KILLER DATE (SCANDALS) (5 page)

“So when do we have to move out?” Tulsa asked, cutting through the tension in the air.

“Move out?”  Nigel’s
Botox-smoothed forehead almost frowned.  “Hell, no…I’m not here for that.”

There was
an immediate collective sigh of relief. 

“I need your help.”

Christopher, who actually had solid experience with Scandals, took charge.  “What can we do for you?”

“It’s my oldest daughter.”  Nigel glanced nervously around the room, instinctively checking to make sure he wouldn’t be overheard.  “I just found out, and it took all my willpower not to rip his fuckin’ head off.”

“Let’s start at the beginning,” Christopher said in a calm voice.  The rest of us were more than happy to let him take the lead since none of us wanted to reveal our lack of experience by asking stupid questions.

Nigel took a deep breath. 
“I’m bringing this to you just like I did when Roger was alive.  I need it handled quietly, quickly and finally.  No cops, no subcontractors and no press.”  He sat back in the chair and looked up at the ceiling as he placed his hands behind his neck and stretched.  “My daughter, Piper, goes to school at UT under the name of Piper Cordova…it was her mom’s maiden name.”

“No one’s going to figure that one out,” Tulsa commented wryly.

“Look, I’m a musician, not a CIA operative, so the cover wasn’t too deep, but it’s worked so far.  Anyway, she called a few days ago and told me she had been raped by a boy on campus.”

“
Can she prove who did it?”  Christopher asked.

Nigel
didn’t appear to hear as he continued, “The fucked up part of this is that she was more upset that he laughed at her and didn’t call her than that he raped her.”

“So, was it really rape…or consensual sex?”  I hesitated to speak up, but I was sure it was a question on everyone’s mind.

“It wasn’t a date or anything.  She and a few girlfriends went to a frat party, and things went too far. Piper either drank too much or they slipped something into her drink.  The boy took her into his bedroom and raped her.  She doesn’t remember anything except him carrying her outside and dumping her on the lawn.  When she woke up she was wearing just her blouse, but it was very early in the morning, so she was able to get back to her dorm without anyone noticing.”

“How awful
for her.”  Killeen was sympathetic.  “Did she tell someone at the University?”

Nigel shook his head.  “
She was so ashamed that she didn’t even tell her mother or me for two weeks.  She said it must have been her fault…that she sent the guy the wrong signals.  She didn’t want to get him in trouble.  I think she was hoping he would call her or that it meant something to him.  But then she heard him bragging about ‘
tapping another bitch
’, and she realized he was talking about her.”

“
Did she know the guy?”  Christopher asked again, this time more forcefully.

“Yeah, everyone knows him.  He’s
Dante Knight. Coach Knight’s son.”

The name meant nothing to me…or apparently the rest of us who weren’t from Austin and hadn’t gone to UT, but Dallas and Christopher reacted immediately. 

“Shit!  The Horns’ star quarterback?” Christopher asked.

“T
his year’s leading Heisman candidate…that Dante?”  Dallas was shocked.

“
Yeah.  That Dante,” Nigel confirmed with disgust.  “I want his ass sacked for a mother-fucking loss.  Piper has never had a lot of self-confidence and everyone takes advantage of her.  But there’s a hell of a lot of difference in someone bullying her into doing their homework and someone fucking her when she’s unconscious.”

“We’ve recently had a little experience with
roofies, so we know how helpless you feel,” Christopher told him.

“The thing is...no one
can know I’m behind this.  Roger’s specialty was confidentiality.  That’s why his agency has done so well.  He handled these sensitive cases with discretion and effectiveness…you know what I mean?  If the cops get involved too soon, the slimy little shit will get away with it…and Piper’s cover will get blown.  It’s a big deal to her that she’s able to go to college anonymously.  So, you have to find a way to bring him down, so he’ll understand the humiliation he’s made her feel.  I have no idea how many girls he has
tapped
.  I’m sad for them, but he can’t do that to my daughter and get away with it.”

Dallas spoke up
, a little enviously.  “You never see him on campus without at least one hot blonde bimbo in tow…shit…sorry Nigel.”

Nigel waved it off.  “I’
m not stupid about Piper.  I know she wants to be liked so much that she lets people take advantage of her.  I probably could have been in her life more when she was younger, but I was building my career.  It just kills me that someone hurt my baby.”  Nigel’s long fingers that so skillfully raced across the keys of a piano or the strings of a guitar curled into fists.  “I’ve never felt so helpless, suspecting the worst and not being able to prevent it.  But now at least I can fix it.”

“We’ll make sure he regrets it,” I blurted out, moved by his emotion.

Christopher slid me a warning glance.  “We’ll do what we can…within the confines of the law.”

“Don’t let that hold you back,” Nigel muttered.

“So no rape kit?” Tulsa asked.

“No
and I’m glad she didn’t, actually.  Some campus Barney Fife might have figured out who she is and tweeted it all over the world.  It would break her heart if she had to leave UT, but I wouldn’t feel safe with her there if everyone knew who she was.  There are so many crazies out there.”

“Sounds like she’s not all that
well off now,” Liberty commented.

“I’m afraid this will kill whatever self-confidence she had
gained.  It was a big deal for her to live on her own in a different state from her family.  I just wish she would have called me sooner…not several weeks after it happened.”

“Is she still on campus?” Christopher asked.

“Yes, she wanted to finish summer session.  But I’ve hired a female bodyguard for her who’s posing as her roommate.”

“Good, that should keep her safe,” I commented.  I had been around a lot of bodyguards in Vegas, and they knew their shit.  No one would touch a hair on her head without getting their fingers broken
or their skulls cracked. 

“Of course, I’ll pay you for your time and…,” Nigel began.

“Absolutely not,” Christopher interrupted.  “This one is on the house…literally.  Roger would never accept payment from you for something like this.”

“Just bring that spoiled asshole down.  I don’t give a shit if
his collegiate football career’s ruined. He shouldn’t get by with ruining a girl’s life.”

“We’ll get right on it
,” Christopher assured him.  “I want to make sure we have an air-tight plan because I suspect we’ll get only one shot at it.  We’ll keep you posted.”

“
We’ll need to talk to Piper,” Killeen said.  “It’s important that we know more about Dante from her perspective.”

“
I’m sure she’ll cooperate,” Nigel answered.  “After the initial shock wore off, I think she realizes that he used her and never intended to date her.”  He stood and held out his hand.  “I’ve got to run.  I’ve got a dinner meeting with my agent at the Driscoll, then I’m flying tomorrow morning to Toronto.  I’m still on tour for the next two months.  But you have my cell number.”

We all shook his hand.  I was tempted to tell him again how much I enjoyed his music, but I didn’t want to sound like a groupie.  I was cooler than that…or at least I tried to be. 

As if he was reading my mind, Nigel smiled and added, “Whenever I play Austin, which is not as often as I would like…fabulous crowds here…I’ll make sure to save an extra dozen floor tickets on the front row for you guys.”  He waved at us.  “Don’t worry.  I’ll show myself out.  I know the way.”

He should…it was his house, after all…a thought that was
on all of our minds.

CHAPTER THREE

“Listen…no one outside this room knows who owns the house.  No one.  If it leaks out, I’ll know and, more importantly, our landlord will know where the leak originated.”  Christopher stared us in the eyes with a fierceness that punctuated how serious he was.  “It would be bad if it damaged Nigel’s fan base.  And even more tragic if his daughter’s identity was revealed during the course of this investigation.”

“I guess I don’t understand why we can’t call the police and let them arrest that football guy.”  Liberty was absently braiding her long, straight blond hair over her shoulder as she absorbed all the information she had just heard.
  “I mean he can’t go do something that awful and not get punished…right?”

Christopher
gave her an indulgent smile.  Liberty didn’t have much experience with legal issues.  “In theory, that’s right…but there are two reasons why he probably wouldn’t get convicted.  First, Piper didn’t call her dad until several weeks after the rape, and it was too late to go to the police and have a DNA test to prove it was him.  And second…you haven’t had a chance to see much football or you’d understand how important it is for a college quarterback to make it to the pros.  Dante is the leading candidate for the Heisman Trophy this year and a rape charge and conviction would probably kill his chances to win that, as well as bump him down to second or third round of the draft.”

Liberty was even more confused.  “But it’s just a game.  Isn’t a woman’s welfare more important?”

Christopher took a minute to consider his answer.  “Of course, it is.  I think it’s more complicated than that.  Getting suspended…which he probably would…and possibly not getting drafted would ruin his career.  Nigel doesn’t want to be blamed for the kid not playing his senior year, getting his trophy and making millions of dollars when he turns pro…but he wants the kid to be punished.”

“Texans take their football pretty seriously,” Dallas added.

“But he
raped
her.  That pretty much ruined her life.”  Liberty’s big blue eyes filled with tears. 

“That’s why we have to find a way to bring him down without it bouncing back on Nigel or Piper,” Christopher explained.  “If the cops get involved, he’d probably walk away without even a warning.  They all know how much the football program means to UT, and Coach Knight has a lot of friends in high places.”

“That sucks.”  She frowned and looked around at the rest of us.  “So how are we going to catch that ratfink?”

I hid a smile.  Liberty had never watched television until she was summoned to Austin, like the rest of us, only two weeks ago when we found out we were all related through Roger’s
wanderlust.  Since she discovered cable, she had been watching practically non-stop, but hadn’t caught up much past the eighties, so her vocabulary was still a few decades behind.

“
He’s not going to admit anything,” Tulsa pointed out.

“No, I think we’re going to have to catch him red-handed,” Killeen added her opinion.

“We can’t follow him around and hope he does it again while we’re watching.”  Dallas shook his head.

Killeen sat up straighter and her expression brightened. 
“Bait.”

“Bait,” Christopher repeated thoughtfully, working out the details in his mind.  “
We could find someone who would attract him and when he tries to drug her, we’ll catch him in the act.  That would give us enough proof to make an air tight case, especially if it all played out in public.”

“
I get it.  An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth…sort of like Hammurabi's Code.” Liberty smiled and nodded.

“What
?” Dallas glanced over at her.

“Hammurabi's Code.
  It goes way back to ancient Mesopotamian culture.  You know a long time before the Bible was written.”

Dallas
’s eyebrows lifted and he sat back.  “Impressive.”

“Home schooled,”
Tulsa commented with a smile, a wink and a nod toward Liberty.

Christopher
continued.  “We need to set it up so the crime is so obvious that he
has
to be arrested and prosecuted.  But Scandals can’t be openly involved.  It’s got to be completely covert.  We’ll be clean and our landlord will have all the justice he wants.”

“So it’s got to be balanced to where the trap snaps shut on his leg
, but it can’t be considered entrapment.”  I was beginning to be intrigued.  “Who’s going to be the bait?”

“Me, of course,” Killeen said as if it had already been decided.

Christopher’s lips set in a thin line.  “No way.  I think we can find someone else who fits the role.”

“Are you kidding?  You heard Nigel.  He goes for leggy blondes.”  She stretched her long, tanned legs out and shook her head, sending her blond hair tumbling around her shoulders. 

Okay, so I admit that I looked.  She did have spectacular legs, even if she was my half-sister.  She had crystal blue eyes, the same unusual shade that we all shared.  It was one of the markers that united us.  And her face and body were as striking as any Victoria’s Secret supermodel.  From what I had heard, Killeen was exactly Dante’s type.

“It can’t be Killeen,” Christopher declared.  He turned to her and reminded her
unnecessarily, “You’re pregnant.”

As if she could forget that.  It had been a burning issue in her life for the past month and a critical point of conflict between her and Christopher
as they explored their very new relationship.

“
Barely,” Killeen answered.

“You can’t be
barely
pregnant,” Christopher grumbled.

“I’ll clear it with my doctor first.  Besides, I know what to expect, so I’ll be extra careful and nothing will happen to me…especially since you’ll have my back.”

Checkmate.  I could see that Christopher couldn’t argue that point because it would imply that he couldn’t do his job properly.  In all reality, she should be perfectly safe.  She’d taken care of herself…and all of us…pretty well when Roger’s killer had tried to add us to his list of victims.

Before Christopher could respond, there was a knock on the door, and John leaned in and announced, “Dinner is ready.  Do you want to eat in the dining room or outside?”

It was still hot outside, but the sun had sunk far enough that almost the whole backyard was in shade.  I had been surprised to discover that even when the temperatures reached a hundred degrees during the day, at night the breeze cooled it down to a comfortable range.  Vegas never cooled down from June to August.  I sure didn’t miss that.

“I vote for outside,” Liberty said.  “I’m not used to being inside so much.”

We all nodded our agreement and stood to follow John.  I saw Christopher pull Killeen aside so they were behind us.  I glanced back and saw him pull her into his arms and hug her tight against him.  She wrapped her arms around his waist and nestled her face into the curve of his neck.  It was innocent and yet very intimate.  I had a little twinge of envy.  Not that I was hot for my sister.  But what they had looked really nice.

“We’ll talk about this later,” he whispered, and she smiled up at him. 

It would be interesting to see who won this battle.

T
he first few days after we found out about Roger’s death, each of us picked a car from his fleet.  My first choice was a red Porsche 911 GT3, but that was still tied up in litigation, so I selected a black BMW Z-3.  It wasn’t a Porsche, but it was pretty sweet.

Even though we all left from the same house and arrived at the same office, we drove our own vehicles because there was always the chance we’d have to run off on some errand or follow a lead.  Everyone except for poor Liberty who had broken her leg when a bomb planted in the warehouse
had gone off while she was in the building rescuing a kitten.  She…and the kitten…were lucky to be alive.  So until she got the cast off, and more importantly, learned how to drive and got her license, she rode with whoever was leaving when she was ready, which usually turned out to be Tulsa.  The two of them had formed an unlikely bond.  Tulsa was a computer whiz, just a few credits short of a degree in computer science, and Liberty was about as computer illiterate as a person could be.  But as she worked under Tulsa’s tutelage, Liberty was moving from planting and harvesting to uploading and downloading with impressive speed.  All the talk about the cloud and RAM made me yawn, but she was a natural.

The only person who consistently beat me
on the road was Christopher who drove a sleek Mustang Cobra convertible that had probably never seen a speed limit it didn’t crush.  Killeen’s red Mini-Cooper was parked next to him, and they were both already inside.  I parked on the other side of the Mustang and waited while Tulsa and Liberty pulled in and parked next to me.  Liberty gratefully handed me her laptop before hopping out of the car as she gathered her crutches and settled them under her arms.

We were almost inside the warehouse when the gate opened and Dallas arrived. 

“The gang’s all here,” I announced drolly.  We had stayed up late last night, brainstorming, then refining our plans to bust Dante.  Christopher had still not agreed to support Killeen’s decision to take part in the sting.  He had promised to think about it overnight…which we all interpreted as he was going to try to talk her out of it because he didn’t dare forbid her from doing it.  All of which meant that our meeting this morning should be more exciting than most.

Pam had fresh coffee and Krispy Kreme donuts on the table as we went into the conference room.  Liberty hobbled to her chair and leaned her crutches in the corner before sitting down.  Almost immediately, a tiny calico kitten ran into the room and clawed its way up Liberty’s cast, then curled up in her lap.

“Good morning, Eight,” she crooned.  The kitten, who had gotten her name because she had already used up one of her nine lives, purred so loudly, we would have to raise our voices to be heard. 

The rest of us picked a spot at the table and sat,
then all eyes focused on Christopher and Killeen. 

Christopher took a deep breath and exhaled unenthusiastically.  “
After much discussion… Killeen will be our bait.  But…,” his gaze moved around the table, pausing briefly on each one of us, “This operation has to have the precision of a Navy Seal mission.  If any of you screws up and Killeen so much as breaks a nail, you’ll answer to me.”

“
We should call it Operation Praying Mantis.” Liberty stroked the multi-colored fur of her noisy kitten.

“
What?”  Christopher’s attention jerked back to her.

“Operation Praying Mantis…they attract
then attack prey larger than themselves.  They patiently lie in ambush, then use their front legs to grab their victim.  They’re so fast that without a video, it’s difficult to see it with the naked eye.  Their legs are even equipped with spikes for snaring prey and pinning it in place…and after they mate they devour their suitor.”

Christopher’s eyes narrowed.  “There will be no mating. 
And no devouring.  Clear?”

“I know that.
” Liberty smiled.  “But it paints the perfect picture of what’s going to happen to Dante, right?”

“More home schooling?”  I asked and Liberty nodded.
  “I like the idea of giving the operation a name…like the Navy SEALS.”

The brief conversation gave Christopher time to compose
himself.  Before the whirlwind of Roger’s murder, our arrival, the reading of the will and the subsequent near-death confrontation with the killer, his life had been focused, professional and relatively uneventful.  When he met Killeen, it had been instant sparks that rapidly flashed to a blazing hot romance.  Caring so deeply had made him more cautious and…in my opinion…more human.

Christopher stood, picked up a dry erase marker and wrote
OPERATION PRAYING MANTIS
in capital letters across the top of the white board.  After a slight hesitation, he wrote Killeen’s name, then below that, he wrote
Dallas
before turning back to us. “Dallas, since you’re already a student, you need to stick with Killeen like super glue.  She’s going to go to the registrar and start the process of getting enrolled and transferring her credits from ASU.  I doubt she’ll need a student ID to get into the party, but it might start the buzz about a hot new student so Dante will be anxious to meet her.”