Page 21 of Bad Seed

“Yes. I can leave as soon as tomorrow, if need be,” she said.

“Perfect,” Ray said. “What kind of fee do you need to begin, and how do you bill for your work? Money is no object, but I want to make sure you are compensated as needed before you arrive.”

Harley gave him the numbers and an account to which payments to her were to be made.

“Perfect,” Ray said. “I’ll have the upfront fee in your account as soon as we hang up. My daughter, Liz, will simply alert the staff that I have hired someone to do an audit. It won’t be a surprise to anyone because of my recent health issues. I’m considering selling the hotel anyway and would need this for prospective buyers.That will cover the reason for your presence at the hotel and give you access to every aspect of the business. If there’s anything illegal happening, I need to know. And if it’s just a really bad manager, I need to know that, too. Your suite, food, and hotel amenities will be comped. You will have a computer set up in your suite giving you access to every aspect of the hotel business, and you can work from there. I also want to know if the food quality and service is lacking. Those are details, but my main concern is the money angle. I don’t like that the manager has changed vendors and wholesalers. That smacks of a control he was not given.”

“Understood,” Harley said. “As for arriving there, what kind of travel is recommended?”

“The nearest airport is in Bowling Green. You’d have to rent a car and drive over Pope Mountain to get there, but helicopter charters come and go in Jubilee regularly. There are three different music venues there as well as the other tourist attractions, so strangers come and go by the hundreds, even in winter. If you’d prefer to fly in, I’ll send you by chopper, and you can rent a car in Jubilee to get around.”

“Then let’s do the chopper,” Harley said. “Tomorrow or the day after if need be. I’m in Chicago. Just give me details as to where to hook up with a chopper service here. I’ll rent the car myself in Jubilee and add the charges to your final bill.”

“Done,” Ray said. “I’ll text you with details as soon as I get the charter scheduled. Oh…one other thing. My headpastry chef is a man named Brendan Pope. He’s on the verge of pressing charges against Justine Beaumont, the manager’s daughter, for sexual harassment and stalking. I don’t want to lose that man. He’s a star at his job, and he’s local to the area and highly popular. If you get in a tight spot, you can count on him. He has two brothers who are officers with the Jubilee police force, and a cousin, Cameron, who is ex-special forces. And Cameron’s wife, my niece, is ex-FBI. Pope Mountain towers over the town of Jubilee, and the people who live on that mountain are some of the best people you will ever meet.”

Harley was surprised by the high level of government security clearance he’d mentioned and the chef’s situation. “Sexual harassment is a common demon of a workforce, but I don’t think I’ve ever encountered it in reverse. A man being the target, I mean.”

Ray sighed. “Well, men in the Pope family have a habit of being born larger than life and shockingly handsome. As a man, I will admit I’m a bit envious of such amazing DNA.” And then he laughed. “When you meet him, you’ll see what I mean. But they don’t mess around. Their reputations are spotless, and their word is gold. Just remember that.”

“Yes, sir,” Harley said. “I’ll go ahead and pack, and wait for further information.”

“It’s cold there. Pack for warmth,” Ray added.

“Duly noted,” she said, and disconnected, then glanced at her shopping list and closed her laptop. No need ordering in a fresh supply of food when she wasgoing to be leaving again, so she was back to DoorDash until she left. But she was going to need clean clothes, and went to start a load of laundry.

***

Ollie Prine didn’t have the skills to hack into airline passenger lists or rental car sites to try and find this Harley Banks, but all he knew was she’d probably flown out of Philadelphia, rather than drive. There was very little information about her online, with no website, no social media presence, and no information as to where she lived. He knew more about her parents than he did about her. The only photos he found were of her as a young girl, always standing between her parents at some uppity social function.

He was surprised to learn her father was Jason Banks, a NASA scientist, and her mother, Judith, a well-known playwright and screenwriter. Harley had a master’s degree in math and a CPA license, but she didn’t have an office. She didn’t own property or a car. He’d tried to get a background check and gotten blocked. That surprised him. Whatever else she did, she didn’t advertise it. If he hadn’t seen her with his own eyes, he would have thought she was a ghost.

And then out of the blue, Berlin called him.

“Update me,” he said shortly.

Ollie gave him the rundown about all of the roadblocks.

“I have something that might help,” Berlin said. “She’s based in Chicago. I don’t have an address. Just a phone number, but don’t just call her up like a dumbass. Be smart. Figure out a way to use that number to find her. Got a pen and paper?”

“Hang on a sec and I’ll put it in my phone,” Ollie said.

“What kind of an enforcer are you? You do not want any record of a connection to her.”

“I’m the kind who’ll off his mother for the right money,” Ollie snapped.

“Write this down,” Berlin said, and read off a phone number. “Did you get it?”

“Yes, I—” Before Ollie could finish, the line went dead. “Asshole,” he muttered, added the number to his phone anyway, then proceeded to book himself a one-way flight to Chicago, made a hotel reservation, and went to pack.

***

Ray spent the rest of the morning getting Harley Banks’s travel arrangements made. He’d chartered a chopper for the day after tomorrow, sent a text back to Harley with the travel information, and ended with a long phone call to his daughter, Liz, to update her on what he was doing.

As soon as she answered, he began filling her in.

“Liz, this is what’s happening, and what I need fromyou. Notify Larry Beaumont I’ve hired a woman named Harley Banks to do an audit of the hotel in preparation to put it up for sale. It’s common practice and he’ll think nothing of it. Make sure one of the nicer suites is made available for her while she’s on-site. Have a computer from our offices installed in her room with an all-access password that will get her into any account she needs to see, and you register her at the front desk before she arrives, which will be the day after tomorrow. The pilot will notify you about twenty minutes before they land so you can have a car waiting at the heliport to pick her up. She will be accessing every aspect of the hotel, from the purchasing department to housekeeping, guest amenities, and dining, and interviewing any staff members she deems necessary.”

“Are you really planning on selling?” Liz asked.

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