Twisted Taste

by Michelle Dayton

  She tapped her laptop. “See, for this gig, my cover is Cece Brink, a lifestyle reporter who covers celebrities and rich people’s weddings. That’s comfortable for me because I read every single celebrity and luxury magazine out there. I read them for fun and I’ve done it since I was a kid. Using that name, I’ve actually published small pieces in a variety of magazines. I can talk the talk.” She pointed at Jess. “Your covers should be technology-related.”

  Jess thought about her advice. It seemed so simple. And yet. Todd would never have been able to trip her up if they were discussing anything within the realm of IT. It’d been her whole life for a long time. “You have a point,” she said slowly. “Thanks. What do you think about—”

  Before she could ask Celeste another word, Adam burst through the door of the apartment with a white bakery bag and carrier of three coffees. “Here you go!” Although he had his trademark air of calm, he was sweating so much on his forehead that Jess wondered if he’d run to the bakery and back. She couldn’t help smirking.

  Celeste joined in. “Did you like our picture? A little fearful about my mentoring of Jess, eh?”

  Adam rolled his eyes to the ceiling. “Good God. Please no.” But he actually sounded relieved.

  Celeste noticed too. “Ah, you weren’t afraid I’d corrupt her thieving. You were worried we were comparing bedroom notes, then?”

  Adam paled. He actually paled.

  It was so funny that even though Jess wanted to snarl at the thought of Celeste and Adam in bed together, she laughed aloud.

  * * *

  It took just over an hour to drive from Healdsburg to Napa. Jess was quiet on the drive, making Adam a little uneasy wondering what the hell Celeste had said to her. She didn’t seem mad, though, just lost in thought. Occasionally, she’d pluck her laptop from her bag and type a note to herself.

  “Almost there,” he said, hoping the hotel was as nice as it’d looked on the website.

  Jess put down the visor so she could see herself in the mirror. Sighing, she pulled the red wig over her head and went through a little twisting, patting routine until it was correctly positioned on her head.

  “Let’s check in, have a long chat with the concierge about dinner reservations, and eat lunch on the outdoor patio,” he suggested. “Then we can relax in the room for a bit before we go get noticed all evening somewhere. Sound good?”

  She nodded. “Yeah. Except that I want to do a little shopping after we talk to the concierge. Give me a half hour and I’ll meet you on the patio.”

  * * *

  Adam took a long sip of iced tea and idly read through the fancy lunch menu, although he’d already decided on the BLT + avocado with an order of truffle fries. He was starving and hoped Jess wouldn’t be late. He looked up and around the courtyard plaza for her, but she was nowhere in sight. Now that the Scarlet was off the table, they should probably decide what to do next. They had some research to do for possible upcoming jobs in Atlanta and Phoenix. He also had a brand-new possibility in Minneapolis, but it would require a three-month daily cover, and he wasn’t sure either of them wanted to spend the winter in Minnesota.

  He looked around for her again, impatient for her dark eyes and smile. Nope, no Jess. There was a woman window-shopping a block over with a similar build and hairstyle to Jess’s red wig, but it wasn’t her.

  He put his iced tea down on the table, a little embarrassed at himself for being so eager to see her when they’d only parted a half hour ago. Jess had certainly changed everything. In the past, if he’d had to give up on something like the Scarlet because Celeste had beat him to the punch, he’d have been angry and mopey for a few weeks. But because of Jess, he was ready to just move on to the next adventure. With her.

  A block away, the woman with red hair ended her examination of a window display of sunglasses and moved on to the next window, a shop selling cookware. Adam watched as she chatted in the cell phone in her ear, while tossing her hair flirtatiously over her shoulder. He should mention that kind of mannerism to Jess; women touched their hair constantly. Jess was so unaccustomed to wearing wigs that she never touched them once they were on her head.

  He glanced down at the time on his own phone. Five minutes past the time they were supposed to meet. It wasn’t like her to be anything but exactly punctual.

  If he was being absolutely honest with himself, he was a little relieved that the Red Scarlet job wasn’t happening. He’d never admit it to her, but maybe Jess wasn’t ready for primetime yet. She was incredible at research and preparation and brainstorming scenarios and technical problem-solving. But she just wasn’t comfortable “doing” yet. She hesitated and stumbled while acting in the moment. In this job, planning and organization was key, but decisive action in critical moments would save your ass every time. He frowned, wondering how he could be a better teacher to her.

  The woman with red hair finished the call on her cell phone and carefully placed it in her purse. Then she walked across the plaza, dainty little steps on shiny yellow kitten heels that made her perfectly round bottom bounce in—

  Motherfucker.

  As if she knew that his mouth had just dropped open with shock, Jess looked over her shoulder and gave him a blinding grin.

  Adam forced his mouth closed and returned a jaunty wave. But she knew she’d fooled him.

  He opened his menu again and stared at it without reading. What the hell had Celeste talked about in their “mentoring” conversation? Jess had just changed her walk and body language so much that he hadn’t known it was her from a block away even though he’d been looking at her for five minutes. Maybe he needed to rethink things about her readiness. Maybe.

  * * *

  Their luxurious suite featured a four-poster bed and an enormous glass-encased shower. As Jess exclaimed over the stone fireplace and expensive bath products, Adam wondered whether they should make use of the bed or shower first. The shower, he decided, stripping off his shirt and pulling her into the bathroom. Her eyes widened and darkened simultaneously. Without a word, she kicked off her new shoes. Yes. He wanted her naked under the rain shower in thirty seconds. They’d explore the bed after dinner.

  His phone rang, a shrill note that echoed in the marble bathroom. He yanked it out of his back pocket, intending to throw it on the counter. But then he noticed that it was Celeste. He showed the display to Jess who immediately looked at her watch. Exactly—it was after seven. Why would Celeste be calling now? She should be at the engagement party, ready to meet her partner in the kitchen for the necklace exchange.

  He answered on speaker phone. “What’s up, C?”

  When she answered, her voice was so weak and hoarse that his stomach plummeted to his toes. “I’m sick again,” she whispered. “Really sick. I think my partner did poison me.”

  Jess, always the voice of reason, spoke with authority. “Call 911 right now.”

  “I did,” Celeste rasped. “Ambulance coming. Can you meet me at the hospital?”

  Adam and Jess locked eyes. “Of course,” Adam said. “We’re leaving now.”

  A sound that sounded halfway between a sob and a dry heave. “I’m so scared, Adam. So scared.”

  Chapter Seven

  They made it back to the community hospital in record time. Adam knew his driving hadn’t been exactly safe, but Jess didn’t complain and no sirens stopped them. With Jess at his heels, he ran up to the ER’s reception desk. “I need to check on Celeste Charles.”

  He was too worried, too loud. The nurse physically jerked back at the volume of his voice. “She should have gotten here by ambulance about thirty minutes ago.”

  The nurse shook her head. “No, no woman by that name has checked in tonight.”

  Before he could snap, Jess placed a cautionary grip on his arm and spoke in a pleasant voice. “How about a Cece Brink?” />
  The nurse shook her head. Goddamn it. But Jess just continued with a rueful shake of her head. “My sister has been married and divorced a few times, and I never know what name she’s using. She’s about five six and blonde. She would have been admitted with severe gastrointestinal symptoms. She may have even been unconscious.”

  The nurse calmed at Jess’s explanation, but held up her hands in apology. “We haven’t checked in any women since this morning, hon. It’s been a real quiet night.”

  Adam and Jess hovered at the entryway of the ER, unsure of what to do next. “Could she have been taken to another hospital?” Jess asked.

  Adam fought the panic in his gut and focused on her question. “Unlikely. There isn’t another one for almost thirty miles and this is where she was taken yesterday.” He tried calling Celeste’s cell again, but it just rang and rang until it went to a generic voice mail message.

  An ambulance pulled into the driveway and they both stiffened. But when the EMTs opened the back doors, it was an elderly man on a stretcher that they carried down. One of the medics pushed the man into the hospital, and the other climbed back into the ambulance.

  Before he could close the doors, Jess dashed over. “Hey there! Any chance you picked up a woman at a Healdsburg apartment building within the last hour?”

  The medic looked down at Jess, squinting. “We didn’t get her, but I heard the dispatcher order another unit over there.”

  “Could you find out where they took her?” Jess asked. “She’s not here.”

  The EMT hesitated and Adam held his breath. “It’s my sister,” Jess said. “She called me an hour ago, told me she’d called 911 and an ambulance was coming. She was very sick.”

  “Hold on,” the medic said. He closed the door.

  Adam joined Jess and wrapped her in his arms. “Thank you,” he breathed in her ear.

  The EMT opened the car door and climbed out. “Okay, this is a weird one, folks. Turns out, we did dispatch an ambulance to that apartment building after receiving a 911 call from a woman who was too sick to move.” He looked down at Jess. “When they got to the apartment no one answered. They feared she’d passed out, and according to procedure, they forcibly entered the unit through a window. While it was clear that someone had been very sick, very recently, there was nobody in the apartment. They also knocked on doors to everyone else in the apartment building, but no one had seen a sick woman.”

  Adam tried to process the story, but it made no sense at all. Celeste had been so sick that she’d called herself an ambulance, begged Adam to meet her at the hospital—but then she’d disappeared? What the hell?

  “Maybe she got some other ride to a different hospital,” the EMT said gently to Jess, obviously worried she’d fall apart over her missing “sister.” “I’ve seen stranger things happen.”

  Jess cleared her throat. “Maybe. We’ll start calling around. Thank you so much,” she said, pulling Adam away.

  * * *

  The next few hours passed in a blur. From the hospital, they drove to Celeste’s apartment. The medic hadn’t been exaggerating; the apartment stunk of vomit again, and a window in the bedroom had been broken, ostensibly by the EMTs. But there was no sign of Celeste. A suitcase had been pulled out from under the bed, but nothing had yet been packed. The drawers were full of clothes and toiletries cluttered the bathroom counter. A sequined gown she’d probably planned to wear to the big engagement party still hung in the closet.

  “Her laptop isn’t here,” Jess noticed immediately.

  “I don’t see her purse either,” Adam said, checking all the drawers and cabinets. “The replica of the Scarlet is gone too. No ID, no phone, no photos. There’s literally nothing personal left in this apartment.”

  Jess spoke, hesitation in her voice. “Adam, do you think she ran? Maybe someone found out she was trying to take the Scarlet and she just fled?”

  He forced himself to consider her words. “It’s a possibility,” he allowed. But—”I just keep hearing her voice, over and over in my head. When she said she was scared.” It hadn’t been the sassy Celeste he’d known for years, the thief who would run like hell if she thought her cover was blown. No, that terrified voice, those simple words had belonged to a woman sick enough to truly fear for her life. A woman for whom medical attention would be the only thing on her mind.

  Jess seemed to be following his thoughts. “OK. So the only other scenario that makes sense is that she got a ride to another hospital from someone else.”

  “Right,” he lied. Adam’s instincts told him there was actually another scenario, one much worse, that made a lot more sense. But Jess hadn’t been in this world long enough to know how dark things could get. “Let’s go back to our hotel and wait for her to call.”

  * * *

  The phone finally rang at 6:00 am.

  Jess, who’d been dozing in an armchair, sat straight up and looked at Adam hopefully. His own gut clenched instead. Whoever this was, it wasn’t Celeste. He answered the phone on speaker. “Hello?”

  “Adam Henry? This is Dr. Gregor at Sonoma County hospital. I’m calling because you’re listed as the emergency contact person for Cece Brink.”

  For a moment, Adam’s heart lifted. “Yes! Has she been admitted?”

  The doctor paused. “Oh. No. I was actually hoping she was with you. Have you seen her in the last twelve hours?”

  Adam’s stomach curdled. He’d been right to be scared. “No. Why?”

  The doctor sighed. “Normally I wouldn’t speak of another patient’s medical condition, but the truth of the matter is that I’m worried about her life. She may have mentioned that we did a second round of blood work because the results of her first were so extraordinary. I strongly advised her not to leave—”

  Adam closed his eyes. “It’s not your fault. I know she left AMA. What did her blood work show?”

  The doctor cleared his throat. “Her kidneys and liver were in such bad shape on Friday afternoon that unless she had dramatic medical intervention that day, well, there’s no way she’s still alive right now.”

  Jess gasped, but Adam could hardly hear her above the ringing in his ears. He could also barely hear the doctor inquiring about the possibility of exposure to or ingestion of a toxin.

  All he could hear was Celeste’s voice saying, “I’m so scared, Adam,” and feeling the bone-deep certainty that his instincts were right again.

  * * *

  Jess made her third cup of terrible coffee from the small coffeepot in the hotel room. She was itching to leave, to go anywhere. But Adam had stalked out after hanging up with the doctor. He’d muttered something about a walk and then disappeared. She didn’t want him to return to an empty room so she’d settled for pacing around their suite about eight hundred times.

  Celeste—dead. She’d only known the woman for two days and it still shook her to the core. Just yesterday she’d been so vibrantly alive, pushing Adam’s buttons and giving her thieving advice. What in the world had happened to her? The doctor had mentioned something about a toxin and Celeste thought she’d been poisoned by her mysterious partner. Jess stalked across the room again. It was almost too crazy to believe... Celeste had been murdered?

  Man, what she wouldn’t give for a nice, long, heart-to-heart with Adam right now. She’d never seen him like this. Granted, she’d known him less than six months, but it was still shocking to see him so pale, so stunned, so...angry? She hardly knew.

  It bothered her that she barely knew.

  She was in love with this man, there was no question. But she was beginning to realize there were large parts of him that she didn’t know at all. It was a bit disconcerting, really, to admit to oneself that you’d uprooted your entire life for a man you didn’t know how to comfort when he was upset.

  She swallowed down half the cup, wincing at
the watery yet bitter taste. She couldn’t shake the feeling that this could be a paramount moment in their burgeoning relationship. Shouldn’t she know the right way to help him deal with a huge loss?

  The hotel door banged open. Adam strode into the room and sat on the bed, never making eye contact with her.

  She swallowed. “I’m so sorry, Adam. This is just unspeakable.”

  Apparently he agreed with her because he said nothing. He just stared at the floor.

  Licking her lips, Jess tried to think of next steps. “Um, is there some family of Celeste’s that we should contact?”

  “She didn’t have any family,” he bit out, still staring at the floor.

  Trying not to be stung by the testy tone of his voice, Jess exhaled calmly. “What should we do?”

  His eyes went from the floor to her face so quickly she almost backed up. “I’m going to find out who did this to her. They will be punished.”

  Whoa. Apparently Adam had leapt from surprise, straight across grief, and into vengeance. Jess took a deep breath. Okay. Well, that wasn’t so surprising, right? She might very well have the same reaction if someone she cared about was murdered. Maybe some sort of constructive investigative action would be helpful for Adam in terms of processing all of this.

  So, she sat back and did what she did best—thought logically. “Celeste’s unknown partner is the obvious suspect, right? The only thing we know about him is that Celeste said he was too emotional about Todd. That gives us a good starting point.”

  From their tour of the vineyard, they knew two men who clearly were angry with Todd and would have had access to the estate. Both Todd’s accountant, Simon Hess, and his next door neighbor, Ray Lyons, had seemed furious with him the day before. Perhaps one of them thought stealing the Red Scarlet would be both lucrative and a nice “Fuck You” to a man they despised.