Chapter 2
1163 Words
The basement was a wide-open space decorated to resemble a mini pub. Because there were no walls, I had a splendid view of everything happening down below, even as worry creeped up my spine over what I'd soon witness.
No beds with handcuffs were attached to the posts nor a wall of floggers. Hey, I read enough romance to know what went on in basements during secret rendezvous. That didn't mean I wanted to see it with my bare eyes. My poor phone and anyone who tried to peep through my online photo backup were soon going to be in for a surprise.
I pulled the cell phone from my back pocket and positioned myself to capture the images I needed to collect my check. Two other individuals, a male and female, came down the basement steps. They must have already been in the home since I didn't see them enter from outside. The smell of gasoline or oil tickled my nose as I lay there, pretending I wasn't freezing.
The five individuals-now four males and one female-removed their coats and tossed them over an old yellow couch in the middle of the room. Wow, so they're going the reverse haram route?
Or did that sort of thing get classified as an orgy if they weren't in a committed relationship? I needed to read up on my terminology.
The five of them lined up, one person in the middle and two on each side. I waited for clothing to be removed, but they just stood in a group, gesturing wildly to one another. Occasionally, one would laugh or hit someone on the shoulder. Jimmy was most often the recipient of those friendly, almost congratulatory movements.
I snapped photo after photo, waiting for the real fun to begin, but it never did.
It appeared as if they were playing a game of charades more than performing in an orgy to make E.L. James blush.
Could my evening get any weirder?
"What in the hell are they doing?" I asked, but of course nobody responded.
Thankfully.
After thirty minutes and over one hundred photos of nothing but the weirdest friend gathering I'd ever witnessed, they still all had their clothing on. I rolled back out from underneath the car and tore the phone from my frozen mitten before slipping it into my coat pocket.
I couldn't provide my client the evidence she needed tonight, but I'd promise to stay on the trail. As it stood, Jimmy's Monday night 7 p.m. commitment was most definitely not s*x in a sleezy hotel with his mistress. But he was up to something and I'd figure out what.
Here's to hoping I caught him or cleared his name before my next month's bills came due.
I slid back into Rachel-my Camero-and closed the door as lightly as possible so I wouldn't alert anyone in the house to my presence. I started the engine, putting the heat on high and rubbing my icicle fingers in front of the vents, even though all that came out of them was a blast of cold air.
Rachel still had her new leather smell, and I pushed the button for the butt heater, never more thankful for the little things in life. The drive to the south side of town was such a quick jaunt that the heater didn't have time to warm up, but I had a little hope for my butt.
I stopped on Bay Street, taking a second to check out the ocean in the darkness on the left side of the road. Even though I wouldn't get paid that evening, I was happy to not catch Jimmy cheating. I knew there'd be dark points in every case I took, but nobody wanted to be the woman who broke up a happy marriage.
I drove past Katy's home on the right side of the street. Her lights were off, meaning she was more than likely at her boyfriend's for the evening. I wasn't technically a full-blown private investigator yet, but I owed lots of my progress to Katy's help over the years.
With a wave to Katy's empty house, I turned on to my client's street and stopped two houses and across the street from her driveway. I maintained my cautiousness because I didn't want Jimmy to come home and find me chatting up his wife about his Monday night affairs... even if they weren't technically an affair.
Tracking someone became crazy hard if they knew you were tracking them.
I let my hands linger in front of the warming vent and found a moment of solitude surrounded by nice leather and heat.
The problem with having a brand-new car was it came with suspicion. Especially in a busy body town like Pelican Bay. The black Camaro wasn't very inconspicuous. I picked black to help blend into the night, but that didn't mean if someone looked hard enough, they couldn't easily figure out it was me here for the evening visit.
I had to finish my meeting with Jalinda Jones before my precious alerted any of the nosy neighbors of my presence. It wouldn't take long for Rachel to gain notice if I kept her running on the curb.
"It's time to tell Mrs. Jones her husband is not a cheater."
"At least not this time," I said, answering myself.
Definitely needed a sidekick. They had to be good with conversation and funny.
I trudged down the road slowly, not wanting to draw attention to myself or slip on another piece of ice. My ass still throbbed from the last fall.
Wind swept snow across the road and settled into small drifts. I knocked on the Jones' front door, but got no answer. So I slipped to the side and found where they parked. Few residents in Pelican Bay had a garage, which made it super easy to know when people were home.
I gave the side door a good bang and then blew on my fingers, trying to keep them warm since I hadn't put my mittens back on. My earlier adventure had frozen the fabric solid, and they were no longer any help.
"Jalinda," I called, but again was met with no answer.
Odd considering she had her car parked in the driveway and knew I'd be stopping by sometime this evening to go over my new evidence. I leaned to the side and peeked in the small frosted parts of her back door.
There on the kitchen floor lay Mrs. Jones, face first on her linoleum. I stepped back, almost falling off the tiny step, and covered my mouth to stop the scream.
Someone had to get her help. Not turning around, I lowered my foot off the first step and promptly jerked into a very hard chest. Arms encircled me, making an escape impossible.
Breath scattered across my ear as my captor whispered, "Well, this is a real s**t show you found yourself in this time, Vonnie."
- Writer
