2. Renee
Renee
The impressively loud chime rang out through the front of the house.
Renee hadn’t heard that thing in decades, and she flinched a little at the sound.
There was so much flinching since her aunt’s death.
Everywhere she looked in that house, there was another emotional time bomb waiting to go off in her face.
“You expecting more company?” The dark-haired man stood from the couch beside her and squinted at the front door as if he could see through the wood. “I thought I was your only friend.”
“In Oakview? You are,” Renee said with less annoyance than matter-of-factness. “Potential client.”
“Client? I thought you weren’t staying long? You mean you’re changing plans without telling me? Ooh, wait, does that mean I get to keep you here?”
Renee stood from her laptop at the dark wood coffee table and stretched her legs until she was just a bit shorter than Ben.
Ben had been on the lower end of average, and Renee on the upper end, so their matching heights were how they met in grade school.
Teachers were always lining them up for class photos and other things.
They’d become fast friends, cutting up in the back half of the line together, and had remained close as could be ever since.
“Slow it down,” she said. “If I’m here, I might as well work. Plans haven’t changed. I’m still going back to Baton Rouge as soon as this is all done.”
Hopefully, that wouldn’t be too long. Although Renee had no idea how long it would take to settle things with the lawyer.
Her Aunt Ellen had a lot of money squirreled away, but it might take some time to figure out where she was keeping it all.
She could always come in for weekends to help get the house ready to sell, but she needed to line everything else up before going back home.
Her home. Not the place she once called home. Not even this place that she’d always considered her second home. So she supposed she meant her real home as of now.
“I’m still going to pitch you on staying here,” Ben said. “I’m selfish like that.”
Renee chuckled at the idea of Ben being selfish. That was not a word anyone who knew Ben for more than five minutes would ever use to describe him.
Renee walked around the coffee table to give her friend a hug. “I’d better get that before I lose my one client in Oakview.”
Ben hugged her back, then pointed to the kitchen. “My lunch break’s over, anyway. I’ll let myself out the side. Good luck with the client. Hope it’s something absolutely scandalous.”
She scoffed at that. It was probably just another cheating case. Same as always. She didn’t hate them, mostly because it usually gave her the opportunity to help someone prove their instincts were right to not trust some shitbag.
Those cases were pretty ordinary in her line of work, but that might rate as scandalous for Oakview. Especially depending on who was involved.
Once Ben was out of the house and on his way back to the bank where he worked, Renee walked up to the front door and opened it to find a sweet-looking brunette standing on the porch.
She was on the shorter side, with big hazel eyes and a pretty little mouth dressed in pale pink gloss.
She wore a plain blue blouse and jeans with brown flats. Nothing scandalous there.
“Hi,” the woman said with a hesitant smile. “I must be at the wrong house. Would you happen to know where I could find Renee Benoit? She’s a… uh… a private investigator.”
“You found her,” Renee said. “You’re Jessica?”
The woman nodded. “Sorry. I just didn’t see a sign anywhere and thought I had the address wrong.”
“No, you’ve got it right. I’m only in town for a while, so this is just a temporary home base.” She held the door open wide. “Come on in.”
Renee led the woman into the front room and gestured at one of two blue floral wingback chairs. Not Renee’s style, but it still had a charm that always made her feel at home.
When Jessica sat down, Renee sat in the other chair and grabbed her tablet from the little table between them. She began tapping at the screen to take notes on their conversation.
“What is that delightful smell?”
Renee looked up to find Jessica looking around the room as if she could see the scent if she tried hard enough.
“Snickerdoodles. Would you like one? I made a huge batch.”
She actually had plans for a batch of double chocolate cookies next.
Not that she planned on eating them all.
She’d find a home for them somehow. Ben would help with that.
It wouldn’t be the first time he’d have to help her re-home desserts.
She tended to bake when she was stressed.
And she’d been nothing but stressed since she returned to Oakview.
“No, thank you,” Jessica said. “I’m a little too nervous to eat anything. But I’m sure they taste delicious if that smell is any indicator.”
“Thank you.” Renee returned her attention to her tablet. “To clarify, everything you say here today is one hundred percent confidential. Whether or not I take this case.”
The woman’s eyes widened. “You mean you might not take my case?”
“I mean that I haven’t even heard what it is yet. You could be asking me to investigate aliens, for all I know. And no, in that situation I wouldn’t take you on as a client.”
A small smile grew on the woman’s face. It was a pretty smile. One that looked comfortable, as if it were a semi-permanent fixture there.
“That makes sense, I guess.”
When the woman fanned the bottom of her shirt discreetly, Renee said, “Sorry, the A/C is struggling here. It’s past needing to be replaced and probably too small for this space.”
No doubt one of the many things they’d need to update before selling the place.
Or maybe they could just take a hit on the sale price.
That would be much easier on them, and the funds she and her family would be splitting would be all profits, anyway.
Whatever her share, it would be plenty to pay off her debts, at least.
“So why don’t you tell me why you’re here and what I can do for you.”
“Well.” The woman shifted in her seat and rubbed her hands over her thighs. “I have an ex. We’re getting divorced.”
Renee nodded. Yup. Another cheating case. Probably less scandalous than Ben would like, but all too familiar for Renee.
“How can I help you with that?”
“You can’t,” Jessica said. “I mean, not like you must be thinking.”
“So, not an infidelity investigation?”
Jessica shook her head. “I mean, there’s another woman, probably has been before we separated, but that’s not what I need help with. I need you to see if my ex is taking care of Chase like she promised.”
Custody battles were not her thing. She took the cases, usually, but she hated them. Seeing kids in the middle of a battle because grown-ups couldn’t do the right thing always broke her heart.
A beat later, she caught the mention of “she” when Jessica mentioned her ex.
“And Chase is your son?”
“My border collie.”
Renee’s fingers froze over the tablet. “Your dog?”
Jessica nodded. “We’ve had him for about three years. We’ve been sharing… custody, I guess you’d call it.”
“Uh huh.” Renee rested the tablet on her thighs and stared curiously at the woman. “And what is it exactly that you want me to do?”
“I don’t know. Spy on them?”
“Spy on your ex and your dog.”
“Yes.”
“To find out… what exactly?”
“Well, he’s a border collie. He has kind of intense needs. Lots of exercise and mental stimulation,” Jessica said. “He’s seemed unhappy lately, so I want you to make sure he’s getting all of that.”
“Unhappy.”
Renee normally asked a lot of questions of her clients, but this situation had her repeating quite a bit back to this woman as if she couldn’t hear what was being said. But really, she needed the time to process everything. An unhappy dog wasn’t familiar territory.
“Yes, unhappy,” Jessica said. “So, do you think you could do that?”
“Maybe.” Renee thought about it for a moment. “What is it exactly you want me to look for? How will I know if I’ve got whatever evidence you need?”
“Like if she’s taking him on long walks or to the dog park. She lives in an apartment now, so there’s no backyard for him to run around in. Like I said, he needs lots of exercise. I guess you can’t tell what’s going on inside the apartment, right?”
“Right,” Renee said. “So I can’t tell you about… mental stimulation, you said?”
“Yes. Well, I guess the walks and outings will have to do.”
She couldn’t believe she was even considering this. But she didn’t know how long she’d be in Oakview, so she needed the money to pay for her apartment back home and now the upkeep on this house. Assuming her mother and aunts would be rather hands-off, as she expected.
She explained how much she charged hourly and that there would be a retainer fee. The woman gasped ever so slightly, but she gave a curt nod, nevertheless.
“I’m willing to pay whatever it takes.”
Renee considered the job for another moment, then extended her hand. “Then it looks like I’m going to be your dog investigator.”