May in December (14 page)

Like now.

“
Testing. Jorry, you still hear us?”

“Yes.”

“All things are a go at our end. You’re coming in loud and clear.”

Jorry left the area and ambled into the restroom. “We are having the rehearsal dinner at Otsego Oasis Golf and Ski Resort.”

“We know. You should be able to get Pickworth alone at some point. Just take it easy and act natural. He’ll spill easier.”

“Don’t worry; I know what to do.”

“Talking to yourself, Jorry?” Pickworth asked, coming out of a stall. “Au contraire.”

Jorry held still. “Pickworth. Aren’t you supposed to be up at the altar?”

“I’m taking a little-boy potty break. But what luck. I can’t think of a better man to run into in the men’s room.” He reached out and fondly twirled a strand of Jorry’s hair around his index finger. “Want to suck my dick for old times’ sake?”

Jorry felt his face burn. Lieutenant Milton and the boys in the van had heard that comment. Nevertheless, it was a good lead-in for the mission he was on.

“As a wedding present, I would consider it. I have reconsidered your plans to infiltrate the resort.”

“Oh really?” Pickworth stopped in front of the mirror to wash his hands and preen a bit. “I thought you were hell-bent on ending our association.”

“Easy there.”
Lieutenant Milton’s voice came through the earpiece.
“He seems suspicious already.”

“A guy can change his mind, right? Besides, I have a gut feeling you sent me a message with the disappearance of Gingersnap and Snickerdoodle, and I’m smart and scared enough to recognize something like that will happen to me.” When Jorry didn’t get an answer, he bit his lip, sidled up next to Pickworth, and ran his finger against his lapel. “To seal my new alliance, I will suck your dick. After all, this will be your last night of freedom.”

Pickworth laughed. “Do you really think a man in my position is going to allow any woman to chain me down? I’m marrying Kerri because she’s a trusting simpleton. She’ll never know about my extracurricular activities.”

Jorry seethed in silence, wanting to clobber the idiot where he stood. Kerri deserved much better than what she was getting.

Pickworth seemed to warm to Jorry’s idea. “If you are at all serious, I would be interested in meeting with you sometime during the rehearsal dinner. We could go to my room and have a little fun before rejoining the party.”

“Careful,”
the voice said in Jorry’s ear.
“Don’t get too eager. It may set him off.”

“Gotcha.”

“What was that?” Pickworth asked.

“Ummm, I was just thinking out loud,” Jorry said, covering his slipup. “Getting a man off on the night before his wedding is a kink medal for my collection.”

“Glad to be of service.” Pickworth bowed in Jorry’s direction. “However, you can really earn something of value and come to me
the night
of my wedding.”

Bastard
. “Sure. But we better make it back to the chapel before they notice we’re missing.”

“You’re right. After the third course, I will excuse myself for a business call. Kerri will whine like usual, but it can’t be helped. Wait for about three minutes and come find me.” Pickworth slipped Jorry a key card. “I’ll be in the honeymoon suite.”

“Won’t Kerri come looking if she misses you?

“No. She knows better during business calls, and I have the suite tonight. She and the bridesmaids are spending the night at her mother’s house. Something about not-seeing-the-groom-before-the-wedding-day shit.”

“Her loss, my gain.” Jorry flirted as they left the restroom. He hung back a bit to let Pickworth show up alone.

“You are not to put yourself in sexual danger with this man,”
ordered Lieutenant Milton.

“I know what I’m doing, and I’m going to get that information.”

“Do anything stupid and we will abort the sting.”

Jorry ignored the sound in his ear.

* * * *

The drive to the rehearsal dinner was short. Once Jorry arrived at the resort, he again went into the restroom to make sure he looked all right with the glasses and to use the facilities. Part of him was starting to get nervous. Maybe some food would do him good. He walked into the rehearsal dinner and sat next to Bruce. “Did I miss anything?”

“Where were you?” Bruce hissed. “I was getting worried.”

“I was in the restroom. Is it a crime to take a whiz?” Jorry squeezed Bruce’s hand under the table to soften the words. He didn’t want to let Bruce in on everything, lest the man worry for no reason. Jorry needed to do this job and see it through. He also needed to concentrate on what he was doing and not worry about how Bruce was dealing with the dangerous situation.

Through laughter, toasts, jokes, and some good food, Jorry waited in silent torture for his cue to leave. He watched Kerri. She seemed so happy, and he knew by this time tomorrow she would be an emotional mess.
Better it happen now than later down the road.

An hour into the meal, during the third course, Pickworth stood and excused himself for yet another business call. He caught Jorry’s eye before heading out of the double doors of the private dining room.

Jorry waited a few minutes before he removed the napkin from his lap and rose from his chair.

“Where are you going this time?” Bruce asked.

“I’m seeing an opportunity. I’ll be back shortly.”

Bruce stood with Jorry and put his arms around him. “Please be careful and know I love you,” Bruce whispered in Jorry’s ear. He then pressed his lips to Jorry’s and gave him a slow, passionate, exploratory kiss that Jorry imagined nearly singed the hair of those next to him.

Lost in the kiss, Jorry’s glasses steamed, and he barely heard the cheers and the gasps from those around them.

“Yo, Dad,” Kelley yelled across the table, “break it up and save it for later. You’re upstaging the bride and upsetting the groom’s family.”

“Not to mention making the men sick in the van,”
said the voice in the earpiece.

They broke apart. Bruce sheepishly apologized to the Johnson side of the family.

Jorry slipped out of the dining room before he could hear their reply and made his way down to the elevator. Could he actually go through with this? What if something went wrong? Jorry jumped when the elevator doors opened.

After waiting for the car to clear, he stepped in and pressed the button for the fourth floor. He looked in the shiny brass of the elevator wall and saw a promising young man looking back at him. Jorry knew he had to follow this through; otherwise, he couldn’t live with himself. The elevator came to a stop, and the doors slid open.

Steeling his nerves, Jorry used the key card to gain entrance to the honeymoon suite. The multi-roomed suite was huge, with furnishings and decorations on the borderline of gaudy.

Jorry strolled through the red-carpeted suite. “Pickworth?” he called. In the bedroom, he saw a pile of clothes on a chair and heard the shower going.

“Good,” Jorry mumbled. “It will buy some time to look around.”

“Be careful, Nelson,”
the buzz in his ear said.

“I know what to search for.”

“Famous last words.”

Jorry opened drawers. He snooped in closets. He dived into suitcases. He looked through the desk. He didn’t see what he wanted until he found Pickworth’s tablet. “Here we go.” He turned it on and scanned through some pages, knowing the men in the van could see what he saw through the glasses he wore.

“Are you getting all this?”

“Yes, but most of it is in code. Still, it will be helpful.”

Jorry got so completely involved with the project that he didn’t hear the shower shut off.

“What are you doing?” A dripping wet, naked Pickworth came out of nowhere and punched Jorry in the face. Blood spurted out his nose, and his spy glasses sailed through the air and landed on the floor.

Shit
. “Dude… I was finding some music to set the mood.”

Pickworth shook his head. He wasn’t buying it. “You had to dig through my clothes to find it. What else did you find?”

“Nothing.”

“You’re trying to get something on me, aren’t you? That’s why your attitude toward me turned a one-eighty.”

“Okay, you got me,” Jorry admitted. “I do want something from you.”

“What?”

Think fast
. “I want in on your organization. Deeper than I was before.”

Pickworth looked down on him with suspicion. “Why? You were reluctant before.”

“That was before you challenged me where the dogs were concerned. Ever since you put it in Gail’s mind that I injured her dog, I feel as if I’m under suspicion.” Jorry shook his head, not faking the hurt he felt in his heart. “Damn, I think she thinks I had something to do with her dogs’ disappearance. I can’t work under conditions like that. I mean, I’m a good guy to have around, but when my boss doesn’t have faith me, I’m outta there.”

“And why should I trust you? You’re the one who walked out on me and have made threats ever since. Now I catch you rooting around in my tablet. I think you are up to something.”

Jorry shifted from one foot to the other. “All I can do is try to prove to you I’m honestly doing what’s best.”

“Let me think for a moment.” Pickworth pointed for Jorry to sit down while he got dressed. When he started to slip on his shoes, he glanced back up at Jorry. “I got it.” He went back into the bathroom and brought out a wet washcloth. He applied it to Jorry’s bloody nose. “I will take you to my bachelor party.”

“What?”

Pickworth patted Jorry on the back. “You’re like a little brother to me. Time to put the past to rest and for us to have fun together.” He tossed the washcloth to the floor. “Now let’s get going.”

Jorry hesitated. His gut told him not to trust Pickworth, but another part of him wanted to go, to finish the mission, to prove he was worth something not only to himself, but to Bruce. He wanted to man up for his past mistakes. And he definitely wanted to protect Kerri from the biggest mistake of her life.

Inhaling a bit of courage, Jorry bent down and picked up his glasses. With the force of the punch, he saw the lenses and an earpiece were broken. He placed the bent frames in the pocket of his shirt, hoping against hope the microphone still worked, and followed Pickworth out the door and to the stairwell. They were exiting through the back.

Chapter Fourteen

Bruce had left the rehearsal dinner and was on his way to the bathroom when he caught sight of Lieutenant Milton heading toward the elevator. Milton was followed by three other policemen.

“Jim! What’s going on?”

“Back off, Bruce.” Milton continued to walk. “Let me do my job.”

It didn’t sound good. Jim never talked curtly to him. “Is it Jorry?”

“Mr. Deirmann.” Lieutenant Milton used his official voice. “Leave.” The policemen trotted down the hallway to the elevator.

Oh, he was so not going to be blown off like that. “Like hell.”

“Dad, what’s wrong?” Kelley and Warren had walked out of the private dining room, unlit cigarettes dangling from their fingers.

“Not now.” Bruce tracked the policemen to the elevator. Kelley and Warren followed. Lieutenant Milton turned to the men. “We are here on official business. Don’t interfere.”

Warren threw his shoulders back. “Unless you have a search warrant, this is my resort, my property, and its patrons are under my care. Any business you have here, you should notify me at once.”

Milton glared at Warren. “You are standing in the way of a dangerous situation. We need to check out a room.”

Warren held his ground. When the elevator doors opened, he stood between them and the police. “If it has the potential to harm the rest of my guests, I cannot give valid consent for you to search a presently rented room unless the occupant has authorized it.”

“Warren,” Bruce pleaded. “Jorry might be in trouble.”

Warren knitted his eyebrows. “Trouble? What kind of trouble?”

“The kind that we need to get to immediately,” snarled Milton.

“I’m going with you.” Warren fished in his pants pocket. “I have a master passkey. Let’s get this nasty business over with before other guests see there’s trouble afoot.”

Seven men crammed into the elevator. Cheesy Christmas music played on in the background as if nothing was happening. The car stopped on the fourth floor.

“Where are we going?” asked Warren.

“To the honeymoon suite.”

Warren stopped in his tracks. “Wait. That’s Bill and Kerri’s room.”

Bruce grabbed Warren by the elbow to propel him forward. “I’ll explain later. Right now, it’s a matter of life and death.”

“Boy, Dad. Maybe I should come back home to live,” Kelley said. “You seem to have more excitement than I do.”

The police stood on either side of the honeymoon suite, guns drawn. With shaky hands, Warren slid the passkey in, and the light turned green. The door swung open, and all the police darted in, carefully searching each room.

“Do you mind telling us what is going on here?” Warren demanded, standing in the hallway.

“Yeah, Dad.” Kelley leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. “What have you gotten yourself into?”

“Clear,” a policeman called out.

Milton and the rest of the men started going through the room, searching for something.

“I can’t say much other than Jorry is part of a sting operation to nail Bill on some illegal activities.”

“Kerri’s Bill?” Kelley asked. “No way.”

“I agree with Kelley.” Warren removed his handkerchief and mopped his bald head with it. “It’s ludicrous to think Bill is anything but a genuine, up-and-up businessman. He comes from old money, is community conscientious, and he’s getting married tomorrow.”

“Lieutenant Milton,” called one of the policemen. “We found something.”

Bruce, Kelley, and Warren watched from the doorway as the policeman handed Lieutenant Milton some broken glass.

“It’s part of a lens from the glasses Jorry was wired with.”

“What?” asked Warren and Kelley in unison.

“There’s more.” Another officer produced the wet washcloth with blood on it.

“And I found this stuffed in the back of the dresser.” The third officer delivered a white tailored shirt with dried blood and fur on it.