08 Trigger Snappy

by Camilla Chafer

  "Graves," said Lucas when he picked up. "You don't write, you don't call. This is nice."

  "Lucas?" I replied. Out of all the guys I worked with, only Lucas insisted on being called by his first name. Since it sounded like a surname, I figured there must have been someone who simply assumed it was. "I do write. I sent you an email last week. I'm actually calling for a favor."

  "Shoot."

  "I need some expert analysis on a client's computer history. Well, that and more."

  "Sounds interesting. What did they do?"

  "It's what they might not have done that I'm interested in," I said, explaining the case as succinctly as I could.

  "This sounds a lot like something Solomon asked me to do on his case." Lucas paused, and I instantly realized he knew. Fortunately, that was no bad thing.

  "It's the same case, but we're working opposite angles," I admitted.

  "How very mathematical. You know what kind of angle I am?"

  I couldn't help smile. "Acute?"

  "I am a cute angle! Thank you for noticing! Remind me to tell my fiancée that. Maybe it’ll keep her on her toes. What do you need from me?"

  "Can you hack into..."

  "I don't hack, you know that. Whoever is listening needs to know that too."

  "Whatever you call it, and no one's listening. You're just being paranoid."

  "Tell that to the CIA."

  "They're not listening, Lucas."

  "That's what they say. Fine, but just to be clear, we have full access to your client's work computer since we are working for her employer. That means everything I do will be legal and above board. I can access their network too."

  "That's great! I need you to track anything to do with the case that came from her computer. I need to know if it were she who logged in, if the emails were sent directly from her computer, or elsewhere. Also check to see if there's any spyware on her desktop, or if her emails are being cloned. Anything you can find that could prove her innocence. I already know she wasn't present when one of the trades was made."

  "That's funny you should ask because I'm doing all that already for Solomon, except he's looking for irrefutable proof that she is the one responsible."

  "Essentially, it's the same thing. Can you please go that extra mile to look for a possibility that whoever made those trades and sent those emails wasn't Juliet? I'll send you a list of specifics."

  "No problem. I'll contact you once I've completed the task."

  I thanked Lucas and hung up, wondering if I should run my request past Solomon. I figured not, since we were already sharing case notes. So what if I benefited from his instructions to Lucas? It was all the same information and Solomon would have shared it eventually. This way, I just got it at the same time he did. Mentioning the emails reminded me, I needed to speak to Juliet's assistant, the one who filed the strange claim about being fired without warning. I called Lucas back.

  "I'm not that fast," he said. "You need to be patient."

  "Actually, I need an address. Jane O'Dowd. She used to work as Juliet's assistant."

  I heard the tapping of keys and a long pause; then, "1278 Spring Street."

  "Thank you!" Hanging up, I glanced at Lily. "Do you want to come interview Juliet's former assistant?"

  "Since I'm so good at the shakedowns?"

  "Sure," I agreed, not wanting to discourage her as we exited the parking lot, aiming for Montgomery.

  The smile from Lily's face disappeared. "I'd love to, but I have to pee."

  "Why didn't you go at the terminal?"

  "I was so excited about the development in the case, I forgot I needed to!"

  "Lily! This is like traveling with a child!"

  "I know! Good preparation, right? Are we nearly there yet?" she joked, pulling a face.

  "I don't need the practice. I'm not the one who's pregnant!"

  "Maybe it's catching."

  "What is? Pregnancy?"

  "Sure. I've heard of it happening. One friend gets pregnant, then they all get pregnant."

  "We need to talk about sex. That is not how pregnancy happens."

  Lily looked affronted. "I know that. Did I tell you about the night I think I got pregnant? Oh, we were having so much fun! Especially when Jord started doing that thing with the Cheerios. Let me tell you..."

  I wished I could put my fingers in my ears. I really, really wished I could after Lily’s description. I would probably never be able to erase it from my audible memory. Fortunately, before it reached the point where I was looking for somewhere to ditch my own car and hitchhike the rest of the way home, we saw a gas station and I pulled in. While I waited for Lily to hop into the bathroom, no easy feat with her legs practically crossed, I tried Delgado again.

  "Hey," he said on answering. "The system is halfway installed."

  "That's good news. Any problems? Anyone come to the house?"

  "A few wiring issues, but they're resolved. I'm trying to find a decent place to point the cameras at the doors, somewhere they won't be seen. And no, no one came to the house, but the husband went to the grocery store."

  "All seem legit?" I asked.

  "Yeah, he bought fruit and milk. I checked. Do you want to come over and inspect the system when we're done installing it? I might be a couple more hours."

  "Yes, please. I'm on my way back from a lead and have to chase down another lead, so I'll be two hours minimum anyway. Is that okay?"

  "I still have to set up audio and test the system, so that sounds good. Do you want me to wire upstairs?"

  "The windows? Definitely."

  "What about the attic hatch?"

  "I didn't know they had one."

  "I noticed it earlier."

  "I don't know. Maybe. Can a house be accessed by an attic hatch?"

  "Not this one, because it's not adjoined to any other house; but I'll check it anyway just to be sure no one is living inside."

  I shuddered, unwilling to concentrate too much brain space on that as a possibility. "Thanks. I really appreciate you doing this on such short notice."

  "No problem. I hope we catch this guy. No woman should be frightened in her own home."

  I agreed, but didn't add especially when she couldn't leave it. It was an awful prospect that Juliet was the bait by which we hoped to catch her stalker; but there seemed to be no other way unless Lucas came up with a compelling lead during his investigations that would ensure her freedom. Her electronic ankle bracelet forced her into that position; and that concept kept popping into my head. At least, Juliet wasn't stuck in a prison cell.

  On the drive back to Lily's bar, I half expected Solomon to call, and warn me about commandeering his employees to do my work, but he didn't. I reasoned that was because we were both looking for the truth. It meant far more to me to ensure Juliet wasn't guilty than it would have to Solomon to see her imprisoned. His client just needed a culprit; my client needed her freedom.

  I dropped Lily at the bar with a promise to let her know as soon as we discussed her video, and dialed Solomon.

  "I'm going to see Juliet's assistant. As a woman close to Juliet, she could be our stalker. I thought you might want to talk to her too?"

  "Text me the address."

  Solomon was waiting for me by the time I parked on Spring Street. The building where Jane O'Dowd lived was a new development of condos, shoehorned between some pre-war apartments and a park. The door was propped open by a cleaning crew so we walked in and headed up the stairs, looking for the right unit.

  "Hi, I'm looking for Jane O'Dowd," I told the woman who answered the door. She was older than Juliet, taller, and wearing thick glasses that were too heavy for her long face.

  "That's me, but I don't want to sign up for, or purchase anything," she told me promptly.

  "Actually, I wanted to ask you a few questions about Juliet Hart."

  "Her? The case is settled; and I don't want to talk about it. I signed a non-disclosure. I had to. If you're a journalist or a lawyer, I can't tell
you anything more."

  "It's about you leaving the company," Solomon started, reaching for his PI license to flash.

  "You showed me already and I still don't want to talk to you. I didn't leave! I was fired!" Jane clamped her lips shut, realizing her error.

  "We think there might have been an mistake," I continued.

  "What kind of mistake? I accepted the severance check, okay!? I'm not going to sue, if that's what she's worried about."

  "Let me be blunt," I said, trying to get to the problem quickly before Jane slammed the door in my face. Given how angry she looked, I was surprised she hadn't already. "Juliet thinks someone else fired you, by using her email. She also got an email from you claiming you intended to quit. I think someone was playing you both and now you're both suffering for it."

  "Both suffering? I'm the one who lost my job! I still haven't found another one. No one wants to hire someone my age. They prefer someone younger and cheaper who has never been fired."

  "Did you know Juliet is currently suspended from her firm, pending insider trading allegations?"

  "Insider trading? Juliet?" Jane shook her head, frown lines furrowing her forehead. "She would never do that."

  "I agree. Can we go inside and talk?"

  Jane gave me a heavy look, like she wanted to say something more, but didn't know what. She was, at least, weighing her options. "Will I lose my severance?" she asked finally.

  "No. This is strictly off the record. For your personal information, Juliet hired me, not Lancaster Friedland, and she has no ax to grind with you. She's just as confused as you are."

  Jane hesitated. "Okay," she said, muttering as we entered, "insider trading? Juliet?"

  "That doesn't sound like something she'd do?"

  "No. If she hadn't fired me, I'd say she was the most honest, most careful trader I ever met, and believe me, I've worked for a lot of them."

  "Did you like working for Juliet?" I asked as Jane showed us into her living room. The old furniture and heavy framed pictures seemed entirely incongruous with the new, smart condo. It seemed like Jane was trying to turn a cookie cutter box into a Victorian parlor, and failing miserably.

  "Yes, I did. She was fair and reasonable. She never expected me to do menial jobs; you know, like picking up her dry cleaning; and she was never an ass if her coffee wasn't waiting on her desk the minute she got in. She gave me a lot of autonomy and was very kind when my father was sick and I needed to cut my hours to help care for him. She even sent flowers when he passed."

  "So getting fired came out of the blue?" asked Solomon.

  "Yes, I couldn't understand it. She told me my work was substandard, and had been for too long, and she was sick of covering for me. She said she had no choice, but to let me go."

  "In the email?"

  "Yes, in the email!"

  "Didn't that strike you as being way out of character?"

  "I was too shocked to really think about that. Plus, she'd been a little strange for a couple of weeks preceding that."

  "How so?" I asked.

  "Quiet. Distracted. Jumpy."

  "Do you know why that was?"

  "I just assumed she was overworked. I told her, I said 'Juliet, you and your husband should take a long weekend. You deserve it.' She took the next day off, a Friday, so I figured she appreciated my advice; then I got fired and figured I must’ve overstepped the mark."

  "You didn't take it up with her directly?"

  Jane shook her head. "She was very clear about never contacting her again. I spoke to human resources and they told me Juliet said I quit!"

  "Juliet told us you quit too."

  "I didn't! I can prove it." Jane stepped around me, walking over to a desk with a beautiful patina and curved legs. She rifled through a concertina file box, and pulled a sheet from it triumphantly, passing it to me with a flourish. "There! I printed it."

  Solomon read the controversial email over my shoulder. Like Jane said, it was rude, curt, and unequivocal: Jane was fired with immediate effect and forbidden to contact Juliet under any circumstances.

  "You didn't think it was completely out of character based on what you know about Juliet?"

  "For Juliet, yes. For a trader, no. They can be such asses."

  Solomon looked solemnly at her. "Jane, I have to level with you. Based on the evidence we've amassed so far, I don't think Juliet fired you. I think someone was messing with you both."

  "Why would anyone do that?" Jane asked, giving us both a perplexed look. "I got along with everyone there."

  "We think it was aimed primarily at Juliet, not you. You were simply a casualty."

  "I don't know what to think."

  "It's a lot to process," I said, feeling sorry for the flustered woman. She didn't seem to know what to say now that her anger with Juliet had faded to abject confusion. "We believe Juliet is the victim of a stalker who can access many factions of her life in order to meddle."

  "Whatever for? Juliet is a sweet girl, at least, that's what I always thought. Whatever could she do to someone?"

  "As far as we can see, nothing."

  "That's crazy!"

  "Your account of her personality matches everyone else's. Perhaps you would be willing to help us find out who is doing this to her?"

  "Well, yes, I guess so, as long as it doesn't get me into trouble. Maybe I should run it past them?"

  "Please do," said Solomon. "We'll wait."

  Jane kept us waiting the few minutes it took for her to call her former employers. When she hung up, she looked pale, but determined. "They put me through to Mark Lancaster and he advised me to help you in any way I could. I've never even spoken to Mr. Lancaster before! Will it help me get my job back?"

  Solomon glanced at me. "I don't know, but we can put in a good word with Mr. Lancaster. I can't promise anything, but at least, he knows you're cooperating with us."

  "I need a job. The severance check isn't enough to see me into retirement. What can I do to help?"

  "Tell us everything about your time at Lancaster Friedland," said Solomon as I grabbed my notepad from my purse, preparing to take notes. After a moment of thought, I reached into my purse again and pulled out my cell phone. I hit the recording app. Life was too short to decipher my handwriting later.

  ~

  "What do you think?" Solomon asked as we walked down the stairs from Jane's apartment.

  "She seemed really confused."

  "I don't think she had a thing to do with whatever is going on with Juliet."

  "Me neither," I replied, trying not to sound despondent. I suspected Jane could have been the stalker, but it seemed unlikely. Her body language was all wrong for someone who felt under suspicion. Even though she had access to every part of Juliet's life, she lacked motive.

  "She has more access to Juliet than anyone else except Rob. She could access Juliet's work computer and could have sent that email to herself, maybe even made trades she shouldn't have. She mentioned she'd been to Juliet's home and she could have known Juliet's passwords for all that online shopping, but she seems so... nice," I finished lamely.

  "Agreed. I don't get the feeling she could be our stalker. It should be easy to prove she isn't behind this."

  "I have some evidence that might support Juliet," I told him as we reached the car. "That is, it's not evidence. It's more of an experiment. Remember the stuff about Juliet supposedly buying a ticket to Russia at the airport? Lily and I found a way to disprove that."

  "Lily?" Solomon raised an eyebrow.

  "Just watch," I said, browsing for the video clip I made earlier that day. I passed the phone to him and indicated he should hit play.

  "What is this?" he asked.

  "Just watch." I studied Solomon as he watched the video. Almost immediately, fake Juliet appeared on the screen, keeping her back to us, and the camera followed her across the terminal towards the desk where Kimberley waited.

  "Where did you get this?" he asked. "That's Juliet. Is this the same day the
photos were taken on the terminal cameras?"

  "Keep watching."

  "Do we get a better angle of her face?"

  "Keep watching!" I waited as Solomon stood transfixed as the video played out. Finally, the camera started moving towards Lily. I watched my hand on the screen reaching across to Juliet and tapping her on the shoulder before hearing my squeak of surprise as she turned around.

  Solomon laughed. "I should have guessed. You had me convinced. She looked just like Juliet in that wig."

  "I know! She had me fooled too. She looks exactly like Juliet. Some of the little details are off. You know, the piping on her jacket, the dress..."

  "That baby bump... If your best friend could fool us into thinking she was Juliet, someone else could fool a stranger into thinking they were too. All they would need were her passport and clothes that looked like hers for the cameras."

  "Or maybe even her own clothes," I added with a little shudder. "This is good enough to prove it wasn't Juliet at the counter buying that ticket to Russia, right?"

  "It’s enough for probable doubt, especially coupled with the airport photos we already have."

  "And we have the fake email sent to Jane O'Dowd that was purged from Juliet's email account. That's another red flag. There was no need to purge it if it were real."

  "We need to speak to the people Juliet worked with," Solomon decided.

  "I tried that. Mark Lancaster spoke to me, but I couldn't get inside to talk to anyone else. They said they had their own agency on it and didn't want me in the way." I gave Solomon an expectant look.

  He threw an arm around my shoulders and smiled. "I think I can get you an in."

  "What will it cost me?" I asked.

  Solomon popped a kiss in my direction and winked. I didn't need to wait for another hint. I leaned in, pressing myself against him, and dropped the softest of kisses on his lips. He pulled me closer, cradling the back of my head with one hand, the other pushing against my back as he deepened the kiss. "Shame we have to work," he murmured against my lips. "Shame we're outside."

  "Perhaps we should take a half day."

  "Perhaps we should solve the case first."

  I kissed him again, my heart rate spiking. He just had that effect on me. Plus, now I wanted to win. "Race you to the finish line!" I whispered.