Alice’s head jerked upright when Aggie’s phone rang. Lizzie sucked in her breath as she stretched out her arm to reach for Aggie’s cordless phone sitting next to the double chair. She chirped a greeting, wondering who she was talking to.
“I wouldn’t go to work on Monday if I were you, cutie-pie. Things have a way of happening to nosy bitches like you.” Lizzie blinked when the dial tone buzzed in her ear.
“Oooh, you’re scaring me, you creep.” Lizzie replaced the phone and went back to watching television. More to have something to do than anything else, she started to channel surf. Sensing her distress, Alice bellied onto her lap.
Lizzie stared bug-eyed at the shopper’s channel when she saw a line of fiber-optic Christmas trees being hawked. Christmas in May? It must be a sale from December’s leftovers. The phone was in her hand as she was about to order one of the twinkling trees for Aggie when she remembered she wasn’t supposed to use a credit card. The phone rang. Her greeting was as cautious as before. The voice was different but the message was the same. “Watch your back, lady, things happen when you’re least expecting it.” The connection was broken before she could say a word other than hello.
Lizzie was off the chair in a heartbeat. Hanging on a hook by the back door were a spare dog leash and a whistle. Aggie must have used the whistle to call Gus into the house. She removed it and hung it around her neck. Minutes later, she was back on the double chair with Alice. She was just in time to see a big, red SOLD OUT sign flash across the screen. All the fiber optic trees were gone at half price. They were now selling socket wrench sets, obviously another leftover, and marked down 70 percent. She was all agog as the phone rang again. She brought the whistle up to her mouth and clenched it between her teeth. The moment she picked up the phone, she let loose with one, shrill, long blast. “How do you like that, you bastard,” she muttered.
“It’s okay, Alice, we’re taking the phone off the hook, and we’re going to bed.”
Lizzie woke on Monday morning to a dismal, gray day. A steady drizzle was falling outside as she disengaged all three locks on the back door and ushered Alice outside. The dog did her business and beelined for the house. While the coffee dripped, Lizzie fed the shepherd. She’d bonded with the Gus look-alike in the short time she’d had her and was now reluctant to leave her behind on her first day of work. Aggie had assured her the dog would sleep while she was at work and take care of herself. Just to be on the safe side, Lizzie spread papers down by the back door. She planned on coming home for lunch, but she knew if things went awry, she might not make it.
Her first day as a cop.
Lizzie carried her coffee to the second floor, where she showered and dressed. She hated the feel of the shoulder holster. She hated guns period.
She spooked herself when she looked into the long mirror hanging on the back of the bathroom door. She felt smug knowing she was going to fool Aggie’s colleagues. Fifteen minutes later, just as she was about to go out the front door, the phone rang. She reached for the whistle but thought better of it. She made her voice light and cheerful.
“Aggie?”
“Yes.”
“It’s Nathan Hawk. I know you’re on your way out. How about lunch today?”
“Well, hello there, Nathan. I have to come home for lunch today to let Gus out. I can make us both a sandwich if you want. Okay, how does twelve-thirty sound? Good, I’ll see you then.”
Nice voice. Virile-sounding. Aggie said he was tall and good-looking. She said he worked out faithfully and ran five to ten miles every morning. And, she’d gone on to say he had a different girlfriend for every day of the week. Nathan had integrity and never wrote anything he couldn’t back up with two or three reliable sources. Nathan didn’t fit into any gray areas. It was either black or white where he was concerned. And then her final assessment of Nathan Hawk. The guy’s sharp, so don’t try pulling anything over on him. Well, there was sharp, and then there was sharp. She herself was no slouch in the sharp department. Lizzie wondered if Hawk’s professional attitude carried into his personal life as well.
Lizzie spent another few minutes tussling with Alice before she grabbed an umbrella and left the house. Yesterday she’d taken a dry run to see how much time she needed to allot herself for the drive to work in the morning. Eighteen minutes with light traffic. Twenty-seven minutes with normal Monday morning traffic.
Today she wore a light gray pantsuit whose label said Talbots. Talbots, for God’s sake. The jacket was loose enough to cover the gun and holster and to cover the extra pounds on her frame. The hairstyle that she’d gotten before leaving Vegas, the one that Aggie now sported, was sleek and trim. All she had to do was run her fingers through it and voilà, casual to the nth degree. Even though Aggie wasn’t big on daytime makeup, Lizzie had applied it skillfully this morning. She looked the picture of vibrant good health. Actually, she looked like a force to be reckoned with.
Lizzie parked the car, slid out, and opened her umbrella. Her fellow officers were everywhere. She didn’t know if she was supposed to know them or not. She nodded to some, waved, smiled, and kept up her steady pace to get inside, out of the rain.
Inside, she removed her raincoat, shook it out, and walked down the hall. She heard halfhearted—at least to her ears they sounded halfhearted—welcome back greetings. She nodded and smiled as she found her way to the chief’s office. She knocked politely and was told to enter.
Her heart thumped inside her chest as she waited for her boss, whom Aggie said she liked, to give her her orders. “How are you this rainy day, Detective Jade?”
“Achy, sir, but they told me my bones would feel the dampness. I imagine I’ll be a barometer from here on in.”
“How’s the dog, Aggie?”
Calling her Aggie meant he was being personal. Aggie said if he called her Detective Jade or just Jade, it meant he was serious and to watch what she said.“Glad to be home, sir. Like me, he’s adjusting nicely. I’m thinking of getting him a companion. Chief?”
“Yes.”
“Can you tell me why Tom’s killers haven’t been found? Are we sweeping him under the rug?”
“I don’t want to hear any talk like that, Detective Jade. Nobody is sweeping anything anywhere. We have exhausted every single lead that came our way. The case has not been closed. You look a lot better than you did two weeks ago, Jade,” the chief said, peering at her over the rim of his reading glasses.
“Thank you, sir. Where do I report in?”
“You sound like you’re in a hurry, Jade.”
Lizzie looked around the windowless room. It was a tidy room to a point. Desk, three chairs, two huge filing cabinets, the requisite green plant with yellow leaves, a coatrack, and a wastebasket. The chief of detectives looked rumpled and messy, almost like he had slept in his clothes. He was freshly shaven, though.
“It’s been six and a half months, sir. I missed this old place.” Liar, liar, pants on fire.
“Jade, you better not be harboring any thoughts of turning into a one-woman, one-dog vigilante team. You’re working the property room. Will Fargo was involved in a head-on collision sometime last night. We don’t know if he’ll make it or not. If he does, he’s going to be out a very long time. Half the force is out with some kind of intestinal bug that lasts at least five days. I don’t want you getting any ideas that I’m sticking you there because no one wants to work with you. I heard those rumors, and there’s nothing to them. You’re one of the best, Jade, and your fellow officers don’t have a problem with you.”
“Yes, sir.” There really was a God. Not that she ever doubted it, but at times she needed a sign, something solid to go by. She could hardly wait to go home to e-mail Aggie and tell her where she’d ended up. Aggie would know what she was supposed to look for.
“You’re still standing there, Jade. Get to work. It’s good to have you back, Aggie.” A big paw of a hand shot out. Lizzie grasped it and gave it a bone-crushing shake.
“It’s all those
nutrients and vitamins they made me take.” She grinned as the chief flexed his fingers.
“Go on, get outta here.”
They were trying not to stare at her, but she was aware of everyone’s sudden busyness. Why? All Aggie had done was almost get herself and her dog killed. It wasn’t her fault that some jerk killed Tom Madsen. Her head held high, she entered the rest room, not because she had to use it but Aggie had told her there was a map of the entire precinct office taped to the wall. Since she had no idea where the property room was, she needed to find it ASAP.
Of course it was in the basement, away from everything. The hallway was dark, the property room well lit, with a locked door and a wire grille over the desk platform. There was just enough room to shove evidence under the grille, where the property clerk logged it in, at which point the officer and the clerk both signed a form in triplicate, one of which was attached to whatever was being impounded.
“Well, hello there, Officer Callahan. I’m Detective Agnes Jade.” She held up her shield so he could study it carefully. “Chief Shay assigned me to this duty. I guess you’re to report to the chief.”
“It’s all yours, Detective. I hope you brought a book along to read or at least a newspaper. Did you hear anything about Officer Fargo?”
“Only that he was involved in a bad accident. I don’t know if he was on his way to work or on his way home.”
“He was on his way in. He had the midnight shift. They called me in on my day off. It’s been a quiet night. Days now are something else.” He tossed her a ring of keys and left the property room. Aggie immediately locked the door.
It was a room of a thousand smells, none definable.
Her home away from home for eight hours a day.
Lizzie settled herself for the day ahead. She was ready to scream her head off when the noon hour rolled around. She was also so ready to leave the confining room, she tripped over her own feet in her haste to lock up and exit the building. Even a rainy, dismal day was better than that room.
The traffic was light considering the weather, which surprised her. She stopped at the Atlanta Bread Company, which Aggie said had the best sandwiches in all of Atlanta. She picked up two pastramis on rye and a pound of roast beef and liverwurst for Alice. She needed a few minutes to e-mail Aggie before her luncheon guest arrived.
Lizzie smiled when she approached the front door. Alice’s bark sounded joyful to her ears. Inside, she dropped to her knees to fondle the big shepherd, who seemed more interested in her than the sandwiches in her bag. This had to be true animal love. She decided she liked the feeling.
In less than eight minutes, Lizzie had the table set, Alice’s plate ready, and she’d signed off the computer, her message to Aggie on its way. All she had to do now was wait for her guest.
Alice was at the door the moment the reporter pulled into the driveway. She looked at Lizzie, then at the door, uncertain what she should do. “It’s okay, Alice. For now we have to accept him as a friend.” The minute the doorbell chimed, she undid the three new locks on the front door. She pulled it open. “Well, hi there, Nathan, nice to see you again. How’s it going?” A hunk.
He was tall and muscular. What was that wicked gleam in his eye? Whatever it was, she liked it. Sharp, chiseled features. GO good looks. She wondered how Aggie had ever let this guy get away from her? Dark blond hair, no receding hairline. A definite plus in her book. Just the right sun-bronzed tone to his skin. And his pearly whites, ah, they gleamed. Sexy. With a capital S. Oh, yeah. Like Aggie said, play it out and see where it goes.
“You’re looking’ good, Aggie. I missed you. I tried to call you at the rehab center, but they wouldn’t put my calls through. I’m sorry about your partner. Hey, there, Gus, give me your paw.”
Alice looked up at the tall man and backed away to press herself against Lizzie’s legs.
“Gus…Gus isn’t…quite the same,” Lizzie said lamely.
“I can see that. Looks like he lost some weight. You sure look a lot better than you did on that interview a couple of weeks ago.”
“US-huh. Gus and I are…we’re eating and sleeping a lot better. Being home makes a big difference.”
Nathan looked around. “Speaking of home, did you redecorate? It looks different. Everything looks new.”
Lizzie motioned for Alice to go ahead of her as she led the way into the kitchen. “I had no other choice. While I was away, someone broke in here and destroyed everything.” Lizzie saw the reporter’s invisible antenna go up. Aggie was right. He was a hotter all right. He looked like he knew it, too. Well, she knew how to handle guys who were full of themselves. Damn, I’m supposed to be Aggie, and Aggie doesn’t care about Nathan Hawk. She waited for him to sit down before she said, “Coffee or soda pop?”
“Coffee. What were they looking for, Aggie?” Lizzie shrugged. She set the coffee mug in front of him and proceeded to unwrap the sandwiches from the Atlanta Bread Company.
Lizzie set the paper plate with Alice’s food on the floor. Alice didn’t touch it until Nathan looked away. “I thought you guys would be like white on rice looking for Tom’s killers. Six months is a long time not to find cop killers. I expected more from you, Nathan. What happened to those bulldog tendencies of yours?”
Nathan looked across at Lizzie. His slate gray eyes were questioning. “Were you having an affair with Tom Madsen?”
He was sharp. “That’s none of your business, Nathan, and don’t ask me that again, or I’m going to ask for chapter and verse on all those women you have on the string. How do you juggle them?”
Nathan threw his head back and laughed. It was a nice sound. Manly. This was a man comfortable in his own skin. “Very carefully,” was his response. Lizzie snorted, a very unsaddle sound.
“Will Fargo was involved in an accident last night. He worked the property room. With some virus going around, half the force is out so the chief assigned me to his job.”
“And this would be of interest to me…because?”
“I thought you were a reporter. Figure it out,” Lizzie snapped.
Nathan looked at the kitchen door. “Are those three locks new? I noticed there were three on the front door, too.”
“Gee, I guess you are a reporter after all. The answer is yes and no. Whoever broke in here had a key. No, Tom Madsen did not have a key. My keys were in my purse in my car in the impound lot. Look, you called me for a reason. What is it you want?”
“When did you acquire this brand-new attitude, Aggie? Not that it isn’t becoming.” He grinned at the look of surprise on Lizzie’s face. “If it’s a new you, I like it.”
Lizzie looked across the table at the reporter. He was Brooks Brothers from head to toe, right down to the tasseled loafers. He wore his clothes like they were custom-made for his long, lean frame. It was his face, though, finely chiseled, and his alert dark eyes that drew her to him. She knew if she ever got involved with this man, he would be able to mesmerize her with his eyes. “When someone tried to kill me and my dog, that’s when. If you have something to say, say it or get the hell out of my house.”
“You’re a spitfire, too. How come you’d never go out with me, Aggie?”
“Because I’m smarter than you, and you think you’re God’s gift to women. On top of that you’re an obnoxious son of a bitch.” Suddenly Lizzie’s appetite was gone, and Alice wasn’t liking the direction the conversation was taking. She growled, her front paws slapping at the tile on the floor.
“Whoa, Detective Jade. Back up there for a minute. We can argue smarts anytime you want. I think I can hold my own against you. You shouldn’t believe all the rumors you hear. You really don’t know anything about me other than rumors, and you know what they say about rumors. I do not have a different woman every day of the week. I’ve had one long-term relationship that hit the skids. I date on occasion. Dinner or a movie. I do not hop in the sack with every woman I take to dinner. It’s not my fault women find me attractive. It gets wearying to have women chase you
when you aren’t interested. I was always interested in you, Aggie.”
Lizzie sniffed, pleased with this piece of information. “That’s more than I wanted or needed to know. If you aren’t going to tell me the reason for this visit, you might as well leave. I have to get back to work.”
Nathan looked down at Alice and frowned. “That dog used to like me. I think you were set up, Aggie. I think your partner knew what was going on. I’ve been working on this steadily but can’t pin anything down. It’s that damn blue wall you guys deny is out there.”
Lizzie’s heart took on an extra beat. She snorted. “I know we were set up. It didn’t go down on schedule. We were just about ready to call it off. I don’t remember which one of us said it first. I think it was Tom. He said it didn’t smell right. I knew I was thinking it at the same time. Maybe I said it, but I really don’t remember. Someone broke into the Madsens’ house, did you know that?”
Trading Places Page 7
