In the Line of Ire (Lexi Graves Mysteries 13) Read online

  IN THE LINE OF IRE

  Lexi Graves Mysteries, 13

  Camilla Chafer

  In the Line of Ire

  Copyright: Camilla Chafer

  Published: March 2019

  ISBN: 978-1-909577-21-3

  The right of Camilla Chafer to be identified as author of this Work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system, copied in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise transmitted without written permission from the publisher. You must not circulate this book in any format.

  Visit the author online at www.camillachafer.com to sign up to her mailing list and for more information on other titles.

  Contents

  Copyright

  Synopsis

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Mailing list sign-up

  Other books

  In the Line of Ire

  When Private Investigator Lexi Graves receives an expensive bag from her new husband, she’s delighted… for all of five seconds. That’s exactly how long it takes her to realize it’s a fake. Then another fake bag turns up, along with an outraged mall manager that is desperate to find the culprit before the mall’s impeccable reputation for selling quality goods is tarnished. When the initial investigation takes a murderous turn, Lexi knows she has no time to lose.

  Going undercover would be easy if Lexi could convince anyone to talk. Then the FBI and Solomon Detective Agency collaborate to track down the culprits, and Lexi is further tasked with exposing the master mind behind the recent flood of fake goods. The counterfeiters, however, are smart enough to cover their tracks and the suspects are all seemingly innocent. Yet, one of them is a murderer… and ready to strike again.

  Chapter One

  "Check us out," said Lily, placing her left hand over mine so that we could view our engagement and wedding rings side-by-side. Lily had been wearing hers for a while now but my wedding ring was less than a month old. My left hand still felt the extra weight from the newness of the band. "We're all grown up."

  "I never thought we would live long enough to say those words," I admitted.

  "There were some crazy moments," agreed Lily. "Now zip me into this cocktail glass."

  "Breathe in and suck hard!" I demanded.

  Lily sucked in a deep breath and I yanked the zipper of the neoprene costume upwards. She turned around, hopping slightly, thanks to the narrow stem glass that formed the leg compartment. "How do I look?" she asked, her face peeking out of the constricted head hole.

  "On a scale of one to crazy?"

  Lily nodded.

  "Twelve," I decided. "Are you sure this will drum up more business for the bar?" We both turned to look at the long mirror Lily had recently installed in the employee bathroom. Lily's costume was shaped like a martini glass, complete with a stemmed cherry that was perched on top. I really “lucked out” with my outfit. I was a pint of beer. Amber-colored satin, topped with a rim of white, frothy foam that was made out of some kind of fluffy, synthetic fabric and couldn't be allowed within a mile of a naked flame. Emerging from the middle of each of the costumes were our faces. Surprisingly, we weren't even blushing but I figured that would change just as soon as we waddled outside with the stacks of flyers that Lily printed up to promote happy hour at the bar she owned and ran.

  "I think we look awesome," said Lily. "I knew I should have gotten the wine glass suit for Ruby. I wish I’d covered all the bases: beer, wine, and cocktails."

  "Rookie error," I lamented as I shook my head, adding a dab of lip gloss until I realized it didn't do anything to improve my look. Nothing could have.

  "Let's go outside and hand these flyers out to the passersby." Lily attempted to hook her arm through mine as we headed for the restroom door. We both gave up when we got stuck in the gap. Eventually, Lily gave me a shove and the beer suit squeezed before the sides collapsed and I was thrust out first. I reached behind me and tugged Lily through, turning just in time to see her cherry stem hitting the top of the door frame and waggling back and forth.

  "How fortuitous it is that you just got back from your honeymoon and don't have any cases lined up," remarked Lily as we wobbled forwards.

  "So fortuitous," I sighed. When I departed for my honeymoon, I was Lexi Graves, Private Investigator; when I returned, I was Lexi Graves, flammable beer glass. It wasn't the career turn I chose or expected, but I did promise to help Lily out, especially since, as she pointed out, I didn't have anything better to do at present.

  We waddled through the quiet bar and stepped onto the sidewalk, blinking at the bright sunlight.

  "Happy hour at Lily's Bar!" Lily announced loudly, shoving flyers into the hands of the two young men who were walking past. They took one cursory look and stuffed the flyers into their jeans pockets. "They're a sure thing," said Lily with absolute conviction.

  I handed a flyer to a mom with twins strapped in a stroller.

  "Overindulgence in alcohol is how I got these two," she whined, pointing to her toddlers before she handed the flyer back while shaking her head.

  "Drink more responsibly," called Lily, waving as the mom pushed her twins away.

  "Bit late for that," I added but Lily had already jumped into the path of a group of neatly suited women. She was reeling off the cocktail list and trying to convince them to come to happy hour post work.

  I turned away, pushing a flyer into the hands of the next oncoming man. "Happy hour at Lily's Bar. Bring your friends!"

  "Lexi?" said my colleague, Tony Delgado. His mouth twitched like he didn't know whether to laugh or ask the obvious. "Is that really you?"

  I sighed. Of course, I had to bump into someone I knew.

  "Good Lord, it is you!" squeaked my sister, Serena, who was married to Delgado. She gave me a head-to-toe scan before pulling a disgusted, but impeccably made up face at me. In her smart pantsuit and blouse, she appeared the exact opposite of me. Outshining me was one of Serena's primary reasons for living so she took any opportunity very seriously. Yanking the flyer from Delgado, she raised her eyebrows. "Did Solomon already fire you?" she asked.

  "No!"

  "You've only been married a month!"

  "He did not fire me!"

  "Why are you doing this?" Serena persisted. "What is wrong with you? What if someone sees you? What if someone I know sees you?"

  "Hi, Serena! Hi, Tony!" Lily waved cheerfully.

  "This is so embarrassing," muttered Serena. "Do not tell anyone you know me, let alone, that we're related," she added as she pushed past us hastily.

  "No problem," I replied, grinning as I handed Delgado another flyer. "Not a word of this to anyone," I warned him in case he had any funny ideas.

  Delgado pulled his phone from his pocket and snapped a photo just as I blinked while making a face. "Fantastic," he said, checking it briefly before looking thrilled.


  "Antonio!" Serena grabbed his hand and dragged him bodily after her. Not that he needed dragging; he followed Serena happily. If she walked off a cliff, he'd probably follow her in a heartbeat. Whether Serena walked off or got pushed off, however, was another question entirely!

  "Delete that!" I yelled after him.

  "Send me a copy!" added Lily.

  I sighed. Not only would I have to live with the humiliation of knowing that photo was in circulation, now I also had to devise a clever way to get back at my favorite brother-in-law. To be fair, marrying my sister should have been punishment enough, but even that wasn't quite as satisfying as actually punking him when he least expected it.

  "Happy hour at Lily's Bar," I said, forcing another flyer into the hand of the next man to cross my path.

  "I'm an alcoholic," he said, gazing wistfully at the bar entrance.

  I snatched the flyer from him. "Keep fighting the good fight," I told him.

  "But..." He edged towards the bar but I blocked him. He headed to my left and I blocked him again.

  "Go to an AA meeting," I said. "Now move along."

  "Okay," he agreed, his face falling visibly as he shuffled away.

  "I think we're targeting the wrong people," I said, turning to Lily. She was posing in the middle of a group of frat boys and beaming like a lantern as they took multiple photos.

  "Come to happy hour, but don’t forget your IDs," she called out, waving as they took off, blowing her kisses. "They're so cute," she said to me. "I told them the prettiest girls in all of Montgomery work at my bar. So they're going to bring their friends when they come."

  "The old one in the beer glass is kinda hot," remarked one of them as they walked away.

  "I am not old!" I yelled after them.

  "And psycho too," I heard the frat boy mutter. "That's really sexy."

  I turned to Lily. "I hope they behave themselves."

  "Now you're sounding old in the wrong way," she said, giving me a look.

  "You need a nicer clientele," I told her as I inserted several flyers into the hands of a group of men in business suits. "Happy hour. Two-for-one drinks!"

  "Hot girls too!" added Lily and we suddenly got an observable reaction as well as a promise to arrive right after work. "See?" said Lily.

  "Will there actually be any hot girls?"

  "Yes!" said Lily. She quickly distributed several flyers to a group of pretty women. "Two-for-one drinks and lotsa hot guys!" she chirped as the women giggled and nodded before making fast plans to attend.

  "I see what you did there," I said, preparing to hand more flyers out. The fixed smile turned to a real one when I saw the tall, dark-haired man who approached me next.

  "Lexi?" said Maddox, his eyes roaming over my costume. "I figured you'd have a tan from your honeymoon but you've turned really... golden."

  "That's the beer suit," chipped in Lily. She leaned over and the cherry stem bounced in front of my face and back up again. "Doesn't she look great?"

  "She's something else, all right," said Maddox, biting the insides of his cheeks. "Did you lose a bet?"

  "No, I'm helping out a friend," I snapped pertly as I handed him a flyer. "Tell all of your buddies to bring their fat wallets."

  “Hah,” said Maddox. “I work in law enforcement.”

  "There'll be plenty of hot girls," added Lily.

  "Really?" asked Maddox.

  "No," I said. "Ow! Lily! You kicked me!"

  "Not working for your husband anymore?" Maddox asked, swallowing hard when he said “husband.”

  "Work is pretty quiet so I took the day off. Why do you have a tan? Have you been vacationing somewhere?" I asked.

  Maddox stilled. "Quick work trip abroad. Mostly outdoor surveillance."

  "Do you have a tan line? We were talking about tan lines earlier," chatted Lily. "Lexi barely has any. She already showed me."

  Maddox raked his eyes over me and for a moment, I forgot I was dressed in a plush beer glass costume. "Interesting," he said. "Do you two strip very often just to compare each other's tan lines?"

  "Doesn't everyone?" replied Lily sarcastically. She shuffled away to distribute more flyers, repeating her marketing pitch to the group of women she next accosted.

  "What are you wearing underneath that rig?" asked Maddox.

  "I can't answer that," I told him, since I didn't want to admit I was already starting to overheat in my gym shorts and tank top, the only clothing that I could fit under the costume without causing any chafing or making me sweat bullets.

  "No need. I have a good imagination," he said. "But you're a married woman now so I'm not sure if it's illegal for me to have thoughts like that."

  "I think you're still safe," I decided. Then I caught his meaning. "But stop thinking about me like that!"

  "Too late," he said as he winked. "I have a good memory; one that doesn't involve tan lines either."

  "It's nice to see you," I said.

  "In the flesh." Maddox smiled as I pictured him in the flesh before I had to squeeze my eyes shut tightly to stop the image. I could not think about my friend like that even if he were my ex-boyfriend and I was born with a vivid imagination along with an excellent memory.

  "Why are you muttering 'make it stop' and drooling a little bit?" asked Maddox. "Do you want me to take you to the ER?"

  My eyes snapped open. "Nope. Totally fine. How's the FBI business going?" I asked since it was the first safe question that popped into my head.

  "Same old, same old. I'm currently working undercover so I might not run into you for a while."

  "Anything exciting?"

  "You never know when you go undercover," he said with a sad smile. Maddox and I met when he was an undercover detective for the Montgomery Police Department. Back then, he was masquerading as my boss, Adam Shepherd, at an insurance firm where I was the lowly, hired temp. After stumbling over our boss's body, I fell headlong into a mystery that I was bound and determined to solve. At the conclusion of that case, a lot of wonderful things emerged: a wonderful relationship with Maddox and a job offer from Solomon. My relationship with Maddox ended prematurely due to a stupid miscommunication but we still managed to maintain a friendship. And I married Solomon.

  "Let me know if you need anything," I told him.

  "You're at the top of my list," he said. Then he leaned in and attempted to kiss my cheek but had to struggle due to the position of my face inside the plastic foam. He kissed the tip of my nose instead. "You look pretty cute," he said before he left.

  "Did you give him a flyer?" asked Lily.

  I looked at the flyers still in my hands. "I have no idea," I said.

  "Heads up! Incoming! Make sure they all get flyers," said Lily, nodding to the approaching group. "Try and really look like you want them to come to my bar. Smile!"

  I smiled until my face hurt and within an hour, nearly all our flyers had been distributed.

  "Hah-hah!" giggled a voice behind me as someone planted hands on my back and shoved me hard. I went sprawling, my hands hitting the sidewalk to prevent me from doing a faceplant. I winced as my palms grazed the gravel on the hard ground. Wriggling around like a severely angry snake, I tried to get back on my feet. All my efforts failed. I was stuck, my legs and arms flailing and waving in the air like an overturned bug. The gang of mischievous boys giggled as they hurried past me, pointing and laughing while Lily scolded them. I flopped my head back and stared up at the sky, wondering if mine and Lily's friendship was worth suffering so much humiliation.

  Lily leaned over me, the cherry on top of her costume bobbling down in my face. "Those little bastards," she said. "I'm going to tell Jord to track them down and tell all of their parents."

  "Now look who's talking like an old person," I said, raising my sore hand for Lily to grip. "Help me up."

  Lily grabbed my hand and with a little teeter-tottering, managed to get me upright enough that I could kneel. Bouncing on my knees in order to create upward momentum while Lily tugged
on my hand to balance me so I didn't topple backwards, I got one leg straightened out and pushed up. "I have never felt so relieved to be upright," I told her.

  "This is a beautiful moment," agreed Lily. "Let's go inside. I think I owe you a drink."

  Solomon collected me from the bar an hour later. By then, the beer costume was long gone, replaced with black jeans and a sky blue t-shirt. My damp hair was swept into a neat ponytail and I was on my second martini. Lily was behind the bar of course, opposite me, surveying the steady trickle of customers.

  "Hi," said Solomon. He lifted my left hand and kissed the two rings on my finger.

  "Aww," said Lily.

  "Did you two have a good afternoon?" he asked.

  "Meh," I said, lifting one shoulder and dropping it. There was no way I would admit to spending my afternoon dressed up like a glass of beer.

  Solomon pulled up a bar stool near me and sat down before reaching into his pocket for his cellphone. "I saw a funny video earlier. I think it might have been filmed right outside your bar," he told Lily. "Two people were dressed up as giant alcohol vessels. Did you hire someone to do that?"

  "Oh, yeah," said Lily, winking at me.

  "You saw a video?" I asked. "Where?"

  "YouTube. Seventeen thousand views." Solomon turned his cellphone screen towards us and I watched myself floundering on the ground while Lily tried to pull me up. It didn't seem that long when I was down there but now that I saw the video, it turned out to be a full three minutes in duration.

  "Seventeen thousand views?" I gulped.

  "Twenty-four thousand now," said Solomon. "Lily, your bar is going viral."

  "That's amazing!" Lily beamed.

  "Can you, um, see who the two people are?" I asked, transfixed by the horror I was glimpsing on the small screen.

  "No, but I figure that's a good thing. You might want to hire them again," said Solomon. "It's pretty funny. Do you still have those costumes?"