Gotcha Detective Agency Mystery Box Set

by Jamie Lee Scott

  With shallow breaths, he said, “Come up here and kiss me.”

  I heard a sliding against the wood in the room, and then Becky said, “That’s just to let you know what you’ll be missing. I bet Marina never did that.”

  “Never,” Willard said, still a little short of breath.

  The doorknob turned, and Becky said, “I have to get back to my booth. I’m not kidding, Willard. This was supposed to be our time together. I couldn’t afford the fees for this trade show; I did it for you. Now you need to do something for me.”

  I wanted to wait to hear Willard’s response, but I had to flee. I wasn’t sure who left the room first, because I wasn’t about to turn around and look. I didn’t even slow down when I got to the front door of the hotel and out to the street. I had to keep from breaking into a run once outside, so people didn’t think I was a criminal.

  I slowed considerably once I approached the convention center, and by the time I was back on the showroom floor, my breathing had returned to normal. My heart skipped a bit as I walked by Marina’s booth.

  Zack was at the back of the booth, packing up a line of clothing and putting it in shipping boxes.

  “Hey, Zack, what’s going on?” I tried to sound casual and not nosy.

  He looked up, but didn’t look happy to see me. “I’m sort of busy, Mimi. I have a lot of work to do here.”

  “What exactly are you doing?” He was obviously packing, but I wanted to know why.

  “Willard called and said they’re cremating Marina this afternoon. We have a flight out in the morning, so he wants the booth packed up and ready for the shippers by the end of the show tonight.”

  This was exactly opposite of what he’d said before. He’d said they’d stay and at least try to make some money while they were here.

  “So you’ll be giving your manufacturers a refund, since you didn’t stay for the full show?” This seemed only fair.

  “You’d have to talk to Willard about that. Besides, what do you care?” He thought about it. “I get it, ammunition for the lawsuit. If I was a betting man, I’d say, nope, but I’m not going to say.”

  Blood was thicker than water. As a way of saying I understood, I knelt down next to him and helped fold clothes.

  “You don’t need to help. I’m sure you have better things to do.” He sat back on his heels and stopped working.

  “Why did Marina sabotage your wedding?”

  “You’ve been talking to Becky.”

  “Yes, but she’s not the one who told me. I’m only asking because I do think your aunt was murdered. I just want to know if you did it.”

  The look in Zack’s eyes said, “Fuck you.” But he said nothing, just stood up and started packing a box on the other side of the booth.

  Just as he started to say something, Willard entered the booth. “This is all you have gotten done so far?”

  I looked at Willard, then Zack.

  “Fuck you, Willard, do it yourself. I quit.” Zack grabbed a backpack from the back of the booth and stormed out.

  Willard looked at me. “What the hell did you say to him?”

  I gave my best, “don’t look at me” face, stood and walked out of the booth. I sure as hell wasn’t going to help Willard pack up.

  I jogged down the aisle after Zack. “What’s going on here?”

  Zack kept walking.

  I grabbed him by the arm to stop him. “Zack! You’re a suspect in your aunt’s murder. Talk to me.”

  He stopped, looked me in the eye and said, “I’m glad she’s dead, okay? I hated that woman with every breath I took. She ruined everything good that ever happened in my life. You want to know if I killed her? What a joke!” He jerked away from me. “Now just leave me alone.”

  “Fine, but this isn’t over. And if you did this…” I didn’t even know how to finish the sentence.

  Zack didn’t wait for me to finish, either. He walked away and didn’t look back.

  I stood there, pissed that I didn’t get any information on Willard and Becky. Then I regained my wits and headed back to Anthony’s booth.

  Anthony and Charles were primping and rearranging the voodoo dolls in the booth when I arrived.

  “That slow, huh?” I braced myself for the barrage of complaints.

  Anthony picked up the order sheets from the folding chair. “Chica, we are in the black.” He flipped through page after page of completed order forms.

  I smiled. I really wanted Anthony to do well at this show. He had worked so hard to build this line of dolls, and then to have the carpet pulled out from under him by Marina Goldstein had knocked the wind out of him.

  Charles said, “We had three customers, all looking at the same line of dolls, when a regular buyer of Anthony’s walked in. She did the selling for us. She told them how she displayed the dolls in her store, and that she regularly had dolls on reorder because they sold so fast.”

  “And when the looky-lous asked about the price point, and if she had trouble selling because they were so expensive, she said, ‘My customers aren’t looking for “Made in China”, they want “Handmade in America” quality.’” He showed me the sales numbers. “Can you believe it?”

  I couldn’t, but I was thrilled. “This rocks!”

  Charles sidled up to me and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. “So…”

  “Boy, do I have some dirt. But, first I need to call Nick. I found something out that he needs to know.”

  “What do I need to know?” Nick said, from behind me.

  I jumped, and turned around to see Nick without Eva in tow.

  “Where’s your partner?” I asked, trying not to sound jealous.

  “My partner is in Salinas. If you’re referring to Eva, she’s back at the station, waiting for some autopsy results.”

  “Why aren’t you there too, then?” The jealousy had reared its ugly head.

  “Because we aren’t attached at the hip, and I wanted to take you to lunch,” Nick said.

  “Don’t you have something to tell Nick?” Charles said.

  “That’s right, what do I need to know?”

  “Maybe we could talk over lunch.” I was eager to be alone with Nick, even for thirty minutes.

  I looked back to see Anthony frown. He wanted to know the scoop, even though he made me promise not to discuss it.

  I was good with having lunch with Nick. In fact, I wouldn’t mind having Nick for lunch. My vote was for lunch back at the hotel, and I’d show Nick a thing or two. Becky’s forceful attitude with Willard gave me resolve.

  “Okay, we’ll talk over lunch.”

  “I need to pick up some fresh clothes, so can we go back to the hotel?” I said.

  “How are you going to get fresh clothes at the hotel?”

  “Just don’t worry about it. We can eat at the restaurant there.”

  Charles said, “Or just order room service.”

  “Okay.” Nick grinned, and took me by the arm. I looked back to Charles. “I’ll bring you guys some takeout.”

  Anthony purred, “Honey, what you need for lunch isn’t available in takeout.”

  Nick winked.

  58

  Something about the way Nick handled his Porsche Boxster made me think he’d handle a woman in bed the same way, with skill and expertise. In college, he had a great package, but he was all too eager to please himself, not the girl. In this case, the girl was me.

  I decided not to wait to tell him about Willard and Zack leaving early until we got the hotel. This way, if he decided he wanted to go back to the police station, he could drop me off, and then go. Maybe I was chickening out again by giving him another out.

  Driving up to valet parking, I told him about the cremation and that they were leaving in the morning. Before the last words were out of my mouth, he called Eva.

  “You have to find some way to stop that cremation.” He spoke with authority, but wasn’t demanding.

  I couldn’t hear the other side of the cell phone conversatio
n, but Nick didn’t seem upset.

  “They plan to have her cremated, and ship her back with them to the Midwest in the morning. Mimi said her nephew was packing up the booth already.”

  I watched his expression as he listened. He didn’t reveal much.

  “Okay, okay. But you realize this doesn’t leave us much time to prove foul play?” Now his features twisted a bit. He didn’t like her response.

  “Fine, Eva, fine.” He disconnected.

  His mood changed in that instant. I got up the courage to ask, “Are we still going to have lunch?”

  He handed the keys to the valet. “Fine.”

  Before the other valet reached my door, I said, “No, not fine. I’m not going to sit through a lunch with you being pissed about something. And it’s always something. Either we have a nice lunch and enjoy the rarity of each other’s company, or you can just drop me here and go.”

  “I have nowhere else to go.” Nick got out of the car.

  Great, just great, I’d get to have lunch with an asshole. If I wanted that, I could’ve invited Charles to lunch. I let the valet open my door and I got out, not waiting for Nick.

  As I strode into the hotel, Nick caught up to me. He grabbed me by the arm. “Do you know how much I want to have lunch with you?” He pulled me close and kissed me on the mouth. “That much.”

  I stopped breathing for a moment. Nick had kissed me; unbidden. “Okay, how about room service?”

  He grinned and we walked to the elevators, with Nick holding my hand.

  In the elevator, he said, “Being with Eva made me realize I’m missing out.”

  His words stung, so I didn’t respond, knowing my words would be bitter.

  He turned me to face him. “We talked about you. She laughed and said, ‘Wow, are you in love with this woman?’ That’s when I realized I wanted to be with you more than I wanted to know if that woman had been murdered. Eva made me see it.”

  I was still back on the question Eva had asked him. “So are you?”

  Nick looked puzzled. “Am I what?”

  Oh, never mind, I wasn’t going to push my luck. I just kept holding his hand and walked him to the room. By the time I was done, he’d never see room service the same way again.

  I needed to know what Eva said on the phone, so as I pushed the key card into the door, I asked, “Eva told you not to come back to the station, didn’t she?”

  Nick nodded.

  Suddenly I wasn’t so horny; I was hungry. I didn’t know if Nick was telling me the truth about what Eva asked him, or if he was trying to win me over. Lord knows it wasn’t for the sex. He’d had that opportunity on several occasions and didn’t take me up on it.

  I went to the bathroom. On the way, I picked up the room’s binder with the room service menu and threw it at Nick. “Here, order something to eat.”

  I stayed in the bathroom for several minutes, trying to gather my wits, and trying to decide if I really wanted this. By the time I walked out of the bathroom, I was wearing only my black lace bra and matching panties. I happen to keep an extra pair in my overnight bag, just in case. In case of what, I wasn’t sure.

  Apparently, for a change, Nick and I were on the same wavelength. He was stretched out on the top of the bed, wearing only his… (Should I tell you, or should I let you wonder if he wears boxers or briefs?)… boxer briefs, and they were gray with a black waistband. And he looked hot!

  I’m not sure who was more surprised.

  “Before we start this party, there’s something I need to tell you.” Nick sat up on the bed.

  Oh, great. I stopped in my tracks.

  He swiveled and swung his legs off the bed. Now he was sitting on the side of the bed facing me, and he looked yummy. He may be older than the last time we’d had sex, but he looked better than I remembered. His sienna skin spread smooth across his rippled abs, and the cut of his arms as he pressed his palms into the mattress, readying himself to break his news made my breath catch.

  What already?

  “I don’t want this to ruin things. I’ve really enjoyed having you in my life again, and I know that when we have sex, it’s going to change things. Big time.”

  “I can handle change.” I took a few steps closer.

  “I’ve wanted to get you naked since that day you barfed in the potted palm. I’m not sure that any man who’s ever had sex with you could look at you and not want you that way.”

  My eyes must have gone wide at this revelation, because he laughed.

  “As if you didn’t know. Mimi, you’re so incredibly sexy. When I said we needed to take things one day at a time, I really meant me. I needed to know that I could walk away at any time.”

  Now there’s a way to ruin a sexy moment. I needed to know that I could walk away at any time?

  I walked up and plopped down on the bed next to him, my hand touching his as I mimicked his posture of sitting with his arms straight and palms pushed into the mattress.

  “Let me give it to you straight, Nick. I haven’t had sex since my husband died. My hormones have been working like a teenage boy in puberty. I really like you a lot, and I hope like hell it doesn’t change things between us, either, because I enjoy your company, even when you’re doing your level best to piss me off. So I propose we stop talking about it and get down to business before we get interrupted.”

  And with that, he turned and kissed me on the mouth. I’d dish all of the sensual details if this were an erotica story, but suffice it to say, he was worth the wait.

  I don’t know how much time passed, but we made love once, curled up in each other’s arms and fell asleep on the bed. I awoke to a knock on the door and assumed it was room service.

  I jumped up and grabbed the robe from the bathroom. “Coming.” I looked back and Nick hadn’t even stirred.

  Still tying the robe around my middle, I opened the door to find Cortnie standing there with a briefcase, and a computer bag. “Did you forget our meeting?”

  I looked back at the bed, where Nick was now sitting up. Cortnie looked past me and the color drained from her face. “Oh, God, I’m sorry. I, uh…”

  Nick stretched. “No worries. We were just napping.” He looked at his wrist for his watch, which wasn’t there. “What time is it?”

  Cortnie looked at the floor. “Four fifteen.” She rubbed her foot on the carpet. “I thought we had a four o’clock meeting.”

  I looked at her foot, mesmerized by the nonexistent thing she was smearing into the fibers. “I’ll be down in ten minutes. I just need to get dressed.”

  Cortnie did an about face and beelined down the hall. “See you in a few,” she called over her shoulder.

  I couldn’t believe we’d slept so long. I wondered if Nick and I had missed out on anything important with Marina’s death. Then again, someone would have called.

  Nick stood in his full naked glory and laughed. “Oops.”

  I watched his tight ass as he walked to the bathroom. Then I realized I needed to get in there. I had to shower and get dressed.

  When I walked in, he’d already started the shower water. He said, “Duty calls. I’ll just sit here and watch you.”

  I slapped him on the ass as I dropped my robe and ducked under the soothing hot water.

  * * *

  Nick was true to his word and let me shower in peace. I wanted him to join me, but we both knew where that would lead. I was showered and down in the restaurant bar in less than fifteen minutes.

  Cortnie had her laptop up and running, with a stack of papers next to the computer. Across the table were several delicious looking platters of appetizers. My stomach grumbled, and I realized we never ordered room service.

  “What’s this?” I pointed to the food.

  Cortnie looked up from her laptop and said, “This one is a seafood martini, with Dungeness crab, scallops, pickled cucumbers, red peppers, tomatoes, and a lemon vodka vinaigrette.”

  As I drooled, she went on to describe the other dishes: lobster raviol
i, and truffled polenta with roasted wild mushrooms. I sat down next to her and grabbed an appetizer plate and a fork.

  “I thought you might be hungry.” She picked at the food on her plate. “Will Nick be joining us?”

  I’d just stuffed a bite of lobster in my mouth, so I shook my head.

  The server delivered two dirty martinis, and Cortnie and I sipped the delicious cocktails while we looked over the surveillance statistics.

  We were so engrossed in reading the entry logs against the video camera’s evidence that we didn’t hear Nick approach.

  “May I join you ladies, or is this confidential?” He pulled out the chair next to me, but waited before sitting.

  “It’s confidential, but who better to trust than a cop?” Cortnie smiled, and pushed an empty plate towards him. “Have some appetizers. More are on the way.”

  Nick sat down and immediately shoveled food onto his plate.

  He smelled good with the fresh scent of the hotel shampoo mixed with what smelled like Hugo Boss cologne. His hair was still damp, and the black waves were now curls. His white v-neck sweater fit nicely and accented his biceps.

  I moved my paperwork over a bit so he’d have room to eat.

  “Want a drink?” Cortnie waved at the server to get his attention. She had the same unimposing manner Charles had, and it wasn’t offensive.

  This server was definitely gay, because he didn’t even look at Cortnie’s cleavage, but he sure gave Nick the once over. “Yes, what can I get you?”

  Cortnie said, “We’ll take another round of dirty martinis, but make it three this time.”

  Nick put up his hand. “No, just two martinis. I’ll have a club soda with a lime. Thanks.”

  Cortnie was too polite to argue. She downed the rest of her drink, and asked me, “So, what do you think?”

  I replayed the video we had recorded and I still couldn’t believe my eyes. Well, it was mostly my ears. This must be my week to hear things I’d rather not hear.

  “Did he forget we were putting audio in the executive bathroom?”