Ray returned the kiss Suzanne blew her way before disappearing into the bus. “You’re welcome,” she said, too low to be heard. She watched the bus roll away with her young friend in tow.
It wasn’t her job to run down all the monsters, Ray told herself. In truth, the most she could hope for was to be able to tell her young charges what the monsters looked and sounded like before she sent them off into the world to do battle. It would have to be enough for now.
She tuned into the sensation of her mobile vibrating at her hip. Readying herself for Barker’s name on the screen, she brushed her thumb across the protected glass and blinked when she saw who was calling.
“Eli?” she answered, smiling when the man’s rich laughter seized the line.
“This a bad time?” he asked.
“No, no, I—I’m just surprised to—is Clari okay?”
Eli’s laughter hit the line again. “I wouldn’t be laughing if she wasn’t.”
Ray closed her eyes. “Right.” She sighed.
“There is something, though. I...uh—you think you could stop by my office to talk about it? I’d meet you at Jazzy B’s, but I can’t risk Clarissa knowing about this yet.”
Ray nodded. “All right, I understand. I’ll be there soon.”
* * *
“A little off the beaten path, huh, boss?” Sam Haynes said as he studied the area.
In response to his partner’s uncertainty, Lucas Cumming’s laughter echoed in the dim book-and paper-lined space. “I gotta agree with Sam on that one, Mr. G.”
Barker took no offense and barely fixed the new reporters with a glance. “There’s a good reason for it,” he said. “I’m supposed to be backing off the story and leaving you to handle it. Wouldn’t look too good for the newest member of the programming board to be seen breaking the rules, and fraternizing with underlings at that.”
Sam and Lucas were still laughing as the rest of the investigative team trickled in.
“Let’s get started, guys,” Barker called as the audience found seats or leaning posts from which to listen in. “I’m gonna need a team to be my eyes and ears for a while. I’m taking a little more time off while I decide on this promotion.”
“You deserve it, boss,” Este Mintz called from her stance against a wall of magazines. “You can count on us to hold up our end.”
“Thanks, Es, but you, all of you, should know this won’t be that easy. Willard Harold and Garrett Cole want this story buried—my guess is it’s nudging up against someone with the pull to get it silenced. Why, I don’t know. What I do know is they’ll weigh in pretty heavy on you all to do just that—bury it.” Barker shifted his position on the stool he occupied in the center of the room. “That’s actually not a bad idea, unless any of you have something to make it worth the headache it’s been.”
Este looked to the young man and woman standing nearest her in the dank workspace in the offsite storage building where they met. The duo exchanged looks of their own before turning to Barker.
“We did a little surveillance while you were in the Bahamas,” Shaye Reed said.
“The area isn’t as abandoned as we thought,” Harvey Olssen added.
“We already knew that,” Barker said. “The people who populate it are the reason I want you all to stay out of there.”
“We never would’ve been on that end if we hadn’t seen Steven Saltzman over there.”
“Saltzman.” Barker narrowed a look toward Harvey. “The head chef at LaMours?”
“Very same,” Este confirmed. “Chesne Younce from the daytime squad’s been hoping to get some quotes from him about the new management LaMours is rumored to be bringing in. Saltzman’s been giving him the runaround, which of course has Chesne thinking some kind of scandal or worthy scoop is in the works.”
“He caught a break seeing Saltzman heading out a back exit from LaMours around ten o’clock one night—and a Friday night at that,” Harvey added.
“Strange for a head chef to be dipping out like that on the busiest night of the week, don’t you think?” Este mused.
“We figured he couldn’t have been going more than a few blocks away, but he went all the way to the west end, near some of the abandoned rail lines.”
“Harv’s right,” Shaye confirmed. “A taxi driver would have to be tipped pretty heavily to drive out that far,” he added.
“It’s where our story is,” Este said.
“Did Chesne ever talk to him?” Barker asked.
Harvey was already grimacing. “By the time he rolled up, Saltzman was already in his car. He said to hell with it and headed back to town.”
“Guess you guys had a different experience when you went out to surveil.” Barker observed his team curiously. “What made you ask Chesne about this?”
Shaye was the brave soul who spoke first. “Well, we all heard him griping about his wasted drive out to the boondocks. He kept talking about having Garrett and Cole reimburse his gas—called ’em cheapskates. His words, not ours,” she hastily added.
“Point is, he was pretty specific about where he was going,” Harvey said. “The questions were just begging to be asked, boss.”
“Yeah,” Barker agreed, albeit quietly.
“With the exception of a few locals—”
“And she means a few,” Harvey interrupted Shaye. “The place was like a ghost town.”
“But our destination was a whole other story. Lit up like Christmas out there, it was,” Shaye added.
“The first two floors, anyway. Isn’t that what you said?” Este queried.
“Right.” Harvey sent the woman a sidelong smile. “We could hear music, laughter—it sounded like a grand old time in there.”
“And was it?”
“Can’t say. We couldn’t get in to make a visual confirmation. Sorry, boss.” Shaye gave a sad smile. “Apparently, entry is only granted by invitation. We couldn’t have talked our way in there if we’d tried—the place was locked up good and tight.”
“We even tried to get the locals to tell us what was up,” Lucas Cummings chimed in.
“You mean, what info you could intimidate the locals into divulging.”
Lucas looked to Sam Haynes, who visibly tensed over their boss’s reminder. “You heard about that, huh?” Lucas asked miserably.
“I heard about that,” Barker said.
“We’re sorry, boss.” Sam sighed.
“Forcing people to talk is never the way we do things, regardless of what we suspect them of hiding.” Barker issued the advice with a grim face.
Sam raised his hands defensively. “Got it, boss.”
Lucas parroted the defensive pose while nodding.
“It does sound like there’s a special list for admission,” Harvey noted. “If the people we saw leaving there were an example.”
“What do you mean?” Barker asked and listened as Shaye supplied a who’s who list of visitors to the buildings on the “wrong side of the tracks.”
“What are you thinkin’, boss?” Este inquired.
Barker rubbed at his jaw for a long while before he spoke. “Not among the city’s most squeaky clean, but definitely among the most prominent. I’d think the lesser knowns would mingle in that world to some extent. Chefs from upscale eateries or other service positions might rank an invite from upscale clients.”
“But an invite for what?” Barker muttered a curse. “We may be flying blind here guys, until we find someone willing to talk.”
Harvey and Este wore twin expressions of satisfaction. “We may have figured out that part, boss,” Este said.
* * *
The offices of Joss Construction were as impressive as the structures they were often commissioned to build. As a woman with an eye for design and detail, Ray enjoyed taking time to observe craftsmanship that wreaked of care and talent.
Too bad that day wasn’t slated to allow for such enjoyments. She’d been unable to think of little else aside from running into Barker once Eli called earlier that afternoon. Although he’d said it all had something to do with a surprise for Clarissa, Ray had already been the victim of her friend’s well-meaning omissions. A chance meeting with Barker at Joss Construction could be wrapped up quite nicely into that vague chat she had with her best friend’s boyfriend a short while ago.
She was shown to the executive wing with speedy efficiency upon her arrival. Ray hoped her smile didn’t betray too much of her relief when she saw Eli stepping into his office. Alone.
“There she is!” Elias Joss’s warm greeting was followed by a hug and forehead kiss before he stepped back. “Thanks for coming by to see me, Ray.”
“It was no trouble. I had some unexpected free time. Plus, you have me curious.”
“I’m going to ask Clarissa to marry me.”
Mouth open, Ray didn’t know whether to gasp or speak. She dropped into the nearest chair instead.
“I know it’s early,” Eli said.
“I—no, it—it’s perfect. When?”
“That’s actually why I called. Ray, I’ll need a lot of help to pull this off if I plan to surprise her.”
“What do you have in mind?”
“How would you feel about another trip?”
Eli laughed when Ray’s expression screamed anything but approval. “That good, huh?”
“I’m just—it’s a busy time, Eli, especially now...”
“I know, and I understand time is precious, but you know Clarissa would want her best friend there to put her stamp of approval on it.”
“Yeah...but, Eli, I wouldn’t know how to put together an engagement party to save my life.”
“You don’t have to. All you’ll need to do is show up—will that work?”
“Well, sure, but I—that’s not the point.”
“Maybe this’ll help. It’s in Switzerland.”
Again, Ray felt her mouth go slack, and slacker still as Eli relayed the travel details, including a chateau in Klosters.
“Extravagant,” she breathed, impressed.
“We both know she’s worth it.” Eli strolled the room at a slower pace. “There’s a problem with my plan, though. Fancy chateau or not, I can’t take Clarissa there without knowing if it passes inspection. That’s where you come in. I can’t do it. She’ll miss me if I take off so close to the holidays.”
“And it’s not like I’ve got anyone special to miss me.”
“Ray—”
“It’s all right, Eli.” She was happy to feel her suspicions ease over the fact that the meeting wasn’t part of some arranged get-together between her and Barker.
“I’m not trying to take her there until after Christmas. I want to propose on New Year’s.”
Ray nodded, pushing out of the chair she’d collapsed into. “This place you have in mind—is there some reason you don’t trust the folks you’re renting it from? I’d expect Klosters to have the most excellent accommodations and the personnel to maintain them.”
“Too bad I don’t know the personnel. Websites and blogs have nothing on actual time spent at the location.”
“I can understand that.”
“I booked it for a week before asking if you’d go. Feel free to think about it.”
“I don’t need to.” Ray studied the view and then turned her back on it. “I don’t guess Clarissa will mind since she was asking me to take more time before we left the Bahamas.” Besides, she thought silently, it’d give her time to come up with just the right way to talk to her friend about their employees. In the end, their mission was the same—promoting and protecting the welfare and success of those young women.
“When do I leave?”
Eli collected the portfolio from his desk. “It’s an open-ended ticket. You can go and return anytime between now and Christmas.”
“What excuse do you suggest I use for Clari?”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right...all that new business has got to be keeping you guys jumping.”
Ray smiled in spite of the truth. Eli was right. Jazzy B’s was no longer the premiere gentlemen’s club of Philadelphia. It was now the city’s premiere upscale nightclub. The establishment’s nightly intake had proven that change in direction had been a profitable one. Yet another reason for her to get a move on with the discussion she’d been avoiding with her best friend.
“I can be ready to go by the first of next week,” she said, telling the voice calling her a coward to shut up.
Eli rushed over to squeeze her arm. “Thanks, Ray.”
“I’m looking forward to it,” she said, meaning it. Anticipating her travels, Ray tried very hard not to think of what else the unexpected trip would help her avoid.
* * *
“You know there’s only one thing I want for my birthday.”
Barker smiled and settled in for a more comfortable position, and to enjoy the warmth of his mother’s voice through the phone line. “Birthdays are about getting what you want, not about wishing things for other people. Sometimes it’s okay to be selfish, you know? Why don’t moms get that?”
“I can answer that in one word—kids.” Monika Grant laughed over the line. “And for your information, this is what I want—to see you happy with something other than your job.”
“You’re sure it’s that? Or maybe because all my cousins are either married or serious about somebody?” Barker laughed. “That’s actually how it is most of the time, you know? Why harp on it now so much?”
“Because now two of your friends are married—one is in a serious relationship, and Lili says it won’t be long before Eli proposes to Clarissa David.” Monika referred to Elias’s mother, Lilia Joss.
Barker reared back in the cushioned dark blue swivel and smiled while running his finger over the bridge of his nose. Moments later, he began to laugh again.
“I know you’ve got to be curious about what it must be like to wake up to one woman every day, Bari?”
“Well, it definitely sounds like you’ve been thinking about it,” Barker teased, still laughing. “Is there something you want to tell me?”
“Oh, hush!” Monika Grant worked at seriousness, but she was soon laughing almost as heartily as her only child. “I just can’t stop hoping that one day you’ll bring someone you’re truly serious about to my birthday party.”
“I’ll consider bringing someone serious, if you consider having a serious party—as in one.”
“Hey! I can’t help it if one of your grandparents’ nights of debauchery was timed just right for me to be born so close to Christmas.”
“You know, Ma.” Barker winced. “I really didn’t need a night of grandparent debauchery stuck in my head.”
“Anyway, I can’t help it that most of the family holiday gatherings turn into some sort of party for me.”
“Sure you can’t.”
“I’ll just enjoy having you bring a girl you’re really over-the-moon for, making one of these stale parties less stale. It’d sure make the headache of having to deal with your father’s family much more worth it.”
Barker’s laughter surged more robustly, before he sobered. “I’m working on it, Ma.” His dark eyes were fixed on the front of the room that he alone occupied.
“I’m working on it,” he repeated, and ended the call to enjoy watching Rayelle Keats enter her club.
Chapter 7
“Getting chilly out there.” Kennedy Wright laughed at the look she got from her boss.
“I’ll say.” Ray shrugged off a denim jacket that could’ve used a few added layers of lining against the increasingly frigid air.
“How ’bout a nice cup of tea?” Kennedy offered.
“Just what I was thinking.” R
ay closed her eyes as an image of a steamy mug of the lemon blend she kept in her office came to mind. “I’ll grab some in my office.”
“Oh, Ray, let me,” the small, curvy blonde offered. “Besides, you’ve earned the chance to take off more time, especially when the place is like this.”
“Closed?”
“Quiet and lovely,” Kennedy said while punishing her boss with a sly nudge. Her powder-blue gaze went dreamy then and slid toward the main floor. “Mysterious,” she continued, “sexy, built...”
Ray’s frown arrived with a mix of confusion and amusement as she studied her lead bartender.
Kennedy caught the look, lifted a slender shoulder and then waved toward the dance-floor area. “You’ve got a visitor.”
Ray didn’t require visual confirmation to know who the unexpected visitor was. She took a look anyway, sighed and then wholeheartedly agreed with Kennedy’s assessment.
“I’ll go take care of that tea.”
“Forget it, Ken. I’ll need it more later.”
Kennedy left her boss with a smile as Ray made her way into the space. It wasn’t exactly dark, but dim and lit by fat, candle-shaped lamps that adorned the tables. Only a few had the lamps in use, including the one occupied by her visitor.
“Seeing as how you won’t take my calls,” Barker said by way of greeting, and stood. There was no accusation in his soft voice.
“You didn’t leave a message.” Ray’s voice was equally soft. “I guessed it wasn’t important.”
“I didn’t want to talk to your machine, but you.”
“I suppose I was trying to make the point that you didn’t have to.”
“I know I don’t have to Rayelle. I want to.”
“You’re a smart man, Barker. I think you know what I’m trying to say.”
“I’m smart, not psychic Ray. Maybe you should just tell me what you’re trying to say.”
The easy expression she was trying to maintain tensed. “We had a fun night—”
“Weekend. A long one,” he clarified. “I think I got there Friday morning, left sometime Monday.” He inclined his head and wore a mock expression of confusion. “Is that right? I kind of lost track of time—so much to do and see...” His gaze traveled the length of her.
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