“A spy meeting?”
“Yeah, I’ll be spying on someone. You know, it’s what we do for a living,” Jackie said.
“Well a ‘spy meeting’ sounds like you’re a recovering voyeur or something.”
“Ha, I didn’t think of that. I kind of like it. Do you think there is such a thing?” Jackie laughed. “Because I’ve gotta tell you, when this gig is up, I don’t think I’ll be feeling the need to spy on anyone. Ever. For the rest of my life.”
“I hear you. I’m setting up surveillance in a huge corporation tonight in Burlingame. This should be a doozy.”
More seriously now, Jackie said, “I’ve met the new girl. Are you sure she can do the job? She’s just a pup.”
I smiled, even though Jackie couldn’t see. “I’m sure. She comes highly recommended by Charles, and that carries a lot of weight.”
“True.” Jackie seemed distracted for a moment. “How’s the booth set up going?”
“We’re done. But you won’t believe what happened.”
“Honey, you’re there with Charles and Anthony. I’d believe just about anything. I wouldn’t have taken on that task for all the money in my savings account. In other words, I’d be working for free, just like you.”
“Charles and Anthony haven’t been so bad,” I said. “It’s just that Anthony’s old sales rep is here.”
“That bitch who’s suing him? Oh goodness, he must be a wreck.” Jackie may joke about Charles and Anthony being a difficult couple, but she loved them as much as I did.
“It gets worse. She’s dead.”
Silence on the other end.
“Jackie?”
“What the hell is it with you and dead people? This is the third one in as many months.”
It wasn’t like I’d planned it. I wasn’t any happier about this situation than she was. “Not to worry, Nick’s here.”
Silence again.
“What are you not telling me? Are you dumping the agency to be a homicide detective? Or are you just shadowing Nick so you can get laid?” Now Jackie was smiling; I could hear it in her voice.
“Charles invited him. Didn’t he tell you?”
“No. But as long as he’s there, go out, have a few drinks, invite him back to your room. Take advantage of him in a big, bad way.”
“Not so much. He’s here to help with the booth, but now he’s off with his old homicide partner because they think Marina may have been murdered.” I sighed and leaned against the wall of the booth.
“You let Nick get away again? What the hell is wrong with you?”
“I didn’t let anyone get away, and I’ve got to go myself. I want to sleep for a few hours before Cortnie gets here. Putting in that equipment and checking it will take hours. And I have to be back here in the morning.”
Jackie lowered her voice, so I assumed someone had entered the room. “Either do that guy or kick him to the curb permanently. You don’t need the distraction.”
Before I could respond, she said, “Take care, and call me tomorrow. I want to know what’s going on.”
“I’m sure we’ll be fine. It’s new video equipment, and Cortnie is an expert.”
“I’m not talking about the surveillance.” Jackie hung up.
I laughed and hung up with a grin on my face. God, I loved that woman.
I started to put my phone away when it vibrated. It was a text from Charles.
-Not coming back to the booth tonight, can you put up the curtain? See you in the morning.-
I should have seen that one coming.
I scrounged around the back of the booth, behind the fake wall we’d erected, to find the curtain Charles was talking about. It was the only thing left in the crate labeled BOOTH, along with the hooks to hang it. I pulled the huge piece of black fabric from the crate and brought it out to the front of the booth. I started to shake it out when a handsome guy, about six feet tall, stopped at the front of the booth. He had wavy blond hair, cut short on the sides, but unruly on top, pale skin, and dark brown eyes. I couldn’t miss who he was here with, since his Oxford shirt had the Marina Sales logo on the front. I thought it odd that he wore jeans, as it didn’t seem Marina would allow her employees to wear jeans.
“Need help?” His voice was whiskey and jazz raspy.
I looked pointedly at his shirt and said, “Nope, I’m good.”
He stepped forward anyway. “You look like you need a hand.”
“I said, I’m good,” and whipped the curtain out of his reach.
He looked at his shirt, then at the booth. “Oh, look, it’s not what you think. I was on the way to my aunt’s booth, and I saw you needed help. I didn’t realize you were with Anthony.”
“Like I said, I’m fine.”
“I can help. I don’t think there are any hard feelings between Anthony and me. We got along well. I can’t help that Marina is my aunt.” He reached for the curtain again.
This time I didn’t stop him, because I realized I still needed to hammer in the nails. I let him hold the fabric while I went to the back of the booth and grabbed the nails, hooks and a hammer.
“So, are you related to Anthony, or just working for him?” he asked.
“And who exactly are you, other than Marina’s nephew?”
I jumped when I heard his voice right behind me. “I’m Zack Rosenberg.”
I took the fabric and handed him the hardware. “Don’t you think your aunt would disapprove of you helping out in Anthony’s booth?”
“Hell, my aunt disapproves of almost everything I do.” Zack walked over to the front edge of the booth and reached up high. “Is this high enough?”
I looked. “I have no idea. Sure.”
Zack hammered the nail in and reached for the hook. “And you are?”
I handed him the hook. “I’m Mimi Capurro. I work with Anthony’s partner, Charles.”
“The detective agency? Anthony used to talk about you and Charles all the time. He didn’t, however, tell me you were so stunning.”
Give me a break. I knew I looked just on this side of death warmed over, after the day I’d had. “Yeah, well, something tells me I’m not Anthony’s type.”
Zack laughed, and we finished putting up the curtain. “I’d better get to Marina’s booth to help with last minute stuff.”
I looked at him curiously. “I don’t think you’ll be helping with much of anything tonight.”
“Excuse me?”
“Hasn’t anyone contacted you in the last hour or so?”
“No, why?”
Great, why me? I guess I didn’t have to be the one to tell him. But better I told him, than to have him go down the aisle to Marina’s booth and see for himself. “Zack, your aunt is dead.”
He laughed.
I was stunned. I’d just told him his aunt was dead. “I don’t think it’s all that funny.”
He stopped laughing. “It can’t be true. She just sent me a text message, telling me to get my ass here, like, now.”
“I’m not kidding.” I stepped back and indicated at the far end of the aisle. “Didn’t you see the commotion when you came in?”
He looked up. And when he did, the EMTs were pulling the gurney out of the booth with a body completely covered. “Well, I’ll be. Never thought I’d see the day.”
Again, I was taken aback. “What?”
He looked at me, not at all upset. “I’ll be honest, I didn’t think the devil himself could kill that lady. She’s just, how do I say this, too mean to die.”
“This is your aunt we’re talking about, right?”
Zack helped me adjust the fabric, so the booth was completely covered. “Yes, but you didn’t know her.”
“And you worked for her?” His attitude was incredulous.
“Not because I wanted to.”
I was confused, tired, and I didn’t really want to be involved. “Well, you might want to talk to the police. I have to go.”
Zack looked to the booth, then to me. “The police wil
l get in touch when they want to talk to me. Not sure what they’d want to talk to me about. Besides, I’ll be here all day tomorrow. I’ll walk you down.”
“They’ll want to talk to you because the death is suspicious.” I grabbed my bag.
“Suspicious? She probably died of a heart attack. She was a stress monster.” Zack fell into step with me as I walked away.
“How old was she?” My curiosity got the better of me. I mean, if he insisted on talking, I may as well find out all I could about the woman.
“I’m not positive, fifty-six, fifty-seven maybe.” Zack pushed the elevator button for the lobby.
“Even if she wasn’t your favorite relative, I’d think you’d be a bit more upset about her death.”
We stepped into the elevator, and suddenly I wondered why I was letting this stranger, with apparently no feelings, accompany me to the ground floor. He could’ve been the person who killed Marina, if she was indeed murdered. I thought this would be a good time to make a phone call. I pulled out my phone and dialed Charles.
“Hello,” I said. “I hope I wasn’t interrupting anything.”
He sounded out of breath. “Nope, I just got out of the shower and I ran in here to grab the phone. Is everything okay?”
“I need directions.”
“There’s this thing called GPS.”
“Where are you staying? I never got the name of the hotel.”
He told me the name. “The reservations are taken care of, just check in when you get here. And when are you getting here?”
The elevator door opened and Zack held the door as I stepped out. “In a few minutes. I’m leaving the convention center now.”
I heard Charles gasp. “Just now? What have you been doing, snooping?”
“No, but I did meet Marina Goldstein’s nephew. We’ll talk when I get there. See you in a few.”
“Wait one minute--” Charles was still talking when I disconnected.
I looked at Zack. “Sorry about that. I needed to be sure I had a reservation. I wasn’t going to call all over the city to find a decent hotel.”
Zack looked at the entrance, then at me, “Are you parked in the parking garage?”
Something about Zack didn’t sit well with me, so I paused for a moment and gave him my confused look. "You know, I'll see you in the morning. I need to run back up to the booth.”
Zack looked puzzled. "I can wait for you"
"No, no, you go ahead, I just have to grab something and then head to the parking garage. I’ll see you in the morning.” I dashed back to the elevators, and when I looked back, Zack was still standing in the same place, staring at me.
I entered the elevator and took it to the third floor to buy myself some time. As I pressed the button for the parking garage, I felt a chill run down my spine. I just wanted to get to Nick’s car and get the hell out of there. I rarely felt afraid, because I carried a loaded handgun most of the time, but Zack had the hairs on my skin prickling. I concentrated on where Nick had parked the car, so I could make a beeline for it and get out of there. I didn’t have my gun with me, and I didn’t want to be alone in the parking garage with the chance that Zack might end up there, too.
I didn’t have to worry, since the parking lot was buzzing with people from the trade show. It would have been difficult for someone to do something crazy there. Even so, I felt much better when I was behind the wheel of Nick’s car and on my way out of the lot. As I drove out, I saw something I didn’t expect.
52
I ran several scenarios in my head as I drove to the hotel, each one as implausible as the next. When it came to dead bodies, I sure did have a vivid imagination. Seeing Zack and Willard talking in the parking garage as I left made me uneasy. I’d assumed Willard was with the police, but maybe he hadn’t made it to the station yet. The shock of yet another dead body had my mind reeling and I wasn’t keeping my facts straight.
Arriving at the hotel, I couldn’t believe Anthony had booked a suite for me. This had to be costing him a fortune, paying for two rooms, booth fees, and the cost of everything else involved with the show. I made a note to myself to bill HCM for the hotel suite and take it out of Anthony’s name in the morning.
I woke to the sound of my cell phone ringing. I’d assumed it was Cortnie, since it was about an hour before we were supposed to meet up for the B&E. Or is it really breaking and entering when you have the owner’s permission? Instead, it was Nick.
Still groggy, I croaked, “Hello.”
“Hey, sleepy head, I was calling to check on you. Is everything okay?”
I sat up in bed. “Yeah, why wouldn’t it be?”
“No reason. I just know you have a job to do tonight and I was wondering if all is going well. Are you heading out soon?”
I looked at the clock on the nightstand. “Soon, but Cortnie isn’t here yet.”
No sooner were the words out, when another call came in. “That’s her, I’ve got to get this.”
“Sure. I’m on my way to the room. See you in a bit.” Nick hung up.
“No, you won’t,” I said, as I answered the next call.
“I won’t what?” Cortnie asked.
“Oh, nothing. I was on another call, and I was talking to myself as I switched calls. Are you in the city?”
“I’m in the parking lot of HCM. Are you on your way?” Cortnie sounded more anxious than I’d expect from someone with her experience.
“I just have to brush my teeth.” I breathed into the palm of my hand. Oh boy, did I need to brush my teeth.
“See you in a bit. I’ll start laying everything out.”
I brushed my teeth and changed my clothes. I was so ready to be back home in my own bed.
The thought of driving the Porsche Boxster to the HCM building seemed wrong. The car would stand out like a Volkswagen in a Mercedes lot. On the other hand, Cortnie was driving my Land Rover, so if one car was obvious, maybe two cars would look like a late night tryst.
Traffic was minimal, so I made it to Burlingame in better time than I’d expected. And I didn’t have to worry about the cars standing out, because I could barely find my own Land Rover in the parking lot. There were so many trees and shrubs lining and separating the lots that I drove through the maze for about ten minutes before finding Cortnie’s hiding spot.
She was at the back of the Land Rover, laying out equipment when I arrived.
“Shouldn’t you have parked a bit further that way?” I pointed to the south.
Cortnie pulled three magnetic signs from the back seat, she put one on the driver side, one on the passenger side, and one on the rear door of the Land Rover. The sign read, Acme Janitorial Services, but had no contact information listed. Genius.
"Clever." At least that's what I thought until she handed me a pair of coveralls.
"Go ahead and put these on. I had Jackie pick out a pair of tennis shoes she thought would fit. I hope you don't mind." She handed me a pair of well-worn athletic shoes.
These were the running shoes I kept in my office. Not that I ran as much as I should lately, since I seemed to be sitting on my ass more than anything. Between the paperwork at the office and the stakeouts, I really needed to start running regularly again. I opened the back door of the Land Rover and sat on the edge of the seat as I pulled on the coveralls and laced up my running shoes.
Cortnie, who’d obviously thought of everything, handed me a ponytail holder. I pulled my hair up and she handed me a cleaning bucket.
“Your bucket has all of the video and audio equipment inside. I have the B&E equipment, in case we need it.” She lifted the red plastic pail in her left hand.
“Please don’t call it a B&E. It makes me feel like a criminal.”
“Aren’t we?”
I thought a moment. “Depending on who catches us in the building, I guess the answer could be yes.”
I thought we’d sneak around to the back of the building and go through a private entrance, but apparently this building had a 24/
7 doorman, and we walked in through the revolving glass door at the front of the building.
Just before walking through the doors, Cortnie whispered, “Mr. Clinton’s assistant set us up as a new janitorial service, to work exclusively on the executive bathrooms. I guess the executives weren’t happy with the current company’s cleaning practices. Apparently they used such strong smelling chemicals that several employees became ill, so they are trying out new services.”
“Tell me we aren’t cleaning the bathrooms,” I whispered back.
“No, we aren’t.”
Cortnie pushed her way through the heavy door and I entered behind her. She marched dutifully up to the security desk and offered up her Acme Janitorial identification.
“Ms. Smith from Acme Janitorial sounds like a cartoon, or a sitcom.” The security officer looked at the I.D. card and handed it back.
“I know, right? That’s what everyone says.” Cortnie flirted with him a bit.
Hell, he was cute, and filled his uniform nicely. I’d have flirted too, if I was that young.
“Executive restrooms are on the fifth floor. Do you need an escort?” Cute Security Guy flirted back.
“You offering?” Cortnie winked. One service worker to another.
“Wish I could, but I’m on the front desk all night.”
I was ready to gag. “Tell you what, we’ll try to find it ourselves. If we have a problem, I’ll come back down and let you know.”
I walked towards what looked like the elevators. Behind me, I heard a throat-clearing cough.
“Um, the service elevators are over there.” The man pointed in the opposite direction I was headed. “Those are for employees only.”
Well, I’ll be. There were service elevators in a business building. I’d only ever seen them in hotels. Some private detective I was.
Cortnie caught up to me. “We’ll take the service elevator to the fifth floor, then we’ll use the stairs for any equipment we put up elsewhere.”
“Got it.” We stepped into the elevator.
Any good boss knows to let their best employees do their work uninhibited, and to be there when they need help. This was one of those moments. I hadn’t seen the floor plans and had no idea what the hell we’d be doing, other than putting in a few cameras and listening devices.
Gotcha Detective Agency Mystery Box Set Page 41
