The P.I. Contest

by C. J. Carmichael

  He couldn’t begrudge her success. While he’d had some lucky breaks, and his instincts had led him in the right direction a couple of times, he simply didn’t have the investigating savvy and experience that she did.

  He crossed his arms on the table and waited to hear what she had to say about prospective dad number three.

  “Oliver Crane graduated with a law degree and is currently working at a practice on Park Avenue,” Kate said. “He’s married with two kids, and I approached him a few days ago to see if he would provide a DNA sample for testing. He refused.”

  Hannah drew in a quick breath and turned to her husband, who put his hand over hers. “I didn’t think this was going to be so hard.”

  “Give them a break,” Jeremy said. “They haven’t been looking for long.”

  “And I’m not prepared to give up on Oliver Crane yet,” Kate continued. “Hannah, I’d like you to write him a letter, explaining why you need to know who your father is. I’ll mail it to him at his office. I also think it would help if you included some photos of you…and your mother…in with the letter.”

  “Put a face to the name,” Lindsay murmured. “That’s an excellent idea. Only a coldhearted bastard could have the heart to say no to that.”

  It was a good idea, Jay agreed. He noticed Nathan looking at him, encouraging him to say something, as well. But Jay had nothing to add. Kate had definitely won this round. But he wasn’t ready to give up yet.

  “YOU ROCK, KATE!” Lindsay gave her a high five as soon as they were alone in the conference room. Nathan had taken Hannah and Jeremy to his office so she could compose the letter that was supposed to melt Oliver Crane’s heart.

  As for Jay, he had quietly congratulated her, then left the office, to do what, Kate didn’t know. Did he have a lead of his own?

  She almost hoped that he did, which was crazy.

  This job was supposed to be hers. She deserved this job.

  “You totally owned that meeting,” Lindsay continued to gloat. “Not that I ever doubted that you would come out on top.”

  “The competition isn’t over. The case still isn’t solved.”

  “You’ll solve it. Come on. Smile. Look happy. You did great.”

  She should be enjoying her partial victory, Kate knew. But she couldn’t help wondering what Jay had been thinking about during the meeting. His mind had been someplace else, that was for sure.

  Was he sorry about what they’d done yesterday? She really hoped not. She’d have to be very careful to live up to her side of the bargain, to make no demands on him, to make him believe that she really wanted no more from him than that one very hot, very sweaty moment.

  And a baby.

  It was possible it could happen. She’d checked her calendar at home last night and she was at the right point in her cycle. Of course there were no guarantees. She’d heard of couples who had tried for months, sometimes a year or more.

  “So what was up with you and Jay?” Lindsay asked, lowering her voice. “He hardly took his eyes off you all meeting. I don’t think it had anything to do with the case.”

  “You’re imagining things.” She wasn’t going to tell her friend what they had done. Later, if she found out she was pregnant…maybe.

  “Hey, girls, it’s too soon for a victory party yet,” Nathan said, coming in the room with the letter from Hannah. He gave it to her with a nod of approval. “Impressive work, Kate. Well done.”

  It was a measure of his character that he was rising above his personal bias for Jay to win this contest, and Kate thanked him. Then she glanced over the letter.

  “This sounds good.”

  “Hannah’s going to e-mail you some pictures when she gets back to her office,” Nathan said. “So you can include them in the package. If this doesn’t melt Oliver Crane’s heart, I don’t know what will.”

  “Thanks, Nathan. I’ll make sure he receives this today. I could tell Hannah and Jeremy were disappointed we hadn’t found her father yet.”

  “Seemed to me that Hannah was more disappointed than Jeremy. Still, the sooner we get this resolved, the sooner Lindsay and I can start dumping more work on someone else’s shoulders.”

  Kate smiled. “I hope they’ll be mine.”

  Nathan hesitated. “May the best person win, Kate. That’s all I can say.”

  KATE WAITED FOR HANNAH’S e-mail, then she printed out the pictures and enclosed them in an envelope with the letter Hannah had written for Oliver Crane. It was a good, heartfelt plea, and as Nathan had said, only someone without a heart could fail to be moved by it. She addressed the envelope and was about to give it to Nadine to send by courier, when she realized it would arrive much faster if she delivered it in person.

  On her way out of the office she met up with Lindsay, who was also getting her coat from the closet.

  “I need to buy some more toys for the kids at the shelter,” Lindsay explained. They both volunteered at the Women’s Emergency Shelter. Lindsay liked to make sure that each child who booked into the home was given a brand-new toy of their own, whereas Kate taught a class on self-defense the fourth Wednesday of every month.

  Lindsay and Kate walked together as far as the toy store. Lindsay talked about the deluge of cases that she hoped Kate would help her with once she was officially on staff at Fox & Fisher.

  “I appreciate your confidence, but I’m not so sure Jay won’t solve this case first. He doesn’t have my training and experience but he has amazing instincts about people.”

  “So do you. I like Jay, too. I wish we could hire you both. But right now all we need is one employee. So if I were you, I’d concentrate on being the one and stop talking about how good Jay is.”

  They parted at the toy store, and Kate continued toward the Park Avenue address, her thoughts on her conversation with Lindsay. Her friend was right. She talked about Jay too much. She thought about him too much also.

  After what had happened between them yesterday, it was important that she treat him in a purely professional way. She’d made him a promise and she had to live up to it.

  But it wouldn’t be easy. She’d felt so different around him this morning. She wasn’t surprised Lindsay had picked up on the vibes between them.

  And she’d thought about him a lot last night. She’d thought about the baby, too, but even more about Jay, which wasn’t right. She realized she had some regrets of her own.

  One was that due to the circumstances they’d found themselves in—mainly making love on a boardroom table—they’d had no opportunity to cuddle and talk after.

  Also, she wished that they could have gone for dinner together. Not a date. They didn’t have that sort of a relationship. But just a chance to talk and get adjusted to the shift in their…relationship.

  When she reached Crane’s law office, Kate told herself she simply had to stop thinking about Jay. This was work and it was important. She took the elevator to the fifteenth floor, then approached the understated yet elegant reception desk.

  “I have a letter for Oliver Crane that I’d like to deliver in person.”

  An attractive, stylishly dressed and coiffed receptionist peered over dark-framed glasses and held out her hand. “I’ll make sure he gets the letter.”

  “I’d prefer to deliver it in person.”

  She frowned. “Is this a subpoena?”

  “No.”

  “Well. Mr. Crane’s next appointment is in twenty minutes. If you take a seat over there, you’ll be able to catch him on his way out.”

  Kate made her way to the designated seating area, resigned to the wait. She picked up the front section of the New York Times and scanned the dire headlines. Some people questioned the wisdom of bringing more children into this messed-up world. But Kate couldn’t buy into that theory. There was still hope, she sincerely believed, that the world could become a better place.

  Fifteen minutes later, Kate had finished with the paper and was replacing it on the coffee table, when Oliver Crane appeared in the
hall wearing a dark blue wool jacket and carrying a briefcase. He stopped to talk to the receptionist, and they both glanced at her.

  Oliver Crane’s nose wrinkled as if he’d just caught scent of a foul odor.

  She stood and headed toward him. Without saying a word, she held out the envelope.

  He regarded it suspiciously, then lifted his gaze back to her.

  “It’s from Hannah Young,” she said. “Please read it.”

  He stood frozen for several moments. Then finally he gave a short nod and accepted the envelope. Without uttering a word, not a promise or another denial, he continued on his way out of the building.

  AFTER THE CLIENT MEETING, Jay left the office on a hunt for a cab. When he flagged one down, he jumped into the backseat. “Brooklyn Heights High School.”

  He had a need for action now. Movement. Progress.

  Kate had impressed the hell out of him at that meeting, proving yet again that she was every bit as intelligent as she was beautiful. He couldn’t believe she’d already located and met with Oliver Crane. Now that she had that letter from Hannah, it was only a matter of time before she convinced the lawyer to provide a DNA sample.

  Which meant his only chance to come out on top was to find Gary Gifford before she did.

  Yesterday, Coach Johnson had mentioned something about Gifford being sweet on one of the teachers. He’d claimed not to know which teacher, but someone at that school had to be in on the secret. Jay wanted to find that woman and talk to her. If anyone would know why Gary had taken early retirement, surely she would.

  The taxi pulled up to the school just before noon. Jay checked in at reception and found the school secretary as frosty as she’d been the previous day. He stood in front of her desk for several minutes—while she shuffled papers around—before she finally acknowledged him.

  “Hello,” he said. “It’s Jay Savage from Fox & Fisher again.”

  “I see that.” Her lips pinched in a frown as if daring him to come up with a good reason for disturbing her this time.

  Jay took a deep breath. Maybe she hated her job. Maybe she was having personal problems at home. But at heart, she was probably a kind person.

  “I’m sorry to bother you again. This is a big school and you must be very busy. But it’s important that I find Coach Gifford. I have news that could change his life.”

  The secretary’s eyes widened. He thought, hoped, he’d managed to intrigue her.

  He leaned in closer to her and lowered his voice. “Yesterday Coach Johnson told me that Gifford had been sweet on one of the staff members. In your position, I figure you see a lot of things. Know a lot of things. Do you think you could point me in the right direction?”

  She put her hand to her throat as she considered his words. Then she nodded. “I don’t believe in passing along gossip. But if you talk to Lillian Price—she’s the music teacher—she may be able to help you.”

  “Thank you.” He gave her a broad smile. “Thank you very much.”

  “Turn right when you leave here, then go down the hall to your left. The music room is at the far end. You’ll see a sign.”

  “Right.”

  “Coach Gifford was a lonely man,” she said. “I hope you’re bringing him good news.”

  Jay wasn’t so sure about that. Gary Gifford had never married, never had children. Presumably he’d had a reason. Maybe, like Jay, he’d never wanted the responsibility.

  So how could he possibly be happy to find out that he had a twenty-five-year-old daughter?

  Still, Hannah had a right to this information, Jay believed, and it was his job to find out the truth on her behalf.

  As he was making his way along the corridors, the buzzer signaling lunch break sounded. Within seconds, he was wading through a mass of teenage bodies. Finally free of the constraints of the classroom, they exploded with energy—laughing, talking, calling out to one another.

  “I’ll meet you in the parking lot—”

  “Wasn’t that boring?”

  “Where’s Sarah? I told her we would wait for her.”

  His height was a definite advantage as he worked his way through the crosscurrents of teenagers moving in every possible direction. Finally he was at the end of the hall. A brass doorplate identified the room to his left as the music hall. He waited until the last student had left before making his way in.

  A small woman, probably in her early forties, and wearing a peach-colored sweater, was closing the lid on the piano. She glanced up when she noticed him, and her cheeks turned the color of her sweater. She’d been in the staff room when he’d made his appeal, asking if anyone had kept in touch with Coach Gifford.

  She hadn’t said anything then, and his hopes sank a little. Still, maybe she’d be more forthcoming in private.

  “I’m Jay Savage from The Fox & Fisher Detective Agency.”

  She glanced down at her hands. “I remember.”

  “When I was talking to Coach Johnson, he mentioned that Gary Gifford had a crush on one of the teachers in the school. I was wondering if you knew anything about that?”

  She swallowed and her cheeks grew a deeper shade of pink. She got up from the piano bench and went to close the door.

  “I’m married,” she said. “I’ve been married for thirteen years.”

  The room was silent for a long while as he processed what she was telling him.

  “I understand,” he said finally. “I intend to be completely discreet. I just want to find Gary. That’s all.”

  “I don’t know where he is. When he found out he was sick, he took it very hard. Probably because he was used to being athletic and strong, he couldn’t deal with the prospect of becoming wheelchair-bound.”

  “What was wrong with him?”

  “I think I noticed the changes in him before he did. He was usually so focused and decisive. But he started forgetting things and acting befuddled. Plus he was getting clumsy. Even his students noticed that. I convinced him to go to the doctor.”

  “And what did they tell him?”

  Lillian Price seemed suddenly smaller and sadder. Lines of sorrow pulled on her eyes, her mouth.

  “They told him he had Huntington’s.”

  Jay knew a little about the disease. He knew it affected a person’s mind and body. That it was degenerative and eventually fatal.

  “The diagnosis as good as killed him. He cut off all ties with anyone who cared about him.”

  “Including you?”

  She nodded. “He said he wanted me to remember him the way he was.”

  “So he put in for early retirement. And then what?”

  “I have no idea.” She raised her palms despairingly. “I was married. I couldn’t—”

  “I understand.” He felt badly for her, and for Gary Gifford. “What a lousy break.”

  She nodded. “That’s why I didn’t say anything to you yesterday. There was no point. I can’t help you find Gary. I only wish I could. But—if you find him…”

  “Yes?”

  “Tell him hello from me. Tell him…Just tell him hello.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  JAY LEFT THE SCHOOL wondering about Gary Gifford. What kind of man had he been? Most people turned to those they loved in times of trouble. But Gary had gone the opposite way, becoming a virtual recluse after his diagnosis. Had he really wanted to preserve his memory in the hearts of the people he cared about? Or had he wanted to spare them the pain and unhappiness of watching him slowly disintegrate until he died?

  Either way made for a tragic tale.

  And, either way, he still had no clue where Gary was now. Not dead, Kate claimed, based on her research. So then where could he be?

  Jay had really been hoping this lead would take him somewhere. But he was no further ahead now than he’d been this morning.

  And then there was Kate.

  She was still in his mind. No matter what he did or tried to focus on, he couldn’t get her to budge.

  He remembered the panicke
d feeling from his dream and knew he had to talk to her before the day was through.

  As he waited for a taxi to pick him up, he found himself dialing her cell phone.

  “Jay? What’s up?”

  “I was thinking—I wondered if you’d like to meet for a late lunch. I should be back around two.”

  A yellow cab turned a corner and Jay raised his hand. The cab slowed, then stopped, and Jay climbed inside.

  “Manhattan,” he said, giving the address of the office.

  “Back?” Kate asked. “From where?”

  “Just following up on a lead…” He’d let her think he was making progress, though the opposite was true.

  “Okay. I’ll meet you for lunch. The Stool Pigeon okay?”

  “Well, at least it’s convenient.”

  She laughed. “Yes. We can give it that much.”

  JAY WAS WAITING FOR HER when Kate walked into the pub. As soon as he saw her, he stood, and she felt a champagne pop of joy as he smiled at her.

  She had no idea why he’d asked her to lunch. All she knew was that she’d wanted to see him, so she’d said yes. This probably wasn’t the smartest thing she’d ever done, but for now, she was going on instinct.

  She headed for his booth, tossing down her leather case before sliding onto the vinyl bench across from him.

  “So, how was your morning? You took off quickly after our client meeting.”

  “I had some catching up to do.” He tipped his glass of water in salute. “I had no idea you’d already found Oliver Crane.”

  She smiled ruefully. “Yes, I found him. Fat lot of good it’s done me, though.”

  “I presume you’ve sent him Hannah’s letter?”

  “I delivered it this morning, in person. I’m not too hopeful it’ll penetrate that heart of his. I’m guessing it’s made of titanium.”

  Wendy approached to take their sandwich orders. She frowned when they both requested salads rather than fries for their sides. “You only live once,” she told them.

  “We don’t all have Lindsay’s metabolism,” Kate countered. She waited until Wendy had moved on to another table before leaning closer to Jay. “Your turn. What have you been up to this morning?”