Stilettos & Scoundrels

  Chapter 16

  I sat in the parking lot of the police department for fourteen minutes waiting for Dirt to come out, not that I was counting or anything. After I had finished my coffee, I got bored and started getting antsy about waiting on him. When Katy called him after the incident with Simon, he told me to come to the station and wait for him until he came out, which was what I did. Katy had early appointments at the salon and couldn’t come with me. When I finally saw him coming out of the door, I stuck my hand out the window so he would see me. Jogging over to the car, he opened the passenger door and got in next to me.

  “You look horrible, Dirt,” I said, looking at him. He did look horrible. His clothes wrinkled as if he had slept in them, but the bags under his eyes didn’t seem to indicate that he’d been sleeping at all. His eyes were also bloodshot, and his hair was sticking out every which way, as if he had been raking his fingers through it.

  “Thanks for that boost to my self–esteem, Presley,” he said.

  “C’mon, Dirt. I think you always look good no matter what, but you do look a little worse for wear. I take it you haven’t been getting much sleep lately.”

  “Not much, Pres. Not since the senator was murdered, anyway. When the FBI got here, I stupidly thought it might be easier, and they could help us deal with it. We don’t have the resources for an investigation of this magnitude. However, they seem more interested in pointing out ways we have screwed this investigation up, rather than trying to find the killer. And they won’t share anything with us. Assholes.” He pounded his fist on the dash in frustration.

  “Do you have any leads?”

  “All we’ve been able to confirm is that he did, in fact, have a gambling problem and owed some men in Vegas big time. Which we pretty much all knew anyway.”

  “Why wouldn’t he just pay them if he were in that much trouble? It’s not like he didn’t have the money.”

  “Well, that’s just it,” Dirt continued. “We’re not sure he did. We started looking into his finances, and it seemed Helen had control of the money and had him on an allowance. He already paid someone huge amounts on the debts and may not have had the money this time. Unless Helen was willing to give him more. We are now trying to figure out exactly who he owed.”

  “Have you asked Helen?” I wondered how the senator managed to gamble so much if Helen had the purse straps shut tight, though that was probably why he owed millions. People might have extended credit thinking he had more than he did.

  “She’s been avoiding me. The FBI headed over there this morning to do just that.” He gave me a stern look. “What were you thinking asking Simon if he murdered the senator?”

  “Really Dirt, what was he going to do to me? We were in a public place.” Now that it was all over, I had my bravery back and didn’t want a lecture. Although scary at the time, I was past it now. “I’m convinced he’s involved in this mess in some way, but I honestly don’t think he’s covering up the fact that he murdered Tom. What I don’t understand though is what he meant by his reference to Katy’s boyfriend, or why he was with Helen last night. The boyfriend reference would mean Chris did it, wouldn’t it? I’m not sure he’s technically her boyfriend, but she isn’t seeing anyone else that would fit the bill. What could Chris possibly have to do with this? I asked Katy and she has no idea. I told her to ask him, but I’m not so sure she will. It just doesn’t make sense.”

  “Chris hasn’t been acting himself lately. I thought it was stress at work because he mentioned hating his job. Maybe there’s more to it? Listen, Pres, I have a favor I need to ask.”

  “What?”

  “I need you to ask Cooper what he knows about Simon Atkins’s background.”

  “Why do you need me? Don’t you have access to that kind of information? You’re a cop.”

  “With the FBI involved, it’s not that easy. They have been clear they want us locals to stay out of it. The less they know about what I’m doing, the better. They will just take over any information I give them and not share what they know with us.”

  “Shouldn’t you go to Cooper yourself? If you want something from him, maybe you should just ask.”

  “Presley, I can’t do that,” Dirt said.

  “And, hey, you can’t leave until you go talk to the FBI. You promised me you would do this already, and they keeping bugging me. They’re going to start getting pissed or show up at your parents.”

  I groaned. I didn’t want to talk to them. Not that I had anything to hide, but it was intimidating. “Fine. I’ll do it right now. But I look like crap.”

  “I don’t think the FBI cares what you look like.”

  “What if there’s a cute one?” I teased.

  Dirt just shook his head. “I’ll talk to you later. Please, Pres, try to stay out of trouble.”

  My conversation with the FBI was painless. They asked the same questions Dirt and Cooper had already asked, and I gave them the same answers. There weren’t even any cute agents, so the entire thing was a waste of my time and theirs since I didn’t have any new information.

  Next on my list was a visit to Cooper’s. I wasn’t looking forward to it after last night’s dead cell phone battery game. I assumed he wouldn’t be too happy with me, but I was going to have to face him eventually, and he would just have to get over it. He was still staying at the hotel where I had talked to the Senator, so I headed over there. Gosh, that seemed like so long ago but had only been a couple days.

  I tried calling him while waiting for Dirt but got his voicemail. I guessed he was either still pissed from last night or busy, and I didn’t think much about it. I didn’t leave him a message about what happened with Simon because I didn’t want to freak him out. I thought it would be better to tell him in person before he heard it through the grapevine. However, as I got closer to the hotel, I wondered about the merit of coming here, since this was where Simon was staying too. I hoped he wasn’t here.

  I asked at the front desk what room Cooper was in, which, of course, they wouldn’t give out. After a call to his room, though, the front desk clerk was granted permission to send me up and she gave me the oh–so–secret room number. At least Cooper wasn’t telling them to get rid of me. He must not be too mad. I smiled at the thought of being able to see him again.

  I stepped off on the fifteenth floor, my mind wandering off the topic of the case at hand. Visiting Cooper in a hotel brought a whole slew of non–business–related thoughts to mind. Made me question coming to his hotel room. Might not be a great idea.

  When I turned the corner in the hallway I saw Cooper standing outside his door, leaning against the door jamb, talking to a beautiful brunette. She was tall, about five foot nine, slender, well-dressed and well put together. I watched as she put a hand on Cooper’s arm, and it looked from my angle that she was thanking him for something. At least that is what her body language suggested. She started walking toward me to the elevator, and as she passed, she nodded hi. I nodded back and turned slightly to watch her continue to the elevator. I turned back to Cooper and saw that he was smiling, so I guessed he wasn’t angry, or maybe whatever he’d been doing with that girl put the smile on his face. I blushed with envy at the thought, and felt a little pang of jealousy.

  He looked so good. He probably started the day out with a crisp–looking suit and tie. Now, even though it wasn’t even lunchtime, he had ditched the jacket and loosened his tie as if he meant to take it off and then forgot. He had on charcoal grey dress pants, which fit in all the right places, and a blue and gray pinstripe dress shirt. He should have taken his socks off too since they were burgundy. He must have been in a hurry this morning when getting ready.

  I could overlook mismatched socks because he was also sporting a five o’clock shadow, even though it was barely 10 a.m. It made him look good enough to eat, making me wish I had gone home to change before coming here. I was still wearing the ratty jeans I threw on this morning to go get coffee. At least the t–shirt and hoodie were reasonably cl
ean, but again I regretted not having at least some better shoes on. Not that he would notice the shoes I wore, no guys ever did, but it would have made me feel better.

  “I’m glad you stopped by, King,” Cooper said warmly, leaning in to give me a hug.

  Me too, I thought, drinking in his scent and loving the way his warm body felt on mine.

  “Who was that?”

  “That,” he said, “was Tori DeMarco. Beautiful, isn’t she?” he teased. He seemed to know it had bothered me a little.

  “I guess if you like that type.”

  “Oh, and what type is that?”

  “Beautiful to look at, but not much for conversation.”

  “I would love to disagree with you, but you have her pegged.”

  “And she would be...?”

  “She would be the senator’s something extra on the side. Or rather she was until just recently.”

  “They broke up?”

  “Not by their choice, but Helen put her foot down with Tom. She said the affairs had to stop. However, I wasn’t ever convinced it had stopped and her showing up here kind of confirms that.”

  “Did you know about her?”

  “Yes.” He shrugged. “But after Helen gave the ultimatum, he didn’t ask for my assistance for anything about her.”

  “What did you use to do exactly? Do you also run an escort service?” I was joking of course, but on a certain level, I hoped he hadn’t been a contributing helper to the senator’s extramarital affairs.

  “Ha! You’re funny. No, it wasn’t like that. He just needed me to do a background check for security reasons, and I was responsible for getting her safely home a few times.”

  “Why would you help him cheat on his wife?”

  “It’s not my place to judge, Presley. Anyway, I’m sure that’s not why you stopped by. So, come sit down and tell me what’s happened since you hung up on me last.”

  “Yeah. Sorry about that. My battery went dead.”

  “Right,” he said dryly.

  I walked in and took a seat on the love seat. It was your pretty typical hard, lumpy hotel sofa. The furnishings were nice, same rich hues as in the lobby, but not as opulent as the lobby.

  “I wanted to fill you in on something that happened this morning. But don’t freak out about it, okay?”

  “Okay,” Cooper said slowly. “You know asking someone to not freak out pretty much guarantees they will freak out?”

  “It’s not that big of a deal. I had a little run–in with Simon this morning,” I said and waited for his reaction.

  “I know.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Just tell me what happened.”

  “Nothing really.” I shrugged, trying to be nonchalant about the whole thing. “We had a few words, Katy dumped her coffee on him, and he left. End of story.” I tried to make it sound as matter–of–fact as I could, like it was no big deal, but I didn’t think it was working.

  “Wait a minute,” he said, holding his hands up and looking puzzled. “Run that by me again.”

  I sighed. I had hoped he would accept my simple explanation and we could move on. But I didn’t see that happening and wasn’t in the mood for a lecture on how I should quit trying to solve the senator’s murder.

  “Well, he sort of grabbed me and wouldn’t let go. Katy happened to be getting coffee on her way to work and saw him. She came over and dumped her fresh, hot coffee all over his arm so he would let go. Which he did. The big shame was wasting all that coffee. I had to go spend another four bucks to get another one for her.” Maybe a little humor would help lighten his mood.

  “I told you that you should leave this alone.”

  Guess not. “You should be feeling bad that Katy wasted her coffee on that jerk.”

  “This isn’t funny, King,” Cooper said, his blue eyes looking tensely into mine. If I didn’t know any better, I would say there was a little fear mixed with the anger.

  “Cooper, do you think I have reason to be afraid of Simon? I asked him if he killed the senator and he said no. I believe him.”

  Cooper looked at me as if I was crazy and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.

  “So, what do you think, Cooper? Do you think he’s telling the truth?”

  Cooper sighed. “Yes, I am sure he’s telling the truth and I’m not afraid of Simon. He’s a really decent guy. Pres, I would rest easier if you would back off and let me handle this.”

  I pretended not to hear that last comment and focused on the first thing he said. What made him so sure Simon wasn’t a killer? Here we were again—he knew more than he was letting on. “Why are you so sure?”

  Cooper paused for a minute. “Would you just trust me? Please accept the fact that I know with great certainty that Simon is not a killer.”

  “Hold on there, Jack. How do you know? What are you not telling me?” I would bet my favorite pair of Jimmy Choos—the real ones (not fake for a change, but from the clearance rack)—that Cooper knew more than he was telling, and I was determined to get it out of him. “And who already told you about this morning?”

  “He did. He is my employee remember? He knew I would find out and correctly assumed it would be better-coming from him. I will talk to him again. He shouldn’t have been rough with you. I promise you he won’t bother you again.”

  “So you already knew? They why make me tell you?”

  “Just to compare stories.”

  “Who did you expect it to be? Me or Simon?” I asked, not sure I wanted an answer.

  Cooper smiled. “That is a loaded question. I’ve known Simon for a while, and I know he didn’t do this.”

  “What do you mean you’ve known him for a while? How long has he worked for you?”

  “King...”

  “Don’t King me. I want to know what’s going on, now.”

  “It’s a long story. One I don’t have time for.”

  “Well, too bad because I do have time,” I said, sitting down on the bed, hands across my chest. I wasn’t giving in.

  “Fine,” Cooper caved. “I met Simon when I was in the military. He enlisted to hide from his father.”

  “Okay. Go on.”

  “He’s the son of a Mob boss. Simon’s real last name is Palazzo.” Cooper paused, waiting for that bit of news to sink in.

  “Isn’t it a bit of a conflict of interest that someone with criminal ties works for your security firm?” I asked, more than a little surprised.

  “Calm down. It’s not like that.”

  “Then tell me what it’s like, Cooper.”

  “Simon is a good guy. He didn’t want to go into the family business. That’s why he went into the military and that’s why he now works for me.”

  “So do you think that his dad knew Simon was here when he came to meet with Bobby?”

  “I’m sure he did. Garrison probably knows every move his son makes. He has just learned to keep his distance.”

  “So being friends with Simon, does this have anything to do with you being in Las Vegas at some luncheon with Daniels and his wife? Before the time you told me you started working for the senator?” This seemed like a perfect opportunity to ask him this.

  Cooper just looked at me. “How did you find that out?”

  “Does it matter? Why did you lie to me?”

  “Presley, this is complicated.”

  “Wait a minute.” I paused, shook my head, and looked at Cooper. “If you know Simon from the military then why doesn’t Dirt know him? Or is he pretending not to know him, too?”

  He looked so worn out at the thought of trying to explain whatever it was he needed to explain that I almost felt sorry for him, but not quite. I still felt he owed me an explanation. He had misled me about many things, and I wanted answers.

  “Dirt knew him.”

  “Then why is he pretending he doesn’t? I don’t understand. If you were all at the same place...”

  “It started back—” Cooper’s cell phone rang, interrupting hi
m. He held up his finger to silence me while he answered the call. He walked away from me so I couldn’t hear what he was saying, although I tried my hardest to eavesdrop.

  “Okay, I’ll be there in a minute,” Cooper said, snapping the phone shut and reaching for his jacket. “Listen, Pres, I’ve got to go take care of something.”

  I wasn’t sure what the phone call was about, but it was apparent dealing with whatever that was, was preferable to having this conversation with me.

  “Cooper! We’re not finished.” I rose from the bed to follow him, but he stopped me.

  “I know I owe you an explanation, but I have to ask you to just trust me.” As he said this, he put his arm around me and it was all I could do to keep from melting as he brushed his lips across my forehead. It was almost enough to make me forget how annoyed I was with him—and almost enough to beg him to stay.

  “I will call you later, Pres. I promise. Can you see yourself out?”

  “Cooper...” I said again, but he had already walked out the door. That went well, I thought. Flopping back onto the bed, I inhaled his cologne from the sheets and thought, I could stay here all day. Maybe I would stay all day and be waiting for him when he returned. Under the right circumstances, I was confident I could get him to tell me anything. Although I would have to run out and get better underwear to do the trick.

  I laughed and pushed off the bed. It sounded great in theory, but in reality, I had things to do. I couldn’t wait for Cooper to decide when he could fill me in and stop keeping things from me. Though, if he had his way that would probably be never. I didn’t even have the chance to tell him about Helen and Simon. Though he probably knew about that already too. I walked to the door to leave, but paused when my hand touched the handle. Maybe I should have a look before I go. There could be information lying around that could be useful. After all, he was the one who left me here all alone in his hotel room. So anything I saw in plain view was fair game, I rationalized.

  Of course, my definition of plain view may vary, I thought as I opened a drawer on the nightstand by the bed to look inside. Disappointed it was empty I tried the dresser. He was a bit of a neat freak. Something we didn’t have in common. There was nothing on the top, and his clothes were all neatly folded inside the drawers. The normal stuff one would expect to be in a dresser. I didn’t know what I was expecting—maybe something to jump out at me and scream Secret! Where would I put something I wanted to keep hidden? I already checked underneath the clothes in his drawers, just as much to think about him in or out of said clothes as to find some revealing information, which may not have even existed.

  Standing in the middle of the hotel room, I looked around, trying to see if anything appeared out of place. Everything seemed normal. As I was about to give up and leave, a thought popped into my head. I watched a Law & Order episode a while back where they found evidence between the mattress and box springs. Maybe that’s the preferred hiding place for criminal types and people in security. It was worth a shot. I got down on my knees to lift up the mattress and have a look. Nothing on this side. Dropping the mattress back into place, I walked around to the other side. Out of luck again. Guess it was a little far-fetched.

  Disappointed and ready to give up, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the edge of a yellow envelope sticking out from behind the bed towards the floor. Eureka! I pulled on the corner of the envelope, and a bunch of papers fell out, scattering onto the floor. Crap! I had no idea what order they were in, so I had no way to put them back. I was sure Cooper would notice they were out of place. I picked up the stack of papers and sat down on the bed to look through them. There were many news clippings—many of the senator and Helen, some from the Las Vegas Sun of different men. I only recognized Garrison Palazzo, but I assumed the other men might be involved in the same business as the Palazzo family. There were even some of Dirt, mostly from when he won the election to become sheriff.

  However, that warm and fuzzy feeling quickly was replaced with surprise when I scanned the next clipping from when Cooper and Dirt were in the military. The author of the article discussed how Dirt was charged with running a drug ring. It went on to say that Dirt, Cooper, a guy named Tom Reynolds, and some more names I didn’t recognize were accused of selling marijuana. My eyes skimmed down the rest of the article when all of a sudden, a name jumped out at me, and I slowed down to read the passage. It said Private Simon Palazzo came forward with the knowledge that his Sergeant, Derrick Robinson, was involved. It went on further to say that the charges weren’t substantiated and were later dropped.

  Dirt was doing a great job of not letting on he knew Simon. And no wonder. What was going on here? What had happened? I had a hard time believing either Cooper or Dirt would be involved in something like that. Maybe they weren’t though, since the charges were dropped. But if Dirt was innocent, why would Simon say that? Even more confusing to me, why would Cooper still be friendly enough with Simon to have him work for him if it were a lie? None of this made sense. One day Dirt was saying Cooper was selling drugs, and then the news clippings said it was Dirt selling drugs. This painted a different picture altogether. I wondered why Cooper would even take a job that he knew would at some point bring him back to Alkon and expose him to this. Obviously, there was more to this situation than met the eye. And Dirt was lying to me. That I didn’t like one bit.

  I bent down to put the papers back in their place and noticed something shiny sticking partially out from under the bed. I leaned closer and my eyes narrowed when I realized what it was: a lipstick tube. Picking it up, I tried to rationalize it could have been left by the last person who stayed in the room. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that probably wasn’t the case. Cooper had been here over a week at least, and had the previous occupant left it, the maids would have knocked it farther under the bed while vacuuming. This was right by the edge, as if someone had her purse on the nightstand and the lipstick fell out and rolled slightly. I frowned as I thought about the beautiful brunette that had just been leaving Cooper’s room when I got here. Had they been doing more than talking?

  I felt a pain in the pit of my stomach. I had no right to be pissed or jealous that Cooper may have been fooling around. He was an adult. Was it the senator’s girlfriend who was just here? If so, why would she have been over by the bed? It was across from the sitting area. I was more upset than I should have been, but realized this was none of my business. After all, he was a red–blooded male, and before a couple of days ago, I hadn’t seen him in years. So why would I think he had any more than just that old–friend–type feelings for me? I didn’t know what it was, but I felt we had some kind of connection.

  Get a grip, Presley, I thought. I set the tube on the nightstand and walked away, closing the door behind me. I wasn’t going to let this bother me.