“Yes?”
“Do you have a brother named Daniel?”
The change that came over Joshua was shocking. His face flushed and his eyes glittered with repressed hostility. “Yes. What about him?”
Bowdeen tried to soften his approach. “Is he working on some sort of project for your father?”
Joshua gave a mirthless laugh. “My brother is basking in my father’s approval because of some special work he’s doing. That much is common knowledge. I don’t know the nature of the work though.”
“Maybe I can shed a little light,” Chopper offered.
“You can?” Joshua stared at him, obviously hungry for whatever crumb of information he could drop.
“I found out it might have something to do with valuable objects that need to be found and brought back to your father.”
Joshua appeared flummoxed by the news. “Objects? What sort of objects?”
Bowdeen shook his head. “That I don’t know. Only that they’re worth a lot of money and your father seems to be gathering a bunch of these objects.”
Joshua mulled over the mercenary’s comment for several moments. “My brother has been traveling a good deal. All around the world. Whenever he returns from one of his trips, I’ve noticed that my father remains in a joyous mood for days afterward.”
“But you don’t know where Daniel goes or what he brings back?”
Joshua gave a frustrated sigh. “I only know that he’s been seen in the company of that man who wears the odd attire.”
“You mean Leroy Hunt?”
“Yes, I believe that’s his name.”
Bowdeen rubbed his chin. “Well, that makes sense. If your brother is transporting something that’s worth a lot of money, he would need a bodyguard. That’s the kind of work Leroy is good at.”
“Then you know this man?” Joshua asked.
“Yeah, I know him. We were in the army together.”
Joshua stared unseeing through the window at the aircraft being loaded outside. “Do you think there’s any connection here? My brother collecting valuable objects? Me collecting valueless people?”
“I don’t know son, but I think you’re in a better position to find out than I am.”
“Yes, Mr. Bowdeen,” Joshua replied vaguely, lost in private thought. “As soon as I return from Europe, I intend to make some inquiries of my own.”
Chopper smiled to himself. Maybe, at last, the puzzle pieces were about to fit together.
Chapter 31—An Immodest Proposal
Maddie glanced up from the pile of documents on her desk to see Erik leaning casually against the doorframe.
He gave a mock salute. “Hey there, chief. Surprised to see me?”
“Nope,” she replied laconically, hastily scrawling her signature on the top page before shoving the pile to the side and giving him her undivided attention. “Faye told me you were coming back stateside.”
“Faye?” The paladin frowned briefly. “How did she know?”
“Griffin called her.”
Even though he looked vaguely irritated, Erik didn’t offer a comment. Instead, he drew a chair up in front of her desk and sat down. “I suppose you want to know what this is all about.”
Maddie leaned back and studied him appraisingly. “I already have a pretty good idea of what it’s all about but let’s hear your version of the story.”
He crossed his arms defensively. “I don’t like having my time wasted, that’s all.”
“You consider it a waste of time to stop a bunch of crazies from getting their hands on a powerful artifact?”
“I do when two other people are already on the job, and I’m cooling my heels waiting out a blizzard.”
“So, your leaving had nothing to do with Cassie?” Maddie challenged.
He gaped at her in shock. “Who told you Cassie and I were involved?”
“Nobody needed to tell me, kiddo. The gossip was all over the vault. I picked it up by osmosis.”
He flushed and stared at the floor. “And you automatically jumped to the conclusion that I left because of her.”
“Oh, it wasn’t just me who jumped.” She shrugged matter-of-factly. “Cassie and Griffin and Faye and I all jumped together. It was a regular trampoline party.”
He clenched his jaw but remained mute.
“So let me repeat my question. Did you leave India because of Cassie?”
The paladin let out a groan of exasperation. “How many ways do I have to say it? One last time for the record, the answer is NO! I wish everybody would stop grinding on that. I left because it was a bad use of resources. Cassie and Griffin are both experienced field agents at this stage of the game. They know what they’re doing, and they don’t need me to babysit them. I arranged for a security team to back them up. End of story!”
“Uh huh,” Maddie replied impassively.
They sized each other up like two boxers circling before the first punch.
“Um. Excuse me.” A tyro entered carrying an enormous stack of papers. “Sorry to bother you.”
The paladin turned his head to stare at the new arrival, then frowned as if trying to jog loose a memory. “You look familiar. Do I know you?”
Maddie intercepted the question. “You’ve probably crossed paths at some point. This is Faye’s great grandkid. Zach, meet Erik. He was on field assignment in India.”
The tyro nodded a greeting, listing slightly to balance the paper tower in his arms. “I finally got permission from Gamma, er Faye, to get trained.” He darted a guilty glance at Maddie. “That is... uh... I mean... Maddie had the final say-so.”
“Damn skippy,” the chatelaine agreed.
“Can I please put these down?” Zach pleaded. “They weigh a ton.”
“Over here.” Maddie patted the left corner of her desk.
He advanced, unloading the files with a grunt of relief.
Maddie scrutinized the paperwork and then their bearer. “What is all this stuff?”
“Expense reports from the scouting expedition you sent to Peru.”
“The whole stack?” The chatelaine’s voice rose in outrage. “What did they do, buy a gold mine while they were there?” Her eyes narrowed. “And exactly why did they send you with the reports? You’re not assigned to their department.”
“I dunno,” Zach protested innocently. “I heard one of them say
