Authors: Camilla Chafer
Her head shot up. "I didn't do it!"
"We could claim you were pressured, but you never intended to hurt anyone. I could get your sentence reduced by nearly half. You could be paroled in ten."
"And miss ten years of my baby's life? It would be born in prison!"
"I can get you sent to a low security unit designed for women prisoners in your predicament."
"No!" Rob ran his hands threw his hair, his face filled with alarm. "No. If she didn't do it, she won't plead guilty and miss half our baby's childhood. You need to find the evidence to exonerate her!"
"It's not looking good..." Allan started.
"I'll find it," I said, reaching to touch Juliet's knee. "I believe in..." Before I could finish, or offer her a little hope, the door handle rattled and a woman stepped inside.
"Yoohoo!" she called with a cheery wave as she shut the door behind her. Her other arm held a wicker basket, with a checkered cloth lying over the top. She looked around the room, nodding to the lawyer and me, smiling at Rob, then noticing Juliet. Her cheery smile wavered just a moment before she beamed. "It's only me. I brought muffins. Ohmygosh! Juliet! Honey, you're home. That's wonderful! How? I mean... what? I heard what happened but..." she trailed off.
"I'll fill you in later," Juliet said, sighing as she looked at the woman. "This is our friend, Penelope Cera," she said. "Penelope, this is Lexi Graves, the PI I told you about."
"Oh, sure, I remember. Hi!" She set the basket on the coffee table and reached over to shake my hand, her expression warm. "Juliet said she was going to hire you. Does this mean you've taken her case?"
"Yes, I have. I left a message for you. I was hoping to talk."
"We sure will. I'm so pleased she's got someone on her team. Asides from Rob and me anyway. And you are?" she asked, stretching her hand towards the lawyer, shaking his as he introduced himself. "I am so glad I baked a whole batch of muffins now that there's a houseful. I'm sure they'll cheer everything up!"
Privately, I thought it would take a lot more than muffins to cheer anything up in the Harvey/Hart household, but Penelope seemed so solicitous, and so cheerful, that I didn't say anything. Instead, I recalled all the times Lily turned up on my stoop, coffee in hand, determined to make my day.
"I'm going to get started," I told my client as Penelope began to fuss with the basket. "I'll call you soon and make sure you call me if anything happens."
"What are you going to do?"
"Surveillance to start, and some background checks." I didn't mention my plan to grill Solomon some more about his part in the case. I figured it wouldn't help Juliet's peace of mind if she knew I was, literally, sleeping with the enemy... or, at least, working with the enemy's team. Perceiving Solomon as the enemy was, of course, ridiculous. Like me, he simply took a job in good faith. Now that our jobs were intersecting, it was problematic, but could end up being an advantage if he became a valuable resource. Like I told him yesterday, it could behoove us both to have our eyes on the case, eyes that came from different perspectives. Being as convinced of Juliet's guilt as I was of her innocence would hopefully not impede that. I wished my hopes were higher for the lawyer's confidence in the case.
I rose just in time for Penelope to press a napkin-wrapped muffin into my hand. "Lemon surprise," she said with a giggle. "The lemon is the surprise. Surprise!"
"Thank you." It didn't seem like a giggling occasion to me but Penelope looked like the type of person who was determined to be happy, no matter what. Also, my stomach gave a little grumble of anticipation.
"You two sit there. I'll see Lexi to her car," Penelope said, waving Rob back down. "I'll be right back. How's the muffin?" she asked me, guiding me towards the door. I just had time to grab my purse before being ushered outside.
"Smells delicious."
The door shut with a click and Penelope shook out her hair, smiling up at the sun as it edged its way through the clouds. "It's going to be a beautiful day," she announced. "Isn't it terrible?"
"The day?"
"No, Juliet."
"The stalking?"
"The arrest! Rob told me yesterday. How amazing that she's home. They must be so relieved."
"They are, but worried too. You're Juliet's close friend?"
"Yes, and Rob's too. Rob and I have known each other years; then I met Juliet when they got together." Penelope stepped forward, leaving me no choice but to follow her. She was a similar height to Juliet, and a similar build, but her hair was a little longer and it had highlights where Juliet had none.
"I like your highlights," I told her.
Penelope preened. "Thank you. I had them done just last week. So Juliet told me she hired you to look into this stalking thing? I told her, I don't think she has anything to worry about."
"Do you believe that?"
"Absolutely." Penelope gave a resolute nod. "I adore Juliet, but she can be high maintenance. A little highly strung. Not that I'd ever tell her that! Truthfully, odd things have happened, but I think Juliet is overworked and over-stressed. I think she's... oh how do I put it?"
"Making things up?" I suggested.
"No! Oh, no. I really think she believes this stuff. I think her mind is playing tricks on her. That can happen, you know. In people who aren't quite..." She trailed off, biting her lip. "Look, Juliet is great, but she needs looking after, especially now, not someone inflating her insecurities." Penelope gave me a stern look that suggested she didn't think I was helping one bit.
"Do you think Juliet is insecure?"
"I think she has a lot to lose; and that could make a person feel overly worried. I'm really concerned about her. Hopefully, between Rob and me, she will finally get some rest."
"Juliet mentioned you were with her when her car was moved in the coffee shop parking lot." We paused by my car, but I made no attempt to open it.
"Yes, I was, but honestly, I didn't see her park so she could have parked anywhere and then forgotten."
"Is it likely she forgot?"
"I don't know. I guess. Like the time she said money was disappearing from her purse. Ten dollars here, five dollars there. Sometimes a twenty. I just reminded her of how many times we reach into our purse to get a coffee or a lip balm or candy. It's easy to not remember pulling out a bill, right?"
"Right," I agreed, wondering how many times I'd done something similar. It was plausible. Plus, it made me super happy whenever I found a forgotten bill in a jeans pocket or a blazer in my closet. "But there have been other incidents? Can you remember any?"
"Juliet mentioned little things... clothing going missing! Then Rob reminded her of the big clean-out she just did in her closet. He said she must have accidentally sent something to Goodwill, or else she'd find the dress two weeks later, all scrunched up in the corner of the closet. And stuff keeps moving around the house. I said maybe the maid forgot. I know Juliet makes these out to be big things, but they're really not."
"What about the wedding things? Did she mention the things she said she didn't order?"
"Yeah, but it's so weird. They were orders from her computer, right? So, maybe she binge-shopped and was too embarrassed to admit it. I did that once and ordered three purses I didn't need! She knows Rob would hate her going all Bridezilla on him."
"It's a lot of incidents," I pointed out without mentioning the huge price difference between three purses and a ten thousand dollar wedding cake.
Penelope flapped a hand dismissively. "I know. This thing with her job worries me, and I feel awful for not saying ‘yeah, it's definitely a stalker’ especially as she's going crazy trying to figure everything out, but I assure you, I'm looking out for her. That's what a best friend is for. For when you go a little crazy, yeah?"
"Yeah." I let out a laugh, thinking of all the dumb, crazy stuff Lily and I got into over the years. Some of it was barely legal, and some of it was hilarious, but Penelope was right. That's what best friends were for and Lily and I had lifted each other’s spirits many times through the years and put each other back on the right track. I was glad Juliet had someone there for her. Penelope wasn't buying the stalking story, but that wasn't too worrying because her explanations seemed plausible enough to have an air of truth. It still didn't mean Juliet was wrong about being set up.
Could someone really be messing with Juliet though? Making her believe she was crazy so that no one else would believe her insistence that a stalker was to blame for all the incidents? With the clock ticking on her freedom, I had to find out if Juliet were being set up for the final time.
My inconspicuous, little VW was parked a few houses down from Juliet and Rob's house. Far enough away that it wasn't obvious I was watching, but close enough that I didn't need a zoom lens to observe things through my open window. The occupants knew I was there, of course, but the rest of the Bedford Hills neighbors didn't need to know one of their residents was paying me to conduct surveillance. Not that my surveillance was getting me anywhere. Although their lawyer departed more than an hour ago, Juliet and Rob hadn't left the house, or received any visitors since Penelope, who left twenty minutes after the lawyer. Neither the lawyer nor Penelope looked towards me, or acknowledged my presence, which was good since I was doing my best not to draw any attention to myself.
However, that didn't explain why an unmarked police car was suddenly cruising my way; I'd seen the same car in the police lot a number of times. I tried to look inconspicuous as it drew alongside me and the window rolled down. Realizing the obvious, that I caught someone's attention, I turned towards the car, which was now parallel to my window.
"Hey," said the officer, his eyes squarely on me.
I breathed a sigh of relief at seeing my brother, a detective on the burglary squad. "Hey, Jord."
"One of the residents reported a woman sitting in a car."
"And they sent you on such a dangerous mission?" I jested.
"Bedford Hills call, and we roll out the cavalry."
"My job would be much easier if I could stake out Frederickstown." In Frederickstown, no one would give two hoots about a woman sitting in a car for several hours. It was highly probable no one would even notice. It wasn't the best neighborhood, thanks to poor planning. That was back when it was created as a commuter neighborhood; however, the bad public transport link and rising unemployment meant several areas of the sprawling neighborhood only got steadily worse. Bedford Hills, with its smart lawns, expensive cars, and wealthy population was a sharp contrast. Here, people noticed things. In Frederickstown, it was better if you didn't.
"Don't suppose you could take your business over there?" Jord suggested.
I shook my head. "I'm working a case."
"I'll let the residents know you're not scoping out their homes."
"Thanks."
"No problem." The window rolled up and the car gently accelerated away. I sighed and rolled my window up. So much for being inconspicuous. If one resident had noticed me already, then others would too. I could sit on Juliet's house for as long as possible, but reality was leering at me in a particularly ugly way. Working solo might have been okay on some cases, but on a surveillance job like this, with the stakes so high, I needed help and someone to rotate shifts with.
I picked up my cell phone, noting Solomon's terse text message to call him, and thumbed my way to my favorite contacts. Lily was at the top of the list. I hit
dial
and a moment later, she answered.
"Did you solve it yet?" she asked as glasses clinked in the background.
"No."
"Damn shame. I had such faith in you."
"It's a tricky one."
"It's a paying one."
"I like paying."
"You like tricky too."
"What are you up to later?"
"Nothing." She paused. "I feel like I shouldn't have just said that."
"Do you want to help out with surveillance?"
Lily gave a relieved sounding sigh. "Thought you'd never ask!"
"What did you think I was going to suggest?"
"I have no idea. It's hard to tell with you. Hey, do you want to come to my pregnancy yoga class? We could go to next week's?"
"I'm not pregnant."
"It's not until next week!"
"I'm pretty sure I won't be pregnant next week either."
Lily snorted. "No one will actually ask."
"I guess so," I conceded. "But only if I can find someone who isn't either of us to assist me with surveillance. We need more people than just you and me."
"I know just the person."
"Are we related to them?" I had to check. Since I hadn't been the source of any dinner table gossip for a while, I assumed my family members were all looking for some kind of juicy fodder to sustain them. My asking for surveillance help would probably suffice until something really succulent turned up.
"No. It's Ruby. We were just talking about surveillance, and she said she loves it. I'll call her soon. Where are you now?"
"Outside Juliet's house. Want to come?" I gave her the address.
"I'm not far. On my way!"
Lily's Mini pulled up beside my VW. Given how rapidly she got there, I could only guess how many traffic laws she must have violated in her eagerness to join me on the stakeout. "So, what happened?" she asked, dropping into my passenger seat and reaching for my unused binoculars, an old birthday gift from my dad.
"You mean all the exciting stuff that could have happened in the time between me calling you and you getting here?"
Lily nodded eagerly. "Yep, all that stuff."
"Absolutely nothing."
"You're really not selling this gig." She held the binoculars over her eyes and pointed them at Juliet's neighbors until I gave the binoculars a little nudge to the left.
"Sorry. I wish I had more to tell you." I longed for anything to tell her, but was stumped at Juliet's suspicions, and puzzled by the rapid escalation of crimes in her life. My client was convinced someone was messing with her, but her fiancé wasn't absolutely sure; and her best friend, despite trying to be supportive, clearly thought Juliet was losing her mind. If Juliet hadn't just been released from jail on a charge she claimed to be innocent of, even I would have been questioning the merits of the case despite my feelings. One thing I couldn't shake, despite Rob and Penelope's concerns, was Juliet's determination that something was happening, and it was completely out of her control. Juliet appeared to be a smart and capable woman. If I trusted my own gut, shouldn't I trust hers? The only thing I could do was stay put and observe what occurred next. If the stalker tried anything, and I had to hope Juliet's release might spark some kind of suspicious behavior, if the cases were connected, I would be there to see it. I wiggled my butt into the driver's seat and wondered if I could handle the surveillance for that long. After an hour in, I was already semi-numb. "Did I tell you Solomon is working this case too?"
"The team are back together?" Lily asked, hope sparking in her eyes as she dropped the binoculars.
"Uh-uh. The exact opposite. Solomon is working for the other team," I told her, quickly explaining how Solomon's client asked him to investigate Juliet to find out if she were indeed the culprit that all the evidence suggested she was.
"Guess the arrest was a clue," Lily said when I finished. "Case closed for Solomon."
"That's just the thing," I said, frowning as the pieces, again, didn’t fit together in my mind. "Solomon had barely started his investigation, never mind concluded it. Juliet shouldn't have been arrested, as her employer wasn't prepared to go there yet. We think someone else must have tipped off the police."
Solomon and I already discussed that and agreed that neither of us had a clue as to who it might have been. I wondered if he was now a step ahead. I also wondered how I could find out.
"Who?"
"Good question." There was a big question mark over the stalker and the snitch. Since I was working the theory that the mystery person had access to her home and car, it didn't seem crazy that the perp could have gotten into her workplace too. I just wished I knew why the stalker was so committed to screwing up Juliet's life. And why he or she would go to such amazing lengths. This could have easily resulted in Juliet gaining a lengthy prison term. Jealousy was one thing, but this degree of envy required a huge dose of hate. Did Juliet warrant that in some unwitting way? She seemed so nice, it was hard to believe; although I'd met fraudsters and serial killers who seemed nice too. Instead of focusing on her manners, I wondered if Juliet had a very big, scary skeleton in her closet that she preferred not to share with me.
"You know who answers questions like that?"
I did, but it seemed pretty annoying to have to ask for the answers.
"Solomon!" Lily yelled when I didn't say anything. She clapped her hands gleefully. "Let's call him and interrogate him."
"Solomon cannot be interrogated."
"Have you tried?"
"Yes. Several times."
"Then you are clearly not doing it right."
"Also, he didn't know when I asked him yesterday."
"Today's a new day."
I glanced across to Lily and then down to the bump covered by a soft sweater. She was absently rubbing it with one hand. I wanted to rub it too, but it seemed weird. Since I wouldn't rub her belly when she wasn't pregnant, I figured she might not appreciate it now. "Do you want to try?"
"Do you want to rub my belly?"
I flinched. "Are you psychic?"
"Trade. You say hi to the baby, and I'll grill Solomon."
"Deal," I agreed, gently placing my hand on her belly. It felt very hard under the sweater, and every so often, I perceived a gentle ripple, which I hoped was the baby. "I think I feel it moving!"
Lily speed-dialed Solomon and put her phone to her ear. "Hi, Solomon, it's me! Yes, Lily! How did you...? Oh, yeah... I always forget about how smart cell phones are. Yes, Lexi is fine. No, we're not hiding... No, we're not stuck somewhere either. No, we didn't do anything illegal!" She looked across at me, giving me an open-jawed, incredulous expression as she frowned and jabbed a finger at the phone in mock outrage. I wasn't sure why his questions appeared to surprise her so much. They seemed legitimate to me, given our history, and also since the first dead body practically landed in my lap. "Actually, I'm helping Lexi with her investigation. We're running surveillance. No, I'm not wearing a hat! What kind of question is that? Anyway, we need to know..."
I flapped my hands at her. I didn't want Solomon to sense I desperately needed
his information
to kickstart my own. We already discussed a mutual collaboration, but he didn't need to know how much mine lagged behind his, at least, not just yet. It wasn't only because my case was fresh and I'd barely begun, but also owing to my utter lack of resources, which I still lamented. I had none; Solomon had everything he needed. It was yet another reminder of what I missed by going solo. Once again, doubt crept into my mind at pursuing such a network-necessary career alone.
Lily was frowning at me so I dropped my hands and leaned against the headrest, letting her continue, "How did the police know to arrest Juliet? Uh-huh. Huh. Uh-huh. Really? That's interesting. No, Lexi didn't ask me to ask you! She's not even listening. Can you hear? Silence. Lexi, Solomon is asking if you want to go to the movies later?"
I rolled my eyes since Solomon already clearly deduced I was listening. "Yes."
"Yes, she does. She'll see you at eight." Lily hung up.
"He didn't tell you anything?" I concluded.
"Actually, he did. He said the police got the tipoff in the first place about Juliet's trades, so they made some preliminary investigations. Then they got another tipoff yesterday that she was about to make a run for it, and they had no choice but to arrest her. She was holding a one-way ticket to some place in Russia, a country that doesn't observe extradition rights to the US."
"That seems very unlikely."
"I know. It's much cheaper just to buy a return."
"No, I mean, she wouldn't just book a ticket for herself, alone. What about her fiancé?"
"Perhaps she plans on ditching him."
"She's pregnant! They're getting married."
"That would be a very strange way of letting someone know you're not into them."
"I don't think she booked that ticket. She already experienced several incidences of credit card fraud."
"Solomon said the police have a copy of the ticket and also surveillance footage from the airport that clearly shows Juliet paying for the ticket in cash."
"Seriously?" I winced. No wonder Detective Donahue was so convinced of Juliet's guilt.
"Yep. I told you I could make Solomon sing like a canary."
"I'm impressed."
"It's all in the way I word stuff. Last night, I told Jord I wanted to be covered in whipped cream and he just..."
I stuck my fingers in my ears and shut my eyes. "I don't want to know!" I told the darkness.
Lily pulled a finger from my ear. "You always wanted to know this stuff BJ..."
"BJ?"
"Before Jord!"
"Ohmygosh! Do not abbreviate like that!"
"Whatevs!"
"Jord is my brother and there are some things I cannot unsee or unhear."
"Apparently, you need to see the surveillance footage," she said, switching topics. "Solomon said he would email photos to you and to remind you to call him."