Chapter Three
Lexi studied the FBI special agent after walking him to the door.
Tall and solidly built with short dark hair, he had a triangle-shaped face, intriguing blue-gray eyes, a hawk nose and a chiseled chin.
To say that he wasn’t extremely handsome, even sexy, would be an understatement.
As such, no use in rebuffing what her own eyes could plainly see, no matter how tempting to do so.
He was wearing a navy wool blazer over a crisp white cotton micro dobby shirt, dark brown wool trousers, and black monk-strap loafers.
He flashed her a crooked grin and passed Lexi his card. “Should anything surface in your line of work that may be relevant to our investigation, I’d appreciate if you gave me a call—day or night.”
She glanced at the card, which had his name, occupation, office number, cell phone number and email address. Looking up at him, Lexi responded, “Will do.”
Cooper met her eyes and seemed to want to say more, but refrained doing so. Instead, he nodded and walked off.
Lexi went back into the studio. Shamelessly, she found herself almost wishing he could have stayed a while longer and talked about anything other than his investigation, but knew this would be highly inappropriate.
Wouldn’t it? Yes, it would be, she told herself adamantly, then softened her own stance somewhat, but still reached the same conclusion.
Probably not a good idea for a widow architect to be flirting—or even thinking about it—with an FBI agent who was likely married, seeing someone or otherwise spoken for and had no interest in stepping out of his lane at the Bureau.
Lexi’s thoughts wandered to Horace Eckhart and the surprising revelation that, prior to his death, he was under a federal investigation for bribery as a building inspector.
Was he guilty? Though there had never been any overtures made to her, she couldn’t help but ponder if she had missed this in his character when they communicated with each other.
And did this allegation play a factor in his murder?
If so, could Horace have been accepting bribes from any other architects or developers that she worked with? The notion was quite disturbing to Lexi, to say the least. She was sure, though, that if anything was there, Cooper Reid would uncover it.
I’ll just focus on my own life and total innocence, Lexi told herself as she went inside her workspace room, separate from her office.
It was spacious with tall windows and a skylight, bringing in lots of sunlight.
There were all the tricks of her trade for creating architectural drawings and sketches, detailed proposals, and basically anything her clients and potential clients needed in order to sell herself in getting their business.
After spending more than an hour doing some work, Lexi was up stretching her legs when she got a video chat request from her friend Pamela Rennick.
Like her, Pamela was an architect, whom she’d met when both were attending the University of Arizona while working on their master’s degrees. They had remained friends ever since.
Accepting the call, Lexi watched as Pamela’s high-cheekboned, attractive face came onto the cell phone screen and she said with a grin, “Hey.”
“Hey.” Lexi studied her. They were the same age and similar height and build. Pamela, hopelessly single but always looking for the right guy, had long strawberry-blond hair in a jellyfish cut with bottleneck bangs and big blue eyes beneath thin brows. “What are you up to?”
Pamela sighed. “Just working on my latest project—a design to transform a run-down house into an upscale home—and thought I could use a break.”
“You’ve got it.” Lexi chuckled. “I was just taking one myself, so your timing is spot on.”
“Cool.” Pamela gazed at her musingly. “Did you hear about the building inspector who they’re saying was carjacked—and killed?”
“Yeah, I heard.” Lexi contemplated the tragedy. “Horace Eckhart. He was the building inspector on my latest project on Seventh Avenue.”
“Really?” Pamela creased her chin. “I’m not sure we ever crossed paths—so many people involved in our line of work—but I’m sorry it happened.”
“So am I,” Lexi said sincerely, while thinking about the allegations leveled against him. “The FBI is looking into it.”
Pamela’s eyes widened. “Why’s that?” she asked curiously. “Is carjacking their jurisdiction?”
“Not typically, as far as I’m aware.” Lexi told her about the investigation into public corruption for which Horace was suspected. She added that it may or may not have anything to do with his death, just for the record.
“Hmm.” Pamela tilted her face. “Well, however it turns out, I’m sure the authorities will solve the case. They usually do.”
“True.” Lexi had a sense that Agent Cooper Reid would not stop until he got the answers he was after regarding Horace’s undertakings and his tragic end.
Pamela broke into her thoughts as she said, “Well, I’d better get back to this and hope I don’t conjure up other excuses to slow me down.”
Lexi laughed. “I’m sure you’ll get the job done for your client—even with a few breaks every now and then to stay fresh and keep the juices flowing.”
“Spoken like a true architect,” Pamela said with a chuckle. “Thanks for the boost in confidence. Back at you as someone at the top of your game.”
“Thanks.” Lexi’s eyes crinkled. “You’re right there with me,” she insisted, knowing that both had worked hard to build their careers and clientele since graduating.
“If you say so,” Pamela accepted graciously.
After ending the video chat, Lexi did a little more work on her own before deciding to call it quits for the rest of the day.
Being independent and financially sound, thanks to her business success and Jonathan’s insurance, afforded Lexi the flexibility to make her own schedule, which she took full advantage of.
She grabbed her maple-colored leather shoulder bag from her office and was out the door. In the small parking lot behind the studio, Lexi got into her red Infiniti QX50 compact SUV.
Soon she was driving down Seventh Avenue, between Jefferson and Washington Streets, where mixed-use development projects were in progress.
This included a high-rise office building, new housing and a pedestrian plaza that Lexi had designed.
She was thrilled with the opportunity afforded her and grateful to be able to lend her architectural skills to the city she now called home.
She knew that her late husband would have been proud of her accomplishments in his absence and would be cheering her on every step of the way.
Lexi reached East Camelback Road and was soon pulling up to her expansive 4,500-square-foot, two-story Spanish-style home with a red tiled roof and wrought iron ornamentation.
It consisted of five bedrooms and five bathrooms that she and Jonathan had combined their talents to design and was built by the Kenniston Group.
With state-of-the-art features and stunning views of Camelback Mountain—a portion of the Phoenix Mountains Preserve—and the desert landscape, it was to be their dream house.
Now it was only hers to live in and not the big family she’d envisioned. Still, she kept the hope alive for someday that a person might enter her life and feel as comfortable there as she felt. And, like her, want children to bring great joy into their lives.
Lexi waved at her next-door neighbor, Eleanor Palakiko, as she stood by her living room picture window in a Pueblo Revival style home, watering a plant.
Eleanor was eighty-two, white-haired, petite and a Native Hawaiian.
She had lost her husband, Luther, five years ago.
She attended a support group for the widowed and had tried to get Lexi to go, too, but she’d resisted, not quite ready to share her grief with others.
Maybe someday I’ll get up the courage, Lexi told herself as Eleanor waved back, before moving away from the window.
Lexi headed down her stone walkway and stepped onto the slate stone porch.
A floral wreath was on the front door with Christmas lights on display across the house’s stucco exterior walls in keeping the traditions she grew up with alive.
She went inside and onto marble flooring in the foyer, where she sat her bag on a rattan entryway table.
Walking beyond it, she stepped on Spanish terra-cotta tile flooring in the great room, with a modern black ceiling fan overhead.
Almost immediately, her adorable Yorkshire terrier named Pepper raced up to her, practically begging to be picked up and cuddled. Of course, she fell for it, hook, line and sinker, as always.
“You win, okay.” Lexi chuckled as she held him to her chest. “Happy to see you too, boy.” She kissed him and sat the dog down, suspecting he was ready for something to eat.
Lexi took a moment to enter her four-digit code into the security system’s access pad to disarm it before the alarm could go off.
Afterward, she gazed at the architecturally sophisticated masterpiece they had created.
It had a vaulted coffered ceiling, arched doorways, French casement windows with mini blinds, and a woodburning fireplace.
The stylish furnishings were mid-century modern.
There were holiday decorations throughout and a fully decorated six-foot artificial spruce Christmas tree perfectly situated in a corner of the room with a few wrapped gifts underneath it in the spirit of the season.
Beyond that, there was a formal dining room and a large family room—each with its own ceiling fan—and a gourmet kitchen that included a prep kitchen, drop-leaf island, breakfast nook, granite countertops and stainless-steel appliances.
The spacious bedrooms upstairs had arched picture windows and were fully furnished with en suite bathrooms. One of the rooms had been converted into a home architect’s studio.