08 Trigger Snappy Read online

  "When Juliet came to me, she said you've been really supportive, but you weren't convinced about the stalker. I'd like to know what you really think."

  "Truthfully, I don't know what to think. I can see why someone might be jealous of Juliet, but to stalk her? It seems so crazy. Like, that happens to famous people, but not to us."

  "But you installed the security system?"

  "For her security as well as ours. Just in case. Look, maybe she is being stalked and she's right, weird things have happened, but I can rationalize them to all kinds of things. It doesn't mean there's some creep out there targeting her."

  "Juliet mentioned various wedding orders that she hadn't made..." I trailed off, waiting for Rob to fill in the blanks.

  "Okay, yeah, that stuff is weird. Expensive, too."

  "Have you ever seen anyone hanging around the house, or getting too close, or randomly appearing multiple times when you've been out? Someone who seemed to be taking a lot of interest in Juliet in particular?"

  "No, and I've been thinking about it a lot. I just can't think of a time like that, but maybe I'm wrong. Maybe someone is watching her. Juliet thought you could find out whom, or at least, put her mind at rest. She has no problem being wrong. She just needs to know if she is. We both do."

  "After saying all that, with all the good things you know about Juliet, is she the type of person to fall foul of insider trading? Or make something like this up?"

  Rob shook his head just as the phone rang, causing us both to jump. I hadn't realized how tense our conversation had become, but now I could feel the hairs on my arms were raised, and my posture was one of someone who was anything but calm. I couldn't imagine how Juliet must be feeling. "No, she isn't."

  He grabbed the phone, raising it to his ears. I couldn't make out what the other person was saying, but Rob suddenly relaxed and smiled. "That's great news!" he said. "You'll be here soon? Okay. Yes. Great. Thank you!" Placing the phone on the coffee table, he gave me a bright look, the worry lines around his eyes fading. "That was our lawyer. He got Juliet out on bail. They weren't too keen to release her, but they managed to arrange an ex parte hearing in front of the judge based on compassionate grounds. She's coming home now."

  "Compassionate grounds?"

  "Juliet didn't tell you?"

  "Tell me what?"

  "Juliet's pregnant."

  I nodded, remembering Juliet's happiness at her news. "Yes, she mentioned it was supposed to be a secret for now."

  "We were planning a dinner party soon to tell our families."

  "Do you think they'll be pleased for you?"

  "Ecstatic. And Robbie is thrilled to finally get a little sister or brother."

  "I'll bet. When do you plan on telling other people?"

  "After we tell our families. We agreed we wouldn't tell anyone at work yet because Juliet was worried about losing clients."

  "Is that likely?"

  "Well, a couple of Juliet's peers at her office have recently had babies, and they were all fine, but you hear stories about pregnant women getting sidelined at work... She just wanted to be cautious."

  "Sounds like a good idea."

  "You see what I mean about our charmed life? We have everything; we have the dream! And now we're getting a baby too. The icing on the cake. We could lose everything and Juliet could lose her freedom."

  I wanted to reassure him that they wouldn't, and nice people like Rob and Juliet didn't work that hard just to lose everything, but it seemed futile to offer bland platitudes and I didn't know if I could keep her out of jail. So instead, I asked to wait until Juliet arrived home. When talking with Rob began to go around in circles, I filled in the time with simple conversations about their lives. By the time Juliet arrived, her lawyer in tow, I had a good picture of the couple; and it was a happy one.

  "I can't believe I'm home!" Juliet said, her voice muffled against Rob's chest as she clung to him. She wore yesterday's clothing but her hair was brushed, and she obviously wanted to keep herself looking smart. "I thought they would keep me there until my trial."

  "Trial?" I asked the lawyer, reaching a hand over to shake his.

  "Looks that way. Trial is set a month from now and there's plenty of evidence from what Detective Donahue produced. Allan Dale of White and Dale. Call me Allan," he added, shaking my hand in a firm grip. I'd heard of the firm. They had expensive offices a few blocks from Solomon's agency, but I never conducted any business with them. For Juliet to have called in one of those partners, she had to be paying top dollar.

  "I didn't do it," Juliet sniffed as Rob led her to the couch, sitting beside her, their hands entwined. "But everything says I did. All the online trades have my access codes and there's paperwork with my signature on it. You have to believe me that I didn't do it."

  "We do, honey," said Rob as Juliet shook her head, looking miserable.

  "And you?" she said, lifting her eyes to me.

  I didn't hesitate before answering. "I think you're being set up."

  "If you can't prove that, we'll lose this house. I had to put it up as collateral for the bail. I also had to surrender my passport. I'm under curfew! Look." Juliet pulled up her pant leg, revealing a slim bracelet around her ankle.

  "What is that?" I asked, peering at it.

  "It's an ankle bracelet to monitor her movements and location. Bail conditions stipulate that Juliet remain at home until the trial," said Allan.

  Juliet dropped her pants leg over the cuff. "I'm being treated like a criminal! I could go to prison."

  "Could she?" Rob asked, looking from me to the lawyer.

  Allan nodded. "Yes, it's very possible."

  "How possible?" I asked.

  "Let's not put odds on this one," he said, his voice as uncomforting and grave as it could possibly be.

  "Tell me straight. What's going to happen?" asked Rob.

  The lawyer took a deep breath, preparing to deliver the bad news, I thought, although he didn't seem to take any pleasure in his words. "Based on the evidence, Juliet could be facing ten to twenty."

  "Months?" asked Rob.

  "Years."

  "Oh, God!" Juliet dropped her face into her hands. Rob wrapped an arm around her shoulder as she began to shake. "Why is this happening to me?"

  "Juliet, is it at all possible you made those trades? Maybe you took advice from someone you shouldn't have? If we enter a guilty plea..." started Allan.

  Her head shot up. "I didn't do it!"

  "We could claim you were pressured, but you never intended to hurt anyone. I could get your sentence reduced by nearly half. You could be paroled in ten."

  "And miss ten years of my baby's life? It would be born in prison!"

  "I can get you sent to a low security unit designed for women prisoners in your predicament."

  "No!" Rob ran his hands threw his hair, his face filled with alarm. "No. If she didn't do it, she won't plead guilty and miss half our baby's childhood. You need to find the evidence to exonerate her!"

  "It's not looking good..." Allan started.

  "I'll find it," I said, reaching to touch Juliet's knee. "I believe in..." Before I could finish, or offer her a little hope, the door handle rattled and a woman stepped inside.

  "Yoohoo!" she called with a cheery wave as she shut the door behind her. Her other arm held a wicker basket, with a checkered cloth lying over the top. She looked around the room, nodding to the lawyer and me, smiling at Rob, then noticing Juliet. Her cheery smile wavered just a moment before she beamed. "It's only me. I brought muffins. Ohmygosh! Juliet! Honey, you're home. That's wonderful! How? I mean... what? I heard what happened but..." she trailed off.

  "I'll fill you in later," Juliet said, sighing as she looked at the woman. "This is our friend, Penelope Cera," she said. "Penelope, this is Lexi Graves, the PI I told you about."

  "Oh, sure, I remember. Hi!" She set the basket on the coffee table and reached over to shake my hand, her expression warm. "Juliet said she was going to hire yo
u. Does this mean you've taken her case?"

  "Yes, I have. I left a message for you. I was hoping to talk."

  "We sure will. I'm so pleased she's got someone on her team. Asides from Rob and me anyway. And you are?" she asked, stretching her hand towards the lawyer, shaking his as he introduced himself. "I am so glad I baked a whole batch of muffins now that there's a houseful. I'm sure they'll cheer everything up!"

  Privately, I thought it would take a lot more than muffins to cheer anything up in the Harvey/Hart household, but Penelope seemed so solicitous, and so cheerful, that I didn't say anything. Instead, I recalled all the times Lily turned up on my stoop, coffee in hand, determined to make my day.

  "I'm going to get started," I told my client as Penelope began to fuss with the basket. "I'll call you soon and make sure you call me if anything happens."

  "What are you going to do?"

  "Surveillance to start, and some background checks." I didn't mention my plan to grill Solomon some more about his part in the case. I figured it wouldn't help Juliet's peace of mind if she knew I was, literally, sleeping with the enemy... or, at least, working with the enemy's team. Perceiving Solomon as the enemy was, of course, ridiculous. Like me, he simply took a job in good faith. Now that our jobs were intersecting, it was problematic, but could end up being an advantage if he became a valuable resource. Like I told him yesterday, it could behoove us both to have our eyes on the case, eyes that came from different perspectives. Being as convinced of Juliet's guilt as I was of her innocence would hopefully not impede that. I wished my hopes were higher for the lawyer's confidence in the case.

  I rose just in time for Penelope to press a napkin-wrapped muffin into my hand. "Lemon surprise," she said with a giggle. "The lemon is the surprise. Surprise!"

  "Thank you." It didn't seem like a giggling occasion to me but Penelope looked like the type of person who was determined to be happy, no matter what. Also, my stomach gave a little grumble of anticipation.

  "You two sit there. I'll see Lexi to her car," Penelope said, waving Rob back down. "I'll be right back. How's the muffin?" she asked me, guiding me towards the door. I just had time to grab my purse before being ushered outside.

  "Smells delicious."

  The door shut with a click and Penelope shook out her hair, smiling up at the sun as it edged its way through the clouds. "It's going to be a beautiful day," she announced. "Isn't it terrible?"

  "The day?"

  "No, Juliet."

  "The stalking?"

  "The arrest! Rob told me yesterday. How amazing that she's home. They must be so relieved."

  "They are, but worried too. You're Juliet's close friend?"

  "Yes, and Rob's too. Rob and I have known each other years; then I met Juliet when they got together." Penelope stepped forward, leaving me no choice but to follow her. She was a similar height to Juliet, and a similar build, but her hair was a little longer and it had highlights where Juliet had none.

  "I like your highlights," I told her.

  Penelope preened. "Thank you. I had them done just last week. So Juliet told me she hired you to look into this stalking thing? I told her, I don't think she has anything to worry about."

  "Do you believe that?"

  "Absolutely." Penelope gave a resolute nod. "I adore Juliet, but she can be high maintenance. A little highly strung. Not that I'd ever tell her that! Truthfully, odd things have happened, but I think Juliet is overworked and over-stressed. I think she's... oh how do I put it?"

  "Making things up?" I suggested.

  "No! Oh, no. I really think she believes this stuff. I think her mind is playing tricks on her. That can happen, you know. In people who aren't quite..." She trailed off, biting her lip. "Look, Juliet is great, but she needs looking after, especially now, not someone inflating her insecurities." Penelope gave me a stern look that suggested she didn't think I was helping one bit.

  "Do you think Juliet is insecure?"

  "I think she has a lot to lose; and that could make a person feel overly worried. I'm really concerned about her. Hopefully, between Rob and me, she will finally get some rest."

  "Juliet mentioned you were with her when her car was moved in the coffee shop parking lot." We paused by my car, but I made no attempt to open it.

  "Yes, I was, but honestly, I didn't see her park so she could have parked anywhere and then forgotten."

  "Is it likely she forgot?"

  "I don't know. I guess. Like the time she said money was disappearing from her purse. Ten dollars here, five dollars there. Sometimes a twenty. I just reminded her of how many times we reach into our purse to get a coffee or a lip balm or candy. It's easy to not remember pulling out a bill, right?"

  "Right," I agreed, wondering how many times I'd done something similar. It was plausible. Plus, it made me super happy whenever I found a forgotten bill in a jeans pocket or a blazer in my closet. "But there have been other incidents? Can you remember any?"

  "Juliet mentioned little things... clothing going missing! Then Rob reminded her of the big clean-out she just did in her closet. He said she must have accidentally sent something to Goodwill, or else she'd find the dress two weeks later, all scrunched up in the corner of the closet. And stuff keeps moving around the house. I said maybe the maid forgot. I know Juliet makes these out to be big things, but they're really not."

  "What about the wedding things? Did she mention the things she said she didn't order?"

  "Yeah, but it's so weird. They were orders from her computer, right? So, maybe she binge-shopped and was too embarrassed to admit it. I did that once and ordered three purses I didn't need! She knows Rob would hate her going all Bridezilla on him."

  "It's a lot of incidents," I pointed out without mentioning the huge price difference between three purses and a ten thousand dollar wedding cake.

  Penelope flapped a hand dismissively. "I know. This thing with her job worries me, and I feel awful for not saying ‘yeah, it's definitely a stalker’ especially as she's going crazy trying to figure everything out, but I assure you, I'm looking out for her. That's what a best friend is for. For when you go a little crazy, yeah?"

  "Yeah." I let out a laugh, thinking of all the dumb, crazy stuff Lily and I got into over the years. Some of it was barely legal, and some of it was hilarious, but Penelope was right. That's what best friends were for and Lily and I had lifted each other’s spirits many times through the years and put each other back on the right track. I was glad Juliet had someone there for her. Penelope wasn't buying the stalking story, but that wasn't too worrying because her explanations seemed plausible enough to have an air of truth. It still didn't mean Juliet was wrong about being set up.

  Could someone really be messing with Juliet though? Making her believe she was crazy so that no one else would believe her insistence that a stalker was to blame for all the incidents? With the clock ticking on her freedom, I had to find out if Juliet were being set up for the final time.

  Chapter Six

  My inconspicuous, little VW was parked a few houses down from Juliet and Rob's house. Far enough away that it wasn't obvious I was watching, but close enough that I didn't need a zoom lens to observe things through my open window. The occupants knew I was there, of course, but the rest of the Bedford Hills neighbors didn't need to know one of their residents was paying me to conduct surveillance. Not that my surveillance was getting me anywhere. Although their lawyer departed more than an hour ago, Juliet and Rob hadn't left the house, or received any visitors since Penelope, who left twenty minutes after the lawyer. Neither the lawyer nor Penelope looked towards me, or acknowledged my presence, which was good since I was doing my best not to draw any attention to myself.

  However, that didn't explain why an unmarked police car was suddenly cruising my way; I'd seen the same car in the police lot a number of times. I tried to look inconspicuous as it drew alongside me and the window rolled down. Realizing the obvious, that I caught someone's attention, I turned towards the car, which
was now parallel to my window.

  "Hey," said the officer, his eyes squarely on me.

  I breathed a sigh of relief at seeing my brother, a detective on the burglary squad. "Hey, Jord."

  "One of the residents reported a woman sitting in a car."

  "And they sent you on such a dangerous mission?" I jested.

  "Bedford Hills call, and we roll out the cavalry."

  "My job would be much easier if I could stake out Frederickstown." In Frederickstown, no one would give two hoots about a woman sitting in a car for several hours. It was highly probable no one would even notice. It wasn't the best neighborhood, thanks to poor planning. That was back when it was created as a commuter neighborhood; however, the bad public transport link and rising unemployment meant several areas of the sprawling neighborhood only got steadily worse. Bedford Hills, with its smart lawns, expensive cars, and wealthy population was a sharp contrast. Here, people noticed things. In Frederickstown, it was better if you didn't.

  "Don't suppose you could take your business over there?" Jord suggested.

  I shook my head. "I'm working a case."

  "I'll let the residents know you're not scoping out their homes."

  "Thanks."

  "No problem." The window rolled up and the car gently accelerated away. I sighed and rolled my window up. So much for being inconspicuous. If one resident had noticed me already, then others would too. I could sit on Juliet's house for as long as possible, but reality was leering at me in a particularly ugly way. Working solo might have been okay on some cases, but on a surveillance job like this, with the stakes so high, I needed help and someone to rotate shifts with.

  I picked up my cell phone, noting Solomon's terse text message to call him, and thumbed my way to my favorite contacts. Lily was at the top of the list. I hit dial and a moment later, she answered.

  "Did you solve it yet?" she asked as glasses clinked in the background.