by B A Trimmer
Bingo.
There was the Jaguar sitting in Danica’s driveway. The lights were on and I saw movement inside the house.
I parked on the street, two doors down from Danica’s driveway. I got out of the car, walked up to the house, and rang the doorbell. After maybe a minute, I heard footsteps approach. I saw the peephole go dark as someone looked through it. A moment later the door opened to the length of a thick security chain. Danica was visible just beyond, dressed in a red silk robe belted at the waist.
“I’m Laura Black,” I said to her through the crack in the door opening. “My employer is having me look into Alexander’s activities at the request of his grandmother. I hadn’t planned on talking to him but something’s come up and I need to speak to him.”
She stared at me for a moment with a puzzled look on her face. Without a word, she turned and closed the door. I wasn’t sure what to make of that. I stood there, not knowing if I should ring again or not. I heard voices in the back of the house, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying. The voices grew louder as they came closer to the front. The door opened again but this time it was Alex behind the chain, dressed only in long navy blue silk pajama pants.
“My grandmother sent you to spy on me?” Alex asked. The tone of his voice was half anger, half disbelief.
“She’s worried about you,” I said. “And to be honest, I’m starting to get worried too. I have some information you may be interested in. I’d like to come in so we can talk about it.”
From the look on his face I didn’t know if he was going to open the door or slam it in my face. Finally, he slid off the chain and opened the door.
The inside of Danica’s house was as beautiful as the outside. In the typical Scottsdale southwest style, the ceilings were high and the rooms were open with wide archways. The walls were off-white and the windows were fitted with white plantation shutters. Bright original oil paintings and tropical plants provided splashes of color. A shorthaired black cat was laying on a white leather love seat. He looked at me with bright gold eyes while his tail flicked from side to side. Joni Mitchell’s Blue album played quietly in the background.
Alex led me out to the back yard. The landscaping in the back yard was as nice as the front, done up with queen palms, royal palms, orange trees, and flowering lantana, all surrounding a large swimming pool. Near the pool was a small patch of grass that had been recently mowed. The pool itself was inviting. There was a noisy little waterfall and a fiber optic lighting system that changed the color of the water every few seconds.
Alex motioned me poolside to a white picnic table. He sat on one side. I sat on the other. Next to the picnic table was a brass fire pit with a crackling fire in it. Danica was pacing back and forth on the far corner of the patio, a half empty drink in her hand. As we sat down, she took a few steps closer. She hovered and paced near the fire, not sitting down, but still within easy listening distance.
There was a moment of uncomfortable silence as we each waited for the other to speak.
“We haven’t been introduced,” I said. “I’m Laura Black. Yes, I’ve been following you at the request of your grandmother. After you quit your job she became worried. It’s also been noticed you’ve been spending some serious money. I’ve been asked to look into things to make sure everything is OK.”
“Well,” Alex snapped. “Now you’ve spent your time spying on me, what is your assessment? Is everything OK? Do my activities measure up?”
“Look, I usually don’t talk to the people who I investigate. It’s not very professional. It’s none of my business what you do with your life. But, I know you no longer have a visible source of income. I know you’re spending a lot of money. I also know you have been fencing things all over town with some pretty nasty people.”
Alex flinched when I mentioned the fencing. I looked over and saw Danica had stopped pacing. Her intense gaze was shifting between Alex and me.
“So I have money,” Alex said, now more boisterous than angry. “What’s the big deal? Hell, my family has more money than most developing countries. OK, so I’ve spent some of it recently, and sure I quit my job. Who cares? I’m no longer required by the state to be employed. You did know I just got off parole, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” I said, “and to be honest, I could care less about your money or how you got it.”
Alex stopped and looked at me. I could tell my remark had puzzled him. “So, why are you here?”
“Do you know you are being followed? Not just by me, but by a couple of seriously mean guys.”
“Followed?” Alex asked. A wave of initial shock, then fear, passed over his face, replaced quickly by a forced look of casual unconcern.
“Yeah,” I said. “They picked you up outside the Tropical Paradise yesterday afternoon after you fenced whatever it was with Albert Reinhardt and Ingrid Shanker at the art gallery there. The reason they aren’t parked across the street right now is you lost them in traffic today. You put them temporarily out of commission, accidentally I assume. I only knew you’d be here because I’ve been following you since Monday.”
While we were talking, Danica had been inching closer to the table. When she heard about the tail, she came over and slid on the seat next to Alex. She was looking at me, her eyes wide.
“There are men following Alex?” she asked. Genuine worry and panic crept into her voice. She then turned to Alex. “What is she talking about?”
I expected some sort of reply from Alex, but instead something weird happened. After I told Alex about the tail, a change seemed to come over him. His head cocked a bit to the side and he got a knowing little smirk on his face. As soon as he spoke, it hit me; Alex had just gone into his car salesman mode. Maybe that was his way of handling stress? All he needed was a lime-green plaid jacket and the transformation would have been complete.
“Well, I tell you what, Laura Black, if that’s even your real name,” he said in his smooth salesman’s voice, “I wouldn’t worry about anybody following me. I’m sure you’re either mistaken, or more likely my grandmother has hired two or maybe even three firms to check up on me independently. It really wouldn’t surprise me.”
I gave him a look of mild disbelief. There is a fine line between being thick-skinned and being stupid and I think Alex just crossed it.
“I don’t think you understand the situation,” I said. “These guys could have picked you up at any time. They are following you to see where you go and what you are doing. They’ve also seen the two of you together. It’s obvious you two are more than just friends. It’s only a matter of time before they’ll come over here looking for you. When they find you, they might want more than a friendly chat.”
“No,” he said. “I think you are the one who doesn’t understand the situation. You don’t know my grandmother. It really would be her style to have more than one group looking in on me. She’s done it before, mainly out of guilt over what she’s done to me the past few years. So sure, keep following me if you need to, if it’s your job. But I can assure you I can look after myself and my girlfriend.”
As he was assuring me, he was patting Danica on her leg. She too was giving him a look of frank disbelief, maybe mixed in with a little anger. I wanted to ask him about the guys tailing him. Did he know who they were? What did he have someone else would want? Instead, Alex just stood, came around the table, and firmly took me by the arm.
“I think it’s best you leave, now,” he said.
Danica started to protest. She obviously wanted to know more about what was going on, but Alex ushered me through the house and out to the front door.
As a rule, I don’t let anybody manhandle me. I was tempted to give him a quick kick to the kneecap. But, I didn’t think it would be a good idea to get into a fight with the guy I was supposed to be secretly watching from a distance. Lenny tends to be fussy on that point.
As we got to the front door, he released my arm. I turned and faced him.
“Look,” I said
. “You could be in real trouble here. These guys look like mob, plus you’ve pissed them off. I’d seriously consider going to the police. They could pick them up and at least find out what they’re up to.”
“No,” he said, his salesman’s voice was back. “That won’t be necessary. You can tell my grandmother you’ve done your duty. Your conscience is now clear. I trust you won’t feel the need to bother either myself or my girlfriend ever again.” He said it more as a statement rather than a question.
He opened the door and I again found myself on the front porch. The door slammed shut behind me.
Well, damn.
~~~~
The next morning, I woke up early and drove over to Alex’s apartment. Lenny was expecting me to follow the guy around and that’s what I intended to do. At least Alex would know he’s being tailed. I hoped it would prevent him from doing anything stupid. Hope is a beautiful thing. It doesn’t cost anything and it makes you feel good all over.
My first problem was Alex wasn’t there. My second problem was the two guys who had been following him weren’t there either. I had expected the same two guys in another car. Of course, if the first two guys were too banged up from the crash, then maybe two new guys would be tailing Alex today. Only there wasn’t anybody in the parking lot or outside on the street. Well, I reasoned with myself, Alex is still over at Danica’s and the two guys are still driving around looking for him.
Hope sprang back to life as I drove to Gainey Ranch and Danica’s house. Hope was dashed when Alex’s Jaguar was again a no-show.
Hope’s a funny thing. It can go just as quickly as it comes. In a way, I suppose hope’s worth what you pay for it.
~~~~
I drove by Meyer’s Jewelry without seeing anything interesting. I then drove to south Scottsdale and Jeannie’s Cabaret. The bouncer didn’t know Danica’s schedule, but he let me in without paying on the promise I wouldn’t stay more than a few minutes.
I went to the bartender and found out she was scheduled to work from 6:00 to midnight. If I couldn’t find Alex before 6:00, then there was a good chance he would come here to watch Danica dance or meet with her here after she got off.
Looks like I’d be back.
~~~~
I went out to my car and gave Sophie a call at the office. Lenny answered.
“Hey Lenny. Is Sophie in?”
“If Sophie was in, do you think I’d be answering the phone? She went over to Apache Junction to pick up some exhibits. She’ll be back in an hour or two. And that’s assuming she doesn’t get distracted along the way.”
I called Sophie on her cell phone.
“Hey Sophie, you had lunch yet?”
“No,” she said. “And I’m about to starve to death. You know, I was looking at myself in the mirror last night. My ass looked so big I felt like throwing up. I decided I was going to start a fasting diet. I was thinking about fasting until my ass went down to about a size four. But since I’ve been fasting since last night, I’m starting to get one of those hungry-headaches. So now I’m thinking, screw the fasting. I’ll start the diet again tomorrow. I’m going to do lunch up at the lake. Did you want to come along? I’d love the company.”
“Great idea,” I said. “I could use a lunch at the lake. When’ll you be there?”
“I’m about to leave A.J., so I’ll be there in about twenty-five minutes. If you leave now, we’ll get there about the same time.”
“I’ll see you there!”
~~~~
Saguaro Lake is located in the Superstition Mountains, southeast of Scottsdale. It’s the closest of four huge reservoirs along the Salt River that hold irrigation and drinking water for the Phoenix area. On a hill on the west end of the lake is a restaurant overlooking both the lake and the high cliffs on the eastern shore. During the day, it’s a good place to day drink and to watch the boats on the lake. In the evening, it’s a great place to drink and watch the sun go down.
Since both the restaurant and the lake are located alongside a scenic highway that runs through the mountains between Scottsdale and Apache Junction, a lot of tourist traffic comes to the restaurant. There’s usually a long wait to get a table for dinner. This is especially true during winter when the snowbirds are in town. Lunch isn’t so crowded. You can usually go right in and get a seat on the covered patio overlooking the marina.
~~~~
The hostess led me out to the patio. I saw Sophie had beaten me there and was already working on a margarita. She looked up and waved me over.
It was a beautiful day and there were several boats and jet skis on the lake. Since this was January and the temperature might drop below seventy degrees, the management had thoughtfully scattered several industrial-size heaters throughout the seating area.
“Hey girlfriend,” Sophie said as I sat. She looked at me for a moment. “Why so glum today?”
“Does it show? I lost Alex.”
“Where did you lose him?”
“Actually, I never had him today.”
“So, when was the last time you did have him?”
“Last night. I found him at Danica’s house. I talked to him and warned him about the guys who were following him.”
The waiter came over, a sullen guy in his early-twenties. He had a pouting lower lip, small square glasses, and brown hair that hung into his eyes. He looked like a young Johnny Depp.
I ordered a French Dip with fries and a margarita. Sophie ordered the lobster bisque, the fried mushroom appetizers, the Malibu chicken sandwich, and another margarita. The waiter turned and walked back to the kitchen.
As he walked away from us, I noticed that even though he seemed a bit dour, he did have a nice butt. From the way her eyes followed him, Sophie had noticed it too.
“You talked to Alex?” Sophie asked, raising her eyebrows. “Isn’t that breaking the official private investigator rules?”
“Well, yes, sorta, but I think the guy’s in trouble. I can’t just stand by and see somebody getting hurt. Somebody needed to convince him he could be in real danger.”
“Did he listen?”
“No, I didn’t get through at all.”
“What about his blonde girlfriend, Danica? At the club the other night she looked like a bimbo. What’s she really like? Dumb as a box of rocks?”
“At first, I thought she’d probably be some sort of airhead. I didn’t get much of a chance to get to know her, but she seems all right. Actually, she seems more in touch with what’s going on than Alex. Oh, you should see her house. I’d love to get a chance to go through her closets. I think strippers make way more than we do.”
“What time did you leave her house?” Sophie asked.
“It was before midnight. I would have liked to have stayed longer, but Alex wasn’t in a talkative mood. I figured he’d either spend the night at her house or just do her and go home. I was back over at Alex’s apartment by 7:30 this morning, but he was already gone.”
~~~~
The waiter with the nice tush brought out our lunches. Sophie and I chatted for another half-hour. The waiter brought the bill and we paid it. As he walked away, I saw Sophie follow him with her eyes. I started gathering my things, but Sophie just sat there.
“Umm, you go ahead,” she said. “I’ll be along in a few minutes.”
I knew the tone in her voice. I also saw the light pink blush that had started on her cheeks. The one she gets when she mixes alcohol and men.
“The waiter? You want the waiter?” I asked. “You’re serious? He’s not even your type.”
“Well, maybe, but did you see his butt? After seeing Jon Bon Jovi on the TV and that guy that kissed you yesterday, all I’ve been thinking about are butts and how much I love them. It’ll be worth buying him a dinner just to get a peek at it. I wonder what his butt feels like. It looks really firm. I bet he works out a lot. I wonder if he’s into having his naked butt spanked. I hope it’s all not hairy. You know I like a smooth butt, like a baby’s.”
“D
on’t you think you should know more about him, before you start spanking him?”
“Like what?”
“Like, is he a nice person? Does he have any ambition? Does he even like women?”
“Hey, I’m not going to marry the guy. Besides, I know everything I need to know about him just by watching him walk back and forth in front of our table.”
“You know Sophie, most women get more conservative as they get older. You’re getting looser.”
“I know and it’s killing me. I’m horny all the time. What’s it going to be like when I reach my sexual peak? According to Cosmo I’ve still got about ten years to go. How many men a week will I need when I’m at my sexual peak?”
~~~~
I left Sophie, who had already started up a conversation with the waiter, and went down to my car. I got in and took off down the two-lane highway that winds its way through the mountains and eventually back to Scottsdale.
I had gone about half a mile when a black Mercedes sedan pulled in tight behind me. The car stayed on my bumper for a quarter of a mile and then pulled up beside me. Rather than pass me, the passenger side window came down and I saw there were two men in the car. Both were big middle-aged white guys in dark suits. Both had military haircuts and full moustaches. The passenger had a semi-automatic pistol and was pointing it at me while waving that I should pull over.
Like that’s going to happen.
I hit the gas and started to pull forward. The Mercedes easily stayed with me.
A car suddenly crested a hill in the oncoming lane. The Mercedes stomped on its brakes and darted behind me to avoid a head-on. I had the Honda up to seventy, but after a moment the Mercedes had smoothly pulled next to me again.
The passenger had his gun out the window and was now shouting something at me while waving his hand. The driver eased his car against mine and started to force me off the road. I had the steering wheel in a death grip trying to keep control. There was the grinding sound of metal on metal as my car was shoved onto the dirt shoulder.
