04 - Shock and Awesome (26 page)

 
   
"Is that unusual?" asked Helen
Callery
.

 
   
Lucas shrugged. "Not really. A lot of people don't show up online for whatever reasons. He could just be a very private person. Neither participate in social media, except for Lord Justin's Wikipedia page, but many society figures have those. It doesn't mean he participates in it. I can't access any bank records, and neither is registered to drive here. Lord Justin rents a place, while Ben Rafferty has a suite at The Montgomery. I haven't found the relatives he mentioned in Boston, but maybe they have a different name."

 
   
"Ben definitely drives," I interrupted. "He has a Mercedes, but I've also seen him in a town car." I paused while Lucas made a note. "I haven't seen Lord Justin drive, but maybe he just doesn't like driving here. He showed me a photo of his car in England."

 
   
"Maddox, what have you and Blake put together?"

 
   
"We're still coordinating with other jurisdictions at this point, sending out feelers for where else this guy might have been. So far, we can't connect either the lord or Rafferty with any of the areas. We got some good surveillance footage and photos to work with now ,so we're distributing the pictures in the hopes of getting a hit. It's a small possibility. This guy's a chameleon."

 
   
Blake stepped forward, straightening up. "Perhaps
Lexi
can find out if either of these guys have any distinguishing features, like scars or tattoos, that we can run through our databases," she suggested.

 
   
Everyone looked at me. Again.

 
   
"Nuh-uh." I shook my head. "I'm not getting their clothes off and asking them to hold still for a photo."

 
   
"She's right," agreed Solomon, his voice growing cold. "I'm not putting
Lexi
in that position. This is a strictly hands-off case."

 
   
"Blake wasn't implying that
Lexi
screws the guys!" said Maddox.

 
   
Solomon turned slowly from the whiteboard he was perusing. In a low, angry voice, he said, "You think I'd let my employees screw a target?"

 
   
"No, of course not. I was saying Blake didn't mean..."

 
   
I held up a hand. "Just for the record, I am not screwing anybody." I pointed at myself, making a circular motion with my hand. "Closed for business here."

 
   
"If you happen to see anything unusual. Any birthmarks, scars, that sort of thing, make a note," said Blake, appealing to me directly. It was a good call, I decided, not that I would tell her that. Instead, I simply nodded.

 
   
"No," said Solomon. "
Lexi
, do not put yourself in any situation that makes you uncomfortable, got it? Detective Blake, you want to get their clothes off, do it yourself."

 
   
"Hey, whoa!" Maddox stepped in, but Blake put a hand on his forearm and stopped him. The familiarity hit me like a soccer ball in the stomach, washing away the brief moment I felt sorry for her landing in the middle of a Solomon and Maddox pissing contest.

 
   
"I apologize if I caused offense," she said. "I wouldn't expect
Lexi
to do anything unsafe. Just if one of the guys happens to suggest taking his shirt off in the park, all I'm saying is... encourage him. That's all. No impropriety. There's someone watching your back at all times you're with these guys, and we'll get the photos."

 
   
"What will you do with the photos?" asked Helen, looking slightly more interested.

 
   
Blake smiled. "We'll have to take a really good look at them." I couldn't help smiling too. No harm in seeing a hot guy minus his shirt, then perusing the photos later. After all, it was in the course of putting away a bad guy. It would be a public service! I loved my job.

 
   
"Any news on the jewelry theft? Anyone trying to get rid of the items?" Solomon asked, moving on. I guess he wasn't so keen on checking out the photos.

 
   
"No." Maddox shook his head. "Blake?"

 
   
"We've canvassed all the local pawn shops, and jewelers, to see if anyone's been approached. They all say no, but that doesn’t mean they haven't. My gut says the guy is lying low and not attempting to shift them. He probably stashes them until he's ready to move on. Or he might even smelt the gold, remove the jewels, and sell the pieces individually to reset them."

 
   
"Can he do that?" Solomon asked.

 
   
She shrugged. "It depends on his skill level. We don't know for a fact he can't, so it's an angle we're working. I suspect it's too time-consuming, so I think he'll just sell them when he hits the next town. He's patient, and not desperate for cash."

 
   
"So, what now? He's already done a big number on one of my clients," said Helen. "What could he be planning next?"

 
   
"Good question," said Solomon. "Anyone? What's the M.O. suggest, Maddox?"

 
   
"Could be anything. This guy changes how he operates every time. The only thing we can anticipate is..."

 
   
"He's getting ready to leave," I finished. "We've been on the case for two weeks and he already pulled off a big heist."

 
   
"And I came to you six weeks ago," added Helen, nodding to Solomon.

 
   
"We've worked on this four weeks," said Maddox.

 
   
Solomon said what we all knew, what we were all awaiting to be confirmed. "He'll be out of Montgomery in two weeks, max."

 
   
"What's the next step, boss?" asked Fletcher, who sat there quietly the whole time, just taking everything in.

 
   
"I want full time tails on the lord and Rafferty. Every movement, we'll know about.
Lexi
, Helen is throwing a ball for her clients. You're on the list. She'll tell you what you need to know. Get information out of the suspects. We'll go over their files again and talk later on what you can get out of them. Maddox, Blake, you got anything else to put in play?"

 
   
"No. We'll keep working our angles and the theft leads. If we don't get this guy within a week, I hate to say it, but I think we should turn this over to the FBI. I spoke to my contact. They're interested," said Maddox.

 
   
Solomon clapped his hands together. "Let's catch this guy first. Go to work, people."

 
   
The group dispersed as Solomon made his goodbyes to Helen
Callery
, who promised to call me later with the ball's details, then the detectives. Meanwhile, I lingered in his office, waiting for him to brief me on just how to catch the targets in a lie, or even better, a truth.

 
   
"You okay?" Solomon asked me, shutting the door to the office, and drowning out the general phone noises and chatter of my colleagues getting to work.

 
   
"Never better."

 
   
"You're not gonna do anything dumb per Blake's idea?" he continued, eyeing me suspiciously. At least, I thought it was suspiciously. Jealously could have worked too, if it weren't such a puzzling idea.

 
   
"No. Definitely not. I do not sleep with guys who might steal my stuff. Though there was that one time..." Solomon waited for me to finish, but I cringed, and shut up. "I have better taste now. Sometimes. So, how do you suggest I trap this guy?" I asked as my cell phone started to vibrate. I pulled it out, seeing Justin's name appear on the screen.

 
   
"It's Lord Justin," I told him, "What do I do?"

 
   
"Take it. Find out what he wants."

 
   
I counted to three, put on my best phone voice, and answered. "Justin, what a surprise! An exhibition... I'd love to. Yes. Yes. Sounds wonderful. All right then. I'll see you in an hour." I hung up. "I have a date."

 
   
"Exhibition? In an hour?" Solomon asked.

 
   
"Oh, good listening. Yes, there's a visiting exhibition at the town museum. He was just walking past and says he recalled I liked art and might want to see it, then have a coffee."

 
   
"Do it."

 
   
"I will!" I looked at my jeans. "Is this okay for a date to a museum?"

 
   
Solomon took a very long look. "You always look perfect," he told me. My heart skipped a beat and butterflies moved into my belly. "Head over there now. I'll send pointers to your phone."

 
   
I stood, reaching for the door handle, already checking through my mental list of things I could ensnare Justin with when Solomon said my name softly. "Yes?" I turned to him.

 
   
"Clothes on," said Solomon, and I laughed.

 
   
"You got it, boss."

 
   
~

 
   
I got to the town museum, a big, old building, complete with pillars and wide stone steps, before Justin. Built over a hundred years ago, the place gave the illusion of grandeur and was our cultural hub. They hosted all kinds of traveling exhibits, talks, and the occasional concert, though I couldn't remember the last time I visited.

 
   
Taking advantage of the warm afternoon, I parked myself on the steps and enjoyed the sun and people-watching while I waited. I wasn't all that sure what I would ask him, how I could trap him in a lie, but I was sure that Fletcher was parked somewhere nearby, ready to listen to everything we said before it got analyzed later.

 
   
They say it's about first impressions, but for me, it was usually the second date that confirmed things. While I was giddy about dating a lord on our first date, and bowled over by his handsome face, the second date didn't go so well.

 
   
Justin was, in a word, boring. He droned on about places he'd been, name-dropping frequently, but where Ben made even the most mundane thing sound interesting, exciting or funny, Justin couldn't have flipped the switch harder in the other direction. An hour in, and I found myself struggling just to feign interest.

 
   
"Tell me,
Lexi
," he said, offering me a seat on the padded bench under a long window overlooking the rear lawn. "Would you marry a man like me?"

 
   
"I, uh, what now?"

 
   
"Not now, of course, darling. We've only known each other ten minutes, but perhaps in the future? It used to be done all the time, you know."