04 - Shock and Awesome (46 page)

 
   
"Madeleine?" she mouthed.

 
   
I shook my head. "I don't know. I'm gonna go see." She grabbed my arm and I had to peel her fingers off. They were surprisingly claw-like and she had one hell of a grip. "I'll be right back."

 
   
"There's a gun in the lowest drawer," she whispered.

 
   
"Why have you got a gun?"

 
   
Helen shrugged. "Why not?"

 
   
"Could have used it!"

 
   
"On Madeleine? I was going to, but she hit me over the head. I didn't get a chance or I would have put a cap in her head."

 
   
"Guess you didn't want to deal with her unemployment paperwork, huh?" Helen gave me a stern look that reminded me a little of both Grandma O'Shaughnessy and my old boot camp sergeant. I shivered, and edged away, reaching for the bottom drawer. Sure enough, a small revolver lay in a box.

 
   
"Where are the bullets?" I asked.

 
   
"There's a carton at the back of the drawer. I don't keep it loaded."

 
   
"No problem." I grabbed the carton, emptied a few bullets into my hand and loaded the gun. I checked the safety was off and listened hard. A creak sounded further down the hallway. I made to creep around the desk, but Helen's claws, sorry, fingers, hooked around my elbow.

 
   
"Be careful," she said, giving my elbow a little squeeze. Well, that was nice.

 
   
"No problem."

 
   
"Also, shoot to kill." Awesome.

 
   
"Thanks for the suggestion."

 
   
"You're welcome." Helen gave me a tight smile and sniffed, probably a little too loudly. I hoped our intruder didn't hear.

 
   
"Dial nine-one-one," I told her. "Be right back." I edged around the desk and a little scrape told me Helen was tugging the phone towards her. I checked quickly that she had it in her hands before running across the room to the door. Standing behind it, I peered through the crack. I had to withdraw quickly when I saw a figure advancing. I counted to five, then checked again. The figure was in shadows, obscured by the diminishing late afternoon light.

 
   
Taking a deep breath, I jumped around the door, and raised the gun, aiming right at his chest. Or his heart. Whatever. I was going to hit something! The figure raised his gun and aimed it at me; and for a moment, we were caught in a stalemate.

 
   
"
Lexi
?" he said, stepping forward.

 
   
"Oh! It's you! Maddox, I could have shot you!"

 
   
"I could have shot you!"

 
   
"I could have shot you first!"

 
   
"What bit of me were you aiming at?"

 
   
I waved my hand at his torso. "That bit," I told him. "And I wouldn't have missed!"

 
   
Maddox lowered his gun and looked back towards the reception. "Looks like this place has been turned over."

 
   
"Nah. They just have a really poor maintenance staff."

 
   
Maddox frowned as he turned back to me. "Really?"

 
   
"No, Detective Dumb-ass. The place got turned over by Madeleine, who, by the way, is not just any old receptionist. I've got Helen
Callery
in her office. She says Madeleine hit her over the head and tied her up. When she awoke, Madeleine was at the computer. I think she was erasing files at the very least."

 
   
"Whoa," said Maddox. "Madeleine is in on this? Madeleine? That cute receptionist?"

 
   
"Even cute people can commit crimes."

 
   
Maddox gave me a look and I shrugged. "Yeah, looks that way."

 
   
"Hmm."

 
   
"Are you two going to help me or what?" called Helen. "The police are on their way."

 
   
"The police are already here," said Maddox, flashing his badge.

 
   
"Thank God my taxes pay for something," said Helen. "You're fast."

 
   
Maddox huffed what might have been a laugh and looked over at me. "Are you putting the gun down or what?"

 
   
"Oh, right, sorry."

 
   
As he passed me, he said in a small voice, "I object to Detective Dumb-ass. That's Detective Great-Ass to you."

 
   
"I know. I've seen it."

 
   
"You've held it."

 
   
"Don't remind me." I mean, really, was this not the worst moment or what? Just for old time's sake, I checked out his ass as he passed. It really was a great one.

 
   
"Did you get Ben Rafferty yet?" I asked him.

 
   
"Not yet."

 
   
"Madeleine erased his file from the agency records, so my hunch says they're connected somehow. I didn't find his file in the trash file either. I think forensics needs to check it."

 
   
"That will take forever. Can you get Lucas to do it?"

 
   
I nodded. "Sure. He can crack anything."

 
   
"Tell him not to crack it, but just find and retrieve whatever got erased. I want to know what Madeleine is hiding. You okay there, Ms.
Callery
?"

 
   
"Could be better. My head hurts."

 
   
"I'm going to call a paramedic to check you over." Maddox's phone rang and he eyed it, letting it ring as he said, "
Lexi
, can you sit with her? I gotta take this call."

 
   
"Sure."

 
   
While Maddox answered his call in the corridor, I helped Helen back into her chair and placed a call of my own. "Lucas, I'm at the dating agency, and I have a laptop that needs your expertise." I quickly explained the problem and Lucas told me to bring it right over, that Solomon told him this case took priority.

 
   
"We got him," said Maddox when he returned. "Couple of uniforms spotted Rafferty heading out of town and pulled him over. They're taking him to the station now. I gotta go and take the lead. Stay with Ms.
Callery
until the paramedics get here; then get that laptop to Lucas. I want to know the minute something turns up."

 
   
"You got it. What about Madeleine?"

 
   
"Now that the whole of Montgomery can stop looking for Rafferty, they're on the search for Madeleine. We'll get her. She can't have gone far. Crime scene investigators will comb this place for evidence too. Don't touch anything."

 
   
I didn't touch a thing as we waited for the paramedics. I didn't even touch my gun when Blake stuck her head around the door and asked Helen a few questions about what happened. By the time Maddox told me it was okay to go, and they were leaving, I was relieved.

 
   
Helen was escorted out by two paramedics who treated her scrapes and bruises, as well as a suspected concussion. Right after the investigators arrived to do their thing, Garrett called me. "You owe me babysitting," he said before hanging up.

 
   
I looked at the phone for a moment, wondering what the hell I'd done when it rang again, my brother's name again on the screen. I answered, but before I could say anything, he said, "I hate you. I'm the only lieutenant in the history of the world taking his mom on a ride-a-long." He hung up a second time.

 
   
"Hmm," I said to a stray cat that strolled past. It paused, looked at me, then peed against the wall. I edged away and called Garrett back. "You made lieutenant," I said, before he could cut me off. "That's great! Why am I baby..."

 
   
"Hate was too strong," he cut in, "I apologize, but you still suck. You told Mom to ask me for a ride-a-long and now she wants to be a PI. You're babysitting at eight p.m. next Tuesday while I take my wife out for dinner." He hung up. After a moment, I shrugged and entered the date in my diary. Then I headed back to HQ, the laptop tucked safely in my purse, alongside Helen
Callery's
gun. Just in case.

 
   
Chapter Twenty-One

 
   
I waited, lounging in my office chair with my feet on the desk, for Lucas to give me some information, and thought about Ben. Mostly, I thought about how disappointed I was that he was our real thief. Despite kicking myself for being wrong, I had felt relieved to hear that Lord Justin, aka Ken Moody, was the culprit. I felt mortified to accuse Ben. That said, Ben really played me. He had me utterly convinced that I was wrong and all along... To think I doubted myself. Next time, I’d listen to my gut instinct all the way. Lesson learned.

 
   
I watched Solomon move about his office. He grabbed his jacket, pressed a few keys on his laptop, and closed the lid. As he reached the door, he looked up, and our eyes met through the glass partition. "You okay?" he asked when he shut the door behind him.

 
   
"Meh."

 
   
"Good 'meh' or bad 'meh'?"

 
   
"Meh
meh
meh
."

 
   
"Have you thought about going into rap?" That coaxed a smile out of me. "You better not be feeling bad about all this. It just got complicated. Cases do."

 
   
"I knew Ben was the one. I should have fought for it."