Page 37 of The Duke's Surprise Heir

Macie smiled, warmed by his enthusiasm for her cake.

In the office, Edward dialed Sean’s number and cut the cake while they waited for his friend and business partner to answer.

“This is worse than we thought,” was Sean’s opening statement.

Edward hesitated, then laid the first slice of cake on a plate, handing it to Macie. “What’s up?”

Sean sighed. “The warehouse manager, a guy named Gilly Cultain,”

“I know him,” Macie announced.

“He’s missing,” Sean continued.

Macie froze. “Missing?” she squeaked, a bad feeling washing over her.

“Yeah,” Sean continued, his tone frustrated. “The ATF agents went to his house and we found evidence that he was helping with the operation, but no one has seen him today. His car is still at his house and he hasn’t packed a bag. But he didn’t report to work this morning and he left a large amount of cash at his house. If he’d suspected he was in jeopardy of being arrested, he would have taken the cash. And he isn’t smart enough to leave his car before going on the run.”

“So, where do you think he is?” Edward asked the question on everyone’s mind.

“No one knows. He’s not staying with friends. He’s not at work and he hasn’t driven out of town. He hasn’t used his bank card in several days and he doesn’t have cash.”

Edward must have sensed Macie’s concern because he pulled her against his side, the lemon cake forgotten for the moment.

“The ATF agents will continue to search for him, but the odds are that he was taken care of by whomever is calling the shots.”

Macie pressed her cheek against Edward’s chest, feeling his heartbeat steady and strong. “It has to be one of the executives,” she whispered.

“What’s that?” Sean prompted.

Macie looked up and said it again. “That’s the only way this makes sense. Someone at the executive level, someone with the intelligence to make the contacts, switch out the orders, and figure out a path where the illegal shipments could go undetected.”

Edward’s arm tightened around Macie as they stared into each other’s eyes. Both said, “Henry” at the same time that Sean called out the same name over the phone.

There was a long silence as each contemplated the implications.

“He’s the only person who has access to the entire operation.”

“Plus,” Sean added, “he filed papers yesterday to divorce his wife.”

“Damn!” Edward muttered. “Okay, so how do we get the evidence that Henry is the mastermind?”

Sean groaned and Macie pictured him shaking his head. “I don’t know. I’m working with the ATF agents here. I know that Antonio is in Germany, working with Ralph, and the–”

Everyone stopped breathing. Macie looked up at Edward again and she saw the truth in his eyes. “Ralph has to be on the other end of this!” she whispered.

“I agree,” Sean stated. “I think we should conference Antonio in on this conversation.”

Five minutes later, Antonio was on the line with several of the German border agents, all of whom confirmed that they had Ralph Minstra under investigation. They were searching his home now.

“What about Henry’s place?” Macie asked.

“We don’t have enough evidence to get a warrant to search his home,” Sean said. “Not yet, anyway. Maybe the information from Ralph’s search will turn up something to implicate Henry. Until then, I’ll ask the agents here to quietly keep Henry under surveillance. We don’t want to spook him. He has a lot of cash hidden away somewhere. He could easily disappear.”

“I’m heading to London, Edward. Let’s get all three of us together and figure this out, okay?”

“Tell me when your flights land and I’ll pick you up. We can work in my London office.”

Antonio and Sean both agreed to the plan and the call ended.

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