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Chapter 5
I don’t get the whole ménage à trois thing. It’s like a jigsaw puzzle, but there are too many parts. ~ Text from Hailey to Suzie
The intercom crackles before I hear Suzie’s voice. “Ms. McGraw. Mrs. Smith is here to see you.”
I groan. Not this again. Mrs. Smith – not her real name obviously – is a repeat customer, but each time she comes in I have to ‘pretend’ I don’t know her. This is not how I expected to use the skills learned in drama school. “Send her in.”
I stand and walk out from behind my desk to greet my ‘new’ client. The door flies open and in walks drama. Trust me, I’m an expert. I know.
Mrs. Smith sashays into the room. She is one sexy woman. She’s wearing a skintight red dress showing off all her curves. She’s showing so much cleavage I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a nipple-gate incident. Her long, blonde hair cascades down her back. Not a hair out of place. On her face are over-sized dark sunglasses. She’s also wearing a large hat.
She rips off her sunglasses. “Oh, Ms. McGraw. It’s terrible. I think my husband is cheating on me.” She sniffs and pats her dry eyes.
I show her to a chair. “Please, call me Hailey.”
“Hailey.” She grabs my hand and holds on tight. “I can’t believe John would do this to me.”
Yeah, yeah, I can’t believe it either. Really, I can’t. Because it’s not true. ‘John’ and ‘Judy’ ‘Smith’ love each other a lot. Like, a lot a lot. Trust me, I’ve seen the proof. Anyway, on with the charade.
“Why do you think he’s cheating?”
“Well, it’s been a week since he made love to me. A week!” She opens her clutch and pulls out a handkerchief, which she places in front of her face. She doesn’t touch her face. Oh no, she can’t ruin her perfect make-up.
“Have you seen him with another woman?”
“N-n-n-ooo.”
“Has he snuck off into another room when he gets a call?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Okay.” I lean against my desk and drum my fingers against my thigh. “Has he been taking unexplained business trips?”
“John doesn’t travel for business.”
“Any unexplained meetings?”
She gasps. “Well, now you mention it, I did see he has an appointment at the Grand Hotel this afternoon at 2 p.m.”
“A hotel?” I place a hand on my chest and shake my head. “This doesn’t sound good, Mrs. Smith.”
“I know, Hailey. It’s why I came to you. I know you’re the best in the business.”
Now, she’s pushing it. She doesn’t think I’m the best in the business, but she does know I’m the one detective agency in town willing to play her game month after month. Although, considering the money she pays me, I don’t know why other PI’s don’t jump on this business.
“Tell you what I’ll do. I’ll go to the hotel this afternoon. Have a peek around. And I’ll let you know if he meets anyone. Okay?” She nods. “But, under no circumstance, should you go to the hotel. You hear me? You’ll only make the situation worse for yourself.”
She bobs her head. “Oh, I know. I won’t. I don’t want to see…” She gulps. “Well, you know.”
Yes, I know. I also know she’s a big fat liar pants. I escort her to the door with promises to do my best and keep in touch. Blah. Blah. Blah.
As soon as the door shuts behind her, I point a finger at Suzie. “No. Wait. Wait until you hear the elevator doors close.” The elevator dings to announce its arrival. Suzie snorts. “Five more seconds.”
The elevator doors slide shut, and Suzie bursts out laughing. “Did you … did you see today’s outfit?”
“How could I not? I thought she was going to take her eye out with her own boobs.”
“The sunglasses were a nice touch as well. Very Audrey Hepburn à la Breakfast at Tiffany’s.”
