Surprise, then caution, whispered through Angie. “Who am I speaking to?”
“Name’s Jilly Monaghan. The case is an old one, a cold one. You know about it. Be at my house at four fifteen tomorrow afternoon. I’ll have returned from my walk by then, and that’s the time I take tea. We can discuss the case and payment over tea. My address is—”
“Whoa, hey, hold on a minute,” she said quickly, bending down to snag her bag. She moved toward the changerooms where it was quieter. “I’m not taking any new cases. I—”
“I’ll make it worthwhile. Financially.Veryworth your while.”
Angie stopped in the passageway near a water fountain, her curiosity now ignited. “Ms.Monaghan, I do need to inform you that I’m no longer with Coastal Investigations. And I’m not—”
“Well, whoareyou with then? Last I saw on the news is that you were with Coastal.”
“I ... I’m between firms. I—”
“Fine. You work for me direct.”
“That’s not poss—”
“Everything is possible, Angela.”
Irritation began to rustle. “Angie. My name is Angie, and I like to finish my sentences.”
“Yes, of course, whatever you wish. Angie. Be at my house at four fifteen tomorrow afternoon, and we will discuss. I’m at 3579 Seafront Road off Harling Point. That’s just past Gonzales Bay. Four fifteen. Saturday.” The phone went dead.
Angie stared at the phone in her hand.What the ...?Jilly Monaghan? Who in the hell was Jilly Monaghan? There was something vaguely familiar about the name. The woman had sounded older, a senior perhaps, yet forceful, confident. Like someone accustomed to getting her way.
Angie made for the changeroom. She peeled off her damp gear, and while she showered she chewed over Jilly Monaghan’s odd call.
Admittedly, the woman had snared Angie by the short ones with two words:coldandcase.
The promise of financial reward was simply a bonus.
Even though Angie could not work a case without a PI license, not legally, and she could not get a full license until a firm hired her and gave her enough supervised hours to qualify for one, she knew she would show up if only to hear Jilly Monaghan out. Curiosity had gotten the better of her.
Harling Point. It was a pricey subdivision, Angie thought as she grabbed a clean towel and dried off. She opened her locker, running through her mind what she knew of the area. It was a waterfront promontory steeped in the history of Victoria, once home to rumrunners, bathhouses, tearooms, and dance halls. Now it was the residence of choice for old money and multimillionaires with a penchant for sleek designer houses. Intrigued, she dressed, shrugged into her leather jacket, grabbed her bag, and slung it over her shoulder.
She waved goodbye to Chai as she exited the gym and stepped out into the cool Friday afternoon rain. It was already dark this time of year with the low cloud. She got into her car, started her engine, and reversed out of her parking space. She called Maddocks via Bluetooth hands-free, wanting to catch him before he headed with the guys to the Flying Pig, which she knew he would on this Friday evening, especially since they’d just wrapped up a big case.
His new team had arrested and charged a serial rapist who’d been preying on women in the Harris Park area for the last five months. It was a major coup for iMIT and for the new mayor and police board. It proved this special integrated major investigations approach could work. And it was a personal feather in Maddocks’s cap—he’d hand-selected his crew of top investigators.
It was also a case Angie would have been working had she still been with the MVPD. Sex crimes was her wheelhouse. Thisshouldhave been hers.
“Hey,” she said as soon as he answered. “Thought I’d check in before you guys hit the Pig for the big celebration.”
He asked her to hold on a second, and she heard noise in the background, someone speaking to Maddocks. “Sorry about that,” he said as he came back on. “Just tying up some loose ends in the Harris Park case with Crown counsel here. What did you say?”
“Nothing. Just checking in, saying hi.”
“We’re headed to the Pig for happy hour. Want to join us?”
“Not a snowball’s chance will you find me in drinking hell with Leo and those old guys while they sit all smug and gloating about me being fired.” She paused, feeling irked and yes, sidelined, even if it was her own choice not to go. Those old deadwood detectives had tried to block and oust her from the force during her entire career with MVPD, and in the end, in many ways, they’d won. At least, that’s how Leo and some of the others saw it. Angie couldn’t help saying the words that came next. “You know better than to ask me that.”
“Sorry, Ange. I ... the only reason I’m going myself is—”
“I know, I know. Your team. Your case. The arrest and charges are your big win. You need to do this. I’m going to catch some Netflix and an early night.”
“How’d the job hunt go today?”
Her mood dipped even further. Once again he was asking about her daily slog to find work. Once again, she had little to report.
