Ready, Aim, Under Fire (Lexi Graves Mysteries, 10)

by Camilla Chafer

  I hoped that whatever they were talking about, along with the cooking adventure Debby had planned, would take a good, long time; but just in case it didn’t, Lily was assigned to spend a thrilling few hours watching closely over Debby, ready to alert me if she left the premises.

  “Where is your car?” I asked.

  “Ahead of you, near the bend.”

  I craned my head and spotted it. “I see it. Where are you?” I asked, panning the camera across until I zoomed into Lily’s blue Mini. The driver’s seat was empty.

  “In the tree, right above you.”

  I was not expecting that. I pushed the car door open, hopped out, and looked up. Perched in the tree was Lily, wearing a black hoody and skinny jeans. A black cap covered her hair and a pair of binoculars hung around her neck. “Holy crap,” I muttered. Hanging up, I stared at her in the tree. “What are you doing up there?” I called out.

  “I have a great view,” she replied, adding two owl hoots for no apparent reason.

  “You would have had a great view from your car too!”

  “What if she saw me?”

  “If anyone sees you hanging out in a tree with a pair of binoculars, they will call the police!”

  Lily frowned. “I didn’t think of that.”

  “How did you even get up there?”

  “I climbed!”

  I looked around for an obvious route to get up or down. There were no low branches and I couldn’t see any ladder. “Get down now! Before someone sees you!”

  “Okay.” Lily didn’t move.

  “Can you get down?” I asked, suspecting the only flaw in Lily’s plan.

  “Mmm-hmm,” said Lily, but not at all reassuringly. She scanned the air below her. “Turn around.”

  “Why?”

  “Please,” she pleaded.

  I turned around and leaned against my car. After a rattle of leaves, the sound of a branch breaking, and one heavy thump, Lily appeared next to me. I opened my mouth to ask, but thought better of it and signaled to her to get into the car.

  She slid inside and removed her cap, brushing off a few twigs and leaves. “Just how dangerous is this going to get?” she asked. “She could be a criminal in disguise!”

  “Or she could be Debby Patterson and not at all dangerous. Like I said, all you need to do is watch the house and if Debby leaves, call me.”

  “I can’t tackle her.”

  “That’s fine,” I replied quickly. I did not need to explain that to Garrett. I felt pretty sure I would have had to if Debby reported being attacked by a black-clad lunatic.

  “No, I mean I can’t. I would but my boobs hurt.”

  “You don’t need to tackle her!”

  “Good.” Lily looked disappointed. “So… just watch her?”

  “Yep, and make sure she doesn’t see you.”

  “I hope she does something interesting like engaging in a huge argument with her mom and then yelling her real name. What if she comes over?”

  “Make something up. Say you ran out of gas and you’re waiting for your husband to bring you a gallon. If she asks anything else, start crying.”

  “Cool. I can do that. You know what else I’m going to do?”

  I winced internally. “What?”

  “I have a flask of hot coffee and I’m going to drink it all, in a moment of peace, while it’s still hot. Babies don’t like you drinking hot beverages or eating hot food. The minute you start to, they know, and then they want to eat too. Only I have to carry Poppy and I don’t have enough arms to do everything at once.”

  I laughed. “Enjoy your peaceful coffee.”

  “I have a magazine too…” Lily trailed off and glanced up to the roof. “Oh, crap.”

  “Don’t tell me you left them in the tree.”

  “Okay then. I will be back in a few minutes,” said Lily. She climbed out and I took the brief interlude to raise my camera and check on Debby. Both she and her mom were no longer in the living room. I hoped they were in the back of the house where they couldn’t see Lily jumping under the tree, holding her hands as far above her head as she could get them. A moment later, she returned with the flask and magazine in hand. “Can you give me a ride to my car?” she asked.

  “It’s right there!” I said, waving a finger at her car. “How did you get into that tree without me seeing you anyway?”

  “Easy! I snuck around the block and approached it from the rear. You were too busy slumping in the seat to notice me.”

  I made a mental note to be more observant. First, Maddox managed to ace me and now Lily. Was I losing my touch? I glanced down at my jeans, sneakers and sweater. Thanks to the early morning start, I was definitely losing my fashion touch. Something urgent had to be done about that, along with deciding what to do about detecting the people who were sneaking up on me unawares. “Go back that same way and I’ll watch for you; then I need to go.”

  “Where are you going anyway? On another case?”

  “No, still this one. I just need Debby out of the way so I can…” I stopped, wondering how culpable to make Lily. Whatever she didn’t know, she couldn’t confess or leak later.

  “Oh, man!” she groaned. “You’re breaking in somewhere without me. This is so unfair! I could have called Ruby and asked her to watch the mark while I helped you with a little B&E.”

  “Then how could you drink hot coffee?”

  “Good point. Where are you breaking into anyway?”

  “My lips are sealed,” I told her. “Call me the minute she moves.”

  “Wear gloves,” said Lily as she hopped out. This time, I watched her vanish around the corner. A couple of minutes later, she appeared at the other end of the block and slipped into her car. I waved to her and drove away, hoping the coffee would ensure Lily made it through the next couple of hours.

  I circled back to the hotel, driving as quickly as I could without breaking any speed limits. Despite Debby’s plans, I knew she could leave the house anytime and I didn’t dare get caught. With little traffic, I made good time and parked in a quiet spot, away from the prime parking real estate that was closer to the hotel doors.

  While driving, I formulated my plan. There was no way the hotel would willingly let me into someone else’s room without their knowledge so I either had to trick them or break in. I could have called on an old contact at the hotel but I didn’t want to risk having Debby find out and scaring her away before I had a chance to investigate. Tricking my way in would have been almost impossible, given that housekeeping had most certainly finished their duties by this hour, so breaking in would have to be the only alternative.

  I called Lucas. “What’s the best way to break into a hotel room?” I asked.

  “Did you call me because I’m an ex-con or because I’m the tech expert?”

  “Both.”

  “What system do they use?”

  “I don’t know. The kind with electronic key cards.”

  “Hypothetically, the easiest way would be to get a master key from the hotel’s key-writing machine. Can you get one?”

  I was reasonably sure housekeeping turned in their master keys at the end of their shifts and the concierge desk was always manned by at least one person. However, I didn’t know the password for the computer. I once helped the hotel’s manager on a prior case but I didn’t want to involve him in this. “Unlikely,” I sighed.

  “Then, the next best option is to get your hands on a key card from the same hotel and rewrite it, using a cool, little gadget I have.”

  “Okay,” I decided. “I’ll call you back.”

  “Before you hang up, I have the emails you asked for,” he told me. “Electronic or paper copy?”

  “Both, please.”

  “Done. One more thing, those gun licenses. I got a permit for Rod Patterson but nothing came back for his wife or daughter.”

  I expected as much but was disappointed to hear there wasn’t any evidence to suggest Debby currently owned or had ever owned a gun. “Than
ks,” I told him.

  We hung up and I hopped out of the car. I walked into the hotel, stepping through the double doors, and strode over to the reception desk. I didn’t recognize the female concierge, which was probably a good thing. The last time I’d been here in any official capacity was as an undercover investigator. It was an early investigation in my career, and an occasionally humiliating case, although it ended very successfully.

  “I’d like to book a room,” I told the young woman.

  “Tonight?” she asked, stepping in front of her monitor and reaching for the mouse.

  “Yes.”

  “We have a range of options from a standard double to a deluxe suite,” she offered.

  “I’ll take the cheapest. Do you have any rooms on the third floor?”

  “There is a room available. How many nights?”

  “Just one.”

  “Will you be staying alone? Or will someone be joining you?”

  “Just me.”

  “Shall I have your luggage taken up?”

  “No luggage. Just a spur of the moment thing,” I told her. “I unexpectedly need a room for the night.”

  “Of course.” She narrowed her eyes a little bit but didn’t say anything. Instead, she produced a key and gave me a brief speech on where to find the elevator and breakfast room before wishing me an enjoyable stay. I took the key card, crossed to the elevator and rode the car to the third floor. My room was at the opposite end from Debby’s, annoyingly. Hers was closest to the elevator and stairwell, while mine was at the far end of the corridor. If, for any reason, our paths crossed, it would be very awkward to explain what I was doing in her hotel. Especially when she knew I worked locally and could reasonably have assumed I also lived here and thus had no reason for a hotel reservation.

  I swiped my key card through the electronic lock and let myself into a small room where I found a neatly made bed, a desk, flat-screen television, and a small bathroom carved out of nearly a quarter of the room. Sitting on the bed, I called Lucas again. “I have a key card,” I told him.

  “And I have the gadget. Unfortunately, there’s a huge gap between us.”

  I didn’t think of that and time was passing rapidly. I calculated how long it would take me to get to the agency, have Lucas rewrite my key card and then return. “Can you come here?”

  “You mean… go outside?”

  “Yep.”

  “Leave the office? See people?”

  “Dammit, Lucas, I know you leave the office! I know because I checked the store cupboard and it isn’t equipped for the world’s smallest apartment. Also, you’re engaged and you have to see your fiancée at some point. Get into your car, or whatever it is you drive, and get over here! I don’t have much time.”

  “I ride a bike,” said Lucas. “A push bike.”

  “You’re an adult!”

  “I know but my apartment is close to the office.”

  “Can you get a ride?”

  “Yes,” he replied begrudgingly before hanging up.

  A moment later, Solomon’s face and name flashed on the phone screen. “Hi,” I said, upping my perky tone as I answered.

  “Why is one of my employees asking me to drive him over to a hotel to meet you?”

  “I rented a room.”

  There was silence, then, “Why?”

  “To get a key card. Can you please bring Lucas over here? Please!”

  “We’re on our way,” said Solomon and he hung up. I looked long and hard at my phone and wondered how my call plan was faring. While I waited for Solomon, Lucas, and the mystery gadget, I reclined on the bed and read the room service menu, wondering if I had time to order a sandwich, or maybe some fries, for an early lunch. I switched on the TV and turned it off again. I read my emails on my phone and played a game, all the while clock-watching. Finally, my saviors arrived.

  “Which room are you in?” asked Solomon.

  I told him and he hung up instantly. When the knock came at my door, I was ready, and answered it quickly before the two men slipped inside. “Here,” I said, handing the key card to Lucas. “Can you turn this into a master key? I need to access another room and get back into this one.”

  “Sure. Give me a couple of minutes,” he said, taking the card and moving over to the desk. He withdrew a laptop from his bag and a small machine and plugged them in.

  “I’m not going to ask since I can work it out,” said Solomon. “Also, the concierge gave us both highly suspicious looks when she asked if we’d both be staying the night.”

  “And you said?”

  “What she didn’t know couldn’t bother her.”

  “This is why you are the boss,” I replied. “You are a very smart man.”

  “You couldn’t spring for a better room?” he wondered. Stepping past me, he almost knocked his knee into the desk. With the three of us occupying the room, the space seemed a lot smaller.

  “I wasn’t planning on actually staying the night.”

  “Good to know.”

  “Done,” said Lucas. He handed me the key card and returned his equipment to his bag. “Return me to my happy place,” he said to Solomon. Solomon looked at him blankly. “The agency will do just fine,” Lucas translated.

  “Be careful,” said Solomon.

  “Sure will,” I told him, giving him a quick kiss as he followed Lucas out the door. I waited a beat for them to leave, checked my phone, in case Lily called — she hadn’t — and left my room, walking along the hallway to Debby’s room. Sucking in a hopeful breath, I slipped on gloves and slid the key card into the lock. When the light turned from red to green, I exhaled and pushed the door open, letting myself in.

  Debby’s room had the same layout as mine. Small bathroom on the left, dressing area on the right. The window overlooked the same patch of landscaped garden. The decor and furniture were all the same too, except this room was clearly lived in. Toiletries were stacked neatly in the bathroom but a quick search revealed inexpensive products. There were no medicines, and nothing with a label I could check on.

  I turned away from the bathroom and opened the door to a small closet. Two suitcases were inside, resting against the wall. I opened them but, as I suspected, they were empty save for a couple of shoe bags and a cloth bag with laundry embroidered on the front. I zipped up the cases and returned them as I found them before moving to the hanging clothes and rifling through them. I didn’t recognize many of the brands; most had what I assumed were foreign labels. Judging by the quality of the stitching and fabric, none were high-end items, which gave more credibility to Debby’s claim of a simple life, saying she didn’t purchase very much. What she did have was a good sense of style and many of the separates could have been easily coordinated. It was a capsule wardrobe done right and I had to give her kudos for that.

  There were a few accessories but nothing that looked particularly special. She had three pairs of shoes: black sneakers, a pair of flat ballet pumps, and the long boots I’d seen her wearing when I first approached her. I stepped back, leaving the clothes exactly as I’d found them and moved into the main bedroom. The closet, like the bathroom, didn’t give me anything.

  Housekeeping had already made the bed and her pajamas were neatly folded and left near the pillows. I opened the nightstand drawers. Debby didn’t bother putting anything inside of either one and the only things on the surface were a matching set of lamps, and a telephone, a pad of hotel paper and a pen on the left nightstand.

  I checked my phone again as I walked over to my desk. Nothing from Lily.

  The desk seemed to be in regular use but there was no laptop or tablet for snooping. Instead I saw a couple of magazines, one about food and one about travel, and a self-help book for goal setting and ways of achieving them. I wondered what goals Debby had and exactly what she planned to achieve. Was it getting a new job here? Or maybe, the apartment she applied for?

  I put the book back on top of the magazines and picked up the next one, a well thumbed ro
mantic novel that had a penciled-in price on the inside cover, as though it came from a second-hand store. There was a newspaper, folded to the classified apartments section, and a couple of the advertisements that were ringed in ink. A travel-sized jewelry box yielded a few inexpensive pairs of earrings and a silver bracelet. I zipped the box shut and put it back before reaching for the notepad next to it. Under the notepad was a passport.

  “Jackpot!” I exclaimed as I grabbed the passport and flicked it open to the photo page. The passport was six years old, and the unflattering photo was definitely the Debby I knew as well as all the information listed. I flicked through the pages, noting stamps from numerous countries. I might not have been able to verify the first four years of Debby’s ten-year absence but the passport attested to the most recent six. I used my cell phone camera to photograph the pages, holding the passport open by pressing the front and back covers on the desk. I’d just photographed a stamp for Italy when my phone began to ring.

  “Hey, Lily. Is she on the move?”

  “Yep,” said Lily, her voice high and squeaky.