The people from Casa Feliz were seated together at a long table. Georgina searched the shelter's eating area until she caught sight of Nate and Gordon seated at a smaller table nearby. “Good morning you two,” she said as she sat down.
“Hey, good morning,” Nate said. “So, when are you leaving us?”
“Right after breakfast,” Georgina said. “Detective Mori is driving me to Adela’s.”
“Detective Mori?" Nate said, surprised. "How did that happen?”
“She called me last night and said that she could give me a lift,” Georgina replied. “I'm guessing that Adela Rios asked her to do it. Adela has been in contact with Mark, and he's coming in today to stay with her.”
“You should pump her for information on the way to Adela's. You know, casually ask her if she knows who killed Rios,” Nate suggested with a laugh.
“I don’t plan to go there.”
“Do you know who’s on her interview list today? I heard that yesterday it was Philip Wahl. For three hours.”
“Really? I didn’t even know that she was here yesterday,” Georgina said. “Sorry, I have no idea who she’s talking to today.”
“Her look is rather striking, don’t you think?” Nate asked. “I only saw her up close that one time, when she interviewed us. Maybe I’m just used to women who work in hospitals, but I thought that she wore way too much make-up. It was as if she was wearing a mask.”
Georgina thought about her own face and its lack of cosmetic enhancement. At least, she reassured herself, her hair was nicely blown out this morning and her freshly washed blouse looked presentable enough under her suit jacket. Gordon, who had been listening in while he ate his cereal, declared that he thought the detective lady was very pretty. Georgina marveled at how young they start to notice. The conversation veered to the wildfire’s progress. Nate had checked out the news before coming to breakfast. The fire was now almost completely contained in the Rancho Secreto area, he reported, but further to the east there were still flare-ups. A lot would depend on how the Santa Ana winds blew that day.
While they ate Georgina kept one eye on the people at the Casa Feliz table, watching for a sign that they were ready to leave. She wanted to say goodbye to Wahl before she left for Adela’s. Wahl, she saw, appeared to be in a serious conversation with Jake. Sonia was seated between the two Wahl boys; the three teenagers were having a lively exchange punctuated by bouts of laughter. Lauren sat sullenly next to her husband, saying nothing. The others from the Rios estate, including Jose, talked among themselves.
Officer Garcia approached Georgina’s table. He had become a fixture in the shelter environs. Georgina was convinced that he was keeping a watchful eye on everyone who had been at the barn that fateful morning. “Detective Mori sent me to track you down,” he said to her. “She needs to take care of some business here before she can give you a ride. Can you meet her in an hour by the command center?” Georgina said that she would be there.
Officer Garcia then walked over to the Casa Feliz table. He greeted everyone jovially and engaged in a few minutes of small talk. Then he leaned down and whispered something into Jose’s ear. Jose’s face fell. Without a word, Jose got up and followed Officer Garcia out of the hall.
After Pilar and Consuelo left to show Georgina to the room where she would be staying, Adela and Sam sat down in the living room. Adela told Sam that, since they had last spoken, she had recalled something. “When I told you about the audit,” she said, “you asked me whether anyone else knew about it. I’ve been doing some more thinking, and I believe that my father may have mentioned it to Philip Wahl.”
“Did your father say when he talked to Wahl about it?” Sam asked.
Adela frowned. “I don’t recall him saying anything about that. But I’m almost certain that he told me that last morning at breakfast that Wahl knew about the audit.”
“Have you spoken to Wahl about this?” Sam asked.
“I’ve only spoken to him briefly since my father died. The audit didn’t come up.”
“I would appreciate it if you did not discuss anything related to the audit with him,” Sam said. “Is there anything else you would like to tell me?”
Adela rose from her chair. “No, that’s it. Oh, here’s Lupe. She can show you out.”
After Sam departed Adela joined her daughters and Georgina in one of the guest bedrooms. “Georgina has no clothes with her,” Consuelo said. “She was at Grandpa’s when the fire came and she had to leave her luggage behind. Why don’t we have Covet send over some things for her, like they did for us yesterday?” Covet, a local upscale boutique, was a favorite with the Rios women.
“Oh, that won’t be necessary,” Georgina said. “Perhaps I could just borrow some things.”
“We don’t have much here for you to borrow,” Adela said. “Consuelo and I arrived with nothing and Pilar came with only one bag. We’re all wearing new outfits from Covet. Really, Georgina, it would please me to arrange for you to get some new clothes. My treat.”
“It would be great to get out of what I’m wearing,” Georgina said. “That’s very generous of you, Ms. Rios.”
“Please call me Adela. I don’t stand on formalities,” Adela said. “So you were at my father’s that morning?” Adela’s only first-hand account of the events at Casa Feliz had come from Wahl, who had been less than forthcoming in his description. Adela assumed that Wahl’s defensiveness derived from his concern that she might blame him for leaving the scene before he was sure that her father was safe. She was eager to learn what Georgina had observed. “I had breakfast with my father that morning,” Adela told her. “When he left to go up to his office he said that he had a meeting with some people. You must have been one of those people, right?”
“We were signing papers for an acquisition that he was making, a local biotech company.”
“So now I own one of those startups over by the university?” Adela asked.
“It’s a startup and it’s near the university but you don’t own it, at least not yet,” Georgina said. “We had to leave before the papers were signed, so the deal is up in the air for now. I was hoping that I could present it to you, when you have the time. The terms are very favorable to you.”
“If you work for Mark, I’m sure that you’re a formidable negotiator, Georgina,” Adela said. “But I don’t know anything about biotech. We’ll have to see about that. Right now I’m more interested in hearing about what happened the morning of the fire. Can you tell me what you saw?”
“Hey, it’s Nate.”
“Hi,” Georgina said. She was in the guest bedroom looking over the clothes that had just arrived from Covet. “How are you and Gordon making out?”
“We’re doing all right,” he said. “We’re still at the Fairgrounds. Gordon wants to hear the end of the dragon story.”
“You can tell him he has a rain check, good anytime.”
“Anything happening with the deal?”
“I spoke to Adela about it, but only briefly,” Georgina said. “Basically I told her that it involves a biotech startup. But I won’t be able to tell her any more specifics about it today. Mark is due any minute and we’re going to meet with her about the big picture for Rios Capital.”
“Thanks for at least bringing it up with her,” Nate said. “I don’t know if you’ve heard, but the evacuation order is going to be lifted at noon tomorrow.”
“That’s great news,” Georgina said. “I’m sure you and Gordon will be glad to get out of the Fairgrounds.”
“You can bet on that.”
“I’ll be in touch when I have anything for you about the sale.”
“That’s all I can ask,” Nate said.
Georgina returned to her examination of the clothing that was spread out across the bed. The items were surprisingly refined, she thought, considering they were from a California boutique. She put on a sapphire blue silk blouse and tailored white pants. She was admiring herself in the full-length mirror on the back of
the closet door when Lupe came by with the news that Mark had arrived. Georgina followed Lupe to Mark’s room, located a short distance away on the same hallway.
“Well, look at you,” Mark said approvingly when he saw her.
“Adela had these sent over for me,” Georgina explained. “I’ve been living in the same clothes since the fire started and she took pity on me.”
“Adela’s like that,” Mark said. “Bighearted. Sometimes I have to caution her to put on the brakes in her charitable giving. She can be swayed by a sob story. So, what have you talked about with her so far?”
“Very little about business. She wanted to hear what happened at her father’s on the morning of the fire and I told her what I knew. I did mention the ZIFIX deal.”
“Let’s not discuss that one with her today,” Mark said. “It’s too small.”
“Right,” Georgina agreed. “But before we meet with Adela, could you hear me out about one thing?”
“As long as it’s not another conspiracy theory. Nothing more about audits, please.”
“This is new and I think that you should know about it." Georgina said.
“I’m listening.”
“That detective who has been asking questions, Detective Mori, drove me here from the Fairgrounds. On the way she asked me what I knew about Rios’ racing stable,” Georgina said. “I was surprised that she asked me about that, and then I remembered something. The day I met Rios, Wahl made a remark about wanting the racing operation to run more like a business, for tax purposes. I brushed it off at the time, but now I wonder.”
“None of this sounds even remotely suspicious to me,” Mark said.
“Do you think we should discuss any of this with Adela?”
“Certainly not,” Mark said. “She has enough on her mind. From here on out, I want you to focus on our number one priority, which is keeping the Rios Capital account. I don’t want to hear any more about how Rios.”
Later, at dinner, Georgina watched as Mark talked with Adela. Listening to the caring way that he spoke to her reminded Georgina of how skillfully Mark was able to modify his approach to match each client’s personality. With one client he would be the commanding general holding forth with an authoritative air, while with another he would be circumspect and respectful. He had chosen the latter approach with Adela. As Mark continued to offer her reassurances about the future for Rios Capital, Georgina saw Adela visibly relax.
Over coffee and dessert Mark raised the question of who should assume the helm at Rios Capital. He threw out several scenarios for Adela to consider. When he asked her if Wahl could step up into this role, Adela scoffed. Her father, she said, had regarded Wahl as a competent operations manager but a nuts and bolts type of thinker who lacked the vision required for the top job. To Georgina’s astonishment Adela went on to declare that Wahl’s wife was an ostentatious, social-climbing shrew. No man as hen-pecked as Wahl, Adela said, had any business running Rios Capital. Georgina could not suppress a knowing smile. Seeing her reaction, Adela said, “Something tells me that you have had the pleasure of meeting Lauren Wahl.”
“She was at the shelter,” Georgina said.
“I’m ashamed to admit it, but picturing Lauren in a public shelter is a trifle amusing,” Adela said. “She must have been a handful.”
“She did make her presence felt,” Georgina acknowledged.
“No,” Adela said, “I will most certainly not be making Lauren Wahl the First Lady of Rios Capital. But that means bringing someone in from the outside or, dare I say it, with me taking it on myself. I was very active in the business years ago and it’s tempting at this time in my life, with my daughters almost grown, to think about getting back in.” Adela went on to describe what it was like to work at Rios Capital in the early days. Her father had been a great mentor, she said. He had often remarked that he was grooming her to take over one day. She had loved being in business. But, she admitted, dealing with her mercurial father had taken its toll. When she married she had decided that she wanted to live in a less stressful way. She had stepped back from Rios Capital completely. She told them that she had never regretted her decision.
Georgina was impressed by how open Adela was in sharing such personal details with them. At first she had been concerned that Adela might be her father’s daughter. But after less than a day’s acquaintance, Georgina now believed that Adela was very much her own woman. She felt a bond with her, recognizing in her account of her early years with her father much of what she was experiencing now with Mark.
As soon as the evacuation order was lifted the temporary residents of Rios’ beach house readied themselves to resume their everyday lives. Unable to find anything more suitable in which to pack her new clothes, Georgina stowed them in kitchen trash bags and deposited the bags into the trunk of Mark’s rental car. Georgina suggested to Mark that they pick up her car at the Rios estate before checking in at the Inn. Adela instructed the staff, with the exception of Lupe, to return to Casa Feliz to assist with the clean up. She asked Lupe to go to her house to field calls and to help with the plans for her father's memorial service. As she said goodbye to Mark and Georgina Adela told them that she planned to stop by the racetrack on her way home, to see how the horses were faring. She added that she wanted to hear more about the biotech deal in their next meeting, scheduled for the following morning.
As they drove to the Ranch Mark impressed on Georgina how important it was to seal the ZIFIX deal immediately, now that Adela had expressed an interest in it. He asked Georgina how certain she was that Nate was going to sign. Georgina said that she was completely certain, but Mark was not reassured. He told her to invite him to join them for dinner that evening, so that he could see for himself.
When they entered Rancho Secreto Georgina saw that the fire had not touched any of the homes west of the village. A number of National Guardsmen and firefighters were gathered near their vehicles on the side of the main road; they were acknowledging the appreciative honks from returning motorists. Once past the village and on the road east to Casa Feliz, Georgina saw the first evidence of the fire. Many homes were gutted to their concrete slab foundations, with only the remains of fireplaces recognizable. The landscape, however, was not one of universal destruction. The fire had been capricious. It skipped over whole sections of the Ranch as it blew west towards the ocean. At one turn of the road there was nothing but blackened earth and the charred outlines where homes had once stood, while at the next turn there was little amiss, with only a tree or two singed at the top.
When they reached the Rios estate Georgina directed Mark to where she had parked her car, next to Wahl’s Maserati. Wahl was standing in front of the charred remains of both vehicles. “I see the fire has deprived you of your car,” he said in greeting to Georgina. “As you can see, mine has met the same fate.”
“I’m so sorry,” Georgina said as she joined him. Looking at the two burnt out hulks, she decided against trying to pry open the trunk of her car to see what was left of her carry on bag. “Mine was just a rental, but yours was special.”
“Fortunately I had very special insurance on it,” Wahl said. “I’m driving my wife’s car now. I suppose I should look on the bright side. Since she’s stranded at home, she can’t spend any money.”
“There’s always the Internet,” Georgina said helpfully.
“I forgot about that. Nowhere is safe.” Wahl managed to laugh. He held out his hand to Mark. “Good to see you again, Mark. Sorry it isn’t under better circumstances.”
“Good to see you too, Philip,” Mark said. “Thanks for keeping in such close contact with me these last few days. It couldn’t have been easy for you, with all the commotion you’ve been dealing with.”
“It’s been a major hassle,” Wahl agreed.
“The house doesn’t look too bad,” Georgina said. “Have you been inside yet?”
“I just took a quick tour. There’s some smoke and water damage but otherwise it’s in
good shape,” Wahl said. “One thing has me worried, though. Rios’ office has been cleared out.”
“Cleared out?” Mark said, suddenly interested. “What do you mean?”
“Someone has gone through his desk and file cabinets,” Wahl replied. “All his papers are gone, and the safe has been emptied out.”
Georgina and Mark exchanged concerned glances. “When we were leaving the housekeeper said that she was carrying out an evacuation plan,” Georgina recalled. “Perhaps someone on the staff was assigned to save the papers from his office.”
“Could be. I’ll check that out with the staff,” Wahl said. “I’ve got copies of all the documents related to the business but I want to be sure that Adela gets everything she needs. Anyway, I’ll see you both at Adela’s tomorrow morning. Hopefully I’ll have found the papers by then.” He say goodbye and walked across the courtyard towards the house. Georgina waited until Wahl had gone inside the building before speaking.
“That audit is with the missing paperwork,” she said. “I’ll bet you anything.”
“Which someone on the staff has already given to Adela,” Mark said, “I’m sure nothing is actually missing.”
“I know you’re skeptical but you have to admit this is strange,” Georgina said. “Someone with something to hide could have cleaned out Rios’ office. If Wahl doesn’t find out where the papers are by the time we meet with Adela tomorrow, I’m going to give Detective Mori a call.”
“You will do nothing of the sort, Georgina,” Mark said firmly. “If anything is missing, Adela will decide what to do. You are staying out of this."
Chapter Sixteen