Deadly Intersections (17 page)

She shuddered at the notion of a bulldozer chewing away the beautiful front porch and wondered if she’d made a mistake. She closed her eyes and thought of Wertz’s model. Was she right about the cross streets? Which corner was the right one? Had she confused the names? There was also an Ellsworth Road about ten miles east, but it ran parallel to Alma School.

She studied each corner carefully and dismissed the QuikTrip corner and the one to the south, the office building. It was at least five stories high and constructed in red brick. Whoever owned it wouldn’t tear it down. She’d learned enough about commercial real estate from Lorraine to know that well-constructed office buildings lasted for decades. They might struggle during hard economic times, but they inevitably bounced back if they had the right location and this was certainly a prime one.

She decided to investigate the strip mall first since it would be the easiest to access. A quick maneuverg at the light and she was cruising along the storefronts. Several were empty and property management signs haphazardly hung in the windows. A few businesses were open—Daisy’s Nail Salon, Only Batteries, Al’s Furniture Depot and a dollar store that clearly wasn’t part of a chain. Certainly not a thriving shopping center, but there were established businesses present.

“Let’s just see what we can learn,” she said.

She pulled into a parking space in front of the nail salon thinking about the chatty nail ladies she’d encountered whenever Jane dragged her in for a mani-pedi. The woman at the reception desk busily buffed her nails while another technician pampered an obviously desperate housewife who looked like she’d escaped her kids for a few hours while they were in school.

“May I help you?” the receptionist asked. “Manicure?”

Ari heard the hope in her voice. She batted her enormous false eyelashes and Ari was instantly turned off. She liked women who wore a minimal amount of makeup.

“Um, I actually wanted to ask you a weird question.”

“Oh,” the woman said and her shoulders sank. Business was definitely slow. “What do you need to know?”

“Is your strip mall being torn down?”

The nail technician’s eyes jumped from the housewife to Ari in a second. She joined them at the counter. “Excuse me? Why are you asking that? Did that company send you here?”

Ari shook her head quickly, surprised. “Uh, no, I just wondered. This is a great location.”

The woman eyed her suspiciously. “It’s a great location and business will pick up soon. So if you’re not here to support our business I suggest you leave.”

“Um, okay,” Ari said, backing out the door.
What the hell was that about?

She pulled back onto Elliott and cruised through the intersection making an immediate left into the Victorian’s parking lot. She could finally see the sign clearly—Drachman’s Fine Smokes. It was a cigar store that closed at four. She’d have to come back.

She leaned against the 4Runner and sighed. Either she’d remembered the wrong streets or something was amiss. If this was the right intersection, one of these corners was going to be redone, but which one? And when? Wertz’s model was complete. He wouldn’t have commissioned an entire design for a place he wasn’t ready to build, and there were laws about tenant notification.

She needed to see that model again, but she had no good excuse to visit him at his office. Her phone chirped, and she retreated inside the 4Runner to escape the traffic noise.

“Ari Adams.”

“Ari, this is Biz. I thought I’d give you an update.”

She laughed. “I’m the real estate agent. Shouldn’t I be the one to give the updates?”

“Well, I do tend to take charge. I’ve already had my architect over at the loft, and she’s optimistic that it will be easy to make the changes to the kitchen. So I’m ready to sign the papers. When can we meet?”

“I think it’ll need to be tomorrow. I’m having dinner with Jane and my father tonight.”

“Great. Tell Jane I said hello. Tell her that I approve of her latest girlfriend. That woman is
hot
.”

Ari frowned. “And where did you meet this person?”

“At Hideaway. We literally ran into each other in the back room. Neither of us was paying attention to where we were going. We were, both, uh, concentrating on other things.”

She closed her eyes. “That’s way too much information,” she said, annoyed. “Why don’t I come by your office in the morning with the paperwork?”

“Huh. My keen detective abilities sense a bit of jealousy. Are you jealous, Ari?”

The humor in Biz’s voice was evident, but Ari didn’t want to play along. “Hardly.”

“I’ve upset you,” Biz correctly concluded. “I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry for bringing up my sexual exploits, and if my flirting bothers you then I’m sorry twice.” She sighed heavily over the phone. “It’s just that I can’t help it. I want you to be jealous and I
want
to flirt with you.”

“You can’t, Biz.”

Another heavy sigh. “I know. The last thing I want to do is piss off Molly especially when she’s in the middle of a gang shooting.”

“What are you talking about? Is Maria Perez’s murder gang related? That hasn’t been reported.”

“They only mentioned it in today’s paper briefly but they’ve kept it quiet. My sources in the department are telling me that she was the brother of a gang lord, and it’s a possible angle.”

Her mind swirled with concern over Molly’s safety. Gang members had no respect for the police. When she’d attended the police academy, she’d worked with the gang unit for a short time, learning the procedures and potential dangers of investigating gang shootings.

“Ari, are you still there?”

“I’m sorry, Biz. You’ve just surprised me. I didn’t know. Look, I’ll come to your office in the morning, and we’ll take care of this paperwork. You’ll have your loft by noon, okay?”

“Great. Again, I’m sorry. Can I make it up to you somehow?”

A thought came to her. “Actually how hard would it be for you to do a background check for me on Warren Edgington?”

“You’re kidding, right?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve been hired by Edgington’s wife, Christina. She doesn’t believe he killed himself. She thinks he was murdered.”

Ari headed up Rural Road to Jane’s condo pondering Edgington’s death and the fight he’d had with Stan Wertz right before he died. There was something fishy about her client, and her gut told her that he had something to do with Edgington’s death.

She debated whether or not to call Molly, but she realized she had no concrete proof and more than likely her suspicion was baseless, grounded only in her supreme dislike for her client. And she imagined it would be another day at least before Molly would speak to her again. She could call Biz back, but there was something about her that made her nervous. She didn’t know why every time she thought of the P.I., her hands started to sweat.

No, the person to talk to was Jane.

A silver Benz sat in Jane’s driveway and she wondered if Jane had traded in her Porsche. When Jane didn’t answer the doorbell, she called on her cell. Just as she was about to hang up Jane threw open the front door, her phone pressed against her ear.

“What?” she barked.

She noticed Jane wore only a slinky silk robe that barely covered the tops of her thighs. “I’m sorry,” she stammered. “I didn’t know you were busy.”

“I’m entertaining,” Jane whispered into the phone.

Ari giggled. “Why are we still talking on the phone when we’re standing in front of each other?”

Jane flipped her phone closed and dropped it into the pocket of the robe. “You’re early.”

Ari checked her watch. “Only by ten minutes.”

Jane sighed. “Ten minutes can make all the difference.”

“Am I interrupting?” she asked.

“No, I was being facetious. That’s my word of the day,” Jane said with a grin. “Besides, we’ve already done it five times, and Laurel has to get to work.”

Her eyes widened at Jane’s announcement. “I’m shocked.”

“What?” Jane responded. “Five’s my average. It’s no big deal.”

“No, but screwing your client is.” She immediately thought of Wertz propositioning her. “I thought you didn’t like Laurel Jeffries.”

Jane’s blood red fingernails traced the neckline of her robe. “We’ve had a meeting of the minds. I found her the cutest little bungalow in the Willow area, and she was so overjoyed that she gave me a choice—a day at the spa or her. Guess what I picked?” A wicked smile crossed Jane’s face as her eyes glanced up the staircase.

Ari turned to see Laurel descend, dressed in a gray suit, the smile of a news anchor plastered on her face. After a quick wink in Ari’s direction, she went to Jane for a passionate kiss, her right hand slipping under the sheer fabric and roughly groping Jane’s breast.

“Will I see you later tonight?” Laurel murmured into her mouth.

“Absolutely,” Jane said before their tongues collided again.

Ari excused herself into Jane’s kitchen, rather sure that there would be at least one more coupling in the foyer before Laurel left. She poured herself a glass of wine and picked up the newspaper, noticing that the Maria Perez murder was the headline of the local section. She instantly thought of Molly and the pressure she must be under. She buried herself in the article, trying to block out the moans emanating from the living room. Laurel would definitely be late.

The front door slammed shut, and Jane appeared in the kitchen, her face flushed and her cheeks rosy. “That was a wonderful way to end the afternoon,” she proclaimed.

Ari set the newspaper down and stared at her friend. “I thought you’d made a few new rules, one being a clear division between clients and lovers?”

Jane shrugged her shoulders and made herself a vodka and tonic. “The line was clearly divided. We didn’t go to bed until
after
I got her a house. Now, that’s not to say that there wasn’t some heavy petting and nudity in her new kitchen.”

She shook her head in amazement. “Are you serious about Laurel?”

Jane delicately brought the patterned glass to her lips and sipped her drink. She set it down carefully before responding. “Honey, the word
serious
is right up there with commitment and relationship. We both know those are not words in my vocabulary, and thankfully Laurel has the same set of beliefs as I do.” She looked up and beamed. “We are perfect for each other, aren’t we?” Ari laughed and Jane squeezed her hand. “Enough about me for a while. Didn’t you say you needed my help?”

“I do. But you’re probably not going to like it. We could get into some trouble.”

Her eyes twinkled, and she arched her eyebrows. “Really? Does it involve danger?”

“I doubt it. But it does involve a woman in an incredibly sexy pink bra.”

Jane jumped off her stool and charged back up the stairs. She rejoined her in three minutes dressed in a tight pantsuit with very low cleavage.

“Let’s go. I’ll do most anything for a woman in a pink bra.”

Ari worked her way downtown, driving against the rush hour traffic. She’d called his office, confirming with the very polite receptionist that Mr. Wertz was indeed gone for the day, but Candy was still available and could certainly help Ms. Adams with her missing files. She recounted her suspicions about Wertz to Jane, including her encounter with him at the preview house.

“He really asked you to unbutton your blouse?” Jane asked in disbelief.

“Yes. He’s really slimy, but he’s worth a lot of money.”

Jane buffed her French nails and checked the shine. “Then he’s worth it. Period. You’ll deal with it unless he’s a killer,” she quickly added. “In that case, I’d ask for a double commission.”

“Jane!”

Ari pulled into the parking garage for the second time that day. They strolled through the cavernous lobby, all of the business people cruising home except for Candy, who she suspected was a workaholic and devoted to her boss.

“You know what to do, right?” she asked as they boarded the elevator.

Jane sighed. “Ari, honey, you’ve got nothing to worry about. Take your time. I’ve got it covered. You’re dealing with a professional.”

She followed Jane down the long corridor to Candy’s desk, well aware that her swinging hips were sure to gain the attention of the secretary with the pink bra. When they reached the outer lobby, Candy was engrossed in her typing and unaware of their initial approach until Jane’s perfume wafted through the air. She turned to find her leaning over her desk, exposing most of her cleavage.

“Hi, I’m Jane, Ari’s friend. You remember Ari, don’t you?” Jane motioned to her and she smiled.

“Of course. Hello, Ari. Hello, Jane.” She stared at Jane, whose breasts sprawled over much of her desk demanding attention. She leaned forward as Jane whispered to her. She giggled in response, and Ari knew it was time to make her move.

“If it’s all right with you, Candy, I’m just going to slip into Stan’s office and get those files. That’s okay, isn’t it?”

“Sure,” Candy replied with a laugh. Jane smiled and let her index finger trail down the side of Candy’s cheek.