The Root of All Trouble

by Heather Webber

  This wasn't Ana's and my first stakeout.

  Or second.

  We'd come prepared with Twizzlers, Snickers bars, chips, and Dr Pepper. Fortunately the surveillance of Honey Miller included restrooms with the close proximity of an UDF—a gas station convenience store that anchored the strip mall where we were parked—and where we bought our goodies. I couldn't help but remember our first stakeout and how Ana had to pee in the woods. It hadn't been pretty with the discovery of poison ivy nearby. Amusing, yes. Pretty, no.

  "They worked my last nerve," I said.

  "How much of it was their behavior versus your mixed-up feelings about that guy Cain?"

  I'd told her all about the mysterious Cain Monahan. She'd never known Seth—she had moved to Freedom after he died, but she knew my heartbreak over his death.

  "Maybe some," I admitted.

  "Maybe a lot."

  I chewed on my licorice. Duke, my trainer, would have a stroke if he knew all the junk I'd eaten today. With any luck he'd never, ever, find out.

  Across the street no one had gone in or out of the Miller's townhouse. Two cars sat in a narrow driveway, a pickup that belonged to Joey and a sporty white Mazda that Honey drove.

  We knew Honey was home because we'd seen her walk by the front window several times, a cell phone glued to her ear.

  She'd been laughing as she talked.

  Not quite the behavior of a grieving widow.

  "What are you going to do about this Cain situation?" Ana asked. "I can see how much it's bugging you."

  Sunbeams bounced off the windshield, highlighting all the rain spots and streaks left behind by yesterday's storm. "I need to see his eyes. Then I'll know for sure that Cain isn't Seth, and I'll be able to put this whole thing to rest."

  "You don't really think this guy is Seth, do you?"

  My mind said no.

  My heart said maybe.

  I answered as honestly as I could. "I don't know."

  "Well, whatever you're planning to get to the bottom of this, I'm in."

  "What would I do without you?"

  "Your life would be soooo boring." She grinned at me, and then wrestled another Twizzler from the package.

  A car pulled into the lot and parked next to us. A young woman glanced over and gave me a suspicious stare.

  That was me. Nina Colette Suspicious Ceceri Quinn.

  I offered her a smile to prove that I wasn't some crazy whack-job lurking in a parking lot, but it apparently only confirmed her suspicions. She backed out of her spot and parked in the next row over.

  "Are we going to go and talk to Honey?" Ana asked.

  I stretched my legs, grateful for the extra room on the passenger side. "In a little bit. I just want to watch her for a while. See if anyone comes or goes."

  The parking lot we were in served a strip mall of five businesses, with the UDF on one end and a bank on the other. In between were a pizzeria, a dance studio, and a dry cleaner. I looked over my shoulder at the bank, then at the convenience store.

  "What are you looking at?" Ana asked.

  "The businesses here are bound to have surveillance cameras, especially the bank and the convenience store."

  Her brown eyes widened. "You think they might have recorded something across the street?"

  I knew from Perry that Mario had last seen Joey at three o'clock and that he hadn't been alone. Had the cameras caught the identity of the mystery man who'd been arguing with Joey? "I'm just wondering if Joey was seen going out after Delphine left the other day."

  Or after Mario left...

  "Or if he let his killer in," Ana said. "How can we get our hands on the surveillance tapes?"

  Good question. The bank certainly wasn't going to hand over their footage without a warrant.

  The convenience store, however, might be convinced to let me view it if I came up with a whopper of a lie. I ran my idea by her. "What if we tell the manager that my car was a victim of a hit and run on Wednesday? But tell him I'm not sure where it happened and thought it might have been in this parking lot, blah, blah, blah. I'll ask to look at his tapes to see if the accident had happened here."

  "You're a genius. An evil genius."

  The nickname was supremely better than "corpse whisperer."

  "Let's go in and give it a go," I said.

  Ana groaned. "Uh, not so fast."

  "Why not?"

  She nodded next to her. "He's why not."

  In my excitement about my plan, I'd neglected to notice the SUV that had pulled in next to Ana's side of the car.

  The one with Kevin at the wheel.

  He gave me a finger wave.

  "Shit," I mumbled.

  "Exactly what I was thinking," Ana said.

  Clouds crowded out the sun as Kevin got out and tapped on Ana's window. She lowered it. He leaned in. "The dispatcher forwarded me a report of two suspicious women sitting in the UDF's parking lot."

  Darlene, the weekend dispatcher, knew Ana and me well.

  "We're hardly suspicious," Ana said. "Just sitting here eating our Twizzlers and drinking our Dr Peppers."

  His eyes narrowed. "Why are you sitting here at all, as if I didn't already know?"

  I plastered on my sincerest fake smile. "Have you been to my house today? It's crazy town. I needed to escape for a bit."

  He said, "Your whole life is crazy town, Nina."

  There was no arguing with that.

  "But," he added, "you just happened to escape to the parking lot across the street from Joey Miller's townhouse?"

  My eyes widened dramatically. "It is?"

  But even as I said it, Honey Miller stepped out her front door decked out in a micro mini, sequined tank top, and five-inch stilettos.

  She was on the move.

  Ana said, "We should probably head home now. I have all that unpacking to do."

  She'd seen Honey, too, and was trying to get us out of there so we could follow her.

  "Good idea," I said enthusiastically.

  "Yes," Kevin deadpanned. "A good idea."

  Since my plan had been thwarted by his arrival, I thought it was probably wise to let him in on my idea. "By the way, Kev, did you notice the surveillance cameras on these buildings? They might have picked up something on the day Joey died."

  His jaw clenched. He was bound to have quite the aching jaw tonight.

  "The tapes are already being reviewed, Nina. I told you to stay out of it."

  "Fine, fine," I said. "We're leaving."

  He backed up a step. "I'll follow you home to make sure you get there safely."

  "That's sweet of you," I said dryly.

  "I'm a nice guy like that." He hopped back into his car.

  Ana powered up the window and said, "Great, now what? Honey's backing out right now."

  I glanced between Honey's car and Kevin's angry expression.

  He was about to get really furious at me.

  "We go with Honey," I said. "Kevin will just have to tag along."

  Ana rubbed her hands together. "This is the second most exciting thing to happen to me this week." Pulling out of the parking lot, she followed Honey as she headed south.

  "What was the first? Moving in with Kit?"

  Her eyes flared and she blushed to the roots of her hair. "Well, it was something to do with Kit."

  "My fault for asking."

  "Don't get snippy with me just because you're turning into a spinster."

  "You've been talking to Mr. Cabrera."

  "We are neighbors now."

  "I'm not a spinster. Who even uses that word any more?"

  "What would you call it?" she asked. "When you haven't been with anyone in five months—"

  Technically six. Not that I was counting.

  "—and refuse to even date? You're not getting any younger. You don't want to dry out and become an old prune, do you?" Puckering her lips, she sucked in her cheeks, and made an ungodly slurping noise.

  Ahead, Honey used her blinker before turni
ng right. She obeyed all traffic laws and drove cautiously. "I'd call it selective. And no woman needs a man. I'm perfectly happy being single."

  Ana rolled her eyes. "I know women don't need men to be happy, but you've cut them off completely."

  She was right—I had cut myself off from dating. Afraid to be hurt again.

  With a sudden start, I realized I'd turned into Mr. Cabrera.

  Mr. Cabrera!

  Sure, our situations were different, but our motives were the same.

  "I need a date," I said in a panic.

  "I know, this is what I've been saying."

  "Fix me up! Anyone! Well, maybe not one of your probationers. And you know I like taller guys. Oh, and his teeth..."

  "Nina."

  "What?"

  "Beggars and choosers."

  I stuck my tongue out at her.

  "There is someone I have in mind," she said, slowing at a four-way stop sign.

  "Who?"

  "He's driving behind us."

  I peeked in the visor's vanity mirror. Kevin was fidgeting in his seat. "Kevin?"

  "Why not?"

  "Why?" I countered.

  "He loves you."

  Maybe. Maybe not. "I don't know about dating him."

  "You always say how you believe in second chances, remember?"

  Damn, I hated when she threw my words back at me. "I remember."

  "Then it's settled!"

  "No!"

  "Spinster," she said.

  "I'll think about it."

  "Don't think too long." She made a pruny face again.

  Honey turned left ahead of us, onto a road that led even farther away from my house. As soon as Ana followed her, my cell phone rang.

  I didn't even need to look at the readout to see who was calling. I answered on the second ring. "I don't believe you used your blinker at that last turn, Detective Quinn. You can be cited for that."

  "Where are you two going?"

  "Home?"

  "It's in the other direction, Nina."

  "We're taking the scenic route."

  Ana nodded. "That's right. The scenic route."

  "You wouldn't be following Honey Miller, would you?"

  "I don't know what you mean."

  "Go home, Nina."

  I made crackly noises. "What? I can't hear you. There's too much static on the line."

  Ana followed Honey into a popular park. The place was packed with people enjoying the day, though I thought their delight would be coming to an end soon if the clouds on the horizon were any indication. They were coming in fast, and there was electricity in the air, a warning for people to take cover.

  Honey pulled into a parking spot, and Ana parked a row behind her. Kevin pulled in next to us. He jumped out of his truck, pulled open Ana's back door, and slid inside.

  "Twizzler?" I offered him.

  "I really don't want to arrest the two of you, but I will if I have to."

  "What are we doing?" I asked. "We're just driving."

  "You're interfering in my case. And unsurprisingly, I received a call from the station a minute ago letting me know that Joey received another visitor besides Delphine late Wednesday afternoon."

  "Snickers?" I asked.

  Ana glanced at me. "You knew that? I can see you keeping something from him, but not me!"

  "I...uh..."

  "Nina Quinn," Ana cried. "You best explain yourself."

  "Yes," Kevin said. "Please do."

  She flashed him a stay-out-of-it look.

  Holding my hands up in surrender, I said, "I made a promise to Perry."

  "Promise or no," Kevin said, "you had a duty to tell me."

  "And me!" Ana said.

  "Fine. Then I guess I should tell you that Mario said Joey wasn't alone in his house. That Joey'd been arguing with another man when he got there."

  Ana said, "You're forgiven. Who was the guy?"

  "He didn't know." I told them what Mario had overheard. "And we know Mario had nothing to do with Joey's death because of that call he got, right, Kevin? And Perry is Mario's alibi for the rest of the time. So, really, no harm no foul."

  "Nina," Kevin said through clenched teeth.

  Uh-oh.

  Looking around for an escape, I found one in Honey exiting her car. "She's getting out!" I quickly made a run for it before Kevin could slap a pair of cuffs on me. Keeping a safe distance, I speed-walked, tailing Honey as she made her way down a busy pathway that twined around a lake.

  It didn't take but a few minutes for Kevin and Ana to catch up to me, which spoke volumes about my fitness level. I really needed to see Duke more often.

  Kevin said, "We're not done with our conversation."

  "Fine," I said, "but could we at least put it on hold for a few minutes? Honey is clearly planning to meet someone here, and I'd like to know who it is."

  "You can't possibly know why she's here," he said in a condescending tone that made me bristle.

  This. This was why I couldn't date him.

  "Please." Ana wedged herself in between the two of us. "She's definitely planning a hook-up."

  When Honey suddenly stopped at a scenic spot overlooking the lake, the three of us dropped onto a bench, keeping her in view but not getting too close. She didn't seem to have a clue that she was being followed.

  "How do you know?" he asked.

  "Look at her shoes," Ana said. "She's dressed to meet a man."

  I nodded. "No woman in her right mind wears five-inch hooker heels to the park for a spring stroll."

  "You two have lost your minds."

  "Never underestimate the power of women's intuition," I said.

  "Or our ability to pick up on hoochie vibes," Ana added.

  Kevin raked a hand down his face. "I don't have time for this."

  "Look!" Ana said. "She's waving at someone coming down the hill."

  Who would it be? The person Mario overheard arguing with Joey? You love her, don't you?

  We all leaned forward, looking anything but inconspicuous. "Do you see who it is?" I asked.

  "Not yet," Ana said.

  "There!" Kevin said excitedly.

  I stole a look at him. He shrugged. "When in Rome..."

  We watched as a man raced into Honey's open arms.

  Watched as they kissed passionately.

  "Is that..." Kevin rubbed his eyes.

  "Yes," Ana said. "Yes, it is."

  Both of them looked at me. I couldn't say anything at all. It was suddenly very clear why Jean-Claude was afraid to incriminate himself.

  He was having an affair with Honey Miller.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Kevin lurched off the bench and stormed toward the lovebirds.

  "Where's he going?" I asked Ana, hearing the distress in my own voice.

  "To confront them, I guess." She grabbed my arm and tugged. "Come on, I want to hear this."

  "Doesn't he need backup or something?"

  Ana pulled me along. "Jean-Claude is a lover, not a fighter, remember?"

  "I was more worried about Honey going after Kevin."

  "Those shoes could definitely be used as a dangerous weapon, but those are Louboutins. No way is she getting blood on them. Kevin will be fine."

  "I meant that she'd start groping him. It wouldn't be the first time."

  Ana's eyebrows shot up. "He is single..."

  "Yes he is," I snapped. I just didn't know if I could go down that path again.

  "Spinster," she whispered as we crept up behind Kevin, who stood at the edge of the overlook platform, seemingly to wait for a break in the action before he barged in on the rendezvous.

  Jean-Claude and Honey were happily oblivious to the approaching storm as they mauled each other. A mother walking past covered her young son's eyes and shot the lovey-dovey duo an angry stare.

  "I'm starting to feel queasy," I whispered.

  "Are they even breathing?" Ana asked.

  Kevin glanced over his shoulder at us. "You two should go back
to the car."

  We shook our heads and stayed put.

  He should have called for police backup—he was outnumbered by us. Apparently realizing that arguing with us was pointless, he took a step toward the couple and cleared his throat loudly.

  "The slurping noise," Ana said, clapping her hands over her ears. "I can't take it!"

  I hadn't been kidding about feeling queasy. Between the slurping and Jean-Claude's tongue practically bathing Honey's face, I'd seen more than enough.

  "Jean-Claude Reaux!" I shouted in my best angry stepmother tone. It was rusty—I hadn't had to use it on Riley in a while—but it did the job. Jean-Claude jumped back, a guilty flush creeping up his neck.

  Honey blinked, momentarily stunned by the loss of Jean-Claude's tongue. Then clarity came into her eyes as she took in the surroundings. Me, jabbing Jean-Claude with my index finger. Kevin, wearing his crankiest cop look. Ana, looking like she wanted to hurl.

  Honey's hand went to her mouth, and her eyes widened. She let the moment sink in, let out a soft sigh, and cocked a hip.

  Jean-Claude said, "This isn't what it looks like."

  All four of us stared at him.

  "Okay," he amended, "it is what it looks like, but let me explain."

  "Please," Kevin said. "Go on."

  "It's like this," Jean-Claude said, stepping up next to Honey and taking her hand. "We're in love."

  His eyes were filled with such earnestness that I could only shake my head.

  "How long has this love fest been going on?" Kevin asked, looking between the two.

  "A month," Jean-Claude said. "We met when Honey dropped Joey off at the Reaux Construction offices one day. I accidentally backed my car into hers."

  Ana scoffed. "Accidentally. Right." Ana not only had first-hand knowledge of Jean-Claude's sneakiness but also the way Reaux men wooed women—she had once dated Jean-Claude's brother.

  It had been one of her shortest-lived affairs. The Reaux men weren't known for monogamy. Even though Ana had known so going in, sometimes the Reaux sex appeal could cloud the best of judgments.

  Glancing at Honey, I wondered if that was what happened to her, too. She'd been a newlywed of two months when she met him.

  "We went for coffee," Honey said, "to sort out insurance information."

  "Things escalated from there," Jean-Claude said, shrugging. "You can't fight love."