Undercover in Six Inch Stilettos (11 page)

“Harper! Why is your window open?”

“So I could talk to the nice man,” her daughter responded as she tucked her baby doll into its tiny wood cradle.

“What man?” Cyndi ran to the window and slammed it closed, slipping the lock into place.

“The nice man who gave me this.” She held up a chain with a tiny ballerina dancer charm dangling from it. The dancer pirouetted on the end, catching the sunlight from the window.

Cyndi snatched the necklace from Harper’s tiny hand. “Where did you get that?”

“I told you, Mommy, from the nice man. I told him I wasn’t allowed to talk to strangers, but he said it was okay because he knows you. Can I have the necklace back, please?”

Dropping to her knees in front of Harper, she looked her daughter in the eye. “Did the man say anything else?”

Harper shook her head. “Nope. Oh, wait. He said the girl on the necklace was a dancer like you. Are you a dancer, Mommy?”

Cyndi’s heart clenched in her chest. No one knew she danced except her girlfriends in her group and the people at the club. “I was, Harper, once upon a time.”
And every Friday night.

“Can I keep the necklace?”

“No, honey. I’m sorry. That man was a stranger and he should not have given it to you.”

“But he said he knew you.”

“I don’t know any men other than Daddy and the men he works with. Was it one of them?”

Harper shook her head.

“Then he was a stranger, and I don’t want you to ever open your window again without Mommy or Daddy, okay?”

“Okay. Are we going to the beach now?”

“I’m sorry, honey, but we can’t. Mommy’s car is broken.” Cyndi thought of the car sitting out in the driveway with its useless tire. Had the man who showed up at her daughter’s bedroom window slashed her tire, and left the tire iron as a distraction?

She and Jason had stood outside joking and laughing in the front yard while their little girl had been in danger. This was
not
something she could keep from her husband. There was no other choice but to tell him. But how?

Hi, honey, I know how worried you are about me all the time, so I decided to lie to you for months about my job as an exotic dancer down by the oceanfront.

That would go over like a lead balloon. Jason was inflexible when it came to honesty and safety. Oh boy, wait until he found out she had been playing sleuth and brought a crazy man to their daughter’s bedroom window.

“Mommy is going to go and do a couple of quick things and then we will watch a movie together. Or play a game. You choose, okay?”

Harper stuck out her bottom lip in an exaggerated pout. “But I want to play in the sand.”

“Not today,” Cyndi snapped a bit too forcefully. Harper’s eyes began to well up with tears, forcing her to feel bad instantly.

“Come here.” Cyndi pulled her daughter into her arms. “I know you want to go to the beach, honey, but my car has a flat tire. Daddy has to get a new one in the morning, so we can’t go anywhere right now. But we will still have tons of fun, okay? I just have to take care of a few things first.”

Harper peered up at her with tear-soaked eyes and nodded. “Okay, Mommy. But can we go tomorrow?”

“We will see, but if we can, we will.”

That seemed to be enough to satisfy the little girl. Without another word, she returned to the dolls she had been playing with before, essentially dismissing Cyndi from the conversation.

The first thing Cyndi did was lock down the house and set the alarm system on high security. If a grasshopper so much as jumped on a windowsill, the system would respond. It made her feel a lot more secure, but it didn’t shake the feeling of foreboding that hung like a heavy curtain all around her. Someone had been to her house and talked to her little girl. That same someone was looking to scare Cyndi and let her know he was watching her. She was in danger. She could sense it. The real question was, however, was it the same person who had taken Jade?

Questions about the mysterious intruder plagued her all afternoon and well into the night. Over and over again she scripted the conversation with Jason where she finally admitted to her husband how she spent her Friday nights. She was still trying to figure things out when Jason walked through the front door. Cyndi took a deep breath and went to greet her husband.

Chapter Eleven

“You seem distracted tonight, Cyn. Everything okay?” Jason tilted his head to the side and studied her with concern.

Cyndi faked a yawn. Jason had been home over an hour, and she still hadn’t told him about the necklace. Maybe she would wait until morning and have a chance to consult with her girls about how to handle the situation. If she pretended to be tired, they could go to bed and she could face Jason in the morning—when she had a better idea how to handle it.

Content in her plan, she smiled at her husband. “I’m fine, just tired. Bad dreams last night, remember? I didn’t get much sleep, and it’s catching up with me.”

Jason stretched as he rose from the chair he had been settled in. “I’m pretty beat too. Want to go to bed?” He wiggled his eyebrows at her in exaggerated suggestion.

“I do, but I really just want to go to sleep tonight.”

Her husband offered up a disappointed frown. “If you insist, fair lady.”

Cyndi took his outstretched hand and allowed Jason to pull her up from the corner of the couch. “I do insist.”

“Have it your way.” Jason leaned in and scooped her off her feet. Carrying her in his arms, he made his way to their room and deposited her on the bed. Cyndi flopped lightly against the pillows and let out a huge sigh. The bed felt pretty good to her weary body. She was actually more tired than she had first thought. Closing her eyes, she reveled in the feeling of restfulness that washed over her. She was almost asleep when she felt Jason standing over her.

“Hey, Cyn? What’s this?”

Oh, crap.
She opened her eyes reluctantly, knowing exactly what he was asking about. Dangling in front of her face was the tiny little ballerina swinging from its delicate gold chain.

“It’s a necklace,” she replied, scrambling for something to say that Jason might actually believe.

“I can see that. Where did it come from?”

“I picked it up somewhere. I thought Harper might like it.”

Jason lifted the necklace up to inspect it. He didn’t believe her. Jason was easy to read. “It is kind of cute.”

Cyndi reached up and took the necklace back. “Yeah, I am saving it for the right time. I was thinking maybe she might like to try out ballet lessons.”

Ugh. Another lie. It was becoming an easy habit, and she hated herself for it. She should tell Jason everything right then and there. But she remained quiet as her husband headed into the bathroom, unable to get the words out. The next thing she knew, it was half past two and the house was quiet. Jason had his back to her, and he was snoring quietly, so it was easy to slip out of the bed. Five minutes later, she was settled on the sofa, logged in to the private chat, and waiting for her girls to join her.

Cyndi: Hey, ladies, let me know when you are here. I need to talk!

It took about five minutes, but finally she got a response.

Angela: Hey, Cyn. I’m here. What happened?

Cyndi: I am not sure you will believe me when I tell you.

Diana: I promise I will believe it! What’s up?

Cyndi: Anyone heard from Jessy today?

Diana: One of her little rug rats is sick with a stomach virus, she is probably dead asleep right now. They were up all night last night.

Angela: Spill—Jessy can catch up if she gets here.

Cyndi: Okay. But I’m telling you, none of you are going to believe this.

Diana: WHAT?

Cyndi: Remember the tire iron?

Angela: Yes.

Diana: Uh huh.

Cyndi: Someone slashed one of my tires today and left the tire iron propped up against my car.

Diana: Are you serious?

Cyndi: Serious as a heart attack. I told you that you wouldn’t believe me.

Angela: How do you know it is the same one?

Cyndi: Well, I am not absolutely certain but I am almost positive.

Angela: What did you tell Jason?

Cyndi: Nothing. I didn’t have to. He assumed it was one of the dirt bags he has dealt with. Someone following through on a threat.

Diana: And you did nothing to dispute his theory of events?

Cyndi: Um no…why would I?

Angela: Cyndi…

Cyndi: Wait, it gets better.

Diana: Better?

Cyndi: While J.J. and I were out front, someone approached Harper’s bedroom window. He told her he knew me and gave her a gold necklace with a charm of a ballet dancer. She asked me if I’m a dancer because the man said I was.

Angela: Holy crap!

Cyndi: I know.

Diana: You know you have to tell Jason now, right?

Cyndi: Yes. I mean, I guess so.

Angela: I am with Di on this one, Cyndi. If someone is coming to your house, your husband needs to know.

Cyndi: I was hoping I could play it off as someone from his job.

Diana: Did it ever occur to you that the police might be able to help figure out what happened to that girl?

Cyndi: The police have already been to the club, remember? A runaway exotic dancer isn’t high on their priority list.

Angela: It might go to the top of the list if they know a cop’s wife is being threatened.

Cyndi: That’s the problem. No one has really threatened me, you know?

Diana: Someone went to your house, slashed your tire, and approached your daughter. Not to mention the fact that he left what was probably a murder weapon on your car.

Cyndi: Well, when you put it like that…

Angela: You might need protection, Cyndi. Think about Harper.

Cyndi: That’s all I have been thinking about, Ang. Hey, you ever hear from that crazy dude again?

Angela: LOL which one?

Cyndi: The one who said, “The girl is dead.”

Diana: Yeah, I was thinking about that the other day.

Angela: I can’t believe I forgot to tell you!

Cyndi: Tell us what?

Angela: They found the guy all right. Last weekend he called from some nasty bar downtown. Turns out the “girl” he was talking about was his blow up doll, Jennifer. It seems poor Jennifer was permanently deflated! LOL

Diana: Ewww…

Cyndi: That’s pretty nasty.

Angela: Yeah, I heard the guys had to wear gloves to package the thing up for the lab. LOL

Diana: Cyndi, you still need to tell Jason about the necklace.

Cyndi: I know. I just can’t tell him about my job yet. I need to go back one more time. I feel like the kidnapper is sending me a message. It’s like he wants me to figure out who he is.

Angela: Or he wants you as his next victim.

Cyndi: Why would you say something like that?

Angela: He has been going out of his way to get your attention. Notes on your car, the tire iron, the necklace…

Cyndi: I think he wants to be caught.

Diana: Sorry, Cyn, I agree with Angela. I think he has a fix on you.

Cyndi: Maybe that’s a good thing. I mean, maybe it will draw him out.

Angela: Do we want to draw him out?

Cyndi: Jade deserves justice. She was someone’s daughter. They miss her. Don’t her parents have a right to know what happened to her?

Diana: Don’t Harper and Jason deserve to have you safe and sound?

Cyndi: I am surrounded by people. No one will get near me. I have a feeling if I ask the right questions I will find something that can help the police find her.

Angela: Or…you could tell them everything you already know and everything that has happened to you and let them look for the bad guy.

Cyndi: I keep telling you, the police aren’t interested in a missing runaway. I have to give them proof—something to convince them Jade has been kidnapped, or worse. I need to go to work one more time. If I don’t learn anything I will tell Jason about everything. I promise.

Diana: I’m going to hold you to that.

Angela: Me too. But you still need to tell Jason about the necklace. He has a right to know if someone puts his little girl in danger, and a man showing up at her window qualifies, in my opinion.

Cyndi: I know you are right about that. I will tell him in the morning. With any luck he will think it is someone he knows.

Angela: Now that this is settled, I am going to head to bed. Long shift tonight.

Cyndi: All right. Have sweet dreams, Ang.

Diana: I’m off to bed too. I want to hear all about what happens when you talk to your honey.

Cyndi: I’ll try to get back on tomorrow night. I am sure it will be uneventful.

Diana: *yawn* Here’s hoping! I’m beat, Cyn.
Talk to you later.

After bidding her friends good night, Cyndi peeked in on Harper before padding back to bed. Her daughter and her husband were safe and snoring quietly. Cyndi settled back in and waited for the elusive gift of sleep to come.