Before the Dawn

by Gail Chianese

  True, Vinnie could be a pain in the ass, but he had a knack for situational awareness and reading people.

  Giving him a slight nod to join her, she opened the door of the apartment building, and walked in to find him already waiting for her.

  “Learn anything?” she asked as they headed toward the mailboxes.

  Shrugging, he leaned against the wall while she scanned the names. “Two dudes working. Mohsin, the owner, and Joe. They saw you and the marshal exit and that got them talking.”

  “Love when that happens.”

  “Yeah, from what I can tell Mohsin’s a nice guy. Mostly works the day shift and his cousin, Hamid, manages nights. They’re pretty swamped in there, but in between customers they talked about the fire. Basically, it’s a shame. The place kept busy. Receptionist, Chyanne No Last Name, came in daily to get a diet soda and a chocolate bar. Nice lady, likes her job. Jokes around with them. Joe misses her.”

  “Anything else?”

  “All three of the docs came in from time to time. Same story, friendly customers who are very generous and take good care of their patients, especially the homeless and teens.”

  “Pretty much what I heard too. According to their business neighbors, the doctors are regular saints of goodwill.” She headed down the hall. “Come on, we may as well start with door number one and work our way up.”

  The first floor was a bust with only two occupants at home and they had nothing to add. A few more people were home on the second floor. Still they netted zero clues, even with the two elderly residents who were patients of the clinic.

  “Last door. Think this is Nosy Norma’s apartment?” Vinnie asked.

  “Only one way to find out.” Each stood to a side of the door while Kat knocked briskly.

  From the other side came a shuffling noise followed by a hacking cough along with a few inventive curse words. Kat, head cocked to the side, looked to Vinnie. “Too bad Lexie’s not here. Think I’ll let you take lead on this one.”

  Before he could respond to her absurd suggestion the door whipped open, giving them their first up-close look of Nosy Norma. “What the hell do you want?”

  The raspy voice did not match the body it came from. Before them stood a silver-haired, statuesque goddess. Well, if deities wore bright, flower-patterned, formfitting T-shirts and painted-on jeans, while holding a cigarette in one hand and a beer in the other. The woman stood staring at Kat, waiting for a response to her question. Kat side-eyed Vinnie, surprised to see him slack jawed and with eyes ready to pop out of his head.

  She wished she’d had a video camera to record this moment in history. Without proof, Lexie would never believe that Vinnie had been rendered speechless.

  “Hello. Katarina Jones, LexaKat, PI. I’m here about the clinic fire.”

  The woman’s face remained impassive, simply a blink of the eyes, followed by another blink and another. A master conversationalist.

  “Sorry to bother you. We’re investigating the fire next door.”

  “Yeah, I saw you snooping around. What do you want? Think I set the fire?” The woman barked like a seal as she leaned against the frame of the door and took a long drag on her cigarette before putting it out on the hall floor.

  “No, no, of course not. I’m hoping you can help by answering a few questions.”

  “I already talked to the cops. Told them and that fire guy everything I know, which is nothing. I mind my own business. Don’t stick my nose where it doesn’t belong.”

  Considering she’d been watching Kat’s every move since she and Vinnie parked and got out of the car, her statement was kind of funny. Nosy Norma shot her a look that could freeze the polar ice caps. Kat glanced at Vinnie, wondering why her intern and the man of a thousand quips didn’t have anything to say.

  “She’s not alone.” Vinnie disappeared. Seconds later the temperature in the doorway dropped, wrapping both women in icy shivers.

  Nosy Norma’s eyes widened as she glanced around. “What the—?”

  “Is there anyone else at home who might have seen anything, Ms. . . .?”

  The woman crossed her arms tighter around her middle, eyes crystal daggers. “It’s just me and I said I didn’t see anything.” In the next instant the door slammed in Kat’s face.

  “Okay, that went well. Clearly, we’re on track to becoming new besties and I should put her on my Christmas card list. Not,” Kat mumbled to herself as she wandered back down the hall waiting to see if Vinnie would return.

  It wasn’t unusual for him to pull a disappearing act, but usually his timing was better. Since they’d covered all of the apartments, Kat headed back to her car. One way or another, Vinnie would show up when he was ready. Until then she had work to do. Pulling out her phone, she made a couple of notes to check on similar fires in the tri-state area and to inquire of the insurance company whether one of the owners stood to gain more than the others. She also needed to check in with the police detective working the case and see if the cops would share any info with her.

  She contemplated calling Shawn on the excuse of giving him an update, even though she didn’t really have anything new to share. It was better than focusing on the dead ends staring her in the face or her stomach grumbling in protest because she’d skipped breakfast. Someone was cooking sausage, peppers, and onions, and right then she was very tempted to knock on the door and ask to join them. Nixing both ideas, Kat headed to her car, admitting she didn’t need carbs and fat any more than she needed to hear a certain fire marshal’s smooth, low, sexy voice just to see if she would have the same reaction as before.

  She didn’t have time to contemplate as Vinnie fell into step beside her on the walk to the car.

  “Where did you go and what did you mean, she wasn’t alone?

  “She had a uh, friend who didn’t want to show herself to you. I went to our side to talk to her.”

  “The place is haunted?” Kat screeched and then looked around to make sure she hadn’t caught any pedestrian’s attention. Sliding into the car, she glanced at Vinnie, waiting for an answer.

  “You know I don’t like that term.”

  “Sorry.”

  “No offense taken. Anyway, I think Babs—the woman you talked to—she’s scared. Not sure of what.” He stared straight ahead, avoiding eye contact. “But I’ll work on it during our date.”

  “Date?” Kate squeaked. “You’re going on a date with Babs?”

  “No. I’m taking Marilyn out to dinner.”

  “Who’s Marilyn?”

  “Babs’s spiritual guardian.”

  “Got it.” Spiritual guardian? Is that how Vinnie saw himself? More like spiritual PITA. Total pain in the ass, but she and Lexie loved him. “And you’re going to dinner? Since when can you eat again?”

  “It’s a figure of speech, Kat.”

  “Fine, I was just asking.”

  Now she was being cranky and jealous. Jeez, jealous of a ghost because he had a love life and she didn’t. How low could one go?

  Being dead hadn’t stopped Vinnie from getting some action. She didn’t want to think about love and relationships. They were too much work and while she was over the lying, cheating, douchebag she’d been engaged to—no, really, she was good—she had other things to focus on. Like her career.

  “Let’s head back to the office, Vinnie. I need to make some calls and I’ve got that interview with the new intern today. You can cut out early to get ready for your hot date.”

  She really did need to make calls, but more importantly she needed to make some decisions. Big ones that could affect not only her life, but Lexie’s. And before she went and screwed with another person’s life plan, she’d better make sure she knew what she was really doing.

  They parked behind the office building housing LexaKat Private Investigation Services. Deep in thought, Kat climbed out of the car, then unlocked the back door. She keyed the security system off and flipped the lights on before walking down the short hallway to the main room. The s
pace wasn’t large but it worked perfectly for them. Lexie and she had matching cherrywood executive desks that formed an L-shape. To make clients comfortable they had bought two oversize, ruby-red leather club chairs. A soft Tuscan wash warmed the space and vacation pictures from around the world gave the feel of a home rather than an impersonal office. A bookcase sat against one wall and a few plants were placed strategically around the room to round out the decor. There was a bathroom by the back door and the only other room was a combination file room and kitchen.

  “What do you want me to do?” Vinnie asked.

  “Go ahead get ready for your date.”

  “It’s not until later in the week, so use me.”

  “I need to comb through the files the insurance company sent over and look at the list of employees and their contact info. We need to find out if any of their patients had a grudge against them. If so, why? The doctors can’t tell us, but I’m betting at least some of their staff is upset enough about being out of a job that they’ll talk. Unfortunately, you can’t schedule interviews. Instead, share your thoughts with me before our potential new employee shows for her interview—and no doing anything to scare her off, Vinnie.”

  “Who, me?

  “Yeah, you. No rattling dishing or doorknobs. No whispering in her ear. None of that Beetlejuice crap. Got it?”

  “Sheesh. Play one joke on someone and years later they never let you live it down. Fine.” He dropped into the club chair in front of her desk and propped his black Converses on the pristine desktop. “You want my thoughts? Fine. You should give the fire marshal a call.”

  “In due time. Right now, we’ve got nothing to tell him.”

  “You could ask him to dinner.”

  “What? Why would I do that?”

  “Because you have the hots for him.”

  “I do not.”

  “Do too and don’t lie to me, Kat. I’ve known you your whole life. I can read you as easy as a Dick and Jane book.”

  “A what?”

  “Never mind. You and Lexie always did wear your emotions in your eyes. And let me tell you, I saw a raging fire burning in yours when you looked at the inspector this morning.”

  “There was no such thing.” The fire was raging somewhere else in her body.

  The phone rang, saving her from having to continue this discussion. As usual Vinnie saw way too much. Read her too well and had no problem voicing his opinion. She grabbed the phone and listened to the caller on the other end, guilt sinking its ugly teeth into her soul. She really needed to take this call and talk to the person on the other line, but not with Vinnie present. How could she get him to leave without raising his suspicions? Finally, she squared her shoulders. Screw it. He’d find out sooner or later.

  “Hello, Ms. English, this is Katarina Jones.”

  Vinnie eyed her from the club chair. Probably trying to find out why the elementary school principal was calling.

  “Yes, that’s right, I hold a master’s in education.” Kat dropped her gaze to her desk. “I know most people only know about the criminal justice degree. I guess I thought it was a good idea to have a fallback plan. You never know how things will go with the economy.”

  Since the age of ten, she and Lexie had planned to own their own detective firm. Big fans of Nancy Drew, they dreamed of solving mysteries and crimes. And being best friends, what could be better than working together every day? Her parents fully supported the dream, but when she was getting ready to select a college her mom had suggested that she might want to have a backup plan, just in case she decided being a private eye wasn’t quite what she thought it would be. Together, they sat for hours talking about all the other jobs Kat might be interested in. It was a tie between being an elementary school teacher—she loved kids—and training dolphins. The kids won out, only because, while she loved the ocean and the mammals that lived there, she was terrified of sharks. And kids had smaller teeth than sharks.

  “Yes, Ms. English, I can be at your office tomorrow at nine. Great, see you then.” She hung up and waited. Waited for the questions, the lecture, the doubts, and worst of all, the feeling she was letting her best friend down to invade her head.

  She hadn’t planned to job search while Lexie was on her honeymoon. The opening had just come up, and well, it never hurt to explore her options.

  “Wanna talk about it?”

  “Not right now, if you don’t mind.”

  “Listen, kiddo, I know you still hold it against me for not telling you about Paul. But you’ve got to know, in your heart, I didn’t because it would hurt you and that’s something I’d never want to do. You and Lex, you’re family to me.”

  Kat nodded.

  “So, when you’re ready to talk about it, I’m here.”

  Unable to find her voice at the moment, she simply nodded again.

  Right then the front door opened and a woman in her late twenties stepped inside. She wore black jeans, a dark T-shirt under a black blazer, and totally kick-ass boots. Black curls hung loose down past her shoulders. She wore minimal makeup and jewelry and had an air of don’t mess with me about her.

  “Hi, Kat Jones. Welcome to LexaKat PI Services.”

  They shook hands as the woman looked around. “Ashley Medearis. We had an interview scheduled. I’m a couple of minutes early. Hope that’s not a problem.” It was more a challenge than an apology. Ashley kept glancing in the direction of Lexie’s desk, where Vinnie had relocated. She was probably wondering where they planned to put another body in the small office.

  “Uh, that’s my partner Lexie’s desk. She won’t be joining us today as she’s on her honeymoon. But don’t worry, we’re rarely both in the office at the same time. And when we do, there is a kitchen-slash-file room that has a small table we can use.”

  “I wasn’t worried. Tell me what you’re looking for. The ad said intern/receptionist. What kind of duties are expected of me?”

  As the two women got into the details of the job Kat couldn’t help notice that for the second time in one day Vinnie had been struck speechless. Since Ashley had entered the office, he hadn’t uttered one single word. Not one smartass comment.

  Maybe he was in love . . . again.

  Maybe he thought they were replacing him.

  Maybe he was sick.

  That was silly. Wait, maybe Ashley was one of those people who drained a spirit’s energy. She’d have to talk to Vinnie afterward to make sure everything was okay before she offered the woman a job. She couldn’t have clashing interns.

  Kat turned back to Ashley. “Your resume is impressive, but I’m confused as to why you’re applying to be an intern when you’re an experienced police officer.”

  “I need a job and I want away from big city life. You have a job available. It’s really as simple as that.”

  Vinnie scowled. He shook his head and spoke for the first time, “Bullshit. She’s hiding something.”

  “True, but you’d be wasting your talents. I could put in a good word for you with our police department. The lead detective is practically my brother-in-law.”

  Ashley’s face drained of color. “Thanks, but I’m looking for something a bit different. If you don’t think I’ll be a good fit for you and your firm, I understand, but I think you’re wrong. I worked the missing persons division and I was damn good. I was going up for detective when I . . . left. I know you advertised for an intern and receptionist, but with me on board you could grow the business and use me as an investigator.”

  The color had come back to Ashley’s cheeks and her eyes flared with passion. Whatever had happed that made her leave police work, it hadn’t dulled her love of the job. And she had a good point. With a third investigator on board, one who was experienced, they could expand—something she and Lexie had discussed multiple times.

  Wait. That was the old plan. She had doubts and a job interview of her own in the morning. But maybe, just maybe, Ashley could be the solution to her problem. While Ashley couldn’t be Kat in the
LexaKat equation, she might be able to fill the void Kat left in the business. If she left.

  “You make some valid points. How about you give me an hour to consult with my partner and then I’ll give you an answer?”

  “I’m kind of hungry. I’ve heard Elsie’s diner is pretty good.”

  “It’s the best. I recommend the grilled chicken salad or BBQ burger. And you can’t go wrong with her chocolate cream pie.”

  “Sounds good. Want me to bring you back anything?” Ashley stood and waited, one brow cocked, so sure of herself and that the job was a done deal. Kat liked that about her, but she needed to confer with Vinnie first.

  “I’ll call in an order later, but thanks.”

  As soon as they were alone, Kat turned to Vinnie. “Okay, what is going on? You sat there and said nothing for the longest time and then called BS. Is she like one of those emo vamps and she drained you?”

  “No, nothing like that. She reminds me of someone I knew a long time ago. Kind of threw me off my game. Are you really calling Lexie?”

  “Of course not. Besides, she’s probably on the beach or sailing or in the midst of an orgasm. Do you think I should hire this Ashley Medearis?”

  “Check her references, if they’re okay, then sure. But she is hiding something. And this is going to sound weird, but . . .”

  “What?”

  “It was almost as if she could see me. Or sense I was here.”

  “Really?”

  Vinnie didn’t say anything. He faded but didn’t leave, like he was lost in his own world. Whatever or whomever Ashley reminded him of, Kat hoped they were good memories.

  A few minutes later she had her reference check done. Ashley Rebecca Medearis came highly recommended. In fact, her boss hated to lose her. Kat relayed this info to Vinnie.

  “You should call Elsie and put in an order for a burger and ask her to have your new intern bring it back. While you’re at it, add a slice of pie to the order. You’re getting too damn skinny.” And with that lovely compliment he vanished into wherever it was spirits went when they were tired of dealing with the living.