16. Erin
CHAPTER 16
ERIN
“ D amn, is that…?”
I thought it was, but I checked the picture on my phone just in case. “Sure looks like him.”
Yesterday and Monday, Kelsey had left work alone and gone right back to the Neptune. But today, she’d walked out of the office building with Amber Cassidy and climbed into a cab. I said a silent thank-you for Alexa’s tracking software because there was no way we’d have caught up with them otherwise. Rusty had brought his pickup—which was actually Mav’s pickup—and I directed while he drove.
We ended up at the Salt Shaker, a modern fusion restaurant near the Strip, possibly started by someone who had a beef with the Peppermill, who knew? Anyhow, the restaurant was big enough that we wouldn’t stand out if we went inside, and two minutes after the hostess seated us, Kelsey’s mystery date from the Galaxy showed up and made a beeline for her table. Five minutes after that, another guy arrived and took the seat beside Amber. He wore skinny jeans and a pale blue polo shirt buttoned up at the neck .
Then we started the guessing game. Dinner among friends? A business meeting? A double date?
“I vote date,” Rusty said, picking up a menu. “Look at the body language. The guy’s into Kelsey.”
But was she into him? “Really?”
“He squeezed her hand when they sat down.”
“Does that say ‘date’?”
“It’s more intimate than a kiss on the cheek.” Rusty considered for a moment. “Unless it’s one of those slow, lingering kisses.”
“I don’t know… Kelsey’s smiling, but it doesn’t reach her eyes.”
“Maybe she doesn’t like the restaurant. It’s damn busy in here.”
“Busy is a good thing. If a restaurant is empty, that usually means the food sucks. Or the hygiene sucks, which is worse.”
Or sometimes both, if a restaurant I’d worked at in Florida was anything to go by. Although with hindsight, it might have been a money-laundering operation. Back then, I’d had no idea about those kinds of crimes, but Ari had taught me a lot.
Anyhow, the Salt Shaker was three-quarters full, good for an early evening. According to the story on the first page of the menu, the place was a husband-and-wife venture, started after they couldn’t agree on where to go for dinner one night. There were four kitchens—American, Italian, Chinese, and Mexican. You could order an appetiser of crispy seaweed, followed by pizza, then churros, accompanied by a side of biscuits and gravy. At least, you could if you had no tastebuds.
Since we didn’t know how many courses the folks at the target table planned to eat, we only ordered entrées. If necessary, we could stretch it out and then order desserts. While Rusty kept the conversation going, I nodded in the right places and monitored Kelsey. She smiled and sipped her drink, but when Galaxy Guy’s arm moved in a way that suggested he was touching her under the table, I swore she showed disgust. Not a full-on grimace, but a slight twist of the lips. Definitely not joy. On the other hand, Amber and the gent next to her did seem genuinely into each other.
“I need to get a better picture of that guy,” I whispered to Rusty. “Maybe when they walk past us to leave.”
Usually, I’d sidle by the table and pretend I was looking for the bathroom, but they were sitting in a corner and there was clearly no bathroom in the vicinity. What would Ari do? She always thought outside the box.
I watched the table for a little longer. Galaxy Guy was definitely the top dog. He told the stories while the others listened, but the laughter at his anecdotes seemed forced. I’d seen that “Lord, have mercy” look on Kelsey’s face a hundred times when I was waiting tables in Florida, and I always kept an eye on those couples. If things went too far south, I’d sometimes slipped the girl a note offering to help her leave, and about half the time, she’d taken me up on it. Galaxy Guy was an arrogant son of a bitch.
Hmm, arrogant. Could I do something with that?
Our food came, burgers and fries, and I ate the burger first because the fries would taste okay cold. Kelsey’s table had ordered appetisers, so we had to eat slowly.
“I still don’t think it’s a date,” I told Rusty. “I’m not sure it’s a business meeting either. Too much laughter, not enough work.”
“The guy with the blue shirt just kissed Amber’s hair.”
“I’m focusing on Kelsey.”
Honestly, she looked the way I used to feel when I was stuck in the marriage from hell.
“If it isn’t a date, and it isn’t a business meeting, then why are they here?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted .
But we’d find out. After dessert, Kelsey and Amber—who did appear friendly toward each other—hurried off to the bathroom, leaving Galaxy Guy and Blue Shirt Guy at the table. I grabbed my phone.
“What are you doing?” Rusty asked.
“Back in a minute.”
“Hey, wait a?—”
More than once in my life, I’d been told I sounded like a lunatic, and this was one time that trait would come in useful. I strode over to Kelsey’s table.
“Ohmigosh! I thought it was you. It is, isn’t it? You’re Lucas Collins.”
A total lie because Lucas Collins had darker hair, a straighter nose, a stronger jaw, and looked as if he actually worked out. But I figured Galaxy Guy wouldn’t mind being mistaken for him.
He looked puzzled for a second. “No, I?—”
“ Hidden Intent is my absolute favourite movie. I’ve seen it, like, a hundred times.” And still couldn’t recognise one of the stars. “You and Violet Miller were fabulous together.”
“No, you’re?—”
“And you were amazing in Green Eyes . Between you and me, I don’t think the plot was that great, but you totally made it watchable. Can I get a picture?”
Blue Shirt was trying not to laugh, but Galaxy Guy just smirked and held out his hand for my phone.
“Sure, sweetheart.”
Sweetheart? Ugh. Later, he’d tell all his friends about the girl in the Salt Shaker who was so dumb she couldn’t recognise the star of a movie she’d watched obsessively, but I didn’t care. Solving the case was more important than my pride, and I’d have the last laugh anyway.
I cringed inwardly as he wrapped an arm around my waist and took at least ten selfies. Handsy, he was definitely handsy, even in a public place. But now I had fodder for Alexa’s cyber machine.
“Wow, thanks so much. My friends aren’t going to believe this.”
“You’re welcome, darlin’.”
I scrolled through the pictures as I walked back to our table, where Rusty was taking care of the check. Galaxy Guy might have been a sleaze, but he was a reasonable photographer, and I was certain Alexa would be able to run these pictures through her facial recognition software.
“Are you crazy?” Rusty asked when I plopped into my seat.
“Maybe, but it worked, didn’t it?”
Kelsey returned, and I kept my head down as her party ambled in the direction of the door.
“He has his hand on the small of her back,” Rusty said, and I heard the doubt in his voice.
“For the last time, it’s not a damn date. He’s not her boyfriend; he’s a creep.”
And for some reason, she had to be nice to him. I felt a tiny bit sorry for her, and that made me want to solve this mystery more than ever.
Nine p.m., and a quiet beep came from the door of Ari’s hotel room. The handle moved, and I froze with my towel wrapped around me. Last night, someone had rattled the handle of my door in the middle of the night, and I’d barely slept a wink afterward.
But it was just Ari. She staggered in and collapsed onto the bed.
“You okay?”
“Another lead exhausted, and so am I.”
“Which lead? Math guy or the MC?”
“My contact at the Diamondback Devils swears they don’t know of a reason for Lucy being attacked. Sure, they have beefs with people, but apparently, there’s some kind of bro code. I’ll break the news to Jerry tomorrow. And the math is still ongoing. There are literally millions of accounting entries, and Rennick’s writing a program to analyse it all.”
“I’m surprised Alexa didn’t get there first.”
“Alexa knows code, but I’m not sure she knows finance. She mentioned once that an accountant takes care of that for her. How did your day go?”
“Kelsey went out with that guy again, the one from the Galaxy.”
“So she is having an affair?”
“I don’t think so, at least not with him. They weren’t on their own at dinner—Amber Cassidy from the architect firm and another guy were with them—and Kelsey seemed as if she was acting wary. Rusty thought they were double-dating.”
“But you believe otherwise?”
I nodded. “But I don’t know for sure. It’s not as if I ever go on dates myself. He kept touching her, but it wasn’t reciprocated.”
“Any clues as to his identity?”
“No, but I got some pictures, good ones.”
I rummaged through my purse with one hand, holding the towel in place with the other. Ari gave a low whistle as she scrolled through the album.
“How did you get him to pose like this?”
“Pretended I thought he was Lucas Collins. He seemed pretty happy about that.”
“I bet he did. Lucas Collins is hot. And also gay.”
“What?”
“That’s what a little birdie told me. ”
“Is that little birdie named Alexa by any chance?”
“She isn’t often wrong. Anyhow, we should get some sleep. I thought they fixed your shower?”
“They said they did, but it’s barely tepid. And I didn’t want to make a fuss because…well… Cole and Jerry.”
“They still need to know. I’ll go down to the desk in the morning.”
“Do you have a plan for tomorrow?”
“You’re on Kelsey duty; I’m back with Rennick. The loan is really the only unexplored lead we have at the moment.”
“How about Shane Wallins?”
“He was at college, but rumour says he was struggling to keep up with tuition payments, so he was on the lookout for freelance work.”
“Any idea who hired him?”
Ari shook her head. “I’ve tracked down his old roommate and several other acquaintances. They all said the same thing—he was trying to go straight. But he did hang out at the Mamba Room, which isn’t the most reputable of bars, and I’m trying to find someone who’ll talk to me about what goes on there.”
“So we’re still fishing around in the dark?”
“Unfortunately so.”
Sin was staying with Rusty again tonight. On Sunday, she’d recharged the batteries on the cameras in the yard, made small talk while eating pizza, and left before Rusty got out of bed in the morning. And last night? Last night, she’d knocked on the front door to ask whether Maverick Johansen had a dog allergy, and when Rusty confirmed he didn’t, Sin lugged in a dog crate and then fetched Trooper from her car. The vet said he needed at least six weeks of crate rest. Was Rusty annoyed that she’d shown up with an extra houseguest? No, not one bit. He’d spent most of the evening petting the dog while Sin monitored the temporary security system.
“Do you think we’ll get a break soon?” I asked Ari.
“Honestly, I do, especially with Alexa involved. And this case won’t just break—it’ll shatter wide open.”
With that, Ari disappeared into the bathroom I’d vacated while I got dressed. I only hoped that if the case did shatter, we wouldn’t get hit by shrapnel.