Shopping is Murder (McKinley Mysteries Book 6) (12 page)

The Big Apple

SEAN RENTED A LIMO AND driver to take them to New York. Sara was sitting beside him, while Jimmy sat across. Sean still didn
’t completely understand why his old sergeant wasn’t relinquishing his grip on this one. Maybe he felt like he had failed the widow.

“Are you sure that the brass is going to be all right with you taking off like this?” Sean asked.

“I might have made something up about my mother not feeling well.”

“Jimmy, your mother is in California.”

It met with a shoulder shrug.
“Gives me a reason to be away for a little while.”

“I’m surprised with you. You know we’ve got this, and we don’t need a babysitter.”

“I do.” He grinned.

“You need a babysitter?” Sara laughed.

Jimmy batted a hand in the air.
“A little excitement, truth be told. I needed out for a bit. I haven’t taken a vacation in far too long. And here’s the thing, I have a gun in case it comes in handy.”

“No one dies today.”

“Yes, yes, but we don’t know what this guy is capable of. If he’s the one that pushed Jerrod Hill over the railing, he’s already proven himself capable of murder. If you two are on the right track, he might stop at nothing to prevent the truth from getting out. Besides, if I’m around, I’ll slap these on him.” Jimmy reached into a pocket and pulled out a pair of cuffs.

Sara turned to Sean and laced her fingers in his.
“Someone came prepared.”

“I’d say.” Sean pressed his forehead to hers.

“I pull out cuffs and you guys get all—”

“Now, now, don’t read any more into it.” Sean pulled back from Sara and pointed a finger at Jimmy.

“So, are you going to give me a little tour while we’re in the Big Apple?”

Sara was grinning and nodding.

“I suppose we have some time,” Sean said.

Sara let out a little squeal and clapped her hands.
“What, darling? It’s been a while since we’ve been here. We never even got to see Edward off.”

“Edward?” Jimmy asked.

“Edward Cranston used to be the CEO of Universal Acquisitions Corporation, but he took retirement. The man would have been hard to replace,” Sean explained, adding the last part for Sara’s benefit. With the statement, he remembered he had received an email naming Edward’s successor, but he couldn’t recall the name.

“Ah, an older man with a bow tie?”

“Yes, that’s him. How did you know?”

“Wild guess. He was at your wedding reception at the house.”

“Yes, I guess he would have been. We didn’t get a chance to really know him, but he struck us both as a great guy,” Sean said.

“I seem to remember a young man there also. He said he worked at Universal Acquisitions too. What was his name?” Jimmy snapped his fingers. “Adam was his first name. Yes, we had talked once briefly on the phone during a previous
situation
.”

Sean noticed the delicacy Jimmy applied to his wording. The
situation
referred to a time when both Sean’s and Sara
’s lives hung in the balance.

They remained silent as the three of them peered out the windows at the towering buildings they drove by.

“Let’s go by the office before lunch and the condo.”

“The condo?”

“Yeah, you didn’t think we were staying in a hotel, did you?”

“Nah, no. Why would I think that?” Jimmy stretched out his arms along the back of the seat.

Grand Reception

JIMMY DIDN
’T IMPRESS EASILY. AT least he didn’t think he did, but looking around this place, he was impressed—in spades. His joints, which had barked at him all morning, were rendered mute by the architectural attributes of Universal Acquisitions Corporation.

He walked, looking upward.
“And you say this is only one of many companies you own?”

Sean put a hand on Jimmy’s shoulder.
“That’s right, and they’re spread out all over the world. We visited one while we were in Italy.”

“Italy…” Jimmy knew the word came off his lips as if he were a boy and carried off on the breeze of a fantasy. He had never been a traveler. There were always other ways to spend money, and, when the incoming matched pretty much on par with the outgoing, it didn’t leave room for frivolous endeavors.

“Maybe one day you’ll come with us,” Sara said.

“Me? Italy? Not in this lifetime. Wow, this place is truly amazing. Is this what it’s like to be gods?”

“Jimmy, we wouldn’t know.” Sean removed his hand from Jimmy’s shoulder, and both he and Sara laughed.

They reached the front desk, and a redhead smiled at them in greeting.
“Good afternoon, welcome to Universal Acquisitions. What can I help you with today?”

Sean took a step ahead of Sara and Jimmy.
“I’m Sean McKinley. This is my wife, Sara, and our friend Jimmy.”

“Mr. and Mrs. McKinley.” She blushed as she put a hand on her chest. “Wow, what an honor to finally meet you.” She shot to her feet and extended her hand. She shook Sean’s and Jimmy’s first, leaving Sara for last. She held on for a few seconds. Only when Sara glanced at Sean did the receptionist seem to notice how she was letting the grip linger.

“Oh. Sorry.” She took her hand back and awkwardly tucked an imaginary strand of hair behind an ear—all of it was slicked back into a ponytail. “It’s just, you’re so beautiful.”

This woman had called it right. Sara was the most beautiful woman Sean knew—but he’d been aware of that for years now. And not only was she a work of art on the outside, but her inner beauty was an equal match.

He put his arm around her and she pressed in to his side. As much as she joked around about using her looks to an advantage, her modesty often had her taking a back seat.

“Thank you—” Sara began, arching the sentiment to extract a name.

“Jessica.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“You too.” Jessica rearranged paperwork, as if her nerves wouldn’t allow her to remain still. Or maybe she clued in that they were the owners and, by extension, her bosses and perhaps she should appear busy.

“Would you be able to let Daniel Lewis and Adam Laverty know that we’re coming up to see them?” Sara asked.

Jimmy shoved between Sean and Sara.
“Daniel Lewis? The actor is working for you?”

“The actor?”

“Yeah, you know, he’s from England. He played the lead in the movie
Lincoln
.
”

“There was a movie named after a president?”

Jimmy let out a deep sigh and shook his head.
“She’s beautiful but seems to live under a rock.”

“Hey.” Sara spun to face Jimmy.

Jessica let out a laugh that could curl toes. It was high-pitched, with a whirl at the end—both irritating and contagious.
“I’ll let them know. Go on ahead. I assume you know where you’re going.”

“We do. Thank you.” Sean tapped the counter and turned to leave.

Wager’s In Place

THEY GOT OFF THE ELEVATOR on the fiftieth floor, and Sean walked close to Sara.
“How did you know the CEO’s name?”

“You have to ask me how I remember something—still? You should know once I hear or see something, it’s usually there. You told me when we were in Europe. You got an email.” She paused a second. “I remember things, remember?” She winked at him and picked up her stride toward Daniel’s and Adam’s office.

She was about to go through the doorway, when she came face to face with a man.

His eyes were soft and brown, and the crease lines on his face appeared to have come from smiling a lot in his life. He had a mane of graying hair, but struck her as being late forties. He braced his hands on her shoulders to soften the impact
.

She ran her hands over her skirt. “We’re looking for Daniel Lewis and Adam Laverty.” The volume of her speaking was low, but it boomed in her ears in the otherwise silent space.

“I’m—” He caught her eyes and stopped talking.

“Sara?”

The handsome stranger moved to the side, and she drew her eyes from him to Adam. She lit up when she saw him, and rushed to throw her arms around him. He had become like family over the last while and she hadn
’t seen him since the start of summer, at their wedding reception.

“What are you all doing here?” Adam noticed Jimmy and bobbed his head in acknowledgment.

“I’m just glad to see you’re using our first names, Adam.” For the longest while, nerves made Adam address them formally. Sean gave him a meaty handshake, but Adam pulled him in for a quick hug, which resulted in both men doing back pats before they parted.

Sara turned and saw Jimmy shaking hands with the stranger in the doorway.

“Seems we found him, Sara,” Jimmy said.

“Him? This is the actor?” Sara teased.

The man laughed.
“Nah, I wish though. He’s supposedly one of the most selective out there. Very particular.” He pulled out on his suit jacket and Sara recognized the cut as designer.

“He’s also heard of the movie,” Jimmy chirped in.

She shot him a glare, but it transformed quickly to a smile. “You’re Daniel Lewis.” Sara extended her hand.

“Yes—but not the actor. He actually prefers to go by Daniel Day-Lewis.” He didn’t take his eyes off her as they shook hands.

Sara cleared her throat and was the first to turn away. The man might have a name belonging to an English actor, but he resembled the American actor Richard Gere.

“Nice to meet you.” Her base attraction to the man made her feel awkward. It would have been such, even without her husband in the room, let alone with him standing a few feet away. But it wasn’t like she was encouraging the response, so why did she feel guilty?

“I’m sorry, but I’m not able to stay around. I am meeting a client for a business lunch.” Daniel waved from the doorway.

Sara surmised Sean and Daniel must have been introduced while she was hugging Adam.

“Come in, let’s catch up. How was Europe?”

Sara perched on the corner of Adam
’s desk and told him the highlights.

“Sounds like you had an amazing time.”

“The food at this B&B was spectacular. They even taught me a few tricks.” The words were out, a result of getting caught up in the moment. With the confession that she had learned some culinary skills, would Sean anticipate she put them to use? She really needed to take lessons, but maybe practice and a little confidence in the cooking department would be a good place to start.

“That’s excellent.” Adam’s smile faded and there was something in his eyes.

“And how are things around here?”

“Oh, fine. Just some adjustments, that’s all.”

“Anything we need to get involved with?” Sean put a hand in his pocket.

“No, nothing like that. So, what brings you to New York? I don’t think it was just to see us.” His gaze went to Jimmy.

Sara smiled. Adam was a genius. The former CEO had introduced his assistant as such, but it wasn
’t necessary to declare it out loud. The truth was both in his presence and in his eyes.

“You’re on a case?”

“Yes.” Sara nodded.

“You need my help? Anything. I mean it.” Adam beamed, obviously caught up in the potential rapture of being used for another investigation. He must be craving a break from the monotony of pushing around paperwork.

“Actually—”

“Darling, I’m sure he has a lot on his plate.”

Sara took Sean
’s hand. Their connection rushed in a flow of guilt, stemming from her attraction to Daniel. It was ridiculous. She loved Sean more than anything and would never act on it and hurt him. She squeezed his hand and placed a quick kiss on his lips.

Both Adam and Jimmy stepped back.

“Maybe we should leave them alone,” Jimmy said.

“Not a bad idea.” Sean kept his forehead pressed to Sara’s.

“Would you stop.” Sara laughed and pulled back. “We are working on something.”

“I knew it. Let me in.” Adam’s hands shot to his waist.

They laid everything out to him, and Adam dropped into his chair.
“It’s not sounding good for this Jerrod guy.”

“He did fall to his death.”

“Jimmy.” Sara and Sean said it in unison, a smirk on their lips.

He held up his hands in surrender. “What?”

Adam drew his eyes from Jimmy. “If you don’t find him at his home, another good place to try is The Hornet’s Nest.”

“The Hornet’s Nest?” Sean asked.

“Yeah, the area of the city where you said this law firm is, all the lawyers hang out there after hours. I only know because I used to date a lawyer. They are just as bad as cops.”

“Hey,” Jimmy protested.

Adam pressed his lips and raised his brows.
“What? You don’t like to drink after shift?”

“Not the point.”

Undeterred, Adam continued.
“Actually it is the point. They are reliable. You’ll find him there if he’s not home. I’d wager on it. But you’ll have to go late. Lawyers keep long hours.”

“A bet, hotshot?” Jimmy slapped twenty on Adam’s desk.

“Jimmy?”

“Now, Sara, don’t be protecting this kid. He needs to put his money where his mouth is.”

Adam pulled out a twenty.
“You’re on, old man.”

This couldn
’t be happening. Two people she cared about were butting heads. Sometimes in situations like this there was no turning back. “You two,” she began.

All three men in the room broke out in laughter.

She crossed her arms.
“What is so funny?”

“The expression on your face. We were just smack-talking,” Jimmy said.

“Smack-what? Where did you learn to—”

Jimmy pursed his lips.
“Don’t even say I’m too old to talk like that.”

“Never.” She was happy that she had read the situation wrong. It happened sometimes.

“We should probably get going and work out our next course of action.” Sean stretched and let out a yawn.

“And get a coffee,” she added.

“Darling? Another one?”

She narrowed her eyes.
“Don’t start with me.”

“Oh, I won’t just start, I’ll fin—” Sean’s mouth was on hers before she registered him coming at her.