Act Fast

by R A Wallace

  “It’s called a Lowchen. Another name is little lion dog. They’re very rare.” Trudy took her phone back and stared wistfully at the picture. “She’s such a good girl. So sweet.”

  “Does Jackee know you’re asking me to look for the dog?” Callie didn’t want to be the cause of a family feud.

  “Oh, yes. She’s frantic about all of this.”

  “What can you tell me about Frank?” Callie watched the scowl form on Trudy’s face.

  “He’s a slippery one, that’s for sure. I don’t trust him. I’m sure he opened the door and pushed little Layla out.” Trudy motioned with her hands to demonstrate.

  “Was Jackee home when Layla went missing?”

  “No. She’d gone to the store to buy Layla’s food. Jackee has Layla on a very special diet because she’s so important. Frank was supposed to be watching her.” Trudy was still scowling.

  “Okay, I won’t make any promises, but I’ll see what I can do.” Callie noticed that each woman had a tray of utensils rolled in napkins next to them.

  She stood and stacked them on top of each other. “You want these in the kitchen?”

  “Yes, that would be lovely, thank you.” Margaret and the other women began pushing themselves up from their chairs.

  “You two go on. I’ll get a ride back to my place with Callie.” Margaret waved to the others as they left.

  Callie drove the short distance from the clubhouse to her mother’s modular home and followed her inside. It was a double-wide unit with a pitched roof in the center giving it a feeling of space. The one Callie lived in was similar, but in a nearby community that wasn’t age restricted.

  “How is your other case coming along?” Margaret asked. She was always interested in her daughters’ lives. Although Callie had yet to give her grandchildren, her other daughter, Gemma, had given her two.

  “I just started with it today. It sounds like a modeling agency is taking advantage of a young girl’s dream and separating her from her money.” Callie hoped that was all it was.

  “You look concerned.”

  “I am. I’m not sure yet if there’s anything else going on with it or not.” Callie checked her mother’s refrigerator to make sure she had enough food. “Did you decide what you were making for the pot luck dinner?” Her mother was an amazing cook. It was keeping track of the food she had in her house that was the issue.

  “I was thinking of lasagna,” Margaret said vaguely. She hadn’t really decided yet. Sometimes, you had to wait and see what the day was like before deciding what you were going to make.

  Callie checked the cupboard and saw lasagna noodles. “Let me know if you need me to pick up anything.”

  “What else do you think might be wrong with the modeling agency?” Margaret didn’t like the possibilities that flew through her mind.

  “Her parents are worried that she may have allowed them to take compromising photos.” She knew of similar situations where old photos had surfaced and ended careers.

  “How old?”

  “Their daughter is eighteen.”

  Margaret thought of her first ex-husband. “Your half-sister is just now turning eighteen.”

  Callie made a face. “Let’s hope Ariana isn’t foolish enough to get caught up in anything like this.”

  Chapter Three

  Callie thought about the private investigator shows she’d watched on television as a kid and wondered again why it had never occurred to her how misleading they could be. She shifted uncomfortably in her car seat. She had first arrived at the end of the road where Jackee lived around mid-morning, assuming that Jackee’s boyfriend, Frank, probably wouldn’t be the early morning type. Frank ended up spending the entire day at home. Other than Jackee leaving for her afternoon shift, there had been absolutely no activity at the house. She strongly suspected that he had slept the day away. Callie was deeply regretting that last cup of sweet iced tea she’d had when she finally saw the front door open.

  The man that walked out was probably in his late twenties or early thirties. He was wearing a blue tee shirt and khaki shorts that landed about midway down his calf. The waistband also hung precariously low allowing a clear view of his red plaid boxers. He wore his black hair shaved on one side. The rest was long and currently pulled back in a tail that reached midway down his long, narrow back.

  Callie was worried about keeping up with him in traffic if he took off in a car. She realized her worries were unfounded when he casually began walking down the street. She waited until he turned a corner before starting her car. Driving slowly, she stopped at the same corner where he had turned and looked down. He was now a block ahead of her and still walking.

  The street Callie currently examined was lined with old live oaks. Many of the yards had other types of trees including magnolia and palms, both of which were beautiful when maintained. From what she could see, that wasn’t the norm. All of the trees looked old and Callie knew that the neighborhood had existed for many generations. Here and there were examples of houses on the larger side that were probably considered opulent at the time they had been build. Several of those currently hosted multiple apartments inside them.

  Callie continued shadowing him but took care to remain at a distance. After fifteen minutes of following him, she stopped at another corner to see where he had gone after he’d disappeared down another side street. She saw him turn halfway down the street and walk up to a house. He pounded on the door, never bothering to look around as he waited on the front porch.

  The door opened and a young woman stepped out and wrapped her arms around Frank. After greeting him with an enthusiastic kiss, she pulled him inside the house. Callie waited where she was for a few moments. She figured if he didn’t come out immediately, the chances were good he would be staying for a while. Either way, it appeared that Frank had a lady friend in addition to Jackee. She wasn’t looking forward to the moment when she’d have to tell Jackee.

  Sighing, she put the car in drive and headed for her father’s house. It was the closest bathroom she could think of and she definitely needed one. She parked her car on the street, grabbed her purse, and hit the ground running. The neighborhood she was in now was quite different than the one she had just left. The houses were all single-family units and the lawns looked as though the inhabitants competed with their lawn care.

  Wade Indigo was in his late fifties. His second wife, Leslie, was in her early fifties. The two of them had been married for twenty five years. Although both Callie and her sister, Gemma, had difficulties adjusting to their parents’ divorce at the time, they had both grown to love Leslie early on.

  Callie was happy to see that Leslie’s car was in the driveway when she pulled up to the house. She wasn’t worried about being locked out. She still had a key. She was worried that she wouldn’t have time to get the door unlocked. She shouted a greeting as she flew past the kitchen and went directly to the guest bath on the first floor. A few minutes later, she was joining Leslie in the kitchen.

  Leslie didn’t look up from the salad she was fixing. “Another stake out?”

  Callie made a noise of agreement as she opened the refrigerator and pulled out a pitcher of sweet iced tea.

  “Do you want a glass?” Callie asked as she opened a cupboard.

  “Please. How was your day?” Leslie washed a tomato and began dicing it.

  After setting a glass of sweet tea near her stepmother, Callie leaned against a counter and watched Leslie work. The woman who had opened her arms and her heart to two young girls when she’d married their father was an attractive blonde who was currently wearing comfortable clothes instead of her usual office attire. That meant that she’d had time to change since she’d gotten home from the First Pomelo Cove Trust bank where she worked as the bank manager.

  “I’m working on a lost puppy case.” Callie flashed Leslie a grin when her stepmother looked up at her in surprise.

  “One of your freebies?” Leslie knew that Callie often got roped into od
d jobs.

  “Yeah. This one is the daughter of one of mom’s friends.” She saw a slight frown form between Leslie’s eyes. “You okay?”

  Leslie glanced up again quickly. Her hands stilled for just a moment and she looked like she was going to say something. Then she gave a slight shake to her head and began working on the salad again.

  “I’m sure it’s nothing.”

  Callie could tell by Leslie’s body language that she didn’t believe what she had just said.

  “So tell me. Maybe saying it out loud will get you to believe it?”

  “It’s Ariana.” Leslie put her knife down and wiped her hands on a towel before picking up her glass of tea.

  Callie thought about her young half-sister. Ariana had been born when Callie was seventeen. The age distance between them had been too great for them to have shared any memories of growing up together. It wasn’t like the situation with her sister, Gemma. Gemma was only three years older than Callie. Gemma and Callie had spent their childhood together and had bonded because of it.

  “What about Ariana?” Callie watched Leslie idly wipe the condensation from her glass.

  “I don’t know. It’s probably nothing.”

  “What does dad say?”

  Leslie made a face. “He says it’s something.”

  “Do you think it’s something?” Callie asked.

  Leslie sighed. “Yeah. I do.”

  “Okay. What is Ariana doing?”

  “She’s… oh, she’s just acting different, you know? She’s being secretive. She won’t tell us where she’s going. She refuses to even talk about going to college.”

  Callie tried to think back. “That all sounds familiar.”

  Leslie gave a half smile. “You and Gemma went through the same phase, I know. But this is different somehow. Maybe that’s why I know it is. Maybe it’s because I lived through it with two eighteen-year-old girls already.”

  That was true, she had. And she’d done it with grace, humor, and love.

  “What can I do?” Callie asked. Even as she said it, she knew what the answer would be.

  “Can you talk to her?” Leslie looked hopeful.

  Callie wanted to say no. She wanted to explain that there were too many years between them and they were really little more than strangers. She looked at the concern on Leslie’s face and remembered all the times she had gone out of her way to do something for Callie or Gemma, especially when they’d been two young, very confused girls who didn’t understand why their parents could no longer live together like a family.

  “Sure. I can do that.” She didn’t think it would help, but she would try.

  The door to the garage opened and Wade Indigo walked in.

  “There’s two of my best girls.” He kissed them both when he reached them. “Did she say yes?”

  “Yes.” Leslie smiled at her husband.

  Callie looked at the two of them and realized just how much their hopes were pinned on her. She hoped she wouldn’t let them down, but she doubted that she’d be able to get Ariana to talk.

  “You’ll be here for the birthday party, right?” Wade asked. His youngest daughter was turning eighteen.

  “I wouldn’t miss it,” Callie promised.

  “Good. Maybe you can find some time to talk to her then?” Wade glanced at Leslie then turned back to Callie. “We’re really worried, sweetie. We don’t know what else to do.”

  Callie felt the weight of their concern and tried to look confident.

  “I’m sure it’s nothing serious.”

  Wade went to the cupboard and took out a glass before pouring himself some tea from the pitcher Callie had left on the counter.

  “Let’s hope not.” He looked back at his wife. “Have you heard anything more about the robbery?”

  “What robbery?” Callie asked. She couldn’t remember hearing about anything local.

  Leslie went back to work on her salad. “There was a large bank heist at another branch of the bank.”

  “From First Pomelo Cove Trust?” Callie must have missed it on the news.

  “Yes. They were transferring money from one of the branches when it happened,” Leslie explained.

  “Have they caught the thieves yet?” Callie asked.

  “They’re saying on the radio that the police are following up on clues,” Wade said.

  Leslie shook her head. “From what I’m hearing on the inside, they don’t really have any clues yet.”

  “We’re talking a large sum of money, I take it?” Callie rinsed her glass in the sink before putting it into the dishwasher.

  “Oh, yes. The thieves got away with tens of thousands of dollars.” Leslie carried the bowl of salad to the kitchen table. “I have some chops to grill. Are you staying?”

  It sounded good. Much better than what she’d have at home whenever she managed to finally get there. Unfortunately, she needed to go see what Frank was up to now.

  “Thanks, but I can’t stay. Love you both.”

  Chapter Four

  She debated between a pair of black, slim-fit stretch pants and khaki straight trouser pants before remembering her plans for the day. The slim-fit pants looked best with heels. She wasn’t planning a heels sort of day. After putting on the khaki trousers, she reached for a comfortable shirt and some walking shoes.

  Her morning routine typically included a shower and began early. She was out the door at a decent time and drove again to the Turpins. This time, she didn’t need to use the GPS. She counted the cars in the driveway and assumed that Kym was still inside based on the information given to her by Kym’s parents. Her wait in front of the house wasn’t long before a young girl matching the photo emerged from the house. She was dressed in what Callie would consider office attire.

  Callie followed Kym to the area where she knew the Fielding Modeling Agency to be. Kym pulled into a city parking lot and paid the daily fee. Callie parked nearby on the street and dropped a few coins into the meter then quickly caught up with Kym before the young girl had even left her parking lot.

  “Kym! Kym Turpin, right?” Callie could hear her own shortness of breath and mentally made a note to get more exercise. The girl in front of her seemed younger than her photo, no doubt because she lacked the professional makeup job and the special studio lighting. She was slightly shorter than Callie which led her to believe that the five seven listed on Kym’s photo stats had been inflated. Callie knew because she was five seven.

  The younger girl turned cautious eyes toward her pursuer. “Yes?”

  “I wanted to ask you about the modeling agency.” Callie watched as curiosity passed across the young girl’s face.

  “What about it?”

  “What kind of work are you doing with them?” Callie knew she had been too direct when she saw the caution return to Kym’s eyes.

  “Why?”

  Callie debated pretending she was interested in modeling work but knew she was too old. No agency would take on an unknown thirty five year old.

  “I need a job. I just moved here and I was hoping they had some office work available. I used to work in a modeling agency in another state.” Callie watched Kym turn away.

  “I handle the office work.” Kym said over her shoulder as she walked away quickly.

  Callie remained where she was. She doubted she was going to get any more information from Kym. She hoped that the response she did get meant that Kym’s activities were limited to just answering phones and didn’t include extracurricular photo shoots. She watched as Kym crossed the street and eventually entered the building that housed the modeling agency, then she went back to her car.

  Callie’s next task was to return to the neighborhood where she had tracked Jackee’s boyfriend, Frank. She parked her car on the street in front of an older home and walked up to the front porch. The doorbell that was there was pulled from the door frame and hanging by the wires. Callie chose to follow Frank’s lead and pound on the door.

  The door swung open quickly
and the young girl she had seen embrace Frank looked at Callie first with happiness, then distrust once she realized that Callie wasn’t Frank.

  “Who is it?” a voice called from behind them.

  “No one, Ma. Just some sales lady.” The young girl began closing the door.

  “It better not be that good-for-nothing again. I told you to stay away from him,” the voice continued.

  Callie blocked the closing of the door with her foot. “I’d like to talk to you about the good-for-nothing.”

  Blue eyes narrowed and a scowl crossed the young girl’s face. Now that Callie was closer, she could tell that the girl was probably in her early to mid-twenties.

  “What do you want?” the young girl demanded as she pushed on the door again.

  “Yeah, what do you want?” an older version of Frank’s girlfriend asked suspiciously as she appeared behind the young girl.

  “My name is Callie Indigo. I’m investigating a case that involves Frank. I’d like to speak to you about him. Can I come inside?” Callie’s foot still blocked the door.

  The older woman turned to the younger one. “I told you he was trouble. That boy is a thief and a good-for-nothing! You stay away from him, do you hear me?”

  Callie moved her foot quickly as the older woman applied her weight and slammed it closed. Her next several stops played out similar scenarios. The young girls that Frank was splitting his time with while Jackee was at work were all in the same general geographic area. No doubt, his choice of women centered around the distance he could walk. Callie had yet to see him drive a car.

  Frank appeared to spend his day following pretty much the same routine. He would sleep most of the morning. Once Jackee left for her afternoon job, Frank prowled the neighborhood and visited his other girlfriends. He returned to Jackee’s place in time to see Jackee get home from work.

  Callie learned from her visits to Frank’s girlfriends that wherever he went, things ended up missing. He was also known to borrow whatever money the girlfriends had and never return it. The girlfriends were all in their early to mid-twenties and lived with one or both parents. It was usually the parents who complained about the missing items. No one had any proof that Frank had stolen anything, but Callie couldn’t help but notice the pattern of complaints.