Catch Your Breath (22 page)

Moira nodded, unsure if there were other questions she should ask. The thought of
attending parties made her remember the mystery woman and all of the people who knew
her as a reporter. “One more thing. You mentioned parties, so I was wondering if it
would be okay for me to change my appearance.”

“Why?” Billie’s expression shifted, but she hadn’t gone cold, more like she was intrigued.

“I’ve attended some parties with my stupid ex. I wouldn’t want people to recognize
me. I’m starting a new life and don’t want to be associated with him.”

“That’s fine. Some of the girls have different personas they take on depending on
where they’re going or who their dates are.”

Air seeped from Moira’s mouth in relief. She was afraid she’d gotten this far and
had blown it.

“Well, Moira, I think you’ll fit right in here. Are you interested in a job?”

“Yes, I think I am.”

Billie stood and shook her hand again. “Go back out there, and Lisa will take your
picture for our portfolio and get all of your information. Welcome aboard.”

Moira tried not to wobble on her heels on the way out of the office. She shut the
door behind her and leaned against the wall to take a deep breath.

From her station by the elevator, Lisa smiled. “How’d it go?” Moira walked the length
of the hall and said, “I’m supposed to see you about taking my picture and getting
my information.”

“Excellent.” She stood again. “Come this way.” This time, she walked around her desk
and down the opposite hall, which wasn’t much of a hall, more like a cubby with three
doors.

One door stood open. Break room. Unfortunately, no one was there.

“It’s early. Girls usually trickle in later in the day. Most prefer to have their
dates pick them up here. That way, they don’t have to drive themselves or give out
their home addresses.” Lisa turned the handle on the adjacent door. “This is a smaller
office we use to take photos. Can I get you a cup of coffee or water or something?”

“Coffee would be great. Cream and extra sugar, please.”

Moira sat at the small round table. Behind her were photographer screens. Lisa returned
with a Styrofoam cup of coffee and a high-end digital camera.

“We’ll snap a couple now, but next time you’re here for a date, we’ll get some more
of you all dressed up.”

Moira nodded and stood. Lisa snapped on a few more lights and then positioned Moira.
It was all a little surreal. After she took four photos, Lisa told Moira she could
sit. She left the room again and Moira took a slug of coffee.

Lisa returned with a one-page information sheet. Moira began to fill it out. She used
the address of O’Leary’s Pub to be safe.

“If you want to come back later, I’ll introduce you to some of the girls. They can
give you the real scoop, like standing around the water-cooler at the office.”

Moira lit up. “I’d love that. What time?”

Lisa looked up to the ceiling as if calculating. “We have four girls booked tonight.
Three of them have early dinner before a show, so if you come by around four thirty,
they should be here.”

“Awesome. Thank you so much.” Moira finished filling out the paper and shook Lisa’s
hand. Getting her story didn’t seem like it was going to be so difficult after all.

Jimmy stood on the outer edge of the conference room and stared at the group of men
in front of him. Gabby stood by his side, surveying the same. She was the only woman
in the room. The commander had developed a full-blown task force in the days since
the victims had come forward.

Jimmy figured many of the men had probably come from vice since they had the whole
escort angle. No one believed for a second the escorts wanted to sleep with these
men for free. The men had probably been advised by their attorneys not to admit to
sex for money.

The whole situation bugged him. Rich men hiring prostitutes and everyone was going
to look the other way because someone had stolen from these men. He couldn’t argue
that the theft was the bigger crime. More than a hundred thousand dollars in jewelry
had been stolen from the three households. All jewelry belonging to the wives.

Jimmy couldn’t help but think that in addition to wanting the cash the jewelry would
bring, the thieves also wanted to send a message to the men. And from what he’d observed,
the men received the message loud and clear: stay with your wives and away from escorts.

The commander yelled for everyone to quiet down so he could brief them on the case.
Jimmy only half listened since he’d been in on it from the beginning. Elks introduced
the new players and named someone the head of the task force. He should’ve paid closer
attention to that part, but he knew the man in charge would make himself known repeatedly.

Then Elks called Jimmy to the front of the room. He slid along the wall and felt everyone’s
eyes on him. When he got to Elks’s side, he made eye contact with anyone looking his
way. He wouldn’t be looked down on because he was newer at this job than most.

“Detective O’Malley has been undercover for the past three weeks as James Buchanan.
He’s been introduced as a friend of the mayor and as a result has become acquainted
with the victims. They are all now aware of his position, and in fact, it is partially
due to his involvement that the men came forward.” Elks paused and stepped to the
side.

It took a second for Jimmy to realize that Elks wanted him to say something about
the case. A little heads-up would’ve been nice.

“As Commander Elks said, I’ve been undercover, attending different society events.
My partner, Gabby Ruiz, has been posing as my wife so I can appear as much like the
victims as possible. They are all wealthy and married with a roving eye. We were given
a list of possible escort services to look into.”

Another detective stood with a raised hand. “We have that. We’ve checked the numbers
and cross-referenced with addresses and business licenses. We have locations and have
sent officers to check things out. We don’t want to rush in and spook them.”

Elks stood forward again, so Jimmy stepped back. “The likelihood of the business being
behind the thefts is small. We think it’s a smaller group of escorts possibly working
with more experienced thieves. We’re going to get O’Malley set up with a property
that looks like an easy target so we can catch them.”

Someone in the back of the room yelled, “That means O’Malley has to convince a hooker
to come on to him.”

The room filled with laughter.

Elks raised his hands to quiet them. “Yeah, well, we’re working on that too. Do we
have any idea how the escorts are targeting these guys?”

The same detective, who had to be from vice, stood again. “We don’t have evidence,
but these shops target the Viagra Triangle. The Gold Coast has seen a large uptick
in business this year. It’s hard to crack down on it because so many of the hotels
turn a blind eye, especially when palms are greased.”

Viagra Triangle. Where had he heard that before?

Elks continued to outline the plan, and Jimmy’s brain scanned memories. As Elks wrapped
up, it hit him. Moira. She’d made jokes about doing a story on the Viagra Triangle.

Damn it. Everything kept coming back to her. She’d said she wasn’t doing anything
to interfere with his investigation, but this sure as shit would get in the way. The
room began to clear, and Jimmy stayed back, debating whether he should tell Elks about
Moira.

What would he say? A reporter is working on a story about prostitutes on the Gold
Coast? He had no idea what Moira was doing. He shook his head and decided to talk
to Moira first. Then he’d decide what to do about it.

“Did you need something, O’Malley?”

The brusque question had him jerking his head up to look at Elks. “No, sir. Except
I was wondering where we were going to get a mansion that would belong to James Buchanan.”

“I have no idea. There’s no money in the budget.”

Jimmy thought of Griffin Walker. It was a long shot, but they didn’t have much else.
“I have an idea. A guy I kind of grew up with might have a place we could use.”

Elks’s eyebrows shot up. “Who’s that?”

“Griffin Walker. We know each other through mutual friends. I know he recently moved
to a house in Oak Park, but he might still have something in the city we could borrow.”

Jimmy had never used personal connections for anything. Even when he first joined
the force, he’d never used his father’s reputation to try to get ahead. But this was
different. In his gut, he felt like this case could propel his career forward, give
it a jump start, rather than waiting patiently for years for things to click.

“Talk to him and let me know what he says.” Elks picked up his files and left.

Jimmy turned and saw that Gabby had waited for him by the door. “I guess you get to
be Mrs. Buchanan a while longer.”

She cocked her head to the side. “Not really. In order for the thieves to strike,
I need to be conveniently out of town, so I’ll probably only have to appear with you
a couple more times to make sure everyone in the world knows you’re married. Then
I’m off the hook and back to just being me.”

Jimmy walked back to his desk and found the task force lead sitting on the edge of
the desk. “Can I help you?”

The man extended his hand. “O’Malley, I wanted to personally introduce myself. Kittner.
I wanted to make sure there are no hard feelings about me heading the task force.”

Jimmy shook his head. “I didn’t expect to be given lead. I don’t have enough years
on the job.”

“Elks told me about this reporter who knows your cover. You grew up with her?”

This was not going in a positive direction. “Yeah. Moira O’Leary.”

“She’s been able to help?”

“Yeah. She made a point of talking to me and Gabby in front of the guests to make
it seem like we belong. She also gave us insight into the guests, some of whom turned
out to be victims.”

“Are you feeding her information?”

“What? No. When we approached her because she’d seen me on my first night as Buchanan,
we agreed to give her the exclusive on the case if it developed into something.”

“Have you seen her outside of the society events you attend as Buchanan?”

“Yes.”

“In what capacity?”

“We’re friends.”

Kittner narrowed his eyes. The man might be in charge of him while on duty, but he
had no business trying to tell Jimmy who he could spend his off hours with. “Do I
need to explain the sensitive nature of this case? In my experience, reporters cause
trouble.”

“I don’t discuss the case with anyone.” Not really, not with actual details.

“Make sure you don’t. I’m working on a list of events you’ll be attending. Make sure
you check with me before you go home tonight.”

“Will do.”

One more thing for him to worry about. After Kittner left, Jimmy tried to recall every
conversation he’d had with Moira over the last few weeks. Had he given her any fuel?
She’d said he’d inspired whatever she was working on. This wasn’t looking good.

M
oira had checked her phone for the umpteenth time. Jimmy hadn’t said when he’d call,
just that he would when he was free. Her brain was so stuffed with ideas she felt
like she’d burst and talking with Jimmy was top of the list. She’d had an entire day
to think about what Liam had said.

While she never saw any indication of Jimmy’s determination to find a doormat, Liam’s
reaction warranted a discussion. She needed to know what Jimmy thought they were doing.
She knew he’d been hesitant about a relationship with her because of Liam, but she
couldn’t fathom that this was behind his thinking. She had a mountain of laundry to
do, and she needed to go back to the escort service.

She loaded her dirty laundry in her car and called her mom to let her know she’d be
stopping by later to use her machines. If Moira timed it right, she’d get dinner and
a visit in with Mom and then be able to catch Jimmy when he got home from work. Sounded
like a hell of a plan.

Still wearing her dressy clothes from earlier, she headed to the escort office. When
she strode in, Lisa greeted her with a smile.

“I’m so glad you came back. The break room is filled with girls. Also, we have a function
Billie would like you to attend on Friday. Will you be free?”

“Uh . . . I think so, but let me check.” She pulled out her phone and accessed the
calendar. She was supposed to attend something, but she could skip it. One minor article
for a blog wouldn’t break her career, but getting the scoop on high-class hookers
might take her to the next level. “I’m free.”

“Excellent. Let me introduce you to Jenny. She’ll be your partner for the night, and
she has all the details.” Lisa led the way to the break room.

Moira’s palms sweat. It was just a room full of women. Why was she nervous? The minute
she stepped into the room, she knew exactly why. It was like sixth-grade gym class
all over. Every pair of eyes in the room swept up and down her body to measure her
as competition. She forced the corners of her mouth up and widened her eyes in the
hope that it made her look more friendly than crazy.

Lisa made quick introductions and then left to man her desk and the phones. Jenny
flipped her long blond hair over her shoulder and pointed to a chair, so Moira sat.
The other women in the room returned to their own conversations.

“So,” Jenny started, “we’ll be partners on Friday.”

Moira quickly wiped her hands on her skirt. “I’m sorry. This is probably a stupid
question, but what does it mean for us to be partners ?”

Jenny let out a quick little laugh and her dark blue eyes crinkled. “You really are
a newbie.”

Moira nodded.

“When we work a party, Billie sends us in with partners in case of trouble. Sometimes
a guy will get handsy, and having another woman there is backup. She can call Billie
and let her know of a problem without causing a scene. Your partner is also there
to get information about where you’ll be in case a guest takes a liking to you.” She
crossed her long legs, and her skirt rode a little higher on her thigh.

“When Billie hired me, she said I would be paid to go on dates and that was it. Anything
else was up to me. Working a party makes it sound like I’m expected to sleep with
whatever man wants to.”

“Oh, God, no.” Jenny leaned forward, one elbow balanced elegantly on her knee. “Billie’s
clients all know the score. They can look all they want, but if they want more, it’s
the woman’s choice. Billie sends security to each party, so there’s backup for our
backups. If you choose to extend your date, Billie needs to know who the guest is,
so she can bill appropriately.”

Waves of overwhelming nerves cascaded over Moira. She didn’t know if she could pull
this off.

Another light laugh from Jenny. “You look like a semi ran over you. Don’t be nervous.
It’s just a party. Talk to the men, maybe dance if there’s music. That’s all Billie
requires.”

She could do that. She did it every week as a reporter. Well, maybe not the dancing
part, but talking to people was her specialty. “I have a quick question. I talked
to Billie about changing my appearance for the parties. If I’m on a one-on-one date,
I’d go like this, but I’ve attended some social functions with my ex, and I wouldn’t
want him or his friends to recognize me. Any suggestions?”

“Get yourself a wig. Your hair is going to be a selling point for many men, but it
also makes you stand out. Maybe spray-on tan and new makeup. Trust me, most men won’t
get beyond the hair color.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll meet you here at seven. Eat a decent dinner before, but nothing that will bloat
you. Cocktail dress. During the party, limit yourself to one drink. Drink it slowly
and then switch to water. Billie will square up with you at the end of the night,
unless you make other arrangements to extend a date. Then you can stop by here on
Monday and she’ll pay you.” Jenny glanced at her watch. “I have to get going. My date
will be here in a minute.”

Moira stood. “Thanks for all your help. I appreciate it. I kind of expected everyone
to be catty and mean.”

“There’s no need. As long as you don’t try to poach someone’s regular, there are plenty
of dates to go around.”

“Thanks anyway.” Moira watched her leave. Although Jenny had been very helpful, there
was no way she’d be a source for Moira’s article. Jenny was too together and appeared
to enjoy the job. She needed to find a weak link, someone who would talk freely and
not get suspicious.

Three other women, each dressed to the nines, sat around the small table chatting.
Another woman stood by herself by the sink, cradling a cup of coffee. She wasn’t dressed
as nicely, so Moira made the assumption she wasn’t on her way to a date.

“Hi, I’m Moira.”

The woman nodded, although now that Moira got a closer look, she appeared much more
like a girl.

“Piper. Nice to meet you.”

“Have you worked here long?”

The corners of Piper’s mouth turned down for a second and she said, “A few months.”

“Do you like it here?”

“Way better than other places I’ve worked. Billie’s fair, and anytime you want to
stop by for a cup of coffee, her door is open.” Piper held her cup up.

“You came here just for coffee?”

Piper smiled. “I came to pick up my pay. Billie was busy, so I grabbed a cup.” She
dumped the rest of the contents and washed out the cup with a dab of soap and couple
of quick swishes of a rag.

When she turned back, Moira said, “I’ll walk out with you.”

In the hall, they waved at Lisa and stepped on the elevator. Once the doors closed,
Piper said, “A little heads-up, one new girl to another. Watch your back with Jenny.
She’s nice, she knows what she’s doing, but she’ll steal any guy you have on the line.”

“She just finished telling me that there were plenty of dates to go around.”

“There are, but she wants first pick.”

Moira laughed. “I like you. Can I buy you a cup of coffee?”

“I just had a cup.”

“I meant some other time. Billie said I should talk to some of the other girls to
get the scoop, and you strike me as a straight shooter.”

The elevator stopped on the first floor and they stepped out. Piper pulled a card
from her pocket. “Sure. Give me a call. Right now, I’m free on Thursday and Friday,
but that could change.”

Moira turned the card over in her hand. Was she supposed to have business cards? “Thursday
would be great. I’ll give you call.”

Piper waved down a cab and Moira walked to the lot. Next time she’d park at a meter.
It had to be cheaper.

Moira drove to her mom’s house and ran different scenarios in her head. While she
did her laundry, she tried to figure out how she could change her look for the party
on Saturday. Maggie had her coloring, except for the hair, so maybe Moira would get
a brunette wig. And new makeup. Then she realized Jenny hadn’t given her information
about where they were going, only that they’d meet at the office.

Her mother made small talk about work she wanted to get done around the house, and
Moira helped her make a list. Ryan and Colin would be thrilled. Every time Mom mentioned
paying someone to do something, they jumped in, sure she would get ripped off. They
ate dinner and Moira thought she was going to escape personal questions, but she never
had that kind of luck. Eileen always had questions.

“You’re dating Jimmy O’Malley?”

Moira rolled her eyes. “Who told you?”

“It should’ve been you. When did this start?”

“A week or two ago. We’ve only been out twice, kind of.”

“Kind of.” Mom sniffed. “What man takes you on a
kind of
date?”

“We had a real date at a carnival Sunday. Before that though, he had to work late,
so our plans fell through. He came over to my apartment and we watched a movie.”

Her mother’s stare bothered her almost as much as Liam’s anger. What was with this
family?

“I expect a man you know through Liam to offer more than showing up to take advantage
of you. He should still be putting in the effort.”

Moira pushed the food around on her plate, no longer hungry. “He’s not taking advantage,
Mom. He came over to apologize and he’d had a bad day, so I invited him in.”

“Is it serious?”

Moira dropped her fork, unable to pretend anymore. “I don’t know. I haven’t had the
chance to find out because everyone in this family is trying to push me away from
him. He’s a good man, damn it. What the hell is everyone’s problem?”

Her mother’s eyes blazed at her language, but she couldn’t care. She shoved away from
the table and brought her plate to the kitchen. After giving herself a moment to calm
down, she returned to the dining room. “I’m sorry I swore and yelled at you.”

Eileen nodded. “I know you’ve always looked at that boy with stars in your eyes. I
want to make sure he’s not taking advantage.”

Her language was crisp with a bit of an edge, and if she listened closely, Moira could
hear the hint of the brogue, which meant Mom was angry.

“I’m not a starry-eyed kid. I’m a grown woman and I still like Jimmy. I don’t know
where our relationship will go, if anywhere, but it should be up to us to figure that
out.”

“You’re right. A mother can’t help but worry.”

“Can you tell my dumb brothers to back off ?”

Eileen smiled and stood to clear her plate, but Moira took it from her.

“I’ll get you a cup of tea. My laundry should be about dry, so I’ll be heading home.”
In the kitchen this time, she found a little peace. If Mom understood her need to
do this on her own, there might be some hope for her brothers. She put the kettle
on the stove and went to the basement to pull her clothes from the dryer. By the time
she had them folded, the kettle was whistling.

She poured her mom’s tea and delivered it to the living room. As she carried her laundry
basket to the front door, Eileen’s eyes focused on the clothes on top.

Jimmy’s clothes.

Moira followed her mother’s gaze. “We got caught in the storm Sunday night, and he
gave me a sweatshirt to wear home.” No need to mention the fabulous orgasm he’d also
given her. “I’m going to drop it off now.”

Her mother simply nodded and turned on the TV.

Moira lugged the basket to her car and slid it into the backseat. Pulling Jimmy’s
sweatshirt and the T-shirt he’d given her at the block party, she scanned the street
for his car. He was home.

She closed her car, remembering to lock it just in case Jimmy quizzed her, and headed
across the street.

A headache pounded behind Jimmy’s eyes on the way home from the station. He didn’t
like Kittner’s implications. When he walked in the door, Kevin was sitting on the
couch with their dad, watching a ball game. They each had a beer.

“Did you test your blood?”

“Yeah, yeah. It’s fine.”

Jimmy knew that brush-off answer. He gathered the test stuff and shoved it at his
father. “It’s not fucking fine. We’ve been over this.”

Seamus grumbled but pricked his finger. Surprisingly, the test came back normal.

“Ha,” Seamus shouted. “Now get outta the way. The Sox are gonna win this one.”

Kevin pushed up from the couch and followed him into the kitchen. “What bug crawled
up your ass?”

“Nothing.”

“Right. My guess would be a sexy, little redhead.”

Jimmy grabbed a beer from the fridge and looked at Kevin. “What are you talking about?”

“Dad told me you’re going out with Moira.”

Jimmy didn’t answer. He hadn’t wanted to deal with his family about Moira. Not now.
He went to walk around Kevin to go upstairs, but Kevin grabbed his elbow.

“Of all the fucking women you could go after, why her? You know I’ve been after her
for years.”

Jimmy snorted. “She can’t stand you. It was never going to happen. Besides, my relationship
with Moira is complicated.”

This time, he did push past, but Kevin yelled, “Bullshit. You’re either going out
with Moira or you’re not.”