Can't Buy Me Love

I'll give you all I got to give if you say you love me too
I may not have a lot ot give but what I got I'll give to you
I don't care too much for money, money can't buy me love

 

“Thanks for meeting me for lunch.” Brian took a healthy bite out of the burger that Mike had placed in front of him only moments before.

“Thanks for suggesting it,” Jim retorted, before following Brian’s example.

The two men ate in a companionable silence for several minutes, only talking to pass ketchup bottles, napkins and salt. Once they had made a dent in one of their favorite meals, Brian revealed the purpose of the invitation.

“Dude, I guess you’re serious about marrying my sister, huh?”

Jim nodded. “Yeah, I am. Guess you’re serious about marrying my sister.”

“Your full-blooded adopted sister,” Brian corrected.

Jim leant forward slightly, a frown knitting his brow. “Are you suggesting that makes a difference in how I feel about her?”

“No. No!” Brian added a second negative hastily. “Not at all, I was just thinking of how she refers to you when we talk.”

“Good. Glad that’s settled.” Jim leaned back and picked up his shake, taking a swig.

“Not quite,” Brian replied. “Listen, we’re not going to let this mess up our friendship, are we?”

“Hadn’t planned on it,” Jim said honestly. “Unless you plan on hurting my sister, then all bets are off. Or should I say my full-blooded adopted sister.”

“Same goes for you, Frayne.” Brian and his old friend exchanged high-fives, and then his eyes narrowed. “There’s something up with the two of them. I’m not sure what it is.”

“You mean besides the fact that for the first time since they’ve met each other, they don’t talk to each other every other day?” Jim said dryly.

Brian snapped his fingers. “That’s it. They stopped talking; do you have any idea why?”

Jim shook his head. “Trixie’s been busy. We both have been. It’s been tough, but somehow we’re managing.”

“Honey’s the same. She was offered that high-profile case and she was going to turn it down because of the Agency and our wedding.”

“What changed her mind?” Jim asked.

“I did,” Brian said. A flash of guilt crossed his face and he looked down at the few remaining fries on his plate. “I knew she wanted to stay in Boston and work that case. It was as plain as the nose on your face. So I mentioned the fellowship with the Pediatric and Adolescent Research Center at Mass General and the opportunity to work with Dr. Ross. She jumped on it like I’ve never seen. She practically demanded that I take it.” He pushed a hand through his hair. “She went on and on about how we shouldn’t put our careers in jeopardy because others were ready for things before we were.”

“She said we?” Jim asked.

“Yeah. To be fair, I don’t think she ever realized she said it that way. I couldn’t let her down. I told her if she was sure she didn’t mind, then I’d apply for the position. The next week, when I find out that I’ve got it, she tells me she’s accepting the case assignment.”

The silence hung heavy in the air as the two men thought about what Brian had revealed.

Jim finally spoke. “She’s afraid to tell Trixie.”

Brian nodded his agreement with that conclusion.

“So you deliberately masterminded this entire operation to come ahead of her to Sleepyside and accidentally on purpose let the secret out.” It wasn’t a question, but Jim quirked a brow at Brian.

“You’ve clearly learned something from Trixie over the years.”

Jim leaned forward. “I don’t think Trixie’s going to have a problem with it.”

Brian was surprised. “Really?”

“Yeah. You should see the way she’s running that detective agency of hers. It’s like a government office. First rate computer equipment, high tech conference rooms, a database that makes what I’ve done with the SMARTSchool project look amateurish. I’m telling you, Brian. I think she misses being an agent.”

“Are you saying that you think she might go back to work for the CIB?” Brian seemed to think that was the last thing Trixie would want to do.

“Not exactly,” he hedged.

“Well, what then?”

Jim leaned forward, his voice pitched low. “I think she’s working for them right now.”

 

 

Inside the offices of the Belden-Wheeler agency, it was shaping up to be a quiet spring afternoon. The three agents worked primarily in silence, Trixie in her office and her agents in the conference room. All were on edge as they waited to get clearance from Charlie Prescott that their interviews were a go.

Trixie looked up as a tentative knock sounded at her door.

“We got you a sandwich, boss.” Amy Freeman offered the well-wrapped deli sandwich to her boss. “The usual.”

“Thanks, Freeman.” Trixie sat the sandwich down and leaned back in her chair.
She had been so engrossed in her work, she hadn’t even noticed that the traditional lunch hour had already passed.

“Anything else?” she asked. Amy seemed hesitant to leave the office.

“Maybe,” the junior agent replied. “The more research that gets done and plugged into our case files, the more likely it appears that there is a connection between Tiffany Eaton and this case. We're definitely missing something.”

“Agreed.” Trixie nodded encouragingly. “You have an idea.”

After a deep breath, Amy continued. “The thing is,” she started. “The thing is, it would make sense if Tiffany were really supposed to seduce Reid and get caught. Someone was thinking blackmail or something. But why would she seduce Madji? The easy answer is to break him up with his girlfriend, but what would that change?”

“Are you saying it was done to break up Madji and his fiancée?” Trixie asked bluntly.

“His girlfriend,” Amy corrected.

“Okay, I'll bite ... why? What did it change? Why call Allison?”“

“Maybe Allison was called to shift Reid’s focus away from Madji,” Amy suggested. “Maybe she didn’t want him on that phone call?”

“The phone call wasn’t even on Reid’s schedule,” Trixie objected. “It was only an accident he was there. So why call Allison? Why not call ….” She stopped her mind turning. “Maybe someone did call Madji’s girlfriend! Look at our notes; do we have a phone number?”

Amy nodded. “Of course, it's in the case files. I was wondering, would it be worthwhile to at least give her a call? Maybe ask her about that night?”

“Do it,” Trixie offered. “It’s your idea. Pursue it, go and see her if you think it would be worthwhile. But if you do go see her, you need to take Barnes with you. My team needs to be with backup whenever possible.

“Are you serious, boss?”

“Of course,” Trixie couldn't stop a smile. “Just let me know what you decide.”

“I'll call her and ask if she'll see us!” Freeman didn’t even try to suppress her excitement and hurriedly left the room.

Trixie chuckled as she unwrapped her sandwich. “Oh, gleeps,” she said aloud. “If I think she's bad, I must've been ten times worse when I was a junior agent!”

 

 

Trixie was surprised that Madji’s girlfriend, Sarah, readily agreed to talk to her agents. She sent them off to the interview with instructions to take the rest of the day off once they’d reported back to her. It was obvious a weekend of working, and a very late night the day before, had left them all feeling dull and tired. She was determined to get some of the older searches on background out of the way that afternoon.

She impatiently cleared another search while waiting on her team to report in. She was surprised when Kevin, the receptionist, announced a visitor. She was unable to conceal her surprise and pleasure at her visitor’s identity.

“Reid!” She exclaimed, hurrying forward to welcome him. He stood up to greet her and she noticed he looked thinner, his face gaunt and drawn. “I wasn’t expecting to see you.”

“I know. But Charlie’s already done so much and when he needed me to sign some papers, I offered to come down. I …” he cleared his throat. “I needed to get out of the house.”

Trixie squeezed his hand in acknowledgement.

“Since I was here, Charlie thought I could tell you myself about my conversations with Fannie and Madji. Your receptionist said you’d be okay with talking to me. Have you made any progress on the case?”

“Yes, some,” she said, biting her lip in caution. “We should probably talk with Charlie, though. Do you know if he’s busy?”

“You want to maintain attorney-client privilege, for me?” he asked.

She nodded.

“It’s not necessary,” he insisted. “I didn’t kill her, Beatrix. I …” His voice broke. “I loved her.”

“Come on.” She gently took his arm. “Let’s go talk in my office.” She shot Kevin a meaningful look and he nodded his understanding that they were not to be interrupted. It had to be hard for the graduate student to reconcile the broken man she was assisting toward her office with the icon of success he’d studied in business school. She conferred a final glare on her receptionist before closing her door that clearly informed him he’d never work in New York City again if he ever mentioned it to his classmates.

Within a few moments, she had settled Reid in one of her visitor chairs while she sat in the other. They each had a cold soda in front of them.

“Reid, are the appointments a go?" Trixie asked anxiously.

He nodded. “Absolutely! Both Fannie and Madji were amenable to talking with you or your team anytime about anything that would help to clear me. Just give them a call. I even have their cell numbers if you need them.” He handed her a post-it sized piece of paper.

“Thanks.” She spoke sincerely, touching his hand as she took the paper. “Reid, this is going to be hard for you to believe, but someone at B3 is behind Allison’s death. One of the people you said you’d trust with your life.” She had wondered how to say it, but finally decided it was best to be straightforward.

“Who?” He picked up his soda and drank.

“I’m not sure,” she answered honestly.

“Come on, Beatrix.” A flash of impatience, even anger surfaced. “Just tell me. I’m not going to go vigilante on you. I understand if you don’t know, but don’t try and protect me from the truth.”

Trixie flushed. “Look, I don’t know. All I’ve got is a feeling. Someone was where they shouldn’t have been.” She frowned. “Maybe someone wasn’t where they should have been.” She noticed Reid’s puzzled looks and knew that Honey would understand what she was trying to say. “There are so many things that don’t add up; I need to make sense of them.”

He took another drink of his soda. Then, brushing his hand on his pants, he said simply, “Ask.”

“Several weeks ago when I finished your security analysis you told me that Madji, Ted and Chris had been with you from the beginning, and you trusted them with your life.” Trixie went back to the far reaches of her brain. “Do you still believe that?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Despite everything that’s happened between all of you?”

“What do you mean?” he frowned.

“We could start with Madji being caught with Ted’s wife.” Trixie counted off on her fingers. “The fact that Chris has been crushing on Ted for years, Ted’s total oblivion to her devotion, and finally, the fact that out of the three, Ted started the company with you, and yet he only owns a few shares. In fact, both Chris and Madji own more stock than Ted.”

“What does any of that have to do with them being trustworthy?” he demanded.

“Stop it!” Trixie ordered her voice firm. “You trust these people despite all this?”

Reid was quiet. “Yes, I do. I know what you’re thinking. All of this looks bad for them. And it’s true; I almost did fire Madji the night we caught him with Ted’s wife. Ian pushed me hard to do it; he thought we were putting the company at risk. But Madji swore to me nothing happened, that it was all a big joke that had gone wrong. In the end, my instincts told me there was more to it, and we managed to come up with a satisfactory solution. Fannie and Ted were already talking about a divorce and my gut said that none of them, Fannie, Ted, or Madji, wanted a big thing made about the situation. Madji offered me his resignation, but I couldn’t accept it. Instead, we agreed he should take a sabbatical.”

“What about Andy and Ian?” she asked quietly. “They both hold positions of trust. They founded the company with you. They were with you when you launched the first product, the one that got you your start as B3.”

“Technically, that’s true,” he admitted. “Let me give you the straight scoop on all this, not the spiel our marketing department likes to put out. We were still in high school – me, Chris and Ted – when I got the idea for how to take internet searching protocols and the indexing of only significant words and apply it to other desktop applications. It totally revolutionized database structures. It was an idea from a popular search engine, but I took it further and applied the concept to the desktop and then databases. It significantly reduced the amount of data that had to be indexed and allowed queries that would have taken hours to be completed within minutes. The first release of our database tool was ten times faster than the most popular product out there. Our teachers were using it before any of us even graduated. Anyone who could type could now make a database.”

“Whose idea was it?” she asked.

“Mine,” he admitted, with a hint of pride in his answer. “But it was Ted’s idea that really made it marketable. He suggested duplicating the indexing and database definition at the same time to cut the time in half, and with the indexing features, we had the world’s simplest database construct. Between the two concepts, we had what was going to become our flagship product.”

“What happened next?”

“We were all just starting college. All of us had different reasons for pursuing higher education,” he continued. “Chris took off from high school a semester early to accept a full-ride at MIT. She breezed through that place like she wrote the curriculum.” He grinned as he shook his head in remembrance of times past. “I had scholarship offers as well, and ended up at NYU. I would’ve ditched it the first semester if I hadn’t met Allison. She was in one of my classes.”

“Let me get this straight. You, Chris, and Ted went to Brooklyn Tech together. You had the idea for B3’s flagship product while still there?”

“Yes, but we never did anything to market it outside the school. Thanks to our counselor, we filed for copyright protection, but because the coding was all mine, both Chris and Ted refused to allow their names on the copyright. Some of the teachers continued to use it after our graduation, they’d call me for help when they needed it, and I was happy to help them out. By the time Ted and I graduated and started college that fall, Chris was already a sophomore at MIT. She went straight through, never took a semester off. It was at the end of our freshman year at NYU when we recycled the database for a class project.”

“What made you decide to start B3 then? Why not wait until after everyone graduated?”

“Ted and I hated school. It wasn’t our thing.” Reid shrugged. “I hung on a bit longer, going part-time and stuff because of Allison. But then we met Ian, who promised to help get us backers if we wanted to try and launch the product.”

“Did he?”

“Yes, he found several private investors who were willing to give us a shot. I had a few friends that helped out and my parents gave me the rest of my education fund.”

“What about Andy Foreman?”

Reid leaned forward. “Pure, dumb luck!” He gave a small smile; the first one Trixie had seen since the night of the figure skating gala. “One of our professors mentioned him to us. We needed a top-notch accountant, a business major with the contacts and know-how to set up a high-tech company. Andy had already cut his teeth on a successful company or two before he was a senior at City College. He knew what he was doing. Besides agreeing to come on as the accounting brains, he was our first financial backer; he had just inherited a trust fund.”

“Andy brought you business smarts and financial backing. What did Ian bring to the table?” she asked.

“He’s okay technically,” Reid confessed. “But he doesn’t like it. He prefers operations. He became our go-to guy, you know the problem solver. If we couldn’t figure out how to make something work, he’d be the one to do it.”

“Can you give me an example?”

“Sure; he raised the capital so we could start-up the company. We had to pay bills, spend some money on marketing; we couldn’t work out of Ted’s garage for long, not if we were serious. We had to have a marketing plan. Ian did all that.”

“Why did Chris come to work for you?” Trixie asked.

“Oh, that was easy.” Reid managed the tiniest of smiles again as he remembered. “We offered her something no other recruiter could match.”

“What was that?”

“A promise to teach her to swim.”

 

 

“That was a bust, don't you think?” Amy asked, as the two agents pushed through the door of the Belden-Wheeler agency.

“Maybe,” Sean acknowledged. “But I think Madji is pretty lucky to have dodged that bullet. She was nice enough, but good grief, talk about high maintenance. And another Mets fan to boot. What is it with this case that it's overrun with Mets fans?”

“Belden around?” he turned and asked Kevin.

“She has someone with her. She said she doesn't want to be disturbed.”

“Must be the new fiancée,” Sean grumbled.

“No, it's Reid Beckhart,” Kevin offered. “He looks terrible. She practically had to help him walk to her office.”

Sean turned and stared doubtfully at Trixie's closed office door. “You're sure about that?”

“Yes, of course I'm sure. Besides seeing Mr. Prescott first, he introduced himself to me.” Kevin managed to refrain from rolling his eyes, but only barely. “Not to mention that I recognized him immediately.”

“Damn!” Sean muttered under his breath.

Amy took it more in stride. “It's not like we have anything significant to tell her. It was strictly an accident that she walked in on them. She wanted to go out with Madji after the call.”

“She implied that Madji was supposed to be there,” Sean reminded her. “I guess we wait.”

Kevin cleared his throat. “If you're going to wait, do you mind if I leave? I'm supposed to meet someone, and I don't want to be late.”

“Go on,” Sean nodded toward the door. We can cover until the boss is done.”

Kevin began to shut down his computer and secure his work area. Despite his eagerness to leave, he wasn't about to break the Agency's primary rule that all work papers and files be locked up each night. Nothing was to be left out or unsecured. He hurried to move his work to the locked file safe.

“Do you think Sarah was with Madji for his money?” Amy speculated as she leaned against the short wall that separated Kevin's work area from the reception area.

“Yeah, that and access to B3 Software's season tickets to the Mets,” Sean grumbled. “Madji is one helluva lucky guy to be rid of her!” He shook his head in sympathy. “It makes you wonder, what was the man thinking? You’d think even a Mets fan would be able to see she wanted his money.”

Amy laughed. “Stupid idiot! He should’ve held out for a Yankees fan, or better yet a Cubs fan.”

“No kidding,” Sean groaned. “I miss the Cubs. If we were back in Chicago, we could’ve caught a game by now. Just think, Freeman we’d have a beer and a dog at Wrigley. Oh, man, I miss Chicago.”

“So make a detour to Citi Field or Yankee Stadium. They both have beer and hotdogs available,” Amy suggested.

They were interrupted by Kevin clearing his throat. He was ready to leave. "I'm outta here, but if she asks, Ellie had to file some papers at the courthouse so she's gone for the day. Mr. Prescott is on a telephone conference and plans to leave when Mr. Beckhart is ready to go.”

“Thanks, Kevin,” Amy said. “Don’t bother to lock the outer door. We’ll hang out up front in case anyone comes in or the phone rings.”

“Got it.” He hesitated a moment, then added, “I couldn’t help but overhear you talking about baseball.”

Sean nodded in acknowledgement.

“They have pretty good hot dogs in New York but you know what the difference is between a Yankee Stadium hotdog and a Citi Field hotdog?”

Sean and Amy exchanged looks and shook their heads. “Nope, what’s the difference?”

“You can still buy a hotdog at Yankee Stadium in October!”

 

 

“Why did you offer to teach Chris to swim?” Trixie leaned forward. “And why was that such an irresistible offer?”

“MIT requires all college graduates to pass a swim test,” he explained. “Chris couldn’t even pass PE in high school. If it hadn’t been for me and Ted, I don’t think she would’ve passed that one.”

“You taught her to swim?”

“We sure did. Every think tank in the country was recruiting her. They promised her all sorts of fabulous recruiting incentives. Signing bonuses, company cars, coffee cards, transit cards, sabbaticals, you name it. Ted was the one that figured out how to get her to sign with us. We promised her three things.”

“What were they?”

He grinned and held up a finger. “First and foremost, we’d make sure she passed her swim test so she could graduate early. Second, she could have complete job freedom so long as she met her deadlines, which she would agree to when they were set. Finally, company stock in lieu of the competitive salary the other companies were offering her.”

“Those are nothing to be sneezed at.”

“No, and she actually owns more stock now than Andy, Ted or Ian. She holds most of the stock after me. She may not have founded B3, but she has as much invested in the company as I do.”

“How did that happen?” Trixie asked.

Reid shrugged. “It's pretty typical for a hot, high-tech company to reach the point where it's attractive for an IPO. B3 was no exception, and the board was divided on where to take the company. Andy and Ian in particular were ready to cash in and take the company public. Ted and I wanted to stay private; neither of us wanted the regulatory oversight that comes with being publicly traded. Chris held enough stock to be one of the deciding factors in the vote.”

Trixie, believing she was stating the obvious, said, “Chris managed to accumulate enough stock to swing the vote?”

Reid nodded. “Exactly! It wasn’t our shining moment as a board, but we’ve managed to overcome our differences.”

Trixie’s eyes narrowed. “When exactly was this vote?”

“About five years ago. In June it will be five years.”

“Before or after you discovered Madji with Fannie?” she demanded, jumping to her feet. She began to pace around the office.

“Uh, the vote was after.” Reid shifted in his chair as he watched her. “Why?”

“That night…” Trixie stopped her sudden pacing and looked at him. “That night for the phone call, you said you weren’t supposed to be there on the call, that you were covering the call for someone. Who was it?”

“Ted and Ian.” He stared at her in amazement. “They were at a ball game and it went extra innings. Even if they’d left, they’d never have made it in time. Why is that important?”

Trixie pushed a frustrated hand through her curls. “I’m not sure yet,” she admitted. “But it means something. I just have to figure out what.”

 

 

“Sorry you guys had to wait on me,” Trixie apologized to her agents. After promising them an early night, she’d kept her team waiting while Reid had talked with her. “What's the quick and dirty scoop?”

Sean nodded to Amy to take the lead. “Madji's girlfriend was fairly open with us. She confirmed her appearance at the office was entirely coincidence. It was a last-minute decision to surprise her boyfriend after his video conference and share a late dinner.”

“Do you think she's being truthful?” Trixie asked.

Amy nodded vigorously. “Absolutely! She said that Madji caught up with her almost immediately after she stormed out of the building, and insisted nothing had happened.” Amy paused. “She believed him.”

“What?” Trixie said straightening in surprise. “All the rumors said, well ....” Trixie blushed as she stumbled on the phrasing. “The accounts I heard were that they were caught in the act.”

“According to Sarah, that is totally bogus,” Amy replied. She glanced toward Sean to seek his concurrence.

“Freeman's right, boss. The woman insists it was a big misunderstanding and yes, she and Madji did break up afterwards, but not because of that. She said Madji wasn't ready for a commitment.”

“What exactly did she see?” Trixie asked, looking back and forth between her agents.

Amy kept a straight face as she looked at her notes. “According to the witness, Fannie was completely naked and sitting on Madji’s lap, but he had his clothes on, although she said it was obvious he was enjoying her attention.”

“Hmmm....”

“Then Sarah stated she grabbed every piece of clothing on the floor and ran. Madji caught up with her about two blocks down the street.”

“Let me get this straight: Madji caught up with her, swore nothing happened, that it was just a misunderstanding and she believed him?” The disbelief in Trixie's voice was obvious.

Sean snorted. “More or less. In the end, she said it didn't matter. That their relationship wasn’t going anywhere, neither of them were happy, she wanted to be supported in a lifestyle that she could easily become accustomed to, she knew he'd get there financially soon, especially if B3 went public --”

“Stop!” Trixie held up her hand. “Sarah knew there was talk of taking B3 public?”

Amy laughed. “Oh, yeah, I'll say she did. She went so far as to say she didn't care if Madji had been.... um, well you know, having sex with Fannie, she'd have forgiven him for his um, what was the exact phrase, Sean?”

“For his future earning potential,” Sean offered with a grin. “She's a moneygrubber, pure and simple, Belden. Madji Farsi was the luckiest man in New York when they broke up.”

“Who did the breaking?” Trixie asked.

“Sarah swears she did, but who really knows?” Sean answered. “If you ever find a woman who'll admit that she was ditched, I'd be surprised.”

“Yeah, well, show me a man who'll admit he was dumped!” Amy retorted sharply.

“Okay, okay ... I get it,” Trixie interjected. “No one wants to be dumped. What does this mean though?”

“It means Madji was scheduled to be there,” Sean offered.

“Yeah, and what would’ve happened differently if Ted caught Madji with his wife sitting on his lap au natural!” Amy giggled.

“How would that change things?” Trixie wondered. “I guess that's what we have to figure out.”