Armed and Fabulous (Lexi Graves Mysteries) by Camilla Chafer Page A
Authors: Camilla Chafer
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back , almost screaming in frustration at picking each one up in my wooly , mammoth paws , and picked up the notepad, turning it over. It wasn't a notepad at all, but a little matchbook. It was black with a single flame. No name or phone number. I opened it , just in case something was written inside, but there wasn't.
"Uh - oh, we've got company," said Lily, flattening herself against the wall. I dropped to the floor, despite the wooden blinds at the window, as the electronic gates swung open and a community security vehicle maneuvered inside.
"Time to go!" I pocketed the notepad and the matchbook , and we half crawled, half ran for the back door, shutting it behind us just as the doorbell rang.
"Given that Dean isn't exactly going to answer the door, I think we should run," I said and Lily nodded enthusiastically. We sprinted for the rear exit, arms and legs pumping, nearly getting ourselves stuck in our race to squeeze through the half-open gate at the same time. We slun k around the side of the house and crossed the road, trying not to hurry as we walked back to my car. I risked a glance over my shoulder and saw the security guard standing at Dean's door, before he started to walk around the house.
"I don't think he saw us," I said, pulling out my key fob and beeping the car open. We slid in on either side and I rested my hands on the wheel for a moment. I pulled my mittens off and stuck them in my pockets.
"I can't believe we found your boss!" Lily exclaimed. "Do you think we broke the case?"
Occasionally, Lily wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer . "Nope. I just think we found the body."
"We have to tell someone."
I nodded. "I know. But I can't tell Maddox without admitting we broke into Dean's house."
“Won’t he be pleased? You found Dean and he didn’t!”
I wasn’t sure he would see it that way. “Don’t know,” I said.
"So leave an anonymous tip. People do it all the time."
"You'll have to call. I don't want the line picked up by Traci." I wasn't sure if my sister-in-law was even on duty in the dispatch office at the moment, but I didn't want to risk it.
"Fine. Do you have a burn phone?"
" No. "
" All undercover agents have a burn phone, " protested Lily.
"I don’t . I have a two - year plan."
"Never mind. It was just a thought." Lily pulled the seatbelt around her and buckled up. " I know! S wing by my manager's office. He's always got a drawer full of phones people leave at the clubs. We'll use one of th ose ."
"Cool." I switched the engine on, pulled a three - point turn and drove back the way we came, heading to Lily's manager's office. The lights were off when we got there , after fifteen minutes of speeding , but she let herself in with a key, and turned off the alarm . She rooted around in the lost property box, producing a little cell phone with two bars of battery life remaining . She dialed 911 and placed a call, adopting a weird accent and telling them there was a dead body . When she gave the address, she dropp ed the 'h' on Hyacinth, and h ung up when they asked her for details. Lily tossed the phone back in the lost property box, and reset the code on the door.
"Didn't sound like Traci," she said as she locked up, pushing the handle to test it.
"Good. What was up with the Australian accent?"
" That was British!"
"Oh!"
"That was totally Lara Croft."
"Um, okay."
We dived back into my car. "What now?" asked Lily as she turned down the collar of her jacket.
"Pick up a pizza and go home? Spend the evening looking really innocent while bleaching our eyeballs so that I don't see a corpse every time I close my eyes."
Lily was quiet for a moment, then , "Sounds like a plan."
Lily dialed , using her own phone this time , and ordered a large margherita, a side of garlic bread, and a tub of ice cream. We picked it up and went home. In Lily's apartment, we finished off an open bottle of red wine and munched on the pizza.
"You think they found him yet?" she asked, diving in
"Uh - oh, we've got company," said Lily, flattening herself against the wall. I dropped to the floor, despite the wooden blinds at the window, as the electronic gates swung open and a community security vehicle maneuvered inside.
"Time to go!" I pocketed the notepad and the matchbook , and we half crawled, half ran for the back door, shutting it behind us just as the doorbell rang.
"Given that Dean isn't exactly going to answer the door, I think we should run," I said and Lily nodded enthusiastically. We sprinted for the rear exit, arms and legs pumping, nearly getting ourselves stuck in our race to squeeze through the half-open gate at the same time. We slun k around the side of the house and crossed the road, trying not to hurry as we walked back to my car. I risked a glance over my shoulder and saw the security guard standing at Dean's door, before he started to walk around the house.
"I don't think he saw us," I said, pulling out my key fob and beeping the car open. We slid in on either side and I rested my hands on the wheel for a moment. I pulled my mittens off and stuck them in my pockets.
"I can't believe we found your boss!" Lily exclaimed. "Do you think we broke the case?"
Occasionally, Lily wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer . "Nope. I just think we found the body."
"We have to tell someone."
I nodded. "I know. But I can't tell Maddox without admitting we broke into Dean's house."
“Won’t he be pleased? You found Dean and he didn’t!”
I wasn’t sure he would see it that way. “Don’t know,” I said.
"So leave an anonymous tip. People do it all the time."
"You'll have to call. I don't want the line picked up by Traci." I wasn't sure if my sister-in-law was even on duty in the dispatch office at the moment, but I didn't want to risk it.
"Fine. Do you have a burn phone?"
" No. "
" All undercover agents have a burn phone, " protested Lily.
"I don’t . I have a two - year plan."
"Never mind. It was just a thought." Lily pulled the seatbelt around her and buckled up. " I know! S wing by my manager's office. He's always got a drawer full of phones people leave at the clubs. We'll use one of th ose ."
"Cool." I switched the engine on, pulled a three - point turn and drove back the way we came, heading to Lily's manager's office. The lights were off when we got there , after fifteen minutes of speeding , but she let herself in with a key, and turned off the alarm . She rooted around in the lost property box, producing a little cell phone with two bars of battery life remaining . She dialed 911 and placed a call, adopting a weird accent and telling them there was a dead body . When she gave the address, she dropp ed the 'h' on Hyacinth, and h ung up when they asked her for details. Lily tossed the phone back in the lost property box, and reset the code on the door.
"Didn't sound like Traci," she said as she locked up, pushing the handle to test it.
"Good. What was up with the Australian accent?"
" That was British!"
"Oh!"
"That was totally Lara Croft."
"Um, okay."
We dived back into my car. "What now?" asked Lily as she turned down the collar of her jacket.
"Pick up a pizza and go home? Spend the evening looking really innocent while bleaching our eyeballs so that I don't see a corpse every time I close my eyes."
Lily was quiet for a moment, then , "Sounds like a plan."
Lily dialed , using her own phone this time , and ordered a large margherita, a side of garlic bread, and a tub of ice cream. We picked it up and went home. In Lily's apartment, we finished off an open bottle of red wine and munched on the pizza.
"You think they found him yet?" she asked, diving in
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