We last read Chapter 24, in which Beth hears back from her contact at the Pentagon, who gives her information on Xavier Wheldon’s military service. Documentation of Wheldons’s service time is locked up like a vault, but her contact learned that Wheldon served with his brother, who was killed in the line of duty in the Middle East several years ago. Stanley also sends Beth drone photos of Wheldon’s land near the nuclear power plant. The photos show a tall tower on the land, reaching almost to the treetops. Beth decides Sapphire Angel needs to get a closer view of the tower. The chapter ends with Conner calling to ask Beth to join him for dinner.
This is the second story, so if you want to start from the very beginning, you can jump over to book 1, and begin with the Prologue of Sapphire Angel, Superheroine. Or to start at the beginning of book 2 (this story), click over to the Prologue of Power Play.
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Beth had only been to the Blue Room a few times and had always thought the name to be a bit of a misnomer. A coat of blue paint covered the walls of the eatery, but several small rooms, not a single large one, filled the building. The place had been a townhouse once, like the surrounding buildings in the Midtown district of Harrisburg. As a result, tables were tucked away in every available nook, side room, and corner.
Punctuality was not Beth's strong suit, and tonight was no exception. She had made several outfit changes before settling on a simple black dress that came to just above her knees. The dark color contrasted with her vibrant blond hair. The dress was short-sleeved, so she also brought a white slip-on sweater.
The maitre d' led Beth back through a maze of hallways and rooms until she spotted Conner seated at a small table in a tiny side room. His face wore a scowl, but lit up when he saw her. He rose to his feet.
Conner had made a good choice of tables. The room wasn't much bigger than a closet, but the small space gave it a cozy, comfortable feel. The table was large enough only for two, and afforded them a view of anyone who might approach from the hall.
"Your waitress will be right with you," the maitre d' announced. Conner moved to pull out Beth's chair, and guided it back in as she sat. The maitre d' poured them each a glass of water before departing.
"You look incredible," Conner said. His voice carried a tone of sincerity, and he was looking her over with wide eyes.
"You clean up pretty nicely yourself," she answered. It was true. Conner had shaved for the occasion, and he wore a dark blue oxford shirt with khaki pants. His hair was neatly combed, instead of in its normal tousled condition.
"Are you okay?" she asked. "Not to be nosy, but you looked a little upset a moment ago."
Conner stared back at her, his mouth closed in a tight frown.
"I'm not okay," he said. "Richard's paralegal came to my office just before I left, after I talked to you. It seems we got a call from Wheldon's secretary, and he's agreed to the meeting we've been pushing for. And up at his lodge, no less."
"That's good, right?"
When Conner replied, his face was creased with worry.
"No. He wants to meet at his lodge. But he says it has to be with just you."
"Did he say why?" Beth asked.
"He just gave some nonsense about wanting to keep it small and informal, and letting his lawyers handle any official dealings with the OCO. And since I'm with the agency, that includes me."
Beth tapped her chin.
"Hmm. Maybe it is for the better. We don't want to spook him by bringing in the big guns like you."
"Very funny," Conner said with a frown. "But it's a bad idea. I should be there."
"You'll miss me, won't you?"
Conner eyed her. "I'm glad you're coming out of your shell. But this could be dangerous. The person or persons who shot at us might have been working for Wheldon. What's stopping him from doing something when you're there by yourself? I find it suspicious he wants the meeting at his lodge, away from everything."
Beth looked at him. "You're a state worker, and tomorrow is Saturday. You guys don't even work on Saturdays."
"You're just full of jokes today," he grumbled.
"I can take care of myself. He's probably doing it at his lodge as an ego thing — make people come to him. Besides, he won't try anything if people know I'm there."
Conner shook his head, clenching his jaw, as the waitress made an appearance. She was a graying woman, perhaps in her mid-50s, with eyes too big for her face.
"Your bottle of wine will be out shortly," the woman said. Her sweet, calming voice sounded too young for her appearance. When the waitress mentioned wine, Beth glanced at Conner with a raised eyebrow.
Conner shrugged. "I like wine."
The waitress ran through the specials, but Beth found she wasn't paying much attention. She wasn't sure what to make of this dinner. They were here to talk business, but it didn't feel like a business dinner.
"I'll be back in a few minutes to see if you're ready to place your order or if you have questions." The waitress gave a slight bow and disappeared back down the hall.
"Tell me about the suspended officer," Beth said as she studied the menu.
"You first," Conner replied. "Did you hear from your Pentagon friend?"
"I did. He had nothing to offer on Wheldon, other than to say he served with his brother, who was killed in the line of duty."
"Couldn't he find anything, or didn't he want to help?"
"He said he couldn't find anything. Everything with Wheldon led to a dead end."
"Then let me give it a try. I have a couple of contacts in the military who are well-placed, and who owe me favors. I'll call them later."
The waitress appeared, and they each placed their order. Beth kept it simple, ordering a Greek salad. Conner ordered the filet mignon.
Alone once again, Beth said, "Your turn. What's up with the officer?"
"It was a pain in the ass to track him down, and even harder to get him to talk. He was staying at his sister's, but she put him on the phone, and I eventually persuaded him to talk."
"And?"
"He's pretty bent out of shape about his suspension, which is why I think he eventually opened up to me. It was like I was an outlet for him, to get stuff off his chest. I assured him the chief would never learn we talked, and I also played up the injustice of his suspension.
"Okay, okay. I'm sure you were great. What did he say?"
"He said the suspension was total B.S., but it was his word against the chief's. Something about having the wrong time on his time sheet. He thinks the real reason is Biggins didn't want him digging into the shooting death. The officer couldn't get the actual lethal bullet from the coroner, but he found some bullets near the body. Missed shots, he thinks. They were some high-end 5.56mm rounds."
Beth scrunched her nose and forehead.
"It's ammo that old-school hunters wouldn't be using up there," Conner explained. "That caliber is becoming more popular with macho hunter types. But not up in a backwater spot like that."
"So not something from hunters, like Chief Biggins claimed," Beth said.
"Exactly. And shortly after getting his hands on the bullets, when he was staking out those woods, the officer ran into two men carrying M16 rifles. He recognized them as Wheldon's guards. They weren't inside the perimeter of Wheldon's fence. Officer McGraw said he got a real uneasy feeling that if he hadn't been in uniform, things could have gotten ugly. They didn't seem happy to see him."
"Did he talk to them?" Beth asked.
"Yes. They lowered their weapons when they noticed he was a police officer. They claimed to just be guarding the outside perimeter of the lodge grounds. But he said they were nervous. When he asked if he could see their guns, they refused. And that's where it gets interesting. He went to the chief to get approval to apply for a search warrant, and the next morning the chief suspended him."
"And the chief never followed through on the warrant?"
"No. McGraw is the one who saw the guns, and would have needed to verify it on the warrant application. He brought it up once, checking on what the chief was doing about it, and the chief blew up. It never came up again."
As Conner finished speaking, a young woman dressed in the black pants and white tops of the restaurant staff appeared, carrying a bottle of wine and two glasses. Beth noticed her stealing glances at Conner.
The woman set the glasses down on the table, and went through the ritual of presenting the wine to Conner, pouring it, and waiting for him to taste it. He nodded his head.
"I'm not much of a drinker," Beth said as the waitress moved the bottle toward her glass. In fact, she was barely a drinker at all. She'd never liked the taste of alcohol and also feared the effects it might have on her.
"That's why I picked this. It doesn't really even taste like alcohol. It's almost like candy."
Beth tried to remember whether she had told him she wasn't a drinker, or if he had just made a good guess. She fought back a slight frown, wondering if he thought she was a prude. Beth nodded to the waitress and watched as the young woman filled the glass. She filled Conner's glass, too, before leaving.
"That's all there is on the officer," Conner said. "Can I see those pictures?"
"Didn't he tell you anything else?"
"Just about the Pegasus Club. Huge place. Way back off the road in a huge clearing. Intense security. Surveillance equipment everywhere. You need to go through a gatehouse with armed guards, and down a long paved lane, to get to the lodge. Wheldon hosts lots of bigwigs there. Parties, galas, you name it. There's a manmade lake behind the lodge. It's a huge, majestic place that would take your breath away, he said. Now can I see the photos?"
Beth turned to her bag, which hung over the corner of her chair. She rummaged around among its messy contents, pulling out a manila folder and sliding it across the table to Conner. He thumbed through the photos of the tower.
"How did you get these?" he asked.
"Someone I work with got them. I don't know the details," she answered, keeping her answer as vague as possible. "I think they're fairly recent."
"Any thoughts? What do you think this tower is?" he asked as he gazed at her intently.
"I've been asking myself that question ever since I first laid eyes on those photos. I have no idea."
"Let's run through everything we know," Conner suggested. "I usually find it helps to boil things down to the basics."
Beth shrugged. "We know there's a mystery tower beyond the fence on Wheldon's land. People want the tower to be secret. Enough to shoot and kill someone in those woods. And when a police officer looked into the shooting, the chief suspended him. Bud Tanner has information and wanted to talk to me, but someone tried to kidnap him. Oh, and someone shot at us, too."
"And the tower and shootings were all on land owned by the CEO of a company trying to purchase the plant." Conner said. "And the shooters were probably his people, too."
"So what's his angle then? I'd say the tower has something to do with this nuclear deal, and Wheldon doesn't want anybody to see it. Do you think Bud Tanner knows why?"
"We'd probably need to get a closer look at the tower to figure things out. And something tells me Xavier Wheldon won't invite us to the Pegasus Club to see it."
"Well, at least one of us will be seeing him tomorrow," she said with a playful twinkle in her eyes. "I could always ask."
Conner looked at her sternly. "I don't think you should joke about this. I still don't like you going alone."
"We've been through this. Nothing will happen." Beth was glad she was going alone. Perhaps an opportunity would present itself for her to slip away as Sapphire Angel and get a closer look at the tower.
"Do we really know Xavier Wheldon that well?" Conner asked. "He could be a mass murderer."
Beth took a long sip from her wineglass and put it down on the table in front of her. He was right. It did taste like candy.
"He's the CEO of a huge company. I seriously doubt he's a mass murderer."
"I didn't mean it literally. I just mean we know nothing about the guy."
"We know a little," Beth said. "We know he served in the military, although that is sketchy. We know he served with his brother and President Andrews, before Andrews ran for office."
Conner leaned back in his chair, thinking. She took another sip of her wine. He bent down and took a big gulp of his own.
The waitress returned with their food. Beth was thankful for the timing, as she was already feeling tipsy from the wine and needed to get some food in her stomach.
They ate in silence for the next several minutes. While she was feeling happy, likely because of the wine, she sensed Conner's agitation.
"What's wrong?" she asked him.
"This visit of yours to Weldon. Like I said, I don't like it. I should be there."
Beth tilted her head back and let out a groan. She said nothing, but took another sip of wine.
"Fine," he said. "I won't mention it again, but it doesn't mean I have to like it."
Beth rolled her eyes. "Deal. And you just need to remember I'm not your kid sister."
One side of Conner's mouth turned up in a grin. His eyes took her in. "Believe me, I'm not mistaking you for anyone's kid sister."
Beth flushed, and her heart thumped. Damn, he had a way of doing that to her.
The coffee shop across the street from the Blue Room provided a good location for Raven Tristan to watch for the departure of Beth Harper. A better vantage point would have been inside the restaurant, but Tristan had taken one step inside, seen the layout, and knew there was no way for her to get close enough to overhear any of Harper's conversations or even see her. Trendy places like the Blue Room did not suit Tristan well, anyway. She was more of a dive bar sort of girl, if she socialized at all.
Harper was proving to be a tough nut to crack. Tristan had successfully hacked into several of the girl's online accounts, but even those accounts only provided a broad overview of her life. It was like part of Harper's life was shrouded in secrecy.
Tristan decided she needed to do some of this the old-fashioned way. She would need to follow Harper and get to know her routines. Once she learned when the girl would be away from her home, Tristan would put the next step of her plan into place and pay a visit to Harper's apartment. Surely the answers to Harper's secrets would be waiting for her there.
Thanks for reading! I publish a new chapter every Monday and Thursday. If you’re reading this on the website and enjoyed it, please hit the like button or leave a comment — or, better yet, sign up to get future chapters delivered to you via email. Every bit of feedback helps me figure out what people like, and motivates me to keep going. If you’re reading via email, feel free to reply and drop me a line. Thanks!
Ugh! Raven, stop spying on her, dude! And I’m kind of on Conner’s side here; I don’t want either Beth OR Sapphire Angel going to that meeting alone. If it were me, I’d suggest making it LOOK like she’s going in alone, but maybe have some backup hiding somewhere nearby ready to drop in if things go off the rails.
Also, I just realized I’m now 1/3rd of the way through the entire book (Chapter 25 out of 75, not including the Epilogue). Thank goodness there’s another one after this.