by C. J. Pinard
“Stay there. I’m on my way.”
I grabbed my purse, shoved my flip flops on, and ran out the door.
I slammed my Honda in park and flew out the door to Adria’s little white sports car. She sat in the driver’s seat staring unseeing at the bobbing boats and I had to squint at the bright sun reflecting off the water. I opened her passenger side door and got in.
She turned to face me. Her sunglasses were firmly in place but then she slowly took them off to show me a pair of red-rimmed eyes filled with the worst despair I’d ever seen on anyone besides myself. A single tear fell out of her right eye and I had to hold back my own and be strong for her, the way she had done for me so many times.
“Start at the beginning, honey,” was all I could manage.
She used her cell phone to point to Gage’s boat, the Princess Bride, parked four or five boats away. “I was supposed to be working today. I actually went in for a little bit, but after getting thrown up on by this kid in the ER, I went to my locker to get another pair of scrubs and saw the pregnancy test sitting there. I had thrown it in there after you brought it to me yesterday and had forgotten about it. So while I was changing, I took the test.”
She stared at me for a minute and I raised my eyebrows, waiting for her to continue.
“It was positive.” She pulled the little white stick showing two pink lines from under her thigh on the seat and waved it at me.
My hand flew to my mouth, and so many emotions slammed me that I couldn’t think of an intelligible thing to say except, “Oh, my God.” I felt tears burn the backs of my eyes because of the range of emotions flowing through me.
“I asked Marie to take my shift so I could tell Gage in person. He said he was gonna go out on the boat today so I drove down here to try to catch them before they set sail.” She shot me apologetic chagrin that I couldn’t quite understand until she said, “I was gonna tell you, I promise, I just wanted to tell Gage first, ya know?”
I chuckled, but there was no humor in it. I grabbed her hand in mine. “You’re absurd. I would not expect anything different.”
“Harper, I had the most ridiculous smile on my face. When the test was positive, I was scared for about five seconds, but a strange, warm happiness wrapped around me. I was so excited. I couldn’t wait to tell Gage. So, I went on the boat but didn’t see him or his dad, so I went inside, thinking they were having lunch or something first but nobody was in there. Then I heard the noises. I thought my heart was going to explode. I creaked open the door to the little room below deck and there was Gage…” her voice hitched up an octave and a sob jerked out of her chest. My heart was breaking for my strong, sassy best friend. “He was in there fucking this stupid blonde bimbo bitch he works with! No offense, blondie,” she says, trying to crack a joke. She was so inappropriate.
“Oh, my God,” I said again, my hand still over my mouth, the other one squeezing her hand. “What bimbo? A nurse?” I let go of her hand to pull a tissue from the little container she kept on the passenger side floor. I handed it to her. “No offense.”
“Thanks,” she sighed, and wiped her nose. “No, not a nurse, another fucking PA he works with. I knew they had a thing going, I just knew it!” Anger now replaced the sadness as she pounded her fist on the steering wheel. “Stupid ugly, tall, blonde twat! I hate her.”
I wanted to laugh at the name-calling but I just couldn’t. “So, did he see you?”
“No, I ran out here and called you. What’s wrong with me, Harper? I should have grabbed a knife from the drawer and cut his dick off, and then took it to that bitch…”
Her fingers tightened on the steering wheel and I pried them off and held both in my hands. “No. That’s not you. I am surprised you didn’t start screaming your head off at them, though. You must have been stunned.”
“Stunned! That’s putting it mildly.” She started to cry again. “How can he do this to me, Harper? I don’t get it. I am a really good fiancée. I really am. I buy him gifts and shit, I give him blow jobs all the time, we have sex almost every day. I don’t nag him about all the toys he buys… what did I do wrong?”
“Shush now. You know men don’t do this because of anything their girlfriends or wives do or don’t do. They do it because they’re selfish, insecure pricks who need to validate themselves to other women.”
She nodded and wiped her eyes with the now soaked tissue. “You’re right. I didn’t do anything. Fuck him.” She rolled her window down and shouted, “Fuck you, Gage!”
I pulled her back and darted my eyes toward the boat. It was very windy and I highly doubted he could hear her but I had to ask her anyway, “You want him to hear you?”
“I don’t fucking care,” she spat back.
Her car was tiny so I was able to lean over the middle and easily wrap her in a hug. “We’re gonna get through this, okay? But you’re gonna have to tell him about the baby. God, I feel sorry for him already having you as his baby mama.”
She croaked out a laugh as she wiped away a tear. “Yeah, I will be the stuff of nightmares. No way we’re getting married now.”
“No way,” I agreed.
“Come with me?” she asked, her eyes darting to the boat then back to me.
I nodded. “Of course.”
We exited the car and walked toward he Princess Bride as Adria slowly and carefully boarded the boat with me following. I was so glad it was Saturday and I had on flip flops and yoga pants. Trying to walk on a bobbing boat in heels would suck.
She held her head high, dark pink scrubs and those plastic nurse shoes with a colorful design looking bright under the sun. Gripping the pregnancy test in her right hand, she slowly entered the boat and walked carefully down into the galley.
“Gage?” she called calmly.
There were no noises she had described earlier, to which I was grateful. There was only silence. She looked at me questioningly and said again, “Gage, are you here?”
From behind the bedroom door, we heard a throat clear. “I, uh, was just napping, be right out.”
Before she could head toward the door, Gage walked out in nothing but a pair of shorts. His hair was sticking up, and he reached up to smooth it down.
“Oh, hello, Harper,” he said, seeming surprised and embarrassed that I was there. I took in his tall frame, tanned and toned chest, and surfer haircut. His eyes stared hard at me before moving them to his soon-to-be ex-fiancée. “Hi, babe. This is a surprise.”
She held up the pregnancy test stick, and with almost no emotion blurted out, “Gage, I’m pregnant.”
His eyes widened into saucers and he put on a very fake smile. With his arms out to hug her, he exclaimed, “That’s fantastic!”
She used both arms to push him back against his chest and looked up into his face. “Get the fuck away from me.”
Shock registered on his face and he said, “Adria, what’s wrong with you? Have you been crying? Pregnancy hormones can…”
“It’s not pregnancy hormones!” she screamed.
Yeah, I was pretty sure some of it was, but who was I to say?
“It’s you fucking that blonde bimbo in there, with her fake tits and bleached asshole and long fucking legs. That’s what’s turned me into a stark raving lunatic right now!” she hollered.
“Wha… what are you talking about?” he stammered.
She shot him daggers with her eyes and skirted around him toward the bedroom door.
Oh, hell…
I felt like I was back at home still watching the drama-filled trashy talk show. It was unfolding before my very eyes…
“Get the hell out here, you bitch, I know you’re in here!” she said as she flung the door open.
I reached over and grabbed my friend by the arm. I was now genuinely concerned that Adria was going to assault this woman, and briefly wondered if I should go get the knives out of the kitchen drawer and toss them overboard.
“Come on,” I whispered. “I think you’ve made your point here. Time to le
ave. Let’s go get a cocktail.”
“I can’t drink any cocktails!” she screamed at me.
Yikes. I forgot, oops.
“Okay, I’ll drink, you vent.” I dragged her by both arms with her still facing the bedroom door, all the while Gage stood there and did nothing. He said nothing. He just watched. What a pussy.
I continued to drag her, and she didn’t fight me, she was just tense. Slowly, a tall, blonde woman with huge boobs and injected lips came out of the room wearing a man’s dress shirt and nothing else. And she seemed to be grinning smugly. I cringed.
Adria went to lunge for her but I pulled her back and whispered into her ear, “You got what you came for. Let’s go.”
We left the boat, me walking, her stomping, and made it back to the parking lot.
When we reached her car, she balled her fists and let out a blood-curdling scream and started crying again.
I moved her toward my car, and before putting her into the passenger seat, I placed my arm around her. “May I interest you in some ice cream? I have several flavors to choose from.”
She didn’t even smile, she only replied, “No, the bar. Find a bar.”
Shaking my head, I put the car in drive and headed toward a little coastal dive bar I knew of.
Chapter 14
Mason
I held the punching bag as Hunter pummeled it, but my eyes were on Silas Short. Between wiping down various exercise machines and cleaning windows, he didn’t seem to be doing anything out of the ordinary, just his regular duties. He didn’t appear to be acting suspiciously, and really, if I hadn’t known what I did about him, I would have never given the guy a second look or even pegged him for being a criminal. Not that I had the proof, but I would, soon.
“Stop,” I said to Hunter. He stopped punching and gave me a questioning look.
I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket and held it up. “Smile, sexy!”
Without missing a beat, he flexed his sweaty bicep and showed me his pearly whites. Might have been a cool photo if I had actually been taking a photo of him. Nope. I got maybe half his head but I had already zoomed in on Silas, who was watching us. I got a perfect shot of his face staring right into the camera. I did not give one shit that he probably thought we were douchebag muscle-heads taking gym photos. This was the money shot.
“Did you get me?” Hunter said.
Feeling bad, I said, “Let’s do that again,” and this time, I did get a good pic of him to show Reece. She’d just found out they were having a boy so I’m sure he’d love some pictures to show his son what a stud he used to be. Hunter was in good shape, I would never say he wasn’t, he was just a bit too cocky about it.
“Shower time,” I said.
When we got into the locker room, I closed the door and locked it, then pulled my phone out again. Swiping the screen, I hit an icon and pulled up Silas’s photo.
“Check it out,” I said, shoving it into Hunter’s face.
He grabbed the phone and smiled. “Niiice. Perfect shot, nice and clear. I had no idea you weren’t taking me.”
“Swipe right, asshole.”
He did and smiled even bigger. “Sweet pic!” He hit a few buttons and texted the photo to his phone.
I rolled my eyes and snatched my phone back. “I’m gonna get these into the database tomorrow, have our forensics guy clean it up enough to print, then on Monday, we’re hitting the pavement again to the businesses to see if this is our douchebag.”
“Awesome.” He stripped off his shorts and tossed them onto the bench and then started up one of the showers.
I shook my head and went over to unlock the door so nobody would get the wrong idea.
“Oh, my God. That’s totally him!” Amber said after blowing a big bubble and letting it pop. She looked up at Hunter, ignoring me like she did last time, and said, “That’s the guy who broke in here and stole our stuff?”
Hunter threw her a megawatt smile. “We’re not one-hundred percent sure, sugar, but we’re real close to finding out. Thank you for taking the time to work with us today.”
“Anytime,” she said, batting her eyelashes at him and then picking up her nail file.
Did this nitwit do any work here at all?
I mumbled my thanks to her and left the small business.
“Soup kitchen next?” Hunter asked, looking at his phone.
“It’s not a soup–”
He waved a hand at me without looking up. “Yeah, yeah, I know. I just can never remember what to call it.”
Ignoring that, I said, “Let’s go to Mathis Associates next, question the receptionist. It’s closer.”
He pocked his phone and shoved his sunglasses on. “Yeah, and I’m sure you have some questions for the owner, too,” he chuckled at me.
“Piss off, Jenkins.”
We continued walking down four city blocks until we reached the tall building that housed Mathis Associates. After being cleared by the lobby security guard, we took the elevator up to the 17th floor. I was relieved to see Bryan, the receptionist, sitting at his desk doing something on a laptop.
“Hello, Bryan,” I said.
He looked up and smiled nervously. “Hi, Detectives. Can I help you?”
I nodded and pulled Silas’s photo from my breast pocket. “Does he look familiar?”
His eyes widened. “Yes, that’s the guy who was asking questions about our tax stuff, the one I told you about before.”
“You’re sure?” Hunter asked, scribbling notes on a notepad.
Bryan nodded vehemently. “Yes.”
“Detective Oliver?”
I turn to see Harper headed toward me. The smoking hot red skirt suit paired with a low-swooped shiny white shirt made my eyes widen. A thin necklace caught a glint in the fluorescent lights. Her shoes matched her shirt and made her legs look amazing.
“Hi, Ms. Mathis, nice to see you again,” I said formally, trying to remain professional when my cock suddenly decided to jerk behind my zipper.
Down, boy!
Hunter leaned over and whispered, “Close your mouth.”
I wanted to tell him to fuck off, but didn’t see the use.
“What brings you here? Do you have a lead for us?” she asked with a smile.
I nodded and indicated toward her office. “Can we talk in there?”
“Absolutely,” she responded, leading us toward her office.
“Thank you, Bryan,” I said to the receptionist as Hunter and I followed Harper.
“Have a seat,” she said, locking gazes with me.
God, her blue eyes were so gorgeous. Light and cool like the sky, but warm like a heated pool.
I pulled out the photo of Silas and showed it to her. “Have you ever seen this man before?”
She nodded. “Yes, that’s Silas, he works at the gym.” She gave me a little knowing grin.
“Okay, do you know him personally?”
She shook her head. “No, just professionally. I got him the job at the gym.”
My eyebrows went up. “He’s a veteran?”
“Dishonorably discharged, but yes.”
This very much piqued my interest. “Why was he dishonorably discharged?”
Her eyes flicked to Hunter, who was ready to write, and then back to me. “Not so sure I can disclose that…?”
“I could easily find out, but I think I’d rather hear you tell it,” I reminded her.
She nodded. “Okay, fair enough. While he was in the Air Force, he stole some government equipment. The type they throw out and recycle. You know, old computers and printers and such. Tried to sell them on Craigslist.”
So the guy’s a thief. No big shock there. Just wondering why it didn’t show up on his record. “How long did he do?”
“Prison, or military?” she asked.
I liked the way her hands were folded over her desk and how she leaned in slightly when speaking to us. With a better bra, I would probably be getting a really nice view right now…
&nbs
p; Concentrate!
“Both,” I answered, clearing my throat, hoping I wasn’t staring down her shirt.
I was so staring down her shirt.
“He had only been in the Air Force for a little over two years after he was caught, and then was sent to Leavenworth brig for eight months, then dishonorably discharged.”
“That’s interesting,” I said. “We ran him, but nothing came up.”
She nodded. “A condition of his dishonorable discharge was that they’d wipe his criminal record.”
Hunter jotted down notes, then took a quick glance at his fancy platinum wristwatch his father had gotten him as a wedding present.
She stared at me intently for a few seconds, then realization began to color her face. “You think Silas broke in here and stole our stuff?”
I nodded. “I don’t have all the proof I need yet, but it’s looking that way. All roads point to him. Bryan says Silas is the one who was asking questions a few weeks before the break-in. Off the record, the guy owes a shitload in taxes and we think it’s why he steals from nonprofit organizations. He seems to have some odd obsession with tax-exemptions and such.”
She nodded. “Ya know, he had asked me if Mathis Associates was a nonprofit when I interviewed him to help him find a job, but I didn’t think it was that odd of a question, I get asked that sometimes.”
“How come your receptionist didn’t recognize Silas when he came around asking tax questions if he had been in here before as a client?” Hunter asked, still scribbling.
She waved a hand. “Oh Bryan’s only been working here for about six months. I got Silas that job over a year ago. He wouldn’t have recognized him. I do find it odd he came back here to ask questions again, though. Guy’s not quite right, if you know what I mean. As bad as that makes me feel to say.”
“Well you are a saint for helping all veterans,” I said to her.
“His probation officer begged me to help him secure employment. Guess I’m a softie.”
“That, you are,” I said, winking at her.
Hunter got up. “I’m gonna hit the soup kitchen and then head back to the office. Meet me there later?” He wore a knowing look like he was doing me a favor and got up to leave.
