Serve ‘N’ Protect by Tee O’Fallon
Chapter Thirty-Four
Markus pressed an ice pack to his jaw, moving it around to one of the other half dozen parts of his face that ached before giving up entirely.
The professional’s ID said his name was John Smith, but Markus suspected the driver’s license was phony, probably purchased at a high-end ID mill. Whoever he was, the guy had skills. Military turned mercenary, Markus would bet. They wouldn’t nail down his real identity until his prints were run. Chances were he had a record.
After making sure Cassidy wasn’t hurt, he’d cleaned off Ghost’s muzzle, wiped away the blood, and checked him for cuts before giving him some water. Now, his dog lay on the sofa next to Cassidy, his head in her lap and half asleep, as if it had just been another average, ordinary day.
He squeezed the ice pack so tightly it nearly popped.
Nothing ordinary about it.
The woman he loved more than anything in the world had nearly been killed—again—and he hadn’t even gotten the chance to tell her how he felt. From the way things were going, that wasn’t about to happen anytime soon.
He leaned against the wall at the base of the steps, cataloging the different law enforcement badges inside the house and out on the street. Maryland State Police, including Trooper Collins and Detective Chang. St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office. Even cops from neighboring Charles and Calvert Counties had responded. A little late, though.
He’d already given his statement to Detective Chang. Now it was Cassidy’s turn. From across the room, shocked, frightened blue eyes momentarily locked with his before turning back to the detective. What he saw in that brief moment was a mixture of pain and uncertainty. She didn’t know why he’d come back, and the last thing he’d done before leaving was rip her heart out.
It amazed him how strong and resilient she was and yet he shouldn’t have been surprised. This was one of the many reasons he loved her. Her strength and courage.
Her thick blond hair was tucked behind her ears, but a few wispy tendrils had escaped to frame her face. She looked like an angel. His angel. To him, she’d never been more beautiful. It took every ounce of willpower not to take her in his arms and kiss her like he wanted to. Like he needed to.
“Start at the beginning,” Chang said. “From the minute you walked in the door.”
She set the gel pack he’d given her on her lap. Before starting, she took a deep breath then blew it slowly through her open mouth. “As you know,” she said, looking at Trooper Collins, “I’ve been staying with my parents. I only came back for my external hard drive. The security system was set, so the first thing I did was enter the code and turn it off. Then I went to that table.” She pivoted on the sofa and pointed to the side table closest to where Markus stood. “I opened the drawer, looking for the hard drive. That’s when he spoke to me. Somehow, he’d managed to turn off the alarm without triggering it, then reset it. He told me he already had the hard drive, but he wanted my laptop.” She drew her brows together. “My new laptop.”
Chang’s pen stilled over his notepad. “Meaning you got a new one to replace the one that was stolen when your house was burglarized?”
“Yes, and when I refused to tell him where the new one was,” she continued, “he…” She swallowed hard. “He hit me.” Gingerly, she touched her fingers to her cheek.
Markus’s hand tightened around the gel pack. There were already signs of another bruise on her creamy skin. If he hadn’t already been taken away to the hospital to have his injuries examined, Markus would have pummeled John Smith again and twice as hard for laying hands on her.
Mansfield’s words lit up in his mind brighter than gunfire. When you love someone, you’ll do anything to protect them. Ironic that Markus had so much in common with the man who’d tried to murder him. Because he knew without a doubt that he would do anything to protect Cassidy. Even kill.
“On top of everything else this guy’s looking at,” Chang said, “we’ll tack on assault charges.” His voice softened. “Did he hurt you in any other way?”
Her brow furrowed again and she bit her lower lip the way he’d come to realize she did under stress. “He, uh, shoved a gun against my head. I thought…”
Markus couldn’t take a second more of seeing her like this and took a step toward the sofa, intending to go to her, when Ghost sat up and snugged his big head against her shoulder. Cassidy threw her arms around his dog, burying her face in his fur. Markus had never been jealous of Ghost before but right then he wished like hell that he was the one wrapped up in her embrace.
Trooper Collins was first to break the silence. “Would it be easier for you to speak with me privately?”
“No,” she mumbled against Ghost’s neck. “I’ll be fine. Just give me a minute.” She took another deep breath, and her voice trembled. “I thought he was going to shoot me. I really thought it was over.”
She straightened and swiped a glistening tear from her cheek. Damn, but that one little drop of salty water gutted him. “What else do you want to know?” she asked, her voice steadier now.
“What else did he say to you?” Chang asked. “Try to be as detailed as possible.”
“Okay. When I asked him why he was doing this, he said he was getting paid to do it.”
“Paid to steal the laptop?”
“And the external hard drive,” she answered.
“Did he say who was paying him?”
“No, but I think I know who it was.” She paused when Ghost landed a lick to her chin. “There are only two other people who know I even had a new laptop. Markus, because he bought it for me. And Walt Teedle. I think Teedle is behind this. It’s the only thing that makes sense.”
Chang’s brows rose. “Walt Teedle, as in Teedle Tech Industries?”
She nodded. “Normally, I’d be concerned about safeguarding a client’s privacy, but if what I suspect is true, then I don’t give a crap.” Her voice hardened. “I’m a certified public accountant. Walt Teedle hired me to do an audit of his personal and company assets. He said he needed it done before Christmas. After my house was burglarized and my laptop was stolen, I called Teedle to let him know that I’d need more time. I also told him I’d be getting a new laptop that same day and that I had stored most of what I needed to finish his audit on an external hard drive. Then this guy—John Smith—broke in tonight, looking for my new laptop, the external hard drive, and to—” She put her fist to her mouth.
To kill her. Markus’s blood boiled as he finished her thought in his head. He distinctly remembered that call she’d made to Teedle, and it had been clear to him that the guy had tried getting her to do something illegal. He’d bet her refusal was at the root of all this.
“Did Smith actually say Teedle hired him to steal your laptop, the hard drive, and to murder you?”
“Well, no,” she admitted. “Not exactly. But when I asked him why Teedle would hire me then try to kill me, he said it wasn’t his problem.”
So he hadn’t denied it. That still wasn’t an outright admission, and it probably wouldn’t hold up in any court.
When Chang began tapping his pen on his pad, Markus knew what the guy was thinking. There was still no concrete connection between Smith and Teedle, but Cassidy was on to something. Professionals might not give up the names of their clients, but Markus agreed with her angle on the new laptop.
Markus cleared his throat. “You told me you asked Teedle more than once for receipts and invoices because the numbers on his annual income statements he gave you had no supporting documentation. Didn’t he offer you a bonus if you could finish the audit without that information?”
“That’s right.” She turned to look at him over Ghost’s head. “I started to get a little suspicious then, but I just didn’t want to believe that someone of his stature in the community would be trying to do something illegal. But now…” Slowly, she shook her head. “The more I think about it, there were a lot of other odd things about this job.”
“Odd? How so?” Chang asked.
“Well, first he offered to pay me a lump sum rather than an hourly rate, which is more customary, and the lump sum was sizable to begin with. I was just starting up my freelance business, and I was so happy to get the job, let alone one from someone like him. I figured if I could get the audit done on time and do a good job, he might recommend me to other companies. It was a win-win.” When she let out a disgusted huff, Ghost snorted back. “I should have known it was too good to be true.”
“Tell me about the bonus,” Chang prodded.
Cassidy wrapped her arms around her shoulders. “When I asked for those missing documents a second time, he offered me a twenty percent bonus on top of my original fee. I just thought he was in a hurry. Now I realize that he never intended to give me those documents, and when he offered me a fat bonus, he was counting on me seeing enough dollar signs to waive the requirement for the backup documents.”
“I take it you refused,” Chang said more than asked.
She nodded. “I politely told him no. I remember he didn’t respond right away, as if he was surprised. But then he seemed okay with it and assured me he’d find what I needed and send it over.” She narrowed her eyes. “You know, shortly after I asked him for the documents the first time, there was a night when I wondered if someone had been in my house while I was out. The kitchen door latch wasn’t completely shut, and something on the counter wasn’t the way I’d left it.”
Markus pushed from the wall and walked to the sofa, standing directly behind her. “You didn’t tell me that.” If she had, he never would have let her stay in that house alone, and she never would have been attacked by the burglar.
She shrugged. “It was late at night and at the time I didn’t think anything of it.”
“So you think that was the first time someone broke in,” Trooper Collins suggested.
“Yes,” she agreed. “And the second time was when the burglar did steal my laptop. Right after that, I noticed the password Teedle had given me to access the first set of documents he sent me via email wouldn’t work anymore, and he never sent me a new password. The bottom line is, all the trouble began when I started asking for those missing documents. Now, I think I know why he didn’t want to give them to me.”
“He’s hiding his assets,” Markus supplied.
“Exactly.” When she looked over her shoulder at him, her eyes were lit with enthusiasm. “I always knew the numbers didn’t add up, and if there’s one thing I know, it’s that numbers don’t lie. For the last two years, Teedle Tech’s annual income took a nosedive, but most—not all—the company’s balance sheets indicated those were good years. Teedle also sold a lot of expensive assets last year, and all for significantly less than what they should have been worth, given their age.”
“What assets?” Chang asked.
“A Porsche, a cabin cruiser, and a condo in Kauai, for starters. There were also significant withdrawals from joint bank accounts and gambling losses with no paper trail.”
Trooper Collins cleared her throat. “Word on the street is that Walt Teedle’s been going through a nasty divorce for the last two years. He was married when he started the company.”
“Which means,” Chang added, “anything he made through Teedle Tech is subject to being divvied up by a divorce judge.”
“I’m not a divorce expert or a forensic accountant,” Cassidy said, “but this seems like classic signs of dissipation. It’s a fraudulent divorce scheme to hide, deplete, or divert marital assets.”
“Between his personal net worth and his business,” Chang said, “Teedle is probably worth millions.”
“Maybe more,” Collins added. “Three years ago, he landed a billion-dollar contract connected with the commissioning of a new bomber squadron at the naval air station.”
“Wouldn’t he already have a personal or company accountant?” Chang asked. “No offense, but why did he hire you?”
“I can’t answer that, but here’s what I think.” When Ghost lay down again and rested his head in her lap, she began petting his head. “A year ago, I had to quit my job with an accounting firm. Two months ago, I started placing weekly ads in the local paper, offering my accounting services. I think Walt Teedle thought he was hiring a dumb CPA, one who should be so grateful for the big bucks he was offering that they wouldn’t ask any questions and would just rubber stamp his audit with whatever numbers he gave them.”
“And when that didn’t work,” Markus said, “and he couldn’t steal all the evidence he’d given her, he tried to silence her. Permanently.” An icy, deadly chill shot up his spine, along with the unwavering need to hunt Walt Teedle down and crush the man.
“What I don’t understand,” Cassidy said, looking from Chang to Collins then including Markus, “is why Teedle didn’t just end the job with me. I would have given him back his files, no questions asked.”
Markus rested his hands on the back of the sofa behind her. Air blowing in from the broken window brought with it the delicate scent of her shampoo, and he breathed it into his lungs. “Maybe he couldn’t take the chance that someone outside his inner circle knew he’d committed fraud and tried to bribe a CPA into keeping quiet about all the millions in assets he was hiding.” The more he thought about it, the more crimes Teedle had committed. “Any judge would have hammered him. Criminal charges could be filed, and not just for hiding assets. By emailing you doctored-up documents, he committed wire fraud. With a criminal record, he’d be disbarred and lose all his government contracts. Including that billion-dollar one.”
Chang swore. “I never even thought of that. That’s the federal world, and that’s a whole lot of incentive.”
A phone rang, and Chang pulled his cell from a clip on his belt. “Excuse me.” He headed into the kitchen to take the call.
Cassidy was far from being out of danger. Her take on Teedle’s motive made sense, but it didn’t pound the nail in the guy’s coffin. Even with John Smith in custody, the way things stood, it was only a theory.
“You know,” she said, turning to look at him again, “after I called Teedle about the burglary, he actually had the audacity to tell me how sorry he was. He even asked me if I was okay. He sounded so sincere.” She shook her head. “Bastard.”
A wind had kicked up outside, streaming more cold air into the room through the broken window. Cassidy started to shiver, and Markus grabbed a blanket from one of the chairs. As he draped it around her, she shot him a quick look of thanks but tensed when he momentarily rested his hands on her shoulders. Her entire body went as stiff as a tactical baton, a sure sign that he had a lot of begging and pleading in his future before she’d even consider forgiving him.
Trooper Collins sidestepped the pile of glass on the floor and took the chair opposite Cassidy. “I should warn you that while this all seems like a lot of evidence against Walt Teedle, it’s mostly your word against his.”
“Unless John Smith talks.” If he didn’t, Markus would be happy to convince him it would be in his best interest to do so.
Chang came back in from the kitchen. “That was my partner who just called. Smith isn’t talking.”
No shock there. The man was a professional. All the more reason to let Markus—or better yet, Kade—at him.
“We’ll head out to Walt Teedle’s house and try to talk to him before he gets wind of what’s going on. I’ll keep you posted,” Chang said to Cassidy.
“Thank you.” She gave the detective a wan smile.
“Detective.” A uniformed sheriff’s deputy who’d been guarding the front door leaned inside. “Miss Morgan’s family is here. Is it okay to let them in?”
Chang nodded and no sooner had the cop opened the door wider than most of the Morgan clan burst in, rushing to where Cassidy sat and hugging her like they hadn’t seen her in a month.
Ghost sat up, trying to interject his big head into the mix and disturbed that everyone was ignoring him.
“Ghost.” Markus hitched his head to the door, indicating his dog should follow him. Just before leaving, he turned and looked back. The Morgans certainly knew how to rally around one of their own. As for him and Cassidy, there was still so much to be said, but now wasn’t the time.
He stepped onto the porch, letting the cold night air clear his head. For safety reasons, she’d undoubtedly stay at her parents’ a while longer, giving him time to get that window repair guy back to fix the window. Again.
Despite the chaos, he was at peace, and his mind was as clear as the night sky. Nothing would stand in his way. Not the past. Not his self-destructive relationship habits. And definitely not a POS like Walt Teedle.
Detective Chang came out of the house and headed for his car.
“Wait up,” Markus called to the detective.
For the first time in his life, he knew exactly what he wanted and he knew exactly how he’d go about getting it.