Shopping is Murder (McKinley Mysteries Book 6) (13 page)

Dress Rehearsal

ONE ADVANTAGE TO THE CITY, and an unlimited spending budget, was that the designer stores on 5th Avenue were fair game, and they had enough time after lunch to do a little shopping.

Over lunch, they decided the plan would be to hit up The Hornet
’s Nest around one in the morning, giving preference to the club over Pittman’s apartment. If they found Pittman there, he would be ill-prepared and hopefully have alcohol-induced loose lips.

And i
f Sara was going to knock Dale Pittman off his game, and make him open up, she had to present herself flawlessly—attainable, but just out of reach. Enough to drive a man crazy.

She gauged Sean
’s reaction when she came out of the bedroom at the condo.

He took a step back to counter his balance and reached for her hands, then held out her arms. “I’ve changed my mind. You’re not allowed to do this.”

She bit her bottom lip, suppressing the full expression, and watched as her husband took her in. She had picked up a pair of black heels with wrap around straps and paired them with a black lace dress she had found at Saks. The material followed every curve of her body, but came just past her knees, and the rounded neckline fell just below her collar bones. There was no sense sacrificing her modesty when sexy elegance could be attained without being blatant.

Still, the dress, for its relative simplicity, had all the necessary touches. It was lined with flesh-tone fabric and had scalloped cap sleeves and hem. At the back, there was an exposed zipper and a back V.

She spun to show him.
“You like?” She managed to get the two words out through a giggle.

“Like?” He moved in and trailed some kisses down her neck.

“Ahem.” Jimmy cleared his throat.

Sean stepped back but didn
’t take his hands off Sara.

“Do you like it, Jimmy?” she asked, touching the spot on her neck where Sean had been. Her skin missed his mouth as her fingertips brushed the point of the earrings she had also found. They were diamond chandelier earrings with a drop of about three inches.

“I think we need to come up with a new plan.”

“Jimmy, you’re supposed to be on my side.”

“I am.” Jimmy jabbed a finger at Sean. “We better stay close, or this guy’s going to eat her alive.”

“Not if I get there first.”

Moving Through a Crowd

THE HORNET
’S NEST WAS APTLY named. The music was pumping loudly, the bass carrying out to the sidewalk, resembling a buzzing hornet.

There was no lineup outside and, upon entering, it
was plain to see that it was just a regular bar, not a nightclub after all. The music actually sounded louder outside, but there was a small dance floor with a few people moving around. Most were congregated around the length of the bar or at tables scattered about the space.

The lighting was dim, and Sara strained to see if she recognized Dale Pittman among the patrons. All she had to go by was his DMV photograph, which was included in the folder Jimmy had put his information in.

Catcalls and whistles sounded as she walked through. She was almost past one man when he put a hand on her arm. She stopped walking when he applied some pressure. He clearly had no intention of being ignored.

“Are you an angel that fell from heaven?” His words came out flawlessly, but his glazed eyes revealed he was a few drinks into his evening.

She pressed her lips and tapped his hand. She knew the move was pacifying, like something an older woman would do, but she wasn
’t here to pick anyone up. In fact, even if she was, it wouldn’t be this guy. His line was clichéd and overworked. It would have taken more than that to pique her interest. Looks were important in a man, but brains couldn’t be unvalued either.

“Oh, she’s shooting you down, man.” One of the guy’s friends slapped him on the arm and yanked him back.

“And we could have made beautiful cherubs.” He released his grip on her.

His friends were laughing at him. So was Sara. Her first assumption must have been off base. He wasn
’t into his evening by a few drinks, he was in by
a lot
of drinks.

She continued on, weaving through the crowd. People moved in on her from both sides. Women glared at her and men ogled. Some of the more beautiful women bobbed their heads as if silently acknowledging they viewed her as their competition. Sara smiled in response.

Nothing like being in a bar among singles who were striving to find someone special—translation, settling for a one night stand—to reinforce the appreciation she had for her marriage.

She knew that Sean trailed behind her, just out of reach but well within sight. That was part of the deal. He
’d let her loose in a bar, but stand vigilant in case it became necessary to step in.

Jimmy was back there with him. The fact he came with them all the way to New York City amused her too. She didn’t see this active involvement from him being a regular thing, but it was admirable.

She made her way to the bar, assuming it would give her a bit of a vantage point to scan the room. Once she got there and turned to take everyone in, she realized that it had been a frivolous attempt as the room was deep and crowded. The place may not have been a nightclub but it certainly had a following.

“Miss?”

The man
’s voice carried over the cacophony of sounds.

She spun to find the bartender, who appeared to be barely legal drinking age, staring at her. His eyes met with hers. This one was a charmer like Sean—he treated women with respect by keeping his gaze above their neckline.

“Sorry, it’s hard to hear in here,” she said, offering a sultry smile.

“Don’t worry about it.” A waving hand accompanied the man’s words.

“I’ll have a vodka martini.” She had thought this through. When she found Pittman she wanted to portray the hint of sophistication, and nothing added to that imagery faster than holding onto a martini glass.

“Apple or berry?” There was a smirk on the bartender’s lips.

“Olive. Neat.”

He bobbed his head.
“You’re a woman who knows how to drink.” He set out making up the libation, adding the vodka and the dry vermouth. He slipped a stick of olives in and placed it in front of her. “Enjoy.”

“Thank you.” She pressed her lips to the glass for a sip and scanned the crowd as she did so. She felt eyes watching her and when she followed to the source, she realized it was Sean. She wanted to give him a little finger wave, but they were undercover. She was to appear single and available, making her irresistible to Pittman—if she ever did come across the man.

She was about to turn away when Sean pointed across the room. She followed to where he had indicated.

Pittman was standing with a group of three other men, conversing, and drinking an amber liquid in a rocks glass.

She realized what she had to do and wandered over to Pittman. She fought off advances across the floor, but kept her sight on her target.

She debated whether or not to
“accidentally” spill her drink on him, but she recalled Sean’s reaction to her when she had come out of the bedroom. She could pull this off without the added diversion.

Background Story

PITTMAN WAS IN THE MIDDLE of laughing when he turned to see who touched him.

His three friends turned to each other and took a few steps back from Pittman.

He put a hand over Sara
’s. “Hello, beautiful. Do I know you?”

“Guess I’m not as memorable as I think I am.” She put on the most charming smile she could muster.

“Oh, I think you—”

Pittman silenced his friend with a glare. He took her hand off his arm and held on to it.
“Let’s go somewhere we can talk.”

“Yeah, that’s what he wants to do. Talk.” The same friend Pittman had attempted to silence, barked out the words.

Pittman held up a finger to Sara and addressed his friend.
“Show the lady some respect, would you.”

“Hey, I’m not the one that forgot her name.”

Sara sensed the energy pass through Pittman—anger. There was a lot there and it was just
slightly beneath the surface. It made Sara happy Sean wasn’t far away.

By the way Pittman had a sway to his walk, she judged he had a few drinks in him.

He leaned to the right and stumbled. She responded on instinct to counter the movement, resulting in her planting her hand flat on his chest.

He caught his balance and took her hand to his lips and kissed her fingertips.
“Oh yes, I remember you.”

She smiled at him, thinking about how easy the location made it for cajoling answers out of the man. The fact that they had waited it out and had gone in a little later worked to their benefit too.

“Come on, let’s take a seat at the bar.” He led her through the crowd and she found that people seemed to part the way for them. A spot opened up at the bar and he gestured for her to take the seat.

“Why, thank you.”

“It’s the least I can do.” His drunken gaze latched on her, and Sara could tell that he was analyzing her. Any hint of seriousness disappeared when she took a savoring sip of her martini.

“So, remind me how we know each other.” He leaned in close to her.

She found herself pulling back and had to will herself to stay put. They had worked on the cover story during the day. She was going to go with giving the impression they had been acquainted on an intimate level, but Sean saw the danger in her going down that route. Jimmy backed him up.

She had done what was needed to get Pittman alone. If he thought she was a past lover he would want to rekindle things, especially if she as beautiful as Sean and Jimmy swore she was. Another sort of deception would bring him closer and be safer.

“We used to work together.”

Pittman’s hand was coming toward her face, likely to caress her.
She put her hand up to stay the action.

Disappointment blanketed his features.
“No, I would remember something like that. Are you sure it isn’t something else?”

She diverted to take another draw on her drink.
“At Cook & Hill.”

Pittman studied her eyes but didn’t challenge her.

It
all hinged on the delivery, and, apparently, Sara had held her ground enough because Pittman’s face lit into a smile.

“Yeah, I remember you.”
He signaled down the bartender for a refill.

The bartender came over.

“You want another one?” Pittman asked her.

She gazed down at her drink, which had hardly been touched. “Oh. No, I better not.”

“Scotch on the rocks.”

“You got it, Dale.” The bartender’s eyes  carried the warning to stay away from Pittman. His addressing Pittman by his first name proved he was a regular and knew what he was talking about.

Sara waited for Pittman
’s refill before speaking. “Awful about poor Jerrod.”

Pittman averted his eyes this time when he took a drink.
“You knew what he was like.”

“What do you mean?” There was more to the picture than Sara had realized. While they had their suspicions about Jerrod committing a crime, Pittman would have her believe Jerrod had a character flaw too. Her mind snapped to adultery, but she couldn’t imagine anyone cheating on Nicole. She wouldn’t have it for a moment—and her mother, she wouldn’t have it either.

“He just had it easy with everything in life. Now, his wife, I feel sorry for her.”

Sara angled her head to the right.
“Sorry for her? Why?”

“You don’t know?”

Sara took a sip of her martini, hoping it would take the bitter edge off the news she was about to receive.

“The guy was broke and he kept it from her. He’d been in the red for a long time but somehow kept getting money to buy new things. He just bought a timeshare in Tahiti last week. He was going to surprise her with it for Christmas.”

“If he was broke, how could he—”

“Yeah, exactly.” Pittman put his lips to his glass, but lowered it without taking a sip.

“You think he was up to something illegal?”

Pittman didn
’t respond right away. His eyes drifted past her, down the bar where a few of his friends from earlier were.

Sara followed the direction of his gaze and saw Sean. Some woman was chatting him up and laughing. He was smiling but his eyes were darting about the room. He was desperate to get away from her.

Sara smirked, letting the expression wane as she
turned her attention back to Pittman and placed her hand on his forearm.
“He was doing something illegal?”

“Why are you so interested in Hill?”

She shrugged her shoulders.
“We can talk about something else.” Obviously she didn’t want to discuss anything else, but maybe if she ratcheted down her interest, he’d open up. There was something about his energy. She waited out the silence for a few seconds and took a stab at things from another direction. “His wife, I kind of remember her. She was a beautiful lady.”

Pittman
nodded and emptied his drink. He signaled the bartender over again. “I don’t know her that well.”

Sara
’s suspicion was confirmed. The truth sank like a boulder in her gut, the heavy mass twisting. She was starting to figure things out and she didn’t like the direction of her suspicions. She made a dramatic show of twisting her wrist. “I can’t believe I forgot my watch. I’m meeting up with someone and I have to go.”

“Sure. Nice talking to you.” Pittman didn’t pay her any attention as she slipped off the stool, but he reached for her arm once she was about to walk away. “Here, take this.” He handed her his business card. “Maybe we can catch up more another time.”