Date in Disguise

by Laura Westbrook

  “Or at least not all of what she seems. Like she’s two different people wrapped up in the same person…”

  “What’s that?”

  I shook my head. “Nothing. Why do you think she’d have instructions to gain my trust?”

  “Perhaps a professional thief? A cat burglar? It does mention her taking something.”

  “Hmm. She just doesn’t come across as someone like that to me. We passed by a dozen expensive things walking back inside and her fingers didn’t look like they were itching.”

  He scratched the top of his bald head. “I’m afraid I don’t have an idea at a guess. I don’t have a great imagination. Does this mean you won’t be seeing her again? Such a shame. She seems lovely, otherwise.”

  I glanced at the fridge. “I’m not sure yet. I’ll have to think on it. I don’t want to jump to conclusions, but clearly there’s something going on here. Did you reach out to your contacts yet to see what they say about her?”

  “Yes. I contacted them this morning, although they haven’t gotten back to me yet.”

  I glanced out the front window. “It’s a bit early then if you just talked to them this morning.”

  “We’ll see what they say,” he said.

  “Yes, we will.”

  * * *

  “Well?” Audric asked. “How did it go? You sure took long enough.”

  I clicked on the seatbelt, adjusted my dress around my legs, and rested my head back against the seat. “I’m not even sure how to describe what happened.”

  “I got my coffee and sat here in the car for hours. I was so bored I started playing solitaire on my phone. That’s pretty bad.”

  The window hummed as I lowered it to get some fresh air. “I thought you were prepared to wait a long time. That’s what you said when you parked.”

  “Yeah, well, just be glad I didn’t go run errands while I was fetching coffee like I originally planned today.”

  “I suppose I’m glad you didn’t abandon me, yes.”

  “Okay, so I’m guessing he was there and you two did something for a long time, so what was it?”

  I took a deep breath. “He was there, wrapping up his tennis lesson just like you said. I’m still not sure how you knew that was going to happen.”

  “Let’s just say I know some people who use the same tennis instructor.”

  “Anyway, after he finished, we walked through his garden and talked for a while. He was really nice to me.”

  He laughed in a way that came out as a huff. “I’m sure he’s super nice to people until he cuts their throats.”

  “I guess, but he wasn’t that way with me. He made me feel special.”

  Audric hit the brakes so hard the seatbelt bit into my skin. Thankfully we were still on a residential road with nobody behind us. “Faye, let’s get one thing straight. He’s the enemy, okay? He’s actively trying to destroy our family. You don’t think a sick fuck like that knows how to pretend to be nice? You need to wake up.”

  He turned back and the car lurched forward. He took a deep breath and deliberately lowered his voice. “So you had a pretty walk through the garden and then what?”

  “We came back inside the house. He invited me in for lemonade.”

  He chuckled, hunched over the steering wheel. “Is that what they call it?”

  “Actual lemonade.”

  “How cute. And I’m guessing that’s not all he gave you, right?”

  “It wasn’t.”

  “Now we’re getting somewhere. And what did you do about it?”

  I looked down at my hands folded in my lap. “I took some pictures…during.”

  “And did they include his face?”

  I nodded.

  He smacked the steering wheel. “Atta girl. I knew we could count on you.”

  I didn’t say anything, but he continued. “I’ve got to tell Brandt. He’ll be ecstatic. This will go a long way.”

  “What will you do with them?”

  “All kinds of things. Show these to the right people, and he’ll be in a world of hurt. We could show them to the board of directors at his company. That’s something serious enough where they’ll probably vote to remove him from his own board, possibly bar him from certain meetings or even to step foot on company property again, depending on how he has his company structured. Companies are very sensitive about their image these days. Or we could simply show them to him and go for blackmail money and then show the board of directors.”

  “I mean, what’s the big deal if he has sex with someone? He’s not married.”

  “If it doesn’t get the reaction we want, we’ll say he coerced you into sex to add some stigma to it, or even say he blackmailed you into sex.”

  “Blackmail for blackmail,” I murmured, staring out the window.

  “Right. Now you’ve got it. And you know, I didn’t even think about simply releasing it to the public if all else fails. Nobody will want to buy a watch from a guy who has a shady underworld kind of life.”

  “But he doesn’t, though.”

  He gave me a sidelong look. “Didn’t you hear what I just told you? Once we get done with the narrative, it will be. Don’t worry, when the time comes, I’ll tell you what to say.”

  “What if I don’t want to say anything? I’m willing to help out, but I don’t feel comfortable twisting the knife just for good measure.”

  “That’s the way this works. Always part of the plan. Don’t worry, another date or two with him, and we’ll have everything we need.”

  “Exactly how much more do you need?”

  “There’s no exact formula for this, little sister. More pictures or maybe a recording. Then we’ll move to phase two and none of us will have to think about this ever again. Just hang onto all the evidence and we’ll go through it later when we’re all together.”

  I didn’t respond, and he seemed not to mind, now that he’d gotten what he wanted. He pulled onto the freeway and paid more attention to the road than me, thankfully. I felt like I needed to take a shower, not because of what I’d shared with Gavin but because of this conversation with Audric.

  I took my phone out of my purse and held it on my lap. With a glance over in Audric’s direction, I angled the phone slightly away from him and pulled up the pictures I’d taken with Gavin. I looked through them one by one, then I highlighted all of them. My finger hovered over the delete button a few seconds, then I lowered it and turned off the backlight.

  Chapter Eleven

  Gavin

  For the next two days, I left the phone number on the fridge. I meant to copy it down somewhere else, but for some reason, I just kept it there, staring at me whenever I entered the room. When I wrote it there originally, I had no idea how much I’d think about it, how much it would be on my mind.

  Of course, it wasn’t about the phone number. It was about her. The riddle in my mind I couldn’t quite let go of. The note only added to the whole situation. More than once Albert had dropped hints that I should throw the note away and forget the whole thing. He was on board for me to find someone, almost more than anyone, but he’d said it wasn’t worth the lost sleep. He was probably right.

  I didn’t think I was anyone who needed to be cozied up to for any reason. Sure, I had a successful company, but it wasn’t like I had friends in high places or did work for the government or anything like that. I didn’t have counterintelligence secrets any other country would want to get their hands on. I was just a company owner who had pulled myself up by my bootstraps, so to speak, over years of hard work and effort.

  All this crossed my mind while I stood there in front of her number with my phone in hand. It went against my good instincts, I told myself. But I still had to do it anyway. Slowly, I pressed the buttons and held the phone up to my ear.

  “Hello?” Her voice came through clear as a bell. There was something about it that cheered up my day, even with just a single word. There was a hint of surprise in there too, although I guessed it had to do with my num
ber not being in her phone, coming up as unknown.

  “Hey, it’s Gavin. How are you?”

  “Oh.” A pause. “Good. I’m good.” She sounded even more surprised now.

  “I hope it’s okay for me to call you. You did leave me your number and all.”

  I heard some rustling, and it sounded like she changed rooms. “No, it’s fine. I was just thinking about you earlier today, actually.”

  Something inside me surged, more than I thought it would, but I tempered it and wrestled back control. I both hated and loved the way she had this effect on me, especially not knowing if I had the same on her.

  “I’ve thought about you too, although I guess that’s obvious with me calling you.”

  “Hey, I’m sorry again for rushing out of there. I had to take care of…something, but that doesn’t mean you deserved for me to leave you like that.”

  “It’s okay. I understand. I’m sure it was for a good reason. How’s your day been?”

  “Eventful, unfortunately. I was hoping to spend my Saturday afternoon relaxing, but my brothers needed help with something.”

  “I don’t think you mentioned them before. Do you have a big family?”

  Her voice got quieter for a moment as if she pulled the phone away. “No, just them. For my immediate family, at least. So anyway, what are you up to today? Anything interesting?”

  “Actually, I was wondering if you’d like to have dinner with me.”

  “Really? When?”

  “Tonight. It’s supposed to be clear out. Warm. Nice weather.”

  “Oh, okay. Dinner sounds great. Do you want to meet there?”

  “That works for me. A question, though. Are you adventurous when it comes to food?”

  “Uh…maybe. Do you call putting ketchup on my scrambled eggs adventurous?”

  “Not really.”

  “You’re right, but you know, I need to expand my horizons. What do you have in mind?”

  “I’ll keep it a surprise. It’s a restaurant I enjoy going to every now and then, but it’s not a place I can take just anyone to.”

  She laughed, and I couldn’t help but smile when she did. “So it has to be someone special then?”

  “You could say that.”

  “Okay, so it’s a date. What time?”

  “How about six-thirty? It’s on the early side, but I have something in mind afterward.” The thought flashed in my mind of whether she’d take that as a sex reference, but I couldn’t exactly take it back. It wasn’t like I didn’t want that. Hell, it had been on my mind quite a bit. How couldn’t it with a woman like her?

  “Sounds good. Where do you want me to meet you then?”

  I rattled off the street corner a few blocks from the place, just in case she tried to look it up and spoil the surprise. I’d make sure I arrived early to meet her there and walk her over. We ended up talking another few minutes while we wrapped up. I leaned against the counter, and my chest rose and fell. Well, that’s it. I’ll be seeing her in a few hours. With her contact now in my phone, I reached up and erased the number on the fridge. We’ll see how this goes.

  The door opened. “Ah, there you are, sir,” Albert said. “I’ve been looking for you.”

  “And you found me.”

  “I have two things to ask you. Well, one to ask and one to tell.”

  “Sure. What’s the first?”

  “The housekeeper is asking if you wanted anything particular from the grocery store for your meal tonight. I think you usually make something chicken on the Saturday nights you’re home, but I wanted to check with you first.”

  “I won’t be home for dinner this evening. I actually just got done making plans.”

  “Oh?”

  “I have a date with Charity.”

  Albert coughed into his fist and took his time raising his head again. “I see. That brings me to my next point. Would you like to sit down first, sir?”

  “I’m fine, Albert. What is it?”

  “Very well.” He placed an envelope on the table, one he’d brought in under his arm. “I’m afraid I have some information on this…Charity person. Something you’ll want to see.”

  “On second thought, maybe I will sit down.” The chair leg scraped against the hardwood floor as I pulled it back. “How did you come by this?”

  He sat across from me. “I’ve been asking a few old army buddies of mine, one of whom has some connections. I’m not sure if they are military or intelligence people, as he won’t tell me, but I figure it’s probably best not to ask. Anyway, he came up with this.”

  The envelope made a crinkly sound as he opened it. The photograph was blown up to be as large as the envelope itself, with three people in it. My eyes immediately went to the woman in the picture, standing with two men. She had the same height, same hair and eye color, same body type. There was no question who it was.

  “Who’s she with in the picture?”

  “Her two brothers.”

  “Okay, she mentioned she had brothers, so I knew that part, at least.”

  “Audric and Brandt Quinn.”

  “Those names sound familiar. I want to say I’ve met them at an event somewhere.”

  “They own Quinn Enterprises, a luxury watch design company.”

  My head jerked up. “That’s where I know them from. They’re in the business. I met them at a trade show once, and then again at a convention. Their designs aim for a different market than mine, really, more of a sportier or active type, where mine are more for a statement.”

  “How were they when you met them?” he asked.

  “Cold. Stand-off-ish. The Audric guy is the smooth talker out of the two, and Brandt just looked like he wanted to rip my head off and feast on the insides. Both of them stared at me on and off the entire time in a creepy way. Odd pair.”

  “I did a bit more digging, and it turns out that Faye is part owner of Quinn Enterprises.”

  I tapped my wrist against the table, making a clicking sound with my metal watch band. “That’s Charity, isn’t it?”

  “It is.”

  “Faye Quinn, then. So Charity Nelson never existed.”

  “I’m afraid not, sir. I’m terribly sorry.”

  “I’m surprised, honestly. I usually see these types of things coming, but not from her.”

  “Why do you think she did it?”

  I scratched my chin. “I have no idea. Financial gain, maybe. I can’t think of any other reason.”

  He leaned forward and folded his hands. “That’s for better minds than I to figure out. Will you be going elsewhere tonight or should we expect you for dinner here?”

  “You know, Albert, there’s something about this situation that doesn’t make sense to me. I can’t quite put my finger on why, but she doesn’t seem like the type to hurt anyone.”

  “I suppose. But isn’t that the whole idea? To make you think she isn’t?”

  “Normally, yes, but she’s not that great of an actress. At least not most of the time. I’ve gotten enough glimpses of the real her, I think. Unless that was part of her master plan all along and my instincts are off.”

  “Which is possible, forgive me for saying so. I thought she could be a charming match for you at first, but there are so many other eligible women that don’t come with this much…complication.”

  “I’m going to the date tonight, Albert.”

  “I know it’s not my place, but may I ask why, knowing what you know now?”

  I shook my head. “There’s something about her I just can’t shake, but I couldn’t tell you what it is. There’s an honesty about her, and I know that sounds crazy, because clearly she’s a scammer. But it’s just how I feel. I know it’s probably not a good idea, but I know I have to see her tonight. Maybe then I’ll find the answers I’m looking for.”

  He gave a single nod, as if not wanting to agree too much in one direction or another. “I trust you won’t talk shop when you’re around her, then. As part owner of a competitor, she’ll
be able to pick up on things others wouldn’t.”

  “I’ll keep an eye on that. Don’t worry. I won’t be going in blind, thanks to you. You did good work finding all this out. Let me know if you hear of anything else from your connections.”

  “I will. And I’ll make sure the vehicle is gassed up and ready to go.”

  I scooted back the chair and stood. “It’ll be an interesting night, either way.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Faye

  I put a lot of faith in Gavin to stand on a street corner all alone, waiting for him. Of course, it was still bright out and wouldn’t be dark until late given this time of year, and it was one of the nicest areas of the city. A few times I’d gone there just to window shop and drool over the miles of upper-class shops and boutiques. People here had money, and everyone wanted everyone else to know it.

  Then I saw him, wearing slacks and a hunter green button-up shirt with the top button undone. He walked with confidence, and even people walking in his direction swung wide around him. I had to admit he looked rather dashing.

  “Hey there,” he said. “You found the place.”

  “Hey yourself. I’ve been here once or twice.” No need to mention that all I could afford to do was windowshop. “So are you going to tell me where this place is yet?”

  “Nope,” he said with a mischievous smile. “It’s a surprise. Come on, let’s go.”

  He grabbed my hand and tugged me into the nearest crosswalk, which thankfully showed a clear to walk signal. The sun warmed my left side as we walked a short distance. A few robins flew overhead to a nearby tree, easy to spot with their bright red color.

  “That looks pretty, doesn’t it?”

  I realized he’d stopped in front of a showcase window, displaying a necklace featuring blue stones, sapphires probably. “It does.” My eyes instinctively scanned for a price tag, although I couldn’t find one. Gauging by the part of town and the way it looked, it was probably worth far more than I could afford, equivalent to a few hundred pasta noodle boxes, which was often how I equated value these days.

  “I don’t think it’ll be a good look on you, though,” I said. “Doesn’t match your wardrobe.”