by Vakey, Jenn
“What about the woman who runs the agency?” Rilynne asked.
“Believe it or not, she’s actually in a book club with Sherri,” Wilcome said. “I called her this morning, and she’s agreed to cooperate with us as long as we insure that no one will know. People like the Lewis’ won’t work with someone they don’t feel they can completely trust.”
Rilynne nodded and said, “So above anything, my identity can’t be discovered; not even after the case is closed.”
“Exactly,” he said. “With how deep this cover is, though, we’ll want to keep it intact in case we ever need to use it again.” Rilynne gave him a suspicious look that he countered with an amused grin. “I’m not saying you’ll ever need to be a maid again. The cover is clean enough to be used for just about anything.”
Rilynne read over the file Wilcome handed her. Naomi Howard-who luckily shared the same birthday with her-had moved to Addison Valley from Bandera two years ago. Just two months shy of her twenty-seventh birthday, Naomi had been cleaning houses since she graduated from high school.
“You couldn’t have made me a little younger?” she asked. “I thought we’d been over this; I’ll be turning twenty-three again this year.”
Wilcome chuckled and rolled his eyes. “Why don’t you just concentrate on familiarizing yourself with the details of the case, and I’ll work on finding a therapist to help relieve you of your delusions.”
“Oh hush,” she said. He rounded the corner out of the conference room just in time to avoid the highlighter she threw at him.
Rilynne combed over every detail of her new identity, committing it all to memory. They had even compiled a detailed history on the families she was to have worked for, so she would be able to answer any questioned asked of her. She stopped and laughed when she read over the list of books they had included as rentals with her library card.
“Seriously?” she asked as she looked up at Wilcome when he walked back in. He had a mischievous grin on his face as he started to chuckle. “Do I really look like I spend all of my time reading vampire novels and books written for teenagers?”
Wilcome’s amusement was shared between the others in the room.
“It was a joint effort,” he replied shortly. “You can blame Steele for the vampire books. I think he’ll be receiving more grief than you will, though, because he seemed to know every book in the series by name.”
“What?” Steele asked defensively. “I have a sister, and she seemed to really enjoy them. I swear it’s all she talked about for months.”
Rilynne rolled her eyes. “Next time I’m going to have say over some of this stuff.”
The men continued to laugh as she returned her attention to the file laid out in front of her.
“I’ve got it!” Matthews’ voice echoed through the room a few moments later. Rilynne looked up and found the case file sitting in front of him. “It was the butler.” Rilynne peered at him curiously, and found only a cocky smile as he leaned back in his chair.
“And why do you say that?” she asked.
He shrugged. “It’s always the butler.”
Rilynne laughed and slowly shook her head. “I guess we don’t need to bother with any actual police work then. What are we going to do with the rest of the day?”
“Well, we could find out why Steele likes these books so much,” Tylers offered.
“Thanks man,” Steele said, punching Tylers in the arm. He countered by pushing his elbow back toward him, hitting Steele with just enough force to cause his chair to topple backwards.
The room filled with laughter as Steele’s feet flew up over his head and he flipped backwards. “You all right?” Tylers asked as he reached back to help Steele back on his feet.
“I’m going to get you back for that one,” Steele chuckled and pulled his chair back up.
“Oh really?” Tylers seemed unconvinced. “I’d like to see you try.”
The mischievous grin on Steele’s face was undeniable. “Don’t forget you’re dating my sister,” he said smoothly.
Rilynne was surprised when she learned Avery was dating Ernie Tylers. Not only were Steele and Tylers partners, they were best friends. They were so close, in fact, that she thought they were brothers when she first arrived in town. The belief was only aided by the fact that they looked so much alike, with the same dark hair and green eyes. The only remarkable difference between them was their difference in height, Tylers being a few inches taller. With as close as they were, she would have never imagined Steele would be all right with Tylers dating his younger sister.
Tylers’ face went instantly blank. “Low blow man, low blow.”
When the chuckling finally died down, Rilynne returned her attention to the details of her cover story. By the time she had it all down, Matthews had finished with the case file and passed it back to her.
She read through it half a dozen more times, trying to memorize every detail possible. After she was sure she’d learned everything she could, she began working through the staff files that had been pulled together.
Every member of the staff had been employed by the Lewis family for over three years, aside from the victim. Trying to get information out of the group would have its challenges. While the members of the staff were sure to have intimate details about each other’s lives, it wouldn’t be easy to get anything out of them. Much like the police department itself, people who worked so closely together had a tendency to become protective of those around them. In a way, they were more like a family than just coworkers. If a member of the staff were involved in the death, there was a definite possibility the others would be willing to assist in covering it up. All she could do was hope that if there were such a bond between them, it wouldn’t be too strong to be broken.
She carefully combed through every detail of the case until long after the sun sank below the windows in the conference room. Her eyes were starting to burn when she finally closed the files in front of her and walked back into the office.
Lori was sitting at her desk, working through the department manuals.
“I’m going to call it a day,” Rilynne said as she reached for her purse. “Do you want to follow me back to the house, or do you still have stuff to do around here?”
Lori shook her head and stood up. “I’m ready. I finished all of my paperwork earlier, so I’ve just been flipping through these so I can get an idea about the way the station is run.”
“Well in that case, I’ve got a bottle of wine with our names on it,” Rilynne said with a grin as they stepped out the door and headed toward the elevator.
“So tell me about this case you’re going to be working,” Lori said as Rilynne pressed the down button. “In an office full of men, no one seemed to know anything beyond the maid aspect.”
Rilynne rolled her eyes as the elevator doors slid open. “Of course not,” she groaned. “Follow me back to the house, and I’ll fill you in over that bottle of wine.”
The street was dark and damp. She’d heard the raindrops slapping the conference room window hours before, but hadn’t realized it rained as much as it had. There was over an inch of water sitting in the rain gage outside the front door to the station.
The storm had blown through quickly, leaving a star-speckled sky above them. Rilynne glanced up and grinned before climbing into her car. Despite all of the time she’d been in Addison Valley, she still hadn’t gotten used to the vastness of the sky.
Lori pulled into the driveway behind Rilynne. After unlocking the front door and throwing her purse down, she helped Lori empty her trunk. Unlike Rilynne, Lori seemed to over-pack. She’d only planned on living out of her suitcases for two weeks at most, but even after lugging the fifth large suitcase into the house, she wondered aloud if she’d packed enough. All Rilynne could do was laugh and roll her eyes.
After dragging everything into the guest room, Rilynne grabbed a bottle of wine out of the kitchen and threw her own suitcase onto her bed.
She worked her way
through the closet, pulling out everything she thought she would need, and threw them onto the bed. Unlike the men, Lori was more interested in the case as she explained it than the fact she would be working undercover as a maid. By the time she finished pulling all of her clothes out of the closet, she had already gone over all of the details from the case file. She filled her wine glass and climbed on the bed.
“So how are things with you and Ben?” Lori asked as she hopped up on the bed next to her.
“They would be better if we ever actually got to spent time together,” Rilynne replied honestly as she placed a folded shirt into the bag. “Between injuries and our work schedules, it’s been a difficult task. The time we’ve had together has been great, though.”
Lori grabbed a shirt off of the pile and began folding. “Good. You two really are cute together,” she said. “No relationship is going to be perfect. If your work schedules are the only problem you’re running into, you’re still miles ahead of most.”
Rilynne grinned. “Speaking of relationships,” she said with a playful smile. “I told you that I had the perfect guy for you, and that hasn’t changed.”
“Well, I guess I’ll have to wait for your assignment to be finished before I get to meet him,” said Lori. She had a flicker of excitement in her eyes that made Rilynne smile.
“No, it’ll be much easier than that,” Rilynne said. “He lives next door.”
“Oh really?” she asked while peeking out of the open window.
Rilynne laughed as she hastily stuffed the remainder of the pile into the suitcase. “Tell you what,” she said as she slid off the bed. “Why don’t we take the rest of this bottle out to the front porch. If you’re lucky, he might step outside so you can see him.”
Lori was already off the bed and out the bedroom door before Rilynne picked up the bottle sitting on her nightstand. Rilynne shook her head as she followed her through the house and out the front door.
“I’m going to love this weather,” Lori said as she dropped into one of the cushioned patio chairs. “I never really enjoyed the cold. It’ll definitely be a nice change.”
Rilynne chuckled. “Just wait until the summer. You’ll take that back as soon as you have to spend the day outside at a crime scene when it’s over a hundred.”
Lori shrugged and finished the last of her wine.
“Are you sure you don’t mind me staying here while you’re gone?” Lori asked as she refilled her glass. “I really wouldn’t want to impose. It wouldn’t be any trouble at all to get a hotel room until I can find a place of my own.”
Rilynne replied without hesitation, “Don’t be silly. You and Kim are welcome for as long as you need. You should talk to Jerkins about the preschool he uses. I know he and his wife love it. I tried calling Avery Steele, the real estate agent, but I wasn’t able to get a hold of her. Ben said he would make sure to get you two together, though.”
“How long do you think you’ll be undercover?” she asked.
“No clue. Feel free to bring Kim down when you’re ready. There really isn’t anything in the house that she can get into, but you’re welcome to move anything around you need to,” Rilynne said. “If you need anything, just call Ben. Everyone else in the station will also be more than happy to help you out in anyway needed.”
Lori nodded and turned toward her. “Okay, so fill me in on everyone. Is it just the eight of you, aside from Detective Wilcome?”
“After the Pirate Killer case was closed, almost half of the detectives were transferred out. While we still have our fair share of murders here, it’s nothing compared to the larger cities,” Rilynne explained. “Let’s see… First there’s my partner, Todd Matthews. As I’m sure you noticed today, he isn’t nearly as shy and nervous while at work as he is outside of it. I’m trying to get him come out of his shell more while out socializing, but it’s slow moving. He and his wife, Katy, have been married for eight years. They’ve put off having kids, but started trying a couple months ago. I think he feels that they’re too old, but he’ll do anything for Katy.”
“He’s what, thirty-five?” Lori asked. “He hasn’t even started to gray. That isn’t even close to too old to have kids.”
“Thirty-four, actually. I agree with you, though. Besides, I know he’ll make a great dad,” she stated. “After that, there’s Brent Jerkins. He’ll be your partner as soon as Skinner retires. He’s kind of the opposite of Matthews, very quiet around the office but really opens up when we go out. He and his wife had their second child last year. Then there’s Thomas LaShad. He’s the captain of our department’s boxing team.”
Lori raised her eyebrow in amusement. “There’s a department boxing team?”
Rilynne bobbed her head up and down. “Now LaShad is partnered with Frank Donovan. He’s the youngest member of our unit, and is currently dating Ben’s intern, Scarlett. That leaves Jeremy Steele and Ernie Tylers. They look remarkably alike, but they aren’t related. Tylers is actually dating Steele’s sister, Avery. They’re both great detectives, but enjoy goofing around. They’re kind of like the class clowns, but they are always serious when the time calls for it.”
“Quite a group,” Lori stated. She kicked her feet up onto the small table in front of them and sank down into her chair. “I think I’ll fit in just fine. Now, tell me more about this boxing team.”
“You like that, do you?” Rilynne laughed. “Good, because the cute guy next door happens to be on a boxing team, as well.”
“Oh really?” she chuckled.
Rilynne nodded with amusement at how pleased Lori seemed to be. Though she was sitting right there in front of her, it was still hard to believe her old friend was going to be living so close now. “He and Ben actually boxed last year. I didn’t see it, but I heard it was a good match.” A twinge of guilt hit her as she looked back up to the sky. She may not have been at the match, but she had seen it.
“Well how long do you think we’re going to have to wait out here before I get a glimpse of him?” she asked.
“With as late as it is, I hate to say that you’ll probably have to wait until tomorrow,” Rilynne grinned as she emptied the last of her glass. “I usually see him on my way to work, though. He leaves around then to take his son to school.”
“He has a son?” she asked, but didn’t wait for an answer before continuing. “Divorced?”
“Widower,” Rilynne responded.
As the word left her lips, the sound of a door to the left echoed toward them. Rilynne and Lori simultaneously turned as Joe Ackerman-wearing only a pair of plaid pajama bottoms-walked out onto his front porch. He stepped around to the side of the house, then after dropping the garbage bag in his hand into the trashcan, dragged it out toward the street.
Rilynne glanced from Joe to Lori and found her wide-eyed with her jaw hanging open. “I told you,” she said softly, returning her gaze to Joe. He placed the can on the curb and turned back toward his house, waving when he saw them watching him.
“Usually when someone describes a man, they tend to embellish. You didn’t seem to do him justice.” The grin on her face made Rilynne chuckle.
“It’s not like I could really go on and on about his looks,” Rilynne said as Joe disappeared back into his house. “He and Ben aren’t exactly on the best of terms. I don’t think Ben would have appreciated it much.”
“And you won’t tell me why that is?” Lori asked curiously.
Rilynne shrugged, careful to keep her expression casual. “They just don’t click well,” she stated. “I’m sure with time they’ll get over it. We might even be able to double date sometime.”
Lori grinned and finished the last of her glass. “I think this move is definitely a good idea.”
Rilynne laughed and emptied the last of the wine bottle into their glasses. After setting the bottle down, she turned to face Lori. “So, why did you really decide to make the move down here?” she asked. Lori opened her mouth to answer, but the stubborn look on Rilynne’s face seemed t
o stop her. “Come on, I know you better than that.”
With a resigned sigh, Lori rested her head against the back of the chair. “I worked this jumper case a few months back. It was a woman who had been the target of a stalker for a little over a year. I interview him during the investigation, and although he was the leading factor in her choosing to take her life, I couldn’t charge him with anything,” she explained. “Well, a few days after the case was closed, I started getting phone calls from him several times a day. After that, the gifts started coming. First they just went to the office, but after a couple weeks they started showing up on my doorstep.”
Though she spoke very composedly, Rilynne could tell that even speaking about it left her uneasy.
“I did everything I could through the department, but his advances only became more frequent. I decided it would be best for Kim and me to move away. With any luck, he’ll lose interest and not try to track me down.”
Rilynne reached out and took Lori by the hand. “It always bothered me that we couldn’t do more in stalker cases. Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked. In all of the time she had known Lori, she’d never seen her look so bothered. “Why didn’t you say anything while I was up there?”
“You had enough on your plate at the time,” she said kindly. “Besides, there’s nothing you could have done.”
Rilynne grinned. “With everything I had going on, I would have really enjoyed having an ass to kick.” Lori laughed along with her. “At least promise me if he does track you down again, you’ll let me know. I mean it.”
Lori nodded and glanced back over toward Joe’s house. “So when do you think you’ll be able to get me that introduction?”
Chapter Three
The sun was almost blinding as it peeked through the trees and struck her face. When her eyes adjusted, she could see her usual jogging path stretched out in front of her.
“Perfect weather for a jog,” a voice came suddenly from behind her. She turned just in time to see a woman rushing past her. Something about her seemed familiar but she couldn’t place her. Not wanting to let her pass without finding out who she was, Rilynne set off after her.