Lust, Money & Murder by Mike Wells Page A

apartment.
    “If I make a pass at him and he’s not interested, I’ll be so humiliated, I won’t be able to look him in the eye again. I’ll have to transfer to some other field office. And I like it here—I love it here!”
    “You love him there,” Ashley said.
    Elaine didn’t say anything. There was no need.
    “Look, Elaine, I’m not talking about ‘making a pass’ at him. I’m talking about subtle hints. You’re a woman, you know how to do it.”
    “I’ve given him every subtle hint in the book, Ashley. He doesn’t respond to any of them.”
    Ashley was quiet a moment. Elaine knew what she was thinking. Well, maybe the man just ain’t interested.
    Ashley said, “Look, it’s probably the boss-subordinate thing. Does he know about the bastard in Great Falls?”
    Ashley was the only one Elaine had told about Bill Saunders. “I don’t think so. How could he know?”
    “Don’t ask me, I’m not a secret agent.”
    “Ashley, we’re not ‘secret agents,’ we enforce the law, like the FBI.”
    “Whatever.” Ashley had never understood Elaine’s career choice. “The point is, if he does know about the bastard in Great Falls, then he’s probably scared shitless to make a move towards you. He’s afraid you’ll fly off the handle and get him fired for sexual harassment.”
    Elaine had considered this already. “I don’t think that’s it. This guy isn’t into following rules, Ashley. That’s one of the things that makes him so attractive—he’s a rebel, he does whatever the hell he wants.”
    “Yeah, those types are exciting.”
    Elaine sighed. “I just think that if he was really interested in me that he would take the risk.”
    Well, there you have it , she could hear Ashley thinking.
    “Look, Lainie, if you’re that crazy about this guy, you should just come out and tell him. You know what they say. ‘It is better to have loved and lost, than not to have loved—”
    “Come on, don’t feed me clichés!”
    “Well, you call me for advice, and then when I give it to you, you reject it. What exactly are you wanting me to tell you?”
    “I’m sorry. I’m just so upset about this. You’ve been a big help, really. I—I just need to think some more.”
    “You’ve done enough thinking already—you’re just driving yourself batty. It’s bad for your self-esteem.”
    “Yeah,” Elaine sighed, hugging herself and shivering again. “Listen, I’m freezing my butt off, Ashley, I’ve got to hang up. I appreciate all your advice, and please, please don’t breathe word of this to anyone.”
    “As if I’m going to share it with all my secret agent friends.”
     
    * * *
    Two hours later, Nick came into Elaine’s office.
    “How would you like to go on an undercover assignment with me to Belarus?”
    It was as if he had overheard the entire telephone conversation. Of course, Elaine knew such a thing was impossible.
    “Sure,” she said, trying to hide her excitement. “What’s the assignment?”
    Nick explained it to her. He suspected that there was a small counterfeiting operation there and couldn’t get any cooperation from the Belarusian authorities, so he wanted to go investigate himself. “It would only be for a couple of days,” he added casually.
    “That’s fine,” she said, struggling to hide her exhilaration. She wondered if he would want them to pose as a couple again. She actually felt herself becoming sexually aroused at the thought of holing up with him for a few days in a hotel in Belarus. Who knew what might happen?
    “You’ll need a fake passport, of course,” he said. “What country do you want to be from? Are you any good at any particular accent?”
    “Might yeh be gettin’ me a passport from Ayerland, so? Some say I do an Ayerish brogue that ain’t half bad.”
    Nick burst out laughing. “That’s awesome! Are you Irish, or part Irish?”
    “My great-great-great-great grandmother was an Irish Princess. She lived in a beautiful