“Growing up must have been fun in your house.”
“It had its moments. But doing projects with Dad was always a blast. I wish I lived close enough to help him in person.” A rush of warmth and affection for her family hit her. It didn’t matter that the story she told Kiki had actually happened when she was fifteen—and didn’t involve a smartphone.
It mattered that she was surrounded by friends and family. That she had a purpose in life. And that making the world safer for people was worth a white lie or two.
She spent an hour quizzing Kiki and Norah about the details of the party, laughing over Norah’s videos of people eating her bloody rats and reassuring the young woman that she made the best princess ever.
By mid afternoon, Bree occupied herself working with Grant unveiling new software to help streamline the logging and tracking process for the forensics lab samples. When Nate asked a question, Grant tensed, shuffling his feet and avoiding everyone’s gaze. Bree pulled him aside. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know how you do it. He’s asking questions as if we didn’t work together on the whole process. The others must know we’re keeping something from them.”
“They don’t.” She pointed to a sample on the lab bench and turned her face up to his. “They think I’m asking you about this sample. Now, remember when you told me programmers hide special little programs inside their coding just for fun?”
His brow furrowed. “Do you mean the Easter Eggs?”
“Exactly. Think of your work in Tech Ops as an Easter Egg you, Nate, and I share.”
“And if the others find it?”
“We’ll deal with that if it happens.” She checked her watch. “Time for my next appointment. Remember, you’ve got this.”
Bree dropped her lab coat in her cubicle and headed to Tugood’s office, avoiding the main floor elevators. The marketing staff, housed in the corridors near his office, sent her sympathetic looks when she claimed to be on her way to a meeting, commenting that Mr. Tugood was a demanding taskmaster.
“Better hurry,” said one. “Your customer arrived fifteen minutes ago. I don’t want you in trouble for being late.”
“Thanks for the heads up.” Bree slipped inside the office, making her way to the bookcases in the back. A flick of a reference book and the shelf slid away, revealing the hidden elevator in the cramped space beyond. She drew in a deep breath as she stepped inside and hit the switch to guide the shelving back in place. A spicy hint of scent—the one she associated with Matthew—lingered in the air along with an earthier, slightly heavier scent. The customer.
They never met with clients in the Tech Ops center. Her skin prickled in a sixth sense she’d developed since joining Matthew’s world. Déjà vu. Precognition. Spider sense. Of all the many names for it, the sensation boiled down to her brain sorting out a myriad of clues and warning her in an elemental, primitive way.
She exited the elevator on the top floor, following the murmur of voices until she reached the heart of their operation. Matthew and his companion rose from their seats at the conference table.
She took the newcomer’s measure by force of habit. A few inches shorter than Matthew. Slightly heavier, but still slender, build. Medium brown skin, dark eyes, neatly trimmed hair.
Something wasn’t right. She narrowed her eyes, studying the shape of his ear, his nose, then opening her senses to observe him without focusing on details. As if he knew what she wanted, he pivoted in a slow circle, hands in the air.
“Seen enough, Dr. Watson?”
That voice. Melodious, slightly amused, and vaguely familiar. “I know you,” she said.
A nod. A smile. “You do.”
“You’re…” she sorted through the images that flooded her brain, disjointed, yet part of a whole. “You’re the Homeland agent. And the old man in the diner the day I met Jack Trayder.” He seemed amused, and pleased, by her announcement. More images came to mind. Clearer now. “And Sinbad—who visited the emporium to get last minute party supplies. And…an overweight, old man wielding a dustmop just hours ago.”
“Very good, Dr. Watson.” He turned his smile on Matthew. “You’ve trained her well, Tugood.”
Bree shook her head. “None of that makes any sense to me. I know you were those men, but they all looked so different. Skin tone. Weight. Hair. Posture. But your ears, and your shoulders, from the back, they fit with all of those men.”
His laughter filled the room and he stepped forward, hand out. “I’m Gary Dolinski, Matthew’s partner.”
“Dolinski Enterprises? The one who sent Matthew to investigate my company before ultimately forming the Sci-Spy group? That Gary?”
“The same.” He released her hand and gestured to the table, inviting Bree to sit. “I’m pleased to be able to finally meet you in person. Matthew’s told me a lot about you, and I’ve monitored your work since the beginning.”
“You’ve always been just a voice on the phone or a name attached to an email.”
Gary nodded. “With good reason. You see, I’m what they call a grey man. Someone who doesn’t stand out. Average looks, the kind that put me in the middle of the spectrum, if you will. Look again. Don’t be shy.”
At his prompting, Bree studied him in detail, noting the height of his forehead, the shape, color, and wrinkle patterns around his eyes. The symmetry of his face, regular with no prominent features.
“Now watch.” Gary hunched his shoulders, pulled his head down and somehow, although she couldn’t be sure how, seemed to let his eyes droop and the corners of his mouth turn down in a perpetual frown. He stood, with difficulty, and shuffled across the room.
“It’s like watching someone age before my eyes.”
“There’s more.” He adjusted his posture once again, tilting his head and blinking rapidly. His walk now held a cocky, yet mincing, characteristic.
“Like Sinbad,” she said.
“I used a little makeup and some vocal training for that one,” he replied in a falsetto voice before resuming his seat. When he spoke again, it was in his normal voice. “You’re probably wondering why I’m showing you these things.
"Two reasons. One, I wanted to see how perceptive you were. Identifying a grey man is a tough skill to master. A skill you are well on your way to learning. Two, Matthew tells me you are a natural grey man—or woman, in your case. It’s a rare quality in an operative.”
“Bree doesn’t see it.”
“It isn’t that, Matthew,” she countered. “It’s just that no woman wants to be viewed as ordinary or unmemorable. Not deep inside. We…” She shrugged. “I’m sure there’s a profound psychological reason my mother could attribute it to.”
Gary chuckled again, the sound drawing her in, rather than repelling her. “I know how you feel. As rare and useful as the quality is, blending in and being overlooked can take its toll. We greys have to stick together for moral support. But seriously, the ability to disappear into a role is as valuable as it is unique. I can teach you a hundred tricks to make you even more effective than you are now. It’s one of the many reasons you’re such an asset to us.”
“There are others,” Matthew said, leaning forward as if to impress her with his sincerity. “Your analytical and observation skills, the way you think, the way you soak up every lesson I teach you as if it was cold water in the desert. Your instincts.”
“He’s saying he’s glad you decided to stay with the team. As am I.” Gary turned to Matthew. “Now that business is over, didn’t you say you had some beer in the fridge?”
As soon as Matthew left the room in search of drinks, Gary captured her hand. “One more thing, Bree. You make Matthew human again. He needs that. So here’s a secret mission for you, should you decide to accept it. Help him. And help me bring him back to the land of the living. Will you do that?”
He released her hand and sat back as Matthew’s footsteps sounded outside of the door. Bree had just enough time for a s
haky nod before he entered bearing beer for himself and Gary, and hard cider for Bree.
Gary laughed one last time. “I was just telling your agent here that if she fails in her mission, of course, we will disavow all knowledge of her.” He winked.
And in her imagination, the strains from the Mission Impossible theme song began to play…
The Undercover Cat Mysteries
The Cupcake Caper
(book 1)
Shaken, Not Purred
(book 2)
The Tiger’s Tale
(book 3)
Studying Scarlett the Grey
(book 4)
Busted at Bingo
(A Bree Watson short story)
According to Sherlock
(A Bree Watson short story)
Tugood Tells All Some
(A Bree Watson short story)
Author’s Notes
Thank you for taking time to read Studying Scarlett the Grey. I hope it entertained you. Authors rely on honest reviews to help them gain new readers, and our publishers use reviews to decide if a series will live or die. Posting reviews is a great way to support authors. My only request is that you warn review readers if you decide to post “spoilers” which give away plot points!
First, for those of you who are grammar purists, you’ll notice I used the British spelling of “grey” versus the American spelling “gray.” This is my small tribute to the mystery writers who first inspired my love for the genre: Agatha Christy, Dorothy Sayers, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
As a real-life chemist, I try to work science into my stories. The “bumblebee” drones in this book are based on a prototype you can read about here: Robotic Bee Drones.
If you’d like to learn more about the concept of the “Grey Man,” follow this link: Grey Man. You may also be interested in Bree’s “travel vest,” which she makes liberal use of in this book. I myself own several that I use for my travels. You can find them here: https://www.scottevest.com/
For more information about the books in the Undercover Cat series, please visit my website at www.kellezriley.net or on social media.
Website link https://www.kellezriley.net/
Facebook link https://www.facebook.com/KelleZRiley
Twitter link https://twitter.com/kellezriley
Instagram link https://www.instagram.com/kelle.riley/
Good Reads Page https://www.goodreads.com/kellezriley
Experiments from
Bree’s Recipe Book
About The Author
Kelle Z. Riley, writer, speaker, global traveler, Ph.D. chemist, and safety/martial arts expert has been featured in public forums that range from local Newspapers to National television. In addition to her works of fiction, a personal story was included in "Chicken Soup for the Soul: Living with Alzheimer's and Other Dementias."
Her fiction publications include cozy mysteries and contemporary romance.
In the Undercover Cat Mysteries a cupcake baking scientist turns sleuth—an much more. The Cupcake Caper, Shaken, Not Purred, The Tiger's Tale, and Studying Scarlett the Grey, as well as free short stories set in the Undercover Cat world are available everywhere books are sold.
In the Riches and Royals series, modern career women fall for princes-in-disguise, only to discover that “happily ever after” isn’t guaranteed. Can love turn their cautionary tale into a glittering fairy tale, or will their hearts shatter like glass slippers?
A former Golden Heart Finalist, Kelle resides in Chattanooga, TN. She is the past program chair and popular speaker for the Chattanooga Writer's Guild, a member of Sisters in Crime, Romance Writers’ of America and various local chapters. When not writing, she can be found pursuing passions such as being a self defense instructor, a Master Gardener, and a full time chemist with numerous professional publications and U.S. patents.
To learn more about the Undercover Cat world, as well as Kelle’s other works, visit www.kellezriley.net or scan the code below.
Book one of the Undercover Cat Mysteries: The Cupcake Caper The Cupcake Caper
Book two of the Undercover Cat Mysteries: Shaken, Not Purred Shaken, Not Purred
Book three of the Undercover Cat Mysteries: The Tiger’s Tale The Tiger’s Tale
Book four of the Undercover Cat Mysteries: Studying Scarlett the Grey (release date January 2021)
Look for FREE short stories in the Undercover Cat world or in the Crazy Buffet collections:
Busted at Bingo: A Bree Watson Short Story
According to Sherlock: A Bree Watson Short Story
Matthew Tugood Tells All Some: A Bree Watson Short Story
Crazy Buffet
Crazy Buffet BBQ
Crazy Buffet Curbside Pickup
Website extras include:
Recipes from Bree’s kitchen experiments
A “How-Done-It” section explaining the real science behind the fictional stories
The “On Z Road” blog, featuring Kelle’s real life stories of her days as a traveling scientist
Mini-blog: Reading for Treasure: 60 Seconds of Insightful…Fun…Occasionally Silly…Tips for Navigating Life
And more!
www.kellezriley.net
www.facebook.com/kellezriley
www.twitter.com/kellezriley
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