by Nora Snowdon
“How was it being back at the old hall?”
“Fine.” Lu served herself some salad. “We had a false alarm, and then a small house fire, so it was busy without being nerve-wracking.”
“Josh didn’t bug you about why you were working for me?”
“Nope. Ace was excited about some new video game and that took up all the free time.” She felt guilty not mentioning Reynolds’ odd behavior, but then again she didn’t want to add more conflict to Byron and Reynolds’ already dysfunctional relationship.
“Good.” He passed her the ribs and they gnawed on the bones in silence for a while.
“Anything more on Topdog?” Lu had named the case when she found out he didn’t have a catchy title. After all, she’d told him, they always have names for their undercover cases on the TV shows.
“The wiretaps are in place and we’ve got little old ladies transcribing it, even as we eat.”
She laughed. “Why little old ladies?”
“They’re reliable, good at typing, and generally like the excitement of working for the cops.”
“Seriously?”
“Yup. Some of them don’t like typing out all the swear words, but other than that they’re our best workforce.” He popped the last bite of his baked potato into his mouth. “It’s amazing how many hours of monotonous drivel they have to sit through while waiting for someone to discuss anything criminal. Although if the perps start discussing sick friends or what to buy their mothers, you sometimes worry about the listeners bonding with them.” He stood up to cut through another row of ribs. “Some more?”
“Please.” She pushed her plate closer. “So if Huang says anything incriminating, you can arrest him?”
“If we catch him doing it. Obviously we can’t arrest him for just discussing drug drops. What I’d like to do is to take out his top men so he’ll have to get his hands dirty. Otherwise he’ll weasel out again.”
“How do you take them out?”
“Book them on misdemeanors, but the timing has to be right. If suddenly just before a haul, I arrest four of his guys he might get suspicious. If I space it out better, the lawyers might get them out on bail too quickly to be useful. And then there’s always the insider leak to consider.”
“So I guess you’re essentially a one-man show until you catch that guy?”
“I can still use the beat cops.” He smeared a piece of carrot in the barbeque sauce. “It seems like a big harvest is coming in within the next couple of weeks. I’m hoping this bust, I’ll nail Huang and his henchmen and we can take out the upper tier.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?” Lu offered. “Although I’d rather not get hit again. I’m not sure how many times I can get whacked in the head before my brains will stop working altogether.”
“I think we’ll try to keep you out of this next bust, if you don’t mind.”
“Fine by me.” She poured herself some more wine. “How’s Kaitlynn’s boyfriend doing in rehab?”
“He’s been going. That’s the only info they’re allowed to pass on. Have you heard from Kaitlynn or her mom?”
“Susan is still going on about her wonderful boyfriend, and I think Kaitlynn now blames me for all her problems.”
“That’s the trouble with helping people, sometimes they’d rather be left alone.” Byron picked up her plate and cleared it to the kitchen with his own. “Dessert’s a little boring. I just bought a chocolate bar.”
“Mmm. No worries. Chocolate is always the right choice,” Lu reassured him. “Now fork it over, man.”
“Can I have one piece before you inhale the whole thing?” he asked with a pathetic look.
“Okay.” She broke off a couple of squares and passed it back to him. “By the way, Ace wanted to know if you’re doing the police/firemen’s games this year.”
“Do you want to? It’s in Germany in August. Have you booked your vacation days yet?”
“No. But how hard are the games?”
“You only compete in what you want. You could enter in the running or biking events. It’s not about winning so much as travelling and meeting other cops and fire fighters.”
“I’ll check with Reynolds to see if I can get the days off.”
“It’ll be our first vacation together. How romantic.” Byron broke off some more chocolate and passed the last piece back to her.
“No, giving me the last piece of chocolate, that’s romantic.”
*
Lu stifled a yawn as she pulled into her parking stall. It was eight-twenty-five in the morning and she’d just gotten off her last night shift for the week. Thank God it was over. She hadn’t been able to sleep either of her fourteen-hour night shifts because she’d been so freaked out by Reynolds. At first it had seemed like coincidences when she’d caught him looking at her. Then she’d realized he was actually staring at her. When he’d brushed against her on his way to the coffee, she knew it wasn’t just her paranoia.
Fuck. What the hell was wrong with the guy? And he’d called her Lu again. It wasn’t anything she could call him on, but she’d sure like him to stop. And then not telling Byron what was making her tense had put up a wall between them. Although he had been pretty tight lipped about his work, too. Instead of discussing what was bothering them they’d had a stupid argument about politics and Lu had stormed off. She’d managed to keep her exit fire-free, barely.
She automatically brought out her keys to Byron’s house before she remembered to pull out the apartment keys. God, she wasn’t even thinking of it as her home anymore. Now it was 'the apartment.' How long before she thought of Byron’s place as home? She already did, if she was honest with herself. No, too much self-honesty was probably a bad idea.
Lu unlocked the outer glass door and went to the mailbox. It was full, but mostly flyers and crap. She retrieved what looked like a card and two bills from the pile and recycled the rest. Susan’s frilly handwriting jumped from the square pink envelope. She opened it as she walked to the elevator.
“You’re invited!” a cute cartoon mouse called from the front of the card. Lu opened it curiously. “To the Bridal Shower of Susan Miller!” The cartoon mouse was dancing enthusiastically on the inside picture. Somehow Lu didn’t share the rodent’s obvious glee. The shower date was next Saturday at Susan’s apartment in Springfield and, Lu was surprised to read that she, Lu, was hosting it. A small piece of paper fluttered to the floor and she picked it up before getting on the lift.
“Hey Lu, Susan’s loopy writing continued on the pink note paper. “I’m so excited!!! He finally popped the question!!!!! Greg wanted me to keep our engagement a secret until his mother died—she’s an old witch who’s jealous of anyone else he pays attention to—but I told him I wanted to have a real engagement and wedding this time. Last time I was five months’ pregnant and Ross and I had a civil wedding. This time I’m doing it right, even if I have to do it all myself. BTW, I hope you don’t mind, I put on the invitations that you were throwing the shower for me. And could you could drive Kaitlynn up for it? I’m hoping she can meet Greg next week. I’ll call you on Thursday with more details. I’ve just been so busy with Greg (wink, wink) that I haven’t had a second to myself! xxoxoxoooo Susan SOON TO BE KELSO!!!!”
Lu groaned as she stepped off on the third floor. So much for Byron’s great advice. She should’ve told Susan right away that her Mr. Wonderful was a married con man. Two brightly colored papers were sticking out from under her door and she bent to pick them up. One was a notice that the water would be off from nine a.m. to noon Wednesday the twentieth due to exterior tap maintenance, and the other was that the electricity would be down on Monday the eighteenth—shit, that was yesterday—for eight hours. That would have destroyed her milk. Probably anything she’d left in her freezer, as well. As soon as she was inside, Lu dumped her backpack on the couch and made her way into her bedroom. Hugging her pillow to her chest, she curled up to go to sleep. Maybe things would seem better after a nap.
*
An alarm clanged in Lu’s ears. She struggled to run from the danger, but whatever it was kept grabbing onto her. With a violent wrench of her arm she managed to break free from her bondage and cry out for help. She shot upright and looked around in terror.
She was in her bedroom. Alone. There was daylight and her head hurt like hell. Her phone was ringing. It stopped as her answering machine finally took over. Lu closed her eyes and took a steadying breath. Then she noticed it, the faint taste of ashes in her mouth. And her fingertips were bloody hot. And there were singe marks on her duvet.
Shit!
A quick sniff revealed nothing. Maybe the phone woke her up before anything ignited? She got up and nervously looked out the window. Nothing seemed to be burning out there. She moved quickly to check the rest of her apartment. As she neared the bathroom she picked up speed. Fuck! The waste paper basket was emitting a stream of smoke and a noxious smell. Luckily she’d emptied it recently, but there were enough flaming tissues to melt the side of the plastic bin. Lu threw it in the tub and turned on the shower. A brief hiss and the fire was squelched.
Damn.
Lu stared at her warped garbage bin. Maybe I should be locked up. But would that stop it? And what about Byron? Even after a stupid fight, she couldn’t bear the thought of giving him up. She could control the fires. She just needed to learn to control her emotions. Easy-peasy. Piece of cake. Like taking candy from a baby.
After throwing out the charred evidence, Lu decided she needed to take things into her own hands. It was being at the mercy of other people’s crazy actions that was her downfall. First she’d deal with Susan and think of a way to gently clue her in to Greg’s other life. Then she’d plan how to neutralize Reynolds.
She felt better as she dialed Susan’s number. At least she was choosing her battles. Lu forced a cheery smile onto her face. Supposedly that would make her voice sound friendlier.
“Hi Lu!” Susan’s voice sounded bubbly enough for the both of them but Lu tried to match her.
“Hi Susan! Congratulations! I just got your shower invitation.” Lu’s cheeks already hurt from her fake smile.
“I know. Isn’t it fabulous? Will you be my bridesmaid? I mean I’d ask you to be my maid of honor, but I think Kaitlynn’s too old to be my flower girl. And you know, it would be kinda like the Gilmore Girls if she was my maid of honor. God, I just loved that show.”
“Um, yeah. No. I mean that’s fine. We’ll, um, sort out all the details when I get there. Have you guys set a date yet?”
“This September, either the eleventh or the eighteenth. Greg’s arranging a destination wedding. He won’t even give me any hints. He wants it to be a surprise. When are you coming to visit? You can help me shop for my bridal gown!”
“I thought I’d drive down today. We can do some shopping, hang out for a couple of days and then I’ll bring Kaitlynn on Saturday for the shower.”
“Oh goody, you’ll finally get to meet Greg. But hands off, he’s mine.” Susan laughed.
“That’s okay. I’ve already got my man,” Lu reassured her. “But don’t tell Greg I’m coming. Let’s surprise him.” Hopefully that way the guy wouldn’t leave town on business.
“I don’t know. He doesn’t like surprises.”
“But this is a good surprise. I mean we both love you, so obviously we’ll get along.” Lu could feel her nose growing. “Look, I’ve gotta go, but I’ll see you in a few hours. Bye now.”
“See you soon.”
Lu hung up the phone and glared at it in disgust. If it all went well, this was going to be an awful visit. She started to punch in Byron’s number and then remembered he was incommunicado until after eleven at night. Darn. She dialed his home number and left a message just so she could hear his voice on the machine. A quick shower, pack enough stuff for a couple of days, and then she was on her way.
*
It was coming up to two o’clock when Lu pulled into the Hilton Hotel guest parking in Eugene, Oregon. If it was going to be a miserable trip—scratch that. Since it was going to be a miserable trip, she should at least have a few additional comforts. Plus it meant she was staying in the hometown of the “Amazing Greg Kelso.” That would give them an easy excuse to drop by to meet him.
Lu realized with a start that she hadn’t even noticed most of her two and a half hour drive. God, that was scary. Had she paid attention on the road? At least from the taste in her mouth she was pretty sure she hadn’t inadvertently set any fires. With her lack of sleep she’d have to watch she didn’t spontaneously combust the scumbag boyfriend. Although it would solve a few problems, Susan might be a tad suspicious. Lu smiled. It seemed like offing the jerk would be using her powers for good rather than evil. Maybe others would disagree.
She grabbed her gym bag and purse and made her way to the hotel lobby. Yup, this was definitely a step up in accommodations, but she could afford it. Despite making significantly more money than back in her retail days, she hadn’t gotten around to increasing her spending habits. Her grandma’s warnings still rang in her ear, “You have to save your money so you don’t end up in the poor house.” The odd second-hand clothes Lu had worn, along with being taller than the other kids, had made her even more of a pariah in high school.
That was all behind her now. Barely glancing at the ornate lobby, Lu strode up to the registration desk.
“Hi. I have a reservation under Dawson?”
The reservation clerk looked about seventeen in her navy blue uniform. Her confident smile and quick response on the computer made her seem a little older. “There you are, Ms. Dawson. Room four-oh-two. I’ll just require your signature here and your credit card and you’ll be all set.”
“Thanks.” Lu got her plastic key card and headed for the elevators. Maybe she’d have a quick swim before she called Susan. No. She’d better not procrastinate. The sooner she met up with Susan, the more opportunity she’d have to expose the slimy boyfriend. And if she could do it and still appear blameless at the end, so much the better. The elevator was quick to arrive and deposit her on the fourth floor. Too bad she couldn’t take one of those home. But it would definitely be more difficult to conceal than a set of towels. The hallway carpeting was only marginally better than the one in her apartment hallways.
She pushed the key card in and waited for the green light. Two more attempts and the door finally decided she meant it. The inside of the room was innocuous enough. Lu threw her gym bag by the wall and fished her phone out of her purse. A deep breath, then she punched in Susan’s phone number.
“Hey Lu. Are you here?” Susan still sounded high on happy pills.
“Yup. I just checked into the Hilton in Eugene.”
“You’re not staying in Springfield?”
“I decided we should have a pool to celebrate. And they’ll have more bridal stores here for us to hit,” Lu added.
“You’re right. Do you want to come to my place and I’ll take you to see the gown I’m thinking about?”
“Why don’t you come here and we’ll look at some other stores. Then you’ll know if you’ve already picked the best. And there’s a restaurant Byron suggested in Eugene, so maybe we could go there for dinner.”
“Sure. What room are you in?”
“Four-oh-two.”
“Okay, I’ll see you soon. Bye.”
Lu fell back onto the comfy bed. Geez, Byron was right. It did get easier to lie the more you did it. Now she just had to look up restaurants and stores close to Slime-Bucket’s office, and she’d be all set. Lu picked up the hotel brochure to locate the business center. There she could Google all the info she needed.
*
After trooping through five bridal boutiques, Lu’s brain was numb with all the details. The sales clerks had patiently outlined the merits of the different fabrics, fasteners, and embellishments. One would clean better if Susan wanted her daughter to have the gown later. This was considered endlessly despite the fact that Kaitlynn was already a good thirty
pounds heavier and three inches taller than Susan. And would the silk one be more suitable if they got married on the beach?
“Why don’t we grab something to eat and think about what style you want?” Lu suggested when Susan started veering back to the gargantuan taffeta monstrosity for the fifth time. Not only did it make her look like the Michelin Man in drag, it was also the most expensive of the dresses she was looking at.
“Okay.” Susan fingered a white fur-trimmed gown as Lu pulled her out of the store. “I guess that would be too hot on a beach?” she asked wistfully.
“Definitely.” They walked a couple of blocks east before Lu stopped and looked up at a blue awning. “I think this must be the restaurant Byron suggested,” Lu said pushing open the blue and white painted doorway. The décor was reminiscent of ocean, sand and boats. A strong waft of garlic assailed them as soon as they walked in. “Oh yeah, this smells like a restaurant Byron would like.”
“Mmm, me too,” Susan agreed.
They ordered the lamb souvlaki dinners which were huge and arrived almost instantly. Despite the early hour, the place was busy. And it was a nice break from the constant stream of white dresses parading before her eyes. Lu bolted through her food, hoping they’d be able to catch Greg at his office before he left for the day. Susan seemed to be hurrying, too, probably hoping to visit ten more bridal shops before they closed. Luckily the waiter was equally swift with their bill and change and they were once more on the street.
Lu recognized Greg’s workplace quickly from the Google street picture she’d pulled up earlier on her computer. As they passed it, Lu pretended surprise.
“Hey. Isn’t that the company Greg works for?” Lu pointed to the pillar directory for the building.
“Which?” Susan quickly scanned the businesses listed. “You’re right! Wow. It’s a nice-looking building. I’ll have to tell him later we were here.”
“Shouldn’t we pop up and say, ‘Hi.’?” Lu asked. “I mean, if he’s with a client obviously we won’t interrupt. But otherwise we could just meet and see if he’s free to join us when he gets off.”