Charmed Forces, page 19
“Get a boyfriend like mine and you can go to Miami every weekend,” said Angelica. “And you don’t have to be in the office by eight AM on a Monday wearing flats.”
“I like flats,” said Louise.
“You cannot wear them on your engagement shoot. I’ll style you.”
“You can advise me,” said Louise, laughing again. “I’ll wear heels but I’m not wearing a tight dress.” She held out her hands for the manicurist who proceeded to clip and file. “Plus, I don’t even know if we’re going to have an engagement shoot.”
“Leave it to me. You’ll have a beautiful shoot. I saw the chicest pant suit that you’d look so cute in. I’ll get it for you on my credit card. Maybe a cute purse to go with it. You don’t have enough purses,” said Angelica.
“You mean, Tom’s credit card, and why would I need a purse for an engagement shoot?” asked Louise.
“Don’t worry about it, honey. Tom will never notice.”
“Tom sounds very generous,” I said. “Have you considered marrying him?”
“Oh, no,” Angelica snorted, with a dismissive flap of her hand. Her manicurist caught her hand and pressed it flat on a towel. “I gotta keep him on his toes first. I don’t want him to think he can tie me down just like that. Plus, I gotta know if the wife title is the right kind of upgrade.”
“Upgrade?” asked Lily.
“Right now I live in an apartment. It’s a fabulous apartment. Beautiful view of the park but if I’m a wife, I want to live in a house. A nice one in Bedford Hills with big windows and a walk-in pantry. If I have to be with my guy every single day, I want all the perks that go with it.”
“Tom has a house,” said Louise. “And it’s huge. He has another one in Boston too.”
“Yeah, that he bought with...” Angelica stopped to pull a face and I could easily guess the words she didn’t want to say: his wife. “I want my own house.”
“Are you planning your wedding yet?” I asked Louise to avoid leaving her out of the conversation.
“Not yet,” she said, “we’re only just talking about whether we want to book an engagement shoot—”
“If,” snorted Angelica.
“And throw a party to celebrate,” continued Louise. “I think we’ll probably set a date for the wedding next year. We were so excited to get engaged that we haven’t talked about the rest of it.”
“You’ll have fun. But don’t stress about any of it,” said Lily. “I didn’t.”
“Just make sure you book the cars first off, like, before anything else. Maybe even before you choose your venue,” said Angelica. “You don’t want to be that chick that turned up at her wedding in a military tank. That was so crazy!”
“Wow,” I said, thinking back to my wedding day and the look on my dad’s face when he realized that a tank was how we were getting to the venue. Thankfully, when it hit the newspaper the following day, I wasn’t in the shot but the ribbons around the gun carriage were. The headline read: TANKS FOR THE MEMORIES. The picture caption read: Not quite a shotgun wedding. My dad bought twenty copies.
“So crazy,” said Lily biting back a laugh.
“Ouch! Careful!” Angelica snapped at her therapist before relaxing in her chair and taking a sip of her drink. She turned to Louise, putting her back to us, and I figured for a while, our conversation was over. So I settled back and relaxed too, allowing the therapist to soak, buff, and cream my feet and hands to perfection.
“That looks great,” I said as the therapist finished the last of Angelica’s gel nails, each changing from light to dark. Angelica flexed her fingers, pouting at the color.
“It does, doesn’t it,” she said. “I have a great eye for detail.”
“You should throw a party to celebrate your engagement sooner rather than later,” I said, leaning over to Louise. “Mine was great. Small, chic, just my family and closest friends. It’s the perfect opportunity to get everyone together.”
“Stop!” shouted Angelica and we all froze. Then she continued, “I love it! No really! I love it! I’ll throw you the best party! We have to tell Tom that we need to use the house. What do you say?”
“Soon?”
“Like, yah!”
“I’ll need to send out invites,” said Louise with a frown.
“Stop! Don’t worry about a thing! Tom was throwing me a surprise birthday party and I gave him a list of everything that I wanted, but we’ll make it your party instead!”
“Noooo,” said Louise, shaking her head. “That was supposed to be a surprise for you. How did you even know about it?”
“Pah! I have all day to celebrate. We already have caterers and the festive décor. Our families and bestest friends are already coming, and I know it’s short notice so I’ll throw you a lunch too for any other friends you invite. Your boo can invite his family. Just say when. All you have to do is show up looking gorgeous for my party that’s now your party! We’ll get an extra cake!”
“Won’t Tom mind?” asked Louise, still frowning. She checked her nails and smiled though, pleased at the results. “He was throwing the party for you.”
“Not one bit. He loves any party and he knows how much I love you and he can make it up to me another time. And this chick—” Angelica flapped her new manicure at me.
“Lexi,” I interjected.
“—is right,” continued Angelica, ignoring me. “You need a party!”
“I…” I started.
“But we have to go shopping to get an outfit, like, pronto! We’ll do the engagement shoot at Tom’s house too. You’ll love the gardens. The roses are all in bloom. It’ll be gorgeous! That’s settled! Leave everything to me.”
Louise glanced at me, shrugged and laughed. “You’re both invited too,” she said to Lily and me. “It’ll be fun.”
“We’d love to come,” I said with a pleased smile. Who knew getting into Tom Victor’s house would be so easy? Even better, it was all Angelica’s idea and I had a feeling he wouldn’t look twice at two extra women joining his girlfriend and her cousin.
By the time we filed out, our feet in flip-flops and our fingernails perfectly dry, Angelica insisted on getting our phone numbers and firing ideas at Louise, each one increasingly wilder than the last. I was so distracted by her chaotic energy, I barely noticed the town car that eased up to the sidewalk. A black tinted window rolled down and a man’s face leaned into view. He was clearly a couple of decades older than Angelica but he kept himself fit and was well groomed with a clean-shaven jaw and a sweep of expertly cut dark brown hair. He glanced at our small party and smiled at Angelica, beckoning her to the window.
“You girls look like you’re having a party,” he said.
“No, baby, but we’re going to throw the best party ever,” said Angelica, leaning down, puckering her lips and kissing him lightly through the window.
“With all these pretty girls, I’m sure it will be,” he said. “Who’re your friends?”
“Lexi and Lily,” she said, waving to us. “We all got our nails done together. Don’t they look amazing?”
His gaze traveled over us from head to toe and a chill traversed the back of my neck. This must be what a seal feels like after being spotted by an orca. I’d never felt more like prey than at this moment… well… and that other time when a serial killer took a liking to me. Right now, it was hard to say which gaze I preferred. “Beautiful,” he said, his attention returning to Angelica. “Am I taking you all to lunch?”
“Just the two of us, honey. I’ll call you,” said Angelica, air-kissing us both as the car door popped open. “We’re going to have the best time. I don’t want to hear any excuses.”
“Great meeting you,” said Louise softly, giving us both quick hugs before she followed a loudly chattering Angelica into the backseat of the car. “I really do hope you’ll come. Don’t mind Angelica. She gets excited about everything and she really will throw a great party. I promise she will call.”
“We wouldn’t miss it for the world,” said Lily. “And have a very happy birthday, Angelica!”
“Let’s go, baby,” said Angelica from the depths of the car and Louise pulled the door shut. The car purred away, leaving us standing there.
“She is one Chatty Cathy,” said Lily.
“Yeah,” I agreed, “and she’s about to bring us right into the inner circle.”
“Not to mention, a great party.”
“That will be precisely located inside the inner circle,” I pointed out.
“Right.” Lily nodded. “Her boyfriend was not what I expected at all.”
“What did you expect?”
“Someone more lethal. Maybe armed. Not so... congenial. He looked like a businessman.”
“I’m sure Tom Victor is congenial to everyone right up until he signs their death warrant,” I said, watching the car as it turned the corner and slipped out of view.
“And now he signed his,” said Lily ominously.
“We’re not going to kill him!”
“Shame. Not even a little bit?”
“No! I’m not the hitwoman, remember?”
“Maybe a swift kneecapping? He deserves it.”
“Do you know how to kneecap anyone?”
Lily pursed her lips. “No. Do you?”
“No!”
“There’s probably a tutorial online.”
“Let’s go,” I said. “And I’m not so sure you should come to the party.”
“But it sounds like it’ll be amazing!” Lily whined.
“I’m afraid of what you’ll do when we’re there.”
“Be my best charming self, of course. When have I ever let you down?”
“Never,” I admitted. “You’re the best, but it could be dangerous.”
“Then there’s no way you’re going there alone. Plus, Solomon can hardly go with you. He’ll never get away pretending to be me. Neither will Delgado. He’s not cute enough.”
“He’s not cute at all.”
“I was surprised to see Louise,” said Lily.
I glanced at her. “Me too, and it made me think.”
“Uh-oh.”
“Good thinking,” I clarified.
“Oh! I was remembering all the times when your thinking went wrong.”
“Never mind,” I said, shaking the thought away. “It’s just a weird coincidence. Let’s pick up lunch, then I need to speak to Solomon.”
We picked up subs and chips from a deli and ate them in the park. While we sat on a bench, my attention was drawn to the many buildings that bordered this side. “I wonder which one Angelica lives in,” I said.
“Are you sure it’s this park? She didn’t say the name.”
“Reasonably sure. All the other city parks are too small to command much status and Angelica is definitely status-driven.”
“If I were her, and getting someone else to pay for everything I wanted, I would live in one of the penthouses. More space, less neighbors, and better views.” Lily paused, her sandwich hovering near her mouth. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
“Probably not.”
“Then you weren’t thinking about breaking into her apartment?”
“No!” I wadded my sandwich wrapper and tossed it into the trashcan, pleased to get a hole in one. “I was thinking about breaking into her boyfriend’s home office, assuming he has one. I’m sure I’ll find out more there than through subtly questioning him.”
“Much better idea,” agreed Lily. “And when he kills you for doing that, I’ll deliver the best eulogy at your funeral.”
“Thanks?” I dug into my chips and conceded she did have a point. Tom Victor, by all accounts, was not a man to mess with. If I were going to find out any more information about him and his connections, I could only do so while being far under his radar. So far, Angelica gave me the perfect cover: self-absorbed and ditsy, entirely concerned with her appearance and the trade I could make for it, just like her. Although I had to admit she did seem genuinely excited about throwing a party for her cousin. In all her prattle, she didn’t express one iota of jealousy about the engagement or say one snide thing apart from refusing to understand why Louise could possibly want a career.
When Lily’s phone buzzed, she pulled it from her purse and sighed. “Poppy has a slight fever,” she said. “I have to pick her up from daycare.”
“Of course,” I replied.
“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” said Lily, getting to her feet. “I don’t want to miss out on something. It’s hard being a mom. You don’t get to do all the fun stuff you used to do and you have to not mind because parenting is so important. I don’t get to help out and everyone is so understanding while they’re busy running around being helpful. And I have to keep telling myself not to mind.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, thinking about my own future. Could I keep my career once I had babies? Or would it become an endless cycle of giving up all the things I once enjoyed? Would Solomon be a hands-on dad like Jord is with Poppy? Or wind up making me resentful? As much as I thought Solomon would be a great dad, I knew no woman could ever tell what life might be like until the baby was in her arms and everything stopped being hypothetical. “I never thought about parenthood like that.”
“It’s okay,” said Lily. “I’m just having a moment. It only lasts twenty hours at a time. And I did choose to be a mom. I like being a mom, but I want to be me as well. I like being useful too.”
“You are,” I said. “You got us into that party and that’s exactly where we want to be. I couldn’t have done it without you.”
She hugged me. “Thank you. I guess I needed to hear that.”
I dropped Lily off at her house so she could pick up her car and I was halfway back to the agency when my phone rang.
“I heard the coroner is finished with the autopsies,” said Garrett, “but I can’t get my hands on the report. Orders came down that I’m on leave for the foreseeable future and forbidden from entering the station on any account.”
“You’re kidding!”
“I wish. I’ve never been put on leave before. I don’t know whether to be furious, or do all the chores that I never had the time to do before, or go to Mom and Dad’s and make sure they’re okay.”
“How about all three?” I answered. “Where can I get a copy of the autopsies?”
“My guess is from the coroner’s office.”
“Do you have a contact that can get me in?”
“None that won’t come flying back at me when the proverbial hits the fan. Sorry.”
“Don’t be. I’ll find a way in.”
“Call me if you need anything else,” he said before he disconnected.
The coroner’s office was closer than the agency and I really wanted to get a look at those reports. Most specifically, I wanted to know what the toxicology report determined regarding the stomach contents of all the victims. Who ate the pizza and who drank the coffee? And how did those results correlate to the toxicology report? The idea of gaining some answers excited and grossed me out at the same time.
I’d visited the coroner’s office a few times so I was familiar with the layout and as I headed in, I was pleased to see my cousin, Tara coming out, dressed in her police uniform.
“I’m not going to ask what you’re doing here,” she said as I approached her. “Word from the family is to help if you need anything, but don’t ask any questions.”
“Who told you that?”
“A variety of people on Uncle Steve’s side and several on your mom’s side too.” She held up her hands. “So I’m asking no questions. What do you need?”
“A coroner’s report.”
“I don’t have access to their systems, sorry, but Special Agent Maddox can probably help you. I saw him heading down to the mortuary not more than five minutes ago.”
“Maddox? Really?”
“Yeah. He’ll help, right?”
“Maybe,” I said, frowning. “Where’s Special Agent Farid?” I cast an eye around for Maddox’s partner but he was nowhere to be seen.
“I think he went to get something from their car. He said he’d be back in a moment. I’m going to wait up here for him but I don’t know if I feel comfortable about waylaying him.”
“I won’t ask you to,” I said, still curious about Maddox and Farid’s reason for paying a visit to the coroner. Had they picked up a case involving dead people too? If so, I didn’t envy them. And it did explain why Maddox hadn’t returned my calls. “I’m going down there to see if I can catch up with him.”
“Cool.”
I hurried on, turning away from the reception lobby with its gentle gray couches and soothing wall art. It was specifically designed to calm and comfort all the upset, grieving relatives who preferred not to enter this building.
Instead of waiting for the elevator, I jogged down the steps that led to the basement autopsy rooms and followed the arrows. I pushed my way through the first set of double doors, then hit a snag. I didn’t have a keycard to get me any further but I could hear footsteps coming up behind me. I moved a few steps back from the door and bent down to pretend to look for something in my purse while a man walked past me, his arms laden with files. I waited for him to fumble with his keycard while adjusting the files so he didn’t drop them.
“Let me get that for you,” I said as he started to shoulder his way through the door.
“Thanks,” he said, “are you supposed to be down here?”
“No one comes here for fun,” I replied with a flicker of my eyebrows.
“Except the medical examiners,” he said before thinking better of it. “Not that they’re having fun. They just find it more interesting than ninety-five percent of the population does.”
“You got that right,” I agreed as we walked together, his cover useful for the next person we passed who didn’t question my presence at all.
“This is me,” he said, indicating the office door to the right.
“Have a good day,” I said as I continued on. I didn’t want to go to the mortuary but I did want to get to the files. I figured my best chance at seeing them was finding a computer and printing off the necessary files, or at the very least, using my phone to photograph the computer screen.
“I like flats,” said Louise.
“You cannot wear them on your engagement shoot. I’ll style you.”
“You can advise me,” said Louise, laughing again. “I’ll wear heels but I’m not wearing a tight dress.” She held out her hands for the manicurist who proceeded to clip and file. “Plus, I don’t even know if we’re going to have an engagement shoot.”
“Leave it to me. You’ll have a beautiful shoot. I saw the chicest pant suit that you’d look so cute in. I’ll get it for you on my credit card. Maybe a cute purse to go with it. You don’t have enough purses,” said Angelica.
“You mean, Tom’s credit card, and why would I need a purse for an engagement shoot?” asked Louise.
“Don’t worry about it, honey. Tom will never notice.”
“Tom sounds very generous,” I said. “Have you considered marrying him?”
“Oh, no,” Angelica snorted, with a dismissive flap of her hand. Her manicurist caught her hand and pressed it flat on a towel. “I gotta keep him on his toes first. I don’t want him to think he can tie me down just like that. Plus, I gotta know if the wife title is the right kind of upgrade.”
“Upgrade?” asked Lily.
“Right now I live in an apartment. It’s a fabulous apartment. Beautiful view of the park but if I’m a wife, I want to live in a house. A nice one in Bedford Hills with big windows and a walk-in pantry. If I have to be with my guy every single day, I want all the perks that go with it.”
“Tom has a house,” said Louise. “And it’s huge. He has another one in Boston too.”
“Yeah, that he bought with...” Angelica stopped to pull a face and I could easily guess the words she didn’t want to say: his wife. “I want my own house.”
“Are you planning your wedding yet?” I asked Louise to avoid leaving her out of the conversation.
“Not yet,” she said, “we’re only just talking about whether we want to book an engagement shoot—”
“If,” snorted Angelica.
“And throw a party to celebrate,” continued Louise. “I think we’ll probably set a date for the wedding next year. We were so excited to get engaged that we haven’t talked about the rest of it.”
“You’ll have fun. But don’t stress about any of it,” said Lily. “I didn’t.”
“Just make sure you book the cars first off, like, before anything else. Maybe even before you choose your venue,” said Angelica. “You don’t want to be that chick that turned up at her wedding in a military tank. That was so crazy!”
“Wow,” I said, thinking back to my wedding day and the look on my dad’s face when he realized that a tank was how we were getting to the venue. Thankfully, when it hit the newspaper the following day, I wasn’t in the shot but the ribbons around the gun carriage were. The headline read: TANKS FOR THE MEMORIES. The picture caption read: Not quite a shotgun wedding. My dad bought twenty copies.
“So crazy,” said Lily biting back a laugh.
“Ouch! Careful!” Angelica snapped at her therapist before relaxing in her chair and taking a sip of her drink. She turned to Louise, putting her back to us, and I figured for a while, our conversation was over. So I settled back and relaxed too, allowing the therapist to soak, buff, and cream my feet and hands to perfection.
“That looks great,” I said as the therapist finished the last of Angelica’s gel nails, each changing from light to dark. Angelica flexed her fingers, pouting at the color.
“It does, doesn’t it,” she said. “I have a great eye for detail.”
“You should throw a party to celebrate your engagement sooner rather than later,” I said, leaning over to Louise. “Mine was great. Small, chic, just my family and closest friends. It’s the perfect opportunity to get everyone together.”
“Stop!” shouted Angelica and we all froze. Then she continued, “I love it! No really! I love it! I’ll throw you the best party! We have to tell Tom that we need to use the house. What do you say?”
“Soon?”
“Like, yah!”
“I’ll need to send out invites,” said Louise with a frown.
“Stop! Don’t worry about a thing! Tom was throwing me a surprise birthday party and I gave him a list of everything that I wanted, but we’ll make it your party instead!”
“Noooo,” said Louise, shaking her head. “That was supposed to be a surprise for you. How did you even know about it?”
“Pah! I have all day to celebrate. We already have caterers and the festive décor. Our families and bestest friends are already coming, and I know it’s short notice so I’ll throw you a lunch too for any other friends you invite. Your boo can invite his family. Just say when. All you have to do is show up looking gorgeous for my party that’s now your party! We’ll get an extra cake!”
“Won’t Tom mind?” asked Louise, still frowning. She checked her nails and smiled though, pleased at the results. “He was throwing the party for you.”
“Not one bit. He loves any party and he knows how much I love you and he can make it up to me another time. And this chick—” Angelica flapped her new manicure at me.
“Lexi,” I interjected.
“—is right,” continued Angelica, ignoring me. “You need a party!”
“I…” I started.
“But we have to go shopping to get an outfit, like, pronto! We’ll do the engagement shoot at Tom’s house too. You’ll love the gardens. The roses are all in bloom. It’ll be gorgeous! That’s settled! Leave everything to me.”
Louise glanced at me, shrugged and laughed. “You’re both invited too,” she said to Lily and me. “It’ll be fun.”
“We’d love to come,” I said with a pleased smile. Who knew getting into Tom Victor’s house would be so easy? Even better, it was all Angelica’s idea and I had a feeling he wouldn’t look twice at two extra women joining his girlfriend and her cousin.
By the time we filed out, our feet in flip-flops and our fingernails perfectly dry, Angelica insisted on getting our phone numbers and firing ideas at Louise, each one increasingly wilder than the last. I was so distracted by her chaotic energy, I barely noticed the town car that eased up to the sidewalk. A black tinted window rolled down and a man’s face leaned into view. He was clearly a couple of decades older than Angelica but he kept himself fit and was well groomed with a clean-shaven jaw and a sweep of expertly cut dark brown hair. He glanced at our small party and smiled at Angelica, beckoning her to the window.
“You girls look like you’re having a party,” he said.
“No, baby, but we’re going to throw the best party ever,” said Angelica, leaning down, puckering her lips and kissing him lightly through the window.
“With all these pretty girls, I’m sure it will be,” he said. “Who’re your friends?”
“Lexi and Lily,” she said, waving to us. “We all got our nails done together. Don’t they look amazing?”
His gaze traveled over us from head to toe and a chill traversed the back of my neck. This must be what a seal feels like after being spotted by an orca. I’d never felt more like prey than at this moment… well… and that other time when a serial killer took a liking to me. Right now, it was hard to say which gaze I preferred. “Beautiful,” he said, his attention returning to Angelica. “Am I taking you all to lunch?”
“Just the two of us, honey. I’ll call you,” said Angelica, air-kissing us both as the car door popped open. “We’re going to have the best time. I don’t want to hear any excuses.”
“Great meeting you,” said Louise softly, giving us both quick hugs before she followed a loudly chattering Angelica into the backseat of the car. “I really do hope you’ll come. Don’t mind Angelica. She gets excited about everything and she really will throw a great party. I promise she will call.”
“We wouldn’t miss it for the world,” said Lily. “And have a very happy birthday, Angelica!”
“Let’s go, baby,” said Angelica from the depths of the car and Louise pulled the door shut. The car purred away, leaving us standing there.
“She is one Chatty Cathy,” said Lily.
“Yeah,” I agreed, “and she’s about to bring us right into the inner circle.”
“Not to mention, a great party.”
“That will be precisely located inside the inner circle,” I pointed out.
“Right.” Lily nodded. “Her boyfriend was not what I expected at all.”
“What did you expect?”
“Someone more lethal. Maybe armed. Not so... congenial. He looked like a businessman.”
“I’m sure Tom Victor is congenial to everyone right up until he signs their death warrant,” I said, watching the car as it turned the corner and slipped out of view.
“And now he signed his,” said Lily ominously.
“We’re not going to kill him!”
“Shame. Not even a little bit?”
“No! I’m not the hitwoman, remember?”
“Maybe a swift kneecapping? He deserves it.”
“Do you know how to kneecap anyone?”
Lily pursed her lips. “No. Do you?”
“No!”
“There’s probably a tutorial online.”
“Let’s go,” I said. “And I’m not so sure you should come to the party.”
“But it sounds like it’ll be amazing!” Lily whined.
“I’m afraid of what you’ll do when we’re there.”
“Be my best charming self, of course. When have I ever let you down?”
“Never,” I admitted. “You’re the best, but it could be dangerous.”
“Then there’s no way you’re going there alone. Plus, Solomon can hardly go with you. He’ll never get away pretending to be me. Neither will Delgado. He’s not cute enough.”
“He’s not cute at all.”
“I was surprised to see Louise,” said Lily.
I glanced at her. “Me too, and it made me think.”
“Uh-oh.”
“Good thinking,” I clarified.
“Oh! I was remembering all the times when your thinking went wrong.”
“Never mind,” I said, shaking the thought away. “It’s just a weird coincidence. Let’s pick up lunch, then I need to speak to Solomon.”
We picked up subs and chips from a deli and ate them in the park. While we sat on a bench, my attention was drawn to the many buildings that bordered this side. “I wonder which one Angelica lives in,” I said.
“Are you sure it’s this park? She didn’t say the name.”
“Reasonably sure. All the other city parks are too small to command much status and Angelica is definitely status-driven.”
“If I were her, and getting someone else to pay for everything I wanted, I would live in one of the penthouses. More space, less neighbors, and better views.” Lily paused, her sandwich hovering near her mouth. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
“Probably not.”
“Then you weren’t thinking about breaking into her apartment?”
“No!” I wadded my sandwich wrapper and tossed it into the trashcan, pleased to get a hole in one. “I was thinking about breaking into her boyfriend’s home office, assuming he has one. I’m sure I’ll find out more there than through subtly questioning him.”
“Much better idea,” agreed Lily. “And when he kills you for doing that, I’ll deliver the best eulogy at your funeral.”
“Thanks?” I dug into my chips and conceded she did have a point. Tom Victor, by all accounts, was not a man to mess with. If I were going to find out any more information about him and his connections, I could only do so while being far under his radar. So far, Angelica gave me the perfect cover: self-absorbed and ditsy, entirely concerned with her appearance and the trade I could make for it, just like her. Although I had to admit she did seem genuinely excited about throwing a party for her cousin. In all her prattle, she didn’t express one iota of jealousy about the engagement or say one snide thing apart from refusing to understand why Louise could possibly want a career.
When Lily’s phone buzzed, she pulled it from her purse and sighed. “Poppy has a slight fever,” she said. “I have to pick her up from daycare.”
“Of course,” I replied.
“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” said Lily, getting to her feet. “I don’t want to miss out on something. It’s hard being a mom. You don’t get to do all the fun stuff you used to do and you have to not mind because parenting is so important. I don’t get to help out and everyone is so understanding while they’re busy running around being helpful. And I have to keep telling myself not to mind.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, thinking about my own future. Could I keep my career once I had babies? Or would it become an endless cycle of giving up all the things I once enjoyed? Would Solomon be a hands-on dad like Jord is with Poppy? Or wind up making me resentful? As much as I thought Solomon would be a great dad, I knew no woman could ever tell what life might be like until the baby was in her arms and everything stopped being hypothetical. “I never thought about parenthood like that.”
“It’s okay,” said Lily. “I’m just having a moment. It only lasts twenty hours at a time. And I did choose to be a mom. I like being a mom, but I want to be me as well. I like being useful too.”
“You are,” I said. “You got us into that party and that’s exactly where we want to be. I couldn’t have done it without you.”
She hugged me. “Thank you. I guess I needed to hear that.”
I dropped Lily off at her house so she could pick up her car and I was halfway back to the agency when my phone rang.
“I heard the coroner is finished with the autopsies,” said Garrett, “but I can’t get my hands on the report. Orders came down that I’m on leave for the foreseeable future and forbidden from entering the station on any account.”
“You’re kidding!”
“I wish. I’ve never been put on leave before. I don’t know whether to be furious, or do all the chores that I never had the time to do before, or go to Mom and Dad’s and make sure they’re okay.”
“How about all three?” I answered. “Where can I get a copy of the autopsies?”
“My guess is from the coroner’s office.”
“Do you have a contact that can get me in?”
“None that won’t come flying back at me when the proverbial hits the fan. Sorry.”
“Don’t be. I’ll find a way in.”
“Call me if you need anything else,” he said before he disconnected.
The coroner’s office was closer than the agency and I really wanted to get a look at those reports. Most specifically, I wanted to know what the toxicology report determined regarding the stomach contents of all the victims. Who ate the pizza and who drank the coffee? And how did those results correlate to the toxicology report? The idea of gaining some answers excited and grossed me out at the same time.
I’d visited the coroner’s office a few times so I was familiar with the layout and as I headed in, I was pleased to see my cousin, Tara coming out, dressed in her police uniform.
“I’m not going to ask what you’re doing here,” she said as I approached her. “Word from the family is to help if you need anything, but don’t ask any questions.”
“Who told you that?”
“A variety of people on Uncle Steve’s side and several on your mom’s side too.” She held up her hands. “So I’m asking no questions. What do you need?”
“A coroner’s report.”
“I don’t have access to their systems, sorry, but Special Agent Maddox can probably help you. I saw him heading down to the mortuary not more than five minutes ago.”
“Maddox? Really?”
“Yeah. He’ll help, right?”
“Maybe,” I said, frowning. “Where’s Special Agent Farid?” I cast an eye around for Maddox’s partner but he was nowhere to be seen.
“I think he went to get something from their car. He said he’d be back in a moment. I’m going to wait up here for him but I don’t know if I feel comfortable about waylaying him.”
“I won’t ask you to,” I said, still curious about Maddox and Farid’s reason for paying a visit to the coroner. Had they picked up a case involving dead people too? If so, I didn’t envy them. And it did explain why Maddox hadn’t returned my calls. “I’m going down there to see if I can catch up with him.”
“Cool.”
I hurried on, turning away from the reception lobby with its gentle gray couches and soothing wall art. It was specifically designed to calm and comfort all the upset, grieving relatives who preferred not to enter this building.
Instead of waiting for the elevator, I jogged down the steps that led to the basement autopsy rooms and followed the arrows. I pushed my way through the first set of double doors, then hit a snag. I didn’t have a keycard to get me any further but I could hear footsteps coming up behind me. I moved a few steps back from the door and bent down to pretend to look for something in my purse while a man walked past me, his arms laden with files. I waited for him to fumble with his keycard while adjusting the files so he didn’t drop them.
“Let me get that for you,” I said as he started to shoulder his way through the door.
“Thanks,” he said, “are you supposed to be down here?”
“No one comes here for fun,” I replied with a flicker of my eyebrows.
“Except the medical examiners,” he said before thinking better of it. “Not that they’re having fun. They just find it more interesting than ninety-five percent of the population does.”
“You got that right,” I agreed as we walked together, his cover useful for the next person we passed who didn’t question my presence at all.
“This is me,” he said, indicating the office door to the right.
“Have a good day,” I said as I continued on. I didn’t want to go to the mortuary but I did want to get to the files. I figured my best chance at seeing them was finding a computer and printing off the necessary files, or at the very least, using my phone to photograph the computer screen.
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