“I don’t know yet, Timur. We just started, but it’s a clusterfuck already and we’re working against the clock. I’m going to tell you in confidence that there’s a child’s life at stake if she’s still alive.”
Timur sat back in the chair staring at him. “What the hell, Gedeon? I haven’t heard one whisper that a child is missing. One of ours? A leopard?”
“Timur, Meiling and I have to be able to do our thing. This is what we do, but we have to do it under the radar. I came to Fyodor to pay my respects and let him know why we’re here. If any leads come back to anyone he’s affiliated with, I would inform him, but if the situation calls for immediate action, I can’t guarantee he’ll know ahead of time before I make my move.”
Timur nodded his head. “Fyodor will want to talk to you himself. He has children. This is going to weigh on him.”
“I don’t have time for niceties.”
“You’re welcome to make this your base while you work,” Timur offered. “How long is your partner going to hang out at the counter?”
“As long as you’re sitting at the table.” Gedeon kept his stone face with effort. His little Meiling didn’t look like a threat to anyone. She was so delicate. So small. Her laughter sounded genuine and inviting. Both Kyanite and Rodion were having trouble staying on task.
Timur looked disgusted. “She’s deliberately placed herself in a position to threaten me if I attack you.”
“Not just threaten you, Timur, she would kill you. She’d most likely take out whichever of the two bodyguards she’d deemed the biggest threat as well. She’d be willing to sacrifice her life, although I’d be pissed at her.” He sighed. “Trust me, we’ve had the conversation numerous times and it didn’t do a damn bit of good.”
“Is she that good?”
Gedeon nodded. “I think she’s close to being as good as me. Maybe she’s my equal.” He tapped the table still looking at her. “She might have an edge because no one expects her to be so fast. She might be better.”
Timur laughed. “That hurt.”
“I’m getting used to it. I’ll call her over to meet you and then we’ve got to get to work. We can’t waste any more time.”
Timur shifted his weight in the chair while Gedeon indicated for Meiling to come back to the table. She made her way back, two mugs of coffee in hand.
“Meiling, this is Timur Amurov. He’s Evangeline’s brother-in-law.”
She flashed her million-watt smile. “Lovely to meet you. You’re so lucky to have this shop to work out of. I love everything about it.”
“It’s a security nightmare,” Timur groused. “I won’t take up your time. Gedeon made it clear you’re working against the clock on this one. If you have any trouble at all, this is my personal number.” He took a card and laid it on the table. It held only a cell phone number. “Gedeon has my number. You call that number for help, and someone will come.”
“I appreciate it,” Meiling answered, sounding sincere.
Her gaze slid past Timur and landed on Kyanite as Timur walked back toward the kitchen. It was the briefest of looks, but it was enough to irritate Gedeon.
“You ready to get to work or do you need more time?” he asked. He might have gotten away with it, but his voice was just that little bit edgy.
Her dark eyes moved over his face, and then she smiled at him. “Gedeon, we’ll get her back. The answer is in the books or the tablet. It won’t take us long to see the pattern with the two of us working.”
He nodded curtly, grateful he hadn’t looked like a jealous kid. He took the first of the books and she took the second one. The moment he flipped it open and started familiarizing himself with the columns, the rest of the world dropped away. The business Atwater was running seemed legitimate enough at a cursory glance, but once he started delving into it, he could see the regular payments made to the various accounts.
He didn’t care about the business or how much money it made. It didn’t even matter that Atwater was bleeding money from hardworking families. He was two months in when the thefts began. The first time the money disappeared it was a very small amount. It could have been put down as a mistake, but there was just a little too much gone and no way to account for it.
Gedeon wrote down the date and the business and reached for the next book, putting the first one aside. Meiling was already doing the same thing. They went through the stack of books systematically, carefully writing down the dates of each time money had disappeared from one of Atwater’s businesses. They recorded whether he had a partner in the business and if it was a legitimate business or not.