by Linda Wisdom
…
Lauren called Sophie first thing in the morning to say she’d be coming in late. She and Dana treated themselves to a leisurely breakfast out before Dana started her drive back to Los Angeles and Lauren drove on to work.
After parking the car, she sat there a moment, taking deep breaths until her heart rate slowed.
“All you have to do is stick with the plan. You can do it.” Chanting the words like a protective mantra, she got out of her car and headed for her basement office.
“Detective Thomas called about the post on that hit-and-run. A Dr. Williams asked you to call him about a talk you agreed to give after the first of the year. And,” Sophie frowned as she searched through the pink message slips, “somebody else called, but I don’t remember who. I’ll find it.”
“Good idea.” Lauren picked up the other message slips and walked into her office. When she reached the door, she snapped her fingers and turned as if she’d suddenly remembered something. “Oh, Sophie, could you do me a favor?” She pulled her cell out of her pocket and pulled up her contact info. “Would you call the resort and make a reservation for two for the weekend after next? If it’s available, I’d like bungalow number twelve.” She rattled off the number.
Sophie nodded. “For two?”
“That’s right.”
“You and Mr. Brandon?” she asked slowly.
Lauren gave her the kind of secretive smile she’d seen other women use when they were considering what some would call an illicit weekend. “We thought we’d get away for a few days.”
Sophie blew a small bubble. “Okay, but if you ask me, this isn’t a good idea. Not after all the stuff that’s happened to you guys.”
“That’s why the best thing we can do is get away. So I’m sure you can understand it’s something we really don’t want to get around.” Lauren walked into her office, confident Sophie would openly question her boss’s lack of good sense with as many people as she could track down.
Once she had the door closed, she grabbed the phone and punched in Josh’s number.
“Hi, Ginnie, it’s Dr. Hunter. Is Josh around?” She glanced through the messages, absently sorting them into piles signifying important, not so important, forget altogether.
“Not this morning. He’s at a bail hearing right now and he has a sentencing this afternoon. Do you want him to call you back when he gets a chance?”
“Hm.” Lauren looked down at her schedule. “We’d probably end up missing each other because my day looks pretty full, too. I’ll talk to him tonight. Just tell him I called, but not to worry. It’s not anything important.”
“When he calls in for messages, I’ll let him know you called. Dr. Hunter,” the secretary lowered her voice. “You be real careful, you hear?”
“Don’t worry, Ginnie, I haven’t cut myself during a post once, and I intend to keep that record.”
“That’s not what I mean and we both know it. I was here when the flowers and gifts started arriving. And when women he’d been seeing would call him and say they’re weren’t going to see him anymore. It wasn’t until later on we found out it was because of that woman who’s been following him. She’s gotten out of hand. Especially since it’s obvious the two of you are getting serious. You just be careful.”
Lauren couldn’t help but respond to the woman’s sincerity before hanging up. “Believe me, I intend to.”
“You ready?” Pete stood in the doorway. He then noticed she still wore charcoal wool slacks and a blue blouse. “Guess not.”
She looked up. “Sorry, Pete. I had to make a call. I’ll change and be there in a minute.”
Lauren went into the small area used as a dressing room. It wasn’t until she pulled her surgical scrubs out of her locker and started to put them on that the faint odor hit her. Without any warning, she sneezed several times. Taking a chance, she sniffed and found that along with the sharp tang of disinfectant mingled with various chemicals, she detected the scent of perfume—a perfume she didn’t wear because a sample proved she was allergic to the fragrance. Obsession.
She dug through a stacked pile of clean laundry for another pair that carried only the odor of detergent and faint starch. After she dressed, she pulled a can of Lysol spray out of the storage closet and sprayed the room with a heavy hand.
“If nothing else, she had the guts to pick the right perfume for her fun and games.”
…
Lauren stood back from the table after searching the woman’s body for anything to indicate it might have been a murder. Since she’d been found dead in her apartment without a doctor in attendance, it was standard procedure for an autopsy to be performed.
She rattled off the woman’s name, age, height, weight, and other particulars as she worked.
“She’s badly decomposed, which isn’t going to help us much,” she muttered, automatically wrinkling her nose against the gases escaping the body once it was opened. Even the vent sucking up air couldn’t always take it all in.
“The liver is enlarged,” Pete murmured, from the other side of the table.
She nodded. “Looks as if she had an alcohol problem. If we’re lucky, the lab tests will bear our diagnosis out.”
“I couldn’t find anything under her fingernails to indicate she’d fought off an attacker. And there were no traces of semen found in her vagina, mouth, or rectal areas,” Pete told her. “At least we can rule out rape.”
Lauren nodded her approval. “I heard you had a crime scene to visit last night?”
“One gang fighting a rival for their territory. The usual bullet and knife wounds. Three of them under sixteen, one of them with a bad case of acne,” he finished with disgust. “Babies playing with guns. It’s not right. They should have been worrying about their math homework or asking girls to the movies—not about who was going to shoot who.” He weighed each organ, sliced samples for testing, and sealed them. “Sophie thinks you’re nuts to go away with Josh Brandon for a long weekend.”
Lauren’s hands stilled for a moment, then resumed their task. “She doesn’t waste any time, does she?”
“Not her. She’s never been able to keep secrets well even if she claims she doesn’t gossip. Oh, she doesn’t talk about the posts. She thinks they’re too disgusting. But when it comes to the living, breathing human beings around here, she considers us fair game. You should be glad you weren’t here seven months ago, when she went on a health kick. She was always pushing vitamins and strange-looking herbal shit on us. We were all pretty grateful when she decided they were bad for her skin.”
“And to think I worried it might be a little boring out here,” she murmured.
“I don’t think you’ve had that problem so far.”
“So are you going to give a brotherly speech about how I should take myself out of the scene? That I’m only putting myself in more danger? That I really should reconsider having anything more to do with Josh Brandon until she’s caught?”
He shook his head. “I decided a long time ago not to give anybody advice. That way, they can’t blame me if they take it and I turn out to be wrong. But I can tell you that Sophie heard that Mitzi Collier is applying for a secretarial job that’s opening up in the DA’s office in a couple of months. She might be able to start sooner, if Josh agrees to let her take Ginnie’s place while she’s on vacation next month. That way, she can begin work sooner and be close to Josh. She may not be their only suspect, but she’s still considered pretty strong, right along with the others.”
“Considering this other woman’s penchant for remaining unseen in the background, that would be a little too obvious, even for her, wouldn’t it?”
“Some people have brass balls.” He suddenly flushed. “So I’ve heard.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve been accused of much worse.” She peeled off her latex gloves. “Until we have the tox screens back, we won’t know for sure, but I’d say it’s a good bet the lady died from alcohol poisoning, wouldn’t you agree?”
&nbs
p; “It sure seems that way.” Pete hesitated as if unsure whether to say any more.
She didn’t miss his expression. “What’s wrong, Pete?”
“I know this sounds weird, but I swore I could smell perfume in the locker room when I changed clothes this morning. And no one’s been in there for the last couple of days except me. I don’t remember you ever wearing that particular one and it’s pretty distinctive, so I think I’d remember it. I had Sophie go in there and take a whiff. She said she doesn’t wear anything like that.”
“It’s called Obsession. Josh’s little playmate from hell likes to wear it when she’s making a statement. I guess she decided to leave me another fragrant reminder of her presence, as if I’d ever forget the little darling. I sprayed Lysol in there. The blend didn’t turn out pleasant, but as far as I’m concerned, it’s much better.”
“I don’t understand what’s going on here with all this. Why is she going after you more than she went after the others Josh used to date?” He looked as confused as Lauren remembered once feeling. “You’d think she’d give up, cut her losses, and look for another guy.”
“It’s been thought I resemble someone she knows and hates. Maybe she hopes she can get back at that person by getting to me. Hopefully, we’ll be able to find out who she is.”
Before it’s too late hung unspoken between the two of them.
Chapter Sixteen
Did they honestly think they could keep their getaway a secret from her? Not when Lauren’s idiotic little secretary had a mouth bigger than the Grand Canyon. Although it wasn’t Sophie she’d heard it from. It was pure luck that Debbie, a friend of hers who worked in the crime lab, overheard Sophie telling several people at lunch about her boss and Josh Brandon. Her friend then happened to pass the news on to her when they ran into each other a few days later and stopped for a cup of coffee while they caught up on gossip.
“For two people who supposedly aren’t involved, they’re sure going about it the wrong way, wouldn’t you say?” Debbie laughed. “You should have heard Sophie moan and wail about how she just knew something would happen to Lauren and she’d have to break in a new boss. As if she’s all that important over there! If it wasn’t for her City Hall connections, she’d have been out of there a long time ago.”
“You’re right, they’re definitely going about it the wrong way,” she replied, although her answer had an entirely different meaning than the first. “Who knows, maybe this is Dr. Hunter’s way of letting people know Josh is all hers and for everyone else to keep their dirty little hands off him.”
Debbie looked at her strangely. “Are you all right?”
What did I say wrong? “Fine, why?”
“You just sounded, oh, kind of snappish, almost sarcastic. That’s not like you.”
“I guess I’m more tired than I thought I was. I didn’t sleep well last night.”
She was relieved Debbie believed her explanation. Afraid she might inadvertently say too much that might give her away, she made a quick escape. There wasn’t any reason just yet for them to know that Josh was really hers. They’d find out soon enough when Lauren was out of the picture, and she was very much in it.
The first thing she needed to do was find out where Lauren and Josh were going to spend the weekend. Knowing Sophie, it wouldn’t be difficult to learn all the details. She wasn’t sure if she would decide to drop in and see them, or if she would wait until they got back, but it wouldn’t hurt to know, just in case.
Until then, well, perhaps she’d just keep to herself. Josh would expect her to come see him, so she wouldn’t do it. He’d also expect her to strike at Lauren again, so she wouldn’t do it. She wanted to laugh out loud with triumph. While she loved Josh dearly, she wished he wasn’t so predictable. She’d have to show him just how much fun “unpredictable” could be.
…
“Sophie did her job even better than we thought,” Lauren had told Josh that first evening, when they’d gone out for dinner after work. “I think everyone, including the trash collectors, know we have illicit weekend plans, and probably even where. Little do they know I made the actual reservations we’ll keep. I’ll cancel at the last minute the ones Sophie made.” She nodded when the waitress asked if she wanted black pepper on her salad and waited until she left. “Although she did tell me several times she could cancel the reservation at any time. She also told me she has a cousin I might like to meet.”
“Is his name Adrian?”
She had to think back to the conversation. “I think that’s the name she used. Why? She told me he’s a wonderful guy.”
“Oh, he’s perfect, if you enjoy health food, no meat— not even fish—and astrology. He has his own personal psychic, to make sure he doesn’t make any mistakes. Word has it he even consults the woman when he’s unsure whether to leave the house or not.”
“You’re making all this up,” Lauren accused, as she tackled her salad with less vigor than she had before as she thought about the medium-rare steak she’d ordered for the main course. “Sophie said he’s very kind and sensitive to a woman’s feelings.”
Josh nodded. “Isn’t that how people usually describe blind dates when they’re really pretty bad and there’s nothing positive to say about them? Isn’t that something you’d say?”
“I used to call them the kiss of death.”
“It just goes to show that Sophie isn’t really on the ball concerning men. You’d know what I mean if you’d ever seen her boyfriend.”
Lauren shook her head. “No, I haven’t been that lucky.”
Josh reached across the table and stole a crouton from her salad, popping it into his mouth. “No one’s sure what his real name is. He goes by ‘Snake,’ snarls instead of talks, rides a badass Harley, and has the usual number of tattoos, although I haven’t had the pleasure of seeing him naked, thank God. Ten-to-one he has more than the ones decorating his arms and chest. He usually wears a denim vest without a shirt. He’s an ancient twenty-five.”
“Interesting when she told me twenty-five was practically old age. She once described you as pretty old but not too bad looking.” She grinned at his pained wince. “Those old war wounds kicking up?”
“Thanks a lot, lady. And here I figured I was feeling younger every day.”
“I wouldn’t worry. She thinks mid-twenties is close to retirement age. I’d love to be around for her thirtieth birthday and see how she handles it.” Her smile dimmed a bit as the thought she might not be around then hit her hard. She knew the tenderness of her skin would be a reminder slow to disappear.
He reached across the table with lightning speed and covered her hand with his. “Don’t, Lauren. Don’t even think it.”
Her low-pitched laughter was filled with disbelief. “That’s easier said than done, Josh. Especially after all that’s happened.” She stopped and quickly shook her head. “She’s so clever, what else can I think? She’s won every round so far.”
“And we can make sure she won’t win any more of them. We’re going to see the plan through just as we discussed, and afterward…”
“And afterward, life will go on as before? Too much has happened for us to believe that.” She managed a brief smile as the waitress served them their meals. “What if she decides on the code ‘If I can’t have you, no one will’? What if she decides next time to cut you up, instead of destroying your clothing? Or maybe put ground glass in your coffee?”
“Then it’s a good thing I rarely make myself coffee at home.” He threw up his hands at the look in her eyes. “All right, I admit I was against your plan in the beginning. Probably because I was afraid we would push her too much. Since last night, I’ve given it a lot of thought and have come to realize it’s our only option if we hope to stop her soon.”
She nodded a brief, mocking bow. “Spoken more like an attorney than a human being.”
He took his time admiring the rose-colored dress that bared her shoulders. “I’ll stay sane if I think like an attorney. Altho
ugh the way you’re dressed right now could cause a few problems.”
“After a day looking like a drudge, it’s always nice to wear something that doesn’t have blood or disgusting body fluids on it.” She instantly took pity on him. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell you what I did today.”
“Thanks. After reading some of your reports, I already have an idea what you do, and dispensing with shoptalk during dinner sounds like a good idea.”
Lauren reached across the table and snatched a bite of Josh’s prime rib.
“I should have ordered that instead of my steak.” Her smile froze on her lips. “We’re being watched.”
He resisted the urge to turn around. “Who?”
“Mitzi, that secretary who’s dying to work in the DA’s office. Especially dying to work for you. She’s at a table near the bar.” She started cutting her meat and continued smiling. “She keeps looking over this way.”
“Maybe she isn’t sure it’s us.”
“Josh, we’re in a well-lit restaurant. She knows it’s us, and she doesn’t look happy. She’s with a boy probably ten or eleven.”
“Her son.”
Lauren drank her wine, although she wasn’t sure the idea of alcohol slowing her reflexes was a good one. “Do you think she followed us?”
He shook his head. “It’s a pretty popular place for anyone working in the courthouse. Look how long we had to wait for our table, and we had reservations. Maybe it’s better if you pretend you didn’t see her. She’ll have to come to us.” He picked up the wine bottle and topped off both glasses. “So tell me, if we’re not using the reservations Sophie made for us, where are we going?”
“Someplace just as nice, but not as accessible.”
“Do I get to hear a name, or is it a secret?”
She smiled. “A secret, for now.”
They had just declined dessert but opted for coffee when Lauren’s attention was briefly diverted.