Page 12

Kade

I nod. And we both love it. Give us a headstrong woman with fire who knows her own mind and we’re goners.

Quickly dressing and checking our weapons, I grab some basic lock pics and surveillance tools and shove them into my backpack.

We take the staff elevator to the lower level, and I go ahead to check the car then pick them up. Head and hair covered in balaclavas we leave the car the next block over from her home. Fancy stays with me while Rico goes to inspect the outside of the house.

He rejoins us a few minutes later. “The light on the security panel is white. But I didn’t hear any sounds like it had been tripped. They may have figured out the code. The upstairs addition, does it have inside stairs from the main floor? I saw the outside stairs.”

“Yes. That’s where I really have lived for the last few years. I’d go in from the outside when she had company. She and I didn’t always coexist well. The upstairs had become my home.”

“Okay. You two stay put.”

“No, I’ll go,” I cut him off. “I’ll check for cameras as I go and set interference if I need to.”

Rico taps his ear. “Your mic on?”

Heading out, I tap my own. “Roger.”

“Oh, I want one of those ear thingies. Tomorrow, you have to get me one,” Fancy says as I slip away.

I smile. Yeah, definitely a handful.

Night goggles in place, I sweep the lower level before heading up to Fancy’s rooms. What I see has anger engulfing me like a fire storm. “Mother-fuckers.”

Rico must have heard me. “Where are you? Talk to me.”

“I’m in her bedroom. I’m pretty sure I know what set Phil off.

There’re a few holes in the wall where he literally ripped out video cables.

Looks like one was hidden in a picture, another behind a plant, one above the bed.

There’s a hole in the wall in her bathroom too.

I’m not getting any reads on my devices so I’m pretty sure he must have been doing the same type of check I am and caught them all.

There’s a brown shipping box on the bed, the part of the label remaining has her mother’s name.

Next to it are a couple sexy negligées, lingerie and a red dress.

Hold on, while I use my phone to read the handwritten note.

“It says, ‘I want to see you wear these for me, sweet’. No signature. These arrive months after her mother died. I don’t think so and I doubt Phill did. These were meant for Fancy. Some asshole was making his move. Phil must have had the same thought.”

“Take pictures. Bag what you can and get out of there,” Rico snaps.

“Wait, I want to go in. There are things I need. Please,” Fancy begs. “I’ll be quick.”

“Someone broke in and made a mess. I don’t think it’s safe,” Rico responds

“If they already made the mess and Kade is ok, we should be, too.”

“Let her. Maybe there’s something important missing,” I cut in. “We’re gonna have to tell her anyway.”

I meet them at the door. “Keep to the pen lights and point them down. “Fancy, tell me if you see anything out of place.”

She leads us through the lower level; kitchen, living room, past a bathroom with a sunken tub and shower. Pausing at the closed door, she takes a deep breath before entering.

Obviously, her mother’s boudoir. A showplace of sexy design.

Raised bed with fluffy duvet and several pillows, lace canopy delicately threaded with mini lights.

Ice bucket with glasses on the bedside table.

A dressing table to the side, artfully decorated with perfumes, makeup and hairbrushes.

A lace robe cleverly draped over the chair.

Two French doors lead to an expansive closet filled with clothes guaranteed to turn a man’s gaze.

“Anything disturbed?” I ask.

“I haven’t looked in here for months. But I don’t think so. Phil and I went through it together after she died. Nothing was missing…except her. We planned on cleaning it out sometime. We just never got to it.”

She turns and heads up the stairs. She gasps as I shine the flashlight beam around the room. “What the hell?”

Stopping at the bed, she lifts the ripped box.

“Is that the box the delivery guy had?” I ask. She nods. “Are those clothes your size or your mother’s?

“Our height was about the same,” she picks up one of the negligees and holds it to her front where it’s almost a perfect fit. “After her implants, Mom was at least two sizes larger in the bust.”

“Having been her lover, Phil would have figured that out too. The holes, the cables hanging out of them, those are for hidden cameras. I’m guessing that when Phil went through the box, he put two and two together.”

She sees the note. “Shine your light on this.”

“Do you recognize the writing?”

“No, but I have some papers we can compare it to later.”

“You said Phil put in the lock. Your safety and security were important to him. I’m guessing once he found what was in the box he got suspicious.”

Fancy looks at me. “He found cameras in Mom’s room once. She laughed. Made cracks about being a porn star and maybe making extra money. He was furious. After that he always took her to a swank hotel. I know he checked the house from time to time but never found anything again. Until now.”

“We need to go. We’ve been here too long. We can talk in the car,” Rico cuts in.

“Just a minute, I need a few things. Give me the light and push the bed aside.” She heads to the closet, pulls out a backpack, grabs a couple clothing items and shoes and stuffs them inside, then goes to the dresser and does the same.

Necklaces hang from the dresser mirror. She takes a few before turning back to us.

“Phil gave me these. “Push a little farther. Five inches.”

Kneeling on the floor she shines the light back and forth until she finds what she wants. She presses a spot and the floorboard pops up revealing a hidden box and pouch. Grabbing it she stands. “Put the bed back while I get this in my bag.”

Once everything is back in place we head downstairs. Rico pauses at the living room window. “We’ve got company. Someone just pulled up across the street.”