Ben couldn’t prevent a smile from reaching his lips. “The truth? It’s them. It’s the amazing women with whom I’ve fallen in love. They know I love them. Completely. If they weren’t secure enough to accept that and discard all notions of jealousy, then it would all come crashing down. So the success is entirely on them.” His smile slipped a little as his gaze focused on nothing. “There are times, like now, when it hits me how unworthy I am to have so much love in my life. I can only do my best to let them know how grateful I am.” He gave himself a little shake then flashed a weak smile at the Sergeant as he realized he’d overshared. “Does that answer your question?”
She nodded.
“Again, my apologies for the uninvited kiss last night. I’ll try to keep a tighter rein on my emotions in the future,” he said contritely.
“It’s ok,” she said quietly.
She didn’t seem happy, but Ben didn’t know how to address that. With a nod, he headed back to his seat but only managed a few steps when his cell rang. He glanced at the screen and saw it was his lawyer. “Good morning Walter! What’s up? How’s Daphne?”
The man chuckled at the last question as Ben was their matchmaker. “Good morning to you. Daphne is completely delightful. We’re going to a comedy club tonight.”
“Great to hear!” Ben said with a satisfied smile. He wanted to see both of his friends happy, and they were such a good match.
“As for why I’m calling, I received a call from the manager of the shipping container storage facility demanding you come to the site as soon as possible as the authorities want the container you had shipped from Australia opened in your presence. The DEA and the FBI intend to have agents on site for the opening. The late Mr. Hahn is attracting a lot of attention.”
Ben scowled as he didn’t need this kind of attention. He knew it was likely fallout from his visit to Russia. He sighed as he rubbed a hand over his face. Concerned eyes at his table turned in his direction. “Where is the facility?”
“In San Francisco. I’ll send you the address,” Walter suggested.
“That’s not too far away, I suppose,” Ben grumbled. More concerned looks from Tina.
“Can you go today?” Walter asked.
Ben looked to the table and saw everyone was looking back at him now. The plan was to do more shopping today, but he supposed he could slip away to do this. He sighed. “Yeah. I need to arrange a flight there and back. Our jet won’t be back to LA to pick us up until tomorrow. I’ll do that and call you back with the itinerary.”
“That’s great! I’ll wait for your call,” Walter said with a smile in his voice.
“Enjoy the club tonight and give Daphne a hug for me!” Ben said.
“Will do! Bye, Ben.”
“Bye, Walter.”
He finished walking to the table and let himself drop into his chair.
“What did Mr. Greyson want?” Tina asked anxiously.
“Just another nuisance courtesy of Rainor Hahn. The shipping container of all his stuff from the condo in Australia is in a storage yard near San Francisco. The authorities want it open as they believe it contains contraband. It very well might. I wasn’t there when it was packed up and shipped here. We now know he was a criminal, involved with some of the worst people.”
“His dirty shit isn’t going to stick to you, is it!” Trish asked in concern.
Ben grimaced at her choice of words. “No, I have an alibi for the time this stuff was packed and shipped,” he said shaking his head. I’m going to arrange a quick flight there and back, but it looks like you guys are on your own today. I’ll be back this evening.” He looked to Tina and Lori. “You still have the bank cards, yes?” They nodded. “That should cover any purchases you make. Keep any other receipts, and I’ll settle up when we get home. Sorry to do this but Walter indicated it was important and I’m close enough.”
“Who’s going with you?” Tina asked.
“I am,” Evelyn said immediately.
Ben smiled and nodded. “Evelyn will.” She smiled.
They finished having breakfast as Ben made a few calls. The jet service had no planes in the region, but he arranged a charter for Ben. He called Walter and let him know when he expected to be there.
Then he wished the ladies luck, gave them kisses, and hopped into a taxi with the Sergeant to head off to the airport.
Ben found the charter jet service and they were ushered on board quickly as they had to meet their departure window. Ben looked around and realized how much more luxurious Sky Shepherd was. He wondered if Dennis had purposefully selected this charter company as it made his fleet look so much better. He smirked to himself. He wouldn’t put it past the man.
The flight was short, and the pilot was aware that they were to wait on Ben for the return flight to LA. He and Evelyn grabbed a taxi and gave the address of the shipping company. They settled back and watched the scenery.
“Have you been to San Francisco before?” he asked Evelyn.
“No, sir- Ben,” she said correcting herself at his raised eyebrow.
“Me neither. Looks like an interesting place. Maybe next time, I’ll arrange to stay a few days.”
She nodded and looked out the window.
The drive only took twenty-five minutes to get them to Oakland. The driver left them at the front door of the low rise building with the company logo above the door.
They went inside, and he spoke to the receptionist, gave his name, and the woman asked them to take a seat.
Forty minutes later a heavyset bearded man in a wrinkled suit with a clipboard in his hand walked into the waiting area. Ben looked up from his cell when he heard the man call out his name.
“That’s me,” Ben replied as he walked towards the man, the Sergeant following. Ben saw a name tag on the man’s jacket. It said Mike.
The shorter man looked up at Ben then glanced to the soldier at his elbow. “I need to see some ID,” he mumbled, so Ben showed him his driver’s license.
Nodding, Mike gave it back then handed Ben a pen. “I need you to sign here as permission to open the container.”
Ben signed the form and handed the pen back. The man used it to tap his name tag. “Name’s Mike. Please follow me.”
They went through a door next to the receptionist then down a long hallway to a back door, stepping outside. There was a large white storage container a short distance away with a group of people waiting by the doors at its far end. Ben’s eyebrows went up as he counted at least a dozen. He knew the DEA, and the FBI would be on site, but he’d only expected one representative of each.
When they approached the group, three people stepped forward and glanced at each other; two women and a man. Only one of the women was smiling, which made everyone else uncomfortable.
A slim woman, blond hair in a blunt cut that reached her jawline, standing maybe 5′ 9″, and wearing a dark blue suit, lifted her hand first. “Agent Montrose with the FBI.” Ben shook the hand.
The male agent had a stocky build but looked like he worked out. He immediately reached out to shake Ben’s hand before the other woman could move. “Agent Nelson, DEA.”
Finally, the third agent stepped forward and extended her hand. She was probably 5′ 7″, attractive with sharp features, and dressed impeccably in a tailored wine-colored suit and white silk blouse. Her smile never faltered throughout the display of jurisdictional dick measuring. “Agent Stephanie Russo, CIA.”
Ben’s brows rose in surprise. “CIA?”
Her smile widened as the other two agents scowled. “Yes. The press got pretty excited when you showed up in Los Angeles, so we expected these agencies to make a play for the late Mr. Hahn’s items in the shipping container. And they did-”
“Why are you here?” Agent Montrose interrupted.
She turned her smile towards the other woman. “In good time. I’m speaking to Mr. Shepherd now.” She looked to Ben once more ignoring the angry snort from the FBI agent.
“Did you pack the shipping container behind us?” she asked Ben.
He shook his head. “No, that was arranged by Margaret Dawson, a lawyer in Sydney, months after I left. She also arranged the sale of the condo for me,” he explained.
“Do you know what’s in the container?” she asked.
Ben looked at it then back to the woman. “I expect the contents of the condo. I wasn’t paying too much attention to the décor as Rainor had just died and Gretchen was in a precarious emotional state.” He looked closer at the agent. “What are these questions for?”
“One final question I promise, then I’ll explain myself,” she said, and he nodded cautiously.
“When did you become aware that you were the sole heir to Gretchen Hahn’s estate and she’d signed everything Rainor Hahn owned over to you?” Agent Russo asked.
Ben frowned as a shot of pain went through him. “After. After she was… After she died.”
“My condolences,” the woman said sympathetically. She turned to the two other agents and handed Montrose an envelope. “I have a writ from the Supreme Court which protects Mr. Ben Shepherd from criminal prosecution based on items or information found within the effects of the late Rainor Hahn. Additionally, any items inherited by Mr. Shepherd will remain his property except for any illegal drugs or weapons which will be confiscated by the appropriate government bureau. So, aside from those two exceptions, everything inside this container belongs to Mr. Shepherd.” She handed Ben a second envelope. “This is your copy.”
Ben stared at the envelope for a moment then slowly tucked it into his pocket as his mind spun. He was stunned by the implications of this… and damn curious why the CIA would have done it. Maybe cautious was a better word to describe how he was feeling at the moment.
“Can we get on with opening the container? I have other things to do today,” Mike grumbled.