Page 22 of The Prince's Secret Daughter
Paul nodded eagerly. He even managed a tense chuckle. “Glad you came up with the idea of that property. Selling it over and over again was a genius idea. ”
“This will be the fourth time we organize a sale with one of our clients, then arrange a sale to another idiot. But, we’re going to have to stop it in a few more months.”
“Why the hell would we stop a good thing?”
Nathan sighed with impatience. “Because the local authorities are going to start asking questions, Dad!” Why couldn’t the man figure these things out for himself? His father had been scamming people all his life, starting as a used car salesman and working his way through other idiot deals. This one was no different, except for the stakes, and the rewards, being higher!
Nathan watched as his father headed back to his office, wondering how much longer the doddering old fool would be a benefit to the business. Maybe a year or less, he suspected. The man might have the attitude needed to scam people, but he didn’t have the intelligence or the demeanor to close the deal. Nathan’s father was used to the short con. They were fine, but the real money came from the long cons.
Chapter 17
“What in the world is this for?” Helen hissed, looking around at the desks and smooth walls. They’d gone through the door into what seemed to be a different world. Even the windows peered out at rough weeds but nothing like the piles of broken rubble that they’d just carefully picked their way through moments ago.
“I think this is what I was supposed to see when I eventually came through for an inspection,” Raj replied, his lips compressed as he considered the space. “If we hadn’t come in through the back way,” Raj gestured towards the door, “then I would have been impressed by this setup.” He walked around easily since the floors had been swept clean and there was a minimal attempt at landscaping outside the unbroken windows on this side of the building. “If I’d visited this place with Nathan and Paul, they probably would have driven in from the north end of the area,” he continued, peering out the window. “Nothing out front looks as bad as it does from the way we came in.”
“I agree,” she replied. Raj had just pulled off his jacket because of the dust, tossing it over a small set of chairs that had been displayed in a corner of the fake room. The knit shirt he wore was straining at the seams to maintain coverage of his shoulders and arms.
Did he know what he was doing to her? Did he remember the way she used to worship his shoulders during their previous time together?
“What’s over there?” he asked.
Helen couldn’t answer because she couldn’t seem to pull her gaze away from the man himself. He was just…incredibly drool-worthy!
Finally, her eyes followed him as he pushed through another door. This one took him back into the ruined area. He paused, bent down, then hefted a piece of wood and shoved it out of the way. Helen wasn’t aware of the new path he’d just secured because her eyes couldn’t seem to stop caressing his biceps. Had they been that big before? Her mind wasn’t strong enough at the moment to remember.
“Hey, look at this!” he called out.
Helen’s eyes reluctantly pulled away from his shoulders and arms to examine what he was indicating. Raj was bending down, examining a suitcase that looked armored. It was big – about the size of a large carryon piece of luggage. To everyone’s surprise, the top swung easily open.
Chapter 18
Raj let out a low, long whistle as he stared down at the case filled with guns and ammunition. The contents were neatly organized—four, no, five pistols, all glistening with a cold, unsettling sheen, and a stack of ammunition that could easily supply a small army. About a thousand rounds, by his estimation. “I wonder why such firepower is needed in a dump like this,” he muttered, his voice laced with curiosity and unease as the others crowded around the case.
Nazir bent down next to him, his expression unreadable as he examined one of the pistols. His finger brushed lightly over the trigger protection loop, and Raj instinctively tensed. Nazir's hands were steady and controlled, the calm of a man used to dealing with dangerous situations. “Perhaps I should bring this case to the police station,” he said thoughtfully, his voice low. “Being hidden away like this, these weapons must have been used for criminal purposes.” He glanced around the room, scanning the dim light and dust-covered corners. “Maybe this place is scheduled for demolition, and these guns were meant to be a part of that process.”
Raj raised an eyebrow, his mind working through the possibilities. “You think they were meant to be buried in the cement that would be poured for a new foundation?”
Nazir nodded, his tone thoughtful, but before Raj could voice his own theories, Helen stepped closer to the group. Raj's attention flickered immediately to her as she moved to the front of the case. She stood with her legs braced wide, a posture that conveyed strength and confidence, and Raj found his mind wandering. He caught himself, irritated at the distraction. Therewere more important things to focus on. Still, his thoughts lingered on her legs—long and lean, strong but graceful—and the urge to act on his desire, however misplaced, threatened to pull his attention away from the matter at hand. He shook his head, clearing the thoughts from his mind.
Helen’s voice broke through his momentary lapse. “What if those guns had been stored here under all this rubble to stay out of the way of an investigation?” she suggested, her eyes narrowing with sharp focus.
Raj blinked, considering her words. “Possibly. But why would someone destroy a cache of ammunition along with the weapons?” He looked back down at the case, the image of the destroyed ammo gnawing at him. It didn’t make sense. “Why not just hide the guns and leave the ammo behind?”
Dusting off his hands, Raj nudged the case’s lid closed with the tip of his boot. His thoughts were swirling as he turned to Nazir, his mind pivoting toward a solution. “Is there any way to get this container to the police anonymously?” he asked, his voice low and deliberate, keeping the urgency in check.
Nazir’s expression shifted slightly, his normally serious demeanor cracking into a small, amused smile. “That can easily be arranged,” he replied, his tone almost casual now, as if this was another routine task for him.
Helen interjected, her voice thoughtful and cool. “The ammunition probably wasn’t meant to be hidden or destroyed,” she said, her eyes still fixed on the case. “And the weapons...?” She gestured around the room, her brow furrowed with a question. “Why not just throw them into a body of watersomewhere?” She shook her head, her chin jerking towards the case. “No one would dispose of ammunition, would they?”
Raj considered this, his eyes flicking to the weapons again. She had a point. It seemed far more logical to dispose of everything in a way that wouldn't raise suspicion. Why not keep the ammunition and get rid of the weapons? He opened his mouth to voice the thought but was interrupted when Nazir spoke up.
“She’s right,” Nazir agreed, nodding slowly. “Weapons can be traced, the barrel markings can be attributed to a crime. Ammunition, though, is only useful to law enforcement if it has fingerprints on it, or once it’s gone through a weapon so that the barrel’s markings can be identified.” Nazir’s lips pressed into a thin line as he processed the implications. “It’s probable someone is using this building as a hiding place for weapons and ammo that they’ll need later.” He scanned the abandoned space around them. “The building doesn’t look like anyone has been here in a long time.”
Raj’s thoughts raced, pieces of the puzzle beginning to fit together. Someone was storing these weapons here—likely anticipating a need for them in the near future. But who? And why this building, of all places?
“And isn’t that odd?” Helen added.
“What do you mean?” Raj asked, moving away from the container.
