2X The Heat (2X The Pleasure 1)

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I got home that evening and did the only thing I could think to do.

Google Owen Hayes. And pray something of value came up. I saw dozens of articles surrounding both the company and person, but I ignored all that – all I cared about was how to find someone who didn’t want to be found. What I did look into was the company’s address and phone number.

I made numerous calls, but when one finally connected, the secretary said, “I’m sorry, I’m not at liberty to disclose phone numbers of my superiors.”

Which wasn’t a surprise on its own, but the way the woman spoke, it was as if she’d been trained to say exactly that sentence. I hung up and tried another number. Same result. The next number wasn’t much better. I had tried every number with every extension on the corporate website, but each time I was either denied the information or given another number that led to nothing.

Finally, once I had exhausted the list, I tried to find something useful in one of the articles. I discovered that a lot of it was appalling speculation and straight up defamation, but I tried not to think about. After twenty minutes, I finally found the glimmer of hope I’d been searching for – Owen’s lawyer.

The man had been quoted in one of the stories, so I looked him up, and then found his firm. I made the call.

It went through to his assistant, of course, and I received the same treatment as I had at Owen’s offices.

“I have some information on Owen Hayes,” I tried.

“I’m afraid we are not interested in any tips on the matter at this time.” Another automated response.

“Please! Tell him it’s Sydney Mercer!”

“Miss, like I’ve said–”

I was starting to lose hope, but then the call was cut short abruptly. A male voice said, “Miss Mercer?”

“Yes! Are you Owen’s lawyer? Can you tell me where he is? I need to speak with him. I have to fix things.”

He replied, “Miss Mercer, I’m afraid you won’t be able to reach Owen at this time. Communication is kept to a minimum, until things are sorted out.”

“I see.” That stung. I couldn’t even talk to him.

After a short silence, he said, “But I will pass on that you’ve called him. Anything you want to say?”

“Just thank him from me and my brother. Declan is getting better. And tell him that I’m waiting for his return. I’d like to thank him, in person.”

“Very well, Miss Mercer. Now, if you don’t mind, don’t try to find him, okay? He will find you, when the time is right.”

“Thanks,” I said, but there were only short beeps on the other end.

Chapter 21

Owen

“Is that all she said?” I asked. I was on the island, taking a walk up in its hills, trying my hardest not to go insane. “Are you certain?”

“Yes, Owen. Sydney thanks you, and she’s waiting for you. Nothing to worry about. Her brother is getting better.”

“Good, good. Thanks for the update. Now, where are we with the case? To be honest, Lucas, I’m losing it down here.”

“Hang in there Owen, because we might be onto something. So far, every case they tried to file has been dismissed. As we predicted, they brought up the fact of the amount of accounts of suspicious business practices, but every case was looked at separately, and you have covered all your bases there.”

“Told you!”

“That’s not all. This week has been the busiest. The IRS wants to look into everything at once, and they want to drag every member of the board into court to ask them about the deals. Thankfully, like you, they have good lawyers.”

I kicked a rock of a cliff and watched it bounced down the slope. “If you’re quite done sucking your own dick, get to the point.”

Baxter snickered. “The point is, they’re looking for you like you’re the fucking Cinderella, Owen, but they have no leverage. There isn’t a judge insane enough send the Feds after you. In other news, your people have done a good job clearing most of your charities, or whatever you want to call them. And since it’s all tied in, your shell corporations have been cleared, as well. Basically, the IRS is at square one. You were right, they will have to dive into paperwork like Scrooge McDuck into money, if they hope to ever prove anything.”