“You know I don’t want to hear about illegal means. I know you’re not always aboveboard with legal technicalities but I can’t be a part of it, Cate. You know I won’t.”
“What about if this was me instead of Jennifer Brooks-Warren? Would you do illegal then? To save my life?”
The pen tapping goes into a staccato drum beat. “I’m not going to answer that because you damn well know that if your life was in danger, I would do everything in my power to save you. But this isn’t you and as far as the legal system is concerned, it’s not a crime to purchase and pick up a coffin. Sorry, babe, no. The guy you spoke to is right. You can’t access a company’s files to trace a trunk rental to a possible crime. Technically, no crime has been committed so the privacy policy stands. Plus, the license plate is unknown, and as I said, picking up a coffin is not a crime, so no judge is going to issue a search and seizure.”
“Shit!”
“Love you too,” he says casually. “See you after seven.” I hang up the phone.
๕๕๕
Dinner Wednesday night is interesting to say the least. Everyone is dressed in casual dinner style for the occasion and anyone seeing our group would think it was some type of an office party. I’ve thrown a green silk scarf that Will’s mother, the lovely Francesca Sutton Benigni, gave me for Christmas, over a soft yellow blouse. The scarf keeps slipping off my neck
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and shoulders because I refuse to knot the material and ruin the scarf. Will keeps picking it up
from the floor. The third time he places it back around my neck he laughs and says, under his
breath, “Knot the damn thing!”
The security people, always two together, take turns standing by the only accessible door, locked from the inside, to the back room; Adrian has other agents outside checking out anyone who comes in the restaurant and both bathrooms have an agent inside. We’ve even hired Dave the sniper to do a two hour watch that will cost Jennifer five thousand dollars. “Not exactly fifty thou, Harlow,” he’d said when I called him to make the offer. “But I’m doing it because I respect Adrian.” Yeah, sure, I thought after I’d hung up. Respect has nothing to do with it. You’re doing it for the money even if the amount offered is significantly lower than you’d hoped.
Will, Adrian, and Natalie sit facing the door and, even while they eat, I know all three are on high alert. Giles and I talk pleasantly to Edward about the stock market, politics and nothing important. Melissa tries to engage Jennifer into a conversation about fashion week. She’s very good at this, Melissa is, sweet and relaxing. She knows how to put people at ease, probably a necessity in her line of work. Jennifer warms a bit to what she is saying. When Melissa regales us all with a funny story about a costume she wore as a young girl during Carnival time in her native New Orleans, I see a slight smile on Jennifer’s lips.
There is no wine being served with this dinner; we need to be on guard and ready in the event that a problem arises. And even though my mind tells me we’re safe for the time being, I feel comfortable knowing that my gun is in the back waistband of my designer jeans.
I watch Giles observing Jennifer and hear him ask her several innocuous questions. I know that he is watching her for any signs of being overly sedated. Her response to his questions is slower than it should be and she seems a bit confused when she answers. Giles looks at me and raises an eyebrow. Glancing at my watch I see that we’ve been sitting here for ninety minutes. Dinner is finishing up. A pastry and gourmet coffee cart is wheeled into the room and there’s a sudden stirring at our table.
Jennifer excuses herself and heads toward the bathrooms. Natalie immediately follows. I get up and stretch and walk around the table pretending to check out the pastries. I keep glancing toward the rear of the restaurant where the bathrooms are. I am confident that Natalie can handle herself but it’s always good to have back-up just in case.
“I’ll be right back,” I whisper to Will leaning down over his shoulder, “Get me a hazelnut coffee, okay?” He nods, pats the back waist of my designer jeans to see if the gun is there then squeezes my butt. I know he’s checking to see if I’m armed but he’s always ready to play grab-ass if he’s given the opportunity. As I’m walking toward the back of the restaurant, my fellow diners are getting up to inspect the cart.
In the ladies’ room I see that all is quiet; Jennifer is washing her hands in a desultory manner, seemingly spaced-out. I nod to another of Adrian’s agents, a tall black woman with eyes that miss nothing. I know her from several cases where I used Adrian’s agency. Her name’s Lin; she’s a good person to have your back.
When Jennifer’s ready to leave I follow her and Natalie outside the door and watch them head back toward the table. Then I go back in and talk a bit with the security person.
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“Did they bring you anything to eat, Lin?” I ask. She shakes her head. “They offered but I declined. I’m on duty so I’ll grab a bite later.”
We talk a bit more and I stretch my back. I’m tight from sitting for two hours and from being constantly on guard. I check my phone for any messages and find nothing there that can’t wait. Then I head back to my jolly little group.
Back at the table I notice that everyone seems to be standing by the dessert cart. I don’t see Edward. Will hands me a coffee. “Men’s room,” he says to my questioning look around the room. “Edward told Adrian and me he had to use the facilities; in other words he had to take a leak.”
“Gee, thanks for sharing, Will,” I say giving a wide-eyed innocent look. “Made my whole night.”
“Yeah well, now you’ve got that image in your head. I’ll have to do something to make you forget it. Later, baby.” He smiles and winks at me knowing that his humor is breaking the tension I feel in a room without windows and a possible hit man lurking outside. He touches my arm as I’m about to sit down with my coffee. “Where’s your scarf? You drop it?” My scarf, the beautiful green silk scarf. It must have slipped off my neck and I probably did lose it coming back from the bathroom. I tell Will I’ll be right back.
On the way toward the back I find my scarf lying on the floor. As I bend to pick it up I see Edward coming out of a corner near the men’s room. He’s on his phone and doesn’t see me until he trips over me, drops his phone, and lands next to the wall. He looks startled. I pick up his phone to examine the screen checking to see if it is cracked from hitting the floor. I see a blur of words before Edward takes the phone out of my hand. I stare up at him as he gets to his feet, shaking his head as if he is clearing away distant thoughts, and sighs. Then he offers me his hand and helps me up. “Cate, what are you doing on the floor?”
“Picking up my scarf. Are you all right? You took a mean tumble there, Edward.”
“Oh yes, I’m all right. I didn’t look where I was going. I was checking the weather for the week. Bad weather makes Jennifer more depressed than usual.” He stops and looks back toward the restaurant room where dessert is being served then down at his phone. “Especially…rain, yes, rainy days are the worst for her. Rain washes away everything, doesn’t it?” He looks down the narrow hall again. “Let’s rejoin everyone, shall we? I don’t want Jennifer to worry about me, after all. She has enough on her mind.”
Back at the table I see Will on his cell phone talking to someone at his precinct. His phone is top-of-the-line new, not the regulation standard phones issued to most cops. He paid for this himself so that he misses nothing that has to do with his job. Will’s that dedicated to work but the phone also has everything that he personally wanted and is a technological wonder. He’s the one who bought me my own top-of-the-line phone and I’ve never regretted having it. And as I watch him talking on this expensive cell, a thought comes to my mind. Even though I only had his phone in my hand for a second, I could tell that Edward’s phone was a cheap one and definitely not new. Funny. I would have thought a man as wealthy as Edward seems to be would want the latest phone technolog
y for business purposes. It’s a bit strange that he...
Will interrupts my thoughts by bringing me a delicate chocolate crème concoction. “So far so good, Cate. But, hell, the night’s not over yet. We still have to get Jennifer back to her
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condo safe and alive.” He takes a bite of my dessert and then goes over to talk to Adrian. I find
myself wishing that the night was over and that we were all safe in our respective beds. My own
bed preferably including a smoking hot NYPD detective named Will Benigni.
Chapter 20
WITH ALL THE SECURITY surrounding her, Jennifer Brooks-Warren makes it back safe and sound to her condo a little before 9:30 p.m. Will and Natalie precede us and go to check out the condo building and condo itself, making sure there are no surprise visitors lurking in wait.
Adrian’s team and I stayed close to Jennifer and Edward and got into the SUV with them. Giles left thirty minutes before we did and drove Melissa back to her brownstone for her appointment. Before he left, he took me aside and told me that Jennifer is exhibiting signs of early addiction. “Her speech is definitely slurred and she’s slow to respond to conversation. I saw that her eyes were a bit glazed too. Talk to her fiancé and see if he can’t get her to have a doctor come up to their place to examine her. Do you know the name of the sedative she’s taking? Personally I think she’s self-dosing and that’s understandable in her situation but it can also be deadly. Call me tomorrow if you get a chance.” And with that he kisses me sweetly and slowly on the lips, in full view of Will, and leaves. I remember what he said about being jealous of Will.
All’s clear as far as Adrian, Will, and I see. We assess the situation and decide against using the parking garage and let Jennifer and Edward off directly in front of the building. They’re hustled in the door and into the private elevator surrounded by Adrian’s team. I stay in the lobby and, just before the elevator door slowly closes on her little group, Jennifer turns and thanks me. I wave a hand and wish her a good night.
Ten minutes later Will and Adrian come down in the elevator. They talk for a few moments then shake hands and Adrian takes out his cell phone to check with his team outside. Dave is nowhere to be seen but Adrian tells me that’s to be expected. Once we were back at the condo, Dave obviously saw no need to hang around. “Just get him his five thou as soon as you can.”
Will motions me toward the door and we walk out toward where he’s parked in a no-parking zone. “The love-birds are snuggled safe in their nest, Cate. Now how about we go back to your brownstone and do some, uh, snuggling of our own.”
In the car his arms go around me and his hands fondle my breasts. Sliding his left hand down my side and between my legs he kisses me in the hot and passionate way he knows excites me. I dimly think that he’s kissing me like that because he saw Giles kiss me good-night but then I surrender to the feeling. “Let’s go get naked,” he says in that husky voice I know so well and which never fails to arouse me. We drive back to my brownstone with his left hand massaging the moist softness between my legs and his other hand on the wheel. Sex with a slight element of danger to it, that’s how it goes with Detective Will Benigni. And I love the thrill of it.
๕๕๕
The next morning I awake to find myself on the couch and hear Will whistling in the kitchen. Our clothes are scattered on the floor. I remember and smile. The coffee-maker dings three times and the rich smell of freshly brewed hazelnut coffee wafts to where I am lying. Inhaling deeply I grab a throw from the couch and huddle into it.
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“Hi,” says a fully dressed Will getting ready to pour two cups of coffee. “I was going to bring you a cup.” I reach gratefully for the cup and take it to the counter to add more cream. My stove clock tells me it’s just after seven. “You’re up early,” I say muffling a yawn.
“The city never sleeps, babe, especially New York City. Homicide happened about an hour ago near Central Park, my territory. I’m out the door in ten minutes.”
“Okay, sure. Listen, I’m going to make some calls and then head to my office. Last night at the restaurant went well don’t you think?”
“It’s always a plus when no one gets killed. I got the feeling Jennifer was out of it, though. She barely stayed awake. What did the good doctor, the revered ME, have to say to you? Before he slipped his tongue into your mouth, that is.” Will sips his coffee and winks at me to take the edge off his words. Jealousy must be catching.
“Jealous much?” I put my coffee cup down on the counter, facing him squarely and looking in his eyes.
“Of Giles Barrett?! You’re kidding me, right?” I don’t answer. “Seriously, Cate, why would I be jealous?”
“Because of what you just said.”
He walks around the kitchen island and gently lifts my chin with his hand. “Okay maybe a little jealous of that kiss. But I’m here and he’s not, so that pretty much tells me who the victor is here.”
“Damn it, Will, stop being so territorial. There’s no victor because there was no war. I’m not an island you two were fighting over. God!”
“Yeah, okay.” He smiles at me and gives me a wink then pulls me into his arms and whispers in my ear. “So….what did Dr. Giles Barrett, esteemed doctor of the dead, say anyway?” Oh Will can be a real bastard! I decide to let the doctor dead comment go and just tell him the specifics of Giles’s assessment of Jennifer’s state of mind.
“Pretty much what you just said about her. She’s on sedatives because of all the stress and he says she is exhibiting signs of preliminary addiction. I have to ask Edward to watch her.”
“Yeah, you should do that. By the way what’s his story? Something off there.”
Edward Penn. The day after he and Jennifer came to my office I had him checked out both legally and not-so-legally; just the basics, no in-depth stuff. Nothing popped either way.
“I did a preliminary background check on him; found nothing unusual. He’s concerned about Jennifer and the very real possibility of her being killed. I think the self-imposed confinement in the condo and the constant fear of death is getting to both of them. How would you feel if someone was trying to kill me?” He pulls me close to him. “I’m an NYPD detective, remember? I’d have no problem blowing out the brains of anyone who was after you, you better believe that.” He holds me closer and kisses my hair. I hear him sigh and know he’s thinking about some of the dangers I’ve encountered in my cases. Both of us, I know, have definite periods of danger in our jobs. Finally Will pulls away and goes to get his service revolver, which he stores in the top drawer of my breakfront when he stays overnight.
“You going to be home around six tonight?” he asks holstering his gun and putting on his jacket. He kisses me again and puts on his sunglasses.
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“I should. If not I’ll call or text you.” Will’s out the door and I head to the bathroom. As for the city that never sleeps this sleepy woman needs to shower and wash her hair before venturing out into it.
๕๕๕
Catherine Harlow, Private Investigations is dark and quiet when I go up the stairs. It’s only eight-thirty and I know Myrtle won’t be in until nine. Or at least I hope she will; she’s been coming in late and leaving early a lot lately. For a woman who prizes schedules, her hours have been erratic. With everything that’s been going on with the Brooks-Warren case I haven’t really been able to find out what’s been happening in her life that has her so upset. So far, from the little bit of conversation that we’ve had I can rule out health and money problems. Her sex life sucks, so she says, and Harry has been going out at night and coming back late. If I didn’t know Harry better I would think there really was another woman involved. But, Harry? I can’t see him straying but then who really knows about other people’s relationships? I knew a girl in college who seemed to have a perfect relationship with her boyfriend and whenever I saw them together they seemed so in love and
happy. Then one night this girl ended up being held at campus security while awaiting the local police on charges of having tried to poison her boyfriend. Turned out her loving boyfriend had been beating the crap out of her for over a year and she had been a victim of both physical and emotional abuse. No one ever suspected.
My train of thought is interrupted by the rattling of keys in the lock of my office’s ancient oak door. I glance at my watch; eight-fifty; Myrtle’s early today. She has coffee and a bag from a local fast food place that sells dry and over-processed sugar buns. Seriously? No Harry goodies again. Disappointment at the lack of homemade food must show on my face because Myrtle says, “I wouldn’t expect any gourmet pastries from Harry. Lately the man seems to have no time to do anything more than run out the door when I come home. God only knows what he’s doing during the day. You probably haven’t noticed but I’m driving myself to the office now. Harry’s too busy.” She plugs in her electric teapot and asks, “By the way, how was your dinner excursion last night? All went well for that poor girl, I hope.”
Telling her that all is still status quo, no attempts to murder anyone, and no problems occurred, I check the bag and take out one of the overly sugared items. After one taste I put it down on the napkin Myrtle has placed under my Timothy’s Coffee Emporium container. Pity that place doesn’t sell pastries. When she turns to pour her tea, I discreetly spit the small bite I took into a tissue and dump it, along with the rest of the sugared crap, into the wastebasket. I love Myrtle and Harry with all my heart and I want everything to be the same as it always was. And to be truthful the foodie in me misses Harry’s extraordinary concoctions. Harry, Myrtle, and good food: they’re the safe constants in my crazy life.
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