Rick turned to me, brows raised, shocked.
“And her name’s Deborah.”
He nodded slowly, his lips moving into a smirk. “Well, congratulations. My invite must’ve gotten lost in the mail.”
Thiers chuckled. “All of ours did. This fucker flew to Vegas and got married by an Elvis impersonator.”
The big fuck let out a guffaw right along with Thiers. “That must’ve been a sight.”
“It was. Look, we’re not here to talk about my wife, my marriage, or anything else that doesn’t have to do with getting to the bottom of the bullshit going on with Townsend Industries.”
Rick sobered up and nodded, his face quickly morphing into a serious expression. “You’ve been having some trouble.”
“That’s right.”
“So what are you coming to me for? Townsend has some of the best security around from what I hear.”
I nodded. “That’s the exact reason I need you. We have state of the art security and a hiring process that is meant to weed out potential corporate spies, and yet we’re still dealing with this shit.”
“You’re thinking it’s an inside job?”
“I know it is.”
“Then why not go to daddy and have him hire new staff?”
I curled my top lip upward, scowling, but breathed deeply to calm my growing irritation at this line of questioning. I knew Rick was trying to goad me, to feel me out and see what I was really after. This wasn’t the simple ‘look up a person, find out their address and where they worked’ type of thing I had him do with Deborah. This was possible corporate espionage which could be a federal offense.
“Because his head is too far up his ass.”
That caught Ricker’s attention. Folding his arms over his broad chest, he stared at me, his sharp hazel eyes assessing me.
“My father’s an empty suite. He knows it and I know it. But the board isn’t willing to oust him yet, and it’ll be a cold day in hell before he turns the reins of Townsend Industries over to me.”
“Why?”
“Because he knows I’ll do a better job than he ever could. And legally … for the most part.”
Rick looked to Thiers. “He’s serious.”
“As a heart attack,” Thiers quickly retorted. “I wouldn’t fuck with him if I were you.”
Rick turned back to me. “What do you need?”
I nodded. “I need to know where these leaks are coming from. Who at Townsend is behind it, who on the outside is gaining from these leaks, and …”
“And then you need to know how to fix it.”
I shook my head. “No, I know some guys at the Justice Department, SEC, and the FBI. Once we find out who is behind this, I know who to contact to make sure they’re put behind bars.”
Rick nodded. “Sounds like a job I’d be willing to take on. I’m always up for a good corporate espionage case. Give me a minute, while I make a call to my office to reschedule an appointment, and I’ll be back to talk to you about some more of the details.”
I nodded and watched as he strolled off in the direction of the gym’s office to make his call.
“You trust that guy?” I questioned, turning to Thiers.
“I do.” He nodded. “He served with my cousin in ’Nam. Saved his life. He’s been back over five years now, and started working as a PI four and a half years ago. He’s done a couple of jobs for me. Helped you find Deborah when you first discovered she was here in Williamsport.”
I tilted my head. Thiers was right about that, and it was something I’d always be grateful to Rick Kennedy for.
