Alex looked at her and grinned. The dimple in his right cheek appeared and Harriet felt her tummy flop. She fought to put a scowl on her face. Resisting Alex’s charms was going to make for a long day. She reminded herself of the way he ran to Lana and confided her and Harriet’s mood soured.
“Are we going to sit here all day?” she grumped.
Alex’s grin only widened. He fed the address to the navigation system and hit the gas. The car lived up to its sleek appearance. They shot out of the private air pad and onto the highway heading downtown.
Traffic was horrendous. All lanes leading into downtown were jammed, but somehow Alex managed to find the spaces and sneak the little sportster forward. Before long they were looking for parking.
“We’ll never find a slot,” Harriet commented, after they’d circled a three block section twice.
“Never give up. There’s a spot, where that red SUV is pulling out.” Alex whipped the car into the vacated slot almost on the bumper of the SUV.
“Well done.” Harriet unfastened her seat belt. “Did you want to find a coffee shop or smoothie bar to wait while I shop? We could rendezvous in, say, two hours?”
Alex unhooked his own seatbelt and leaned toward her so his nose was practically touching her own. “Not a chance, sweet cakes. I’m sticking to you like a barnacle to a rock. If anything happened to you while I’m supposed to be looking after you it would cost me my job. I happen to like my job. So relax and enjoy my company.”
Harriet grimaced at him and crossed her eyes.
Alex laughed and tapped the tip of her nose. “We’ll have a fun day, I promise. You might even find that you like my company.”
“I doubt it, but I don’t seem to have much choice,” Harriet snapped back. She climbed out of the car. “You know how to set the security on this? I’d hate to have it stripped while I shop.”
“No problemo.” He pushed a button on the key fob and dropped the key into the pocket of his khakis.
Taking Harriet’s hand again, Alex set off down the sidewalk. She tried to pull away but he only tightened his grip. She hated to admit that his hand felt big and warm and strong and she liked that he held her close while they walked down the crowded sidewalk.
Remember what Lana said, she reminded herself. Don’t be taken in by Alex. He might be an attractive man but he has a serious fault. He takes everything you say and do and shares it with that bitch Lana.
Downtown Miami was a noisy place. Billboards plastered to the sides of buildings squawked over her head. “Buy now!” “One Day Sale!” “Special Rates!” The talking billboards competed with music piped from the store fronts onto the streets, traffic horns and engines, and food cart vendors hawking their wares.
The mixture of sound reached a decibel level Harriet had never experienced in the smaller, quieter, Portland. She wondered how people could think with all the noise.
She smelled coconut sunscreen on passing pedestrians, grilled pineapple and soy dogs from the food carts that graced every corner, and exhaust fumes from the rumbling city buses. Beneath it all was the faint scent of salt air, reminding everyone that Miami was a coastal city.
Relief swept through Harriet when she spotted the store they sought. She pulled on Alex and hurried through its door.
“It’s like a carnival out there!” she said as the door closed behind them, cutting off the deafening cacophony. She pulled her hand free from Alex’s hold and moved further into the narrow store, carefully eyeing the layout and offerings.
Shirts and jackets of every hue and style hung on upper racks along both sides of the store with skirts, shorts, and pants on lower racks beneath them. Dresses, skinsuits, and a variety of accessories were displayed down the center of the floor.
Harriet huffed out a breath and relaxed slightly. She should be able to purchase most of what she needed right in this one store. She got busy, pulling items to try on. A sales droid carried her selections to a dressing room in the rear. By the time she reached the dressing room she found Alex seated comfortably with an iced drink, waiting for her.
“I’m going to enjoy this part,” he said, wagging his eyebrows at her.
Harriet sniffed. “I don’t see why. You certainly aren’t coming into my dressing room.”
“True. But the only mirrors are out here. I checked.” He indicated the triple-mirror viewing area just outside the dressing room. “If you want to see how something looks I’ll get to see it too. I’ll be more than happy to give you my opinion.”
“Bite me.” Freshly irritated, Harriet stalked into the large dressing room. The ample supply of wall hooks had been neatly filled by the sales droid with Harriet’s selections. Alex was right–there were no mirrors.
“Dammit.” She had no choice but to parade the clothing in front of Alex since she wouldn’t buy anything without checking how it fit. Maybe she could put off buying clothes until after Alex found the killer. Come back to Miami by herself to shop.
She picked up the bag she’d dropped on the dressing room bench and turned to walk out but stopped. She’d worn Solly’s borrowed shorts and shirt for two days now. She desperately needed new clothes. The shopping couldn’t be put off.
She set her rucksack back on the bench and sat to remove her shoes. Best to get it over with. She’d simply have to suck it up and do her best to ignore her escort.
Ignoring Alex turned out to be much more difficult than Harriet had anticipated. Downright impossible, in fact. He had opinions about everything–fit, color, fabric–and double-dammit, Harriet found his opinions insightful and useful. She still argued with him, determined not to let him think he was influencing her, and even tried on the selections he sent into the dressing room.
By the time Harriet worked her way through the items they’d picked to try on, she had a workable selection of office and leisure outfits. The fact that she had agreed with Alex about everything only pissed her off more because she knew he would believe she had made her choices based on his input.
She was practically snarling by the time they left the store. She turned left because Alex turned right, and took off down the sidewalk. It took him less than a minute to catch up with her.
He grabbed her arm and hauled her into a narrow dirt alley. The noise and people continued to stream by. Behind them she could smell a recycling bin that needed emptying.
“What’s wrong with you?” he demanded. His eyes were dark with anger. “Most women would be deliriously happy after a shopping spree like you just had. You act as if you’ve been insulted. I don’t get it.”
Harriet pulled her arm free and glared at him. “Of course you don’t get it. You probably think I bought the clothes I chose because you liked them or because you picked them out.” It had galled her to discover that several of the pieces Alex had chosen looked great on her.
Alex furrowed his brow. The scar over his right eyebrow puckered white against his tanned face. “Well, I hope I was helpful, but no, I figure you bought what you bought because you liked the clothes. Is that why you’re so mad? Because I liked the clothes you bought?”
He took a step back and looked at Harriet. “You’re a strange one, you know? I don’t understand you.”
“No? Well maybe you can just run to Lana when we get back to the resort and tell her all about our little shopping trip and have her explain it to you.”
Much to Harriet’s embarrassment, tears welled up in her eyes. She dashed them away with the back of her hand and turned away from Alex.
She would not cry.
“Oh, lord. Please don’t cry, Harriet. I’m trying here. I really don’t understand. And what does Lana have to do with our shopping trip? I was having a great time. It was fun, watching you try on clothes. You’re tall and slim, have an athletic build, and you looked great in everything. It reminded me of shopping with my sister.”
Harriet sniffed but didn’t turn to face him. She kept her eyes on the people walking by the mouth of the alley.
“You have a
sister?”
“Had.” His voice was so quiet Harriet had to strain to hear. “Allysa was killed by a mugger who wanted her new trainers. That’s why I became a cop. I wanted to put away the bad guys.” He sighed. “Turns out there’s an endless supply of bad guys. After eight years of putting them away I burned out. And here I am.”
Harriet took a deep breath, let it out. Everyone had a story, she reminded herself. “You shopped with your sister?” she asked, still not looking at him. She was beginning to feel like an over-sensitive fool.
“Yeah, I did. Allysa was a clothes hound but I always had better taste than she did and she knew it so she’d bribe me to shop with her.” The memory of his vibrant older sister brought a small smile to Alex’s lips. He had loved his sister unconditionally. Her senseless murder had devastated him. Sixteen years had passed since her death and he still missed her.
Harriet wiped the last of her tears away and turned around. “What did she bribe you with?” Alex’s sudden wolfish grin made her belly do several flops.
“She’d let me sneak a peek in the family room when she had a sleepover. What fifteen year old boy wouldn’t love seeing a bunch of seventeen year old girls in their pajamas?”
He flapped his hand over his heart. “I must have fallen in love with at least half of her friends at one time or another.”
Harriet couldn’t help herself. She smiled at the image of a teenaged Alex lusting after his sister’s friends. “I’ll bet she loved you.”
The smile disappeared. “Yeah. Yeah, she did. So, are we okay now?”
Harriet nodded. “I’m hungry. Let’s find someplace for lunch.”
“I was hoping you’d say that.”
They locked the one outfit Harriet had carried with her from the store in the boot of the car and strolled down side streets until they found an open-air restaurant offering spicy food. They kept their lunch conversation light and ended the meal in a companionable silence.
After lunch Harriet hit two more stores on Cassie’s list for footwear, underwear, casual wear, and accessories. She included Alex in her decisions and found herself enjoying the remainder of the day. She found Alex easy to be with. He ignored the admiring glances other women cast in his direction and focused his attention entirely on Harriet. It made her feel . . . special.
It wasn’t until they were back on Wade One that Alex brought up Harriet’s outburst. “In the alley,” he began . . .
Harriet tensed.
“What did you mean when you told me to go ask Lana about you? That didn’t compute for me.”
Harriet rested her head on the cushioned seat back and kept her gaze focused out the window. She didn’t want to talk about Lana. It spoiled what had turned out to be a lovely day.
“You seem to run to Lana with everything.” She shrugged. “It pisses me off.”
Alex frowned. “I don’t run to Lana with anything unless it has to do with Lana. What are you talking about?”
Harriet rolled her eyes at him. “Don’t lie. Lana came to me the morning after you-we–the day after we kissed. She told me what you said about not liking the way I came on to you. She also told me that you asked her to convey a message. Consider the message conveyed.”
“What message?”
“Really, Alex, I understand. I’d rather not discuss it anymore. It’s embarrassing for me, okay? I kissed you back because I thought you wanted to kiss me. I misread the situation. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”
Alex cupped her chin firmly and forced her to turn and face him. “Just what was that message?” His voice held the chill of a brisk winter’s day. The look in his blue eyes hardened. “Tell me.”
“She said you didn’t want to see me anymore but you also didn’t want to hurt my feelings by telling me that.” Tears pricked at the back of Harriet’s eyes. Jeezus, she wasn’t turning into one of those women who cried all the time was she?
She forced as much coolness into her voice as she could muster. “So, for the record, my feelings aren’t hurt. You don’t have to see me anymore, or at least you won’t once you find the killer.”
“Lana lied to you.”
“What?”
“I have never discussed you with Lana. Not once. Nor would I ever.”
“I . . . if that’s true, how did she know that you kissed me? I only told Solly and he’s like a gold vault. He’d never repeat gossip about me.”
“That’s a very good question. One I intend to get an answer to as soon as we land.”
He brushed his lips lightly over hers and slid his palm up to gently cup the side of her face. “For the record, I enjoyed our kiss very much. And I definitely want to see you again.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
At Harriet’s request, Alex dropped her off at her office so she could check on any messages. There were two; one from Cassie with a couple of small suggestions for Harriet’s upcoming ad campaign, and one from Payson wanting to know if she had found everything she needed during her shopping trip.
Harriet left a message for Cassie thanking her. She put off calling Payson. She wanted to thank him in person for making the shopping trip possible. If he hadn’t called his friend Mr. Wade Harriet wouldn’t have had the credits necessary to replace her wardrobe.
Everything else could wait until tomorrow, she decided. She grabbed her rucksack and the shopping bag containing one new work outfit and locked her office.
“Goodnight, Jeeves. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Harriet gave a little wave as she crossed the building lobby.
“Goodnight, Miss Monroe. I look forward to it.”
Harriet was nearly to the door when Jeeves stopped her. “Miss Monroe, Miss Tso was looking for you today. She came by twice asking where you were. As I didn’t know, I was unable to answer her question.”
The reminder of Lana took a little of the shine off Harriet’s day.
When she stepped outside and saw Lana loitering outside the office building door she groaned. She had zero desire to talk with the bitchy kitchen manager, especially after the wonderful day she’d had.
“Hi.” Lana turned and walked with Harriet. “I was looking for you earlier today. Where were you?”
Harriet stopped walking and looked down at Lana. She hadn’t changed yesterday’s purple enhancements but her normally bouncy curls hung like limp rags. Her purple polish had begun to flake off her fingernails and Harriet saw that the nails had been chewed down to the quicks. Lana smelled of fried food and unwashed body.
“I’m sorry, Lana,” she said gently, “but I don’t really see where my whereabouts are any of your business. If you’ll excuse me, I need to get to Solly’s.”
“You think you’re really something, don’t you?”
The venom in Lana’s voice sent shivers down Harriet’s spine. “I don’t understand what you mean.”
Lana flicked a hand in Harriet’s direction. “Tall and slim and blonde. You think you can waltz in and take a woman’s man just because you want him. Isn’t Solly enough for you?” she sneered. “Do you have to go after my man too? You’re nothing but a whore.”
Harriet took a step back. The purple contacts coloring Lana’s eyes did nothing to hide the gleam of pure hatred she saw there.
“I’m not chasing any men, Lana. I don’t have time for men. I have a new job that requires all of my energy. Now if you don’t mind, I’m tired. I want to get home and take a shower.”
She started off again but Lana leaped in front of her, her hands fisted at her side.
“I know you followed Alex to the mainland today. You can’t deny it. I saw you enter that air shuttle after he went aboard. You trapped him on that shuttle.”
Lana shook her fist in Harriet’s face. “I warned you about chasing Alex. You leave him alone or next time you’ll find the knife in your chest.” She whirled around and stormed away.
Harriet stood frozen to the spot. For several long moments her mind remained blank before it kicked into gear again. Lana had destroyed her thing
s? It was Lana? Not the killer?
She felt weak and dizzy and leaned against the front of the building. Jeeves must have heard or seen her with Lana because he came out of the building and took her elbow.
“Miss Monroe, please let me help you inside where you can sit. Can I call anyone for you?”
“Thank you, Jeeves, no. I’ll be all right in a minute. I just had an unexpected shock, that’s all.”
“If you don’t mind me saying so, Miss Monroe, you look awfully pale. I think I should call a medic.”
“No.” Harriet placed a hand on Jeeves’ arm. He was cool to her touch, a reminder that he was a droid, programmed for certain responses.
“Thank you, but I’ll be fine in a minute. Really.”
What should she do? She really had only one choice. She needed to tell Alex that it was Lana who had broken into Mermaid Cottage and destroyed her things. Not the killer.
Unless Lana was the killer? She thought about Lana’s size. While the kitchen manager was certainly strong, she was too small to have lifted Bradley’s body into the greenhouse vine.
How was she going to tell Alex about Lana without tipping Lana off? The woman obviously kept a close watch on Alex. She closed her eyes and thought.
She couldn’t ask Alex to come to her cottage–or Solly’s cottage. She couldn’t ask him to come to the office because Lana would know he was meeting her. The public dining rooms were out. In fact, anywhere the public would see them was out as Lana would see them as well.
Then she had it. She hurried back into the building to make a call.
Chapter Twenty-Four
“Thank you, Payson. I know this seems odd, but trust me, it’s necessary. I apologize for intruding on your privacy but I couldn’t think of anywhere else to do this.”
Harriet sat in Payson’s living room on a comfortable couch. Payson sat across from her, his tanned bare feet up on the low coffee table, a glass of cold sweet tea in his elegant hand.
He had greeted Harriet with a reserved welcome when she knocked on his door, and asked no questions when she explained that she needed to meet Alex there, out of sight of any other employees. They were waiting for Alex now.
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