Honeymoon

Chapter 52

SUSAN WAS BARKING in my ear. She was pissed. “What do you mean, you told her we were exhuming Brown’s body?”

“Trust me, it’s to our advantage,” I said. “More than ever, Nora thinks I’m on her side. Plus, you told me yourself that digging up the body poses a risk. She could find out on her own.”

“I said it poses a small risk.”

“And what I’m saying is that we just turned it around to our advantage.”

“We didn’t do anything, O’Hara. You did this on your own without discussing it with me first.”

“So I winged it a bit.”

“No, you winged it a lot. That’s your trademark, isn’t it? That’s what gets you in trouble,” she groused. “There’s a reason we have a game plan, and that’s so we both know what the other is doing.”

“C’mon, Susan, at least agree this plays into our favor.”

“That’s not the point. I need you to be a team player, understand? You’re not the undercover cop anymore.”

I hesitated, but then said, “You’re right. I’m the undercover federal agent.”

“Not for long if you call any more audibles like that. I don’t like cowboys.”

Neither of us said anything for a few seconds. I broke the silence. “You know, I liked it better when you were building me up.”

Susan managed a small, frustrated laugh.

“Tell me, genius,” she said, “now that Nora knows we’re about to dig up her fiancé, what’s your next move?”

“That’s easy,” I answered. “We wait for the results. If our lab says foul play, we’ve got our killer.”

“You’ll still need evidence that she did it.”

“Which happens to be a lot easier to find when you know what you’re looking for.”

“What if the lab doesn’t find anything?”

“Then I tell Nora the good news and work that much harder to trip her up.”

“You’re forgetting one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“She might actually be innocent.”

“This coming from someone who thinks everyone’s guilty.”

“I’m just saying…”

“No, I understand. Anything’s possible. But the woman has been involved with at least two dead guys in two different states. If it’s a coincidence, then Nora Sinclair has had some serious bad luck with men.”

“Silly me,” she said. “Let’s strap her to the electric chair.”

“There we go, much better. I thought you were someone else for a second.”

“Speaking of which, what are the odds Nora develops eyes for your alter ego?”

“Nah. Craig Reynolds isn’t in her league,” I said. “He doesn’t make enough money.”

“You never know. You’ve been telling me how much she thinks you’re on her side. Based on that, she might want to slum it for a change.”

“Then I’ve got just the apartment. Perfect for slumming.”

“You’re not going to start on that again, are you?”

“No, but if I end up spending too much more time in that dump, I’m going to put in for hazard pay.”

“O’Hara, should that turn out to be the hardest part of this assignment, you’ll be a lucky man.”