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“No, it’s fine. I’m having the conversation anyway. Might as well get what we need in the process,” said a determined Becky.
They disconnected, and Garrett pulled out his cell and was soon talking on there. “Sharp. Got a minute? We need some assistance.”
THE CONVERSATION WITHher mom was difficult. Carter and Becky sat in the kitchen with Candace who was more than a little upset about everything. Becky told her about Monty’s white truck and their suspicions. The others were going to try to get verification.
“Mom, I know you were with Monty at lunch yesterday.”
Candace looked over at James who seemed to track a little better today. “Well, he’s a nice man and since your father was gone for the day, you and your friends were busy, I thought I’d accept his lunch invitation.”
“Mom, why would he even ask you to lunch? He works for Dad, and you’re married.”
Candace shrugged and teared up a little. “It started as just some little conversations one day when I brought your dad his coffee thermos and lunch. Then we would talk about other things besides business and soon, we were having the occasional lunch. He’s the one who gets your father his special coffee. I had a hard time finding a distributor, so Monty found one and was able to purchase a bunch wholesale. He keeps it in a cool basement and brings me some whenever I run out. That is so considerate. I paid for it of course, but still, it’s very nice of him. I’m such a fool.”
“Dad drinks a special coffee?”
James stepped into the kitchen. “I don’t have to drink it or anything, but I discovered it at a trade show a few years back and I bought some but ran out. I had no idea that it was difficult to find. I would have been fine without it, Candace.”
“It’s fancy coffee. I ran out of our coffee today so that’s what I made for you. Taste it.”
Carter immediately took the cup out of Becky’s reach. “Candace, when did he start supplying you with the coffee?”
“Just before...Thanksgiving. Is it the coffee that is affecting your father? I gave it to him. It’s not a medical condition.” Candace began to cry, and James put his arms around her from the back.
“You weren’t to know, dear. But if it’s all the same to you, I think I’ll stay off the coffee for a while.”
“We need all the bags you have of coffee,” said Becky.
“He just gave me a new bag yesterday.” She pulled it out and handed it to Carter.
“Dad, call your accountant. I was going to drop off the paperwork but tell him you’ll have the inventory in another day or two. I think we can figure all of this out soon.”
James nodded. “Then I’ll go see Karl in the hospital. They say Bobby’s brother shot him. Can you believe it?”
Later that evening it turned out the Candace conversation was much more difficult than getting into the warehouse because, at dinner, James received a call that said the cops were done with it. With no one else knowing it was released, it was the optimal time for them to get in.
Getting in to open the boxes was easy but what they found left them confused for a few moments. The boxes were filled with repackaged, loose rat food pellets. The pellets were larger than standard pellets, but down in the center of the box was crystal meth. They took a box to have it tested but no one had any doubt.
With the other information that Garrett, Monroe, and Callie had discovered, it was time to go back to Lexington. Mystery solved.
Chapter 17
Mark walked in with a waddling but healthy-looking Jessie. “Jessica Ashley Jensen, this isn’t a race. They will wait for us.”
“Mark, you have called me Ashley for the last time. I told you my middle name, verified by my birth certificate, is JessicaAshlynn. Which, of course, doesn’t matter if you never used my middle name, but since it is one of the things you do, could you learn to say it right?”
Mark’s face was a little pinched and the plastered-on expression of his long-suffering during these last days told everyone there would be three in the Jensen household at any moment.
“You are beautiful,” said Carter, always the first on the team to notice the women in a comforting, admiring way. He was rewarded with a gracious smile from Jessie and a death stare from Mark. Carter smiled. He got what Mark was feeling even though he knew there was nothing to fear from any of the men in this room.
The only woman in their group that Carter had ever lusted after sat grumpily next to him. She’d been moody lately and Carter was beginning to suspect why but he was not ready to share. Instead, he ignored Becky and stood to help support Jessie falling to a firm and yet comfortable chair. They’d all learned when Sharlee was pregnant that at this stage of the game, anything too soft would find them unable to get up from that spot when the frequent bathroom urges came and each timeyou helped them out of their seat they would be rewarded with not a demure thank you but a complaint about the seating.
Sharlee and Ivy brought out the whiskey she was trying. “Johnny Walker Blue Label. I know you think it might be too domestic but it’s good.”
When the bathroom size Dixie cups came around, Becky made a little face. “I’m not sure I’ll like whiskey.”
“Probably not. There is some virgin daiquiri mixed with fruit. You want some of that, Baby Bear?”
Becky relaxed. Carter smiled. That sounded better to both of them. When Garrett brought her drink he leaned down between Carter and Becky. “Something we should know?”
