Before he could sit down himself, however, Miranda sidled back into the restaurant. She was wearing beige tube dress that nearly disappeared against her skin, and gold jewelry around her thin throat and wrists. Easing her scrawny frame over to his table, she plastered on one of those fake smiles. “Are you avoiding me, John?”
He sighed. “Yes, Miranda, isn't it obvious?” The girl never could take a hint.
Tatiana stifled a chuckle, and Miranda cut her a displeased look before addressing him again. “Aren't you going to introduce me to your companion?”
He folded his arms across his chest. “Why on Earth would I do that, Miranda? You hold no importance in my life, so I won't be making any introductions, thank you.”
Miranda's brow furrowed into a deep scowl. “Oh, so that's how it is.” She slapped her small hand on the table, as if it were supposed to frighten him. Then she turned her venom on Tatiana. “I bet he didn't even tell you about me, did he? If you get involved with him, you're making a mistake.”
Tatiana narrowed her eyes, then tilted her head to the size. “I'll take my chances.”
Miranda looked taken aback, then smacked her lips. Turning quickly, she exited the place in a huff.
When Miranda was gone, Tatiana gave him a strange look. “You dated that hot mess?”
He rested his forehead in his hands. “Don't ask. Let's just say I didn't always have good taste.”
She shook her head. “I can tell. That girl was six kinds of rude.”
He tried to hide his frustration. Of all the times to run into that crazy ass Miranda. He saw her from time to time, because she lived in the Triangle. But to run into her while he was with Tatiana was too damn much. He groaned, and sent up a short prayer that Miranda would be suddenly inspired to move to Saskatchewan. Straightening, he asked, “What do you want? I'll order for you.”
She waved a delicate hand in front of him. “I don't know if I have much appetite after this encounter with your bitter ex girlfriend.”
This was just what he'd dreaded. Loudmouth Miranda had a way of making things difficult for him whenever she was around. “Tatiana, don't worry about her. We only dated for six months, and it was years ago.”
Leaning back in her chair, she looked thoughtful. “How many years ago?”
“It was back in '06, when I started teaching at St. Aug.”
She frowned. “Oh my God, was that chick one of your students?”
That question offended him. “Hell no! She worked in the campus bookstore. Where do you get off thinking I'd sleep with one of my students?”
“So you slept with her.” Her tone was accusatory. Then, she shrugged. “Well, John, when you think about it, I really don't know you all that well, do I?”
He could feel the heat of anger rising into his face. Loosening his blue striped tie, he ground out, “I guess you don't. But that doesn't give you the right to make accusations like that.”
Her eyes hardened, and she slid her chair back. “If it was all so innocent, why didn't you tell me about her?”
“Because we hadn't gotten that far yet!”
“Oh, really, when was that coming around? Don't you think I should have known that before we got physical?”
“Tatiana, neither of us was thinking about talking about anything, let alone past relationships, when we got 'physical'.” He emphasized the word with air quotes.
She appeared to be thinking for a moment, and he thought she might be regaining her ability to reason. But as fast as the angry face faded, it returned. “Take me home, John.”
“Tatiana--”
“I said, take me home.”
He blew out a breath and rose from his seat. If she was going to pout like some angst-ridden teenager, he didn't have the time or the desire to argue with her.
So, he followed her back out to his car, let her in, and started the engine.
As they pulled away, he saw Miranda in his side view mirror. She leaned against the exterior of the building, making a show of filing her nails. A satisfied smile spread across her face as she watched them pull away.
He slapped the steering wheel. Why in the hell does Miranda have to be so damn crazy?
As he expected, Tatiana ignored him all the way back to her townhouse in Durham. When she got out and slammed the door behind her, he was tempted to peel off. But his upbringing demanded he stay long enough to see her make it safely inside her home. Once she did, he sped away into the night, frustration ruling his mind.
**
Tatiana bent the last flexible roller into place on top of her clients' head. “All right, Mrs. Jenkins. Let's get you under the dryer.”
When she'd led the elderly Mrs. Jenkins to the dryer room, and set her up under the hooded dryer, she stalked back to the station she occupied and plopped down in the styling chair.
“You know, pouting is not going to fix it.”
She turned the chair to her left, and saw Ralph two stations down, curling a teenage girl's hair with a Marcel iron. “Ralph, I don't want to talk about it.”
He laughed, moving to a new section of hair with a smaller barreled iron. “T, who do you think you're fooling? Why else would you be working on a Friday?”
She let her head drop back, groaning. He was right, much to her annoyance. In all the years she'd owned the Tigress, she'd never worked a Friday unless a stylist quit without notice, or some similar disaster happened. With no such excuse for her presence today, even she wondered why she bothered to come in.
“So,” Ralph asked, releasing a perfect spiral curl, “what's the problem?”
She let her eyes slide closed as she recounted the events at the sub shop the night before. “I don't know why I made such a big deal, but something about that girl really rubbed me the wrong way.”
“Jealousy,” Ralph countered sagely. “But you do realize you acted stupid, right?”
She sat up straight, trained a dirty look on her friend. “How could you say that?”
“Come on, T. Y’all have been dating for what, a whole two weeks or so? Did you disclose all your past relationships to him?”
Her gaze dropped into her lap. “No.” She hated when Ralph called her out like this, but she supposed that was what made him such a great friend.
“Exactly. Why are your expectations so high? You've got to stop seeing Wyatt in every man you date. Besides, he was your sister's mistake, not yours.”
She ran a hand over her forehead. “Man. I can't believe I screwed things up like this.”
“You're all set, Tiffany.” Ralph tapped the teen on her shoulder, and she went off to find her mama. “You know, T, God can still bless you, despite your own stupidity. Ava is proof of that.”
In her mind's eye, she could see her niece's sparkling brown eyes and sweet smile. “You're right, Ralph.”
He chuckled. “I know I am. Don't sweat it. I'm sure your...” he cleared his throat and leaned in, “...other job will bring you together again soon enough. Then you can apologize.”
She stretched her legs out in front of her, tugging down the green blouse she'd worn to the salon with her favorite black slacks. “I wouldn't even know what to say to him after the way I acted.”
Ralph waved her off. “I'm sure you'll think of something.”
A barrage of shouts broke into their conversation.
“Oh, Lord!”
“Hey! Mrs. Jenkins's dryer is smoking!”
Tatiana shot out of the chair and darted across the room with Ralph on her heels.
I guess I was needed here today after all.
After escorting the shaken Mrs. Jenkins away from the dryer, Tatiana placed a call. Within an hour, an electrician was dispatched to tend to the frayed wiring that led to the problem. She was watching him make the repair when her PHOENIX cell phone vibrated in her pants pocket.
Scampering to her office and closing the door gently behind her, she answered the call. “Lieutenant Yates.”
“Lieutenant, it's Junjie.”
S
he perched on the edge of her desk, filled with anticipation over what he was about to say. “Have you culled all possible details from the note?”
“Yes, ma'am. In fact, in light of what I discovered, I think we should meet tonight.”
She blew out a pent up breath, knowing this must be a very big break in the case. “I'll call a meeting right away.” She turned to glance quickly at her office wall clock. “We'll assemble at headquarters in an hour.”
“Understood.”
She disconnected the call and held the phone in front of her. Pushing the blue buttons that would automatically alert John and Marcelo, she recorded a quick voice message for them, informing them of the meeting. Grabbing her black blazer and handbag from the back of the chair behind her desk, she hurried to the door and flung it open.
And nearly knocked Ralph right off his feet.
“Ralph!”
“Sorry,” he said, looking only semi-guilty. “When I saw you dash out of the room, I knew something juicy was going down.”
She wanted to pop him upside his big bald head, but she restrained herself. “Ralph, what I do in the evenings is dangerous. I don't want you getting hurt.”
He nodded. “I get it.”
“Good. Then stop being so damn nosy,” she scolded, even as a laugh escaped her. Ralph had been that way ever since she'd known him, so nosy his nickname could be Axle Foley.
“I'll try. Anyway, go handle your business. I'll close up here after the electrician leaves.” He shooed her toward the door.
“Thanks, Ralph.”
Easing out the door and down the steps, she left the shop and headed for her car in the parking deck across the street. It was a good thing she had on flats today, because she had a feeling things were about to get very interesting.
CHAPTER 10
When John pulled up to PHOENIX regional headquarters, he could see three other vehicles already there. That meant he was the last to arrive. With today being one of the evenings he had posted office hours to meet with his students outside of class, he hadn't really had a choice but to stay on campus later than usual. He glanced at his wristwatch, realizing he had about five minutes to get inside before the emergency meeting started.
He was eager to find out what new information his friend Junjie had discovered. For the first time in a while, though, he was not eager to see Tatiana. As thrilled as he was that the clue he'd found would probably help catch the jackasses stealing the museum's priceless artifacts, he wasn't really in the mood for any lip from Lieutenant Attitude. Exiting his car, he pulled his trench tighter against a chilly breeze that rustled the trees around him, the scent of pine sap wafting past his nose. Soon he completed the security check at the door and was let in by the electronic system.
He drifted down the hallway, and could see the yellow light coming from the conference room near the opposite end. It was nearly silent in the corridor, except for the beeping of various equipment PHOENIX used to monitor the building twenty-four seven. He figured they were waiting for him, so he picked up his pace, and soon entered the room.
Marcelo was reclining in a chair on the table's left side, near the whiteboard. Junjie was jotting something on the whiteboard with a red marker, and Tatiana was sitting on the edge of the table, her back to him. As irritated as he was with her for the way she'd behaved the night before, he couldn't help noticing the way the black slacks gripped her full, round behind. Nodding to Marcelo, and vowing to keep his mind on the matter at hand, he sat down next to the sorcerer.
Junjie turned momentarily from what he was writing. “Glad you're here, John, because I've dissected your clue and it's solid gold, man.”
He smiled. “Glad I could be of assistance.”
When he spoke, she turned around at looked at him, as if she'd just noticed him. “Hey, John.” Her voice was as soft as he remembered her skin to be beneath his hands, and her eyes held a quality of uncertainty.
“Lieutenant.” He kept his expression blank. If she thought she was going to squirm her way out of this with the sad puppy dog eyes, he had news for her.
Seemingly hurt, she turned back toward Junjie at the whiteboard.
“Basically, this is what the note says, decoded,” Junjie announced, stepping away from the board a bit so everyone could see what he'd written.
John read the text in his mind.
Tempest,
Bring the Meadowlark Lemon uniform and the Virginia Dare Painting to the Port of Wilmington, General Cargo Terminal, CSX Transportation station, on October 31.
-The Merchant
“Wow. How did you get all of that out a bunch of numbers and letters?” As Marcelo asked the question, his voice was filled with awe.
“It actually wasn't the most complex of codes. The first set of numbers on the slip represented latitude and longitude, and I figured the second set was a date. Once I knew the city, the other abbreviations weren't too difficult to crack.” Junjie place the marker back in the tray, and leaned back against the board.
“Impressive, Agent Yu.” Tatiana patted J on the back. “Very impressive.”
She stood, and he got a very distracting view of her long legs encased in the tight fitting slacks. His mouth began to water, and he dragged his eyes away.
“Marcelo, have you finished the containment spell?”
The sorcerer nodded. “I finished it last night.” He reached into the pocket of his coveralls and pulled out a vial, about the size of a cologne bottle. “One spritz of this will render a sublimer's powers useless.”
“How long does it last?” She folded her arms.
“It will last about 24 hours, and cannot be washed off once it's applied. I figured the perps would try to remove it once they understand what it does, so I eliminated that concern.”
John shook his head. He'd never understood the sorcery thing. “Marcelo, how do you do this stuff?”
He shrugged. “I owe it to the power that dwells within me, John. And I did enlist the help of my younger brother, Carlo.”
John nodded. He'd heard of the other sorcerer, Carlo, before. According to the archives, he and his brother had recently taken down a prostitution ring up in the mountains. Whatever power the Spirelli brothers wielded, it was obviously pretty damn strong.
“This means the drop is planned for Halloween,” she said, her hand on her chin as if she were thinking out loud. “That's nine days from now. Any idea of the time?”
Junjie shook his head. “I would imagine they do this on a regular basis, so there was no need to mention the time.”
He scratched his head, wondering how this was going to work out. That week, he would be swamped with mid-terms. This year he'd assigned papers to his students as their mid-term, on various historical topics pertinent to their respective classes. He knew he would have to finish grading the papers earlier than usual, since the students would be expecting them back on Monday the first of November. He'd been lucky in the past five years, no mission had ever been assigned to him around mid-terms or finals. He shrugged it off, figuring he could get a student assistant to help him if he needed to.
“Does anyone have any conflict with traveling to Wilmington on next Saturday?” She looked around for a moment. “I will have to tell my sister I can't watch Ava.”
Junjie and Marcelo shook their heads, both stating that they never worked weekends.
“I'll leave Lalah in the capable hands of her sisters for a few days while I'm gone. Since she got pregnant, they love to dote on her anyway.” Junjie smiled as he talked about his fiancee, who was carrying his first child.
John remembered the day J had told him Lalah was having a baby. They didn't know if the baby was a girl or a boy, or what kind of powers it would have. As crazy as John thought they were, they insisted on letting both those tidbits of vital information be surprises.
“What about you, John?” She turned her attention to him, hitting him with those eyes again.
“I'll be grading mid-term papers, but other than that,
I'm in.”
She nodded, and looked like she was searching his face for a moment. Then, she picked up her phone and purse. “Dismissed,” she announced, and everyone gathered their things to leave.
Marcelo left first. John stopped J for a minute to ask how Lalah was doing.
“Other than complaining that she feels like a beached whale, she's great.” He chuckled. “I keep telling her she's glowing and beautiful. Some days she believes it, other days, not so much.”
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