04 - Shock and Awesome (7 page)

 
   
"Nope," he said, after several long moments of silence. "That won't do."

 
   
"Could have told you that without all the quiet contemplation," I murmured. Really, I could have told him via text if he told me why I was summoned to the office, and saved us both the bother. That would have given me extra time to go home to bed and catch up on my beauty sleep.

 
   
Solomon gave me an arched eyebrow in response. He looked so hot when he did that, not that I meant to think about it at all. No. My boss had to remain off limits. Not least because he hadn't given me any intimation that he was, er, available, in recent weeks. Or even interested. What was it with him? And me? The less interested he seemed in me, the more I wanted to know why. It was so annoying.

 
   
"I know a guy," he said.

 
   
"And there I was, thinking you were the Lone Ranger. All cool, but no friends." Actually, even though I was joking, it wasn't far from the truth. I wasn't sure I'd ever seen Solomon socialize with anyone outside the office. Even with my colleagues, I never got the impression they all hung out after work. That is, except with me. I'd been to dinner before at his smart Chilton townhouse, and that evening had a distinctly date night feel. Of course, we hung out during our undercover case at Fort Charles when we posed as a married couple, but that was work, really. Except for the sex stuff. That was definitely off the clock... and off the charts.

 
   
"You think I'm cool?" The corner of Solomon's mouth edged upwards and his eyes sparkled. I probably made the last bit up, but whatever, he had really nice eyes.

 
   
I shrugged. "Nah."

 
   
He smiled then. "You think I have no friends?"

 
   
"I know Captain
McAuley
is your friend," I said, recalling how Solomon was drafted by his old buddy to solve the murder at Fort Charles, a local army base.

 
   
"Anyone else?"

 
   
"
Ummmm
..." I paused.

 
   
"I have friends." He turned to look at my car again. "We'll get you wheels to suit your new heiress status. You have any more of those dresses?" He gave my pink dress another appreciative glance, one that left me thoroughly confused. I could have been making that glance bit up too. Nevertheless, I intended to go with it because it gave me a tingly little boost. I thought of Serena's closet and the many expensive garments she no longer wore, now that she was a work-from-home mom. It seemed such a shame to waste. Thank heavens, several of them were in my trunk. "I have access," I told him.

 
   
"The dating agency will cover any reasonable costs," Solomon continued. "You'll have to go deep cover to make this work. You okay with leaving your life behind for a couple weeks?"

 
   
I thought about what might happen over the next month. Oh, wait, nothing. "I'll make it work... hold on... deep cover?" Last time I went deep cover, it was at the aforementioned Fort Charles case. This time, at least I knew that I was posing as a single woman, and could rule out any Solomon-sexy-times, so what did that leave? No friends, no family, no life? Maybe this case wasn't as cool as it first appeared.

 
   
"The thief is being careful. He's only targeting rich women from whom he can steal high value items and cash. He's a pro. It stands to reason he's back-checking the stories of anyone he might potentially date. If he sees your apartment and car, he's going to smell a rat. They are not millionaire accoutrements. So, we set you up with a new home and car while you're on the case, both of which say
money
."

 
   
"Okay, makes sense. I can manage the wardrobe, but where am I going to get a new house at such short notice?"

 
   
"My neighbors are taking an extended vacation in Europe and they need a house-sitter. I volunteered you. You'll say you're renting it, as you haven't found a place yet, so it won't matter that your name doesn't come up in any searches."

 
   
"Your neighbors know why I'm really house-sitting?"

 
   
"They know you're my employee so you’re vouched for. Plus, it's the ideal set-up. I can wire the house and monitor it from mine so there will always be someone on hand if there's any trouble."

 
   
My newly knitted broken arm, received in the line of duty, twinged, although it could have been psychological. "Should I expect trouble?"

 
   
"So far, nothing indicates that the thief is violent, but you never know if he will get desperate and escalate, so we can assume nothing. The homes are burglarized while the women are out, so I think you'll be safe, but we need to monitor the house at all times."

 
   
"Okay, but no cameras in the bedroom."

 
   
Solomon inclined his head and smiled, making me wonder if the thought crossed his mind. "You'll know where all cameras are and I'll give you a remote to shut them off." He turned away, but not before I heard him say, "Besides, I've already seen you naked."

 
   
I shivered. "You have. But Delgado, Fletcher, and Lucas haven't, and I'd like to keep it that way. Flaherty, too."

 
   
"Me too," agreed Solomon as he turned on his heel, walking towards the stairwell.

 
   
I didn't watch him leave, mostly because I found the way he walked mesmerizing and I didn't want to start getting any funny ideas in the lot. Instead, I mostly pouted at my VW. It might not be the most awesome car in the world, but it blended in and got me from A to Z, and all the stores in between. I wondered what kind of vehicle Solomon would provide for my cover story, as images of an Aston Martin Vanquish, or a sleek Viper flashed through my mind. I should be so lucky! All the same, as far as assignments went, this could be a fun one. I wouldn't have to stay at the Chilton house the
whole
time, surely?

 
   
I imagined I’d spend some days and nights acting as a wealthy woman, living in a super cool neighborhood for a couple weeks, driving a fancy car, dressing up in nice clothes that wouldn't get dirty from hiding in bushes and trawling through trash, and dating an array of rich, handsome, albeit possibly criminal, men. As my arm ached some more, I had to remind myself there were worse jobs in the world... and I'd done most of them in my previous career as a serial temp.

 
   
Chapter Four

 
   
"For how long?" Lily's face crumpled as soon as I told her of Solomon's plan to install me in the house next to his. "Ohh!" Her face lit up. "Do you think he plans to tunnel from his house and ravage you in the night?"

 
   
I pondered that. I pondered it for a whole one million minutes at light speed.

 
   
"You live in hope, right?" Lily pressed.

 
   
"No!" I pulled a face. Okay, it wasn't like it didn't cross my mind, but Solomon was the consummate professional. Plus, he already consummated this professional.
Arf
.

 
   
"Not even a little bit?"

 
   
"Not even. It's just convenient that his neighbors are vacationing and he can monitor the house from his, right next door."

 
   
Lily gave me her skeptical face, but I ignored it as I returned to the rentals section of the current edition of the newspaper. Since Lily waylaid me the moment I opened our front door, a half hour ago, I scoured the section, hoping for an improvement on the previous edition's offerings; but, so far, very little caught my eye. Only the thought of having to move in with my parents while I searched for a new home, or begging Janice Markowitz to lease me her place, motivated me to circle some of the properties.

 
   
"Besides," I said, returning to the original topic of the duration I'd be away while working the case, "it's not for too long, and we're moving soon anyway, and I don't know where I'll be. Think of it as training wheels for when we don't share the same building."

 
   
Lily pouted. "You could still move in with
Jord
and me."

 
   
"Nope. You need your couple time in the months before the baby arrives. Not couple time plus
Lexi
, third wheel."

 
   
"Sometimes third wheels are good things. I mean, look at tricycles!"

 
   
"And how many of them do you see on the mean streets of Montgomery?"

 
   
"Not many," Lily conceded.

 
   
"Exactly. Listen to this one. Apartment with access to garden and reserved parking. Large living room, separate bedroom, bath, kitchen with dining nook, video camera entry system.
Harbridge
. I know the building. It's near Maddox."

 
   
"You want to live near Maddox?"

 
   
I didn't particularly want to live near my ex-boyfriend, but it
was
a great neighborhood. Not that it was a viable option. I told Lily the price and her jaw dropped. "That's insane!"

 
   
"I know. And that's a nice one. I just circled a place in Chilton. It costs the same as here."

 
   
Lily leaned over and looked to where I tapped the newspaper with my forefinger. "That's not so... Oh. It's a studio. Its kitchen is a closet! There must be somewhere better." She took the newspaper from me and I reclined against the couch's pink pillows while she scanned the columns. "Maybe not," she decided a few minutes later as she returned the gazette.

 
   
"If it's affordable, it's a pit. If it's nice, it's not affordable," I told her.

 
   
"Maybe we should look at some anyway. Make friends with the rental agents. They might tell you if something better comes up."

 
   
"It's either that or the bench in Fairmount Park." I shrugged.

 
   
"It'll never come to that,
Lex
. Besides, we all know those benches are taken.
Jord
patrolled there last night. He said it was like a hobo sleepover with a gin tea party."

 
   
"Maybe I could house-sit in Chilton a little longer," I mused. "How long are rich people’s vacations?"

 
   
"I bet proximity to Solomon has nothing to do with that little idea," Lily snorted. "Get calling those agents. I love house snooping. Even better when the chance of finding a corpse is zero."