Rush

by Carsen Taite

  Danny’s shoulders sagged. “That’s not true.”

  “You sure about that?”

  “This is not Sarah’s case.”

  “And in the whole city of Dallas, there were no female cops who could’ve shown up to make sure this social gathering didn’t turn into a bloodbath?”

  Danny shrugged. “I’m here. Let’s make the best of it.”

  “Fine.” Ellen looked around and noticed women were starting to arrive. “Come on, I’ll introduce you around. Try and act like dating me isn’t the most painful thing you’ve ever endured.” She stalked away, half hoping Danny wouldn’t follow. She had a bug up her butt about something and Ellen was tired of trying to figure out what made Danny Soto tick.

  *

  The room was full of older women. If she didn’t know better, Danny would’ve thought she’d stumbled into a cougarfest.

  As she followed Ellen around the room, she did her best to memorize the names of the women Ellen introduced her to, trying to match them against the searches she’d performed earlier that day. She hoped Sarah was doing the same thing, but from across the room it looked like she was too busy flirting to do any meaningful investigation. And Ellen thought Sarah was better equipped to deal with anything that might happen. Whatever. This evening was an exercise in futility. The women were nice enough, although some raised their eyebrows when Ellen introduced her as her friend, without reference to a graduation year or chapter affiliation. She couldn’t really blame them since this wasn’t exactly a bring-a-date kind of occasion. After three of these encounters, she excused herself to the restroom.

  The room was empty so she took a moment to check the mirror. Every hair was in place, but her expression—was that really her frowning? She practiced a smile or two. She should at least pretend she was having a good time rather than give either Ellen or Sarah the satisfaction of thinking they had any control over her moods. She settled into a semi-happy expression, and then ducked into a booth. Seconds later she heard the door open and a woman whispering. She held perfectly still and strained to hear the conversation, only half embarrassed to be eavesdropping on an obviously private conversation.

  “Mostly old hags here tonight. Pretty much the usual crowd.” Giggle, but no response to her question. Danny realized the woman was talking on a cell phone.

  “No, I haven’t seen her, but it’s been a long time since she’s been around. The other one’s here, though. Why do you care, anyway? The others are more important and I promise I can get all the information we need. You just have to be patient.”

  Danny listened carefully through the next few beats of silence, wishing she could hear the voice on the other end of the phone. She strained to see through the tiny space between the stalls, but she could barely make out the figure talking mere feet from her. Medium height, long blond hair, skinny.

  “I’ll bring the list by later. Not sure when I’ll get out of here.” A creaking noise sounded from across the room. “Someone’s coming. I gotta go.”

  Danny heard a faucet running followed by footsteps. She counted to ten, flushed the toilet, and then walked out of the booth. A gray haired woman she recognized from the mixer stood at the mirror, reapplying her lipstick. She washed and dried her hands, then pretended to find a compact on the floor. “I think that woman who was just here left this. I don’t recall her name, do you?”

  “Angela Perkins. She’s working the registration table. You should be able to find her there.”

  Danny flashed one of the smiles she’d been practicing. “Thanks. Have a great evening.” She walked back into the reception and rolled her mind around the conversation she’d just heard. No mistaking, it was odd. Angela was talking to someone about the sorority’s alumnae, but it was totally unclear who she was talking to. Another sorority sister? Wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility for the students to poke fun at their aging counterparts, but calling them “old hags” was pretty harsh. And what had she said—“isn’t that what you like?” No telling what that meant, but it didn’t sound right. And who were they looking for that hadn’t shown up tonight or for a while? And why?

  Only one way to get the answers to her questions. Danny scanned the room until she found Ellen escorting Sarah around the room. Chummy. Too chummy. She pasted on her most dazzling smile and strode over to break them up.

  Sarah saw her first. She dropped the hand of the woman she was talking to and swept Danny into a tight embrace. “Danielle Soto! Is that you? I was hoping I would see you here.” She turned back to the woman she’d abandoned and said, “I’m so sorry. I’d love to hear more about the foundation’s work, but I absolutely have to catch this woman before she gets away. I’ll call you next week for lunch.” The woman beamed, and Sarah dragged Danny halfway across the room, away from the crowd.

  “I swear, I’ve never been hit up for money so much in my entire life.”

  “Maybe you should tell them you make a lowly government salary.”

  “Not a chance. I’m an oil tycoon.”

  “Really? What kind of cover is that?”

  “Go big or go home.”

  “Your big ego is going to get you in trouble.”

  “Did you haul me off the job to lecture me or did you have something important to say?”

  “Don’t look, but you know the girl who’s working the registration table? Angela?”

  “She’s too young for you, but if you want help finding a date, I’m sure we can find some better prospects. You might have to come up with a donation. Besides, aren’t you supposed to be here with Ellen?”

  “Shut up. That’s a cover and it’s about as believable as you posing as an oil baron.”

  Sarah shook her head. “You keep telling yourself that. And it’s baroness.”

  “Can you focus for a minute? Angela. Blonde. Registration.”

  “The intern. What about her?”

  “She was just in the restroom, having a strange conversation with someone on the phone.”

  “She’s what, twenty years old? All her conversations are strange.”

  “Not like that. She and whoever she was talking to were discussing the women here at the mixer. Who was here, who wasn’t. Their potential. She promised whoever it was on the other end of the line that she would bring the list of attendees over when she was done here.”

  “That could be anything.”

  “Seriously, I think she’s up to something.”

  “All college students are up to something. Maybe she’s planning some dumb initiation for the pledges that involves prank calling alumnae.”

  Danny pulled out her cell phone and pulled up the Internet browser. “Fine. You’re not interested in following up on a lead. I’ll see what I can find out on my own.”

  Sarah grabbed her arm. “I think I have a better lead. Don’t look now, but there’s a guy over at the bar. He arrived shortly after we did. You think he would’ve figured out by now that there’s a private party going on.”

  Danny waited a few seconds, then did a subtle turn to catch a glimpse of the man at the bar. Turning back to Sarah, she said, “So, what are you going to do about it?”

  “Do about what?”

  Danny and Sarah both turned to find Ellen standing behind them with her hands on her hips. “You two mind explaining what you’re up to? My date”—she pointed at Danny—“has spent the evening looking like she’d rather chew glass than hang out with me, and my long lost sorority sister”—chin jerk at Sarah—“would rather exchange whispers with my date than meet a bunch of influential women who might be able to help her with her oil business.”

  “I’m not your date.”

  “Good thing, because you suck at it.”

  “Well, I wonder why. I mean—” Danny stopped when Sarah squeezed her arm.

  “Ellen, wait a few seconds and then look over at the bar. There’s a guy over there, talking to one of the bartenders. Do you know him?”

  She made a show of scanning the crowd as if she was lookin
g for someone specific, without lingering on the bar. “Never seen him before. Why?”

  Sarah shook her head. “Probably nothing. Just looks a little out of place.”

  Danny stared the guy down. As a lawyer she was as much a trained observer as any cop. He wore a wool overcoat, definitely out of place on a mild spring night. Could be he was an out of towner, staying at the hotel, who’d put the coat on before checking the weather. Or he could be the killer, stalking his next victim. She didn’t want to alarm Ellen, but she did want to protect her. She held up her phone. “Sarah, a text came in from George. He wants us to call him. Now.” She walked a few steps away and motioned for Sarah to follow.

  Sarah was annoyed. “I want to check that guy out.”

  “Yeah, well I want you to too, but I don’t want to spook these women or place any preconceived notions in their heads.”

  “Got it. Why don’t you keep Ellen occupied while I check him out?”

  “I’m not so good at this.”

  “I think you’d be great at it if you’d relax and enjoy it. It’s not like you don’t really want to be her date.”

  Danny struggled not to react. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “I do this for a living. Everything about you screams that you’re attracted to her. Can’t say I blame you. If she felt about me like she feels about you, I’d nudge you out of the running.”

  “You should stick to analyzing criminals. When it comes to real folks, you don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. Go check out that guy. Like you said, you do this for a living. Maybe it’s time you earned your keep.” Danny stalked back to Ellen’s side before Sarah could prod further.

  Ellen’s stare was intense. “What’s up with you two?”

  “Nothing.” She glanced over her shoulder. Sarah was walking toward the man at the bar. Time to distract Ellen. She pointed across the room. “I don’t think I’ve met that group of women. Introduce me?”

  “Okay. Sure you don’t want to wait for Sarah?”

  “Positive. Lead the way.”

  Danny followed Ellen across the room, grateful she didn’t have to hide her face since she was sure her expression was a jumble of emotions. Annoyance at Sarah. Arousal for Ellen. Aggravation that this investigation kept her from trying another date.

  Ellen slowed her pace until Danny was beside her. “What did Detective Ramirez want?”

  “What?”

  “You said he sent a text, asked you to call?”

  Damn. She forgot she’d used that as an excuse to talk to Sarah alone. “He didn’t answer.”

  “It’s okay, you know.”

  “What’s okay?”

  “I don’t expect you to share details. I get that I’m only around to give you what you need.”

  Danny stiffened. “Give me what I need?” Ellen didn’t have a clue what she needed.

  “You know, for the investigation.”

  “Oh.” Ellen’s smile told her that her face had betrayed her. “We’re not using you. If you don’t want to help, you don’t have to. Flores is a bully, but I can get her to back off. You can call your lawyers, let them run interference.” She shouldn’t be making this offer, but a selfish desire for some professional distance drove her. “In fact, I can get Sarah and we can leave right now.”

  Ellen answer’s was to slide an arm through hers and playfully bump her hip. “You don’t get off that easy. This is the first time I’ve brought a date to one of these events in I don’t know when. Let’s go show these women what a fine catch I can make when I’m really trying.”

  Danny resigned herself to playing the role. For a little bit longer, anyway. Not like it was such a hardship. Ellen walked close, their hips touching, arms linked. Her hair smelled like lavender and her breath was warm and sweet as she whispered the names of the women they were about to meet. For a moment, Danny forgot why she was here, what she was doing, who Ellen really was. The buzz of her phone jerked her out of her trance. As she read the text from Sarah, she struggled to remain calm. Guy’s leaving. I’m going to follow. Keep everyone here until I make sure he’s not up to anything. Will text when it’s clear.

  Danny looked back at Ellen and shook her head in response to the questioning look she gave. She held up a finger and considered her options. One was to tell table monitor Angela that she should keep the guests on scene, but no matter how little credence Sarah gave to her suspicions, she didn’t trust the girl. No, she’d better bring Ellen in on the plan. She’d know what to do.

  Chapter Twelve

  Ellen stared at Danny huddled over her phone. Again. No matter how much she pretended, Danny wasn’t really her date. Good thing since she’d spent the entire evening either avoiding her or engaged in whispered arguments with Sarah who had played the role of a female J.R. Ewing to a tee.

  After a few awkward moments spent staring at Danny and Sarah, she strode toward the women she’d planned to introduce Danny to, resolving to forget about the investigation and Danny Soto. Her original design on this mixer was to meet new people. So what if most of the women here were her mother’s age? She had to start putting herself out there if she wanted to connect, and since a connection with Danny was out of the question, she may as well focus her energy elsewhere. Maybe one of the older alumnae had a nice daughter interested in a casual affair.

  She zeroed in on the local alumnae chapter president. “Sophia, so nice to see you. Have you had a good time?”

  “Ellen, dear, it’s been too long.”

  Sophia Falco delivered the greeting with a crushing embrace. Ellen extracted herself and answered with a smile, “I know, I know. I’ve let Jill have all the fun, but I decided it was time I get out of the office and see what you all were up to.” She shook hands with the rest of the group, determined to ward off any other big hugs. This was the in-crowd. She’d tried to get younger women more involved in the local alumnae chapter, but she could see why candidates might find this power trio intimidating. Sophia ran a successful real estate empire, and although the other two specialized in running their own households, their successful marriages meant the budgets they worked with were larger than that of most small businesses. Younger alumnae tended to focus on their careers, marriages, and children, and were less likely to forge relationships with the graduates who’d gone before.

  Sophia took the lead. “We’re all great. I went to the doctor this week and he says I’ll live forever.” She stage whispered, “Unless I meet an untimely death like Martha. Horrible. Simply horrible.”

  She should have anticipated the topic, but it still took her by surprise. Ellen felt her face flush and she glanced over her shoulder to where Danny and Sarah were presumably discussing the case as well. “Terrible indeed.”

  “You wrote such a nice piece in the newsletter. Made her seem like an absolute saint.”

  Ellen pushed past the slight edge in Sophia’s tone. “I had good material to work with.”

  “You’re just too young to know better. You should ask your mother for some stories. How is your mother, by the way? I haven’t seen her in ages.”

  Damn, she’d walked over here to suck up a little, keep the power people happy. She hadn’t expected every topic raised to make her want to flee. She started to give her well-practiced response, but was saved from lying when Danny appeared at her side.

  “Hi, honey, care to introduce me to your friends?”

  Sophia’s eyebrows shot up and she turned her laser focus onto Danny. “I’m Sophia Falco, and you are?”

  “Danielle Soto.” She extended a hand. “Nice to meet you. I’ve heard so much about these events that I insisted Ellen bring me along so I could meet the women she works so hard to please.”

  “Well, aren’t you charming? Are you the reason Ellen has been staying away?” Sophia introduced Danny to the rest of her little group.

  Danny answered with a knowing smile she hadn’t earned, and then flirted shamelessly with the older women while she peppered them wit
h questions. They practically giggled at her attention and Ellen watched, speechless. Tempted as she was to break up the lovefest, she found that she too was entranced by Danny’s charms. More than she should be.

  She spent the next several minutes half-listening to Danny entertain the power trio while she scanned the room for a worthy distraction. She’d been silly to think this event might be a hunting ground for future dates. Jill was right; most of the women had aged out of her dating pool. Danny and Sarah were the most worthy potential date material and both were off-limits. Danny had made it clear she wasn’t interested in a fling, especially not now that she was working a case in which Ellen was involved, even if “involved” was a strong word to describe her situation. And Sarah, well, she was a shameless flirt, but all business as well.

  Probably for the best. Until her mother settled into more of a routine at Cedar Acres, she should focus on her work and her mother’s care. Why she’d thought she could have a personal life of her own she had no idea. She was definitely not her father’s daughter, able to easily cut ties and act as if his family meant nothing to him. His call the other day made it clear that no matter how much guilt he might feel about abandoning his family, the connection wasn’t a strong enough motivation to bring him back, to keep him involved, to offer anything concrete. It was all on her. All the more reason she should stay focused.

  Danny gently squeezed her arm, rousting her from her reverie. Sophia was looking at her, as if waiting for her to answer a question she’d obviously not heard. “I’m sorry, what?”

  “I asked about your mother. I haven’t seen her in a while. Is she doing well?”

  “Great. She’s great. She’s been traveling. You know how she likes to travel.” Not a complete lie. When she was well, her mother indulged her penchant for first class flights, luxury cruises, and five-star hotels.

  “Your father spoils her. Give them my best.” Sophia gathered her group and then delivered fierce hugs to both her and Danny. “And don’t hide this one anymore. She’s a catch.” Seconds later, she was gone, leaving Ellen alone with Danny in an awkward silence.