Veiled Threat

by Alice Loweecey

  “Of course they won’t. That’s not what I’m saying. And please stop cursing.”

  “Sorry. You’ve got to be realistic about this. Jimmy might not call us in to help. Don’t pretend you aren’t hoping he will—I saw it in your face when he shook your hand. He likes you and he wants you to replace that manicured piece of fluff who answers the phones, but he’s not getting you.”

  “You don’t own me, Frank Driscoll.”

  “I know. It’s a figure of speech. I mean that even though he wants to hire you out from under me, he’s not going to do anything underhanded like bring you in on this case and feed you information to keep your hopes up.”

  “Do you expect me to lie to Laurel for the next three days?”

  “No, because I know you won’t. But you might want to hedge. Tell her that the police have all the information and that they’re keeping things to themselves. That’s how they usually work, so it’s not lying.”

  Giulia stood. “Sin of omission, Mr. Driscoll. No thanks.”

  Frank dropped his head into his right hand. “How do you manage to do this job so well without compromising your Franciscan-ness?”

  “I don’t think that’s a word.” She laughed, but it faded with her next breath. “Stop looking at me like I’m a plaster saint, because I’m not. I’m angry at Captain Jimmy and worried about Katie and disappointed in you. I’m going to prove you wrong. Before the timeline is up I’m going to hand Katie to Laurel and Anya and make you eat your words.” She made shooing motions at him. “Get out of my client chair. I have work to do. I wish I knew how I could want to yell at you one minute and kiss you the next.”

  He stood up and the next moment he was kissing her. Thoroughly. Angry Giulia flounced to the curb. The Giulia in Frank’s arms returned the kiss with all the frustrated passion of the last several barren weeks.

  When Frank broke the kiss, he said, “This is one of the times I don’t think you’re a plaster saint.”

  “About time,” Giulia said, and kissed him again. The empty office, the wind rattling the windows, the hum of the computer fans didn’t make a dent in the very pleasant shivers running through her body. Frank knew how to kiss. It more than made up for her inexperience.

  A door slammed downstairs and they jumped apart. No footsteps ascended the stairs, but Giulia didn’t return to Frank’s arms.

  “I need to fix my face,” she said, going into the bathroom behind her desk. The light makeup she used was intact; she hadn’t worn lipstick because of the weather. My hair’s mussed. So is my sweater. That man is dangerously charming. No, more than charming. He’s captivating. I need to be careful.

  The imp on her shoulder whispered, “Careful is for old maids. You’ve got years of celibacy to make up for.”

  The angel on her other shoulder didn’t reply. Giulia almost looked for it. She shook her head. My brain hates me. Both sides of it want me to give in to Frank.

  “You almost done?” Frank’s voice, right outside the door.

  She opened it. “Polite humans give each other privacy in the bathroom.”

  “I wanted to apologize for not coming clean to you about the realities of kidnappings.”

  “Accepted. I will expect another apology when Katie gets home.”

  Frank made a frustrated noise, but cut it off. “If it happens, I’ll apologize. Look, will you come to my folks’ for dinner tonight?”

  “I—uh—I’ll have to make sure there’s coverage at the soup kitchen.”

  Frank made that same noise.

  “I’m not going to leave them hanging so I can go out to dinner. Let me call someone.”

  “Fine.” He loomed over her. “You’re right about one thing: I’ve been treating you like furniture. I’m … well … an amadán. Sorry. That means ‘idiot.’ I’ll work on it. Deal?”

  “Deal. Let me fix your tie. We don’t want to scandalize Sidney.”

  He raised his chin. “When she’s on her honeymoon we should do this more often.”

  She smiled. “What will the boss say?”

  “I’ll keep him out of the way.”

  Sidney returned half an hour later.

  “It’s perfect! Wait till you see it. Mom says I look just like my grandmother in it—and my grandmother was so beautiful and happy in her wedding pictures.” She tossed her coat at the coat rack and unlocked her screen. “I’m starving. Everyone talks about brides dieting for the wedding, but that’s nuts. Sure, I’m in shape, but the stress’ll make you lose three or four pounds at least. I can’t wait till it’s all over.”

  “I’m sure you’ll have a wonderful day,” Giulia said, not smiling even though she wanted to.

  “Oh, I guess, if I can remember to enjoy it instead of worrying that I’ll drop the flowers or trip over my shoes—if it were summer I swear I’d wear white flip-flops.” She unwrapped a wheat bagel and nibbled the scrambled egg and tomato sticking out of the front. “Mingmei downstairs says she has a Christmas present for you, and when can you get together?”

  “I’ll stop by tomorrow morning.” Giulia dialed another phone number and held up a “wait a sec” finger toward Sidney when it rang. “Audrey? It’s Giulia. I have a huge favor. Can you take my turn tonight? … You’re the best … Let me know when you want me to fill in … New Year’s Day? Of course I’ll take it for you … He is? That’s great … He is? Are you sure? … I’ll stop by the day after to admire the ring. Congratulations in advance …Bye. Thanks again.”

  Sidney gave Giulia a “dish it” look.

  “Frank asked me to dinner at his parents’ house tonight. I work at the Stage Door Kitchen on Tuesdays, so I had to get a sub.”

  Sidney shook a finger at her. “Dinner with the folks is one of the Three Big Signs, you know.”

  Giulia’s cheeks heated up. “I don’t know.”

  “Trust me. My aunt is like the world’s biggest matchmaker. She’s always giving us tips and rules and signs.” She drank from her spring-water bottle. “It’s about time, too. You’ve been sort of dating for what? Four months?”

  “Stop it.”

  “You’re blushing. I can see it. Hah! You think it’s about time too. Maybe Mr. D. will propose to you for Christmas.”

  “What?” Giulia stopped halfway to Frank’s door. “We aren’t anywhere near that stage, if we’ll ever be.”

  “Uh-huh.” Sidney turned her concentration to her lunch.

  Giulia knocked on Frank’s door.

  “Yeah?”

  She went in, leaving the door open. “I switched nights, so I’ll be happy to come to your parents’ house for dinner.”

  Frank grinned. “Great. I’ll pick you up at seven.”

  “Good. I’ll have time to take out all of today’s frustrations at the gym.”

  The phone rang.

  Frank said in a low voice, “So why’d you leave the door open?”

  Giulia stuck out the tip of her tongue.

  Sidney rolled into the doorway. “Captain Reilly on line one, Mr. D.”

  ELEVEN

  “YEAH, JIMMY? … WHAT? … Uh, no … I’m sure, but … Yes, but … Giulia, wait.”

  Giulia was already on the other side of the door, even as she was dying to eavesdrop.

  “Come in and close it, please. Jimmy wants me to put him on speaker.”

  She sat in the client chair and had to pretend to adjust her socks to paste a neutral yet interested expression on her face.

  Jimmy’s voice on speaker was clear and cheerful. Giulia heard “I’m going to ask you a favor” undertones in it.

  Yes. He found out something.

  “We got a break, Giulia. The owner of the resort knows about that adoption assistance group. She did a one-eighty from guarded hostility to all cooperation when I explained why I wanted to see her records.”

  “Good,” Frank said. “Digital?”

  “No. They had a fire last month. Destroyed the back office, phones, computers, but not the hard copies of the records. Get this—she keeps ph
ysical copies in a fireproof safe because she’s a pyrophobic.”

  Afraid of fire, Giulia mouthed at Frank.

  I figured that, he mouthed back.

  “So they’re still re-keying all the records and she doesn’t want to let them leave the premises,” Jimmy said.

  “Are you sending Poole out there?” Frank said.

  Jimmy’s snort came through with perfect clarity too. “Only if I could send the camera crew for America’s Funniest Home Videos along with him. I had a different idea.”

  Frank fidgeted. “Jimmy, I object to this.”

  Giulia sat forward in Frank’s client chair. You were wrong, you were wrong, you were wrong, Frank, she chanted to herself.

  Jimmy’s voice continued, “Objection noted. The resort has a small staff during fall and winter: cross-country ski instructor, masseuse, two child-care people, and the usual chefs, wait staff, and cleaning people. Here’s the thing—” Another line rang on his end, loud enough for Giulia and Frank to jump back. “Just a sec.”

  “He wants me to go out there and ask them questions,” Giulia said to Frank.

  “Sort of.”

  “Sort of? Let me in on the rest, please.”

  Click. “Sorry about that. So here’s my idea. We need the records examined, and I’d like to know if you’re willing to talk to the staff. It’s a female-only resort, and the only female I have here is Carlson—you remember her, Frank?”

  “The bulldozer?”

  “Yeah. Can you picture her trying to ease into someone’s confidence to get information?”

  “Hell, no. The woman makes a pile driver look gentle. What about Zimmerman or Janus?”

  “Zimm’s on maternity leave, and Janus left last year for Orlando.” He paused. “So I was wondering if we could borrow you, Giulia?”

  Giulia glanced at Frank. He’s too upset for this to be a plain old interview request. Too bad. This is about Katie. She chose a disingenuous reply for Jimmy. “To talk to the resort employees? How big a staff is there?”

  “I’m hoping you’ll agree to work undercover there for a few days. They can use the help so it won’t be an obvious plant. You’re so nondescript, you’ll fit in without a problem.”

  Giulia aimed a crooked smile at Frank. “That is probably the most backhanded compliment I’ve ever received.”

  “You’re not nondescript. Jimmy, you know what I’m going to say.” Frank glared at the phone. “You seem to forget that Giulia’s an employee of Driscoll Investigations, not a public servant.”

  “I know she doesn’t work for me, Driscoll. You were the one who called me about this yesterday, remember? Said you wanted to help. What with Poole and the department’s scarcity of females, it turns out I could use the help.”

  “You know I called you under pressure from Giulia. And let me remind you this business has casework to complete and my employees have their salaries to earn—”

  Giulia cut off his last word. “I know you called him to get me to shut up. That doesn’t bother me. You are welcome to dock my pay for the rest of the week. Captain Reilly, I’ll be happy to go undercover at the resort.” I’ll put off buying that used Saturn for a couple of weeks, but that’s fine. Cars are replaceable. People aren’t.

  “Terrific,” Jimmy said. “The resort owner will send a courier over this afternoon—wait, what time is it? One forty already. Damn. Giulia, can you get there by three? I’ll call and have her cancel the courier. She was going to photocopy the relevant information and get you everything you need to know, but she can hand you the packet in person now. She’s mostly in our corner on this. I know you’ll win her over completely. Frank, I owe you one.” His phone rang again. “Dammit, I forgot to make up a name for you. Sorry. I’ll call you if there’s anything else. Thanks again.”

  Giulia jumped out of her chair and opened the door.

  “Sidney, could you do me a huge favor and call Rent-A-Wreck? I need something small. An Escort or a Cavalier, maybe, and I’ll need it through the end of the week.”

  “I’m on it.” Sidney was already typing into a search window.

  Giulia closed herself in with Frank again. They stared at each other across the desk.

  “What the hell, Giulia?”

  “I told you why I needed to help Laurel and Anya. Like I said to Captain Jimmy, I know you agreed to call him just so I’d stop bugging you.” She leaned back against the door, trying to look like she didn’t want to shake him. “I know Sidney’s kind of useless this week because of the wedding, but I also know that none of our current projects are rush jobs.”

  “That doesn’t give you the right to bail on me.” His voice was dead level.

  Giulia didn’t like that voice. “I am not bailing on you. What are you afraid of—that I’m going to choose to answer phones and paint my nails all day? Or go back to cleaning toilets for a living?” When the corner of his mouth twitched, she pressed her point. “Didn’t you wonder why I insisted we hire a cleaning service for the office? We have a toilet out there, you know.” She relaxed a fraction. “You agreed to help.”

  “I did not agree to split this company in half.”

  “You agreed to the possibility that Driscoll Investigations resources could be used to help find Katie. This is an assignment for Driscoll Investigations. In which I am your partner.” She kept her voice quiet, persuasive—a counterweight to Frank’s.

  He banged his fist against the desk, the staccato thumps falling dead on her ears. Don’t think of dead. Katie’s not dead. We are going to bring her back.

  Wait.

  She wrenched her attention away from her “rescue Katie” obsession and onto Frank’s body language.

  “Hey.” She pushed away from the door. “What’s really the problem?”

  His jaw clenched. She walked around the desk until she was staring down at the top of his head.

  “Look at me. Stop pretending you’re angry about me going undercover.” She covered his hand and the noise stopped. She waited.

  “You’ll laugh,” he said.

  “Excuse me?”

  He looked up at that. “You’re right. I’m talking to the born listener.” He nudged her hand off and planted his elbows on the desk, leaning his forehead on his hands. “I’m a victim of youngest-child syndrome.”

  Giulia blinked. “What?”

  “You’re the oldest. You wouldn’t understand, but I’ve got the sick feeling that I’m about to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.”

  She sat on the corner of the desk. “May I have that in words of one syllable, please?’

  He grimaced. “Fine. Here goes any kind of respect you’ve gained for me. Driscoll Investigations is finally legit. We’ve got almost too much work to handle. We’re gaining a positive reputation. Word of mouth is bringing in new clients.”

  Giulia tilted her head. “And?”

  “You’re leaving. Sidney’s leaving. I’m screwed. Who am I going to get on this kind of notice? I’ll have to back out of commissions and trash my company’s reputation with my own hands.”

  “But Sidney’s only gone for seven working days. I’ll come in here in the mornings and go out to the resort in the afternoons.”

  “It’s going to crash and burn. Just like when Sean got promoted and Michael picked up a fat Christmas bonus for being top salesman.” He slumped in his chair, flopping his head backward off the top.

  Giulia stared at his upside-down face. “Those are your brothers, right? Where did all this come from?”

  “From two family phone calls and Jimmy’s eagerness to snatch you away.” His frown had the opposite effect with his head in that position. “Could you be any more eager to work for him? Why don’t you just hand in your resignation now? I’m going to have to go live in my parents’ basement again. If you’d bothered to get your gun license I’d ask you to shoot me now and put me out of my misery.”

  The laugh burst through Giulia’s mouth despite herself. “That’s why you’ve been giving me grief? What a
stereotype you are.” She put her hands on his shoulders. “Listen very carefully because there’ll be a test later. The work will continue to get done. I will pull ridiculous hours at both venues for the duration. I have already lined up a temporary receptionist, remember? He starts Friday morning.”

  “Yes, but—”

  “Don’t interrupt. We will find Katie; Captain Jimmy will pat us on the back; and come Monday morning I will not, repeat, not be handing in my resignation.”

  His inverted face was such a muddle of hope and forlornness that she bent down and kissed him.

  “I prefer kissing you right side up. Now sit up, remember what I said, and set an example for your employees. Come drive me to the car rental place, please.”

  She escaped to the outer office to regain her composure, rather than react with all-too-typical embarrassment at kissing him in the office.

  “Sidney, did you have any luck with the car place?”

  “Oh, yes, no problem. They’ve got a 2007 Escort waiting for you.”

  “You’re a gem. Thank you.” She stared at Sidney’s ruler-straight brown hair.

  “Um, Giulia?” Sidney reached up and patted her hair straighter —an unnecessary movement.

  Giulia pulled back her own curly mop into a tight ponytail. “Does this make me look nondescript-er? I mean, unobtrusive?”

  This time Sidney blinked. “Um, I guess. Oh, wait. You’re going undercover again. Cool!” She pushed back her chair and stood up in one fluid motion. “Try braiding it. Here, let me.” Sidney’s long fingers separated Giulia’s thick hair into three sections.

  “Ouch. You’re yanking it out of my head.”

  “Am not. I’m pulling it into a super-tight braid.” She tugged right, then left, then right. “Your hair’s always loose and bouncy. If we plaster it real close to your head, you’re going to look …”

  Giulia’s hair flopped against her back as Sidney came around front. “Yes … you look just different enough on real short notice. Ask Mr. D.” She raised her voice. “Mr. D., can you come out and see this?”

  Frank’s door opened. “What?”

  “Well?” Sidney said.

  He looked around. “Well, what?”