Tahoe Blues (20 page)

“The camera!” she shouted angrily. “
You planted a camera in my home?”

David rushed to explain. “Ms. Greene you misunderstand. We are not responsible for the placement of the camera, your landlord installed it.” The back of Hunter’s head was bobbing up and down
, and his shoulders shook violently with mirth.

“Tanner Reed is spying on m
e! He’s the one who set me up?”

David rolled his eyes. H
e was getting in deeper and deeper. “Ms. Greene, let me start over. Beth Rainey, the woman you sublet the apartment from, installed the camera. She simply wanted to make sure her home was being taken care of properly. From what I understand, the arrangement you made with her was hastily put together and the camera has a limited lifespan. We’re hoping to discover who planted the incriminating documents from the footage.”

Dead silence greeted the end of his explanation. David gave her a
moment to digest the news. He looked at the wall clock. Thirty seconds went by with no reply. “Ms. Greene, are you still there?”

“Yes
, I’m here.” Cara’s words were firm and full of outrage. “I don’t know what I should be more upset with, the fact that my privacy was invaded by Beth Rainey or by you!”

Hunter spun around in his chair. His eyes glistened with tears from holding back his laughter. David took a play out of his partn
er’s book and turned his back on the conniving dick. “I’m sorry you feel that way, Ms. Greene. Let me assure you we have not seen anything inappropriate, if we are allowed to continue, we have every hope of settling this mystery once and for all.”

“This is my life we
’re talking about,” Cara raged. “If you’re going to continue to watch all my comings and goings, and everything in between, then I’m coming over there to watch it with you!” She paused to catch her breath. “I’m not at all comfortable with this.”

“Please calm down. I assure you we are treating this with the epitome of professionalism.” Hunter snickered behind him
, and David cut him the
look
that was capable of silencing both his children in an instant.

Unfortunately
, it did not have the same effect on Hunter. David gave up and turned his attention back to their client. “I feel I should remind you that you are under house arrest and therefore unable to join us tonight.” David thought he had nipped the problem in the bud.

“You are absolutely correct
, Mr. Crandall. I am not able to join you.” Her voice raised several octaves as she screeched over the air waves. “So I suggest that you and Hunter Henderson get your asses over to my place ASAP!”

Cara disconnected and left David scratching his head.

Hunter was the first one to speak. “What do we do now, boss?”

David
shrugged. “Get our asses over there ASAP!”

Cara was incensed with anger, she was livid, she was infuriated! She could not believe the gall. She was barely acquainted with Hunter Henderson, and she had never even laid eyes on David Crandall, but there they were viewing her private life without consulting her. And Beth Rainey! What right did she have to spy on her? Her mind whirled. On one hand she was outraged, but on the other hand she was overjoyed that her vindication could be only hours away.

Her mind spun again, searching her memory for any inappropriate activity between her and Tanner
, which the camera might have picked up. Whatever had been captured out in the living room would be slightly embarrassing, but nothing she couldn’t handle.

She continued to relive the last few weeks in her mi
nd. She hadn’t been in the apartment all that long. There couldn’t possibly be that much she didn’t want seen by strangers. Cara cringed when she remembered how she acted like a jealous idiot the day Blackjack Barbie came for the job interview with Tanner.

Thankfully the BJ that transpired after
ward happened over at Tanner’s.

She pressed her fingers to the bridge of her nose. Her newly dubbed champions of the realm were about to get a
n eyeful of her trying on the bare-assed beaded disaster for Leah. Not only would her Super Heroes be able to see the outline of her rear through the translucent gauzy material, but also of her breast when it popped out of the peek-a-boo bodice. Panicked, she racked her brain for how many times she walked out of the bedroom nude to get something from the kitchen. Oh lord, had she used one of her toys out on the sofa? She didn’t remember doing that specifically, but it didn’t seem like an impossibility.

She picked up her phone and redialed David Crandall.

“We’re packing up right now, Ms. Greene.” David said before she had a chance to introduce herself. “We should be at your place within the hour.”

Cara took a deep breath. “Please call me Cara, and please stop packing. I have reconsidered my earlier decision. I think we would all be better off if we were not together while
you examine the contents of the camera.”

Dead air ensued as David processed her change of heart.

“Please don’t ask me why,” she jumped in before he could pose his query. “You’ll have the answer soon enough.”

Puzzled but not opposed to staying in the office, David nodded. “If that’s what you want, we would be more than happy to oblige.”

Hunter’s eyes grew wide behind the monitor he was viewing. He jumped, knocked over his beer
, and choked on a bite of pizza. He sat straight up in his chair and began to pound the keyboard. “Where in the hell is the rewind button on this thing!” he yelled.

Cara Greene heard Hunter’s outburst through the phone line and a barely audible groan escaped through her lips. “Since we are about to be close, intimate friends
, I think I should call you David.”

David took a step towards Hunter to get a better look at what was on the monitor. Hunter had it paused and zoomed in on Cara’s bare breast. His crotch instinctively jerked. Oh yeah, this was getting personal. He placed the phone back to his ear. “I agree
, Cara. Being on a first name basis is probably a good idea.”

~~~**~~~

Tanner could not believe he let Mrs. Grimes talk him into this. Confronting his new assistant and falsely accusing her of breaking into Cara’s unit and planting evidence had not been on his list of scheduled activities for the day. Yet here he was, with Mrs. Grimes, who had taken Cara’s suspicions that Duncan’s girlfriend had a part in the frame-up as the only explanation possible and morphed the facts to fit Cara’s theory. Mrs. Grimes had said herself that Lisa Hill had not stepped foot in Cara’s unit.

The
old dame was ready to tar and feather the fragile ex-black jack dealer and Tanner doubted he would be able to stop the overzealous bulldozer. He prayed that Lisa had been truthful with him and that she hadn’t played him for a fool. Lord help her if Cara’s assumptions were correct and his new assistant was in cahoots with Duncan Alexander.

There were some big flaws in Cara’s theory that neither she nor Mrs. Grimes had considered. Why would Lisa work with Duncan so he could become Cara’s Knight in Shining Armor? Why would she help him swoop in and save the day? The man was far from gallant and the only time he a
ppeared chivalrous was when he was trying to woo a fair maiden into his bed. If Duncan and Lisa were still together, the last thing she would want is for her boyfriend to reunite with his ex-wife.

Tanner
wasn’t naive, he knew Duncan could have paid Lisa to do his dirty work and that she found a way to slip by Mrs. Grimes’ eagle eye, but Tanner found that possibility hard to swallow. Lisa genuinely seemed to want a fresh start. Her sincerity had felt real. Nothing about any of her actions or manner led him to believe Cara’s rash assumptions had any teeth behind them.

“
Mrs. Grimes,” he began as they grew closer to the office where Lisa worked, “will you at least try to be subtle? We don’t want to scare her off.”

Mrs. Grimes turned her pale gray eyes on him. The determined look on her face stopped him in his tracks. “We don’t have much time
, TJ. We can’t pussy-foot around the bush with this girl.”

“
Don’t you mean,
beat around the bush
?”

“What’
s that boy?” she asked with a devilish look in her eye. “You beat your bush?”

Tanner rolled his eyes. He had fallen into her trap once again. He wondered if she would ever grow up and act her age. If she did
, he knew he probably wouldn’t enjoy her company nearly as much. “You are a dirty old woman,” he admonished.

Mrs. Grimes shook her head and smiled. “Lighten up
, boy. You take life much too seriously. What do you think I’m going to do, duct tape her to a chair and slap her around until she talks?”

That
was exactly the vision which crossed his mind. Tanner gave Mrs. Grimes the once over to make sure she didn’t have a roll of the gray tape anywhere on her person. Once he was convinced she wasn’t too much of a threat to his unsuspecting employee, Tanner opened the door to the minuscule office and released the Kraken.

Lisa Hill sat behind her desk, sorting through the latest batch of invoices. Her flaming red hair flowed in thick tresses down her back. Wearing a simple blouse and well-worn jeans, the soft material caressed the curves of her voluptuous body. Every ounce of Lisa was laced with sex appeal. Tanner could picture her in a smoky casino dealing cards at a Blackjack table. To her credit, she tried to tone it down, but her sensuality poured out of her.

Tanner was shocked at the new paradigm presented before him. He had always viewed Lisa as helpless and in need of saving. With Mrs. Grimes by his side
, Tanner finally understood why Cara was so jealous and suspicious of her. The woman had been around the block. She was Ginger to Cara’s, Mary Ann, or Jessica Rabbit to Cara’s, Dolores. Everything about Lisa emitted sex and deceit, while Cara was, in some ways, and he thanked the lord for the ways in which she was not, the innocent girl next door.

Tanner pulled back and tried not to paint Cara as light to Lisa’s dark, but there seemed to be little middle ground. Cara had been a faithful wife while Lisa was the other woman. Tanner had placed all the blame squarely on Duncan’s shoulders and none of it on Lisa’s. Today he wasn’t
so sure his assumptions were correct.

The look in Lisa’s eyes showed suspicion
, and he knew she’d been waiting for this moment to arrive. She sat straight up and braced herself for what was to come.

Mrs. Grimes was the first to speak. “Hello
, dear,” she started off kindly. “I hope you don’t mind if we ask you a couple of questions?”

Lisa
didn’t back down and took up a firm defense. “No, I did not sneak into Cara Greene’s home and frame her for taking money from the gala.” She rose from her chair and leveled a glare at Tanner. “I haven’t seen Duncan since that night, nor have I spoken to him. I’m sorry for messing where I shouldn’t have been messing.” She placed her hands on her hips and her voice rose in pitch. “I didn’t know Cara was living here when I applied for the position, and if you feel you’ve made a mistake by hiring me, it’s one that’s easily rectified. I can be gone in as little as fifteen minutes.”

Mrs. Grimes cut Tanner a sideways grin. “Spunky little thing. She’s not stupid either. I think I like her.”

This was not the dreaded show down either he or Lisa had been expecting. The redhead’s brows were furrowed in confusion when she slipped back down into her seat. Mrs. Grimes had caved awfully easy, and Tanner suspected the sly old woman had something up her sleeve.

Mrs. Grimes
planted her weathered hands on Lisa’s desk. Leaning over, she came nose to nose with the younger woman. Her voice dripped with contempt when she said, “Then I’m sure you won’t mind helping Cara out, as it appears as if you owe her one.”

Lisa rolled her chair back away from the force of Mrs. Grimes threat
ening glare. She crossed her arms over her voluptuous chest and sighed. Defeat was written all over her face. Her eyes darted back and forth as she contemplated whether or not to band together with the quirky group of two. “Sure, why not,” Lisa conceded. “We’ll call ourselves ‘The hunk, the hanky, and the whore.’ What could possibly go wrong?”

Mrs. Grimes undaunted by Lisa’s barb tucked the little white handkerchief back up her sleeve and said with confidence. “With the Triple H threat breathing down Duncan Alexander’s neck
, absolutely nothing.”

Tanner scratched his
cheek. Whore didn’t begin with ‘H’, but he decided not to correct their notorious ringleader.

“I suggest we all go back to my place and enjoy some apple fritters and coffee while we discuss our
strategy.” Mrs. Grimes said as she walked back towards the door.

Tanner followed but turned back to Lisa when she began to rise from her seat. “Would you mind finishing those invoices first?” He pointed at the gray haired goddess of baked goods. “She’s a little overenthusiastic and doesn’t realize work needs
to come before one of her crazy schemes. Thanks for humoring her.” He took a few steps further away and grabbed the door knob. “Don’t worry. I’m sure there will be plenty of fritters left. Mrs. Grimes doesn’t make a small batch of anything, and I’m sure she won’t mind making a fresh pot of coffee when you arrive.”