Daniel Ganninger - Icarus Investigations 02 - Peeking Duck by Daniel Ganninger

narrowed it down to one near you.  You need to make contact and get them on board,” the voice on the other end of the line said succinctly.
    “ Who are they?”  Maddie asked.
    “ They’re a small firm out of San Diego.  Only a couple of principals, and they have an interesting track record.  They only do work by referrals.  They’re also small enough that if something in the plan goes south we’ll be able to take care of them.”
    “ So we’re going to destroy this company if everything doesn’t go according to plan, is that what you’re saying?”  Maddie asked rather disgustedly.
    “ Hey, that’s the way it is.  The contingency is in place to cut off all loose ends.  If these guys are in the crossfire, so be it.”
    “ I don’t like it.  It shouldn’t be like this,” Maddie replied.
    “ We should have gotten the containers here then, but that didn’t happen, did it?” the voice scolded.
    “ No, it did not. Well, what is the name of this company that we’re putting all our trust into?”
    “ It is a pair of private investigators calling themselves Icarus Investigation.  They have an unorthodox approach and should be easy to control.  We also believe they have Alex Judokowski on their payroll.  You’re going to need someone like that to find this ship.”
    Maddie perked up at the mention of the name.  It was one she knew well.  “Okay, I’ll make contact today and get a deal set up.  How much time do we have?”
    “ Maybe a week to nine days, beyond that we’ll be pushing the envelope.  Offer them anything you need to get them on board and call me when you have a deal in place.  You’re on your own on this Jenkins.  I can’t afford to get anyone else involved,” the voice stated coldly.
    “ I understand,” Maddie responded sheepishly, knowing the ramifications if she didn’t succeed.

-Chapter 14-
     
    I arrived early in the morning to the office to find our voicemail void of messages from potential clients.  Jane planned to come in later in the day due to a late night celebrating her final performance of The King and I at the theater in Balboa Park.  She had only a small speaking role, but no singing in the performance.  I had been hoping to hear her belt out a few numbers on stage, but to no avail, just a few lines and some background scenes.
    Galveston had been a no show so far this morning, but I had given him some leeway as to when he was allowed to arrive.  I just hoped he showed up and was the least bit productive. 
    Alex told me he would be in around noon, an early time for him.  He had said something about going to the spa, and I prayed he was kidding, but I had a sinking suspicion he was telling me the truth.
    For the time being I was alone and basked in the quiet, sipping on a hot cup of overly priced coffee.  Today we needed to show some progress.  After the excellent meeting yesterday, I expected everyone to come prepared.  Sometimes I lived in a dream world.
    Jane was the first to arrive a few hours later , looking as lovely as ever.  I gave her some general accolades on how well she did the previous night, even though she was barely on stage.  She knew I thought she was good and didn’t need me to tell her, but she thanked me for the gesture anyway.
    I handed over the front desk to Jane who relieved of my receptionist duties and began her usual morning rituals.  I stepped into my cramped office and checked our bank account, just in case some magical deposit had been made the night before.  I sighed at the figure; it was going to be quite a day.
    As the clock approached one o’clock, I noticed it was still Jane and me.  Galveston so far was a no show, so I had Jane give him a call.  Even if he didn’t have any contacts for us, I at least wanted him in the office so I could keep an eye on him.  I didn’t want him to regress into another Elizabeth induced funk, nor did I want to have reason to instigate another grass stained, wrestling