| |
TUESDAY- Sady Morrow looked out the window as she got ready to exit the plane at Detroit Metro Airport. Once again she wondered if she had been too hasty in allowing her uncle to arrange her life so conveniently. It felt like maybe he pulled another fast one.
Like finding (upon returning early from the European vacation he arranged) a strange woman living at her inherited estate in Sinful, Louisiana... with his consent. And the guy he sent to keep an eye on her when she traveled to Sinful. So this might not have been the best idea. She should have arranged for a short stay in Michigan before allowing him to move her to the Great Lake state.
Sady squeezed her carry-on bag and took a deep breath. It was too late now. Like the time she ate a vegetarian meal for lunch only to learn it was mostly beans and she had a swimsuit round that afternoon. Good luck trying to hide a bloated stomach in a bathing suit. Even a tall brunette with big brown eyes couldn't pull that one off successfully.
The crowd behind her, eager to get off, forced her into the terminal. She headed to claim her checked bag and sat down to wait for the ride Uncle John arranged. While she waited she pulled out her laptop and read the email he sent. Someone named CJ would pick her up at two and take her to the apartment he'd rented for her in Ann Arbor. The clock in the terminal showed she had a half hour wait.
An internet search of Ann Arbor showed it was a college town, proud home to the University of Michigan. It looked like a nice place to live as did the pictures of the apartment he included with the email. She hoped the reality lived up to the expectation. Well, it couldn't be worse than Sinful, could it?
At two o'clock sharp a small, gray-haired woman approached her whose age she couldn't determine. She was attractive in a rough-looking way. She wore her hair short, but it suited her. Green eyes assessed Sady with a look she recognized. It seemed anyone associated with her uncle had that same piercing look. Probably standard government issue. Sady wasn't surprised when the woman grabbed the larger bag and introduced herself as CJ. Sady shook hands and felt the strength in the short woman's fingers. I bet she breaks pencils to keep in practice, Sady thought.
"C'mon," CJ said. "My husband's waiting in the drop-off zone." Sady guessed no one gave CJ grief about parking there. She expected her husband to be a huge brute with battle scars. Sady saw a man fitting that description parked in the drop zone and headed toward his car. CJ yelled, and she turned around, stopping in awed silence. Well, who knew Detroit Metro had a choir on staff? The man who took the bag from CJ and stowed it in the back of the SUV could put the Greek gods to shame. He was bald, but it enhanced his amazing good looks.
Striking light blue eyes, black lashes, tanned skin, white teeth, medium height and powerfully built, but not bulky. Like CJ his age was indeterminate. Sady knew she stared but couldn't help it. This guy should be on a magazine cover, she thought. Then she remembered where she was and sent a mortified glance in CJ's direction. CJ laughed and said, "Don't be embarrassed. It happens all the time. Meet my husband Harry."
Sady shook hands and got the same impression as when she shook CJ's hand- strength, intelligence, and secrets. Definitely not John and Jane Q. Public. There was no doubt in her mind these two would make formidable enemies, like the blonde in Sinful. Harry was silent and concentrated on driving to Ann Arbor while CJ grilled her. Sady knew they expected a woman who dressed and acted like a teenager. She could act the part and liked to do so for the benefit of her uncle. He wasn't the only one who could hide his identity. Any lingering doubts about his job as an IRS auditor being a cover for something bigger were laid to rest. IRS employees didn't have people like this for friends. As they drove Sady asked CJ what the initials of her name stood for. She saw Harry's smile in the rear-view mirror, but CJ wasn't amused.
"If I tell you, then you will forever have to be Sandy-Sue," she replied.
"Well, CJ it's nice to know you. I'd have gone with the initials thing myself, but S.S...?"
CJ looked at her husband and warned, "And don't you tell her behind my back."
"Hey, leave me out of this. I'm just the driver, ladies." CJ's reply was inaudible but Harry must have understood it because he said, "Now be nice. I didn't give you that name."
Sady left that hot potato in the front seat. She could sympathize with CJ when it came to embarrassing given names. Sady watched the Motor City expressway madness and felt her blood pressure rising even though Harry drove. She hoped her job wouldn't take her to Detroit often, or she'd likely end up in trouble.
When they reached the outskirts of Ann Arbor Harry pulled into the lot of an apartment complex. As CJ led the way to Sady's apartment Harry followed with her bags. CJ unlocked the door and held it open for Sady to enter. Well, she had to give Uncle John credit for good taste and efficiency. Someone moved all the belongings from her last residence into her new apartment. She wondered who chose the layout and glanced at CJ.
She snorted and shook her head. "This is out of my scope of work." She let Sady have a couple minutes to walk through her apartment then told her to take a seat. When Sady sat on the couch CJ pulled out two files and dropped them on the cushion next to her. Before Sady could open them CJ said, "For the next three weeks those files are your job. Let me make this clear- I'm only doing this as a favor to your uncle. Normally I'd expect someone to handle these in seven to ten days." She cleared her throat and Sady looked up. "I won't hold your hand and I won't babysit you. Frankly, I don't even want you here so if you want to do this work then you have to do it on your own. There's a desk set up at our office for your use, and any equipment you need will be available. If you get yourself in trouble, don't call me because I won't come to the rescue. Is that clear?" Sady nodded, a little terrified. "Questions? Good!" CJ didn't give her the chance to ask anything.
Instead, she handed Sady a business card and a set of keys for a rental car. "We'll see you in the morning," she said as she left. Sady sat frozen and tried to refocus when she heard someone clear their throat. It was Harry. He gave her a thumbs up and a friendly smile before CJ's penetrating voice told him to shake his tail feathers. Harry's smile widened, and he left Sady even more confused.
They seemed a strange couple, but devoted to each other. The smile Harry gave her was one of encouragement. Sady didn't doubt for a minute CJ would literally skin them both alive if it they were more than friendly.
Sady blew the front of her hair and grabbed the business card CJ left. Knight Investigations. Well, at least she had a last name to put with CJ and Harry. She opened the folders CJ had dropped and saw they were case files. The first file had to do with a suspected arson in Hell, a small community near to Ann Arbor. That was almost funny. Sady unexpectedly thought about Matt, wondering what he was now doing. With a small smile she knew he wasn't cooling his heels in Sinful, Louisiana. Nothing was cooling in Sinful! Even though it was summer in Michigan Sady knew one thing for certain- Sinful was officially hotter than Hell.
The other file was for a woman wanting proof that her husband was cheating. That one seemed fairly easy but Sady was glad CJ had given her three weeks to work on them. She had been joking when she suggested working as a spy to her uncle, but maybe he took it seriously.
Sady put the files aside and checked her apartment. She would leave most of the things where they were. The movers must have an OCD staff. Drinking glasses perfectly lined up in the cabinet to the right above the sink, etc. Overall she was pleased. The apartment was at ground level and well built. Sady didn't hear slamming doors and footsteps from the upper level. That was good.
Her apartment kitchen opened to both the entry hall and the dining area. The dining area and entry hall opened into the large living room. French doors off the living room exited onto a patio full of plants that screened off the view of her neighbors. Down the hall from the living room were two bedrooms and a bathroom. She could only enter a large master bath through the master bedroom. Sady unpacked the two bags Harry set in her bedroom and stowed the cases in the walk-in closet. The clothes she sent with the movers already hung neatly.
She downloaded a map of the City of Ann Arbor to her phone, then went online and looked over a larger map to familiarize herself with the major roads. Then with excitement she grabbed the keys and headed to the parking lot. A push of a button and the lights of a new Ford sedan flashed a welcome. Sady decided she first needed to drive the route to the Knight's office. She didn't want to be late for her first day and she would have enough issues with traffic.
After she traveled the route to the office, she drove the major boundary roads of the city, hoping to get a feel for areas of traffic congestion and headaches. Finally, feeling comfortable that she wouldn't end up in Detroit by accident she stopped at the store and picked up groceries on her way home. She fixed supper and researched Knight Investigations while she ate. Then she emailed her uncle to let him know she arrived safely, and to thank him for the apartment and car he had ready for her.
Sady cleaned up after her meal and pulled out her clothes for work before bed. Nothing about the company suggested formal, yet CJ didn't seem like a woman who would look kindly on sloppy or too casual work clothes. Sady decided a pair of khaki pants and a short sleeve button front shirt would be appropriate for her first day. Plus a pair of flat shoes. She'd worn enough high heels for a lifetime.