janet maple 05 - it doesnt pay to be bad (3 page)

“I’m sure Laskin is doing his best,” Dennis said grudgingly. “He’s the king of data analysis, but when it comes to fieldwork—”

“Get off it, Dennis,” Janet cut him off. Despite Peter’s saving Dennis’s butt during their last case and being best man at their wedding, there was a never-ending rivalry between the two men. “Peter’s great at his job and you know it. I sure am glad to have a backup at the office.”

“Me too. Me too. I’m just saying that Peter can’t handle it all on his own. Ham’s desk must be overflowing with assignments by now.”

“You mean our desks,” Janet clarified. Ham rarely got involved in the nitty gritty. As the majority partner, his main responsibility was to bring in business, which meant schmoozing with the top officials at the FBI and other government agencies that frequently retained Kirk & Associates. Although lately, the agency’s track record was the only PR they needed—the phones at Kirk & Associates were ringing non-stop.

Dennis rubbed his hands. “Monday is going to be interesting. I bet Laskin will be happy to see us back.”

“I’m sure.” Janet gave up on appeasing Dennis. The two men were bound to ‘arm wrestle’ each other the minute Dennis got back to the office. “But don’t rush it. We’re still on our honeymoon.”

The bartender placed their drinks before them, and Janet lifted her champagne glass.

“To romantic getaways.”

“To romantic getaways.” Dennis clinked his glass against Janet’s and took a long sip. “And to my wonderful wife,” he added, holding up his glass.

“To my wonderful husband.” Janet lifted her glass to her lips. “Mmm, the perfect conclusion to the perfect trip.”

“It certainly is.” Dennis leaned in closer, pulling Janet in for a kiss.

“For a workaholic you’re one damn good kisser,” Janet muttered after Dennis pulled away from her.

“Why, thank you for the compliment. I aim to please.” He grinned. “Speaking of the perfect conclusion to our trip,” he added, checking his watch, “we’d better hurry or we won’t make our flight. Boarding starts soon and our gate is on the other end of the terminal.” Dennis reached for his wallet and counted out several euros as a tip for the bartender.

Janet took another sip of her champagne. As she set her glass down, she noticed a young man in the seat next to Dennis’s by the bar. She wasn’t sure when he’d arrived because she didn’t remember seeing him there when they’d first walked in. He must’ve come in when she was busy locking lips with Dennis. He was dressed in black jeans, white shirt with a skinny tie, and a gray blazer. He seemed to be absorbed in reading something on his iPhone. Nothing strange there, except for the fact that there were plenty of empty bar stools. No matter, they were leaving anyway.

“Ready?” Dennis asked her.

Janet finished her champagne. “All set—” she cut herself short, as she noticed the young man next to Dennis reaching for Dennis’s carryon, which contained the seascape they had bought at the gallery. “Excuse me, sir, but that is my husband’s bag,” Janet said firmly.

“Oh, pardon me!” The young man adjusted his glasses. “Silly me! I forgot I put my bag on the other side of my seat.” He spoke with a heavy French accent. He held up a portfolio carryon bag identical to the one Dennis had. “Would you look at that,” he said, genuinely baffled.

“Seems we have the same bag,” Dennis said absentmindedly, picking up his bag. “We’d better make sure we didn’t mix them up.” He opened up the zipper and looked inside. “Nope, all set.”

“Oh, I am very relieved to hear it!” the young man exclaimed. “I am flying to Zurich to showcase my portfolio to a gallery owner. You had just saved me from a terrible calamity and I’m forever indebted to you.”

“Oh, it’s nothing.” Janet waved her hand dismissively. “Are you an artist?”

The young man blushed. “I am yet to sell a painting, but if my meeting goes well, I might have a chance.”

“You don’t have to sell paintings to be an artist,” Janet pointed out.

The young man smiled nervously. “You’re very kind. But most people, including my father, would disagree.”

“Then I guess I disagree with most people. Would you mind showing us some of your work?” Janet asked. “I’d love to see it.”

A quick frown crossed the man’s forehead. “I’d be delighted, but everything is wrapped up very tightly.”

“Some other time then,” Dennis cut in, taking Janet’s arm. “Honey, we really have to run, or we’ll miss our flight. Good luck with your meeting,” Dennis added to the young man. “Maybe we’ll be buying a painting of yours someday.”

“One can only hope,” the young man said wistfully.

“Wasn’t that funny?” Janet murmured into Dennis’s ear as they were leaving the lounge.

“What was?” Dennis asked, busy looking for the check-in gate.

“That guy having exactly the same bag as yours.”

“Gates one through five,” Dennis muttered, “good, we’re going the right way. What was that?”

“The bag,” Janet repeated, as she followed Dennis, “the guy at the bar had exactly the same bag as yours. Don’t you think that’s funny?”

“Not really—it’s a portfolio case. They all look the same.”

“I guess. I’m glad I spotted him though—imagine if he’d walked off with your bag.”

“After everything we went through to buy that seascape, I don’t even want to think about the possibility,” Dennis quipped. “Now let’s get a move on, or we’ll miss our boarding.”

***

“Home sweet home at last!” Dennis thrust the key into the front door lock and turned it open. He swung open the door and wheeled in his suitcase.

Janet followed Dennis, dragging her suitcase behind her. “You can say that again. I feel like I could sleep for ten hours straight,” she added, closing the door shut. Their flight got delayed at the last minute and they ended up sitting an additional hour on the plane before takeoff. It was only six p.m. New York time, but the jetlag was starting to take its toll and Janet could feel her eyes closing.

“That sounds like an excellent idea.”

“Except you forget that Mrs. Chapman is going to be here any minute to drop off Baxter,” Janet reminded him.

As if on cue, the doorbell rang.

“That must be Mrs. Chapman. She’s right on time.” Janet reached for the door handle. As she predicted, their neighbor was standing on the threshold, with Baxter by her side. The moment Janet opened the door, Baxter bolted inside.

“Hello, dearie!” Mrs. Chapman chirped and gave Janet a peck on the cheek.

“Hi Mrs. Chapman. Baxter, come here you!” Janet reached down to pick up Baxter, but he slipped right through her fingers, barking excitedly and circling around her feet.

“Great to see you, Mrs. Chapman,” Dennis greeted his neighbor as he rushed to the front door. “Baxter, buddy!” He spread out his feet like a goalie, ready to scoop up Baxter.

Seeing both Janet and Dennis at once, Baxter was struck with a momentary dilemma as to which of his masters to run to first, but he resolved it quickly by pawing at Janet’s legs and then rushing off to Dennis.

Dennis picked up Baxter and scratched him behind his ear. “Were you a good boy? You didn’t give Mrs. Chapman a hard time, did you?”

“Oh, no, Dennis. Baxter was perfectly well-behaved,” Mrs. Chapman assured him. “It was a pleasure having him.”

“I don’t know what we’d do without you.” Janet smiled. “We’re both so grateful for your help.”

“Nonsense.” Mrs. Chapman waved her hand dismissively. “I always enjoy Baxter’s company, as do all the folks at the community center.” A widow, Mrs. Chapman kept herself busy by being an active member of the local community center where she frequently organized dances and other social events for seniors in the neighborhood. She was also a self-proclaimed fashionista. Today her choice of attire was as daring as always and included a pink top with a puffy black and white polka dot skirt.”

“Would you like something to drink? A cup of tea maybe?” Janet offered.

“I’ll pass on the tea, but if you have something stronger?” Mrs. Chapman inquired.

“We have just the thing.” Dennis rummaged in the duty free bags they’d brought from the airport and fished out a bottle of French cognac. “Please, Mrs. Chapman, have a seat.”

“Are you sure I’m not intruding? I can tell that you just got in,” she said hesitantly.

“It’s fine. We could all use a drink.” Janet ushered her into the living room.

“Just one drink,” Mrs. Chapman agreed demurely. She made her way into the living room and took a seat on the couch.

Janet grabbed the glasses and Dennis opened the cognac bottle. A few moments later they were all comfortably seated on the sofa. Baxter was pacing the floor excitedly, momentarily settling by Janet’s or Dennis’s feet and then pacing and sniffing again.

“Sit down, Baxter.” Janet tried to get Baxter to sit on her lap, but he wouldn’t have any of it.

“I bet he’s fishing for a treat,” Dennis said. “Sorry, buddy, we didn’t bring you any treats—it’s against the rules—can’t bring food from overseas,” Dennis explained.

“I can fix this.” Janet got up and headed into the kitchen. She opened the cupboard where she kept Baxter’s treats and took out several pieces of dog beef jerky. A few moments later she was back in the living room. At the sight of her, Baxter froze, sitting on his hind paws—no doubt the smell of the beef jerky had hit his sensitive nose. “Enjoy.” Janet handed Baxter his treats.

“That’ll keep him busy for a while.” Dennis poured out the cognac. “The French know how to make a good drink,” he added, inhaling the aroma from his glass.

“They certainly do,” Mrs. Chapman agreed as she sniffed her glass. “Smells delicious. My late husband loved his cognac,” she added, “but enough about the past. Here’s to the young couple. May your life together be as wonderful as your honeymoon.”

“Thank you.” Janet raised her glass and took a sip.

“Thank you indeed, Mrs. Chapman, although I don’t think I could handle that much walking on a daily basis,” Dennis added.

“Oh, please!” Janet waved her hand in dismissal. “Stop complaining. And you did enjoy it.”

“What’s this, a lovers’ quarrel? You know, it’s forbidden to quarrel in your first year of marriage,” she said jokingly.

“Dennis is being overly dramatic,” Janet explained. “We just did a little sightseeing.”

“If you call covering the entire span of Paris and Antibes on foot ‘a little sightseeing’,” Dennis countered, “then that’s what we did. I don’t think there’s a corner of Paris that we missed, or Antibes for that matter.”

“That’s because there was so much to see,” Janet retorted. “The Louvre in Paris took two days by itself and we still didn’t see everything there. And then there was the d’Orsay, and the Eiffel Tower—”

“Did I mention we climbed to the very top of the Eiffel Tower?” Dennis cut in.

“That must’ve been so exciting,” Mrs. Chapman gushed.

“It was,” Janet confirmed. “And Dennis enjoyed it too—the view was breathtaking.”

“As was the climb,” Dennis wouldn’t relent.

“Says the guy who can run five miles hardly breaking a sweat,” Janet countered. “Just think of walking as a workout.”

“I prefer to limit my workouts to the gym, thank you very much,” Dennis shot back. “By the time we reached the top, I had holes in the bottoms of my shoes.”

“I think Dennis has discovered a talent for comedy during our honeymoon,” Janet said. “And he just won’t stop.”

“You got me.” Dennis held up his hands. “I’ll admit it. It was nice and I enjoyed every bit of it. How could I not with my wonderful wife by my side?”

“Oh, how sweet you two are!” Mrs. Chapman cooed.

“You’re too kind, Mrs. Chapman.” Janet paused—truth be told, she did enjoy the back and forth bickering with Dennis because she knew it was never serious. “Antibes turned out to be such a quaint little town,” Janet continued. “We found the most delightful art gallery there where we bought a wonderful painting. The owner didn’t want to sell it to us at first, but then he changed his mind and we got it.”

“How exciting—I can’t wait to see it.” Mrs. Chapman’s eyes gleamed with curiosity.

Janet rose from the couch and went to get the carryon case with the painting. “Here it is,” she said as she began to open the zipper. “I fell in love with it the moment I saw it.” She carefully removed the painting from the case and propped it on the reading table, holding it up with her hand.

“Oh, my!” Mrs. Chapman exclaimed. “The sea looks absolutely dazzling.”

“That’s what I thought. We’re going to hang it up above the couch,” Janet said.

“The perfect spot for it.” Mrs. Chapman rose from her seat to take a closer look at the painting. “Who’s the artist?” she asked.

“An unknown,” Dennis said. “But he did a good job.”

“That he did,” Mrs. Chapman agreed. “And the frame is very lovely too. It looks old—it could be worth quite a bit on its own. You might want to take it to an antiques specialist to learn more about it.”

“I was thinking about that too,” Janet said. “Not that we’d ever sell it, but maybe there’s a story behind it. I’d love to know what it is. The shop where we bought it was most peculiar.” Janet proceeded to tell Mrs. Chapman about their visit to the art gallery.

“That sounds like an adventure in its own!” Mrs. Chapman gushed after Janet finished her story. “You’ll have to tell me more about the rest of your trip later. I’m afraid I must run now,” she added, glancing at her watch. “I have a date.”

“He’s a lucky fella. If your date isn’t being a perfect gentleman, you just give me a call, Mrs. Chapman, and I’ll straighten him out,” Dennis added in all seriousness.

Mrs. Chapman waved her hand demurely. “Oh, I think I’ll manage. I appreciate the offer though. Now, you two, unpack and unwind.” Mrs. Chapman headed for the foyer.

“Mrs. Chapman, wait a minute.” Janet followed after her. She reached down and picked up one of the bags from the duty free shop. “We got this for you,” she said, handing Mrs. Chapman the bag.

“Oh, you shouldn’t have,” Mrs. Chapman said modestly.

“It’s a bottle of cognac,” Janet said. “The same we just had.”

“In that case you should have.” Mrs. Chapman smiled. “I’ll save it for special evenings.”

“Enjoy.” Janet knew they’d gotten the right gift for her neighbor—if there was one thing Mrs. Chapman enjoyed, it was a good nightcap. “Thank you again for taking care of Baxter.”