Chapter 12

 

"Perfect!" Rye tapped his phone off, a bright smile plastered across his face.

"What is it?" Brie looked up from her comfy spot, curled up on the couch. They'd just finished lunch, the dishwasher hummed, and laundry clinked as it spun in the dryer.

"We've got a pick-up to make."

Marking her page, she looked up at him, still not certain why he acted like a puppy who just found a new toy. "I don't understand."

He marched over, grabbed her hand, and pulled her up. "We got the court order to bug Gomez's phone and house."

She blinked, processing that information. "So you're going to pick up this bug and install it when they are gone?"

He shook his head, nudging her toward the door. "I can't place it through breaking and entering. Information obtained from illegal means isn't admissible in court."

Stepping out the kitchen door and into the garage, Brie automatically wandered to the passenger side. "Then how? I can't just see them opening the door to you for that purpose." She slid in while Rye did the same, clicked on his seatbelt, and hit the garage door opener.

"You said you never met her, not even introduced yourself when she moved in, right?" He watched her nod before continuing. "Then that's our way in."

"What is?" His words sounded like Swahili to her basic English.

Pulling the car out of the garage, he sent it into motion down the street. "It's about time you welcomed her to the neighborhood with one of those baskets."

A few minutes later, they arrived at the local gift shop. Gary stood beside his gray sedan, leaning against the car door with hands across his chest. He eased his weight back on his feet as they parked beside him, a grin covering his face as he watched Brie climb out of the car.

"Got it?" He gave a thumbs-up to Rye, then let his eyes rake over her. "Looking as good as ever, although not nearly up to par with that bustier."

She snorted and shook her head. "I still don't understand what's going on."

Gary's eyes twinkled as he stepped away to pull a woven basket from his backseat, striding over to hand it to Rye. "It's in the weave. Tested already." A plastic bag followed. "Everything you need. Just have to plug it in and hit start."

Rye peeked inside the bag, then returned his attention to Gary. "Thanks, buddy. I owe you."

"You can pay me back by letting me take this one out."

Brie blinked while Rye frowned and muttered under his breath. Gary obviously didn't take offense as he chuckled and climbed back into his car.

 

* * * *

 

"You got it?"

She nodded. "I think so."

"Try to make her think there is a good reason you are doing this now. Girl talk. Something you need to ask her. Anything to get her to invite you in."

Brie pondered just what that topic might be. Nothing came to mind no matter how hard she tried.

"Oh, just in case she asks, we better get our stories straight. I told Bunny that I'm between jobs, you're a family friend and have agreed to let me stay with you until I find another job." He turned the car off and stepped out of the vehicle, waiting for Brie to do the same and catch up. "Best to keep it as close to the truth as possible. Less chance for mistakes that way."

She shot him a puzzled look, then blurted out, "When did you go see her? And why?"

He gestured her into the kitchen, holding the door open so she could carry the gift basket with her. "Ummm. The day you almost drowned in the bathtub."

She set the item down, then spun to stare up at him. "You didn't say why."

He shrugged, busily digging his instruments out of the plastic bag and setting them up on the coffee table. "Spying."

"Uh-huh." Brie rolled her eyes. "Tell me again why you can't take it over?"

He snorted. "When was the last time you saw a damn sexy man carrying a wicker basket full of fruit to a meet and greet?"

He had a point.

A few minutes later, he gave the okay, stating the bug worked well, picking up voices and recording them. Large earphones covered his ears as his attention centered on a small laptop. "We're good to go."

Brie nodded, grabbed the basket, and paused at the front door to sigh. She didn't have a clue what to ask Bunny. Perhaps divine inspiration would strike as she walked across the street. Just not in the form of her becoming roadkill.

No sooner had she shut the front door, than she noticed Mr. Gomez driving away. Her shoulders sank in relief as her heart slowly regained its normal pace. Bunny, she could deal with. Gomez, she wasn't so sure.

A moment later, she leaned hard on the doorbell and waited impatiently for her neighbor to answer. The basket full of fruit and coffee pulled heavily on her arms.

"Can I help you?" Bunny asked from the open door.

Brie's mouth opened as she stood almost eye to eye with that massive cleavage. Talk about divine inspiration.

"Hi. I'm Brie, from just across the street." She turned to gesture back toward where she came. "I'm sorry it's taken me so long to do a proper welcome to the neighborhood. You see, I work long hours. I'm beat when I get home and on my days off, I try to catch up with everything else." Her words tumbled out nervously as the other woman remained mute. Her gaze dropped to her tennis shoes and she shyly continued. "Well, you see. I need to ask you some advice. I'm sure you can help me, you see. If I can just come in for a minute?"

She held out the basket and gave a pleading expression as if she were desperate to speak to the other woman.

Bunny took the offering, hesitantly looked her up and down then appeared to make a decision. "Okay. Just for a minute." Opening the door wider, she gestured Brie inside.

"Thanks! I greatly appreciate this." Brie dashed in, waited to be directed.

Bunny headed straight for the kitchen, placing the basket on the center of the counter, pulling at the plastic and pawing through the contents. "Thank you for this. It looks delicious."

"You're welcome…err…I'm sorry. I don't even know your name."

"Tabby." She found a bag of coffee, pulled it out, and dug through cupboards for supplies. "Now what did you want to ask?"

Brie took a breath. "I couldn't help but see how Rye, well, all men for that matter, stand at attention when you're around. They can't keep their eyes off you. And, forgive me, but with your petite frame, I think you have breast implants, right?" Pulling out a chair at the dining room table, she sat gingerly.

Tabby nodded, scooping coffee into a filter, and placing it in the coffeemaker. One painted fingernail punched a button.

"Well, you see, I really want Rye to look at me like he does you. I started to think that if I got breast implants he might start to take notice." She shot the other woman a pitiful look that begged help.

"Honey, you get a boob job and all of those men will notice." She took the seat next to Brie and sat facing her.

"I just want Rye to pay attention to me." A dramatic pause followed, allowing Tabby time to pick up on the innuendo. "Anyway, I wanted to ask you a couple of questions about the procedure." At Tabby's nod, she began. "Does it hurt? How do you pick the size? How long does the pain last?"

For the first time Tabby grinned, relaxed, and warmed to her subject. She flicked her long blonde locks to her back as she began to explain. "These are my second set. Started with D, decided to go bigger. Believe me, the pain is worth it."

Brie nodded, absorbing this information. "You don't regret it?"

Tabby chuckled. "No way in hell. These have paid for themselves ten times over."

Perking up, Brie tossed out one more. "Can you recommend a good doctor to do it?"

"Sure." Tabby pulled a nearby pad of paper over, grabbed a pen, and jotted down a name and the city.

"Thanks. This is perfect." Brie smiled at Tabby.

The kitchen door opened, with Gomez entering and talking loudly on his phone in Spanish. His gaze landed on Brie and he paused. Words spewed from his mouth in a language she didn't begin to understand.

Tabby stood, but waved dismissively, apparently understanding him. "She's here asking advice on a boob job."

Brie's face heated as she glanced from Gomez back to Tabby.

He shook his head and mumbled, "She needs it."

Brie gasped but didn't say anything. Gomez pinned her with his beady gaze once more before continuing his ramblings into the phone. Long strides carried him across the room and back to the bedroom. A click sounded as the door shut.

Standing, Brie headed toward the front door. "Thank you again for the advice." She whispered loud enough for Tabby to understand.

The other woman smiled. "Take my advice. Get it done. You won't regret it."

Brie gave her an appreciative grin and paused at the front door.

"Oh, thanks for the basket." Tabby opened the door for her.

"You're more than welcome." With a small wave, Brie headed out the door and across the street to freedom.

He owed her big time.