Lily was busy with brides for the next hour. She insisted he should be working on his business plans. Since Denis and the rest of her staff were with her, keeping her safe, Jake used Lily’s idea to make an excuse to go to his shop. He got a hold of Claire and demanded to see her that evening. Jake knew she was the one in the picture and he needed an explanation, but he didn’t tell her that her image was captured. The chief had located the picture of Sam in front of the shop. The one Greg had mentioned. Jake also made himself a copy and sent a duplicate to some of his buddies still on the force. His hope was someone could find something on him. Meanwhile the investigation was a waiting game.
“Hello, handsome.”
Claire stood in the doorway. She was dolled up in a conspicuous brown fur coat, tons of makeup, and her overpowering perfume mingled with the smell of old fish and musty scent of the shop. He sprung from the tired, creaky chair.
“What are you doing here? I told you I’d meet you at your rental later when Lily was having dinner with the chief and his wife.”
She moved and filled the tiny office with her huge coat. “I’m tired of waiting. You’ve been here for weeks! My husband is starting to question my absence. And he never notices whether I’m home or not. My vacation with the girls can’t last forever.”
“So go home, Claire.” Jake didn’t even try to hide the frustration in his voice.
When she hired him, he would have done anything to please his first client, but now he saw her for what she was, an entitled, spoiled, rich woman accustomed to getting her way with no compassion for the people who have been hurt or killed. All she cared about was the damn painting. Sam was murdered, Lily and Aunt Bee injured in a fire, Aunt Bee’s house destroyed, and now Haley was dead.
“Not without my painting.” She brushed off her sleeve as if she had gotten dust on the fur. “Let’s talk.”
Anger rose within him, but he kept his cool on the outside. “Lily’s right next door with a customer, but she can pop in at any time. She insisted I come in here and fix up the place she thinks I’ve been neglecting because I’ve been spending my time being her bodyguard.”
“Yes, you’re rarely without her. Your girlfriend’s perfectly safe now with all those people and her staff with her. It’s time you paid attention to why you’re really here.”
“Let me lock the front door. No one can see you here.” On his return to the office he grabbed the one random folding chair propped up against the wall. He swiped off the grime with his hand and offered her the seat. She waved the chair away. Out of respect, he stood behind his desk and she in front.
“Why did you want to see me tonight? I don’t appreciate being summoned. I’m paying you, remember? Unless you found the painting?” Her face lit up with excitement.
“Not yet.” The old black pleather and chrome chair beckoned him when his back cramped. He pointed to the folding chair. “I have clean towels around here I can cover the seat with if you care to sit.” The conversation would be awkward enough if they were both comfortable. Why should he suffer in pain too?
“No thanks.”
“Have it your way.” His back muscles rippled and pain won over chivalry. The chair creaked in protest when he placed his weight down. “We need to talk about Haley.”
“Who?”
Jake read her blank expression but didn’t fall for her feigned innocent act. “The girl who was killed.”
Claire stared at him. “What girl?”
Jake rummaged through the file on his desk then held up the picture of Claire talking to Haley. “This girl. Her real name’s Olivia. She had been using an alias. No wonder I couldn’t find any dirt on her.”
Her eyes widened, her tongue darted at her lips. “She’s dead?” Claire plopped down on the dirty chair. “How? When?”
“Shot. In the head. Two days ago. On the beach. You hadn’t heard?”
“How would I?”
“Uh, the news? TV? Social media?”
When she ran a long fingernail down her cheek and continued her blank stare, he snapped, “Haven’t you seen all the reporters and news vans?”
“Don’t use that tone with me. No. I don’t watch TV and can’t be bothered with social media crap. Why would I want to see what other people are doing? I have my own busy life. And I certainly wouldn’t want to put pictures of my extracurricular activities online for the world to see.” She toyed with the front of her fur coat.
A break in the ice. She fought with her words, but she was scared. Jake slammed his hand down on the desk pointing to Haley in the photo. “You knew her. This is you! Don’t deny it.”
“Guess my disguise couldn’t fool a PI like you. You got me. But I didn’t know her. Not really.”
He tapped his pen on the desk. “Claire you better tell me everything or I’m done with you and this case. I’ll go straight to the chief, tell him who I am and what I know about you. At first, I was fine with going along with your convoluted undercover story, but it’s not okay with me now. I’m lying to people I care about because of you, and now you’re lying to me.”
“You’re falling in love with her, aren’t you?”
“If I am, it’s none of your damn business. Sam’s death is your business. I’m wondering if you’re not behind all these terrible things that have been happening. Did you kill Sam?”
The color drained from her face. “You think I’d kill someone? Over a painting?”
“I know people have committed homicide over things worth much less. Maybe it wasn’t the painting after all, but the fact that he left you and you wanted to find him out of pure revenge.”
“Murder is not part of my repertoire. Yes, I was livid when he disappeared out of my life and took something of value to me. I wanted it back.”
“Things in this town were quiet before we came here. What about the fire at Mrs. Bailey’s house? Lily and her neighbor were almost killed.”
“You think I had something to do with that? You think I’m some sort of monster?”
He pointed to the picture. “This girl died after you talked to her. You better have a perfect explanation or I’m bringing you to the station myself.” The handcuffs clanked when he threw them on the desk. He placed his gun close to them for added effect. “No more games.”
Claire licked her lips, then nodded. “Okay, relax. Here’s the truth. While you were working the case and hanging a little too much around your pale angel, I did surveillance too. I paid you a lot of money and wanted to make sure you were doing what I paid you for, I watched the shop. Besides, I was getting bored. After I was satisfied you were doing the job, I drove around town a lot. One day, I saw Olivia . . . Haley talking to a man in front of a bank. They both looked familiar.”
She reached into her purse. “I’ve got something to show you.”
Jake put his hand on his gun. “Easy. Put your bag on my desk.”
After she complied, he said, “I don’t normally look into a lady’s purse, but self-preservation takes precedence.”
“There’s a gold picture frame inside. Open it up.”
Jake searched around a wallet, tissues, gum, and a cell phone, before touching a rectangular object. The gold frame glittered with encrusted emeralds, rubies, and diamonds. “Wow.”
“Worth a small fortune. Open it.”
Inside was a picture of two teenage children, a boy and girl, and an inscription. “To my lovely, wife, Cheryl. Olivia and Greg are our greatest gifts. Forever yours, Art.”
Jake ran his thumb over the smooth sparkling jewels. A hard lump sunk in the pit of his stomach. The photo captured a young version of Haley and Greg. “Where’d you get this?”
“Sam had it. Hidden among his things when he and I had a rendezvous one night.”
“So you stole it from him?”
“Payback
. He owed me after he flirted with my tennis partner, Francine. I threatened to break it off with him, but then he wooed me back with a romantic weekend by the sea in Martha’s Vineyard. Never asked me about the frame either. I figured he didn’t want to explain how he got it. Now I know why.”
“Because he stole property that belonged to Haley and Greg. At least in the moral sense. That might be a different case in the eyes of the law since he was married to their mother. Not sure if that was a legal marriage. There’s already a case against Larry in the legal system. Did he have other jewels with him?”
Claire shook her head, but her stiff blond hair didn’t move with her skull. Everything about her, fake. Unlike Lily. Honest, sweet, kind. Claire struck a nerve and she was right. He was in love with the beautiful pale angel.
He narrowed his focus on his client, and he’d be wise not to believe the words that spewed out of her.
Her red-slashed mouth moved. “He had to have had a place to store all his identities and stash. I believe he kept this with him as a souvenir or memento.”
“Sentimental reasons?”
“No way. Simon . . .” She bristled and corrected herself. “Sam was a womanizer, a cad.”
A bang at the front door interrupted them.
“Stay here.” Jake ordered as he rose and took a second to glance at his cell phone. Lily had tried to call him. Damn. He retrieved his gun and cuffs from the desk and had no choice but to place the gun in the back waistband of his jeans. Not the smartest choice. Even dumber would be to leave a weapon anywhere near Claire. The hard lump churned in his gut, a painful reminder that she couldn’t be trusted.
After he closed the office door, he hid the cuffs on the shelf behind a can of paint and plastered on a smile. Lily had her hands cupped around her eyes as she pressed her pretty face against the glass door and peered into the dark shop. He unlocked the door and she rushed in.
“Freezing out there,” she spurted out through chattering teeth.
Her long blond hair swung across her shoulders as she hopped up and down and rubbed her hands together for warmth. Jake placed his hands on the thin material of her fashionable black dress. Her knees peeked out, and he admired her long legs with slim ankles that slipped into black high heels.
“Where’s your coat?” He ran his hands up and down to warm her.
“Had a break for a minute and thought I’d run over to tell you the chief’s insulted that you don’t want to have dinner with us tonight. Why’d you lock the door? I was banging for a couple of minutes. Even called your phone. You must have been engrossed in your work. Show me what you’ve done.” Her cheeks were red from the cold and her face brightened with genuine curiosity. She shuffled in a few steps.
“Hey.” Jake waltzed over and slipped into an embrace. He warmed her with his body heat and prevented her from getting any closer to his office. Claire would stay quiet for a moment. He hesitated, hating that he was about to lie to Lily when she was interested in his business. “Nothing to see. I was in the office going through stuff in there. Paperwork, phone calls. And I locked the door out of habit. You can take the man out of New York, kind of thing.”
She shrugged and laughed. “If you say so. Can I change your mind about dinner?”
Jake was about to say he wanted to attend, but he had an appointment with a contractor. He wished he could tell the truth. He had a meeting with Claire, his client. But now that Claire showed up, and they were having their meeting early, he could attend dinner . . .
The door of his office creaked open before he could respond. Lily tensed in his arms and she gasped. Out of instinct he tugged her closer but encircled her hands into his so she couldn’t touch his gun.
“Someone’s here,” she whispered into his neck.
Her heart pounded against his chest.
He stroked her silky hair, all the while the gun pressed into his lower back. “I know.”
He heard Claire slither out of the office. Jake tried to remain calm for Lily’s sake and focused on keeping the arm he had wrapped around her, slack. Inside, he fumed.
Claire stuffed her purse under her arm and the gaudy bag disappeared in a mass of animal fur. The smile forced on her face didn’t reach her cold eyes when she stared at Lily. That’s when her motive for showing up unannounced and exposing her presence hit Jake like a Great White ramming a dinghy. Pure jealousy. Sam/Simon had been with Claire for a couple of months before he sought Lily out as his next victim. That fact brought out Claire’s green-eyed monster.
“Hi. I’m Claire. You must be Lily. Jake’s told me about you.”
Lily released from Jake’s embrace and locked her gaze on him. Confusion and wariness competed for attention on her lovely face. “Oh. Nice to meet you. How do you know Jake?”
Claire’s brazenness stumped him. Not knowing what to say, he ran several explanations through his mind. Claire let him squirm for several uncomfortable seconds.
“Didn’t he tell you? I’m an interior designer. We had an appointment tonight, but I had a cancellation and swung by to speak with him now. This place is great, isn’t it? Have huge plans for it.” Claire covered her eyes with sunglasses and blew Jake a kiss. “I’ll call you.”
“Wait!” Lily shouted when Claire waltzed toward the door.
“Yes?” Claire’s voice dropped a couple of octaves, showing her disapproval of being ordered, but she did spin around.
“You’re the woman from the diner and the woman in the picture with Haley.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“The woman in the picture was wearing those sunglasses. Jake, call the chief. Hurry!”
Claire withdrew the glasses from her face. “Clearly, you’re mistaken. Have a nice day.”
Lily raced past Claire and blocked her from leaving. “Jake, make the call.”
“Control your pet, Jake,” Claire hissed.
“Lily, everything is okay. Let her go.”
“What’s going on here? You can’t afford an interior designer, if she really is one. And I’m certain those are the same glasses in the picture. We wanted to do something to help catch Haley’s killer. We asked the chief if he could make a copy. Aunt Bee and I spent hours searching the Internet comparing glasses to the ones in the picture. They cost several thousand dollars and those are real diamonds on the side. Chances of another woman having those glasses in this town are slim.”
Claire tilted her head back with a smug sneer. “You might as well tell her, Jake. She’s going to find out sooner or later.”
“Shut up, Claire.”
Lily’s mouth dropped open and her face fell. “Jake! What’s going on?”
He moved closer to Lily and coaxed her away from the door. Suddenly, he wasn’t sure about Claire’s innocence. She might be a homicidal maniac and Lily was standing in her way. He’d never forgive himself if anything happened to her. “Lily, please.” He took her hand. “Trust me.”
“I do. Tell me what’s happening.”
“Ah, now I see why Simon fell for her. She’s adorably innocent.” Claire’s words dripped with hatred. “How silly of me. I meant Sam.”
“What did you say?” Lily sprang into action and lunged at Claire.
Jake heaved forward before she made contact and plucked her back. Lily fell into his embrace, and her arms wrapped around him. Too late. One of her hands grazed the bulge on his back. She pushed away.
Her eyes narrowed in shock. “Is that a gun?”
He took in a deep breath and nodded.
“I want the truth, Jake.” Lily’s face flushed. “Don’t tell me a weak fish tale.”
“Your pale angel looks pissed. Come clean, Jake. The truth shall set you free.”
His teeth hurt from gritting them together. “You’re not helping, Claire.” Wh
at choice did he have? He’d never wanted to lie in the first place but working undercover forced him to lie. He had never wanted Lily to be collateral damage. “Okay, Lily. I’ll tell you everything. But please hear me out.”
Lily folded her arms across her chest and nodded. “First, tell me who she is.”
“Claire is the woman in the picture, but it’s not what you think.”
“That’s right. Haley, a.k.a. Olivia, and I were kindred spirits. Victims of a heinous crime. I had something of hers and showed her. That picture is me asking if we could meet and discuss strategies.”
“She was found shot afterward. Did you kill her?” Lily’s words sounded strangled.
“Such animosity from you. Pull your claws back, kitten. Why would I do such a thing? She and I could work together to get our precious things back that creep stole from us. For some reason, that weasel spared you.”
Lily shot a look at Jake and he said, “She knew Sam as Simon.”
“He left me at the altar on what was supposed to be the best day of my life. I wouldn’t say he spared me.”
“That’s where you’re blind. He left you because he must have loved you. His pattern was to marry or use the women he had relationships with and steal what he could. Don’t you see? What he did to you was the most humane thing he had done in years.”
“What does this have to do with you?” Lily asked Jake.
He weighed the pros and cons of telling her the whole truth or skimming over the majority and giving her bits and pieces. Both women glared at him, but Lily’s opinion was the most important. Coming clean seemed to be the best option. “Claire hired me and rented this place so I could work undercover. I’m a private investigator, not a business owner.”
Forever Hold Your Piece (The Becker Sisters Bridal Series Book 1) Page 21
