Page 12 of Detective Daddy Next Door

I tilt my eyebrows up. "Apologize? Why should I apologize to you?"

My question rattles her. Her mouth slacks a bit.

"I'm here to discuss something very important with you. It's about where you work. It's serious and it's confidential. You wouldn't want the neighbors to hear about it, would you?" I ask, cocking one brow up.

She eyes me, then widens the door. I stroll into a very nice space. The layout of the house is just like mine, which isn't a surprise considering the exterior is exactly the same. But the interior design is the total opposite. Where my living room has wine sofas, hers are light blue. Her place is more homely in every sense, and it makes me want to do more with my place.

She doesn't follow me in but stands with her arms crossed against her chest. Her arms are pushing up her boobs, and her cleavage is full and supple. I put the thought out of my head as I sit on one of the sofas, which turns out to be really comfortable, but I don't lean back. I put my elbows on my thighs, spread far apart, and clasp my palms together. She has on a silk gown. It looks like a cross between loungewear and nightwear and it hugs her figure tightly. She doesn't say anything, but stares hard at me with one corner of her lips turned up.

I press my left and right index fingers together and run them under my chin. I decide to start with the heaviest news so I can pad it with my proposition. "The firm you work for is involved in fraud."

I study her face to see how hard it hits. She uncrosses her arms. "You're a liar. And now I can confirm you're also a stalker. How do you even know where I work?"

"Your information is on the web."

"Did you go searching for me on the web? How did you even get my full name?"

I remove my fingers from my chin. "I used your address. Look, let's cut to the chase. Your firm is involved in a huge fraud ring. We're investigating your boss, Micha. I'm an undercover detective."

She goes to sit down and stares at me incredulously. "Have you been stalking me, then?"

"No. I didn't know you worked there until yesterday. We've only had Micha on our radar. We just started the investigation. I saw a picture of you in one of our files, but I guess I didn’t recognize you because you had short hair. I only realized it was you yesterday."

From her reaction, I can bet she's hearing this for the first time. I've been an investigator for twenty-something years now and I can tell when someone is in shock. But some people are good actors, so I don’t conclude that’s it yet.

"So, why are you here? I don't own the firm. I only work there."

"You could be in on the fraud."

She springs up from the sofa. "What! No. Why would you think that?"

"I don't know you."

"Well, I'm not involved in any kind of fraud. I've been doing honest work all of my life." She pauses. "And Micha is not a criminal. She's a genuine, hard working woman who's built her company from the ground up.”

"How are you so sure of that? It’s not written on her forehead, is it?"

She shakes her head and sits back down.

"I'm here to offer you a way out. If you know anything about what's going on in your firm, then all you need to do is cooperate with us."

“Us?”

“My partner and me.”

She sighs and shakes her head. "I just told you I know nothing about any kind of fraud going on there. I'm still not even sure I believe that you aren’t playing some sort of game."

"You can choose to believe it or not, but you'll help us with our investigation."

She shakes her head again, this time vigorously. "No. I'm not a detective. I don't investigate cases."

"Well, you have no choice now, do you? If you don't, then you go down with them when the shit hits the fan.”

She exhales through gritted teeth.

"I need to get closer to your boss. I need to investigate from the inside. Do you get invited to functions at her house?"

She nods to say yes.

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