Read Online Finding Grace by Rhea Rhodan - Free Book Online Page A

that’s
not in the file?”
    “FedCo? I know the owner. What’s the problem?” He
frowned. It was bad enough she was making trouble with the team.
Now she wanted to make trouble with their clients? He’d only given
her the client list to keep her busy.
    “Did you know about the silent partner who put up
fifty-one percent of the start-up capital?”
    “No, he never mentioned it. I wish he had, but it
doesn’t really concern me.”
    “Not even if Mr. Silent is a pro?”
    “What do you mean?”
    They turned the corner into Thorne’s office.
    “Somebody who knows what they’re doing set up his
numbers. It’d take a very good forensic accountant months to
untangle the web and identify him, and that’s a maybe. Blackridge
has a couple of guys babysitting a FedCo engineer on that
construction project in Afghanistan: Hawks and Markham, according
to the file. This should do it.” Thorne nodded her head to the
corner and they put the table down. “What if the engineer is a
phony sent in by Mr. Silent?”
    Even if she was right about a shady partner…“That’s,
ah, quite a stretch, Thorne. Do you have any kind of proof?”
    “Just the bad feeling and what I told you. I’ve got
to get better situated before I can research any further than I
have. I wouldn’t want to alert anyone to my efforts even if they
couldn’t trace it back to Blackridge. That’s no part of the world
to make anyone jumpy.”
    “I’m glad you understand that. Let me know when
you’ve got something more. There’s nothing I can do with what
you’ve given me so far.” He’d never considered that adding Thorne
to the team could endanger his men. He wanted her to drop it, but
on the off-chance that she was even partly right…
    “Oh, Dagger, I didn’t see you. Catch any of that?”
Paul didn’t jump like Thorne did when Dagger appeared. He was used
to his men moving quietly.
    “Yup. FedCo’s one of our oldest clients. CEO’s a
good man, clean as a whistle. He probably just forgot to mention
his partner.”
    “Thanks for helping me with the table, Paul .”
Thorne’s voice reeked of sarcasm.
    He was sure Dagger had caught the dig, but his
fearless partner seemed reluctant to meet either of their eyes.
What the hell had happened last night? Thorne picked up a remote,
sending the stereo volume up just enough to let him know she was
ending the conversation. He didn’t like being dismissed. Apparently
neither did Dagger, who wasn’t moving either.
    “Kind of loud, isn’t it?” Dagger shouted.
    “Does it bother you when you’re not in here, Paul ?”
    “No, the walls are solid enough. But how do you
concentrate?” Maybe this was how she came up with her bizarre
ideas.
    “I do some of my best work when I can’t hear myself
think.” Thorne grinned and turned her back on them and grabbed a
coil of cables.
    Yup, dismissed. But he didn’t want to get into it
with her just now. She had to be wrong about FedCo. He had enough
on his plate as it was.
    * * * *
    It was already dark when Thorne turned up at his
office door wearing a look of resignation along with her wool
beanie, ripped jeans and that ragged old jacket. “I couldn’t get to
the bottom of the FedCo thing, Paul. I might as well go, I’m fried.
I’ll get back on it tomorrow.”
    He was relieved she hadn’t come up with anything,
even if he didn’t like seeing her so discouraged.
    “Wait. I’ll get Dagger to give you a ride.”
    “Soooo not necessary. Besides, his car…” Her eyes
were fixed on her shoes as she shifted from one foot to the
other.
    “Yes, necessary, and I’m getting tired of repeating
that. Anything happen last night I should know about, Thorne?”
    “No, sir.”
    He didn’t buy it. “Wait here, please.”
    Paul found Dagger alone in the big office. “Run
Thorne home, will you?”
    “Can’t. I was going to ask you for a ride to pick up
the caddy from the detailer. That’s why I was late coming in.” He
sounded relieved and something else,