Whiskey, You're The Devil: An Addison Holmes Mystery (Addison Holmes Mysteries Book 4) (12 page)

“Ouch, ouch, ouch.” I limped as quickly as I could toward the kitchen. Nick had come in through the garage door instead of the front.

“When did we get dogs?” Nick asked. His voice was calm, and I was pretty glad in that moment that he was trained not to panic. Because I could guarantee if our positions were reversed I’d be needing a diaper right about now.

“I meant to call you and warn you, but I fell asleep.”

Actually, I’d gotten in the Whirlpool and found a marathon of Designing Women on the TV. Three hours later I was pruny, I felt almost human, and I’d decided I wanted to be Julia Sugarbaker when I grew up. And I’d forgotten all about calling Nick to warn him about the dogs once I slid beneath the sheets.

“These are Rosemarie’s dogs. There wasn’t anyone to take care of them after she got arrested.”

“So you volunteered?”

“I kind of promised her. She caught me at a weak moment and she was kind of losing her mind because of the whole peeing in front of people thing.”

“What’s the big deal?”

“Only a man would say that. Believe me, going to the bathroom in front of others is a
very
big deal to women. We don’t even like the people in the stall next to us to hear what’s going on. A girl learns early on how to covert pee.”

“I don’t even want to know what you’re talking about. Can we get back to how we’ve ended up with two dogs that won’t let me in my own home?”

I flipped on the overhead light in the kitchen and saw Nick was still pressed against the door. His weapon was out but relaxed at his side now that the dogs had stopped their attack. They sat about three feet in front of him, letting off the occasional growl and waiting for me to give them the command to attack.

It turns out Rosemarie’s dogs love me, and were nothing but big pussycats.

“Are you hurt?” I asked.

“Not at the moment.”

“Are you mad at me?”

“I’m taking it under consideration. Have you given the dogs our bed?”

“No, I gave them the room your grandfather stayed in when he visited at Thanksgiving. They like the bed. It’s soft.”

“Good. I won’t change the sheets next time he comes to visit. He hates dogs.”

“What’d you do to your knee?”

I looked down and saw it was swollen and already turning an interesting shade of purple.

“Ya know. Testing out my ninja skills on the stairs.”

“Looks like the stairs won. If you’ll call the dogs off I’ll get you an ice pack.”

I pulled out one of the chairs from the kitchen table and sat down hard, propping my leg up on the opposite chair. “Baby. Johnny Castle. Go lay down in your room. Nick’s one of the good guys.”

They looked him up and down one more time and then looked back at me again just to make sure. I nodded my head in the affirmative and off they went, back to their room. They were really quite intelligent animals.

Nick let out a breath and rubbed his hands over his face. He looked awful, and I felt even more guilty for not remembering to warn him about the dogs. His clothes were rumpled, a coffee stain was on his shirt, he was way past a five o’clock shadow, and his eyes were bloodshot. He walked over the freezer and pulled out a bag of frozen peas, and then leaned down to the fridge to grab a beer. He brought the peas over to set on my knee and then dropped down into the chair next to my propped leg.

I hissed as the cold touched my skin, but it wasn’t long before the throbbing started to dull a little. “You any closer to solving your case?” I asked.

“Got a tip just after ten o’clock and made an arrest around midnight. I’ve got to be up in a couple of hours and get back to the station to finish up. He’ll be processed by then.”

“Any news on Rosemarie?”

“I know her attorney showed up because Jacoby was bitching about it.”

“I really hate Jacoby,” I said, scowling.

“Most of us do too. He can be a real asshole. I didn’t realize you knew each other.”

“We don’t. At least not in person. Do you think they’ll release Rosemarie on bail in the morning?”

“More than likely. It’s only a second degree charge and she has a clean record.”

“Can you tell me anything new?”

“Honestly, I can’t. I’ve been so swamped with my own case I haven’t had time to catch up on the other. I’ll check for you in the morning though.”

“I’ve got to help her, Nick. She doesn’t have anyone else.”

“Or you could let the police do their jobs and stay out of trouble.”

“No way. Jacoby wants her to be guilty. He even stole her emergency cache of M&Ms.”

“I have no idea what that means. But that sounds like Jacoby.” Nick stretched and then lifted the peas on my knee to take a closer look. “That’s going to be stiff as hell in the morning.”

“I guess it’s a good thing I finished all my testing. I’m not sure Phoebe would’ve had enough drugs to get me through all that on a swollen knee.”

“Your family terrifies me, sweetheart.”

“The feeling is most definitely mutual.”

Chapter Eleven

I
’M NOT SURE
what time Nick left the house, but it was still dark outside and I was burrowed under the covers. I had every intention of taking my time after the grueling day before, and maybe taking another soak in the Whirlpool, especially with my knee swollen to twice it’s usual size. My cell rang just as I pulled Nick’s shirt over my head and tossed it in the hamper.

“Yo,” I said into the phone when I saw Savage’s name appear in the caller ID.

“Yo, yourself. Get ready to roll. I’ll swing by to pick you up in thirty. Wear something casual. And no high heels.”

“I’m assuming this has to do with Khan?” I asked as I looked longingly at the tub. It wasn’t going to happen this morning. I turned on the shower instead.

“Yeah, and our window of opportunity is very small. So be ready.”

“I’m on it. And if you bring me a mocha latte in the biggest cup you can find I promise to be in a good mood.”

“It’s a deal. You were pretty scary yesterday.”

He hung up without a goodbye and I tossed the phone on the counter. As long as I didn’t put too much weight on my knee I was in good shape, so I gingerly made my way into the shower and washed as quickly as possible. There was no time to dry my hair, so I didn’t wash it. It seemed like an excellent day to wear a hat.

The problem with the word casual is that it can mean a lot of things. Especially when a man is the one saying it. Does he mean wear sweats and tennis shoes or does he mean wear jeans and a nice blouse? There are varying degrees of casual.

I pulled jeans out of my closet first and found out very quickly that my knee was not going to fit through the leg hole.

“Yoga pants it is.” I pulled a pair out of the drawer and then grabbed a loose sweater in baby blue. Tennis shoes were out of the question because I couldn’t really bend over to tie the laces, so I opted for my black Uggs. I pulled my hair into a ponytail and slipped a black baseball cap on my head. I was downstairs and ready to roll with two minutes to spare. Savage was already in front of the house. Or at least I assumed it was Savage. He was in a white panel van with the words Speedy Cleaners painted on the side.

I grabbed my bag, made sure the dogs had water and food, and then hobbled out the front door as fast as my aching body would allow. Savage’s brows raised as I opened the car door and ungracefully slid inside. I arched my own brow at the sight of him. He was wearing a pair of white coveralls and a baseball cap that said Speedy Cleaners just like on the side of the van.

“That limp could be a problem for our morning activities.”

“I just need to walk on it a bit. It’ll loosen up.”

“If you say so. You were mostly in one piece when I left you yesterday. Do I want to know how this happened?”

“Probably not. Do you want to tell me why we’re driving around in a Speedy Cleaners van and why you look like you’re about to paint a house? I barely recognize you.”

Savage pulled up his pant leg and I saw a pair of purple socks with palm trees all over them. “Recognize me now?” he asked.

“Yes, much better.”

“I’ve got the boxers to match.”

“I’ll pass on seeing those.”

“I figured we should pay Dexter Kyle a visit this morning. He’s in court this morning, and Wednesdays are when his cleaning service shows up.”

“Ahh. Let me guess. Speedy Cleaners?”

“The one and only. I manipulated their computers and put in an order to cancel the regular service that comes out. And with a little help from Byron I’ve got the security codes and a remote to disable the cameras.”

“It pays to know people in the right places.”

“That’s pretty much the motto of anyone in law enforcement. And by the way, I don’t have to remind you that what we’re doing is technically illegal, so we want to stay under the radar.”

“Got it. I can be very stealthy when I set my mind to it. Practically invisible.”

“Yes, I remember how invisible you can be from the last time we did a job like this together. Just don’t break anything or draw attention to yourself.”

I pinched my lips together and decided it was best not to argue. It’s not like he wasn’t right, but I thought it was pretty ungentlemanly to keep bringing it up. I was only human after all.

“There’s an extra set of coveralls behind you and shoe protectors,” Savage said. “Time to suit up.”

I leaned around to look behind the seat and saw the neat stack, along with a Speedy Cleaner’s hat and a pair of latex gloves.

“This should be interesting,” I said, wondering how I was going to contort my leg enough to get it through the oversized leg holes. I bit my bottom lip and held back a whimper as I pulled it on, and I was glad Savage was smart enough not to make a comment. He was kind of a loose cannon at times, but his instincts were spot on.

I finally got the coveralls up and zipped and then bent down to put on the white booties that would protect the floors from my shoes. I exchanged my hat and then pulled on the gloves.

“I feel very…white,” I said. “Speedy Cleaners could do with a little color in their life. Maybe a scarf or something.”

“Yes, I’m sure all the cleaners would love a colorful scarf around their necks while they’re scrubbing toilets.”

“It never hurts to accessorize,” I said primly.

Dexter Kyle lived just off Forsyth Park, not far from Nick’s parents, in a narrow three-story house. It had a widow’s walk and a red door, and the overgrown plants in the front garden were in serious need of maintenance. I wondered briefly if he let them grow wild for privacy. It was almost impossible to see the house or in the windows from the street.

Savage backed into the driveway and I felt the little fireflies of adrenaline bouncing around in my stomach that appeared every time I was about to do something that might be slightly illegal. Mostly I was afraid of Kate. She had a hard rule at the agency that no one was to break the law. Not ever. I liked to think of it as more of a suggestion than a rule. And I also found it really important to keep all of these off the books B&E sessions to myself. I didn’t want to lose my P.I. license before it had even come in the mail.

Savage got out of the van and pocketed the keys, sliding open the side door of the panel van and reaching inside for the vacuum and cleaning supplies. I let out a breath and then joined him on the driveway, taking a bucket in mop out of my side to carry in. My knee was throbbing like a bitch, and I was using the mop handle as a kind of cane to keep my balance. I wasn’t doing a very good job of it.

“You’re looking a little too much like Flavor Flav, babe. All you need is a big ass clock around your neck.”

“Thank you. I’ve been working on my street cred.”

Savage cracked out a laugh and positioned me once we got to the front door so I blocked his hands from view. It only took him a few seconds to pick both the lock and the deadbolt, and he swung the front door open and motioned me to enter.

The alarm beeped, signaling our thirty seconds before all hell broke loose, and Savage went to the control panel and punched in the code Byron had given him.

“What about the cameras?” I asked.

“Already taken care of.” He pulled a remote no bigger than the palm of his hand out of his pocket.

“Fancy.” I closed and locked the front door behind us just for good measure and then dropped my bucket on the floor and propped the mop against the wall.

“What happens if Dexter fires Speedy Cleaners because they didn’t clean today?”

“Not our problem. Casualties of war.”

“Remind me to never play games with you. You’re too cutthroat.”

“What kind of games are we talking about? Monopoly or the sexual kind? Because I can promise my reaction would be different depending on which you chose.”

I clapped my hands together and ignored the way my pulse sped. “Alrighty then. I’m going to start on this floor, and you can take the upstairs. Let me know if you find anything.”

“Just a minute, Mata Hari.” Savage took hold of my arm, and I couldn’t decide if he was serious or if he just wanted an excuse to touch me. “You hear that?”

Okay…so it wasn’t an excuse to touch me. Good to know. I heard the scratching against one of the doors and soft whimpers.

“It’s just a dog,” I said, letting out my breath in relief. I was feeling extra confident after my time with Baby and Johnny Castle. “Let me handle this. It turns out I’m just like the dog whisperer and didn’t even know it.”

“Be my guest.”

I limped to a wood paneled door just past the stairs. There was a formal living room with doors wide open just before it and an office that had lots of wood paneling and books on the opposite side. The house wasn’t wide enough across to have too many rooms on each floor, and I was hoping we’d get lucky and find the Enterprise in plain sight, assuming Spock was right about him displaying the spoils of war like a true collector.

From the sound of the scratches on the door the dogs weren’t big. I couldn’t tell how many there were, but I knew it was at least two.

“Hey, puppies,” I said, using the same tone of voice I had with Rosemarie’s dogs. The whimpers quieted on the other side of the door and I shot Savage a cocky grin. “I told you.”