Deadly Reunion (The Taci Andrews Deadly Series)

by Manemann, Amy

  Heaving a sigh I decided to start with the easiest target, the only filing cabinet in the room. Tugging open the top drawer I peered inside, then groaned out loud. Empty. The blasted cabinet was empty. Tugging open the next drawer and then the next I found more of the same. Slapping my hands on my hips I turned to survey the office once again. Every damn drawer was empty. Jeez, didn’t anyone ever teach the man what a filing cabinet was used for?

  Taking a deep breath I closed my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose. Ok, I can do this. It’s just paperwork, nothing you haven’t gone through before I thought, trying to give my best good pep talk. God did I hate paperwork.

  Slowly I opened my eyes to reassess my surroundings. As I peered around I began to notice things that I hadn’t before, like some of the paper piles weren’t stacked neatly as I’d first thought, but rather strewn haphazardly together as though they’d been rifled through quickly. Curiously I continued my search through the rest of the office, finding more of the same effect.

  Someone’s been in here I thought uneasily, my stomach churning at the thought.

  “Jesus Richard, what did you get yourself in to?” I asked aloud to the silent room.

  “Good question. I was hoping you’d be able to find out,” Bryce’s voice spoke from behind me. Giving a squeal I whirled around, placing a hand to my beating heart.

  “Damn Bryce, you shouldn’t sneak up on a person like that,” I breathed, willing my racing heart to slow down. I had enough problems to deal with at the moment. Having a heart attack just wasn’t on the agenda.

  Bryce sighed. “Sorry Taci, didn’t mean to startle you. I assume you figured out someone went through Richard’s office.”

  I nodded, my gaze wandering back around the room. At first glance one would think Richard was just a messy person but on closer inspection it was obvious the files had been moved around. “Do you know when this happened? Were you in here this morning? Who’s on staff for today?”

  “I just noticed it about an hour ago so it could have happened at any time. In all likelihood I’m thinking it probably happened sometime during the night. Here’s a list of the people on staff today, you can do a follow up on them if you want but I don’t think you’ll find much,” Bryce said, handing a sheet of paper to me. I did a cursory glance of the sheet before folding it up, shoving it into my pants pocket.

  “Well at least that explains the empty filing cabinet and paperwork lying all over. Here I thought Owens was just a bad filer,” I said lightly.

  Bryce gave a soft chuckle. “Owens is a terrible filer, he’s never even used that filing cabinet I demanded he keep in here. The only reason I noticed things had been moved around is because the piles are usually stacked neatly together versus just piled up.”

  I took a deep breath and counted to ten; sometimes I found that gave better results than just blowing up. Ok, so Owens really was a slob. Not something that should terribly surprise me. Annoy me, yes as I was going to have to sift through all this mess, but not surprising he would leave it for me. That was just the kind of guy he was.

  “Listen Bryce, there’s something more going on here than what we know. Did Richard mention anything to you yesterday on the phone? Did he sound normal to you?” Gee, that was a loaded question. Richard was anything but normal in my book.

  Bryce shook his head. “I’ve replayed that same thing in my mind a thousand times. He sounded fine, a little excited, but fine. Said he had a hot lead with the McAllister case that was huge and would blow the top off of everything, but that was it.”

  I frowned, chewing on my lower lip thoughtfully. Too many unanswered questions just didn’t sit well with me, especially when more people were turning up missing. Turning back towards Bryce I gave him a reassuring smile. “Well whatever it is I’ll turn it up. You know how I can’t resist a good story. And I wouldn’t worry about Owens too much, he’s probably snuck off on one of his mini vacations again and is drunk as a skunk somewhere. I’m sure he’ll turn up.” Yeah, like when they drag the river.

  Bryce smiled in relief, nodding his head. “Knew I could count on you, Tace. Call me if you need anything.”

  The familiar words ringing in my ears I watched him walk away. Did all men say that to women or did I give off the impression that I was in need of help? With a sigh I turned back towards Richard’s messy office. He’d better hope he was tied up and being held for ransom because I was pretty sure he needed a good ass kicking for leaving me this mess.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  It was past 5:30 when I opened the door to my apartment and I breathed a sigh of relief at finally being home. It took nearly all afternoon to go through some of Owens mess and it didn’t even look like I’d made any progress. Even more irritating, I had yet to find any files on the McAllister case. Damn pack rat.

  Tossing my purse and keys on the counter I walked into the kitchen to check my flashing machine. One message. Either that was a sad reminder of my non existent life or I missed paying a bill and someone wanted to collect. Personally I was opting for the latter; at least then I’d know somebody cared. Pushing the play button I strolled over to the fridge, tugging the door open and snagging a beer from the shelf.

  The sound of heavy breathing once again filled the silence of my apartment and I turned, bottle raised halfway to my mouth.

  “I enjoyed playing with your partner, Ms Andrews, but was delighted to learn you picked up the McAllister case in his absence. I’ll look forward to playing with you as well,” a distorted voice said before disconnecting.

  Tilting the beer to my lips and I took a much needed drink. Shit. What the hell was that all about? This was not a good way to start the weekend. My first thought was to call the police. My second, unfortunately, was to call Tony. I did neither. Pressing the eject button I pulled the tape free, replacing it with a blank one. Walking over to the counter I tossed the tape in my purse, zipping it shut before leaning a hip against the counter to take another long drink, killing the bottle. A false sense of courage was better than none, even if it was dulled by liquor. I’m thinking I was going to need more booze. A knock sounded on the front door and I jumped, almost dropping the empty bottle from my hand. Shakily I set it down on the counter, edging slowly towards the front door. Cautiously I peered through the peep hole, breathing a sigh of relief at the site of Annie. I’d forgotten about going out tonight but lord was I glad to see her. Probably shouldn’t tell her about the phone call though; Annie tended to be a bit of a worrier. Opening the door I gave an easy smile. “Wow Annie, you look great. I didn’t know we were going on a date tonight or I’d have dressed nicer.”

  Annie stuck out her tongue, wobbling into my apartment on strappy high heels. Her outfit was definitely a Mel classic; black panty hose, black leather skirt, a stretchy low cut top that I’m guessing qualified for a shirt. To top it off Annie’s makeup was done all up and her hair had been teased out to stand a few inches from her head. This was definitely not Annie’s style; I was willing to bet Mel had a hand in this one too.

  “Not another word, thank you very much. I had to spend the last hour and a half with Mel teasing my hair and globbing on makeup. I really don’t care to hear anything more about this ‘glamorous’ outfit of mine. And why aren’t you dressed yet? I told you I’d be here at 6:00,” Annie retorted, placing a steadying hand on the kitchen counter. 6:00 Annie time was usually 5:30 normal time. If I’d been thinking more clearly instead of cussing Richard out all afternoon I would have been home and been ready to go.

  “Work ran late, I was doing some sorting in Owens office. Give me a minute and let’s see if I can scrounge up something to wear, though I don’t think I have anything that can top your outfit,” I replied, grinning.

  Annie scowled; I choked back a laugh. Heading towards the bedroom I quickly changed clothes, opting for a pair of red leather pants, a black silky camisole that slid under a long sleeved, see through, black silk shirt and a pair of strappy black heels. It’d been ages since I dared to wear the
pants but I figured if Annie was dressed to the nines I might as well join her, or at least attempt to. Besides, I was pretty sure Melanie would be dressed to kill tonight.

  Shuffling into the bathroom I quickly redid my makeup, brushing powder all over my face to cover any yucky spots before topping it off with my favorite blush. Adding another coat of mascara to my eyelashes I ended with a dab of lip gloss to my full lips. One job down, one to go…Tugging a brush through my tangled mass of hair, I gave it a fluff before dousing it with hair spray. Taking a step back I inspected my appearance carefully, satisfied with what I saw. Eat your heart out Tony Parsons I thought with a grin, flipping off the bathroom light before making my way back to the kitchen.

  “Ooh, nice pants. Any chance you want to trade outfits?” Annie asked hopefully. I laughed, shaking my head. “Are you kidding? Mel would kill you if you didn’t wear the outfit she so carefully picked out for you. Besides, I thought the point was to land you a hot guy so Bob would be jealous. Do you think anyone will pay any attention to my pants when they can check out that hot skirt?”

  Annie sighed, rolling her eyes. “Oh ye of little faith. Trust me, nobody’s going to notice my butt in this skirt when they catch site of your scrawny butt in those pants. Now let’s get a move on, Mel’s going to meet us down there and you know how she gets when we’re late.”

  I snorted back a laugh, grabbing my purse and keys from the counter. “Yeah, intoxicated and lippy, just the way I like her. Lead the way m’dear, I have the feeling you’re going to be driving tonight.”

  Club 8 was packed by the time we arrived, not unusually so. Pretty much the only decent night club in Riverdale nearly everyone went there on Friday night. It’d been awhile since I graced the doors but everything still seemed the same. Winding our way through the crowd we found Melanie at our usual table next to the dance floor. I don’t know how she always did it but every time we came to Club 8 we always managed to score the same table. Tricks of the trade she always said with a laugh. It made me wonder what she was trading.

  Melanie was dressed top notch as usual, silvery high heels, tight white a-line pants and a colorful tank top that tied around her neck. Silver jewelry adorned her wrists and neck, topped off with large silvery hoop earrings. Her blonde hair had been pulled up into a French twist, leaving only a few carefully arranged pieces to frame either side of her heart shaped face. There was no doubt about it; Melanie was definitely the hottie in our group. The tank top didn’t come too much as a surprise; it was only September after all and Melanie was known to fight the oncoming winter months by wearing as much of her summer outfits as possible. She once got frostbite on her feet from wearing open toed sandals while it was snowing. I think she learned her lesson on that one, but it’s hard to say.

  Melanie’s eyes brightened as we approached and she gave a little wave. “About time you two got here, I was beginning to wonder if Annie had gone back home to change.”

  Annie rolled her eyes. “There was no way I was going to go home after you spent over an hour doing my hair and make up. It’d take me at least that long to get everything washed off.”

  I laughed, my eyes traveling over the crowded dance floor. Seeing our arrival a waitress hurried over to get our drink orders.

  “Another chocolate martini please,” Melanie said, handing the waitress the empty martini glass sitting in front of her. Annie’s eyes lit up.

  “Ooh, that sounds good, I’ll take one too!” she exclaimed excitedly.

  The waitress looked at me expectantly. “And for yourself?”

  “Yeah Taci, chocolate martini?” Melanie asked with a grin. While I admit chocolate martini’s are a wonderful concoction they have an unexpected side effect when you drink too many; namely, the last time I drank them I woke up the next day with a rash all over my face. Now it might have had something to do with the actual number of martini’s I’d had that night versus the drink itself, but I prefer to blame it on the drink altogether.

  “Just a Michelob Golden please,” I ordered, watching as the waitress sashayed away. Stick with what’s safe; that was usually the best option.

  “So where is Mr. Perfect tonight, Mel? Have you scouted anyone out yet?” I asked when the waitress returned with our drinks.

  Melanie nodded her head enthusiastically. “I saw a few when I first arrived who looked promising and spotted a few more while waiting for you slow pokes. I think this is going to be a promising evening for you Annie girl.”

  Annie muttered something under her breath that I couldn’t quite discern. Somehow I didn’t think it was too flattering. Melanie let out a sudden gasp, her eyes directed excitedly towards the front door.

  “Well, well, this night just got a whole lot more exciting,” she breathed, her blue eyes dancing.

  I jerked my head around to spy the group just coming through the front door and making their way to the bar. The breath caught in my throat at the sight of the man standing in the middle of the group and I was pretty sure my heart rate accelerated a few notches. Tony Parsons.

  Turning back around I took a long swig of my beer, needing something to cool the sudden fire burning my skin. Melanie studied me intently, a curious smile on her face. “What?” I asked innocently, making her grin wider.

  “You’ve got a thing for Parsons,” she exclaimed in a hushed whisper.

  “I do not! The man drives me up a wall, why on earth would you think I have a thing for him?” I scoffed, my cheeks flushing.

  Annie eyed me with sudden interest. “I think that man could drive you somewhere in the bedroom but I bet it wouldn’t be up a wall.”

  I couldn’t help it, my mouth dropped open. Annie shrugged. “What? You think because I have the trio it means I don’t know what goes on in a bedroom anymore? Puh-lease girlfriend, how do you think I got the trio in the first place?”

  Melanie burst into a fit of laughter, which I quickly joined it. Annie grinned.

  “Good lord Annie, it’s been awhile since I’ve heard you talk like that. I think I need to take you out more often,” Melanie said when she got her laughter under control. Wiping my eye I nodded in agreement.

  Annie gave a shrug, taking a tentative sip of her martini. “We’ll see. Depends on what kind of man you dig up for me tonight.”

  “Well that shouldn’t be too hard, there’s lot’s of hotties here tonight. Since Taci’s all hot and bothered over Tony I’ll let her have at him. There’s plenty more where that came from,” Melanie said with a smile.

  I snorted. “I am not all hot and bothered over that man so feel free to have at him. I have other things to do with my time than sniff after Parsons.”

  The hairs on the back of my neck stood up and I took a deep breath. From the look on Mel and Annie’s faces I knew who was standing behind me and I prayed to God he hadn’t heard what we were talking about.

  “Good evening ladies, didn’t know I’d find you three here tonight,” Tony’s amused voice drawled. Gritting my teeth I turned to glance up at him. As much as I hated to admit it he was looking good as ever, the fitted khaki pants with button up polo shirt not doing him justice.

  “Hey Tony, good to see you again. Would you and your friends care to join us?” Melanie fairly purred. I shot her a warning glare; she returned my look with pure innocence. Innocent my ass.

  Tony’s grin deepened. “Well that’s a fine offer Mel but I’d hate to cramp your style. Looks like you’re on a mission tonight.”

  Melanie bristled at that. “Actually we’re on a mission for Annie. You heard about her and Bob I assume.”

  Melanie let out a sudden grunt, leaning down to rub her shin. I assumed Annie’s foot didn’t care much for Mel’s big mouth.

  Tony’s face softened and he turned towards Annie. “I did hear and I’m really sorry, Annie. Sometimes men can be real shits.”

  Holy smokes, did anyone get that on tape? I refrained from letting my mouth drop open in astonishment.

  Annie flushed, giving a nod of her head. “Thank
s Tony, I appreciate that.”

  “Anytime. Anyway, I came to relieve Taci of your precious company if you don’t mind. I have something that I need to discuss with her,” Tony announced, taking a hold of my hand before I could object.

  “By all means take her away. She was getting a bit too lippy,” Annie called out as he dragged me from my chair. Melanie merely grinned and gave me a thumbs up sign of which I returned with my middle finger. Grabbing my beer from the table I reluctantly followed Tony through the crowd. Not like I had much of a choice; he had a vise grip on my hand. Leading me to the back of the club we exited the back door into the alley.

  “Gee Tony, did you need something?” I asked sweetly, tugging my hand free from his death grip.

  Tony’s face was unreadable; not a good sign. “Val called me this afternoon, said Jason came home early from work upset about something but refused to tell her what was wrong. Any reason you can think of that he might have been riled up about?”

  Meeting his gaze I gave a slow shake of my head.

  “Nope, nothing that comes to mind. Thanks for the chat, good to see you,” I said cheerfully, turning on my heel to head back into the bar. Tony caught my arm, turning me back around.

  “That’s funny Taci, because a little birdie told me you were seen with another guy leaving Jason’s law office earlier this afternoon. Did you kids have a nice chat or were you not playing nice again?” he asked tightly. I jerked my arm, glaring when he refused to let go.

  “So I was at his office today; your point is?” I asked between stiff lips.

  Tony’s hand tightened briefly on my arm before he released it, tossing it away from him. “My point is what did you two talk about, because whatever it was obviously had him upset enough that he closed his office early and wouldn’t talk to Val when he got home.”

  I frowned, replaying the conversation back in my mind. Nothing in the conversation struck me as particularly upsetting, especially considering Jason’s lack of concern about his daughter’s whereabouts. Maybe afterwards….suddenly the faces of the three gentlemen from the waiting room flashed through my mind. I couldn’t say for sure but women’s intuition told me Jason’s day went downhill shortly after Gavyn and I left. So now what? I could clue Tony in on what I’d already come across, not to mention the creepy phone message, but then I’d run the risk of having he-man follow me around everywhere. It didn’t sound all too enticing, even if he was good eye candy.