Glamour Puss

by R. J. Kaiser

  That alone made her hate Mac for disappointing her. How wonderful it could have been. Brushing away a tear, Manuela stared at the beautiful house that could have—no should have—been hers. Damn Mac McGowan, anyway. And damn his girlfriend, the cop.

  Mac, freshly showered and shaved, heard a car enter the drive as he entered the front room. He went to the window. A white Ford Escort with a couple of rusty dents blemishing the front fender sat at his door. The driver, a slender woman with short, dark hair got out. She had a notebook in her hand and pulled a large bag out after her, which she swung up on her shoulder. She was in jeans and a white, long-sleeve cotton T-shirt. The way she sort of swung around the car with long, athletic strides made him think of a jock, a soccer player or rock climber or something. Definitely the outdoors type. An environmentalist, maybe. Someone who might champion the cause of an endangered frog.

  He went to the door as the bell chimed. The girl on his doorstep had a large smile and exuded energy.

  “Mac,” she said, “I’m Jade Morro.” She extended her hand, gripping his firmly. The hand he held was large, if slender, for a woman’s. And strong.

  “Come in, Jade.”

  She ran her fingers through her short-cropped hair—a boyish gesture that somehow was appealing, notwithstanding the fact she was a girl, though he suspected she would have taken umbrage at being referred to that way. Stepping past him, she moved into the entry and looked around.

  “Nice place you’ve got here,” she said as he closed the door.

  For a moment they stood looking at each other, Jade a tomboyish ingenue crackling with energy and enthusiasm, Mac surprised by her. And intrigued.

  Smiling, maybe to cover her nervousness, Jade went up and down on her toes a couple of times. She wasn’t beautiful, nothing that would knock a guy’s socks off, but rather attractive in a wholesome, real, unpretentious sort of way. Mac could see she wasn’t as young as she first seemed. She was at least thirty, yet fresh-looking, honest, innocent. Not what you’d expect in a former cop. She was different.

  His silence started making her uncomfortable. He could tell by the way she shifted her weight and furrowed her brow.

  “Thanks for being so prompt,” he said, knowing he had to say something. “And for agreeing to meet with me on a Sunday.”

  “Art said you had a pressing problem.”

  “Unfortunately, I do.” He motioned toward the front room. “Let’s go in there.”

  Jade swung her purse behind her and, locking it in place with her elbow, headed off. Mac checked her figure. The jeans were not super tight, but formfitting enough to reveal the nicely rounded, feminine curve of her hips. She was not bodacious by any means and certainly wouldn’t be considered pinup material, but she was a sprite, a gamine and there was a distinct sexuality in that.

  Jade sat in the middle of the largest sofa and put her notebook on the coffee table in front of her. As Mac sat in the armchair across from her, she dug into her purse, which was on the floor between her feet. Muttering, she started pulling the contents out onto the thick carpet. A calculator, a fat wallet, a cell phone, a small package of tampons and a shiny automatic pistol were among the items piled at her feet. Her insouciance surprised him. There was no pretense here.

  Jade found a pen, which seemed to be what she was looking for. She slapped it between her teeth and proceeded to put her possessions back into her purse. Then she grabbed her notebook and leaned back, running her fingers through her hair again before taking the pen from between her teeth and crossing her legs.

  “Hope you don’t mind if I take notes,” she said. “I’ve got a lousy memory for names and dates and phone numbers and stuff like that.”

  Mac was absolutely mesmerized. When he saw she expected an answer, he said, “No, whatever you want. That’s fine.”

  She opened the notebook and rested it on her knee. “Let’s recap where we are, just to make sure we’re on the same page. You said on the phone you’re eager to get an investigation started on this problem you’ve got, and our immediate objective is for me to determine if it’s feasible and for you to determine if I’m the person to handle it. Sound right?”

  Her earnestness and her syntax amused him. “Yes, that’s about the size of it.”

  “Okay, well, how about if we start with you telling me the nature of the problem? Or, would you rather I give you a rundown on my professional qualifications first?” She gave him a self-deprecating smile. “I guess if you don’t like what you hear there’s no need to discuss your problem.”

  “Why don’t you tell me about yourself first, Jade?” Mac said. “Not so much to see if I want to proceed, as to get acquainted. My situation is sensitive, and I’d have an easier time telling you about it if I knew you a little better.”

  “Fair enough.” She got a pensive look, her tanned brow furrowing. “I got an A.A. in Administration of Justice from Pasadena City College about eight years ago. Since then I’ve been taking night classes at Long Beach State to get my bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice. I need eight more units, which, at the rate I’m going, will take me another three or four years,” she said with a laugh.

  “At least you’re sticking with it.”

  “I need to send you to talk to my adviser, Mac. She considers me a flake.”

  “I assume you have to work to support yourself. That, to my mind, is commendable.”

  “A person does what they have to do. The last I checked, rent’s not optional…unless you want to live in a cardboard box.”

  Mac smiled. He liked the woman. “You were with the L.A.P.D. for a while, weren’t you?”

  “I was a patrol officer for five years. Two commendations for bravery. One Purple Heart. Got knifed in the butt trying to break up a street fight in East L.A.”

  “Ouch.”

  “It was a superficial wound. Lots of blood but only a couple dozen stitches. It was nothing compared to the time I got bit by a spider when I was crawling under an abandoned house chasing a car thief. My neck swelled up like a grapefruit. But none of that’s relevant. I applied for detective, passed the exam and was on the list when I ran afoul the politicians in the department. The long and the short of it is, my boyfriend was on the force and we were living together. What I didn’t know was he was married.”

  “Ouch again.”

  “Yeah, that was a definite ouch. Nothing superficial about it. The only reason I mention it is because it messed up my career. When it became clear I wasn’t going to make detective, I resigned. The two people I needed on my side were male chauvinist pigs and that cooked me.” She hesitated. “If you’re a chauvinist, Mac, forgive me. I tolerate it in clients, but not the people who supervise me.”

  “Don’t worry, I’m liberated,” he assured her.

  “But a Republican, right?”

  He shrugged. “I’m not very political.”

  “You vote your pocketbook. I can understand that. Personally, I’m pretty liberal, but I guess that’s obvious, just looking at me.”

  Mac was bewitched.

  “But we’re getting off track,” Jade said. “I normally don’t talk about myself a lot, but I can see you’re the type who wants to know who he’s dealing with and expects the straight skinny. What you’ll care about is that I apprenticed with Barry Cushman for almost a year before striking out on my own. Barry’s one of the old-timers in the gumshoe game. Barry, I gotta say, knows his stuff. I learned a lot, as much as I’d learned all the years I was a cop. If you want to talk with Barry about me, you can. He’ll probably give you a favorable report.”

  “Probably?”

  “I hate to sound like a whiner, some kind of persecuted feminist, but Barry and I had a falling-out over the fact that I’m a girl and he isn’t.”

  “He was prejudiced?”

  “No, he hit on me. The guy’s sixty-two, but he felt part of my training was proving his manhood. To be honest, I’m not sure which part of my experience working with him he’ll remember.” She paused. �
��Would you like to hear more?”

  Mac thought for a moment. He was thoroughly enchanted. Maybe because she was so different. “I have a question, Jade. Did you go over all this with Art?”

  “Not really. He wasn’t very interested in the past. In most of our conversations he talked about Pool Maids and himself. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, it’s most guys’ favorite topic, if you know what I mean.”

  “Hmm.”

  “So, that’s pretty much my story, Mac. I’m sorry if you’re disappointed, but I’d rather be honest than embellish. In the long run it doesn’t pay to play games. It may not be the best marketing strategy, but it feels better to me than lying.”

  “That used to be my philosophy, too.”

  “Used to be?”

  “Life has a way of corrupting people and, to be perfectly honest, it’s corrupted me.”

  “Not too many people admit to that.”

  “Maybe we have a lot in common.”

  “Accepting who we are?”

  “Yeah, without pretense.”

  “I hate playing games.” She hesitated. “You mention being corrupted. Is that part of the problem we’ll be discussing?”

  “Yes.”

  She nodded. “Well, I’m definitely curious.”

  They stared at each other for a moment until she grew self-conscious.

  “So that’s my story,” she repeated. “If you want to stop here, I’m cool with that. You won’t hurt my feelings.”

  “No,” he said. “Just the opposite. So far so good. I’m liking what I hear. But it won’t do either of us any good unless you’re up to the task. After I outline the problem, I’d like your honest opinion if you think you’re the one to handle the investigation.”

  “Sure, but let me be certain I understand. Are we talking about your personal problem or the Pool Maids problem?”

  “My personal problem. Art wants to hire you to investigate Pool Maid’s personnel and that’s fine with me. This is separate.”

  She brightened. “You mean I got the job?”

  “Yes. But you’ll be dealing with Art on that. My situation has nothing to do with the company and, of course, it’s strictly confidential. It also takes priority, by the way.”

  “I understand, Mac. I’m also very discreet.”

  He could see that. They’d hardly spoken for more than a few minutes, but already he had the feeling he could trust her. The woman inspired confidence, and Mac liked her. He liked what he saw and he liked what he’d heard.

  “Before we get started, would you like a cup of coffee or a soft drink or something?” he asked. “I’m not the best host, I’m afraid.”

  “I take it your wife’s not home.”

  “My wife and I are separated, Jade. Have been for nearly ten years.”

  “Oh, I didn’t know that.”

  “Stella lives in Beverly Hills, in the place we had together. We have a son who’s twenty. Unfortunately, Troy and I don’t get along. He’s got his mother’s acting bug. Hollywood was more or less responsible for the breakup of my marriage and my falling-out with my son.”

  “I see.”

  “I’m not single,” he said, “but it practically amounts to the same thing.” Mac saw the wheels turning. “That doesn’t make any difference, does it?”

  “In what?”

  He shrugged. “Your willingness to take the case.”

  A little smile formed at the corners of her mouth. “Not unless you’re planning on hitting on me.”

  “I’m not.”

  “Then it’s cool.”

  Mac was pleased. “Coffee, then?”

  “Have any fruit juice?”

  He thought. “There may be a can of V-8 in the cupboard somewhere.”

  “That would be fine.”

  Mac went to the kitchen, feeling hopeful. Maybe that was because Jade Morro was the first positive thing to happen along in a while. Or maybe he just needed someone he could trust and rely on. The truth was he’d been going it alone for a long time, confiding in no one. Not in Bri or any of the other women in his life. Not in his friends. But now he needed help, expertise, and Jade seemed the one. He certainly wanted her to be.

  Mac found the V-8 juice and was putting some water on to boil for his instant coffee when Jade appeared at the kitchen door.

  “Need some help?”

  She was leaning against the doorframe, her legs crossed at the ankles, her slender jock body having just enough girlish curves to be alluring. Impish, cute. Mac found her fascinating.

  “You can open the can of juice,” he said. “Glasses are in the cupboard to the right of the sink. Opener’s in that middle top drawer, there.”

  Jade got her juice while Mac leaned against the counter waiting for the water to boil. “I’m thirsty,” she said. “Mind if I start without you?”

  “Be my guest.”

  She guzzled down a quarter of the glass, then wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. The woman disdained pretense and was as real as any person he’d known since grammar school. There was a tinge of “in your face” about her, but he suspected it came from the fact that she’d been hurt. She was genuine, but also wounded.

  “This is a pretty big place for a single guy, or do you have a roommate?”

  “I have had lady friends who’ve spent time here. Nobody’s actually moved in. A housekeeper cleans the place and picks up after me, but she’s on vacation at the moment.”

  Jade glanced around. “You don’t appear to be a slob.”

  “I try not to be.”

  “You like knocking around a big empty house?”

  “When I bought it, it seemed the thing to do.”

  She nodded and drank more V-8 juice.

  “Do you mind telling me about your family background?” Mac said. “I like knowing the person behind the business facade.”

  For the first time she looked suspicious.

  “If you’d rather not, that’s okay,” he said.

  “Nobody’s ever asked me about my family before.”

  “Maybe I’m overly curious.”

  “Why? What are you curious about?”

  Mac could see she knew how to question people. “If I’m going to be sharing some very personal stuff about myself, I’d like to know you better, that’s all.”

  “Okay, what do you want to know about me?”

  He searched for some harmless way to get the conversation started. “Where’re you from originally?”

  “San Diego. Grew up in a broken home. My dad died when I was a little kid. My mother raised me as a single parent. She wasn’t very good at it. She felt she needed a man and went through a series of abusive relationships, with me watching every beating. There were a couple of husbands and lots of live-ins. I had a ton of father figures to choose from, none very wholesome. My mother managed to put food on the table and keep her guys away from me, though when I was a teenager, it was touch-and-go. She died of breast cancer the summer after I graduated from high school. I’ve pretty much been on my own ever since.”

  Mac could see he was right about her. Jade Morro was a decent person who’d had a rough life. She had a bit of a chip on her shoulder, but she was doing the best she could.

  “How about you, Mac? Where’d you grow up?”

  Mac told her about childhood and youth in Toledo, Ohio, about the mother he adored and his mostly absent father. He told her about playing football in high school and going to Vietnam.

  “And now you’re a millionaire pool guy having troubles with your wife.”

  “Yes and no.” The hot water was boiling. “It’s sort of complicated. Let’s go back in the living room to talk.”

  Mac made some instant coffee in a mug. Jade refilled her glass and they went back into the front room.

  When they’d settled into their chairs, Mac said, “I think somebody’s preparing to blackmail me, Jade, extort money from me over a situation in the past. It involves my wife and me. It’s a very private matter, and I
’d rather not share the details. I don’t mean to be coy, but I’m not the only one concerned and I’ve got to respect that. Others could be hurt, so I have to be careful.”

  “All right. So, what’s happened?”

  “I’ve received an anonymous note. There was no demand for money or threat to expose secrets, but that’s where it’s headed, I believe. What I’d like for you to do is track down whoever is responsible.”

  “Can I see the note?”

  “No.”

  Jade seemed surprised, then slowly nodded. “I can’t see the note and you can’t tell me exactly what the potential blackmail is about, but you want me to find out who’s responsible.”

  “I know it sounds crazy.”

  “It’s a little like trying to play tennis blindfolded, Mac.”

  “There was a damning—let’s say embarrassing—incident twenty years ago involving my wife and myself, which is what this is all about. Stella and I thought we were the only ones who knew, but the blackmailer seems to have found out somehow. Stella swears she never told a soul. I know I haven’t.”

  “One of you is either mistaken or lying.”

  “I suppose so.”

  “Can you give me a hint about the sort of thing we’re talking about?”

  Mac shifted uncomfortably. His soul cried out to spill everything, to tell the whole story, but he couldn’t. He opted to give Jade a sanitized version. “Stella and I had an affair while she was still married to her former husband. We thought we were the only ones who knew. We discover now that we aren’t. There’s more to the story, but I’m hoping that’s sufficient for you to do what you have to do, which is find this person.”

  Jade opened up her notebook, took the cap off her pen and jotted a note. “Who was her former husband?”

  “Aubrey St. George.”