Amelia & Andrew: The Diamond Legacy Ch. 08

"No I believe he was involved how else Maslin would have gotten the information he needed to plan the attack. From what Sam had told me he was just a poor hurting confused kid who let his anger over ride his common sense. Sam has offered to help us in the investigation. He owns a large computer security company. Cindy his wife has also offered her services she is supposed to be one of the top computer security specialists in the country. She has helped the Feds with a couple of cases from what I understand," Charles explained.

"So Sam is the local Alpha?" Andrew asked.

"Andrew you really have to let that story book stuff go. Weres do not live in compounds or caves the live in houses and apartments. They do not have alpha's or such as leaders. Sam is the leader of local community because he was asked to be, mainly because his business has led to him having good contacts with humans and in a small part because of my friendship with him. He acts as a liaison between his people and us. He has been a good friend of mine for the last fifty years," Charles retorted shaking his head amused.

"Amelia, would you please try to find who Maslin associated with? I don't think he had the ability to plan and carryout an operation such as this alone. Charles or Susan do either of you have any contacts in the press I was wondering why they were at the mall." Andrew asked as he was trying to make sure he didn't forget anything.

"I have a friend he is an assignment editor for channel twenty-nine. I will give him a call and let you know what I can find out," Charles offered.

Amelia used the identity that Charles had given to her to log into the federal database looking to see what they had on the bombing and found that the information had been moved to a restricted database that Amelia couldn't find any files; it was as if the feds never investigated the incident. She had seen agents from both the FBI and the ATF there so she knew there had to be records. She tried to use every back door she knew of to find the information with no luck. Amelia picked up the phone and dialed a now familiar number.

What the fuck is going on here?" Amelia muttered as she waited for the phone to be answered

"What is a matter hun?" Andrew asked taking note of the apprehension in Amelia's voice.

"I can't seem to find any records of a federal investigation into the attack. I know I saw a half of dozen FBI and ATF agents there but there is no record of the event even happening according to the federal Government." Amelia mentally told Andrew while she quickly said, "Charles, we may have a problem here. I can't find any records on the attack in the FBI or DOJ databases."

"I will be right there, "Charles quickly responded before disconnecting the call.

Less than five minutes later Charles entered the room Flanked by Sam and Cindy. After Amelia gave them, a brief accounting of her activities Cindy quickly started using her aces to search the federal database trying to locate what information they had. Charles started making phone calls to his various contacts to try to figure out what was going. After several hours of work they had managed to find out that someone had managed to make all of the information on the attack go away including the dozens of videos that had been posted on social sites. Whoever was behind the removal of the information was very meticulous as Amelia and the other could tell they hadn't missed a thing. Charles started calling his contacts in the federal government trying to ascertain where the information had gone. While Charles was working his contacts, Sam called an associate in the local Prosecutor's office. David Argils was an assistant DA. "Hey Sam what is up?" David cheerfully greeted his old friend recognizing the number from the caller ID.

"How's it hanging fleabag? I need a favor if you can do it." Sam replied.

"First of all I don't have fleas and what can I do for you? You know if I can help I will," David replied laughing.

"The bombing at the mall what can you tell me about the investigation. The victims were Charles' head of security and his wife." Sam asked.

"I have no idea what you are talking about. I have to go, but how about the two of us having a couple of drinks tonight at Sanguinem." David responded sounding cheerful but Sam could hear the underlying tension in his voice.

"Is eight good for you and why don't you bring Helen I know Cindy would love to see her." Sam suggested.

"I sure will it will be nice to get together." David said before ending the call.

Sam was concerned with David's reaction it was out of character for him to want to meet at Charles nightclub especially on a work night. Therefore, whatever was happening had David worried. Sam figured he would find out what David knew tonight. "Charles what are the chances of getting a VIP room at Sanguinem tonight? David asked.

"Very good in fact if you want you can use mine." Charles offered.

"Thank you. I think it may be a good idea if you, Andrew and Amelia were close-by he may want you to hear what he has to say," Sam suggested.

"We will be there. I would also like to bring Susan my mate with me," Charles replied.

"Congratulation about time you mated. I am looking forward to finally meeting her," Sam said offering his hand.

After Charles was done talking with Sam, Amelia asked if she and Andrew could talk to him in private for a few moments about a sensitive matter. Unsure what was going on Charles suggested they meet in Susan's private office because he knew that not only was it sound proof even from the most sensitive ears it was also constantly swept for bugs. Amelia and Andrew followed Charles down to the office and waited until he indicated it was all right for them to start the conversation.

"Charles we have checked through all of the people that had knowledge of Catherine's and Emma's plans the day of the attack and have eliminated all but two suspects. We would like your permission to start an active investigation into them and to search their residents without them being aware of the searches," Andrew explained.

"Andrew, you and Amelia have been asked to find out where Amsu is and to dismantle his organization by any means necessary. You have my full confidence. May I ask who you suspect?" Charles replied a bit apprehensively.

"Kirk Morrow who was Mitch's assistant he was having serious money trouble until recently he managed to pay it off and deposited seventy- five grand into an off shore account. I cannot find a source for the money. The other is Christina Morehouse, Emma's office manager and in my mind, the more likely suspect. She has been receiving a monthly payment of twenty grand for the last two years from a shell company that Mark has determined is a subsidiary of a holding company owned by Layla. We did check her stock portfolio and couldn't find any records of buying stock in the company. I know it is possible it is just a coincidence but I have never been a strong believer in coincidences." Andrew replied making sure not to leave out anything that was important. He was so glad that he didn't have to go by human laws anymore it made thing a lot easier and quicker.

"Kirk got the money from me. He sold me a couple hundred acres of land he owned in Australia. I was trying to keep the sale off the radar so to speak so I could build a hideaway there. As far as his money trouble he invested too much into the housing bubble and lost his ass." Charles explained.

"OK, then I suppose we can remove him from the suspect list for now. I am still going to ask him about the calls he made to Egypt over the last few months if you have no objections." Andrew replied.

"That is fine but I suspect it is just that he is talking to his sister Kerrie." Charles stated with a shrug.

"Thank you. You just saved us a lot of time. What about Ms. Morehouse can you offer any insights into her?" Andrew asked glad that they could eliminate one of their suspects.

"I don't know her all that well. Amelia could just probe her thoughts and see if she can determine if they are the guilty party." Charles suggested off handedly.

"I can do that but I didn't want to do anything like that until I talked to you about it. Even if I try to do it subversively, there is a real chance that I would be caught. I am not sure how she would take it but I imagine she would be less than happy about it." Amelia responded.

"We had discussed the possibility of doing it but decided to wait until after we talked to you. The last thing we would want to do is cause dissention among your employees especially right now." Andrew explained finishing the explanation that Amelia had started.

Charles shook his head and chuckled. He had never heard of or seen two more in tuned mates in all his time it was as if they had a direct link to each other's thoughts. He had watched them work and was surprised that they always seemed to know exactly what the other was thinking even when it was obvious that neither one of them was mentally talking to each other. Charles wasn't sure if he was jealous or thankful he didn't share that deep of a connection with Susan.

"I would suggest you talk to Emma and if she can't offer you explanation; then either probe her mind or do a normal interrogation on her. I will support whatever you decide as will Susan." Charles promised.

Amelia and Andrew found Emma in the office she was sharing with her parents. Andrew knocked on the door announcing Amelia and his arrival. Emma looked up from her computer and smiled. "Hey guys how is the investigation going?" Emma cheerfully asked.

"Not too bad, that is why we are here. We could use your help." Andrew answered as he kissed her on the cheek

"What can I do for you this fine day?" Emma teased as she hugged Amelia.

"What can you tell us about your office manager Christina Morehouse? We spotted a couple of flags when we were running a back ground check on her." Amelia explained as she took a seat.

"She is very good at her job and is well respected by the people under her. She is very task oriented and dependable. Why were you running a back ground check on her what kind of flags did she trip?" Emma inquired suddenly very interested.

"We compiled a list of all the people who had known that you would be the one who was accompanying Catherine to her last doctor's appointment. Once we got the list together, we started trying to narrow down our list of potential suspects. We went through phone records and found out that only two of the people on the list mad regular calls to the Middle East; one was Kirk Morrow who was calling Cairo..." Amelia explained.

"Kirk is calling Kerri she is working for the Museum of Egypt Antiquities. She is an assistant curator." Emma explained interrupting Amelia.

"Your dad had explained that and the other concerns we had about Kirk. We are hoping you can do the same For Ms. Morehouse." Amelia continued.

"I can try but like I said I don't know her that well," Emma replied.

"Do you know of any reason why she would be receiving a monthly payment of twenty grand from one of Layla's holding companies?" Andrew asked.

"That is a good question one I would love to have the answer to." Emma responded in an even tightly controlled tone.

"Emma since she is your employee how would you rather we handle this? We can either take a look at her residence without her knowledge, have Amelia attempt read her mind subversively or we can confront her with what we know and see if she can provide reasonable explanations why she is receiving the money." Amelia asked as she handed Emma the file with the information they had gathered on Ms. Morehouse.

"I would prefer you to interrogate her directly and if she doesn't cooperate fully then get your answers by any means necessary." Emma answered firmly after reading the file over. Then as an afterthought Emma added," You know she was one of the few people who had access to yours and Andrew's file."

Andrew's eyes darkened briefly. "Most interesting fact, I shall add that fact to our list of items we need to clear up with her," Andrew darkly stated.

"Andrew we need proof of her betrayal. You must maintain control so we can find just how deep the rot goes." Amelia beseeched.

"No worried love, I am not losing control. I was just imagining what I would like to do to her if she did betray us," Andrew responded with a laugh.

The friends talked for a while planning on how they wanted to proceed. They decided to approach her just before she was supposed to leave for the evening and take her in to custody. Emma had arranged for a couple men from security to watch her discretely. Security also would be the ones to apprehend her and bring her to interrogation.

Christina Morehouse day was just about over it had been a trying day and to top it off she has had this foreboding feeling all day she almost didn't return form lunch but she knew if she did take off for no apparent reason she would be questioned. Since the latest attack, everyone in the office had been walking on eggshells not wanting to draw attention to themselves. There had been a rumor going around that someone on the inside had been helping Amsu and with the increased security, it was making it harder for her. She knew her time here was coming to an end and decided she wouldn't be returning after today. She looked up and saw it was time to go for the day she quickly shut off her computer and graved her bag to leave when Kirk Morrow and Dawn Avilla approached her. "I need you to come with us." Kirk ordered in a quiet tone.

Christina swallowed involuntarily and her shoulder slumped. "Kirk I really need to go I have a date tonight." Christina pleaded as she turned to walk away.

Dawn stepped in front of her and grabbed her by the arm. "It wasn't a request Christina. Either you can walk with us or I will handcuff you and drag you from here by your hair. Your choice," Dawn demanded in a low tone.

Christina's lowered her head in defeat knowing she was caught her only hope that her death would be quick and merciful. She saw that they were drawing a crowd and tried to think how to use it to her advantage. "Why are you doing this to me? I already told them I wouldn't reveal any of their secrets once I leave what more does she want?" Christina begged with tears in her eyes.

Five of the other office worker stepped forward and stood blocking Kirk and Dawn's way. "Why are you treating her like this?" One of the larger males angrily asked.

Amelia and Andrew stepped out of Emma's office to see what the commotion was about and as soon as Christina saw them she immediately Screamed," My god they are going to turn me over to her to wipe my mind like she did to Gregori Demidov."

The group of employees was getting antsy and started to crowd around to see what was going to happen to their friend. As far as they knew, she had been a good employee and was always friendly and helpful to all of them. There was more and more murmuring about how unfair it was to try to stop her from getting a better job. The mood was turning uglier by the second. A large vampire named Arnold Hatfield stepped forward from the rest of the group and approached Kirk and Dawn. "Why are you harassing Ms. Morehouse all she wants to do is improve her situation? I always thought Ms. Black was a fair woman." Arnold asked as he took a defensive stance.

Kirk knew Arnold was a Cossack who was turned in the middle of the fourteenth century. Unlike most of his kind Arnold served in every major war from the time, he was turned until Nam. After Nam, he decided to give war a break and study business management then accounting. Even though he was now a desk jockey as he called it, he was still a formable foe. Kirk knew he would have to tread carefully so as not to inflame the big man in front of him. "Arnold, you know dam well Ms. Black is more than fair. The Barnes are running security checks on everyone associated with the Black's companies and there are a couple of issues they need to discuss with her," Kirk explained patiently.

"What is she accused of?" Arnold asked suspiciously.

"I can't answer that Arnold but knowing Christina it is just a misunderstanding." Kirk stated hoping to defuse the situation.

Emma came out of her office and handed Amelia a piece of printer paper then approached the crowd of people who gathered watching the events. "I would think that I had earned more faith from you all than this. The Barnes are running back ground and security checks on everyone associated with my father including Neil and myself. Now as far as Christina I would like to know when she was going to tell me she leaving since I have never received word of her resignation. It makes me wonder what she is so afraid of." Emma announced. She then paused as she slowly looked around the room making eye contact with every one before settling her gaze on Christina. Everyone was watched as Christina bowed her head as Emma continued, "Well Christina would you like to explain why you are acting in this manner?"

Christina just started to walk towards the conference room where she assumed the interview was going to take place. She was well aware that everyone's eyes were on her. As she walked she wondered how she would be executed, she had heard from the rumor mill that the last time someone had betrayed Charles, Susan had him encased in concrete then dropped into the Pacific. She walked into the room and Kirk told her to take a seat that Andrew would be with her in a couple minutes.

While Emma was addressing her employees, Amelia read the paper that Emma had handed her and wasn't overly surprised when she saw that the fax machine at Christina's desk had called the Holiday Express by the airport ten minutes before she was shot by Antonio Munoz. Andrew's eyes darkened with anger as he read over Amelia's shoulder he slowly imagined Christina begging for mercy as he striped layer after layer of her skin. Amelia lightly rapped him across the back of the head to get him to focus on the real problem. They needed to find out how much information she had passed along to and if anyone else was involved.

Andrew put his game face on and walked into the conference room. He took a seat across form Christina and slowly placed a file in front of him on the table. He set there staring at her for what seemed like forever to her without saying a word to her. "As you have been informed my mate and I have been running background and security checks on everyone who is associated with Mr. Black or his family and we have a couple of issues we need to have clarified." Andrew said in a neutral tone.

"I will be glad to help set your mind at ease Mr. Barnes. Please feel free to ask me anything," Christina nervously offered.

Andrew looked at his watch and frowned. "I was going to play games with you but I just don't have the time today. Here is my first question what did you fax to Holiday Inn Express on the date that is indicated on the paper here?" Andrew asked as he handed her the paper.

Christina paled even more as she looked at the date and time. How did they find out she wondered? "I...I am sorry but I do recall that was a long time ago." Christina nervously responded.

"Christina, if that is true why are you suddenly afraid," Andrew asked as he sniffed the air. He smiled evilly as he continued in a hypnotic voice, "More like petrified, it smells so delicious."

Christina tried to shrink farther into the chair. She was almost paralyzed with fear and she thought that Andrew was losing control. Andrew allowed his baser half come forward and started to transfer. His eyes went to black lifeless orbs as his facial skin start to get a grey hue as it drew up and his lips thinned out making his fangs seem even larger than they were. "My baser half wants out and I am having trouble controlling him he wants revenge for the damage you caused to his mate. Now tell me the truth or I will let him have at you," Andrew said in a strained tone as he did he mentally said, "Amelia I am in full control so please do not worry or let anyone else come in here yet"