A Few Good Women (Lexi Graves Mysteries, 9)

by Camilla Chafer

"I'm so sorry we surprised you, but I had to insist to your boss that we needed you. You have to take our case," continued Cynthia, before Solomon could react.

  "They were very convincing," he said. "I'd like you to hear them out."

  "I haven't seen you all for years," I said, still struggling for words. To Solomon, I added, "You know who they are?"

  He nodded, which did nothing to appease me. If he knew who they were, and the impact the Steadmans had on my life, why would he have called me in to meet them? I had nothing against Cynthia, Sarah, and Maris, personally, but I never expected to see any of them again. Not since my fast exit from the Steadmans' life.

  "Take a seat," said Solomon, indicating the one available chair at the side of the room. It was not quite on Solomon's side of the desk, but definitely not on the Steadman side.

  "We need your help," said Cynthia. "We don't know where else to turn."

  "Did something happen to one of you?" I asked, looking into each of their faces. Neither gave away a thing, which made my stomach drop. I had an awful feeling about the kind of help they needed and felt pretty sure they knew I was the last person who would offer any. That meant they must have exhausted every other potential Samaritan and were now desperate. Desperate people worried me. Desperate indicated a huge disaster for them and a bombshell for me.

  "No, not us," said Sarah.

  "We want you to help Anthony," blurted Maris.

  "You want me to help Anthony?" I repeated, pointing a finger at her chest and doing nothing to mask the appalled look on my face. If the Steadmans had the audacity to ask for my help, they could see exactly what I thought of it. It was an emotion they should have anticipated and possibly did.

  The sisters glanced at their mother. Sarah raised her eyebrows. Maris had the grace to look embarrassed. "I told you this was a bad idea," she muttered.

  Cynthia, ever the proud matriarch, took over, "I know this must come as a huge surprise to you, but Anthony is in trouble..."

  I couldn't stifle the sarcastic laugh that burst from my mouth. "That comes as no surprise to me!"

  "Let me rephrase... We know it must come as a huge surprise to you that we're here asking you for help. We know you and Anthony had problems in the past, but we hope you can ignore that for now and help us. It was so long ago and I told him what a naughty boy he was. We have nowhere else to turn and we're truly desperate."

  "He's being framed," Sarah interjected again. "You have to believe us, Lexi, please."

  "If Anthony is in trouble, it's because he did something," I replied tersely, even though honesty was never the best policy with the Steadmans. Their problem was simple: they didn't want to hear it. I wasn't even sure they could comprehend it. Anthony was their golden boy. Unfortunately, they didn't see his gold was merely cheap plating covering the walking, talking, human equivalent of brass, which would eventually turn a finger green. He could say anything, do anything, or hurt anyone, and they would find some excuse for his behavior.

  "We know he's acted badly in the past..." Cynthia paused while I scoffed, then continued, "Boys will be boys but this is very serious. He could go to prison for a long time. Lexi, darling, he's being framed for fraud. Will you please look into our case and help him?"

  "I'm sorry, no," I said as bluntly and firmly as I could. While I didn't like Cynthia, I didn't wish her any ill or misfortune either. She could be a nice person, warm and generous, but she adored her son to a fault. "I'm sorry Anthony put you in the position you now find yourself and him in, but this isn't a case for me. If you believe Anthony is innocent, you need an investigator who also believes in him. That, unfortunately, is not me."

  "But you know him so well. Anthony was your fiancé!" said Cynthia.

  "Anthony Simon Steadman is not someone I really ever knew and he is not a man I wish to help. I'm sorry for your predicament but you came to the wrong person. I don't ever want to see him again," I said. Before anyone could object or try to make me think differently, I got up and walked out of the office, leaving my no good ex-fiancé’s family in my wake. I had no doubt that it was an excellent decision.

  Chapter Two

  "I knew Anthony Simon Steadman was trouble the moment I realized his initials spelled A-S-S!" Lily was furious and I was fairly sure it wasn't entirely for my benefit. After all, my charming ex-fiancé once hit on her and not just one time. Thankfully, she didn't try to hide it, and her telling me about his behavior was just the beginning of the end of that romantic relationship. A revelation like that might have ruined some friendships, but Lily had been my loyal friend from the day I first met her and I trusted her implicitly. Anthony, meanwhile, was someone I couldn't forgive and tried my best to forget. That was going great until I walked into the office to find his mom and sisters sitting opposite the true love of my life, Solomon.

  "When did you realize that?" I asked.

  "It took me six months but the point is: I got there. It was the journey, not the destination... No, it was the destination... oh whatever! His initials spell ass!" Lily reached for the cups at the end of the counter – mine, a hazelnut-infused black, hers an, herbal tea — and I paid the cashier before we beelined to a free table. We took chairs opposite each other and I casually glanced around the room of midday drinkers. None of them looked like they had the same kind of shock I just had. If it were any later in the day, and Lily were any less pregnant, I wouldn't be rehashing the events over coffee. It would have been over a pitcher of vodka cocktails in a bar. "So what are you going to do?" she asked.

  "Ignore the Steadmans and hope they go away. And don't decide to bring Anthony to the agency. I really hope he gets caught for whatever he did this time."

  "You're so full of hope. It makes me happy."

  "One thing I'm not full of is forgiveness. Anthony is a creep and a liar. Whatever they say he's being framed for, he probably did it," I said with absolute certainty. I could catalog the crimes I knew he committed so easily. It was probably shorter to list the ones he hadn't done. I had to force myself to ignore what his latest ill-fated venture entailed. I doubted very much that he was being framed as Cynthia so adamantly claimed.

  "You would think they might realize that after everything he's already done."

  "Normal people would, but Cynthia isn't normal. She will always insist Anthony is her perfect wonder boy. He can do no wrong. Even today she said — can you believe it? – ‘boys will be boys’! The same goes for his sisters. They believe he's wonderful and charming, so he plays up to that. Even when he's being vile, they think he's just a charming rogue."

  "Spoilt little jerk! Do you blame the mom? Most people blame the mom. Do you think this baby will blame me for everything?" Lily frowned as she pulled on one big blonde curl and then let it spring back.

  "Probably," I said, nodding sincerely. I couldn't help laughing at her appalled expression.

  Lily pulled a sad face and patted her belly. "I'm going to bring it up with good morals and excellent fashion sense."

  "Anthony had good fashion sense."

  "And sticky fingers and roving eyes," Lily reminded me. "But that brings me back to my original question..."

  "How?"

  "I have no idea but we're going back there. What are you going to do?"

  "I think walking out of the office was a big fat clue to everyone concerned that I have no interest in taking on any case involving Anthony." I paused. It wasn't just the Steadmans I refused. It was my boss-slash-fiancé too. I wondered what he thought of the Steadmans’ appearance, since he indicated he knew exactly who they were. "I should call Solomon. He might be mad at me. Do you think I should?"

  "You should. He just had your ex-fiancé’s family crowding his office and asking for your help because of your prior relationship with ASS-man. I can't see how he could be mad but that had to be weird for him."

  I groaned and closed my eyes. "I didn't even think about that."

  "He's probably worried about you."

  "He hasn't called." I checked my p
hone again, just to be sure. Nope. I dropped my phone back into my purse.

  "He's letting you cool off. He knows he sprung it on you."

  "Whose side are you on? Or are you playing devil's advocate?"

  "Is that a new kind of avocado?"

  "Ad-vo-ca— oh, never mind." I stopped as Lily giggled.

  "Between you and Solomon? Yours. I love him obviously but I love you more," she told me. "That’s why we're BFFs."

  "Whom do you love more when it’s between me and the baby?" I asked, teasing.

  Lily thought about it for a moment. "That's a totally unfair question. I haven't met the baby yet."

  "I'll ask again after it's born."

  "Call Solomon. Don't let him worry unless you want him to, in which case, you should probably call him and tell him he better be worried!" We both paused to consider that logic but it was too much to get my head around so I took a sip of coffee. "Hey, what if he took the case anyway?" asked Lily.

  "He would never!" But even as I said that, I fished for my phone from my purse and hit speed dial, hoping he didn't agree to accept the Steadmans’ case. Soon as I thought about it, I realized I hadn't stuck around long enough to find out exactly what the case was about. I had no clue why the Steadmans were so desperate that they'd exhausted all avenues before turning to me. Anthony could have done anything, and may even have been genuinely framed but I doubted that. It was far more likely Anthony had gotten on the wrong side of someone, slept with the wrong woman, or stolen something. However, knowing Anthony like I did, probably all of the above. I must admit there was a tiny part of me that was curious. I wondered what Anthony had gotten himself into this time although an enormous part of me wanted nothing to do with him or his predicament. What if Solomon had a different conclusion? What if he saw some kind of merit in the case? My thoughts were interrupted as Solomon answered almost immediately. "Hey," I said, trying not to sound sullen.

  "Hey," he replied. "Where are you?"

  "Coffee shop with Lily."

  "You blew out of the office pretty quick."

  "I'm sorry. I should have shown the Steadmans out first. I'm sorry I left you in that position."

  "What position? Playing nice to your ex's family? That's no big deal. I'm just concerned about you. Are you upset?"

  "I'm fine."

  "Uh-oh," said Solomon.

  "No, really, I am actually fine, just surprised. You caught me off guard."

  "You told me about Steadman. I didn't mean to blindside you with his family."

  "I know." I paused, then said, "I might not have come if I’d known it was them."

  "They were insistent on meeting you. Their name didn't click until after I called you and they started talking about wonder boy. So, I'm sorry. It was accidental. They're gone now."

  "You didn't take their case?"

  "I told them I would think it over but I probably won't."

  "Because of me?"

  "Mmm-hmm."

  Relief spread through me, easing the ache at my temples and the stiffness of my spine. I breathed deeply, taking in the scent of hot coffee, warm cookies, and raspberry lip gloss. "Thank you."

  "I have another job for you," he said.

  I brightened, relieved at the change in topic. "Yeah?"

  "You heard of Booth Realty?"

  "Sure. Who hasn't? They're Montgomery's biggest realtor. Why did they hire us?"

  "Someone's been breaking into their model homes and some other houses they manage as part of their housekeeping and management arm. Based on the details they provided and my strategy, we're sending in an undercover to search for clues before they start calling their clientele and losing some big accounts. I don't want to ruin your day any further with the details so we'll talk about it later. Enjoy your shopping trip."

  "I will."

  "And don't give the Steadmans a precious moment of your thoughts."

  "I won't," I told him sincerely before I hung up, glad to clear up the earlier events. It was a relief to know that Solomon was just as surprised as I was. I was also glad he hadn't purposefully summoned me to the meeting in which the clients would leave me, at a minimum, shocked and surprised. "I'm going to be an undercover agent," I told Lily.

  "Sweet. CIA?"

  "Realtor."

  "So close, yet so far."

  "Solomon said he didn't take the Steadmans' case."

  "Good!" Lily clapped her hands together.

  "Because of me," I clarified.

  "Absolutely!"

  "Should I have offered to help them?" I asked before remembering I was allowing my thought space to be invaded by the very people I just decided not to think about. I should have been thinking about how to persuade Solomon that my pink bed linen worked well in his neutrally decorated bedroom; or how we could spice up the kitchen by placing something, anything, on the counters. I could have also been thinking about the cute, little sleepsuits and onesies Lily and I would be cooing over this afternoon, and all the creative ways we could make the undecorated nursery special.

  "Nope."

  "Does that make me a bad person?"

  "It makes you a really good person that you're even willing to think about helping them. Anthony is bad news and the sooner his own family accepts that, the better it will be for all of them. Then they won't have to beg to hire the ex he repeatedly screwed over to help him in his time of need." Lily glanced at her phone again and sighed.

  I followed her gaze, wondering again why Lily seemed so distracted. Normally, she would have been a lot more vocal in her opinion on Anthony, so hearing her sensible take on the idiot was a little out of character. "I don't know how many times you've looked at your phone. Are you waiting for someone to call?"

  "No. Yes. I sent a text message to Jord just after you went to the agency and he still hasn't replied," she said. Worry furrowed her eyebrows and she placed the phone on the table with a sigh.

  "Is he working?"

  Lily nodded. “Yes."

  "He probably hasn't had a chance if he's filling out paperwork or maybe he got called out to investigate a robbery."

  "Yeah, maybe." Lily looked away as she sipped her tea. She closed her eyes briefly and her mouth pinched.

  "Something is going on with you," I told her. "Don't deny it. What's wrong?"

  "It's nothing. It's silly." She shook her head, sending a mass of blonde curls tumbling around her shoulders.

  "Tell me anyway."

  "Don't laugh at me."

  "When have I ever laughed at you?"

  "There was that time when..."

  "Okay! I promise. No laughing. You've just listened to me whine about my ex and his crazy problems. Now it’s your turn."

  "I think," Lily started, then sniffed. She took a deep breath and plunged into, "I think Jord regrets everything. Me, the baby, everything!"

  I could only gawk at her in utter surprise. Jord never expressed any thoughts or sentiments of that kind to me, or anyone else I knew, and I couldn't imagine him doing so. He was thrilled about the baby, and stoked that he married Lily. Something weird had to have happened for Lily to be so worried. "What makes you think that?"

  "I saw him with a woman three weeks ago and he lied about it when I asked him." She sipped her tea, then looked away, heat reddening her cheeks. I could count the number of times I’d ever seen Lily embarrassed on one hand.

  "What woman? Where?"

  "It was three weeks ago. I was running errands when I just happened to look across the street and there was Jord! He was going into a restaurant with a red-headed woman. At first, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me because he mentioned he was working an extra shift, but it was definitely him. Then I called him and I saw him look at the phone and ignore it! He ignored my phone call to have lunch with another woman!"

  "Maybe she was a work colleague?"

  "I know everyone and I don't know her. Do you know her?" Lily scrolled through the camera gallery on her phone and thrust the screen at me.

 
The image was long distance, and the faces small. I could make out my brother but the woman seated opposite him was half-turned away, partially concealing her face behind her below shoulder-length red hair. Even with only a glimpse, I was sure I didn't know her from the MPD. Hair that gorgeous would stand out in my memory. "Maybe she's a friend?" I suggested.

  "I know all of his friends."

  "So they were eating lunch and he ignored his phone. That doesn't mean anything."

  "When he came home, I asked him how his day was and he said he caught a burglar and it was really busy and he was tired. Then he raced off to the shower. He lied about where he was, and he went to shower before even hugging me. What does that tell you?"

  "That he was stinky? He knows you're very sensitive to bad smells right now."

  "No! He's having an affair!"

  "I don't think Jord is having an affair." Once upon a time, my brother was an irrepressible player. He was also very secretly (in his own head of course; the rest of us knew) very much into Lily. But he never acted on it. He concealed his interest completely, keeping it hush-hush for years. But when he starting blowing up every time she got a guy’s phone number or went on a date, it eventually culminated into one furious argument between them. They began to date until their whirlwind wedding permanently cemented Lily inside the Graves clan. Now their baby was due any day. I knew their whole history and not for one minute did I believe Jord would cheat, not on the wife he so adored.

  "Okay, so maybe he isn't but he's doing something that he wants to hide from me. That's not all! I've seen her name pop up on text messages twice but he brushed it off. So I went to check on his phone..."

  "You snooped on his phone?"

  "He told me his password a long time ago so technically, no. Anyway, cheating trumps snooping! So I accessed his phone but he’d already deleted her messages!" Lily sucked in a furious breath and pursed her lips.

  "How do you know it was her?"

  "Oh, I know," she said.

  "Maybe the messages were trivial and not worth keeping?"

  "I guess if someone called Diane messaged me saying she was so excited about what she had to show me later, I would probably delete it too."