by Diana Orgain
I understood all right.
He pointed at me. You dont have a license and I dont want you poking around in this case. If she hired you to follow her husband, to find out who hes sleeping with, thats one thing, but absolutely no nosing around in this case. You understand?
I nodded.
He grunted.
Any doubts Id had about taking the case had just been wiped from my head. I didnt know how I would do it, but I was committed to solving this case before McNearny. He didnt care about the victims, only his reputation with the department.
So youre okay if I follow the husband, right? I tested.
McNearny shrugged. Sure, let me know what you find out.
I do the footwork, he takes the glory.
No problem. I didnt have my ego riding on it. I only wanted the facts.
CHAPTER NINE
Playing Catch-Up
To Do:
1. Baby development? Check out Ls milestones.
2. Drop off dry cleaning.
3. Shop for shoes.
4. Thanksgiving?
5. What does McNearny know?
6. Call/e-mail Paula.
The first thing I did when McNearny left was jump online. I browsed the library collection and found The Complete Idiots Guide to Private Investigating.
Perfect.
I put it on reserve.
Hoping to find out more about Alan, I googled him. I didnt find much, just that his office was on Sacramento Street. There certainly wasnt a headline on Google results about any affair. I wanted to speak with him, but how could I do that without tipping him off about Margarets suspicions or my investigation?
Maybe The Complete Idiots Guideto Private Investigating could clue me in.
I called Alans practice and asked for an appointment. The receptionist scheduled me a month out and told me his latest appointment hour was 4:30 P.M.
Bingo.
While online, I sent my best friend Paula an e-mail. I knew she was coming home soon but didnt exactly know when. I would have loved to talk to her, but by my calculations it was already past midnight in Paris.
Then I dialed both Sara and Evelyn and left messages, hoping that they might have some answers about Alan. As soon as I hung up, Laurie began to cry. I picked her up off the playmat and found her soaked through.
Poor little monkey! What was going on with the leaky diapers?
Was it time for the next size already?
I made my way to the nursery to change her but the ringing phone interrupted my route. Turning from the nursery, I walked back to the living room and picked up the cordless.
Kate! Where have you been? Mother shouted on the line.
I took Laurie to coffee.
Shes not old enough to have coffee! Mother shrieked.
Not her. Me. She just came along for the company.
Oh! Mom yelled.
Why are you yelling?
Im not yelling! Mom shouted.
Yes, you are, I said, elevating my tone to match hers. This caused Laurie to squirm in my arms.
Am I? I just want to be sure you can hear me.
Laurie started to whimper.
Why wouldnt I be able to hear you?
Im on my new cell phone! Mom said.
You got a cell? For what?
Id been telling my mother for years to get a mobile phone, but her reply was always the sameshe didnt need one.
She laughed. Well, I want Hank and Albert to be able to reach me.
My mom, the female Casanova!
A regular man-eater, Mom giggled. Oh. I wanted to talk to you about Thanksgiving. Should we have it at my place?
Normally, we had Thanksgiving at my house. Jim did a mean turkey. He put the effort in to brine it, and it paid off every year. We started hosting as soon as we bought our house because Moms poor turkey was always dry.
Uh. Your place? No, no! We can do it here, like usual.
Yes, but Laurie is so small and Thanksgiving is so much work. It might be easier to do it here.
I recalled the last year Mom had hosted, she had barred me from entering the kitchen and in an accusatory manner had said, Youre going to tell me the turkey is dry.
When I had asked, Why would I say that?
She had replied, Because the turkey is dry.
I wrestled for an inoffensive way to decline Moms invite. Im sure Jim wants to do it here. He loves hosting Thanksgiving. Its our favorite holiday. And before she could get a word in edgewise, I said, How are you going to juggle it though with Hank and Albert? Who are you going to invite?
Mom laughed. Oh, see I got lucky on that one. Hank is flying back East to join one of his daughters. So Im free to ask Albert.
Great. Ask him to join us here, what, around four P.M.?
Lauries whimper turned into a howl.
I have to go, Mom, Laurie is completely soaked.
Okay. Ill see you when I get back from the Mexican Riviera.
What? Wait. I thought you werent going until the fifteenth!
Im not but thats the day after tomorrow and I need to pack and have my beauty rest before I go.
The fifteenth. Wow. Time flies. My little mongoose will be two months on the nineteenth.
Ill bring her back some maracas.
Had two months almost passed? I kissed Lauries soft fuzzy head, then changed her diaper and pulled the child development book off my shelf. I quickly turned to the chapter on the second month. I skimmed through it, realizing I was holding my breath.
A box entitled May Possibly stated that holding the head up at a 90-degree angle was something an infant may possibly do at 2 ź months. So about 10 weeks.
Yeah. Laurie wasnt behind!
I was a success as a mom!
My squirrel was right on track. I did a little jig with Laurie.
I held her up and positioned her so her face was looking down at me and her legs were tilting up.
Youre right on track, bunny girl. Practically a genius!
She gave me the scary eye look, irises pointing down with the whites of the eyes towering above.
I hugged her to me. Okay, youre practically a genius but not when you give me that look. Lets go on a stakeout! You can use your supergroovy eyes and help mommy see any monkey business.
It was almost four thirty. I would have to hightail it out of the house in order to catch Alan leaving his office.
I packed Laurie into the car along with plenty of diapers, a change of clothes in case her diaper leaked again, and water for me. I wanted to pack snacks, but how was I ever going to lose any weight doing that?
I parked down the street from Alans office and waited. It looked as though the building had only one entrance and exit. No attached parking garage that he could sneak out from. After about fifteen minutes I was rewarded by Alan leaving and locking up the storefront. He was accompanied by a woman with short gray hair. They exchanged words and departed in different directions.
I watch Alan walk down the street. I assumed he was heading to his car, but I didnt want to lose track of him. I needed binoculars.
How could I be a legitimate PI without binoculars?
Through the rearview mirror I glanced at Laurie in her car seat. Her tiny face was reflected in the Elmo mirror pinned to the backseat. She was sound asleep. I started the car and nosed out of my spot.
Alan was climbing into a silver Lexus. I hesitated in pulling out of my parking space as I wanted to trail him, but another car was already angling for my spot.
I pulled out then passed Alans Lexus. He pulled out behind me.
Great.
I sped up and turned right at the next corner. I made a quick U-turn. His Lexus and my car intersected at the corner. I ducked my head so he wouldnt see my face and waited a moment for his car to pass.
Instead he honked for me to cross through the intersection. I didnt want to peek up but what was I supposed to do? He honked again. I stayed tucked out of view. He didnt know my car but he would recognize my face.
I recalled the look he gave me at Helenes funeral. He didnt want me around then and certainly he wouldnt want me following him now.
My phone rang from the depths of the diaper bag.
Shoot.
That was probably Jim.
I pulled the bag close and rummaged around inside.
Another car honked from behind me. It seemed that enough time had passed that Alan would be gone by now. I peeked up over the dashboard. No Lexus.
The car behind me honked again and my phone continued to ring.
I dropped the bag, ignoring the phone, and turned right. I spotted Alans taillights a block and a half ahead of me.
Oh good.
Im not so bad at this follow-the-leader thing after all!
My phone continued to ring, and just as I reached for the bag again, it stopped.
The Lexus was only slightly ahead of me now so I slowed down. I followed the turns Alan made and ended up right at his and Margarets home.
No other woman tonight.
Dissatisfied, I turned the car around to go home. At least he hadnt spotted me; that was one good thing. I could try again tomorrow.
I found my phone. The voice mail icon was showing. I listened to the messageit was Evelyn returning my call.
Okay. When one door closes, another opens.
CHAPTER TEN
Washed-up
To Do:
1. Get binoculars.
2. Talk to other members of Roo amp; You.
3. Exercise.
4. Pick up PI book from library.
5. Plan menu for Thanksgiving.
After leaving Jim to babysit Laurie, I met Evelyn at Ocean Beach. Her thin blond hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she wore flip-flops. I waved as she approached.
Shed surprised me by suggesting a walk on the beach. With her at eight months pregnant, I figured the last thing shed want to do would be to shuffle through sand, but I needed to work off the baby weight and she insisted she wanted the exercise.
So, hey, I could kill two birds at once. Work out and investigatemultitasking again!
Thank you for meeting with me, I said, pulling my baseball cap down a bit to shade my eyes from the glare of the sun.
Why hadnt I brought my sunglasses? It was early November and the sun was low in the sky. The weather was clear and thankfully the gusts of wind seemed to be holding off until a later hour. We walked down the concrete steps from the La Playa Boulevard entrance and stepped onto the sand. Evelyn promptly removed her flip-flops.
She frowned at my cross-trainers. Walking barefoot in the sand is good for your feet.
Hmmm, I mumbled, not about to remove my shoes and socks.
Yes, digging your feet in the sand is wonderful, but the Pacific Ocean at this latitude is freezing. One dip in the water and my toes go numb.
We walked toward the water in silence. The sand near La Playa Boulevard is extremely hard to get around in because its deep and loose. But near the water its compacted by wave after wave, making it a lot firmer and easier to walk on.
I was silent, doing all I could not to keel over. Good Lord, walking on the beach after having a baby is tough! I glanced at Evelyn, who even at eight months pregnant seemed to be cruising along the sand with no effort. I knew from dinner the other night that she had a two-year-old also.
How was it that she was so fit?
The water splashed against her bare feet, but she didnt seem to mind at all.
Wheres your baby? Evelyn asked.
At home with Daddy.
Evelyn raised an eyebrow with interest. A stay-at-home dad?
Well, not . . . Sort of. Not really, he works from home.
She frowned. Doing what?
Consulting, advertising, I said, matching her frown.
What was she frowning at?
Oh. She swung her flip-flops around as she picked up her pace.
And yours? I asked.
She puffed up her chest. Hes an IT manager.
I suppressed a giggle at her competitive nature. Obviously, she liked playing tit for tat. Nyah-nyah, my husband has a better job than yours.
I thought Jims job was awesome. He was creative and fun and got to come up with all sorts of great campaigns. Maybe to someone like Evelyn, Jims brainstorms were just doodles.
I changed topics. And your son? Where is he today?
With the nanny.
Of course.
Everyone who is anyone has a nanny. When was I going to get a nanny? Although if youre a stay-at-home mom, what do you do with a nanny? Take a break, I suppose. Go get your nails done. I glanced at Evelynshe had a matching manicure and pedicure in an unbelievably delicious shade of orange. Sort of tangerine.
When was the last time I had my nails done?
What about you? I asked. Are you working and on maternity leave or are you
I am an attorney, Evelyn said.
I raised an eyebrow. Oh?
Well, I was. Contract law. Not criminal. I havent practiced since Kyle was born. She eyed me. Ive worked with a lot of PIs . . .
I waited for her to continue, semicringing to myself.
If she frowned at Jims being an ad consultant, then PIs must be the scum of the earth, but instead of a snide comment, she simply shrugged then sighed.
Now, Im a stay-at-home. She rubbed her belly. Im having an at-home birth with Celiado you know her? She delivered Margarets baby.
I nodded, taking a deep breath. The air was cold and smelled of fish, yet was refreshing at the same time.
Ah, saltwater.
We met at Helenes funeral, I said. In fact, thats what I wanted to talk to you about. Can you tell me about the fight you overheard between Sara and Helene?
Some seagulls in our path squawked.
Evelyn shooed the seagulls with her hand. They circumvented us by running away from the water, then as we passed, they ran back toward the tide.
They were fighting about the extension that Saras husband was going to build for her and Bruce. Helene was saying that it wasnt necessary anymore and they didnt want it built.
And that upset Sara?
It really ticked her off. I think Sara and her husband are having some financial problems. She really wanted that contract. Evelyn laughed, seeming to enjoy the memory and the one-upmanship.
I take it you and Sara dont get along?
Evelyn made a face. Well, you know, I got kicked out of Roo amp; You.
I gathered that.
I shouldnt have gone on the dinner cruise. She threw her shoulders back in defiance. But I already had tickets and it was Kevins only night off. He works a lot. From seven in the morning until seven at night. Saturdays, too. Its a lot. And lately, hes been preparing for this big IT contract in Asia. He leaves tomorrow and will be gone for about three months. Her shoulders slumped slightly. Hes going to miss the birth.
Suddenly it wasnt the best job in the world.
The water lapped at our feet. I jumped to move out of the way, but Evelyn let the tide run over her toes.
Im alone all day with Kyle, she continued. Except when the nanny comes over, but she doesnt count.
Did she have any idea how disparaging she sounded? I really wanted this date night. I couldnt bring myself to tell Fred what happened with the club.
Boy, if Jim were leaving for three months and going to miss the birth of our child, I couldnt imagine that Id want our last date night to be with a mothers group, much less one that Id gotten kicked out of.
I studied her face. So what happened? Whyd they boot you?
Evelyn stopped walking and laughed. You dont know?
I paused beside her and shook my head.
I would have thought theyd blabbed it to you right away, she said.