Whiskey Rebellion Part 15

We grabbed lunch at a Mexican restaurant before heading back to Whiskey Bayou. I was uncomfortably full of enchiladas and queso, and I knew it had been a mistake to take part in the all you can eat buffet. I was going to have to do a few sit ups once I could get my pants b.u.t.toned again.

"Tell me about this case you need help with," Nick said.

"It's not that I'm having trouble with it," I said primly. "It's just that I'm not exactly sure how to go about catching him in the act."

"Is this another adulterer?" Nick asked.

"Insurance fraud. Eddie Pogue is his name. A real jacka.s.s." I filled him in on the rest of the file while he drove.

I was a little uncomfortable in the silence that stretched between us. It was weird to sit next to a man that had seen me naked but left me unfulfilled. Of course, that pretty much described my entire relations.h.i.+p with Greg, but my brain kept telling me I hadn't known Nick long enough to keep making reckless decisions. My body, however, was saying "Go For It."

I sighed loudly and looked out the window as we turned onto Magnolia Street.

"What was that sigh for? What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Oookay. You know, I have to say I don't really believe you. I've been married before, and in my experience, when a woman says there's nothing wrong it means you're in deep s.h.i.+t."

"You've been married before?" I asked, my voice only a tiny bit shrill at the news.

"Of course I've been married before. I'm thirty-two years old. Do you think I just hatched a week ago when we met for the first time? Besides, I'm a cop. We all get married at some point. It's just staying married that seems to be the problem with most of us."

I was surprised to find I was a little bit jealous of that nameless woman who had shared a life with Nick. My gloom intensified and I sighed again.

"Look, if you're going to be all depressing I'm not going to help you out. I bet I know something we could do that will perk you up," he said with a wink.

"I think that's what's depressing me, so no thanks." I turned and faced him in defeat. "Did you love your wife?" I asked.

"h.e.l.l, Addison. Is this going to be one of those conversations?"

I rolled my eyes and sighed again. "You're right of course. We barely know each other, and we certainly don't have anything going on between us."

"Like h.e.l.l we don't," Nick said between gritted teeth. "I was married for about six months eleven years ago right after I got out of the Army. It was a mistake all around, and no hearts were broken. Is that good enough for you?"

"I told you, you don't have to explain. I'm not looking for a relations.h.i.+p at the moment, so you can get that panicked look out of your eyes. And besides, you and I would never suit. The pa.s.sion would never last and we'd end up killing each other. No, I couldn't care less about your past. I'm just re-evaluating my life."

Nick slammed the car into park and I could tell he'd like nothing more than to lean across the seat and throttle me. I gripped the door handle, preparing to escape, when he grabbed my arms, hauled me across the seat and kissed me.

"You drive me crazy," he said, depositing me back in my seat. "But you'll have to re-evaluate some other time because we're here."

I was still a little bemused by the kiss when I noticed that we were parked in an alleyway about a block away from Eddie Pogue's address.

"Why are we so far away?"

"Because it'll look more believable to the neighbors if people just see a nice looking couple out for a Sunday stroll. We don't want to tip him off."

"Oh, good idea."

"I get one every now and then," Nick said sarcastically. "You won't need your camera today. We're just going to canva.s.s the area and see if we can get a clear shot into his house. We'll come back another time and try to get it on film."

I thought the plan through and felt better about catching Eddie Pogue than I had about anyone else. This was going to be smooth sailing. All I needed was a mentor. I'd hyped myself up pretty good until I realized what Nick was doing.

"Holy s.h.i.+t, Nick, we're not going into the O.K. Corral. I thought we were just doing surveillance."

I watched as he strapped on his shoulder holster and put a backup piece in the lower part of his back. Man, I was getting hot just watching him. I shuddered to think what would happen if I actually got to see him in uniform.

"The first rule is to blend in. The second rule is to be prepared."

"Wait a minute. These are different from the rules Kate gave me. Is there a book I can buy with all this information?"

Nick smiled and grabbed my hand. "Come on, we're just a happy couple strolling hand in hand down the street."

"Get real. No one would ever believe we're a happy couple."

"What'll be hard about it? Just look at me like I'm a G.o.d and drool a little like you usually do."

I gave him the finger and made a mental note to myself to stop trying to picture him naked. He was obviously very adept at reading the female mind.

"Let's go," he said.

I followed at a less than enthusiastic pace, considering I was still full of Mexican food.

The alley was little more than gravel, and an eclectic mix of houses lined each side. There was a run down trailer on the corner, a ranch-style house next door and a two-story Colonial at the end of the block. This was truly a neighborhood for everyone. The good thing was that tall trees and overgrown shrubs ran the length of both sides of the alley, so there were plenty of good hiding places.

We stopped behind a modest, one story brick home with a good size back yard. A chain linked fence closed in the yard and an overgrown garden sat unattended in the middle of the lot. There was a detached garage at the back of the house and the skeleton of a storage building being constructed sat next to it. There were no cars in the garage.

"Can you believe this?" I said outraged. "How is it that John Hyatt will give a putz like Eddie Pogue a home loan, but he insists on giving me nothing but trouble?"

"Probably Eddie Pogue didn't have to overcome Veronica Wade," Nick said. "All right, time to act lovey-dovey."

"Umm-what exactly am I supposed to-"

The breath was knocked out of me as Nick backed me against the fence. He kissed me like he was searching for the lost city of Atlantis and all I could do was open my mouth in surprise and try to keep oxygen flowing to my brain.

"Move slightly to your left," he said, biting my earlobe. I could hear the click of the camera on his iPhone as he got off several shots of the back of the house. "I don't see him anywhere on the premises, but he's left all of his tools out, so it's likely he won't be gone long. We'll have to come back so we can catch him in the act."

The jerk was working. The kiss had no effect on him at all, and I was a pitiful puddle at his feet. I s.h.i.+fted slightly and made sure my foot connected with his s.h.i.+n in the process.

"Ouch, dammit, what the h.e.l.l was that for?" he said, slipping his phone into his back pocket.

"I don't like being used as a distraction."

"Geez, what's the big deal? It's not like you didn't like it."

Men. The fact that I liked it was beside the point, though I wasn't going to ever admit it out loud.

"Let's just get out of here. I'll have better luck catching Eddie Pogue when you're not here to stick your tongue down my throat."

CHAPTER ELEVEN.

Monday I smelled the fresh aroma of coffee before I noticed the alarm blaring in my ear. I looked at the time and didn't care that I was running a few minutes behind. School was out and all I had left was one lousy teacher workday. What were they going to do? Fire me?

I threw on some jeans, a T-s.h.i.+rt and my Nike Shox because I had to get my room packed up for the summer. I pulled my hair back in a ponytail and cursed the bangs I'd thought were such a great idea.

I'd gotten my books packed away and most of the things off the wall by ten o'clock, and I was ready to say to h.e.l.l with it and not bother with the rest. Rose Marie came in just as I'd decided to sneak out for the day. My eyes crossed at the zebra print top she was wearing, so I busied myself by stacking boxes on a dolly to wheel out to my car.

"Hey, I heard what happened at the Officer's Gala between you and Veronica," she said loudly.

"Everyone's heard about what happened at the Officer's Gala. I got a call from Rudy Bauer at the Gazette asking if I had any comments to contribute to the article that would be in Thursday's paper. All I could tell him was that Veronica's t.i.ts were fake and she wasn't a natural blonde, but he told me he already knew all that."

I thought about the surprise on Veronica's face as I ripped out a chunk of her bleached hair. I couldn't keep the grin off my face.

"She's not here today," Rose Marie said. "Word has it that you ruptured one of her implants while y'all were rolling around on the floor."

I gasped in surprise, pulling my arm close to my body to protect my own b.r.e.a.s.t.s in an involuntary movement.

"Ouch. I didn't realize," I whispered, horrified. "I got tasered before I could a.s.sess the damage for either one of us."

I got a mental impression of Veronica walking around town with a deflated b.o.o.b and started to giggle. Rose Marie wasn't far behind me, and before long we were both doubled over with tears running down our face.

"We shouldn't be laughing about this," I wheezed, trying to catch my breath. "It must have been horribly painful," I said, trying to stifle another fit of giggles.

Tears of mirth rolled down my face and Rose Marie looked like a jolly cherub, pink and round.

"I think this is karma," she said. "It's okay to laugh when other people's karma comes around to bite them in the a.s.s. In fact, it'll make your karma bad if you don't laugh."

I couldn't really argue with her logic so I let another roll of laughter peal out before getting myself under control.

We both deflated like a balloon with a hole in it and I sat down in my desk chair. Veronica was in the hospital, which meant she couldn't have killed Mr. Mooney. But that didn't let her off the hook for Mr. Butler's murder in my opinion. Nick did say both murders looked like different people had committed them, even though he was certain they were related in some way.

"I came by to ask you for a favor," Rose Marie said.

"What do you need?" I had my fingers crossed that she didn't need me to feed her dogs. The last time I'd had the honor I'd ended up with a hole in the back of my favorite pair of jeans and dog s...o...b..r in places best left unmentioned.

"A friend of mine is starting a new business. She gives those home parties, you know, and she's giving one tonight to show some new products her company has just marketed. I told her I'd get as many people as possible to show up since this is her first one. She's a little nervous. There are a few other teachers going too, so you'll know some people there. It would really mean a lot if you'd come."

"Sure, that sounds like fun." And I actually meant it. A night out with the girls was just what I needed.

"Great, here's the invitation, and the address is on it. I'll see you there."

It was turning out to be a great day. Veronica Wade's b.o.o.b exploded, and I'd get to buy some new Tupperware. And it's not like buying Tupperware was splurging. It was economical and something I'd need to store all the Welcome to the Neighborhood ca.s.seroles and cakes I envisioned my new neighbors bringing me. Life was good.

I heard the first strains of the 1812 Overture and fished my cell phone out of the bottom of my purse while avoiding a head-on collision at the same time.

"d.a.m.n, I'm good."

I'd stopped by the agency and traded the Z for Kate's boring beige Taurus. I was on my way to Eddie Pogue's house for an impromptu visit, and I was doing it without Nick.

"h.e.l.lo," I said into the receiver as I parked the Taurus down the street from Eddie's house.

"How was your day, sweetheart?" Nick asked on the other end of the line.

I could hear the smile in his voice and pictured him sitting at his desk with his feet propped up, the phone tucked between his shoulder and ear as he accomplished ten things at once.

"Just fine, honey buns," I said sweetly. "Veronica Wade's t.i.t deflated and I'm going to a Tupperware party tonight."

"Sounds like a full day. Let's talk about murder."

"You know, sometimes a girl likes to talk about things other than work. Sometimes a girl likes to have a little courts.h.i.+p."

"Do you want to have dinner tomorrow night?"

"Sure."

"Now can we talk about murder?" he asked.

"Sorry. My plate's a little full at the moment."

"You wouldn't be going after Eddie Pogue right now, would you?"

The man would have made a fortune as one of those psychics on television. "Nope, not me," I lied and hung up. Sometimes a girl had to take drastic measures.

I parked in front of the big Colonial down the street from Eddie's and decided I'd go from the front this time. The street was quiet since it was a Monday and it was the middle of the day. These were working cla.s.s people that had to pay for car loans, dance lessons and time-share packages.

I looped the camera around my neck and shoved open the door of the Taurus. I didn't bother locking it because I figured Kate would be better off if someone stole it.

The only sounds I heard as I approached Eddie's house were birds chirping and the blare of Montel Williams from someone's T.V. I hid behind a crepe myrtle that was exploding with pink blooms and peeped around until I could see the front of Eddie's house. The lawn was freshly mowed and someone had left an expensive looking lawn mower and weed whacker lying on the gra.s.s. There was no sight of Eddie, so I walked up his sidewalk as bold as you please and looked in the open window.

I got a glimpse of a spotless kitchen and figured Eddie's wife was the responsible party. She was probably at work like Eddie should have been, but Eddie was in front of the T.V. involved in the woes of hermaphrodites in love and using his Bowflex. He was s.h.i.+rtless and in a pair of loose athletic shorts and there was no sign of a neck brace or the walker. Eddie Pogue looked like he was in the prime of his life, and he was busted.

I snapped several pictures before I forgot that I was standing in a flowerbed. I looked down at the smushed flowers beneath my feet and scooted back, but my heel hit the brick ledge that lined the beds. I sprawled onto my backside and couldn't m.u.f.fle the curse as my posterior took a hard knock.

I looked up as the front door opened and Eddie Pogue stood in the doorway.

"Addison Holmes, what the h.e.l.l are you doing here?"

And then he saw the camera slung around my neck. His face turned red and veins started popping out all over his body. I crab walked backward until I thought I had a chance of getting my feet under me.

"Give me that camera," he said and started to head in my direction.