Best Enemies (A Triple Trouble Mystery)

by Lynn Emery

“Indeed.” Strafford pressed a button on his phone. “Elsa, bring us coffee and a pot of tea. I’m weaning myself off coffee. Drinking more green tea.”

  “I’ll join you in being healthy then,” Willa said. He was testing her ability to stay Southern Belle polite. Strafford might just find out how fast southern well-bred could shift to southern “get to the damn point”.

  Elsa slid in like she was riding on a cushion of air. She set a tray down then poured two cups of tea. “Sweetener?”

  “No thanks,” Willa said accepting the china cup. No crass foam cups for Strafford. Elsa left and Willa gave Strafford an expectant gaze.

  “Crown Protection was going to help us in two ways. First, we do have three warehouses in Louisiana. We need security at them. One is here in Baton Rouge. Mr. Crown was going to hire staff in New Orleans as well.”

  “Really?” Willa blinked at him. Cedric would be just as surprised to hear that.

  “Yes.”

  “Why would warehouses need round the clock security? Not that I don’t want the business, but you could install alarms and security cameras.”

  “We do business overseas. As a result we are a twenty-four company. We have to operate in four different time zones.” Strafford waved a hand.

  “Which has what to do with the warehouses? What’s in them?” Willa watched his thin lips tighten. She must have asked one too many questions. “Sorry to be so dense. I haven’t been a business owner for very long. Lord, my head spins keeping up with local clients. I’m just not familiar with going global.”

  Willa spoke rapidly as she wore a confused, but she hoped, charming smile. She’d deal with the shame of playing the clueless female later. Right now she channeled her version of dumb blonde, minus the blonde. She even deepened her Southern accent. Strafford’s mouth flexed into a smile. Willa stayed on guard because his blue eyes hadn’t warmed up to match the smile.

  “I understand how you must be quite taxed. And of course you have the children to think of.” Strafford nodded slowly. “Working mothers face so many choices. Making the right one is critical.”

  Willa definitely felt a chill. She didn’t like the way he referred to her kids. Was her imagination in overdrive, or was there a threat in his words? His polished looks and civilized accent threw her off balance. Then the hood rat in her rose up. She didn’t like being threatened, however subtly.

  “I manage quite well actually. My employees are top notch and my family is very supportive.”

  Strafford inclined his head. “Of course. One’s network is so important. I’m glad you have others you can count on.”

  “You were going to tell me about the warehouse. Crown Protection can do a better job protecting property if we have information.” Willa gave him her best chilled smiled.

  “Actually we made other arrangements. With the tragic events and not knowing who would take over.” Strafford shrugged. “In a global economy one must take decisive action quickly.”

  “I see. I’m just surprised you didn’t contact Cedric Robinson. I understand you paid us. And then of course Jack did have a contract with you.” Willa stared at him.

  “Tragically Mr. Crown died before we could finalize the details. In fact, I hadn’t returned my copy of the signed contract and no money changed hands. I’ve consulted our attorney. There is some question as to whether it is even binding. In light of that we made alternate arrangements.” Strafford stood indicating their meeting was at an end. “Thank you for coming. Good luck with running your company.”

  What’s the rush, big guy? Willa stood also. “Thanks again for seeing me. One more thing though.”

  “Yes,” Strafford said, an edge to his tone.

  “Are you sure maybe Isaac Nelson didn’t pay Jack part of the contract fees? My late husband’s girlfriend swears she got a call about money that should be returned.”

  “Jack’s mistress called you? I didn’t realize Americans were so like the French,” Strafford replied coolly.

  “Jack and I were divorcing. And don’t forget Louisiana was a French colony. Maybe Mr. Nelson could join us and explain,” Willa said with a “touché” smile.

  “No. Not possible,” Strafford snipped. “I’m very sure about our arrangements with Crown Protection, Mrs. Crown. Now if you’ll excuse me I have other obligations.”

  “Well of course.” Willa went back to being a flighty Southern lady. “I’m holding you up. I’ll be on my way. I can always ask Mr. Nelson when I see him at church.”

  Strafford’s administrative assistant opened the office door. She gave Willa a smile that looked more feral than friendly. “This way please.”

  “My, what service. Goodbye, Mr. Strafford. We may have business in the future.” Willa waved gaily as she left.

  “Perhaps,” came Strafford’s terse reply.

  Willa kept up a stream of mindless chatter directed at the silent woman. The assistant practically pushed Willa out of the office suite into the hallway.

  “You know what I— ” Willa turned to in time to see the woman’s back, but only for a moment. The door with Strafford, Inc. in burnished gold letters whisked shut. Wondering what to do next, Willa rode the elevator down. Outside in the sunshine she decided to forget about Strafford. If they didn’t care about the contract then neither did she. The fact that MiMi wouldn’t get that particular chunk of cash was lagniappe, a sweet little something extra.

  ***

  The next day MiMi make another grand entrance into the lobby of Crown Protection. Kay rolled her eyes as MiMi swept through the door. “Hi, Kay. Girl, have you been working out? Don’t stop what you’re doing because you look great. I know how busy you are. Willa is expecting me.” MiMi’s gaze darted around.

  “Mrs. Crown has a full schedule and I know it hour by hour. Your name isn’t on here.” Kay swung the flat screen of her desktop around to show MiMi.

  “Oh we’re not so formal.” MiMi smiled back. “Wow, you guys have upgraded the equipment. Nice.”

  Kay stood in her path to Willa’s office door. “I’ll just let her know you’re her.”

  Willa swung the door open after listening to the exchange on the other side. “I’m tempted to see who wins.” She sighed. “But I did tell MiMi to come by.”

  “Oh.” Kay’s expression combined disappointment with irritation.

  “Maybe we could get some coffee?” MiMi glanced at Kay. She backed into Willa and away from Kay’s lethal scowl. “Maybe not.”

  Willa rolled her eyes and shut the door. “I’m going stop her from beating you down, but only until you have the baby; naturally.”

  MiMi patted her tummy. “One more benefit of motherhood.”

  “Do you ever wonder why so many women want to whip your butt?” Willa sat down at her desk.

  “Not really. So how are my darlin’ godchildren?” MiMi sat down, arranged her designer purse on her lap and smiled at Willa.

  “Who?” Willa blinked at her, genuinely baffled.

  “Anthony and Mikayla. I’ve always wanted to be a godmother” MiMi looked down.

  “You have two nieces and a nephew, right?” Willa glanced at the screen of her new laptop.

  “My sister lives in upstate New York with her husband and two kids. She prefers not to keep in touch. Long story. My other sister and I aren’t close either. She’s always been jealous of me.”

  “Y’all seem to have taken sibling rivalry to a new level. Your parents should have made all of you behave,” Willa said.

  “You’d think so, wouldn’t you?” MiMi replied. She tapped a finger on the leather handbag for a few moments.

  Willa recalled her mother’s short history of the MiMi’s family. The distinct stale odor of family secrets gave Willa a sour feeling.

  “I know a few things about bad parents,” Willa said to test the waters.

  “They’re not bad parents,” MiMi said sharply. “Daddy sent us to the best schools. Mother always made sure we met the right people.”

  “The right people?”<
br />
  “You know, like us. I mean— ”

  “I married into the Crown family. I know what you mean,” Willa said in a dry tone.

  “You don’t have to say it like that. You want your kids hanging out with the right friends. True? Well, it’s no different.” MiMi shrugged.

  “Yeah. I guess.”

  Willa decided not to argue the point. MiMi still hadn’t broken the habit of making excuses for her parents or keeping the family secrets.

  “What did your parents say about you having a baby?" With no wedding ring?” Willa raised both eyebrows at her. “The right families still frown on that stuff.”

  “They’ll adjust. Once I tell them.” MiMi patted her perfect hair. “They’re busy, I’m busy. You know how it is.”

  “Oh yeah. I know how it is. They’re going to trip; disinherit you or some stupid mess like that. You’re grown. They can accept it or not. Bam.”

  “Hey, I need my own money. Until then I’ve got to handle the whole new baby, no marriage thing carefully.” MiMi didn’t seem quite so sure of herself.

  “Humph. I take it they didn’t know Jack wasn’t officially free to marry. And maybe y’all weren’t officially engaged.” Willa blinked in the glare of a light bulb going off over her head. “So that’s why you’re going around calling Jack your fiancé. Now I get it.”

  “We were engaged. We’d talked more than once about spending our lives together,” MiMi replied with a frown. She glared at Willa as though daring her to prove otherwise.

  “That’s your story and you’re sticking to it,” Willa quipped.

  “Exactly.” MiMi’s sly half-smile matched the devilish twinkle in her greenish-brown eyes. “Anyway, back to my new family.”

  “S’cuse me?”

  “Anthony and Mikayla. Hey, maybe Reverend Fisher can do the christening for us. I can get that fine Cedric to be the godfather.” MiMi looked at Willa. “Not that I’m trying to make a move on him. I know that’s your stuff.”

  “Let’s start with the christening. No. As for Cedric ‘being my stuff’, no again.” Willa squinted at her.

  “Oh come on. Discussing the christening would be a great ruse to talk with Reverend Fisher again. You know, I had a chance to chat up Ike Nelson during that tour he gave me of the sacred art gallery. He’s got a freaky mix of deacon on the outside and gangsta on the inside vibe. It’s kinda sexy.”

  “You’re pregnant and still flirting?” Willa huffed a sigh.

  “To find out information,” MiMi replied with patience. “I want to know who’s got our money. I think they owe our company.”

  “We and our?” Willa grunted. “Please join the rest of us in reality, MiMi. This company is mine.”

  “Okay, that’s true. However, I have an interest.” MiMi nodded.

  Willa hated to concede anything so she changed the subject. “Besides, according to Strafford we never did any work for his company. So Strafford, Inc. is not my problem.”

  “What do you mean it’s not your problem?” MiMi said.

  “You need to pay attention. Strafford didn’t pay us anything and Crown Protection didn’t perform any services for them. So I can’t say they owe us money.” Willa shrugged. “I repeat, your money is not my problem.”

  “But…, but that can’t be true. Jack told me something about a joint venture with them.” MiMi’s mouth worked like a goldfish sucking in water.

  “Then you should have gotten it in writing. Jack wasn’t known for telling women the truth,” Willa replied mildly. “Now I need to get some work done.”

  “Listen, this isn’t just me wanting another pair of shoes. I have my baby to consider.” MiMi twisted her hands together.

  The mention of a baby tugged at Willa. She tried to be cold, but couldn’t. She stopped tapping the lap top keyboard and gazed at MiMi. “Don’t you have any money to live on?”

  “Some, but it won’t last for another six months. Not to mention the house note, baby things and the hospital bills.” MiMi’s party girl façade had disappeared. She blinked rapidly as a tear slid down one cheek.

  “Damn,” Willa whispered. She hadn’t thought about medical coverage. “Maybe Jack has you on the company policy.” She called for Kay.

  Moments later Kay came in. “Yeah, boss.”

  “Look at the company policy coverage and see if Ms. Landry was added. Jack might have done that. He wouldn’t need to tell you guys,” Willa added when Kay narrowed her eyes.

  “I’ll check our records and with our agent.” Kay glanced at MiMi then left.

  “You need to tell your parents about the baby. Let them help,” Willa said firmly.

  MiMi shook her head. “No, no. I don’t want to go to them.”

  “Wait a minute, where did you get that kind of money to invest? You have no job. In fact you haven’t worked in a while.”

  “I had money saved up,” MiMi said quickly.

  “Uh-huh.” Willa stared at her hard while she put two and two together. “Where did you get those ‘savings’, MiMi?”

  “I earned that money, and it’s not relevant how.” MiMi crossed her arms and returned Willa’s steady gaze. “And I need it back.”

  “Good luck getting it.” Willa sighed. “I tried. Strafford won’t talk. I don’t have any paperwork. Besides you can always get more money where you got it before. Oh wait, you’re pregnant so you can’t hustle some rich old guy. Puts a cramp in your earning potential.” Willa smirked.

  “Don’t underestimate the power of MiMi Landry, my dear.” MiMi smirked right back.

  Willa tried not to laugh but it broke through anyway. MiMi giggled and did a little shimmy move with her shoulders only. That made Willa laugh even harder until she bent double in her chair.

  MiMi stopped laughing. She let out a long breath. “You should be thankful I’ve still got game. Ike Nelson is ripe for picking by now. I’m going to meet him for a drink and more conversation.”

  “You shouldn’t be drinking. Not that it’s any of my business,” Willa added.

  “I appreciate it.” MiMi smiled at her with sisterly warmth.

  Willa cleared her throat. “Yeah, well you’re grown. But you better be careful with Ike. I got some funny vibes from his boss.”

  “Oh I can handle myself. Anyway I’m going to have red wine. My doctor says it’s okay.” MiMi frowned. “What exactly was Jack supposed to do for Strafford, Inc.?”

  “Provide security at a large warehouse. Strafford was kinda vague on details. Which makes me think that wasn’t the whole story.” Willa thought about the cold blue eyes and the way he mentioned her kids. She crossed her arms tightly to deal with a sudden chill.

  “What’s wrong? You look like the guy creeped you out.” MiMi shook a finger at her. “I told you these people are shady.”

  “At this point it doesn’t matter to me. Strafford made it clear he doesn’t care about the contract,” Willa replied and looked out the window.

  “Don’t kid yourself that it’s over.”

  “Have you gotten any more mysterious phone calls?” Willa looked at her.

  “No,” MiMi admitted after a pause. “But that doesn’t mean they won’t come after us again.”

  “Consider the money a business loss on your tax return. You could get a hefty refund.” Willa waved a hand.

  “Hell-to-the-no!” MiMi shrilled. “I’m not giving up my money.”

  “Well don’t count on using your charm on Strafford. He’s about as warm-blooded as a shark,” Willa said with a grimace as she recalled his cold eyes.

  “Please. When it comes to men there are two types. Men who give in to temptation quickly and men who take a few more minutes to crack.” MiMi flipped one hand in the air. “But to save time I’ll stick to my first game plan. Ike Nelson.”

  “Kinda rough around the edges for your taste,” Willa wisecracked.

  “Honey, please. I’m not going to date the man. I just need information.” MiMi wrinkled her nose. “Then I’ll ditch him like a bad ha
bit.”

  “You better be careful. Ike Nelson doesn’t look like the kind that would take being dumped lightly.”

  Cedric came in without knocking. “This Strafford, Inc. situation is getting deep… He glanced at MiMi. “Hello.”

  MiMi beamed at him. “Hello.”

  “Sorry to interrupt. Kay wasn’t at her desk, but I assumed you were alone. Let me know as soon as you’re free.” Cedric gazed steadily at Willa as though trying to send a silent message.

  “Did you mention Strafford, Inc.? We were just talking about that contract,” MiMi said before Willa could speak.

  Cedric glanced from Willa to MiMi then back at Willa. “Really?”

  MiMi spoke up again. “Yes. I was just telling Willa that I planned to meet with Ike Nelson. We’ll find out about this mysterious contract once and for all.”

  “You can consider that meeting cancelled.” Cedric looked at Willa, then MiMi. The police found a body night a vacant lot last night. The victim was identified today.”

  “Willa didn’t have to ask by the expression on Cedric’s face. “Ike Nelson.”

  Chapter 10

  Cedric nodded. “Shot in the head. According to the news reports they’re treating it as a robbery or carjacking turned deadly. His car was torched. The police found it across the river in a cane field.”

  “We start asking about his connection to Jack, and he turns up dead.” Willa bit her lip and looked at Cedric.

  “I say we forget about Strafford, Inc. Stop asking questions and let the police follow their leads.” Cedric crossed his arms and glanced from Willa to MiMi.

  “Holy sh—.You think I could be next? But I don’t know anything. Not one thing about money or off shore accounts. Nothing.” MiMi waved her arms around and paced in front of Willa’s desk as she talked.

  “Right. Cause of course it’s all about you.” Willa shook her head in disgust.

  MiMi stopped to stare at Willa. “You know more than I do. I’ll bet Jack left some papers or reference to money. You’re just not talking.”

  Cedric marched forward with a scowl. “Hold on. Don’t go blabbing that kind of crap around town or Willa will be next.”