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Myra and Annie were beside themselves. Fielder was behind the scheme. Walsh was probably his lackey.
They scurried to the restaurant entrance and took a taxi back to their hotel. As soon as they arrived at their rooms they powered up their tablets and had a video call with Charles and Fergus. Annie and Myra explained what they had discovered; then the men shared their information.
“We know Fielder has been with the company for about a year,” Charles said. “According to Eileen, the security equipment is very up-to-date and must have been installed within the past year. Maybe it was a necessity, but given the cost of the system, they must have a lot more to protect than just the factory. Perhaps a secret.
“Alexis is at the office now. They keep paper copies of all their files. It’s really not a bad idea. Much harder to hack. People forget that’s how the Allies planned the Normandy invasion—on paper. But don’t ask me to give up all my devices.” He chuckled.
“Or vices,” Myra teased.
“What else do we know?” Annie asked.
“We know that the woman who was following Zoe is Mason Chapman’s niece. She works for a private investigator in New York,” Fergus added.
“We also know Mason has been trying to reach Zoe, but she is ignoring him,” Myra mused.
“And Izzie is going to New York tomorrow to spend the weekend with her,” Annie said.
“But we still don’t know the connection, if there is one, between Mason and Walsh. Or Fielder,” said Charles.
“The only seeming connection is that the company where Mason works was supposed to purchase materials from REBAR, but the job got canceled. In fact, all of REBAR’s jobs in the U.K. were canceled,” Fergus explained.
“Do we know why?” Myra asked.
“We do not,” Fergus replied.
“I’ve asked Avery to check up on this Mason chap. Avery said he’d get back to me by EOD today,” Charles informed them.
“Good idea,” said Annie.
Myra spoke next. “Maggie and Eileen are going back to the plant tonight. If the shipment is supposed to go out in the next two days, they will most likely prepare it tonight, don’t you think?”
“According to the recording we got from Alexis, the plant only does custom work, so, yes, it would make sense for them to do it tonight or tomorrow,” Charles agreed.
“What have you gotten on Fielder so far?” Annie asked. “He seems to spend a lot of time here.”
“We’re still trying to get his bank records, but what we do know is that he purchased a sixty-foot yacht for one-point-five million, via a promissory note. One third upon delivery and then two more subsequent payments.” Charles snickered. “I wonder if he went the cheap route. A new Hatteras is around three million.”
“How does one go cheap with a yacht?” Myra squinted at him.
“Brass bathroom fixtures instead of fourteen karat gold.”
“I see.” Myra fidgeted with her pearls. It occurred to her she hadn’t fiddled with them as much since she had been breathing sea air. She made a mental note.
Charles continued. “In addition to his seafaring interests, his condominium in South Beach, Miami, is a one-point-three-million-dollar investment.”
“He can’t be making that big a salary,” Annie said.
“He isn’t,” Fergus said. “That is one thing we were able to find out. His annual salary is a half million, including a bonus. That wouldn’t cover his lifestyle.”
“Doesn’t he come from money?” Annie said. “Didn’t his family own a liquor distribution business?”
“They did. He worked there for a bit, but then he left to work for FREDO and then REBAR.”
“Strange change in professions, no?” Myra asked.
“According to one of our sources, he blew through his trust fund when he purchased the condominium. His mother wasn’t too keen on it and she was the one who arranged for his transfer into concrete.”
“Interesting,” Annie said. “Why would his mother banish him from the family business, if that’s what she actually did?”
