Pretties in Pink: A Romantic Suspense Novel (Blackwood Security Book 15) by Elise Noble

Author:Elise Noble [Noble, Elise]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Undercover Publishing Limited
Published: 2022-02-27T18:30:00+00:00

24

FORD

Laurence Brand might have started from humble beginnings, but he’d finished with an AC empire. Brand Holdings, Inc. occupied a sprawling grey warehouse on the edge of an industrial area, and through the open roller doors on the first floor, Ford spotted rack upon rack of AC units and spare parts. Vans painted with the logos of a dozen different companies dotted a neatly landscaped parking lot, and staff strode back and forth, loading and unloading equipment.

Signs directed visitors to a lobby at the far end of the building. Here, the offices rose three storeys, and a receptionist smiled a greeting.

“Can I help you, sir?”

“Detective Ford Prestia. I have a two o’clock appointment with Jack Brand.”

“Can I ask what it’s concerning?”

“I’m afraid not.”

Ford had kept it vague on the phone. Just told Brand’s executive assistant that there was a potential issue with an employee, and he needed to speak with the boss. Was the receptionist merely being nosy? Or had she been told to fish?

Her smile slipped a fraction. “Please take a seat, and I’ll let him know you’re here.”

The lobby was like a hundred others that Ford had been in. Uncomfortable cream leather seats, a coffee table but no coffee, corporate brochures scattered around just in case he got the urge to upgrade his AC system while he waited. At two o’clock precisely, the elevator doors opened and a curvy blonde appeared.

“Mr. Brand will see you now.”

Ford followed her to a third-floor corner office, where a smartly dressed man sat behind a sleek glass desk. Jack Brand. Ford recognised him from his photo on the group’s website, although the picture had been either taken a decade ago or heavily edited. Brand looked years older in person. Ford put him in his early forties, with thinning salt-and-pepper hair and furrows etched into his forehead. No laughter lines around the eyes, though. He wore a good suit with a sensible tie and cared enough to polish his shoes. Ford felt mildly underdressed in khakis and a sports jacket.

“Detective Prestia?” Brand rose and offered a hand. “I don’t quite understand why you’re here?”

“I appreciate you making the time to see me.” Ford shook hands, then took a seat in the visitor’s chair on the other side of Brand’s desk. “I’m here because we’ve identified a possible link between your company and a case I’m working on.”

“What case? What link?”

“I can’t go into too many details right now, but I’m interested in the service records for five properties your group has worked at.” Although they’d crossed the Carmody property off the Brand Holdings list, Ford had added the Rodas home on a hunch. “Do you keep those records?”

“For seven years, yes.”

“Can you provide them to me?”

“I’ll have to run the request past our lawyers, but I should imagine they’ll ask for a warrant. Which properties?”

“We’ll include the list with the warrant, and I have to ask that you keep this request confidential. We don’t want to risk tipping anybody off.”

There was a chance word would get out anyway, but the less warning a potential suspect received, the better.

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