Page 35 of Sinful Deception

“I’ll hold the fort until you’re done. Archer?”

“Mmm?” I start back into the house and follow the tech wherever he wants to lead me. “Yeah?”

“I love you. Just wanted to remind you.”

A grin stretches over my lips and pushes my cheeks up. But I lower my voice as I walk through the home of domestic violence. “I love you, too. See you soon.”

I pull the phone from my ear and end the call with my thumb pressed to the screen, then I stop in the kitchen and raise my brow when four men stare back. “What?”

“We’ve found a cocktail of poisons down here, Detective.” One of themen, who isn’t a man at all, but a woman camouflaged in a shapeless bio-suit, kneels in front of the sink and carefully pulls out a basket of bottles bursting with warning signs and red poison labels. “All of them have been opened. Some have been used more than others. Figure it might be smart to have your M.E. pull tox results to see what else your perp might’ve been slipping into meals.”

“Yeah.” I bend and grab a quick picture of the basket. But then I look around and summon the crime scene photographer. Because I sure as shit won’t be presenting my phone as evidence in court.There’s no chance that’ll end well. “Get a picture of those, please. We want exact measurements too. See how much was used of each liquid.” I straighten out and put the phone back into my pocket. “Let’s not screw this up. Masters has been slowly killing his wife for the better part of a year. That’s not heat of the moment. It’s calculated and cruel. He deserves his time in jail.”

When I hear a round of, ‘Yes, Detective’, I spin on my heels and prepare for the next step on my long list of things to do today.

MINKA

Frank is the perfect companion. Quiet while we drive, forward-thinking, smart enough to know where I wish to go without me having to say the words out loud, and a pleasure to deal with as he opens my door at our destination and still maintains his silence.

But he dips his chin and offers a small smile as I say my thanks.

I should consider calling Felix and leaving a positive review.

I stride through the door of Fletch’s apartment building, the sounds of some kiddy cartoon show echoing through thin walls and coming from a nearby television set. The racket of pots and pans hitting one another as I move onto the second floor and someone is, evidently, preparing for an early dinner. Or a fancy lunch. I move in kitten heels and hate how my feet ache. Because I haven’t been sleeping enough lately, and not all the blame lies with Jada’s last day alive.

I was hardly sleeping before that, too.

And worse, Archer knows. That’s why he constantly worries about me.

My phone vibrates in my pocket and draws a tired sigh from the very middle of my chest, but I continue up the stairs while taking the device out and spying the mayor’s office flashing on the screen. Curious, I swipe to answer and hesitantly bring the phone to my ear. “Hello?”

“It’s me,” Fifi grumbles. “And it seems my days acting as your underling aren’t entirely over. Detective Clive from the Midtown PD has been trying to call you today regarding some pended case from a while back.”

“Uh…” I circle at the third-floor landing and continue up. “Okay?”

“Well, you weren’t taking his calls, and so I guess he thought it would be cute to contact me directly. It’s almost as though he thinks I’m your assistant.”

“You were not so long ago.”

“I wasn’t! I am in public relations, Mayet. Not personal assistance. I explained to the detective you were not in the office today, but that you would get back to him just as soon as you could.”

“Look at you, still working for the George Stanley.” I come to Fletch’s floor, but stop at the top of the stairs so he’s not alerted to my presence by the sound of my laughter. “If one of us was male, we’d consider this flirting, Ms. Lewis. You don’t want to leave me, but you’re too shy to say so out loud. So you manufacture reasons to call me instead.”

“If one of us were male,” she growls, “I would consider your anecdote sexual harassment in the workplace and have you written up by HR. Write the detective’s name down so you remember to call him back.”

“I probably won’t.”

I know she wants to explode. I know she wants to strangle me, but all I give her is the sound of my giggles rolling along my throat.

“You won’t call? Or you won’t remember?”

“I won’t remember. I have staff who do that for me. And since he knows he gave you the message, and then he’ll contact me again in a few days when I obviously forgot to get back to him, I’ll tell him you never passed the message on.”

“That’s a lie!”

“Yeah, but I’m not above telling small tales, and you’re way too uptight to let me ding your reputation like that. So this means you’ll call me again tomorrow to remind me. And the next day. And the next, until I’ve done my job. Sounds like a good way for me to ensure communication with my friend who wishes she still worked for me.”

“If I could hurt you and not be arrested for it, I would do it.”

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