Lacey
I was getting ready to head to work that morning when I heard a knock on my bedroom door. I opened it up to see Mona standing there. After our last chat, she’d decided to stay over for a few days to help me out with the case. I knew she was more than a little apprehensive about getting into bed with a biker, both literally and figuratively, but I needed to know she was still up for it. I still needed some more information on what they were really doing while working at Ortega’s Autos.
I led her over to my bed where she could sit and tell me all of the things that were on her mind while I slipped into my two-piece gray suit, pulling my hair back into a low bun and collecting my case files to stuff into my bag.
“You seem a bit on edge, Mona. Are you having second thoughts about seeing that guy again?” I asked, worried that she was going to want to back out.
“No, I’m sure I’ll be able to find something out for you, but I just want you to know that I might be treading on dangerous ground here,” she confessed. “I’ve never dated a guy that was this much older than me, but there’s something really sweet about him. He seems really gentle and kind, but I’m scared that I’m going to regret it if I get in a little too deep.” I could see the excitement behind her eyes, and I knew she was going to regret it if she didn’t at least take a chance on the guy.
“I have to thank you for even agreeing to go snooping around when you’re supposed to be enjoying your time out with this nice guy, but I have to say, as your friend, I think you should go for it. This is the happiest I’ve seen you in such a long time, and I don’t want you to lose that,” I said, and she smiled.
“I’m glad I have your support right now because I really feel like I’m in it a little over my head,” she said. “I don’t know the first thing about his world, about what’s considered okay and what isn’t, but I’m sure I’m going to be finding out soon enough, especially if I’m going to be scoping out the people he keeps closest to him.”
“I’ve had this feeling in the pit of my stomach ever since we left there that there’s more to all of this than we may realize,” I said. “I just want you to be careful, because I can’t imagine that they’re going to take too kindly to finding out that you’re snooping.”
She smiled back at me, heeding that warning. “I promise that I’m going to stay in touch, and I’ll keep you posted if I find anything that will be of use to you,” she assured me.
“Thanks, Mona. I don’t know what I’d do without you because I know I blew my opportunity to find out what was going on through Moves.” I was quite sad because there was a part of me that felt like there was a connection between us, and now all of that was lost because he’d found out what I did for a living. I was starting to feel like my curiosity was getting the better of me, because I wanted nothing more than to know why he’d taken off after learning about my occupation.
I worried that he was involved in something that I wasn’t able to pick up on, something dangerous that would prove to be a problem for the rest of his friends, and thus mine as well. I could only hope that Mona was capable of watching her back, because I’d never be able to forgive myself if something happened to her.
I had to be strong, keep my head held high, and get back to work because the DA was going to want an update on how the case was progressing. The information I had was barely anything, but I had a few leads now that I could follow up on, and it was up to me to see them through until I happened upon something substantial.
* * *
I arrivedat the office not long after, making myself a quick cup of coffee because I’d skipped breakfast. I felt the warm liquid trickle down my throat, jolting me back to life. I heard a knock on my office door and the receptionist popped her head in, telling me that the DA would like to see me in his office.
I knew he was going to want an update on the case. I was scared to tell him that I didn’t have much to offer, but I knew he was going to tell me to keep looking until I found something. When I knocked on his door and entered, he motioned for me to sit so he could grill me on whatever it is I was able to find.
“How’s the case going, Lacey?” he asked, and I bit my lip nervously before I told him the truth.
“I haven’t found any evidence that Ortega’s Autos is a chop shop, so maybe the guy that was arrested for stealing that car was operating on his own agenda. I searched nearly every inch of that place and there was no way that they were destroying cars anywhere near there. Though I did find out that there is a place on the other end of town where a chop shop might be located. It’s owned by someone named El Diablo, but I have yet to find out more.”
He didn’t look too impressed by my lack of evidence, even though he’d given me quite the strict time frame.
“Lacey, I know that you’re new to undercover work, but I expect better from you, especially seeing your skills in other areas of your job. I know that you’re treading lightly because you’re afraid to piss off the wrong people, but I’m going to be frank with you. That’s exactly what you need to do to start getting the answers you want. What you have so far just isn’t good enough, and if you want to keep your job, you’re going to have to find better evidence soon. Is that clear?”
I nodded. “Crystal.”
“Good, now get back to work.”
I left his office feeling like a complete and utter failure for the fact that I’d let myself get too wrapped up in the allure of the situation that I wasn’t able to find anything that would point me in the right direction. I was starting to feel like maybe I wasn’t cut out for this kind of position, especially seeing as how difficult it was to get anyone to talk around that part of town.
I knew that the DA wasn’t going to let me out of it so easily, and I didn’t want my incompetence to affect how I proceed in my job, so I had to find something that would be deemed worthwhile.
I headed back into my office, sitting at my desk with my head in my hands trying to figure out what my next move was going to be. I couldn’t just show up to Ortega’s with more car trouble expecting that they weren’t going to catch on to the fact that I was trying to snoop, especially because there was one of them that already knew what I did for a living, and he’d surely be able to expose me before I learned anything that would help. I knew that I had to get back to Ortega’s and find an angle that was going to be able to work. I just had to figure out how.
I was so lost in thought that I didn’t even hear the knock at my office door, and Richard peeked his head in.
“Someone’s not having a good day, huh?” he said. “Why the glum face?”
“Richard, I really can’t do this right now.” I sighed. “I’m struggling. I have no idea how I’m going to get any of those people down at the auto shop to trust me. Some of them must already be on to me, and I’m being pushed to find evidence that I’m not even sure exists in the first place.”
He hung on every word, even though I knew he was still quite envious that the DA had given me this case instead of him. He wasn’t the type of person to allow that to come between us professionally.
“If you want them to believe that you’re not there to expose them, you’re going to have to give them a reason to trust you, Lacey. I know that’s hard to hear because up until this point you’ve never done any undercover work before, but you’re going to have to believe it if you want them to. That’s just how it has to be.”
I knew there was truth in his words, it was just incredibly depressing, knowing how terrible and unfit for the job I felt.
