Protecting Lulu (Global Protection Agency)

by Jeffries, J. M.

  “Gino,” Sal yelled over the din of the other diners.

  A small, thin man with gray hair curling around round face hurried over. “Sal,” Gino said.

  “This is Red,” Sal said to Gino. “Make sure you give her da regular customer menu.” Sal winked at E.J. “I’m comin’ up in da world, Red. Hell’s Kitchen ain’t Hell’s Kitchen no more. Now, I get celebrities in here from da recording studios and big name producers who want a slice of authentic New York pizza.”

  E.J. glanced around at the mix of people at the tables. “I can see that.”

  “What da ya want to drink?”

  “Just a soda for me,” E.J. said as Gino handed her a menu.

  “What beers to you have?” Wilder asked.

  Sal rattled off a list of names and Wilder ordered a Guinness. He glanced at his menu as Sal hurried back to the bar to fetch their drinks.

  “Why are we here?” Wilder asked.

  “Sal used to be the best fence on the Eastern seaboard. He knows things,” she said with a slight frown. “Noah isn’t making headway on this threat to Lulu. We’re running around in circles and so far everyone we’ve looked at has come across clean. We’re running out of leads.”

  Sal came back with their drinks. Gino took their order while Sal sat down next to E.J. “What brings you here if you’re out of the business?”

  E.J. took a sip of her water. She pulled something out of her pocket and slid it across the table to Sal. Wilder saw two folded up bills under her palm. Sal looked at the money and pushed it back toward her. “We’re friends, Red.”

  “Lulu Bennington is being stalked,” E.J. said quietly. “We keep running into stone walls trying to find out who has it out for her.”

  Sal’s eyebrows rose. “That’s not my normal area of business.”

  “Sal, you are the heartbeat of the city. If you don’t know something you know someone who does. You are the Google of the underworld.”

  Sal looked amused and pleased at the same time. He held up a finger and pulled a cell phone out of his pocket. “Give me a minute. I need to check on something.” He slid out of the booth and walked away, the phone to his ear.

  “What are you getting me involved in?” Wilder asked, curiously.

  “You want your sister to keep breathing; you might have to get a little dirty.”

  “I’m in.” He’d do anything to keep Lulu safe.

  “I won’t get you hurt or killed. Trust me.”

  Oddly enough, Wilder did trust her.

  Their food came and E.J. folded a slice of pizza and started eating. Wilder drank some of his Guinness and contemplated E.J.’s statement.

  Twenty minutes later Sal came back and slid into the booth. “A couple months ago, my cousin who works in the building department made a comment about your studio, Mr. Bennington. I needed to check it out. Someone wanted to see the floor plans for your studio and your sister’s house.”

  “Who?” Wilder asked.

  “Said his name was John Smith. How original is that?” Sal grimaced.

  “Why would someone want to see the floor plans for the studio and my sister’s house?”

  “First of all, they know where they’re going and secondly they would know every nook and cranny of your studio.”

  “That’s what I would do before…well, before I went on an acquisition run,” E.J. said thoughtfully.

  “How do we find this John Smith?” Wilder inquired.

  Sal shrugged. “You can’t. He slid my cousin some bills and there’s no record of anything.”

  Wilder frowned. “Another dead end.”

  E.J. took a second piece of pizza, folded it and bit into it. He loved the look of ecstasy that filled her eyes. She swallowed, took a sip of water and then said, “No, it’s not a dead end. It’s just one more piece of the puzzle.”

  “A piece that doesn’t fit,” Wilder said.

  “We don’t know a name, but we do know we’re looking for someone who’s organized and someone with some cash.”

  Wilder rubbed his forehead. He would never make a cop or private investigator. He saw a mish-mash of things and nothing worked together.

  E.J. leaned forward. “You don’t know what you have until you lay it all out on a table and look at it. Right now, Noah has all the pieces and when he really looks at it, he’ll see the pattern.”

  Wilder had no idea what she was talking about. “How can you see patterns in this?”

  “I’ve spent a lot of years being a bad girl,” E.J. said. “I work with good men who have done bad things for the right reasons. We can see the patterns because of who we are and what we used to do. At some point, everything is going to make sense. I think we’re dealing with someone who is very smart and determined, with the money to back it up.”

  “I swim with sharks every day.” Wilder tried to understand where she was going.

  She chuckled. “You might swim with the sharks, but deep down inside you have a moral code that prevents you from being a bad boy. Noah understands bad people and how they think, even though he’s a good man. He just knows how to interpret all the clues and make them into a finished puzzle. You have to trust him.”

  “I do.” He’d known he could trust Noah from the first moment he’d walked into his office. He trusted E.J. too, even though he knew nothing about her other than her checkered past, not ever her name. “Edris January.”

  She burst out laughing. “My name isn’t that awful.”

  “Then tell me.”

  “No. Where’s the sport in that? I like watching you work.” She leaned her elbow on the table and rested her chin in her hand. “You’re kind of sexy.”

  Wilder rubbed his forehead harder.

  Sal returned and tossed a business card on the table. “I forgot to tell you, someone was asking about you.”

  “Okay.” She slipped the card into her pocket.

  “You didn’t look at the card.” Wilder wanted to know what was on it.

  “Someone probably wants me for a job. I’m out of the game, so stop looking so worried.” She resumed eating her second slice and looked at the left over slices as though debating if she wanted to have more.

  “Have you ever wanted to steal something, but didn’t?” Wilder asked. E.J.’s past fascinated him. He wanted to know everything and the more secretive she was the more he pushed her to find out.

  She studied him. “That’s a very personal question.”

  “Can you answer it?”

  “Yes,” she replied, “but I’m not going to.”

  “I don’t think I’ve ever met a woman who’s made me work so hard to find out about her.”

  “You must meet a lot of the wrong kind of women.”

  “I can say with a degree of confidence, I’ve never met anyone like you. Eloise Jane.”

  “Nope.” She held out her hand, his Mont Blanc pen resting on the palm.

  He took the pen and returned it to his pocket. She was amazing. He’d never felt the loss of his pen. “You’re a woman of many talents.”

  “Yes, I am. Most of them bad.”

  My God, he was attracted to a bad girl. He liked that idea. He’d always dated safe women. Women who made few demands on him.

  “Okay, Prince Charming,” she said, “it’s time to get you home.”

  In the cab, Wilder watched the flickering lights of the city, as he slid his hand inside his jacket to find his pen still in his pocket. She’d distracted him with his own pen to keep him from following the topic of that business card. He wanted to ask again, but her face was closed and distant.

  “Emily James,” he said suddenly.

  She burst out laughing and reached over to kiss him lightly on the cheek. “Nope, not even close,” she said as the cab stopped in front of his apartment building.

  Noah and Harrison walked down the hallway of the Four Season’s hotel, lush carpeting beneath their feet and muted colors on the walls. All the way up in the elevator and down the hallway, Harrison did nothing but mutte
r.

  “I’m going to go home tonight and Debra is going to ask me what did I do today and I’m going to say I went to see a hooker. This is going to be my last day on earth.”

  “Debra will understand,” Noah said.

  “Why couldn’t you take Roman or Dante? They understand hookers. I don’t believe you took $3000 out of petty cash to pay for this.”

  “Put your man panties on,” Noah said. “You’ll get through this. I didn’t ask Roman or Dante because she’d look at them and think she’s died and gone to heaven.”

  They reached the room and Noah knocked on the hotel door. Inside the sound of muted music sounded with no hint of being shut off.

  “She did say 10 a.m.,” Harrison glanced at his watch.

  Noah knocked harder. The music went silent and he heard the sound of footsteps.

  “Who’s there,” came a whispery voice from inside.

  “I have an appointment,” Noah said. “I’m Noah Callahan.”

  The door swung open and a tall, lush brunette stood silhouetted against the sunlight streaming in behind her. “Come in,” came a low, sultry voice. She stood aside to let Noah and Harrison in. “I wasn’t expecting you to bring a friend.”

  She didn’t sound worried.

  Inside the hotel room, Noah turned to look at the woman. She had long brown hair that hung over her shoulders in a fashionable wave framing a delicate face. Her eyes were light brown and her body lush and curvy. When the Geek had given him the woman’s name and her occupation, Noah had expected a call girl of impeccable beauty like his girlfriend, thin and fashionable. She was ultra-fashionable, but she wasn’t the model slim type. In fact, she was dressed in a cream silk business suit with a brown scarf wrapped around her neck. The last thing he expected to find was a woman who looked just like Lulu. Hell, she could be Lulu if Noah didn’t see that the line of her mouth and the curve of her eyes didn’t quite match.

  “What can I do for you, Mr. Callahan?” she asked in a voice that was so like Lulu’s he felt a rush of amazement. What was all this about?

  “Daphne Devereaux?” he said asked. “Or should I say Mary Ann Clark.”

  She looked startled, but quickly composed her features. “You’re not the police. So I really don’t need to talk to you.”

  “I’m willing to pay for your time,” he said.

  She eyed him. “I’m not cheap.”

  “I can see that.” In fact the longer he looked at her, the more he wondered if Lulu had a twin no one knew about. He glanced at Harrison to see if Harrison had noted the resemblance. “I’d like to ask you some questions.”

  “Let me guess,” she drawled. “How did a nice girl like me get into a business like this?” She sat down on the sofa and waited, her curvy legs, one stiletto clad foot bobbing up and down.

  “At $3000 an hour, I think I understand.” He sat down and opened his iPad. “Do you know this man?”

  She barely glanced down at the photo and then back up at him. “I don’t know him.”

  “You know his credit card,” Noah said. “You have a date with his credit card at least once a month.”

  She gave him a cool, appraising look. “I have dates with a lot of men’s credit cards.”

  “I’ll be honest with you,” Harrison said. “We’re trying to establish his alibi for that weekend.”

  She sighed. “Jake is harmless. He wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

  “You saw him three weeks ago for a weekend at the Waldorf. Did he stay with you the whole time?”

  She smiled. “Every second, with the exception of a couple bathroom breaks.”

  “So he didn’t make an excuse and disappear for a couple hours at any time?”

  “No. He kept his meter running the entire time we’re together. We spend the whole weekend doing what I do best and he always ordered room service,” she replied, tilting her head slightly. “Are you a fan, too?”

  “I don’t understand.” Time to play stupid, Noah thought.

  “Oh, please. You saw the resemblance the moment I opened the door. Ninety percent of my customers pay for my time because I look like Lulu Bennington and they want to have her even if they can’t…have her. Including Jake.”

  Harrison said, “Has anybody paid you for something…uh…freaky.”

  She leaned toward him. “The fact that men pay me for sex because I look like Lulu Bennington isn’t freaky enough for you?”

  “I mean ultra-freaky,” Harrison replied.

  “Well there is this one senator who likes to have me dress like a cheerleader and then tie me up,” she said. “I do have this one…uh…customer. Do you know what a human cannibal is?” she asked.

  “I don’t want to know,” Noah replied while dozens of improbable images rushed through his head.

  She grinned. “Most men want me because I look like Lulu. Nothing uber-freaky or least nothing I’m not willing to put up with. Does that answer your question?”

  “What is Jake like?” Noah asked.

  She paused to think. “Romantic. He wants me to dress like Lulu, talk like Lulu and he makes sure I have a very good time. He’s sweet, but he has a lot of issues to work out. Why are you so interested in Jake?”

  “Ms. Bennington has been the victim of a series of incidents we’re investigating. We just want to verify his alibi for the weekend. Has anything odd happened to you?”

  Her eyes widened in surprise as the implication became clear. “No.” A slight frown marred her face. “But you must find out what’s going on and don’t let anything happen to her, my livelihood is at stake. As long as she’s in the public eye I’m in business. In fact, I have so much business I can’t accept it all.” Which probably meant her retirement fund was in pretty good shape.

  “Thank you for your time.” Noah stood, closing his iPad trying not to be disappointed that Jake’s alibi checked out. He hadn’t really believed Jake would rent car and then try to run Lulu over. The guy just didn’t have that kind of anger in him.

  “Yes, thank you,” Harrison echoed.

  Mary Ann, aka Daphne, smiled. “When Lulu is safe, you come on back, and I’ll give you two a freebie.”

  Noah swallowed. “Thanks.” I think.

  She walked them to the door and let them out. In the hallway, Harrison wiped beads of sweat from his forehead. “That was uncomfortable.”

  “No kidding,” Noah replied. Never in the world would he have guessed that lookalike working girls passed as someone famous.

  As they walked toward the elevators, Harrison asked a little too casually, “So speaking of the real Lulu, how are things progressing between the two of you?”

  “Are you asking because you’re my friend or because you have a bet riding on it?” Noah felt a touch of irritation that his love life was under scrutiny bothered him more than he liked. The fact that every moment he was with Lulu meant his team was watching. It made him more than uncomfortable.

  “Both.” Harrison jabbed a finger at the elevator call button.

  “Not going to happen,” Noah said as the elevator door opened and they walked inside.

  A woman with a baby in one arm and a toddler holding onto her other hand stood inside. She glanced at them curiously and then hushed the talkative toddler who, for some reason wanted to know if Noah had a gun.

  Noah and Harrison faced the doors and fell into silence.

  “So how did it go?” Lulu asked. She sat on the sofa in her office, her laptop on the coffee table in front of her a book showing a series of photos. She smoothed down her black leather pencil skirt.

  Noah walked to the sideboard. “How did what go?”

  “The meeting with the ‘working girl’?’”

  “How did you know about that?” he asked in surprise half turning to stare at her.

  Lulu wanted to laugh. He really didn’t understand the grapevine named Aiden. “You told Mark and Mark told Aiden and Aiden told me. You’re surprised why?”

  “I’m not surprised.”

  “Th
en how did the interview go? I can’t believe Jake would see a hooker.”

  “She’s more the step-up to call girl kind of working girl.” Noah poured himself a glass of water and sat down opposite Lulu.

  “She’s sounds interesting.” She closed her laptop and sat back watching him.

  “She looked enough like you to be you.”

  “Excuse me,” she said.

  “Mary Ann Carter, aka Daphne Devereaux is the spitting image of you. She dresses like you, talks like you, and walks like you.”

  She stared him, her mouth forming an O in surprise. “Hm.” Jake was seeing a woman who looked like her.

  “What does ‘hm’ mean?”

  “I’m not sure if I’m disturbed or flattered. Any idea of what emotion I should go for?” She tried to analyze what she was feeling, but all she knew was that in some way she felt betrayed. She’d loved this man and he’d betrayed her.

  “This is out of my league.”

  She sat back, a small crease down the center of her forehead as she thought. “Jake is seeing a prostitute who looks exactly like me. He had me. There was a point in our relationship that if he asked me to marry him, I would have been to Las Vegas on the next plane. I might even have skipped the pre-nup.”

  “Yeah, but he threw you over for what’s-her-name.”

  “Bethany,” Lulu supplied helpfully.

  “Whatever. The point is, he sees a woman once a month who looks like you and pretends to be you for a whole weekend. The only thing he has going for him is his discretion.”

  Lulu tried to wrap her mind around what Noah was saying. “Why did you go to see this woman?”

  He hesitated before saying, “We were checking Jake’s alibi for the day the car tried to run you down.”

  “Jake’s a suspect?” Not Jake. He would never hurt her.

  “Was a suspect. He’s in the clear.”

  “Jake is the nicest man in the world. I’m appalled you considered him a suspect.” She was a good enough judge of character to know Jake.