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Aidan’s brows drew together in a frown. “Does that mean that, when this case is resolved, I should beat the shit out of him?”
Simone laughed. “Don’t waste your energy, mon amour. You have no competition.”
“That’s just what I wanted to hear.” Aidan’s frown vanished as quickly as it had appeared. “You mentioned Zoe’s ambition. So you do think that’s, at least in part, a reason for her meeting with Cheng?”
“Yes. I managed a quick glance at Jen’s calendar before Zoe left. Zoe and Robert had just finished up a meeting of their own before she made her unprecedented midday departure. I’d be willing to bet she gave him a career ultimatum, one he didn’t meet.”
“Okay, so she’s a woman scorned both professionally and personally. That gives her motive to seek employment elsewhere. And Franklin Wales is a well-respected executive recruiting firm. But David Cheng in particular—is the fact that he’s of Chinese descent just a coincidence or is there more to it? When and under what circumstances did the two of them meet? And is a career move the totality of their association? Even if Zoe is innocent of anything criminal, does Cheng have his own one-sided industrial espionage agenda?”
“I’m sure Terri will find answers to all those questions.”
“I’m sure she will,” Aidan replied. “The problem is, even though Terri’s a wizard, we don’t know what we’re up against, so we have no clue how long she’ll need. And timewise, we’re up against a wall. We’ve got to take a risk.”
“What kind of a risk?” Simone asked.
“One that involves my making some fast arrangements. I’ll call you back.”
Aidan disconnected the call only to make another.
Mickey’s Toontown
Disneyland, Anaheim, CA
28 February
Wednesday, 4:35 p.m. local time
“Hello?” Emma’s voice was breathless, as it always was when Aidan called her these days. His nonstop Abby was a little hurricane to survive, even for someone with Emma’s high energy levels.
“Bad time again,” Aidan deduced. “Sorry. Couldn’t be helped.”
“One sec,” Emma replied. Her next words were muted enough to indicate she was talking to someone other than him. “Joyce, could you just hang out with her for a little while?”
Joyce agreed at once, and Aidan could hear Emma’s breathing as she covered enough distance so that Abby would have no idea it was her daddy at the other end of the line.
“Okay, I can talk,” Emma said. “We’ve been character hunting for the past hour and Abby finally spotted Rapunzel. They’re in animated conversation. And they’re standing still, so Joyce can handle it alone. Which buys me some time.” A pause. “You don’t normally call in the middle of the day. What’s up?”
“What’s your schedule with Abby for tonight?”
Emma must have picked up on the urgency of his tone, because she got right to the point. “A five-thirty character dinner and then some souvenir shopping before we go back to the hotel and crash. Abby’s wiped. We’ve been racing around all day.”
“Good. Then Joyce can handle things there alone.”
“Alone? Where will I be?”
“Here, with me.” He continued, putting a lid on the onslaught of questions he knew was about to start. “I know I said I didn’t need you to do any investigative work. I lied. I’m sending the private jet for you. It should be there within an hour. Tell Abby you’re meeting a friend, but that you’ll be back at the hotel late tonight. Then pack an outfit—nice jeans and a blouse—and grab a taxi to the airport. I’ll meet you when you land.”
“I… Okay.” Emma sounded as if she’d been hit by a truck. “I’ll be there. But I don’t have the kind of clothes you’re talking about. All I’ve got is Disney T-shirts, shorts, and bathing suits.”
“What size are you?”
“Four.”
“I’ll take care of it. And, Emma, thanks.”
* * *
There was one more step to Aidan’s plan, a hunch he had to play. It would push the boundaries of his need-to-know philosophy with regard to his clients and elicit a slew of questions. But it was the only way he could ascertain if his hunch had merit.
