by Bria Marche
“To be honest, I think I’d rent a car. Your car is too obvious anyway. Do you need a partner in crime? I don’t have anything planned after work. I would ask Tina too, but I know she’s going to her neighbor’s birthday party tonight. If Jack is legit, we can just go out and have a decent dinner and a few drinks before heading back home.”
“That’s sounds awesome, Vic. I’ll get a rental and pick you up at the salon at four-thirty. See you then, and thanks. I love you, girl.”
“I know, Chica, and I love you too.”
Mia gathered her thoughts as she sat on the patio enjoying a Diet Coke and a sandwich. Why bother going through this anyway? I could just divorce him and be done with it. Mia wasn’t a vindictive woman by nature, but the lies and Jack’s controlling ways were more than she needed. This is obviously a pattern with him. He has no remorse since he did the same thing to Karen. I’m so over him. He has to be taken down a few notches and humiliated publicly before I divorce him. You know what they say about payback Jack, it’s a bitch.
She scrolled through her smart phone looking for a car rental agency as she sat outside soaking up the sun. “Tarrytown Car Service and Rentals. That will do just fine,” she said, as she made the call and reserved a compact car for later. “It will be perfect for weaving in and out of traffic if I need to.” She glanced at her watch: 2:30 p.m. Time to grab a shower and get busy. I need to pack up my camera equipment and binoculars too.
Mia beeped the horn of the black Honda Civic. This car was quite different than her Camaro, which would be recognized if Jack were to see it.
Vic ran out of the salon and climbed inside. “Nice wheels, sister!” she said, grinning. “Our first spy mission is going down. Woo hoo!”
“You’re crazy, Vic. This just might turn out to be our calling, you know,” Mia said, with a smirk. “Could you even imagine the three of us having our own investigation company? What a riot, right? I could snap photos while the two of you critique everyone’s hair styles. Maybe you could even give me a trim while we’re sitting around doing our surveillance.” They both cracked up at the images they were coming up with. “Let’s go before we hit traffic.”
Chapter Seven
Being stuck in the middle of late day rush hour irritated Mia. “Damn it! Can you imagine the pain it would be to drive into the city every day?”
“So how much time and effort are you going to spend on this mission?”
“Well, once I know where Sasha lives and her last name, I can find out more about her online. The odds aren’t always going to be in my favor, but a couple of good shots of them together is all I need. We can decide what to do with the photos later. I have to find out where she lives anyway. After that, I can take the train in and grab a cab if I need to. This isn’t going to be a long drawn out ordeal, Vic. Once I’ve got what I need to embarrass his ass and expose him for the snake he is, I’ll be done with him, unless we get Sasha to join forces with us. What a joke that would be. We’ll teach him who to mess with. Anyway, we still have forty-five minutes before he gets out of work. We should make it in time. The traffic is starting to let up a little.”
They were in front of his office building by five-fifty. “Good, we have ten to fifteen minutes to find a parking spot and settle in. I brought two sets of bino’s along in case we’re a few blocks away.”
“You’re a smart one, sleuth sister,” Vic said.
The girls sat back and popped the tops of a couple Diet Cokes. They watched from the parking spot they found a half block away from the front door of Jack’s office building. It was ten after six when he exited the building onto the busy sidewalk. Vic grabbed the binoculars and watched as Mia started up the car, ready to go. “He’s talking to someone on his cell phone. Let’s see if he walks or grabs a cab. Be ready, okay?”
“Oh, I’m ready. This is kind of fun, as long as he doesn’t notice us. It looks like he’s going to walk. I’ll let him get a block ahead of us, then I’m going to pull out.”
Mia followed Jack north on Fifth Avenue. He turned right on East 78th Street and walked up to a red brick row-house, rang the buzzer and entered. Mia parked the car, and they waited. She couldn’t run up to the entryway and look at the names next to the buzzers because they might walk out.
“I hope they aren’t planning to stay in tonight,” Mia sighed. “If they don’t come out in thirty minutes, I’ll come back another time and check out the names.” She and Vic waited for twenty minutes listening to a classic rock station on the radio and drank their sodas.
“Here they come, Mia, grab your bino’s,” Vic yelled, enthusiastically. They watched as Jack and Sasha walked out together, arm in arm, and got into a cab.
“What a bastard. Can you believe him? I will admit, she’s kind of hot though. I mean if I was a guy, I’d definitely do her. Did you get a picture of her?”
“No, I didn’t get a picture. They got into the cab too fast, damn it, and you’re seriously destroying my ego over here.”
“Oops, sorry, hon… I’m just saying.”
“Yeah, no kidding. C’mon, let’s take a look.”
They crossed the street and ran up the five steps to the entrance of the building. They scrolled down the list of tenants names with their fingertips. There was one name beginning with an S that didn’t have the first name written out. It read S. Renaud, and it was on the third floor. It had to be her. Mia took pictures of the building and all the windows on the third floor.
“Why the hell are you taking pictures of the building?”
“I don’t friggin know. I assumed it’s what private investigators do,” Mia said, shrugging her shoulders. She wrote down the last name Renaud and apartment number 314. “Okay, let’s go. I need dinner and a glass of wine.”
“Sounds good, Chica. We’re outa here.”
They drove for about ten minutes before finding an inconspicuous neighborhood bar and grill. They sat in a quiet corner booth and ordered dinner and a bottle of Merlot.
“So now what?” Vic asked.
“Good question. Oh duh… we’ve got smart phones. Google the name Sasha Renaud, and the address. See if anything comes up. It could be her, or not. Who knows, we might get lucky.”
“Yeah, great idea. Hang on… it’s thinking. We’ve been bumped down to 3G. It’s still thinking. Okay, here we go. Oh my friggin God. It says she’s a French/Russian model born in Marseilles, France in 1987. That makes her only twenty-six or twenty-seven, depending on when her birthday is. Holy shit!”
“Yeah, I get the age thing, Vic… thanks. So that makes me a washed up old hag, right?”
“No, hon… sorry. I’m shocked, that’s all. Jack is like fourteen years older than her.”
“Great… what else does it say?”
“What the hell?”
“Ugh… do I want to know? Now what?”
“Well… it says her family has muko buko bucks and her father is, or was, a famous movie star in France named Gerard Renaud. Damn woman!”
“Oh… just shoot me now. How do I compete with that?”
“You aren’t trying to compete, Mia. You want his slimy ass out of your life. Who gives a crap who he’s banging?”
“Vic, seriously? He’s still my husband… gross.”
“Well, I mean… just make him sleep in the guest room or something until you kick him out.”
“Yeah, but I don’t want to let on what I know. Blindsiding him is the ultimate, sweet revenge.”
“You’ve got that right. Damn… is she hot or what? Look at these pictures on Google images.”
“Really?”
“Oops… sorry, again.”
“Let’s eat and get back home. We have brainstorming to do over the weekend.”
***
Jack arrived home late. Mia glanced at the clock. You must have taken the last train back. Soon you can move to the city and I won’t have to deal with your crap anymore.
It was ten o’clock before Jack drug himself out of the bedroom and into the
kitchen the next morning. He grabbed a mug out of the cupboard to pour himself coffee. The pot was empty.
“What the hell? Now I have to make my own coffee too?”
“Did you say something? What about the coffee? Oh yeah… it’s after ten o’clock. Your window of opportunity for coffee ended at nine. Make your own for God’s sake. I’ve already walked Reggie. I’m leaving.”
“Where are you going?” he asked, sneering at her.
“Wherever the hell I want. See ya.”
Mia met up with Tina and Vic at Denny’s on Maple and 5th Street.
“So tell me all the dirt you guys dug up last night.” Tina was foaming at the mouth to hear what Mia had to say.
“Tina, you should see this woman. Holy crap!”
“Vic, come on already,” Mia said, covering her face with her hands and groaning. “Let’s focus here and decide what to do.”
“Okay, so this woman is a hot super model or something, right?”
“Yeah, Tina, she is.” Vic was more than enthusiastic to give Tina the delectable details.
“Well, do we want her to cross over to our side, or take her down too because she is way hotter than us?”
“No, I don’t want to take her down. Anyway, why would having an affair impact her life or job? I’m sure she doesn’t know Jack is lying to her. I mean, the emails he sent her said he lives with his brother for crap’s sake.”
“That’s true,” Vic said.
“I want to get her on board with us so we can take Jack down together. She can find another guy easily with her looks. Think about it. I’m a photographer and you guys are hairstylists and make-up artists. She’s a model… duh! She needs us, and she doesn’t even know it yet.” Mia was beginning to see the big picture in all of this and a devilish smile formed on her lips. “This, my girls, is going to be one for the record books.” They raised their coffee cups and clinked them together as they began to brainstorm.
“The question is, Mia, would she recognize you if she saw you again?” Vic asked.
“Well, you guys are the geniuses when it comes to dolling me up. I’m sure you could work with my appearance so there wouldn’t be any chance of her thinking I looked familiar. Now we need to come up with a plan. Don’t forget, next week we’re going to meet with Karen too. She should be able to give us even more ideas.”
“So you think she’s on board to help us take Jack down?” Tina asked.
“Oh yeah… she’s on board.”
“Did you take a picture of them together last night?” Tina asked.
“No, they got into the cab too fast. We’re going to have to catch them together some other way. Maybe I should stalk them or something. Ugh… I don’t believe I just said that word. Shit, who am I becoming anyway?”
“Hey, you’re becoming a damn hot private investigator, and so are we, if I do say so myself.”
They all laughed at Vic’s comment.
“Seriously though, I think we should wait until we meet with Karen and talk about everything together as a group. We just might have to set up a photo shoot for Miss Hotsie Totsie model and see what she’s all about. Maybe we can read her that way. She could be as sly as a fox, or she’s living off her looks without any brain cells at all. I’ll call Karen. I suggested getting together on Tuesday when the salon is closed. Will that work for you guys?”
“Sure. We’ll both keep Tuesday open.”
It was mid-afternoon when Mia arrived back at the house. Nobody was home, but she was beginning to accept that. Being alone really wasn’t that bad after all. No fighting, no drama, no snide remarks. Mia needed to stay busy or her mind would wander back to Jack and Sasha’s kiss. She just couldn’t understand how she missed the signals after being with him for three years. Sure, Jack was always self-centered and aloof, but cheating? Mia never saw that coming. She believed the whole Claire story and how his daughter meant everything to him. The more she thought about it, the more steamed she became. She decided to busy herself with the monotony of household chores. Mia never scrubbed the floor and vacuumed so well in her life. The furniture was rearranged so she could clean under everything, and the floors glistened.
“Wow, the house looks great. Maybe I should be pissed off more often.” She let out a sigh and sat on the couch to take a break. She remembered she hadn’t called Karen yet. She looked at the clock: 5:22 p.m. “I’ll call her now while I’m alone. I hope she’s free on Tuesday.” Mia walked into the kitchen, poured a glass of water, and sat at the table while wiping away the sweat droplets that formed on her forehead. The phone rang twice before Karen picked up. “Karen? It’s Mia. How are you?”
“I’m fine. Have you talked to your friends?”
“Oh yeah, and we found interesting information about Sasha. Do you have Tuesday open? We could come by and brainstorm if you’re up to it. I’ll bring wine too… that is, if you like wine.”
“Wine sounds great. I’ll make lunch. How about noon then?”
“Perfect, thanks so much.”
“You’re welcome, Mia. See you Tuesday.”
That was easy. Cool, she’s in. “Reggie, time for a walk.” Mia coaxed him to the door as she grabbed the leash.
Chapter Eight
The girls were more than excited when Tuesday arrived. The three of them piled into Mia’s Camaro with four bottles of wine and headed out. Tina and Vic were talking nonstop about how weird it was to be plotting with Jack’s ex-wife. They bombarded Mia with questions about Karen, asking how she looked and what her personality was like.
“Well, she wasn’t what I was expecting,” Mia said, “and she was kind of curt with me until she realized I wasn’t the ‘other woman’ Jack was cheating with. Actually, before I left, she came around. She’ll be a good ally, and helpful throughout this mess. I mean, she was with Jack way before me. She might know more about him, like his weaknesses, or things that set him off.”
“Sasha is evidently his main weakness,” Vic said. “Think about it. He’s been with her through two wives. What gives anyway? Why would anybody stick with a guy they only see a few times a week?”
“Um… hello? What do you think I’ve been doing since I met him?”
“Oh yeah… duh! Sorry, Chica.”
Mia parked her car in Karen’s driveway and they got out.
“This is it. Not the Manhattan high rise we pictured, right?”
“Not at all,” Tina agreed. “This is a beautiful, cozy looking home. Maybe she’s a perfectly nice woman who was betrayed by Jack the jerk.”
“Yeah… like me,” Mia said, as she rang the bell.
Karen answered the door and welcomed them in. Mia made the introductions as they followed her into the kitchen. A Persian cat strolled around the corner to check out the guests.
“This is Claire,” Mia said, to Vic and Tina. They looked down at the cat, then at Mia, and finally at Karen. They all burst out laughing.
“This is going to be an awesome day,” Vic said, chuckling. “Karen, where are the wine glasses?”
They sat at the kitchen table for several hours while eating, drinking and running ideas past each other. Mia told Karen everything they found out about Sasha.
“Okay, so you two own a beauty salon, and Mia, you’re a photographer?”
“Yep, that’s right.”
“Well, I worked for a fashion magazine for a few years before I married Jack. I did a lot of the design ads and coordinated placement for the stories and photographs. I was kind of like an editor, but farther down the totem pole. Anyway, the point is, I know how to dummy up pictures with Photoshop, and I can put together a website with Dreamweaver in no time flat. I still do some freelance work now and then. We could act like we’re holding an audition for a model to be featured on the cover of a glamour/hairstyle magazine. You guys have hairstyle magazines in your salon, right?”
“Of course we do,” Tina replied.
“Good. I can put together a very realistic looking letter and send it to Sasha. It will say
she’s a finalist picked among local New York models to be featured on a magazine cover. We’ll make up some phony magazine name so we don’t get into trouble. We’ll act like we’ve already done the head shots for a number of models and she’s the last one. You ladies will do her hair and makeup, and Mia could be the famous photographer doing the photo shoot. I’ll put it all together at the end so it looks legit. I mean, it’s a way to get our feet in the door with her. Women gossip and talk about family, boyfriends and how important their lives are while they’re getting their hair done. We’ll make up a bunch of bs about the men we’re dating and all the drama. The wine will be flowing, and we’ll get her going about her man, as well. I mean, sooner or later we’ll have to fess up, but at least we can learn something first. Information is king. She won’t be able to keep her mouth shut once we get on the topic of men.”
“Do you really think it will work, Karen?” Mia asked, getting excited.
“Well, I know one thing from being around models and people in the fashion industry. They love to talk about themselves and their lives.”
“So how can I be the photographer when she’s already seen me? You guys can’t dye my hair or cut it because that would perk up Jack’s curiosity. He’ll be wondering what’s going on, and I don’t want to give away anything to him.”
“Hang on, I’ll be right back.” Karen left the room and returned with a black, Cleopatra looking wig. “Check this out,” she said, grinning. “This is a damn good wig, not some cheap synthetic thing. I was invited to a costume party last year, and I went all out. Try it on. Let’s see how you look.”
Vic and Tina squealed with delight at the thought of really going “undercover” for this mission.
“Get over here, woman, and let us put this on you,” Vic said.
Mia jumped at the chance and sat perfectly still while Vic and Tina placed the wig neatly on her head.
“Of course, we’ll get you together better at the salon and pin the hell out of this thing so it stays on your head. What do you think?”