Deep Cover (10 page)

Clever
. “No, you are not,” Rosa agreed, grudgingly impressed with how Agent Jones was shooting from the hip without apology. “And was this dating situation serious? Or a fling?”

She swallowed. “It was serious.”

“Marriage, kids, the whole enchilada?”

Again, Poppy seemed to have something stuck in her throat but her eyes remained clear. “I mistakenly thought we were headed in that direction.”

“Ah, I see.” Rosa didn’t feel the need to dig any further aside from one small detail. “And now? How do you feel about him now? Any residual feelings?”

Without blinking, Poppy said in a firm voice, “Absolutely not. Today, he is just my coworker. And I’m happy to keep it that way.”

“Good. I won’t act on this information for the time being. We have bigger fish to fry and your messy love life isn’t my concern. But don’t let me regret this decision, Agent Jones. Bad choices can end up derailing an otherwise promising career.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Poppy said with a short nod, and Rosa dismissed her.

A long moment after Poppy had left, Rosa churned the conversation over in her mind. Did she believe Agent Jones that a clandestine romance was the only skeleton dancing in their closet?

Rosa was a straightforward person and she appreciated Poppy’s bold choice to come to her instead of waiting for Rosa to question her.

That said something about Poppy’s integrity.

Kudos for her honesty...but would she really be able to put the past behind her so that it didn’t affect the case?

Rosa would keep an eye on those two. If there was any hint that they were losing their objectivity...they’d both be out of here.

This case was too important to lose.

CHAPTER 12

S
haine walked into Lit, deciding to act as if he hadn’t heard about Capri. He wanted to take his cue from those around him. If no one mentioned Capri’s death, Shaine would remark on her absence, as if he were interested in hooking up with the girl.

He didn’t have a chance to pass on his plan to Poppy before work, but that was okay, as it would be more organic if they had separate reactions, anyway.

Angelo was already behind the bar, wiping down a glass. He looked up when Shaine walked in and gestured for him to follow him into the back.

Showtime
.

“I don’t know if you’ve heard but there’s been a terrible tragedy,” Angelo said somberly. He waited a beat then added, “Capri is gone.”

“What do you mean?”

“She kicked it last night. It was a horrible thing. Brandi is a wreck about it. We’re all pretty broken up. Capri was our girl. She had a special place in all our hearts.”

“Holy crap, what happened? She seemed fine at the party last night. What went wrong?”

“Capri was a wild child, man. There was no stopping her when she was on a quest to party. Bad juju to mix your cocktails, you know?”

“You mean she took more than Bliss?”

“Raquel was with her when she croaked. She just died. Like fell over and was no more. I don’t know...it’s pretty wild.”

Yeah, pretty wild when a kid’s heart disintegrates, asshole
. “Anyone tell her family?” Shaine asked.

“We were her only family,” Angelo said with a sigh. “We’re going to have a little get-together after work, say a few words in her honor. You in?”

“Yeah, sure, of course,” he murmured. “I just can’t believe it. It’s hard to take it all in. I mean, Capri was fine at the party. And now she’s just gone?”

“Yeah, it’s a shit-bag of messed up proportion. Grieve with us, man. She’ll be missed. No one could reel in those old moneybags like Capri. It was like watching a bee make honey.”

Bile rose in Shaine’s throat, but he nodded as if he agreed. “She was talented.”

“For sure,” Angelo said, then exhaled as if he were finished with that topic and he was ready to move on. “So tell me about you and that hottie, Laci. Did you seal the deal? I want details, my friend.”

Shaine forced a cavalier grin. “I don’t kiss and tell.”

“Bullshit. Family doesn’t keep secrets, man.”

Angelo’s tone was joking but there seemed an edge, making Shaine wonder if this was all part of the test.

“All right, if you must know, let’s just say someone did the walk of shame this morning and it wasn’t me.”

“That’s my man.” Angelo laughed, clapping him on the shoulder. “Am I right that Bliss is out of this world?”

“It’s wild. What the hell is in that shit? I’ve never even heard of it.”

“Miami special, baby. Nowhere in the world are you going to find a high like Bliss, at least not yet, but we’re working on that. Are you a businessman, Rocco?”

A jump of adrenaline made his palms sweat. “I don’t own stocks or anything,” he said with a shrug. “But I can manage to pay my own bills. Why?”

“Let’s talk later. I have something you might be interested in getting in on that could end up being very lucrative.”

“I like the sounds of that,” Shaine said, nodding. “Let’s talk now.”

“Patience, brother. All good things come to those who wait, right?”

“Naw, I heard good things come to those who chase after it,” Shaine countered boldly, which seemed the right thing to say, as Angelo’s approving grin widened.

“I like your style.” He pointed. “Now get to work. There are tips to be made and bills to be paid.”

Shaine didn’t have a choice but to do as he was told. He couldn’t seem overeager or else it might come off as strange, but he was humming with the urge to press harder.

This was where experience trumped youth. He tamped down his urge to go balls to the wall and returned to the bar, ready to sling drinks.

That’s when he saw Poppy enter. He only caught a flash of her long blond hair before she disappeared behind the stage, but he could tell it was her from the way she walked.

The memory of her riding him in the front seat of his car blasted his brain and he poured himself a shot of whiskey to blot it out.

It wasn’t healthy to dwell on a situation that’d been out of their hands.

They both accepted that they’d acted outside their realm of what they’d normally do because of the drug.

Neither was blaming the other.

And they were both on the same page about making sure it didn’t happen again.

So why was he fixating on last night?

It’d just been sex.

Okay, sex on Bliss had been something extraordinarily amazing—if the general public caught wind of what it could do, there’d be an epidemic worse than the meth wave.

But he couldn’t help but wonder, just a tiny bit, if the reason the sex had been out of this world wasn’t so much about the drug but because he still missed Poppy.

Shaine chewed on that for a minute. They’d had no closure. She’d just bailed, leaving him behind with a broken heart and no explanations.

And now they were working together.

It was as if they were never apart.

That worried him.

He still loved the smell of her hair.

Somehow she always managed to smell like summer rain on a hot day.

Should he admit that he’d buried his face in the pillow she’d slept on last night and inhaled so deeply, he could’ve sucked up the whole damn thing?

Knock it off, already.

Shaine wondered what kind of words Angelo would share about Capri.

It was too much to hope that Angelo would admit that he was somehow responsible for Capri’s death so Shaine could nail him for it.

Solving a throwaway kid’s murder wasn’t the priority, but he wanted justice for Capri and he knew Poppy wanted it, too.

Maybe with some luck, something would go their way and they’d manage to take down their target and find some kind of peace for Capri.

* * *

Poppy paused, catching Shaine behind the bar as she entered Lit and, knowing that Angelo was watching, sent Shaine a sizzling smile before heading to the dressing room.

Big Jane was comforting a girl Poppy didn’t recognize, but she immediately saw Raquel and Brandi squaring off in a corner, whispering furiously to one another.

She decided to mind her own business and went straight to her vanity, dropping her bag and beginning her makeup. Her gamble paid off. Whatever Raquel and Brandi were discussing had ended because Raquel grabbed her bag and split, leaving Brandi to stare daggers in her direction.

Poppy took that as a cue to ask questions.

“Are you okay? What was that about?”

“Bitch, doesn’t know her place,” Brandi growled, still pissed. “She’s lucky she still has a job. As far as I’m concerned she can go peddle her fat ass over at Tank, that’s about her speed, anyway.”

“What were you arguing about?” Poppy asked.

“Don’t worry about it,” Brandi told her, flicking her gaze to Big Jane. “Now’s not the time to talk about it, anyway. We’re grieving.”

“Grieving?”

Brandi shot her an incredulous look, and then she remembered. “Ah, that’s right, you went home with Rocco last night. You missed all the excitement.”

“Sounds like I’m glad I did?”

“Capri is dead,” Brandi said without softening it. Poppy covered her mouth as a tiny sound popped out. “Yeah, it was awful.”

But judging by Brandi’s flat response, Poppy wasn’t entirely sure that Brandi was truly sad to see Capri gone.

For crying out loud, the kid was only sixteen. Had Brandi known that? Would she have cared?

“What happened?” Poppy asked, stricken. “Oh, my God...this is terrible. She was such a great kid.”

“She was no angel,” Brandi retorted, going to the costume rack and thumbing through it idly. She selected a sparkly number and admired it. “Capri won’t be needing this any longer. It always looked better on me, anyway.”

“Criminy, Brandi,” Poppy murmured with a frown. “A little empathy wouldn’t be out of order.”

“Look, am I sad that the kid bit it? Sure. I didn’t have a beef with her but she was a pain in my ass most times and that’s the truth. I didn’t have time to constantly babysit her. She was a handful. Always getting herself into trouble. You know that car she drove? Do you know what she did to get it?”

Poppy shook her head, not wanting to know. “I can imagine.”

“No, you can’t. Anyway, the kid had something wrong with the wiring in her head. I hate to say it, but she was living on borrowed time. Sooner or later someone was going to punch her clock. It just so happened that she brought it on herself this time.”

“How so?” Poppy asked, offended for Capri. “No one deserves to die. Especially not one so young.”

Brandi eyed her with interest. “And just how young do you think she was?”

“I mean, she looked twelve, but I’m assuming she had to be eighteen to dance at Lit, right?”

Brandi shrugged. “Well, that’s what her ID said, anyway.”

“Do you think she was younger than she let on?”

“What do I care?” Brandi replied as if Poppy’s question was stupid. “I’m not her mother. That’s what Big Jane is for.”

“I thought you and Capri were close.”

She sighed and replaced the costume. “Yeah, I guess. One screwed up family. Birds of a feather, right?”

The sound of sobs reached a crescendo and Brandi rolled her eyes with disgust as she hollered at Missy even as the girl continued to sob on Big Jane’s shoulder. “Get it together, you hag. You’re supposed to go on in five minutes. Like anyone is interested in a weepy stripper.”

“Did she know Capri?”

Brandi sank into her vanity chair with a smirk. “Does anyone truly know anyone?”

“I mean, she seems pretty upset.”

Brandi waved away Poppy’s observation. “Missy cries at the drop of a hat. Hell, I think she cries over YouTube videos of cats. She’s a hormonal mess. Ever since she gave that kid up for adoption, all she does is cry whenever she gets the chance. Get over it, already. I say she’s better off, anyway. Who needs a brat hanging on your tits when you can have some rich old man buying you everything you need for the price of a little show?”

Poppy hid her distaste and left Brandi to get ready.

Brandi might very well be a borderline personality. She was definitely walking a fine line toward narcissism.

But was she involved with the Bliss operation?

Brandi seemed more put out that everyone was mourning Capri’s death rather than concerned that Bliss had been what killed her.

And someone who was in the inner circle would care about the product killing customers.

Big Jane came over to Poppy, a concerned smile wreathing her weathered face. “How ya doin’ honey?”

“Okay, I guess,” Poppy answered. “I’m still in shock.”

“We all are, sweetie. We all are. It’s such a tragedy when a brilliant, vibrant beauty goes much too soon. Capri was a special girl.”

“I didn’t know her very well but I wish I’d had the chance to know her better.”

“Oh, honey, she was a good egg. Hard to find in this business, but she really was.”

Brandi overhead Big Jane and snorted in disgust, muttering, “Good grief. By the end of the evening, the kid will have a halo and angel wings.”

“Shut your bitter mouth,” Big Jane snapped. “Just because she was sweet where you are sour, doesn’t mean you get to run her over in death. You did enough of that while the poor girl was alive.”

Poppy took quiet note of that statement. Maybe it was time to have a private chat with Big Jane, away from the club.

“I’m just saying, she wasn’t perfect. I don’t know why everyone is trying to make her out to be now that she’s dead,” Brandi said, but she looked away from Big Jane and returned to her makeup. “Hell, just last week you were bitching about how she was a little whore because she moved in on your target and got him to buy her that flashy new diamond around her neck. Remember that?”

Big Jane sniffed. “It’s bad luck to speak ill of the dead. Didn’t your mama ever teach you that?”

“My mama was a crack addict whore, so no, she didn’t teach me much more than how to get her fix.”

“Figures. You’re broken to the core, child.”

Big Jane left with a final look of disgust toward Brandi and then ambled off, leaving Poppy with more questions and no one to ask.

She couldn’t explain it, but Poppy felt certain that Capri didn’t intentionally overdose.

And if that was true...was El Escorpion involved or was it just a case of jealousy?