Enemies and Playmates Page 16
“I still think you’re crazy,” Tim was saying. “This isn’t your battle. Turn it over to the D.A.”
“No. I don’t trust the system. I have to see it through.”
“Do you always have to be so damn antiestablishment?”
Jesse laughed. “I can’t help myself.”
“Yeah, well you’re going to get yourself killed one of these days.”
“Hey, do you think there’s a group called antiestablishment anonymous?”
“If there was, you’d get tossed out,” Tim said. “You’d never make a day.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
“I guess I may as well tell you what I found.”
Jesse sat up. “Something good?”
“The names you asked me to run,” Tim said. “I haven’t had much time to spend on them. But one, Angela Walker, her sister filed a missing person on her yesterday.”
“What were the circumstances of her disappearance?”
“Sister says Angela was having an affair with a married guy. Angela wouldn’t give her sister the guy’s name. Said she couldn’t because he was well known and she needed to protect his reputation.”
“Interesting.”
“Sister also claims Angela had been depressed the past month or so,” Tim said. “Relationship problems was all she’d say. Sister figured Angela wanted more than the married guy was giving.”
“The guy is Covington,” Jesse said.
“Possibly.”
“Definitely,” Jesse said. “I know. Covington paid me to tail her for a few days. He thought she might be messing around on him. That made me laugh, since he’s married and has a string of women on the side.”
“Was she seeing someone else?”
“Not that I found. What else do you know about it?”
“It’s not my case,” Tim said. “But I took the liberty of stopping by Angela’s apartment building on my way home today. Tried to discreetly show Covington’s picture to a few of her neighbors.”
“I’m impressed,” Jesse said. “You actually played outside the rules.”
“Screw you,” Tim said. “You keep it up and I won’t tell you the rest.”
“There’s more? Hell then, you are a genius. My hero.”
“Now you’re making me gag.”
“So what’s the rest?”
“Old lady across the hall recognized him. Said she’d seen him there once, late at night. Lady likes to peer through the peephole in her door. She apparently lacks entertainment.”
“What’s her name?”
“Tibson,” Tim said. “About seventy or so. A widow.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
“Yeah. Tread carefully with this, Jess.”
“Of course.”
Jesse disconnected the call, then punched in Lauren’s cell phone number. She’d be at work but he wanted to check on her. Hear her voice. He’d been missing her ever since she’d crawled out of his bed that morning. He shook his head. How sappy was that?
“Hey babe,” he said when she answered. “How are you this fine evening?”
“Okay.”
“Just okay?”
After a slight hesitation, Lauren said, “My father paid me a visit this morning. He was waiting outside your apartment.”
“Damn. Why didn’t you come in and tell me?”
“You’d gone back to sleep. There was no reason to upset you and start your day off badly.”
“That’s silly,” Jesse said. “You can come to me anytime. What did he want?”
“He said for you to stop asking questions about his private business. He knows, Jesse.”
Jesse blew out a long breath. “I figured he’d be catching on by now,” he said. “I’m sure he doesn’t know the extent of it yet.”
“I’m worried about what he might do to you.”
“I’ll be careful. Don’t worry.”
“He threatened to kill you.”
“Nothing he hasn’t done before,” Jesse said. “I’m careful, Lauren.”
“I think we should stop seeing each other.”
“You’re kidding, right?”
“No.”
“Why? That wouldn’t change anything. We’ve been through this.”
“I think if we stop seeing each other and you leave things alone, then maybe in awhile -”
“Don’t even give me the someday we’ll see each other again speech.” Jesse sprang to his feet and paced the length of the room. “Hell Lauren, I love you. Your father isn’t going to back off and play nice just because we stop seeing each other. That has nothing to do with any of this. It’s only another way of him manipulating you.”
“But maybe he’ll leave you alone if he gets his way.”
“You don’t honestly believe that, do you?”
“I don’t know,” Lauren said on a sigh.
“Is this really what you want?”
“No. You know it’s not what I want.” Lauren’s voice broke into a sob. After a moment, she said, “But if he hurts you, I couldn’t stand it.”
“This has nothing to do with you. With us.” Jesse swiped a hand through his hair. He blew out a long breath. He wanted to punch something, preferably Alex Covington’s face. “You know the story, for the most part,” he said. “And since I refused to be on his payroll, I now know too much. Nothing you do, nothing we do, will change that.”
“I don’t know…”
“He paid me to tail one of his girlfriends,” Jesse said. He hated being so blunt. He didn’t want to hurt Lauren any more than she was already hurting. But he had to make her understand. “That girlfriend is now missing. I had been trying to track her down with no luck. Tim just told me her sister reported her missing.”
Lauren gasped. “Oh no. You don’t think my father…?”
“Yeah, that’s exactly what I think.”
“Oh God.”
“So you see, none of this has anything to do with our relationship. You’re just leverage for your father. That, and he doesn’t want me telling you these things. But no matter what happens with us, he’s coming after me.”
“I hate him so much.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“He wanted me to tell you to be at his office tomorrow afternoon,” Lauren said.
“Okay.”
“I don’t want you to go.”
“He wouldn’t hurt me there,” Jesse said. “Too risky.”
“That doesn’t matter.”
“I love you, Lauren.”
“I love you, too, Jesse.”
“So we’re okay?”
“Yeah. We’re more than okay.”
“Stop worrying,” Jesse said. “I’ll be fine.”
“I hope so.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow night.
The following morning Jesse was out the door by eight. The gray sky cast a dark shadow over the six-story building that was Covington’s Law Firm. He took the elevator to the sixth floor, occupied solely by Alex Covington’s private office suite. As he entered the expansive reception area, Suzanne glanced up from her desk. “Can I help you?” she asked.
Although Jesse already knew the answer, he kept his tone ridiculously polite. “Is Mr. Covington in?”
Suzanne’s overly made-up eyes remained fixed on Jesse. “Mr. Covington is in court. He won’t be back in the office until this afternoon.”
“I can wait.”
“Here?”
“Sure.” Jesse sat in one of the dark green leather chairs across the room from Suzanne’s desk. “I was told to meet him here today,” Jesse said. “I had to drop my car at the garage, caught a cab here. So I’ll just sit quietly and wait. I won’t disturb you.” He smiled, picked up a copy of Fortune magazine and absently leafed through the pages.
Suzanne frowned, though she said nothing. She seemed temporarily speechless and probably couldn’t come up with a courteous reply. After a moment, she resumed typing. Her discomfort was obvious, as her eyes continually darte
d up to see what Jesse was doing.
After a few moments of silence, Jesse said, “You’ve worked for Covington a long time, haven’t you?”
“Yes I have,” Suzanne replied.
He watched her blood red nails fly across the keyboard. Her tone and her posture were all business. That probably wouldn’t hold up much longer. Jesse said, “Is he a good boss?”
“The best.”
“You’re lucky.”
Suzanne stopped typing and met Jesse’s eyes. “Mr. Covington treats all his employees quite well. You should know that, Mr. Ryder.”
“Well I was never technically an employee. But it’s nice that he’s good to you. I’ve heard different about how he is around here.”
“You have?”
Jesse tossed the magazine on the table and stretched his arms out lazily. “Yeah. I’ve heard some complaints about him being a tyrant. And a womanizer. But, you know how it is, everybody has a different opinion.”
“Who have you been talking to?”
“Oh, just stuff I hear.”
“You can’t believe everything you hear, Mr. Ryder.”
“That’s true,” Jesse said. “The problem lies in deciding which things to believe.”
“I have no reason to lie.”
“I didn’t say you did.”
Suzanne tucked a chunk of her bleached blonde hair behind her ear. Her tone held a twinge of hostility when she spoke again. “What is it you want?”
“Nothing. Just making conversation.”
“Well, I’m sorry, but I have work to do.”
“Right. No problem.”
“You have a very long wait for Mr. Covington,” Suzanne said. “Wouldn’t you prefer to return later in the day?”
Jesse yawned. “Did you know he’s been trying to have me killed?”
“Excuse me?”
“Yeah, seriously. I guess he doesn’t like me much.”
Suzanne stiffened. Her eyes narrowed beneath fluttering false lashes. She said, “I don’t find your humor at all tasteful.”
“I wasn’t trying to be funny.” Jesse grinned. “You know how he is when things don’t go his way.”
“No, I am afraid I do not.”
“Really? C’mon, you must’ve seen him lose his cool before.”
“Mr. Ryder, I don’t know what you are talking about.”
Jesse shrugged. “Okay. I heard different, though. As a matter of fact, I heard you’ve suffered his wrath on a personal level at least a few times.”
“Excuse me?”
“I heard he beat you up.”
Suzanne’s cheeks flushed. “Who told you that?”
“Like I said before, I hear things. And I saw some hospital reports. Something about a cracked cheekbone and -”
“How dare you!” Suzanne said. “You had no right to pry into my personal business!”
“Yeah, I kind of figured that would piss you off.”
“Not that it’s any of your business, Mr. Ryder, but Mr. Covington had nothing to do with those injuries.”
“What about the black eyes you’ve been seen sporting?” Jesse asked. “And wasn’t it just last month that you had a couple cracked ribs?”
“I fell over a chair.”
“Uh-huh.”
Suzanne’s voice rose to a shrill. “I don’t find it necessary to explain any of this to you. Now kindly leave before I call security.”
Jesse stood up, stretched. He took a step toward the door, then turned back as if in afterthought. “Did you know one of his girlfriends was found dead not that long ago? She’d been murdered. And another one is now missing.”
“You must be mistaken,” Suzanne said. “Mr. Covington has always been faithful to his wife.”
“He spent last Friday night with you, at his condo, out by the harbor.”
Suzanne’s color deepened. “How dare you!”
“Are you afraid of him?”
“Of course not.”
“I could help you.”
“I don’t need your help.”
Jesse tossed one of his business cards on Suzanne’s desk. “If you change your mind,” he said, “call me. But I wouldn’t mention this conversation to your boss.”
“And why is that? To save your butt?”
“Nah, my butt’s beyond salvation. But I’m sure you realize that he’d beat the hell out of you for allowing this information to circulate. Your fault or not, he’d hold you responsible.”
Suzanne’s eyes widened. She said nothing. Just stared at Jesse slack-jawed.
“I imagine you know how Covington feels about me,” Jesse said. “And he sure as hell won’t be happy to hear that I have this info.”
“You have no proof of anything.”
Jesse grinned. “Are you sure of that?” he asked. Then he turned and strolled out the door.
Jesse parked his Mustang a half block from the courthouse. He sipped his root beer as he watched the exit. Less than forty-five minutes later, Alex emerged from the building. Jesse waited for his silver Mercedes to pull out of the lot, then he followed at a safe distance.
Alex drove straight to Elijah’s, one of those high-end restaurants where a waiter stood by your side and refilled your wine glass every time you took a sip. The guy would probably wipe your face with the Egyptian cotton napkins as well. The place had a two month waiting list for reservations. Jesse’s sister had taken him there once to celebrate his birthday. He’d batted the overly attentive waiter away and consequently embarrassed his sister to the point where she’d almost thrown her wine in his face. He smiled at the memory.
Jesse steered to the back of the lot and parked between a Lincoln and a limousine. An unmarked police cruiser pulled up to the valet in front and Captain Barnes stepped out. He shook hands with Covington and the two men disappeared inside the restaurant.
So there he had it. Captain Barnes had to be working with Covington. Why else would they be meeting at a restaurant where one meal cost more than most people earned in a month? Elijah’s certainly wasn’t the typical cop hang out. Hell, it wasn’t even a politician’s hang out.
Jesse swiped a hand through his hair and sighed. He wasn’t surprised. He’d figured Covington had connections with someone high up on the food chain. But what the hell was he going to do now?
“I know it doesn’t necessarily prove anything,” Jesse said.
Tom Eldridge sat in his padded leather swivel chair behind his polished desk. He frowned at Jesse. “Having lunch with Alex Covington is not a crime,” Eldridge said. “Not even for a police captain.”
“I didn’t say it was.”
“Yet, based on this premise, you’re convinced that Barnes is working with Covington?”
“Yeah.”
“I don’t see how you make that connection,” Eldridge said.
“Look, regardless of what either of us thinks, we should at least be cautious.”
“Fine, I’ll give you that.”
Jesse leaned back, away from the wave of garlic that Eldridge’s breath emitted. He said, “How are things going with that deal for Nyles?”
Eldridge cleared his throat. “We’re working on it.”
“What’s the hold up?”
“I’m going to level with you, Ryder. The department doesn’t like the idea of you being involved in this.”
“No shit.”
“We’ll be able to handle it from here.”
“Are you dismissing me?”
Eldrige squirmed a bit. He dropped his gaze to his immaculate desk. “If we need you for anything -”
“It ain’t happening,” Jesse said. He leaned forward on the desk, his face inches from Eldridge’s. “You can dismiss me all you like but you can’t stop me from working on this. It’s my case. So you can either work with me or not. I don’t really give a shit.”
“Ryder, give me a break here. I don’t make the rules.”
Jesse turned his head away. He coughed, stood to leave. “I’ve got work to do.”
“Yeah, I get that,” Jesse said. “And I have some advice for you.”
“What’s that?”
“Invest in some mouthwash.”
20
Lauren watched the snow fall outside the French doors in the den. Tiny flakes that quickly melted as they landed on the warm glass. At least this was only supposed to be a dusting. No one wanted a blizzard the day before Thanksgiving. Particularly her parents, who would be entertaining twenty-eight of her father’s business associates.
To Lauren, the thought of hosting a large holiday dinner party so soon after losing Stephen was hideous. But her father had insisted. And, as usual, her mother complied.
Thankfully she wouldn’t have to be there this year. Instead she’d be spending the day with Jesse, his sister, and her husband. The snobby sister, according to Jesse. He’d warned Lauren that his sister could be a little pretentious. Just the same, Lauren looked forward to the day.
She’d also worked her nerves to a frazzled edge. She’d spent the past three days tearing her closet apart, trying everything on. Nothing pleased her. So she’d spent this morning at the mall in search of that elusive perfect outfit.
The perfect outfit didn’t exist. Everything was too formal, too casual, too sexy, or just plain ugly. Hours later and on the verge of collapsing from a complete nervous breakdown, she’d found a simple yet elegant emerald green dress. She’d bought new black heels at a discount store, Jimmy Choos no less, and a jade necklace to complete the outfit. Not exactly the perfect outfit but at least one she felt comfortable wearing.
All the details were now taken care of. Except one. She hadn’t told her parents that she wouldn’t be home for Thanksgiving dinner. She’d been putting that off because she knew how her father would react. Large Thanksgiving gatherings were a tradition in their house. They’d put on their best clothes and their best acts. Her mother would cook for days. And, when it was over, everyone would rave about what a wonderful time they had at the Covington’s. Everyone would envy her father with his perfect family.
But this year there was no Stephen. This year everything had changed.