Worst Date Ever (Scandals #3) (10 page)

“You’re not still thinking of him as a suspect, are you?”  Michael stood and started pacing restlessly.

“He’s number one on our list.”

Michael raked his fingers through his perfectly groomed hair.  “Shit…not Cody.”

“Why not?”  Silently I hoped he could give me some solid reasons it wasn’t Cody.  I waited while Michael processed my question.

“He’s a nice guy.  Lots of fun to hang out with.  Great sense of humor…and he’s a real babe magnet.  I met him just after we moved into this building, and he helped me build my numbers.”

“From the records, it looks like he went on a lot of dates,” I commented.

Michael ducked his head sheepishly.  “Uh…I kind of talked him into that.  After the word got out that he was signed up with Linked, women were lining up to date him.”

“How did they hear about it?”

Again, Michael grimaced.  “I guess I kind of let it out at a couple parties…and a few bars.”

“So, he did it as a favor to you?”

“I told you he was a nice guy.”  Michael shrugged.  “Besides, I’m sure he enjoyed some of the perks…if you know what I mean.”

I could guess.

“He’s the perfect bait.  Attractive, rich, a fucking fireman…a perfect trifecta.  Every woman’s wet dream.”

I sucked in a deep breath for courage.  “Well, I want you to make him mine.”

“What?”  Michael stopped dead in his tracks.

“Or rather, I want you to make me irresistible to him.”

“You want to date Cody?”  Michael asked incredulously.

“I want to get close enough to him that I can check out his computer system.  I understand he knows his way around code and likes to play games.  Maybe that’s all this is, and once we confront him about it, he’ll fess up.  But I think I need some pretty solid evidence first.”

“How would he have gotten it on my computer? He’s never been here alone.  Why didn’t Darius find the BOT?  Or the insurance people?”

“They weren’t looking for it, I’m sure.  It was in tiny, undetectable pieces…like a box of Legos that assembled themselves into a Trojan Horse, sought out the personal information they needed, sent it to Cody, then quickly disassembled itself and slid off into the dark corners…very elegant actually.”

“You sound like you admire it.”

“Not
admire
exactly.  I’m just impressed by how well it works. Whoever wrote it was brilliant...but criminal.”

“And you’re convinced it was Cody,” Michael repeated as if he still couldn’t believe it.

“He’s the starting point.”

Michael returned to the couch and sat down with a sigh.  “I still don’t understand how he could have done it.”

“Have you ever received an email from Cody?  Or sent him one that he replied to?”

“Of course.  I told you, we were friends.  Plus, I had to send him info about the women he was matched with.”

I nodded.  “There you go.  It could have been attached to an email.  You never would have known.”  I took a sip of my now cool coffee.  There was something about this whole situation that was bothering me, and it had nothing to do with the BOT.  “I know this is off-topic, but wasn’t it a little disingenuous for you to use Cody for bait, then have him date girls he wasn’t interested in, but probably slept with?”  I wasn’t sure which part of that equation upset me more.

“Probably it wasn’t the nicest thing to do, but I made sure all of those girls got set up with other, usually more suitable guys.  Many of them are in long-term relationships now.”  Michael held his hands out, palms up.  “When I was trying to get the business off the ground, I was desperate.  Cody saved the day.”

“He’s a real hero,” I said sarcastically.  “Maybe there’s a little resentment there that you never noticed.  Maybe he felt used, so it justified his attack on your system.”  I watched Michael for his reactions.  I was just thinking out loud, mulling over the possibilities, but possibly I’d strike a nerve.

Michael looked like I’d punched him in the gut.  “He seemed so sincere.”

“We’ll see how sincere Mr. Hero is once I hack him.”

“Sounds vicious.”

“He killed Tamara.”

Michael stiffened.  “You think Cody killed her?”

“I think the thefts and the murder are related, mostly because of the electronic connection.”

Michael turned to me, his nostrils flared in anger.  “Let’s nail the son-of-a-bitch.”

“I’m going to be the hammer.”  I looked at my reflection in the huge, abstract-shaped mirror behind the couch.  My black hair was shaggy and spiky because I had forgotten to brush it this morning and the blue streaks had faded a little. I hadn’t trimmed my bangs in a couple months, so they almost covered my eyes which were my best feature, but they also gave people access to my soul, so I liked hiding behind the wall of hair.  My face was completely absent of makeup.  My naturally dark lashes didn’t really need mascara, but my cheeks were pale from spending too many hours indoors behind a computer screen.  “I’m going to need some help.” 

For the first time since the conversation began, Michael smiled.  “I’ve got people who can work miracles.”

I was a little unnerved that he thought it would take miracles to make me presentable.  I was never the prettiest girl in the room, but I wasn’t an ogre either.  However, he was the expert and I was committed to this project, so I nodded.

“Friday night is the quarterly mixer for the central Texas area, and Cody has RSVP’d” he continued.  “Let’s get you registered.”  Michael reached out and picked up his tablet.  He swiped the screen, then logged into the system and clicked through the pages until he came to a registration form.

“Tulsa…?”

“Wiggins.”

“Age?”

“22.”

“Birthday?”

“December 20
th
.”

“Almost a Christmas baby.”

I rolled my eyes.  “Two dates in December I never celebrated.”

Michael gave me an apologetic smile as if my crappy childhood was his fault.  “Born in…Tulsa, Oklahoma?”

I nodded.

“You’re five foot…”

“Seven.”

“What do you like to do when you’re not working?”

I thought for a moment and realized I didn’t have any hobbies.  “What does he like to do?”

Michael clicked the keys quickly.  “Bowling, shooting skeet, NASCAR, basketball, BMX and trivia.”

“What a coincidence.  Me, too.”

He gave me a knowing look, then copied Cody’s list of likes into my file.  “You need a job.”

“Put me down for management consulting…no specific skills needed there, and it will keep me separated from anything IT that might raise a flag.”

“IQ?  Never mind…his is 136.”

“145…he needs a challenge, and I can play it down if I need to.”  I smiled.  It was an honest answer, but I’d never actually told anyone before.  “What else?”

“I’m going to get a couple people to come here tomorrow and do something with your hair and makeup…and maybe get you a new outfit.  Then we’ll take some pictures…a head shot and a full body.”

I didn’t know if I was more nervous about the make-over and photos or meeting Cody again. “Where and when is the mixer?”

“Starts at 7:30 and runs until whenever…at
fado’s Irish Pub & Restaurant
on West 4
th
Street in the Warehouse district.  You’ll be on the list.”

“Can you add my wingman?”

“Liberty, I assume?”

“Yes.  She’s pretty observant.”  I realized my palms were wet.  “And I could use the back-up.”

A couple of taps on the tablet screen and he added her to the list. “My crew will be here tomorrow morning, and they can work on you in my apartment.”

I sighed.  I hoped everyone would appreciate the sacrifices I was making for this case.  I followed Michael to the door of his office.  With his hand on the knob, he looked back at me and shook his head.

“Cody?  Fuck, I hope you’re wrong.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

I shut the engine off and looked around the parking lot at Lavaca and West Fourth Street.  “I’m not getting why they call this the Warehouse District.  It looks like stores, offices and restaurants to me.”

“Maybe there used to be warehouses here.  You know how names stick,” Liberty suggested.  She stuck her phone in her skirt pocket.  “
Fado’s
is across the street from here.”

“Ready to meet a shitload of eligible men?”

“I’m ready,” Liberty opened her door and swung out holding the assist handle near the windshield.  She had a way better attitude about this meat market than I did.

“Hold up girl,” I shouted.  She was already at the corner waiting for the light to change.  For a girl just getting out of a cast, she moved like a gazelle.  I had to step lively to catch up with her.  We were side-by-side as we crossed the street, then headed toward the colorful bar about halfway down the block.  “Your primary wingman task is not hooking up with Darius, you know.  I need you to be sure no other girls get Cody’s attention.”

“How do I do that?”

“Don’t know…don’t care, but I gotta be the only one he’s thinking about by the end of the night.  Got it?”

“Absolutely.”

The guard at the door was a large man, not too good looking, but imposing.  “Names?” he asked in a deep raspy voice.

“Tulsa and Liberty,” I answered.

He looked me up and down and smiled.  “Sure thing, little lady.”

I bristled, unaccustomed to being called little or a lady.  It wasn’t until then that I remembered I had undergone a mini-makeover yesterday that had softened my Goth edge and made me appear a little more mainstream.  I unclenched my fist and made a valiant attempt to smile back at him.  “Thanks.”

He unclipped a red velvet rope and stood aside so we could enter.

“Did you see how he stared at you?” Liberty whispered.  “By the way, you look amazing…just not like you.”

“I know.  I’m trying to pretend it’s Halloween and this is my costume.”  I twitched a little, adjusting the thin straps on the lightweight dress I had been coerced into wearing.  At least it was a nice blue almost the same shade as the stripes in my hair.  I had fought to keep those, even though the hairdresser had tried to talk me out of them.  When she saw I wouldn’t budge, she had touched them up so they were dark and true.  But to win that battle, I gave up my protests about no makeup and was now wearing some kind of liquid foundation that gave me a hint of a tan, blush to highlight my cheeks, a touch of eye liner and lipstick.  When I looked in the mirror I had to admit that I looked better than I usually did.  Plus, they had trimmed my bangs so my ice blue eyes seemed to jump out.  The fact that I didn’t look like myself made it easier for me to play the part of femme fatale for tonight.

The small sign on a tripod beside the doorway announced the bar was closed for a private party with the Linked web address strategically displayed.  Liberty was so excited that she practically skipped as we headed inside.

A scantily attired man and woman greeted us inside the door with a tray of drinks.  “Welcome to the Linked quarterly mixer and
fado’s
,” the dark-haired, muscular bare chested man said with a smile.  “A
fado
Jameson and Ginger ladies?”

“What’s in it?” Liberty questioned.

“Jameson Irish whiskey, Crabbie’s Alcoholic Ginger Beer, lime…it will get you started.”

“Sounds good, but can I have one without the whiskey or the beer?” Liberty asked.

“That would be just a lime soda.”  The man seemed confused.

“Perfect.”  She gave him a dazzling smile, and he nodded.

“Sure thing.  And you, miss?”  He turned toward me.

“I’ll take one, as is.”  I picked a sweating glass off his tray and took a sip.  It was probably not ever going to be my first choice, but it was pretty good.  There was a line behind us, so we continued further into the room.

“Hey Tulsa…they have name thingies over there.” Liberty led the way to a table by the bar.

“Are we connected tonight Austin?” yelled the lead singer of the four-piece country band.  “We’re
Country Rolls
and we’re here until ten this evening.  We’ll play requests for a buck each which goes to the
Country Rolls
survival fund, otherwise you’ll get what we want to play.”  He turned and counted down their first song, and the small room was filled with sound.

That was going to make conversation more challenging, I thought to myself.  Aloud I shouted, “Lanyards.”

“What?”  Liberty yelled back.

“Those red thingies are lanyards, and they hold the heart-shaped name tags.”  I hadn’t used my outside voice in years, but it was going to be necessary tonight.

“Oh…okay…thanks.”

“See mine?”

She selected a name tag from the pile and handed it to me.  She had already located hers, and we slipped them over our heads.

“This place is really cool…with all the wood and stained glass.  Looks like it belongs in Ireland.”

“I think that’s the idea.”  I looked around, trying to spot Michael or Cody, but I didn’t see anyone I recognized.  “We need to keep moving if I’m going to find Cody in this crowd.”

The server found us and handed Liberty her limeade.  She thanked him and we slowly strolled around the room, sipping our drinks as we tried to act like we belonged in this group of ridiculously beautiful people.

Liberty leaned close and shouted, “Why is everyone looking at their cell phones?”

“Don’t know…excuse me miss,” I touched the shoulder of a young woman about my age.  I had never played for the female team, but this girl was so gorgeous even I was attracted to her.  She was tall and slender with a glorious mane of curly red hair cascading around her shoulders and down her back.  There was no chance in the world anyone would ever notice me with her in the room.  I pushed back my insecurities and asked, “What’s everyone looking at?”

“Hey there…I’m Alex.” She leaned closer to hear and reached out to shake my hand.

I responded.  I pointed to my nametag and said loudly.  “Tulsa and this is Liberty.”

“Hey.” Liberty finger waved.

Alex showed me her cell phone.  “You’ve got to download the Linked app for this location in Austin. Then you can see the list of who is here and the map showing where they are in the room.” She slid her finger across and down on the screen.  “You can double click on their name and pull up their profile and even send them a
howdy
if you want to meet them.”

“And anyone can see us as well?”

“If your names are on the list.”

“Thanks…I’ll download it right now.”

“There’s quite a crowd tonight,” Alex commented.

“Don’t take this wrong,” I said a little hesitantly, “but why would someone who looks like you have to join a dating service?”

Alex threw her head back and laughed.  “Because I seem to be a magnet for all the crazies and creeps out there.  It’s hard to meet good guys.”

“Have you been a member long?”

“Only a couple of months, but this is the first mixer I’ve been to,” she explained.  “I met Michael one night when I picked him up in my pedi-cab…”

“Pedi-cab?”

“Yeah, I drive a pedi-cab around town for extra money.”  She shrugged.  “It beats a membership at the gym.”

I looked at her closely and noticed that although she was thin, her arms and legs were muscular and well-toned.

“I graduated from UT this year with a degree in business.  But so far, I haven’t found anything that sounded like the right fit in the corporate world.  So until then, I pedal.”

I couldn’t argue with that logic.

She reached in her pocket and handed me a card.  “Just call me if you want a lift around town.”

“I will.”  I stuck the card in the small handbag Michael’s groomers had given me to carry.

“See you around,” Alex said and drifted off, following some electronic trail on her phone.

Liberty was frowning as she mulled through what she had heard.  “So people come here to meet people, then they spend all evening on their cell phones.  Wouldn’t it be easier to just go up to someone and talk to them?”

“Sure it would…if you’re you,” I explained.  “But some of us are a little more shy and hesitant to approach a total stranger.  It’s kind of an ice breaker if you already know a little something about the person.”

“But isn’t that what you talk about when you meet someone?”

I considered that and nodded.  “You’re right, but that’s Linked’s gimmick, so let’s play along.”  I found the app and started the download.

“Come all this way to meet someone when you could just look them up on your phone from your living room,” Liberty muttered as she, too, downloaded the app.  She had been raised to be open and honest, and she was clearly having trouble understanding why meeting people had to be so complicated.

“Patience…technology is our friend.  Within a few minutes I’ll have my Cody radar up and running.  Remember, we’re not here to have a good time.”

Liberty cleared her throat loudly, and her eyes darted nervously between mine and over my left shoulder.  She cleared her throat again.

Because I knew she couldn’t hear me unless I spoke really loudly, I mouthed, “Cody?”

She nodded.

Show time.  I was beginning to wonder if this was a bad idea.  Maybe I should have let Michael set us up on a date.  How could I compete with all these hot, sexy women?  Liberty’s eyes widened and focused on something over my left shoulder just before I felt a light tap. One, two three. I plastered on my best attempt-at-being-sexy smile and turned.

“My laptop angel!  Hi.  Cody…right?”

“Right…Tulsa.  I’d shake your hand but I just got the sling off from the damage I suffered from the fall.”

“Really?  I’m sorry…”  My smile became a concerned gasp.

He flexed his am.  “No, not really.  I was just jerking your chain.  How are you?”

This time my smile was genuine.  “I’m great.  Working away.  How about you?”

“Doing some training and certification stuff at work.”

“I was hoping you’d be here tonight.”  I knew I needed to ramp up the conversation or he’d lose interest and wander off.  But as soon as I said it, I felt uncomfortable.

Cody didn’t seem to notice.  “I logged on today and your profile popped up!  Didn’t even know you were a member.”

Popped up…bull’s eye.  “Yes…I joined this week and was just downloading the app.”

Cody held his cell phone up and wagged it in front of me.  He yelled over the sound of the band.  “I was hoping you’d be here…same idea?”  He flashed that mega-watt smile at me.

I nodded, suddenly feeling shy and awkward.

“You look…different,” he said, studying me closely.

That deflated me.  If I hadn’t been holding a glass, I would have melted to the floor and slid out the door.  “Do I?” I asked weakly.

“I liked the other look, but this is pretty hot, too.”

Whew…he thought I was hot.  That completely took my breath away.

“Hey…Liberty.” Cody looked past me and waved to her.  “Sorry, I didn’t see you at first.”

“That’s okay.  Glad you guys found each other in this crowd…really noisy!” she shouted back. 

I caught sight of Darius coming toward us.  Since he wasn’t in on the plan, we needed to keep him away from me.  I didn’t want Cody to think this was a set up.  I signaled Liberty to come closer and whispered in her ear.  “There’s Darius…Cody can’t see the three of us together…take off and keep Darius away from us.”

“How long?  Never mind…I’ll call you,” she whispered back, then said loudly, “Hey, I gotta run.  I’ll catch you guys later…bye.”  She hustled away, smoothly intercepting Darius and leading him away.

“So…Cody, let’s go outside where it’s a little quieter…okay?”  I twisted him around to be sure he didn’t see Darius with Liberty.

“Sure.  This way.”   He grabbed a glass of beer off a tray and led the way through the crowd, occasionally glancing back to make sure I was still following.  He pushed open a door to a small outdoor patio area.  There were a couple of other people out there already, obviously eager to get away from the noise and the crush like we were.  We nodded at them, but headed toward a table in the far corner.  Cody held out my chair for me and I almost stumbled as I sat.

It’s all an act
, I kept repeating to myself over and over.  I couldn’t let myself actually believe he was real or I’d never find the truth. 

It was dusk and the air was cooler and fresher out here.  I took another sip of my drink.  “These mixers always like this?”

“Crowded?  Yeah.  Michael once told me he always booked small venues because it made his events look more successful.  I think he’s brilliant.”

“This Jameson and Ginger was okay, but I could use a Hans Pils if you see a server,” I told him.

“Really?  That’s my favorite beer.  Amazing.”  He seemed impressed.  “Why do you like it?”