It's a Family Affair

Blood's thicker than mud
It's a family affair
It's a family affair

 

“Okay, that takes care of all the old business,” Mr. Wheeler moved the papers to one side. “Now it’s time for new business.”

As was the custom, the quarterly board meetings of Wheeler International were strictly business despite that by-law that only family could serve on the board’s executive committee. Other at-large board members would rotate in and out of the meetings for various topics, but the only people present for the entire meeting, including the executive committee meeting, were Matthew, Grace, Honey and Jim. The meeting always started promptly at nine with a published agenda and normally took place in the executive conference room at their offices in Manhattan. The April meeting was no different. The Chief Financial Officer briefed the board on the past quarter’s financial results, as per the agenda; few concerns were expressed by anyone present. Old business had been addressed just as efficiently. New business was a call for the board to go to executive session and was always allotted extra time, as the discussions could lead to anything. Such was the case this morning, since Matthew Wheeler had not given either of his children any advance warning of the new business topics he wanted to introduce to the board at large.

He had hoped to surprise them both with his idea. “With the impending changes to our family in the coming months, your mother and I believe that we should make a place on the board for both Brian and Trixie.”

Jim smiled and looked across the table at his only sibling, his smile fading as he took in the emerging frown on her face. He leaned back, somehow managing to shift his expression to neutral, and waited.

Matthew and Grace both noticed the different reactions from their children. Realizing that Honey was not going to speak, Matthew broke the silence.

“Jim? Do you have any concerns about Trixie being a member of the board?”

“None at all,” he replied immediately. Although answering his Dad's question, his attention was directed to Honey. “To be fair, I don't think she's going to want to be very active. She'll be a real asset in terms of information on work in foreign countries. She gave me some great pointers on our latest project in Qatar.” Jim paused to see if Honey was going to say anything at all. When she remained silent he continued. “I assume you're proposing she be given a portion of my shares?” He edged his coffee mug to one side and quirked a questioning brow at his father. Currently his parents held the majority shares of the company.

“Not exactly,” Matthew hedged. “We would look to make a minor shift in the initial restructuring, but over time, your mother and I both feel that should change. Neither of you seem inclined to run the family business.” He held up his hand to ward off any potential protests or interruptions from his children. “But that doesn't mean your children might not be interested some day, and we'd like to see Wheeler International remain private for that reason, amongst others.” His explanation hung heavily in the silent, increasingly tense atmosphere of the room and he found himself feeling oddly uncomfortable, something that had never happened before at a board meeting. “There would be no need for either of you to take any larger role than you have right now. We have the appropriate succession plans in place for Wheeler International to continue after we’re ready to retire. It’s important to your mother and to me, that both of you are provided for, no matter what.”

Jim looked at his father curiously. “The money isn’t important to me; it would be fine if you wanted to designate the profits to charity.”

Matthew shook his head. “That’s not what we want. There may be a time in your life when the money is important. Perhaps to infuse cash into the foundation you’re establishing, or to give you the resources to pursue other interests. Certainly we’ll continue to invest in our pet charities and community projects, but your mother and I have both worked hard for the financial security we’re afforded and no, we don’t want to give that away. None of us know what the future holds.” He shrugged. “That may change in the years to come, but for now, this is what we agree on.” He turned and looked toward his wife. “Grace, do you have anything you want to add?”

It was obvious that Grace Wheeler’s attention was focused on her daughter and the inexplicable silence that Honey had maintained since her father had initiated the new business component of the meeting. “Your father and I are in complete agreement. Jim, if you want to give your share of the profits from Wheeler International to charity, please feel free to do so with our blessing. You may want to keep in mind our plans include an annual endowment to the foundation that will fund your school before any other profits are disbursed. We’re comfortable with our decision to leave the business to both of you.” She paused, in case either of her children wanted to speak. Realizing neither was going to do so, she took a deep breath and continued. “There are other details we can work out later about various properties, but that’s not important right now.” Frustration with Honey’s inexplicable silence was beginning to overwhelm her, and spilled over into her tone as she directed the next question towards her daughter. “Honey, your silence leads me to believe that perhaps you have reservations about this plan.”

Honey looked up and noticed she was the object of her family’s scrutiny. She tried to explain. “Is this the right time to discuss new board members? I mean, you and Daddy are still young and it’s going to be years before you’re ready to retire, right? Wouldn't it be better if we waited a year until everyone was actually married? I’m not comfortable having this discussion right now.”

“I certainly wasn't planning on making a motion today,” Matthew admitted. “But I did want to have the lawyers start looking at it if we are all in agreement. The more time they have, the more thoroughly they can research our options.”

“Options?” Honey appeared to relax slightly. “I don't have a problem with the research and looking at options. I just would rather wait until I'm actually married before we do anything about it.”

Matthew felt his wife's hand on his leg, telling him not to say anything. “Very well, we'll ask them to research options in general terms, then.” He paused and frowned. “Are you still planning to get married this fall?”

“This fall?” Honey looked as if the concept were bizarre to her, causing the male members of her family to exchange uneasy looks.

“You and Brian were both pushing hard for an October wedding,” Grace reminded her. “Have you changed your mind?”

“Um, well, you see the thing is ...” Honey hedged her words. “Brian and I aren't moving to New York, so since we aren't actually moving here, we can probably wait a bit longer, maybe even October next year. We, well me, no ... it's .... You see, we need to discuss it and figure out the best time for us to have the kind of wedding we want.”

“So… not this year?” Grace realized she was pushing, but she couldn't help herself. The kind of wedding she envisioned took months of planning, so the welcomed idea of more time to come up with wedding preparations battled against the feeling that something much more serious was going on with her daughter.

“No,” Honey replied carefully. “I'm not ruling out this year, I just... the thing is ...” She squirmed in her seat, something she rarely did. Finally she took a deep breath, and looked at her family. “Brian and I need to talk about it.”

Jim's eyes narrowed and he leaned forward, his tone suspicious. “Are you and Brian having problems?”

“No!” Honey answered quickly. “We just, well, we're not sure what we want right now. We're discussing several options, perhaps even a destination wedding in the Caribbean, or Europe, or maybe even Disney World.”

“You want to get married at Disney World?” Grace asked weakly.

“That's not what I'm saying,” Honey tried to explain. “We just need some time to talk it over and decide what we want. It just seems far less pressing now that we plan to stay in Boston.” She paused and pasted a bright smile on her face. “I'll let you know as soon as we decide, okay?”

Jim cleared his throat and gave his sister a look that clearly said they would talk later. For the sake of the moment, he changed the subject. “Is there other new business, Dad?”

“Uh, yes, of course.” For some reason Matthew Wheeler felt that he had lost the momentum of this meeting. “But before we continue with the agenda, why don’t we all take a quick break?”

 

 

A succession of sharp bangs exploded in rapid sequence as Trixie unloaded every round in her firearm at the target. Chief Walker watched soundlessly as each round ripped through the innermost circle. He hated to admit she was a better shot, but appreciated his decision to give up field work for a desk job meant his marksmanship skills were unlikely to improve. In his experience, the females in the agency appeared to develop expertise on the shooting range quicker and more easily than their male counterparts. None of his male agents would ever admit it, but they seldom entered into wagers with the female agents when it came to shooting scores.

Putting the gun down on the shelf in front of her, Trixie slid back one side of her hearing protection and pulled the target in. After studying it carefully, she nodded in satisfaction and then looked at her boss.

“Are you satisfied now?”

“Yes,” he answered. “But now it's my turn. We both know you're a better shot than I am, and to add insult to injury you're going to pretend like my shooting has improved when we both know that's not the case. All your words of reassurance are just going to make me feel worse.”

Trixie grinned and stepped back, motioning him to take her place. Being undercover made some aspects of her job more difficult. She needed to keep her training current. It was a challenge to find ways to fit in a day at the shooting range every couple of months. This time, her boss had suggested a meeting at the bureau's subterranean shooting range. She'd been surprised, but at the same time, willing. She was certain that the early morning meeting he'd requested was about more than marksmanship training.

Chief Walker grimaced as he took her place in the firing position. Clipping a new target to the wire, he pushed the buttons to shift the target into place. As it zoomed backwards he situated his hearing protection, and tapped his ear. It was an indication that Trixie should do the same. Complying with the request, she watched silently as he unloaded his rounds into the target.

She had to admit it gave her no small sense of pride to notice that she'd performed far better than her boss. In fact, one of his shots missed the target entirely.

Chief Walker cursed as he made a note. “Looks like I need the practice more than you do,” he growled.

“Management isn’t required to maintain the same training as field agents,” she replied.

“Yeah, well ... nice try. Your skills are still at the top,” he remarked as he took a look at her target.

“Are you checking up on my training, sir?” she asked.

“No.” He sighed and waited for other agents to begin shooting, then gestured for her to follow him. They quickly stepped into a vacant room normally used for observation.

“Things are changing, Belden. The chatter on IRMA right now is telling us something different. They're moving their focus to California, either L.A. or San Diego. It's possible that they think we're too close to what they were planning here. Do you have anything for me?”

Trixie shook her head. “Not much. The financials at Langham, sir. They're part of IRMA's operation.” She paused and then made the decision to tell him what she really thought. “So is the murder of Allison Beckhart. When we find who killed her we're going to know who is working for IRMA.” She proceeded to summarize her theory on B3, incorporating the insight she had gained from Jim concerning Allison's use of various charities as a front to divert funds to the terrorist organization, and concluded with the reasons that she believed Allison was murdered.

“What are you holding back, Belden?” he asked when she finished. “There's something you're not telling me.”

“There are things that don't make sense,” she admitted. “I have a couple of ideas on who could've killed Allison Beckhart and why. It's easy to make it fit, but when I factor Harold Langham and his company into the equation it all falls apart.”

“What happens?”

“My suspect has an alibi,” she admitted. “I saw them at Allison's memorial service, they were present from the beginning to the end. There's no way they could be the same person.”

“Why does it have to be the same person? We've said all along we believe there's a cell operating here.”

Trixie sighed and looked down and then back up. “Can you save me some time?” she asked.

“How can I save you time?”

“Jared Somer,” Trixie replied instantly. “We've checked him out and we don’t have any specifics. But every instinct I have screams to me that he's dirty. Barnes feels the same way, but there's not so much as a file on him at the Bureau. What gives with that?”

Walker frowned. “Somer? He's not involved with any of the companies we're investigating, is he?”

“Indirectly, yes. He's Elizabeth Patterson's fiancé. Her father is Samuel Patterson, the owner of Triad, at least for a few more days,” Trixie explained. “You had us stand down on Triad and Torch because of their merger. Based on our research it appears that Sam Patterson would've never sold Triad until his daughter became engaged to Somer. Now it seems he can't get rid of it fast enough.”

“Are you saying Sam Patterson is dirty?”

Trixie frowned. Her boss was usually quicker to follow her thinking than this. “Patterson is squeaky clean,” she replied. “Freeman and Barnes made sure of it. He has a profitable, well-run company that's made him millions. His closest competitor is Torch, who comes in second in the market and is less profitable, but he's selling out to them. It all seems very backwards. It feels like he can't get out fast enough.”

“What does Somer have to do with that? If anything, it sounds like Patterson is exiting the business for reasons of his own. If Somer was an influence, why wouldn't Patterson be putting his future son-in-law in charge and then just working to take over Triad?”

“That's what we're not sure about. Somer has dual citizenship in France and the United States,” Trixie explained. “His father was military, but his mother was French. She went into labor while they were on a day trip and he was born in a French hospital. He's part of this.” She held up a hand, knowing what her boss was going to stay but wanting to fend it off. “You're right, I don't know how he's part of it, but he's part of it. We'll get a conclusive answer one way or the other.”

“Do you think his engagement to Buffy Patterson implicates her?” He asked.

“There's no evidence to implicate her, at least none that we've seen,” she admitted with a shrug. “But she doesn't have an alibi for Harold Langham's shooting and Barnes and Freeman believe the two of them were having an affair. His current girlfriend was only known by the name 'Bette'. Buffy has a history of using other nicknames. When she was engaged to Mike King, she went by Liz.”

“But you don't think she's implicated?”

Trixie shook her head. “It’s possible, because she hasn’t been eliminated, but no, sir. I don’t think she’s our spy. She's involved somehow because there are just too many connections for them all to be a coincidence. But in terms of the real suspect ...” she took a deep breath. “I think the original female suspect you wanted me to look for is dead.”

He took a deep breath at the implication. “You think Alison Beckhart was working for IRMA?”

“Yes, sir.”

He shook his head. “Good grief, Belden, she's a Rockefeller. You understand what that means don't you?” He didn't pause for an answer. “Can you prove it?”

“Not a chance,” she replied with a decided shake of her head.

“Why not?”

“Because her husband and his friends figured it out before we did. Trust me, they've erased any and all traces of her transgressions, both the ones she ran through his company and what she may have done on her own. They probably can't hide all the charitable contributions because there's a possibility that they're on tax returns that have already been filed. But we both know that's not enough to prove anything. They would simply claim she didn't know. Any evidence that existed beyond those donations has been destroyed by Reid and his friends, or at the very least obfuscated to the point that you can put your best computer team on it and they won't find it.”

Chief Walker was quiet for a few moments as he contemplated what his agent had told him. Finally breaking the silence, he asked. “Are they really that good?”

“As far as I can tell -- they're the best in the world, sir.”

“Any chance I could recruit them?”

She couldn't help but laugh at the thought of Reid, Chris, and Ted working for the Government. “None right now,” she informed him. “There's a chance that in a few years they'll get tired of what they're doing. I mean after all, after you're worth twenty billion or more—what difference could another couple of billion dollars make?” She managed not to smile. “There are over four hundred billionaires in the United States alone, sir. Money doesn’t seem to be IRMA’s problem.”

“Dammit, Belden we’ve got to do something. This intelligence we've gathered about California, it's one of the most promising leads we've had on this case. I've got no choice but to send Tibbs and his team out there, but there’s something we've missed. I’m sure of it.” He gave her a hard look. “You're not the only one with a gut feeling.”

“We haven't stopped looking, sir. We won't stop until we find the technology.”

“Excellent,” he said. “Now let’s talk about what your friends know.”

“Officially, they don’t know anything,” she replied. “I’m sure some of them have guessed something is up by now.” She looked over her boss’s shoulder to see if she could catch a glimpse of any other agents through the glass windows, but most of them were out of her line of sight. “Jim’s suspicious, sir, but that’s it. He respects that there are things I can’t tell him.”

“There’s no point in telling him or anyone else now,” Chief Walker replied. “Tibbs and his team will pick up what information they can in L.A.” He paused and frowned. “I'll ask them to see if they can get anything on this Somer character. You still don’t have any leads on who has the software code that IRMA wants?”

Trixie shook her head. “All I know is who doesn’t have it.” She gave her boss a searching look. “Is it possible that none of them have it?”

“Anything’s possible,” he replied. “Focus on wrapping up the loose ends on the case, especially any of the money you think is being funneled to the terrorists, but keep your friends out of it.”

Trixie digested that information. Her boss was basically admitting she had failed. “At this point, I'm not sure what good it would do to tell anyone,” she said slowly. “Any help they could’ve given us would’ve been in the beginning. Of course, Jim’s cousin is aware of the entire operation.”

“Jim’s cousin?” he queried, clearly confused by her statement.

“Adopted cousin,” she clarified. “Grace Wheeler’s nephew, Ben Riker. He works at Connors, Ford, and Newman. You remember he's my local contact.”

“Hell no, he’s not your local contact!” Walker roared. “What makes you think he’s your local contact?”

“He had the code words,” she stammered in confusion.

 

 

Grace Wheeler leaned back in the limousine and closed her eyes. She could still feel the tension emanating from Honey, but she had no clue what was wrong between her daughter and Brian Belden. She and Matthew liked Brian. There were times when they worried about him, much as they had worried about Jim. Both young men could take responsibility and honor to the level that they forgot to live, to have fun and enjoy life. Remembering her colorful courtship with Matthew, she wondered how they had ever managed to adopt a son as responsible as Jim. Despite the family arguments that had resulted, they were both grateful that they insisted on counseling as part of allowing him to start college at the age of sixteen. Counseling had helped all of them, and Jim eventually obtained the right balance in his life. But this unexplainable change in Honey had taken them both off guard. A hurried discussion between herself and Matthew after the board meeting led to a plan: Grace would see what she would find out on their way to the hospital.

“When did you decide you might want to get married at Disney World?”

Grace was appalled at how her question sounded. She hadn't meant to ask it quite that way. It was only a thought, and there it was blurted out there like she was one of the snobbish rich women she had come to abhor.

“Oh, Mother!” Honey exclaimed. “We don't want to get married at Disney World. It was just an example. We're not sure what we want.”

In for a dime, in for a dollar, she thought and took a deep breath before voicing her true fear. “Do you still want to get married?”

Honey looked down at her hands and bit her lip. “Yes,” she said her voice full of misery. “Someday.”

“Oh, Honey!” Grace sighed. “When you came home last month to tell us about your engagement, we thought you and Brian loved each other and that marriage was something you both wanted very much, and wanted soon. Now it seems like both you and Brian are having second thoughts about the whole thing. What happened?”

“It's complicated,” Honey prevaricated. “So much has changed in the last month for our careers. We’re not moving back to New York in June, instead we’re staying in Boston for another year—or longer. It just seems like we should wait a while longer.”

Grace nodded thoughtfully and took a deep breath, deciding to address her concern head on. “Is this because you and Brian live together in Boston and you don’t think your father and I would approve of you living together in New York?”

Honey was surprised. She believed that she and Brian had done a satisfactory job of keeping their living arrangement discreet. “Uh …”

“Oh, Honey! You’re 28 years old! It doesn’t shock me to think of you and Brian living together. It’s not like I ever expected you to be celibate until you were married.”

Honey stared at her mother in shock. This was the same woman who had delegated informing her daughter about the facts of life to her governess. “You’ve never talked to me about things like that,” Honey finally answered. “I don’t have any idea what you expect.”

The silence lengthened as Grace pondered what she could possibly say to her only daughter in response. Expectations were easy. “I expect you to do what it takes to be happy,” she answered slowly. “Happy with your life, happy with the person you’ve chosen to spend that life with. My expectations are really very simple.”

Honey blinked as her eyes grew moist. She should’ve realized that was all her parents would ever care about. She nodded in response rather than try to attempt an answer.

While it was it was clear to Grace that there was a problem of some kind, it also appeared obvious that her daughter did not want the conversation to continue, at least not with her. Still, she had to hear it from Honey’s lips. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“No!” The answer was immediate and emphatic.

Grace nodded slowly. “Very well. If you change your mind, I'm here. Just remember, no matter what, your father and I will be here for you. Neither of us spent our years as young adults being the model citizens that you and Jim have been. Don't worry that you'll ever be judged about your decisions from either of us.”

She glanced over and saw the tears spill down Honey's face.

“Thanks, Mother,” she managed in a choked voice. “But this is something I need to figure out on my own.”