Smokescreen

“Not since they tried to wake him up.”

“I can’t tell you what happened before, but today he wanted you desperately.”

“I need you to do me a favor. Stay close to him. Let him know you can be trusted with anything. Remind him about your loyalty to Hurst & McCoy. I’ll work with the schedule down here and get back as soon as I can.”

“What do I do about Rita and Erica?”

“Get creative. Any resources you need, you have access. Maybe you can offer to fly Rita’s family in for support. Tell them you want to help in any way and insist they go home and get some rest as much as possible. Rita trusts you.”

“Okay, I’m going to the office to look into getting her family here. That’s a good angle.”

“Keep me updated. Stella or I will have a phone on at all times.”

“Okay.”

“And Dana, goes without saying. I appreciate you.”

“I know Max, and it’s my pleasure. That’s what family’s for.” She hangs up.

Stella comes directly to me and sits in my lap, wrapping her arms around me. I relay my conversation and Jake’s jaw visibly ticks.

“You need to get back immediately, Max,” Stella states.

“I agree, when we land, let’s go straight to the factory and re-arrange the itinerary this week. I think after the photo shoot on Monday, we can fly back. I’ll reschedule the party I planned for the first phase renovations.”

“I think you should keep the party. It is important for employee morale. Even though you won’t be there, maybe Laci, Jake, and I can stay and then come home afterwards.”

“Let’s see how things go with Dana. If she can break through, maybe there’s no need to rush back. This may be nothing, he could be delusional and never wake up again. Remember this man is a manipulative jackass most of the time. I’m skeptical.”

Jake and I share a look, and he gives a slight nod. If Edward is lucid and wants to talk, it could be about anything.

“Babe, I need to call Chris and tell him what’s going on.” She kisses me quickly and moves back to her seat.

“I hate to be a bitch but are things always this intense?” Laci asks.

No one answers her directly but Stella burst into laughter. We all join in and the mood in the cabin changes. Once again, Stella has found a way to lighten the situation.

I’m pretty sure everyone in a twenty-mile radius has shown up to see the newly remodeled community center. Pedro’s grandmother and her entire church brigade have had Stella occupied since we walked in the door. Laci even has her own fan club.

Men, women, and children swarm each of the rooms, admiring all the new furnishings, technology, and books. Since we run a light shift on Sundays, we went made the decision to close the factory today, allowing anyone to come out if they wanted.

Pride and happiness radiated from Stella when the director performed the dedication ceremony. I was prepared for the tears and as soon as the first one hit her cheek, I pulled her into me, causing the crowd to cheer. Once the formalities were over, the party started. To my surprise, the locals prepared a feast and set up tables and tents in the courtyard.

The only thing bothering me is lack of communication from Dana. She sends me text updates but so far, she hasn’t had any time alone with Edward again. Rita and Erica have been taking turns staying with him. But luckily bringing in Rita’s family may have worked. She’s asked Dana to come sit with Edward tomorrow.

“We need to talk.” Jake motions for me to follow him. Once we are out of earshot of anyone, he pulls out his phone. “Marshall Barnes has a lead on the wire transfer into Sullivan PR. He’s sending you everything he has through a secure email. I’ll need to see it but for obvious reasons he can’t send to me.”

I nod because I know Marshall did not get this information legally.

“Also, my supervisor and I agree that this thing with Edward is suspicious. But we think there may be some validity. After Edward was taken to the hospital, we got a guy in his office to look around. Before he collapsed, he was reading through financial reports and bank statements on line. These were not Hurst & McCoy. These looked personal. It could be a coincidence, but we’re covering every corner. Too much has gone into this investigation to have loose ends.”

“I get that, but why are you just now telling me? How’d you even get someone into his office without me knowing?”

“We sent h

im in through the cleaning service. Don’t get hung up on the shit. There’s something else you need to know. We found the man Edward was paying off down here. Edward sent him money every month to intimidate the employees. He threatened them if they talked to the fed’s investigating JOS. According to this guy, he got a message from Edward when the renovation started and Hurst & McCoy became a community name. He paid him five-hundred thousand dollars to get lost and forget Edward’s name. The guy took it and agreed. But he’s a dumbass. He started bragging about being rich and knowing people in ‘high’ places. Word got back to one of our local guys and they got him.”

“So what does this mean?”