Pretty Dangerous (26 page)

“In other words you’re scared of turning into
me” Jazz quipped.

“I’ve seen your soft side.” MiMi grinned at
her.

“Hey, keep that to yourself. I’ve got a
reputation to protect.” Jazz slapped her on the shoulder playfully.
“I could tell Don what we found out. I didn’t promise that heffa a
damn thing.”

MiMi shook her head. “No, don’t do anything.
I’ve involved you and Willa in my crazy drama too much as it is.
But thanks. You both are now officially my blood sisters.”

“Sisters,” Jazz repeated with a wink.

“Since I may dodge being charged with murder,
all I have to do is save my house and find our money.” MiMi frowned
into the night ahead as she drove. Jazz seemed content to remain
silent and let her think through her next moves.

The next morning MiMi went to Edselle’s
office and they made a call to Detectives Drake and Forrester. She
let the attorney do the talking. The detectives took turns asking
questions, but they didn’t say much. Edselle told them what MiMi
had learned from Nairoby first. Then he described MiMi’s volatile
encounter with Yvette Theirry. Drake remarked dryly that they had
suspects up to their eyeballs. When the call ended the lawyer wore
a wide smile.

“Following up on those juicy leads will keep
them busy for a while. And the fact that we haven’t heard from the
FBI could be an encouraging sign. I think they overplayed their
hand hoping you’d panic and lead them to Mr. Crown’s money.”
Edselle rocked back in his chair.

MiMi sighed. “If only. We haven’t been able
to find a scrap of paper that even hints he had an offshore
account, much less where. So far Willa’s only hit dead ends.”

“I’ve dealt with hidden assets with previous
clients. People who were, um, very creative when it came to burying
cash, art, even real estate they didn’t want found. I may be able
to point Cedric in promising directions he may not have
considered.” Edselle sat forward and tapped on the keyboard of his
desktop.

“That would be lovely. Now I’m off to a
brunch.”

MiMi looped her designer purse into the crook
of her arm as she stood. She smoothed down the skirt she wore. A
chevron pattern in black and white, it accentuated the curves of
her hips. She wore a red belt along with a white blouse tucked in.
Red pumps and her red purse matched her ruby red lipstick.

“Good, enjoy yourself. You’ve been through a
lot lately.” Edselle stood and came around his desk.

“Thanks, but I’m looking for fun.”

“Ah, a business mixer dressed up as a
brunch.” Edselle opened the door for her.

“No, my mission is very personal. But I mean
serious business.” MiMi smiled at his puzzled expression. She
slipped on her sunglasses and waved goodbye to him.

****

MiMi sipped a mimosa as she made her way
around the room. She smiled at a group of matronly socialites as if
her life was not in turmoil. One of three Baton Rouge Links,
Incorporated chapters sponsored the brunch as one of their annual
charity events. The new Marriott Hotel looked elegant. Decorating
committee members had gone all out as usual. Fresh flowers graced
each round table. A raised dais held a podium and microphone, but
the speeches were over. Attendees engaged in power networking,
check writing and gossiping. MiMi figured she was the subject of
more than one hushed discussion. Of course no one would be uncouth
enough to be obvious. Still she didn’t miss the furtive glances her
way. She even raised her glass to a couple of prominent ladies
staring at her. They blushed, gave her twin nervous smiles and
hastily look away.

“Hi MiMi, how are you holding up?” Brianna
Draper strolled over. A state senator’s daughter and former college
classmate, she was also a Links member. She wore a faux sympathetic
expression.

“I’m good. How’ve you been, Bree? I read
you’re running for the school board seat in district two. Good
luck.”

“Thanks. The children of our community
deserve the best public education can offer. As a parent I know how
vital the right decisions can be,” Bree said, easily switching into
campaign mode. “We can make the schools excellent for my children
and your little girl.”

“Hmm.” MiMi sipped from her glass to keep
from saying. Brianna’s kids had been in private school until
recently. Even then she got them into the best magnet schools in
town. Not to mention Brianna, like MiMi, had attended only private
schools herself.

“Anyway, it’s so tragic what happened to
Roderick. Crime is linked to a poor education system, you know.
Just one more reason we all should be concerned about our public
schools. Probably some young person or persons who meant to rob
him. Right?” Brianna leaned closer to MiMi she hoped for inside
scoop.

“The only thing I know is I didn’t kill
him.”

MiMi’s blunt reply made Brianna jump, but she
recovered fast. “Well, um, of course not. Though Roderick wasn’t
the type to have enemies, not of that sort.”

“What sort?” MiMi raised an eyebrow at
her.

“You know; the violent criminal kind. Not in
our circles for sure.” Brianna nodded as though her logic was
obvious.

“You never know. I heard Roddy didn’t always
make friends when he did business. The police are keeping an open
mind.” MiMi gasped when she spotted Yvette Theirry across the room.
She didn’t act as if she’d seen MiMi yet.

Sharp-eyed Brianna noticed and followed her
gaze. “I know her, though not well. I understand she and
Roderick... dated.”

“Yes, they dated,” MiMi said and gave Bree a
wink. “Of course the way I found out was a shock, but I got over
it. Men.”

Brianna let out a soft sigh as if she
understood. “Yes.”

MiMi kept a close watch on the object of
their discussion. After five minutes, Yvette went around shaking
hands and then left. MiMi felt a wave of relief. The last thing she
needed was a dramatic scene with psycho girl. MiMi’s real goal lay
elsewhere. When finally saw her true object, she turned her back
and focused her full attention on Brianna.

“Well, that was close. Can you believe Yvette
Theirry got in my face about Roderick? I told her she was a side
piece. Roderick was going to give me the ring. The ‘other woman’
always gets it wrong.”

“They don’t last either.” Brianna took a deep
gulp from her wine glass. Her voice had turned throaty with
emotion, as if she knew from experience.

“Yes.” MiMi switched her attention to
Brianna. “What counts is who gets the assets. The wife wins big
every time, if she’s smart and patient.”

“Like Adrienne. She...” She put a hand to her
mouth. “I’m so sorry to gossip about your sister.”

“Chris might play, but he’s going nowhere
honey.” MiMi waved a hand dismissing Brianna’s phony concern.
Brianna’s acting skills could use some work.

“You must be furious,” Brianna said.

“He hasn’t done anything to Adrienne. Like
you said, she’s one of the smart wives.” MiMi let out a short
laugh.

“She’s standing right across the room,”
Brianna whispered.

“Who? Where?” MiMi started to turn around,
but Brianna pulled her back.

“Nedra,” Brianna whispered through tight
lips.

MiMi managed to turn to the side and look
without being obvious. She sipped more of her mimosa. “So, Nedra
Xavier is his latest play thing. I hope she realizes it’s
temporary.”

“Maybe she does, and maybe she doesn’t.”
Brianna drank more of her red wine. “I heard Nedra is very much in
love with your brother-in-law.”

“Chris understands the concepts of community
property. He’s heard of a little thing called alimony, too.” MiMi
giggled and Brianna joined her.

“You know what happens when a woman falls in
love. The ‘other woman’ starts saying she doesn’t care if he stays
with the wife. Some of them might even convince themselves they
believe it. But eventually there’s the ultimatum.” Brianna really
seemed to speak with authority.

MiMi’s curiosity about Brianna went up, but
she couldn’t be distracted. Instead she nodded with compassion. “I
know, girl. Jack and I got together when he was separated. My
friends told me not to do it, but I was caught up.”

Brianna gulped more wine. “I dated a
professor in the astronomy department when we were in college. Dr.
Federspiel was so... everything.”

“Blonde, tall guy from Sweden, the hunky Dr.
Fed?” MiMi didn’t have to pretend shock at this revelation. She
almost dropped her glass. “He was married to that professor in the
physics department.”

“Three perfect blonde kids, a cocker spaniel
and tenure. He couldn’t give all that up.” Brianna cleared her
throat and brushed a hand over her eyes. “Anyway, I got some sense,
and my Ph.D.” Brianna gave MiMi a grin at the old joke. She’d
married Payton Draper, a doctoral student in chemical
engineering.

“Snatched that prize right from under three
sorority girls’ noses. I salute your awesomeness.” MiMi raised her
glass. When Brianna frowned at her empty glass, MiMi got another
full one from a server passing by. She needed to keep Brianna’s
lips lubricated.

“If Nedra thinks Chris is going to leave
Adrienne she’s got a long wait. They’ll have grandchildren and
still be married.” MiMi shook her head.

“She’s looking this way,” Brianna whispered.
“Oh my God, she’s actually headed over here.”

Nedra made her way through the crowd. She
stood tall, at least five feet nine, with naturally auburn hair and
brown freckles sprayed attractively across her brown sugar skin.
MiMi blinked several times. The closer she got, the more MiMi
noticed how much Nedra reminded her of Adrienne.

Brianna looked nervous for the first time. “I
hope she doesn’t cause a scene. Don’t say anything to
Adrienne.”

“Relax, Bree. I know how to handle this
situation.” MiMi faced her brother-in-law’s mistress wearing a wide
smile.

****

Detectives Drake and Forrester sat across the
table in the interview room wearing twin blank expressions.
Forrester’s pen remained poised over the legal pad on the gray
metal surface. Edselle Underwood wore the smug look of a defense
attorney who’d just beat the system on his client’s behalf.

“It’s raining suspects up in here,” Drake
said breaking the silence. “You got anymore names of folks who had
a beef with Roderick Jefferson? Hell, I wouldn’t be shocked if you
handed me the phone book.”

Detective Forrester, good cop, cleared his
throat. “Ms. Landry, let me make sure I have this correctly. Yvette
Theirry is the woman who had an ongoing affair with your boyfriend.
She’s jealous, possessive and threatened you.”

MiMi nodded. “She’s been following me, too.
She went ballistic when I reminded her Roderick had proposed. She
said he wasn’t going to go through with it, even though he’d given
me the ring.”

“You rubbed her nose in it, didn’t you?”
Detective Drake raised one dark eyebrow.

“I told her the truth. Roderick had his
faults, but he was practical. Our families have known each other
for years. His father and mine do business on occasion.” MiMi
shrugged.

“Right.” Detective Drake looked at his
partner.

“Motive, detectives,” Edselle put in.

Forrester didn’t look at him or respond to
the comment. “Then you say the victim did business with this
Dominican group. Their legitimate cover hides some kind of criminal
activity. Jefferson stiffed them on a juicy deal.”

“According to Ms. Villa, yes. She came here
as their representative. I think they wanted him to compensate them
for the loss. I had no idea Roderick traveled in such shifty
company.” MiMi shook her head slowly as if disappointed. “Still, he
didn’t deserve to be killed, not in such a brutal way.”

“Was there another way you would have
preferred?” Drake snapped.

“Your remark is out of line, detective,”
Edselle said quickly. “Ms. Landry has been cooperative during a
very difficult time for her.”

“It was worse for her boyfriend,” Drake
retorted and gave a louder grunt.

“Okay, okay.” Forrester held up a hand before
Edselle could reply. He shot his partner a look. Some message
passed between them. Drake leaned back in his chair and crossed his
arms.

“I suggest you lay all of these facts out to
the district attorney. Let’s save the tax payers money and valuable
time for all of us. Not to mention the emotional toll this would
further inflict on my client, a single mother who--”

“Yeah, yeah counselor. We get the point,”
Drake broke in. He pulled a large chocolate brown hand over his
face. Then he cut another glance at his partner.

“I’m guessing that’s the same speech you’d
give the DA,” Forrester said. He wore the faint outline of a
grin.

“You’d be right, detective. I have another
version for the grand jury, if the DA has time and money to burn
calling one. I don’t have to guess on that one. He doesn’t.”
Edselle nodded to MiMi and she stood with him. He buttoned his suit
jacket. Both detectives stood as well. “We’ll wait for your
call.”

Detective Forrester let out a brief sigh.
“Thanks for your cooperation.”

“Yeah, always a pleasure.” Drake gave a
grunt.

“Thank you, detectives, for listening with an
open mind.” Edselle cupped a hand under MiMi’s right elbow as he
opened the door with his other one.

Outside the police station, they paused on
the broad walkway a few yards from the entrance. People streamed
by. Most wore impassive expressions. A few looked glum. Even fewer
smiled and held conversations with companions. MiMi figured they
must either be employees or people who weren’t in trouble.

“They didn’t seem all that thrilled to have
leads to follow,” MiMi said with a sour look. She put her
sunglasses on.