The Final Secret. Cassie Miles

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СКАЧАТЬ he shook Slocum’s hand, he started to introduce Gennie.

      “We’re acquainted,” she said coldly.

      “I’ve known her for years.” Slocum matched her coolness with an ice storm of his own. “Gennie’s a hero and has the Purple Heart to prove it.”

      She flinched. Though she didn’t feel pain in a third of her body, Noah could see that her memories of combat and working in a war zone still hurt. The nightmares and the guilt were harder to cure than physical impairments.

      The general spoke to the captain. “Gennie has questions about the flowers, and I told her to ask you about them.”

      “No problem.”

      “I’ll leave you to it. Gennie, I hope we can talk later.” He backed out of the conversation. “Right now, I’d better run upstairs and get changed.”

      “Give Ruby my regards,” she said with a smile that faded as she turned back to Slocum. “When you ordered the arrangements, did you specify colors or types of flowers?”

      “No.” With the general gone, Slocum didn’t bother to hide his hostility. His blue eyes narrowed to slits in his colorless face. “I told them that the flowers were for a fund-raiser and gave them the size and number of the arrangements. When I mentioned Mitch Murano, the flower people were thrilled. He’s a celebrity. I hope he brings his supermodel girlfriend. Have you ever seen her?”

      “I don’t know who she is or what she looks like,” Gennie said.

      “Of course not. It’s obvious that you aren’t interested in fashion. My question is, why the hell are you making trouble?”

      “About the flowers,” she said, “you didn’t request yellow oleander, pink rhododendron and hemlock branches. Is that correct?”

      “I already said I didn’t.” He flipped through his clipboard, made a note and tore off a scrap of paper, which he tossed to her. “This is the florist. If you need more details, call them.”

      “I will.” She pulled out her cell phone and stepped aside.

      Slocum pivoted on his heel so he was facing toward Noah again. “You need to keep your people in line, and I’m not just talking about Gennie. I have a problem with your man at the front entrance.”

      Shrugging off his irritation with Slocum’s tone, Noah remained professional. “Which man at the entrance?”

      “The pretty boy, he said his name was Tony Vega and claimed that his orders were to set up a metal detector. That’s a waste of time. Some of the people coming to this event are military and could be in full dress uniform, possibly including sabers. Others are ranchers who routinely carry guns. These are rich men, powerful men, and they won’t give a damn if they set off a beeper. No way will they surrender their weapons.”

      Providing security for people who refused to disarm made Noah’s job more difficult, but he wasn’t responsible for this particular scan. “Talk to the general about disarming his guests. He specifically asked for the metal detector.”

      “And I’m telling you to take it down.”

      Seriously? This pencil-neck geek thought he could overrule the general? “I won’t do it without written authorization to change the terms of our contract.”

      “Fine.” He flipped to a blank page on his clipboard and started writing.

      “What’s the deal with this event?” In normal circumstances, Noah would have covered this fund-raiser with five or six operatives, but the general requested twelve, including outdoor surveillance. “Is there something we need to be aware of? Have you received threats?”

      “Not your problem, Noah.”

      The hell it wasn’t. Managing the danger level was the very definition of protective security. “I’ll take this up with the general.”

      “Wait!” Slocum caught his arm before he could leave. “Several people—including a blond anchor on TV—are mad at Murano. He’s had a dozen or so threats from people who are unhappy with those screwball meditation classes he teaches.”

      “And?”

      “The threats were neutralized.”

      Noah didn’t like the sound of that. Slocum was talking like an evil James Bond villain. “Neutralized how?”

      “His people took care of it. Talk to them.”

      The entourage for Mitch Murano included bodyguards and advisors. “How many of them are there?”

      “Don’t know. Don’t care.” Slocum tore the sheet of paper off his clipboard. “This note instructs you to take down the metal detectors. I signed it, dated it and will take responsibility.”

      “I intend to inform the general of the change in contract.”

      “You do that.” He pivoted and made a quick exit.

      Gladly, Noah returned to Gennie. He didn’t understand her problem with the flowers, but when she had mentioned hemlock, it caught his attention.

      She ended her phone call and frowned at him. “You didn’t tell me everything about this assignment.”

      His patience was running thin after the snippy conversation with Slocum, and he didn’t like her insinuation that he was somehow trying to trick her. “You know everything you need to know.”

      “I wasn’t aware that information was on a need-to-know basis.”

      He was not going to get into an argument. The guests would be arriving soon. “Tell me what you learned from the florist.”

      “The flowers used in these arrangements include yellow oleander, pink rhododendron, white azaleas, sprigs of hemlock and roses that are such a dark red that they appear to be black. Does that suggest anything to you?”

      Though he could see that she was fighting to keep her anger under control, her flushed cheeks and clenched jaw betrayed the hostility raging just below the surface. And he was feeling much the same. “I don’t get it.”

      “Even if you don’t know anything about the language of flowers—which clearly you do not—I’d expect you to recognize common poisons. If you had to survive in nature, what would you eat?”

      “I could do without the sarcasm.”

      “All these plants are toxic, except for the roses, and black roses symbolize death.”

      His gaze darted around the room, noticing the large display at the podium and six smaller versions on surrounding tables. “How dangerous are they?”

      “There’s no problem unless the guests start eating the flowers or rubbing them on their bodies. I’m surprised that the florist agreed to handle these plants.”

      She crossed the marble floor to one of the tables with a tall spreading display of flowers, and he followed. “They don’t look dangerous.”

      “Anyone СКАЧАТЬ