04 - Shock and Awesome

by Camilla Chafer

  "Damn, he's one good looking man. Are you sure you don't want to get friendly with him again?" said Lily. "I saw you checking him out."

  "I have no idea. I don't know if I can trust him."

  "And you don't know that you can't," Lily pointed out. "Maybe he told you the truth. Maybe he was just playing a part and things got out of hand. Maybe he was faithful to you. Oh! Check out his ass. Great ass."

  We checked it out as he reached his car, our heads whipping to face front when he turned. Of course, this was nothing I hadn't thought of before. The same words — can't trust, can trust, got it wrong, lies, truth — were going around and around in my head. Thing was, I would never know for certain. Part of me believed Maddox was an honest man, that he wouldn't treat me badly. Part of me was suspicious; some of the things he said about his last undercover case just didn't tally up. I knew he wanted me back. However, I slept with Solomon not long after discovering Maddox's suspected infidelity, and that was my choice, and therein lay the dilemma: if Maddox wasn’t cheating, did that make me the cheater? Or, at the very least, the bad guy for running into the arms of another man? And if he was cheating, then I would be pretty stupid to go back to him.

  Either way, I wasn't sure we could ever have what we had before. The trust was gone. Plus, I definitely did have (great!) sex with Solomon, regardless of what Maddox may or may not have done with Blake.

  Right now, I didn't want to think about it anymore or my head would explode. "Maddox had a point about asking for help," I told Lily as the window closed. "I'm gonna call Garrett. Maybe he can run a background check on this Marsh guy."

  "Cool. You think you can get some stuff from Lucas at the agency to bug his house?"

  "Yes, but he'd want to know why, and I don't want to tell him; plus, it's not agency business so I'd feel bad using their resources." I thought about the Schuberts' suspicions, even though they were off the probability scale. "Plus, I don't want to go inside the house," I added. "Just in case."

  "I would rescue you."

  "Would you?"

  "Nope! I'm not stupid, but I would call someone else to do it. Like, Maddox. Or maybe Solomon." Lily peered at me. "Whom do you prefer?"

  "Since I'm categorically not going inside, it really doesn't matter," I decided, dodging the elephant of a query.

  "So, how are we going to find out what's going on?"

  "Good question." I grabbed my cell phone from my purse and dialed Garrett. "I need a favor," I told him.

  "I need babysitting," he rebounded, quick as a whip.

  "Weekend babysitting or weeknight?"

  "How much of a favor do you need?"

  "This probably counts as a weeknight favor." I really couldn't think what counted as a weekend night favor, but it would certainly have to be super illegal, and I would have to be really desperate to give up a prime time evening.

  "I'll take what I can get. Shoot."

  "Can you do a background check on someone for me?"

  Garrett sighed. "At least it's nothing highly illegal. What's the name?"

  "Aidan Marsh."

  "He someone you're dating? Can't you stalk him on Facebook?"

  "Gar', no. He's sort of a case."

  "Sort of?"

  "Um... Not strictly a case. Well, it is a case, but not an agency case, it's more of a..."

  "Whatever," Garrett cut in. "I got a dead body in Harbridge to get to. Some old guy died and no one noticed for two years. He's practically a mummy. Date of birth?"

  "Don't know. I have an address." I reeled it off.

  "That's a start. What do you wanna know about this guy?"

  "The usual. Criminal history. Any murders. Prison record."

  There was a long pause. "Murders?"

  "Or, you know... burglary? Anything iffy." I hoped that was better. I don't know why Garrett sounded so worried. It wasn't like I hadn't met murderers before and survived every damn time. I was shit hot when it came to murderers. Now burglars... they creeped me out.

  Garrett sighed again. "I'll get back to you. And, Lexi?"

  "Uh-huh?"

  "I want Thursday, two weeks time. It's Traci's birthday. I want to make it special."

  "You got it." I hung up and made the entry on my phone's calendar. A night babysitting Garrett and Tracey's three terrors wouldn't be so bad. I was pretty certain I knew every prank they could play on me; after all, I taught them most of them. "Garrett's on the case," I told Lily.

  "Hurrah. So, what do you wanna do? Sit here a while longer and stare at the house? Or go get pizza and come back tomorrow?"

  I thought about it. It had been quiet for some time and I didn't want the neighbors getting antsy again. Plus, I was hungry, and pizza sounded really good and I wouldn't even have to wear a fancy dress. I gasped.

  "What's wrong?"

  "I just decided sitting at home with a fresh pizza and eating it while wearing sweats sounded way better than dressing up for a fancy dinner."

  Lily lay the back of her hand against my forehead. "I don't think you have a fever, but I'm not sure. Do you have a thermometer?"

  "Oh yeah, never without one." Lily waited. I raised my eyebrows.

  "Oh," she laughed. "Ha-ha. I'm calling Monty's now. I'm going to ask him to burn your half."

  "That's mean. I want extra cheese."

  "Okay. I'm getting anchovies, bacon and capers on my side."

  "Wow. You really are pregnant."

  "Tell me about it. I think it happened while we were..."

  I clapped my hands over my ears. "La la la la laaah!" Lily giggled. A half hour later found us safely ensconced on her couch, the mouth-watering scent of hot pizza filling the air, and a huge bowl of salad between Jord and us. When they started getting overly snuggly, which made me start feeling sick, I grabbed the last slice of pizza and hightailed it out of there.

  ~

  The next morning, for the first time in the case, Solomon gathered us all at the agency. Instead of the boardroom, which was just about big enough for our own staff, this time, we sat at our desks, while Helen Callery, Maddox and Blake joined us in front of the large whiteboards Solomon set up across one wall.

  "Let's compare notes," said Solomon, "and catch this guy."

  "How close are you?" asked Helen. She was ensconced in Solomon's office along with Maddox when I arrived, and now she perched on the edge of my desk, clad in a navy pantsuit, bright red lipstick expertly in place and her hair coiffed to the point of not moving.

  "Lexi has narrowed our suspects from four to two. Lexi?"

  Everyone turned to me and I felt my cheeks heating up. I hated being stared at, unless it was because I looked particularly amazing. If I knew I would be on show today, I would have dressed up, but as it was, I wore skinny blue jeans and a sleeveless white blouse. Thankfully, I added red suede heels. I call the look “casually awesome.” Even so, it didn't quite compare with Callery's power dressing suit, or Blake’s casual/smart work attire. It was just different. Best of all, it was me. I really didn't know what I was worrying about. I stood, rolling back my chair.

  "David Markham is off the table," I recapped for the team. "He's alibied for the time another theft took place. I can also rule out Marty Tookey. He doesn't have the ba... uh, smarts to commit this kind of theft."

  "We persuaded Markham that there's no merit to pressing charges," said Maddox, to my relief.

  "There's no evidence Tookey has ever left the state," Lucas continued, picking up where I left off. "He's no traveling thief. I found the girlfriend, Claire Archibald. Flaherty made contact discreetly, and apparently, she misses the guy. Nothing else doing there."

  I nodded, even though I couldn't imagine anyone missing the douchebag. "That leaves us with Lord Justin and Ben Rafferty. Both are well traveled, as well as charming and affable. I see no problem with either gaining their dates’ confidence to access their goods. However..." I paused. This was where I could look stupid, but I had a valid point to make. I pressed on. Better to look stupid than to st
upidly leave something important out. "I don't see any motive for either of them to steal."

  Solomon nodded, like he agreed, which was reassuring; and after a moment, so did Maddox. "Lucas has been checking into their backgrounds," Solomon told us. "Lucas?"

  "There's not a lot to find on either of these guys which appears suspicious," Lucas explained, appearing distinctly uncomfortable in front of a crowd. "Lord Justin was easier to follow. There's a lot of images on line, small mentions in the media, European mostly. Ben Rafferty is more of an enigma. I haven't found anything online about him."

  "Is that unusual?" asked Helen Callery.

  Lucas shrugged. "Not really. A lot of people don't show up online for whatever reasons. He could just be a very private person. Neither participate in social media, except for Lord Justin's Wikipedia page, but many society figures have those. It doesn't mean he participates in it. I can't access any bank records, and neither is registered to drive here. Lord Justin rents a place, while Ben Rafferty has a suite at The Montgomery. I haven't found the relatives he mentioned in Boston, but maybe they have a different name."

  "Ben definitely drives," I interrupted. "He has a Mercedes, but I've also seen him in a town car." I paused while Lucas made a note. "I haven't seen Lord Justin drive, but maybe he just doesn't like driving here. He showed me a photo of his car in England."

  "Maddox, what have you and Blake put together?"

  "We're still coordinating with other jurisdictions at this point, sending out feelers for where else this guy might have been. So far, we can't connect either the lord or Rafferty with any of the areas. We got some good surveillance footage and photos to work with now ,so we're distributing the pictures in the hopes of getting a hit. It's a small possibility. This guy's a chameleon."

  Blake stepped forward, straightening up. "Perhaps Lexi can find out if either of these guys have any distinguishing features, like scars or tattoos, that we can run through our databases," she suggested.

  Everyone looked at me. Again.

  "Nuh-uh." I shook my head. "I'm not getting their clothes off and asking them to hold still for a photo."

  "She's right," agreed Solomon, his voice growing cold. "I'm not putting Lexi in that position. This is a strictly hands-off case."

  "Blake wasn't implying that Lexi screws the guys!" said Maddox.

  Solomon turned slowly from the whiteboard he was perusing. In a low, angry voice, he said, "You think I'd let my employees screw a target?"

  "No, of course not. I was saying Blake didn't mean..."

  I held up a hand. "Just for the record, I am not screwing anybody." I pointed at myself, making a circular motion with my hand. "Closed for business here."

  "If you happen to see anything unusual. Any birthmarks, scars, that sort of thing, make a note," said Blake, appealing to me directly. It was a good call, I decided, not that I would tell her that. Instead, I simply nodded.

  "No," said Solomon. "Lexi, do not put yourself in any situation that makes you uncomfortable, got it? Detective Blake, you want to get their clothes off, do it yourself."

  "Hey, whoa!" Maddox stepped in, but Blake put a hand on his forearm and stopped him. The familiarity hit me like a soccer ball in the stomach, washing away the brief moment I felt sorry for her landing in the middle of a Solomon and Maddox pissing contest.

  "I apologize if I caused offense," she said. "I wouldn't expect Lexi to do anything unsafe. Just if one of the guys happens to suggest taking his shirt off in the park, all I'm saying is... encourage him. That's all. No impropriety. There's someone watching your back at all times you're with these guys, and we'll get the photos."

  "What will you do with the photos?" asked Helen, looking slightly more interested.

  Blake smiled. "We'll have to take a really good look at them." I couldn't help smiling too. No harm in seeing a hot guy minus his shirt, then perusing the photos later. After all, it was in the course of putting away a bad guy. It would be a public service! I loved my job.

  "Any news on the jewelry theft? Anyone trying to get rid of the items?" Solomon asked, moving on. I guess he wasn't so keen on checking out the photos.

  "No." Maddox shook his head. "Blake?"

  "We've canvassed all the local pawn shops, and jewelers, to see if anyone's been approached. They all say no, but that doesn’t mean they haven't. My gut says the guy is lying low and not attempting to shift them. He probably stashes them until he's ready to move on. Or he might even smelt the gold, remove the jewels, and sell the pieces individually to reset them."

  "Can he do that?" Solomon asked.

  She shrugged. "It depends on his skill level. We don't know for a fact he can't, so it's an angle we're working. I suspect it's too time-consuming, so I think he'll just sell them when he hits the next town. He's patient, and not desperate for cash."

  "So, what now? He's already done a big number on one of my clients," said Helen. "What could he be planning next?"

  "Good question," said Solomon. "Anyone? What's the M.O. suggest, Maddox?"

  "Could be anything. This guy changes how he operates every time. The only thing we can anticipate is..."

  "He's getting ready to leave," I finished. "We've been on the case for two weeks and he already pulled off a big heist."

  "And I came to you six weeks ago," added Helen, nodding to Solomon.

  "We've worked on this four weeks," said Maddox.

  Solomon said what we all knew, what we were all awaiting to be confirmed. "He'll be out of Montgomery in two weeks, max."

  "What's the next step, boss?" asked Fletcher, who sat there quietly the whole time, just taking everything in.

  "I want full time tails on the lord and Rafferty. Every movement, we'll know about. Lexi, Helen is throwing a ball for her clients. You're on the list. She'll tell you what you need to know. Get information out of the suspects. We'll go over their files again and talk later on what you can get out of them. Maddox, Blake, you got anything else to put in play?"

  "No. We'll keep working our angles and the theft leads. If we don't get this guy within a week, I hate to say it, but I think we should turn this over to the FBI. I spoke to my contact. They're interested," said Maddox.

  Solomon clapped his hands together. "Let's catch this guy first. Go to work, people."

  The group dispersed as Solomon made his goodbyes to Helen Callery, who promised to call me later with the ball's details, then the detectives. Meanwhile, I lingered in his office, waiting for him to brief me on just how to catch the targets in a lie, or even better, a truth.

  "You okay?" Solomon asked me, shutting the door to the office, and drowning out the general phone noises and chatter of my colleagues getting to work.

  "Never better."

  "You're not gonna do anything dumb per Blake's idea?" he continued, eyeing me suspiciously. At least, I thought it was suspiciously. Jealously could have worked too, if it weren't such a puzzling idea.

  "No. Definitely not. I do not sleep with guys who might steal my stuff. Though there was that one time..." Solomon waited for me to finish, but I cringed, and shut up. "I have better taste now. Sometimes. So, how do you suggest I trap this guy?" I asked as my cell phone started to vibrate. I pulled it out, seeing Justin's name appear on the screen.

  "It's Lord Justin," I told him, "What do I do?"

  "Take it. Find out what he wants."

  I counted to three, put on my best phone voice, and answered. "Justin, what a surprise! An exhibition... I'd love to. Yes. Yes. Sounds wonderful. All right then. I'll see you in an hour." I hung up. "I have a date."

  "Exhibition? In an hour?" Solomon asked.

  "Oh, good listening. Yes, there's a visiting exhibition at the town museum. He was just walking past and says he recalled I liked art and might want to see it, then have a coffee."

  "Do it."

  "I will!" I looked at my jeans. "Is this okay for a date to a museum?"

  Solomon took a very long look. "You always look perfect," he told me. My heart skipped a b
eat and butterflies moved into my belly. "Head over there now. I'll send pointers to your phone."

  I stood, reaching for the door handle, already checking through my mental list of things I could ensnare Justin with when Solomon said my name softly. "Yes?" I turned to him.

  "Clothes on," said Solomon, and I laughed.

  "You got it, boss."

  ~