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Chapter 13
“What did the elephant say to the naked man? How do you breathe through that thing?” ~ Text from Hailey to Suzie
“Did you notice how Phoebe didn’t answer any questions about herself last night?”
At Suzie’s question, I groan. Why is she talking? My head feels like it’s going to explode. I love Jose, but he can be a bit of an asshole on the day after we hook up. “Can you talk softer?”
“Did you notice how Phoebe didn’t answer any questions about herself last night?” she whispers.
I lay my head on my desk and use my hands to cover it. I don’t answer Suzie’s question. I can’t. I don’t remember much about last night after the first three shots of tequila.
“Anyway, I did a background check on her.”
What? I expect my uncles and Pops to pull this kind of stunt. Not Suzie. I manage to open one eye and glare at her. “Are you serious?”
“You can’t be mad. We should do background checks on all our employees. It’s normal practice.”
Damn. She’s right. Fine. “What did you find out?” I manage to croak out my question. Did someone stuff a bunch of cotton balls down my throat last night?
“Phoebe Adams didn’t exist until a year ago.”
“Hold up.” I force myself to sit up. I have to grab hold of the edge of the desk to keep steady. My stomach revolts and I take deep breaths to settle it. When I’m sure I don’t need to make a run to the porcelain god, I ask, “What are you saying?” She hands me a bottle of water. I down about half of it before asking, “What do you mean she didn’t exist until a year ago?”
“Exactly what I said. Phoebe Adams did not exist last year. No driver’s license, no utility bills. Nothing. Nada. Rien.”
“Well, shit.” I chug the rest of my water as I try to formulate a response. “What should we do?”
Suzie looks around to make sure we’re alone, as if someone is going to magically appear in the office, before coming closer to whisper, “Do you think she’s in witness protection?”
I shrug. “If she is, we shouldn’t stick our noses into her background and raise red flags.”
“I’ll ask Wally to check.”
“No, you won’t. If she’s in WITSEC and he goes digging around, whoever she testified against might find her.”
Suzie pouts. “But how else are we going to find out who she testified against?”
“You don’t even know if she testified against anyone. You’re making assumptions. For all we know, she’s a criminal on the run herself.”
Her eyes widen. “Then, we definitely need Wally to snoop. We can’t have a criminal working for us.”
I’m an idiot. Why did I bring up the possibility of Phoebe being a criminal? Stupid. I decide to change the subject. “Why are we here anyway?” It’s Saturday before noon. I should be suffering in my bed in private like any respectable hungover woman. “We usually aren’t open on Saturdays.” I’ve been known to do some sneaking around after cheaters on the weekends but come into the office? No, thank you.
“This potential client couldn’t meet at any other time.”
Whatever. I lay my head back on the desk. “Let me know when he arrives.”
“She,” Suzie informs me. The alarm beeps. “And I think she’s here.”
Yippee.
Suzie hands me a breath mint and another bottle of water. “Toughen up, buttercup. You’re the one who decided to empty the bar of tequila last night.”
Please. Not possible. Pops keeps a steady supply of hard liquor in his stockroom.
She bounces out of the room to greet our prospective client. “Hi! I’m Suzie Langley. Come on through. The private investigator is waiting to meet you.” Waiting to die is more like it.
I pop the breath mint in my mouth and force myself to stand. My legs feel like I’m a newborn foal standing for the very first time, but I manage to get to my feet and stay upright. I smile as a middle-aged woman walks in. She’s wearing a button-down blue and white striped shirt buttoned all the way to her neck and tucked into her baggy jeans. Her hair is poofy and held back from her face with a wide white hairband. Oh great, another woman done wrong.
