04 - Shock and Awesome (37 page)

 
   
"No, we were too busy finding out how the hell we missed our guy. What the hell kind of emergency did you have anyway?"

 
   
The fatigue and sadness caught up with me and fat tears prickled the corners of my eyes. In the quiet of the room, I said the words I didn't want to voice. "Lily lost her baby."

 
   
Solomon stared at me for a long moment before running his large hand over his short crop of hair. His face softened, the hard lines of anger disappearing. "Shit. She okay?"

 
   
I shook my head. "No, not at all. I took her to the hospital and stayed all night.
Jord
got there at midnight, but I couldn't leave her. We took her home this morning. My mom is with her now."

 
   
"You should have called," Solomon said at last; and I came this close to snapping. Didn't he pay attention when I said I tried calling? Didn't he see the missed calls?

 
   
"I did. Several times last night. Then, your cell phone wouldn't go through to voicemail. Didn't you see this morning?"

 
   
Solomon reached into his pocket. He tossed the phone onto his desk in annoyance. "Fuck! Battery is dead." He rummaged in his desk drawer, pulled out a charger and plugged the phone in to recharge. "Damn it. Obviously our calls missed each other."

 
   
I would normally take some satisfaction in my boss screwing up, but today wasn't the day. All the same, it was a relief to know he wasn't infallible. "Yeah, so that was my emergency. I'm really sorry I screwed up," I said, in all sincerity. I wouldn't change a thing though. I'd leave my post again and again. On the plus side, I knew who and what were important to me.

 
   
Solomon waved a dismissive hand. "No matter. Lily's more important."

 
   
"Yeah." We were both silent for a moment, just breathing while the tension dissipated. I wondered what Solomon thought about it. I remembered Lily was crying when I left her, and I thought I might cry too. "So, what happened at the house?" I asked. "You said the thief took the bait."

 
   
"We think he came in through the rear of the house, so you're off the hook on that one. Lucas noticed there was something wrong with the cameras, which must have coincided with Delgado arriving, so he sent Delgado to investigate. He entered, got hit over the head, and while he was down, the thief escaped through the front."

 
   
"Oh God. Is he okay?"

 
   
"Yeah, he went to the Emergency Room to get checked over and he's fine. No concussion. Man's got the thickest skull I've ever seen, and I mean that as a compliment."

 
   
"Did he go for the safe?" I asked. "The thief, that is."

 
   
"Looks that way, from what I could see, but he didn't get a chance to open it. Not that he would find anything. We screwed up."

 
   
"Not really. We know either Ben or Justin fell for the ruse, and whoever it was, he screwed up too."

 
   
"Yeah, but there's a good chance they know now that it
was
a ruse. Your cover's probably blown," Solomon pointed out. "This case is done."

 
   
"We don't know that for sure."

 
   
"All the same, don't make any contact with either suspect. If they contact you, we'll discuss what to do. Right now, I don't want to take any risks. I'm one man down and I don't want to risk you getting hurt too."

 
   
"I'm glad Delgado's okay."

 
   
"Me too. He was the last person I expected to see in the ER last night. Your sister took him home to her house."

 
   
That was news to me. It was nice of Serena to pick him up. I made a mental note to check in on them both later. "Wait... you were at the ER too?"

 
   
"I had to take my sister there. She tripped on the stairs. Sprained her wrist and broke a finger."

 
   
"Your sister?" I frowned. "I saw you leave with Anastasia."

 
   
"Anastasia
is
my sister."

 
   
Holy. Guacamole.

 
   
"Anastasia is your sister," I repeated slowly, like a moron.

 
   
"You catch on quick," said Solomon. "I'm glad I hired you."

 
   
"Your sister. Huh. I thought..."

 
   
"You thought what?"

 
   
I looked up to see Solomon’s quizzical expression. Oh, how embarrassing. I was jealous of not the new woman in Solomon's life but his sister. "Nothing, I didn't realize she was your sister, is all." I shrugged like it didn't matter, but it did. It mattered, although I wasn't sure how, and I resisted being so selfish as to think about me right now.

 
   
"My sister is staying for a few weeks until she gets an apartment in the city. She got a job already and she starts soon, so I insisted she stay with me. She was going to help out in the office for a couple weeks, but now she's injured, I told her to rest up."

 
   
"That makes sense," I agreed, remembering Solomon had taken care of his sister and brother when their parents passed. Now that she was injured I felt worse for my less than charitable thoughts towards her. "It must hurt."

 
   
"She took two painkillers, but said it isn't too bad. Her finger is in a splint and she has an ice pack on her ankle. I'm gonna check in on her soon. You need some time off? You want to take the day off?"

 
   
"No, thanks, but I want to keep busy. There isn't much I can do for Lily and she's got
Jord
and my mom. I don't want to get in the way."

 
   
"If you need to leave, tell me. Sometimes family is more important than career," Solomon said, displaying the kind of wisdom I never associated with him before.

 
   
"Thanks, but if we don't get this guy, we may never get another chance," I reminded Solomon. Not that he needed reminding; I was pretty certain it was forefront on his mind. "I know this case is important to you."

 
   
"It would be good to have MPD owe us a favor. Combining the agency business with local law enforcement would be great for the agency, especially if they tell other districts. I told you from the start, this case isn't about the money. It's about building a network of contacts. Montgomery's a big town, but not that big. The higher value clientele will come from elsewhere. We'll take point here."

 
   
"Is that who's paying for the new floor?" I asked, indicating the ceiling.

 
   
Solomon deliberately ignored me, which I thought rude because I really wanted to know what was going on up there. The construction work seemed over, judging by the quiet, and I saw several guys and one woman entering the floor. What was going on, however, remained a mystery. "Write up your report for the file,
Lexi
. And let me know if you get a call."

 
   
"How do you know one of them hasn't left town already?"

 
   
"I put a tail on both of them this morning."

 
   
"Didn't you already have a tail on them?" I asked.

 
   
Solomon's shoulders dropped. "Would you believe that both of them gave the guys the slip last night? I've had men all over town looking for them."

 
   
"How many slip-ups have we had on this case?" I asked aloud, even though I didn’t mean to. I was just thinking it.

 
   
"Too freaking many," sighed Solomon. "But not
any more
. Ben Rafferty and the lord aren't escaping this town without my leave."

 
   
"Yes, Boss."

 
   
~

 
   
I set up office in the boardroom, or the
bored
room, as I called it today. With my laptop and cell phone sitting idly on the table, all I could do was drum my fingers and hope I hadn't been made. While I waited, Lucas buzzed around like a high-tech worker bee, waiting for the moment my phone rang so he could kick in with his recording equipment.

 
   
"Lucas, tell me what's going on upstairs," I said, fixing him with a stare and my straightest, no-nonsense approach.

 
   
Lucas halted like a bunny in headlights. "I. Don't. Know."

 
   
"Yes, you do!"

 
   
"I don't!"

 
   
"Oh, come on! I know you do. Solomon and I already had an argument about you leaving to go upstairs to the mystery control room."

 
   
Lucas pretended to pout. "I don't like it when Mommy and Daddy fight."

 
   
"Then tell me everything." I fixed him with my tell-me-everything stare; the kind that said if he didn't spill all the beans, I would make his life a living hell for the next two weeks, minimum. How I would do that, I didn't know, but neither did he, which was what counted. At that moment, however, when Lucas looked like he might just break under my bluff, my cell phone trilled.

 
   
"Thank God," muttered Lucas. We both leaned over to look at the screen.

 
   
"More like, thank Ben," I interjected. "Guess my cover isn't blown with him."

 
   
"Don't count on it. Give me a second before you answer." Lucas reached for his headphones and hit “Record” on his device. I waited for him to nod, then picked up the phone, hitting “Answer.”

 
   
"Hey," I cooed down the line, my heart beating fast. Was he calling to say hey, or just to boast how he foiled our plans?

 
   
"Hey, sweetheart," said Ben, sounding at ease with the world and not at all like someone who had just committed a crime. "How are you fixed for this evening?"

 
   
"No plans. I thought I'd just take it easy after..." I trailed off, remembering that if Ben were the thief, he would know all about the events of the night before. It would be odd if I didn't mention the break-in. It wasn't like I could have missed it. And if he didn't know...

 
   
"What's wrong?" Ben asked, his voice turning concerned. "Did something happen?"

 
   
Too right, buster, I thought, but maybe it was nothing to do with him. I felt a little better at that. I said, "Someone broke into my house last night."