Obsession, Deceit and Really Dark Chocolate (38 page)

“Not even close.” Anatoly straightened up before falling back onto the bed. “Rick may have confided in his new girlfriend, but we have no reason to believe that he’d agree to talk to the police about it. And even if he did, the witnessed threesome would only help us if Peter Strauss was part of that particular indiscretion. And, Sophie, lots of people have chlamydia.”

“You don’t, right?” I asked, suddenly alarmed.

“No,” Anatoly chuckled, “I’ve been lucky. Still, chlamydia is a lot more common than say, AIDS or syphilis. As for the homeless woman, she’s delusional. It doesn’t matter what she saw because nothing she says will be admissible in court. Tomorrow I’ll check to see what kind of car Fitzgerald has, but even if it’s a green Ford that doesn’t help us much because you don’t even know if the car you saw on the night of Eugene’s murder was a Ford. The only thing we know about the other two witnesses, if they actually exist, is that they’re Asian. That leaves us with Peter’s note and that’s not enough.”

I banged the back of my head against the wall. “Then I don’t know what to do.”

“We start by following Fitzgerald around town. Anne’s given us next to nothing, so I’m switching my attention to her opponent. Early tomorrow morning I’ll head to Pleasant Hill and I’ll stay on his tail for at least another twenty-four hours. When he retires for the evening I’ll nap in the car. So at least for one night you won’t have to deal with me hovering over you.”

“But the furry party is tomorrow night.”

“Sophie, this is more important, I have to—”

“Keep your promise,” I finished for him. “That’s what you have to do. You said you would put that costume on and accompany me.”

“I said I’d do that because I thought it was the best chance we had of getting a lead. I no longer think that’s true. If Fitzgerald really did leave his phone with Melanie’s body, he’s getting very sloppy. Furthermore, he’s acting like a man who wants to get caught.”

“Really?” I scoffed. “Because if that’s the case he might want to consider making it easy for somebody to catch him.”

“Maybe he has. Every one of those threats that you received made some kind of reference to furries, but until a few days ago you didn’t even know what a furry was. Why draw your attention to something that could be so damaging? Why follow you to Neiman’s and make up a story about meeting someone for lunch when he knew that you would see him dine alone? And why the hell didn’t he cancel his service when he realized that he lost his cell phone?”

“I hadn’t thought of that,” I admitted.

Anatoly ran his hand over his evening stubble. “If I was vindictive I’d say that your oversight proves that I’m a better detective than you are.”

“Yes,” I said. “Good thing you’re not vindictive. But, Anatoly, this party may be our only hope of finding a reliable witness who will testify to Fitzgerald’s furrydom.”

“If Fitzgerald’s recent actions have taught us anything, it’s that he’s not adjusting his behavior for the sake of caution. If Fitzgerald goes to these parties, he’ll go to this one, which is why I’ll be keeping my gorilla suit on hand.”

“You will?”

“Yes, if Fitzgerald goes into that party, I’m following him, no matter what the cost to my pride.”

“Oh, Anatoly,” I said, flinging my arms around his neck, “I love—I mean, um, I, I love working with you.”

Anatoly shot me a bemused look. “Since when?”

“Since right now.”

“I see.” He turned to me and stroked my cheek with the back of his hand. “I love…working with you, too.”

“Hey,” I said teasingly, “no copying. If you’re going to flirt at least say something original.”

“Words are your specialty, not mine.”

“And what is your…Anatoly, is that your hand?”

“Shh,” he whispered, “there’s something here I need to investigate.”

25

At work they teach us that there is no such thing as a problem, only an opportunity. So I’m very lucky. I have more opportunities than anyone I know!

—C’est La Vie

THAT NIGHT ANATOLY SHOWED ME EXACTLY WHAT HE SPECIALIZED IN.
If we hadn’t run out of condoms by 2:00 a.m. we might not have gotten any sleep at all. The next morning I let him talk me out of going with him on his Flynn Fitzgerald surveillance mission. He went on and on about how Fitzgerald could be a murderer and he could be on to me, whereas he probably had no idea who Anatoly was et cetera, et cetera. He then insisted that the smartest thing for me to do was to stay home and wait for his call. I smiled, nodded and told him he was absolutely right and he took my agreement at face value, which just proves my theory that there is a positive correlation between sexual satiation and gullibility.

Of course Anatoly could never have guessed what my real plans were for the day. No one could have because what I did was completely out of character.

I went to the police and told them everything. It’s not that Anatoly’s arguments against confiding in them didn’t make sense to me, but we had so many little bits of incriminating circumstantial evidence and I hoped that maybe, just maybe, the police would take what I had and run with it.

But they didn’t run, they laughed…and they laughed and they laughed. And when they were done laughing they guffawed.

It was Officers Kelly and Stone whom I spoke to, and to Officer Kelly’s credit, he, unlike the steroid-using-moron he was partnered with, did
try
to hide his amusement. I watched as he pressed his lips together so hard they started going white. I noted the welling up of tears in his gray-blue eyes, I saw the slight shaking of his shoulders until finally I had sighed and said, “Oh, go ahead.”

And then it was all over. He buckled over, literally clutching the ends of his chair to keep from rolling on the floor in a full-throttle laughing fit.

When he did catch his breath he asked to see Fitzgerald’s cell and Peter’s note, but Anatoly had both of those with him. Kelly promised to look into my story, but I didn’t believe him. Maybe that was because he was giggling when he told me he would. In the end I did go home, but not before buying a quart of gelato and a bottle of Absolut. If anyone had a reason to drink it was me. Besides, between the excessive pacing and the sex-filled nights, I was bound to burn off the extra calories in no time.

I binged until 2:00 p.m., took a long walk and then came home and passed out in front of the TV at four. Two hours later the phone woke me up. I opened one eye and fumbled for the receiver. “Hello?”

“Sophie, it’s Rick Wilkes.”

I sat up and muted the television. Why was Rick calling me?

“Sophie? Are you there?”

“Yeah, I’m here, um, how are you?”

Rick exhaled in response. “I talked to Mary Ann. She told me about your conversation last night.”

“Oh.”

“I know you think Mary Ann has been putting me in front of the friendship you two share and I want you to know that’s not the case. I unloaded on her and then I pleaded with her not to tell anyone else what I told her. She wasn’t comfortable with keeping my secrets, she’s still not. She even asked me not to tell her anything else that she couldn’t talk to you about.”

“Oh.” It wasn’t just the previously consumed vodka that was impeding my conversational abilities. I honestly didn’t know what to say and I didn’t know what Mary Ann had said to him. Unlike Rick, I
hadn’t
thought to tell her not to share the details of our discussion with others, and the reality was Rick worked for Fitzgerald. If he knew I was on to them that could be problematic.

“I know Fitzgerald is not exactly a good guy, but he’s not exactly a bad guy, either,” Rick continued. “He is a hypocrite, though,” he added more softly. “There’s no denying that.”

“Why did he hire Eugene, Rick? Maggie said everybody in your circles knew that it was Eugene who called in that tip about Bruni and the seventeen-year-old. If Fitzgerald had something to hide, then why risk exposure by bringing someone like that onto his team?” I was choosing my words very carefully. The key was to extract as much information from Rick as possible without letting on what I knew or suspected.

“Maggie lied.”

“She lied?” Mr. Katz raised his head and gave me a quizzical kitty stare. “So Eugene
didn’t
turn Bruni in?”

“No, he did, but Maggie and I were two of maybe three people who knew that it was him. We were Eugene’s confidants.”

“Who was the third person?”

“Melanie.”

I bit down hard on my lip. As devastated as I was by Melanie’s death, I couldn’t help but be a little angry at her. This was the kind of information that could have helped me, and maybe if she had shared it I could have saved her.

“Maggie liked Eugene because he reminded her of her father,” Rick went on, “but she never wanted to emulate him. When it comes down to it, she’s all about winning. Fitzgerald…he knows who you really work for, and he told Maggie and me not to talk to you. When Mary Ann dropped the bomb that you would be joining us for lunch, Maggie decided that was the time to throw you off the track. She figured that if you thought Fitzgerald was willing to hire Eugene, knowing his history, you wouldn’t suspect him of, well, you know…the threesomes and all.”

“Wait, back up. Who do I really work for?”

“Sophie, let’s not pretend, okay? I want you to know I haven’t talked about it with Mary Ann. I assume you’ve told her that you’re working for the
National Review,
and I haven’t told her differently. Unless, of course, you told her the truth and she just hasn’t told me. She
is
very good at keeping confidences.”

“Rick, stay with me here. What are we not pretending? Who do I work for?”

“
Hustler,
of course.”

“What!”

“We know all about the article you’re writing about conservative politicians and their bizarre sexual fetishes.”

“You think I work for Larry Flint,” I said flatly. This was the most surreal conversation I had ever had in my life. Even Dena wouldn’t work for Larry Flint.

“Look, I believe in the freedom of the press, and
Hustler
is part of the press—a really seedy part, but it counts. I just wanted you to know that Fitzgerald told me he’s turning over a new leaf. I wouldn’t continue to work for him if he hadn’t. “It’s not ideal—” I heard Rick inhale a shaky breath “—it’s anything but ideal. Like I was telling Mary Ann, politics…being a Republican and supporting my party…has been a huge part of my life. I can see that the party’s changed and I know I’ve made moral compromises that I shouldn’t have and I’m going to have to make some changes in what I do and how I do it. But, Sophie, if you come out with this information and reveal that any of it came from me, you could ruin my career. I’ll never get a job in politics again. That was a risk Eugene was willing to take, but he was stronger than I am. So I’m asking you for a huge favor. Don’t report this to
Hustler.
Please, for me.”

“I promise I won’t report this to
Hustler,
” I said without hesitation.

“Really? You mean it?” He released a relieved laugh. “Thank you, Sophie. I should have known you would be decent about all this. You
are
Mary Ann’s friend after all, and she is a very special woman.” He paused before adding, “She’s absolutely incredible. I’m so lucky that I have someone to talk to who really understands me and cares.”

“Rick, I gotta go.”

“Sure, I understand. Thanks again, Sophie. I trust you to keep your word.”

I hung up and stared at Mr. Katz.
“Hustler?”

Mr. Katz blinked at me, the kitty version of a shrug.

I stopped drinking after that. I kept replaying my conversation with Rick in my head, trying to make sense of it. I tried calling Mary Ann, but she was working. I considered calling Anatoly, but I wanted to get a better grasp of what had been said and what it meant before I relayed it. I mean,
Hustler?
I’d rather write for a Furry Fandom Web site!

I spent about an hour chewing on this, and then I finally worked up the nerve to go on the
Hustler
Web site. I had fuzzy memories of Larry Flint exposing the extramarital affairs of politicians years ago and thought it might be a good idea to read the articles. Oddly enough I wasn’t able to find any articles on the
Hustler
Web site and I really did try. If Google ever turned their customers’ searches into the federal government I’d be humiliated for life.

So what now?

The party, that’s what. Rick had never actually said that Fitzgerald was a furry and there was little doubt that he wasn’t going to the police with the information, so I needed to find someone who would. I would take a shower and then I’d put on my big-headed kitty suit and go to a furry party. It was better than sitting at home trying to figure out what it was about me that screamed pornographic journalist.

I was in the shower for almost twenty minutes (the
Hustler
Web site had me feeling kind of grimy), and then after toweling off went straight into the bedroom to put on my costume. I still wasn’t entirely clear why Rick had called me. Was it to convince me not to “tell” on him and his candidate? Or had he merely wanted to repair any damage his secrets made on my friendship with Mary Ann? If it was the latter, that was kind of sweet.

I had everything on except for the mask when I noticed that Mr. Katz was hiding under the bed. Understandable, considering the odd attire his owner had chosen to adorn herself in. I might have hidden, too, if I were him. I sat down on the edge of the bed and leaned over so we were face to whiskers. The poor guy looked terrified. “What’s wrong, little buddy? Cat got your tongue?”

“No, a dog got it,” said a male voice. I slowly straightened up and pivoted toward the doorway of my bedroom. There, standing before me, was a tall man dressed up like a big white dog with black floppy ears and a benign, closemouthed smile. No part of the man in the costume was visible except his hands. Like me, he had found a costume that didn’t have paws, which made it easier for him to grip the gun he was pointing at me.