by Amy Shannon
“I’d love to hear all your ideas. Angelica, you’re my closest female friend. I love you.”
“I love you, too,” she smiled, pouring them both a cup of tea from the silver pot.
29
Savvy walked into the Agency and stared at the missing wall of her Agency. It was now a much bigger room. “Strick? Leonard?” she called.
The red doors opened, and Strick and Harry walked out of the kitchen. “Oh, you’re here,” Strick smiled. “It was supposed to be a surprise.”
“Well, it is,” she smiled. “I thought they had to get Leonard’s apartment done first. That’s the most important thing.”
“Don’t worry, it’s all set,” Strick smiled. “Leonard can have his things moved in later. I just talked to him. Adler still isn’t feeling well, but at least later, they can sleep at Leonard’s new place.”
“How is that possible?”
“Magic,” he smiled. “And the men worked all night to get his apartment done. We got permission from the police since the incident didn’t happen upstairs, Tim said it was fine. It didn’t need to be completely revamped, just open it up a little more. He has two exits, one that opens to our stairs in the back and one that leads down to the front of the Agency on that side. It’ll be close to his new office.”
“Oh,” she sighed. “Right, I forgot about that.”
Strick watched Harry walk into the kitchen. “Savvy, what’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing,” she sat on the edge of her desk. “You cleaned up good in here. Did the cops give you a problem?”
“No, but they never do,” he smiled. “Tell me. What’s bothering you? Is it the case?”
“No, well, I have some things to look at, but it’s not that. If I tell you, you’ll think I’m selfish.”
“You’re the least selfish person I know.”
“It’s just that with Leonard having his own office, he could close the door. I like it that we’re all out here in the open. Yes, if he does lawyer stuff, he’ll need privacy, but we never got in each other’s way before,” she sighed.
“And we still won’t,” Leonard walked into Agency from the red doors. “Sorry, didn’t mean to eavesdrop.”
“You didn’t,” Savvy explained. “I guess I’m just going to miss you.”
“Well, I was thinking and that’s why I came over. Adler still isn’t feeling well. I made him call his doctor and he has an appointment in two hours, but he told me to come here to talk with you both.”
“Oh, is something wrong?” Strick asked.
“I was rethinking the Agency design,” he sighed. “I asked the workers to stop working and take a break until we reworked the way the room should be.”
He walked over to his desk and pulled a notebook out of his drawer. “I like us being in the same room as well.”
“But your clients or whatever?” Savvy said.
“First of all, I haven’t gotten my results yet.”
“But we know you passed,” Savvy walked over to him as he picked up a pencil and started to sketch. “What are you doing?”
“Listen, I love it the way we are, too. Maybe we need a receptionist, but I like being your assistant slash tech person. I even do some legal work when I review legal documents or write them up for you. Now, it’ll be as a lawyer. Our receptionist will also need to be a notary. I won’t be able to do that if I have clients. Now, for the offices, I was thinking we just spread out the desks a little bit more, add another desk for the receptionist to be hired soon and add only two rooms. One as an office if there is that chance that one of us needs to have privacy because of a client and the other one as a larger file room. We should keep paper files as well as the digital stuff. I also think we could have a conference table but put it out here,” He continued to draw out his idea for the floor plan. “The storefront windows over on that side should have a shade or even be closed off somehow. And I think there should only be one door, this one,” He pointed to the main entrance. “The other door could be for emergencies only or something,” He continued to draw and then he stopped. “There,” He showed her the sketch.
“Wow, that’s great,” she watched Strick walk over to them.
“Yeah, I like that, too. It shouldn’t take too long for them to finish it,” Strick said. “I’ll give this to the foreman, I’m sure he’s waiting,” Strick took the pad and headed toward the red doors.
“Yeah, they’re waiting for me to make up my mind,” Leonard said. “I still need to call my movers,” He rubbed his arm.
“Oh, and where is your sling?” Savvy put her arm around him.
“I took it off. Kept getting in my way. I have things to do. I don’t use the arm, but the sling was really bugging me.”
Savvy kissed his cheek. “Just be careful and if it really hurts, wear the darn thing.”
“I will. So, when do we look to hire a receptionist?”
“More like an office assistant and we’ll figure out what qualifications they must have. But I think after the office is completely done. When are Adler’s storefront and apartment going to be ready?”
“It just needs a lot of cleaning and he said it didn’t need any construction or anything. He wants to create it like he did his other home, that’s now rubble. The only thing he needs to focus on is security and a new security room. There is an existing room that can be fitted to be secure. Once he’s feeling better, he’s going to meet with the man who did his security before.”
“Is he all right?”
“I don’t know. He said his stomach was bothering him. He didn’t look too good.”
“Well, I hope he feels better,” she smiled. “I guess I better get to work.”
“Well, let’s get some coffee first,” Leonard smiled. “Then, you do your work and I’ll make my calls. I look forward to being in my own space again, not that I hated staying in your room.”
“I know. I know,” She followed him through the red doors.
30
Savvy sat at her desk as Leonard sat at his. Strick walked into the room. “They’re going to update the blueprints and then they’ll be doing some work, but that will be in a few hours. It will be loud then.”
“Oh, well, I’ll make my calls now,” Leonard said.
“I just need to review my leads and I think tomorrow, I’m going to end up on a stake out.”
“Oh, can I come? Sounds like fun,” Strick said.
“If you want, you can help me go through my notes and photos. I went to Avery Simone’s apartment today, before the cops got there.”
“I’m here for you,” he leaned over her desk, kissing her mouth softly. “So, boss, what do you need me to do?”
She opened her bag and pulled out her camera and the blank notebook that she took. “If you could get the photos off this camera, I’d appreciate it.”
“Color and black and white?”
“Yes, definitely,” she smiled. “You never know what the eye misses.”
“I get that,” Strick said, walking over to his desk.
“I need to see what’s on this blank page,” she placed a white piece of paper over the notebook and used a pencil to lightly shade the entire page, picking up the imprints from the notepad that she took from Simone’s apartment. “Oh, fowl,” she exclaimed. “Uh, Strick, can you look at this for me? I need another set of eyes.”
“Of course,” he walked over to her and pulled up a chair next to her desk. “What is it?”
“Looks like a list, something circled and then some have a line through them. Can you see if you can read what the list is?” She stood up and walked over to the whiteboard hanging on the wall behind her desk. She grabbed a black dry erase marker and looked at Strick. “All right. I’ll write the list on the board.”
Strick picked up the piece of paper that was shaded with pencil. He grabbed moveable desk lamp and angled it toward the paper. “Uh, Mortimer Gutenberg,” he began to read the list. “Ronald Smythe, Angelica Margolis,” He stopped and looked up at Sa
vvy. “Philip Roswell, RJ Macavoy,” He rubbed his eyes. “Isn’t that Rain?”
“Yeah and if this list is what I think it is, you’ll have Leif Gardner and Jenna Sipowitz,” she sighed. “And of course, Adler Stein.”
“Yes, that’s right,” he said. “How d’you know?”
“Those names are the board members. Tell me who is crossed off.”
“Smythe, Margolis, Gutenberg, Stein,” he sighed. “Where the first two have a line through it, Gutenberg has a big X and a check mark next to his name. What’s that about?”
“She got what she wanted from him. Do the others have a check mark?”
“Roswell and Gardner both have check marks and Roswell has a line across it. He must’ve provided something for her. Gardner has a big circle around it. Sipowitz and Rain have lines but no check marks,” He watched as Savvy made notes next to each of the names. “Savvy, what’re you thinking?”
She stepped back from the board and scanned the names. “Uh, in my bag, is a small plastic baggie. I think I know what it is, but can you grab the bag? I need to check it out. Oh, can you print out the photos?”
“Of course,” he smiled, looking at her.
“Strick?” she turned toward him when she realized he hadn’t moved and was just looking at her.
“Oh, sorry, I just love this.”
“What?” she walked over to him and clasped his hand in hers. “What?”
“Working with you. We usually have our own cases and we hardly ever work on the same case together. I like it when we do.”
“Is that why you didn’t want to take on another case?”
“I do want to get the construction done, but I like working with you. Not because I love you, which I totally do,” he smirked. “Just because I enjoy helping you and learning from you.”
“I’m not the only one who knows things. You’ve helped me plenty on this case,” she smiled. “You’re not just another pretty face or strong handsome man for that matter,” She lightly touched his arm and gently squeezed his muscular bicep.
He touched her face. “I do love you, boss,” he smiled as his watch beeped. “Oh, sorry. I need to do something downstairs. I’ll be right back and get those photos for you.”
“What’s downstairs?”
“It’s my workshop, you know that,” he kissed her cheek. “I’ll be right back. It’s time sensitive.”
“OK, I’ll be here,” she smiled.
Strick hurried out of the office and Savvy turned toward Leonard, who hung up the desk phone. “What was that about?”
“Have no idea,” he bit the inside of his cheek. “Now, I need to take Adler to the doctor’s. Do you need anything else from me before I go?” he stood up.
“Just be careful. Oscar is still out there, gunning for his father.”
“I’ll be careful. I am good at taking a bullet,” he rubbed his arm.
“Not even funny. Sounds like this guy likes to beat his father. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was hurting Friend either. Somehow, he was also involved with this Avery Simone and I think more than just friends.”
“So, Oscar is bi?” Leonard asked.
“I guess, but I think he’s also something else that we just haven’t found the proof for yet.”
“I’d bet money he set that fire, hoping his father would be killed. Savvy, Oscar believes he’s in the will or at least that he could win if he had to contest it in court. I’ve seen Adler’s latest will. I’ve helped him write it.”
Savvy glanced toward Strick’s computer as it chimed. “The download must be complete with the photos,” She walked over to Strick’s desk. She selected the photos to be sent to her email and to also print on both the color and black and white printer. She hurried over to her desk and opened her laptop. She opened the email and clicked on the first set of photos. “Uh, fowl.”
Leonard walked over to her. “Savvy, what is it?”
“I didn’t think of it before when I was there. That’s why I took photos of everything. She was in with Oscar, I’m not sure the relevance. I do think she’s the one who took the skull initially, with Oscar’s help. Now, I need to find that skull, but see here,” She watched Strick hurry into the room. “I have the photos printing and here on my computer.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I should’ve done that.”
“No, I just thought of something,” she focused back on the photo. “She had a few boxes of rat poison on her kitchen counter.”
“So?” Leonard said. “It’s the city. We get rats the size of dogs around here.”
She snickered. “Yeah, but we don’t keep the poison on our counter. And we don’t usually have five boxes,” She quickly turned toward the list on the whiteboard. “Fowl. Leonard, have the doctor check Adler for poison. I need to call the others on the list that are crossed off.”
“Don’t forget the hospital,” Strick said. “Gutenberg may have been poisoned before he was beaten.”
Leonard kissed her cheek. “You’re so smart. I’ll call you when I know,” He hurried out of the office as he grabbed his bag off his desk.
“I’ll grab the photos off the printer,” Strick said. “You make your calls.”
Savvy nodded as she continued to stare at the list. “And I think I know where we go next.”
31
Savvy hung up the phone after she made her final call. She took a deep breath and rubbed her eyes. Strick looked up at her. “What’s wrong?”
“Philip Roswell,” she pointed to the board. “He was found unconscious in his home. I called Tim and asked him to come over as soon as he got the chance.”
Strick walked over to her. “Is this the direction you want to go in?”
“I have no choice. It’s where it’s leading us. I think I know who has the skull and we have to get it before he sells it. We’ll need to stake out this guy and see what we can find. I want to be prepared before we go in and retrieve Adler’s property.”
“Can I go with you?”
“I was hoping. I need your eyes and I just need you,” she smiled. “I like it when we work together, too.”
“Can I ask you something?” he sat on the edge of her desk, taking her hands in his.
“Of course,” she smiled.
“Did you mean what you said this morning?”
“What I said?” she flirted.
“That you wanted to marry me.”
“Of course,” she smiled. “I do want to marry you. I love you and I want you to be my husband. More than that. I want to be your wife. For keeps.”
“Good,” he smiled. “I was hoping,” He reached into his pocket. “This is probably not the time and it’s not like I’m proposing because you already did.”
“What is it?”
He handed her a small handcrafted-wooden box. “Since we’re engaged, I thought you deserved a ring.”
“You bought me a ring?”
“Uh, no, I made you a ring. Well, I made the ring and the box, but the ring is the most important of the two.”
She slowly opened the box and smiled at the thin wooden band. “It’s beautiful,” she admired the delicate carvings of a rainbow, sunshine, two stars surrounding the rainbow and sunshine and on the other side of the ring, an engraved diamond. Inside the ring was an inscription. Their names, Strick and Savvy and in between the names, the infinity symbol. “You did this?”
“Yeah, I had to go downstairs because the wax paste is time sensitive. I didn’t want it to harden too much. I didn’t use electric tools. I carved everything and sanded everything. I used a red peroba wood. That’s why it has that pinkish color.”
“Wow, that makes it so much more special. You did this for me?” she smiled.
He took the ring from her hand and slipped it on her finger. “That’s where it belongs. Now, for our wedding bands, I can buy the rings or make them,” he smiled.
“Make them,” she smiled. “This is perfect. How d’you know?”
“Someone had to remind me that I had a talent fo
r woodworking,” he smiled. “Oh, and I did ask Harry and Leonard for their blessing.”
“Really?”
“It’s tradition, right?”
“Yes, and don’t worry, we don’t do nude weddings anymore,” she kissed his cheek. “At least, here in the city. At the commune, maybe, but no one has any need to go there any more, with Cloud Dancer gone,” She wrapped her arms around Strick’s neck. “So, since Leonard will be in his own place tonight, we should celebrate.”
“We will,” he kissed her mouth softly. “But we do need to get back to work.”
“Coffee first and then we’ll get ready for the stake out. I don’t want to leave until I talk with Tim,” She set the empty ring box in her desk drawer. The two headed toward the red doors. She sat down at the table as he poured them both a cup of coffee and admired her beautiful ring.
He set the cups on the table. “The wood is protected, so it will last forever.”
“Well, it better be, since it will be on my finger for forever,” She sipped her coffee.
“It’s not too heavy, is it?”
“Nope, it’s perfect,” she leaned over and kissed his mouth softly.
Savvy stood up to answer the back door. “Tim?” she smiled.
“I thought it’d be best to come back here if you didn’t mind,” He followed her into the kitchen.
“No, it’s fine,” she smiled. “Coffee?”
“Yeah, sure,” he said, shifting his gun holster as he sat down. “I’m still on duty, but your call sounded important.”
“It is, it’s both off and on the record,” she poured him a cup of coffee, and refilled hers and Strick’s cup.
“All right,” he sighed. “Will I know the difference?”
“I hope so,” she said, sitting down. “Now, I made some calls myself, but I have reason to believe that Avery Simone either planned on poisoning or has poisoned a few people.”
“What people?”
“Well, it’s possible that Adler is one of them,” she said. “I’m waiting to hear from Leonard. He took Adler to the doctors. I can’t tell you how I know, but she was after some of the museum board members. I’ve called everyone I know on the board and warned them. One of them was already sick. Angelica and Rain are also on the list. Angelica seems fine but is having her doctor test her and Rain said he’ll also be tested.”