Mad, Bad and Blonde (24 page)

“It’s a long story.”

“Fair enough. But we’re agreed that you won’t tell your father, and I won’t tell your father, right?”

“Sounds good to me,” Faith said.

“That doesn’t mean you can’t talk to me. Are you and Caine working together on his dad’s closed case?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“I can understand why. Your father would have a hissy fit if he knew.”

“You can’t tell him.”

“So now that’s two things I’m not supposed to tell him,” Abs said. “That you’re seeing Caine
and
working on his father’s closed case. You’d owe me big time for keeping those things silent.”

Faith didn’t like the sound of that.

“Why are you interested in the case anyway?” Abs said. “I mean, I can understand why Caine would find it hard to accept that his dad was guilty, but what’s up with you?
You
don’t think his dad was innocent, do you?”

“I don’t know.”

Abs shook her head. “I warned you about getting emotionally involved in a case.”

Faith didn’t waste her time denying her emotional state of mind. “Haven’t you heard of trusting your gut?”

“Yeah, I’ve heard of it. I just don’t believe in it.”

“Come on. Surely you’ve had a case where you sensed something was wrong?”

“You mean like feminine intuition?” Abs scoffed.

“Intuition period.”

“Intuition is fine if you’re reading palms but not for investigative work. We have to discover the facts. Emotions weaken your objectivity and adversely affect your judgment. So much for you being tough.”

“Sometimes taking the easy way out is just that. Easy. It’s much tougher to question decisions.”

“Which just leaves you indecisive. The case is closed. There’s no bringing Caine’s father back from the dead. You should leave it alone.”

“Why are you so vehement about this? Do you know something?”

“Yes. I know you’re making a mistake in digging up the past.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t think you’re tough enough to face what you might find out.”

“What do you think I’ll find?”

“My intuition tells me it won’t be something good,” Abs said in a mocking voice before walking away.

Which left Faith wondering what Abs was hiding and how it affected this case.

Caine called Faith three days later on Monday as she was walking home from work. The “Don’t Stop Believin’ ” ringtone had a new meaning for her now. It didn’t just apply to baseball but also to her convoluted feelings for Caine.

“Just a heads-up that I’m going to be doing a surveillance on Nolan Parker tonight,” he said. “So don’t mess it up.”

So much for Caine being nice to her. “I won’t mess it up. Thanks for inviting me to join you.”

“I’m not inviting you. I’m telling you not to interfere.”

“The best way to ensure that is to include me in the surveillance process. Two sets of eyes are better than one. Remember, I’m the one who got Nolan to speak to us in the first place.”

Silence.

“Are you still there?” she said,

“Be ready in fifteen minutes.”

She had to sprint the last block, but she was wearing her commuter shoes, so she made it in time to race inside and change her work outfit into something much more casual and nondescript.

She had her hair stuffed into a baseball cap, and it wasn’t even a White Sox one. Just a plain navy blue cap to go with her plain navy blue T-shirt and plain jeans.

“Is it safe to assume that I have permission to let Caine in the building?” Yuri asked her as she paused at the building’s front door.

“It’s not safe to assume anything where Caine is concerned,” Faith said.

“Oh no. What did he do now?”

“Nothing.”

“I thought you two were . . . uh . . . getting along better.”

Faith sighed. “You heard he spent the night, right?”

Yuri didn’t reply.

“It isn’t the way it looks.”

“I don’t judge,” Yuri said.

“He was just being nice.”

Yuri nodded. “Right.”

“I know it’s hard to believe.”

“Nearly impossible,” Yuri agreed.

“Really, he was just being nice. I’d had too much to drink and got sick, and he stayed to make sure I was okay. That’s all it was.”

“If you say so.”

“I do. And don’t say anything to anyone else about this.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” Yuri held the door open for her as she hurried outside to hop into Caine’s Mustang.

“Is this surveillance on foot or are we tailing him by car?” she asked, swinging her backpack onto the floor in front of her.

“The car,” Caine said.

“Then you really should have a more inconspicuous vehicle, preferably something blue.”

“Why? Is that your favorite color?”

“No, it’s the most common car color. I’ve been doing my research. Brushing up on my PI skills.”

“This isn’t meant to be a training mission.”

“I don’t mind training you,” she said.

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Oh, you thought you’d train me.” She laughed. “I can assure you that’s not necessary. You still haven’t told me why you’re doing this surveillance tonight. Did something happen?”

“Nolan called Fred Jr. today and asked for a meeting tonight.”

“How do you know that?”

“I talked to Fred Jr. today. Met him.”

“You didn’t tell me you were going to do that.”

“I’m telling you now.”

“Where’s Buddy tonight? Will he be tailing us?”

“No. He’s taking your grandmother out to dinner at O’Sullivan’s tonight.”

“She didn’t tell me that.”

“I guess you don’t know everything then, do you?”

“I didn’t say I know everything.” She almost added that she knew where to find information she didn’t know, before remembering that was a librarian’s line. And she was no longer a librarian.

She had checked out Buddy, however. He was a Chicago cop for twenty years, as was his son and even his grandson Logan. After retiring, Buddy opened his investigation business over two decades ago. He was seventy-eight, owned his own home and had no major debt.

Which she supposed made him okay to take out her grandmother.

“What was your impression of Fred Jr.?” Faith asked.

“A brainiac chemist following in his father’s footsteps. Not as bad a pain the ass as Nolan Parker. Fred Jr. made no derogatory comments regarding my dad.”

“Was he as . . . uh . . . confident as Nolan?”

“That wasn’t confidence Nolan displayed. That was self-aggrandizement.”

“Agreed.”

“A famous football coach once said empty barrels make the most noise.”

“So you’re a football fan as well as a Cubs fan?”

Caine eyed her suspiciously. “Why do you want to know?”

“No reason. I was just making conversation.”

“We don’t make conversation on surveillance.”

“By ‘we,’ are you referring to Marines or PIs? Because I’ve actually had my PI license longer than you’ve had yours. Not that I’m bragging or anything.”

“Right. You’re just being self-aggrandizing.”

“I am not.” She socked his arm. “Take that back.”

“And you hit like a girl.”

“Only when I want to. You know I’m capable of doing much worse.” She shot him a look, reminding him of what she’d done to him back in Positano.

He rubbed his chest and nodded his acknowledgment before parking down the street from Nolan Parker’s home.

“You see how much better it is when we work together instead of against each other?” Faith was feeling surprisingly optimistic tonight. She wasn’t sure why. Maybe because today she’d successfully completed the case about the Chicago Streets and Sanitation worker who took off to take ballroom dancing lessons whenever his second cousin, a dance instructor, was available. It turned out that Lisa was a huge fan of
Dancing with the Stars
, and this was Robbie’s way of hoping to impress her with his skills. Faith hadn’t discovered anything to indicate that Robbie knew about Lisa’s inheritance or that he was in any kind of financial difficulty. A happy ending for a change.

So far that wasn’t true for the Haywood case. Faith hadn’t finished her investigation yet, but it appeared that Douglas Haywood really had lost millions. Both parties were presently seeking counseling to see if there wasn’t a way to stay together until the economy improved to prevent further financial losses. The counseling seemed to help defuse their situation somewhat. Not that Faith had given up on her asset search yet.

She wasn’t one to give up easily.

“Why the look?” Caine asked.

“What look?”

“Are you bored?”

“No.”

“I am.”

“Gee, thanks. Answer me this. Why is it that no one wants to talk to us like normal people? Why do we have to keep following them around to get answers? Don’t they realize it makes them look suspicious?”

“They don’t care.”

“Well, they should.”

“Consider it a chance to improve your PI skills.”

“As I’ve stated previously, my PI skills are fine, thank you very much. I fooled you in Italy, didn’t I?”

“Hey, what happened to those sandals of yours? The ones you had made there for you?”

“I left them in Positano.”

“That’s a shame. They looked good on you.”

His compliment made her realize how small the interior of the car really was. She reached for her backpack. “I, uh, I brought some food for us.”

“Oh yeah? What do you have?”

“Trail mix and baby carrots.”

“Rabbit food. I got the good stuff.” He reached into the storage console and removed some beef jerky and a small bag of Doritos.

She shuddered. “How can you eat that?”

“Easily. Watch me.”

Before he could take a bite, Nolan strolled out of his house and headed toward his car, a Prius.

Faith nudged Caine and whispered, “It’s blue. I told you it’s the most common color for a car.”

“We have to make out,” Caine replied, dropping the junk food and tugging her into his arms.

“What?”

“He’s looking this way. Pretend we’re making out, but keep an eye on him.”

Caine’s mouth was millimeters from hers, and she was supposed to stay calm enough to watch Nolan? Talk about self-discipline. She nervously licked her lips, which made Caine growl softly.

“He’s pulling out.” Her words sounded unintentionally erotic. But maybe that was just her. Her mind seemed overwhelmed by sex at the moment, which is why she didn’t protest when Caine kissed her hard for a quick second before following Nolan, keeping a car or two space between them.

Nolan’s vanity plates—IMGenius—made tailing him a breeze. He pulled into a convenience store about three miles away.

“He’s meeting Fred Jr. in a convenience store?”

“Maybe he’s picking up some beef jerky and Doritos,” Caine said as he parked in the opposite end of the strip mall.

“He doesn’t strike me as the beef jerky type.”

“You’re right.

“Shouldn’t we go in there after him?”

“Fred Jr.’s car isn’t here yet.”

“Maybe he parked it somewhere else.”

“Nope. He just pulled in.” Caine peeled his T-shirt off, revealing the navy blue wife beater tank top he wore beneath it. He yanked on a pair of aviator sunglasses and a Cubs baseball cap. “Showtime.”

“What about me?”

“You wait here.” He was gone before she could protest.

He wasn’t the only one who could change their appearance in a heartbeat. She peeled off her own T-shirt to reveal a slutty halter top with bedazzled nipples on it, a gag gift from her bridal shower. She donned a pair of cat’s-eye sunglasses rimmed with rhinestones and popped some gum in her mouth as she stepped out of Caine’s Mustang.

She found Caine standing in front of the condom section. She slipped her arm around his waist. “Shopping, baby?” Her voice was low and husky as she went for a porn-star sound.

His initial double take made her feel good, but the anger she felt emanating from him made her heart skip. Or maybe it was the way he grabbed her and pulled her close. “You disobeyed orders,” he growled against her cheek.

“You’re not in the Marines anymore,” she growled right back before freezing at the sound of Nolan’s voice.

“I think our phones are bugged.”

“Why?” A man with a nasal male voice asked the question. This must be Fred Jr. Both men were in the opposite aisle.

“Maybe something to do with the ARC case,” Nolan said.

“But you’re not involved in the lawsuit.”

“I know. But it feels like someone has been following me. How about you? Have you felt the same thing?”

“Yeah, I have.”

“Who do you think it is?”

“I don’t know. Maybe Karl’s son the Marine.”

Caine didn’t say a word, but she felt him stiffen, and not in a sexy way but in a warrior-ready-for-battle way.

“Why the hell would Karl’s son be following me?” Nolan said.

“I don’t know,” Fred Jr. said. “Maybe it’s not him. Maybe it’s the lawyers. Maybe they’ve got investigators checking out anyone who worked at ARC’s research facility during that time.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

“Since I am suing them, that’s probably who’s following me,” Fred Jr. said.

“You should have warned me,” Nolan said. “I wouldn’t have arranged to meet with you if I’d known you were being tailed. Don’t call me again.”