Who Glares Wins (Lexi Graves Mysteries)

by Camilla Chafer

  "How about a lift home too?" asked Ruby. "I was going to take the bus."

  "No problem."

  "What does he look like?"

  "Mid-thirties. Balding on the crown. He's wearing a pinstripe suit and he's sitting at the bar. I think he's drinking whiskey or vodka." I cued up the photo gallery on the camera and showed the last snap to Ruby.

  "Got it," said Ruby. "Get snap happy. I'm goin' in."

  "You are way cool," said Lily, admiringly.

  "I know," agreed Ruby, without any attitude, just the air of someone who was totally okay with being awesome.

  "If he suspects anything, just say you saw your friend outside and you gotta go," I added.

  "I can't believe Ruby agreed to this," said Lily as Ruby got out and walked over to the restaurant. She spoke to the maitre d', then crossed over to the bar, slipping onto the stool next to Ted, and immediately knocking him with her oversized purse. We watched as she giggled and touched his arm, probably apologizing copiously for knocking over his drink. It was hard to tell with the silent movie version.

  "I didn’t know who else to ask. She's good," I said, pointing my camera at them. I slunk down in my seat a little so it wasn't immediately obvious to anyone walking past. I fired off a couple of shots then glanced at Lily, who’d also slunk lower. A pedestrian passed by, glancing briefly at us and frowning. "Are you really not going to tell me what Jord said?"

  "Nope."

  "I invoke the best friend code."

  "Bull. There's no such thing."

  "Fine."

  "I'll trade you." I snapped a picture of Ruby with her hand on Ted's arm.

  "What for?"

  "Um..." What did I have to trade? Lily knew everything about me. She was the only one who knew about my temporary double life. She was the only one who knew everything between Maddox and me. “Errr…”

  "Tell me about Solomon," she said, her eyes flashing with the potential of something juicy, something she could work out of me with the promise of an even juicier trade.

  I winced and considered my options: none. "What about him?"

  "I want the truth. What's going on between you two? You were so mad when we went out for cocktails last week."

  "I don't know what you mean," I said in my best I-don't-want-to-talk-about-it voice.

  "No trade."

  "Fine. Ugh! We've kissed a bunch of times, but that was before Maddox and I officially got together and it's not going to happen again!" I hunched lower in my seat and turned away, training the camera on Ted and Ruby.

  Lily sighed. "I bet he kisses like he read the master book on kissing and made notes in the margins." I looked at her. She looked right back. "What?"

  "Someone's got quite the imagination."

  Lily grinned. "Do you still fancy him?"

  "Yeah." I figured that was okay. I could look, because, well, I wasn't dead, but I also wasn't a two-timer, and I wasn't a cheat. And I really liked Maddox. Speaking of whom, I was going to be very late. On the plus side, he couldn’t lock his downstairs door. I wondered how he would feel about me picking the lock of his apartment. "But it's just a crush," I insisted, "because he's cool, smart, mysterious and totally off limits. I like Maddox more. Maddox is exactly what I want. Your turn."

  "I'm not telling."

  "You promised!"

  "Should’ve made me talk first." Lily had the bad grace to smirk. "Didn't they teach you that in PI school?"

  "I'll remember this," I told her. "Just you wait." Then I fired off a series of pictures of Ted leaning in to talk into Ruby's ear, his hand on her waist.

  We waited silently while I snapped some more shots of Ted falling for Ruby's flirty play and finally, just when my butt was falling to sleep, I got the money shot of Ted slipping Ruby some tongue. I got another one of her writing what I guessed was her phone number, and passing it to him before grabbing her purse, waving him goodbye and sashaying out, her hips swinging seductively from side-to-side. A minute later, she got in the car, lay across the back seat and pretended to gag. Actually, that might have been real.

  "I need tissues and a drink. That man slobbers."

  I passed her the box of tissues I kept in the car and she pulled two out, rubbing her mouth, then her tongue.

  "You gave him your phone number!" Lily said, looking at her in horror.

  "Did not. I gave him the number to a dominatrix who works downtown."

  "Montgomery has a dominatrix?"

  "You wouldn't believe what Montgomery has."

  I handed Ruby another twenty, considering it money well spent, and stowed the camera in the protective case.

  "Are you going to show these to his wife?" Ruby wanted to know.

  "I'm going to tell her I have them. It's up to her if she wants to see them. I’ll make sure she knows I employed you so she doesn’t sue you."

  "Awesome. I got audio too," said Ruby. "I activated the voice recorder on my cell phone before I went on."

  I looked at her with newfound respect, then passed her my business card. "Send me a copy please."

  "Sure thing. You can have it for free."

  I drove Ruby home, promised her I'd call her if I had any more cash work, then drove Lily back to her car, which she’d left near The Coffee Bean.

  "She's cool," I said.

  "I know. I like her."

  I tried to take the high road and failed. "She can be your friend," I said with a nonchalant shrug. “Occasionally, I need a night off.”

  "She can be yours too. We can share," Lily offered magnanimously.

  "You're so weird."

  "Have fun with Maddox."

  I waited until Lily was safely in her car, then drove off, already more than an hour late. I parked out front and let myself into his building, calling out to him as I opened the door to his apartment.

  "Hey," he called, "living room."

  I dropped my jacket and purse and walked through, taking in the corked bottle of red and the wine glasses on the table. Maddox's socked feet were on the table and he was dressed in jeans and a blue shirt that set off his eyes. A five o'clock shadow had already fully settled on his jaw. He yawned, stretched and opened his arms to me.

  "I'm sorry I'm so late," I said, sinking onto the sofa and leaning into his arms so he could wrap them around me.

  "I was about to call for the cavalry."

  "I got held up with Lily," I said, mentally wincing at my semi-lie.

  "Everything okay?"

  "Yes. Is that wine for me?"

  "Yes."

  I looked at it lovingly. "Did I mention I couldn't stay over?"

  "I was hoping to change your mind."

  "I don't have any clothes here and I haven't been home yet. And I can't go into work wearing yesterday's suit." Not to mention, I'd spent all evening wearing it too. At this stage of our relationship, I was still going for the why yes, I do wake up every morning perfectly made up and it's no effort to make my hair look this good every day! Right now, I felt rumpled and too close to the truth.

  "I like it." Maddox fiddled with my lapels. "Very smart. I liked those cute dresses you used to wear in the office too. And the heels.” I stretched a leg out and showed him one slender heel. “I liked them a whole bunch."

  "Adam, did you do anything when we worked together? Like, uh, work?"

  "Looked at your legs a lot." Maddox kissed me, then appeared to be appraising me. "You could have a drawer here. For, you know, in future."

  A drawer. Future. The words were simple and beautiful.

  "What will I put in it?" I asked, my fingers dancing along his chest to the top button of his shirt.

  "Girl stuff, like..." Maddox thought, his brows furrowing together. "I have no idea. You could keep kinky stuff in it."

  "Look who's hopeful."

  "Always.” He gave me a long kiss. “You could keep a toothbrush here too. That’s not a comment by the way. You taste very nice. Like roast chicken. Yummy.”

  “Weirdo.”

  I took anoth
er longing look at the wine. I was fairly lightweight, and I wasn't totally sure of safe driving levels, so I didn't drink before driving. I felt bad for ruining the evening by tailing Ted when I could have been enjoying my free time with Maddox, who was one hundred percent all for me.

  "We could go to yours," suggested Maddox, making no attempt at moving. "I could grab a few things and we could have another sleepover."

  "That would be nice. You don't even have to come armed this time."

  "I might not enjoy it as much."

  "Fine." I gave him a mock eye roll as I redid the button I’d just worked loose. I got to my feet and extended my hand. He grasped it and got to his feet, tugging me into him. "Bring your weapon."

  Chapter Eleven

  It's never good to be greeted at the office door by firemen. Actually, in my head, it sounded fabulous. In my head, they were stripped to their waists to reveal bulging, sweat-slick muscles and abs that would make me purr like a kitten while they frolicked underneath a gushing hose. I was so asking for a fireman calendar for Christmas this year.

  But in reality, not so much.

  "What happened?" I asked Edward as a heavily attired fire officer stomped past me, clipboard in hand.

  "Electrical fire in the staffroom late last night. It didn't cause much damage, but the staffroom is off limits until the fire officers finish their investigation. If it weren't for Sylvia spotting the smoke, the hotel could have burned down!"

  Though I'd seen Sylvia, the house manager, around the hotel, I'd yet to talk to her. Edward had spoken highly about her several times.

  I had a momentary attack of guilt. I was supposed to stop stuff like this from happening, except last night, I'd been safely having dinner with my family, then tailing Ted. "Jeez," I squeaked, partly at having missed it, and partly in shock at the smell of smoke lingering in the hallway in which we stood.

  "Sylvia deserves a medal. She was walking by when she noticed the smoke. She got the fire under control and called the fire trucks out," said Edward, obviously impressed. His head was shiny with perspiration and he looked like he’d shaved in a hurry, a couple of small nicks marring his neck.

  "When was this?"

  "Around eleven last night."

  Personally, I thought it suspicious that Sylvia was the only one to see the fire, get it under control, and potentially save the hotel before it burned to the ground, taking all the guests with it. It seemed an awfully big coincidence that she was in the right place at the right time.

  Edward looked at me, his forehead knitting into a frown. "You've got that look," he said.

  "What look?"

  "The 'I'm onto something' look. Please don't tell me you suspect Sylvia?" he asked, his voice dropping to a whisper, laced with disappointment.

  "I suspect everyone," I said, realizing how ominous that sounded.

  "Oh God." Edward looked like he was about to cry.

  The first free moment I got, I went in search of the Sylvia. So far, I knew Edward credited her with saving several events that were sabotaged. I wanted to see for myself who the hotel wunderkind was. Initially, I checked her office not far from the kitchens, but she wasn't there. I stuck my head into the kitchens, sought out Amanda and asked her. She suggested I check the conference center; and after a half-hour searching, I found Sylvia in the gallery, looking over the convention.

  When I finally found her, I saw a woman a few years older than I with pale brown hair, highlighted with slices of caramel, and cut into a shoulder-length bob. She wore a navy suit similar to mine and flat ballet pumps.

  "I love Super Ponies," she told me when I came to stand beside her, obviously recognizing me. I introduced myself anyway.

  "Really?" I asked, gazing down at the convention, which continued as if nothing serious had happened. I wondered if they’d been informed, or if Edward was on damage control.

  "Sure. I still have a couple from when I was a kid."

  "How's the event going?"

  "So far, so good. Everyone's on tenterhooks though. We're just waiting for something to go wrong."

  "Like the fire?"

  Sylvia nodded. "It was really frightening. Fortunately, we had a fire drill only a month ago, so I knew where the fire blankets were and how to use the extinguisher."

  "That was quick thinking."

  "I try not to panic. I'm just so angry. This sabotage is wrong!" Her knuckles turned white from where she gripped the gallery’s guardrail.

  I leaned against the rail casually. "You think that's what it was?"

  "Absolutely. I don't need a report from the fire chief to tell me that."

  "You think the saboteur is going to make anymore trouble?"

  "Yes. No. I don't know.” Sylvia shook her head. “Gosh, this business makes me really nervous."

  "I understand."

  "Do you? Really?"

  "Yeah. I've worked in all kinds of offices. Lots of stress."

  "Nothing like this. The moment something goes wrong, I have to be ready. That's why I'm up here. I'm strategizing."

  "Like working out what you can do if the saboteur hits?"

  "Yes. Like, what happens if someone sets the fire alarm, or if the film screen is damaged, or... I don't know. I'm not a criminal. I don't know how criminals think!"

  "I'm sure it will be fine," I said, but we both knew that was just a platitude. I was waiting for things to go wrong too, but I was trying to find the saboteur before that happened. I watched Sylvia's demeanor closely as I questioned her, looking for any signs of guilt.

  "Do you think it's an ex-employee?" I asked.

  Sylvia shrugged. "I don't think so. I can't see how any ex-employee would just be able to walk around without being noticed."

  "So, it's someone..." I leaned in and whispered, "inside?" Even with Lucas working the hotel’s system virtually, it was obvious someone, or someones, were moving around the hotel without any problem.

  "Isn't it horrible to think that?" said Sylvia, but I noticed she didn't disagree with me. She sucked on her lower lip a while, and once or twice, she opened her mouth as if she were going to say something, then shut it again.

  "What's up?" I asked gently.

  Sylvia breathed in sharply and shook her head, her eyes closing briefly. "It's just, I overheard Greg Conlan, he’s head waiter, say he was having problems lately and I wondered... I wondered if he was connected to this somehow."

  "What kinds of problems?"

  "He said he went to Edward for a raise, but got turned down. His wife is pregnant again and they want to move somewhere nicer, and the extra money would have really helped. I said to him, Greg, you've got to have earned the extra money, you can't ask for it just because you need it."

  "What happened?"

  "He got turned down, of course. Edward said he hadn't earned it yet. Greg shouted at me that I put the idea into Edward's head, but I swear, I didn't say anything to him. Only what I said to Greg."

  "That's not your fault. Is he still mad at you?"

  "I think so. He gives me the evil eye every time he's on shift."

  "Could he be mad enough to want to get some payback?"

  "The sabotage has cost way more than what he was asking for."

  "Maybe that's the point."

  Sylvia shivered. "I don't want to think about anybody here doing anything so horrible.”

  "I know."

  “It just crossed my mind. I’m sure it’s nothing. We're supposed to be family, you know. We work such weird hours in the hotel business, and we get thrown into things, and we're supposed to help each other out. Betraying that would just be... well, it would be just horrible."

  "Have you told Mr. Killjoy this?"

  "No. He's so worried; and it's probably not even true. I don’t want to get Greg into trouble. I shouldn’t have said anything." Worry pinched her face as she turned away.

  "Mr. Killjoy said you've been a great help."

  "Really?"

  "Really," I echoed. "He told me that if it wasn't f
or you saving the day a few times, things could have been much worse." Actually, it seemed that Sylvia spent a lot of time saving the day, making sure everything went right just in time. The cynic in me thought that was awfully convenient for her.

  "That's so nice of Edward." Sylvia sniffed. "He's always thinking of other people. He's a good boss. Kind of grouchy though, lately."

  "Oh?"

  "I don't know why. His temper just seems a little short. I heard he shouted at you. That's so unlike him."

  I waved a hand like I didn't care. "I'm over it."

  "Good. He's a really good boss, I promise. You'll be happy here. Well, if the hotel stays open. We got two more event cancellations today. I rang and checked. They were legit."

  "Did they say why they canceled?"

  "One was a wedding, and they were guests at the last wedding. You probably heard already?" Sylvia waited.

  "The refrigerators?"

  "Yeah. They didn't want the same thing to happen at theirs. I can understand that. Weddings are special."

  I watched as Sylvia twisted her thumb and forefinger around her ring finger, but there wasn't a ring there. At least, not anymore.

  "The weird thing was the other cancellation got an email telling them about the sabotage."

  "Really? Who from?"

  "Yeah, and get this, it was anonymous. Some asshole took the time to spell out exactly why they shouldn't hold their event here. It spooked them. They hadn't paid the deposit yet, so they just plain canceled."

  "Weird."

  "I know. It's like someone's really trying to sink us. Oh, would you look at that!" Sylvia pulled a face and I followed her gaze. On the floor below, the Super Ponies event organizer, Brian Williamson, was waving his finger in the face of one of the uniformed event assistants. The assistants were employed by the hotel and hired to help set up events, supervise the cleaning crews, and make sure everything worked per schedule. They served drinks, handed out flyers, and did anything else the event organizer asked them to do. Ultimately, I knew, they all reported to Sylvia. "I have to go sort this out," she told me. "And I'm sorry I just mind-dumped on you. I'm so stressed!"