Thrilled To Death (4 page)

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Authors: Jennifer Apodaca

BOOK: Thrilled To Death
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More secrets. It was enough to give me a complex. So when my cell phone rang, I took my eyes off the road for a second to stare at my purse suspiciously. Now what? I came to the stop sign at Main Street and reached over to the passenger seat to get my phone out of my purse. The screen told me it was Rosy. I took a deep breath, put the phone to my ear, and turned right on Main Street. “Hi, Rosy. Grandpa is fine.”
“Glad to hear it. Sam, we need to meet.”
That comment struck me right in the center of my chest. Rosy had been a friend of both my grandparents for decades. And she had stayed good friends with Grandpa after Grandma died, just being there as a calm and steady friend. So the distress or worry in her voice urged me to agree to see her. “I'm on my way to the office, how's that?”
“How about McDonald's? Can you stop by there on your way to the office?”
Why not? My whole day was shot. Besides, I wasn't going to get any work done with Heart Mates currently a construction zone. “Sure, Rosy, I'll be there in five minutes.”
“I'm already here,” she said, and cut the connection.
That was the efficient side of Rosy that I knew well, and it also meant that she had something serious on her mind. Quickly, I dialed the office.
“Heart Mates.”
“Hi, Blaine. I have to make another stop before I get to work. Everything okay there?”
“Nothing's on fire.”
I took that as a yes. “Okay, I have my cell phone if you need me.”
“Now I can sleep nights.” He hung up.
Sheesh. A little respect would be nice.
The McDonald's on Mission Trail has historical pictures of Lake Elsinore dating back over a hundred years. They included the railroad, Main Street, and the Chimes that once boasted of hot springs used for therapy and relaxation. The Chimes has been renovated and still stands on Graham Street, but the hot springs were closed. McDonald's always struck me as an odd place to hang historical pictures, but on the other hand, more people would probably see pictures of Lake Elsinore's history in a busy fast-food place than in a museum.
Rosy sat below the picture of old Main Street, wearing a blue top stamped with huge white flowers, munching on a hash brown patty and drinking a large cup of coffee. I ordered a cup of coffee and joined her. Lord, I was tired.
“Hi, Rosy. So what's up?”
After patting her mouth with a paper napkin, she met my gaze and said, “I want to hire you.”
Surprised, I leaned my elbows on the small rectangular table. “Hire me? Or are you looking to sign on as a client at my dating service?” Maybe she was lonely? Rosy had lived alone since her husband died a decade ago. She regularly hung out with the seniors in Lake Elsinore, did some volunteer reading tutoring in the middle school, and met up with her old friends at the university regularly. But even though she had a full life, she might long for a little romance.
Rosy moved her coffee aside with her blue-veined hand. She had her short, neat fingernails polished a shell pink with sparkles. “I want to hire you to investigate Shane Masters to find out exactly which magician's act he'll spoil this Saturday night.”
I didn't know what to say. In the last several years, Shane had made a huge splash by revealing the secrets of the magic behind the acts of magicians. It was usually a magician who was breaking out into big success. But why would Rosy try to find out whose act Shane was spoiling? Trying to think this out, I started with the obvious. “Rosy, he keeps the identity of the magician a secret. No one knows until Shane goes on and starts the show. And then he never says the magician's name, he always just says things like, ‘This act is performed by a well-known magician.' And of course, it's all from a single magician's show. It's the media that names the magician.” It was ridiculously clever. The damage to that magician was very real, while Shane gained more and more fame.
Rosy nodded and started twisting her napkin. “I know, but Sam, this is our town. Someone must know. Surely you can find out. We will pay your fee, whatever it is.”
An uneasy sensation skittered down my back. “
We?
Who is the other part of the
we?
”
I heard the slap of rubber sandals on the floor just as a new voice said, “I'm the other part of we.”
I looked up at a tallish woman in her twenties wearing a pair of baggy jeans, flip-flops, and a Harley T-shirt. She held a large bottle of soda and had dark circles beneath her hazel green eyes. Her short, spiky, black hair looked tortured by finger combing. I recognized her. “Nikki.”
Rosy swiveled out of her chair and stood up to hug Nikki.
In the meantime, my mind reeled. Nikki Eden was Rosy's granddaughter and an up-and-coming magician. She was building her reputation by doing high-cost illusions that intrigued and mystified audiences. In her opening illusions, Nikki rode a motorcycle onto the stage, then she vanished the motorcycle. It got the audience's attention right away. Combined with girl-power attitude expressed with her leather stage wardrobe and expertise with a whip, Nikki was heading for hard-earned fame. “Nikki, what are you doing here? What's this all about?” My brain was jumbled with possibilities. And I couldn't help but wonder if any of this had to do with Shane's accusations against Grandpa.
Rosy sat down, and Nikki slid into the seat next to her. “Hi, Sam. I'll give you the short version—Shane and I had an affair.”
Cripes. I was astonished that smart and savvy Nikki would fall for someone like Shane Masters. I hadn't met Shane, but Nikki had to have known who he was when she'd met him. “What happened?”
She shrugged. “Hormones, pheromones, chemistry, brain damage, it's hard to explain. Probably arrogance,” she added. She unscrewed the cap from her bottle of soda and chugged a healthy dose. “I need the caffeine and sugar.” She flashed a grin, then went on. “I thought I could outsmart him. I arranged to meet him, planning to find out his weakness. Every magician is afraid of him, of becoming his next target. I was trying to convince some of them that we had to stop being afraid and stand up to these spoilers.”
A small smile pulled at my mouth. That was so Nikki—not afraid of anything. Her parents had divorced when she was a teenager, and she'd turned into a hellion. At Rosy's request, Grandpa had taken her to one of his magic shows, and she'd been hooked. She held on to her rebellious edge, but she took to magic with a passion. “And then?” I asked.
She glanced at Rosy, then said, “He turned on the bad-boy charm, and I fell for the illusion he created. I thought he loved me. We had a secret affair.”
It made more sense now. They were both rebels and edgy. And Nikki was still young, around twenty-six, while Shane had to be closer to forty, judging from the recent picture I'd seen of him. “So he broke up with you?”
Her jawline, cheekbones, and nose all had knife-cut edges. The memory sharpened her face even more. “Yep. Right after I told him that I loved him and wanted him to give up doing spoilers so we could develop an act together.” She picked up a paper napkin and unfolded it, then pulled it through her fingers like a scarf trick. “Then he told me to get out of his hotel room or he'd have security escort me out.”
Ouch. What a bastard.
But that made me look at Nikki in another way. “I bet you were furious.” Furious enough to hire a hit man?
She dropped the napkin and drank some more of her soda. “If I wanted to kill Shane, I wouldn't hire someone to do it for me, I'd do it myself.” She fixed her tired but vivid gaze on me.
Gotta respect that,
I thought to myself.
“Nikki,” Rosy said, reaching over to put her hand on Nikki's arm in a calming gesture.
“Sorry, Grandma.” She smiled at Rosy, her face softening. Then she shifted back to me. “As soon as Grandma called and said Barney had been arrested, I got in my car and started driving.”
“From Vegas?” She had a show in one of the newer casinos.
She nodded. “We knew it had something to do with Shane Masters. It just had to. Grandma called my cell an hour or so ago to tell me that we were right, that Shane Masters accused Barney of hiring a hit man.” She twisted her mouth in disgust. “God knows there must be a long line of people who want to kill him.”
I tried to stay on track. “So you think that Shane might have used your affair to learn about your illusions so he could reveal them in his show this weekend? That's what you want me to find out?” And how would I do that?
Nikki nodded.
Rosy added, “And since not many high-profile magicians vanish a motorcycle in their act, we thought that maybe you could see if Shane has a motorcycle in his props.”
Boy, nothing like an answer to my unspoken questions. “That's a possibility. Or I could ask around to see if anyone else has seen one, or knows if an illusion involves one.” My mind raced along at a dangerous speed. “But what if I do find out Shane's spoiling your show, then what? How will you stop him?” Nikki had real reason to hate Shane. I had to be careful. If Gabe let me take this case, it was his PI agency's reputation that was on the line.
Calmly, Nikki said, “I won't stop him. I can't. But I do have a little revenge planned.”
Uh-oh. “What kind of revenge?”
She smiled and ran a hand through her wilting spikes. “I can't tell you my plan. I've signed a confidentiality agreement. But it's legal.”
Confidentiality agreement?
What kind of things required that? My curiosity bubbled and oozed over. “Can you tell me anything?” I thought that might have sounded like begging.
She shook her head. “I'm not going to risk my chance by breaking the agreement. But I would like you to keep trying to find out whose show Shane is spoiling. Even if it's not mine, I want to know. And if some magician is trying to have him killed, I want to know that too.”
I narrowed my gaze and studied both women. Did Rosy know what Nikki had signed the agreement for? Maybe. Her face was determined. And Nikki? She looked dead tired, but a resolute tenacity was stamped over the fatigue.
I believed them. But I still had one problem. “I want to help, but Grandpa has asked me not to interfere. He insists he can handle Shane and his accusations that Grandpa hired a hit man.”
“Stubborn old coot,” Rosy said, then reached across the table to take my hand. “Barney didn't tell you, did he? He and Shane have reason to hate each other.”
4
“S
o Grandpa does know Shane.” I knew he had to. Otherwise Shane's accusations didn't make any sense. My anxiety pumped up. What was Grandpa and Shane's story? Why hadn't he told me?
Rosy nodded. I glanced at Nikki. She had her chin resting on her hand and looked exhausted. Turning back to Rosy, I said, “Is Grandpa in danger?”
“I don't know. But Nikki and I both think that it's Barney who drew Shane here. Why else would he bring his show to Lake Elsinore?”
I didn't like this.
Nikki added, “I understand that you don't want to upset Barney, but I need you to take this case, Sam. You have a background in magic. You have a better idea what to look for. Barney will understand that once he thinks about it.”
Maybe. But in any case, Grandpa appeared to be in more trouble than he'd admitted to me, so all agreements were off. And I wanted to help Nikki and Rosy. I nodded. “Okay, I'll do it, if Gabe agrees. But Rosy, you have to tell me how Grandpa knows Shane.”
Rosy met my gaze, then said, “That's fair.” She turned to Nikki. “Why don't you go to my house and get some sleep?”
Nikki agreed. “Thanks, Sam.” She got up and left.
I watched her go and hoped I could help by finding out whose show Shane would spoil this weekend.
Rosy said, “I told her to meet us here at McDonald's. That's why I wanted to meet here.”
That made sense, but I was more worried about Grandpa. I looked at Rosy and waited.
She drank some of her coffee, then started. “More than twenty years ago, Barney mentored Shane Masters. Shane was a hoodlum, a street thug. He had a mother somewhere, but she had better things to do than worry about him. Barney was doing a two-week gig out in Irvine, and on a break, he spotted Shane. He was pickpocketing some dumb businessman who'd been flashing his cash.”
I smiled a little. “Grandpa caught him?”
She smiled back. “Barney made Shane return the money. Then he offered to show him a skill he could use with his fast hands. He took Shane under his wing, used him in his shows for a while as he taught him the craft of magic.”
It was all starting to make sense. “That's why Grandpa is taking Shane's coming to town so personally. He shared his love of magic with Shane.” I looked down at the white lid of my coffee cup. “My mom was never interested. I loved watching Grandpa perform and had fun helping him sometimes, but I didn't love it like he does, you know?” I knew I had wandered off the subject. Grandpa had mentored a lot of magicians over decades, probably because he had no one in his own family to whom he could pass down his magic. He never pushed me toward magic, but I knew he wanted me to have the same passion he had. I just didn't. But this wasn't about me, it was about Grandpa. I looked up at Rosy. “So what happened?”
She lifted her chin off her hands and folded them over her chest. Her face turned tough-teacher hard. “Shane betrayed him. First Shane started doing small shows, doing opening acts, stuff like that. He was doing well, starting to build. Barney sponsored him into the Triple M.” She stopped.
“And to Grandpa, the Triple M is more than just a trade organization. It's a brotherhood.” It sounded silly on the surface, but Grandpa loved magic. And he loved magicians. They all worked together to protect the secrets of magic. They trusted one another to keep the secrets and protect their livelihoods, their ability to make a living and take care of their families. Not so silly after all.
“Exactly. Then Shane bragged that he had a Las Vegas show. Barney was thrilled. He and your grandmother, Beth, went to Vegas to see his opening, as did many other magicians.” She took a deep breath, then her shoulders sagged. “And that was when they discovered that Shane was doing spoiler shows.”
“Oh no,” I whispered, and sat back in my chair. I didn't have to try to imagine Grandpa's horror and embarrassment. His anger. His . . .
Hurt.
It hurt me just to imagine it. He'd taught Shane the secrets of magic himself. He had treated him as he would have his own son or daughter or grandchild, had any one of us shown the passion and interest. Then Grandpa sponsored him into the fold of magicians, gave him a family. And Shane had thrown it all back at him. I looked at Rosy. “What did Grandpa do?”
“He confronted Shane. And Shane laughed at him, called Barney a stupid party clown and boasted that he would make it big.” Rosy sighed with the memory, then went on. “Barney did his best to correct his mistake. He had Shane removed from the Triple M. Shane was furious, because that cut off much of his access to information about magic and shows and what was going on in the magic community. From then on Barney refused to talk about Shane Masters.”
I understood why. Grandpa considered Shane his failure. And he probably thought that he unleashed Shane's spoiler shows on the magic community. Looking at Rosy, I could see her anger and her worry, both for Grandpa and for Nikki. “And now you think Shane is in town to somehow pay back Grandpa?”
“I wish I knew, but it wouldn't surprise me. And Sam, it wouldn't take much for Shane to figure out that Barney had a hand in Nikki's career.”
I felt a shiver run up my spine. “He didn't exactly mentor Nikki, but he did introduce her to magic and he sponsored her into the Triple M. But that had to be years after he had Shane thrown out.”
Rosy said gently, “You saw Barney's reaction to Shane's coming to town. Do you really think that Shane's resentment has dimmed any more than Barney's?”
She had a point. “I'll start looking into this as soon as I talk to Gabe.”
 
Heart Mates was only a couple minutes away from McDonald's. As I pulled into the cramped, one-lane parking lot, I thought about what I had learned.
Assuming Gabe agreed that I could take the case, I was going to be walking a fine line with Grandpa. But now that I knew the story of Shane and Grandpa, I agreed with Rosy. What were the chances that Shane would choose Lake Elsinore to put on his spoiler show that will be televised by MTV? We were a town of under 40,000 with a mostly blue-collar income and a bit of an image problem. So why Elsinore? Unless Grandpa was the reason.
I had to hunt for a parking space, and as I headed into Heart Mates, I wondered if all the guys helping Blaine and Gabe were taking up too much parking. As soon as I got inside, I saw the reason for the parking problem.
The boxy reception area on the Heart Mates side had several women milling around drinking coffee from Styrofoam cups. Were they here to sign up? I looked around for Blaine—
Then spotted the reason for the women.
Gabe and his brother, Cal. Both of them had their shirts off and were tackling the wall. I stared at them. Gabe had broad shoulders roped with muscles. His back rippled as he moved. He had his tool belt slug around his trim hips to show off his tight ass in his jeans. Gabe's whole
package
screamed,
I'm a bad boy, why don't you try to tame me?
I glanced over at Cal. He had much the same build as Gabe, but his hair was shorter and his look slightly less threatening. Add to that his cut lip and black eye, he seemed to suggest to any breathing female,
Come take care of me, I'm worth the effort
.
“Hi.”
I jumped and looked at Blaine. “Uh, I, uh . . .”
“Yeah, we're getting a lot of that right now.” Blaine grinned and looked around the office at the women. “It all started when one of these ladies came by to ask about our dating packages. Then she got an eyeful and started calling friends. They seem to think that we are advertising the merchandise today.”
I was torn between an ugly urge to throw them all out and glee at the idea of new clients. They could stare at Cal all day for all I cared, but Gabe—
Hell, I had to pay my half of the construction costs, so my businesswoman side won out. I met Blaine's amused gaze. “Any chance of herding them into the interview room?” And why should I blame them for enjoying the view? I certainly did.
“Sure, Boss. Nice of Gabe's brother to help out.”
I turned back to Gabe and his brother. Now that I was past the initial smack of lust at seeing Gabe without his shirt, I noticed the tight line of his neck and shoulders. There was definite tension between him and Cal. “Yeah,” I agreed.
“Heard you already met him.”
Hearing the snicker in his voice, I turned to Blaine. “It was a mistake! I thought someone was attacking Gabe!”
“Sure. Could happen to anyone. Of course, it always happens to you.” He flashed a full grin. Blaine had the look of a no-neck bouncer, but his grin made him appear more playful than threatening. His brown hair was feathered in the front with the length tied back into a ponytail reminiscent of the 1970s. His blue button-down shirt was a holdover from his days as a mechanic. I had talked Blaine into leaving the garage he worked for to come work for me when I bought Heart Mates. It was one of my best business decisions, but I paid for it daily with Blaine's teasing and attitude.
I tried to assume a businesswoman expression. “Don't you have work to do? I need to talk to Gabe for a second. I'll be in to interview the new clients shortly.” I stalked over to Gabe, and then had to duck a hammer swing from his brother.
“Christ, Sam, I didn't see you,” Cal said. He looked tired and hot.
“Cal, should you be working like this? You're hurt.”
He smiled. It was a softer smile than Gabe's. “I'm fine. Besides, Gabe'll screw it up if I leave him alone. Then I'll have twice as much work to do to fix it.”
I shook my head. I didn't get it. They were pissed at one another about something, but they were working together and trading insults. Was this how normal families resolved problems? I didn't have brothers or sisters, so I didn't really know.
“Don't feel sorry for him, Sam,” Gabe said from behind me.
I turned around. Gabe's jaw was tight enough to crack walnuts. The mood between Gabe and Cal started to get on my nerves. Maybe this wasn't the best time to spring the new case on him, but I had to tell him. “Gabe, can I talk to you for a minute? In my office?”
He nodded, set the sledgehammer down, then unbuckled the tool belt and put it on the ground next to the sledgehammer.
I saw that Blaine was trying to get the women into the interview room while they craned their necks to catch a glimpse of Gabe stripping off the tool belt.
Hussies.
But they would be busy for a few minutes filling out the information and security release forms, so I could talk to Gabe. I hadn't planned to see clients this week, but here I had both new Heart Mates clients and a private investigating client. I went into my office and Gabe followed, shutting the door behind us.
I sat on the edge of my desk. Gabe walked over and looked down at me. I had to make myself ignore his bare muscular chest and look up. “I had a phone call from Rosy Malone. I stopped at McDonald's to see her.”
His dark eyes rested on my face. “Blaine mentioned you'd called and said you had another stop to make.”
I blurted it out. “Rosy wants to hire me.”
Gabe lifted a single eyebrow. “Probably not to find her a date.”
I shook my head. “She and her granddaughter, Nikki, are hiring me.” I went on to explain that Nikki had showed up at McDonald's too and what they both wanted me to do, and I summed up what she'd told me. “I want to take the case.”
Gabe ran his hand through his hair, then sighed and sat in the chair facing my desk. “We decided to take the week off to get the construction done.”
I noticed that his shoulders were raised with tension. “I know, but you won't let me do any of the work. And I can't help that all those women came in. They were all staring at you and your brother working half-naked.” Hmm, did that sound like jealousy?
Half his mouth quirked up in a grin for a second, then flattened. “I don't care about your signing on Heart Mates clients, Sam. But you need me to help with investigating. I don't have the time. As it is, I may have to go to LA, and I have a few clients I'm juggling at the same time.”
Damn. I saw his point. But I had to do this. “Rosy is right, Gabe. I do know more than most about magic, and I might be able to figure out what Shane's up to.”
“Or you might end up hurt or dead.”
He was in a testy mood. I took a breath and added the last and most important point. “Rosy told me that Grandpa knows Shane. Apparently he mentored Shane, then Shane started doing spoiler shows. Grandpa's the one who had him removed from the Triple M. She thinks Shane's being in Lake Elsinore is tied to Grandpa.” I looked up. His face was tight and grim. I could almost feel him pulling away from me. He seemed to have his own problems. “We can work this out. I know you're busy. Why do you have to go to LA?”

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