Alpha Bravo SEAL

by Carol Ericson

  “Thanks, I appreciate it.” Nicole took a half turn around the room. Did Trudy have her own room here? “Nice place. How many bedrooms?”

  “We have two bedrooms and one bathroom. I’m going to have to find another roommate, but I can’t even think about that right now.” Marley’s eyes welled with tears.

  “I’m so sorry.” Nicole patted Marley’s arm. “We’ll get out of your way.”

  “That’s okay. A bunch of us are going out later to celebrate her life.” Marley cocked her head to the side. “That’s weird, isn’t it?”

  “What?” Nicole’s heart skipped a beat. Was Marley suspicious about the epilepsy story?

  “I mean, Trudy told me about Lars...about his suicide, and now she’s dead, too.”

  “Both too young.”

  “Well, I can understand why you’d want something from Lars. I’ll let you know if I find something.”

  Nicole gave Marley her cell phone number, and they said their goodbyes.

  Slade waited until they hit the sidewalk before speaking. “We’re going to wait until Marley goes out, and then we’re going back in.”

  “Did you see that place? It’s crammed with stuff. We’ll never find it—whatever it is.”

  Slade tugged on a lock of her hair. “I didn’t think you’d give up so quickly.”

  “I’m not giving up.” A spark of heat flared in her chest. “I’m all for doing a search.”

  “That’s what I want to hear.” He pointed to a coffee place across the street. “Let’s hang out over there, keep an eye on Marley’s building and make our move.”

  They got their coffee and settled at a table by the window with a clear view of the apartment.

  Nicole popped the lid from her cup and slurped the vanilla-scented foam from her latte. “How did Trudy’s killers know she had epilepsy?”

  “Good question. Maybe they broke into her place earlier, searched through her stuff and found her medication. They formulated a plan from that. I should’ve known it wouldn’t be straight poison that killed Trudy. None of these deaths looks like murder.”

  “And who would know to connect them except me?” She took another sip of coffee and glanced over her shoulder at the sandwiches in the refrigerated case. “How long do you think we’ll be waiting?”

  “Who knows? We couldn’t ask her what time the friends were getting together without sounding too suspicious. Marley already thought it was strange that you didn’t know what Trudy had for you.”

  “You’re right.” She dug into her purse for her phone. Might as well check some emails. They could be here until nighttime. “Wow, looks like I’ve missed a bunch of calls.”

  “I think you have time to return them. Like you said, we could be here for a while.”

  “They’re all from Livvy. I hope Chanel’s okay. If anything happened to that dog on my watch, my mom would disinherit me.” She touched her phone to return Livvy’s call.

  Livvy didn’t waste any time. “Nicole, where have you been? I got hit by a car and it was hit-and-run—the bastards.”

  “Oh, my God. Are you all right?”

  “I’m at the hospital now, waiting for X-rays. I may have broken my foot or my ankle. All I know is I can’t walk on it and it hurts like hell. Don’t worry about Chanel. She escaped unscathed. I can’t say the same about your sweatshirt, though. That thing’s trashed.”

  A chill zigzagged down Nicole’s spine. “That’s right. You borrowed my sweatshirt.”

  “It has a rip and some oil stains on it now, sorry. Now I’m really glad I didn’t wear that blazer. My partner, Andi, picked up Chanel and took her back to our place. I hope that’s okay.”

  “That’s fine. D-did you see the car that hit you?”

  “Came out of nowhere. I would’ve been dead if Chanel hadn’t seen another dog, making me cross the street faster.”

  “Do you need anything?”

  “Andi’s taking care of everything. Just give her a call when you’re ready to get Chanel. We have two other dogs at our place now, so we can handle her.”

  When Nicole got off the phone with Livvy, Slade was staring at her, eyebrows raised.

  “Livvy got hit by a car, walking my mom’s dog and wearing my sweatshirt.”

  Slade nodded once. “It’s your turn now.”

  Chapter Seven

  Hearing him say aloud what she’d already acknowledged to herself sent a new river of chills cascading through her body. “Livvy said the car came at her out of nowhere. All she saw was a dark blur.”

  “They must’ve been waiting for you outside and you got lucky when we decided to go out the back way. Livvy is tall and thin like you. Wearing your sweatshirt—” he snapped his fingers “—she was a dead ringer for you.”

  “Really bad choice of words.” She hugged herself, sort of wishing Slade’s arms were holding her instead of her own flimsy limbs.

  “I take it Livvy is okay, since you were having a conversation with her.”

  “Better than Trudy.” Nicole swirled her lukewarm coffee. “She may have broken her foot or ankle.”

  “Chanel?”

  “Probably saved Livvy’s life by chasing after another dog. Pulled her away from receiving the brunt of the car’s force. Livvy’s partner and roommate took Chanel home with her.”

  Slade drummed his fingers on the table. “The people after the footage are still trying to make these deaths appear like accidents or suicide, but they must realize you’re onto them now if they know you went to see Trudy.”

  “I guess they don’t care what I think, but they probably don’t want the police crawling all over these incidents.” She hunched forward on the table. “Do you think they know you’re here? That the CIA, or whoever you’re representing, is in the loop?”

  “Hard to tell. If someone was watching us at the theater, he spotted us together.” His blue eyes narrowed. “She’s leaving.”

  Nicole jerked her head up and watched as Marley took off down the street. “Wherever they’re getting together for this wake must be close, because it looks like she’s heading in the opposite direction of the station.”

  “Then we’ll have plenty of time to do our search.”

  When Marley rounded the corner, Slade pushed back from the table. “Let’s go.”

  They crossed the street and let themselves in the front door of the building with Trudy’s key. They paused on the stairs and put on the gloves Slade had insisted they bring. A second key worked for the door to the apartment, and Slade clicked it behind them and slid the lock across the top.

  When Nicole raised her brows at him, he shrugged. “Better to have Marley trying to figure out how her door got locked from the inside than having her walk in on us tossing her place.”

  “Let’s start with Trudy’s bedroom.” Nicole made a beeline for the short hallway off the living room and turned into the bedroom on the right-hand side, a stark contrast to the rest of the apartment. “Ah, this is much better.”

  “Well, we know who the messy one is. It’ll be easier to search in here, too.”

  Nicole took a turn around the neatly ordered room with its stacks of fabric-covered boxes and shelves lined with books and accented with framed photos.

  “I’m going to start looking in here.” Slade grabbed the knob of the closet door and folded the door back. He held up the stubby key. “A box or safe for this.”

  Feeling like a voyeur, Nicole eased open the nightstand drawer.

  She scanned the contents of the drawer, her gaze tripping over a few condoms, a small bottle of massage oil, some matches and a dog-eared paperback—a pulp fiction Western from the ’40s. The title of the book blurred through the tears in her eyes. That book had belonged to Lars.

  Sniffling, she picked up the paperback and thumbed t
hrough it. Lars had loved the old American West, and it seemed as if Trudy had loved Lars.

  She ran a hand across the cover and placed it back in the drawer. “Find anything yet?”

  “Nothing. She doesn’t have a safe in the closet. You?”

  Nicole closed the nightstand drawer. “No.”

  She wandered to the bookshelves and studied the titles with her head tilted to the side. Lots of plays. Trudy had obviously taken her craft seriously.

  Nicole took a seat on the padded stool in front of the vanity, very similar to the one Trudy had been sitting at the night she died. She poked through the makeup and brushes and then hunched forward to study the photos wedged in the mirror’s frame.

  She caught her breath. “She has a selfie of her and Lars.”

  Sneezing, Slade backed out of the closet. “Recent?”

  She plucked the photo from the mirror. “According to the time stamp, from his last visit here.”

  “That’s strange.” Slade hovered over her shoulder at the vanity. “Who prints out selfies? Most people leave them on their phones.”

  “Trudy obviously had a thing for photographs.” She waved at the framed pictures on the shelves.

  “Where was it taken?”

  “Not sure.” She brought the picture to her nose. “Looks like a fast food place or something. See the sign behind them?”

  “Hot dogs.” Slade poked the picture with his finger. “No, corn dogs. That’s an R and an N.”

  “Corn dogs? I don’t know many places in the city that sell corn dogs.”

  He flicked the picture with his finger. “Who says they’re in the city? Look at the sky to the right of the corn dog place. Do you see any other buildings behind them?”

  She niggled her bottom lip between her teeth. “Corn dogs. The last time I ate a corn dog was when I took my out-of-town friend and her daughter to Coney Island.”

  “Could that be Coney Island?”

  “Could be, which would help, wouldn’t it?” Nicole slipped the photo in her pocket. “It’s probably important to figure out every place they went while Lars was here.”

  “Would help a lot.” Slade leaned in closer, his hand brushing her shoulder. “Any more pictures of Lars?”

  “Not here—a few group shots on the shelf, all older.”

  “I don’t see much else in here, do you? Let’s check out the bathroom.”

  With shoulders colliding, they crowded the entrance to the small bathroom, where chaos reigned supreme.

  Nicole shook her head. “I honestly don’t see how Trudy put up with such a slob. Marley’s going to have a hard time finding another roommate.”

  Slade squeezed past her and tugged open the medicine cabinet. “Do you think this is how Trudy’s killers found out about her epilepsy?”

  “Maybe.” She joined him at the sink and nudged a few prescription bottles with the tip of her finger. “If the police ever do get around to investigating her death as a crime, hopefully they’ll find some evidence here.”

  “In the meantime, we haven’t found much except a picture possibly taken at Coney Island. It doesn’t look like she kept Lars’s film, whatever its form, here in her apartment.”

  “Unless it’s somewhere in that mess.” Nicole wedged her hands on her hips and tipped her head toward the living room.

  “I don’t think Trudy would leave something that important in this jumble of stuff, especially if the stuff belonged to her roommate.”

  “Probably not. Do you think it would be too obvious to ask Marley if she was here when Lars visited and where Trudy took him?”

  “She might think it’s weird, but what of it? Marley’s not trying to hide anything. Give her another try. You can make up some reason—maybe just trying to figure out what he left you.”

  “I’ll give her a call. Now, let’s get out here.” She eyed the creeping shadows in the room and shivered. “I don’t like being in someone else’s space.”

  “You’d make a lousy thief.” Slade unlocked the inside deadbolt and then closed and locked the door behind them—just as they’d found it.

  She trudged down the three flights of stairs ahead of Slade, since the staircase was too narrow for them to walk side by side. She tripped once, clutching the banister.

  “Whoa!” He touched her waist. “Careful.”

  A smile curved her mouth. When Slade Gallagher had your back—literally—it was like having a guardian angel flapping his wings around you. Except Slade’s wings were a pair of muscled arms.

  They stepped onto the sidewalk as the sky dimmed around them.

  “You must be starving, because I am and I had some breakfast. Do you want to pick up Chanel and check on Livvy?”

  “Speaking of Livvy, I wonder if the idiots figured out yet that they targeted the wrong person.”

  “Even if they haven’t figured it out, the driver must have realized by now that the accident didn’t result in a fatality. He’d be watching the news for sure.”

  “I must be the only one left standing between them and that film.” Nicole pulled off her gloves and shoved them into her purse. “Scary thought.”

  “Nicole? That you?”

  At the sound of Marley’s voice behind them, Slade stiffened beside Nicole and took her arm, squeezing it in warning. He didn’t have to warn her. She’d play it cool, even though she felt anything but.

  Nicole pasted a smile on her face and turned around, almost tripping over her own feet when she saw a man next to Marley. Good thing her guardian angel still had possession of her arm. “Marley.”

  “Did you forget something?” Marley stumbled and her own guardian angel grabbed her around the waist.

  “No, no.” Nicole tilted back her head. “Are we back on your block? We just stayed in the neighborhood and then grabbed a late lunch.”

  “Well, I drank a late lunch.” Marley’s laugh ended on a hiccup and a sob.

  The man’s arm moved to Marley’s shoulders. “Sorry, she is a little upset. You understand.”

  The man’s slight accent matched his formal phrasing. “Of course, yes. I’m sorry. I’m Nicole and this is S-Steve.”

  She’d almost forgotten Slade’s made-up name.

  “Hello, I’m Conrad.”

  “Nicole knew Trudy, too. Wasn’t she the best, Nicole? Wasn’t she the best roommate ever?”

  “Yeah, she was.” Slade pinched Nicole’s arm, and she cleared her throat. “You know, I thought of something after I left your place, Marley. Where did Trudy take Lars when he was visiting?”

  “Shh.” Marley put two fingers to her lips, smearing her lipstick across her mouth. “Conrad was going out with Trudy.”

  “Oh.” Nicole put up her hands. “Lars was Trudy’s friend. She probably mentioned him to you.”

  “We had just started dating each other, nothing exclusive.” Conrad shrugged. “I am going to help Marley home. She drank much in a short time. Please excuse us.”

  “Take care, Marley.”

  Marley’s head dropped to the side, resting against Conrad’s arm. “’Night.”

  Slade’s hand pressed against the small of Nicole’s back as he propelled her down the street. “It’s a good thing Marley was drunk. She probably won’t even remember meeting us in front of her building.”

  “Probably not, unless Herr Conrad tells her, but like you said, I don’t really care if she’s suspicious of my motives. I already told her that Trudy was going to give me something from Lars. She can think what she wants. At least Conrad didn’t seem too upset about Trudy hanging out with Lars.”

  “The way he was touching Marley, I think Conrad has already moved on.” Slade finally slowed his pace as they rounded the next corner. “I wish we really had been eating lunch. I’m hungry.”

  “I th
ink there’s a block of trendy restaurants and bars around here—probably where Marley got her drink on.” Nicole pulled out her phone. “I’ll look it up.”

  Fifteen minutes later, they were sitting inside an Italian restaurant with a bottle of red wine between them.

  Nicole took a sip from her glass and closed her eyes as the warmth from the wine spread through her chest. “I’m going to give Livvy a call. Maybe the police found out something about the car that hit her.”

  “Try to get some info on the car or driver.” Slade held up a piece of buttery garlic bread from the basket the waiter had just dropped at the table. “Don’t mind me. I’m going to devour this.”

  Rolling her eyes, Nicole placed the call to Livvy.

  “Hi, Nicole. I’m still alive.”

  “Don’t even joke about it. What’s the verdict?”

  “Broken foot. How’s that for a dog walker?”

  “I’m so sorry. For a little extra money, do you and Andi want to keep Chanel there? I’m sure my mom would be fine with it, and I’m...” She glanced at Slade wolfing down his second piece of garlic bread. “Kind of busy.”

  “That would be great, if you’re sure Mimi won’t mind.”

  “Believe me, my mom trusts you with Chanel much more than she does me. Send Andi over to pick up Chanel’s food and toys, and I’ll have a check for you.”

  “Thanks, Nicole.”

  Between bites, Slade nudged the toe of her shoe with his own.

  “Livvy, did you remember anything more about the car or the driver?”

  “Just a dark blur, and I didn’t see the driver at all.”

  “Did anyone else? Were there any witnesses?”

  “One guy said he saw the car speed up coming around the corner, but he didn’t get a make or model. Said it was a man driving, though.” She coughed. “I told the cops all this.”

  “I’m just curious. Have Andi come by tomorrow for Chanel’s stuff and tell her to give me a call first.”

  “Will do. Thanks for checking on me.”