Stilettos & Scoundrels (52 page)

“This is very complicated, Pres, and I just have to ask that you trust me. I can explain everything. I promise. Just not right now.”

“We’re not leaving here until you tell me.”

“I just need you to believe me when I say I didn’t kill anyone then or now
,
if that crossed you
r mind
.”

“Don’t get all dramatic,
Cooper.” I turned my
head to
smile
at the
approaching
waitress
,
wh
o sat our
drinks and breads
ticks down on the table. I
turned back to
Cooper
. “I know you didn’t kill anyone then or now. I trust you, I really do, though I’m not sure Helen Daniels does
.
I just don’t know why you can’t trust me.”

As I
said the wo
rds, I realized I
really did trust him. Even with no idea what he had been d
oing for the last ten years, I knew in my
heart he was a good person.

“What are you getting at with the Helen Daniels comment?”

“When I saw her the other day in the warehouse
,
she mentioned
that
you had ties to the
M
ob and might not be someone who could be trusted. Not that I believed her. I just thought it strange she would say that.
But then I saw all those other things you have kept from me, and, well, this all seems more and more complicated.
”

“What a bitch!”
Cooper
angrily spat out. “Sorry
,
Pres, it’s just that who the hell does she think she is
,
judging anyone else
?
”

“
Cooper,
don’t let it get to you
,
but why do you think she said that
?
I mean she has to have a reason to feel that way.”

“She knows I know
people
in Vegas from when we were there and
from
the
Senator’s
gambling issue.
She also knows about the murder charge. It’s not something I hide from potential clients, not in the field I’m in. Though it seems to give me more street cred than anything else.
I’m sure she has just made up something in her head
to explain it all and now
she believes.”

“Were you working for them nine months ago in Vegas, rather than
just
six months
ago like
you told me?
”

“No. It’s where we first met. They had inquired about my services
,
and we had a meeting. We all happened to be in Vegas at the same time
,
so they asked me to come along and we finalized the details after.”

“What about the murder indictment?”

“Geez
,
Pres. Can’t you just leave it alone?”

“I’m sorry
,
Cooper
. I just want to get it all out and on the table.”

“I was working security for someone
who was
trying to get out of his
M
ob ties. People were after him and
there was
a confrontation. It was all self defense, which is why
the
charges were dropped.”

“See
?
W
as that so hard
?
That is nothing you need to hide from me.”

He sat there
looking into my
eyes, his gaze
never wavering. It dawned on me
that he really did care what I thought. It made me want to throw my
arms around him a
nd hold on for dear life. I
could see
from the torment on his face that the possibility of having to tell me about all this
had been affecti
ng him deeply for some time. I
ha
ted to see him troubled. I
wanted to take all that pain away.

“It doesn’t matter what I think,
Cooper,” I
said again, reaching out
to
grasp his hand and meet his gaze. “But if you really want to know, I don’t think you did anything wrong. I know what kind of person you are, or at least I think I do, and I know what you are and aren’t capable of. The truth needs to come out though, Koop.”

“I know it does
,
Presley
.
”
H
e paused to take a breath. “And there is something I need you to do for me.”

We
talked all through lunch,
and I
a
sk
ed
him why he took Lisa Simmons to Betty’s. He claimed
that
she kept following him everywhere
, and I
was inclined to believe him
. I mean, who could blame her.
Cooper wanted me to ask my
mother what she might know about Bobby a
nd his gambling problem. I
made sure he knew h
e would really owe me
for that one.
Cooper
finally
agreed
that
there
might be a
relation
ship between the two men with gambling problems and the Senator’s death. I
wasn’t looking forward to
having that conversation with my
mother, but
I
was willing to
take one for the team. I
tried to talk
Cooper into talking to my
mother himself, but he wouldn’t have any part of it. He said she was too scary
,
and he would rather tak
e on the Mob barehanded. I
couldn’t argue with that logic.

“What are you going to be doing while I am braving the lion’s den, Cooper?” I asked.

“I need to head over to Helen’s.”

“What!” I yelled, giving him a small shove. “Were you going to keep that from me? I thought we had an understanding?”

Cooper knew that he was getting her riled up and he loved it. There was something in her eyes when they were on fire with anger that just made her all the more attractive to him.
“I wasn’t purposely trying to keep it from you, Presley. I am just going to make care of this with Helen while you go talk to your mom. Not a big deal.”
He chuckled to himself because he knew she’d think it was a very big deal.

“I’m going with you,” I said stubbornly.

“Ummm…no, you’re not.”

“If you want me to talk to my mother for you, then I will be going to Helen’s with you.”

“Okay, fine,” Cooper said like he was giving in, but secretly, he was pleased.
He wouldn’t mind spending some more time with her, even if it was under this circumstance.

Cooper and I
headed up Main Street to Davis Street. Helen lived on the opposite side of town from Mama Risotto’s, so
we
had to go through town. At this time of day, there wasn’t much traffic, so it wasn’t bad. Hell, there wasn’t traffic at any
time during the day.
Streets here were so unlike
city streets where driving or walking could be like dodging bullets in
a
war zone.
Cooper
turned down Davis
Street
and had to go down about another mile.
The
Daniels’
house w
as a mansion, the biggest house in town
and p
robably in all surrounding areas too.

While
Cooper was
driving,
I checked mys
elf in the mirror.
I had taken great pains to blow out my
hair so
that
it
would
look shiny and straight for lunch with
Cooper
,
and
it still looked fabulous. Adding a touch more Red Popsicle lip gloss and some powder to
cover the shiny spots made me
look pretty darn good
, if I did say so my
self. It wouldn’t do to
go see Helen without looking my
absolute best
, especially considering the way I had looked the last few times I ran into Helen.

Cooper could see her out of the corner of his eye and was appreciating the view, although he already thought she looked great.
Women.
Why they always needed to put all the junk on their faces he would never know. They usually looked so much better without it.
“You look fine, Pres.”

“I’m not sure Helen will approve of my outfit. Not exactly her conservative style.” My
outfit
had been planned
more around driving
Cooper
a little crazy,
rather than on visiting Helen,
so
it
was more sexy
than usual. Oh well, nothing I
could do
about it now. At least I
had some killer shoes on
—
in many ways. These heels were killing
me
! However, for graphit
e, snakeskin four-inch heels, I
could live with a little
—
okay, a lot
—
of discomfort.

“Well, I wouldn’t worry much about what Helen thinks because you, my dear, will be staying in the car.”

“No, I’m…”

Cooper cut me off. There was only so much he was going to let me push my way into. “The deal is you stay in the car. Or I take you back right to your car right now.”

I could see by the set of Cooper’s jaw that he wasn’t going to change his mind, so I thought I would just have to try a different angle. I just sat in my seat and tried to decide my next move.

Cooper looked over at her and thought her pouting was cute, though he was a little suspicious that she had given up so easily.
What is going on in that pretty little head of hers?
He watched her look away from the rearview mirror and followed her gaze over to Helen’s house peeking through the trees: a beautiful white colonial with navy blue shutters. The whitewashed porch wrapped around the entire house, which had to be about five thousand square feet.

“I can’t imagine living in a house like that,” I said. I
couldn’t imagine anyone needing all this space. It looked like something you might find at Martha’s Vineyard. It had been so long since
I
travel
ed
this way
, I
had forgotten how big it was. I
was in awe. The house was amazing. It had been in the
Davis Family
,
Helen’s maiden name and hence the street’s name
,
for years
,
so it was an older home. There were three sections where the roof peaked up, sort of like turrets in a castle
and all the rooms on the upper level had step-out balconies.
Still studying
the hou
se, I didn’t notice Cooper had come to a stop until I saw that we were right behind
a parked car.
Who the hell is parked here in the bushes instead of parking up by the house?
I
laughed
,
realizing it was Chris’ car.
Hot damn!
He was here visiting Helen
,
and they didn’t want anyone to know
, judging by the way his car was out here rather than in the driveway. I
would find this even funnier if
Chris
hadn’t just
broken Katy’s heart. I just wished I
had a camera. This would be great to capture on film because who would believe it.

Cooper had
pulled
up behind
Chris’ car and parked in the next somewhat-secluded spot.
I asked, “Are you sure we should park so close to Chris’ car?”

“It’ll be fine. If he’s here to see Helen, there’s no way he’s going to leave before I do.” Cooper opened the door to get out of the car. He shut the door and leaned though the open window, sliding his shades to the end of his nose. “Don’t go anywhere, Pres.”

“Wouldn’t think of it.”

“Right.”

I watched Cooper’s back as he walked away from the car, around the hedge, and presumably up the driveway. I couldn’t see that far.
Damn hedge.
I pulled a nail file out of my purse, but after a few seconds, I tossed it back in my purse. I was so frustrated that Cooper was up getting who knows what kind of information while I was stuck in the car. It was so unfair. Forget this. I wasn’t staying put. I
tiptoed up the driveway and cut acro
ss the yard the first chance I
got. The yard was heavily tree
-lined, so I
wasn’t really worried about anyone from the house seeing
me. Plus, I
doubted Helen and Chris were sitting in the par
lor looking out the window. I
knew Helen had a few servants, but
I
hop
ed
they were too busy to notice me
crossing the lawn.
So far, so good
, I
thought
, making my
way up to the house
. Until I saw the police tape.
Crap.
I had forgotten for a moment that this was the scene of a crime and that there were sure to be police and FBI keeping an eye on the place. Undeterred by a tiny obstacle like that, I continued around the back until I was
close en
ough to look in the windows. I slowly lifted my
head up and peered in the
window, then quickly lowered my
self back down because it was the kitchen
. It
must be the gathering p
lace for the staff. At least I
knew where most of the staff was right now.