by Vakey, Jenn
“What is it you need from us?” Rilynne asked, still confused as to why they were called in.
A sudden smirk sneaked up on Wilcome’s face that made her quite nervous. “Lewis is looking for a replacement. Our undercover unit doesn’t have anyone who will fit the part, but you’d be perfect.”
“So you want me to go undercover?” she asked, still not entirely clear what they needed from her.
“Unless you don’t think you’re up to it yet,” Tylers said. His tone was more amused than condescending. She knew she was still missing something that they all found amusing. She looked over to Matthews for clarification, but he seemed just as confused about the situation in front of them.
“What do you need me to do?” she asked as she shifted her attention back to the grinning men.
Rilynne watched as the three men exchanged a pleased look before turning back to her. Whether it was due to the level of humor they saw in the situation, or the fact that they were being evasive, she was left feeling very uneasy.
Wilcome slid the file across the table to her. “We need a maid.”
Chapter Two
“You’re kidding,” she said, looking at them hesitantly. Their tones left her wondering if they were playing some kind of joke on her. If they were, Matthews apparently wasn’t in on it. His bemused look quickly vanished and was replaced by a wide-eyed grin.
“Actually, no,” Wilcome said. “Though after your interruption this morning, I would have considered it.”
Rilynne felt her cheeks starting to burn, but she quickly pushed it off. “So you want me to go undercover as a maid? We’re not talking about a skimpy little black, puffed out, lacy thing?” she asked as she gave him a hesitant look. “You know I’ll do just about anything for this department, but I draw the line there.”
Matthews let out a loud laugh as he pulled his hands up behind his head.
“I assure you it’ll be a standard maid’s uniform. Lewis may be an eccentric, but you won’t have to worry about any funny business. At least, not as far as we know,” Wilcome said. His tone didn’t leave her feeling any more confident about her new assignment.
“We spoke with the woman who runs the service he uses to hire all of his household staff, and she’s arranged for you to start in the morning,” Tylers said. “She should be sending over everything you need sometime today. We’ve also pulled all of the case information together, so you can get caught up.”
“Steele and Tylers will still be working the case on this end as they continue to try and obtain an interview from anyone within the manor. Matthews will be your handler. I’ll have your identity set up and a clean phone here for you by the end of the day,” Wilcome said. “Because of the sensitivity of the case, we’ll be running a deep cover assignment. You’ll be residing at the manor and are not to make any trips outside of those needed to maintain your cover identity. You’ll no doubt be watched very carefully, so your cover must be unflappable.”
Rilynne nodded as Wilcome stood up and left the room.
“Okay,” Steele said as he slid the file to Rilynne. “Here’s what we know so far. Brittney Price has been working for Lewis for just over a year. She’s been living in one of the staff rooms in the manor. Other members of the household staff include the butler, the chauffeur, the nanny, the gardener, the cook, and the security team. There’s also one other maid on staff.”
“In the house-” he flipped through the pages in the file, “-there’s Jared Lewis and his wife Cyndi. They have two children, Lorraine is four and Charlie is seven.”
“Who is this guy?” Rilynne asked as she looked over pictures of the manor. It looked more like a small castle than a house. She was sure it belonged in some wealthy community somewhere, not in Addison Valley.
“His family actually founded Addison Valley,” Matthews said, poorly hiding the note of disdain in his voice. “He still owns quite a bit of the property out here, as well as a large ranch on the outside of town.”
“Do you have a suspect?” she asked as she flipped through the pages.
Both Steele and Tylers shook their heads. “We’ve been unable to get anyone in the house to talk to us. The only thing that we know right now is she was killed during the time she would have been working. That leaves pretty much anyone in the house on the suspect list.”
“How was she killed?” Matthews asked.
“Her injuries were consistent with a fall down the stairs,” Tylers responded. “Among other injuries, she had a fractured skull, several broken ribs, and a broken arm.”
“And there was no possibility that the fall was an accident?” she asked.
Steele shrugged and answered, “Usually people don’t dispose of a body if it was only an accident. Dr. Andrews also found a bruise on her lower back that she appeared to have sustained right around the time of death, but it was not consistent with the fall. It appears that she was either hit with something that caused her to fall down the stairs, or she was in a physical altercation just prior to being killed. Either way, it doesn’t look as if it was an accident.”
Rilynne and Matthews spent almost two hours looking over every detail of the case. “I have some stuff that I’m going to need to take care of,” Rilynne said when they finished. “I’ll meet you back here in about an hour, and we’ll get everything ready.”
She grabbed the purse from her desk and headed to the elevator down the hall. Instead of going down, she pressed the up button.
The forensics lab was on the floor just above the homicide office. When she walked in, she found Ben, donning his usual polo and jeans, apparently lost in thought at his desk. He hadn’t even noticed her walk in until she sat down on the stool next to him.
“You’re definitely a sight for sore eyes,” he said as he leaned back in his chair. His chocolate brown eyes had dark circles under them, leaving her with the distinct impression that he hadn’t slept in days. “Would it be terribly inappropriate if I kissed you right now?”
Rilynne’s eyes shifted around the room before quickly moving back to Ben. “In a room full of people who now work under you, including your intern? I would have to say yes.”
Ben grinned as his eyes moved slowly across her face. He looked almost as if he were playing a mental game of connect the dots with the freckles on her cheeks. After a few seconds, he leaned forward and kissed her anyway.
Her cheeks started to burn, but she couldn’t keep herself from smiling.
“You hungry?” she asked.
He picked up the file that was spread out across his desk and slid it into his drawer. After locking it, he rose quickly from his seat. “You have no idea,” he replied.
“Good,” she said as they walked out the door and back toward the elevators. “I have something I need to talk to you about.”
He gave her a curious look as he reached out and pressed the down button, but seemed too tired to question her. Instead, he leaned his head against the wall of the elevator after they climbed in and closed his eyes until the doors opened on the first floor. He took her by the arm as they stepped out of the station and made their way across the street to the diner.
“So I have a new assignment,” she said when they sat down in the booth against the back wall.
“What case?” he asked with a puzzled look. “I haven’t had any calls come in for a new homicide case since Sunday. I was beginning to think the people of Addison Valley decided against killing people in general.”
Ben had received a promotion just two weeks before and was made the first forensic supervisor Addison Valley had ever named. With his new title came even more responsibility than he had before. He was now in charge of overseeing every case that came into the office, as well as assigning members of the forensics team to the crime scenes. This meant that he was always aware of any new murders to take place, sometimes even before Rilynne did.
“If you’re talking about the Brittney Price case, that would be the one,” she replied.
Her response didn’
t seem to ease his confusion. “I thought that was assigned to Tylers and Steele. Did they mess it up so bad that it changed hands?” He chuckled as he emptied several sugar packets into the coffee the waitress sat down in front of him.
“No, nothing like that,” she replied. “I’ll actually be going undercover in the Lewis manor in an attempt to talk to the members of the household staff. Price was one of the maids.”
Ben nearly dropped the cup as his eyes widened. “So you’re going undercover as a maid,” he said with an impish smirk. “I’ve heard Jared Lewis is a little… out there. So when you say maid, are we talking-”
“Oh hush,” she said, though her cheeks began to burn. “No. Eccentric as he is, I’ll be in a standard issue maid's uniform. Wilcome has assured me of that. Now get your mind out of the gutter.”
The playful smile on his face seemed to make him come alive, though Rilynne had a feeling that the large cup of coffee he quickly drained helped it along. Though his eyes still held the look of exhaustion, the rest of him seemed to finally be awake.
“So what does this undercover assignment entail?” he asked as the waitress refilled his cup. “The maid you’re replacing was killed; are you going to be in any danger?”
“No more than usual,” she replied.
“Quite a bit then,” he chortled.
Rilynne rolled her eyes, but could not blame him for the comment. In the time they had known each other, she’d been kidnapped twice, been at the center of a bar fight, and injured herself-due entirely to her exceptional clumsiness-more times than she could count. The last of these incidents, happening just months before, also resulted in Ben getting shot.
“If a second member of their staff were to turn up dead, there would be no way to halt the investigation,” Rilynne said, trying to reassure him. “I guarantee no one there would want that. It’s just a standard undercover assignment. The only reason I’m doing it instead of a member of the vice squad, is they don’t currently have any women.”
He didn’t seem to be as comfortable with the assignment as she was, but it was as much as she expected.
“How long?” he asked.
Rilynne shrugged. She knew his concern, even without him stating it. They had decided to start dating three months before, but everything seemed to be getting in the way. Ben had to spend the first month working nights so he could hire and train a new overnight forensics team. When they finally were able to make it out on their first date, Rilynne received a call from her past that interrupted it. Shortly after that, Ben was shot by Rilynne’s husband and he was stuck in department-ordered bed rest for another month. Everything had finally started to settle down when Ben received his promotion, which left him at the office even later than normal. Despite all of that, they had still been able to see each other around the station or whenever they had time off. Rilynne knew that being on an undercover assignment would be different. Chances are they wouldn’t see each other at all until the assignment was complete.
“Hopefully it won’t be too long,” she said. “But Wilcome has ordered that I refrain from seeing anyone or going anywhere that doesn’t strictly fit into my cover story.” She could see the disappointment on his face, even with him trying hard to hide it. “I’ll have a clean phone, though,” she continued. “It’ll be how I communicate with Matthews; he’ll be my handler. We should be able to get one for you, also. I won’t be able to talk much, but we can still keep in touch.”
He grinned at her suggestion. “I didn’t think they allowed stuff like that when you’re working undercover.”
“They don’t,” she replied. “You’re in the department, though, so it’s a little different. I’m sure I can work something out. I’ll just inform Wilcome that it would be helpful if I could speak to our forensic supervisor in the event that I should find any evidence and have a question about the proper way to handle it.” She chuckled softly as she watched him slowly shake his head. “There’s something I could really use your help with while I’m under, if you have the time,” she continued. He nodded, looking curiously at her. “Lori just joined our department and she’s still looking for a place to live. Can you make sure she gets with Avery Steele, and that she has everything she needs until I’m done?”
“Of course,” he replied. “I didn’t know she was moving down here. Where’s she staying until she gets a place of her own?”
“My house,” she stated. “Kim’s with her mom in Dallas until she gets set up. And I didn’t know she was moving, either. She just showed up in the office this morning, and Wilcome told us she’d been hired. The timing couldn’t have been worse, though. I can’t believe I’m going to be undercover instead of getting to show her around.”
“I’ll take care of it,” he said.
Rilynne watched the waitress walk across the room balancing plates on her arms. After dropping three of them off at the table across from theirs, she delivered their food.
“What are you going to do if they don’t serve cheeseburgers?” he asked. She pulled the bun off of her burger and poured ranch dressing over it before putting it back together.
“I don’t live off of them,” she laughed. He chuckled and looked at her with an expression of pure disbelief. “All right, I can live without them if I have to.”
He rolled his eyes and took a bite of his sandwich.
“I didn’t know people actually had staff living on the property anymore,” Ben said a few moments later.
“Neither did I,” she replied. “Apparently Lewis is paranoid when it comes to people coming and going. He supposedly runs background checks even more extensive than most government agencies. They’re going to have to go really deep when they set up my new identity.”
He drained the last of his coffee before pushing the cup to the end of the table. “It still sounds strange to me. I understand having a live in nanny and butler. I can even see having a chauffeur on the property, but the maids and cook just don’t make sense to me.”
“There’s also a gardener,” she said as she shrugged. “What can I say, rich people tend to be a little strange.”
He looked like he wanted to comment on her statement, but before he could, the waitress walked up to refill his cup again. By the time she left, he seemed to have lost interest in what he wanted to say.
“So are there going to be pictures of this maid uniform?” he asked playfully before sipping from his steaming mug. Rilynne kicked out under the table and caught him in the shin as his phone started to ring. “Ouch,” he said before answering it.
While Ben talked, Rilynne turned her attention to the couple bickering at the end of the bar. They must have been in their eighties, though they seemed highly energetic. The woman, whose hair was almost completely white, was standing over her husband with her hands on her hips. Rilynne couldn’t make out what she was saying, but she was noticeably upset about something. Her husband, still sitting at the bar, seemed to be more interested in his soup than the argument she was making.
“Well, I just got a call so I better be going,” he said as he finished his coffee. “I’ll walk you back. I’m sure you need to start trying on that new uniform of yours.”
Rilynne smacked him on the arm as he walked past her, but it didn’t wipe the grin off of his face.
Ben took her by the arm and walked her to the front doors of the station before heading toward his car. Instead of riding the elevator up to the homicide office, she decided to make a quick stop by the morgue.
“Dr. Andrews,” she said when she found the coroner sitting at his desk. Her first impression of him only strengthened since their introduction nine months before. His round belly, along with his fluffy white hair and beard, left him with a striking resemblance to Santa. This was only compounded by his frequent red attire and his month long vacation starting at the beginning of December. Had she still believed in Santa, she might have questioned his true identity. “How’s your grandson enjoying his karate classes?”
“Sadly, he’s quic
kly losing interest. He’s more concerned with hitting people on one of those video games than anything else these days,” he stated with a displeased look. “So, what case would you like me to look back over today?”
“No cold cases for me today,” she stated as she sat down in front of him. “I’m actually going undercover on the Price case. I was wondering if you could give me any clues as to where I should start looking.”
He spun around in his chair and pulled the filing cabinet drawer open. After a moment, he emerged with a file.
“Let’s see,” he said as he put his glasses on. “Brittney Price, age twenty-three, suffered numerous broken bones, as well as several contusions. Her right lung was puncture by a fragment of broken rib, which resulted in internal hemorrhaging. Judging by the injuries she received, it appears that she fell down a flight of stairs.” He put the file down and looked up at Rilynne. “I was considering the possibility of it being an accident until I discovered the bruise on her lower back. She was struck with something long and narrow at the time of her death. Other than that, I’m afraid there isn’t much I can tell you. The body was submerged, so we weren’t able to pull anything useful off of it.”
“Do you know when she was put into the lake?”
His face twisted in contemplation. “I can’t give you an exact time. I can estimate that she was in the water for at least thirty-six hours. It’s possible she was put in the water immediately after death, but I cannot give you a definite answer. The only thing I do know for sure is she was already dead when she went in.”
“If you can think of anything else, please let me know,” she said as she offered him her hand.
*
“Okay,” Wilcome said as he walked back into the conference room. “You’re now Naomi Howard, formerly of Bandera, Texas. Because they do such in depth research into their employees, we’ve included everything from high school transcripts to a library card. The agency is usually responsible for checking all references, but we’ve made sure the numbers will be operational in case someone from the Lewis manor calls.”