Deciding to break the tension and get close enough to protect her, he grinned and called out, “Leta, didn’t expect to see you here. Didn’t you say that you had wardrobe duty?”
Although it only took moments to reach her, it felt like it took forever. He could feel the tension ease from her even though she only quirked an eyebrow at him. Although it would slow him if there was a fight, he took half of her load of clothes. It would grant her greater maneuverability and he could always use the clothes as a shield if need be.
Wanting to get her away from the unknown man and hoping that he wasn’t interfering with her investigation, he invited her to walk with them.
It was obviously the right move, and he relaxed fractionally when she smiled and thanked him. He only half listened as Aletta introduced herself to Alan, too busy studying the other occupant of the hallway. He didn’t appear to be a threat, but Lirim knew that appearances could be deceiving.
Lirim tuned back into the conversation just in time to hear Alan say that it was to keep Elizabetta from chasing him. He looked at Aletta, puzzled. His confusion only grew when she laughed and explained that they were only work partners.
Why would being partners keep Elizabetta from chasing him? Right then, his mind caught up and he realized what they were implying. Lirim was torn between amusement and embarrassment, but before he could respond, the man whose name he did not know excused himself and quickly disappeared.
He caught Aletta’s small sigh of relief, but before he could ask, she shook her head, so he dropped it. She quickly changed the subject and reminded them of their intended destination.
Lirim allowed them to move ahead of him while they chatted, staying just a couple of steps behind them. He scanned the surroundings as he went, making mental notes so he could navigate in the future. Nothing stood out to him as unusual, but this was an opera theater. He reluctantly admitted to himself that he wouldn’t know if something was out of place or not.
It irked him that he couldn’t accurately anticipate possible threats. It left him unsettled and off kilter. He was beginning to regret accepting the undercover assignment. Add to it Aletta’s distress over her friend and uncertainty caused by returning to the opera world, and you were left with an increasingly unhappy Fae male.
Lirim took a deep breath, trying to push aside his growing anger. Being irritated or impatient could lead to him making a mistake, and that was something he could not afford. Not when the slightest misstep could open the possibility of attack from the unknown perp haunting the opera.
Before he was ready, they reached the wardrobe room. Aletta dropped back to where he was. Taking back the costume pieces, she allowed her hand to rest on his for a moment longer than necessary. Although he was surprised by the gesture, Lirim felt himself settle at her touch. He had to remember that she was here and that she was safe. As long as he kept his wits about him, there was a high probability of them making it through this unscathed.
Aletta murmured, “Thanks for carrying these. Since you’re going to be measured, I’ll make myself scarce for a bit. Just a word of warning, they are... um, thorough when they measure.”
He groaned, “Seriously?”
She shrugged, a hint of amusement clear in her eyes. “I’ll see you tonight for a ride home. Good luck.” She smiled at him and turned away. With a small wave to Alan, Aletta disappeared into a room off of the main wardrobe room.
Alan waited until she was out of sight before he whistled under his breath. He murmured to Lirim, “So that’s your girl, huh? Good looking woman.”
Lirim frowned at him, “She’s my partner. And she’s off limits.”
Alan chuckled, “If she’s just your work partner, why is she off limits?”
Lirim considered punching him briefly but he actually liked the guy so he held his temper. He said shortly, “She’s going through a rough patch. A friend of hers was badly hurt and is in the hospital. She’s not ready for anything right now.”
Alan’s face softened at this. “Aw man, that’s hard. Sorry. I’ll keep an eye out for her.”
Lirim warned, “Not a word to anyone.”
Alan agreed somberly, “Not a word, I swear.”
Lirim nodded his understanding, although he mentally reserved the right to punch the man if he stepped out of line around Aletta. Sighing, he reluctantly followed Alan toward where he’d get his measurements taken.
* . * . *
Aletta settled deeper into the car seat and gingerly rubbed her aching eyes. She grumbled, “I hate sewing. Never wanna see another seam or sewing machine again. Makes me wanna shoot somebody.”
Lirim chuckled, “Any candidates for your displeasure?”
She scowled, “The sewing machine is first on my hit list. After that, I think it’s mainly Elizabetta’s wardrobe. She has to have everything ‘just so’. I’m tempted to take her seams in half an inch.”
“And just what would that accomplish?”
She sighed slightly, “Make her look fat.”
Lirim clarified, “So you want to spend more time with the machine you loathe and the seams you abhor just so you can make her look like she’s gained ten pounds?”
She offered him a tired smile, “Well, she’s such a vain thing. Still, you’re right. Too much work. How was your day?”
“Other than the measuring?” He shuddered, causing her to chuckle quietly. “Lots of memorizing. Alan introduced me to blocking, as well as upstage and downstage.”
“Look at you, an opera pro already. We started on your costume today. Pity you’ll never get to wear it.”
He rolled his eyes. “Thank heaven for small mercies. Anyway, how was your day? Who was the man that was with you earlier?”
Aletta shifted uneasily in her seat. “John Stern, the head carpenter for the production. He’s not on the suspect list; I’ve already checked.”
They had stopped at a red light, so Lirim looked over at her, noting her unease. “How’d you run into him?”
Aletta shrugged, “I was investigating the dressing rooms while on an errand for the wardrobe mistress. He came into the one I was checking out. He seemed rather startled to see me. He said that one of the singers had complained of a loose floorboard and that he was there to fix it. However, Elizabetta showed up moments later and seemed surprised to see both of us there. She summarily dismissed both of us. You found us moments later.”
The light turned green and he returned his attention to the road. “Did you find anything?”
She shook her head, “Nothing of interest. A few small personal trinkets. A note from a married man to one of the singers arranging a tryst. Neither one was on the suspect list and both had their whereabouts accounted for during the suspicious time frames. I went back later and went over Elizabetta’s room with a fine-toothed comb, but didn’t find anything. So, empty-handed for today.”
He spoke carefully, “You seemed rather... tense when we encountered you.”
Aletta started to choose her words carefully, then decided to just say it. “I don’t like him. Something about him makes my skin crawl. We only spent a few minutes together and I wanted to run as far away as I could possibly get. It makes no sense; he was a perfect gentleman. But there is something wrong, seriously wrong, with him.”
She saw Lirim’s hands tighten on the steering wheel. “You said that he wasn’t on the suspect list?”
She shook her head.
“We’ll give his name to the task force tomorrow. Don’t forget, we’re meeting with them tomorrow after court.”
She looked at him, surprised. “You don’t think I’m being paranoid?”
He looked like he wanted to say something but held back. He took a deep breath and said quietly, anger underlying his even tone, “Don’t compare me to those who have dismissed you.”
Knowing instantly that he meant Wells, she lowered her eyes and murmured, “Sorry.”
When he continued, his voice was calmer, although it was still deeper than normal. “Your gift might have been regis
tering something that you couldn’t see. Also, gift aside, you have excellent instincts. I saw that first hand in the O’Reilly case. Don’t dismiss your feelings just because you can’t easily quantify them. The task force will investigate it. Just be careful not to be alone with him until their report comes back.”
She nodded, “I’ll be careful; it shouldn’t be hard to do. Thanks, Lir.”
He shrugged, his grip on the wheel easing slightly. After riding in silence for a few minutes, he asked, “What did you think of Alan?”
“He’s a nice guy. Why? Did he do or say something suspicious?” She fought to contain a yawn.
“Not really, although he wanted to know if you were available since we were just work partners.” The last part was said reluctantly.
Aletta chuckled and relaxed back into her seat. “He was just messing with you because you looked confused about partners versus work partners. He’s with Ely. When we shook hands, my gift showed me a flash of them holding hands and a feeling of deep loyalty. I didn’t get any indicators that he’s anything more than he presents himself as. Everything seems to check about him, even the fact that he’s a tailor’s son.”
They pulled up in front of her building. Lirim said, “Thanks for letting me know. You have everything together for the prelim tomorrow?”
She nodded tiredly. “Yep. All lined up and ready to go. Opera in the morning, court and task force in the afternoon. I’m going to die of sleep deprivation.”
He chuckled as she climbed out of the car and called, “See you in the early dark.”
She gave him the whatever signal and walked into her building. Was there a time when she had actually enjoyed this insane schedule?
Eleven
Aletta chuckled as they walked out of the courthouse, carefully tucking her papers back into her briefcase. Today had just been a preliminary hearing to present the evidence necessary to bring a case against O’Reilly.
Their evidence gathering had been meticulous and concise, creating an airtight case against the Leprechaun. However, O’Reilly had shown absolutely no remorse during the proceedings. He’d even had the audacity to saucily wink at her as he was being escorted from the room.
Lirim was stalking along next to her, a scowl on his face. Having heard him growl under his breath when O’Reilly winked at her, she had an inkling of what was irritating him but asked anyway. “What’s the matter? Our case against him was solid.”
His frown deepened. “I don’t like that Leprechaun. Cheeky little ingrate.”
Aletta smirked at him, “You know he’s just doing it to get a rise out of you. He’s an adrenaline junkie. He knew that there was always a chance that he’d get caught and walking that line gave him a rush. Now that he has been caught and he knows there is solid evidence against him, the thrill is gone. He knows that messing with you is a dangerous business, so he gets a rush by baiting you about me. That, and he’s an irrepressible flirt.”
Lirim sighed, “I know, but that doesn’t mean that I have to like it.”
She offered, “Think about it this way, if you don’t rise to his bait it’ll make him super frustrated. Surely it’s worth letting it go just to irritate him.”
He grinned reluctantly. “That’s true. I’ll think about it. Ready for the meeting?”
They entered HSI, having walked the few blocks from the courthouse to headquarters. She glanced at her watch. “Did we run over?”
She dropped her briefcase at her desk and he did the same as he replied, “Not by too much. Thankfully the judge had other cases to hear. We would’ve been there all day if the judge hadn’t cut the defense lawyer off. Thank goodness for that.”
At that moment, Jones and Watkins walked into headquarters. Miriam called out, “Are we late?”
Aletta shrugged and smiled. “We just got here ourselves. Court?”
Miriam walked over to her while Watkins headed to Lirim. “Three cases we had to testify at. Last one ran over. Lawyer cross examined us fourteen different ways but couldn’t disprove our evidence. I hate lawyers some days.”
Aletta laughed, “Me too. But there are some truly good ones out there. Don’t give up hope yet.”
An impish twinkle in her eye, Miriam asked, “Think Officer Wells is going to blow his stack when we finally show up? He doesn’t seem to be the most patient type.”
“You said it, not me. I feel sorry for Martins though. No fun being paired with him.”
The men joined them and Lirim asked, “Are you two going to join us or just stay here and laugh at us?”
Both Miriam and Aletta rolled their eyes. Smirking, Aletta replied, “We were discussing whether or not Wells was going to lose his temper when we arrive. It had nothing to do with the two of you.”
Both men tensed at this. Miriam scowled and said, “None of that territorial Fae nonsense. Agent Sheridan and I are big girls and we can take care of ourselves. Remember, we need to work together until this case is solved.”
The men glanced at each other but didn’t promise anything. Aletta sighed, “Let’s just get going. The sooner this meeting is over, the sooner we can get back to the case. You two, behave.”
Watkins asked cheekily, “And what will you do if I don’t, lass?”
Walking away, Aletta called over her shoulder, “It’s not me that’ll do anything; it’s Detective Jones that you’ll have to worry about.”
He chased after her protesting, “Hey, that’s not fair, lass. You wouldn’t really do that, would you?”
She taunted, “Try me and see what happens.”
Lirim and Miriam looked at each other and shook their heads before chasing after their respective partners.
They entered the conference room as a group, laughing at Watkins’ forlorn expression. Aletta was the first one to notice the two officers waiting at the table. Wells’ hands curled into fists for just a moment before relaxing. Seeing Martins’ tense expression, she walked over and sat next to him. Smiling, she said, “Court ran over. We were testifying at a prelim hearing. Have you pulled court duty yet?”
Glancing furtively at Wells, he shook his head. “Not yet.”
“It’ll happen. Every law enforcement officer has to do it sooner or later. How long have you been on the force?”
Martins relaxed slightly. “A little over three months. It’s not quite like I expected.”
Aletta nodded. “The academy prepares us as best as it can, but it’s still different from the real thing, isn’t it?”
Finally turning her attention to Wells, she apologized, “Sorry for the delay. Defense lawyer wasn’t happy with all the evidence we had against his client. Kept trying to get it thrown out even though it was just a hearing to ascertain if we had enough evidence to proceed with a trial. I hope you weren’t waiting too long?”
His tone was civil enough as he answered, “A little over half an hour. Still, court can be a pain, it’s understandable.”
Covering her surprise, she offered him a small smile. Maybe there was a chance that they could work together civilly. His tone was frosty as he asked, “So, have you two managed to find anything yet?”
And there was the Officer Wells that they all knew. Aletta waited until everyone was seated and ready before replying. “I haven’t been able to find any of the stolen items or any link tying them together. I’ve been working primarily with wardrobe, which has allowed me to investigate all of the dressing rooms thoroughly, but there was no evidence in any of them.”
Detective Jones asked, “What about people? Have you been able to identify a suspect or remove anyone from the list of suspects?”
Aletta nodded. “As I said, I’ve been primarily in wardrobe. Everyone in that department is clean. All of their whereabouts were accounted for during the important windows of time, no suspicious sick days or places where they shouldn’t have been. However, there was one man that I find suspicious. The head carpenter, a man by the name of John Stern.”
There was a general rustle as everyone shuffled th
rough their papers. It was Martins who finally said, “I can’t find that name on the suspect list.”
Lirim nodded. “That’s because he isn’t. However, I believe that he needs to be looked into. I can’t pinpoint his movements with any certainty, and both Agent Sheridan and I have seen him around the opera in places where he had no business being. Also, the opera is scheduled to begin in a little under two weeks. That means that it’s crunch time for the artisans associated with the production. How does he manage to have so much free time?”
Wells spoke up, “Do you have anything concrete to indicate that this man is a suspect or is this just another one of Agent Sheridan’s hunches?” He practically sneered the last word.
Before either Lirim or Aletta could say anything, Detective Watkins spoke. “Never underestimate the power of women’s intuition. Still, no harm checking into it. Jones and I will look into it; we’re at a standstill for the moment. We’re waiting for some more information before we can start sifting through the financial information.”
Lirim nodded, “Thanks. Any luck on the that front yet?”
Jones shook her head, “Nothing definitive yet. Financials are notoriously tricky. I wish it was like on television where you find a direct deposit from the head villain to the minor villain, creating a clear evidence trail.”
Martins hastily smothered a laugh and Aletta inwardly cheered. At least working with Wells hadn’t completely killed his spirit. To distract Wells from the rookie, Aletta asked, “What about you, Officers? Any luck finding out whether any of the stolen items have been fenced?”
Wells turned his attention away from Martins and refocused on her. “Nothing yet; we have word out and a few leads that we’re still following up on. However, it’s not looking promising.”
Aletta gathered up her unused files and stood. “Well, it looks like we’re all waiting for information to further pursue leads. I suggest we adjourn this meeting for now and meet again in... say two days, to check and see if there is any more information. If we discover anything new, Agent Bosk and I will make sure to inform you, of course.”
In Search of Healing Page 14