Caliber Detective Agency Box Set 3 Read online

Chris pointed at Jake’s chin, where there was a spot of blue.

  “I see you’ve been painting.”

  “Yeah, but it’s all done. All I have to do now is assemble the crib, which should be a cinch.”

  Chris’s cell phone rang moments later, and he took a call from his best friend, Garth Drexel. Although friends, Chris envied Drexel. Garth was dating a woman who Christopher couldn’t get out of his mind, his mother’s assistant, Lauren Wright. At least, Garth had been dating her. His call to Christopher confirmed that was no longer true.

  “She dumped you?”

  “Thanks a lot for putting it that way, Chris.”

  “Sorry, Garth, but I’m just surprised.”

  “You sounded happy about it too.”

  “No… I was just surprised.”

  “Okay, but I’m not giving up. I’ll take another go at her in a day or two and get her to change her mind.”

  “Did Lauren say why she broke up with you?”

  “No, just that we weren’t working out.”

  Jake, who had been listening at the table, was studying Christopher as he talked to Garth. Despite Christopher’s words of commiseration at Garth’s relationship woes, there was a smile on Christopher’s face. Chris ended the call after the food came to the table. When he looked up, he saw that Jake was staring at him.

  “What?”

  “Are you sleeping with Lauren behind Velma’s back?”

  “No! I would never cheat on her again that way.”

  “That way? What’s that mean?”

  “Lauren and I are friends.”

  “You’ve gone out?”

  “We talk on the phone.”

  Jake shook his head as he lowered it.

  “Chris, why don’t you just let Velma go? You obviously aren’t serious about her anymore.”

  “I still love Velma,” Chris said. His tone was less than convincing.

  Jake pointed a finger at him.

  “Velma’s a friend. You hurt that girl once, do not do it again. If there’s even a chance that you might sleep with Lauren, end things with Velma first. You owe Velma that much after the way you cheated on her with Rayne.”

  Chris pushed his untouched plate aside.

  “Lauren would never sleep with me while I’m with Velma, and I don’t think she trusts me either. Damn it. Sleeping with Rayne was one of the dumbest things I’ve ever done.”

  “I won’t argue. By the way, is Rayne still chasing after you?”

  “No, she’s left me alone since we talked during your wedding.”

  “Good, maybe she’s moved on.”

  “With who?”

  “What do you care?” Jake said.

  “I don’t, but if Lauren is really done with Garth then I have a decision to make.”

  “You’re thinking of leaving Velma?”

  “I’ll have to if I want any chance with Lauren.”

  Jake laughed. “I’m so glad I’m married. Dating is too much work.”

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  LANDSVILLE, TEXAS

  Octogenarian Jake Caliber looked down at his youngest cousin and grinned in joy. He was smiling at the baby daughter of Blue Steele, who had been named Ruby.

  Being around Ruby made Jake yearn even more to see his great-grandson, who would be born in the coming weeks.

  Jake and Maggie were in the home of Blue’s mother, who was also named Maggie. Along with them was Blue’s husband, Ramón Acero.

  Jake had decided to visit his cousins before leaving for his extended cruise. A lot could change in a matter of months and he wanted to touch base with those he loved the most.

  Blue’s mother, Maggie, was a plain-spoken woman. After meeting Maggie Keegan, she asked Jake a question.

  “Do you love this woman?”

  “I do,” Jake had answered.

  “Then why don’t you marry her?”

  “We talked about it,” Maggie Keegan said. “We decided that if we still liked each other after spending months at sea together, then we should marry. I’ll invite you to the wedding when we return from our trip.”

  “Good. Jake here needs a wife to keep him in line.”

  As he usually did when he visited Texas, the old man put on a shooting exhibition at Blue’s request. Blue was also quite the shot, but the old man still had an edge on her.

  After everyone had eaten lunch, Jake asked Blue to go for a walk with him. After walking about a mile while talking over old times, they rested against a fence post.

  “I hear you’re a Fed now, Blue.”

  “Thanks to a man named Thomas Lawson.”

  “Jakey told me about him last year, after you two worked together. About that, are you planning to keep working now that you have the baby?”

  “I thought I would, but I love being with Ruby.”

  “Would you like some advice?”

  Blue smiled. “From you? Of course, Uncle Jake.”

  “Keep working. Or at least give yourself some time before you make a final decision. People like you and me weren’t made to sit on the sidelines.”

  “I’ll take your advice, and to be honest, there are times lately when I’ve been bored.”

  “I can’t remember when I didn’t work. As much as I’m looking forward to taking this cruise I’m going on, I’m also dreading it.”

  “You’ll miss the detective agency, won’t you?”

  “I will, but it’s time I got out of the way and let Jakey run things. That boy is as good as I ever was.”

  “He’s got what my Daddy called the family grit.”

  “So do you, girl,” Jake said. “So do you.”

  NEW YORK CITY

  By the time five o’clock neared, Robby Mercer was damn tired of watching the entrance to the Caliber building, despite its importance. He was also sick of having sweaty hands, but he didn’t dare remove the gloves he wore. If either he or Ian left behind even one fingerprint it could mean life behind bars for them.

  If Robby had his way, he would have walked up to Kate Jordan back in Philadelphia and blown her apart with a shotgun. Ian had convinced him that that was the exact wrong move to make. If they wanted to stay out of prison they had to be smart and patient. They had been both, and now revenge was at hand.

  Ian told Robby it was important that they struck after most of the staff had gone for the day. Kate Jordan stayed late, as did the boss lady, Gail Caliber. With the old man away in Texas and the younger Jake Caliber home for the day, they’d never have a better time to strike.

  As much as Robby disliked admitting it to himself, Ian was smarter than he was. While Robby was a hothead like their father had been, Ian was more like their mother. Ian was a planner and could be patient when he needed to be.

  If not for Ian, Robby would have followed in their father’s footsteps and become a mob enforcer, instead, he was partners with Ian in a lucrative identity theft operation. Both brothers had killed before. It was a necessity when dealing with so much easy money. The people they hired to accumulate credit card and bank account numbers occasionally got it into their heads to cheat Ian and Robby. Those people needed to be made an example of when discovered.

  Other than a juvenile arrest for a minor assault that Robby had committed at thirteen, neither brother had a police record. On paper, their income came from the computer repair shop they owned together back in Philadelphia.

  Ian and Robby both wore full beards, like their father had. Unlike their father, they had shaved heads. Shaving their heads was Ian’s idea, as was the habit they had of wearing eyeglasses while in their repair shop.

  If asked for proof of their whereabouts during the time of Kate Jordan’s murder, the brothers would produce video evidence that they had been working at their store. In actuality, two other men were at the store. Those men had shaved heads and wore full beards along with eyeglasses. They were friends of Ian and Robby who were the same general size and shape of them, while a third friend would interact with any customers that entered the sho
p.

  The baldness, beards, and glasses were essentially a disguise, but since they had kept the look for months, it wouldn’t be viewed as such. Robby thought the plan was brilliant and admired his brother’s devious mind. They would put Kate Jordan in the ground where she belonged and never do a second in jail for it.

  Robby rubbed at his eyes with the palm of his gloved hand then returned his gaze to the street. People had begun leaving the building in a trickle after five o’clock arrived. Only one had entered recently, a young redhead with short hair and a pretty face.

  Ian was off in the men’s room taking a leak. When he returned it would be Robby’s turn. After that, it was showtime. They would pack up their gear, head across the street, and take their revenge.

  Robby’s attention was captured by a double-decker tour bus coming down the road. The colorful bus was attention grabbing all on its own, but the hot young blonde sitting in the open top deck was much more interesting. Robby focused the telescope on the woman and took in her large breasts, which were straining to be set free behind a red knit halter.

  “Damn but that girl is hot,” Robby muttered. “Talk about your double-deckers.”

  The bus moved on and Robby sat back with a wistful sigh. A moment later, Ian returned to the office.

  “Anyone new enter the building?”

  “Just that redhead you saw before you went to the can, while a lot of people have left. I listed them all down on the pad like you said.”

  It was a lie, although Robby was unaware of it.

  Two people had recently entered the Caliber building. One was the redhead he’d mentioned. The other was Garth Drexel, who had entered the building while Robby was checking out the double-decker blonde.

  Garth had stopped by the building to ask Lauren to give him another chance. He couldn’t have come by at a worse time.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  The redhead who the Mercer brothers had seen enter the Caliber building was twenty-year-old Hannah McClain. She had come to the building to apply for a job as Kelli Caliber’s replacement. Kelli, a newlywed of nine months was eight months pregnant. Kelli decided that she wanted to stay home to raise the baby, who was expected to be a boy.

  Hannah was an experienced typist. She had worked part-time as a temporary office worker for two years while going to college and caring for her mother. Hannah’s mother had recently passed away of lung cancer. Hannah also had a younger sister of sixteen and a spry grandmother of eighty. It was just the three of them after Hannah’s mother died, as her father had run off when she was six.

  Hannah was determined to find a permanent position that paid well and had a future. A rabid reader of private eye fiction, the elder Jake Caliber was a hero in Hannah’s eyes. To work at the Caliber Detective Agency would be just about the best thing she could ever imagine happening to her.

  “I’m sorry,” Gail Caliber said, “but I don’t think you’d be a good fit to work upstairs in the detective agency.”

  Hannah’s green eyes moistened at the disappointment she was feeling. She was seated across a desk from Gail inside Gail’s glass-enclosed office. However, Hannah was not one to take no for an answer.

  “I understand that I’m young, Mrs. Caliber, but I’m highly motivated and eager to do a good job. I’ll even work for free for a week, but please give me a chance.”

  “You’re willing to work for free, why?”

  “Because I know you’ll change your mind once I prove myself to you.”

  Gail laughed, but when she saw that Hannah had taken it as an insult, she explained.

  “I wasn’t laughing at you. I found your words humorous because they were the same words I used to

  get a job I had while I was in college.”

  “Did it work?” Hannah asked.

  “Yes, but not this time. Still, I have another opening that’s just become available. My assistant is leaving in two weeks and I’ll need to replace her.”

  Hannah didn’t know whether to smile or frown. Being Gail Caliber’s assistant sounded like a great job, but it wasn’t the dream job she desired.

  “You mean I would be working down here instead of in the agency?”

  “Yes.”

  “Could I possibly be moved upstairs to the agency someday?”

  “It’s possible, and in any event, you would probably be asked to act as a fill-in on occasion.”

  Hannah beamed.

  “I’ll take the job. When do I start?”

  Gail laughed again. Hannah’s eagerness to get to work was refreshing. Many of the other candidates for the position seemed more concerned with learning how many sick days they would get each year.

  “Come back Monday morning at nine and I’ll introduce you to my current assistant, Lauren. She’ll be the one teaching you your duties.”

  “I’ll be here.”

  “Hannah?”

  “Yes, ma’am?”

  “Would you like to know how much the position pays?”

  Hannah blushed as she realized her exuberance had gotten the best of her. She calmed herself and sent Gail a shy smile.

  “Yes, I would like to hear what my compensation will be, but first, tell me what my duties will consist of.”

  Gail smiled back at her. “You have the right attitude.”

  “Las Vegas? What are you going to do in Las Vegas?” Garth asked Lauren.

  “I’ll be working with Sammy Sloan. He’s going back there to reopen his father’s detective agency.”

  “How come you didn’t mention this yesterday?”

  “At the time I didn’t know I would be going. The offer came up out of nowhere.”

  They were talking at Lauren’s desk, which sat outside Gail’s office. A short distance away, Kate Jordan was working at her own desk while on the phone with a client.

  Garth reached out and caressed Lauren’s cheek.

  “If I moved to Las Vegas to be with you, would you give me another chance?”

  “No, Garth. I haven’t changed my mind. I like you, I do, but I don’t think I’ll ever fall in love with you.”

  Garth removed his hand as his features hardened with suspicion.

  “There’s another guy, isn’t there? Is it Sammy Sloan?”

  “Sammy will be my employer, not my lover. Please leave, Garth. I don’t want to make a scene here.”

  Garth was about to speak when Velma appeared.

  “Hi, Garth. Lauren, can I talk to you alone?”

  “Oh, hi Velma. Garth, can you excuse us?”

  “All right, but I’m not leaving yet. I’ve more to say.”

  Lauren let out a soft sigh.

  “All right, but go sit in the waiting area by the elevators. I’ll be leaving soon anyway.”

  As Garth moved off, Velma leaned over Lauren’s desk.

  “I heard that you’re leaving Caliber and moving to Las Vegas.”

  “Yes,” Lauren said.

  “Is it because of Christopher?”

  “I… nothing is going on between Christopher and me.”

  “But you want him. I know you do.”

  “Velma, I’m not trying to steal Christopher away from you, like you said, I’m moving to Las Vegas.”

  “Maybe you should stay here.”

  “What?”

  Velma grabbed a chair from one of the nearby desks and rolled it close to Lauren.

  “Chris and I haven’t been the same since he slept with Rayne. I’m going to break up with him.”

  “Oh,” Lauren said.

  “Yes.”

  “When are you going to tell him?”

  “Tonight, and then I’ll be having a talk with Sammy Sloan.”

  Lauren smiled. “I knew you two had a history. I didn’t know that something was still going on.”

  “I’m going to ask him to stay in New York.”

  “Hmm, you may be too late. Sammy seems determined to go back to Las Vegas and make a go of his father’s agency.”

  “He could do it if he put h
is mind to it. The name Sam Sloan means as much in Vegas as Jake Caliber does here in New York.”

  “Do you love Sammy?”

  Velma nodded.

  “Then why not go back to Las Vegas with Sammy? He’ll need someone, and it could be a new start for you too.”

  Velma looked startled by the idea, then smiled as she thought it over.

  “Tell me the truth, Lauren. Have you ever slept with Chris?”

  “No, Velma. I swear it.”

  “I didn’t think so, and I’m glad. Despite everything, I like you.”

  “I like you too, and I guess we both have decisions to make.”

  “Yes.”

  The door opened on Gail’s office and she stepped out with Hannah, whom she introduced to Lauren and Velma. When Kate Jordan joined them a moment later, Hannah was also introduced to her.

  “I’ve hired Hannah to take over your position, Lauren.”

  “Oh no,” Lauren said.

  “What’s wrong?” Gail asked.

  “I was going to tell you that I’ve decided to stay, but I guess it’s too late now.”

  “Not really. You could take Kelli’s place upstairs in the detective agency.”

  “Okay, yes, although I like working down here better. I’ve learned a lot from working with you.”

  Hannah spoke up.

  “I’d be willing to work in the detective agency, Mrs. Caliber, that way Lauren can stay put.”

  “Why do you want to work upstairs so badly, Hannah?” Gail asked.

  Hannah’s eyes sparkled. “To work for Jake Caliber would be a dream.”

  “My son is married, dear.”

  “Oh, no ma’am, I was talking about the Jake Caliber. The one who saved the president.”

  “You’ll be disappointed there as well. Mr. Caliber will be off on a world cruise soon and won’t be back for months.”

  “I can wait,” Hannah said, and the other women laughed.

  Downstairs in the lobby, Ian was smiling as the key he’d obtained from Artie Kelp opened the front door of the Caliber building. After walking over to the keypad, he saw that the alarm had yet to be activated.