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“Most definitely. Can’t wait to collect my winnings from Fergus.” He rubbed his hands together, insinuating a big payday.
Annie rolled her eyes. “How much this time?”
“Five quid.” Charles grinned. His bets with Fergus were never more than five dollars.
Charles approached Zoe and extended his hand. “Charles Martin.”
Zoe got up and shook his very large, very strong, smooth hand. “Zoe Danfield.”
“Excuse my interruption, but I couldn’t help overhearing the last bit of your conversation,” Charles apologized.
Myra rested her hand on Zoe’s shoulder. “He’s part of the team.”
Zoe still wasn’t sure what kind of team she was about to become a part of.
“Please, sit.” Charles gestured to the chair. He stood next to Myra.
“Tell them about the subway thing,” Izzie urged.
Zoe took a deep breath, recalling her harrowing experience. “Last week I was standing on a crowded subway platform. As a train was pulling into the station, someone nudged me. I really can’t say I was shoved, but luckily for me two people grabbed my jacket before I fell to the ground, or onto the tracks. It all happened very fast.”
Myra eyed Annie. They could almost read each other’s minds. Annie nodded. Myra fidgeted with her pearls and began to address the small group. She smiled. “Now, Zoe. Here’s what’s going to happen. After dinner we are going to have a meeting.”
Zoe looked confused. “A meeting? What kind of meeting?”
Izzie chimed in. “The kind we have when something needs to be handled.”
“But . . . what? Handled? How?” Zoe asked. Her eyes blinked.
Annie stood and patted Zoe on the shoulder. “Don’t you worry your pretty little head.” The rest of the group laughed out loud at her reference to Mr. Walsh’s snide attitude. With that the dogs began to bark and charged through from the kitchen.
“Alright, everyone. Settle down.” Myra spoke with an even tone. They immediately sat at attention. “That’s my girls. And Rufus.”
“I’ll get them sorted with their dinner. You carry on and catch me up when Fergus gets here,” said Charles.
Izzie peered at Zoe, who looked like a deer in the headlights. “You’ll get used to it. Us. All of it.”
Annie continued to look through the invoices. “It appears we have a two-fold situation. From what you gathered from your research, one is the plethora of disasters due to criminal behavior, white collar or otherwise, and the other is how to stop REBAR from becoming the next member of the League of Ethical Failures.” She pursed her lips. “That would be a good subject for an article. I should bring Maggie in.” Annie explained to Zoe that Maggie was her top investigative reporter. “And she is one of us.” Annie made a circle with her finger indicating Myra and Izzie, and Charles in the other room.
Myra followed Charles into the kitchen and picked up the receiver of an old-school yellow landline wall phone with push buttons. The features were modern, but it had that nostalgic look. Myra hit the pound sign and the speed dial number assigned to Maggie’s cell phone. Maggie answered within two rings.
“Myra! What’s up?” Maggie’s almost-always-perky voice answered.
“Izzie is here with a longtime friend. We have a situation. Annie would like you to join us.” Myra stroked her pearls again.
“Sure. When?”
Myra could hear Maggie chomping on something crunchy. “As soon as you finish whatever you’re eating.”
“Ha.” Maggie tilted her head back and dumped the remaining bits of pretzel and salt into her mouth. “Done! I’ll be there in about forty minutes.”
“Wonderful. See you in a bit.” Myra hung up and returned to the atrium. “She’ll be here shortly. I should phone Yoko and let her know there will be a few more of us tonight.”
“Maggie counts for at least two,” Annie joked. Maggie was petite and skinny, but she could eat enough for two people. Everyone marveled at the amount she consumed, though it surely didn’t show on her body.
“What about Kathryn?” Izzie asked.
“I believe she is still in Atlanta.” Myra checked the wall calendar where she kept track of everyone’s whereabouts. She said it was a lot easier to look at one page than scroll through a bunch of electronic pages. First you had to turn on the phone. Then you had to find the right app. Then you had to search via the person’s name or find the calendar. “One page. Simple.” No one could argue with that logic. “She’s not due back until next week.”
