Girl Undercover 1, 2 & 3: Three-Part Bundle

by Julia Derek

  A comedienne? Wow, I hadn’t seen that one coming. Maybe a model or actress, but not anything involving comedy. She had seemed much too self-conscious to be into comedy. Then again, I never really got to know her. This was getting more and more interesting.

  “Funny, she never told me she was into comedy,” I ventured, hoping it would stir this melancholy man to keep talking about this. “And I knew her fairly well.”

  “She was. She had a great ear for the bizarre in life. Were you aware of all her work to help the homeless? It was a passion we both shared.”

  I couldn’t help myself then; I just had to turn around and stare at the man. “Really? Now I feel like I didn’t know Eve at all. No, I wasn’t aware of that. In fact, after that Facebook post she made, I didn’t think she was all that… concerned about the homeless.”

  He faced me, bringing his bushy eyebrows together as though he was trying to figure out what I was referring to. As I was about to enlighten him, he threw his head back and let out a belly laugh that was utterly out of place considering the tragic occasion.

  When he settled down, he gazed at me with eyes full of tears. He wiped at them with his free hand. “No, it doesn’t seem like you knew Eve well, I must say. Are you talking about the cartoon she posted in which she urged people to kick him like the dog he supposedly is?”

  “Yes, that was what I was referring to.”

  “That was an example of Eve’s highly creative, comedic abilities. That post was only meant as a joke. An April Fools’ joke.”

  I stared at him, sure I had misheard him at first. Eve’s post had only been a joke?

  “Are you okay?” the old man asked, lowering his tumbler and peering closer at me.

  I quickly wiped off the shock I felt from my face. “Um, yeah, I am. Sorry. I was just so relieved to hear that it wasn’t true after all.”

  “You actually believed Eve was being serious? You really can’t have known her well then. Didn’t you see what day it was posted?”

  “No, I didn’t pay attention to the date. I honestly didn’t know what to think.”

  “Good thing I got a chance to clear that up for you then. Most people realized it was just Eve pulling one of her famous pranks. I thought it was fabulously funny when I saw it. Especially reading the comments below. She really got people riled up!”

  “Well, I’m glad to hear it was only meant as a joke.” An extremely unfunny one, I wanted to add but didn’t. I was beginning to question this man’s ability to judge comedic talent. If this was his idea of funny, I wasn’t too worried about the world having lost a great talent in Eve’s passing.

  He was chuckling now, almost maniacally, which made me wonder how many of those tumblers of scotch he’d had. Of course, my mind was more concerned with other matters at the moment. Matters such as the last piece of evidence to support my theory the crazy bum had been provoked into killing Eve having just vanished. In the face of what I had just learned, Ian’s theory seemed a lot more plausible.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I noted that Henry and Nora were coming in my direction, looking directly at me as they were making their way through all the people in the big room. Based on the grave look on their faces, I didn’t think it would be a friendly conversation. No, Nora must have convinced Henry that I was a weirdo who did not belong at this reception. After speaking to the man beside me and finding out that I was completely unaware of Eve’s sick sense of humor, they would have no doubts I didn’t really know Eve.

  “Excuse me,” I said to the still chuckling improv teacher, “I need to visit the ladies’ room.” But instead of heading to the restrooms, I strode toward one of the restaurant’s exits, which fortunately was fairly close by. I had gotten what I had come for anyway, so I might as well leave. Before long, I was out on the street, moving away from Eve’s reception.

  The thoughts were racing in my mind as I tried to make sense of everything. So the post had only been Eve’s twisted idea of comedy then? Even if it was so bizarre it sounded like something taken straight out of a David Lynch movie, what I had just been told had to be the truth. The old man had no reason to lie to me. I snorted to myself. Wow. Who would have ever thought the skinny, shallow blonde I’d been about to train had such a dark side to her?

  The soft drizzle had escalated into heavy sheets of rain right as I reached the subway station. Grateful not to be completely drenched, I dove below ground in the nick of time.

  Eve might not have been the evil person I had thought, but I still refused to believe men from Adler had approached the bum to give him a knife, then had taken him across town while spurring him to kill skinny, blond chicks. That was just ridiculous. In addition to it being highly implausible, for the Adler men to get away with such a feat, they would have to be extremely well organized—and psychic. Eve had filed the lawsuit against The Adler Group the morning of the attack, but they had never been served. How had they found out about it so quickly? And even if they had some way of finding out, how had they managed to find just the right bum and then known that Eve would walk in a certain area at a certain time? It seemed much too convenient. I supposed I could buy that the witnesses were really Adler plants and that Pete had been told I was after him—people from Adler could have seen me outside his work—but not the bum; it was more likely he had hallucinated the story about the men. How could Adler have known the bum would attack Eve the second he spotted her? If what Ian claimed was true—that there were people conspiring to take over the world—I doubted they would just pick up a random crazy, give him a knife and some instructions, and hope for the best. It would have been so much more efficient to run over Eve with a car or something instead.

  I found my phone in my purse and texted Ian: How could the Adler men have known the bum would attack Eve as soon as he saw her? I don’t buy that all they needed to do was tell him she was out to get him. No one would go through all that trouble without having a more surefire plan.

  After I’d pressed Send, I called George. He had yet to get back to me about Lisa and what was going on with her. I wasn’t just going to take Ian’s word for her having two phones and that she’d been in touch with Pete while she was in the bathroom after all.

  George answered right before the call could go to voicemail.

  “Hey, Longoria, everything okay?” He sounded out of breath.

  “Yeah, they’re fine. How are things with you?”

  “I’m crazy busy, but other than that, everything’s good. Did I leave you a message yet about that girl you asked me about?”

  “No, that’s why I was calling. Did you find anything on her?”

  “Yeah, sorry, I did. I thought I’d called you.”

  “It’s okay. What did you find?”

  “She has two phones and she was using one of them to text someone called Pete around the time you asked me.”

  My phone buzzed then, announcing an incoming text.

  “All right, thanks, George. That’s all I needed to know. Gotta go.”

  We said goodbye and I checked who’d texted me. Ian, of course.

  I’m thinking they inserted a chip into him while in the car that programmed him to have no choice but to kill Eve as soon as he saw her.

  I chuckled without mirth. I should have known Ian would have the perfect answer to my question.

  Chapter 8

  “Can you imagine what our lives would have been like if you didn’t take that assignment?” Nick says, nibbling at my ear. I’m lying on top of him in bed and his arms are around me, holding me tight. We have spent most of the night making love, only sleeping a couple of hours. More than a year has passed since we got married, but we don’t seem to be able to get enough of each other. “I would never have met you.”

  “I really don’t want to ever have to imagine that,” I whisper. “Too painful.”

  “True.”

  I nestle my face in the crook of his neck, close my eyes and inhale my husband. There is no better scent
than his, warm skin with a hint of lemongrass and sage.

  When I have gotten my fill, feeling invigorated and ready for the day ahead, I push myself up onto my elbows so that I face him. Smiling at him, I lean down and land a feather-light kiss onto his lips. Those enticing, perfect lips that lured me in the first time they ended up on mine. Even if I didn’t want to admit it to myself back then, I was already his from that moment on. Nick and I were meant to be together. No matter how much this dark-haired man put me through the wringer, he stole my heart that day.

  A lock of my long, honey brown hair fall onto Nick’s tan cheek and he removes it, tucking it behind my ear. His blue eyes suddenly get that boyish gleam to them I know so well, telling me he is up to something.

  “Do you know what I think?” he asks in that seductive voice of his.

  “That I should call in sick so I can spend it in bed with you?” Unlike Nick, who has a day off today, I need to get ready so I can head to the station and get to work. “Trust me, I wish I could, but I have some appointments lined up. Can’t be changed.”

  He grins, looking delighted. “I wish you could too, but I was not about to ask you to do that. We have plenty of time to replicate this amazing night when we’re both off duty. This is just the beginning.”

  “Then what did you have in mind?”

  His smile loses all of its playfulness and becomes sober. “An addition to this union.”

  I turn my head and frown slightly, not getting what he is referring to at first. But then I do. “A baby? Really? So soon?”

  “Yeah, why not? We both want kids and things seem to be stable. We’re safe now. Why wait? I wouldn’t mind being a young father. Not that thirty-one is all that young.”

  I screw up my face and think about what Nick has just suggested. It isn’t that I’m against having children—I want to have them as much as Nick—it is just that it was so unexpected.

  The smile on Nick’s lips fades away. “I’m sorry, Gab. I didn’t mean to push you. Really. I’ve just been thinking about it a lot in the last few weeks is all. If you don’t feel ready, just forget that I brought it up.”

  “Don’t be silly, you’re not being pushy. I want you to be real with me, tell me everything that’s on your mind. I was just a little surprised to hear you say it. Can I think about it?”

  He pinches my cheek and kisses me. “I wouldn’t want it any other way. I want you to feel as ready as I am to have a baby. Take as much time as you need.”

  “Okay.” I push myself off Nick and head into the bathroom next to our bedroom. I step into the shower cabin and switch on the water. As the warm sprays hit my body, I already know what to tell Nick. He is right, why wait? I’m twenty-seven now, a great age to start a family. We are both making enough money and feel as convinced as we can ever expect to feel that we are safe from any repercussions from Cardoza.

  I close my eyes and stick my face into the warm water coming out of the shower head. Yes, why wait? We’re happy and comfortable. We can afford to add a child to our lives.

  A love child. I smile as I think about how adorable a little boy or girl would be with Nick’s gorgeous blue eyes and infectious grin.

  I open my eyes and reach for the soap in the corner basket that contains most of our toiletries. Blood is splashing onto my arm, lots of blood. Deafening rock music suddenly fills the bathroom. I scream and automatically turn my face toward the showerhead. Warm water is no longer coming out of it but blood, so much blood the entire shower cabin is soon full of it.

  I scream and keep screaming.

  The horrible scene was still with me as I opened my eyes and stared out into the darkness of my bedroom, sitting up. My face and body felt clammy with cold sweat and my heart raced. I lay back down onto my pillow and switched on the lamp on my nightstand to make myself stop thinking about Nick and all the blood, but it was hard, so hard. I missed him so much.

  Weeks had passed since I’d dreamt of Nick. The heavy-duty sleeping pills I took every night usually produced a deep, dreamless sleep for which I was profoundly grateful. I didn’t want to think of Nick, it was much too painful.

  Would the pain ever go away?

  I tried to think. Had I forgotten to take the pills before going to bed last night? As far as I could remember, I had taken them as usual. If the dreams persisted, I might have to look into other pills.

  Somehow I managed to fall asleep again with no more bad dreams of Nick, but I was still not feeling like myself as I walked into Nikkei the following day. I clocked in for my floor shift and roamed the floors of the gym like a ghost. It was only when I bumped into Emma, who was standing at the fitness desk that I began to feel more normal.

  “Hey, Jamie,” Emma said and smiled at me. “How are you?”

  I returned her smile. “I’m okay. What about you? Have you recovered from that bad meal you had the other day?”

  We hadn’t gotten a chance to catch up since that day when she had suddenly felt sick and had to rush to the restroom to throw up.

  She gazed at me, confused. “What bad meal?”

  “You told me you had salmon in the cafeteria and that something must have been wrong with it that made you sick.”

  She brightened. “Oh, yeah, I remember.” She lowered her voice and leaned closer to me. “That was so embarrassing. I’m sorry you had to be privy to that.”

  “Don’t be sorry. Could have happened to anyone.”

  “Right. Well, I sure am glad my morning sickness is going away finally.”

  This time it was my turn to look at her confused. “Morning sickness?”

  Emma didn’t answer and instead just looked at me for a moment. Throwing a nervous glance over her shoulder as if to check if there were other people nearby, she said, “Yeah, morning sickness. I might as well let you know that I’m pregnant, but please don’t spread this around to everyone else. I’m only in the first trimester, so I might still have a miscarriage.”

  I stared at her, a little shocked, but since Emma herself seemed so happy I quickly wiped the surprise off my face and smiled. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone. Congratulations!”

  “Thank you. Yes, I’m so happy. I’ve always wanted to become a mother.”

  “Good for you.” Involuntarily, my eyes went down to her ring finger. Had I missed the fact that Emma was married or engaged? But her finger was still bare.

  “I’m using a sperm donor,” she said pointedly. “I’m still single, but I didn’t want to wait. I’m not getting any younger.”

  Embarrassed that I must have been so obvious, I met her gaze again. “Oh. No, why wait? Well, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it’ll go well.”

  For a moment, the dream I had last night came back to me, but I quickly made it go away.

  “Thanks, me too. Hopefully, it’ll be okay. I’m having great doctors helping me and they keep assuring me everything will be fine.”

  “That’s so great.”

  Emma looked beyond me and smiled. “Here’s my client finally.” She looked at me quickly. “See you later, Jamie.”

  “Yes, see you later.”

  I watched her as she and her client, an older gentleman, walked around the big divider and continued down to the third floor. So that must have been why she had thrown up that day then. Who would’ve thought? I hoped for her sake that the pregnancy would go well, but at the same time I couldn’t help but worry a little for her. Being a single mother in New York on a trainer’s salary was going to be tough.

  Not that this had seemed to faze Emma one bit. Maybe it was because she had more money than I thought. I adjusted my trainer’s shirt and started walking. I should worry about my own life, not Emma’s. She must know what she was doing if she went to such lengths to get pregnant.