A.R. Winters - Valerie Inkerman 01 - Don't Be a Stranger (9 page)

“You’re really a PI?” said Danny. “Blimey, love.”

I stared at him skeptically. “You’re British?”

“Nah.” His accent went back to normal. “I just do the accent, sometimes. Chicks seem to dig it.”

I tried not to roll my eyes, despite the fact that I felt like I was talking to a thirteen-year-old. “Sure.”

He switched back to his British accent. “I went over to London as an exchange student, for two years. And now it rather seems that I’m stuck with this accent. Ha, ha.”

Ha ha indeed. Danny seemed like an annoying, pretentious little man, and I hoped I could get the interview over with quickly.

We were sitting in the office’s tiny break room, and once in a while an employee would come by to get a drink from the vending machine, or to refill their water bottle. We didn’t have much privacy, but I supposed this would have to do.

On the other hand, I thought, maybe I could just skip this interview entirely. The chances of Danny being the killer were slim to none. But still… maybe he knew something about Esme that would help me find the killer. I needed to act like a professional, no matter how irritating Danny was and how badly I wanted to pour coffee down his shirtfront. 

“Tell me about Esme,” I said. “What was she like?”

“Oh, nice enough. Of course, she was too old to be really pretty anymore,” – I used all my willpower to not kick him in the nuts – “but she was cute enough. Although I’ve always thought she was a real brown-noser, you know. She was up for this promotion and, of course, she was Alan’s favorite, so she would’ve gotten it. Too bad it’s going to me, now. Ha ha.”

“You don’t know that for sure.”

The words slipped out before I could stop myself, but Danny didn’t seem too offended. “Oh no, I’m pretty sure. I’ll make associate partner this time.”

“Well, good luck,” I said, trying to be generous.

“Nah, I don’t need luck. I’ve got it all wrapped up.”

I bit my lip to stop myself from saying that I hoped he didn’t. I hoped the promotion went to someone else.

“Did Esme have any enemies?” I forced myself to say instead. “Could anyone have wanted to harm her?”

“Other than half the office? Nah.”

“You’re joking”

“Yeah, I guess I am. Although she
was
Alan’s favorite and always working extra-hard. How can you not hate someone like that? I know
I
wished she’d just get married and make some babies.”

I took a deep breath. Jerry needed to talk to this guy and learn what “chauvinism” meant. “Right. And, um, do you know…” I stared at him vaguely, my question forgotten. “Do you know Lisa and Mellie? They work over at Weissman North, the PR firm?”

“The cute little blondes? Sure, I know them. I slept with Mellie once. Real little tiger.”

I highly doubted that. Mellie knew not to sleep with anyone who earned less than $500,000 a year, “if you wanted to lock down a good provider.” And Danny was just the kind of man to make up sexual conquests.

“Have you talked to them recently?”

Danny shook his head. “It’s been a while.”

Ok. So I could probably cross him off my list of suspects. There was just one last thing. “Where were you, last Friday night?”

Danny grinned. “My bros and I drove up to Atlantic City for a bachelor party. There were strippers on my lap all night.”

Now that, I didn’t doubt.

I jotted down the name of the strip club where he’d been, and the names of five of his friends who’d been there with him, and all but ran away from Danny Ford as soon as I could.

***

Lisa had an appointment at a Very Busy And Fancy Hair Salon, but Mellie agreed to meet me at the bistro underneath the Weissman offices.

“I’ll be there at one,” she said. “And I can only chat with you for a few minutes. Work is really crazy – but, of course, you know that,” she added, commiserating.

I refused to take offense or feel sorry for myself. I was moving on from my old career, and maybe this PI career would go as well as I’d hoped – if only I could solve this case.

I had a few hours to kill, so instead of going home, I found myself a Starbucks, and settled in to go through my notes. I copied out the remarks I’d jotted down when interviewing Alan and Danny onto index cards, and looked at them critically. I hadn’t learned anything new – but it was important to pursue every possible lead.

I tried to think back on what I’d uncovered so far. It was nothing exciting or unusual – although I was still a little amused by Michelle and her friends’ strategy at the nightclub. That did put an interesting spin on things. I wondered what Esme had thought of her sister’s attitude to life, and whether Michelle would ever get married again.

Mellie was ten minutes late to lunch, but I wasn’t too surprised. I didn’t mind waiting for a little while in the clean, brightly-lit bistro with its faux-wooden tables and workday bustle. Maybe she
was
swamped at work but I couldn’t help wondering if she was trying to rub in just how busy and successful she was.

“I’m so sorry I’m late!” she exclaimed when she finally turned up. “Work is just so crazy right now! There’s this new client, and…” She went on for a bit, talking about her new client and all those responsibilities she had. “And it’s so difficult now,” she made sure to add. “Since I’m getting married next spring and I’ve got to do all the wedding planning. You will
not
believe how difficult it is to find a good reception venue that’s got less than a five-year waitlist!”

“Uh-huh,” I said noncommittally, and we both ordered salads when the waitress came by to take our order.

The whole place was full of people on their break from work, and almost every single woman was having a salad. I felt a little out of place, in my jeans and sandals; everyone else, including Mellie, was either wearing a suit or semi-formal business clothes. Mellie’s top was the perfect shade of blush pink, and I was half-tempted to ask her where she got it, before I remembered that I could probably never afford it.

“So,” Mellie prompted helpfully. “What did you want to talk about?”

“Right. Did you tell anyone else about me investigating this murder?”

“Sure! Lisa and I are super-proud of you! I’ve already told just about everyone I know, and I think Lisa’s done the same thing.”

“Right.”

That was helpful. Even when they tried to be nice to me, they ended up making things worse. “Um – by any chance, would you be able to give me a list of people?”

“Sure,” she said brightly. She pulled out her phone and started scrolling through her contacts list. “There was a big party on Thursday night and I think we told everyone who was there! Let me see, Aaron, Albert, Alfie, Alison, Ashley, Beth, Brian, Bud…”

I wrote down the names as fast as she said them, groaning internally. About half of them were people I remembered and had met through work. What was I going to do with all those names? Call them all up and ask them what they knew about Esme and where were they last Friday night?

This was an exercise in futility.

I stopped Mellie when she got to the G’s. “Thanks. Maybe you can help me with something else. Do you remember, at that party, if anyone was acting suspiciously? Maybe you saw someone go up the stairs around the time Esme was killed?”

Mellie shrugged. “Sorry. I can’t help you there. People were going up and down the stairs all the time, plus, there were stairs at the back which you couldn’t see from the hall. Lisa and I talked about it afterwards – we didn’t notice a thing.”

I sighed. The investigation was going nowhere, and maybe what I really needed to do was to get a list of all the guests and catering staff from Carly. This was a stupid, stupid case with no shortcuts.

“Thanks for your help,” I said. “I guess that’s all I had to ask.”

“No problem.” Mellie smiled at me happily. “Now why don’t we try to catch up on our lives? It’s been so long – are you seeing anyone?”

I gobbled down my salad as fast as I could. It took me only five minutes – which were spent telling Mellie that I wasn’t seeing anyone, I was taking a break from men (she didn’t need to know that it wasn’t entirely self-imposed), and focusing on my career. Mellie, in turn, regaled with me cute stories of how adorable her fiancé was, how difficult it was to get things arranged for her perfect wedding, and how incredibly happy she was.

An hour later, I was back at my apartment, rearranging my index cards under Jerry’s disapproving countenance. “Why didn’t you take me with you?” he was saying. “I could’ve helped. I could’ve asked questions.”

“Well, don’t be too disappointed. We’ve got about a hundred people to interview next, and you can help me then.”

“Really?” he brightened up a little. “Are we going to interview them now?”

I shook my head. “No. Now, I’m going to go for a run, and then later this evening, I’m going to interview Darren Lindl.”

“Esme’s step-brother? Great, I’ll come along.”

I shook my head. “No. It’s kind of a like a – a dinner interview.”

I smiled to myself, and hoped that tonight would go well.

I was pulled out of my reverie by Jerry saying, “What do you mean, dinner interview? There’s no such thing! Where’s your dinner?”

“Le Monde Bleu. At eight.”

“Are you kidding me? Do you even know what Le Monde Bleu
is
?” I shook my head no, and Jerry went on, waving his hands about animatedly. “Only the hottest new restaurant in town! And Darren’s taking you there? You’ve got to be kidding – you have to book a month in advance to get a table.”

Jerry peered at me and I shrugged my shoulders, trying to hide the happiness that threatened to bubble over into my eyes. If all Darren wanted was to sleep with me, he wouldn’t have bothered with such a fancy dinner place.

“It’s just a quick dinner,” I said.

Jerry groaned. “This is crazy – you’re using my murder case as an excuse to meet men? I wouldn’t have seen it in you!”

“That’s not true!” I protested quickly. “That’s uh…” I smiled despite myself, and Jerry glared at me.

“You
do
know he’s a player, right? He never spends more than one night with the same woman.”

“I’m not planning on sleeping with him.” Not straight away, at least.

“Well, I’d hope not! He’s a suspect! Maybe he’s just being nice to you to throw us off his trail.”

I shook my head. “Don’t be silly. We’re not – it’s just an interview. Over dinner. That’s all.”

“Ok, then. I’ll come along with you.”

“No. No way.”

“Why not? You said I could come along with you from now on.”

“I don’t want you messing things up,” I said quickly. “I don’t want you saying stupid things.”

“I won’t say a word. You won’t hear a peep from me. Scout’s honor.”

“You were never a boy scout.”

“Well, whatever. I’ll be good. I promise.”

“No. It’s not going to happen, Jerry. I promise I won’t sleep with him, and I won’t even see him again until the investigation’s over.”

“Unless there’s a lead on him.”

“Unless there’s a lead on him,” I agreed, even though I was sure there wouldn’t be.

“And you’re not going to sleep with him?”

“No! Of course not!” Well, at least not right after the first date.

“I don’t know… the guy’s pretty charming.”

“I’m sure I’ll be able to resist him.”

“Huh.”

Jerry didn’t seem to be completely convinced, so I decided to gather up my index cards and said, “Anyway, I’m going to go for a run now.”

“No, you don’t have time.”

I glanced at the clock. It was almost three o’clock. “There’s five hours to go. I’m sure I’ll be able to get dressed in that time.” And do my hair and makeup and maybe do a few crunches.

“No, I mean, I set up an appointment with Kevin at four o’clock for you.”

I frowned. “Esme’s ex-boyfriend? How’d you do that?”

Jerry smiled. “We went to the same high school. He was three years older than me.”

“Right. Of course you’d know him. Is there anyone in Manhattan you
don’t
know?”

Jerry shrugged modestly, and I sighed. “Ok, fine. And since I can’t take you to dinner, you can come on this one with me.”

“Great! We’ll meet him at the Starbucks near his office.”

I nodded, hoping that for once, I’d learn something new about Esme.
             

Kevin was a tall, bespectacled man who looked vaguely stressed out. He turned up at exactly four o’clock, checking his watch and glancing around the half-empty Starbucks until he spotted us.

He greeted Jerry with a manly, back-slapping hug, and then turned to shake hands with me. “Good to meet you.”

I smiled and said something polite in response, after which he excused himself in order to get a coffee.

I watched him go up to the counter. This particular Starbucks had comfy-looking armchairs scattered about, and a wall lined with small wooden tables. The few patrons at this hour were mostly business-types who seemed to be meeting clients or discussing work. Kevin fitted right in, with his dark business suit and slightly harried expression.

When he came back to join Jerry and me, he said, “I was really sorry to hear about Esme, of course. So unexpected.”

I nodded. “Yes. Do you – you didn’t think she might have had any enemies, anyone who might’ve wanted to hurt her?”

“Oh no, of course not. Esme was a sweetheart.”

“Why’d you break up?”

Kevin shrugged. “We were in different places. I wanted to settle down, and Esme wanted to focus on work. In the end, we decided we weren’t right for each other, not just then.”

“Are you with anyone else now?”

Kevin smiled, and held up his left hand. A thin gold band glinted on his finger. “We got married last month.”

“Congratulations!” I said. “That’s great news.”

“Yeah,” said Jerry, “I had no idea!”

“Oh,” Kevin shrugged modestly. “It was a little sudden. We decided to elope.”

“Well, congrats, man.”

They did some manly half-hugging kind of thing, and I smiled to myself.

“But back to Esme,” said Kevin, turning to me again.

“Right. What was her relationship with Michelle like?”

“Not bad, but not too great either. I think Michelle was jealous of the success Esme had.”

“And what do you think about Darren?” said Jerry.

“Uh.” Kevin glanced at me. “Well. I guess he and Esme got along reasonably well. He seemed like an okay enough guy.”

“Oh.” Jerry sounded disappointed, and I smiled triumphantly.

“Was Esme seeing anyone else?” I asked Kevin.

“Umm,” he said. “I’m not sure.”

“She told me she was,” Jerry said.

“Well,” said Kevin slowly. “She might have been. I met her a few weeks back and she said she was seeing someone, but nobody knew because it was a secret.”

“And you didn’t believe her?” I said.

Kevin shrugged. “You know how it is with exes. I’d just gotten married, and then – you know, if she was single, maybe she felt the need to make something up. And that whole thing about nobody else knowing…”

I could see his point. “Did she mention a name?”

Kevin shook his head. “No, she wouldn’t say anything about him because it was a secret. And I kind of didn’t push, you know? I figured she was making it up and I didn’t want her to extend the lie.”

I nodded, and made a note. If Esme
did
have a boyfriend, maybe this mysterious man could tell me something. As it was, Esme seemed to have absolutely no enemies, and there didn’t seem to be anyone out there with a motive to kill her.

We chatted a bit more, and Jerry and Kevin told each other about people they knew in common. By the time Kevin left, it was almost five.

Jerry caught me checking my watch as we headed toward the subway station, and smirked.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “Darren hasn’t turned into a pumpkin yet.”