3 Bad Guys Get Caught (10 page)

“Wait a minute,” Dennis cut it, “are you
telling me that after all the work we did, the Treasury won’t get any credit
for the case?”

“Sure the Treasury will get some credit,
but frankly, I couldn’t care less if all the glory went to the Feds. They have
the evidence; now it’s their turn to put it to use. My relationship with Aileen
is much more important to me,” Laskin paused. “I thought she was going to turn
me down, but she said yes.”

“I told you that you would find a way to
convince her,” said Janet. Aileen Finnegan had plenty of reasons to hold
grudges against all three of them. While Cornelius Finnegan had abused his
powers as a government official, he was Aileen’s father, and the fact that Laskin,
Dennis, and Janet had helped in putting Finnegan in jail would be enough to
view them as mortal enemies for most people, but somehow, Aileen had found it
in her heart to forgive them all. Or to be more exact, the credit belonged to
Laskin who had hopelessly fallen in love with Aileen during the investigation
and refused to let go.

Laskin smiled. “I guess you were right.
The invitations should be arriving next week. It would mean a lot to both of us
if you could come,” said Laskin.

“Of course we’ll come,” Janet assured
him. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

“Well, we’ll get out of your hair now,
Peter,” said Dennis, rising from his chair.

“Goodbye, Peter. Thanks for everything.
Congratulations again,” Janet added.

“Good luck on that investigation of yours.”
Laskin shut the door behind them.

As Janet followed Dennis out into the
hall, she couldn’t help noticing that Dennis’s back was unusually tense.

“Why were you acting all weird in
there?” Janet asked once they were outside.

“Weird? How was I weird?”

“You didn’t even congratulate Peter.”

“Sure I did.”

“No, you didn’t. I was there.”

“I just think he’s jumping the gun,
that’s all. They haven’t even been dating a year. How can he be sure that it
will work out?”

“I guess he just knows that it will.
Maybe he feels it in his heart.”

“I sure hope he’s right.”

Janet said nothing. Dennis had his
reasons to be cautious on the subject of marriage. A broken engagement entitled
a man to a certain degree of wariness, but did it mean that he was going to
have perpetual cold feet?

Dennis took her hand. “I didn’t mean to
be so short. Aileen and Laskin make a great couple. I’m just worried about the
case, that’s all.”

“Yeah, me too. I thought Laskin was
going to come through for us.”

“Well, I guess that makes you our only
hope,” said Dennis.

“Does that bother you?”

“Bother me? Why would it bother me?”

“I just don’t want you to think that
you’re on the sidelines. This is our case, Dennis. I can’t do it without your
support.”

“I know. I’m always here for you, you
know that.”

“Like you were last night.”

“I said I was sorry. I overreacted. It
won’t happen again.”

“I don’t want this to come between us.”
Janet looked up at him. “You are much more important to me than getting a case
lead. Libby and Kovar can both go to hell as far as I’m concerned.”

“You don’t mean that.”

“No, I don’t.”

“I would never hold you back, you know
that. I’m sorry for being such a jerk. I’m behind you one hundred percent.”

“Thanks. That’s what I needed to hear.”

“You know it’s true. Hey, how about I
meet you after work tonight? Walk you home, give you a foot massage, rub your
shoulders. Who knows, maybe we’ll even get to do a few more things besides me
tucking you in bed.”

“I like the sound of that. Do you think
it’s safe for you to meet me at work?”

“I’ll meet you on the side street by the
south corner of the building. I’ll make sure no one sees me.”

“All right, it’s a date. I have a
shorter shift today, so I’ll be off at ten p.m. See you then.”

***

Janet checked her watch; it was finally
ten p.m. Her shift was over. She had been running between tables like a chicken
without a head all night. Mila was pushing more clients her way to bump up her
tips; this night Janet had made another six hundred dollars in tips. Mila would
be glad. Janet rushed downstairs to change. A few minutes ago she was on the
brink of collapse, but now she felt a surge of energy. In a few moments she
would see Dennis, and the entire night, or what was left of it, would belong to
them. No more Panther, Mila or the Kovar brothers; well, at least not for
another day. Janet was off tomorrow.

Janet shrugged out of her dress and
slipped into her jeans and top. For a moment she regretted that she hadn’t
chosen fancier attire, but then she suspected that Dennis’s plans for the
evening would not involve her wearing clothes.

“Hey there, Janet!” Mila appeared in the
doorway just as Janet was about to go up the stairs. “Did you have a good
night?”

“A great night. Here’s your share.”
Janet handed Mila the money.

“Thanks. I was beginning to worry you
were going to ditch me.” Mila started counting the money.

“Friends don’t do things like that.”

Mila looked up sharply, and Janet
worried that she might have overdone it. “That’s right. Friends look out for
each other. I’ll see you the day after tomorrow.”

“See you then.”

Janet climbed the stairs two at a time.
Just a few paces away Dennis was waiting for her; in a few moments she’d be in
his arms. She was about to reach for the front door when Roman intercepted her.
“Leaving early?” he asked, eyeing her with a proprietary air.

“My shift is up,” Janet replied in a
clipped tone. She found that the best way to deal with Roman was to ignore his
advances.

 “I’ll see you tomorrow.” Roman moved in
a little too close for her liking, swinging open the door with exaggerated
gallantry.

“I’m off tomorrow,” said Janet, looking
straight ahead. “Good night.” She walked out, her back straight, sensing
Roman’s lustful gaze devour her. Just like an animal, Roman smelled fear, and
she wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction.

A male silhouette moved swiftly towards
her. “Who was that?”

“Dennis, what are you doing here?” Janet
hissed.

“We had a date, remember?”

“I remember, but you were supposed to
meet me around the corner.”

“Yes, well, you were late, and I got
worried.”

“Come on! Let’s get out of here before
anyone sees you.”

But they weren’t quick enough; the front
door opened and Mila sauntered outside, a cigarette propped between her long
fingers. “Hey there, Janet.” Mila lit her cigarette, eyeing Dennis curiously.
“Who’s your friend?”

“This is Dennis, my—”

“Cousin,” Dennis cut in. “I’m Janet’s
cousin, visiting from out of town. Just got in tonight.”

“Oh,” Mila exhaled a trail of smoke.
“Where are you from, Dennis?”

“Chicago, Illinois.”

“I hear it’s a beautiful city.”

“Well, if you’re ever in my neck of the
woods, ring me up. I’d love to give you a tour.”

Janet threw a sharp glance at Dennis.
She guessed what he was trying to do, but her work dedication only went so far.
She had already sacrificed her sleep and dignity; she wasn’t going to sacrifice
her man.

“Why, thank you. What is it you do,
Dennis from Chicago, Illinois?” Mila purred in her faintly accented diction.

“I’m a private investigator.”

“Oh?” Mila’s eyebrows lifted. “That must
be so exciting.”

“Not really. I spend most of my time
behind the desk, but now and then I get some action.”

“You don’t say. Well, Dennis, how about
I give you a tour of New York?” Mila asked in a sultry voice. “How does
tomorrow work for you?”

Janet could scarcely believe her ears.
This was going too far. “This isn’t Dennis’s first time in New York,” she
snapped. “Besides, tomorrow’s Grandma’s birthday.”

“Unless you have plans of course,” said
Mila.

“I’ve got the whole afternoon free,”
Dennis assured her. “You don’t mind, Cousin Janet, do you? I promise to be on
time for Grandma’s party.”

“No, of course not, Cousin Dennis. Just
please don’t be late for Grandma’s party; remember, it starts at six p.m.
sharp. You were always Grandma’s favorite, so please don’t disappoint her.”

“I promise to have him back on time,”
Mila purred. “Here’s my number.” She slipped a piece of paper in Dennis’s front
shirt pocket, her hand lingering over his pecs. Just when she had the time to
scribble it, Janet had no idea, but then women like Mila probably had their
phone numbers ready to be handed out to strangers at a moment’s notice.

“Until tomorrow, Dennis from Chicago,”
said Mila, swaying her hips as she disappeared behind Panther’s door.

“What the hell was that?” Janet exploded
once they were several blocks away from Panther.

“What? It’s an undercover opportunity.
By the way, thanks for giving away my real name.”

“Well, excuse me! I didn’t think you
were going to take her number.”

“Oh, and that nonsense about Grandma’s
party was priceless! Where did you come up with that one? Are you trying to put
me on a curfew or something?”

“I improvised; I thought I was doing you
a favor by giving you an excuse to bail out. I wasn’t prepared for this
situation. We never discussed this.”

“We never discussed you getting a job at
Panther either, but you did it, and you don’t hear me complaining.”

“You complain plenty. Is this what it
is? Is this your way of getting back at me or something?”

“Janet!” Dennis grabbed her shoulders.
“You know that’s not true. The opportunity presented itself, and I went for it.
I didn’t think you’d be this upset. You know that me going out with Mila
doesn’t mean anything, don’t you? The only thing I’m after is information, and
let’s face it, right now we could really use an inside scoop.”

Janet remained silent. She wanted to
think that it meant nothing, but it still hurt to think of Dennis and Mila
going on a date, even if it was a pretend date. There was no denying that they
were behind on their assignment and needed information desperately, but she supposed
she just wasn’t big enough to put her personal feelings aside.

“If it upsets you so much, I won’t call
her. I’ll throw away her number right now, look!” Dennis crumbled the piece of
paper Mila had given him, about to throw it onto the curb.

“Stop it! You know you want to do it,
and I won’t stand in your way. You love being in the limelight.”

“That’s not fair. I only went along with
it because I think we can get the information we need quicker this way. Time is
ticking, and we’ve got to get some leads on Libby. Wouldn’t it be great if we
could also find Muller’s money as a bonus?”

“So you don’t think I can do it on my
own?”

“I never said that. Two heads think
better than one, right? Why can’t I help?”

“Because—”

“Are you jealous? Do you actually think
I like her?”

“She’s gorgeous. How can I not be
jealous?”

“For crying out loud, the girl is a
walking cliché!” Dennis’s voice softened, “Janet, honey, you know that there’s
no one else for me but you.”

Before Janet could say another word,
Dennis drew her toward him, locking her lips in a long, passionate kiss.
Enveloped in his warmth and masculinity, she felt reassured. Dennis was home,
and it would take more than a flirtatious restaurant hostess to threaten what
they had together.

Janet stared at her desk. Even though
Ham had approved her working from home for the next two weeks, she found it
impossible to sit around her apartment, knowing that this very moment Dennis,
her Dennis, was out with Mila Brabec. The thought of Mila using her cheap charms
on Dennis literally made Janet sick. Sure, she trusted Dennis, but that didn’t
make her feel any better about the knowledge of that tart Mila being around her
man. Janet had no choice but to curb her resentment, for tomorrow she’d be back
at Panther, and she’d have to be as pleasant to Mila as ever. She would
probably even have to listen to Mila’s account of her date with Dennis with an
interested smile on her face and tell her how happy she was that the two of
them hit it off; for if she knew Dennis at all, Janet was sure that he would
find a way to hit it off with Mila. Of course it wouldn’t be real. He would
only be feigning attraction to Mila to solve the case; that’s what Dennis had
told her, and Janet was determined to believe him. She did believe him.

Last night was all the convincing she
needed: the way his arms held her tight, his fingers caressing her points of
sensitivity he knew so well, the way he moaned when she kissed his neck,
grazing it with her teeth, just the way he liked it. The intense look on his
face, as their bodies came together in ecstasy that was almost too intense to
endure, her fingers digging into his back. Afterwards, as he lay next to her,
his face burrowed in her shoulder, she heard him whisper her name followed by a
word she couldn’t quite make out. She thought she heard him say that he loved
her. She was about to ask him to repeat it, but he had already drifted off to
sleep. That had been yesterday, and today, after a breakfast that was way too
quick, Dennis was off sightseeing New York under Mila’s tutelage. Janet
smirked. Although not a native New Yorker, Dennis knew his way around the city
better than most native New Yorkers she knew. It was he who had shared with her
the city’s hidden gems: the roof garden of the Metropolitan Museum, The
Campbell Apartment bar at Grand Central Station, live jazz at Hotel Kitano, and
the list went on. Now Dennis would be dragged around the city by some floozy
whose only qualifications as a tour guide were her long legs and pouty lips.

“Janet?” Ham Kirk poked his head through
the door.

Janet shifted in her chair. “Hey there,
Ham.”

“I didn’t expect to see you here today.
Dennis said you were doing some fieldwork.”

“I was. I am,” Janet corrected herself.
“I had a day off today, so I thought I’d come into the office and catch up.”

“A day off?” Ham asked.

Janet regretted her choice of words. Now
she’d have to tell Ham about her gig at Panther.

“You don’t have to tell me. I know that
I gave you both complete autonomy on the Libby investigation.” Ham drummed his
fingers on the doorframe, waiting for Janet to fess up. When she didn’t, he
prompted, “Any luck so far?”

“Nothing concrete so far.”

“So there is something?”

“Dennis and I both think that Julius
Libby may have ties to Petr Kovar, but we don’t have any concrete evidence to
prove it.”

“Petr Kovar? The international gangster
and racketeer? Why haven’t you told me about this?”

“Because Dennis thought it was too early
in the investigation. He didn’t want to alarm you.”

“Well, what do you have so far?”

“Libby is living beyond his means. His
office records are clean, but there are some strange circumstances around the
source of his wealth: his investment in a startup company ….” Janet proceeded
to summarize what she and Dennis had found on Libby.

“You don’t call this concrete? It sounds
pretty concrete to me. Just imagine the scandal when Libby’s opponent’s
campaign gets wind of this information. I just hope they haven’t beaten us to
it.”

“Right now all we have is circumstantial
evidence. We need more information.”

“How do you plan to obtain it?”

“I got a job at Panther restaurant to
get the scoop on Kovar. I must admit that I haven’t gotten very far yet, but I
can feel that I’m getting close.”

“You got a job as a waitress?”

“When we couldn’t get any other leads, I
thought it was worth a shot.”

“That’s very imaginative of you, Janet.
I must say I didn’t expect it, but I like the initiative. Still, I wish we had
more time. The party is going to announce Libby’s nomination in three weeks.
Either you and Dennis hurry up, or I’m going to have to go to the client with
what you’ve got.”

“We’ll get the information, sir. You can
depend on us.”

“I sure hope so, Janet.”

After Ham left her office, Janet
burrowed her head in her hands. She knew that she should be spending her time
trying to dig up information on Libby, but instead she couldn’t help wondering
what Mila and Dennis were doing right now. Were they strolling through Central
Park, Mila’s hand brushing Dennis’s, eager for his touch? Or maybe there were
exchanging flirtatious banter over a cup of coffee, Dennis glancing intently
into Mila’s eyes. Or maybe Mila was playing tour guide, escorting Dennis
through Times Square or the financial district. It was a good thing Dennis had
a good poker face; he would need it, or at least Janet liked to think so.

Janet drummed her fingers on her desk.
The day stretched out tediously before her, the idle waiting filling her
imagination with all sorts of unwelcome scenarios. Dennis had promised to be at
her place at six p.m., the time of the invented grandma’s birthday party. Last
night they had a good laugh about it, but this morning it upset Janet to think
that even though the whole thing was a joke, on some subconscious level Dennis
might now associate seeing her with an obligation to be on time to an ancient
relative’s birthday party. Well, at least she wouldn’t have the chance of
obsessing about the idea uninterrupted. In an act of divine intervention, Katie
had scheduled a dress fitting at noon. Even though normally Janet would rate a
dress fitting somewhere on the same scale as getting a root canal, right now
she wholeheartedly welcomed the distraction. She checked her watch: it was a
quarter to noon. She rose from her chair, grabbed her handbag, and headed for
the door.

Twenty minutes later Janet climbed out
of a cab in front of Bloomingdale’s. Once inside the store, she navigated her
way through the crowd to the bridal department, the location of which she now
knew by heart. This was her third trip to the place; Katie’s dress had required
numerous alterations, and she had insisted that Janet be present at each
fitting. Today, Janet would also be trying her maid of honor dress, and she
sincerely hoped that it wouldn’t require as many fittings as Katie’s. Not that
she wasn’t happy about Katie’s wedding, she was. She had never been one to fuss
over weddings, and neither had Katie, until her own nuptials had transformed
her.

“Nice of you to show up,” Katie greeted
her just as Janet was about to step off the escalator.

“The traffic—”

“Save it!” Katie raised her hand and
stalked off toward the bridal salon.

Janet humbly trailed behind her friend.
No sooner had she reached the fitting room area than she was ambushed by one of
the attendants. “Miss Maple, we have your dress all ready for you to try on.”

“Thank you,” Janet mumbled. To her
relief, Katie had already disappeared from sight, ushered into the depths of
the salon by two other attendants.

Janet ducked into the fitting room and
surveyed the dress on the hanger. It was pale violet in color with a fitted
sleeveless silk bodice and a pleated skirt that hit right at the knee: very
classy and functional. In the beginning Katie had toyed with the idea of
cladding her bridesmaids into some corseted, long-trained contraptions, but
Janet had convinced her to go with a simpler version, arguing that all the
attention should be centered on the bride.

Janet unzipped the dress and stepped
through the opening. She pulled up the zipper and surveyed her reflection in
the mirror; the dress fit her like a glove. Katie had been right: the snug fit
didn’t leave any room for error. She’d have to watch her diet until the
wedding.

Janet poked her head outside the fitting
room, wondering if Katie’s rage had subsided.

“Janet!” Janet turned in the direction
of Katie’s voice and was rendered speechless. Katie was up on a pedestal, clad
in her wedding gown.

“Katie! You look beautiful!” Janet
gasped. She had never expected that the usually practical, no-nonsense Katie
would opt for a sweeping gown with a crinoline skirt and five-foot long train,
but she had, and the outcome was breathtaking, making all those fittings
worthwhile.

“You really think so?” Katie tried to
turn, but the gown wouldn’t budge. “It was Adam’s idea. He wanted a classical
wedding gown, but I feel like it’s too much. I mean I can barely move!”

“There’s never such a thing as too much
when it comes to a wedding!” came a voice though the opening door of the
fitting room behind them. “Hello ladies!” Lisa Foley beamed at them. “Sorry it took
me a while to get into my gown; these days everything I do takes me twice as
long.” Lisa pointed at her pregnant belly. “Three more months to go and then
I’m home free!”

“At least you got here on time,” Katie
remarked. “Janet was stuck in traffic,” she added pointedly.

“Traffic can be really bad in the city
this time of day,” Lisa came to Janet’s rescue.

Thank you, Janet mouthed, wondering how
did it happen that her two friends had switched personalities. Up until
recently, Lisa had always been the one to fuss about the details, while Katie
was more of a go with the flow kind of girl. There had been a time when Katie
did not feel that warmly towards Lisa, but the wedding seemed to have united
them, as Katie kept asking Lisa for advice, making Janet feel like she was
falling behind on her maid of honor duties.

“So, let’s see here.” Lisa waddled over
to get a closer look at Katie’s dress. “Stunning, absolutely stunning!”

“Thank you, Lisa!” Katie smiled. “Now I
just need to learn to walk in this thing.”

“Janet, you look great too,” Lisa
remarked, giving her a peck on the cheek. “So good to see you! I feel like we
haven’t seen each other in ages, but then I can’t blame you for it. It’s not
exactly fun to hang out with someone who can’t drink and has to run to the
bathroom almost every hour.”

“Nonsense, Lisa! I’ve just been busy
working, that’s all.”

“That’s right, Janet’s too busy working
to see her friends. Especially for all this superficial wedding stuff,” Katie
chimed in.

“Are you guys ganging up on me? I never
said anything about weddings being superficial.”

“Yes you did,” both Katie and Lisa
replied in unison.

“I only meant that I think that
elopements are so much simpler, but weddings are great too.”

“Huh! Fat chance!” Katie sighed. “Adam
and I wanted to elope, but both of our families rebelled against the idea. At
first I was really mad—”

“I remember that part,” Janet cut in.

“Now I know that they were right,” Katie
continued. “You can’t keep your family out of such an important event.”

Janet had to restrain herself from
rolling her eyes. In her mind, the money spent on a wedding ceremony would be
of much greater use if put towards a down payment on a house, but then she
wasn’t the one getting ready to walk down the aisle. Perhaps she too would
change her mind then and surrender gladly to the wedding frenzy.

“Don’t you worry, Janet, we’ll be there
to help you plan your wedding when the time comes,” Lisa assured her, patting
her belly absent-mindedly.

While she knew that Lisa didn’t mean
anything by it, the comment jarred on Janet’s ears, unleashing a wave of
irritation. Was there some kind of schedule she was supposed to be following:
marriage then pregnancy? Clearly, she had fallen far behind.

“Ladies, how are the dresses fitting?”
the sales attendant directed her attention to Janet and Lisa.

“Well, mine is fitting me perfectly now,
which makes me worry that two months from now it may be too snug,” said Lisa.
Her dress was of the same color as Janet’s, but of a looser cut to accommodate
her belly.

“No worries. We will let out a few
inches,” the sales attendant assured her, making notes in her pad. “How do you
find your fit, Miss Maple?”

“It’s fine,” Janet assured her. She
would just wear Spanx and suck in her breath during the entire reception.

After all the alterations were finished,
the three of them filed out of Bloomingdales.

“Anyone up for a quick snack?” Katie
asked. “I still have another forty minutes before I have to get back to the
office.”

“I’m sorry guys, but I’m going to have
to leave you,” Lisa said. “Doctor’s appointment. Being pregnant sucks.”

They exchanged goodbye kisses and
ushered Lisa into a cab.

“Salad?” Katie suggested.

“Sure,” Janet agreed. Even the company
of wedding-crazed Katie was better than the alternative of being alone and
thinking about Dennis and Mila.