The Ties That Bind

immediately."
    "Who's Bailey?"
    "An industrial security firm. They specialize in this kind of thing, and I've used them before. They're the firm that supplies my guards at Sherilectronics . They're good. I put them on this right away on Monday. But when I told them to look into the situation I was concerned only with finding out who might have made the copy of the bid. I didn't think the package itself was a danger."
    "Why not?" Shannon asked curiously.
    "Because I didn't think things would go this far, damn it!" Garth's mood caused him to explode in an unexpected burst of rage. "I'd intercepted the stolen bid. I figured that would be the end of it. A smart thief would cut his losses at that point and figure the situation was too hot. Besides, time has just about run out for him. The facts and figures in the bid package are only useful to a rival up to the time when the bids have to be turned in to Carstairs . This is early Thursday morning. All the competitive proposals go to Carstairs on Monday. After that, it doesn't matter who sees the bid package."
    Shannon frowned. "Weren't you concerned that there might be another copy of the bid package floating around? The only hard part was copying it the first time because you had so much security in force. Once the thief had made one copy of the original, he could have taken it to any photocopy shop and had another made. Heck, he could have had ten others made."
    "If that were the case, there wasn't a damn thing I could have done about it. But it's not likely that whoever stole the first copy would make any more if he could avoid it. It would be dangerous and highly incriminating if the document turned up in his possession. At any rate, I think we can safely assume now that there's only one copy. Otherwise, the thief wouldn't have been so desperate to get back the one in your possession. My guess is that the transaction was supposed to take place the night of the party and when the copy of the bid disappeared, there wasn't another to take its place. Which," Garth finished roughly, "is why the jerk came looking for it. But I still can't figure out how he knew you had it."
    "I told you. He seemed to know who owned the tote bag," Shannon said dryly. "When it disappeared and the bid with it, he assumed I'd decided to work my own scam."
    Garth stared at her from suddenly narrowed eyes. "Your own scam?"
    "A perfectly logical assumption for him to make, don't you think?" she asked with a flippancy she was far from feeling.
    Garth looked as if someone had hit him in the stomach. "Oh, my God, Shannon."
    "I know. I was a little shaken myself."
    Garth sat quietly for a moment, dealing with the ramifications of what she had just said. Shannon watched him, knowing he was working through some things in his mind and when he was finished she was going to find herself facing a formidable creature. Mentally she braced herself.
    "I've got to get back to San Jose," Garth finally stated.
    "I realize that. You've got a business to run. With that proposal due in to Carstairs by Monday, you can't be running around the countryside."
    Garth nodded thoughtfully. "This whole thing is too hot. There are too many unknown factors here, including the possibility that whoever is responsible for the theft is getting very desperate. It looks like it's a much bigger mess than I originally figured. I need to be where I can keep an eye on Sherilectronics . I've got to find out what's going on and who's trying to betray me. There's nothing I can do here on the coast."
    "Of course," Shannon said quietly.
    "And I need you where I can keep an eye on you," he concluded. "You'd better pack a bag, Shannon. I'm taking you back to San Jose with me."
    Shannon's cup came down on the saucer with a small crash. Her eyes widened in protest and astonishment. "Garth, I can't go back with you. I've got the first shipment of tote bags to finish. Even with Annie's help it's going to take me right through the weekend to finish the sewing process. Then I have to pack and ship them."
    "Shannon, your neck is a lot more important than your tote bags!"
    "My tote bags are as important to me as Sherilectronics is to you, Garth. I'm not going to blow my first big order by failing to meet the deadline. I have to stay here and finish them."
    Garth surged to his feet, pacing across the kitchen with a scowl on his face. "I can't leave you here alone," he bit out.
    "I can't come with you."
    "Damn it," he grated, swinging around to glower at