Addison
I FROWNED AT Dylan, who appeared to be experiencing some kind of epileptic episode. “What is your—”
“Addison,” a deep voice said behind me, frightfully close to my ear.
I must not react, I must not react.
“I know it’s you, Addison,” Jake continued, and I turned to face him.
“I’m sorry, who is it that you’re lookin’ for?” I asked in a very thick southern accent, reaching my hand out as though asking him to kiss it. “My name is Lynda Worthingham and this is my very good friend, Linda Sanders. We joke because her grandfather was a colonel in the navy.” I giggled. “So, she’s a descendant of Colonel Sanders. Isn’t that such a hoot... or more appropriately... a cluck?”
“Ohmigod,” Dylan whispered, covering her face with her hands.
“Linda and Lynda, huh?” he asked with a sigh as he cocked his head and lifted my gloved hand to his lips. At least he was keeping up with our ruse. “What the hell are you two doing here?” he demanded, albeit in a whisper.
“Why, we’re here for the funeral, sir,” I continued, still in character.
“Cut the bullshit,” he said, and crossed his arms. “What are you really doing here?”
“We’re looking for suspects so Dylan can get on with her life,” I admitted. “Killers often show up at the funeral of the person they murdered.”
“What are you doing here?” Dylan asked, finally joining the conversation.
I didn’t miss his tiny but approving smile. “Gathering evidence.”
“Aha!” I exclaimed, then lowered my voice. “You don’t think she’s guilty either, do you?”
He sighed, relaxing his stance. “Honestly? No.”
And that’s when I fell in love with him.
“Have you found anything?” Dylan asked, leaning closer to us. “Because I still can’t believe Kirk was married. The jerk flirted with every girl in the office. I can’t even tell you how many times he came onto me.”
I nodded. “If that was my husband, I’d stab him in the heart.”
“Good to know,” Jake said.
I couldn’t help a slight smile, but then he got serious as he continued, “The method does suggest a crime of passion, but if everyone knew he was a cheater, the killer could be trying to shift suspicion to the wife or one of his lovers.”
Dylan shuddered. “Eww. Kirk with lovers. That’s an image I didn’t need.”
“I just don’t understand, with what a dog he was, how all those people got up there and said such nice things about him,” I said.
“You’d be surprised how separate folks can keep their private and professional lives,” Jake said. “It’s quite possible his wife never knew or saw anything that raised a red flag.”
“You could be right,” Dylan said. “No one has ever met her. Except maybe his assistant, who had to drop stuff off at his house on occasion. Michelle never said anything, though. I can’t believe Kirk didn’t even have a picture of Bonnie in his office. She seems so nice.”
Jake nodded. “I’m actually glad I ran into you two. After our lunch, Addison, I went to interview some of Kirk’s coworkers and learned that someone broke into the office Wednesday night. You two wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”
“Maybe it was the same guys who broke into my apartment,” Dylan suggested with a shrug.
“No. This time it was two women.”
“Women?” I asked, hoping I sounded surprised. “Was anyone able to identify them?”
The way Jake watched us told me wasn’t buying our innocence. Still, he shook his head. “Nope. There was video footage, but the cameras didn’t get a good shot. Besides, the perps wore facepaint and… disguises.”
His gaze lingered, and I felt as though he could see into my soul. “What kind of disguises?” I asked, my voice husky.
Dylan waved her phone in the air. “Asher’s calling and I really need to take this,” she said, backing away as she put the phone to her ear.
I looked back in time to see Jake’s eyes slip to my chest ever so briefly before meeting my eyes again. “The black bustier was really all I noticed.”
I was a little taken aback that he even knew what a bustier was. “Pervert,” I retorted.
He chuckled. “Let me clarify. It’s all I noticed at first, then I took a second to take in the rest. I can’t imagine it was easy to evade the police in those heels, was it?”
“No—no idea,” I stuttered. “The person wore heels? That sounds really dumb.”
Jake frowned. “Yeah, because it was dangerous. And illegal. Get me?”
He looked angry and worried, and as he leaned closer to me, I could smell a hint of cologne, leather, and sexy-as-hell man. I was so turned on; it was all I could do to keep from dragging him into a side room and finally consummating this thing between us.
“Parker!” Detective Pike called, saving me from having to acknowledge Jake’s warning. “Got somethin’.”
“Be right there,” he called back.
“Sounds like you better get to it,” I said, squaring my shoulders so I didn’t jump on him and kiss off his bossy lips.
He cocked his head and then sighed. “Please stop with all this shit, Addison. You’re gonna get yourself hurt... or killed.”
His concern for me only raised my temperature. “I can take care of myself,” I argued.
“I’ll call you this week.”
“Okay. Byeeee.” I smiled and gave him a little wave as he turned and joined his partner. Dylan was nowhere to be seen, so I lingered in the hallway for a moment before following Jake. If he and Detective Pike had something, I wanted to know what it was.
The two detectives slipped into a side room, closing the door behind them. Feeling like some sort of government spy, I surveyed my surroundings. The majority of the funeral attendees were stuffing their faces and drifting toward the front door. Nobody seemed to be paying too much attention to the hallway, so I leaned in and stuck my ear against the door, straining to hear what was happening on the other side.
“And you work in the mailroom?” I heard Jake ask.
A woman’s voice answered, but it was so quiet I could barely make out her yes.
“What was your relationship with Kirk Miller?”
“We’d gone out a few times. I didn’t know he was married, I swear,” the woman replied.
“Not the first time I’ve heard that today,” Jake replied. “So tell me what happened the night Kirk was murdered.”
“After work we went out for drinks at the Purple Nurple.”
I wrinkled my nose. The Purple Nurple was basically a cheap and crappy watering hole. It was dirty and only creepers partook of whatever was being sold there, perfect for picking up prostitutes or wooing your mistress.
“Everything was going well until Kirk got a phone call,” she continued. “I don’t know what was said, but he looked really upset. He turned to look outside and there was this big guy standing in the window watching us. It was creepy.”
“Did you get a good look at the man?” Jake asked.
A group of people were heading my direction. Cursing their bad timing, I peeled my ear from the door and turned on my heel. Jake had found another suspect and I couldn’t wait to tell Dylan about it.
* * *
Dylan
“Hey,” I said into my phone, feeling my cheeks burn from the stupid smile I couldn’t help. I slipped outside for some privacy. “How are you?”
“Good,” Asher said. “Addison said you picked out a dress for the dinner. I can’t wait to see you in it.”
Now if that didn’t turn me into a puddle of goo… “Yeah.” I bit my lip. “Thanks for that, by the way.”
“My pleasure. Trust me, Dylan, I’m planning on getting my money’s worth.”
“What?” I asked, sure I’d misheard him.
He chuckled.
I gasped. “Asher Allen, what kind of girl do you think I am?”
“The kind who is willing to get all dressed up in order to save me from dying of boredom at this dinner. Why? What did you think I meant by that?”
My cheeks burned. I cleared my throat, trying to think of a response, but came up with nothing. Thankfully Asher saved me.
“Oh, hey, I almost forgot why I called you,” he said. “I have a friend who’s a tax attorney. I showed her that spreadsheet and she confirmed that there’s definitely something fishy about it. She has a friend pretty high up in the IRS and has suggested to her that they audit the business.”
“What? Ohmigod, that’s great!”
A couple of mourners were smoking not far from me. They gave me weird looks so I turned back toward the building.
“Yeah, well, sometimes the IRS moves pretty slowly. I’m hoping they’re able to get right on this.”
“Me too.” Like, long before my case went to trial.
“I have to go meet with a client, but I wanted to call and share the good news. I’ll call you later, okay?”
“Thanks, Ash.” There were so many things I wanted to say, but even if I had the words, he didn’t have time. “This means a lot to me. I’ll talk to you later.”
I disconnected and headed back into the building, making a detour at the bathroom. When I went into the last stall, movement high on the wall caught my eye. A water bug shuffled forward a few steps then stopped—its path blocked by a large pipe. Thankful I was wearing flats, I climbed up on the toilet seat and plucked the little guy from the wall.
“Need some help?” I asked.
The bathroom door swung open and someone made a shushing noise. Since I didn’t want to be seen by any of the funeral goers, I ducked down—the bug still in my hands—and hid.
I heard footsteps walk the length of the stalls and then turn back. “Okay, it’s clear. Now we can talk.”
It sounded like Bonnie’s voice. Intrigued, I thought of the camera hidden in the folds of my blouse, wishing I could transport it to the outside of the stall.
“I did everything you asked,” a second voice said. A voice that sounded a lot like Michelle’s.
“Yes, you did. Then fate stepped in and taught us both a lesson, wouldn’t you say?” Bonnie asked.
“Did it ever,” Michelle agreed.
Paper rustled.
“Here’s what I owe you. Thank you,” Bonnie said.
More rustling.
“Thank you. I’m glad it all worked out for you.”
“Even better than planned,” Bonnie said.
Then the door opened and two sets of high heels clicked out of the bathroom. Wondering what the hell I’d just witnessed, I climbed down from the toilet and slowly opened the stall door. After making sure the bathroom was empty, I opened the window and let my little friend out. Then I washed my hands and went to find Addison.