Diamonds & Disguises

by Laina Turner

  “Normally, I’d say you were reading too much into it but anyone who spends time in the company of Sawyer Thompson isn’t an upstanding citizen. You need to tell Cooper.”

  We got off the phone and I knew he was right. It was almost lunchtime, so I decided to head over to his office and bring him lunch. It would be the least I could do for telling him this information.

  Chapter 25

  “Hey!” I said, walking into Cooper’s office where an extremely attractive woman was bent over his desk, whispering in his ear. I didn’t like it and felt a flash of jealousy. It wasn’t too often that I even had reason to be jealous. I trusted Cooper a hundred percent. But who was this woman? He’d never mentioned working with such a beautiful women before.

  “Hi!” he said, a grin breaking out on his face. It relaxed me a little. She could see how happy he was to see me. “This is a wonderful surprise. What brings you here in the middle of the day?”

  “I brought you lunch from your favorite street vendor.”

  He got up and walked around his desk and over to me kissing me on the lips. “Thanks, babe. Presley, this is Holly. She’s an expert in cyber security and is trying to help us get to the bottom of the breech the other night.”

  “Hi, Holly.” I put out my hand and plastered a smile on my face. Work colleague or not she was still beautiful and, while I hated myself for thinking like this, I couldn’t help it.

  “Nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

  “In the last two days?” I questioned, regretting the words as they came out because Cooper looked at me strangely. Then he smiled. Jerk. He knew me so well. He knew I was jealous and he was enjoying it.

  She smiled and inwardly I groaned. She probably knew it too. I was obviously transparent. How embarrassing.

  “Can I talk to you for a minute? In private?” I hated adding that last part because it reinforced the jealousy thing, but I didn’t want to give him this information in front of anyone.

  “Sure. Can you excuse us, Holly?”

  Holly walked out, and Cooper looked at me. “What’s going on? Are you OK?”

  I felt guilty for holding onto this information, but was relieved to finally be getting it out. “I saw Bill with Sawyer Thompson.” There wasn’t a change in Cooper’s expression, but he didn’t say a word.

  “You know, the mob guy who’s been all over the news. Who’s currently on trial for money laundering?”

  “Yep. I know who he is.”

  “So, you don’t think it would be odd that Bill would be hanging out with him?” Why wasn’t he having more of a reaction? Regardless of if he thought Bill was doing something, he shouldn’t be this was kind of a big deal. Sawyer Thompson was not a good guy unless…

  “You knew?”

  He nodded.

  “And he’s still working for you?”

  “It’s complicated.” He picked up the bag of food I’d brought and walked over to the small table in his office and started to take the food out of the bag.

  “Wait a minute. You know your new VP is consorting with a known criminal and you don’t have anything to say? What’s going on here?”

  “I said I knew he’s been hanging around him. I don’t know why. I need proof. Until then I’m watching him.”

  “Why? Why can’t you just fire him? Illinois is an at-will state.”

  “It’s not that simple.”

  “Why not?”

  Cooper sighed. “Because I’m working with the feds on this.”

  My eyebrows shot up. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “You don’t tell me everything.”

  I squirmed a little. He did have a point. “That’s different,” I retorted.

  “Oh really?”

  “C’mon, why didn’t you tell me?”

  He walked over to me and put his arms around me. “You have a lot going on. I didn’t want to add anything else.”

  For a second I melted into his arms and thought how sweet. Then I pushed him away. “No fair using my words against me.”

  He started laughing. “There’s not much to tell. I will fill you in, just not here.”

  “Fine,” I grumbled. “I need to get back to work.”

  “Thanks for lunch,” he said and kissed me. “Can you ask Holly to come back in please?”

  I gave him a dirty look and he just smiled and started eating.

  Chapter 26

  The hackles on my neck rose as I walked through the parking garage to the door to my building. Something felt off, which was unusual. This was a very safe place. The parking garage was gated and you needed a security pass. I’d always felt comfortable. It’s part of what had attracted me to this building. I’d bought it when this area was still a little rough and being revitalized. Knowing I wouldn’t have to worry about coming home late at night was a big selling feature. I looked around and didn’t see anything out of the ordinary so just shook it off. It had been a long day at work and I was probably and imagining things.

  Then I heard a clink and I spun around looking in the direction I heard the noise. I saw someone across the parking lot and squinted to see better. We locked eyes and it was the guy who’d mugged me.

  “Hey! You!” I said and started walking in his direction. He quickly turned and fled and I stopped. My smarts took over, telling me how stupid I was to have chased after him in the first place. What would I have done if I’d caught him? Expect him to let me detain him until I called the cops?

  The adrenalin of seeing him wore off and fear replaced it. Of course he knew where I lived. He had my wallet. That hadn’t even occurred to me. I’d thought about how I needed to get a replacement license for driving and I.D. purposes, but it hadn’t dawned on me this creep would track me down at home. I turned around and quickly walked to the elevator and up to my floor. Once inside my apartment, I dialed Willie’s number.

  “Hey, Pres, can I—”

  “He was here, Willie! In my parking garage!” I cried.

  “Who?” he said, his tone changing to his cop voice. The one I always teased him about.

  “The guy who mugged me.”

  “Are you ok? Did he hurt you?”

  “No, no I’m fine.”

  “Lock your doors and I’ll send a car over. I’m right in the middle of something, but I’ll be able to wrap it up in about thirty minutes and I’ll come over.”

  “You don’t have to,” I weakly protested because I wanted him to. I just didn’t want to be a bother.

  “Don’t open the door for anyone but the police,” he said ignoring me. “And call Cooper.”

  “OK. I will.”

  “I mean it, Presley. You better call him, or I will.”

  “Fine. I said I would.”

  I got off the phone with Willie and dialed Cooper’s number. It went to voicemail and I didn’t leave a message. He would freak was out and surely he would understand why I wouldn’t put something like this on a voicemail.

  I poured myself a glass of wine and paced anxiously waiting for the police to show up.

  What seemed like an eternity later there was a knock on my door. I ran over and checked the peephole. Willie would be proud, and once I saw it was the police, I let the two of them in.

  “Ma’am, you say you recognized this guy?”

  “Yes. I was mugged last week and this was the same guy.”

  “Have you seen him before this?”

  “Not except for when he mugged me.”

  “Can you take us down the garage and show us?”

  “Sure.” I set my wine down on the side table and shot Willie a quick text to let him know where I was in case he got here before we came back up.

  The police officer and I made way to the parking garage and I showed him where I’d been standing when I heard the noise.

  “Was he alone?”

  I nodded. “At least as far as I could see.”

  The officer took a few pictures and made a couple notes.

  “Well, I think I have ever
ything I need.”

  “What happens now?”

  “I’ll get with the person handling your mugging case and pass this off to him to add to the file. But I have to be honest with you—”

  “I know, I know,” I interrupted, “the likelihood of you catching him is slim.”

  He nodded. “Unfortunately, yes. But the fact he came back means he might come back again and each time does make it more likely he’ll be caught.”

  Somehow that wasn’t reassuring. I didn’t want him to come back.

  “Do you want me to walk you back up?”

  “No. I’m fine. Thanks.”

  He handed me his card. “Don’t hesitate to call if you have any questions.

  He watched while I walked to the elevator and got in. I pressed the button for my floor and the doors closed.

  When they opened a few seconds later I saw Willie standing outside my door.

  “Did the cop already leave?” he asked when I reached him.

  “Yeah.” I unlocked my door and we walked in.

  “Are you OK?”

  “I’m fine. I was just surprised and completely taken off guard.

  I grabbed some wine off the side table and poured Willie a glass and we sat at the island.

  “Why do you think he came here?” I asked. “Is that normal?”

  “Not for a simple mugging. No self-respecting mugger would do anything but try to run up your credit cards.”

  “Glad to know there’s a code of ethics in the mugger industry,” I said dryly.

  Willie smiled for a second but quickly put back on his cop face. “I’m worried because all jokes aside this isn’t typical of a straight mugging. This seems more personal, not random.

  “I don’t have any enemies that I know of so who knows.”

  “You need to be more careful, more aware of your surroundings for a while. Until we can find this guy.”

  “I thought mugging wasn’t high priority? Even the cop here tonight said most of these cases go unsolved.”

  “I’ll talk to the guy on this case and put some pressure on him.”

  “Thanks, Willie.” But even as I thanked him, I couldn’t help but worry. What if they couldn’t find this guy and he came after me again. I shivered. What did he want?

  Chapter 27

  Crap. I was running late to meet Andrea. I hated running late. It filled me with anxiety. I didn’t want someone to think I didn’t respect their time. But since the only thing about Chicago traffic you could count on was to make you late, you’d think I’d be immune to caring about it after living in the city for years.

  As I was getting ready to walk into Muldoon’s, I got a text from Andrea, saying she was running late and I instantly felt better. Now I could relax a little.

  I took a deep breath and pushed open the door, walking into Muldoon’s, letting the cool air wash over me. I scanned the bar area for an empty table. The place was packed. I didn’t want to sit at the bar since it wasn’t the most conducive to talking. Plus, it wasn’t very private. Then I saw some people get up from a hightop table near the window and I quickly went over and hovered as they pushed in the chairs and left.

  I pushed the dirty glasses to one side and slid onto the bar stool and stared out the window. People watching outside was awesome.

  Finally, a waitress came over and started clearing off the table when I spotted Andrea walking up to the door and coming in.

  I waved to get her attention and she made her way over.

  “This place is hopping for a Monday.”

  “Half price bottles of wine,” I said and she laughed.

  “My kind of place.”

  “Mine too. Is Pinot Noir OK?”

  “Sure is.”

  I gave the waitress our order and then Andrea said, “I’m glad you asked me out for a drink. That’s the hard think about new cities. Meeting people. I’ve been sitting home bored while Bill’s been at work.”

  I hadn’t thought of that. Bill had been helping Cooper before he’d even been scheduled to start work. No wonder she was bugging Leigh. She was lonely. I started to feel less annoyed and more empathetic. “I know. Especially in a big city.”

  “I hope you didn’t think it too forward of me to ask your friend out for coffee the other day. It was impulsive. I just wanted to meet more people. I never expected her to invite me to one of her functions.”

  “What?” I frowned.

  “Yeah. She invited me to the gala. The one you’re getting the masks for.”

  “She did?” Why would Leigh invite her if she felt Andrea had come on a little too strong? Did she feel bad for her? If so, then why complain to me?

  “I guess she didn’t tell you?” She said knowingly, as if she knew that was the case.

  “No.” I shook my head. “We’re not really friends. Just business acquaintances.”

  “She took me to a fundraising lunch for Michael Panning and invited me to the gala after. Though the big donation check I wrote may have had something to do with it.” Andrea winked at me.

  “You donated to Michael Panning?” I wasn’t being very witty in my responses, but I was so confused why would Leigh take her to that function and why would Andrea write a check to support someone she didn’t know in a city she just moved to. Was she buying friends?

  “I thought it would be a good start to getting in with the right people.”

  Well, at least she was honest about her motives, but what made her think these were the right people to get involved with?

  I decided not to ask her about Leigh or mention what Leigh said, because it sounded as if Leigh encouraged her. Why she was complaining now was anyone’s guess.

  Chapter 28

  After talking about nothing important and finishing our wine, Andrea and I parted ways with a promise to get together again. I vowed to be a little more understanding about her being in a new city and wanting to make friends. I may not agree with how she went about it, but it wasn’t my business to worry about.

  It was still early so I thought I’d stop by Silk on my way home. I wanted to see how many masks had been picked up.

  When I got to Silk, I was surprised to see Molly still there. “What are you still doing here?” I said, locking the door behind me.

  “Rearranging the masks. Almost half were picked up today. The display looked picked over and I wanted it to look fresh and amazing when you opened.”

  “Thanks, Molly. You’re awesome. That’s exactly why I stopped by. I wanted to see if anyone had seen it. How was the reaction?”

  “All positive. People were blown away.”

  “Fantastic.” I high fived her. “I’m going to run to the back for a minute then I’ll walk you out if you’re almost done.”

  “Sounds good.”

  I went in back to the mini-fridge and grabbed a Diet Coke. On a whim, I decided to check Find My Phone again. I moved the mouse to wake up the iMac and went to the app. Crap! It was online. I took a picture of it with my phone and rushed back out to the front. “Hey, Molly. You up for an adventure?”

  “Um, sure?” She said apprehensively.

  I briefly explained where we were going and helped her finish rearranging the mask display.

  “So, tell me again. Why are we doing this?” Molly asked as we were locking up ten minutes early.

  “I want to go to the area my laptop was last located and see if anything sticks out.”

  “Shouldn’t the police do that?”

  “Technically, yes.” I shrugged. “They don’t have time for a mugging. Bigger fish and all that. It is Chicago.”

  “This guy mugged you and then came where you live. Isn’t this dangerous?”

  “We aren’t going to confront him. I just want to see the location. Maybe it will give me an idea of why he did this,” I said and told her Willie’s theory that it didn’t seem like a simple mugging.

  “OK,” she said, but didn’t sound convinced.

  “I promise we will just go check it out and leave.
”

  We got in my car and I plugged the location showing in Find My Phone into my GPS. “Only fifteen minutes away,” I pointed out once the route calculated. There wasn’t an actual address, just coordinates so when we reached the destination I parked in a lot on the corner and we got out.

  “Now what?” Molly asked.

  “We look around. See if anything stands out.”

  The area was mostly retail and restaurants. I don’t think I’d been here before. That was the thing about Chicago. You tended to stay in your own few blocks.

  “What do you expect to stick out?”

  “No idea.”

  Molly gave me a look as if to say this was nuts, but she didn’t say anything and I appreciated her being a good sport.

  “Hey, let’s grab a gelato while we look.”

  Molly was happy at that suggestion and we went in the gelato store we were standing in front of.

  We came back out and sat at one of the small tables outside and I just looked around. Molly was right, this was crazy. I didn’t even know what I was looking for.

  “Are you finished?” I asked Molly. “We can head back. I’m sorry I dragged you out here.”

  She shrugged. “Not like I had anything else to do and I got gelato. It’s all good.”

  We started walking back to the car when I noticed something. I held out my hand. “Wait a second.”

  “What?”

  “Over there,” I said, pointing to a store called The Elite. It was a women’s boutique, it said so on the door, but I could also see dresses in the window.

  “What about it?” Molly asked, looking at me questioningly.

  “You’ve never heard of it?”

  “No. Should I have?”

  “It’s been around longer than Silk and the owner was best friends with the original owner of Silk. From the story I’d heard they planned on opening a store together and had a falling out. They opened separate stores and never spoke again.

  “Retail drama.” Molly chuckled.