Lie or Die: A Shelby Nichols Adventure

  I exited from the front door of Novelty Creations, and hurried to my car, making it back to Betty’s Bra Bar in record time. Pulling into the parking lot, I hoped I hadn’t missed him already. I jumped out, and walked around the back of the store beside Betty’s to the front sidewalk. This was a hardware store, with lots of knobs and handles. I glanced next door, and was relieved to see the closed sign still up. That meant he was still there.

  I leaned over, examining the display in the window with great care. From the corner of my eye, I glimpsed the man leaving the shop. He walked straight toward me, instead of going to the parking lot. As he passed I ‘heard’ him thinking how funny it would be to give my butt a swat since it was sticking out so far.

  I straightened, but kept my indignation to myself, and waited until he was a few yards ahead before I started following. I didn’t know how long I could stay behind him before he noticed, but my luck held out as he turned toward the convenience store on the corner. This was perfect. I could get a Diet Coke, and listen to him at the same time.

  There were several other people in the store, but I concentrated on him and tuned the others out. He moved to the cooler and grabbed a six-pack of beer, thinking it was time to celebrate. What he had in his pocket held his freedom, and it was worth every penny.

  He noticed me standing nearby and grew suspicious. Was I following him? I grabbed the package of beef jerky in front of me, and made my way to the soft drink dispenser. After filling my cup with Diet Coke and two squirts of cherry flavoring, I stood in line to pay. He stayed in the back of the store watching me. He’d noticed me looking in the hardware store window, and was thinking that if I was following him, or knew what he was up to, he might have to kill me. He knew from experience that if I stuck around, it was almost a sure thing. Out of habit, he stroked the knife in his pocket.

  I quickly paid and hurried out, practically running to my car. Out of breath from hurrying so fast, I jumped inside, and immediately locked the car doors. As I fastened my seat belt, I watched to see if he was following. With no sign of him, I started the car, and pulled out of the parking lot. I had to stop at a red light, and there he was, waiting to cross the street. I kept my face forward, only turning my eyes to see if he recognized me. Before I could tell, the light turned green, and I pushed on the gas. Watching him in my rearview mirror, I noticed his head turning to follow my progress.

  A chill went down my spine. That was too creepy. It was probably best from now on to concentrate on the lady in the shop and leave her clients alone. If only I knew what she was up to. The client had thought something about his freedom being worth the cost of what she had given him. But what could that mean?

  I checked the time to find it was nearly twelve-thirty. Usually, court was recessed anywhere between noon and one for the lunch hour, so this was my chance to stop and see if I could talk to Chris. If David Barardini was there, I could also check on him, and hear what he was thinking. For Chris’ sake, it would be helpful to know what was going on.

  I got there just in time. The gavel sounded, and the judge dismissed everyone for one hour. Chris was seated in the front with his client, and I had to fight against the crowd to get to him. His head was bent toward the defendant, who had to be Adam Webb, and there was another man I didn’t know seated next to him.

  I slowed my steps, not wanting interrupt, and worried that Chris wouldn’t be happy I was there. I should probably wait until they got up to leave before I barged in on them. Sliding into a back seat, I tried to untangle their thoughts amid those of everyone else in the room.

  The man next to Chris was thinking the trial was going well, and the evidence from the books corroborated his story. There was a glitch that no one had picked up on, but if the prosecuting attorney found it, he was prepared to set his plan in motion. It would be better if he didn’t have to though, because he hated framing an innocent man. Of course, it was better than the alternative.

  This guy had to be David Barardini. He looked just like Nick, only with graying hair. I wondered if Chris knew anything about this ‘glitch’ in his defense. I couldn’t pick up what Adam Webb and Chris were talking about as easily. It was something to do with…food? Ah…where they were going for lunch. It was a safe bet I could probably interrupt them now.

  I stood just as Chris and Adam slid their chairs back. The courtroom was nearly empty by now, and Chris spotted me when he turned around. Surprise at seeing me turned into pleasure, and I smiled with happiness. His left brow lifted, and he smiled slowly, thinking I looked hot in my outfit.

  Adam and David noticed his slow perusal, and turned curious stares in my direction. David wondered who I was, running through a list in his head of who I could be; never once thinking I was Chris’ wife. Adam was more perceptive, thinking I looked even better in person than the photo in Chris’ office. He totally understood why Chris was happy to see me. I gave him a bright smile in response, and decided I liked him.

  Chris greeted me warmly, and introduced me to David and Adam. David smiled, keeping his surprise to himself. Then his eyes narrowed as he remembered that I was ‘that Shelby’ who worked for Uncle Joey. He hoped I wouldn’t give him away to Chris. That might complicate things. Oops, too late for that.

  “Do you mind if I borrow Chris for a moment?” I asked. “I won’t keep him long.”

  “Not at all,” Adam said.

  “I’ll meet you in the food court,” Chris assured him, and turned toward me with a questioning glance. “What’s up?” he asked.

  “I just wanted to talk to you for a minute. How’s the trial going?”

  “Pretty well,” he said. “It’s a good thing I’ve been so involved with the case already, otherwise I could be in trouble.”

  “Have you heard anything about who beat up Gary or why?” I asked.

  “No. In fact, it doesn’t make a lot of sense,” Chris answered. “I’ve been trying to think who would gain if we lose, and the only thing I can come up with is someone with a personal grudge against Adam.”

  “But if Adams loses, won’t that put Webb Enterprises on the line? You should ask Adam who his competition is, or find out if he has any enemies. But you’re right. It could be a personal thing too.”

  “That’s a good idea,” Chris said. “I’ll ask Adam what he thinks.”

  “You should include David as well. He might know better than Adam, especially since he has connections with Uncle Joey.”

  “Umm…yeah, I forgot about that.” Chris considered what I said, but was convinced that David knew what he was doing with the books. It was all legal and admissible in court. He checked his watch and scowled. There wasn’t much time to eat and he was starving.

  “There is one more thing I need to ask you before I go,” I said. “Savannah and Josh are really looking forward to going to Orlando. I promised Savannah I’d talk to you today so we could book our vacation tonight. I can check with your secretary about the week we want to go, and make sure your schedule is clear. Is that all right?”

  “Yeah, I guess so.” Chris tugged me out the door, thinking I could walk him to the food court. A sigh escaped him. He felt pushed into a corner about the vacation, but since he hadn’t been around much, it was probably his fault. Plus, he felt guilty for not spending much time lately with the kids or me, so it was probably the right thing to do. Who knew, it might even be fun.

  I smiled, happy he was resigned to his fate. “I’ll go by your office on the way home and clear it with your secretary.”

  “Okay,” he said. “By the way, how’s your ‘case of the stolen money’ going?”

  “I’m making progress,” I said. “I’ll have to tell you about it when we have more time.”

  “Okay.” He felt bad that he had been gone so much. “It’s a quick walk from here to the food court. Do you want to grab some lunch with us?” Chris didn’t think the others would mind, especially since they’d gone over everything they needed to cover in the trial for the rest of the day.

&nbs
p; “Sure. That would be nice,” I agreed, happy that he wasn’t ready to say goodbye. We entered the food court and got in line for a sandwich. Carrying our trays, we found the others, who were happy to make room for us.

  “I’m glad you joined us,” Adam said to me. “It’s always nice to have a pretty face to look at. Helps with the digestion.” He was thinking I was like a breath of fresh air. This trial was getting to him. He couldn’t wait until it was over and he could breathe again.

  I was surprised that none of the stress showed on his face. He didn’t want to think about the trial, so I asked him about his family. Mild curiosity about me came from David, but his thoughts centered mostly on our conversation.

  It was time to leave before I knew it, and I walked with Chris toward the courthouse before taking a detour to his office. We said goodbye, and he was walking away when I heard it. Someone was thinking about Chris, and how he was the other lawyer they needed to take out. Unless he agreed to lose the case. He’d start with threats, but if that didn’t work, he’d hurt him lots worse than the other guy.

  “Chris!” I called, my heart pounding. He glanced over his shoulder, hearing the panic in my voice. As he reached my side, the threatening thoughts faded into the distance. The person was gone…for now. “What’s wrong?” Chris asked.

  “Someone was here,” I whispered. “Watching you. Thinking about taking you out. They’re going to threaten you first, give you some time to respond, but then they’re going to hurt you worse than they hurt Gary.” I clutched him. “Chris…I’m scared. This isn’t a joke.”

  “I can see that,” he said, frowning. “At least it sounds like I have some time. I’ll be all right for now, but I’ve got to go. I can’t walk in there late.”

  “Okay,” I said. “But watch your back, and if you can, try and figure out what is going on.”

  He nodded, gave me a quick kiss, and rushed toward the courthouse. I watched until he disappeared inside, worry tightening my stomach. I had to find out what was going on. I had a feeling it had everything to do with Uncle Joey, and it made me mad.

  Why did he always have to be involved in our lives? Although, for a change, this didn’t have anything to do with me, and upon further consideration, I was in the perfect position to get to the bottom of this. Uncle Joey or not, no matter what I had to do, or who I had to do it to, anyone threatening my man was going to be sorry.

  Chapter 6

  I entered Chris’ office and talked to his secretary about our plans for Orlando. We chatted about our vacation, and she was happy to clear his schedule for the week we wanted to go. Savannah would be thrilled.

  That accomplished, I decided to pay a visit to Uncle Joey. He’d wonder why I was there, and I had to decide if I should tell him what I knew about the trial, or listen to his thoughts and figure it out that way. Of course, when I thought about it, I really didn’t know anything about the trial. And it was probably better to level with Uncle Joey, since we were on the same side anyway.

  As I pulled into the parking garage, it suddenly occurred to me that Felt wasn’t following, and I didn’t have to worry about him. Yay! At least something had gone right today.

  I got off the elevator on the twenty-sixth floor, and entered Thrasher Development. Jackie wasn’t at her desk, and I worried that I’d missed Uncle Joey. Maybe they were at lunch? I probably should have called first.

  Trying to figure out what to do next, I was startled by a bulky figure ambling down the hall. Doug. Since Doug had taken over Ramos’ security job, maybe I could persuade Ramos to be my husband’s bodyguard once he came back. Of course, Chris would hate that. Probably Ramos would too.

  “Hi, Shelby,” Doug greeted me. Caution was the only thing that filtered through his thoughts.

  “Hi,” I said. It almost seemed like he was guarding them. Now why would he do that?

  “Is Uncle Joey here?” I asked.

  “No,” he answered quickly. “He and Jackie are gone somewhere.

  “For lunch?”

  “Yeah, for lunch.” He was thinking that I complicated things, but it… He cut his thoughts off with an effort. “They should be back soon. Do you want to wait?” He hadn’t meant to say that, but I flustered him.

  “Sure, I’ll wait.”

  He didn’t expect me to say that either. “Okay. You can wait in his office if you like.”

  I shrugged. “Fine. Have you heard anything from Ramos?” I asked.

  “No.” He was thinking yes, and when I raised my eyebrows, he changed his answer. “I mean yes…he’ll be back soon.”

  “That’s great,” I said.

  “Um…I’ve got to get back to my office.” He backed away from me, then turned and hurried down the hall. From what I could gather, he didn’t like being around me very much. Now why was that?

  I turned in the opposite direction toward Uncle Joey’s office, and went inside. I liked the décor in here, and the view from the window was spectacular. After watching the people and traffic below without a sign of Uncle Joey, I decided to give him a call.

  He answered after the first ring. “Shelby…what can I do for you?”

  “I’m at your office,” I explained. “I need to talk to you about something. When do you think you’ll be back?”

  “I’m on my way right now,” he said. “I’ll be there in about ten minutes.”

  “Okay, see you then.” Knowing I had a few minutes, I decided to see if his safe was in the same place as it was before the re-model, and tugged on the landscape painting hiding it. I figured it would swing out. Instead, the painting practically flew off the wall. I reached out to grab it before it crashed, but the corner hit the floor, and a piece of the frame broke off.

  Damn! At least the glass didn’t break…but still! I searched the floor for the broken piece, then got on my hands and knees to look under the couch. I finally found it lodged beneath the couch, and strained to reach it. With a grunt, I clasped it in my palm just as the door opened behind me.

  A deep chuckle sounded. “Babe. What are you doing down there?” It was Ramos!

  I scrambled to get up, chagrined that he caught me in such an embarrassing position. “I…a…accidentally knocked the painting off the wall. I’m just trying to put it back together before Uncle Joey gets here.”

  “Let me see.” He held out his hand for the piece. With a red face, I plopped it in his palm, and turned to heft the painting onto the couch.

  “It goes right there.” I pointed to the bottom corner. “Maybe we can fix it with some superglue, and he won’t know.”

  “I won’t know what?” Uncle Joey said, coming into the room.

  “You said ten minutes,” I blurted. He fixed a pointed stare at me. Oh great! Now I had to tell him the truth. “Um…that I accidentally knocked the painting off the wall, and the frame broke. But I can fix it. See…I just need to glue this piece in here…” I took the piece from Ramos, “and it will be good as new.” I pushed the piece into the corner and it held, but it looked pretty bad. It was easy to see it was broken. “Well…almost as good as new.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Uncle Joey said, his voice tinged with amusement. “Looking for the safe, huh?”

  What could I say? “I was just wondering if it was still there.” I glanced at the wall. “Guess not.”

  Uncle Joey’s lips twisted in amusement. Ramos was thinking that he hadn’t minded the view, and I gave him a dirty look. His eyes widened, and then he smiled even bigger. Yup…he was right, even if I wouldn’t admit it.

  No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t keep my exasperation from showing, so I quickly turned my back on him.

  Uncle Joey put the painting back on the wall, thinking this wasn’t the first time it had fallen. He had the painting situated just right on the hanger, so that if someone moved it, it would fall off. That corner piece had broken several times now. He should probably get it fixed, except that he always knew if someone had moved it from how it looked after. Kind of like an alarm, on
ly better, because he usually knew who had been in his office. And the look on my face…

  “Argh!” I said, throwing my arms up. He knew I was listening, and I called him a few dirty names in my mind. Thank goodness he couldn’t ‘hear’ me.

  “So…how come you’re in my office?” Uncle Joey asked.

  “Doug told me to wait for you in here.”

  “Doug?” Uncle Joey frowned. “He was here?”

  “Yes,” I said cautiously. “Why?”

  “Because I told him to clear out this morning. He was gone when I left to get Ramos from the airport. I wonder what was he doing back here?” He glanced at me. “Did you pick up anything from him?”

  I glanced pointedly at Ramos, but he just grinned. Uncle Joey didn’t seem to notice, or care that Ramos was listening. I pursed my lips. I could play this game too. “He told me you and Jackie went to lunch, although now that I think about it, I insinuated that that’s where you were. He just kind of went along with it. He didn’t want to talk to me. After telling me to wait in your office, he hurried back to the security room.” There…I hadn’t given myself away.

  Uncle Joey knew I hadn’t exactly answered his question. He turned to Ramos. “You’d better check the office and equipment for any kind of tampering.” Ramos nodded and left.

  “Why did you fire Doug?” I asked.

  “The guy who recommended him didn’t realize that Doug’s last employer was missing a few thousand dollars the day after Doug quit his job.”

  “So Doug stole it?”

  “He couldn’t prove it, but it looked that way to him.” Uncle Joey shrugged. “I don’t want anyone in my office that I can’t trust, especially with my security. So I had to let him go.” He paused, and pinned me with his gaze. “What was he thinking? You can answer now that Ramos is gone.”

  I smirked, but it wasn’t worth arguing about. “That’s the strange thing. It was almost like he was guarding his thoughts. I know he didn’t like being around me. I flustered him. But that’s all I got. It’s too bad you didn’t wait until I was here before you fired him. I would have known if he really had stolen that money.”