Investigating 101

Todd slid onto a bar stool and listened to Anna chatter about late April’s sudden cool snap as she poured him a cup of coffee.

“Winter’s determined to hang on this year,” she said knowingly, then shivered visibly. “It’s almost May, it ought to be warmer than this.” She sat the carafe back onto the warming plate and snagged the nearest newspaper. “Here you go.” She studied him a moment, her expression suddenly serious. “Looks like you could do with something to occupy your mind this morning.”

Yep, just like his mother. A mind reader.

“Thanks.” Todd took the paper and turned the page without even surveying the front headlines. It wasn’t that he didn’t care about current events but he had his own problems today. Such as finding a job and pretending that his ego wasn’t stinging like hell.

His gaze snagged on a large advertisement for this weekend’s job fair. He scanned the staffing agencies and firms participating, his hopes faltering with each name he read. The dead-last one had him sitting up a little straighter.

The Colby Agency.

He steadied his runaway imagination and reminded himself that he’d looked at their requirements once before. Minimum age was twenty-five with at least two years of pertinent experience. And, as good as he was at pretending to be someone or something he wasn’t, lying wasn’t going to work with the premier investigative agency. A firm like the Colby Agency would surely do an extensive background search.

Just when he would have moved on, his eyes encountered three seemingly innocuous words that sent a broad smile stretching across his lips and a burst of adrenaline-driven anticipation through his veins.

No experience necessary.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” he muttered. Maybe he’d done something right lately, after all. Whatever had gained him the favor of the gods, he hoped it was enough to see him through the screening process.

“Here you go, son,” Anna announced as she set the plate laden with eggs, bacon and toast in front of him. “Clean your plate, you’ll feel like a new man.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Todd dug in. He would need every ounce of energy he could summon for today’s performance. And that was all any job interview was. The opportunity for a prospective employer to watch candidates perform to whatever music they played.

And no one was better at that dance than Todd. He had every intention of dazzling whoever was in charge. It was what he did best.

He could charm or talk his way out of practically anything, anywhere, anytime.

Well, except for this morning. But then he hadn’t known he was taking pictures of his boss’s daughter. Even he wasn’t that good.

Chapter Three

When the elevator stopped, Todd hesitated before stepping into the lobby of the Colby Agency.

This was definitely the floor on which security had instructed him to alight. But this wasn’t at all what he’d expected.

The furnishings, chairs and tables, including what was clearly the receptionist’s desk, sat in one corner while three men worked quickly to install new carpeting starting at the opposite wall.

“Mr. Thompson?”

Todd’s gaze turned to the woman who’d said his name. “That’s me.” The smile he saved for charming the ladies pushed automatically into place. “And you are?”

The pretty lady’s cheeks turned pink, but she managed a shaky smile of her own. “Elaine. The receptionist.” She glanced around the spacious lobby. “Sorry about the mess. They were supposed to have finished last week, except something went wrong and…” She shrugged. “May I get you a cup of coffee?”

After leaving the job fair, Todd had spent the entire weekend walking the floor of his one-room apartment. The call from Victoria Colby herself this morning had dragged him from the closest thing to sleep he’d gotten since. A quick shower and about a dozen cups of strong black coffee had followed that much anticipated call. He definitely did not need any more caffeine.

“No, thanks.” Somehow he managed to keep his smile in place. The receptionist’s blush deepened and for a moment she seemed completely flustered.

“This way, Mr. Thompson,” she said finally, with a gesture toward the corridor to the left of where her desk likely sat under normal circumstances.

“Call me Todd,” he insisted as he followed Elaine to what he presumed would be Victoria Colby’s office.

His guide took him to the far end of the long corridor and another, smaller lobby. This one had already been dressed in the new, no doubt expensive gold carpeting. He wasn’t that knowledgeable about decor, but even he was impressed with the lush ambience he’d encountered so far. But then, this was the Colby Agency, the very top of the tip top of the private investigations heap. He expected nothing less.

“Mildred, this is Mr. Todd Thompson,” Elaine announced to the older woman behind the desk. “Victoria is expecting him.”

Elaine flashed him a shy smile then headed back to her own domain. Todd watched her for a second longer than he should have, but she had a nice walk. In fact, she was very, very nice. He liked this place already.

“This way, Mr. Thompson.”

The stern tone tugged him back to attention. Though he felt confident the gesture was wasted, he gifted the lady—Mildred Parker, according to the name plate on her desk—with a flash of pearly whites that generally charmed most of her gender. As he suspected, she wasn’t buying it. Despite the firm expression, she had a pleasant face and looked to be well into her fifties. This, he decided, was a woman on whose good side he definitely needed to stay. She might not be the boss, but she was damned close.

“Mrs. Colby-Camp is ready to see you now.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Taking note of the addition tacked onto Victoria Colby’s name, Todd followed the all-business Mildred through a set of double doors and into a lavish office that made him think of royalty.

“Good morning, Mr. Thompson.”

Victoria Colby-Camp stood near a small conference table to the left of her impressive desk. She looked exactly as he had expected, extremely classy and completely unreadable.

“Thank you, Mildred,” she said, her tone soft, polite and yet commanding somehow.

Todd took the hand Victoria offered and shook it firmly. Behind him he heard the door close with Mildred’s exit.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Colby-Camp.” He wondered if she had any idea just how sincere those words were. He wasn’t entirely sure it was possible to relay with a mere sentence how much it meant for him to be here.

Victoria indicated the chair closest to him. “Let’s sit and talk, Mr. Thompson.”

“Todd,” he suggested as he waited for her to take her seat first. She acknowledged his suggestion with a nod and settled into the chair at the head of the oval table. He pulled out his own chair and got comfortable. At least as comfortable as he could with his whole future hanging in the balance. He wasn’t generally a guy who got nervous about much of anything but this was the most important moment of his life—he had to make this happen.

“Nicole and I reviewed the video of your interview and considered the results at length.”

Todd wasn’t surprised that the interview had been videoed. Agencies this high profile didn’t leave anything to chance. If he was hired it would likely be by committee.

“I assume your conclusion was favorable,” he offered. His confidence level rose significantly. He’d known he had impressed Nicole Reed-Michaels. Unlike this lady, Nicole had been somewhat easier to read. And gorgeous. Was everyone who worked here beautiful? Whatever Victoria’s age, she was still an attractive woman.

Life at the Colby Agency would certainly be easy on the eyes, at least if the rest of the female staff lived up to what he’d seen so far. Beautiful, intelligent. Very cool.

He’d been somewhat surprised that Nicole had conducted the interviews alone. He’d expected at least three interviewers and that a minimum of two would be male. But the Colby Agency appeared to know exactly what they’d been looking for. He’d watched with interest as Nicole had weeded out literally hundreds of applicants. Only twenty had moved on to the written exam. A mere twelve had survived that portion of the extensive interview. Less than half of those had remained once the intense one-on-one portion concluded. Nicole Reed-Michaels was a hell of a looker, but that hadn’t kept her from being as hard as nails. She was one tough lady.

But not nearly as tough as the one analyzing him just now.

“Favorable yet cautious,” Victoria allowed. “This is the Colby Agency, Todd. We don’t take chances with our reputation.”

He experienced a glimmer of worry, but he didn’t flinch. “Understandable.”

She assessed his response for three seconds. “Of the five recruits Nicole selected, only three received a call this morning,” Victoria informed him, her eyes still gauging his response.

Todd held his ground, didn’t let her see him sweat. “I’m flattered to be among those three.”

“Considering the number of applicants, you very well should be.” That dark gaze that gave away nothing remained pinned to his, waiting, watching for him to make his first mistake…for him to falter.

The next ten seconds ticked by with excruciating slowness. He gave himself a mental pat on the back when he managed not to squirm.

“You did extraordinarily well on the written exam,” she said eventually, tossing out that bone with scarcely any inflection in her tone.

“Thank you.” He’d known he’d aced the test. He was particularly good at giving the answers people wanted—which weren’t even always the correct ones. Because folks had certain expectations of success as well as failure and he’d met each one as if he’d designed the test himself. No one was better in that arena. Every professor whose class he’d taken at the University of Alabama had said the same: Todd had his own personal guardian angel when it came to test taking…either that or he was the luckiest bastard on the planet.

“My single hesitation, Todd,” Victoria went on, instantly snapping him back to the present and putting him on edge, “is with your somewhat overlarge ego.”

Uncertainty streaked through him. For the first time in his life he wasn’t sure how to respond. Though he felt confident Victoria wasn’t the first to think as much, she was definitely the first to say so.

“Not that there is no place in this line of work for a healthy ego,” she allowed. “To the contrary.” The knowing expression she kept aimed in his direction did nothing to alleviate his mounting uneasiness. “It takes courage and confidence to be the kind of investigator this agency seeks out.”

“I agree,” he said, seeing no reason to deny what she obviously understood about him. “You’ll find that I have no shortage of either. But I also know how and when to keep the latter in check.”

A smile gave him a moment’s reprieve. “I’m certain you know exactly how to conduct yourself in any given situation.” She leaned back into her chair, adopting a more relaxed posture. “Let me be frank, Todd.”

He didn’t relax, couldn’t have if his life had depended upon it. That fleeting reprieve he’d experienced had just vanished. This was the moment. Whatever she said next would determine where he went from here. Every minute of every hour of his adult life so far had been leading up to this.

“This agency is constantly inundated with applicants more than qualified,” she explained. “We choose carefully, and only the very best.”

And then he knew why he was here. He didn’t have to see it in those closely guarded eyes or to hear it in her voice. He understood exactly why a lady who could command this prestigious agency even bothered to talk to him, a guy who lacked any semblance of the qualifications of which she spoke.

“Mrs. Colby-Camp,” he said, that cocky attitude he was known for taking precedence and showing, probably a little more than it should. “I don’t have that experience you speak of with such reverence, but I do have a couple of assets you might find every bit as admirable.”

She inclined her head slightly to the right and waited for him to continue.

“Ambition. Determination. You give me this opportunity and I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.” He leaned forward, anticipation burning through him like flames licking a path through a dry field. “I will do whatever it takes to ensure you’re impressed.”

The intensity in those dark eyes cranked up a notch. “Make no mistake, Todd, I am already duly impressed, otherwise you would not be here.”

With considerable effort, he reclined into his chair, barely resisting the urge to jump up and do a little victory dance. “What happens next?”

That smile that had toyed with her lips moments ago reappeared full-force. “Now you have to impress the rest of my staff. Do that, and you’ve earned yourself a permanent position here.”

It was his turn to smile. Oh, yes, he was in. “Just tell me what you want me to do and consider it done.”

“YOU’RE CERTAIN about this, Victoria?”

She turned from the view outside her office window to face her second-in-command. “Yes, Ian, I’m absolutely certain.”

He nodded once. “How would you like to begin?”

Victoria considered his question for a moment. The three new recruits were currently in the conference room with a member of human resources. There were numerous forms to be filled out. Benefits to be discussed. All of which would buy Victoria time for this final phase of the plan.

“Let’s start with Mr. Thompson.” There hadn’t actually been any question in her mind. He was the one who stood out to her. The other two, both female, were excellent candidates, but neither possessed the level of in-your-face self-assurance young Mr. Thompson did.

“He’s a cocky one,” Ian offered.

Victoria had to smile. “Yes, he is.”

“You reviewed the background details in Simon’s report?”

“Yes.” Victoria knew of which detail in particular he spoke. Todd Thompson had decided that for his final thesis he would write about taking on a new identity and how easy it would be to fool people. In his opinion, most people wanted to believe what they were told, and he proved as much by living a double life for a short period and fooling all those around him. No actual harm had been done, but the small community where he’d played out his little hypothesis had been less than pleased to learn they’d been deceived by the young man they had presumed to be a traveling missionary from another country.

“He’ll require close supervision,” Ian countered as he considered the four case files in his hands.

“Without a doubt,” Victoria agreed. “I was thinking A.J. would be an excellent mentor.”

Ian nodded. “Perfect choice.”

Though A. J. Braddock was fairly new to the agency, his record spoke for itself. A former marine who’d turned Homeland Security agent, A.J. had worked through a number of domestic crises that required an innate ability to maintain calm in the worst possible situations. Not to mention that as a marine, he’d been one of the first assigned to Iraq when that deadly dictator had been brought down. A.J. would know just how to take the roughest edges off Mr. Thompson.

“The Serena Blake case is my top priority.” Victoria considered, remembering the young woman’s desperation. “I think Mr. Thompson’s unique skill would be an excellent match.”

“Might I recommend that we put these new recruits in the field one at a time?”

Ian’s concern was first and foremost for the agency and its clients. He was absolutely right to make such an assertion. Victoria had already decided as much.

“Agreed.” Victoria took a deep breath. “Shall we brief A.J. first?”

TODD WAITED as patiently as he could for the next step. The other two recruits, Gabrielle Hanson and Michelle Robb, had gone to lunch with Nicole Reed-Michaels.

He wasn’t worried that his being left behind was a bad sign. Nope. He figured he had been chosen for another meeting with the boss.

Or maybe they’d found out about his thesis. There was a good chance he might never live down “Charmed and Dangerous.” He’d shown quite literally that fooling others was a simple matter of determination versus skill. Anyone could do it and anyone could be conned. It was simply easier to believe what one was told. Most folks did just that. And none wanted to learn they’d been wrong. As cynical as some parts of American society had become, folks still preferred the uncomplicated. Believing was far simpler than overanalyzing.

Would Victoria change her mind about him in light of his college exploits?

She’d said she was impressed. Maybe she’d changed her mind since learning a few more details.

The door opened and the woman herself appeared as if he’d somehow summoned her with his troubled musings.

“Mr. Thompson.”

He stood. “Todd,” he reminded her.

“Todd,” she allowed, “this is A. J. Braddock.”

A big guy, definitely former military, Todd decided, considering his bearing and the high and tight haircut, followed Victoria into the conference room. The big guy closed the door behind him and thrust out his hand.

“Mr. Thompson,” he said as he grabbed Todd’s hand, “I’ve heard a lot about you this morning.”

The guy looked sincere and quite friendly. He had to be six-three if he was an inch, close to two hundred pounds. Even the nice suit jacket couldn’t disguise what were likely bulging biceps to go along with those extra-wide shoulders.

“Call me Todd.” He looked from Braddock to Victoria, determined not to be dismissed without an opportunity to prove his worth in the field. “Is this the part where you see if I can play nice with the other kiddies?”

Apparently his humor wasn’t appreciated.

“This,” Braddock said with an edge no doubt prompted by his total lack of a sense of humor, “is the part where we see if you can hold your own with the big boys.”

Todd grinned. “Touché.”

Victoria took a seat at the conference table. Braddock joined her. Todd did the same.

She opened a manila folder and viewed the contents for a moment before she began. “Serena Blake is a lab assistant at Milestone Laboratories.”

Todd wasn’t familiar with Milestone Laboratories so he sat quietly and listened.

A. J. Braddock took the ball. “Serena’s immediate supervisor is a research scientist named Charles Landon. He is also the heaviest investor at Milestone as well as the most renowned scientist on staff.”

Now there was a name Todd recognized. “His pregnant wife went missing a few weeks ago.” Every local channel, and some national, had carried the story for weeks. In the past two or three, the hype had appeared to dwindle, but as far as Todd knew, the woman hadn’t been found.

Victoria nodded. “She was seven months pregnant and simply disappeared. The police have excluded Dr. Landon as a suspect. They believe he is innocent of any wrongdoing and that, in fact, there may not be any foul play involved at all. According to my sources at Chicago P.D., the unanimous conclusion, considering certain details, is that Mrs. Landon left of her own volition. Since the police have no evidence to the contrary and there has been no ransom demand, the case is being treated more like a missing-person case rather than a kidnapping.”

“What kind of details?” Todd wanted to know.

With approval in her eyes, Victoria answered, “A large withdrawal made by Mrs. Landon the day before and a missing photo album from her childhood.”

Todd chalked one up in his favor. His new boss liked that he asked questions. He quickly reviewed what he’d watched about the case on the news and read about in the papers. He’d never heard the name Serena Blake. “So what does Miss Blake have to do with this?”

“She,” Victoria explained, “believes that foul play is definitely involved.”

“She has no evidence,” Braddock put in quickly.

“This is more her gut feelings. Apparently she and Mrs. Landon were friends.”

Todd thought about that for a second. “Does Mrs. Landon have any other friends who support this scenario?”

Victoria sighed. “This is part of the problem. Mrs. Landon had no real friends. She had acquaintances of her social standing with whom she attended parties and sat on various charity committees, but she didn’t have a single true friend that we know of. Even her relationship with Miss Blake had been kept secret from her husband. Miss Blake insists he can’t know about it now.”

“We haven’t confirmed this part as of yet,” Braddock added. “We only have her word.”

“There is always the possibility that Miss Blake is hoping to damage her boss’s career,” Victoria suggested. Before Todd could ask questions along those lines, she went on. “From what we’ve discovered since she came to us four days ago, there is some tension between her and Dr. Landon. Apparently he has passed her over for promotion once and he requires long hours without additional pay more often than not. I get the impression that he takes advantage of her any way he can. The consensus is that as far as his work goes, he’s quite ruthless.”

Todd shrugged. “Then why take the case?” Seemed like a no-brainer to him. The police didn’t think the guy had anything to hide. Why believe his assistant who, apparently, had reason to want to hurt him?

“First,” Victoria said with a bluntness that told Todd she didn’t like being second-guessed, “Miss Blake was willing to drain her savings to put up the required retainer fee.”

So she was willing to give her life’s savings to get this done. Todd didn’t see where that let her off the hook. Anyone with a little ambition would have done the same and would have considered it an investment in the future.

“Second,” Victoria continued, “if there is even a remote chance that this man had something to do with his pregnant wife’s disappearance, we have an obligation to take the case. As a private agency there are steps we can take that the police cannot.”

Todd knew the statistics; when wives went missing or were found dead, more often than not the husband was responsible. Landon certainly had the kind of money required to get rid of a wife he no longer wanted without sullying his hands. But did that make him guilty?

“Of course, we must tread carefully,” Braddock suggested. “We have to approach this in a way that gives us access without allowing damage to the doctor or his reputation, since he could very well be innocent.”

In other words, they had to pretend to be someone they weren’t. Now he got the picture. This was his specialty.

“Who do we need to be?” he asked with the same bluntness Victoria had used.

“I have a dear friend in nonfiction publishing,” she explained, “who is very interested in genetics, which is one of the main fields of research at Milestone. This friend will allow one of my investigators to open a line of dialogue with Dr. Landon in pursuit of a book about him and his research. Since my friend is genuinely interested, our investigation will set things in motion along that avenue while allowing us to get close enough to make our own conclusions about the good doctor.”

“And if all goes well,” Todd concluded, “Dr. Landon will get a book deal and we’ll have our answers. Miss Blake will simply have to come to terms with her friend’s disappearance.”

“This case is too high-profile to approach it any other way,” Braddock put in, apparently annoyed by Todd’s elementary assessment.

“A.J. is new at the agency as well as in Chicago, making him the logical choice,” Victoria interjected. “There’s little possibility that anyone, including Landon, would recognize him.”

“How do I fit into this scenario?” Todd liked doing things his own way, but he had a feeling that wasn’t going to happen this go-around.

“You’ll be introduced as A.J.’s research assistant,” Victoria told him. “This will be your trial run, Mr. Thompson,” she added, her tone direct and to the point. “If we like what we see on this assignment, you’ll stay on. If not…”