Why am I here? What am I doing? Am I crazy, or what?
Better to let the police handle it, I decided, and started back down the stairs. But then I heard a noise coming from the aisles of shelves off to my right. I scampered back up the steps. I just wanted to know if Craig was here. Just catch a glimpse of him. That way, I could tell the police where to find him when they showed up.
I crept forward and stole a quick glance around the corner of a big shelving unit. The aisle was long and the shelves were packed with merchandise. No Craig. I tiptoed to the next unit and did the same thing. Still no Craig. I went to the next one and—oh my God! Craig!
I jumped back. Did he see me? I don’t know. I peeked again and—jeez, he’s coming straight toward me.
I backtracked and ran down the next aisle. Craig was running too. I heard his shoes pounding on the concrete. He turned the corner and ran down the aisle after me.
He had murder in his eyes. But I wasn’t going to be his next victim.
I yanked dozens of boxes of Christmas ornaments off the shelves to block his path. I had to fend him off. I couldn’t run to the staircase. If he caught me there, he’d throw me down, just like he’d done Evelyn.
I heaved big boxes of pots and pans at him, personal massagers, foot baths—oh, jeez, those are nice, I could use one of them. He kept coming, jumping over, sidestepping everything I threw at him. I ran backward, grabbing everything off the shelves I could get my hands on. Picture frames, photo albums, candles. Craig batted them in midair and kept coming. Wreaths, Santa and snowmen door-hangers. I’m trying to fight off a murderer with Christmas decorations. Jeez, why can’t Holt’s carry guns?
Luggage—at last, something substantial. I heaved a nested set of four cases at him, then two duffel bags, then grabbed purses.
Wait. Oh my God, these are Prada totes. I can’t throw Prada at a murderer.
Craig stops. Maybe he’s overwhelmed by Prada too? No, he’s looking past me. I glance back and see Ty. Suddenly, he looks taller, and broader, and meaner than I’ve ever seen him look.
Craig must have thought the same, because he turned and ran back down the aisle. Ty took off after him, sailing over the clutter of merchandise with ease. I didn’t know he was athletic. Wow, that’s so hot.
I went the other way, around the corner to the next aisle, and saw the two of them running. Craig was heading for the stairs. I followed and got there just as they clattered down the steps. Craig had a head start but Ty was younger, stronger, and faster.
He caught Craig at the bottom, yanked him around. Craig took a swing at Ty’s head. I screamed as I ran down the stairs after them. Ty ducked, tackled Craig in the gut, and forced him backward into the jungle of mannequins.
Craig went down with a crash, taking a half dozen stiff, naked women with him. I dashed to the panty hose, ripped open two packages, grabbed Craig’s foot, and tied it to a headless torso. Ty jumped in and wrapped Craig’s wrist to a detached arm. I ran back for more panty hose, but stopped. Detectives Shuman and Madison were coming through the loading dock door.
I’d been sitting on the stockroom steps for a while now, too exhausted to get up. The detectives handcuffed Craig and took him away a long time ago. They’d been asking questions, filling out forms, doing all the things homicide detectives do. Ty was on his feet, still, handling everything. He’s so good at stuff like this. With Ty, you’d never have to worry he couldn’t take care of something.
From the sound of things, I guessed this ordeal was over.
“So now you believe that I didn’t kill Richard?” I called.
I flung the question at Detective Madison. It was totally unnecessary, since Craig had started blubbering and confessed everything as soon as Shuman snapped on the cuffs, but I wanted to hear Madison say the words.
He hitched up his pants and gave me a sour, begrudging look.
“Looks like you’re not guilty,” he grumbled, “of this crime anyway.”
Bastard.
Detective Shuman shot me a little grin, and the two of them left.
Finally, Ty came over and sat by me on the stairs. He sat close. He smelled really good, like cologne and sweat. It made me want to get sweaty with him.
But I guess he had something else on his mind.
“You should have told me about everything that was going on in the store,” Ty said, sounding a little hurt, a little annoyed.
I couldn’t blame him. I’d have felt the same way.
“Okay, I’ll keep you fully informed of every criminal plot I uncover from now on,” I promised.
He grinned, just a little. Ty has the cutest grin ever.
“Is there anything else you want to tell me?” he asked.
I wanted to tell him that I was really hot for him, that he seemed like a great guy and I’d love to get to know him better, but I don’t think that’s exactly what he had in mind.
“I don’t have a puppy named Pancake,” I said.
“Really?” he asked, sounding all dramatic, like he’d known it all along.
“And I don’t have an uncle with a body shop who was going to fix my fender,” I said.
“No kidding,” Ty declared. He’d known that all along too, obviously. “Anything else?”
There were about a million things Ty didn’t know about me, but I wasn’t in the mood to tell him. Now, or maybe never.
“That’s it,” I said, trying to sound light and breezy.
Ty looked serious for a moment. “Don’t you want to tell me about your job at Pike Warner?”
I gasped.
“And how you got fired?” he asked.
“I was on administrative leave!”
“How about the fraud and embezzlement? And those accounts at the GSB&T?”
Stunned, I just stared at him. He knew everything.
Oh, crap.
CHAPTER 26
It was a Ferragamo day.
Fine leather satchel, minimal trim. Classy. Businesslike. Competent. In-charge.
Which was sort of the way I felt the next afternoon as I paused on the sidewalk outside the building that housed Pike Warner’s offices. I had on a Christian Dior suit my mom had bought me for my second day of work here, and I’d put my hair in an updo. No pumps or sensible shoes for me, though. I wore Kenneth Cole stilettos.
Surprisingly, I hadn’t lain awake half the night worrying about what I’d say to the two senior partners when I got up to sixteen. I hadn’t called ahead for an appointment either. I knew they’d see me.
What had kept me tossing and turning last night was Ty. Right there on the stockroom steps he’d told me that he knew everything that was going on at Pike Warner and the GSB&T. I guess his lawyer and the vice president who’d handled the Holt’s Department Store banking for decades had no problem with telling him everything he wanted to know; paying thousands in fees and services per year has that effect on people. And since I wasn’t their client they saw no conflict of interest, just a concern that they’d lose Holt’s business if they didn’t cooperate.
It bugged me some that Ty had gone behind my back, asking about me, but since he already knew so much, I filled him in on the details. Most of them anyway.
I’d told him I was coming here today to confront the Pike Warner senior partners about everything, and he’d wished me luck. No offer to help—which I wouldn’t have taken—no suggestion of wild sex on the king-size Laura Ashley bed-in-a-bag sets, which I might have taken him up on. No nothing.
I guess he had a meeting to go to, or something.
But that was okay because I was going to handle things today all by myself. I was going to make my demands, thereby taking the first steps toward my new life. Then I was going to college. Really. Get a degree that would qualify me to do something important. And stop wasting my life.
I’d spent a little time last night wondering about Kirk’s plan to embezzle money from the firm. He probably never counted on the audit uncovering the scheme, but even then, he knew Pike Warner wouldn’t dig deep enough
to discover he was behind it. He knew they’d let it go rather than damage their reputation.
What Kirk probably never counted on was that I would figure out what he’d done. Maybe that didn’t matter to him either, since there was nothing I could do about it; I had no way to prove my innocence.
I could understand Kirk’s impatience, not wanting to wait to earn the kind of money he craved. Maybe he’d gotten caught up in the atmosphere at Pike Warner. Expensive clothes, handbags, jewelry, cars, everywhere you looked. I’d gotten caught up in it too, and had the credit card bills to prove it.
But that was my old life. I was moving on from there.
I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the glass doors as I walked into the lobby. Wow, I looked great. Those two old geezers up on sixteen didn’t stand a chance.
Chin up, gaze steady, I crossed the lobby with only a few butterflies tingling in my belly. The security guard who escorted me out of the building the last day I worked here gave me the evil eye, but I shot back my I’m-better-than-you eyebrow bob and he looked away. Wow, I was exuding confidence, self-assurance, and everybody better get out of my way because I was—
“Haley?”
I whirled around and saw Ty. And I fell completely apart. My knees shook, my hands trembled, my heart was pounding, and every intelligent thought flew out of my brain. I was so glad to see him my insides turned to mush.
Oh my God, I think that means I love him.
Ty gave me that little grin and he walked over looking devastatingly handsome in a gray Hugo Boss suit, and carrying a briefcase.
“I was afraid you’d changed your mind,” he said.
He’d been here? Waiting? For me?
“I wouldn’t miss this for anything,” I said, surprised that the words came out in the right order.
“I just heard from the hospital,” Ty said. “Evelyn is going to recover. Lots of rehab, but she’ll be fine.”
I was glad to hear that, and pleased that Ty cared enough about one of his employees to check; I’d go by the hospital and visit Evelyn later.
Ty looked me up and down, and his grin turned into a smile. “Ted and Gerald won’t know what hit them.”
Okay, I was guessing those were the senior partners. Maybe I’d pass on Ty’s regards to Teddy and Jerry when I got up there.
“Do you want me to come with you?” he asked.
Yes, yes, yes. I wanted him to come with me. To stand next to me, to give me courage. But I couldn’t let him.
“I have to do this myself,” I said.
Ty nodded. “What are you asking for?”
“I want an investigation. I want my name cleared.” And I wanted Pike Warner to know that I was somebody.
Ty opened his briefcase and handed me a videocassette. “This might help convince them. I got it from the GSB&T. It’s the surveillance tape showing Keegan and a female—not you, obviously—in the bank the day the accounts were opened.”
I gasped. Oh my God. I’d intended to go up to sixteen and threaten to go public if Pike Warner didn’t investigate the embezzlement charges and clear my name. I’d thought the prospect of all the negative publicity they’d receive would be enough to motivate them to get moving. But now I didn’t need that. I had evidence.
“This should help too,” Ty said. From his briefcase he pulled a Louis Vuitton organizer and handed it to me.
Oh my God. My Louis Vuitton organizer. The one I’d been dying for, willing to kill for.
I took it reverently between both hands.
“How did you know?” I whispered, unable to take my eyes off of it.
“You mentioned it a couple of times.”
I did? And he remembered it? Jeez, I’d better pay more attention to what I tell him.
I slid the videocassette into my Ferragamo bag and tucked the organizer under my arm—so everyone could see it and be jealous.
“You look great,” Ty said.
I felt great. My cheeks were a little warm, my outfit was hot, and my accessories were to die for. What more could I want?
Ty.
“One more thing,” he said. “After your meeting, can I take you out to celebrate?”
And finally, finally, my first ever, genuine, heartfelt of-course-you-can smile bloomed on my face.
We walked through the front door of Ty’s apartment. A single lamp burned in the living room. We had just finished a long dinner and I had way too much wine. My head was spinning a little.
This was so perfect. Ty’s place was very contemporary, very modern. He looked so handsome in the dim light. Over dinner we’d talked for hours about everything. He told me that the only reason he asked his lawyer and banker about me was that he was worried, because he cared about me, because he wanted to help. He asked if I would work for him opening the new Wallace, Inc., stores he was so excited about. And I told him that, after I got my degree, maybe I’d open my own stores and put him out of business, and he laughed, like I was the smartest woman in the world.
It was all so perfect. I was going to get my life together, I was going to be someone important, and Ty would be my boyfriend. We’d have romantic evenings. We’d talk about business. I’d study while he made dinner; then we’d feed each other strawberries and sip champagne on the balcony as the sun went down, and then—
Oh, wait. Never mind.
Ty touched my shoulder, turned me in his arms. Wow, he’s really warm. Deep, masculine heat is rolling off of him. He lowers his head and kisses me. Then kisses me harder. Then—
Oh my God, this is great. I’m kissing him back, and his hands are—jeez, that feels good—and he’s touching my—oh no, which bra did I wear? I can’t remember. Please, please, let it be the black demi-cups. Ty doesn’t seem to care. My blouse is open and his hands are—
Something is ringing. Ty stops. Now he’s groping himself. No, he’s looking for his cell phone. He yanks it out of his pocket and throws it across the room.
I fling my arms around his neck. He slides his hands down to my—oh, wow, that’s terrific. I loop my leg around his and—jeez, that’s really—
Something else rings. Over and over. Ty ignores it. He keeps kissing me and running his hands—
Then something starts pounding. Is it my heart? No, it’s the front door. Somebody is banging on the front door. They won’t stop. They keep at it.
Finally, Ty spins away, jerks open the door, and roars, “What?”
It’s Sarah Covington. Oh my God, it’s Sarah Covington. She rushes inside and starts blabbing about something. Then, suddenly, she stops midsentence and looks around.
I’m standing in the middle of the living room with my hair half down, my blouse is hanging open—the red lace push-up, even better—and Ty’s tie is gone, his shirt is open, and his—well, it’s obvious what’s going on.
Only Sarah doesn’t seem to care. No embarrassment, no apology, nothing. She just starts talking about some problem with an advertising agency.
Great. I wouldn’t miss this for the world. I’m standing here, staring, tapping my stiletto against the hardwood floor, and he’s going to toss her out of his apartment on her skinny ass. Then he’ll run back to me and we’ll—
Wait. He’s not tossing her out. He’s listening. Now he’s talking. Low, quiet. Using his business voice.
This can’t be happening. It can’t. Ty is leaving me standing here, looking like a complete dork, while he takes care of some problem with the company.
Claudia Gray flashed in my mind. What had Mom said was the reason she’d broken up with Ty? Because she knew she’d be always second in his life.
Was I no different?
What about my perfect life?
I buttoned my blouse. Something started ringing again, and I realized it was my phone. Good, now I had something to do other than watch Ty and Sarah confer over some huge business problem.
Jack Bishop was on the line.
“Have you seen Kirk Keegan?” he asked.
Kirk had been the furthest thing fro
m my mind.
“No, why should I?” I asked.
“He’s disappeared,” Jack said. “He was called to the senior partners right after your little visit with them. He took off. Nobody’s seen him since.”
“So?”
“They fired him. The accounts at GSB&T are frozen. He’s lost everything,” Jack said.
“Yeah? Well, serves him right,” I said. So Kirk might be mad at me because I’d ratted him out. What did he expect? I couldn’t care less about what happened to him. He was out of my life forever.
“I heard you had your way with the old guys up on sixteen,” Jack said, with a little laugh.
“I steamrolled them pretty good,” I said. “I think they liked it.”
“Must have,” Jack agreed. “I have it on good authority that they approved a settlement for you.”
A settlement? I guess with the way Pike Warner threw money around I shouldn’t be surprised. And having my back pay would be great. Except for the money I’d made at the purse party and my Holt’s income, I was still close to broke. I doubted the Golden State Bank and Trust would send me that credit card now.
“How do you feel about a hundred grand?” Jack asked.
My eyes popped open wider. Wow, a hundred grand. Just like that. Now I could pay for my classes and my books. I could go to school full-time. Perfect!
“I also have it on good authority that they intend to make you a counteroffer,” Jack said. “You impressed them, Haley, by figuring out what Keegan did. They’re going to offer you a position on the start-up team for the new office the firm is opening in San Francisco. Double your salary.”
“What?”
“Think about it,” Jack said. “They’re going to phone you with an official offer in the morning.”
Jack hung up and I just stood there, staring at the cell phone.
Oh my God. This couldn’t be happening. I’d figured out what I wanted to do with my life. College. A degree. An important career. Now I had the chance to move to San Francisco, be an integral part of a new operation, at double my pay?
What should I do?
I looked across the room, and Ty was still talking to Sarah. I’d thought he would be part of my plan. And he still could be. I was crazy about him. He felt the same about me. We could talk things out.
Handbags and Homicide Page 25