“Oh, we were affected.” The server jerked her head toward the inside of the cafe. “Don’t get my boss started on it. Two of our windows had to be replaced. And we got off lightly.”
“Was anyone injured?” Fee asked.
The server shrugged. “Fortunately not. It happened in the early morning hours, so there wasn’t anyone on the street, and apparently there wasn’t anyone inside the building, either.”
“Well, that’s something, at least,” Trayla said. “When did it happen?”
The server tapped her lips, thinking. “Three months ago or so,” she said.
Surprise, surprise.
They drank their grinabo in silence and then headed back to the rental by the river without needing to talk about it.
Natta had again beaten them to it, and Fee noticed he was almost completely invisible on the way back, as if he’d ramped up his watching skills, keeping out of sight.
“Eazi, Grimwell Materials head office was destroyed three months ago.” Fee waited until they were inside before she connected to him.
“They’ve never withdrawn as a supplier.” Eazi paused. “Oh, I see what you mean. I’m looking at the aftermath. Why didn’t they let us know that’s why they can’t deliver?”
“Apparently that was their admin building. Their factory is on the outskirts of the city.” Fee knew that a stroll past that factory was next on the list.
“The company registry lists them as out of business, which is very strange.” Eazi sounded astonished. “And that they sold their factory to another business.”
“Do the records show who bought them?”
“No. There’s no mention of the new owners, it says information pending.” Eazi’s voice was thoughtful. “But it’s been pending for three months.”
Natta and Trayla had done a check of the house, and they came in and sat with her, listening to her side of the conversation.
“You think there’s some obfuscation going on?”
“Maybe. I’ll see what I can dig up,” Eazi said.
“And I’ll go out to the industrial area, find the factory and ask around,” Fee said. “If we get nowhere, so be it, but you never know.”
“Don’t do anything dangerous.” Eazi’s tone tightened.
“I won’t. We’ll be able to come up with a good excuse to be out there, I’m sure. And you can track us, right?” She knew he could.
“Yes.” He seemed to settle down. “I’ll speak to you when I find something.”
When he cut off, she lifted her gaze to the other two. “Eazi says Grimwell Materials’ paperwork says they went out of business, sold their factory, and no longer exist, yet they’re still communicating with us, making excuses for their non-delivery.”
“That . . . is a very strange thing to lie about,” Trayla said.
“Very strange,” Natta agreed. “So do we have an address to check out?”
“Theoretically.” Fee tapped the table. “So I want to find out if the factory is still a going concern or not.”
Natta took out his handheld and tapped the screen. “Here’s the industrial area on the outskirts of the city. But there’s also a large market out there, every second day. It’s well attended by locals and tourists. I was actually going to suggest it as something to do while you’re here.”
That sounded like excellent cover. “What kind of market?” she asked.
“It’s like a wholesale bazaar, where you can get overruns or factory seconds. And sometimes custom pieces that weren’tpicked up. I bought some of my furniture from there,” Trayla said.
Fee smiled at them. “Looks like we’re going shopping again.”
CHAPTER 7
