Tropical Safeguard (Men Of The Secret Service) (9 page)

The veteran simply sniffed and shook his
head. “When I was that age, I’d have been in bed already. Kids these days are
so spoiled.”

His colleague’s cynicism did not surprise
Cole. If anything, he’d learned not to expect anything less.

As they opened the door of the study, The
Secretary, The Deputy Secretary, and Helene Greenbaum were already there. Cole
could tell right away something had frightened Secretary Mitchell the moment he
saw his face.

“What is it, sir?”

“This letter arrived after the regular
mail delivery and it’s a concern.” Secretary Mitchell passed it to Cole, but
Agent Kensing stepped forward and took the letter first. He opened the paper
and read it silently before passing it to Cole who read it aloud.

You can run, but you can’t hide.

I’ll find you in your nightmares.

I’ll find you in the daylight.

There is no escaping me.

You’ll be sorry you ever left.

I’ll make sure you’re sorry.

Trust me, I’ll make sure.

Agent Kensing looked over at Cole with a
knowing expression. “This is very personal. Clearly you know this person,”
Agent Kensing addressed Secretary Mitchell. The man’s mouth fell open.

“But I have no known enemies, aside from
those who oppose my political views. Strangers really. How personal are we
talking?”

“Someone close to you. Someone who knows
you on an intimate level perhaps.”

Secretary Mitchell fidgeted at the word
‘intimate’. In reality, the word implied so much. He’d lost his wife over three
years ago now to cancer and he had only been
intimate
with one person since. James
Mitchell thought about this person and then dismissed the notion that she may
be involved entirely. It was preposterous to think about. Clearly, the Secret
Service agent was mistaken. “I really don’t know what you are implying, but I
don’t think this letter is from anyone I know personally. I think I’d know if
someone had it out for me.”

“Yes, it’s obviously from some crazy
lunatic,” Helene attempted to sooth Secretary Mitchell’s worries.

“But this person knew you were here at
this particular mansion during this particular week.”

Cole cleared his throat. “Agent Kensing,
is there a possibility that the letter wasn’t intended for The Secretary, but
rather for someone else? After all, it wasn’t addressed to anyone in
particular.”

Cole’s comment suddenly spurred a fire in
his colleague’s eyes. Agent Kensing shot him a stern look, grimacing as if in
pain. “Listen, I’ve seen this kinda stuff before, many times, and this is a
threatening letter directed at the most important man here. If it were intended
for anyone else, it would state as such.”

The room was quiet. No one wanted to
interfere with Agent Kensing’s theory. Cole felt publically reprimanded and the
action smarted. Agent Prickly had gone too far.

Cole tried to redirect the situation and
put everyone at ease – something Agent Kensing wasn’t achieving. “The
mansion has security cameras, so I’ll check the surveillance video and double
check all the exterior doors and outbuildings right away and make sure this
kind of thing doesn’t happen again. Often, the culprit will hire someone to do
his dirty work for him. An innocent person may have delivered the mail
unknowingly. After all, the letter was sealed.”

“Right, right. That could have happened,”
Agent Kensing piped in.

“And I really don’t think it’s necessary
to get all worked up over this incident, sir.” Cole turned his full attention
toward Secretary Mitchell. “Just relax and enjoy your holiday and we’ll take
care of it. Besides, you really don’t know for whom the letter was intended. Perhaps
the owner of the mansion, Mr. Winters, has an ongoing disagreement with
someone. We can’t rule that out either. Are you aware of your friend having any
known enemies?” Cole asked directly. He could feel Agent Kensing’s eyes burning
into him.

“Not that I know of, but there is always
someone possessing jealousy and resentment toward success and wealth. It comes
with the territory.”

“Should we warn the boys?” Helene asked.

Cole thought for a moment. “No, I think
the best thing to do is carry on. The boys don’t need to know about any of
this. But I would inform the staff here in case they see something suspicious.
If they are aware of the threat, they’ll be more observant. I don’t want to
offend anyone when I ask this, but thorough security checks have been performed
on the present staff members, correct?”

“Yes, Aubrey forwarded their police
checks and details before leaving on his safari.
 
He knew my office would have to follow a specific protocol
before we arrived. My assistant Vivian received all of that information.”

“Aubrey, meaning Mr. Winters?”

“Correct.”

“Okay, so they’re clear then.” Cole
thought of Secretary Mitchell’s immediate staff members; those he’d arrived
with. The group was sparse. The only other ‘employees’ accompanying him were
the nanny and the agents.
 
“Like I
said, lets carry on as usual and try to enjoy this holiday with your son, sir.
Agent Kensing and I will take it from here.”

Secretary Mitchell nodded followed soon
afterward by Deputy Greenbaum and Helene.

“Where’s Trudy? Should someone go and
tell her the news?” asked Deputy Greenbaum.

“I couldn’t reach her when I called up to
her room earlier. Maybe she was in the shower or out for a walk,” Secretary
Mitchell commented.

Cole thought about Trudy for a moment.
She was missing in action during a time of crisis and no one could find her,
just like earlier when Noah had fallen over the cliff. Perhaps Trudy knew more
than the others believed. He made a mental note to call Intel and do a personal
check on the nanny in the morning. What Agent Kensing didn’t know wouldn’t hurt
him. Cole cringed at the thought of including the veteran on his suspicions.
There was no telling how he could inadvertently screw it up. “I’ll check the
front and also scan the surveillance tapes. I’ll report back to you when it’s
complete,” he mentioned as the agents turned to leave the study.

“Fine. I’ll check the back of the
property this time in case you missed something,” Agent Kensing announced as he
strode off with purpose.

‘
Nice. One last insulting little jab, how
professional
.’ Cole bid everyone in the study a goodnight and then retraced
Gloria’s steps leading away from the study back toward the foyer. He opened the
front door and peered into the mailbox. Looking up, he noticed the security
camera in the left hand corner.
 
He
walked down the immaculately groomed front walkway toward the circular drive,
past the fancy lampposts and neatly groomed hedges until he arrived at the
front entrance. The security gate was closed and there was no way of entering
the property without having called the main house and being buzzed in by
someone. How had the person put the letter in the mailbox? Cole’s mind
instantly veered to the staff again. Inside job for sure unless there was
another explanation for the delivery.

Cole turned and faced the mansion. From a
distance, it resembled any of the many mansions he’d seen in the Hamptons.
Relaxed yet grand with typical Bermudan architecture. Standing stationary, he
scanned the lawns with his eyes, really taking it all in. The yard was well lit
with strategically placed spotlights pointing toward a stone wall that ran the
entire perimeter of the property. The spotlights created a pattern of lit
uniformity along the sturdy wall. Coupled with the bright moonlight, the
grounds were anything but dark. Everything was beyond immaculate, even at
night. George the groundskeeper obviously took his job very seriously and had a
green thumb.

Cole wandered around the perimeter of the
lawns toward George’s small cottage at the far right corner of the property.
The lights were on so Cole decided to seize the opportunity by knocking
lightly. A moment later, George answered the door.

“Good evening, Agent Nielsen. What can I
do for you?”

“Good evening, George. I was just
wondering if you noticed anything strange this evening.”

“Strange? What do you mean?”

“There was a threatening letter delivered
to the mansion and it’s a mystery how it was put in the mailbox. Does the
postman have access to the gate?”

The elderly man scratched his head in
thought. “No, Gloria buzzes the postman in every morning during the week. He
drives his mail car right up to the front door and either drops it in the
mailbox or he hands it directly to Gloria. No one came in this evening that I
saw. That gate makes a humming sound that I hear every time it opens. I can’t
miss it. I didn’t hear anything tonight.”

Cole took a step down and looked toward
the rot-iron gate. There had to be another way that the person had accessed the
property. He turned his attention back to George. “Okay. In case you do see or
hear anything suspicious, please let us know. I’d appreciate that.”

“No problem.”

“Goodnight then.”

“Night, Agent Nielsen.”

Walking away from the cottage, Cole
skirted the flowerbeds that ran along the perimeter of the grounds. He walked
past each spotlight until he noticed something odd. Two of the spotlights
pointing toward one section of the stone wall had smashed bulbs, throwing an
entire section of the wall into darkness. Cole knew this would allow someone to
jump over without being detected. It was clearly deliberate.

He waded through the flowerbed until he
was at the wall. Hoisting himself up and perching at the top with his elbows,
he looked over and noticed a few logs leaning against the wall on the other
side where someone could easily climb over. This was definitely the ‘where’,
now he had to figure out the ‘when’. If it had been tonight to deliver the
letter, that changed things. If this had been the point of entry for the
delivery then the eye of suspicion was taken off the immediate staff members.
It was still too early and there was still not enough evidence to conclude
either theory. Jumping down, Cole clicked his earphone. “Agent Kensing, we have
a security breach.”

Chapter Seven

Jacque brought out a
platter with a pot of Earl Grey tea and mini-croissants filled with watercress
and shrimp with a light mayo dressing. Little bowls of Devonshire clotted cream
and lime jam were placed beside a small mountain of rum scones.

“You know you’re in
Bermuda when we serve afternoon tea with an island vibe. This little snack
encapsulates this tradition perfectly. Bon appétit!” Jacque admired his
handy-work and smiled at his audience, their mouths salivating in anticipation.
They all thanked him profusely before he bounced back to the kitchen with his
trademark enthusiasm.

Cole was standing at the
bottom of the stone staircase that led away from the flagstone patio where the
dignitaries and their families sat eating their lunch. He paced a little, watching
the edges of the property like a hawk though his eyes were a little unfocused
and bloodshot. Last night had been a late one. He and Agent Kensing had
meticulously gone over the surveillance footage and discovered a hooded figure
glide in, drop the envelope into the mailbox, and then glide away like a ghost
in the darkness. They hadn’t seen the person’s face, but by his stature it was
easy to see it was a large, muscular male.

After thoroughly
checking out all other possible ways of accessing the property, from the
disturbed spot Cole had found to the unguarded access at the far side of the
beach, the agents hadn’t gone to bed until the wee hours of the morning. Cole’s
morning ritual had been shelved for the first time in a long time. He was sorry
to have missed his opportunity for a one-on-one Pilates class with Katrina,
though part of him was grateful that he wouldn’t have to partake in something
he knew nothing about. He felt a little unsure of himself in that department,
but still, it would’ve been an interesting experience just to have her guide
him through it. He’d spotted the boys playing in the water and Katrina giving
Helene and Trudy a Pilates class this morning on his rounds, but he hadn’t had
the chance to talk with her.

When the group dispersed
after lunch, Cole made his way into the staff’s area and sat down to eat the
scrumptious delicacies Jacque had provided. Agent Kensing was just finishing
his lunch with the rest of the staff when Cole arrived.