by Mia Caldwell
But then Jada proved him wrong. Her compassion and her goodness earned Sylvia’s trust in a way that unspoken threats never could have. Ian had been wrong about the best course to take, had convinced Jada to use techniques which had worked for him in countless negotiations and business deals. But this wasn’t a business deal.
Jada, being herself, had innately known the right thing to do, and thanks to her, they now knew everything Sylvia knew. They’d gotten the outcome they’d wanted and it was too bad Jada wasn’t seeing it as a victory to celebrate the way Ian did.
It took only a few minutes to get two coffees from the drive thru. He pulled into a parking spot so Jada could safely doctor her coffee with a packet of powdered creamer that would have raised the hairs on the back of Mrs. Best’s neck had she been there to see it.
Ian took a sip of his own black coffee. It was bland, boring, a little weak. It had caffeine, though, so it would do.
“Want to sit here and go over the notes?” He hoped the suggestion might brighten her up.
“No point. Hardly anything there,” she grumbled, stirring her coffee with a plastic stick.
“What about the timeline? Let me think. Wednesday morning before noon, Sylvia met with a tall woman in a disguise of dark glasses, a long black wig, a floppy hat and—”
“Don’t be condescending,” Jada interrupted. “I’m not in the mood.”
“I wasn’t condescending.”
“You were acting like it. Being all, let’s pretend Jada is on the case and distract her with the little details that don’t matter anyway.”
Ian didn’t care for her attitude and for the first time, was annoyed. “That’s unfair.”
“Were you going over the timeline because you think it’s valuable and will help us solve the case? Or were you only bringing it up to try to distract me out of my bad mood?” Her head wagged slightly from side to side.
“Those are loaded choices,” he said, trying to keep it light.
“Whatever.” She sipped her coffee and turned her head, staring out the passenger window again.
“You did great back there, you know.” Ian pressed on carefully. “We learned who made the second entry into the courthouse database. Sylvia slipped into the office early Thursday morning, before Mrs. Nell got there, and accurately entered the marriage license using Mrs. Nell’s workstation. I’m happy to get that mystery solved. It was bugging me.”
One of Jada’s shoulders rose quickly and fell even faster.
Ian slogged onward. “I was disgusted that Sylvia’s plan was to set up Mrs. Nell and let her take the blame for accepting the fake license. I can’t believe anyone would do that to such a kind lady.”
“I don’t know,” Jada said, her voice low. “Sylvia knew everyone would think Mrs. Nell simply made a mistake, which she does, a lot. The worse thing that would happen to her would be forced retirement. And, let’s face it, that might not be so bad a thing.”
“Okay, I can see that. I’m surprised that Sylvia did it for so little money, though.”
Jada swung around to face him. “Five thousand dollars is not a little money.”
“It’s not even close to a life-changing amount. She risked her job and freedom for what ... less than a month’s salary?”
Jada snorted. “You think Sylvia makes that much? Not even close, I bet. And she darned sure doesn’t actually take home five thousand dollars a month. Ha! After insurance and taxes and all the other ways they stick it to you when you can’t afford an accountant, she’s lucky to take home three grand a month. And when you’re desperate to come up with enough to pay rent or buy groceries for your children, even a hundred bucks can be a life-changing amount of money.”
Ian knew he should back down, but her indignant tone irked him. “Who’s condescending to who now?”
“You don’t get it, Ian.”
“And you do? When have you gone hungry? Not been able to pay your bills?”
“That’s not the point. I grew up with these people. I know them like ...” She sighed softly. “Never mind. It’s not your fault.” She took a sip of coffee.
He watched her lips pucker around the rim of the cup. “Let’s drop it and go back to what Sylvia told us, without passing judgment, either of us.”
“Fine.”
“I thought the most interesting information she gave us was that the mystery woman didn’t have the bribe money on her when she came to the records department.”
“Yeah, I didn’t expect that,” Jada said.
“What do you think about it? What does it mean?”
“I’m surprised it was so complicated, actually. Sylvia agreed to the deal, and accepted the fake license even after the woman admitted she didn’t have the five thousand on her and said she’d have to go to a bank for it. Then Sylvia texted her husband to call her at work and she pretended to Mrs. Nell that the call was Sylvia’s kid’s school so she could leave for the day. Then she went to a cafe to wait for the mystery woman to show up with the money. It’s kind of crazy, when you think about it.”
“I have to admit, though, that I almost laughed when she talked about slipping into the office the next morning to enter the license into Mrs. Nell’s computer.”
“Oh, yeah, the part about how Mrs. Nell is always twenty minutes late but claims she’s always on time, rain or shine. Good one,” Jada said, a slight smile curving up the corners of her mouth.
Finally, Ian thought. A smile.
“On a different note,” Jada said, “who goes out planning to bribe a clerk and doesn’t bring the money with them?”
“Good question.”
“My guess is that the mystery woman must not have gone to the courthouse intending to bribe anyone, which would mean she thought the bogus license looked good enough to be accepted without question.”
“It’s possible,” Ian said. “It doesn’t say much for the intelligence level of whatever dimwit at CGTV created that obvious forgery.”
“There you go again. You’re all about the gossip channel, as always,” Jada said, a frown returning to her face.
Damn. He’d screwed up. Why was she being so difficult? “Why are you mad again?”
“Because you don’t take my suspect seriously. I know you don’t.”
He wondered where she’d gotten that idea. “It’s not that. I simply don’t agree with you. It doesn’t mean I don’t take you seriously.”
She gave him a long, steady look, then asked a question which was more a statement than a query. “You really don’t know yourself, do you?”
He didn’t understand what she meant. Of course he knew himself. He couldn’t imagine why she’d think he didn’t.
Her phone chimed and she snatched it up. “It’s a text from Marina. She wants me to call her. Oh, it’s over an hour old. Why am I getting it so late? Oh, finally. She says she’s got news about Freya Volker.”
Ian hoped Marina’s news would put the issue of suspects other than CGTV to rest for good.
Jada called her sister.
“Hey, Marina. I just got your text. Sorry, I—what? Okay, I’ll shut up. Go ahead.”
Ian watched Marina’s face. Her expression went from interest to mild surprise, to more surprise, to raised eyebrows. Ian wished she’d put the call on speaker.
“Are you sure? Does it check out?” she asked, shedding absolutely no light on the conversation.
More listening, more surprises. Her foot tapped the floorboard as her knee bounced up and down.
Finally, her face lit up and she said, “I’m going to fill in Ian then I’ll call you back for more details. Bye.”
She looked at Ian, dark eyes bright and shiny with excitement. “Make sure Raul has the helicopter revved up. Pedal to the metal, Ian. Let’s go. You drive, I’ll talk.”
He turned on the engine. “What’s this about?”
She was nearly bursting. “Marina talked to Freya Volker. We need to return to the lake house.”
“Right now?” He backed the rental
car out of the parking space.
“Right now. You drive, I’ll talk.”
Her eagerness spilled over onto Ian. Adrenaline surged inside him as he sped out into heavy traffic. “Off to the lake house then.”
MARINA MET JADA AND IAN on the porch. “I’m so glad you’re finally here.”
Jada quickly hugged her sister. “You’ve done such a great job.”
“We don’t know that yet.”
“Sure we do,” Ian said, holding the front door open.
Jada and Marina rushed inside the house. After being out in the real world for most of the day, Jada was struck anew by the splendor of the lake house, both inside and out. Back down the rabbit hole, she thought.
“Where are they?” Jada asked.
“The large study down that wing,” Marina answered, pointing to the right. “Before you go, though, do you have a minute to call Mom and Dad?”
“You said you’d deal with them.”
“I know, and I have, but there was an incident at Smoky’s Cafe.” Marina spoke quickly as they headed down the corridor. “A few people recognized Mom and Dad, knew about what was going on with you, and started staring and whispering. You know how stupid people can be.”
“Oh no,” Jada said.
“Oh yes. So Mom got snarky about the staring and pulled the old schoolyard standard, ‘Why don’t you take a picture, it’ll last longer.’ And one of the women said, ‘Thanks a lot! I’ll do that!’ Then she pulled out her phone and took a quick shot of Mom and Dad.”
“Guess the old take-a-picture taunt has lost its punch these days,” Jada said, noting a quick grin crossing Ian’s face.
“Exactly,” Marina said. “The woman plastered the picture all over the internet, tagging it with your name, so it’s gone viral. Mom’s upset, not because of the picture, but because she’s afraid you’ll think she was out to ride your celebrity coattails. And that’s why she wants to talk to you, to make sure you’re not mad.”
“That’s the most ridiculous—” Jada began, then paused for a moment. “Call her and tell her that I don’t think she’s showing off, but that I’m busy dealing with ... celebrity stuff. I’ll call her later.”
Marina looked like she wanted to argue, but she gave in. “Okay. You really will have to call her, though. Promise you will.”
“Of course I will.”
They stopped outside the closed study door. Jada took a deep breath and looked at Ian, who was perfectly calm and collected as usual.
“Are you ready?” he asked.
She nodded. “You sure you don’t mind us going in alone?” she asked Marina.
“No. It’s best. He insisted that he stay, though.”
“I knew he would,” Ian said. “It’s okay.”
Marina shrugged. “If you say so. Good luck. I’m off to Deb’s. I promised her she could give me a massage. Call me as soon as it’s over.” She hugged Jada, then walked away.
Ian gestured at the door. “After you.”
Jada’s sweaty palm slipped on the doorknob. She and Ian entered the cool, wood-paneled study. Ian closed the heavy door behind them and flipped the lock.
It smelled of leather, old books and berry potpourri. The polished wood floors gleamed from care, and book-filled, glass-fronted cabinets lined most of the walls. A grouping of sturdy, comfortable furniture was arranged on a thick Aubusson carpet.
In a burgundy leather chair, Trey sat with one leg crossed over the other. He glanced up and acknowledged Ian and Jada with a nod.
But they hadn’t come to see Trey. The one they’d come to see was sprawled on one end of the tufted leather couch, dressed in a gauzy peasant blouse and tight short shorts, long and lean bare legs akimbo, an open baggie of trail mix nestled in the crook of a slender arm.
Sasha. The woman of the hour. She scooped up a handful of trail mix, shoved it in her mouth and managed to look rapturous and supremely bored at the same time.
Jada and Ian sat in chairs next to Trey, across from Sasha.
Ian smiled smoothly at the munching woman. “Thanks for waiting and not fighting us.”
“She fought me, instead.” Trey sent a disgruntled look in Sasha’s direction.
Sasha didn’t notice, brushing crumbs from her lips with the back of a languorous hand. “I get it already. The gig is up. Gotta spill the beans. Time to pay the piper. Ha! Get it? Pay the piper?”
Jada was unimpressed. “I thought you might take this seriously, but I guess not.”
“Come on, Sasha,” Trey said. “Quick acting like this. You already told me everything. Now tell them what you told me.”
She flipped a shiny blonde tress over her shoulder. “Fine. You people really know how to bring down a mood. Where should I start?”
“At the beginning,” Ian said.
“Oh, that’s too far back. And it doesn’t matter, anyway. Let’s just start with how Piper Sandy always was a jealous, mean bitch. But she was the bomb in bed, so I may have overlooked certain character flaws for a while. I’m not proud of it. It was what it was.” She tossed back another handful of trail mix and crunched blissfully.
Confused, Jada glanced at Ian, who didn’t appear to understand either. They both looked at Trey, who nodded sagely.
“Piper Sandy?” Jada asked. “What’s this got to do with her?”
“You know,” Sasha said. “She’s still jealous. I should have fessed up right away when everyone was wondering why Piper was being so mean to Jada on her show. On and on, mean Piper, poor Jada, Piper’s picking on Jada, why-why-why. Hey, I didn’t want to admit I’d ever been with that shrew. Would you?”
“So, you’re saying, Piper’s been on the warpath because she’s angry you broke up?” Jada asked. “And she attacked me because ...”
“She told me she made you the perfect villain so I’d look even more pathetic as the jilted loser. She thought that would really piss me off, knowing how I hate it when people feel sorry for me,” Sasha said blandly. “But she was wrong. It might have worked in the past, but I’ve grown. I’m not as sensitive to other people’s opinions anymore.”
“That’s an understatement,” Ian mumbled under his breath.
“Of course,” Sasha continued, “Piper went into high gear today when she learned that I married you, Jada.”
“We didn’t actually get married,” Jada said.
“She doesn’t know that. She lost her mind. You ought to see the texts she sent me and the things she called you. It was even worse than when Ian and I started dating or when I got pretend engaged to him. What can I say? I’m sorry my ex went after you, Jada. I like you. You’re a sweet girl, and Piper’s an evil cow. I wish there was something I could do to make her stop, but talking to her only makes it worse.”
Jada sat silently, letting Sasha’s confession settle in with the rest of what she knew.
The supermodel sealed off her baggie and sat up straight. “So, that’s everything. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Piper and me sooner. I guess that’s that. Can I leave now? I’m supposed to be getting a massage with Marina right now.”
Trey nodded, but Ian shook his head.
“Not so fast, if you don’t mind,” he said. “We have some questions for you.”
Chapter Six
TREY WASN’T PLEASED. “SHE CONFESSED and apologized. It’s clear enough. I don’t see why this needs to be dragged out.”
Sasha stared at Trey like he was sitting on a proverbial white horse. Who was relying on a man to solve her problems now, Jada thought wryly. Didn’t matter. It wouldn’t work.
“Humor us, Trey,” Ian said. “Jada and I have some questions and Sasha’s answers would be helpful.”
“Okay, then,” Trey said. “A few.”
Sasha drooped back against the sofa cushions and sighed dramatically. She glanced at her watch. “Forget the massage. Dinner’s going to be ready soon.”
“We’ll take as little of your time as we can,” Ian promised with a Cheshire Cat smile. “Jada?”
“Thanks,” she said. “And thank you, too, Sasha, for telling us about Piper. I’d wondered why she was so aggressive, and now I know why. It couldn’t have been easy to come clean after lying for so long. I appreciate it.”
Sasha made an airy “say nothing of it” gesture with her hand.
“I don’t think you’ve heard,” Jada continued, “but Marina finally got through to Freya Volker today. They had a nice long chat about ... everything.”
A flicker of uncertainty passed over Sasha’s face so quickly that Jada wasn’t sure she saw it. “No. I hadn’t heard. I didn’t think ... I mean, Freya’s taking a break right now, isn’t she, a vacation? Didn’t think you’d get through to her.”
“I realize that, now,” Jada said. “Good thing Marina kept trying. When you said that you and Freya had gotten more friendly lately, you didn’t say how friendly you two had become in say, the last few weeks.”
Trey shifted in his seat and frowned.
Sasha reverted to type, cool and apathetic. “I don’t kiss and tell.”
“We have ample evidence of that, don’t we?” Ian’s tone was dry.
“Well, you may not kiss and tell, Sasha,” Jada said, “but Freya does. She told Marina an interesting story about what happened when you two hooked up recently after a show in the city. I was hoping you could corroborate some of the details.”
This time, Jada was certain she saw Sasha flinch. Unfortunately, Trey flinched, too.
“I don’t think this is appropriate,” he said. “And I don’t see why you’d need to know anything about my sister’s love life.”
Ian looked hard at his friend. “I know you care about Sasha. You want to protect her. But you know me, Trey. When would I do anything like this without a purpose?”
Trey thought for a few charged moments before saying, “Go on.”
Jada wasted no time, not while she had it. “Sasha, Freya said you two drank a lot, had some fun for a few days in the city, and fell in love. She said you talked about how sick you were of being in the closet and wanted to get Agatha off your back once and for all. Freya said you convinced her that—”