Trigger Snappy (13 page)

"Does it really matter? He's had a longer career, and he's been a lot more focused. He's ahead in those respects because of everything he's done to work towards them. That doesn't make him better than you."

"Doesn't it?"

"Did you look down on me because my parents have a ton of money, and gave us low rent on their building for years? Or when they helped Jord and me buy our house? Or offered me a loan for my business to make my life easier?"

"No. Anyway, you worked really hard for your bar so you would not have to rely on your parents."

"Yes, and Solomon worked really hard for his lifestyle; and you've worked really hard for yours. Who really cares whose house is bigger if you get to be together every day?"

"Is that all it comes down to?"

Lily pulled a face. "Yes!"

"Then why does it seem like such a huge deal?"

"Because it is a huge deal. Have you ever lived with anyone before?"

"For about five minutes when I was briefly engaged; and look how that turned out. The engagement ended and I ran away to join the Army."

"That'll never happen again. The Army would never take you back."

Lily was right. The Army and I had a mutual breakup that was actually a lot nicer than the abrupt ending of my engagement. That option was out. Now, I was older and wiser and less likely to make stupid decisions. Not completely unlikely though; the circus would probably still hire me if I got desperate.

"You shouldn't let one bad decision guide your life."

"When did you get so wise?" I asked.

"When I stopped drinking alcohol. I miss my cocktails."

"So I should say yes?"

"You should say whatever makes you happy. If it's no, say that; or say, not right now. If yes makes you happy, say yes."

"What if it's a mistake and I start to resent Solomon's wet towels on the bed and his stray socks?"

"Does he do that?"

"No." I paused to drink some more. The smoothie was delicious, just the right blend of sweet and tangy. "What if he gets sick of my shoe habit and lip gloss collection?"

"Get naked and make him forget about it."

"Is co-habitation really that easy?"

"Works for me." Lily patted her bump.

"What about my house?"

"Maybe you should have joint custody of your houses. Spend Monday to Wednesday morning at yours. Wednesday night to Friday at his, and then alternate the weekends."

"I don't think anyone can keep up with that schedule."

"You'll have to make a decision somewhere. Don't keep the man hanging. He loves you and wants to live with you. You love him and want to... fill in the blanks, okay?"

"Okay," I agreed, glancing over to the desk just in time to see a uniformed woman moving behind it. She smiled and said something to her colleague before they both laughed. "I think that's Kimberley."

"You be good cop," said Lily. She finished her smoothie with a satisfied slurp before pushing it into the middle of the table, her expression turning steely. "I'll be the silent, menacing one."

I didn't want to upset her, but there was nothing menacing about her floral swing top and skinny jeans, especially since she appeared to have swallowed a melon. But I figured it was safer to give her a decisive nod of agreement; and hope she stuck to the silent part as we approached the desk.

"Kimberley?" I said, smiling as she looked up. I produced my PI license and held it up for her to see. "I need to ask you a couple of questions."

"Sure. How can I help?"

"Do you remember this woman?" I asked her, producing the photo that showed Kimberley's nametag clearly, and the back of Juliet's head.

"No, I'm sorry, but I serve a lot of customers. When was this taken?"

"Ten days ago."

"Oh, yes... There was a car crash on the way to work. I thought I'd be late, but I don't remember any of the customers; sorry. Did I do something wrong?" she asked, looking worried. I glanced over my shoulder. Lily was glaring at her like she'd taken the last donut out of spite and failed to enjoy it. At least she was silent.

"No, nothing wrong at all, I said, trying to divert Kimberley's attention back to me. "We're collecting some information about this woman, and we hoped you could remember her."

"I can't give out any customer details. It's against company policy."

"Can you look closely at this photo? Do you recall anything about her at all?" I pushed another photo over, the one with the side of profile of either the real or fake Juliet. Reluctantly, Kimberley picked it up, and began squinting at it.

"No, I'm sorry. We get so many customers."

"She bought a ticket to Russia."

"I barely register where people are flying."

"Perhaps you could explain the process of purchasing a ticket. What does a person do when they get to the desk?"

"Oh, that's easy. They just tell me where they want to go and when; and I enter the information into the computer. It returns a list of the next flights and seating availability; then I ask the customer which they would prefer. Some people will pay anything to get on a flight. Other times, they want the cheapest deal, and we work out which is best."

"We think this woman bought a ticket ahead of time. Is that possible?"

"Yes, we can do that too."

"So she just hands over her credit card and that's it?"

"No, I need to see a passport too and the credit card needs to go through the usual security checks. Or the customer could pay by cash if they prefer."

"Ours paid by credit card. Do you keep a record of the receipts?"

"Yes, but they are sent to head office at the end of the day."

"Do you check the passport of the person purchasing the ticket?"

"Sure. I need to make sure the name on the passport matches the name I'm adding to the flight manifest; and also that the passport is valid for travel."

"And the photo?"

"I check that too."

"So it's highly likely that you checked hers?"

"Yes, I
absolutely
would. I always make sure the passport photo matches the person using it. We get people trying to pass themselves off as other people from time-to-time."

"Thanks. You've been very useful."

"Did you hear her 'fess up the moment she knew she was caught?" whispered Lily as we walked away.

"She didn't 'fess up to anything."

"It was my bad cop glare," continued Lily.

"Kimberley pretty much nailed Juliet. I bet she'll be pulled into the court case to testify too."

"We could cross examine her."

"We can't. We're not lawyers."

"We could slip Juliet's lawyer a note at a crucial moment. They do that all the time on TV."

"Saying what? That she made all the checks she was supposed to, and was sure it was Juliet? Juliet with her own passport, her own credit card, and her own information." I stopped. It seemed useless. All I was doing was proving Solomon's case, and Detective Donahue's, but not mine.

Lily grabbed my arm, stopping us in our tracks. "It's like you've been saying all along. It's too neat. Too easy. I think Kimberley could have been fooled."

"How?"

"Did you see her squinting and pinching her nose? There were little red marks on either side. I think she took her glasses off. I don't think she can see!"

I turned back to Kimberley, my mouth falling open. "Someone who looked similar enough to Juliet could have duped her?"

"The right hair, the right makeup, the right information..." Lily trailed off as we looked at each other in excitement. "I bet I could fool Kimberley. I bet I could fool you, too. I'll show you!"

"What are you planning?"

"In ten minutes, someone is going to walk through this hall and go to that ticket desk." Lily pointed from the door across to the desk where Kimberley was currently occupied and serving a new customer. "You can watch from... over there. I don't want to spoil the surprise, but it'll be Juliet, so watch carefully." She nodded towards the smoothie bar where we were sitting only a few minutes ago.

"She isn't here."

"Is too!"

"What are you up to?" I had to ask, puzzled at Lily's sudden enthusiasm. Given her desire to play bad cop not so long ago, I couldn't help feeling a little worried at what might be going through her head. Plus, Juliet was under house arrest so I had to assume she wasn't dumb enough to attempt to drive out to the airport.

"Just keep watching and use your cell phone to videotape everything!" Lily called, hurrying away with a wave. I watched as she disappeared from the terminal exit, heading towards the parking lot. Still puzzled, I ordered another smoothie and sat at a tall table, my feet dangling from the nearly-as-tall stool while I waited, tapping my screen every few seconds to keep the video function primed. I was halfway through my smoothie and wondering if Lily ditched me when Juliet walked past. At least... it looked like her.

I raised my cell phone and hit the
record
button as I recognized her thigh-length trenchcoat and glossy hair as she turned her face away. Even the purse she carried seemed familiar. I watched, frowning as she approached the desk where Lily and I stood only minutes before when we spoke to Kimberley. In between staring at the screen, ensuring Juliet's back was center, I glanced at Kimberley's face. Impassive and not at all worried, she said something, and Juliet nodded, then turned away, stepping a little to the right of the desk. Her back was still turned away so I couldn’t get a good look at her face. Looking around, Lily was nowhere to be seen.

Glancing down as my phone sounded a text, I read the screen. "Approach Juliet," texted Lily. "And keep the video running."

I frowned again, feeling more confused than ever as I slid down from the tall stool and grabbed my smoothie, making my way over to Juliet, with my cell phone pointed at her. She didn't turn around as I approached, so I called her name, but got no response. Stepping closer, I called her name again. When I was just steps away, I reached a hand to her shoulder and she spun around.

"How..." I started.

"Surprise!"

Chapter Twelve

It was Juliet and it wasn't Juliet. "Lily?" I asked, taking in her new look. The wig was good; I could barely see where it joined her own scalp. The trenchcoat was just like Juliet's, but up close, I could see the piping was a different color. The purse was almost the same, and from a distance, I confused the two. The bump, however, was definitely bigger.

"Totally fooled ya, didn't I?" Lily smiled widely as she twirled the belt of her coat.

"But how..." I faltered. Where did she get all this stuff? A few minutes ago, she was blonde and wearing a totally different outfit. Now she was smart and sleekly dressed, albeit with a bump considerably bigger than Juliet's.

"Honey, you know I love a good disguise. Have you seen my trunk? I have at least four different wigs to cover all occasions, along with several jackets and hats, and a whole box of useful props."

"Where did you get the purse?"

"I bought it yesterday."

I peered at it. It was no cheap knockoff. "It's just the same as Juliet's. It's exactly the same!"

"I didn't steal it. I have the receipt." Lily gasped as if I said something offensive. "I am not the stalker! I was there when you first met her, and I never saw her before then!"

"I know you're not the stalker, but you had me convinced you were Juliet."

"Just like the stalker convinced everyone that it was Juliet buying a ticket. And now you have a video to prove it!"

"I'm not sure it proves it."

"It proves reasonable doubt. If I can fool you into thinking I'm Juliet, someone else could fool Kimberley and the cameras."

"I like the way you're thinking," I said, knowing I could present it to Solomon and Donahue in exactly the same way until Lily turned around, and they got the punchline to the ruse. I just hoped the two men were in a listening mood.

"Spy 101 training. It's all in here, even if there's no more surveillance duty." Lily tapped her head.

"It supports my theory that a woman is behind this," I told Lily as we made our way from the terminal towards the parking lot. "No man could fool the check-in clerk, even if she were myopic."

"And short-sighted," agreed Lily. "It's pretty brazen of a woman to break in to Juliet's house at night. What if Rob had woken up? Juliet isn't very tall or broad, so she couldn't fight him off, and I guess this woman couldn't either."

"There's no telling what a person might do if they're crazy enough to break into someone's house while the owners are sleeping."

"True. I'd go totally ninja if someone broke into my house."

"Remind me to always call ahead." We climbed into the car and I dialed Delgado for an update. He didn't answer so I hoped he was busily wiring something. "I hope the security installation is progressing smoothly. And I
really
hope Juliet and Rob don't tell anyone and blow the plan."

"What if they do?"

"Our chances of catching the stalker go from slim to zero; and without the stalker I have no way of proving that Juliet is being set up. Unless..." I dialed a new number.

"Graves," said Lucas when he picked up. "You don't write, you don't call. This is nice."

"Lucas?" I replied. Out of all the guys I worked with, only Lucas insisted on being called by his first name. Since it sounded like a surname, I figured there must have been someone who simply assumed it was. "I do write. I sent you an email last week. I'm actually calling for a favor."

"Shoot."

"I need some expert analysis on a client's computer history. Well, that and more."

"Sounds interesting. What did they do?"

"It's what they might not have done that I'm interested in," I said, explaining the case as succinctly as I could.

"This sounds a lot like something Solomon asked me to do on his case." Lucas paused, and I instantly realized he knew. Fortunately, that was no bad thing.

"It's the same case, but we're working opposite angles," I admitted.

"How very mathematical. You know what kind of angle I am?"

I couldn't help smile. "Acute?"

"I am a cute angle! Thank you for noticing! Remind me to tell my fiancée that. Maybe it’ll keep her on her toes. What do you need from me?"

"Can you hack into..."

"I don't
hack
, you know that. Whoever is listening needs to know that too."

"Whatever you call it, and no one's listening. You're just being paranoid."

"Tell that to the CIA."

"They're not listening, Lucas."

"That's what they say. Fine, but just to be clear, we have full access to your client's work computer since we are working for her employer. That means everything I do will be legal and above board. I can access their network too."

"That's great! I need you to track anything to do with the case that came from her computer. I need to know if it were she who logged in, if the emails were sent directly from her computer, or elsewhere. Also check to see if there's any spyware on her desktop, or if her emails are being cloned. Anything you can find that could prove her innocence. I already know she wasn't present when one of the trades was made."

"That's funny you should ask because I'm doing all that already for Solomon, except he's looking for irrefutable proof that she
is
the one responsible."

"Essentially, it's the same thing. Can you please go that extra mile to look for a possibility that whoever made those trades and sent those emails
wasn't
Juliet? I'll send you a list of specifics."

"No problem. I'll contact you once I've completed the task."

I thanked Lucas and hung up, wondering if I should run my request past Solomon. I figured not, since we were already sharing case notes. So what if I benefited from his instructions to Lucas? It was all the same information and Solomon would have shared it eventually. This way, I just got it at the same time he did. Mentioning the emails reminded me, I needed to speak to Juliet's assistant, the one who filed the strange claim about being fired without warning. I called Lucas back.

"I'm not that fast," he said. "You need to be patient."

"Actually, I need an address. Jane O'Dowd. She used to work as Juliet's assistant."

I heard the tapping of keys and a long pause; then, "1278 Spring Street."

"Thank you!" Hanging up, I glanced at Lily. "Do you want to come interview Juliet's former assistant?"

"Since I'm so good at the shakedowns?"

"Sure," I agreed, not wanting to discourage her as we exited the parking lot, aiming for Montgomery.

The smile from Lily's face disappeared. "I'd love to, but I have to pee."

"Why didn't you go at the terminal?"

"I was so excited about the development in the case, I forgot I needed to!"

"Lily! This is like traveling with a child!"

"I know! Good preparation, right? Are we nearly there yet?" she joked, pulling a face.

"I don't need the practice. I'm not the one who's pregnant!"

"Maybe it's catching."

"What is? Pregnancy?"

"Sure. I've heard of it happening. One friend gets pregnant, then they all get pregnant."

"We need to talk about sex. That is not how pregnancy happens."

Lily looked affronted. "I know that. Did I tell you about the night I think I got pregnant? Oh, we were having so much fun! Especially when Jord started doing that thing with the Cheerios. Let me tell you..."

I wished I could put my fingers in my ears. I really,
really
wished I could after Lily’s description. I would probably never be able to erase it from my audible memory. Fortunately, before it reached the point where I was looking for somewhere to ditch my own car and hitchhike the rest of the way home, we saw a gas station and I pulled in. While I waited for Lily to hop into the bathroom, no easy feat with her legs practically crossed, I tried Delgado again.

"Hey," he said on answering. "The system is halfway installed."

"That's good news. Any problems? Anyone come to the house?"

"A few wiring issues, but they're resolved. I'm trying to find a decent place to point the cameras at the doors, somewhere they won't be seen. And no, no one came to the house, but the husband went to the grocery store."

"All seem legit?" I asked.

"Yeah, he bought fruit and milk. I checked. Do you want to come over and inspect the system when we're done installing it? I might be a couple more hours."

"Yes, please. I'm on my way back from a lead and have to chase down another lead, so I'll be two hours minimum anyway. Is that okay?"

"I still have to set up audio and test the system, so that sounds good. Do you want me to wire upstairs?"

"The windows? Definitely."

"What about the attic hatch?"

"I didn't know they had one."

"I noticed it earlier."

"I don't know. Maybe. Can a house be accessed by an attic hatch?"

"Not this one, because it's not adjoined to any other house; but I'll check it anyway just to be sure no one is living inside."

I shuddered, unwilling to concentrate too much brain space on that as a possibility. "Thanks. I really appreciate you doing this on such short notice."

"No problem. I hope we catch this guy. No woman should be frightened in her own home."

I agreed, but didn't add
especially when she couldn't leave it.
It was an awful prospect that Juliet was the bait by which we hoped to catch her stalker; but there seemed to be no other way unless Lucas came up with a compelling lead during his investigations that would ensure her freedom. Her electronic ankle bracelet forced her into that position; and that concept kept popping into my head. At least, Juliet wasn't stuck in a prison cell.

On the drive back to Lily's bar, I half expected Solomon to call, and warn me about commandeering his employees to do my work, but he didn't. I reasoned that was because we were both looking for the truth. It meant far more to me to ensure Juliet wasn't guilty than it would have to Solomon to see her imprisoned. His client just needed a culprit; my client needed her freedom.

I dropped Lily at the bar with a promise to let her know as soon as we discussed her video, and dialed Solomon.

"I'm going to see Juliet's assistant. As a woman close to Juliet, she could be our stalker. I thought you might want to talk to her too?"

"Text me the address."

Solomon was waiting for me by the time I parked on Spring Street. The building where Jane O'Dowd lived was a new development of condos, shoehorned between some pre-war apartments and a park. The door was propped open by a cleaning crew so we walked in and headed up the stairs, looking for the right unit.

"Hi, I'm looking for Jane O'Dowd," I told the woman who answered the door. She was older than Juliet, taller, and wearing thick glasses that were too heavy for her long face.

"That's me, but I don't want to sign up for, or purchase anything," she told me promptly.

"Actually, I wanted to ask you a few questions about Juliet Hart."

"Her? The case is settled; and I don't want to talk about it. I signed a non-disclosure. I had to. If you're a journalist or a lawyer, I can't tell you anything more."

"It's about you leaving the company," Solomon started, reaching for his PI license to flash.

"You showed me already and I still don't want to talk to you. I didn't leave! I was fired!" Jane clamped her lips shut, realizing her error.

"We think there might have been an mistake," I continued.

"What kind of mistake? I accepted the severance check, okay!? I'm not going to sue, if that's what she's worried about."

"Let me be blunt," I said, trying to get to the problem quickly before Jane slammed the door in my face. Given how angry she looked, I was surprised she hadn't already. "Juliet thinks someone else fired you, by using her email. She also got an email from you claiming you intended to quit. I think someone was playing you both and now you're both suffering for it."

"
Both
suffering? I'm the one who lost my job! I still haven't found another one. No one wants to hire someone my age. They prefer someone younger and cheaper who has never been fired."

"Did you know Juliet is currently suspended from her firm, pending insider trading allegations?"

"Insider trading? Juliet?" Jane shook her head, frown lines furrowing her forehead. "She would never do that."

"I agree. Can we go inside and talk?"

Jane gave me a heavy look, like she wanted to say something more, but didn't know what. She was, at least, weighing her options. "Will I lose my severance?" she asked finally.

"No. This is strictly off the record. For your personal information, Juliet hired me, not Lancaster Friedland, and she has no ax to grind with you. She's just as confused as you are."