Charm & Deception

by Stephanie Damore

  “Here, let me tuck you in,” Aria offered. We both rose from the poolside sun chairs. Even though the sun had set hours ago, the evening spring air was pleasantly warm. The lights from under the water gave the pool a soft glow, as the filter hummed in the background.

  “No worries, I’m good,” I replied to her offer.

  “Do you want me to stay out here?” Aria asked.

  “What? Seriously, no. You go inside. I’m sure Vince is waiting for you.” Aria’s husband was head over heels for her. It was absolutely adorable. And it would make me cry and miss Finn even more if I thought about it another second. “Shoo, I’m serious. Captain Jack and I are perfectly fine out here. I’m sure we’ll both be asleep in a hot minute.” Heck, I would’ve been fine staying at my own place if the police had cleared it. I could only imagine how much evidence the FBI would bag and tag. The thought made my stomach squirm. Thinking of Agent Cooper going through my personal belongings made me want to punch someone. Forget being tired, I guess tequila had a tendency to make me violent.

  “If you’re sure…” Aria said, no doubt picking up on my mood.

  “I am. I was just thinking about Agent Cooper. I think I’m going to add him to my list for tomorrow as well. He’s not the only one with unanswered questions.” I stood up and stretched. I was happy to note my shoulder felt completely normal. I could probably thank the tequila for that, too.

  “Just be careful Ziva. I’m sure Mr. Anders would advise you not to do that.”

  “I’m sure you’re right.” Just like I was sure Aria knew I didn’t care what the attorney thought. Speaking of which, I never did catch up with him. I listened to his voicemail, along with the various calls for comment, in case Finn had called me from an unknown number, but that was as far as I got.

  As predicted, my head hit the soft, feathery pillow and it was lights out. For about ten minutes. Captain Jack woke at the same time I did. His low warning growl told me I hadn’t just imagined the sound in my sleep. I laid in bed, not daring to move, and listened as intently as possible. There, I heard it again. It sounded as if someone was walking along the back wall of the pool house. The side by the hedge. The sound of breaking twigs and rustling brush signaled their movement. In the back of my mind, I was thinking I should’ve picked up a weapon on my way over tonight. I had been confident I’d be safe in Aria’s pool house, and that was a mistake. A mistake I wouldn’t be making again.

  I lightly laid my hand on Captain Jack’s back to let him know that I heard it too. He stopped growling but stood on the end of the bed, waiting for our intruder to enter. As stealthy as possible, I slipped out of the side of the bed and crouched down between the wall and the bedside table. A seashell-themed lamp sat atop the table. I fumbled for the cord, unplugged it, and flipped the hand-sized lamp over so the shade was upside down and I could use the base as a weapon. Captain Jack was beside me now. I was hoping that when the person entered, my pup would provide enough distraction for me to strike the intruder before being struck. I moved along the same wall as the would-be intruder, lining myself up behind the door so I would be able to hit the person and flee toward the main house.

  The moment they turned the door handle, I would be ready for them.

  But I didn’t have to be.

  Just them jostling the handle was enough to set off an ear-piercing siren. I dropped the lamp and clapped my hands over my ears. Captain Jack went ballistic, springing himself repeatedly off the pool house’s door. The noise was compounded by the sounds of barking dogs followed by the alarm at Aria’s main house. It was a deafening cacophony that was sure to wake the entire plantation. Speaking of which, the neighborhood security detail made an impressive appearance, following in short order with Vince at the head as they came to my rescue. Aria had stayed back with the kids.

  “Someone tried breaking in,” I said to Vince after opening the door to him.

  “Did you see who?” Vince asked.

  “No, I just heard them. The alarm went off before I got a chance to ID them.”

  The security detail didn’t even wait for directions. They split into two groups and began searching the grounds.

  “Do you think it was Finn?” Vince asked, his voice low.

  I slapped my hand over my mouth. “I’m such an idiot. I didn’t even think of that.” I started looking around the yard in earnest, staring up at the trees and the surrounding bushes for any sign of movement, but all was still.

  “If it is, I hope they don’t find him,” I whispered back.

  “Here, let me have one of the men escort you to the house. I’ll secure the grounds with them out here, and then we’ll talk.”

  “Okay.” I picked up Captain Jack and allowed the security detail to walk me back to the main house, all the while keeping a lookout for Finn or whoever was planning to pay me a visit. As I walked I thought of the time Finn and I had snuck onto Vince’s property in search of Aria. That had been a wild night. We had found her, that was for sure. I tried not to think of it seeing Aria and Vince had been in a compromising position. Regardless, that wasn’t the point. The point was that I knew Finn was capable of sneaking in. Like me, I know he wouldn’t have expected an alarm on the pool house. Aria must have set it after I went in, or remotely.

  Aria met me in the kitchen, an extra silk robe in hand. I put Captain Jack down and slipped it over my over-sized T-shirt. Aria eyed my poodle but managed to keep her sneezing in check.

  “Do you want me to put him in the laundry room or something?” I asked. Captain Jack tilted his head as if the idea was completely foreign to him, which it was. He was king of the castle at our humble abode.

  “He’s fine, seriously. I popped a twenty-four-hour allergy pill earlier. We still have a few hours left.”

  Taking it as her blessing, Captain Jack trotted out of the kitchen and into the living room, where I watched him make himself comfortable on Aria’s very plush couch.

  “I’m never going to get him to leave,” I joked.

  “Ziva, I’m not worried about the dog. What in the world happened out there?” I couldn’t look directly at Aria because, truthfully, the incident left me feeling jumpy. I managed to relay what had just happened, including Vince suggesting it was Finn.

  “For the record, if it was Finn, he could’ve just used the front door,” Aria said.

  “If it was him, he would’ve done that if he didn’t think your house was being watched.”

  “You think my house is being watched?” Aria tugged her robe tighter around her.

  “I’m just saying it’s a possibility. You haven’t met Agent Cooper yet.”

  Vince joined us a few moments later.

  “Did you find anything?” I asked.

  “Nothing, but we have the security footage. I’ve asked to view it privately, so that way if it was Finn we can keep that between ourselves.”

  “Good thinking,” I replied.

  Aria nodded in agreement. “Want me to put on some coffee?” she asked her husband.

  “Thanks, that would be great. It won’t take long to check out the tapes from just now, but the rest of the day and the different cameras will take some time.”

  I couldn’t thank Vince enough for offering to stay up all night to identify our would-be intruder and I said as much.

  Vince’s eyes turned dark and I took a step back. “No one breaks into my home,” he said.

  And then, right there, I saw the ruthlessness, the fear, that Vincent Delgado brought to business. It was one of the reasons he was so successful and that no one ever thought to double cross him. I, for one, was just happy he was on my side.

  4

  “She look familiar?” Vince asked me. I looked closer at the freeze-framed image on his computer screen. Even with high definition technology, it was hard to make out the woman’s identity. As soon as Vince un-paused the frame, the woman, after tripping the alarm, sprang up cat-like, scaled the trellis to the pool house roof then gracefully dropped into the hedge below, disapp
earing from sight. Her movements were so fluid that it was scary. The word assassin came to my mind. Dressed in black, she moved like smoke across the starlit night. I could only assume her intentions were just as dark.

  “Holy guacamole. That woman is like a ninja or something,” Aria said. I couldn’t have agreed more. It made me fear the worst for Finn.

  “Can you send that video to me?” I asked Vince. “I want to share it with Agent Cooper. Maybe that’ll force him to start looking beyond Finn.”

  “If that doesn’t, I don’t know what will,” Aria said.

  “I’ll go ahead and email you a secure link that you can share with him,” Vince replied, typing on his computer keyboard.

  “That would be awesome, thanks,” I replied. I was ready right then to head out for the day when there was a knock outside Vince’s office door.

  “Where would you like it, sir?” Frederick, the Delgado’s butler, asked. He had wheeled in a tray full of pastries, fresh fruit and coffee. I knew the pastries were a courtesy for me, as Aria normally didn’t allow such sugary treats in her home. For all her kids knew, frozen yogurt was the same as ice cream and fruit was considered dessert. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one with a sweet tooth in the house as Vince reached for the cheesecake-stuffed Danish. A personal favorite of mine as well.

  “And your chai latte, ma’am,” Frederick said, motioning to my own personal miniature carafe. A woman could seriously get used to this level of service. I suddenly had another brilliant idea. Maybe the other houseboats would like their own butler. We could hire someone to come in the morning and deliver breakfast. Room service on the water. Now that was an idea. I filed it away for later when my normal life resumed and Finn was back here safe and sound. I had to hold out hope that he was okay. Of course, I didn’t want him to be a murderer, but I liked the thought of him on the run even if I didn’t understand the circumstances. That was a much better scenario than the alternative.

  I considered pouring myself a to-go cup of the latte and still heading out the door right that minute when Aria said, “Eat. At least take one to go with you, please?”

  “You must be worried if you’re encouraging me to consume sugar,” I joked.

  “I just know it’s going to be a long day. You’re going to need to have something in your stomach. As soon as my twelve o’clock class is done, I’ll give you a call and we can meet up.” I saw Vince look away when Aria mentioned that. He loved his wife sleuthing with me about as much as he loved someone breaking into his home in the middle of the night. I avoided looking directly at Vince when I told Aria that her plan sounded good.

  Speaking of plans, I needed to track down Kat. She hadn’t texted or called me back last night, although that wasn’t too unusual. Like I said before, she was a bit of a firecracker and seemed to operate on her own timeline. I tried calling her again, but there was still no answer. The bar where she worked wasn’t open yet, or I would’ve tried to call them as well. As it was, as soon as I checked in with Agent Cooper, I’d be heading to Kat’s apartment and then her place of employment. One way or another, I was going to track the girl down. I knew she would be a big help in this case if I could just talk with her.

  I also needed to stop back in to Sugar & Sass and make sure things were running smoothly today. Thankfully, Anna was standing by my side and running the store as if it were just another regular day—even after I debriefed her. Even better, she thought Finn was innocent. I couldn’t tell her how grateful I was for her support. Good help could be hard to find, but I was lucky to have some awesome ladies work for me.

  And whether I wanted to or not, I needed to talk to my parents. I knew my mom was tired of my elusiveness and she was probably driving my dad absolutely nuts. For that, I was sorry because the woman could be insistent when she is upset about something. I was quite positive that she had knitted or quilted something by now. I would love to wait to check in with them until I had something more positive to share with them, but I didn’t think I could hold on much longer.

  I left Aria’s house and was about to dial Agent Cooper when my phone rang. I didn’t recognize the number, but I answered it anyway.

  “Mrs. Hudson?” a male voice asked.

  “Speaking,” I said as I navigated pulling through Aria’s circle driveway. I was driving solo. Captain Jack had decided Aria’s couch was preferable to bumming around with me. I didn’t blame him.

  “This is Adam Cunning from TV—”

  Click.

  I hung up. I was not about to talk to the press. Not now, anyway.

  I waited until my line was clear and dialed Agent Cooper.

  “Agent Cooper,” he said when our lines connected.

  “Hey, it’s Ziva Hudson. I was wondering if you had some time to meet up this morning.”

  “Finn ready to surrender?” Agent Cooper asked. I was suddenly rethinking my phone call. I should’ve contacted Detective Brandle instead. I thought of hanging up and doing just that when Agent Cooper said, “I have time in about an hour. Would that work for you?”

  “It could. Are you out of the Savannah office?”

  “I am right now. Would you like to meet me here?”

  “That works. I’ll see you in about an hour.”

  Finn’s sister’s apartment was on the way. It would give me time to pop in and hopefully chat with her before meeting Agent Cooper. I’d like to have more knowledge before meeting with the special agent again. Knowledge was power, and I needed all I could get in dealing with this man. Besides, I hated being in the dark. It was humiliating on so many levels and I hated the way he cast a shadow on my relationship with Finn, as if it was somehow unauthentic or one-sided. I knew it wasn’t, no matter how much Agent Cooper insinuated that it was.

  Kat lived in a no-frills tri-level complex. Each unit was as basic as they come, with Formica countertops and linoleum floors. In-unit washers, dryers and dishwashers were the appliances of dreams. But the rent was decent, and Kat said it suited her freestyling life just fine.

  The red brick building located just off Highway 17 was in a straight-up working-class neighborhood. The parcel of land across the street held a two-pump gas station and laundromat. A cash-only taco stand, an empty parking lot and an off-brand grocer took up the rest of the space.

  My little pickup truck rocketed over a pothole as I pulled into the complex’s driveway. I sucked in a breath as my truck rocked side to side. Carefully, I navigated the rest of the pothole-riddled parking lot and slowly pulled into a space. Right off the bat, I spotted Kat’s little black Honda Civic. I took that as a good sign. I wished I had the photograph Agent Cooper showed me yesterday to share with Kat, but I hoped if I described it, she might know who the other two individuals were. I had a feeling Finn had spent a lot of time with them.

  I walked up the complex’s cracked sidewalk and in through unit two’s main door. Inside the mixed scents of spicy Asian food and bacon greeted me. A unique combination to be sure, but it made my mouth water all the same. I was a sucker for Asian food, Thai being my favorite. Give me some green chicken curry and spring rolls and I’d be a happy camper.

  I jogged up the worn industrial-carpeted stairs and knocked on apartment 2B, taking a step back in anticipation of Kat answering the door, but after a minute I was still standing on the outside waiting. I knocked again, louder this time. My nerves started to pick up, making me antsy. I fidgeted from foot to foot until I realized what I was doing and forced myself to stand still. I stood silently then, trying to pick up any sound from the other side of the door. All was quiet. Perhaps a third time would be the charm?

  “Hey, Kat, you home?” I rapped three times on the door and waited, ignoring the dull ache in my shoulder that seemed to crop back up.

  “Kat. You here?”

  More silence.

  Crud.

  The neighbor across the hall opened his door and was suddenly behind me.

  Sweet sugar! I slapped my hand over my heart. “I didn’t hear you,” I said
to the elderly man as he bent down to get his newspaper.

  “What?” he asked.

  “Sorry I didn’t hear you,” I said.

  “No, I can’t hear you,” he replied.

  I smiled in response.

  “You looking for someone?” he practically shouted.

  “Kat.” I motioned with my thumb to the door behind me. “Have you seen her?”

  “Who?” he asked.

  I could tell he was trying to read my lips. A challenging task to say the least. “Katherine. Your neighbor. She lives right here.” I pointed to her door again. “Blond hair, blue eyes, about a foot taller than me?” I used my hand to demonstrate the height difference.

  The gentleman seemed to think for a moment. “Not lately.”

  “Okay, thanks.”

  I watched the neighbor tuck his newspaper under his arm and disappear back inside his apartment.

  I turned back to Kat’s apartment and knocked again. This time I pressed my ear to the door but didn’t hear anything. I blew out a sigh and hoped that if Kat was home, she was only sleeping and not something worse.

  If antebellum architecture, Spanish moss-draped oak trees and cobblestone streets are your thing, you would love Savannah, Georgia. And don’t tell Mrs. J., but I think the Savannah Candy Kitchen makes the best pralines on either side of the river. Fresh cream, rich butter, fine sugar and southern pecans combine to make the sweet, deliciously chewy candy. They were a favorite of Finn’s while the chocolate variety were mine. I thought about picking up a tin of pralines while I was downtown in hopes of sharing them with my honey when he returned home. I was determined to be optimistic, no matter what the FBI thought and even if I didn’t understand what was going on.

  The FBI field office was located just off Bay Street in an area that I knew well. I parallel parked my pickup on the main drag and walked the block over. The receptionist rang back for Agent Cooper to let him know I was there.