Page 25

CHAPTER 25

Early Sunday Evening

“Simply brilliant, holding the meeting here,” the man in the blue suit declared. “In a church! Pretending we’re a widower’s support group!”

“It was quite simple,” Samuels told the group. “My great-grandmother’s family helped found this church and the family has contributed huge sums of money for years. They know I have a counselor’s background, and needed a safe place for grieving men that would provide privacy. They even offered it for free.”

“Hide in plain sight?” another man guessed.

Samuels smiled. “Something like that. Now. Let’s keep it short and simple. The “merchandise” as we call it will be there at the chosen place. And since it is New Year’s Eve, and we have multiple events going on at the same time, with hundreds of guests, no one will miss you when you slip away to the special auction room. You’ve all received and inspected the photos?”

Most of the men nodded and smiled, their satisfaction evident. But one lone man scowled. “What if the bidding war gets too intense? And are we guaranteed safety in getting the merchandise away?”

“We’ve promised you’ll be able to get it out of the site,” Samuels reminded him sternly. “Unless you want to pay an additional price. Once you’re off the property, the transport of it is your responsibility. As for bidding wars? We have several new items that have become available, courtesy of our European contacts. I have no doubt even if you are outbid for one item, there will be others that will more than satisfy your needs and wants.”

“And the event starts at nine o’clock, New Years’ Eve?” The man in blue asked.

“Yes. So many people want to go out to dinner that night,” Samuels said. “I don’t want to take away from local businesses enjoying their own money-making. Especially since some of them contributed items for the auctions. Any more questions?”

There was silence and Smith nodded. “Then I’ll see you on New Year’s Eve,” he said. “Enjoy the rest of your Sunday.”

The men filed out and Samuels considered his next move. Except for that idiot Tate, everything was going as planned. Samuels had paid someone top dollar to hide cameras inside the Family Services of Tennessee building. There had been no sign of Tate all weekend–and Samuels had people watching his house– but he doubted the younger man would want to draw suspicion on himself by not showing up to work right after Christmas. When Tate did show up tomorrow morning, Samuels would let Bogdan know so he could kill him. He hated the thought of paying the Romanian assassin even more, but after viewing photos of those young girls he’d smuggled into the country, it was worth it.

And after his electronics man finished bugging Families United, Samuels would let Bogdan kidnap Suzanne Bennett when she arrived at work on New Year’s Eve–the agency was only open half a day–and finally, kill her too.