A Christmas to Die For_Mrs. A 1 Read online

  A Christmas to Die For

  Mrs. A Book 1

  Kristine Frost

  Copyright 2017 Kristine Frost Trust

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any means without permission of the author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Chapter 1

  Day One--Downtown El Paso

  Ruth Arbuthnot, commonly known as Mrs. A, looked fondly at Antonia Nelson, her granddaughter. Antonia was a beautiful dark-haired girl who looked a lot like Ruth had when she had been twenty-two although Ruth’s hair had been a deep auburn color.

  “Darling,” Antonia said, throwing her arms around her grandmother. “Thank you so much for letting us take the BMW Gran Turismo.”

  Ruth laughed. “Don’t tell your mother. She’ll kill me.”

  “Mother would have me driving a Chevy Malibu with only two pistons working if she had her way. Thank heavens, Dad doesn’t agree with her.”

  “I don’t think she’s that bad,” Ruth protested.

  Petite Mary Clark said, “Yes, she is that bad. She got upset when she saw my VW bug and it’s not new.”

  Allison Lathrop nodded, “And my mother thinks I should be driven everywhere by her chauffeur. Can you believe that? What a serious cramp in my social life!”

  Ruth pretended to be serious. “If you want a chauffeur, I can have James take you in the limo. You wouldn’t have to worry about the traffic then.”

  “Grandma!” Antonia burst out, then she saw Ruth’s grin.

  Ruth said, “Please take care of yourselves. If you get a ticket, I’ll get a visit from your mothers and I am too chicken for that.”

  Antonia said, “We’ll be careful.” She looked at her watch. “It’s about six thirty which means we’ll miss the going to work traffic, if we get going now. I’m hoping that it only takes two days to get the info for our project. If it wasn’t seventy percent of our grade, I’d bag it and stay home with you.”

  “Call me if you decide to stay longer. I’d appreciate it if you’d call me when you get there and when you leave. I know you’ll think I’m just like your mothers, but, I guess I am just like your mothers. I worry.”

  “Please don’t. We’ll call. And don’t worry, the car has GPS and so do our cell phones. We’ll be fine. Besides you promised to take us shopping for our Christmas presents.”

  Ruth waved as they pulled up to the gate that protected her private parking area. “Have fun.” She called as they accelerated up the ramp. She watched until they turned right, and the gate came back down. Wishing that she could have gone with them, she turned and headed for the penthouse elevator which was decorated with gold foil and bright red bows.

  Martin, Mrs. A’s butler, body guard and personal assistant, met her at the door. “I was getting worried that you’d decided to go with them. I know you’re looking for any excuse to avoid going to the Welcome Back planning meeting.”

  She glared at him. “You know I want to go to the Welcome Back planning meeting because it’s for our returning service men, but I get tired of handling Alice Van Ostendorf. She makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. That’s pretty hard to do when it’s in a chignon.” She shook her head. “But seriously, I think she’d murder someone to be the event planner in charge of the whole thing.”

  “Don’t turn your back on her. She’s very good at back stabbing.” Martin said.

  “That she is, but I don’t think she’d pull anything at this meeting since it’s the first one.” She looked at her watch. “What else do I have this morning?”

  He consulted an old-fashioned planner. “You have the Weldon Tech board meeting this morning at ten, the Welcome Back meeting at noon and Bryan wanted to meet with you to discuss some security issues. I have him down at two, but if you’re late getting back, he can wait. Then at four you’re supposed to meet with Gerald and the board about the bid on Brookfield Place. James will be waiting in the parking garage at nine thirty to take you to Weldon Tech.”

  She sighed. “You know, Martin, if Weldon Tech hadn’t been Edward’s pet project, I would sell it lock, stock, and computer chip. It hasn’t made any money since he died, and most tech companies are doing well in this economy.”

  “You’d have a ready buyer in Mrs. Van Ostendorf, but I don’t think you want to sell it to her, do you?”

  “If I did that, Edward would come back and haunt me.” She paused. “I think I’m going to insist that they bring in an organizational consultant. I can’t understand why they haven’t been making money. Our products are good ones and they seem to be selling well, but the books aren’t showing any profits.”

  “If they are selling well and we know they are, yet we’re not making money especially with the government contracts, I say we have three red flags flying.” Martin frowned. “Maybe what you need is a surprise audit from an outside source. Maybe Price Accountants. I’ve heard through the grapevine that they can smell malfeasance and when they’re turned loose in a company, they’re like a terrier at a rat hole, if you don’t mind clichés.”

  “Do you think we’re looking at something more than poor management?”

  Martin cleared his throat. “Ma’am--”

  “Don’t call me ma’am,” Ruth said automatically.

  “Okay, Mrs. A, I heard something last night that bothered me. I was going to tell you about it, if you hadn’t brought this up.”

  Mrs. A looked at him curiously.

  “I was having dinner at Ghidotti’s last night. There were a couple of men in the booth next to me. I don’t know who they were, but they work for Weldon. One of them was complaining about the working conditions. He said that he was going to talk to you. Then the other man said that he’d better be careful because he’d seen Andrew Paradise having dinner with the enemy. The first man asked who the enemy was and the second man said her initials were AVO.”

  “It sounds like I need more than an audit. It sounds like I’d better get security on it.” She walked to the French doors that looked out over her balcony. The sky was beginning to lighten, the clouds a faint yellow. The morning lights of downtown El Paso were spread before her.

  “I don’t like the look of those clouds that are building to the south. They almost look like hurricane clouds.”

  “We don’t get hurricanes here,” Martin reminded her.

  “I know. I just said that that’s what they look like. I’m sure they aren’t. I just can’t seem to stop worrying about Antonia and her friends and that’s silly.”

  “Are you sure it’s that or are you worried about Andrew Paradise? After all, he was a close friend and protégé of your husband and you’ve kept him on out of loyalty to Edward.”

  “Maybe it is that. I hate to think that he’s disloyal, but he’s always been a mover.”

  Martin nodded. “He likes money and what money can do. He always has. Your husband even commented on it from time to time.”

  “Yes, I remember him saying that Andrew liked to be seen at expensive places with an expensive woman.”

  She shook her head and looked at her watch. “It’s only 7:30. Price won’t be open yet. I wish they were. I’d like to get this taken care of. In fact, I’d like to take them with me to the board meeting. That would shake things up.”

  “You could call Mr. Price at home. I don’t know if he could get a team there by 10:00 this morning, but it wouldn’t hurt to ask.”

  “Do you have a number for him?” Ruth asked.

  �
�Actually, I do. His butler and I are friends. I asked him for Mr. Price’s number a few weeks ago when you were considering an audit on the Polanski account.” He pulled a notebook out of the breast pocket of his black coat. “I also have his direct line at Price Accountants. You might try that first. I got the idea from Reginald that Mr. Price goes to work before the rest of his staff. He says he gets more done that way.”

  Ruth took the notebook and picked up her cell phone. Carefully, she dialed in the work number for Mr. Price. The call went through almost immediately.

  “Daryl Price.”

  “Mr. Price, this is Ruth Arbuthnot of Arbuthnot Management Services. I’m sorry to call you so early, but I have a problem and I was wondering if you would be able to help me resolve it.”

  “Good morning, Mrs. Arbuthnot. I’ll do my best to help you with your problem if you’ll tell me about it.”

  “Mr. Price, one of my companies, Weldon Tech hasn’t shown a profit since my husband died. I’ve checked with several outlets here in El Paso and in other areas of the country that sell our products and I’m told that the products are quite popular. Several of the managers that I talked to said that they do have trouble keeping the products in stock, however. We also have a number of government contracts, but we aren’t making any money. I’ve also heard that the working conditions aren’t very good. I was wondering about a surprise audit. I am supposed to attend Weldon’s board meeting at ten this morning. I was wondering if I could take a team with me.”

  “Just a moment Mrs. Arbuthnot, let me check something. Is it alright if I put you on hold? It might take a couple of minutes to see what I can put together.”

  “Of course.”

  In less than a minute, he was back on the line. “I can put together a team for you. However, it will be costly to do a full audit. Our base price for a company the size of Weldon is twenty-five thousand dollars. If we audited suppliers and shipping it could cost more.”

  Mrs. Arbuthnot was silent for a few moments. “Weldon Tech was my late husband’s pet project. I do not want to see it fail. I can’t turn it around without knowing all the facts. I want the full audit including the suppliers and shipping. Would it be possible for me to take the team with me this morning for the board meeting? I don’t want to give anyone a chance to change or destroy records.” She laughed. “That really makes me sound paranoid, doesn’t it?”

  Mr. Price said, “Actually, I think that you have every reason to not trust your staff at Weldon. Do you want to have security there to make sure that no one tampers with the records once the news gets out?”

  “I hadn’t thought about that, but--”

  “Mrs. Arbuthnot, if the problem comes from the top then other employees would have to know about it. You would have accountants and possibly the heads of certain departments who would be in the scam.”

  It took a nearly an hour to work out the logistics, then Mr. Price said, “I’ll meet you in the lobby at 9:45. I normally require a retainer for this big of an operation, but I know your reputation, so I will waive that for now.”

  “I’ll have a messenger bring you a check for ten thousand dollars, if that amount is okay. I prefer to follow your rules.”

  “Ten thousand will be perfect.” Mr. Price said smoothly.

  “I’ll send the messenger immediately and I will see you and your team at 9:45. I’ll bring security with me.” She quickly gave him the address. Then she put in a call to her head of security.

  “Bryan, I need as many of your most trusted security people as I can get. I need them here by nine.” She gave him the details. “This is strictly need to know.”

  As soon as she finished the call, she walked to the long, balcony window. The clouds seemed thicker, closer and blacker. They seemed more menacing somehow.

  She shivered. “I feel like all hell is going to break lose.”

  Martin said, “It could. If Andrew Paradise is a bad egg and has more bad eggs working with him, things could really get ugly.”

  “I know, but somehow all I can think about are the girls.”

  Ruth, you goose, I don’t know why you’re are worrying so much. They’ll be fine. She rubbed her arms. Then why do I have such a prickly feeling about them?

  “It’s not like you to worry so much. Do you think something else is bothering you and you are transferring it to the girls?”

  She rubbed her arms. “Martin, I’ve had the feeling the last few days that something really bad is going to happen. Since Edward’s death, I’ve been treading water, trying to get my equilibrium back, but it seems like the problems with the business are mounting. First, it was the Polanski account, then I had to hire Bob Black to investigate Crawford construction because of the problems with the plastics factory. The accidents caused by that substandard construction were horrible, and now those that were injured are filing lawsuits. We’ve never had any problems with our employees because they know we’ll take care of them so I don’t understand all the lawsuits.”

  Martin looked at a note he was holding. “I was wondering about those lawsuits myself. I checked with Craig and Craig, your attorneys. Did you know that all the lawsuits are filed by one law firm here in El Paso?”

  Ruth looked startled. “Which law firm?”

  “Faiss and Associates.”

  She looked confused. “I’ve never heard of them.”

  He snorted. “They are ambulance chasers. I did a little investigating and from what I’ve been able to learn, they went to our employees, not the other way around and our employees are being remarkably closed mouthed about talking to us.”

  “Maybe, I need to have Bob consider these lawsuits. I’d really like to know who is behind all of this. I’m tempted to fire all of them.”

  “I think it would be a good idea to shut down that site until the investigation is finished. You’re paying workers who aren’t being allowed to work. You could move the good workers to another construction site, but not move the ones who sued. You could give raises to the workers you move—you were planning on doing that in January—make loyalty to you and the company a priority that you’re willing to pay for.”

  “I like it. Get me Matt Decker, please. He’ll be doing the hiring for the Waterford Mall. The owners want us to start early. If he had those workers he wouldn’t have to hire anyone for a few weeks and we’d get an early start bonus.”

  Mrs. Arbuthnot had just sat down to breakfast when Martin walked in. He was carrying the telephone rather than the breakfast croissant she had ordered.

  She frowned. “Martin, that doesn’t look like a croissant. It doesn’t smell like a croissant either.”

  Martin smiled. “I’m glad you’re getting your sense of humor back. I thought you’d want to take this call. It’s Antonia.”

  Ruth grabbed the receiver. “Hi, darling. I take it you got there okay.”

  “We did. There wasn’t much traffic and we made good time. We were actually here before the caverns opened. Hopefully we’ll be back tomorrow, probably late.”

  “Let me know if your plans change, darling. I’m looking forward to having you back. I can’t wait to go shopping.”

  “Bye, grandma.”

  “Bye, darling. Have fun and be careful.” Because I still have a bad feeling about this trip.

  Chapter 2

  Downtown El Paso

  At nine-thirty, Ruth and Martin pulled up in front of the four-story building that housed Weldon Tech’s offices and labs. As they got out of the limousine, five shiny black vans pulled in behind them. Eight men leapt from each van.

  Mrs. Arbuthnot’s security chief, Abraham Bryan spoke into his microphone. Several of the men disappeared around the back of the building. He turned toward her. “Are you ready to do in?”

  She stifled a sigh. Of course, I’m not ready. I’m about to cause all kinds of problems and everyone will be upset. “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be. How do you want to work this?”

  “You, Martin and I will walk in and stop at the secur
ity desk. I’ll stop security from contacting anyone. My men will then come in through all the entrances, go up the stairs and round up all the employees. We’ll put them in the conference rooms on each floor. After they are searched, they will be escorted from the building and sent home unless we think they are involved, then they’ll have to stay on the premises. We’ll tell them that we’ll inform them when they can return. The building will be on lock-down until you give us the word that it can be re-opened.”

  As Ruth walked toward the doors, Bryan put his hand on her arm. “Jeffers,” he nodded toward a big man standing with his back to the wall, his hand on his weapon, “Is in charge of your and Martin’s safety. He will get you to safety at once if there are any problems. Please do as he asks you.”

  Ruth nodded, straightened up to her five feet six-inch height and took Martin’s arm. He pulled open the door for her. Bryan followed behind until they reached the security checkpoint.

  “Mrs. Arbuthnot, you’re early,” the bleached blond receptionist said. Her dragon lady hands with black fake nails handed Mrs. Arbuthnot her laminated pass.

  “I’ll let Mr. Paradise know you’re here.” Bryan said something into his radio, then he reached over and grabbed her wrist before she could press the intercom switch. At that moment, the doors were quietly pulled open and men in black jumpsuits swarmed into the building, scattering to different rooms and running up the stairs.

  Jeffers walked into the room. He took the receptionist by the same wrist that Bryan was holding and escorted her away from the security station as Bryan slid into her seat.

  “What’s going on?” She demanded shrilly. “Take your hands off me.” She began clawing at his wrist with her free hand. “Let me go.”

  One of Bryan’s men quickly grabbed her and hustled her into a conference room. Jeffers said, “I suspect she’s involved with the problem here. As the front person, she would have to know who to let upstairs and who to keep out.”