Gotta Get Next To You (18 page)

“What’s wrong?”

Lee started at her melodious voice near his
shoulder and spun around. “What?”

“You seemed to be thinking about something
deep,” she said. Andrea gazed up at him, her head cocked to one
side.

He looked into the clearest, most beautiful
pecan brown eyes he’d ever seen. “Not really,” he murmured.

Andrea turned and set the alarm. “If you say
so. Let’s go.” Her tone was crisp and distant.

He followed her down the short hall and
through the door. He waited as she locked the door. Head up, Andrea
marched ahead of him to her car, with the heels of her pumps
tapping military style. Nothing in her manner indicated she even
remembered their close encounter the other night. Lee felt a
mixture of relief and annoyance. He’d never had trouble attracting
beautiful women, even as a teenager. It was not egotism, just a
fact. Not every relationship had worked out the way he’d wanted,
though. Lee had grown tired of the love games by his mid-twenties.
It would be great if movies and romance novels were right, that
love could last. But he knew better. Uncomplicated companionship
was the best option. Passionate longing only led to misery. The
passion Andrea inspired should be enough to warn him she would only
let him down. Lee had had enough of letdowns to last him a
lifetime. His heart hardened against the seductive woman who could
smile and turn his body to jelly. Good, he was glad she could turn
to ice water at will.

Andrea reached her car. The headlights
flashed when she turned off the alarm. “I’ll see you tomorrow.
Denny tells me you may be through with the records A to G soon.
Sounds great.”

“Yeah, great,” Lee echoed. He squinted in the
late afternoon sunshine and assumed a casual pose. “See ya, boss
lady.”

“Good-bye. Don’t party too late.” Andrea
opened the driver’s-side door and gazed at him.

There seemed to be a question in her voice.
Did she want to know if he was seeing someone? Here was his chance.
If she was interested, that could mean ... nothing, it meant
absolutely nothing. Damn! He felt like a mixed-up teenager. This
was a case and she wasn’t in the clear by a long shot.

“No problem, I’m used to it,” he said in a
jaunty voice.

He whirled around and strode to his Integra
without looking back. Lee could not trust himself to be alone with
her for any length of time, at least not for now. As he drove away
he talked himself down from the dizzying effect she’d had on
him.

***

Lee entered John Mandeville’s office suite.
The pretty secretary was gone for the day since it was after six in
the evening. He’d arranged for this first report to take place when
they could meet with the most privacy. The office building was
practically empty on a Friday night. Lee walked across the thick
ocean blue carpet. He stopped at the sound of an incensed female
voice. The door was open, but the speaker was on the other side of
the spacious office. The thin woman in an expensive mauve dress
stood with her back to Lee. Mandeville rumbled an expletive.

“I don’t believe a word you say. You knew
Charlene Noble would be there!”

Lee recognized the woman. Victoria Mandeville
glared at her husband. She folded her arms to her chest, causing
the gold bracelets on her wrists to jingle. They seemed to be at a
standoff.

“Give it a rest, Vicky.” John walked to the
bar.

“I won’t put up with being publicly
humiliated,” Victoria spat at him.

Lee moved to the side to make sure neither
would see him. Andrea’s mother had some connection to
Mandeville?

“Don’t be so melodramatic. That was over
years ago.” In contrast, John seemed quite calm.

“I saw the way you looked at her. You weren’t
exactly hiding it!” Victoria shouted.

“Get a grip, woman,” John barked. His voice
came closer and then the door shut firmly. His response was
inaudible. Their voices were now muffled through the thick oak
door.

Lee was left to ponder the brief part of
their exchange he’d heard. So Andrea’s mother and Mandeville had
been, or still were, lovers. He was not at all surprised that John
had not told him the whole story. Private detectives were used to
having their own clients he to them. Here was another reason to get
out of this case fast. He walked out into the hallway, not a moment
too soon. The door leading to John’s office swung open a second
after he was gone.

“Now I know why you were so interested in
that clinic. There’s a limit to what I’ll tolerate, John,” Victoria
said.

“I’m interested because it benefits the
community,” John said in a mild tone.

“Your community spirit is about as plentiful
as honest politicians. You’re making money, lots of it, or you
wouldn’t give a damn about the Bayou Blue Clinic.”

“The previous director wouldn’t see
reason.”

“You mean he was someone else’s puppet and
not yours,” Victoria shot back. “You don’t care about what happens
at that place. You’re always involved in a racket of some kind.
Papa says—”

“Your high-class family has their own brand
of racket, darlin’.” John laughed.

“We never wallowed in filth,” Victoria
snarled at him acidly.

“You mean he never lowered himself to get his
hands dirty, he paid others to do it,” John lobbed back at her.
“Don’t forget how well I know Papa Trosclair’s business.”

“Then you know how powerful he is. Stay away
from Charlene Noble.”

When the outer door opened, Lee hurried in
the opposite direction toward the elevators. He strolled back
toward Mandeville’s suite as though he’d only just arrived.

“Evening, ma’am,” Lee said as he nodded at
Victoria.

The angry woman merely shot a brief glance at
him as she walked by. Lee took the opportunity to examine her up
close. Victoria was attractive but not pretty like Charlene Noble.
Expensive clothes and makeup, and the benefit of what Lee guessed
was a high-priced hairstylist, helped. He strolled on, mentally
tossing around this new information. He entered the office suite
for the second time. John Mandeville turned as Lee walked in.

“Hi, Mr. Mandeville. Sorry I’m late,” Lee
said.

“Actually you’re right on time,” John said.
He glanced past Lee to the door with a sour expression.

“If you say so.” Lee shrugged. He followed
John into the office. He sat down in one of the soft leather chairs
facing the huge desk.

“Been a long day, Lee.” Mandeville sighed
like a man carrying the weight of the world.

“Guess ordering people around is tiring.”

John smiled at him. “Let’s have a damn
drink.” As he worked, he continued to talk. “Actually, being the
boss is exhausting. But luckily I’ve got sharp people working for
me.”

“Uh-huh.” Lee did not sympathize with the
problems of a rich businessman. He took out a small pad and
re-viewed his notes.

John came and sat down in the chair next to
him. He handed Lee a cut-glass tumbler of amber liquid. “Best
cognac I’ve ever tasted.”

“Thanks.” Lee put the glass on a round table
between them without drinking from it. “Here’s what I’ve got so
far. I think at least one employee has been stealing from the
clinic. I’m pretty sure he plans to steal drugs next. Probably
already has, but with those records, I can’t tell.”

“And the director?” John sipped from his
glass.

“The guy could have been involved, but at
this point I can’t tell.” Lee flipped the pad closed.

“I was referring to Ms. Noble,” John said. He
looked at Lee hard. “You must have some opinion by now.” “Nothing
definite. I mean, she signs invoices and has been slow to delegate.
So...” Lee had to force the words out. “She might know what’s going
on.”

“I see.” A muscle in Mandeville’s jaw
tightened. “Bottom line—the place needs a major overhaul and the
cops should be brought in.”

“No, we can’t do that. I want you to handle
it.” John

delivered his decision in a determined voice.
He looked every bit the CEO.

Lee raised his eyebrows. “This isn’t a simple
matter of employee theft. I suspect this kid has gang
connections.”

“But you don’t know for certain, right?” John
said.

“State auditors and the police can use what
I’ve put together so far.”

“Listen,” John said, and leaned back in his
chair. “You know how important that clinic is to poor folks around
here. I don’t want to call in the bloodhounds unless we’re
absolutely sure.”

“Which might cut into your profits?” Lee said
in a flat voice. “And just what is your connection to Andrea
Noble?”

“I participated in the hiring process, gave
the search committee my input,” John answered smoothly.

“That’s all?” Lee gazed at him, head tilted
to one side.

“This is a small town. I know the family.”
John lifted a shoulder.

“So you know or knew Charlene Noble very
well” Lee said.

John’s mild expression hardened. “You’re
being paid to investigate that clinic, not my private life.”

“I could do a better job if you told me
everything.”

“I’ve told you everything you need to know.”
John’s dark eyes glittered with ire.

“I don’t think so,” Lee said in a level
tone.

“I hired you to get to the bottom of
management problems, not to follow up on gossip,” John snapped.

“This isn’t just to satisfy my curiosity,”
Lee shot back coldly. The man’s arrogance grated on him. “We’re
talking drug theft and possibly involving the feds.”

His mention of the federal authorities had
the desired effect. The color drained from Mandeville’s face. He
went to the bar and poured more cognac into his glass even though
it was not completely empty.

“That’s preposterous.” John spoke over his
shoulder. “You’re really stretching to make this thing bigger than
it is.”

“If they steal drugs and cross state lines to
sell them, it could well be a federal case.” Lee didn’t think so,
but he wanted to rattle Mandeville.

John turned around with a composed look. “You
don’t even know if there is theft of drugs, much less a gang
connection.”

He had to admire the man’s ability to bounce
back. ‘True. But from my experience, the signs are there.” “Fine.
We’ll deal with it //that’s the case.” John drew himself to his
full height and looked down at Lee.

“No, I’ll notify the local police and let
them decide.” He stared back at John. Several seconds ticked by in
tense silence.

John nodded. “I can live with that. Harley
Boudreaux is a fishing partner and a real reasonable guy.”

“I’ll let you know what the sheriff
says.”

“Better yet, I’ll set up the meeting,” John
said in a take-charge voice. “I’ll give you a call by tomorrow
morning.”

Lee didn’t like it, but he decided not to
argue the point. “Okay. Tomorrow,” he insisted.

“No problem.” John smiled now, the genial
southern gentleman again. “Now relax and finish your drink.” Lee
did not feel like drinking with this upper-class version of a
used-car salesman. “No, thanks, I’ve got to get going.” He walked
out.

As he drove to New Orleans, he tried to
reconcile his gut reaction to Andrea with his cop’s instinct. Years
of scraping up humanity’s garbage told him not to be deceived.
Mandeville’s reaction when asked about Charlene and Andrea told him
there was a missing piece, a big one. A sick feeling formed in the
pit of Lee’s stomach. He did not want any more reasons to suspect
Andréa’s motives, but they kept popping up like poison
mushrooms.

***

It was a sunny Saturday morning. Andrea got
up at six o’clock to get an early start. Moving day had finally
come. She was all packed and ready to move into her apartment. The
small complex of one- and two- bedroom flats was only a mile from
the clinic downtown. Gran stood with both hands on her wide hips as
she surveyed the suitcases and boxes.

“Still don’t see why you can’t stay here,”
Gran said with a stem face.

“We’ve been through this,” Andrea warned with
a squint.

“All right, all right. It just seems the last
couple of months flew by too fast.” Gran pinched Andrea’s cheek
gently. “I got used to my little pecan candy baby being home
again.”

“You’ll see me at mealtimes more than you
want to.”

“You come by every day if you want, cher.”
Gran winked at her. “I’ve tasted your cooking.”

“Hey! It’s not that bad,” Andrea
protested.

“Needs work, child.” Gran’s dark eyebrows
went up. “Gotta improve so your husband and six babies won’t
starve,” she teased.

“You’ve been out in the sun too long. Six
kids? No way.”

“The right man will change your mind, I bet.”
Gran chuckled, thoroughly enjoying Andrea’s reaction.

“I love you dearly, but you’re dreaming.”
Andrea laughed at the notion.

“We’ll see.”

Andrea shook her head. “It’s amazing how you
manage to work marriage into every conversation.”

“Okay, I give up. You’re bound and determined
to be single.” Gran smiled.

Andrea was suspicious of this early
surrender, but said nothing. “Good. Now back to the real world,
carting all my junk out of here. I can’t believe how much of it
there is.”

“Yeah, a strong man is on his way to help,”
Gran called over her shoulder as she left the room.

“Uncle Curtis is coming?” Andrea closed and
sealed another box.

“Nope.” Gran’s voice came down the hallway
from Andrea’s old bedroom.

“Cousin Leonard? No, he’s working offshore
for the next three weeks.” Andrea tripped over one of three large
shopping bags. “Damn!”

“Watch your mouth,” Gran said as she entered
the living room again.

“Nothing wrong with your hearing.” Andrea
wrapped the last of her black figurine collection in plastic bubble
material. “So who is my hero?”