by B A Trimmer
“But what about my guy?” I asked. “Is it possible Reinhart came into Scottsdale for a buy with Alex?”
“We’ve had people shadowing Reinhardt since he came into town last week. Our guys saw him meeting with an unknown man at the art gallery at the Tropical Paradise yesterday, possibly even making a minor buy. They’re in the process of tracking him down, but I’ll let them know it was your guy Alexander.”
“Why didn’t they stop the buy?”
“It was the detective’s judgment it wasn’t important enough to interfere in or even call for backup. You can tell when something big is going down and our guys didn’t think this was it. It’s doubtful the Iceman flew here for Alexander. He only deals in amounts above a million dollars, usually over ten. Unless your guy had a suitcase full of merchandise, the Iceman didn’t come here for him. We know Reinhardt always leaves the country immediately after his buy goes down. Since he’s still here, we’re assuming it hasn’t happened yet. Perhaps he took on Alex as a spur of the moment thing, or maybe his main deal fell through and he was looking for something to make the trip worthwhile, who knows?”
“If you have people on Reinhart, that still doesn’t explain why didn’t you go after him when he bought from Alex?”
“You know how this works,” Reno said, his tone patient. “You never go after a big fish unless you catch him doing something big. If you picked him up every time he spit on the sidewalk, you’ll never make the big bust.”
I knew this, of course, it just bothered me something like that could take place without anybody making too much of a fuss about it.
“Do you know anything about Arizona Security Enterprises?” I asked. “They’ve been following Alex around since yesterday. They look pretty serious, but more like thugs than anything else.”
“No, but they’re not one of ours. I can ask around.”
As he was talking, I looked at his wrist and saw he was wearing the watch I had given him the year before.
“You’re still wearing the watch?” I asked.
He looked down at it and shrugged. “It’s a good watch.”
“Do you think of me when you put it on?”
“I try not to.”
There was a moment of uncomfortable silence as Dominic brought over coffee. Reno picked up the small pitcher of cream and poured it into his cup. He stared at it, watching the coffee as the cream blended in.
“So why’d you really call me?” he asked. “Don’t you know any other cops you can pump for information?”
“Let’s just say I’ve had some very positive thoughts about you over the last few days.”
He arched his eyebrow, but to his credit didn’t say anything.
~~~~
After lunch, I drove up Hayden to Gainey Ranch. I doubted Alex was with Danica, but I had to start looking somewhere. I went into Danica’s neighborhood and then did a slow drive-by past her house. Most of the interior shutters had been closed and there wasn’t a sign of life in any of the other windows.
I parked a block away and strolled over to her house. Walking past it didn’t yield any more information than the drive-by. I continued to the end of the block and turned the corner. Danica lived in a newer subdivision where the backyards butted up to each other and there were no alleys. I continued around the block until I was directly behind Danica’s house. Unfortunately, the view from this angle didn’t show anything new. I was debating the merits of hopping the wall and seeing if Danica had left a door or window open when my cell phone rang.
“Hey Laura,” Sophie said. “Lenny says to get your skinny butt down here right away.”
“You can tell Lenny he can kiss my skinny butt.”
“No way, I can’t tell him that. He’d spend the afternoon fanaticizing about it. I think he’s going commando today and I don’t want to see him walking around the office all afternoon with a stiffy. You know how that grossed me out the last time.”
“Alright, I’ll be right over. What’s Lenny want?”
“I don’t know, but he asked for Gina too. She’ll be here in about ten minutes.”
“Didn’t Lenny even give a hint?”
“No, but he’s in with a client now. Probably has something to do with him. Speaking of butts, you should see the client. This guy’s got an ass as good as Jon Bon Jovi.”
“Bon Jovi? Have you been watching his old videos again?”
“They had a Bon Jovi special on VH-1 Classic last night. The man might be getting older, but I still want to have his baby.”
“I’ll be there in about twenty minutes, but save butt man for me. My libido’s running in the red zone right now.”
“So, you’re interested in men again? It’s about time.”
“I’ve always been interested in men, just more so today.”
“Really? How bad is it?” Sophie asked.
“Just do me a favor. If I proposition Lenny, throw some cold water on me. Or better yet, shoot me.”
“Sex with Lenny? Eeeeyuuww gross!”
“I was kidding!”
~~~~
When I got to the office, Sophie and Gina were having an animated conversation about Shawn Phillips, a guy Sophie had met at a Christmas party a few weeks before. They had been having this exact same conversation ever since Sophie found out Shawn was married. Of course, she had found this out on their second date and she’d dated him several times since.
“Hey Sophie,” I said. “I thought you said you had broken up with that loser?”
“Well I am now, for good this time. I was telling Gina we had a date set up for tonight. He was going to take me to that amazing rotating restaurant at the top of the downtown Hyatt, the Compass Room. But he just called ten minutes ago to tell me he couldn’t make it. His wife got tickets to an opera at the Herberger Theatre for tonight and she had forgotten to tell him about it until today. He’s leaving me to sit home alone just so he won’t cause a scene at his house.”
“But you knew he was married,” Gina said, in a motherly tone. “I would imagine this sort of thing is just going to happen from time to time.”
“Well,” Sophie said, waving her finger a Gina. “That does it for me, epic fail. That man is a good-for-nothing lying piece of dog shi…” Sophie’s words trailed off. I looked at her. It’s not like Sophie not to finish her favorite insult.
She was staring at the door to Lenny’s office. Her lips puckered and I heard her give a soft “Ooooohh.”
I saw Gina glance over, then she give a little moan of pleasure. “Yummy.”
I turned my head to see what was causing the commotion.
There, in the doorway to Lenny’s office, stood a man. I saw he was looking directly at me through an expensive pair of tinted glasses. I saw his eyes going down to my feet and then slowly back up, stopping to linger over my boobs.
That’s just great, I thought to myself. He’s staring at me like I’m a piece of meat.
Who is this guy?
He was somewhere in his mid-thirties and tall, well over six feet. He looked lean, solid, and strong. I turned towards him, taking him in. His hair was short and dark. His face was angular, his lips were full and sensuous, his expression was serious. His skin was the color of mocha and he was gorgeous. He reminded me of the former pro-wrestler, now actor, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. He was wearing a closely-tailored gray suit, black shirt, and metallic silver tie. His black shoes looked Italian and soft as butter. My eyes started back up from the shoes and I couldn’t help noticing the sizeable bulge of his package.
Wow.
I felt my face flush with heat.
Get a hold of yourself.
My eyes lingered a moment longer on the ample bulge. I felt my heart start to pound and my stomach did a flip-flop. I looked back up into the tinted glasses, wanting to see his eyes. I searched his face and then felt his eyes lock onto mine. The air between us seemed electric as he sized me up. He stared for a second longer and cracked a slight smile. He then slowly walked toward me.
Who is this guy?
He stopped in front of me and looked down into my eyes. His face was calm, betraying no emotion. My face was hot, my breathing fast. He paused for a moment, then bent down and pressed his lips against mine.
You bastard! I inwardly shouted. But then my outrage was slowly replaced by a wave of pleasure starting from his lips and washing over my entire body. My breathing stopped, the whole of my being was taken over by the mounting excitement. My lips took on a mind of their own as I began to kiss him back. He curled his arm around my waist and gently pulled me toward him. All thoughts of who might be watching faded as I slowly pressed myself against him. Even through the layers of clothing, I felt his body responding to mine. His tongue worked to seduce me, I felt helpless. The heat from his body was intense, taking me to a point I hadn’t experienced with a man in way too long. I was floating on a cloud of erotic passion. I didn’t even try to stop it. I let the sensations take me closer and closer, until I knew the moment was at hand.
How could this happen with just a kiss?
Then, just as I felt myself start to let go, he withdrew his lips and loosened his grip around my waist. A feeling close to panic set in.
No, no, please, not yet!
But his lips were already gone. He gently released me, holding my waist without pressing against me. My face contorted and my body shook with desperation. Tears of frustration came to my eyes.
Oh, damn it!
I looked up into his eyes but was unable to speak. He regarded me for a moment, then reached out and touched my cheek with his fingertips.
“Who are you?” I managed to croak out.
He again cracked a small smile. “Later, gorgeous,” he said in a voice that was soft but deep and powerful. He then turned and walked out of the office.
I turned to see Gina and Sophie staring at me, mouths open, stunned. Sophie was the first to come out of it.
“Damn girlfriend, did you just do what I think you did?”
“No,” I gasped. “But I was so…damn…close.” The truth was I was still close. My body was still shuddering with short spasms of desire.
Damn all men!
“Who was that guy?” Gina said.
“Well, whoever he was, why didn’t he come over and do the same thing to me?” Sophie said. “I’m pretty sure I could use a standing O too.”
“So why did he just do that?” I wondered aloud.
Gina started laughing. “Laura, you were giving him bedroom eyes and staring at him like he was a piece of meat. A guy like that? You didn’t give him a choice. He had to do it.”
Lenny heard the laughing and stuck his head out of his office.
“Hey Lenny,” Gina called. “Who was that guy?”
“Forget it,” Lenny called out. “He’s out of your league.”
“What do you mean, out of our league?” Sophie said. “Three fine ladies in their prime like us? He only wishes he was in our league.”
“His name is Maximilian,” Lenny said, walking up to us. “He runs with the big money out of the DiCenzo resorts.”
“What would a DiCenzo goon want with us?” Gina asked.
“He’s hardly a goon,” Lenny said. “He seems to be more in the finance side of the family rather than in the leg-breaking side.”
That didn’t exactly boost my opinion of him. But to be honest, all I was thinking about was my next date with the shower massager.
FIVE
Gina and I followed Lenny into his office. He waited for us to come in, and then closed the door behind us. Gina took one of the seats in front of his desk. I took the other.
“For some reason, the DiCenzo goon wanted you to take this assignment,” Lenny said, pointing at me. “I told him Gina has more experience in this sort of thing, but he still wanted you. I finally told him you were on assignment already and couldn’t be the primary, but you could act as a back-up investigator to Gina. After that, he seemed satisfied with the overall arrangement.”
“Way to go girl!” Gina said, giving me a high five. “Looks like you’re getting a reputation out there as a real bad-ass.”
“To get on with it,” Lenny said. His eyes flicking back and forth between us. “There was a theft last week over at the Scottsdale Blue Palms resort. A very wealthy Russian businessman has had a piece of luggage stolen, or more correctly, it appears his bag was switched with a look-alike bag. The original bag apparently contained not only a substantial amount of cash, but also several sensitive papers and computer disks they are very anxious to retrieve.”
“How do they know it was a switch?” Gina asked.
“They didn’t until a few days ago,” Lenny said. “The bag was reported stolen to hotel security last Tuesday afternoon. The hotel first thought someone had merely stolen the contents of the bag, but from the first the Russian was insistent the bag itself was switched. It took hotel security several days of reviewing the tapes for them to have a guess at how it was done.”
In the corner of Lenny’s office was a big screen TV with a DVD hooked up to it. Lenny hit the button on a remote control. The TV flicked on and the DVD began to play. What I saw was the main lobby of the posh Scottsdale Blue Palms resort. As resorts go, the Blue Palms is one of the best. The year before, International Resort Traveler had listed it as one of the 50 best golf resorts in the world. The ownership of the resort by Arizona’s largest crime family apparently didn’t enter into the voting one way or the other.
The black and white image on the screen was grainy and jumpy. The DVD was probably a copy of a hotel security tape that had been recorded on too many times. The camera showed about half of the cavernous main lobby. Groups of people came and went. Knots of people stood talking and bellboys walked by with luggage piled high on carts.
“Look at this group here.” Lenny said as he pointed to a group of three people standing near a grand piano. From the angle and distance of the camera, I could make out they were men dressed in dark suits. I couldn’t see a lot of detail. I could see there was a short and slender man standing between two enormous men, apparently bodyguards. The large man on the right was carrying a suitcase in each hand. The large man on the left was holding a bag with one hand while another bag hung on a strap from his shoulder. The short man in the middle was only holding a small black bag.
As we watched, there was some sort of commotion off camera to the right. The big man on the left pointed and I could just make out all three heads turned to look, but with the quality of the video it was sort of hard to tell. The man in the middle and the man on the right set down their bags. The man on the right took two steps to the right, stopped for maybe five seconds, then returned to the group. The men picked up their bags then walked off to the left, out of camera range. The scene went on for maybe half a minute longer, and then it ended.
“Did you see anything unusual?” Lenny asked.
“No,” I said. Lenny looked at Gina, but she just shook her head.
“I didn’t see it the first time either, the DiCenzo goon had to show me,” Lenny said. “I’ll slow it down. Look closely at the black gym bag the little guy in the middle is holding.”
Lenny then went frame by frame. As the big man on the left man pointed to the commotion, the other two put down their bags. The big man on the right took one step then another, in jerky slow motion. I then noticed a new man walk behind the group of three men. He didn’t seem connected to the group and I had ignored him until now. He was medium build and medium height, meaning he could have been anybody. He was also carrying a small black bag. He passed behind the group of men and went on. The big man on the right came back to the group. Then all three gathered their bags and walked in jerky slow motion to the le
ft.
“Let me have the control,” I said.
With an annoyed sniff, Lenny handed me the remote.
I rewound back to when the commotion started. I then went forward, frame-by-frame, to the point where the new man passed behind the group. As he passed, I looked at the position of the small black bag the small man in the middle had set on the ground. It moved as the new man walked by. It wasn’t much, but it was a definite move. At the same time the bag moved, the new man seemed to duck or maybe trip slightly.
“Either the new guy kicked the bag as he walked by, or he somehow switched it with the bag he was caring,” I said.
“That’s exactly what security at the Blue Palms thinks too,” Lenny said. “They think the bag was switched as part of a scam last Tuesday. They want it back.”
“Why don’t they go to the police or look for it themselves?” Gina asked. “They have plenty of people at their disposal.”
“The DiCenzos wouldn’t go to the police on general principle,” Lenny said. “And from what the DiCenzo goon Maximilian said, they have been looking for it with their own people with no luck. They need outside help.”
“OK,” Gina said, “I’ll get on it.”
“Call me if you need help,” I said.
~~~~
I left the office at about 4:30. Before I left, I downloaded everything I had on Alex to Sophie. I love the way she can take my rambling story and turn it into a crisp report for Lenny.
I got back in the car and went home to feed Marlowe. As he ate, I told him everything that had happened during the day. I told him I was worried about Alex and whatever he had gotten mixed up in. But I don’t think Marlowe heard much of what I said, over the noise of his chewing and swallowing.
Next, it was back out to my Honda to try and pick up Alexander’s trail again. Closest, and first on the list, was Jennie’s Cabaret. Alex’s car wasn’t in the lot and the bartender said Danica wasn’t working tonight. Next was Alex’s apartment. Same story; no lights, no black Jaguar, and no Alex. I cruised the valet lots of the downtown clubs without success. At about 11:00, I drove back up to Danica’s neighborhood at Gainey Ranch.
