Disclaimers: See Chapter One If you have good or bad things to say feel free to email me at henleyac@yahoo.com.
Chapter Six
Day Three
Vivian awoke alone the next morning, wearing the same clothes she'd had on when she and Quin had taken their nap. She sat on the side of the bed for a long moment; It was just becoming light outside. The soft glow of the fireplace still lit most of the room, bathing it in a soft orange glow. The blonde stretched her back and sides, and finally stood. Her toes curled in response to the cold wood under her feet. Vivian shivered. She hadn't really been warm since arriving in Chicago two days ago. She raised her arms toward the ceiling in a final stretch then padded off to the bathroom.
Vivian entered the small kitchen twenty minutes later, still cold and with a damp head. A Steaming cup of black coffee and a French press was were settled in front of her, the persistent frown she had been wearing all morning faded into a smile of pleasure.
Mary pushed a soft warm cinnamon roll across the table. It came to rest in front of the blonde, who promptly stuck her finger in the icing. Vivian brought the finger to her mouth and hummed in satisfaction as she licked off the sweet icing. She glanced around the kitchen then looked at Mary with a new frown, "Where is Quin?"
"Left early," Mary muttered as she picked up a well used cross word puzzle book.
Vivian's frown deepened, "Didn't say where she was going?"
"Not a word." Mary bit her pencil. "Might have had something to do with what happened with Michael yesterday."
Vivian tore a piece of cinnamon roll off and popped it into her mouth. She chased it with a sip of coffee. What was Quin doing? She thought. Who would know besides Michael? She really didn't want to ask the man; he seemed only marginally friendlier than his mother. Sally Usher had said to call if she needed anything; This seemed to fall in the "anything" category. It was a place to start anyway.
Sally Usher hated the holidays. She hated the traffic. She despised the cheerful disposition of the taxi drivers. She would much rather have her bikini area waxed than enter a shopping mall three weeks before Christmas. Yet here I am, she thought as she moved up fifteen inches in line waiting for some pimply faced kid to ring up her purchases. "Ha!" she voiced aloud, "It's not even my crap!" The woman in front of her turned and stared at Sally as if she had lost her mind. Her ringing phone saved her from explaining herself to the woman. She juggled the stack of items in her arms to retrieve her cell phone from her purse. "Usher." Ahhh… the lovely blonde has found her princess missing; Sally had been expecting the call. Quin had phoned at five in the morning with precise instructions. High on the list was 'don't tell anyone including Vivian where I am'; Sometimes Quin McKee was a real asshole to work for. "No I haven't seen her," Not a lie. "Yes if I hear from her I'll let her know." You'll pay for this one McKee. "Vivian, I'm sure it's just a bit of business she needed to attend to in the city," There's a little clue. "I'll call you first I promise."
Vivian stared at the cell phone, "Business in the city huh?" She put the phone in her pocket and pulled on a sweater that Grams had thrown at her during breakfast. Going back to Quin's bedroom, she rifled through the dresser, finding a black watch cap and a pair of lined leather gloves. She checked her money situation. Vivian counted Eighty bucks in cash and her debit card; Her emergency credit card was always an option. All she needed now was transportation. She searched the small house for the elderly McKee and found her napping beside the fire in the small living room. Damn. Vivian didn't want to wake the woman.
"Going out?" Mary mumbled as she pulled the crocheted blanket up a bit to cover her shoulders. "Going out to look for Quin?" One blue eye cracked open to take in the blonde woman.
Vivian smiled and nodded. There was no use denying it, she was caught.
"Need a car?"
Vivian nodded again.
"Hmmm. Cabinet next to the fridge." Mary snuggled back down in her warm cocoon.
Vivian stared at the sleeping woman for a moment, then went to the kitchen she opened the cabinet next to the fridge. Hanging on neat little cup hooks were precisely labeled keys. Examining the labels, She settled on a Jeep Wagoneer.
She went to the back door and peered out. There was a four car garage about fifty feet from the house. With the sky clear and blue, she decided not to take the cashmere coat. it was far too nice to get ruined; Though Vivian was certain something would get ruined before day's end. She took a deep breath and patted her pockets down to be sure she had the minimum requirements. Sometimes less was more. Satisfied, she opened the back door. The air was cold but the wind had dropped since last night. Down the three icy steps, she crunched her way across the snow to the garage; The side door was unlocked. Vivian needed to have a word with Grams about security issues. She spotted the Wagoneer easily and found it too was unlocked. These people obviously think they are exempt from thievery because they live in the boonies, Vivian groused to herself as she settled into the Jeep. There was a garage door opener clipped to the visor and with a push of a button the door in front of her slowly rose. She started the Jeep and let it idle, feeling the muscles in her neck and shoulder tighten at the thought of driving in snow. Vivian could recall only three instances in her life so far that had required her to drive in anything more solid than rain. Either she would make it to the city where the streets were more likely to be cleared, or she would end up in a ditch before making it to the main highway. Regardless, she was going to give it her best try.
The Jeep emerged slowly from the garage. The sound of the hardened snow under the wheels was foreign to Vivian, but she suspected she would grow accustomed to it. She made it to the main road with little trouble. A small gas station sat on one corner. Vivian glanced at the gas gauge and found it full, but she decided to stop anyway and get a map. She knew if she got to the city she would have little trouble finding the Sears Tower as Vivian slipped out of the Jeep and into the cold air she had only one thought; Quin McKee was in a lot of trouble when Vivian caught up with her.
Quin was befuddled. The information she had gathered so far about Jacob was so contradictory to what Michael had told her it was hard to know which was true. Michael had been very adamant that Jacob was involved with some kind of drugs. The young man had filched several blank checks from his father, the eventual amounts of the checks certainly leading one to believe that Jacob was into some sort of trouble, but the sheer quantity of money pointed to something bigger than drugs for personal use or gambling debts. She had done every background search she could finagle; Jacob came up clean. She called every street contact at her disposal, no one knew the name Jacob O'Malley. No one knew anyone fitting the description of Jacob O'Malley. If Jacob was into drugs or gambling in the city of Chicago he was doing an incredible job of hiding it.
The unknowns were eating at her. Who had Jacob visited in California ? Where was he now? She had an appointment to meet with Di, Michael's ex, for lunch, hopefully Di would have more information. Anything would be better than where she sat now.
Quin stood and stretched. Vivian, she thought as she turned to look out through the glass wall behind her, the cityscape spread out below her. Vivian was going to be pissed. Quin just knew she wouldn't be able to do what she normally would do in these circumstances, if Vivian was watching her. Laws were destined to be broken. "Oh well, consequences be damned." Quin mumbled aloud to herself as she pulled on a well worn leather bomber jacket. She opened her desk drawer and pulled out several items that she transferred to her inner jacket pockets. Quin had stopped at the bank on the way in and made a sizeable withdrawal that was split then snuggled into her front pockets. Bribes and incentives for information were a must. She checked her watch and sighed. So the chase begins.
Diane O'Malley was a stunningly beautiful woman. She had caramel colored skin and eyes so dark they appeared black. Truth be told Quin McKee had a crush on the woman from the moment she had laid eyes on her. Grace would tease her mercilessly about it. Quin couldn't help herself though and the teasing was well deserved.
The PI had little trouble locating Di in the crowded south side deli. A waiter was leaning close to her ex-sister in law, flirting no doubt, Quin thought as she waved off the hostess on her way to the table. She sat down and waited to be noticed as Di toyed with the young man. She lost patience after several minutes and cleared her throat. She sighed and smiled as shimmering dark eyes turned her way
"Quin!" Di squealed and leapt from her chair. She stepped around the table and engulfed the sitting PI in a hug squishing Quin's face into her chest.
Quin blushed red from the tips of her ears to her toes. She spoke a muffled, "Nice to see you too Di."
Di stepped back and looked down on the blushing woman, "You're simply adorable. Who marked up your sweet face? Point the bastards out and let me handle them."
Quin smiled shyly as she ran her hand over her face in an effort to rid herself of the blush. "I had some trouble in Los Angeles ." She said in reference to her face.
Di slowly returned to her seat. "You went back to LA?"
"I had a job to do."
"And now you're looking for Jake?" Di knew there was little sense in questioning the woman further, Quin McKee offered only what information she chose.
Quin nodded, "Michael asked me to. How long have you two been seeing each other?"
Di smiled and dipped her head. "Nothing gets past you Quinlan McKee."
"I'm glad Di; You two were magic together." Quin reached across the table and took the older woman's hand. "He was an ass to let you go."
"His Momma didn't like having a black girl in the family." Di stated as she raised her hand gaining the waiter's attention once again.
Quin chuckled, she and Di always referred to Clara O'Malley as Michael's Momma. "I'm glad he's growing a backbone." Quin sat back in her chair and cocked her head to the side. "Tell me about Jacob."
Di's smiled faded. "I don't know where to start, I'm not sure what he's gotten himself into. He came to my house about three weeks ago and asked to borrow my Jag. I've never been able to tell that boy no," Di's dark head shook as she chuckled, "He has me and his father wrapped."
Quin smiled. The boy was incredibly good looking, smart, and confident. A deadly combination.
"He didn't come back, but I thought I saw him last week."
"Where?"
"Logan Square ."
Quin nodded, "Did you report the car stolen?"
The elegant black woman shook her head, "Michael asked me not to. He thought maybe you could help and spare Jake trouble with the law. Do you think I should report it?"
"Let me take care of it. Jake is old enough to do serious time for theft of the car, not to mention the money." Quin warned, "I'll handle it. This person in California he went to see, do you know anything about that?"
"Michael was frantic. He called me after talking to Jake about a plane ticket to get back. I don't think Jake found what he was looking for out there. He was really different when he came back; So quiet and jittery."
"Di. Do you think he's doing drugs?"
There was a long silence.
"Quin, I just don't know. I know about the checks and the money, I know that looks bad, but I just can't believe my Jake would do drugs." Di turned away to stare out the window. "If he is…" She turned back with glistening eyes that threatened to spill over, "… if he is involved with drugs what are we going to do?"
Quin took a deep breath. "We'll help him."
Vivian stared up at the Sears Tower . It seemed like it took her longer to find parking than it did to drive the entire distance to the city. Now that she was here she was having second thoughts about entering the massive building. Sentinel was eighty-four floors up, that would be a personal record if she could carry through with her intentions. A gust of wind pushed at her as she stood looking up. The cold that blew through her was enough to propel her forward into the building's lobby.
In the elevator all she could think of was how far down the small car would plunge if something were to happen to the cable. Her fellow occupants left one by one on various floors until she was all alone. Her grave thoughts of plunging to an untimely death came to an end as she finally arrived at her destination. She wondered if perhaps someone on the eighty-fourth floor might have some good whiskey to share to help ease the trip back down.
Okay Walsh, you're up here, now what? She looked to the left and then to the right, off to the right was a large reception desk. A friendly inquiry. She moved toward the desk dodging office workers as they milled about in their daily activity. She was about to ask if Quin was in when she was nearly bowled over by someone.
"Oh! Ms. Walsh! Are you alright?"
Vivian had managed to maintain her upright position by grabbing the edge of the long desk, "I'm okay," she took a look at her apologetic assailant. "Mr. Harris right?"
The young man beamed a bright smile, "Yeah." Then he shook his head. "I mean yes. Yes Ma'am."
Vivian smiled, "Great. Then can you help me?"
"Sure!" Then the young man frowned, "I'll try." His eyes moved just slightly to look at the receptionist who was shaking her head in a negative manner, "If I can… might we move to someplace more private Ms. Walsh?"
Vivian scowled in the general direction of the receptionist who had suddenly picked up the phone and started dialing, "Yeah, sure. Lead on Mr. Harris." Vivian found her arm gently but firmly gripped by the young man as he steered her away from the bustle of the main corridor. They made several turns down different halls until Vivian was quite sure she wouldn't be able to find her way back to the elevator. Harris stopped suddenly and pulled her inside a small empty office.
"Sorry about that," He explained shutting the door softly. "We were told not to talk to you if you came in today."
Vivian's scowl grew deeper. "By whom?"
"Grapevine! It sort of trickles down that way." Harris winked. "Mrs. Usher would have my hide if she knew I was even looking at you let alone talking to you."
"Why Mr. Harris? Why am I off limits?" Vivian was getting angry but knew it wasn't this young man's fault. She needed his help.
"I can't tell you that. What I can tell you is this," Harris held up several pieces of paper he had in a folder that was tucked under his arm. "Ms. McKee was here today. She caused quite an uproar around here for about four hours and then she left. She had everyone making inquiries about one Jacob O'Malley."
Vivian took the documents from the man and shuffled through them.
"He came back clean on everything, no one found squat on him. Not through legal channels. Not through any channels." Harris had made some of those non-legal calls himself. When reliable, never fail sources have nothing, it's never a good sign.
Vivian studied the documents more closely. "Any possibility that I can have these?" She asked with little hope.
Harris cringed, "It would be my job if someone found out."
"They wouldn't find out from me," Vivian promised.
Silence.
"Please?" Vivian pulled out all the stops with that whine. She blinked her soft blue eyes at the young man and let a small smile play upon her lips. "I'll owe you one."
Young Mr. Harris blushed and smiled. Who was he to refuse a beautiful woman one simple request? "Okay." It was just a job after all. He gave the blonde time to fold the papers and stash them in a snug jean pocket before he opened the door. Checking both ways before stepping out, Mr. Harris motioned Vivian to follow. He escorted her back to the elevator and saw her off. As he walked pass the reception she mouthed the word 'busted' at him causing his heart to flutter just a bit. What's done is done. He thought as he went on his way.
End part six