He didn’t leave me waiting.
Agent Cooper appeared and nodded for me to follow him.
“Thought you’d have your attorney with you,” he said as we weaved between cubicles and entered a small meeting room along the right-hand side wall. The fluorescent lighting automatically turned on once we entered the room.
“Don’t make me regret it,” I replied.
A rectangular conference table sat in the middle of the space with four chairs. Agent Cooper sat at the head of the table, putting his leather notebook down and opening it to a blank sheet of white paper. I sat to the left of him and then took my phone out of my purse and accessed my email. As promised, Vince had sent me a secure link to access the footage from last night.
“I’m staying at my girlfriend’s house, Aria Delgado,” I said. As expected, Aria’s last name got a reaction from Agent Cooper. Like I said before, Vince was a heck of a businessman. He’s a good guy, but he’s not to be trifled with. If Agent Cooper tried to play any games with him, it wouldn’t end well. Of that I was certain.
“Last night, a little after 11PM, I heard someone try to break into the pool house where I was staying.” I held up my hands in a stop motion. “I know what you’re thinking, and no, it wasn’t Finn. But the intruder did set off the alarm, which tripped the front security and led us to check the security footage. I wanted to show you what we found.”
I clicked the link and waited a second for the video to load before putting my phone in front of Agent Cooper and hitting play. I watched him while the 10 seconds of critical footage played out. Agent Cooper replayed it more than once, seeming to nod his head in agreement with himself.
“What, what is it?” I asked him.
“You don’t know who this woman is?” Agent Cooper asked me.
“No, not a clue. Do you?”
“Interesting.” The agent tapped his pen on the blank piece of paper before him. I noticed he didn’t answer my question, but instead, asked one of his own. “What did you think showing me this video would prove?”
I didn’t hesitate. “That Finn could be a victim. Whoever this woman is, she’s obviously capable of breaking into someone’s home and murdering them, or I assume so by the looks of her moves.”
Agent Cooper thought some more. “Okay, I’ll give you that, but what if I told you she was an accomplice with Finn. That she too is wanted for questioning in relation to a previous crime?”
I snapped my mouth shut and pulled my phone back, unsure what to say in response.
“I think you’re in over your head here,” Agent Cooper said. “You might want to consider getting out of town for a little bit or even letting us assign an agent to you as a safety protocol. At this point, I don’t think it’s safe for you to be alone.”
It wasn’t the first time an authority figure suggested that I seek refuge. But I had never taken one up on their offer before and I wasn’t about to start now. I was still counting on Finn getting in touch with me, and he would have a much harder time doing that if I had babysitters. More than ever, I wanted to speak with him.
“I’ll think about it,” I said to Agent Cooper, putting my phone back in my purse.
“Can you send that footage to me?” Agent Cooper asked
“I’ll let Vince know and see what he can do about it.” I stood up to leave. “Any chance this woman could’ve taken Finn hostage?” Even as I said the words, I knew it sounded ridiculous.
“Not unwillingly.” And for the first time I saw pity in Agent Cooper’s eyes. I hated him for it. Finn had too many secrets and apparently I wasn’t privy to any of them.
I left the FBI field office and completely forgot about the pralines. In fact, at that minute I was more inclined to get an alcoholic slushy from Wet Willies in a to-go cup than candy. Speaking of alcohol, there was still another place I could go to look for Kat and that was the bar. The staff would be there right now prepping to serve the lunch crowd and hopefully she’d be one of them.
Gravel crunched under my pickup’s tires and dust swirled around me as I pulled into Red’s and parked. Red’s was an unremarkable hole in the wall with cinder block walls and slits for windows. The only decor was faded beer signs advertising dollar drafts and Keno. Two other cars were in the parking lot. Neither one I recognized, but then again Kat’s car was still parked back at her apartment.
I stepped into the bar and allowed my eyes to adjust to the dim lighting. Randy Redmond, AKA The Boss Man, was working behind the bar. That should’ve been my first clue that this conversation wasn’t going to go well. The man hated tending bar, which was ironic seeing he owned the place. Actually, I take that back: It wasn’t serving drinks that he didn’t like, it was interacting with the customers. A good bartender was like a therapist—he would listen, offer advice and medicate you (albeit with alcohol). Randy only had the alcohol part down.
“What do you need, Ziva?” Randy asked.
See? Not a people person in the least. At the other end of the bar, Carl, one of the resident drunks—I mean, frequent patrons—was nursing a beer and staring at Randy and me as if he were watching a daytime drama. I tried to ignore him.
“I’m looking for Kat. Have you seen her?” I asked.
“Thorn in my side,” he replied.
“What?” I asked, not following.
“Everyone’s looking for her,” he said.
That piqued my interest. “Really, like who?” I asked.
Randy stopped stacking glasses and really looked at me. “You talk to your husband?” he asked.
“Not lately,” I confessed.
“Huh,” was all Randy said for a minute. He went back to stacking and wiping down glasses. When he saw I was still standing there waiting, he said, “Finn stopped in here two nights ago around closing time. I told him Kat was in the back cashing out. That’s the last I saw of ’em.”
Wait, what?! My brain raced to put the pieces together.
“They leave together?” I asked, proud of how calm I sounded even though my insides were a mess.
“Not a clue. I didn’t see ’em leave and I haven’t seen ’em since.”
“You said closing time. What time’s that, 2AM?”
“About that.”
Two nights ago was the night Cody was murdered. Could Finn have murdered his friend and then raced to pick up his sister and get out of town? I couldn’t believe it, but no other explanation was coming to me.
“You said everyone’s looking for her. Who else?” I asked.
Randy grunted. “An FBI agent and some woman.” He shuddered. That was saying something, seeing the man was six feet five and easily pushing 250 pounds.
“I remember her,” Carl chimed in. “The black cat.”
“Black cat?” I asked.
“He means because of all the black leather.”
“She was bad to the bone,” Carl said to me.
I raised my eyebrows in response. I had a feeling I knew the woman. I was betting it was the same one who tried to visit me last night.
“I wouldn’t mess with her. Well, unless she wanted me to,” Carl said with a lopsided grin. I was thinking that was smart on Carl’s part, unless he wanted to die a slow, painful death.
“She didn’t by chance leave a card, did she?” I asked. Did assassins have cards?
“Nope,” Randy replied. “But if you see Kat, tell her to get her butt back to work. I’m not doing this another day.”
“I’ll pass it on. Thanks, guys.”
5
The sun was blinding when I stepped back outside. It was only noon and it already felt like the longest day ever. Aria was right, I was going to need sugar to get through the day.
Speaking of which, Aria called while I was still in the parking lot of Red’s. Her timing was perfect. If I ever needed to talk to my best friend, it was right then.
“What’s up? You want to meet me for lunch?” Aria asked.
“At this point, I’m more likely to drink my lunch, but I’d love
to meet up with you. You’re not going to believe what I found out.”
“Oh no, that doesn’t sound good.”
“It’s not. Where do you want to meet?” I asked.
“Where you at right now?”
“In the parking lot of Reds’, but I can be downtown in twenty.”
“Okay, let’s meet up at Asian Blossom,” Aria replied.
“Oh, well in that case, maybe I will eat.” Hadn’t I just said I had a hankering for green chicken curry and spring rolls? At least one thing was going right today.
Walking into the Asian eatery had me doing a double take. The same man I saw Mrs. J. arguing with was waiting for a table in line in front of me. His apparent love for Hawaiian print was a dead giveaway, not to mention the glowing orange skin. The unflattering hue had my beauty brain going into overdrive. I had previously developed an organic sunscreen stick, but what about self-tanners? How had I not thought of this before? Perhaps this would be the new product breakthrough I was looking for. It felt good to think about work and push the stress aside. Even if it lasted only a nanosecond.
“This way, Mr. Devonshire,” the hostess said.
“About time,” the man replied as he moved about the place with an air of entitlement. I didn’t know who he was exactly, but I was betting he was used to people waiting on him. I could see why he and Mrs. J. had clashed so strongly—neither one of them would compromise.
Aria had already nabbed us a table and ordered me a Coke by the time I arrived. Seeing an icy glass of my husband’s favorite beverage left me feeling a strong range of emotions. Anger, hurt, frustration—they were all there. I wasn’t sure which one was strongest.
“I guess I could’ve picked up a couple of little bottles of rum to pour into that Coke,” Aria said, reading the look on my face.
“Girl, let me tell you, I’ve never been more confused on a case before in my life.” I went on to try to explain my morning, but the waiter popped in just at that moment to take our orders. Thankfully, we both had our old standbys and the interruption lasted only a second. I put in that spring roll and green chicken curry order, while Aria had gone for a spicy vegetable dish, extra vegetables and light on the sauce. Steamed rice on the side, of course. I got back to debriefing Aria the second the waiter was out of earshot.
“So yeah, Agent Cooper said the woman and Finn were former crime buddies,” I said, finishing my story and taking a drink of soda.
Aria sat back and reflected on what she had just heard. “You think Agent Cooper was serious? Any chance he was just playing you to get a reaction?” she asked.
“What do you mean? Like that woman really wasn’t a former accomplice? I don’t think so. The video only seemed to confirm Agent Cooper suspicions and left him more worried about my safety than I thought the man was capable of. But it gets better,” I said.
“You mean worse,” Aria said.
“Yes, yes I do.” I leaned in across the table. I definitely didn’t want anyone hearing this next part. “Randy down at Red’s said that Finn stopped in the night Cody was murdered, about 2AM. He talked to Kat, and the two disappeared shortly after.” I sat back up. A look of shock still registered on Aria’s face.
“Why would he do that? Why would he go get Kat and not wake you?”
“Not a clue. Then Randy said this mysterious woman came looking for Kat yesterday too.”
“Shut up. You think it’s the same woman who tried breaking in last night?” Aria asked.
I nodded my head slowly. “That’s exactly what I’m thinking.”
“Any chance the mysterious woman’s intentions are friendly?” Aria asked.
“Doubt it. I mean, think about it. She doesn’t have any problems walking into Red’s and asking around for someone in broad daylight. Why wouldn’t she just do the same with me? I was at work most of the day yesterday.”
“How do you know she didn’t? Didn’t you say a ton of people stopped in asking for you?”
Aria was right, and I told her so. “I didn’t even think of that.”
“So maybe she had to break in last night to speak with you,” Aria added.
I supposed Aria’s theory could be true, but it still didn’t sit right with me.
“I don’t know. If she knew I was at your house, and her intentions were friendly like you suggest, then she should have just rung your doorbell.”
“Unless she thinks my house is being watched like you said last night.”
“You’re right. Oh man, I just don’t know what this woman wants.” All the unanswered questions were really starting to get to me.
“You know who might?” Aria asked.
“You mean besides Finn?”
“Obviously.”
I thought for a second. “Yeah, I have someone in mind. Give me a minute.” The waiter had just brought our food out, but I excused myself anyway to step outside and make a quick phone call. I called the person I should’ve called in the first place when I first got the video link from Vince.
“Bob Brandle,” said my semi-retired detective friend.
“Hey, Detective Brandle, it’s Ziva,” I said.
“Speak of the devil,” he replied.
“I’m not sure I like the sound of that,” I somewhat joked.
“I was just chatting with Agent Cooper about you,” Detective Brandle explained.
“Oh, this ought to be good,” I replied dryly.
That got a chuckle out of Detective Brandle. “Oh don’t worry, I set him straight.”
“I don’t even think that’s possible, but thank you. I appreciate it. Speaking of which, are you free to meet up later this afternoon?” I asked.
“You figure something out?” Detective Brandle turned serious.
“I might be piecing it together, but I need your input,” I said.
Detective Brandle was silent for a minute. I didn’t push it.
Finally, he said, “Well, technically I’m just an unofficial resource on this case, so I don’t see any harm in meeting up.”
“Really? That would be awesome. Want to say Sweet Thangs at four o’clock? My treat.”
“Well, you know you got me there. I’ll see you soon.”
I hung up with Detective Brandle and turned to walk inside to finally dig into my lunch when I couldn’t believe who was parked two cars down from me wearing the worst disguise known to man. She might’ve been wearing a blonde corkscrew wig, ala Shirley Temple, and a pair of oversize sunglasses, but it was still Mrs. J. sitting in Mrs. J.’s car. And this time, she had a sidekick with her. I shook my head and closed my eyes, unable to believe her level of ridiculousness. At least it wasn’t the press.
“Quick, look busy,” I heard Mrs. J. say plain as day through her rolled-down window as I approached her car.
“Shouldn’t you be down at City Hall or something?” I asked her.
Mrs. J. pretended not to hear me.
“Ladies? Hell-O!” I bent my face toward Mrs. J.’s open window. She looked up at the roof of her car as if lost in thought.
Oh good gravy. “Mrs. J., I know it’s you. You can stop pretending now.”
I looked further in the window and saw Vicki Klein, a retired librarian and Mrs. J.’s right-hand woman when it came to planning the gala. No one knew more about flowers than Ms. Klein. Obsessed was the word Mrs. J. had used to describe Vicki’s love of botany.
“Hi, Ziva,” Vicki replied quietly to her hands. Her face was turning a ridiculous shade of red, much like the wig she was sporting over her normally light tresses.
“Well fiddlesticks! How in the world did you mark us?” Mrs. J. asked while peeling off her wig and tossing it into her backseat.
I thought about giving Mrs. J. some tips on how to properly run a stakeout, but thought better of it. Instead I said, “What are y’all doing anyway?”
“Trying to find that husband of yours. Figured he try to meet up with you sooner or later.” Mrs. J. tried fluffing her hair back out after being plastered under all that f
ake hair.
“So, you’re going to tail me?” I asked.
“You got a better idea?” Mrs. J. replied. Next to her, Vicki squirmed in her seat. I could tell she was wishing she could disappear. I didn’t blame her one bit. Heaven knew it was easier to just go along with Mrs. J.’s plans than to try to dissuade her.
I just shook my head and turned to walk away. By that time, my food was bound to be getting cold.
“Hey, you’re going to be there today, right? In two hours. The library.”
“Yup, wouldn’t miss it for the world,” I said over my shoulder and walked back inside the restaurant.
Despite promising Mrs. J. I’d be there, I thought about skipping out on the gala meeting and seeing if Detective Brandle was free to meet up now. After all, it was more important for me track down Finn than attend a community meeting. But this is Mrs. J. we are talking about, and I had to live here in Port Haven for the rest of my life. She was definitely one woman that you wanted on your side, which meant not making her mad.
I left Aria and swung by the docks to swap trucks, and then made the short trek to the library. Pulling over in the parking lot, I could see that the rest of the community was taking this event just as seriously as the mayor was. I spotted Inez and Marion Siebold, last name Michelson now, heading inside. Marion and Inez had started out as Beauty Secret clients, but slowly evolved into friends. Marion had been through hell when her husband was murdered and I solved the case, which cemented our friendship. Inez was Vince’s grandma. She was always willing to lend a hand, and often times that included taking Captain Jack when I was out of town or when it wasn’t safe for my little pooch to be with me.
They stopped when they saw me pulling in. Never a good sign. I tried not to let it bother me. Heads bent forward, they started talking to one another in hushed tones. I had a feeling I knew the topic of conversation.
When I parked Finn’s truck, they were still waiting for me.
“Afternoon, ladies. How are you doing today?” I asked as nonchalantly as possible.
“Ziva, we didn’t think you would still come,” Marion said, cutting right to it.
Charm & Deception Page 5