Maiden and the Lion

by Lizzie Lynn Lee

  “I did.”

  “Did you see the shooter?”

  “No, I just heard gunshots.”

  “Gunshots? More than one?”

  “Two. I was in my van when I heard them. And then I saw someone fall into the water. I decided to look around.”

  “Then you saw Alex?”

  “I didn’t know it was Alex at first. I saw some guy floating in the river so I swam in and pulled him out. He had been shot in the chest.”

  “From my understanding, Alex was shot on the bridge?”

  “I suppose. After the second gunshot, he fell into the river.”

  Cat took in the information seriously. “Okay, after you saved him, you saw Alex turning?”

  “He ordered me to take him home so I helped him to my van. When I tried to stop the bleeding, he suddenly changed into a lion.”

  “I bet that freaked you out.”

  “I was baffled. I didn’t think shape-shifters existed.”

  “That’s what I thought at first. But, yeah, they do.”

  “Why are you asking all this?”

  “I have no case at the moment. I thought I’d sleuth for Alex’s shooter. He won’t be happy if he knows I’m meddling in his business, but what the hell. This case is too juicy to pass on.”

  “Is Alex in danger?”

  “He’s the Chief Security Officer. Danger is his game. One more question, have you noticed anything weird going on in his office? Especially his men—Johnston, Danielson or Wyatt?”

  Those were Alex’s go-to guys. Bea had talked to them several times and had delivered their mail. Wyatt was nice and polite while Danielson was a man of few words. Johnston was antisocial—she always tried to stay away from him. Bea thought for a second. “Nothing out of the ordinary. I’ve only worked under Alex for a month. Hold on, I remember something. A week ago, when I was delivering mail to the security department, I overheard Mr Wyatt telling Mr Danielson he was a bit off lately.”

  “What do you mean—off?”

  Bea shifted from foot to foot. “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I needed Wyatt’s signature, so I waited. Mr Wyatt said Mr Danielson looked as if he was under the weather. Mr Danielson admitted he had been losing track of time.”

  “Losing track of time, as in, he’s been hypnotised, or losing track of time because he was busy?”

  “Losing track of time like the people who say they have been abducted by aliens. I remembered it because Mr Danielson made a joke about it. He said the aliens were on to him. Next he’d be getting anal probes and memory wipes.”

  “Why did he say that?”

  “Danielson recalled that sometimes he couldn’t remember what he was doing. There were memory gaps and time lost.”

  “Really? And what did Wyatt say?

  “Mr Wyatt didn’t take it seriously. He thought Mr Danielson was just joking.”

  “Interesting.” Cat scratched her chin in a very unladylike manner.

  Bea prodded her. “Do you think this has something to do with Alex’s shooting?”

  “I’m not sure, but I will find out. Thanks for your information, you’ve been a great help, Bea.”

  “Wait, what are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to talk to Danielson.”

  “I’ll come with you.”

  “Oh no, Alex’s going to have my ass on a plate if I involve you. You’re his mate.”

  “And that’s the reason I don’t want him to get shot again. Please?” Bea begged. “You don’t know what it felt like dragging him out of the river. I thought I’d lost him. He wasn’t breathing, you know? Until I did CPR.”

  Cat pondered. “I don’t know. Alex wouldn’t be happy with me snooping around. He could get mad at you. I don’t want to cause trouble between you two.”

  “Don’t let him find out. I know where Danielson gets his lunch at this hour.”

  “You do?”

  “Yes, at Giovanni’s. I did a lunch run for the security team once.”

  Cat still faltered.

  “Please, please, Cat. Let me go with you. I want to find out who shot Alex. It’s important to me.”

  Cat put her palm ups. “Okay, okay. We’ll talk to Danielson. No harm in that. He’s loyal to Alex. There’s no way he’s betraying my brother–in-law.”

  “We sure need to find out.”

  Cat grinned. “You’re one curious cat, you know?”

  “I can’t stand a puzzle.”

  “Me either. Man, Alex’s going to give us an earful about this.”

  “It’s just talking to Danielson. What could go wrong?”

  “Right. Let’s go.”

  “Thank you, Cat.” Bea hugged her.

  “Ah.” Cat patted her back. “Aren’t you sweet? No wonder Alex fell head over heels for you.”

  “He did?”

  “Gabe said he’s never seen Alex so serious about a girl.”

  Bea giggled. She recalled Alex’s explanation of how he had been a jerk to her so he could forget her. Was that why he had transferred her from the mailroom to become his receptionist? She realised there was so many mysteries surrounding Alex. Sometimes, she couldn’t understand the way his mind worked.

  “We’ll take my car. I don’t think this is going to take long. We’ll get you back before Alex finds out.”

  “Sounds like a plan. Let me grab my purse.”

  Alex had told her to stay put and rest for the day, but Bea felt fine. After the morning shower, her soreness had faded away. Besides, she couldn’t sit still doing nothing knowing someone wanted Alex dead. She had to do something.

  Cat waited for her by the front door and together they rode the elevator down to the parking floor. Someone was waiting for them as soon as the elevator doors slid open.

  It was Mr Cold from the reception desk.

  “Hey, MacGee,” Cat said, stepping out from the elevator. “What’s up?”

  “Mrs Larousse.” He nodded. “We have orders from Mr Alexandre Larousse to keep Ms Summer on the premises.”

  Holy hell. Was she under house arrest? Bea frowned.

  “We’re just going to grab a bite to eat. It won’t take long.” Cat also frowned.

  “I’m sorry, ma’am. My order was a priority. Ms Summer isn’t allowed to wander outside the apartment.”

  “That’s too bad.” Cat planted her hands on her hips. “Do you realise who she is?” She motioned to Bea. “She’s the future Mrs Alexandre Larousse. I’m taking her out so we can discuss the wedding.”

  Wedding? Bea almost choked. It felt so unreal.

  “Are you telling me that I can’t take my future sister-in-law out? What kind of crap are you telling me?”

  “I’m sorry, ma’am, but…”

  “MacGee is your name, right? My husband won’t be pleased when he hears that I couldn’t go out with Ms Summer.”

  Mr Cold looked beaten up. His mouth opened and closed but no sound came out. “I have to report to Mr Larousse about this,” he finally said.

  “Whatever. Just stay out of my way.” Cat grabbed Bea’s hand and dragged her towards where she’d parked. She drove a three-year-old Camry that badly needed a wash. She unlocked the car with her remote and got in.

  Bea looked over her shoulder. Mr Cold was staring at her back and dialling his phone as she climbed into the car. She slammed the door shut. “Nice job getting rid of him.”

  Cat rolled her eyes. “All Alex’s security officers are pests. My brother-in-law had me on security details after we got back from South Africa. He was afraid I’d get kidnapped again so he had his men tailing me wherever I went. It’s only just recently I got them off my back.”

  “You were kidnapped?”

  “Twice while working on a case. Hazard of the job, I’m afraid.” Cat started the car. “You said Danielson is in Giovanni’s at this hour?” Cat pulled out from the lot and drove to the exit.

  “It’s his favourite place for lunch. He gets his sandwich from Giovanni’s almost every day.”

&
nbsp; “I hope we can catch him there. I’m not comfortable questioning him in the office. Not while Alex is breathing down my neck.”

  Bea laughed. She’d had her fair share of working with Alex while he had hovered over her. He had made her nervous. Alex was very good at making people uneasy. Sometimes, he could be very intimidating. “You know, you aren’t at all as I expected. I thought all billionaires’ wives were glamorous and chic.”

  That earned her a snicker from Cat. “My husband is the billionaire, but I’m just a humble private investigator. Besides, you can’t stalk people with a fancy getup. People will notice.”

  “So true.”

  Cat paused at the exit booth and waved her card. She then drove the car into the street.

  “What made you want to work as a private investigator?” Bea asked. “I mean, you have everything. Certainly, you don’t need beer money.”

  Cat laughed. “No, I don’t need beer money. The agency is my late brother’s legacy. I keep it running in honour of his memory.”

  “Oh, I see.”

  “I like being a PI.”

  “I think your line of work is very interesting. I’m a sucker for good detective stories.”

  “Hey, me too. Speaking of detective work, you screen Alex’s calls, right? Did you notice anything weird lately?”

  “Weird callers, you mean? No, not really. The usual. Mostly the inter-department calls. His appointments. Important calls go straight through to his private lines and I’m not privy to them.”

  “What about his mail?”

  “Also the usual. Junk mail, overnight documents and several packages.”

  “Nothing unusual about that, I suppose?”

  “No. Why do you ask?”

  “Just trying to figure out something. He was being blackmailed.”

  “Blackmailed?” Bea straightened in her seat. “By who? For what?”

  “That, my husband won’t tell. The mystery…oooh…it drives me nuts.”

  “Alex has a secret?” Bea guessed with a heavy heart.

  “Everyone has a secret, honey.”

  “What kind of secret could he possibly have? Did he murder someone? Past affair? A love child?”

  Cat laughed again. “I don’t think so. Alex is squeaky clean when it comes to women. I don’t think he’s dated for a long time.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. He’s Mr Calculated Guy. Not a one-night stand type of person.”

  It brought her relief to hear of Alex’s character. “So, what do you think? Company’s trade secret?”

  “It could be. I heard corporate espionage is just as dangerous as governments.”

  “You think we have a spy in our company?”

  “One of the possibilities. Alex deals with the company security, vetting cons, liabilities. Stuff like that.”

  “And you think Alex’s men have something to do with this? You mentioned Johnston, Danielson and Wyatt.”

  “My husband said that Alex has hired a private firm to investigate all his men. He said the leak was an inside job.”

  “An inside job,” Bea mused. “My God. I thought all his security officers were well-paid and loyal.”

  “Still, money is a great motivation to commit a crime. Greens—the root of all evil. Ah, there’s Giovanni’s. See Danielson?” Cat parked by the kerb, four cars away from the deli’s door.

  “Speak of the devil, there he is.” Bea pointed to a hulking man striding to his SUV. He was carrying a sandwich bag and a large soda. He got into his vehicle.

  “We’re too late. We’ll have to follow him to the office. Maybe we could snatch him in the parking lot,” Cat said.

  “Snatch him.” Bea giggled. “Is that even possible? He’s a big man. What if we pissed him off?”

  “Danielson is big, but he’s a kitty-cat. He saved my life once. In Africa.”

  “Really? I guess he won’t be mad if we bug him a little.”

  “I’m sure he won’t.”

  They tailed Danielson’s SUV, but he didn’t return to the office. Instead, he took a toll road heading to the Bronx.

  “Where do you think he’s going?” Bea asked. “That’s quite far for someone to eat his lunch.”

  “I know, right? This doesn’t make sense.”

  “Ooh, do you think he’s having his memory gap period?”

  “The plot thickens.” Cat steadily maintained the distance between the Camry and Danielson’s SUV. “Isn’t he supposed to be back in the office? I assume Alex wouldn’t be happy if one of his men took too long a lunch break?”

  “We have only one hour at lunch time. Danielson is punctual. He’s never late, except when he does work for Alex.”

  “Still. I don’t like where this is going.”

  Bea didn’t like it either.

  Her cell phone rang. They looked at each other.

  “That’s must be Alex. MacGee has told on us,” Cat said.

  Bea took her cell from her purse and checked the caller ID. Yup. It was Alex. “What should we do?”

  “I’ve turned mine off.”

  Bea decided to do the same. “Ooh, he’s going to be mad. He told me specifically to stay put today.”

  “You didn’t tell me that.”

  “And miss the chance to find out who shot Alex?”

  Cat sighed. “You got me, girl.”

  Danielson drove erratically, switching from one lane to another. Cat struggled to tail him without losing the distance.

  “Do you think he knows we’re on to him?” Bea wondered.

  “He’s trying to shake us loose.” Cat’s lips thinned into a straight line. “But he won’t get rid of me that easy. Ha-ha!”

  Bea gripped the edge of the seat as the stalking turned into a movie car chase. Her heart pounded hard. This was crazy. Cat was crazy. But it was freaking awesome. She’d never been in this kind of situation. She felt as if she was in an action movie. But for real.

  Cat hit the gas and sped like a NASCAR driver. She narrowly missed slamming into several cars. People swore at her and Cat promptly returned the gesture with genuine Jersey style.

  Up front, Danielson exited the highway. Cat veered to the right, cutting two open lanes without signalling, which earned her loud beeping from cars and more curses.

  “Go fuck yourself!” Cat shouted and went back to tailing Danielson, burning rubber. The Camry groaned and emitted shrieking tyre noises.

  “Holy crap.” Bea clutched the seat and checked that her seat belt was properly attached.

  “You okay there, sis?” Cat gave her a sidelong glance.

  Sis. Bea grinned. I’m in the family. “I’m cool.”

  “We’ll get this dickhead. He knows my car, for Christ’s sake. Why is he running away from us?”

  “He knows?”

  “Danielson was one of the few who tailed me everywhere. What gives?”

  How curious.

  Danielson sped into an abandoned industrial area. Crumbling warehouses. Car junkyard. Seedy place. He turned left and ploughed through a gateway. He stopped in front of a weather-battered, massive building. Cat slammed on the brakes behind him. She took off her seatbelt and waited for Danielson to exit. But the man didn’t make any attempt get out of the vehicle.

  “Okay, what’s going on here?” Cat opened the car door.

  Two men appeared out of nowhere, holding guns aimed at them.

  “Oh, crap,” said Cat and Bea at the same time.

  The man at Bea’s side motioned for her to get out from the car. She had no choice but to do what he wanted.

  A third man showed up. He looked familiar. Young, under thirty. Slender with unruly dark hair curled in ringlets over his shoulders. He was dressed in black. Leather jacket, boots, and a cowboy hat. Bea couldn’t put her finger on it, but she was sure she had seen him somewhere before.

  “I know you,” Cat said to the cowboy man. “You’re Gustav Angelo, the magician.”

  That was it. Bea had seen him on TV. What was he doing h
ere with goons and guns? What the hell was going on?

  Angelo tipped his cowboy hat, a sly grin spreading on his face. “Catherine Kovac. Beatrice Summer. What a lovely surprise.”

  Cat narrowed her eyes in suspicion. “You’ve worked for my husband before. What’s the meaning of this? What did you do to Danielson?”

  “He’s just doing a little errand for me.”

  “Errand?” Cat’s face darkened. “You’re the blackmailer.”

  “I’m just an opportunist, Mrs Larousse. Cuff them up,” Angelo ordered his men.

  “How did you do it? Get Danielson to do your dirty deed?”

  Angelo reached for something from his pocket. It was a little bell. He rang it. Danielson got out from the SUV. His expression was blank. The big man looked absolutely…off.

  “You hypnotised him!” Cat accused.

  “Never underestimate the power of suggestion.” Angelo barked, “Search them, cuff them and put them in the trunk.”

  “Wait. What?” Cat protested. “What are you doing?”

  “Don’t worry, Mrs Larousse. We have to move you to a safer location until your husband pays up.”

  “You’re not going to get away with this. He’s going to kick your bony ass.”

  Angelo laughed.

  The two goons frisked Cat and Bea. They took away their cell phones and herded them to a silver Cadillac parked near the gate.

  “Cat?” Bea called warily. She hadn’t thought their little interview attempt would cause them to run in with the blackmailers.

  “Stay cool, hon. We’ll get through this,” Cat said. She turned sharply to Danielson as they passed him by. “Hey, Danielson. Snap out of it!”

  But Danielson just stood there with a blank face.

  “He only obeys my command, Mrs Larousse. Save your breath.” Angelo gestured to his men. “Be quick about it.”

  The goons cuffed Cat and Bea’s wrists and they unceremoniously shoved them to the trunk of the Cadillac.

  “Is this really necessary?” Cat protested.

  “Do you want to be gagged?” Angelo shot back.

  Cat pursed her lips.

  One of the goons pushed Cat into the trunk. Bea was next. They lay side by side with their legs folded. Bea felt claustrophobic immediately, even though the space was quite roomy. The man slammed the trunk closed. Darkness surrounded them. Outside, she heard muffled sounds of Angelo ordering his men. The Cadillac’s engine started and the car moved.