"A wire. You've used one before. Tape it inside your shirt and set it to ‘record.’ It's linked to the voice recorder on your cell phone."
"How did you sync it to my phone?"
"Lucas."
I made a mental note to have a conversation with Lucas about respecting one's personal space.
"Why are you giving it to me?"
"Might come in handy." Solomon leaned over and kissed me on the cheek, causing blood to rush to the area where his lips touched. "Keep your reports up to date." Then he got out and left, turning the corner quickly, and disappearing from view. I watched the smooth roll of his hips and long gait, his broad shoulders framed deliciously by the dark shirt. I laughed to myself and shook my head. I bet he didn’t kiss Lucas on the cheek when Lucas lied to him.
I checked the bar again, but Ted and Donna still hadn't reappeared, so I got out of my car and retrieved the camera from the trunk. If I were a better PI, at this point, I might have put a tracker on Donna's car. However, since I had no idea how they worked, or, for that matter, actually have a tracker, I instead, returned to the driver’s seat and waited for them to reappear.
Twenty minutes passed before I spotted them in the doorway. I snapped a couple of good shots of them, holding hands as they walked out of the bar—Ted shaking her off the moment they stepped outside. I got another shot of them kissing as Donna got into her car, and Ted leaned in to say something. She caught him by the lapels, gave him a tonguing that turned my stomach and left Ted wobbling, stupefied, on the sidewalk while she drove off. A moment later, he got in his car and followed.
I took my cue and drove to my parents' for dinner, thoroughly grossed out.
Chapter Ten
While stuck in a traffic snarl, I called Lily and asked her to meet me at my parents' house, rather than wait for me. By the time I got there, she was ensconced in the living room, wedged, funnily enough, between Jord and my sister-in-law, Alice.
"Sorry I'm late," I called, while waving hello, then ducked my head into the kitchen where my mother was pulling the roast chicken out of the oven.
"You're just in time," said Mom, placing the roasting pan on the metal trivet. "Will you set the table? There's no Serena and Ted tonight, but Daniel and Alice are here."
"I saw them. Saw Jord and Lily too?"
"When is he going to ask that girl out?" asked Mom.
Jord yelled through. "We can all hear you, Mom."
Mom shrugged. "Then do it!"
"You're embarrassing Lily," Jord yelled back, apparently, not thinking first.
"No manners," said Mom, poking the chicken with a fork, and nodding approvingly as the juices bubbled clear. "Set the table please, Lexi," she reminded me, opening the drawer, just in case I’d forgotten where she kept the silverware for the past twenty-nine years.
I obediently set the table, just sliding onto a chair as the family trooped through, taking up their usual seats. "Where's Garrett and Traci tonight?" I hoped to speak to Garrett and see if anything had turned up on his end regarding Marissa. I was certain he would have called me if anything pertinent came up since his call yesterday, but it didn't hurt to check.
"Sam is sick and Traci doesn't want everyone infected. Garrett's working. Do you think he's working too much?" asked Mom, as she passed the plates around.
"We're short-staffed, Mom," said Daniel. "We're all pulling extra time."
Dad made some kind of noise in agreement as he reached for the gravy.
"And what about you? Did you hear about your exams?" Mom asked Jord.
"I hear next week," said Jord.
"Another detective in the family?" Lily nudged him. "This is exciting."
Jord sighed, lifting one shoulder before letting it fall. "I might not pass."
"You will," Lily assured him kindly, but Jord didn't say anything. Instead, he leaned forward to grab the bowl of minted peas. I wondered if he worried what would happen if he failed to pass, thus ending up as the only cop in our immediate family who got to stay in uniform. I wondered if he resented Garrett and Daniel's swift rises, but then, they joined up a lot earlier than he. Plus, he'd never have to worry about being the resident failure; my résumé had assured me that position, especially after the Army fiasco.
"How's the hotel, Lexi?" Dad asked, ensuring the subject changed.
"It's good. I'm still learning." I accepted a plate and breathed in the delicious aroma of chicken, perfectly roasted potatoes, and a mountain of vegetables which I promptly heaped on before smothering everything in gravy.
"I'm surprised you gave up the detective work," Dad said, his thoughtful look aimed more at the chicken legs than at me. "I thought you were happy with it."
"I am. It's just pretty quiet right now."
"People not committing crimes?"
"I guess not."
"How odd. Crime is normally non-stop." Dad shrugged. "Will you go back to it? It seems a waste of training for you to give up now. And you have a gun."
"You have a gun?" my mother gasped.
"Everyone in this room has a gun," I said.
"I don't!"
"I don't either," said Lily.
"Nor I," said Alice. "I have plenty of syringes though."
Eek. "I don't carry it with me. It's just for shooting at the range," I told my mother. Apparently, somewhat appeased, she sat down again, though she did dart a suspicious glance at Alice.
"So... you're going to keep on with the investigating?" Dad prompted.
"We'll see when things pick up," I said, keeping my voice light and my words non-committal, but Dad coolly assessed me with one glance, then just nodded and left it alone.
I joined in the chatter occasionally as we discussed our weekly news and put the world to rights. Mom filled us in on her latest course at the adult rec center, Krav Maga, which put the fear into all of us. Then she announced that an Irish O’Shaughnessy cousin whom we'd never met just had a baby girl.
"I'd love to stay for dessert, but I'm meeting a friend," announced Lily; then to me, "I'm meeting Ruby from the bar at The Coffee Bean in Fenway Plaza. And I have a date tomorrow night."
I frowned. "Is she your date?"
"No. Like I said, that's tomorrow night. Tomorrow is H-U-N-K," she spelled out.
"Who's hunk?" said Mom, passing the food around again, on a mission to let no Graves go hungry. My mother liked her Graves filled.
"He's not really called Hunk. His name is Nick," I told my mother as I remembered the ripped man from Marissa’s building. "But he is a hunk. He looks like Thor."
My mother fanned herself.
"I thought you were dating Anderson," said Daniel as he reached for the juice pitcher.
Lily shook her head. "No, we have a date next week."
"Is there anyone you don't date?" said Jord, scowling as he glanced at her.
I swear the whole table went quiet. My mother gasped a lungful of air, Alice's mouth dropped open, and my dad shot him a nasty look. Even the kids looked appalled.
Lily breathed in sharply through her nose and turned to him. "You," she said. “I wouldn’t date you, if you were the last man on the planet.”
Jord stared back at her, looking every bit like a bull about to charge as his eyes narrowed. My mother gripped the table and my dad took the moment to grab his second chicken leg before shooting a warning glance at his youngest son.
“Quite right, dear,” agreed my mother. “Gravy, anyone?”
"I thought we had plans tonight?" I said to shatter the deafening sound of silence.
Lily shook her hair out, turning her back on Jord, and said, "You can come, too. Ruby's really nice."
"Are you replacing me?" I pouted as conversation started up again. I slid a look at Jord from my peripheral vision. He stared at his plate, chewing sullenly, like a child who’d just been told off. He stabbed a potato with far more force than was necessary.
"No! She was at my gym this morning. We said we'd meet up for coffee is all." She turned to my mother. "Than
ks for another fantastic dinner."
"Any time, Lily. Thank you for the cookies." My mother beamed, but I didn’t miss the unhappy look she shot at Jord when she thought no one was looking.
"You brought my parents cookies?" I whispered, wondering if Lily was a better daughter than I. "And you're cheating on me with Ruby?"
"I'm not cheating on you with Ruby. It's just coffee!"
"Next, you'll be going to O'Grady's together, then you'll take her to Anton's spin class instead of me," I teased.
Lily looked at me, aghast. Anton was our favorite gym instructor. He had long, black dreadlocks, buns of steel and a “you can do it!” attitude. We both loved and feared him. "No! That will never happen! Plus, she already has a job at O’Grady’s."
I pretended to wobble my lip and she gave me a quick hug. "Only you and I get to appreciate Anton while trying not to swoon."
"I'll walk you out," said Jord, surprising us all into silence as he scraped back his chair. Lily pulled a face at me, but she let him follow her out. I think we were all eager to see if he returned undamaged.
“Is it bad to look through the living room window?” I asked, half rising.
“Yes,” said my mother. “Sit down.”
"Jord is walking Lily out?" asked Alice, her eyebrows raised, as I sat back down. "Wonders never cease."
"Do you think he’s going to ask her on a date?" said Mom. "Finally? Oh, thank God."
"I don't think so, Mom. He just insulted her."
"If anyone insulted my sister like that, I'd beat the crap out of him," said Daniel, giving a head roll like a boxer heading into a fight. He cracked his knuckles. Alice sighed, her mouth dropping slightly open as he flexed his biceps. I gave them a little headshake and looked away as Daniel peacocked a little more for his wife’s benefit.
“But we have to unload him on some girl,” pointed out Dad. “At least, Lily knows what she’s getting.”
We all agreed on that, turning to watch Jord when he came back a few minutes later. "What's for dessert?" he asked, ignoring our hopeful faces and refusing to be interrogated on what he said to Lily.
I stayed another hour, then left, and sat in my VW, calling Maddox, just wanting to hear his voice. I still got a rush every time he answered.
"Hey," he said. "I was just going to call you. Where are you?"
"At my parents'. I just had dinner. You?"
"Just got home. I was going to invite you to dinner, but you've eaten."
"Rain check," I said.
"Want to come over anyway?"
"Sure, but I can't stay."
"You just ruined my evening."
"Boo-hoo for you. I'll see you soon, okay?"
"Just come on in when you get here. Door's open."
"Very lax for a cop."
"My downstairs neighbor broke her key in the lock. It gets fixed tomorrow. Plus, I have a gun."
Good point.
I called Garrett next and caught him at the station. "How's Sam?" I asked.
"Still vomiting. You might want to avoid my house for a while."
"That what you are doing?"
"No, I'm working overtime. That’s a lot different. Ask anyone. Anyway, I looked into the impound report for your missing person. Her car was picked up at the Fenway Plaza. You familiar with it?"
"Yes."
"It had a bunch of warnings before it got towed. Any idea why she would leave her car there?”
"None. I have time to check it out now."
"Let me know what you find. Maybe you’ll get lucky and find someone who saw something weird; then I can ask someone to take another look at the case. I don’t like your odds though, Lex."
Instead of heading straight to Maddox's apartment, I navigated to the Fenway Plaza, circled twice and parked, wondering what Marissa was doing here on a Sunday afternoon. The place was a nice series of streets, with individual boutiques selling anything from fashion to homewares, coffee shops, a nail bar, and restaurants and bars that mostly catered to the lunch and evening crowds. Even now, in the early evening with most of the boutiques closed, there were plenty of people in the coffee shops. I found The Coffee Bean, but I couldn't see Lily and her Mini wasn't anywhere in sight either, so I figured she parked on a side street somewhere.
There were more people, in twos, threes and fours moving towards the restaurants and bars. It would be a good place to meet somebody, and as I continued to scan the area, I wondered if that was what Marissa had done. Had she met someone here? Someone who frightened her enough to make her run? Or had someone slipped her a roofie and abducted her?
It wouldn't be hard to do. Wait until she was woozy, help her out of the bar or the restaurant and into a car, and bam! Gone. No one would think anything of it. Just as I was thinking the worst, I spotted a familiar car gliding into a space across the street and my brother-in-law climbed out and adjusted his tie, looking very pleased with himself. He was dressed in the same suit from earlier and I wondered if he'd been with Donna the whole time, an idea that made my stomach roll. Without looking backwards, he strode over to Dooley’s Steak House and walked inside. I watched as he said something to the maitre d' and she pointed towards the bar. Either he was meeting someone else and was early, or he needed a drink after getting jiggy with his mistress.
What I needed was to find out. I got my cell phone out of my pocket and Googled the restaurant. I found a phone number, which I dialed.
From my vantage point in the car, I watched the maitre d' pick up the restaurant phone and listened as she ran through the greeting.
"Hi," I said. "I'm running a little late to meet my friend, and I got my restaurants all mixed up. I think he has a reservation with you."
"If you can give me the name the reservation is booked under, I can check for you, Madame."
"Ted Whitman.”
I watched as her arms moved behind the console. "Whitman, party of four," she told me. "The table is booked for our last serving of the evening. Only one member of your party has arrived."
"Thanks so much!" I clicked off. A party of four didn't sound like a date for two, which meant Ted probably wasn't meeting his mistress alone, if at all. I popped the trunk, got out of the car and walked around, pulling the camera case out and getting back in the driver's seat again. I really needed someplace better to store it, I decided, but it was just too valuable to leave on the seat. I slouched in my seat, adjusted the lens and fired off a couple of shots of Ted sitting at the dimly lit bar, while jotting down in my notepad.
On the off chance that I could get some help, I dialed Lily.
"Hey," she said. "What's up?"
"What's up with you?"
"Huh?"
"The whole 'I'll walk you out' thing."
"Oh, right. Nothing!"
"Really?"
"Really!"
"You'd tell me, right?"
"Absolutely."
I gave up. I knew a lie when I heard one. "I have a favor to ask."
"Shoot."
"I was following a lead on Marissa and I spotted Ted going into a restaurant."
"OhmyGod, with his mistress?" she squealed.
"No, he's on his own. But I saw him with her earlier. I think he just came from her place." I waited while Lily finished faux-vomiting into the phone. "I want to see if he will come on to a woman."
"Like a honey trap?"
"Exactly like a honey trap."
"I don't think he's going to go for me if that's what you're asking. He’s not that stupid."
"That’s debatable, but no, it isn't. I wondered if Ruby was with you?" I asked, suppressing a wince at the idea of launching the poor, unsuspecting woman at Ted. On the other hand, she’d worked in Flames. She’d definitely seen worse.
"She is. You want me to ask her?"
"Yes, please." I waited while Lily spoke to Ruby. I couldn't quite hear their conversation, but there was some back and forth between them before Lily came back on the line. "She wants to know more. Where are you?"
&
nbsp; "Down the street. I'm parked outside a stationery store. There are some cute owls in the window. I think they would look good in David the Plant."
"I know it. We're on our way."
I alternated between watching Ted at the bar and Lily and Ruby leaving The Coffee Bean on their way to meet me.
Ruby was exactly Ted's type, unfortunately for her. But then, so was Lily. Both were slim and pretty, but Lily was more toned, and Ruby a little more hourglass. Where Lily was blonde, Ruby was dark-haired. While Lily wore jeans, Ruby wore a tight, knee-length skirt and a white blouse, enough to pass for a ruse of just getting out of the office, despite the late hour.
Lily got in the front and Ruby got in the back.
"Lily told me what you do," Ruby said. “Catching cheatin’ husbands is cool.”
"How'd you like to make forty bucks?" I asked, turning to see her.
She cocked her head to one side and considered the request. "What will I have to do? There are some things I draw the line at."
"There's a guy sitting at the bar in Dooley’s that I'm tailing. I want you to talk to him."
"Just talk?” Ruby asked, sounding relieved. “What'd he do?"
"He's cheating on his wife with at least one woman. I want to see if he can get tempted in a bar."
Ruby stared at me with shrewd eyes. "Lily said he's your sister's husband."
"He is."
"What makes you think he'll go for me?"
"He's a slut."
"Thanks!"
"Him, not you. And you're pretty."
"Better." Ruby smiled as she leaned forward, her elbows resting on each seat top. I could tell she was intrigued. My hunch that working at O’Grady’s wasn’t nearly as much fun as Flames was paying off.
"I just need to get pictures of him chatting up a woman. Sit next to him, get a drink, talk to him. Be flirty."
"What about him? Any wife could write that off, like he isn't really a cheat."
"True.” I pondered that. “What about a kiss?"
"I could do that, I guess. Is he gross?"
I wrinkled my nose. "I have no idea. I've never kissed him."
"He's gross," said Lily.
Ruby held out her hand. "It's an extra twenty bucks if he uses tongue."
"Deal." I paid her two twenties and added one more, trying to reassure myself that my financial loss was for a good cause. "For drinks," I told her. "Make sure I can see you, but don’t be obvious about looking at us. I need to get pictures. I'll give you the extra if you can get a kiss, or even get his hand on your thigh." Lily shuddered, and even as I said it, it was all I could do to not vomit at the thought of Ted touching me. How Serena did it, I had no clue. I wondered if she was still doing it, or if Ted's mistress was the sole recipient of his poky stick.
Who Glares Wins (Lexi Graves Mysteries) Page 15
