred she dress and act like a male, especially in Muslim countries.
“We’re going to Milan, you’ll need to be a woman to get in to talk to Angeleno, and it might help smooth the way to talk to Fiona’s husband.” He looked at the way she was dressed. “You should change into your preppy college student look so you can work that charm to get answers fast.”
She snorted as she thought over what he said. Made sense to be herself in Milan where beauty was celebrated and would open more doors than her gun would. “Good point.” She stood. “Are you packed?”
“Yeah, never unpacked fully from England. Was that just yesterday?” He shook his head. “Uncle Thomas is going to call soon, wanting to talk to daddy. Grandpa too.”
“There’s so much going on it’s hard to think about it all. We’ll deal with them whenever they call. I’m going to shower, change and pack. Do we leave in an hour? There are a few places we can hit this afternoon.”
He nodded. “I’ll call Moses and Everett.”
She stopped at the door and looked over her shoulder. “Who?”
“The two American soldiers, that’s their given names. Okay?” He looked at her.
A protest rose on her lips and died when she saw the pain and uncertainty he tried to hide in his gaze. This whole thing was eating at him, he was afraid they would mess up or worse. “Right. Long as they don’t come here.” She paused and thought of their first stop. “If they aren’t at the Shanty off the highway in an hour, we go on without them.”
CHAPTER TEN
Taylor and Travis arrived at the Shanty right on time. Moses and Jones leaned against their vehicle wearing jeans, short-sleeved polo shirts, sunglasses and tried to look harmless. Emphasis on trying. Travis pulled in next to them stepped out and extended his hand to each man. Since he explained what they planned to do over the phone, they didn’t ask any questions or make comments.
They split up.
Taylor looked at the map, there were five places to check during their first stop. When Travis returned to the car, she handed him a duplicate color-coded map. Taking it, he leaned against her door. “Do you have a preference?”
“For?” She continued looking at the map.
“Which car or who you ride with? I asked before we left the house, you never answered,” he said.
Her thoughts had been on her father, Fiona and yes, Amelia, as much as she hated to admit it. “This car, don’t matter which one of them,” she said. “We need to get moving.”
“Do you plan to drive?”
She hadn’t, but she could. “Sure.”
“Alright. Moses will ride with you. It’s better for his leg.”
Taylor looked up at that and tilted her head slightly so she could see Moses clearly. He didn’t look or act as if his leg bothered him. “Is he on pain medication?”
“Dunno.” He walked off holding the map, spoke to the two men and walked toward the passenger side of the smaller car. Moses moved toward their vehicle and stopped. She opened the door, got out and walked around to the driver’s side.
By the time she slid in, he had his seat-belt on, and the seat pushed back for his long, muscular legs. Taylor buckled in, started the car, and pulled out. Her thoughts kept returning to Amelia.
Why had she called?
It still surprised Taylor that the young girl sneaked and took information from her mother’s phone. At that age, it would never have occurred to her to do anything remotely similar. And telling personal family information? Who did that? She could imagine the look her father would have given her if she ran off at the mouth like that.
Thinking of him sent a shaft of pain through her chest. Please God, let him be alright. Please. Daddy, we’re coming. I hope you’ve left crumbs for us to follow. The drive had been in complete silence which suited her mood.
By the time they turned into the petrol station, she was ready to start the search. She parked, turned, pulled out two sets of photos and handed Moses a set. “Their names are on the back.” She pointed and took her list. “We’re going to these five locations. They’re all within blocks of here.” She showed him the dots on the maps.
He nodded, took a deep breath and stepped slowly out the car. Travis and Jones had entered the station, so Taylor and Moses headed to the nearby motel. Travis sent a text. “No luck.”
She and Moses entered the motel lobby and before they could speak the man behind the counter started talking about how they made such a nice couple, how rare it was to see such young beauty in his establishment and was about to go on when Moses held up his hand, cutting the man off mid-stream.
When Moses didn’t say anything, Taylor stepped closer to the counter with a troubled smile. “Sir, I’m looking for my parents, they’re missing, have you seen them?” she asked in French as she showed him the photos.
He shook his head slowly.
“Do you have any idea where someone would go around here to be alone where they wouldn’t be disturbed?” She gave the older man a sly grin.
He returned her smile and gave her two addresses to add to their lists. She leaned over the counter, placed a kiss on his cheek and waved goodbye. She sent Travis a text about the two additional spots.
“Good work. I’ll start asking that question too,” he responded.
It took an hour and a half to speak to everyone on their lists for their first stop. By the time they were back on the highway, Taylor fully appreciated Moses and Jones’ help. They wouldn’t make it to Milan tonight, but maybe tomorrow, that would shave off an entire day.
There were 11 locations to check at their next stop, all within a block of the highway.
“Did you see the American talking to Ashad’s man?” Moses asked into the quiet.
“Yes,” she said without thinking and caught her mistake. Now he knew she had been the soldier that helped in the rescue. Her role in her father’s crew wasn’t well known.
“What did he look like? How did he act?” He didn’t sound surprised or concerned that she had been there.
“I didn’t get a good look at his face when he met with Ashad’s man. I only paid attention when he spoke and heard his accent. I followed him. When I saw Ashad’s man, I knew they were meeting and listened.” She didn’t mention climbing the tree or her device, that wasn’t important.
“What did they say?” Turning slightly, he stared at her.
She told him about the gun shipment and the American’s hesitation because of his team.
“He knew we were in the area? He specifically mentioned us?” Moses asked, his voice low, tight.
“Yes. He sounded concerned until Ashad’s man told him you were prisoners and would never cause him problems again, I’m paraphrasing,” she said.
“So, he hadn’t told Ashad we were coming?”
“I didn’t say that,” she said. “If the American talked to Ashad initially, he could’ve told him about your arrival and wanted to be sure you were taken before agreeing to provide the weapons. Ashad’s man wouldn’t have known about a prior conversation between his boss and the American. That’s not how things work,” she said.
“Why do you speak English so well? I don’t detect an accent.”
“I’m American and French and have lived in both places for periods of time. My Nana speaks several languages and detests accents.”
“And you? How many languages do you speak?” he asked.
“Several,” she said. “You?”
“Three. English, French, and Spanish. I know some Middle East dialects but not enough to go on a mission without an interpreter.” He paused. “The next time you saw him in Milan, how did you know it was the same man?”
