Carrots: A Shelby Nichols Adventure (21 page)

My heart sped up when I heard Chris at the door. “I don’t have a lot of time for lunch.” He sounded hesitant, clearly trying to get out of going with her.

“Nonsense,” Kate replied. “You have to eat, and it won’t take long. Besides, it’s my treat for winning the case. We can go to the Italian restaurant. It’s just down the street, and it will be a nice walk.” She closed the door on Chris’ reply.

I scrambled out from under the desk, ready to follow. How dare she make Chris go to lunch with her! The devious little bitch. Before I got to the door, I stopped in my tracks, realizing I couldn’t go charging after them right now. How would I explain what I was doing in Kate’s office? I leaned against the desk to catch my breath and steady my trembling legs.

At least she hadn’t noticed the file. I snatched it up and stuffed it into my purse. If she was trying to steal my husband, then I might as well steal this. It could be days before she’d miss it, and even then she wouldn’t know I had it.

Feeling better, I gingerly opened the door and peered down the hall. It was quiet, and since I didn’t want the secretary to see me, I went around the back to the staircase. It was a relief to start down the stairs and know I was almost out of there. The stairs came out on the main floor, and I turned toward the revolving doors, wondering if I could catch a glimpse of Chris and Kate as they walked to the restaurant. Did she have her arm through his? Was she looking up at him through fluttering lashes?

Before I knew it, I was on the sidewalk, craning my neck to catch sight of them. I started down the street, but could see nothing of them in front of me. By now, they were probably already at the restaurant.

I slowed my step, wondering vaguely what I was doing, but unable to stop. It wasn’t long before I was standing in front of the restaurant like a lost puppy. Now what? A hostess opened the door, and invited me inside. Since I couldn’t just stand there looking like an idiot, I went in.

They were sitting at a table near the window, and a waitress was taking their orders. Kate’s back was to me, so she didn’t know I was silently observing them. At first, Chris didn’t either. Then he caught sight of me, and his eyes widened with alarm. As I walked toward their table, Kate turned with a puzzled look on her face that quickly vanished into a calculating smirk.

Chris was flooded with guilt, and opened his mouth to speak, but Kate beat him to the punch. “Why Shelby…what a surprise,” she purred. “What brings you to this neck of the woods?”

“I just stopped by the office to talk with Chris, and his secretary told me where you were. Since it wasn’t far, I thought I’d join you.”

“Well, this is a nice surprise.” Inside, Kate was furious that I’d spoiled her plans. “Please sit down.”

“Thanks.” I turned to Chris, who was staying unusually quiet, and brushed his cheek with a quick kiss. “So what are we celebrating?”

“The Hodges case.” Chris got his voice back, and resigned himself to being involved in an uncomfortable confrontation between two hostile women.

“Yes,” Kate broke in. “We won.”

“Congratulations,” I said, then couldn’t help adding, “Although I really think that Mr. Hodges set the whole thing up and took the jewels himself.”

Kate’s curiosity flared. “Why would you think that?”

“I don’t know. Just a hunch, I guess,” I shrugged. “Of course, the irony would be if someone else stole them from him.”

Kate was wondering if I knew what really happened, or if it was a lucky guess. “If that were the case I don’t think he would be very happy about it.”

“No, I’m sure you’re right about that,” I quickly agreed.

“I suppose we’ll never know,” she replied. “Mr. Hodges doesn’t strike me as the devious type, but some people are really good at deceiving others.”  She was thinking about me, and I tensed with alarm. What did she know?

She smiled with satisfaction realizing she’d hit a sore spot, then turned her attention to Chris. “Did you see the paper this morning? There was a picture on the front page of the car that got blown up yesterday at the funeral home.”

“Yeah, I heard something about that,” Chris replied.

“The article says that the car belonged to Mr. Joseph Manetto, and in the picture, he’s standing next to a dark-haired woman. They’re looking at the car as it’s burning up.” She paused for breath. “It’s funny, there was something about the woman that seemed familiar, like I knew her from somewhere. Did you happen to see it Shelby?”

“Yes, I did.” How did she know it was me? I glanced at Chris. He wanted to find a paper real bad. He focused on me, wondering if his suspicions were correct. I wanted to deny it, but couldn’t lie to him, so I didn’t say anything. Besides, I was supposed to have my shields up around him.

Chris started to get angry, thinking that whatever was going on was all my fault. If I was mixed up with Manetto, it was worse than he thought. Why hadn’t I confided in him before now?

“Too bad about the car, but at least no one was hurt.” Kate said, in a placating tone. She thought it was too bad I hadn’t been blown up along with the car.

I was sick to death of her and her attitude. I nearly groaned with frustration, but managed to hold it in check. She was annoying, obnoxious, and overbearing. And now Chris was ready to kill me. After this, would he ever listen to me again? It was all her fault. I was in this mess with Uncle Joey because of her. Damn! I had to get out of there before I did something stupid.

I made a show of checking my watch. “Oh no, it’s later than I thought! I’m sorry, but I have to go. I promised my mom I’d stop by before the kids got home.” I stood and grabbed my purse, nearly knocking the file out of it. I tucked it up under my arm where Kate couldn’t see it and said goodbye. “I’ll talk to you later, honey.” I leaned over and gave him a kiss. He was still upset and figured I was leaving to get away from him. He was tempted to confront me right then and there, but Kate was watching.

“Call me as soon as you get home,” he said.

“Okay.” I glanced at Kate, and she smiled maliciously, knowing she’d scared me off. Now she had Chris all to herself, and I was leaving.

“Oh, Chris, don’t forget about that other thing I asked you to do.”

“What other thing?”

“You know, you were going to ask the senior partners about Stephen Cohen.” I glanced at Kate. Her eyes went wide and her face got splotchy. Chris didn’t have a clue what I was talking about, and his temper was starting to boil. “Bye.” I hurried out before he could stop me.

Outside, I realized that was probably the dumbest thing I’d ever done. Why couldn’t I keep my mouth shut? She’d probably ask Chris why I wanted to know about Stephen Cohen, and he’d have to make something up. At least, I hoped he would.

As I walked back to Chris’ office, a plan began to formulate in my mind. I had something on Kate that could be very valuable to Uncle Joey, and if I told him about it before Kate did, it would look better for me. And he might do me a favor in return. I took out my cell phone, and dialed his number. His secretary put me through to him.

“Shelby, what a pleasant surprise. What can I do for you?”

“I have some information that might interest you, but I need a favor in return.”

“I’m listening,” he said.

I suddenly realized that talking to him over the phone was probably not a good idea. How could I know what he was thinking? “Maybe I’d better come over. Is that all right?”

“Certainly,” he replied. “How’s the new car?”

“It’s fantastic.”

“Great. See you soon.”

He disconnected, and I felt a little off balance. Why did he have to bring up the car right then? Did it mean I was more in his debt than he was in mine? I was sure he would want to know about Kate’s file on Stephen Cohen, I just hoped it was enough for the favor I had in mind.

Chapter 12

When I arrived at Uncle Joey’s office, Ramos was sitting at Jackie’s desk. “Jackie left for an appointment, so I’m filling in. Mr. Manetto’s visiting with a client, but he should be done in about fifteen minutes. Do you want some coffee or something?”

“Have you got a Diet Coke?”

He smiled. “Come on back.” He led the way down the hall and I followed, expecting a break room or something. He turned left into a private corridor, and unlocked the door at the end of the hall. Sunlight spilled into the hallway from a wall of windows covered by filmy white curtains. The large room was airy and bright, and filled with white leather furniture and glass tabletops. My feet sank into the deep white shag carpet, and I suddenly wanted to take off my shoes. Everything was done in black and white with splashes of color in the paintings and flower arrangements.

Ramos had disappeared through a doorway into the kitchen. Here, the cabinets were white and the countertops black, with black tile underfoot. He held the refrigerator door open, and handed me a Diet Coke.

“Thanks,” I said. “Who lives here?”

“This is my place,” he said easily. “Sometimes I stay on the estate, but mostly I’m here.”

“Very nice,” I said, knowing that was an understatement.

“Come in and see the view.” He led me back to the windows. The view of the city was breathtaking. After a moment I caught an undercurrent of concern. Something was bothering him, and he’d brought me here to tell me.

“How do you like your new car?”

“It’s great.”

He nodded, then decided to quit beating around the bush, although it would probably make me mad. “Mr. Manetto told me you were coming in to make a deal, and I just wanted to warn you to be careful. He does seem to like you, so it should be okay. Just remember that he doesn’t like people who grovel, run, or double-cross him, and he would know if you were trying to double-cross him.” Somehow, he’d found out I was at the police station, and he was worried that I was informing on the boss.

“How would he know?”

“He has connections.”

“You mean like with the police?” I asked. He nodded, cautious about revealing too much. “You know I went there this morning, don’t you?”

“Umm…Yeah.”

“How did you find out?”

“Tony put a device on your car so we could keep track of you.” This was the part he knew I wouldn’t like. He was right.

“Look, I only went to the police station to see if there was anything new about Johnny’s case. I don’t think Uncle Joey would be mad about that, but thanks for your concern. It was nice of you to warn me.”

“Sure.” Now he was embarrassed, he didn’t want me to think he cared or something. “We’d better get back.” He followed me out the door, and although he was somewhat relieved, he knew I was out of my league when it came to dealing with men like Manetto.

He hated to admit that the real problem was he didn’t think he could kill me anymore. That would be bad since he didn’t want to lose his job, although he had been thinking about a different career path, just in case. He was leaning toward starting his own business. Something with security. He knew a lot about that, and there was good money in it.

I was encouraged that his attitude was changing. Who knew, maybe there was hope for him after all. I looked over my shoulder and smiled my approval. He seemed puzzled at first, then his eyes widened. It was like I knew what he was thinking. Could it be true?

Oops. “Thanks for the Diet Coke.” I hoped that would answer his unspoken question, and cover the reason for my smile.

“Sure.” He was still suspicious, but chided himself. What was he thinking? Reading minds wasn’t possible.

Uncle Joey’s client had left while we were gone, and I hurried into his office. My stomach clenched and I hoped I knew what I was doing.

“So, what have you got?” Uncle Joey asked, after we both sat down. He was very interested in my information, and thinking that by asking a favor, I showed a lot of promise for the business. He was more than willing to mentor me through the process, and hoped I wouldn’t disappoint him.

“Well…” I swallowed, hoping I was doing this right. “I was at Chris’ law office this morning, and came across a file that had your name in it.” He nodded encouragingly and I continued. “I can tell you the name of the person on the file and who compiled it, if you’ll agree to leave my husband and kids alone.”

“That’s easy, Shelby. I never intended to harm them. That threat was just to get you to cooperate. Why don’t you think of something else?” He really wanted me to do this right.

“Okay. How about that you don’t kill me?”

“That’s better,” he encouraged. “But you’re not quite there yet.”

This was harder than I thought. “I know! How about that I don’t have to work for you anymore?”

He smiled broadly. “That’s the spirit! You need to remember that when you’re negotiating, you should always go for the thing you’re least likely to get first. Then you can always back off to some of these other things if that doesn’t work.”

“But if you have really good information, then why wouldn’t you get what you wanted?”

“Because once you share that information, you lose your bargaining power,” he reasoned.

“But then I’d never get what I wanted, because you could always renege on the deal once you had the information,” I said.

“That’s why you should always have a back-up plan. It ensures that both of us will hold up our end of the bargain.”

“Okay, I think I know what you mean.”

“Good.” He smiled. “So, tell me what you have.”

“If I do that, I’ll lose my bargaining power. You have to agree to my terms first.”

“I can’t do that without knowing how good your information is.”

“So what do I do?” I was really getting confused.

“Okay, let me help you,” he said. “On a scale of one to ten, if your information is a nine or a ten, then you’ll get what you want. Less than that and you’ll have to back down.”

Was he serious? “But aren’t you the one who determines how good the information is?”

“Of course, but that’s because I’m the one with the most power. You match me in power, and it goes differently. If your information puts you in the driver’s seat, then you can call the shots.”

“Well, I’m not sure it will do that, but I guess I have to take the chance. I do have a back-up plan though, so I guess I’ll have to rely on that.”

“Great! So what have you got?” he asked eagerly.

“All of the information in the file is about Stephen Cohen, and a case he was working on before his death, along with certain banking transactions.” Uncle Joey’s mouth dropped in shock. This wasn’t what he was expecting. I was better than he thought. That gave me courage, and I continued. “This information could be damaging to you, but even if the file isn’t worth a nine or a ten, I think the name of the person who compiled the file is.”

“Who is it?” he asked, his brows drawn together.

“Kate,” I blurted.

Uncle Joey smiled to hide his confusion and surprise. “What if I told you that I asked Kate to keep a file on Stephen Cohen for me?” He was good. He almost pulled it off.

“I’d know you were bluffing.”

He’d forgotten I could read his mind. “Uh…” he did a mental head bang, then slumped in defeat. “All right, Shelby,” he confessed. “This information is valuable to me. I’d like to see it.” If he could get his hands on it…he jerked away from that train of thought, but it was too late.

“Not yet. That’s my back-up plan. I’ve got the file in a safe place.” If you could call the trunk of my car safe.

“Hmm…it looks like you’ve got me at a disadvantage.”

“That’s good, right?” Would he really give in to my demands?

“I hate to admit it, but yes. Even without the file, just knowing that Kate had it puts a different slant on things.” He wondered how Kate had managed to put it together, and why I was tracking her.

“I saw her today, you know. She was making goo-goo eyes at my husband.”

“So that’s what this is all about? I wondered. Now I think I understand.” He was sizing me up, and making calculations in his mind that I couldn’t quite catch. “This is great work. You’ve done an excellent job, but I can’t let you go until it’s cleared up. I’m going to have to talk to Kate, and I’m going to need your talents to help me.”

“Of course,” I agreed, then gasped. “I can’t believe it! With my own free will, I just agreed to help you. Why would I do that?”

“Because it’s personal,” Uncle Joey smiled. “Kate’s after your husband, and you’re determined to stop her. You can only do that if you help me.”

“That still doesn’t get you out of our bargain. Once this is all cleared up, I’m out of here. Right?”

“Yes, of course.” He was covering his thoughts, and I couldn’t tell if he meant it. “I wouldn’t mind if you came back and helped me once in a while, but it’s totally up to you.” He was counting on my feelings of obligation for the car and the money in my bank account. He did have me there.

“Did you tell Kate I was working with you?” I asked. “I didn’t think you were going to tell her.”

“No, I didn’t tell her anything about us.”

“Well, somehow she found out. I followed her and Chris to a restaurant today, and spoiled her little celebration. She wasn’t very happy I showed up, so she mentioned the picture of you and me in the paper this morning, and was threatening to tell Chris. She didn’t, but it sure made me mad. Mad enough that I may have mentioned a certain name when I left the restaurant.”

Uncle Joey stilled. He hoped it wasn’t the name he thought it was. “What? You didn’t…tell me you didn’t…” He could see from my stricken expression that I had.

“It’s not that bad,” I tried to defend myself. “And she’d never believe I’d come to you. She doesn’t know how well we get along. Besides, all I did was mention his name in passing.”

Uncle Joey sighed. “So, now she knows you know about Stephen Cohen, even though you don’t really know what it is she thinks you know.”

“That’s right, because I really don’t know.”

“What is it you do know, Shelby?” He was quiet and watchful, deciding that my response would determine my fate.

I took a deep breath and made my choice. I wanted to live. “I know that Stephen Cohen was killed a long time ago because he walked in on a burglary. They found the man who killed him, and he was sent to prison. I think the guy’s still in prison, but I could be wrong.”

Uncle Joey let out his breath. “That’s right. That’s exactly what happened. I’m glad you know the truth.”

I relaxed my tense shoulders, knowing I’d barely escaped with my life. Ramos was right; I wasn’t in the same league as Uncle Joey. Somewhere along the way I’d forgotten that he was dangerous, and that was something I couldn’t afford to forget. Ever.

Having my life spared almost made me want to grovel, but I held back, then remembered something else. “By the way, Mr. Hodges won the case, or at least, he’ll be getting the insurance money. I think he might try stealing the jewels back before he leaves the country.”

“Yes, I thought the same thing, but I haven’t had a chance to move them. I’ll have Ramos take care of it today.”

“Well, if that’s all, I think I’ll go.” I stood, but Uncle Joey held up his hand.

“Wait.” He waited until I sat back down before continuing. “I’m concerned about what might happen to you once Kate realizes you’ve taken the file. Are you sure it’s in a safe place?” He hurried on before I could answer. “Because it might be in your best interests to give it to me.”

“But what about our bargain?”

“You don’t know Kate like I do.”

“You might be surprised,” I murmured.

“Let me keep the file where it’s safe, and I’ll consider us even. I’ll no longer have any hold over you. In return, all I ask is that you never reveal anything about me or my organization to anyone.”

Wow. I must have all the power since he was giving in to every one of my demands. The file was more important than I thought. “You’ll keep your word?”

“Yes. I really do need that file.” He meant it. In fact he was desperate for it. “As long as you keep your end of the bargain, I will never harm you or your family.”

I couldn’t help it. I was still skeptical. How could this be so easy? “What’s in that file? No, wait…don’t tell me. I don’t want to know.”

“Believe me Shelby, if there was any way I could keep your services, I would, but this file is too important, and I can’t pass it up. You’ve done well.” He seemed sincere. I could detect nothing sinister in his thoughts, but since he knew I could pick them up, he could probably hide something. Weighing my options, I felt this was my best chance at freedom. It was a risk worth taking.

“Deal,” I said, before I could change my mind. “I’ll go get it. It’s just in the trunk of my car.”

Surprise flickered over Uncle Joey and he shook his head. “The trunk of your car? You think that’s safe?”

Smiling sweetly, I said, “I’ll be right back.” I dashed out of the office to the elevator. There was no sign of Ramos, and I was glad. This was something I wanted to do on my own. If he came it would be like I was forced into it. This time I had the power, not Uncle Joey, and I liked the way it felt.