Chapter 26
To Do:
- Buy soft pretzels
- Pack stakeout bag
- Call safe company about custom safe
“So,you’re sure the guest list is set for the gallery proposal? All the family members RSVP’d?” Claire munched on a chocolate chip cookie in the front seat of her car. Mindy sat next to her holding a giant tub of cheese balls. A single overhead light flickered a few parking spaces down.
“Yes, they’re all coming, and they all know not to approach until after Aaron proposes.”
“And the caterers are prepping some certified gluten-free hors d’oeuvres for Aunt Muriel?”
“Claire,” Nicole said, popping up in the back seat where she had been taking a light snooze. “Is this a stakeout or a board meeting?”
“You’re right, sorry.” Claire glanced at her watch. “It’s 7:45. He should be leaving any second.”
“You really think she’ll do something shady when he leaves?” Nicole reached a hand into the front seat and fished around in the cheese ball barrel.
“I just have a feeling. I know she cheated. I just need to know how she did it.” Claire tightened her grip on the binoculars she had borrowed from Kyle. There was movement in the window of Wendy’s apartment. It had only taken five seconds of Googling to figure out where the award-stealing hag lived.
The back of Claire’s neck prickled. It just wasn’t fair. What kind of universe allowed a woman to steal a fiancé, sue her competition, and unfairly win an esteemed professional award? She tightened her grip on the steering wheel. Luck hadn’t been on her side this year. But maybe—just maybe—the universe would throw her a bone tonight.
The front door of the apartment opened, and they all jumped, slinking down into their seats. “See you later, babe,” a masculine voice called through the crack in Claire’s window.
Jason walked out into the moonlight, wearing a sports jersey and baggy blue jeans. Claire rolled her eyes. He was off to his poker night with the guys from his college frat, same as every Saturday night.
“Oh, wait,” he said, turning around. “Do you have an extra twenty? I just remembered I’m short.”
“Yeah, in my wallet. But just take one, not four like last time. I know when you steal from me, Jason.” Wendy’s shrill voice penetrated the night air like a tornado siren.
Jason’s dramatic eye roll was clearly visible from their hidden position. Claire smirked. There had been many occasions when she’d check her wallet at brunch on a Sunday only to find a handful of ones.
“See you later.” He reappeared and strutted down the sidewalk, humming a song that Claire immediately recognized from Mindy’s preference for pop radio.
“Right on time,” Claire said as his car disappeared around a corner.
“What do we do now?” Mindy asked in a hushed whisper. “Sneak up to the window and try to listen?”
“Too risky. There’s not enough cover,” Claire said, gesturing to the flowerbeds outside Wendy’s windows. “We’ll just have to wait to see if she leaves.”
As if she had been summoned, Wendy’s head poked out the front door. Her beak-like nose swung from side to side as she surveyed the parking lot. Seemingly satisfied, she shut the door and disappeared back inside.
“She was one hundred percent making sure that Jason’s car was gone,” Nicole said, grabbing the binoculars that were slung around Claire’s neck and leaning into the front seat.
Claire gagged and pulled them off. They all pressed forward, staring at the curtains that covered the windows. Was she about to come out? Where would she go?
Suddenly, Claire’s car horn honked.
“Shit shit shit,” she said. Betrayed once again by her oversized breasts. How was she supposed to have a covert operation when they were sabotaging her at every turn?
Claire and Mindy pulled the levers on their seats and flew backward. If Wendy came out and caught them like this, it would only add more ammunition to her lawsuit. Claire said a silent prayer as the seconds ticked by.
“Maybe she didn’t hear,” Nicole whispered. Her leg was trapped underneath Mindy’s headrest.
Claire raised herself slightly off the seat. “Shit, I think she’s coming out. What the hell is she wearing?”
Mindy and Nicole popped their heads up.
Nicole gagged. “I think I can see her cervix.”
Wendy was wearing a black dress that looked part bandage dress, part catsuit. It was so short it would make an adult film actress blush. She had thoughtfully paired the outfit with thigh-high boots. Claire would have bet her last dollar that there was a riding crop in her purse.
“Is she going clubbing? Or maybe to one of those underground rich person sex parties?” Mindy whispered.
“There’s only one way to find out,” Claire murmured. She slid her keys into the ignition.
“Shh, she’s coming,” Mindy hissed.
“Yeah, I’ll meet you in the lobby in a few minutes. Yes, I’m wearing what you asked.” Wendy opened her car door and tossed her purse inside. Claire shut her eyes as Wendy swung her legs into the car. She didn’t need to know if Wendy was wearing underwear beneath the skintight dress.
“Ohmygodshe’sanescort,” Nicole said all in one breath.
“She can’t be talking to Jason, he just left,” Claire said. Every nerve in her body was tingling head to toe. What was this feeling? Vengeance? “I almost feel bad for the guy.”
Wendy checked her makeup in the mirror for what felt like an eternity. Finally, she threw her car into reverse and careened for the exit.
“Follow her!” Mindy cried out and pointed out the windshield.
Claire turned the car on and stomped on the gas. She swung out onto Bramble Drive and followed Wendy at a distance. They were heading northeast, back in the direction of downtown.
“Shit, that car is about to cut us off—” Nicole gestured to a car pulling out between Wendy’s car and Claire’s. “We’ll lose track of her.”
“Nah,” Claire said, gently applying her brakes. “It’s better to keep a car between us so she doesn’t recognize us. We’ll see if she turns.”
“You’re weirdly calm,” Mindy observed. She popped another cheese puff in her mouth.
“It’s kind of fun being the stalker and not the stalkee for once. Do you think my stalker’s here too? Following behind us? Maybe he’ll be a witness for us at the mediation meeting.”
Nicole turned around. “No one’s following us. Where’s Officer Shiccitano?”
“I told him I was spending the night with two friends. Apparently, I can’t be in danger with you guys around. Oh, she’s turning!”
Wendy’s red Mercedes turned right onto Hawthorne Road. Claire activated her turn signal and slowed down. When Wendy was far enough down the road, she turned to follow.
This road seemed extra familiar for some reason. “Aren’t we pretty close to—” Claire began.
Oh, no. A hotel loomed out of the night. Its bright, Vegas-like scene half blinded Claire. The Heirloom Hotel.
Wendy’s convertible swung up the inclined drive and headed for the back of the lot. Claire’s knuckles tightened on the steering wheel. Of all the goddamn hotels in West Haven, Wendy had to meet at the one where Claire had been abducted.
“We don’t have to do this,” Mindy said in a rush.
“Forget it, Claire. Let’s just go home.” Nicole reached through the gap in the front seats and squeezed Claire’s arm.
Claire paused. They were at a dead standstill on the road outside the hotel. She flicked her turn signal on so violently that she scratched her leg.
“No. This ends tonight. Get your camera.” She swung into the lot and parked on the opposite side. Wendy, tottering in her thigh-high boots, hadn’t reached the entrance yet.
“Disguises,” Mindy ordered, pulling a bag into her lap. She passed out wigs and accessories.
Claire became a redhead with a star-spangled hair scarf. Mindy was a platinum blonde with a press badge, and Nicole had waist-length black hair and an empty gun holster.
“There she goes,” Nicole hissed. “Let’s go.”
As Wendy disappeared through the revolving door, they piled out of the car and slunk like cats through the night. Claire slid into the revolving door. Nicole and Mindy followed right behind her.
“Wait—” she said, but it was too late. The three of them were crammed in a single section of door. They had to shuffle together like a small herd of turtles until they broached the building. Not exactly the covert entrance she had been hoping for.
Her blood chilled as they stepped into the lobby. The hallway to the left seemed to yawn darkly at her. A short way down that hall was the restroom where Claire had been abducted just over a month before.
“You ok?” Nicole asked. She squeezed Claire’s hand.
Claire snapped back to attention and nodded. She scanned the room and found Wendy (or, more accurately, Wendy’s underbutt) bent over at the bar, waving at a bartender.
“Let’s sit,” she said, collapsing into a low loveseat that faced the bar. She snatched the newspaper from the coffee table and opened it. Nicole and Mindy jammed themselves in on either side of her. Not suspicious at all.
“Elevator’s opening. Is that—” Mindy hissed.
Claire’s mouth dropped open. The paper crinkled in her hands. Dustin Foltz, a member of the town council, had just walked into the lobby. Was he here for Wendy? Was this how she had won?
“Camera,” she whispered to Nicole.
“On it.” Nicole drew her camera from her bag. Claire stabbed a large hole in the newspaper with the Swiss Army knife in her purse, and Nicole slid the lens into the hole. She snapped a couple of pictures as Dustin approached the bar.
“He’s totally going to talk to her,” Mindy whispered. She elbowed Claire in the ribcage as though she wasn’t sitting there witnessing the exact same event.
Claire frowned. “Do you think she’s sleeping with him? But that still wouldn’t turn the tides enough. There are five judges for the categories.”
“She didn’t put on that dress to have a business meeting. Maybe she’s sleeping with all the judges.” Nicole pressed her eye against the viewfinder. The shutter snapped as Dustin put a hand on Wendy’s thigh.
“Not even Wendy could be that low. Shh, they’re talking. Let’s move closer.”
The three of them stood up and moved as a single unit behind a large art installation in the middle of the lobby. From here, Wendy and Dustin were just barely audible. The clerk behind the check-in desk stared at them.
“Is this what you wore for Councilman Hobart?” Dustin asked as he slid a finger from the top of her boot to the hem of her dress. If you could even call it a dress. It was more of a belt.
“No, you know I picked out something special just for you. You might be more interested in what I’m not wearing.” Wendy sipped her drink and spread her legs apart on the bar stool. Welp, mystery solved.
The councilman’s hand, complete with a gold wedding ring, disappeared under the hem of her dress. “How about we take things upstairs?”
Wendy bent down and retrieved something from her purse. She dropped it into Dustin’s hands. “First, I want you to touch me with this.”
“Is that—” Nicole hissed.
“My freaking award.” Claire gritted her teeth. Her stomach lurched. It was bad enough that Wendy had cheated. The fact that she was using the award as a sex toy made things a thousand times worse.
“I could do that,” Dustin said, dragging the tear-drop shape down the front of Wendy’s dress. “Or maybe we could…” He moved closer to whisper something in her ear.
“If you want that, you’re going to have to guarantee your vote for next year too.” Wendy laughed, a shrill, nasally sound.
“Did they forget that they’re in public? In a town full of the very married Councilman Foltz’s constituents?” Nicole shook her head.
Mindy popped her head up from behind the newspaper. “I’m gonna go say something to them.”
Claire grabbed her arm and forced her back behind the newspaper. “No. We need something more concrete. Just wait.”
Wendy moaned on her bar stool. A couple seated a few seats away cast scandalized looks in her direction.
The Councilman seemed to notice, because he helped Wendy off the chair. “Let’s head upstairs.”
She grabbed him by the hand and dragged him to the elevator. His hand rested on her ass as they waited. When the doors slid open, the couple immediately grabbed at each other.
“Bingo,” Nicole said, snapping a picture of Dustin cupping Wendy’s ass while she seemed to be plundering for gold behind his back molars.
“Excuse me,” a very prim voice said.
They all jumped. Claire folded the newspaper and tried to look calm.
“You’re excused,” Mindy said, flashing a brilliant white smile at the front desk clerk. “Shall we, girls?” They turned to go.
“Hold on a minute. You can’t be taking pictures of the guests.” There was a stain on the satin ascot the clerk wore.
“Oh, we weren’t. We’re location scouts for a new show on MTV, Murderous Business. We travel to businesses owned by accused and convicted murderers. Such as this one,” Nicole said, gesturing at the lobby. “Do you have any comment on the allegations against Mr. Windsor?”
The clerk sighed. “I don’t get paid enough for this shit.” She walked back to the desk, a bit of toilet paper stuck to the heel of her pumps.
Claire grabbed their hands and they ran out of the lobby, cramming into the same section of revolving door again and practically tripping over each other in their bid for escape.
“Oh my god,” Mindy said as soon as they were in the parking lot. “I can’t believe she really did it. She slept with at least two of them.”
“Do you think it’s enough to get her to drop the lawsuit?” Nicole tucked her camera back into its bag.
Claire climbed into the car and slammed the door. Her heart was beating staccato in her chest. “I’m not sure. But it’s the best shot we have.”