Laced In Lies

by Colleen Helme

  I slumped into the chair, sighing with relief, then realized I could feel plastic on my bare skin. Yikes. I jumped to my feet, deciding that I should wait in the car. Or, even better, borrow Dimples’ car for a quick drive home to change. I could be back before he was done here, right?

  But first I had to talk to him. Knowing it wouldn’t get any easier, I hurried inside the house. Unfortunately, he was in the bedroom with the body and all that blood. The man was lying on his back with his dead eyes open, and a bullet hole right in his forehead. Ugh!

  Something about him looked familiar, but I couldn’t place it, and I quickly turned away before I got sick. Dimples noticed me and thought I’ll be done soon. Just wait a few more minutes.

  I nodded, also picking up that he didn’t want me to go until I’d given him the kid’s name and address. Taking deep breaths, I shuffled back out to the porch. Pulling down on Dimples’ jacket loosened it around my waist, but at least it was between me and the chair before I sat down.

  Then it hit me that I’d seen the dead man at the same bar where I’d met up with Keola and Kyle.

  Chapter 10

  N ow it made sense that Keola had been here because of his ties to the Polynesian gangs. I should probably let Ramos know since the gangs had an understanding with Uncle Joey. It also might help him figure out where to look.

  Giving Dimples Keola’s name and address would be okay too, since it would be helping the police without crossing the line between what he did and what Uncle Joey was doing. So it was a win-win for everyone, and I wouldn’t get in trouble with any of them… I hoped.

  Fifteen minutes later, Dimples still hadn’t come out of the house. I checked my watch for the hundredth time and fidgeted in my chair. I’d stayed glued to that plastic chair for obvious reasons, but I was tired of waiting.

  It was almost time to meet up with Chris for lunch, and I didn’t want to miss it. I mean, here I was, home from my trip, and I hadn’t even seen him yet. If he knew I was sitting here with my torn pants showing my backside, he’d want to come and get me, right?

  I pulled out my phone and put the call through. “Hey honey, I’m sort of stuck at a suspect’s house, and my pants are ripped. Can you come and get me?”

  “What?”

  I explained what had happened and made sure to include that I had Dimples’ jacket around my waist so it didn’t sound quite so bad.

  “Oh man… that’s too bad,” he responded. He hesitated, and then let out a big sigh. “Um… the thing is… I’m not sure I have enough time to come. Things have been crazy with this case, and I was only planning on taking a few minutes to eat lunch here in the office. But… I could send Elisa to come and get you. Would that work? I’ve already ordered us a couple of sandwiches.”

  My heart sank. How could he think I’d want Elisa to see me like this? Even worse, how could he think I’d want to go to his office with my backside showing? “Um… listen that’s okay. I’m not going to come to your office with my pants all ripped up. I’ll wait and have Dimples take me home. You go ahead and eat without me.”

  “Hey… I’m sorry honey. I wish I could come. I hate letting you down.”

  “No it’s okay. I’ll wait for Dimples. It’ll be fine.” We said our goodbyes and disconnected. I tried not to be too disappointed that he couldn’t come. Things like this happened, and I shouldn’t get too upset. Besides, wasn’t I going to a concert with Ramos tonight? I was pretty sure Chris wouldn’t like that much, so it was best to stay on his good side.

  Another van pulled up, and some people wearing blue jumpsuits pulled out a gurney and took it inside the house to transport the body. Since I didn’t want to see that, I decided to wait until they were done before I found Dimples to remind him that I was still there.

  Several minutes later, a cop holding a roll of crime-scene tape came out, ready to put it up. He glanced at me, wondering how I’d gotten onto the porch. “Uh… ma’am you’re not supposed to be here. You need to get off the porch while I secure the crime scene.”

  Before I could answer, another van with the lettering “Channel 2 News” jerked to a stop. A man with a big TV camera jumped out, and a woman with a microphone quickly stood at the edge of the property and began talking. Just then, the people with the gurney holding the black body bag came out of the house and began to roll the gurney down the porch steps toward the crime scene van.

  “Ma’am, you need to move,” the young cop said again.

  “Okay.” Since I didn’t want to be caught on camera, I jumped up to run into the house. With my abrupt movement, Dimples’ jacket came loose and slipped right off my waist. I froze in horrified shock.

  The young cop jerked in surprise. “What the…”

  I didn’t even try to grab it. With a little yelp, I ran inside the house and plastered my backside against the wall. Oh hell! How could this be happening? My yelp caught the attention of most everyone in the room, and they all turned to stare at me.

  The young cop followed me inside, carrying the jacket. “Uh… you dropped this.” He didn’t want to look at my pants, but he couldn’t help it. Then he let out his breath, relieved that there wasn’t anything to see from the front… but what a view from the back. He replayed the glimpse of my bare bum in his mind, and I groaned in mortification.

  “I’ll take that!” I grabbed the jacket out of his hand to snap him out of it and held it in front of me like a shield, worried that if I moved a muscle everyone would catch a glimpse of skin.

  Once I was properly covered, the cops went back to their jobs, and I turned my attention to the young cop. He flushed under my steady gaze but wasn’t sure what to do about me. “Go get Dimp… uh… Detective Harris. I’m with him.”

  I realized that without my trusty lanyard and badge around my neck, he didn’t know who I was, so I cut him some slack. He nodded, grateful for something to do, and left to find Dimples.

  I stayed glued to the spot, enduring all kinds of speculative thoughts from the cops around me. One of them had no idea who I was, but the other two put it together when I mentioned Dimples. They didn’t say a word, but exchanged meaningful glances, thinking that once I left, they could hardly wait to tell the others what they’d seen… snicker, snicker.

  I closed my eyes and threw up my shields before it got any worse. A moment later, Dimples came out, his eyes wide and his face filled with guilt that he’d left me alone for so long… and had his jacket really fallen off?

  “Uh… I heard what happened. Here… I’ll stand in front of you while you put the jacket around your waist.” He turned around, blocking most everyone’s view, and I quickly slipped the jacket around me.

  “Okay. I’m done,” I said.

  He glanced back then said, “I’ve got an idea. Come with me.”

  I held the jacket securely around my waist and legs and followed him through the house to a back bedroom. A twin sized bed with a lavender bedspread stood on one side, with a dresser and mirror on the other.

  “This is his daughter’s room,” Dimples said. “I thought maybe you could find something of hers to wear until we get you home.”

  I let out a relieved breath. “That sounds wonderful. I’ll take a look.”

  He nodded. “I’ll stand outside the door until you’re done.” He didn’t want to take a chance that someone might walk in on me after everything that had happened.

  Once the door closed, I pulled open the drawers one by one but only found socks and underwear. Next, I pulled the closet door open and found discarded clothing lying all over the floor in little piles, like she’d taken them off and just left them there.

  I rifled through them, hoping for some sweats, but only came up with a pair of jeans. They looked on the small side, but I thought they might work. After dropping the jacket and pulling off my shredded pants, I slipped them on.

  I don’t normally wear skinny jeans because they’re so tight, and these fit my legs like a glove. I got them zipped up and buttoned without too much troub
le, even if they hung a little low on my waist.

  Glancing in the mirror above the dresser, I wasn’t sure it was a big improvement. They fit so tight that they didn’t leave much to the imagination. But they had to be better than bare skin, right?

  I gathered my jeans and Dimples’ jacket and pulled the door open. True to his word, Dimples was still there. “Here’s your jacket. Thanks for this. I’ll return the pants.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” he said. “I’m done here, so I can take you wherever you need to go.”

  I checked the time. It was barely after one-thirty. I might still be able to make lunch with Chris, or at least get the sandwich from him and take it home to eat. “I’m supposed to meet Chris at his office. Can you drop me off there?”

  “You bet.”

  At the front door, Dimples stopped short, noticing that the reporter and cameraman still stood outside. “I don’t think you’ll want them to see you.”

  “You got that right.” Sudden worry tightened my stomach, and I sure hoped they’d missed me earlier.

  “Hey Bates,” Dimples called. Bates came to his side. “Do you mind making a statement to the media?”

  “Sure. I’ll keep it simple.” He glanced at me, thinking that he didn’t mind being the face of the police department for a change, and was glad Dimples had asked him.

  We waited until Bates was on camera, then dashed around them to Dimples’ car. My breath whooshed out with relief to sit down on a comfy seat, and have more there than bare skin. And if I was careful, I was pretty sure the too-tight pants wouldn’t rip open.

  Dimples pulled the car away from the curb, and I fastened my seat belt.

  “I need the name and address of that kid.”

  “Oh, right,” I said. “Let me call my client and I’ll get it for you.”

  I called Shannon instead of Kyle, since I didn’t want him to think he’d given up his nephew by telling me anything. I also hoped he wouldn’t think that I’d betrayed them, even if it was for Keola’s own good. Shannon answered, and I kept it simple, telling her that I thought Keola might be in big trouble. With that explanation, she was more than willing to give me his home address.

  I wrote the information down and handed it to Dimples. “Uh… I don’t want anyone to know you got this from me, so can you keep my name out of it?

  “Sure.”

  “Thanks.” I sighed. “He’s just a kid, you know?”

  Dimples nodded with understanding. “That’s why we need to step in before he gets hurt. It’s the right thing to do, Shelby. You know that, right?”

  “Yeah. I know.”

  “Good.”

  “Let me know if you find him. I can help with the questioning and all that.” I hoped he’d find Keola before anything bad happened to the kid. I also felt bad for Kyle and Shannon. Now I’d have to tell them what I knew, and I was pretty sure they wouldn’t like it much.

  “I will. Thanks.”

  A few minutes later, Dimples pulled the car over in front of Chris’ office. I thanked him and got out, grateful he hadn’t asked for my help to track Keola down. He’d thought about it for about three seconds but figured I’d had enough for one day.

  He was definitely right about that, and the day wasn’t over yet. I hurried into the building. Since I was hungry from all that excitement, I looked forward to eating my sandwich. I also couldn’t wait to see Chris, mostly because after seeing that dead body, I needed a hug something fierce.

  The elevator let me out on Chris’ floor and I stepped inside, giving the receptionist a friendly wave. She smiled, not recognizing me at first, thinking I looked like a teenager in my skinny jeans and “I Love New York” t-shirt.

  Then her breath caught. Was I the person on the porch with the ripped pants from the news report? I wasn’t wearing them now, but that purple New York t-shirt along with my blond hair was hard to miss. The fifteen-second shot had been posted on social media, and it already had about five thousand hits. She thought for sure it would go viral. Of course, if she hadn’t seen me just now, she never would have known it was me.

  I felt the blood drain from my head, and I got a little dizzy. Then I heard her thinking that it was a good thing my face wasn’t recognizable in the video, because at least no one would know it was me.

  Relief nearly sent me to my knees, but I managed to hold it together until I got around the corner and couldn’t hear her anymore. Still… what the freak! At least this day couldn’t get any worse.

  I hurried down the hall before anyone else saw me, and came to Chris’ office. Elisa wasn’t at her desk, so I glanced inside Chris’ office and found her sitting on the couch. Even worse, she was eating my sandwich.

  Holy hell! And here I thought this day couldn’t get any worse. Chris wasn’t sitting right next to her while they ate, so that was good… but still.

  Standing in the doorway, I must have made a sound, because they both glanced up at the same time. With a guilty start, Elisa dropped her sandwich onto the table, and her mouth froze in mid-chew. She was even trying to decide if she should spit it out.

  Chris’ eyes widened and he said my name, but with his mouth full it came out like, “Shelb.” He stood while swallowing his last bite, and hurried to my side, chagrinned that he’d given my sandwich to Elisa. “Honey, I didn’t think you were coming, and Elisa hadn’t had lunch yet so…”

  “It’s okay,” I said, remembering that I needed to be forgiving so he’d do the same for me. “No big deal.”

  Elisa wrapped up the rest of her sandwich and stood, but found it hard to look me in the eyes. “Uh… Hi Shelby. How was New York? Hey… that’s a great t-shirt. You look... really good.”

  She was thinking that, for a middle-aged person, I rocked the skinny jeans. “Uh… I’ll leave you two alone. I’m sure you’ve got some catching up to do.” She glanced at Chris and opened her mouth to tell him thanks for the sandwich, but wisely decided against it, and closed the door behind her.

  I caught Chris’ gaze, and a laugh escaped my lips. “That was awkward.”

  He let out a breath and shook his head, then rested his forehead against mine and took hold of my hands. “I’m glad you came. What’s this?” He stepped back and took in my t-shirt, then noticed my skinny jeans and how tightly they hugged my body. “Uh… um…” Sudden desire flooded over him and he swallowed. “Where did you get those pants?” He glanced behind me. “Those aren’t the ones…”

  “No. Dimples let me borrow these from a closet at the suspect’s house. They’re a little snug, don’t you think?”

  He huffed out a breath. “Uh… yeah. I’m not sure you should be wearing them. I mean… they look great, but they’re… you know… tight.” I pulled the torn jeans from my purse and he gasped at the huge hole.

  “I think these are a total loss, don’t you?”

  “Uh… yes. That must have been one big fence.” He examined the large rip that took out most of the leg, imagining how that must have looked on me. Then he hoped no one really got to find out, since it looked like most of my backside was totally exposed.

  I couldn’t bring myself to tell him about the TV camera and subsequent posting, so I quickly threw them in his trash can. Chris smiled and caught my gaze, then gathered me against him. His lips brushed over mine in little teasing kisses, something he’d wanted to do as soon as I’d walked in.

  Then he thought that if he deepened the kiss, he wasn’t sure he could stop. That was all the impetus I needed to kiss him good and hard. Kissing him like this quenched a deep thirst inside of me that I’d forgotten I had, and all the rest of my troubles fell away.

  Breathless, he pulled his mouth away from mine. “You’re killing me, here.”

  I smiled, pleased that I had that effect.

  He took a breath and put a little space between us, glancing out of his office windows toward the hallway and hoping that no one had seen us kissing.

  “I guess I’d better go,” I said, sighing with disappointment. “
But that was nice.”

  “Yeah… it was. I’ve missed you.”

  “I’ve missed you too. I brought you something from New York.”

  “Oh yeah? What?”

  “You’ll see when you get home.”

  He chuckled. “I’ll look forward to it. I should be home around six.”

  It suddenly hit me that I wouldn’t be there, and my heart sank. “Oh crap. Um… remember that I told you about the Jodie McAllister concert?”

  His gaze narrowed. “Uh… yeah. You told me you might have to go with Ramos. Why? Is it tonight?”

  “Uh-huh,” I nodded.

  He shook his head, and I caught a few choice swear words coming from his mind. “Why do you have to go?”

  “Well… I said I would. She’s Ramos’ old flame, and her brother told him that her daughter might belong to Ramos… as in… his kid. I need to go in order to find out if she’s telling the truth. And… there is one other thing…”

  Chris raised his brow, thinking that he wasn’t going to like it.

  “Uh… yeah… you won’t like it. Do you want me to tell you anyway?”

  He huffed out a breath. “Of course I do.”

  “Okay… here it is… Ramos thinks that Dusty has a drug ring going. Worse, he thinks that Dusty is setting him up. Naturally, Ramos wants me to be there when he talks to Dusty… hopefully at the same time that he talks to Jodie. It should work out pretty slick since we’ve got a special backstage pass to see Jodie before the concert. And it might not even take too long.”

  Chris let out his breath and rubbed his forehead like he always did when he was upset. “You’re right, I don’t like it.”

  “I don’t have to stay for the concert… I’ll come home right after we talk to them, so I won’t be out late. But I’m meeting Ramos at Thrasher around six, so… I’ll probably miss you. But hey… I should be home by eight. That’s not so bad, right?”

  This was the part of my life that Chris hated the most. He hated that I was at Uncle Joey’s beck and call, and now it seemed to have transferred to Ramos as well. But what could he do? Not a damn thing. He could be angry over it, but he’d learned that didn’t help. But a drug dealer? What if something went wrong?