6. Harper #2
“Sasha Melnikov?” I ask, perking up even more.
The only reason I know his name is from when I’d dated Dev.
He said the detectives were always talking about him, always trying to find enough evidence to bring him in, but they never could.
The man is like a whispered urban legend, the kind you hear and desperately hope isn’t true.
“The one and only,” Ralph confirms.
“Well, I’m guessing you won’t be parting with your right nut anytime soon,” Dev tells him.
“These guys know how to not get caught. They’re not a bunch of low-level thugs.
They’re careful and unfortunately for us, they’re very good at what they do.
” He looks over at me. “Your next story will probably be some drive-by after a drug deal gone bad.”
“So the same story I could be writing any day of the week?” I ask. “That’s discouraging.”
Dev shrugs. “That’s life. DeMarco was an anomaly. I doubt we catch another high-level guy for a while.”
“Well, you two are just rays of sunshine today. I’m so glad I went out of my way to bring coffee.
” I try not to let their dour predictions depress me, but the truth is I hated handing things over to Steph.
I know she’ll do an amazing job with it, but I really wanted it, and now I’m left twiddling my thumbs and hoping the next article I write isn’t about a minor drug bust or a corner market being robbed.
I’m not hoping for a horrific story that involves innocent lives.
I would hate that. I just want a story I can get excited about.
“You brought coffee?” Officer Garcia asks, walking in with a big smile on his face.
“I brought it just for you,” I tell him, standing so I can give him a quick hug.
He takes the iced mocha I’d gotten just for him, takes a drink, and gives me another grin before asking, “How have you been, Harper?”
“Well, you know me, I’m hanging in there,” I tell him. “I got a dog.”
When I hold out my phone to show off the latest photos of Watson, they all laugh because he’s sprawled on the couch in most of them.
“I see you’ve found my spirit animal,” Ralph says. “That’s exactly how I look as soon as I get off work.”
“He’s a sweetheart,” I say.
“So maybe more my spirit animal,” Officer Garcia says. When the others laugh, he looks offended and says, “I am a sweetheart. Just ask my wife and kids. They’ll vouch for me.”
“I think you’re a sweetheart,” I tell him, giving him a sweet smile.
He laughs. “I don’t know shit about anything. Sorry, Harper, I can’t help you out.”
I give a dramatic sigh and grab my bag. “Well, off the record,” I say, quoting their favorite phrase, “I was being genuine.”
He smiles and raises his iced coffee. “Thanks for this. I needed the caffeine boost today.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll drop in again soon with more,” I promise and then wave a quick bye so they can get back to work.
Betsy’s busy at the front desk when I leave, so I head straight outside. When I get back to my apartment, I take Watson out, telling myself I’m going to spend a nice quiet evening at home. In less than an hour, I’m scooting Watson’s bony ass into my car and driving back into the heart of the city.
“Don’t look at me like that,” I tell him.
He gives me the same exact look he’d just been giving me. The I could be sleeping right now but instead you’re pulling me into your crazy shit look.
“I’m going to get you a pup cup,” I say. “It’s not like I’m making you do anything hard. This could be fun, Watson. Maybe you’ll help me solve a crime and live up to your name.”
He sighs and looks back out the window.
“I’m sorry,” I tell him. “I promise you can sleep in the backseat the whole time.”
I spend the next few red lights scratching his belly, and when we walk into Starbucks, I’m pretty sure he’s forgiven me.
I get myself another coffee, because why not, and a pup cup for Watson.
He always gets a lot of attention, so I’m not surprised when I have to keep stopping so people can pet him.
I swear dogs could bring about world peace if we let them.
When we’re back in the car, I tell him, “Just a heads-up, but I can’t wait until it starts getting cold. I’m going to buy you the cutest sweaters to wear. It’s going to be adorable.”
I grin, already picturing him in an orange striped one for fall.
It’ll look so cute against his dark grey fur.
Since he’s a greyhound, sweaters are a must, so he can’t even fight me on it.
They have zero body fat, so they have to wear them or they’ll get too cold.
That means I can dress him up all I want and not feel guilty about it.
Parking him in front of Ev’s office building is another matter. I buffer the guilt I feel by keeping the air vents pointed at him so he’s nice and comfy, spreading his favorite blanket on the backseat so he can lounge when he wants to, and holding his pup cup so he can easily eat it.
“See? Not so bad, right?” I ask while he licks the frozen cream from the cup.
“I promise we won’t stay long.” I look at the building, wishing I could get back into the parking garage and wait by his car again.
It’s the only real way to catch him. I swear the man never leaves.
I bet he sometimes sleeps in his office.
He probably has his own private bathroom with a shower and an extra suit hung up and ready to go.
“I bet he’s super anal,” I tell Watson. “Probably has a place for everything and all that. I bet he’s a real bore to be around. Always working, never has any fun, that sort of thing. A real stick in the mud.”
Watson eyes me while he keeps licking up his treat.
“I’m not like that,” I tell him, picking up on the judgement in his eyes.
“I know how to have fun, and I’m not anal.
” Unable to hide my laugh, I say, “One of my exes and I tried that and it’s not for me.
” I laugh again because I’m clearly in desperate need of human company.
“I need to call Jace and take him up on that supper offer,” I mutter, knowing the anal conversation is actually one he’d probably love to have with me.
He’s always telling me I need to get laid, that it’ll help me lighten up.
When Watson has gotten every last drop of his treat, he lifts his head, licks my cheek, and then climbs in the back so he can lie down on his blanket.
“I’ll take first watch,” I tell him, reaching back to pat his cute butt.
I put on a podcast and grab my coffee. I haven’t even made it through the first episode when I see Ev’s Audi appear from the underground garage.
“Holy shit,” I whisper, sitting up a bit straighter. “It’s him,” I whisper back to Watson. I’m not about to take my eyes off Ev’s car, but I do dart a quick look back to see my dog happily snoozing away and missing all the excitement.
When I look back, Ev is pulling out into traffic.
I duck down when he gets close, even though there are so many other cars around that I doubt he’d even notice me.
I wait until he’s past, and then by the time I can squeeze out into traffic, he’s already far enough ahead to make it impossible for him to notice me.
My heart races, a potent mix of caffeine and adrenaline. It’s a rush that I’m addicted to, and I savor every second of it as I follow the green Audi that’s still several cars in front of me. I can’t believe I actually got lucky enough to catch him this time.
“I’m about to learn all your secrets,” I say while I put on my blinker and follow his right turn, relieved to see that we’re headed in the opposite direction of the closest police station.
The courthouse is already closed for the day, and it looks like my lucky break isn’t going to end up with me following him while he goes to interview one of his clients.
After what feels like forever, I check the clock and start to chew my bottom lip.
It’s been forty minutes, and I’m still following him in what now feels like a very roundabout way to somewhere.
I’m just not sure where that somewhere is, and the longer we drive, the louder my instincts tell me to just turn around and go home.
I’d be a shit reporter if I followed instincts like that, though.
Sometimes you have to ignore common sense to get to the good stuff.
I have a feeling this is one of those times, so I follow Ev’s car when he turns down a one-way street.
It’s too dark for me to get away with not using my headlights, but I stay far enough behind to not be too noticeable.
When his taillights disappear, I slow down, trying to figure out where he turned. I ease down the narrow road until I finally see his car parked up ahead. Stopping, I glance in the rearview mirror, making sure I won’t get honked at if I stay put for a few minutes.
I’m still debating what to do when there’s a loud knock on my window.
“Jesus Christ!” I yell, waking Watson and nearly giving myself a heart attack. Terrified, I turn my head to see Ev staring at me in his three-piece suit. He does not look pleased.
Watson lets out a low whine when I press the button to slowly lower my window. Ev braces a hand on top of my car and leans down enough so I can get a good look at how pissed he is.
“Why are you following me?”
“Why do you think I’m following you?” I ask, nearly biting off my own tongue to not react to how stupid I sound even to my own ears.
“Get out, Harper.”
I let out a harsh laugh. “Why on earth would I do that?”
“Because talking to you like this is making my neck hurt, and it’s the least you can do for making me waste an hour of my time while I led you around.”
“I knew that’s what you were doing,” I mutter while I put the car in park and unbuckle my belt. As I open the door, I say, “And it was forty minutes, not sixty.”