“It’s not tear proof.” I tried to make a joke to make her feel better. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. But I rely on these international sales to pay for our medical expenses.” She dug deep in her purse, pulling out a makeup bag. “A Mystic Couture Platinum member can’t look like this.” Her voice became stronger with each word. Her tears dried and she had her face back on in no time.
“I’m sure Tessa knows what she’s doing,” I assured her, but not truly believing it.
The entire way back to her house, she told me about all the times Tawny had really stepped up to the plate and helped out when Dan was sick. She was there for Drea when Dan was in the hospital and going through treatments and surgeries.
“Not only did I lose a boss, a mentor, I lost a true friend.” She took a deep breath and pulled into her garage. “I hope I can be as good of a mentor to you as Tawny had been to me.”
“You are going to mentor me?” I asked.
“I am.” She smiled and we got out of the car.
“I better go.” I pointed to my car and took the keys out of my clutch. We hugged and promised to get in touch once my orders from the party came in so she could show me the ropes. Plus I was on target to get some international orders via email, but when?
I had to get more scoop on the international side. But where was I going to find the information I needed?
Mick had said it was going to take a few days to get established, but with Tawny gone, was Tessa on board? Did she know what was going on?
Drea waved from the threshold of the garage when Vinnie and I pulled out.
“I’m assuming you didn’t get any information because my circuit connected to your necklace didn’t go off,” Vinnie grunted over the roar of his acceleration.
“I’m glad you were on alert. But she doesn’t seem to know anything.” I sighed waving back at her. “She’s lonely. I think she just needs a friend.”
“We aren’t in the market for friends, Maggie.” Vinnie reminded me I was here to do a job. Not a job for SKUL, but a job to get the heat off my family, which meant I had to help Mick get the information he needed.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“I’ll let Mick know you are here.” The receptionist told me when she saw me walk into the dentist office. She didn’t hesitate to pick up the phone. I waited patiently by the door. “I don’t know what you did to me last time you were here, but you aren’t allowed to just walk in. You are not an agent. You are only helping with the case.”
I smiled, and waved my hand in the air, sending a little stomach flu her way.
“I. . .” Her hand flew over her mouth and she jumped up, running into the door with the gold plate that had bathroom stamped on it.
I didn’t wait for Mick to come up to greet me. I took the elevator on my own and found him at the bottom.
“Maggie,” there was an element of surprise on his face, “I was just coming up to get you.”
“Oh, I know my way around now.” I brushed him off and stepped out.
“Yes, but you need to wait for me to come get you.” He sounded annoyed.
“I’m your partner so I figured—”
He stopped me, “We aren’t partners. You are a citizen who is aiding with this one investigation. It happens all the time. After this one case, you will go back to your illegal diner and I’ll go back to fighting the bad guys.”
“Sounds good to me.” I followed him down the hall. “But I don’t think we are on the right track.”
We walked into Burt’s office. The contents of Drea’s Mystic Couture package was strewn out all over the desk.
“As you can see, we have ripped apart all of these products. We have sent out the samples of the moisturizers, the lipsticks, even the Mystic Couture hairspray. Nothing.” He gestured to all the test tubes.
“I don’t think we have the right in,” I referred to Drea. “She is working hard because Dan is in cancer remission. They have a ton of hospital bills—that is why she works so hard. She’s really torn up about Tawny’s passing too. In fact,” I shook my head, “she’s really worried about Tessa taking over. I really think you should look into Tessa. I think she knows more about Mystic Couture then she wants anyone to believe.”
“Off the case!” Burt busted through the door.
“What?” Mick ran his hands through his hair. “I knew this was going to happen once you told Tessa Fawn about what was happening.”
My phone chirped an email from inside my clutch. As Mick and Burt talked, I opened the email.
“Guys,” I held my phone out to them. “I just got an emergency meeting email from Tessa.”
Mick took my phone and read it out loud, “There is an emergency Platinum meeting at my mom’s mansion right now. If you want to continue to be a Mystic Girl, you will drop everything. If you are not at the emergency meeting, you will be dropped as a Mystic Girl and a Mystic Couture consultant.”
“You didn’t tell them I was working for you?” I asked.
“No. But you can’t go. Tessa refuses to believe Mystic Couture is a cover up for the international drug smugglers. She said she would not cooperate with SKUL.” Burt took the phone from Mick and handed to back to me. “Thank you for your service, Maggie. The receptionist will have a check waiting for you upstairs.”
“But, Burt,” Mick protested. “We have been on this case for over a year. Let Maggie go in and see what is truly going down.”
“I mean I could go to the meeting. It’s not like it would hurt.” I shrugged. If Burt wanted to drop the case, Mick would automatically drop looking into the diner, leaving my family out of it. But my witchy sense wouldn’t let me drop it. I had to go to that meeting. “Besides, you’re SKUL. Undercover is your thing with or without Tessa’s permission.”
Burt took a deep breath. His eyes stared at me. “Fine.” He threw his hands in the air. “Go see what you can find out and report back.”
“Thank you, sir.” I darted out of the office and up the elevator, ignoring the receptionist on my way out.
“Back to Tawny Fawn’s mansion,” I instructed Vinnie. The passenger door swung open and Mick jumped in.
“You’re not going without me.” He had a butler’s suit tucked underneath his arm.
“I think I should go alone.” I gripped Vinnie’s wheel, uncertainty tugged at my soul. “I mean,” I cleared my throat. “I don’t want them to see us drive up together.”
“They won’t.” He tapped Vinnie’s dash. “Go!”
Vinnie shot off like a cannon, sending Mick back in the seat.
“I’d like to get there alive and safe.” Mick sucked in a deep breath like it was the last one he was ever going to take.
“Both?” Nervously I joked. “Both are a lot to ask for.”
He let out a loud sigh and grasped the door handle like he was holding on for dear life. Vinnie took every corner as fast as he could.
I gripped and rewrapped my fingers around the wheel, giving it a hard squeeze. I knew Vinnie could feel it and it was my way of telling him to let up on Mick. The tires squealed onto the I-65 ramp straight into traffic.
Vinnie didn’t let the traffic get him. He pushed his way over to the emergency lane, squirreling his way in and out of traffic.
“Seriously, Maggie?” Mick was holding on with two hands now. I looked over. There were sweat beads all over his upper lip. “Look!” He let go long enough to push my chin back forward, just in time for Vinnie to veer right, missing a tractor-trailer. “Shit! Stop! Pull over! I’m driving!”
“I’m fine.” My mouth felt dry. Vinnie wasn’t making it easy to keep the witch thing on the down low. “But you look like a sweaty mess.”
“I know it’s chilly out, but this damn seat warmer is lighting me on fire.” He used the back of his hand to wipe the sweat off his upper lip. His hand dropped to Vinnie’s console and he started pushing buttons. “Where is the off switch?”
“I’d appreciate it if you’d stop pushing my buttons,�
� Vinnie’s voice echoed in the little Cobra. His console lit up like a Kentucky starry night.
“What the hell?” Mick jumped back. His eyes darted around the car.
“What?” I flipped the manual switch on and slammed on the brakes, barely missing the back end of a pickup truck. “Traffic,” I groaned under my breath.
“What the hell was that voice?” Stark fear was in Mick’s eyes. His chest was heaving up and down as he tried to catch his breath. He let go of the handle, slowly opening and closing his hand like he was trying to get feeling back into it.
“I’m not sure what you are talking about?” I said in my best robotic voice to mimic Vinnie and drove up Tawny’s exit off the Interstate.
“That wasn’t it,” Mick protested. “This car is possessed or something.”
“No it’s not.” I laughed, and then bit my lip. “Abram put the latest technology in my car. I told you he was a mechanic.”
“Your boyfriend?” His brows rose.
“Boyfriend?” I laughed. “We are just friends. But you blew our case when you and Sherry were on your date.”
“Date?” He scoffed. “It was work related. I had to catch her up on a case she’s been working on at Churchill Downs. A horse case.”
“Oh.” My heart did a little skip. I put my hand up to my chest. It was a feeling I had never had and one that I didn’t want to have with Mick.
One and done, I reminded myself. Our two worlds might be colliding in the SKUL area, but not in the personal area. He could never know what or who my family was. Never.
“We can talk about your boyfriend later.” Mick put his hand out. “Stop here and I’ll see you inside.”
I did what he said and watched him disappear into the wooded area around Tawny Fawn’s property before I flipped Vinnie’s switch back on and pulled up to the gated mansion.
“Smooth move,” I said to Vinnie when all his circuits came back on.
“I don’t like him.” Vinnie’s feelings were hurt. “He thinks he can protect you better than I can. That gets under my hood.”
“Why?” I asked rolling down the window and pushing the intercom button for the gates to open. “Is he bad? Is he more of a threat to us?”
“He is a threat to me. I can read him. I told you, he wants to protect you and that is my job. Not his,” Vinnie whined.
“Vinnie,” I smiled. “Are you saying Mick has feelings for me?”
“I’m saying he’s a man and you are a beautiful woman. He is putting you in danger with this job and on the flip side he wants to protect you. If he wants to protect you, he should let you go. I can protect you,” Vinnie accelerated past the open gates.
“So you made him uncomfortable in your seat because you are jealous?” I teased him.
“I protect you, not him.” Vinnie pulled to a stop at the bottom of the steps like he had done a couple nights ago, only Mick wasn’t there to park him. “I’ll be right here if you need me.”
I caught a glimpse of my image in the rear-view mirror. My hair was a mess, I had dried food on my shirt, and I smelled like The Brew’s daily special. I went straight from work to Drea’s and then to SKUL headquarters. There was no way I was going to be pass as a serious Mystic Girl Platinum member like this.
“Shit,” I gasped fanning my hand over my face and twirling a finger over top my head. I took another look into the mirror. “Better.”
The door opened and I got out. My outfit of choice was a brown turtleneck merino sweater over black leggings and leopard wedge booties. Of course I had on the fall Mystic Couture makeup line. My hair was parted on the side and hung in loose curls around my face.
The husbands of the Mystic Girls were gathered along the Kentucky Post fence line looking at the horses run. They didn’t seem too worried about the meeting as they pointed to the different stallions.
“Maggie,” Tessa greeted me at the door. She wore minimal makeup and unlike her mother, she was dressed in a tan pantsuit. Very conservative. “My mother was very excited about how much money you were making the company and from your party I see she was right. I’m thrilled you came.”
“I’m sorry to hear about your mother. She was a wonderful role model.” I kept a close eye on her and put my hand out.
When she took it, I tried to get a reading off of her, but nothing. I gave one good shake before I let go.
“You can go on in. There are a few others waiting.” She gestured to go through the opening to her right into the open room where a baby grand piano sat in the corner.
The room on the opposite side of the foyer was filled with a group of the men from the warehouse. The bald man leaning up against the fireplace pulled the aviator glasses off his face, exposing glaring eyes. A slight smile curled across his lips, the toothpick in his mouth bounced up and down as the grin grew as our eyes met.
A sinking sick feeling hit my stomach like a brick.
“Maggie.” I turned my head into the other room where Drea was waving her hand in the air. She patted the open seat next to her.
I didn’t bother to look back at the bald warehouse worker, who was the one who not only cornered me and Vinnie in the parking lot, but was the one who pulled the trigger on the informant, killing him.
The room Tessa had decided to put the Mystic Girls in was as elegant as the rest of the mansion. Mini busts sat atop marble pedestals around the room. The large windows were covered in brown custom silk drapes and matched the eggshell walls. The couches were as stiff as they looked and were covered in a floral design.
“I’m glad you got the email.” Drea scooted a little to make room for me. “Did she seem happy to see you when you came in?”
“She seemed fine.” My mind was preoccupied with the fact I was not receiving any vibes off of Tessa and the bad guy was only a few feet away from me.
I was sure she had a great motive to kill her mom and having the bald killer here was enough proof for me. Not that I was working on a murder case, but something kept nagging me telling me the drug thing and the murder were related, not to mention the informant’s death.
There had to be a connection between Tessa and the bald man. He was obviously the link to the drugs. But where were they keeping them? I bit my lip and looked around the room at all the faces in the Platinum club. One by one, I stared into their eyes intently, ending at the threshold of the door, looking directly at the bald man who was still staring at me.
“I wanted to thank everyone for coming on such short notice.” Tessa stood in front of everyone, forcing me to look at her. “I know you didn’t have much choice, but I wanted to be the first to tell you that my mother was murdered.”
A collective gasp from all the women echoed throughout the room. A few women covered their faces and a few cried. I pretend to be shocked, looking over at Drea. Her eyelids dampened.
“With that said, it has come to my attention that there has been a breach of trust among us.” Tessa walked around the room and looked at each consultant like someone was going to raise their hand. “Someone in our circle of trust has supposedly been shipping drugs in their international packages. Since my mother considered you family, I will consider you family. I have refused to cooperate with the police and decided to take this matter up for myself, as close-knit families do.” Her expression was pained, as if she were wounded. “My mother obviously knew about the drugs because there was an undercover sting going on and you see where that got her.” Her voice trembled, “As we are family, I’m going to let whoever it is stop this activity on their own. I trust whoever in this room doing this, will stop and bring dignity back to being a Mystic Couture consultant, not to mention Platinum member.”
The room was silent.
“You are very fortunate I’m not pursuing who did this to my mother and her company.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Was Tessa really going to let her mother’s murderer slide right on by? Was she really going to let whoever was smuggling drugs in their shipment go free?
SKUL or Mick was not going to like this at all.
When Tessa walked out the door, the room buzzed with hushed whispers.
“That was strange. I bet she killed her. There is no way we could ever smuggle drugs through our shipments.” Drea rolled her eyes. She leaned over and an electric shock jolted me. I jerked my hand away. “Seriously, we drop them off and the airport does their thing of checking, right?”
I gulped. Rapid questions fired through my brain as though Drea’s touch ignited a fire within me.
“I’m not going to cooperate with police,” Drea sneered trying to mock Tessa. “I’m going to the bathroom.” She rolled her eyes and stood up.
Another jolt surged down my arm. I closed my eyes. Money signs fluttered around me.
“Money.” I gasped. Drea?
I started putting two-and-two together and jumped up to follow Drea Philpot to the bathroom. I snapped my fingers close to my ear and leaned up against the bathroom door.
“The police know something is going down. It’s the last return you take for a while. Do you understand?” A man spouting off orders to someone in the bathroom. The only person I knew that was in that bathroom was Drea. “I’ll call you once the coast is clear.”
Returns? Oh. My. God. The smuggling wasn’t going out of the country; the smuggling was coming into the country.
Quickly I moved about the house trying to find Mick. He had to be here somewhere, but the mansion was so big, I had no idea where he would be.
“Maggie?” Drea called out from behind me. “What are you doing?”
“I was trying to find my way out.” I put my hands over my stomach. “I’m not feeling so well and I want to go home.”
“It’s that way.” She pointed. “I would take you home so you didn’t have to drive, but I’ve got to go take care of those international returns.”
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