Free Hide 'N Seek by Yvonne Harriott

eye for twenty minutes. Then she showered, dressed, and left for the office.
    •  •  •
    Would Marklynn help him?
    The question still remained in the forefront of Beck’s mind as he parked at the corner of East Berkeley not far from Washington Street. He grabbed his laptop and made his way to Brooks Investigations.
    That question had kept him up after he’d read the information Malcolm had sent on Sydney Brooks. She had a juvenile record that was sealed. She’d also been arrested a couple of times for fraud. In both cases the charges were dropped, resulting in no jail time. He figured Marklynn had something to do with it.
    It was clear to Beck that, however Sydney got her hands on the pictures, she wanted money for them. It had to be, with her history. What else could it be? If that were the case, then criminal charges would be laid. Would Marklynn help him knowing that it would land her sister in jail? He didn’t think so.
    “Good morning. I’m Dalton Beck. I’ve an appointment with Marklynn Brooks,” Beck said to the woman seated behind a glass wall. The nameplate on the glass said Cate Jackson. She got up and came around the glass partition to greet him as he entered the foyer of the office.
    She was a short round woman about fifty-five years old, wearing a white summer sweater and black slacks. Her short fiery red hair didn’t seem to complement her dark skin tone.
    “Good morning, Mr. Beck. Ms. Brooks will join you shortly. I’ll show you to the conference room. Did you find the office okay?”
    Beck followed her as they made their way up the metal staircase with the glass railing to the second floor. They passed a series of empty offices with glass walls separating each office. Glass walls also lined the hallway. Only frosting along the walls and glass doors provided some privacy.
    The woman was looking at him as they approached the conference room and he realized she was waiting for a response from her earlier question.
    “I’m familiar with the area,” he said.
    The conference room was different from the offices. It was enclosed with real walls and entry was accessed only by a key code pad. There was a sign on the door that said the door must be kept locked at all times. She punched in the code and the door buzzed open.
    An oval black lacquer table sat in the centre of the room. Floor to ceiling silver cabinets were mounted on the back wall with a desk between the cabinets. It wasn’t the furnishings they’d spent money on. It was the technology equipment. And there was something, a spy gadget he would guess, displayed on a wall of shelves above the desk.
    “I’ll leave you in Jamie’s capable hands,” Cate said when they entered the room. “And yes, he looks like the guy from The A-Team. Our clients get a kick out of it.”
    Jamie stood up from the head of the oval table and walked around to greet Beck. He extended his hand to Beck, scowling at Cate’s comment.
    “It’s Mr. T. that looks like me. Jamie Wright.”
    “Dalton Beck.”
    The man was built like a linebacker. He wore a black patch over his left eye and his Mohawk and beard could do with a serious trim. Wearing a black T-shirt that stretched across massive chest, with Brooks Investigations written on the front in white, black pants and black boots, Jamie could pass for a soldier of fortune like the television character B.A. Baracus.
    “Have a seat.”
    Jamie went back to his seat staring at Beck from the head of the table. There were juices and bottled water with fresh pastries on the table along with a projector. Paper and pens were placed in front of five of the six chairs in the room and Beck wondered about the other two people that would be joining the meeting.
    “Markie said you’re going to help us find Sydney.”
    Beck took his laptop from the carrying case, placed it on the table, lifted up the screen and turned it on.
    “I’m not sure how much help I can be with that, but it appears our problem might be connected