Page 70 of Murder Notes

“It would be easier to list who won’t be there. It’s a who’s who of the elite. The New York City mayor will even be there.”

“Hmm. Okay. Well, the food had better be good or you’re buying me dinner afterward.”

“I’ll buy you dinner whenever you like, Lilah.”

I roll my eyes. “We are never going to date, Lucas. We’re family. But I love you.”

“Okay. This isn’t Lilah Love, is it?”

“I love you, you asshole.”

“Okay, now you sound like you. Seven o’clock. I’ll pick you up.”

“I’ll meet you.”

“You have to walk in with me as my plus-one to get in the door.”

“So we meet in the parking lot.”

“Fine. Red dress. Seven. Later, darlin’.” He hangs up before I can tell him I’m not his darlin’.

I sit there a minute, thinking about the who’s-who event, and I find it very interesting that no one but Lucas has said a word to me. They don’t want me there. They don’t want me here. They’re afraid, and while that could be just about scandal, it could be about Woods. What I want to do is go balls to the wall, shake them all up a bit, and claim jurisdiction. But the minute I do that, my gut says that Woods ends up captured, evidence stacked against him, or worse, dead. No. I need to make sure everyone believes I’m convinced it’s Woods, something I haven’t done well. The more secure they are, the more their guard will come down. I’m about to make them feel like they are riding on rainbow-colored clouds, that things are going so wonderfully their way.

But first, I need information. I dial Greg and once again get his voice mail. “I need you, Greg. Give me something.” I end the call and hit Tic Tac’s number. “Romano. Detective Moser. Mendez. Woods. Talk to me.”

“Because it’s not seven a.m. on Saturday,” he says. “And I don’t have a hot chick in bed with me.” He doesn’t give me time to reply. “Moser works private security for Blink Security as a side job. After doing some checking, I found that Mason Party Planning handled three of the six events he worked in the past three months. And guess who owns Mason Party Planning? Olivia Mason, who is the niece of one of the big Romano brothers.”

“So now we have a connection between Moser and Romano,” I say. “You officially rock, Tic Tac.”

“As my reward, I request you do not call me for two hours.”

“Fine. Two hours.”

He hangs up, and I throw off the blankets, thinking about those rainbow-colored clouds I need to create. I let out a dramatic sigh despite no one being around to appreciate it and dial the NYPD. “Detective Moser,” I tell the operator, and way too fast, Moser is on the line.

“Lilah Love. The first FBI agent with a hooker’s handle.”

“I sound like a hooker, but from what I hear, you are one. Turning tricks for all the bad boys. Talk to me about the Emerson case.”

“High-end trader who I suspect made the wrong trade for the wrong person. We’re working through his client list.”

And Woods is going to be on that list. Damn it. “Save us both the pain of a meeting. Send me the case file by e-mail. [email protected].”

“What is this about?”

“I have a couple of cases we thought might be connected, but new developments seem to point in another direction.”

“Fine. I’ll send the file.”

“And that client list you’re working on.”

“I’ll send it.”

“When?”

“Today.”

“Make sure it is today.”