by Maisie Dean
There was color in Trudy’s cheeks, and she kept an arm slung across her abdomen as she walked towards Bob and the officers. As she approached the group, glaring in Bob’s direction the whole time, the lead officer glanced over to me. The police, as well as the building’s management team, knew Lucky and I were positioned as security guards to observe. We had been told only to get involved if the police thought it was necessary. I gave the lead officer a subtle nod to convey that I knew Trudy and that she wouldn’t be a risk. At least, I hoped not.
“Miss, I’ll ask you to please keep your distance,” a burly policeman said to Trudy.
“Don’t worry about that, I certainly will. I wish I had kept a lot more distance from you, you thief, and I’m sure Nate does too,” Trudy said, addressing Bob personally. “I’m here to thank you, Mr. Bukowski, for everything you’ve done for Nate.” Trudy’s tone dripped with sarcasm and frustration. “Now that they’ve found the extended footage on your computer, it will be released, and the public story will change when it comes out that it’s all been a scheme from the start. You thought that you could help yourself to Nate’s lucrative overseas commercial payments by saying they never ran, but the truth was bound to come out eventually. The ad he did for those Western-themed robots was massive in Japan! The public perception is going to change once the full picture is explained. The world is going to know that Nate is the victim of an embezzling accountant. Your face might even make it onto the front pages today, imagine that. Most people have to work their butts off for that kind of attention,” Trudy continued. “The difference is, you’ll have disappeared tomorrow.”
I felt a light nudge against my ribs.
“She’s getting all the glory,” Lucky said quietly. “Isn’t this your favorite part of it all?”
I chuckled under my breath. “Usually, yes.” I did love a good opportunity to show off my investigative skills and sharp thinking, but Trudy was doing well. “There’s no camera here, and besides, I’m not an actress. I’m perfectly happy behind the scenes and out of the spotlight with you,” I said.
Lucky straightened his posture and lifted his chin. “Speak for yourself, Chance,” he said, giving another wave towards his fans at reception.
I gave my fellow security guard a good, strong elbow to the side.
Bob looked at the floor and fussed against his restraints. He spoke quietly and it was too hard to hear clearly from where I stood, but it sounded like he mumbled something about “gambling debts” and that “prison will be safer anyway.” Two of the officers grabbed hold of his shoulders and marched him past Trudy and out the front door. Flashes popped outside, bouncing around all the glass windows.
“How did they…” I began and trailed off, wondering how the paparazzi had already heard of the arrest.
Lucky gave me a wink. “I may have tipped them off. After what Nate has endured the past few days it only seemed fair that Bob would get a taste,” he said.
“The arrest only just happened, is that allowed?” I asked, pleased with Lucky’s foresight.
“No, not exactly,” Lucky said and held up his index finger. “Don’t tell Harrison.”
Another ding sounded and the elevator doors slid open to expose Iris Zimmerman herself. The talent agent was petite and glamorous, wearing a pure white pantsuit. Around the waist, the sheer jacket split into flowy columns that nearly reached her black stilettos. Her blonde hair was cropped in a masculine, and very becoming, fashion.
Through the non-prescription glasses that were part of my disguise, I watched Iris’s small, angelic figure drift across the floor towards Trudy who had been collecting herself after Bob’s removal from the building.
“Trudy, I’m so sorry for all this,” Iris said. “I should never have been so quick to turf Nate out. I should have believed him that there was more to this.”
Trudy nodded and smiled. From where I stood it looked as though she wiped away a few tears. Iris moved forward and wrapped Trudy in a hug.
“Will you forgive me, please?” Iris continued.
“Of course,” Trudy replied. “It’s been difficult. You did what you thought you had to, that’s all.”
Iris rubbed Trudy’s arms on either side of her. “We’re going to get through this. Nate is lucky to still have you for support,” she said.
Trudy suddenly looked sheepish. “He’s going to have me for more than that,” she replied. Trudy reached into the top of her shirt a couple inches and withdrew a chain. On the chain was an engagement ring large enough to see from several yards away.
Lucky let out a low whistle, only loud enough for me to hear.
“I knew it!” I said. Nate wasn’t irresponsible at all, not when it counted. He clearly wanted Trudy and the baby to be his family.
“Wonderful news! This is perfect,” Iris trilled, taking hold of the shiny ring to admire it. “We have so much to plan, and not just the wedding. We’ll find the perfect time to leak the news of your engagement. All the unpleasantness of this week will be long forgotten when this gets out!”
CHAPTER 24
That evening, I was glad to be home with Rosie. It had been a long afternoon of writing up final reports for Harrison and giving statements to the police. Finally, I was at home on the sofa wearing fuzzy socks and holding an extra-large glass of white wine. While Rosie and I dug into a hot and delicious stuffed-crust pizza, I caught her up on the way the case had come to a satisfying end.
“I can’t believe I’m really saying it, but Tippy helped get to the bottom of this one,” I said.
Rosie’s eyes widened as she took a giant, cheesy bite of pizza. “No way! At least she’s finally contributing more than just judgment and wafts of perfume in exchange for all that coffee she drinks.”
“Exactly! Anyway, the timing was the real key. That and robots.”
“Robots?” Rosie asked with a scrunched forehead.
“Japanese ones,” I replied.
Rosie looked even more confused.
“When we were all in the kitchen this morning talking about the case, I finally put two and two together. One of the coffee machine buttons looked like a robot and it got me thinking. In one of those paparazzi videos of Nate, there was a group of Japanese girls giggling and calling Nate a robot. A cowboy robot, to be specific. According to Nate and his agency, he had done a number of overseas commercials that would have brought in a lot of money, only they never ran. You told me yourself that you’d never seen him do anything like that. Right?”
Rosie nodded.
“So, I started thinking, what if Nate was told they never ran but they actually did. Where would the money be going if it wasn’t to him?”
Rosie was on the edge of her seat, or the couch rather. She poured herself more wine without taking her eyes off me.
“Where was it going? It wasn’t Trudy, was it?”
“No. Not Trudy. I remembered how strange it was that Bob held me up at the agency that day when I had just come to drop off some documents to Nate’s agent. He felt too involved to just be the accountant, but I foolishly wrote off Bob’s prying over Nate as heartfelt concern. Or he could have just been taking advantage of the opportunity to talk to a pretty, young woman. I doubt any of the actresses that come through the office, or even the receptionists, give him the time of day. It only fully struck me today that he had started acting nervously when I mentioned I worked for a detective agency. Then there was the timing. After I met with him, it wasn’t long before the footage was leaked. Just enough time for him to get the right clip and somehow manage to get his digital fingerprints off of it,” I said.
I took a quick break in talking to take a few big bites of pizza before it cooled down too much, and then I washed it down with wine.
“The timing was the answer and clue for the motive. Bob wanted to get Nate as far away as possible from the agency before the truth came out that the footage was edited to be highly misconstrued. He must have hoped that if he got Nate dropped from Zimmerman Talent, and sent his c
areer spiraling downward, that no one would end up looking into the details. It would just seem like Nate was another washed-up actor.”
“Bob gave himself away by reacting so quickly and leaking the footage at such a random time,” Rosie mused.
“Exactly. That’s what Tippy suggested this morning. If Bob hadn’t been scared of getting caught last week, he likely would have waited until the production company and the agency had put a lot more money into promoting the “Phantom Hunters” series. If they lost big on their new gamble of a talent, they wouldn’t touch Nate with a ten-foot pole after that,” I said.
“Bob could have gone on embezzling money from Iris Zimmerman’s actors for years if you hadn’t cracked this case. That Iris owes you one,” Rosie said, arching an eyebrow. “Are you still going to submit your demo reel? Give the acting another go?”
I busied my hands by unpacking the chocolate lava cakes we ordered with the pizza. If you ordered dessert, the extra-large pizza was 15 percent off. It was a no-brainer. I took another sip of wine before I answered.
“No. I’m not going to. It’s clear to me now that I’m an investigator through and through. For now, at least,” I said. “I am finally going to put the acting behind me.” I reached for my laptop that was leaning up against the coffee table. “Will you hold my hand while I delete all the acting stuff off my computer?”
Rosie intercepted my reach and placed the wine bottle in my hand instead. “No,” she said. “The only thing you need to do tonight is help me finish this bottle of wine.”
At my favorite roommate’s instruction, I refilled my glass. “Deal,” I said. “Oh!” I spilled a little wine as the realization shot through me. “Engaged! Nate and Trudy. They’re engaged!”
Rosie quickly set her glass on the coffee table before she started waving her hands around and bouncing up and down on her butt. “Yes! I knew they would work it all out. I’m so happy for them,” she said.
Rosie’s eyes suddenly looked a little misty, and mine were the same.
“Was it just me, or did we fall into an episode of one of your soaps this week?” I asked.
Rosie laughed. “You did. I felt like I was watching a new one,” she said. “Think we’ll be invited to the wedding?” Rosie rubbed her hands together excitedly.
“I wouldn’t hold your breath on that one,” I said.
“Why not? You did single-handedly save Nate’s career from going down the toilet. Not to mention you were instrumental in getting Nate and Trudy back together,” Rosie insisted.
“I think the bun in the oven may have had a bit more to do with it than me,” I said.
Rosie slapped her leg beneath the fuzzy purple blanket we were sharing. “They should name the baby after you!” she exclaimed. “It’ll work whether it’s a boy or a girl!”
“Take it easy,” I said, giggling. “I’m just glad everyone’s happy.”
“And that you solved the case,” Rosie said with a wink.
“It’s what I do,” I said with a playful shrug and few bats of my eyelashes.
“You’re excellent at this line of work,” Rosie said. She got a far-off look in her eye. I took the opportunity to top up her glass while she wasn’t paying attention. If she didn't help me with the bottle, I would be asleep within minutes. It had been a long day.
“What’s on your mind?” I asked.
“Just thinking, really,” she replied. “I’m happy with where my career is at, but I do have other aspirations.”
I felt drawn automatically to say, “Of course you do,” but Rosie had surprised me. She loved her work in all the ways it counted. I couldn’t recall her ever talking about other work. Not in a serious way, at least.
“Like what?” I decided to say.
“Oh, I don’t know, there are tons of them. Often, they only last a week or a few days. Some last only minutes. Last month while driving down Santa Monica Boulevard, I convinced myself I should open a cake shop. A cake shop! You know how hopeless I am at baking,” she said. “I love eating cake, not being the one to make them.”
“I won’t lie to you. That would be a disaster.”
Rosie snorted and started giggling. “I know. I just mean that I think about doing other things with my life. Real things. I know I won’t be a delivery driver forever. You probably won’t be an investigator forever either. All I know is that I’m happy for now, and that’s what counts. Right?”
I smiled at my best friend. It was impossible not to, what with the rosy cheeks, and her goofy optimism. Rosie would have made a terrible baker, but she was a one of a kind friend and a first-class roommate.
“Exactly right,” I replied, and tapped my wine glass against hers with a solid clink. “Cheers to that!”
* * *
Note From the Author, Maisie Dean
Thank you so much for picking up these books. I hope you enjoyed hearing about the ongoing adventures of Kacey Chance and the Booker brothers. If you'd like to show this series some support, please take a minute to post a reader review online!
Kacey Chance's adventures continue in... Book 4 - BACKGROUND CHECKS AND BALANCES.
If you want to be the first to find out about the next Booker Brothers Detective Agency Mystery book, sign up for my newsletter (only book news, never spam): www.bookerbrothers.com/
BOOKER BROTHERS DETECTIVE AGENCY
by MAISIE DEAN
Series Release Order:
1. STATE OF THE ART HEIST
2. STUNT DOUBLE TROUBLE
3. READY ON SET DRAMA
4. BACKGROUND CHECKS AND BALANCES
5. to be announced
Note: Each book is a stand-alone, complete mystery, so the books can be read in any order!