To Catch a Bad Guy (26 page)

Marie Astor is New York Times and USA
Today Bestselling author. Marie is a die-hard romantic, which is why she loves
writing romantic suspense and contemporary romance. In her spare time, Marie
enjoys being adventurous out-of-doors. She often gets new story ideas while she
is hiking up a mountain or trying to avoid bumping into a tree while skiing.

Marie loves hearing from readers and
always answers all of her emails personally. Visit Marie at
www.marieastor.com
to learn more about Marie’s new
book releases and events.

Books by Marie:

Love, Power & Sin Series

Searing Lies

Burning Ties

Janet Maple Series

To Catch a Bad
Guy

Catching the Bad
Guy

Bad Guys Get
Caught

Standalone Contemporary Romance Titles

This Tangled
Thing Called Love

Lucky Charm

Smitten at First
Sight

A Dress in a
Window
(a
short story collection)

More books by Marie:

Over the
Mountain and Back
(a
young adult fantasy adventure novel)

Links:

Website:
www.marieastor.com

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/marieastorcollection?ref=hl

Twitter: @marieastor

Please read on for an excerpt
from
Catching the Bad Guy
, book two of the Janet Maple series.

By

Marie
Astor

Janet Maple and Dennis
Walker make a good team: she is a top-notch white collar crime investigator,
and so is he. Both Janet and Dennis are thrown in for a loop when Janet’s
treacherous snake of an ex-boyfriend, Alex Kingsley, is appointed as their new
boss, and the case that was supposed to be the highlight of their careers is
dismissed for lack of evidence.

To make matters worse,
Alex is asking Janet to get back together, and the one man she wishes would ask
her out sees her as nothing more than a coworker. Janet’s love life soon
becomes the least of her worries, as she begins to suspect that Alex’s
rekindled interest in her is driven by ulterior motives. She is determined to
get to the bottom of things, but she can’t do it alone. Together, Janet and Dennis
team up to solve a tangled white collar crime web that leads to powerful
politicians and corporate executives.

Armed with their keen
instincts and skills, Janet and Dennis are bound for success. There is just one
glitch: both are attracted to each other and both refuse to admit it. Will
Janet and Dennis solve the biggest case of their careers or will their
attraction to each other get in the way?

Chapter
1

“There’s my favorite
investigator.” Dennis Walker sauntered into Janet Maple’s office without bothering
to knock. Dennis Walker never knocked. He simply barged in unannounced, the
same way he had barged into Janet’s life a little over a year ago, turning it
upside down.

Her fingers tingling
from furious typing, Janet looked up from her computer screen. “Today is the
big day, huh?” Janet kept her voice cool, making a mental effort not to ogle
Dennis’s freshly tanned face. The man would look good even if he were pasty
white, not that Dennis’s silky-smooth complexion had ever been pasty white, not
even in the dead of winter. But now he looked dangerously handsome. “How was
your vacation? Puerto Rico, was it?”

“Turks and Caicos, and
it was wonderful.”

Janet nodded. She knew
that. She had known the destination of Dennis’s getaway ever since he had
posted his vacation schedule on the department calendar two months ago, and she
had spent weeks visualizing his trip. Dennis stretched on a lounge chair,
sipping one of those resort drinks from a coconut with a dark-eyed lanky
brunette by his side, or perhaps a blue-eyed blonde. When it came to women,
Dennis had only one requirement: they had to be drop-dead gorgeous. Apparently,
Janet Maple was not gorgeous enough for Dennis Walker.

“You look like you
could use a break, Janet.” Dennis’s comment made Janet conscious of the dark
circles under her eyes, which so far were her only reward for burning the
midnight oil at work.

“Not everyone has the
luxury of taking a week off before the most important case hearing of one’s
career.”

Dennis’s eyes locked on
Janet’s, his glance acknowledging their never-ending game of verbal tennis. “As
I told my boss, I had scheduled my vacation months in advance; the case hearing
had been moved three times. I have a life, you know, and I can’t be at the
Enforcement Division’s beck and call.”

“Can you believe the
momentum the case has gained?” Janet steered the conversation away from the
alarming subject of Dennis’s private life, the details of which, despite all
the hours she had spent pondering the subject, she wanted to know as little as
possible.

“I know. We did all the
groundwork and then every single regulator jumped on the bandwagon, including
your former alma mater, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.”

Janet felt the usual
sting of chagrin that the mention of her former employer never failed to
trigger. Yes, her legal career had begun with a position of assistant district
attorney at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, but her promising start
fizzled to a disappointing conclusion after she was downsized from the DA’s office
in the middle of an important case.

As if reading her
thoughts, or more likely her expression, Dennis cleared his throat. “David
Muller has wreaked enough havoc. It’s high time he was brought to justice.”

“I sure hope that’s
going to be the case.”

Dennis frowned. “Why
the hesitation?”

“For the very same
reason you just mentioned: the case hearing has been postponed three times
already.”

“I guess we’ll find out
soon enough.”

As if on cue, there was
a knock on the door of Janet’s office. The head of the Investigations
department, Hamilton Kirk, stood in the doorway. “Dennis, Janet, may I speak to
you a minute?” As always, Ham’s facial expression was inscrutable, but the
serendipity of his appearance made Janet look at her watch. It was after three
p.m.: the Emperial case decision had to have been reached by now, and if the
news were good even Hamilton Kirk would not have been able to resist the joy of
announcing it.

“Of course, Ham.”
Dennis’s tone was smooth, but not smooth enough for Janet to miss the hidden
notes of apprehension in his voice.

Together, Janet and
Dennis followed Ham into his office. Just why Ham had to insist on going to his
office was beyond Janet. Although much smaller in size, her office would have
provided sufficient privacy for their discussion, but then she had gotten used
to not questioning Ham’s idiosyncrasies.

The moment they reached
Ham’s office, Janet understood her boss’s request. Hamilton Kirk had worked for
various departments of the Treasury for over twenty years, during which he had
acquired vast office paraphernalia—certifications and commendatory plaques,
reference guides, and never-ending stacks of bulging folders that contained
case materials—but now all of these items were neatly packed in cardboard boxes
that lined the floor of Ham’s office.

Both Janet and Dennis
looked questioningly at Ham.

“I’m sorry, team,” Ham
paused to swallow. “As of today I’m retired.”

“Retired? And you are
springing this on us now, when you’re already packed?” Dennis eyed Ham
reproachfully.

Ham patted Dennis’s
shoulder. “I only found out this morning myself.”

Janet had to make an
effort to keep her jaw from dropping. “What do you mean?”

With a sigh, Ham
stepped over the row of boxes and sat behind his desk. “Sit down, you two.”

Mechanically, Janet and
Dennis sank into the chairs opposite Ham’s desk.

“I know that our job is
not easy: we try to do what’s right the best way we can with the few resources
we have, and, let’s admit it, on measly pay. I have worked in this place for
over twenty years, and until this morning I still believed in such a thing as
justice. But now I know that I have been a naïve fool.” Ham shook his head.
“They are kicking me out—”

“Who’s kicking you out,
Ham?” Dennis cut in.

Ham went on, ignoring
Dennis’s question. “Although I must say that the severance package is quite
generous. Finally, my long-awaited dream of retirement has come true—the only
funny thing is, is that now that it’s here it doesn’t feel nearly as good as I
thought it would. In fact, it feels like being thrown out into a dumpster.”

“Who is kicking you
out, Ham?” Dennis repeated.

“My boss,” Ham replied
simply. “I’ve worked for the man for over ten years. This morning he calls me
up from Washington. ‘Ham,’ he says, ‘it’s been wonderful to have you with us.
In recognition of your stellar service, the most notable of which was your work
on the Emperial case, your pension is now fully vested. Your retirement starts
today.’” Ham shook his head. “He didn’t even have the decency to give it to me
straight.”

“Give what to you
straight?” Dennis demanded.

“Oh, come on, Dennis.
If you plan to stay in this trade you’ve got to wise up or you’ll end up an old
fool like me. David Muller has friends in high places. As of this morning, the
Emperial case has been dismissed by our Enforcement Division for lack of
evidence. I am now retired, and next week your new boss will be coming in. His
name is Alex Kingsley. He’s some young hot shot from the DA’s office.”

“Alex Kingsley?!” Janet
exclaimed.

Dennis shot Janet a
sharp look. “Why, you know him?”

“Briefly,” Janet
replied, cursing her cracked voice and flushed face for betraying her
agitation. “We’ve worked together,” she added noncommittally. After all, she
could not very well admit that Alex had been much more than her coworker at the
DA’s office. Janet had known Alex since they had met at Columbia Law, from
which they had graduated in the same class. Alex had been her boyfriend for
almost five years; he had been the man she had thought would be the one. And
last but not least, not only had Alex taken credit for Janet’s work on most of
the cases that the two of them had been assigned to at the DA’s office, he got
a promotion that should have been Janet’s. Then he put the icing on the cake by
breaking up with her and suggesting that they remain friends. Needless to say,
Janet had refused, and several weeks later she had been downsized.

“Who is this guy? Does
he have the credentials for the job?” Dennis asked.

“Er …” Janet’s face
grew warm. Her personal opinion of Alex was that he was not worth the ground he
walked on, but then she was biased. Alex did graduate from Columbia Law, albeit
only because Janet had contributed to that fact substantially by letting him
copy her homework assignments and class notes, but who was counting, right?

“Dennis, listen to me,”
Ham snapped. “As far as the big men at the top are concerned, Kingsley’s
qualifications are irrelevant. The only thing that matters is that he’s the man
they want for the job, and I’m not.” Ham looked away. “All the years of hard work
down the drain … If there’s one thing I learned through this experience is that
moral flexibility is paramount. If I had caved in when they told me, I would
still have my job today.”

“What do you mean,
caved in?” Dennis asked.

“Our Enforcement
Division had postponed the hearing three times. I should have gotten the hint.”

“You mean they are in
on it?” Janet blurted out.

“Hank Dooley, the chief
of Enforcement, is a political shark. He’s got his eyes set on Washington, and
he’ll do anything to get there—” Ham broke off, shaking his head. “There’s no
use talking about this now: what’s done is done, and I don’t intend to spend my
time dwelling on the past. As much as I’ve enjoyed chatting with you young
people, I ought to get going. I have a dinner date with my wife, and Neely
doesn’t like it when I’m late. Boy, she’s going to be excited about the
retirement package.” Ham rubbed his chin, his eyes brightening up. “You know, I
think I’m starting to warm to this retirement idea after all.”

“We’ll miss you, Ham.” Dennis’s
voice was somber and sincere. “I’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too,
both of you. This is not the way I expected my career to end, but when life
slips you lemons the only thing to do is to try to turn them into lemonade.
Make nice to the new boss. I hear he’s been told to clean ship, so don’t give
him any pretext to do so.” Ham rose from the chair and extended his hand to
Janet. “The few months we’ve worked together have been a pleasure, Janet. I’m
sure you’ll have a stellar career, regardless of where it might be.”

“Thank you, Ham.” Janet
tried not to read too much into the “wherever it might be” part.

“Dennis, I don’t mean
to sound patronizing, but you were truly like a son to me and you always will
be. I know I busted your chops at times, but that was only because I wanted to
see you reach your full potential. You are a damn good investigator, and if it
were up to me I would name you as my successor. But, as things stand, it’s no
longer up to me. I hope there won’t be any hard feelings.”

“None, sir. Thank you,
sir. It has been an honor and a pleasure to have worked with you.”

Ham nodded. “Thank you,
son. I’d better get packing: they want me off the premises by five.”

“Goodbye, sir.” Janet
took one last look at Hamilton Kirk. Unlike Dennis, she had not worked with the
man for long, but in the brief time that she had known Ham she had grown to
respect him greatly. Ham was honest, principled, and fair. These were qualities
that were rare in any man and were certainly not among the traits that Alex
Kingsley possessed.

Chapter
2

Janet Maple stared at
her cup of coffee and untouched bagel. She did not have much of an appetite
this morning, but neither would most people in her situation: having your ex as
your new boss was not exactly a heart-warming prospect.

There was a knock on
the door of her office. “Come in,” Janet called out.

“Janet?” Ann Smith, Ham
Kirk’s former secretary, walked into Janet’s office. Ann had worked for Ham for
the past ten years. The shock of the previous day’s events was written on her
face.