04 - Shock and Awesome

by Camilla Chafer

  Moving along the side of the house, I came to French doors that opened onto the patio. These were drapeless too, and inside was a dining room: just four chairs and a table, beside several bookcases, heaving with books. No stereo or TV. The decor may have been minimal, but the quality of the furniture was outstanding, the kinds of things my sister would like. High-end rustic, if there were such a thing. Definitely not the black leather and chrome one would expect of a single man, though come to think of it, that wasn't Maddox’s or Solomon's style either. Maybe single men were getting better at the furnishings thing? I paid mental homage to Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and all the reruns that must have inspired him. Turning away from the house, I started towards the building at the end of the garden.

  Studio or garage? Both had plenty of places for hiding victims, especially as I didn't see any hint of a basement. No outside stairs or entry, and absent any windows, I wasn't certain there was one at all.

  I jogged across the lawn and pressed my face against the single window to the studio. Disappointingly, instead of finding a tied-up victim, it turned out to be less torture studio and more storage cabin. Tables, chairs, bookcases, and side tables all jostled for space. Some were covered with dust cloths, while others were not. I wondered why he needed so much furniture, or if he inherited it and didn't know where else to put it. Also, I couldn't smell anything gross, so I was pretty certain nothing was decomposing inside. I didn't relish the moment that I’d have to ask Garrett exactly how soon a dead body starts to stink.

  That left the attached garage. I gave my phone a quick check - nothing - and jogged back to the house, all the while checking to see if I left any footprints in the dry grass. None. Wow, I really was a ninja! Rounding the house, away from where I entered, I walked quickly towards the garage. It was connected to the house and I guessed there must be an internal door. There wasn't a door leading from the garage to the garden, but there was a picture window that spanned the width of the wall. It was, mercifully, uncovered, allowing me to peek inside.

  The garage was set up as a workshop. One wall displayed tools, everything from hammers to screwdrivers to saws, while the floor held various other mechanical equipment. Vises, electric saws... a throne-like chair with thick leather restraints to secure the arms and the neck. I dropped my eyes. The same restraints were positioned for the ankles too.

  Holy guacamole.

  I gulped and pressed a hand to my mouth, my stomach doing a little flip at the sight. Pooling at the base of the chair was something ominously dark that stained the concrete floor.

  When my phone started to vibrate in my back pocket, I leapt higher than an Olympic pole-vaulter. Well, my stomach did anyway. I checked the screen, just in case it was my mom being inopportune, but it was Lily. There was only one reason she would call: our target was nearing home and I had to get out of there.

  I started to make for the way I came in, but a noise at the gate stopped me. Hearing the sound of the padlock snapping undone, I spun around and jogged back to the garage, looking for an escape route. No plant pots here, just the thick tube of rain guttering. Grasping it, I stuck my toe onto the thicker edge of the first join and lifted myself, scrambling up the eight feet onto the flat roof, before rolling onto my back just as a dog barked below.

  With my heart pounding, I flipped onto my hands and knees, staying low, and crawled to the front of the garage. I prayed to anything that could hear me not to let me fall through the roof and be the next restrained victim of that chair. At the roof edge, I inched forward and looked down at the sheer drop onto the driveway. I had no other choice. Swinging one leg over, then the other, I rolled onto my stomach, pushed with my arms, and launched myself off the garage roof.

  Two minutes later, I was back in the driver's seat. Of my car, that is, certainly not of my life. I wasn't even sure I had a license for that.

  "You should have seen yourself," said Lily. "That was so cool."

  "I think I grazed my elbow," I moaned, twisting my arm to take a look. Sure enough, a small rip in the fabric proved a scrape was evident. It was covered in dust and dirt, "But it was cool," I conceded.

  "What did you find? Anything?" Lily wanted to know.

  I sucked in a breath. "A big problem. I think the Schuberts are right. Something weird is going on in there. There was a huge chair that looked like a throne with scary-looking restraints; and I think I saw blood on the floor!"

  "Ohmigod! You could have been killed!"

  "Only if he caught me, which he didn't. Thanks for the thirty-second warning."

  Lily ignored my sarcasm. "So... what now? Are you going to call the police?"

  "Not without a body, and I definitely didn't see one. I don't think they'll raid the place just because of that scary chair."

  "Yep, if that were the case, there would be the bad furnishing police," agreed Lily. She pressed a hand to her stomach and closed her eyes again. "Half the town would be in trouble."

  "No more stakeout today," I decided. Then, sounding suspiciously like my mother, I added, "You're going home to bed and I'm going to the office. I have a thief to catch before I take out this killer so I can buy my house."

  "There you go, taking charge. Lexi Graves, super PI." Lily buckled her seatbelt and gave me a weak smile, but didn't talk the rest of the way home. That was more worrying than the waxy pallor of her skin.

  ~

  I made sure Lily went to bed, and took the time to text message Jord, even though Lily insisted there was no need. Then I headed upstairs to shower, change into something clean, and get ready for work.

  With just our team present and Maddox, we reconvened in the boardroom, rather than using the whole office. I would have liked to appear more professional and arrive to work early, but as it happened, I had a wardrobe crisis and arrived last. I was just in time to snag the last sugar donut and a lukewarm cup of coffee.

  Solomon perused an opened file in front of him; Delgado and Fletcher were checking through a stack of photographs; and Lucas was reading a comic. None seemed at all perturbed at how unprofessional they looked. All of a sudden, my clothing choice seemed like a really important decision, and I was glad I took the time to search out the powder blue, cowl neck top I wore today, along with indigo skinny jeans and super-high heels. No one could say I wasn’t professional. By the way Maddox looked at me, he could say a lot of things, but nothing that I was ready to hear. I wasn't sure when, or if, that date would ever happen, a thought which filled me with sadness.

  "So, where are we now?" I asked, taking the chair between Delgado and Lucas. I contemplated plucking the comic from Lucas's hands and tossing it in the trash, but I worried he would hack my Facebook in retaliation.

  "Square one," said Solomon, without looking up.

  "Better than zero," I quipped, but Solomon didn't laugh. Clearly, someone got out of the wrong side of bed this morning. Maybe his company blocked his path. I kept my face even, but gave him a Botox death stare. Yep, one that no one else could see. I settled down to munch my donut sullenly while waiting for the meeting to begin. Just as I began to mentally sing "I know a song that will get on your nerves," Solomon looked up at last, casting a glance around the room as I pretended not to notice his bulging bicep in his short-sleeved t-shirt.

  "Every guest was searched last night and they all came up clean," he informed us. It didn't surprise me. They would have been celebrating if they found Claudia's necklace. "I sent a cleaning crew, but we didn't find the necklace in the building, so we have to assume it got out some other way. There are several windows from where it could have been thrown and retrieved later."

  "Risky," said Delgado. "Lots of groping in the dark for an itty, bitty necklace."

  Solomon nodded. "I agree. Any other suggestions?"

  We looked at each other. Nope. Some detectives we were.

  "I don't agree. It was a huge piece. Maybe someone was waiting. An accomplice could have caught it," I suggested, surreptitiously licking my fingers because a waste of s
ugar was a damn waste.

  Solomon gave a slow nod. "Possible. Delgado, go with Lucas, and see what cameras are around the building. Lucas, see if you can access their feeds and identify anyone. Check out any vehicles in the area. I want to know whom they belong to."

  "You want me to go outside?" asked Lucas. He folded the comic, appearing worried.

  "You've done it before," deadpanned Solomon.

  "I don't like it. I like my computer."

  Solomon pointed to the door. "Go."

  Delgado got up, trying to hide a laugh behind a cough, and Lucas slunk after him. He still had the comic.

  "Hold up," I said and they paused, waiting for Solomon’s response to me. "Maybe we're going about this all wrong. Instead of trying to figure out how the necklace got out, maybe we should set up another opportunity for the thief. After all, if it's gone, it's gone."

  Solomon inclined his head towards the chairs and Lucas hurried back to his, clearly relieved he would not to be heading into the big, wide world. I wasn't sure what his problem was. He had to get to and from the office somehow. Though now that I thought about it, perhaps I should check the basement for tunnels. Also: it must be really frustrating to be his girlfriend, unless she was agoraphobic.

  I continued, "We're down to two suspects: Ben and Justin. It could be either one of them, and we're wasting time searching camera feeds and dumpster diving. Let's set them up instead. Let's set them up with a job so tempting, they can't possibly resist it. Last night's theft could have just been a crime of opportunity. This one won't be. So far, the thefts have been jewels. The thief will want this. One of them will turn up and we'll be waiting, then blam!"

  "I like her idea better," said Lucas.

  Solomon leaned back in his chair, his face thoughtful. "It's another shot in the dark," he said finally. "But it's as good a shot as searching camera feeds and dumpster diving."

  "It might be the only shot we get," I told him. "We don't know how long the thief is going to stay around. He could be gone tomorrow. I've dated both these guys, and I can't get a definitive take on which one it is. Justin is hinky for sure, but I can't count Ben out."

  "What does your gut tell you?" asked Delgado, turning from me to Solomon. "Boss?"

  "Ben. He's too good to be true," I said, with a sinking feeling, at the same time Solomon answered, "Justin. Sleaze."

  I threw my hands upwards. "See my point?"

  Solomon smiled and shook his head. "Yeah, I do. Okay, people, heads together. I still want you and Lucas to check the area," he told Delgado, ignoring Lucas's frustrated sigh as he rose again. "But we'll run with Lexi's idea too. The rest of you have got one hour to come up with the best damn ruse you can, one that will make this thief really eager. One he can't resist."

  Chapter Sixteen

  As it turned out, setting up the suspects was easy. Once we fine-tuned the details of the ruse, placing jewels as the thief's primary interest this time around, it was simply a case of making a couple of calls.

  While Solomon and company listened in, I talked to Ben first, then Justin; each time exclaiming how excited I was at the jeweler's visit to my home that day. "I just can't decide," I twittered, catching myself twirling a lock of hair around my finger, and quickly releasing it, "between the diamond ring or the pendant. There are some rings I like too. Maybe I should get them all? Anyway, the jeweler knows I love his pieces, and as a valued customer, he’s letting me keep all of them overnight! He said the safe in the living room is fine, so long as I'm careful. I mean, duh! Of course, I'll be careful with five million dollars in diamonds! I'm just going to try them on, play princess, and then go out with my girlfriends."

  "So?" I asked Solomon after hanging up on an overexcited-sounding Justin. "How'd I do?"

  He relaxed in his chair. "Great. You did great."

  "They didn't seem all that interested in the jewels. Ben definitely was not; Justin got a little excited, but maybe he just likes shopping?"

  "They wouldn't want to set off any alarm bells. Notice how they just let you prattle on until the subject changed. One of them knows everything required to pull off a robbery. The value, the pieces, where to find them, and your scheduled movements. They also know there's a time limit on stealing them, since they'll be gone tomorrow. It's a big haul."

  It sure was. The real question, however, remained, was it good enough to work? Or too risky? I guessed it depended on other factors we couldn't determine: how smart the thief was, and whether he had the cojones to pull off the opportune job.

  "I liked the bit about the unset diamonds," Solomon added. "Nice touch."

  "Thank you."

  "If our guy is getting jumpy, or getting ready to put his exit strategy in play, this could be his big ticket out of town," said Delgado. He toyed with the headset before dropping it onto the table. I wondered if he enjoyed listening in. Maybe he was getting some tips for my sister's upcoming birthday? Somehow, I doubted he could afford the prices we were talking, but I got the impression he had good taste and liked bringing her gifts. There was no time like the present - no pun intended - to meddle. I mean, find out.

  "Do you know it's my sister's birthday soon?" I whispered to him as Solomon and Lucas huddled their heads together, conferring on something about the digital files database. Yawn.

  "Yeah. We're taking Victoria to a cabin at Lake Pearce. Serena wants to go hiking and have a picnic."

  My mouth dropped open. "Say what?"

  "Cabin, hiking, picnic," replied Delgado, more succinctly.

  "Yeah, I got that. I just don't get the bit about my sister doing all that." Serena thought “roughing it” was a lower thread count than eight hundred on the sheets of her hotel suite's queen size bed.

  Delgado shrugged. "It was her idea. And Victoria will be exposed to nature."

  "Nature?" I mumbled, still taken aback.

  "What's wrong with you today?"

  "Nothing. I just... Cabin? Hiking? You have met Serena?"

  "Yep. I was going to drive them to the city, stay in a hotel, and take in a gallery; but she said she had plenty of the fancy stuff with her jerk of an ex-husband, and wanted to play it low-key. We booked the cabin a month ago, and went shopping for one of those papoose things to carry Victoria." Delgado's eyes took on a dreamy, glazed expression. I never expected him to be the kind of guy to fantasize about having a family, but it was definitely heart-warming to see.

  My one big worry about camping and hiking was that serial killers could be lurking behind any tree - well, you never know, right? But I figured if there was anyone I’d feel safe hiking with, it would be Delgado. He could carry my niece in the papoose, along with a picnic basket, and, using his free hand, shoot any threat before it ever manifested. Also: I thought it was kind of awesome that he was taking such a family-style vacation with my sister and her daughter. He seemed to absolutely adore them both, which was more than I could say for her ex-husband, who visited Victoria exactly twice since the divorce. As a result, for the next five minutes, Delgado would be my number one colleague, mostly because Serena was a ton less annoying ever since she got divorced and started boinking my scariest co-worker.

  "You two done talking vacations?" asked Solomon.

  "You're just jealous. You don't vacation," I told him. Delgado picked up a file, ignoring our boss.

  "I do. I just don't talk about it at work."

  "Since when do we have rules on what subjects we can talk about at work?"

  "Since when do you talk back to the boss?"

  "Since when did you think that question wasn't stupid?" I shot back. Delgado snorted. I added an extra minute of time for him. "Where do you vacation anyway?"

  Rolling his eyes, Solomon shook his head, and fortunately for him, gave up. "Let's gather our thoughts and get the surveillance in place. Lucas, you can set up at my house to monitor the video feeds in Lexi's ‘home’," he said, adding air quotation marks. That was probably so Lucas didn't try to set up the video in my actual apartment. If he did, I
would have to kill him, and I didn't want to make a mess. "Lexi, it's better if you're not in the house while we wait to see if the suspect turns up."

  "I want to be there at the bust," I told them. "I'm not missing out. It was my idea!"

  "You'll be doing surveillance down the street," Solomon continued. "You take the front. Fletcher can take the back."

  "Why? Shouldn't I take the back? Ben and Justin both know me."

  "The rear of the house has poor lighting, and Fletcher has plenty of experience in all things that go boom with the CIA. It makes sense to put him in the dangerous spot, and you in the one that's least so."