She didn’t get a chance to answer before the phone rang. “Stephens Investigations, this is Hallease. How may I help you?”
I started back for my office when Hallease’s voice stopped me.
“Sir, please calm down… I can’t help you if… okay…” She sounded flustered, and a wrinkle appeared between her eyebrows as she bit her bottom lip.
I went over to her desk. “Who is that?”
She covered the phone receiver with her hand. “It’s Pierce Wilkens.”
A smirk crested on my lips. “He’s pissed?”
She nodded with that uncertain look on her face.
“Transfer the call to me.”
I picked up the phone on my desk after two rings. “Mr. Wilkens, I heard you needed to speak with me.”
“Great, you’re not hiding behind your secretary anymore, huh?” he snarled into the phone.
I folded my arms over my chest and held the receiver between my ear and my shoulder. “Hiding? My assistant answers the phone for the office. There’s no hiding involved. Not that I would need to hide from anyone.”
Let alone him.
“You’re going to wish you did hide when I get through with you.”
“Mr. Wilkens, that sounded an awful lot like a threat.”
“It was you, bitch,” he bellowed into the phone. “You ruined my life.”
I rolled my eyes. “I did no such thing. Your wife hired me to perform a service, which I did to the utmost of my ability.”
“And yourserviceincluded going out with me? You know there are names for women who go out with men and get paid for it.”
I laughed heartily. “You’re calling me a prostitute? An escort? Am I supposed to be insulted? Should my feelings be hurt? Please. Do yourself a favor and sign the divorce papers your wife gave you and leave me out of it. Next time you get married, remember to keep your dick in your pants. Have a great day, Pierce.”
He started to reply, but I hung up on him mid-sentence. After the evidence I’d gathered on Pierce Wilkens months ago and presented to his wife, she’d decided to file for divorce. I couldn’t say that I blamed her.
Pierce had gotten it in his head that the divorce was my fault simply because I was the one who’d exposed his lying, cheating ass. Unfortunately, that sort of thing came with the territory.
“Are you okay?” Hallease asked as I returned to the main office area.
I waved her off, scrunching up my face. “I’m fine. If his ass calls back here again, you immediately transfer him to me. You don’t ever have to take anyone talking to you like that, got it?”
She bit her lower lip and inclined her head.
“Good.”
I went to tell her something about one of our other clients, but something on the television screen caught my eye.
“That place looks familiar,” I mumbled, staring at the building behind the female news anchor. The burned building continued to smolder as firefighters sprayed it with water.
“Turn up the volume,” I told Hallease.
“Popular bar, Charlie’s, caught on fire earlier this afternoon. Investigators are still looking into what caused the blaze. There were two people inside the bar when the fire occurred. However, the police have not released any details. All we know is that both are in stable condition and transferred to Memorial Hospital.”
“Oh my,” Hallease said.
“I have to go,” I said, my voice sounding hollow to my ears. I tried to explain more to Hallease, but my mouth went completely dry. All I could think about was the night of Corey’s accident.
