Bubblegum Blonde Read online

  "Yeah, I got it. Thanks for your consideration," I said with all the sarcasm I could muster and ended the call. It was times like this that I longed for an old phone. I just didn't get the same satisfaction pressing the end-call button as I did when I slammed down a receiver.

  "So, I'm guessing that was a no go?" Kelly asked.

  "He was an ass," I said. "It looks like we'll have to do this the old fashioned way." I smiled. The thought of digging in and really investigating sent a thrill through me that I hadn't felt since my days training to be a private investigator.

  Since some of the information we needed was private and could only be obtained with a warrant that we didn't have and couldn't get, and the cop who could share it with us was refusing to play nice and give me a peek at the goods, we needed a top-notch hacker to get us what we needed.

  "Mandy said she'll be here in twenty minutes."

  "Great," I said and grabbed my purse.

  Mandy Willow was the best computer hacker I'd ever seen. If anyone could get their hands on Hatchett's financial records, it was Mandy.

  Her brother, Ron, who—sad to say—was serving five to ten in the state pen for hacking into the wrong companies' files, taught her how to hack into just about anything.

  While Mandy could do anything with a computer, when it came to working in the field, she was our last resort. She froze up worse than a mobster at confession, which left stakeouts and face-to-face meetings to Kelly and me.

  "I'm going down to the station to see if I can get a look at the case file."

  "Didn't that detective just tell you that you couldn't see it?"

  "Yes, but Aunt Mona might have overheard something about the case, and if I play my cards right, I might be able to sneak in and get a look for myself." It was a long shot, but I had to try. "I know Mandy wouldn't have a problem hacking into the system while she's checking out Hatchett's bank accounts, but I want to do as much of this legally as possible. If I can't see the file, then I'll have Mandy hack the station's system as a last resort. In the meantime, do you think you can handle Googling the case and gathering as much information as you can from the media coverage? There might be something useful mixed in with all of the extra hooey they add to pad the story."

  Kelly nodded. "Mandy taught me how to Google. I'm on it."

  I wasn't too convinced that Kelly could handle the Googling, but I had to hope that when I got back to the office the computer wouldn't be damaged beyond repair.

  Kelly was known to have an extremely short fuse.

  Grabbing my keys, I headed out the door and called over my shoulder, "Let Mandy know what I need when she gets in, and let's get this show on the road."

  "You got it, boss."

  I hurried across the sidewalk and slid into the driver seat of my car. I started the ignition and pulled out onto the road and in the direction of the police station. I was in a hurry to get this case over and done with.

  The sooner Jason King was out of my life the better.

  * * *

  The police station itself was a three-story, concrete structure with tinted windows and revolving doors at the entry.

  I pulled up next to the curb outside the station and killed the ignition. I really didn't feel like being subjected to that little metal detector wand being passed over my body or explaining to some befuddled door guard why exactly I was carrying a gun, so I slid my weapon from the waist of my jeans and locked it in the glove compartment. Besides, if I wasn't safe in a building full of cops, I wasn't safe anywhere.

  With a final check of myself in the visor mirror, I ran my fingers through my wavy blonde hair, got out of the car, and locked the doors.

  The afternoon sun shone down on me like a spotlight as I made my way across the sidewalk and up the steps. I could already feel what little bit of makeup I wore starting to melt right off my face. Even though the seasons were changing and the days were becoming shorter, it was unusually hot.

  The air-conditioned building called my name, and I put a little hustle in my step to get out of the midday heat before I was nothing but a sweaty puddle on the ground.

  I pushed my way through the revolving doors leading into the station and breathed a sigh of relief as a gust of cool air washed over me.

  The officer stationed at the door eyed me then stood up and stepped in front of the metal detector. He was heavyset and looked nearly as enthused about getting up to run my bag through the machine as I was to be in the station at all. I'd much rather have been back at the office, but instead here I was, possibly about to do something illegal.

  The officer motioned for me to put my purse on the conveyer belt, so I did and then walked through the metal detector without incident. Once through the detector I reclaimed my purse. The officer was staring at the little bit of cleavage beneath the V-neck of my T-shirt with a creepy grin. I groaned, tossed my purse strap over my shoulder, and continued across the lobby. I didn't have time to tell him that he was a pig. I kind of figured that he already knew and just didn't care.

  The precinct was bustling with activity, but to my surprise, the front desk looked fairly clear, so I made my way over.

  "Barb! Long time no see!"

  I smiled at the older woman behind the desk. "Mona, how's it going?"

  "It'd be going a lot better if it was quitting time, I can tell you that. We're running shorthanded today, so I'm down here from the chief's office helping Tiffany out." She grinned. "We've been busier than a beehive." She shook her head. "But it's slowed down a little bit over the last few minutes. These people are just waiting for one of the boys in the back to come handle their problems."

  Mona was the chief's receptionist but often helped at the front desk when the precinct was shorthanded.

  "I still think I should apologize beforehand, because my being here is just going to add to your workload," I said with a smile and shook my head.

  I'd known Mona all of my life. She was my favorite aunt's best friend, and after my aunt and mother passed away in a car accident, Mona made it known that she was from that day forward assuming the role of auntie.

  I had absolutely zero complaints.

  She narrowed her green eyes at me, pursed her bright-red lips, and then leaned her thin arms on the counter. She looked around discreetly. "Is there something you're needing me to help you with?" she asked in a soft voice.

  "I should've called ahead, but I'm in a hurry." I nodded. "I need to get into the back and see if I can sneak a peek at the case file on Lydia Hatchett."

  Mona's eyes widened, and she blew out a breath. "What in the world do you need to see that case file for? I thought peeping Toms and slimy spouses were more your thing?"

  "They usually are," I admitted. "But this morning a client came into the office and hired me to clear him of her murder. I need some place to start, and getting a good look at that file would be a great place."

  "Someone hired you to investigate her murder?" she asked with a shocked expression.

  "I'm a little hurt that you find someone thinking that I can solve a murder an impossibility." I placed my hands on my hips. "But yes. He thinks he's being framed, and I happen to believe him."

  "I don't think that about you at all. I know you can solve any case thrown your way. I think you're the best private investigator there is, but I don't know, Barb. This is a dangerous case. A woman was murdered, and you usually deal with cheaters…"

  Mona always had my best interests at heart. She worried about me like I was her own child, so I often understood her lack of enthusiasm where my career was concerned.

  "Mona, I know that this isn't my typical case, but this is the one that could put my company on the map. You know how hard I've been trying to make a name for myself. For my company." I leaned my forearms on the counter again and lowered my voice. "If I can uncover who really killed Lydia Hatchett, I could free an innocent man and put a murderer behind bars. I've already taken the case, so I'm going to do all that I can to solve this murder. I could really use
your help."

  "Being a private investigator you have privileges here, why don't you just ask to see it?"

  "I tried, but when I called this morning and asked to see the case file the detective heading up the investigation wouldn't budge."

  Mona looked at me for a long moment. Her bright-red eyebrows lowered in a frown that matched the one on her lips. Mona was always worried that I'd go off and get myself killed.

  "All right, here's what we're going to do," she said with a sigh. "I can't let you back there. It's too big of a risk. If one of the officers saw you wandering around unsupervised you'd be busted in a heartbeat. Then we'd both be in a heap of trouble."

  "But Mona—"

  "Just listen." She held up a hand to stop any further argument. "You might stick out like a sore thumb, but I won't. Let me go back there and see what I can do, but you promise me that you won't go off and get yourself killed if I can get you the information you need."

  See what I mean?

  "I can't let you do that, Mona," I argued. "Do you have any idea how much trouble you'd be in if you got caught with that file?"

  There was no way I was going to let her get into any kind of trouble because of me and this case. It would be easier to just have Mandy hack the system. At least then if I were to get caught, I would take the fall, not Mona or the girls.

  "It just so happens that I do," she said. "But this is my decision. Wait right here."

  She waved a hand at the chairs along the far wall. "Hang out for a few minutes, and let me see what I can come up with, but I can't make any promises."

  "Be careful, Mona."

  Mona turned to talk to the other woman, who I assumed was the Tiffany I'd spoken with when I'd called earlier. I looked around and spotted an empty seat near the wall and made my way over. A moment later, I watched as Mona opened a heavy metal door leading to the main floor of the station and then disappeared from sight.

  The crowded station finally started to thin out, but I still felt restless, so I stood and paced for a few minutes. When that did nothing to ease my nervous jitters I leaned my back against the cool wall and sighed. I had no idea how long it would take Mona to get the file I needed, but I hoped it wouldn't be long. I could hang out in the lobby only so long before I drew attention and someone started asking questions.

  I pulled my phone from my jeans pocket to check my text messages and found one from Mandy.

  At the office. Already digging.

  Although I knew Kelly had already told her where I was and what I was doing, I fired off a quick response telling her that I was at the station and that I'd be back soon, then slipped the phone back into my purse.

  Nearly ten minutes had passed, and there was still no sign of Mona. I was starting to worry. If she was caught she'd lose her job or worse, which was why I didn't want her to go after the file herself. The thought of my favorite aunt jeopardizing her job and possibly risking jail time churned my stomach.

  I found myself staring at the metal door Mona had disappeared behind as though my willing her to appear would work. If it actually did, I was going to start willing myself to win the lottery and lose thirty pounds.

  "Miss? Are you waiting for someone?"

  The deep, whiskey-and-honey, smooth sound of a man's voice yanked me out of my lottery-deep, tiny-waisted thoughts. I glanced up in search of whom the voice came from and was pleasantly surprised.

  The man standing before me was, in one word, hot.

  He stood well over six feet tall, was muscular with a broad chest and shoulders, a slim waist, and thick muscular legs. He wore a tight, midnight-blue T-shirt and distressed jeans, both of which fit him like a glove, accentuating the dips and lines of his muscles as he moved toward me.

  His emerald-green eyes bore into me almost uncomfortably. It was like he could see right through me to the exact reason I was hanging out in the police station lobby.

  A bubble of guilt rippled through me.

  I shifted away from the wall and fidgeted with my keys. "I'm just waiting to have a word with my aunt."

  He cocked a brow and tilted his head full of thick, black hair to the side. "And who might your aunt be? Maybe I can find her for you?"

  "I just talked to her. She'll be back any minute."

  He stared at me for a long moment, and I felt the urge to tell him to buzz off but held my tongue. He knew I was hiding something. I could see it in his expression. I wasn't normally a bad liar. Lying was a major part of my profession, but there was something about this man that caused my usually flawless lying ability to fly right out the nearest window.

  "I'm Detective Tyler Black." He extended his hand.

  "Barb Jackson." I shook the offered hand and simultaneously cringed as I recognized his name.

  He frowned as recognition lit his eyes too.

  "As in the Barb Jackson I spoke with earlier this morning regarding the Hatchett case?"

  "That would be me," I admitted.

  He frowned down at me. "First you call me asking to see the file, I tell you no, and then I just so happen to find you here at the station. Why do I have the feeling that you're up to no good?" He crossed his thick, brawny arms over his equally thick chest and continued to glare at me with those gorgeous eyes that I couldn't seem to tear my own gaze away from.

  To be as sexy as this guy was, his attitude sucked. All right, maybe it wasn't his attitude that sucked. Maybe it was the simple fact that he was able to read me so well that I found so darned irritating.

  "I assure you," I began in my best I'm-not-lying voice, "I'm not up to anything. I really am waiting to have a word with my aunt." Which wasn't exactly a lie. I was waiting for Aunt Mona. I just left out the part where she was gathering information for me on the down low that I'd already been denied access to.

  "As you said earlier, there's nothing for me to see here regarding the case. Due to your unwillingness to share your information," I added with a hint of sarcasm, "I'll just have to gather my own evidence and prove my client innocent."

  Detective Black smiled down at me. An arrogant, yet sizzling, smile that displayed a set of perfectly even, white teeth. "You really expect me to believe that you're here waiting for your aunt? You must think I'm as dumb as a rock."

  "Not a rock. A hammer maybe, but not a rock," I said with a saccharine sweet smile.

  He laughed, and for a split second, while his eyes were twinkling and his laughter echoed around us, I forgot why I was irritated with him.

  I seriously needed to get my hormones under control before I did or said something I'd later regret.

  "You're wasting your time with that client of yours." He air-quoted the word client with his fingers. "He's leading you on a wild-goose chase in hopes of throwing us off his tail."

  "How would you know? You don't even know who my client is"

  He shrugged his shoulders. "Jason King ring any bells?"

  I blinked. "Excuse me?"

  "Jason King. That's who your client is, isn't it?"

  "How do you know that?"

  Detective Black took a step closer to me, and I could smell his spicy aftershave.

  Down, hormones, down!

  "I'm a detective. It's my job to know these things."

  I knew that it was childish, but I rolled my eyes. "Oh, please. Give me a break and cut the bull. How did you know that Jason is my client?"

  He smiled a humorless smile. This man was dangerous with a capital D. I made a mental note to keep my eye on him.

  "You said that you're working to prove your client innocent, and seeing as how Jason King is the only suspect in the case, he has to be your guy. That and the fact that you just told me." He grinned, and this time it reached his eyes.

  Way to use your brain, Barb. I mentally smacked myself for asking such a dumb question. If I'd been thinking instead of gawking at the hunky detective I would've realized exactly how he knew who my client was.

  What was the matter with me? I dealt with handsome men on a daily basis and never
had any of them ever made me lose my head the way the good detective did.

  I wasn't making a good impression as a private investigator. He looked at me like I was a rookie, and while in this case I was, I still didn't like it.

  It wasn't my fault I'd never investigated a murder before now or been as irritated and attracted to a man at the same time in all of my life.

  I wanted to smack him and kiss him at the same time. How was that possible? I didn't even know the arrogant fool.

  Mona chose that moment to step out from behind the metal door and save my tail before I said or did something to make myself look like an even bigger fool than I already had. She spotted us, and her face paled a fraction before she recovered and made her way over to us.

  "Hi, Barb. Sorry it took me so long, but it's been a bit busy in here today." She leaned over and kissed me on the cheek, then looked me directly in the eye. I took that as my cue to play along.

  "I'm sure you know Detective Black." I motioned to the smirking mass of man in front of me.

  Mona nodded. "Sure do. How are you, Detective?" she smiled.

  I had to hand it to her. She was doing an excellent job of keeping her cool. She smiled up at Detective Black and patted his arm in that motherly way she had. I made a mental note to keep Mona in mind in case I ever needed an older woman to go undercover on a case. She looked like a pro. Adrenaline junkie that she was, Mona would end up wanting to make a career of it.

  Detective Black smiled. "I'm fine, thanks. This is your niece?" He motioned toward me, an expression of disbelief creeping across his face.

  "Barb here is my only niece," she said with a genuine smile. "We were supposed to go to lunch, but I can't get away. I hope it's no trouble," she said and turned back to me with a pointed look.

  I understood exactly what she meant. She wasn't able to get her hands on the file, which wasn't a huge surprise. It was highly unlikely that the good detective would leave it lying around for just anyone to grab and have a peek at, especially after my call earlier.

  "It's not a problem. Maybe later in the week." I carried on with her lie. "I'll let you get back to work and call you later."