Simone’s Midnight Call
By Brooke Miller
Copyright 2017
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or part in any format.
All production design are trademarks of Brooke Miller
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Acknowledgments
To my wonderful team that helped create this story and to my family that has been with me every step of the way.
Prologue
A teenage boy ran down the alley, the sound of his pounding feet and heavy breathing echoing off the buildings surrounding him. He felt like his chest was going to explode, but he had to keep going. He couldn’t stop, he stopped he was as good as dead.
He didn’t know what he saw or what they thought he saw, but he wasn’t sticking around to find out. If he could keep to the back alleys for a few more blocks, he would be near the parade that was going on in the street. With the crowd being as large as it was, he could get lost in the crush of people and make his way back to the motel he was at.
Then after that, he was getting the hell out of New Orleans. He was close enough to see the lights and noise of the crowd; he was nearly on the street. He put on a burst of speed; he was so close when he felt a solid arm pulling him back to the alley.
He fought, kicking and punching any skin he could find when he was slammed into the brick wall behind him, the force knocked the breath out of him, and he fell to the ground.
That was when the kicks started, pain washed over him as steel-toe boots kicked him in the chest, stomach, and head. He ducked, protecting his head as much as he could. They grabbed him, and he was rolled over to his back and was face to face with the barrel of a gun and a shadowy man standing over him. He knew then he was going to die, he thought of his family, and the last thing he said to his father had been in anger. The gunshot echoed around the alley, and he felt pain, then darkness.
Four days later
The moment Simone awoke, she knew it was going to be bad. She glanced at the alarm clock and sighed. ’What else could it be at twelve-thirty in the morning?’ she thought.
She answered her house phone, “Brandon here, talk to me.”
“Simone? Crap, I’m sorry. I forgot about you just getting in and the time difference. It’s me, Gunn.”
Simone was awake and up in bed, the jet lag she had been experiencing disappeared as she registered who was calling her. She reached across the nightstand to turn the light on and for her pad and pen she always kept on it.
“What’s going on, Gunn? Is it Jimmy?”
His sigh told her yes.
“Yeah, it’s Jimmy. He’s not returning my calls, and today his phone was saying it’s been disconnected. I’ve called the police, but they keep giving me excuses since this isn’t the first time he’s ran away. Then I got this text from him. It was like he was trying to send it and he didn’t complete it.”
He paused, gathering himself, “I have a bad feeling about this, Sim.”
Simone now had her travel planner out and laptop open and sorting out her schedule.
“Gunn don’t worry. I’m clearing my schedule, and I’m own way out there.”
Chapter One
Simone Brandon stopped the motorcycle in the bar parking lot and hopped off, taking her helmet off as she went. Securing it, she gave the handle bar a sentimental tap, thinking of Alex.
She and Alex had decided to switch out vehicles, trading her Challenger for Alex’s Harley. A sad smile graced her face as she remembers the last time she and Alex spoke, “Take the bike, Sim. It turns out the whole divorce rebellion thing isn’t as fun when you can’t keep the damn bike steady half the time.”
It had been six weeks since the crash, and Jane was taking it as well as she figured she would; which was not well. Neither was she taking her forced leave of absence from work well. Jane never did well when she was forced to stop and slow down. Her extended maternity leave when she had Luke came to mind. Simone honestly thought if not for her son, Jane probably wouldn’t get out of bed most days.
As she made her way to the bar, she thought about the reason she was here. A case about a young teenage boy. A boy she had called in a rather large favor from Cole, to take his case.
She ordered a beer and went to a table in the back, where she could watch the door and bar at the same time. She glanced at her watch and saw she had beat the boys there by ten minutes. The first thing she learned in the military was to study a place to know her quickest exits.
Three minutes later, the boys in question arrived. Like many teens nowadays, they looked older than they were. The two dark-haired boys who, she had learned where cousins and the lone redhead of the group were the ones she was looking for. Friends with Jimmy, the missing boy, he had been the last to have seen him before he went missing.
She watched them grab a table not far from the small dance floor in the bar and placed an order with the waitress that came up to them. Once the waitress left them, she flagged her down, “Those guys you just waited on, get’em a shot of Jack Daniels.” She handed her a fifty dollar bill, “The rest’s for your trouble.” The girl’s eyes lit up at such a large tip. She smiled widely at her, “Yes ma’am,” and left to fill the order, not seeing the scowl on Simone’s face.
Ma’am?
She let out an annoyed sigh; she was maybe three years older than the waitress that just left and got a ma’am. She shook her head and went back to watching the boys’ table, pretending to sip her beer as she did. When they received their order and hers, they looked back at her when the waitress pointed her out. She barely hid the smirk when their eyes went wide at the sight of her. She knew what she looked like: fitted black leather jacket, tight black jeans over black stiletto boots and a dark red top, cut so low her voluptuous cleavage threaten to spill out with each breath. To complete her ‘seductive’ look, she painted her lips a glossy red and had a long brown wig over her short red hair, and blue contacts to cover her green eyes. She gave a wink and lifted her beer in salute before lifting it to her mouth. As they downed their shots and started toward her table, she couldn’t help but think no matter the age, all men where the same-put a girl in a low-cut top and offer him a free drink and he’s putty in your hands.
***
The bartender kept a close eye on the over-sexed brunette in the back, he barely noticed her when she came in-women like her were a dime a dozen in his line of work. But when he saw her order for the table of boys he knew were underage, Jesse paid her more attention because if she was up to no-good, he’d throw her out so fast, her head would spin.
You didn’t mess around in Jesse Fletcher’s bar, especially with a group of boys he knew were barely old enough to buy cigarettes, let alone drinks.
He signaled the boys’ waitress over; she bounced over, “Hey Jesse! Listen I get off in an hour, maybe we-” he stopped her there. Jamie had been trying for months to get his attention, but he had a rule about seeing any of the girls that worked here; it never ended well.
“Jamie, you know my rule,” her face fell, “Listen, the chick in the back, the one you took the order for those drinks. Don’t take her order again for the boys anymore. If she kicks up a fuss, let me know.”
She starts to protest, “But Jesse she’s been my biggest tipper of tonight”-he held up his hand, “I know Jamie. I know for a fact those boys are not old enough to be buying liquor in here.”
He gave her a steely look, “You know our rule,” he looked at her expectantly. She sighed, “Underage groups are allowed in, but have
to be carded if they ask for alcohol,” she quoted him.
He gave her a nod, “I don’t know what her game is, but I’m not about to lose my liquor license over her, so cut her off if she tries again.”
Sim sat in the back, watching the room and keeping an eye on the boy’s table. She could tell they were getting ready to make their move. They kept looking back at her table and leaning and whispering to one another, trying to get the courage to come over and talk to her. She didn’t have to wait much longer.
The redhead boy sat down next to her and in a shy voice, introduced himself, “Hey, I’m Dex.” He gestured over to the other two sitting down on either side of her, “and this is Flynn,” to her left and to her right, “and Derek.”
Flynn took her left hand and brought it to his mouth, kissing the back of her hand, “I’m told this is the way you properly greet a beautiful woman.”
Sim barely refrained from rolling her eyes at the ‘gallant’ teen beside her. She instead smiled flirtatiously at him, “Ooo, aren’t you smooth. Tell me, what else is considered a proper greeting for a beautiful woman?”
The other boy, Derek, leaned into her and whispered in what he apparently thought was a seductive whisper in her ear, “Taking her back to my place and have her screaming in my bed.”
She barely stopped herself from slapping the little bastard for that. Instead, she turned her smile up a notch, “Are you sure you could handle me once you got me there, love?” her voice a throaty purr. To her amusement, his eyes went wide and jumped back from her, picking up his shot glass, downing and coughing as it went down. She talked with them while a round of appetizers made their way to them and did manage to get some information out of them. Dex claimed he was friends with the missing boy from around town. He said he heard him say he and his dad didn’t get along. Then there was a girl he was starting to see, that had caused some friction.
She had a name for the girlfriend and was ready to leave when the boys ordered another round of drinks; she grabbed her jacket and stood when the waitress came back, along with the bartender. He turned to the now silent table, “Howdy boys! How’s high school going? Say, Dex didn’t you just have a birthday?”
All three teens paled when they realized they had been outed. He turned to Sim.
“In case you didn’t realize, these boys you’ve been sitting with and ordering drinks for, are seventeen and eighteen. I don’t know what you are playing at, but I’m asking you to leave.” She shrugged and reached for her wallet, pulling two large bills out.
“No problem was fixing to leave anyway. Food and drinks are on me, boys. Have a nice night, ya’ll.” She nodded to the now blushing teens and looked at the bartender and waitress, “This is a bar, I figured you didn’t let kids in here.” She turned and left, not looking back; she got some information out of the night. A name for the mysterious girlfriend.
Simone grumbled as she was going down the street, when she was suddenly jerked sideways into the alley by the bar and was slammed against the wall. Breathless, she barely dodged the fist coming at her. A howl erupted from the man in front of her, before her knee hitting his balls, turned them to whimpers as he sank to the ground. The second approached her as she backed away from the wall while making her way towards the alley exit.
The next one came out at her, and she blocked the strike, then sent a swift kick to his side, sending him hunching over. Suddenly, she was grabbed from behind; a blow to her face sent her head back sharply. Another one to her ribs had her wheezing. A blow to the back of her head sent her to her knees, and her world went black.
***
Jesse finished wiping the bar top down and sent the last waitress on her way for the night. As he took the last bag of garbage out in the alley, he heard a sound. He turned and saw someone lying in a darkened corner of the alley. As he came to the person, he recognized the same brunette from earlier tonight.
He went to her side, checking her pulse and found it was strong and steady. He felt around her head and winced at the large goose egg on the back of her head. When he felt around for any broken bones, he heard her moan, and her eyes flutter.
“Miss, can you hear me? Can you tell me where you’re hurt?”
She moaned softly, before stilling again, pain flashing across her face, “My head.”
“Can you stand? I need to get you inside before it gets too cold out here.” She struggled to sit up. He gingerly helped her to a sitting position. When she showed no signs of dizziness, he helped her to her feet, pulling her arm around his shoulders and his other hand held to her waist as she swayed before getting her balance. When she was steady enough to walk, he walked them the short distance to the door and inside. After he got to his office and set her down on the couch, he sent a text to his friend who was a Paramedic to come by with his kit.
Minutes later, he heard a knock on the office door. Only his family had a key to the back door. He opened the door, and there stood Pete in street clothes and his kit in hand. He stood to the side, letting him in, and locking the door after him.
“Thanks, man; she didn’t want the police involved, and she’s been in and out of it since I found her.”
Pete nodded his understanding and walked with him to the office and paused at the doorway when he spotted the woman on the couch. He walked over and set his kit down, gently running his hands over her form, checking for broken bones before gently cupping her head as he felt for lumps and cuts. Jesse was surprised when her long hair gave way in Pete’s hand. Wig, he thought.
Short, choppy red hair revealed itself when he set it down. Pete looked back at him, “I can see why she didn’t want the police involved. This is Simone Brandon, a friend of Jane’s. And from what Jane told me, she’s a private detective in town working a case.”
***
The next morning came too fast in Simone’s opinion. She grimaced at the mirror after her shower that morning. She had convinced Jesse and Peter not to take her to the hospital, but on the condition that Peter checked on her every hour to make sure she was okay. And since Pete stayed the night at Jane’s next door…
Yeah, this wasn’t going to stay quiet. Taking in the busted lip and black eye, that wasn’t happening anyway. She finished dressing, and drug out her seldom used makeup case. She managed to cover the eye, but there wasn’t much she could do about the lip. She went downstairs and grabbed her sunglasses and headed out the door. As soon as she walked through Jane’s back door, she knew there was no hiding.
Peter sat at the kitchen table, placing a stack of pancakes in front of Luke. Jane looked up at her expectedly, gesturing for her to come with her. She turned back to the door behind her, opening it. Simone walked over to the side of the porch where they couldn’t be seen from the door, with Jane following her. Once they were out of sight, Jane whipped the glasses off her face, and she winced in the bright sunlight as she did, unable to hide the already dark, black eye despite the makeup.
Sim grimaced, “It’s not as bad as it looks. You should see the other guy.”
Jane scowled, “I don’t give a damn about them. I care about my baby sister. Why has a simple missing person’s case resulted in her getting jumped and left in a back alley?!”
Her frown faded into a sad, heart-breaking expression.
“After Katie died, you and Cole promised you wouldn’t take on any more dangerous cases.” Simone shook her head, “I know, Janie. I normally wouldn’t, but this is a special case.” Jane’s sad look turned into one of pure fury.
“A special case?! What the hell, Sim? You’re taking on a dangerous one just after we lost Alex. Have you lost your fucking mind?”
It was rare for Jane to swear but with Alex’s birthday just a week away, and her emotions running high, her filter wasn’t exactly hooked up.
“Jane, this isn’t just a case!”
Simone paused, taking a deep breath before releasing it, “The missing teen from my case is my baby brother.”
Chapter Two
Jesse
had come to see how Simone was doing that morning. When she didn’t answer the front door, he started around the back of the house. He was about to step into the back yard when he heard the bombshell she had just dropped on Jane.
Jane gapes at her, her mouth opening and closing in stunned disbelief. She shakes her head, “I’m sorry, what? Did you just say this case has to do with your brother? As in the one that died when you were six?” Simone sighed, leaning back against the house.
“No, the one from my birth father. You remember when I found out about my dad not really being my dad?”
Jane nodded, remembering. A few years ago, Sim found out her father had actually been her step-father. She was the result of a teenage fling, and her step-dad who had been her mom’s best friend, married her and claimed the baby as his. All Simone said when it all came out was that she located her birth father and made contact. That was that.
Jane stared at her, the pieces clicking together, “Your brother is James Petersson, the sixteen-year-old that went missing.”
The boy was also Peter’s step-cousin. As a favor to him, she looked into the case herself. However, any leads she had dried up fast. Looking up at Sim, she realized the new-found siblings shared something in common, if Sim didn’t want to be found, she wouldn’t be. Despite her appearance, Simone had a way of blending with a crowd, and you would never know it was her.
She was dragged out of her thoughts by the sound of someone moving to the side of the house. Before she could blink, Simone had her gun out and trained on the person heading their way. A man cleared the deck railing; Sim pulled back the hammer, clicking it in place.
The man stilled, keeping his hands in plain sight. He arched a brow at Sim.
“If this is how you treat visitors, I can see why you don’t get much company.”
Simone's Midnight Call (Mississippi Series Book 2) Page 1
