Authors: Tamara Larson
Jessie set the flowers down on the desk and snatched up
Duncan
’s business card from where Clay had taped it to the cash register with a big pink heart drawn around
Duncan
’s cell phone number. She grabbed the store’s old-fashioned black manual dial phone without even thinking about what she was going to say, and dialed impatiently.
“Reinhold,” he said, after two rings.
“
Duncan
,” Jessie said into the phone, her voice breathless with excitement. “It’s me, Jessie.”
“Hi. Did you get them?” He spoke quietly, like there was someone else there, but his tone was very warm and husky. Jessie felt goose flesh ripple her arms at the intimate timbre of his voice.
“Yes, I did. Thank-you so much. They’re just gorgeous. I can’t believe you did that.”
“Are you sure you wouldn’t have preferred red?”
Duncan
’s voice sounded anxious and Jessie wondered if he’d been worried about her reaction. “I know that’s tradition, but they seemed so overdone or something. The ones I got you just seemed to suit you better.” His voice went even lower and Jessie could imagine him turning his back to whoever else was present and covering the mouthpiece with his hand to muffle his next words. “I was actually looking for some pale pink ones to match your nipples, but I thought that would be too racy for you.”
“Now who’s trying to seduce who?” Jessie asked, her own voice a low purr in response to his words. “Seriously, they’re perfect. I’m overwhelmed.”
“Good, that was the plan.”
“The flowers aren’t actually my only reason for calling though. I think I might have some news for you about Theresa.” Jessie set the phone in the crux of her shoulder and neck and began shredding the ribbon on the flower box with both hands. She couldn’t seem to help fidgeting.
“What? Tell me.” Suddenly,
Duncan
was all business again.
“Well, Jamie stopped by last night—.”
“Your sister stopped by after I left. Does she do that a lot? She would have had quite a shock if I’d still been there.”
For someone in such a rush to hear her news, he certainly seemed interested in her sister’s nocturnal habits. “No doubt, but while she was here, she saw Theresa’s picture. It had fallen out of your coat when we were, uh, you know.” Color flooded Jessie’s cheeks at the memory.
“What did she say, Jess?” He sounded surprisingly controlled and Jessie wondered if maybe he would take her news better than she’d anticipated.
“Now I don’t want to get your hopes up, but Jamie said that Theresa looks like a girl that recently started working at the club where she works.”
“The strip club?”
Duncan
’s voice thundered through the earpiece and Jessie was forced to pull it away from her ear. He swore viciously and Jessie wished she were there to calm him down.
“Well, Jamie says it’s more like a burlesque gentlemen’s club, but okay, yes, the strip club.”
“How sure is she?” He snapped.
“Pretty sure, but she did say that this Terri-Lynne was scheduled to work tonight. The club opens around nine. Maybe you should go down there to check it out.”
“I plan to. Did she say anything else?”
Jessie paused, unsure how he would react to her next piece of news. She tapped the card from the flowers against her teeth and listened to him breath softly into the phone. “Well, I don’t think you’re going to like this, but Jamie did say that this Terri-Lynne was hanging around with some guy that sounded like bad news. Dago Saw-something. That’s probably who was with her at the store last night, don’t you think?”
“Diego Savares?”
“Yeah, I think so. Do you know him?”
“Not personally. He’s just your average low-life. Likes to think of himself as some kind of entertainment manager, but really he’s just your average bottom-feeder. He was involved in a child-prostitution ring a few years ago, but got plea-bargained down for some information and got off.”
“Oh my God. How does someone like that get off? That’s terrible.” Suddenly, Jessie realized what a huge gulf there really was between her and Duncan. She organized books for a living, and he attempted to catch some genuinely vile criminals. How could two people with such different occupations have anything in common? Except for chemistry, which they seemed to have up the kazoo. Just talking to
Duncan
on the phone made Jessie feel warm and alive all over.
“That’s how the modern justice system works. Sometimes the slimy little minnow gets away so we have a chance at nailing the great whites.”
Jessie couldn’t help herself from responding. “Your job is terrible. How can you see stuff like that happen everyday and not lose hope?”
Calmly, as if used to answering this question, he said, “Sometimes I do. But not today. Today I might just find my sister. Thanks so much, Jessie, for telling me and for being so concerned.”
“Should I have called last night and told you? I thought maybe I should have, but I’d left your card here at the store.”
“No, you did the right thing. I won’t be able to do anything about Theresa until tonight anyway. I was just interviewing a suspect in a serial rape case.”
“And you took my call?” Guilt washed over her, but she was also somewhat pleased that he put such a priority on her call.
“Yeah. I did. I’ve been kind of tense for the past hour wanting to see if you got the flowers. Will I see you tonight?”
“You mean, at the club?”
“No, definitely not. I meant afterward.”
“Why don’t you want me to be there? I may not be exactly best friends with Theresa, but I know her a little bit. And I’d like to make sure she’s okay.”
“It might be dangerous. If this girl is Theresa, and I have a feeling she is, this Savares character might not want to give her up. Things could get out of control.”
“Well, then I’m definitely coming. Jamie will be there and I couldn’t stand if anything happened to her.”
“Jessie, please don’t. I’ll make sure nothing happens to anyone. I know you don’t know me very well, but I’m asking you to trust me.”
“I do, but—.”
“Jess, I don’t concentrate with you around. I’m sure nothing bad will happen tonight, but I need to stay focused, okay? Please wait for me at your place and I’ll come over after.”
Jessie decided to change the subject. If she didn’t promise anything then he couldn’t be too angry when she showed up tonight. For her own peace of mind, she needed to see how things turned out. “What are you going to do with her exactly? Have you thought about that?”
“No, not really. I was mostly thinking about finding her. I suppose I’ll just put her on a plane back to
Toronto
.”
Duncan
sounded torn, like he wanted to honor his obligation to his grandmother, but wasn’t sure it was what for the best.
Jessie hesitated again. This was not her concern, but her fondness for Theresa made her ask. “Won’t she run away again?”
Duncan
sighed deeply. “Maybe, but what else can I do?” Jessie could practically see him running his hands through his raven hair in frustration.
Gently, she said, “I don’t know. It’s none of my business, but couldn’t she stay with you?”
Duncan
sounded like he was choking. “No way! I am not cut out to be a brother at this point. I haven’t even seen my family in more than ten years for a very good reason. I just want to make sure she’s safe and sound and taken care of. That’s as far as I’m willing to go. I like my life the way it is. Uncomplicated.”
He hadn’t seen his family for ten years? Jessie couldn’t imagine that. She’d never gone more than two days without talking to her sister. And before her parents died, it had been the same way with them. Family was everything to her and it seemed unnatural to her to be so segregated from them. Something awful must have happened. Jessie wanted to ask him about this, but it didn’t seem like the right time. Instead she focused on the immediate problem.
“Really?” Then why was he pursuing her exactly? Wasn’t that a sign that something was missing from his life? Jessie was tempted to point this out, but controlled the impulse. She’d intruded enough for one phone call.
“Yeah, but Jess, that doesn’t include you. Can I come over after or not?”
Jessie decided to leave it alone for now. She didn’t pretend to know him that well, but she suspected that he would find it difficult to drop Theresa off at the airport. He just wasn’t that type of man. “I’ll be here, naked and armed with condoms this time.”
“God, you do know what to say, don’t you?” He groaned softly and chuckled. “But I didn’t mean that I was coming over to finish what we started and have my wicked way with you. I just thought you’d want to know what happened at the club.”
“Oh, I do want that, but I also want to get on with this whole seduction thing. How else am I supposed to get some more roses? I think I have a lavender teddy somewhere. Do roses come in lavender?”
His voice had that throaty tone that she loved so much when he said, “I don’t know, but if there are, I’ll find them.”
“So, I’ll see you tonight?” Jessie curled her fingers in the phone cord and imagined his reaction when she showed up at the club tonight. She wondered if there was somewhere she could station herself so
Duncan
wouldn’t see her. She really didn’t want to upset him, but she had to see what happened.
“Definitely. I don’t know what time though. I’ll call you if things get too complicated, or if I’ll be too late, okay?”
“No problem. Bye
Duncan
. Thanks for the flowers. You’re very sweet.”
Gruffly he said, “Glad you like them. Can’t wait to see this lavender thing of yours. Bye.”
Jessie hung up the phone and sighed, leaning down to take another sniff of the roses. He was so easy to talk to, she thought, so kind and concerned about her. She could definitely get used to this.
She froze in mid-sniff. Wait a second, she couldn’t get used to this. If she did she was just going to be sorely disappointed when things didn’t work out. She needed to keep her distance, but how was she supposed to do that when he did things like sending her roses, and taking her calls when he was in the middle of interrogating deviants.
He was making this whole sex-only thing very difficult for her. Why couldn’t he be just a little less great? She should focus on his faults. Jessie took a piece of paper out and began writing a very short list. Now, what were his faults exactly? Let’s see, he’s temperamental, and kind of bossy. Also, he doesn’t seem to want to get involved with his sister. Does that mean he’s selfish? Or does it mean he honestly thinks Theresa would be better off with their grandmother? Either way: not great. But not terrible either.
Why couldn’t he do something aggravating, or have some horrendous personal habit? Like nose picking or jock itching or open mouth breathing. That would make this much easier. She could just have sex with him, and then move on to finding someone more appropriate—someone considerably less great.
The bell over the door jangled and Jessie looked up to see a very worn-out Clay enter the store. He was wearing tinted, Top Gun-style aviator glasses, despite the overcast morning, and his hair looked he’d just walked through a wind tunnel. A giant bottle of Evian was tucked under one arm. He clearly wasn’t his usual dapper self. He yawned and stretched luxuriously, walking stiffly toward Jessie with a half-hearted wave.
“Hey,” Clay croaked, “late night last night, but I had to come in early to get the low-down. So, what happened?” He leaned against the counter and took off his sunglasses, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Setting the glasses down, he finally focused on Jessie and noticed the roses in her hands.
His lethargy disappeared instantly. “Oh, my God. Those are gorgeous!” Clay grabbed the roses from her hands and thrust his face into them, loudly snorting their scent. “Well, you must have been a very good girl last night. Tell Uncle Clay everything.” Clay began looking under the counter for something to put the roses in. The best he could come up with was a discarded plastic Big Gulp glass. He poured some of his Evian water into the glass and began carefully arranging the flowers. He had to set them against the wall to keep them standing as he waited patiently for Jessie to begin her story.
She didn’t, she just smiled at Clay, and shook her head.
“What? You’re not going to tell me?” Clay looked at her like she’d just announced she was shaving her head and becoming a Hare Krishna.
“No, not after you got Jamie all freaked out.” Jessie put her hands on her hips and gave Clay a stern look. “She came to my place last night and chastised me for a half hour about the dangers of meeting strange men at their apartments.”
“Sweetheart.” Clay placed a placating arm around her shoulder. “I can’t help it if your sister is a bit high strung. Besides, if I hadn’t told her and she found out later, I would be one castrated little puppy. And we can’t have that, now can we?” He wiggled his eyebrows at her suggestively.
Jessie shrugged off his arm and gave him a dirty look. “It’s not a terrible idea.”