This story is the property of the author and is copywrited. You may keep a copy on your computer for personal enjoyment, however if you wish to publish or distribute the story then you must get the permission of the author.
The PI and her Client Chapter One
"You got a young lady to see you, you got time to see her?" Julia yelled from the outer office.
"Young lady... with my mom that could be someone from twelve to thirty- two," Rachel thought to herself with a smile. "Give me about five minutes to finish up and then send her in," she yelled back.
They actually had intercom with their phone system but she could never convince her mother to use it. She seemed to prefer to yell or if the person appeared to be a bit shady, she would barge right in to tell her. That was the bad part of having your mother work for you, it was about impossible to tell her to do something she didn't want to do. Even after four years of college and eight years working for the CIA, her mother still believed that it was her job to take care of her and look after her. The good part was that she worked cheaply and it kept her mother involved and feeling like she was doing something good which, of course, she was.
Her mother also lived next to her in the small one-story duplex that Rachel had bought. She lived in one half and her mother the other, though she had put a door between them so that they wouldn't have to go outside to go from one to the other. She and her mother had always been very close and she liked her being close so that she could take care of her too.
The five minutes was a code between them, it gave her mother time to talk to the prospective client and get a feel for them and why they thought they needed a private investigator, an expensive private investigator. Being a private investigator came naturally after her work for the CIA and she was good at it. She had learned a lot from her work and she invested in some of the equipment she had learned about while working for the agency, something that she still did from time to time though no one knew that except for her mother who didn't like it one bit. The outer office was small and her office was not much bigger however the rest of the floor was filled with her equipment. For most of her cases, she didn't need much more than her camera to catch a straying husband or wife but sometimes she did get an interesting case where a family wanted to regain contact with a family member that had decided to disappear for various reasons.
It was closer to fifteen minutes before her mother appeared at the door with a cute young woman who couldn't be more that eighteen if she was that. She was just a little taller than her mother who was five feet six inches tall. She had a little pert nose and a nice smile with straight white teeth. Her jeans were expensive as was the sweater that she was wearing.
"This is Lilly Stingle and she has an issue that she needs to discuss with you," her mother told her.
"Come on in and have a seat," Rachel told the young woman.
Her mother turned to leave but then she stopped and turned back, "don't forget that you have an appointment tomorrow at eleven," she said before going on out, closing the door behind her.
There was no appointment of course, it was the number eleven that was important. It was a code that they had developed with the first number being their ability to pay and the second number was how difficult the case appeared to be. Of course, every case was different with what appeared to be a simple case turning out to be complicated. In this case, the first number meant that the girl had the money to pay and the second number meant that it should be an easy one without much time involved.
"What may I do for you today Ms. Stingle?" Rachel asked as Lilly sat down in the chair in front of the desk.
"You may call me Lilly," Lilly said. "May I call you Rachel?"
"You may," Rachel said with a smile. The girl might be young but she seemed to be at ease and not imitated by being here. This girl was becoming more interesting by the moment with the pose that she was showing.
"So, what brings you here today?" Rachel asked sitting back in her office chair.
Lilly slid forward in her seat and leaned in before speaking. "My father has married a whore and I need for you to get the evidence to prove to him just what a slut he married." She said straight forward.
"I see..." Rachel said wondering if this was true or did this young girl just want her step-mother out of her father's life so that she could she could go back to getting whatever she wanted from dear ole dad. The girl didn't appear to be a spoiled brat but that was a real possibility. "So how do you know that your step- mother is fooling around?"
"I've followed her and I know who she is seeing and when she sees him," Lilly told her.
"If you know this, why do you need me?" Rachel asked.
"Because my father knows that I haven't liked her from the beginning. I warned him not to marry her but he was sure that she was who she pretended to be. I knew better and I waited her out, once she began to disappear when my father was away, I would borrow some of my friend's cars and follow her. Now I need for you to show him just who this woman really is, a gold digger." Lilly said with such conviction that Rachel was willing, for the moment, to give her the benefit of the doubt.
Rachel appeared to be thinking this over but actually she was glancing over at her computer screen to see what her mother had just sent about Lilly's father and the dot-com company he created and then sold before he had reached thirty. Now he sat on a number of boards of large companies and did some consulting on other new start-ups. This told Rachel that he was very smart, very rich, and very busy. This information gave her something to think about, this case would be an easy way to make some money though she didn't like to take advantage of people even if they had plenty of money.
"You know that it'll cost you, I don't work cheaply. I like to do things the right way and that takes time and I charge for each hour that I put into each case. I really hate to charge you to find out what you already know assuming that everything you've told me is accurate." Rachel told Lilly looking to see what reaction she had.
Lilly didn't get upset but remained calm replying, "I assure you that everything I have told you is one hundred percent correct."
"Let me ask you something and I want you to think about it before answering," Rachel stated.
"I will," Lilly told her.
"Why do you really want hire me, what do you get out of it?" Rachel asked.
Rachel saw just a flash of anger from Lilly but just as quickly that anger vanished and she smiled. She sat there for a moment more before she answered Rachel's question.
"If you're asking if I'm doing this to get Olivia out of the way so that I'll have my father to myself and thus all of his money, I assure you that isn't my motivation. When my mother died, my father set up a trust fund for me that I took control of when I turned eighteen last month. His will is also set up so that that I will inherit almost everything and his wife will be given a set amount of money. So, money isn't my motivation. My father and I are very close even if we do argue a lot which doesn't come between the respect and love we have for each other. I think he was lonely after my mother passed and this woman took advantage of that. I don't mind my father remarrying; I just want him with someone more like my mother. A strong willed woman but a loving and caring one. Does that answer your question?" Lilly asked.
"I believe that it does," Rachel replied.
"So, you'll take my case?" Lilly asked hopefully.
"I will but like I said, I don't come cheap. I charge two hundred dollars an hour and if your case is as straight forward as you say then it shouldn't take up more than five to ten hours of my time." Rachel said figuring that Lilly wouldn't protest.
"That's fine however I have one other request," Lilly stated.
"What's that?" Rachel asked curious as to what this would be.
"That when you work on my case that I be a part of it," Lilly stated like this was not an unusual request.
"No way, you'll just get in my way. I never allow anyone to come along with me on any of my cases," Rachel stated firmly.
"I promise that I won't get in your way and I'll do everything that you say," Lilly told her.
"Like I said, I don't work that way, if that is what you require then you need to find another investigator," Rachel told her.
"I've done my research and everyone I've talked to says that you're the best so I want you. I know I'm asking you to go against your rules and the way you do your work but it is important to me. I know I'm right about Olivia but I need to see it for myself and not just pictures or videos or whatever you get. If it turns out that I'm wrong about the man I have seen Olivia with then I'll have to..." Lilly stated and she stopped there not able to finish her sentence. And for the first time since she entered the office, Rachel could see a vulnerability in Lilly's eyes indicating how important this was to her to prove to herself that she was doing the right thing even if it was going to hurt her father.
Rachel sat back in her chair looking over this young woman sitting in front of her. For the first time, she found herself considering doing something she knew better than doing. It did seem to be an easy case and what harm could it do, besides the girl was cute... but she knew that was the wrong reason to do anything. It was just the more she looked at this young woman the more she found something about her that drew her interest. She had to admit that a small part of that interest was sexual but most of it was just the way the girl talked and the passion she could see in her. Lilly had convinced her that she was trying to look out for her father and not to just get rid of the woman that her father had chosen to marry just because she wasn't like her mother. She looked hard at Lilly once again and she saw that she was patiently waiting for her answer however those pretty brown eyes were begging Rachel to give in and go against her better judgement.
"If you insist on tagging along then I'll have to raise my rate to five hundred dollars an hour just to cover any liability. And if I ask you to jump you had better jump and then worry if it was high enough. If it wasn't high enough then I'm off the case with no refund," Rachel told her raising her rate that high was more to convince Lilly to reconsider hoping that it would work knowing that with Lilly's access to money it probably wouldn't work.
"Oh, thank you!" Lilly said with her eyes lighting up and a huge smile forming upon her lips.
"Don't make me regret this," Rachel stated firmly wanting Lilly to understand that she was being serious.
"You won't, I promise," Lilly responded. "So, when do we start?"
"First, I need some information from you about you, your father, and your stepmother. And the clock starts now," Rachel said touching a button on a clock sitting on her desk. She used it to keep accurate the time she worked on each case.
"One more request, would you refer to her as Olivia and not my step-mother because she isn't my step-mother as far as I am concerned." Lilly said with her face showing again her distaste of this woman.
"I can do that," Rachel said smiling.
Rachel turned the page on her legal pad and she began to pepper Lilly with questions about her father, Olivia, and the man Olivia was seeing whom she had a name, John Foster. She also asked some things about Lilly just to get some background on the girl who had hired her. It never hurt to know something about your client, Rachel had learned rather early in her career.
She even repeated some questions just changing the way she asked them to make sure that she got the same answer which she did get, not that she had expected otherwise; she just had to make sure that Lilly was being straight up with her. This went on for over two hours before Rachel felt like she had enough information that she could get started.
"So, what happens next?" Lilly asked obviously anxious to get the dirt on Olivia and thus get the woman out of her father's life and thus her life.
"I need to do some background first on Olivia and this John Foster just to see what is going on," Rachel explained.
"You'll call me when you scope them out so I can go with you," Lilly stated more than asked.
"No, I need to do my research first and that I have to do that alone," Rachel stated and she could see Lilly was about to argue so she put up her hand to stop her. "when I'm ready to get the evidence then I'll call you and set things up."
"But you said that I could be there with you," Lilly said obviously disappointed at this turn of events.
"And you will, when it counts. In the meantime, there is something that you can help me with," Rachel said knowing that she had to give Lilly something to do or she would be bugging her to death.
"What's that?" Lilly asked hopefully.
"You said that you live in the guest house at your father's estate and that you can see both your father's movements and Olivia's" Rachel said.
"Yes..." Lilly said.
"I want you to keep up with when they both leave and when they come back home," Rachel told her, "you can call this information in to my mother, she will make sure that I get everything."
"I can do that," Lilly said and Rachel could see that Lilly was hoping for more and she knew she wouldn't like what she would say next.
"I also don't want you to follow Olivia anymore, she'll eventually catch on to what you are doing, if she hasn't already." Rachel told her.
"She hasn't, she's not that smart," Lilly said confidently.
"One person can't do a tail without getting caught, you need three or four cars switching off to get away with it and even then, the person can catch on especially if they are doing something they shouldn't be doing. Besides you already told me where she is going so a tail isn't needed, I just need to know when she comes and goes," Rachel explained.
"But every time she goes out isn't to see him, she has other places that she goes, how will you know when she is doing what without me at least following her sometimes?" Lilly asked.
"If I told you all my secrets then you won't need to hire me and I'll be out of a job unless you're wanting to become a PI and take away all my business," Rachel said seriously and then she smiled to let Lilly know she was teasing her.
Lilly let out a giggle, "No, I don't want to be a PI..." she said and paused for a moment. "But then again my father keeps telling me that if I'm not going to college then I need to find something to do... so maybe becoming a PI might be a good idea."
Rachel laughed saying, "Then I'm going to have to keep my eye on you aren't I."
Lilly paused for a second and then Rachel notice a slight hue come to Lilly's cheeks as she responded with, "I wouldn't mind that..."
At first glance, Rachel thought that Lilly was just playing along with the PI thing but with the way Lilly had said it along with the what was now a darkening red hue on her cheeks made Rachel think that Lilly was being serious and her comment was meant to tell her something, something that Rachel hadn't even thought about until that very moment. The first thought that went through Rachel's mind was the possibility that Lilly was lesbian; the last thing she needed was a very pretty young woman, who may have already developed a crush on her, following along as she did her investigation.
Left speechless for one of the few times in her life, Rachel decided her best option at this moment was to end the meeting, "Well let me get started and I'll let you know something once I have my research done," Rachel told her standing up and offering her hand to Lilly.
Lilly stood up taking Rachel's hand giving it a squeeze with her small soft hand. "Thank you for taking my case," Lilly replied. When she got to the door, she turned back to say, "Thanks again," flashing a big smile showing her perfect white teeth. She then opened the door and left thanking Rachel's mom as she went on out of the office.
A couple of minutes later, Rachel's mom appeared in the doorway coming on in to sit in the seat that Lilly had just vacated. "She sure is cute isn't she," Julia stated.
"I didn't notice," Rachel replied getting the frown from her mother that she expected. Her mother knew her too well to know that she wouldn't have noticed what Lilly looked like.
Still frowning at her, Julia went on to the real issue at hand, "You think that it was a good idea to let her tag alone with you, you've never done that before."
"Do me a favor and call that contractor that we used to redesign the office, I want him to put up a sound proof wall and door between our offices." Rachel told her mother.
"I'll call him this afternoon," Julia said with a smile that told Rachel that her mother had no intention of doing any such thing not that Rachel really wanted her to do so.
"Yeah, I fucked up on that one," Rachel admitted to her mother getting the motherly frown on the word that she chose to use.
"So, what are you going to do to fix it," Julia asked pushing it more than Rachel wanted.
"I don't know, try to limit how much I allow her to tag along," Rachel told her.
"Something tells me that this will be hard to do, for a girl so young, she seems to be determined and now I can't deflect her since you already told her that she could tag along," Julia said.
"I know, I created this mess and I'll have to fix it," Rachel stated not having any idea how she was going to manage that.
"I think she has already formed an attraction to you what with her not minding you keeping an eye on her," Julia said obviously hearing that part of their conversation. "Plus, you're helping her solve a problem and she's young and impressable..." Julia said.
"I know..." Rachel said pausing for a moment before she looked to her mother and asked, "Do you think she's lesbian?"
"I don't know but I do know that she liked what she saw when she came into the office, I could see it in her reaction to you," Julia stated. "You know you need to start there and find out."
"I plan on it," Rachel said.
"What about you, are you attracted to her?" Julia asked.
"I don't let personal life interfere with my professional life," Rachel said firmly more to convince herself than her mother in this case.
"Something tells me that Lilly won't make that so easy to do," Julia said with a knowing smile before standing up to go back to her desk. "I'll start on her father and see what I can find about him."
"I'll start on Lilly and see what I can find out about her before I start on her father's wife," Rachel said turning to her computer screen as her mother returned to her own desk.
She did a general search finding a couple of articles and pictures mainly stuff you would see about any child of a rich and powerful. She didn't expect to find much and she didn't but it was good general information. She always liked to get a feel for her clients before she set to work on what they hired her to do. Next, she went to the social media sites where she hoped to find a gold mine of information. For the most part, her age group lived on social media and they put far more information out there than they realized.
What she quickly realized was that Lilly was the exception to the rule, she didn't offer a lot of information about herself or what she had done or was doing at every minute of the day. Whether that was because of her father and the exposure that he would get from anything she put online or just that she liked to keep her private life just that, she wasn't sure. She basically hit a dead end on the one area she expected to get the most information.
She decided to come back to Lilly later and move onto her step-mother. The first thing she discovered was that there wasn't much information about Olivia and the information that Lilly had given her, she couldn't confirm. Either Lilly made up her information to get rid of Olivia or was it that Olivia's past wasn't what she had been telling Lilly's father. Just from talking to Lilly, she really didn't think that Lilly was lying. She was too smart not to know that she would find out the truth rather quickly. The problem Rachel was having was that she was having trouble finding out what the truth was.
Her mother had an easier time getting the information that Rachel wanted on Lilly's father. While he did keep his private life private, the financial stuff was easier to get. Still her mother was able to get what Rachel needed. She also found out how Lilly's mother died, that being an auto accident when Lilly was fourteen, that was a bad time for a young girl to lose her mother and she could see why Lilly had grown close and protective of her father.
She talked to her mother about Lilly's father and the lack of information on Olivia. One of the reasons that she liked having her mother working for her was that every once in a while, she came up with a brilliant idea and so she did in this case. She suggested that she go to work on this John Foster that Olivia was seeing and find out what she could about him. There was always the possibility that she really didn't need to know much about Olivia, other than that she was screwing someone other than her husband. She just might be over researching the case, just get what she needed and then get Lilly out of her life before the girl complicated it more than she needed.
Rachel knew that her mother was right, just get the job done and over with however there was this need in her to find out the whole truth which was why she was in great demand and could charge what she did for her services. She would do as her mother suggested but one way or another, she would find the history on Olivia, it was too great a mystery for her to leave unsolved. She began there as she finished up several other cases that needed to be resolved and put to bed.
The first thing that she wanted to find out was where he worked so she could find out when he was gone from his house. Normally once she had this information, she would stop her research since it would be easy to bug or put a video into the house to get the evidence she needed. The first she discovered was that this John Foster didn't work and appeared to not have worked for several years, this she found out from his tax returns that she had a source get for her. His tax returns also gave her first clue about Olivia. She had only requested the past five years and he had filed jointly with his wife who happened to be named Olivia.
Rachel knew that it was too much of a coincidence for him to be married to an Olivia and also have a mistress named Olivia. Their only income came from interest and dividends except for a legal settlement three years ago. She tapped back into his returns going back several years and finding three more legal settlements all for several hundred thousand dollars. This took her back to when John and his wife Olivia worked in Las Vegas where they both worked in a casino. This led her to a wedding chapel in Las Vegas where the two had gotten married. Rachel then knew that all of Olivia's marriages probably weren't legal so she spent another couple of days making sure that the two had never divorced.
Lilly had been patient for the most part just calling every couple of days to let Rachel's mother know what her father and Olivia had been doing and when they were at the house and when they were gone. Her mother was doing a pretty good job of keeping Lilly at bay so that Rachel could work but that wasn't going to last forever so Rachel tried to get to the bottom of her mystery of Olivia as quickly as possible.
Once she felt like she had gotten all the information that she needed, she had her mother call Lilly arraigning for her to come in on Monday morning thus giving her the weekend to put what she had found out into a neat package that she could present to Lilly. She knew that she had promised Lilly that she could tail along and she would be pissed that she had done this without her help. That is why she left a couple of holes in her investigation, things that Lilly could help her with without getting in the way. The first one was rather easy though it would involve some travel, the second one was a bit trickier but she felt like she could handle Lilly and keep her out of the way while still making her feel that she had done her part to help.
Her mother always arrived at the office first around eight, she liked to get the coffee going and check any messages that might have come it. It also gave her a few minutes to... well actually Rachel didn't know what her mother did until she got there but it made her mother happy and that was all that mattered.
Rachel was still getting dressed when she got a message from her mother, "Guess who's here."
Rachel texted her back, "Her damn appointment isn't until nine-thirty!"
"And you expected her to wait until then, you've put her off this long, she wasn't going to wait much longer." Her mother texted.
"Yeah, I know. I'm on my way," Rachel said with a smile. She knew that she was lucky to have this much time without Lilly banging her door down demanding to find out what was going on and why she hadn't been a part of the investigation.
When she arrived at the office, she found that her mother and Lilly were chatting away. "Morning Lilly, let me get a cup of coffee and we'll get started in just a moment." Rachel said smiling though she was a bit displeased that Lilly had not given her time to set things up for their meeting.
"I'll get it for you, how do you take it?" Lilly asked jumping up from her chair.
"She takes it with a teaspoon of creamer and just a hint of sugar," her mother answered before Rachel could say that she could get her own coffee.
Rachel frowned at her mother who just smiled back at her. "One day I will kill my mother and no one would convict me." Rachel thought to herself and that thought was reinforced when her mother added, "She uses the mug with the peace sign on it, that's her favorite cup."
"Thanks a lot," Rachel mouthed to her mother as she went on into her office followed a moment later by Lilly and then her mother who closed the door.
Lilly placed Rachel's cup on her desk and Rachel thanked her while trying to think on how she wanted to present what she had to Lilly. She knew what she wanted to say, just not how to simplify everything at the beginning and then she would get into more detail as she felt she needed. She took a sip of her coffee while glancing to her mother to see if she had any ideas as they had talked about this on Sunday as her mother cooked her dinner. They both had come up with some ideas but had not settled on anything. Her mother was about to speak when Rachel held up her hand, she just happened to have noticed an old white board against the back wall and she knew what she wanted to do.
No one said anything as Rachel cleared out the things in front of the board and her mother now knowing what she was going to do, hurried out of the office bring in a set of dry erase markers that Rachel would need. Rachel then got her notes that she had made and went to the board bringing with her cup of coffee that she placed on the cabinet by the board. Lilly and Rachel's mother had now turned their chairs to face the board and thus Rachel.
"Lilly, first off I want to explain how I go about starting a case, that way when you become a PI, you'll know how I do things," Rachel stated giving Lilly a smile and getting the girlish giggle from Lilly. She referenced their Lilly joke from when Lilly had come in to hire her. She didn't normally do this but she felt like Lilly needed to know why she had kept her in the dark for so long on a simple case of infidelity.
"I always like to do some basic research on the both who hired me and who I am investigating," Rachel said and she saw the surprise on Lilly's face and she realized that Rachel had looked into her past too. "I do so to make sure that what I am being hired for is legit. I don't do other people's dirty work nor do I work for criminals or people who what to commit a crime."
"That's not what I hired you for," Lilly said in her defense. "Nor did I want you to look into my father's affairs."
"Actually, I didn't look into your father's affairs, my mother did," Rachel said making her mother look bad for an instant just to get her back for the coffee upon which she took a sip as Lilly glared at Rachel's mother.
She then decided to come to her mother's recue before Lilly got up and slapped her. "Actually, the only thing my mother did was to make sure that your father didn't work for any crime syndicate. The last thing I need on my conscience is your father deciding that Olivia needed to sleep with the fishes."
Rachel quickly saw that her expression was lost on poor Lilly. "She is making a bad reference to the old mob movies where the mob has someone killed," her mother said and finally Lilly smiled.
"He won't but I might," Lilly said and Rachel saw that she was being half serious.
"No, you won't," Rachel said.
"No... I won't but I might slap the shit out of her," Lilly said being completely serious this time. Then she said, "So what did you find out about me?"
"Well for someone your age, you don't use social media," Rachel said.
"No, I have no use for all the gossip and crap people put on there. And I like to keep my life to myself. If I want you to know something, I'll tell it to your face," Lilly stated.
"Good for you, besides I really didn't need or want to know a lot about you other than that you are who you said you were, after that your life is none of my business," Rachel said and she saw something in Lilly's eyes that hinted that Lilly wanted her to know more.
"Anyway, back to the business at hand," Rachel said as she turned to the board and wrote Olivia's name on the board. "The first problem was that I could not confirm anything you told me about her past..."
"I told you the truth, I told you everything that she had said about her life before moving here," Lilly said becoming very upset.
"I know, I believe you," Rachel said quickly. "She lied about her past or at least lied about parts of her past..."
"How so?" Lilly quickly asked.
"I'll get there," she said. "I decided to see what I could find out about John Foster, the man that she is cheating on your father. Well actually your father isn't the one she is cheating on..."
"Yes, she is! I know it!" Lilly protested. "I've seen it for myself. She has gone to that man's house.
"Rachel, quit teasing the poor girl and tell her!" Julia said to her daughter.
"Tell me what, god damnit!" Lilly demanded.
"You going to let her get away with using bad words," Rachel said grinning at Lilly who was showing her frustration in no uncertain terms.
"I can't put her over my knee but I still can you," Her mother said surprising Lilly who gasped and then she burst out laughing.
"If she doesn't start telling me what is going on, I'll help you," Lilly said looking directly at Rachel.
"Oh, I've burst her butt many times before, I don't need any help," Julia said to Lilly who giggled again.
Rachel then decided to get serious before her mother made good on her threat. "The reason that Olivia isn't cheating on your father is because she isn't legally married to him. John Foster is her husband and has been since nineteen ninety-six."
"What!" Lilly said totally shocked.
"They got married in Las Vegas and I've checked every source that I know and I cannot find where they ever got divorced. Your father is the fourth man she has married since then and none of them were legal but that didn't stop her from collecting a nice settlement when she divorced them." Rachel told a very confused Lilly.
"I don't understand..." Lilly confessed.
"Olivia and her husband have a nice little scam going. They move to a new city, Olivia gets in with some of the rich and powerful of the city and then finds a suitable man, a man they are sure will eventually cheat on her. She hires someone like myself to get the evidence and then she gets a nice little parting gift as they say. The weird part is that they file a joint return with the ill-gotten money listed as a court settlement, a settlement that is private. Actually, that is how I figured out what she was doing as I was getting nowhere on any research that I was doing on her like I said." Rachel told Lilly.
"So, the things she told my father, those really were all lies weren't they..." Lilly asked.
"Pretty much, I would say that some things she told you were based on truth, her last husband did cheat on her and all that, but then she picked him knowing that he would cheat." Rachel told her.
"But she sounded so hurt by it all, not even wanting to marry again and all that sh... I mean crap," Lilly said amending her words for Rachel's mom. "I can't believe that my father believed her too."
"Honey, she's a con artist and a very good one. She caught your father just at the right time. He was lonely and finally ready to date again. She came upon him just at the right time." Rachel said as kindly as she could to lessen the pain that she knew Lilly was feeling.
"Tell me everything you know about this bitch," Lilly said and then she looked over at Julia.
"Honey she is a bitch," Julia told poor Lilly.
"First let me give you an outline and we can work back from there," Rachel said getting her marker and she started with Olivia's marriage to this John Foster and she went forward until she got to Lilly's father. From there, she showed her what data that she could to back her what she had laid out to Lilly who took it all in asking questions as Rachel went along.
"I do have one more question," Lilly said, "You said that she waited for the men to cheat on her before she divorced them, my father isn't the type to cheat. Did she screw up with him or what?"
"Olivia is a smart woman, I'm sure that she had a plan B," Rachel said.
"What kill him?" Lilly said with her fear clearly showing.
"No, she may be a con artist but a killer she isn't. She's smarter than that. I couldn't find out what all the divorce settlements were so I am sure that your father wasn't the first one that didn't cheat on her," Rachel said.
"Okay I've got another question," Lilly said making Rachel smile as she knew that even after all the questions she had asked, there were several more to come as she thought of them.
"Why would this John Foster let his wife go marry someone else, I mean she really was cheating on him," Lilly asked.
"The money, they have gotten rich with this scheme," Rachel gave the obvious answer.
"I guess so..." Lilly said. "So, what happens now?"
"Now we take a break while my mother goes finds us something to snack on and then we talk about our next move," Rachel said.
"What next move, don't you have enough to nail this lady and get my father out of the marriage?" Lilly asked.
"Lilly, what I have found out, I didn't do so by looking it up on the internet, if you get what I am saying. Your father has many good lawyers and it will be up to them how to use what you give them. You understand what I am telling you?" Rachel asked.
"I do now," Lilly said a bit disappointed.
"Come on Lilly, help me fix us up some snacks," Julia said standing up.
Lilly hesitated for a second before saying, "Okay."
When Julia and Lilly returned with a tray of fruit and some of her mother's favorite cookies, Lilly seemed to be in better sprits which Rachel was sure her mother was a great help in getting her to understand that there was plenty left to do and that she would be able to help.
Lilly did allow her to get another cup of coffee and a couple of the cookies before she spoke. "Your mother mentioned that we might need to first convince my father that Olivia is cheating on him before I hit him with the whole marriage thing..." Lilly said.
"What do you think?" Rachel asked not commenting on whether she thought that or not.
"Well since he knows I don't like her, I think it best he sees for himself that she really is seeing this John Foster before I tell him that he is married to her," Lilly said.
"I think that might be best plus the wedding chapel that they got married in keeps a copy of the license and a picture but it is in storage. I think if we went there and obtained a copy of each then that just adds to the evidence you have. They will let us have a copy but we have to find it." Rachel said and she saw Lilly's face light up upon hearing this.
"That sounds great, when do we go?" Lilly said excitedly.
"When will your father be out of town for a few days?" Rachel asked.
"I think he leaves next Monday on a trip and will be gone all week," Lilly said.
"That works for me, we can take a couple of days to get some pictures of them together and then fly out to Las Vegas on Wednesday to find the wedding picture and license," Rachel said and then added, "Of course I will have to charge the flight back to you."
"Let me take care of that," Lilly said with a smile that gave Rachel more than a little concern.
"Just a one-day trip, early morning flight and back that evening," Rachel said just to make sure that Lilly understood that this was a business trip and nothing else.
"I know," Lilly replied however her eyes told a different story.
"I guess that is all for now, why don't you meet me here about eight P.M. on Monday and we can head to Foster's house," Rachel told her.
"She'll be there long before then, shouldn't we get some pictures of her going into the house?" Lilly asked.
"Let me do that," Rachel said and before Lilly could protest, she finished her thought, "since it will be daylight, I don't to take the chance of her seeing you."
"Oh okay," Lilly replied obviously not liking that she wouldn't be there but seeming to understand why.
"Besides the pictures that we get after dark might be more interesting than her entering a house, especially if he doesn't meet her at the door which I doubt he will," Rachel stated.
"No, I don't think he will," Lilly admitted after a brief hesitation to consider what Rachel was saying and the logic behind it.
"Well let me get back to work and I'll see you Monday," Rachel said getting up from her chair as did her mother.
"See you then," Lilly said getting up from her chair.
Rachel's mother escorted Lilly out of the office and Rachel could hear them talking until Rachel's mother finally got Lilly out the door. A moment later, Julia came back into the office with an expression that indicated that she was about to stop being her office assistant and become her mother.
"Do you think it is a good idea taking her to Las Vegas, sin city..." Her mother said.
"We're not staying overnight, just the day and then back that evening. I won't string this out so we don't have to stay overnight," Rachel said.
"Are you sure, she is the one making the flight plans..." Her mother said.
Rachel wanted to argue with her mother that she had things under control but she knew she didn't and it was not wise to let Lilly take care of the flight reservations. "I know but I didn't want to argue since she would be paying for the flight one way or the other," Rachel said.
"And that is the only reason you didn't insist on making the flight plans," her mother asked arching her eyebrows at her which Rachel hated as her mother only did that when she knew she was right.
"Oh, shut up," Rachel said which got a laugh from her mother.
"Just be careful, she's young and impressionable and she has a crush on you," her mother stated.
"I know, I'll be careful with her," Rachel said.
Her mother just smiled but didn't say anything more as she returned to her own desk leaving Rachel in her own thoughts. She said all the right things to her mother however she wasn't so sure she believed them any more than her mother did. There was something about Lilly that drew Rachel in and she was having trouble resisting thinking about Lilly, too much trouble.
Rachel only let herself think about Lilly for a moment before she got back to work, that was her safe haven from the world outside. She still had a couple of jobs to work on this week and she needed to get back to those and earn the money that kept this business alive.
Rachel picked up a couple of new jobs during the week, both easy to resolve but they kept her busy thought she did take a little time to scope out the Foster house and find a place to get some good pictures if the Foster's cooperated and she believed that they would. She had a gut feeling about these two and usually her gut never let her down.
Monday afternoon, she was parked in her van across the street from the Foster home. The van was set up with windows in the sides and she had one of her fake business labels, in this case a plumbing business. She was used to waiting out her target, something she had done many times before. Getting pictures of people being in places that shouldn't be was at the core of her business, so here she was patiently waiting. Rarely did anyone surprise her by not showing up and today wasn't one of those days. About four, Olivia pulled into the driveway, getting out of her fancy car, going to the door and opening it with her own key. That alone was more than enough proof that she lived there at least part of the time. In this case, when she wasn't living with Lilly's father.
Once inside the house, Rachel packed up her camera and got behind the wheel. She drove away though she wasn't finished as she circled around and getting onto a back road that led into the woods behind the Foster house. The woods were thick with trees and shrub trees trying to grow amidst the larger trees around them. She parked the van where it couldn't be seen from the old road not that many people used as it dead ended about two miles up from where she stopped. She set up the recording equipment in the van and then got out getting her bag of spying equipment that she had packed. She had checked out the woods a couple of weeks ago and she knew that could get some great shots.
She creeped into the woods until she got close to the back of the Foster house. The Fosters or the family that owned the house before them had been kind enough to plant some shrubs at the edge of the woods. This provided plenty of cover for Rachel to set up her camera and her video camera. She set them up on the tripods from her bag. She focused in on the bedroom windows that were larger than in a normal house and also since no one could see in, the curtains were never closed as Rachel had found out the first time. She had even gotten some rather nice pictures of Mr. Foster and a lady friend that Olivia may or may not know about. But since Olivia was sleeping with Lilly's father then why shouldn't her husband have other women. She really didn't need these pictures but she saved them all the same, not sure if she would show them to Lilly since they really didn't have anything to do with what she had hired her to do.
She took a few pictures of the bedroom thought neither of the Fosters were in there and ran a couple of minutes of video just to make sure that it was recording and being received in her van. She then retrieved her camera and video camera leaving the tripods in place sure that they would not be found. When she got back to the van, she checked to make sure that her equipment had picked up the video from her camera.
Lilly surprised her by showing up only fifteen minutes early however she didn't surprise her when she got out of her car wearing tight jeans and a white blouse. She, on the other hand, was wearing a pair of blacked colored coveralls. It wasn't likely that they would be seen but there was no reason to take the chance of them turning on the back-porch light.
Rachel greeted her at the office door since her mother was at home enjoying her game shows. "I think we need to do something about your clothes." Rachel said to her.
"Did I wear the wrong thing?" Lilly asked with her face showing that she hated that she had disappointed her.
"Yeah, but I should have told you to wear something dark and comfortable," Rachel said giving her a reassuring smile.
"I can go change," Lilly said now worried that she had messed things up and they wouldn't be able to do whatever Rachel had in mind.
"No, I've got something you can wear, it might be a little big on you but should work," Rachel told her giving her another smile.
"Thanks," Lilly replied clearly relieved.
Rachel went back to her equipment room to retrieve the coveralls returning a moment later. "Change into this and be sure to relieve your bladder, it might be the last time you get to go for a few hours." Rachel said directing her to the bathroom.
"Oh okay," Lilly said taking the overalls and heading to the bathroom.
A few minutes later Lilly came out frowning as the overalls were too big on her. "I can't believe that these things fit you, you're not that much bigger than me." Lilly complained.
"They are meant to be comfortable and allows me to move freely. You don't want to be sitting or standing for hours in tight fitting clothes," Rachel told her.
"I guess not but legs are way too long," Lilly complained. "I could trip in these things."
"Let me see if I got a belt to fit you," Rachel said going back into her office and coming out a moment later with a leather belt. "this should work to hold them up a little."
Lilly smiled as she stepped forward and as soon as Lilly got near, Rachel began to catch the scent of her perfume or body spray, Lilly didn't use much but it was enough for Rachel to smell and like. Instead of taking the belt from her, Lilly raised her arms up so that Rachel could do the honors. Rachel knew she should have made Lilly do it herself but she stepped in close and begin to fit the end of the belt into the first loop of the overalls. Lilly slowly turned around and that just allowed Rachel to inhale her scent and make her feel something that she shouldn't, especially since she was about to take this sweet-smelling girl out on a job. Once Rachel had the belt in all the loops, Lilly still offered no help in buckling it together. Rachel let out a sigh that Lilly chose not to notice and she put the belt together and tightening it after first finding Lilly's hips and getting it above them. Rachel tighten it down feeling Lilly's firm belly.
"That better?" Rachel asked stepping away.
"Much, thank you," Lilly said with a smile.
"Come on, I want to be in place when it gets dark," Rachel said moving toward the front door.
"Where we going anyway?" Lilly asked following close behind.
"The woods behind the Foster home, I think we may get something interesting," Rachel told her.
"Woods... there aren't any wild animals, are they?" Lilly asked cautiously.
"You aren't afraid of a few critters, are you?" Rachel asked as she approached her van parked outside the door.
"That depends on what type of critters you're talking about," Lilly said going to the passenger door.
Rachel waited until they were both in the van and she had started the van putting it in drive. "well... when I scoped out the place, I saw two deer... a racoon... and let me see... oh yes, a black bear, two rattlesnakes and a wild boar." She said with a serious expression on her face.
"You're shitting me aren't you," Lilly stated and Rachel could see that while she thought that Rachel was kidding, she wasn't completely sure of that fact and that was enough for Rachel to stretch it out a little longer.
"I wouldn't shit you about something like that, I need for you to be prepared for anything we might face. You know being a PI can be dangerous at times. So, you need to keep your eyes open and look for anything. We can't make any noise so if you see something, you're going to have to be quiet, otherwise we won't get anything. We can't take a weapon to defend ourselves, so if you see a bear, just roll into a ball and it might not hurt you too badly. Now if you see a rattlesnake, stand very still so you won't make it strike at you." Rachel said glancing over at Lilly who was quickly becoming rattled and a bit fearful.
"Maybe I should stay in the van..." Lilly said.
"Maybe you should but you could miss out on something very interesting," Rachel said.
Now she had Lilly between a rock and a hard place, not knowing what to do. She so wanted to get something good on Olivia but her fear of the wild animals was getting in the way of that. Rachel let her stew a moment before she let her off the hook, "You know I'm bullshitting you. I didn't see anything when I went out there." Rachel told her.
"You bitch!" Lilly said clearly mad at Rachel for scaring her like that but then she laughed. "Okay you got me, but that wasn't nice."
Rachel laughed, "I know but I couldn't resist when you asked about any wild animals." Rachel said giving Lilly a smile.
"I will get you back for this," Lilly said not laughing.
"But you do have to be quiet, where we will be hiding isn't that far from the back of their house," Rachel cautioned her.
"So, no talking," Lilly said.
"Nothing above a whisper, I don't think they will come outside but you never know." Rachel told her.
"Okay," Lilly said. "Are you just going to take pictures or what?"
"Pictures and video if I can get anything," Rachel told her. "I have a video camera that can pick up things even in low light and it can also pick up audio."
"Then it's not a regular video camera, is it?" Lilly asked.
"No, it's a very expensive camera that you can't get at a store," Rachel told her.
"I bet," Lilly said with a smile.
"Oh, I did get some pictures of her going into the house, using her own key but nothing else this afternoon," Rachel told her.
"I guess it was too much to ask for him to meet her at the door and them kissing or something," Lilly stated.
"Yeah, they have been married for years..." Rachel said not having to add anything else.
"Do you think we'll get something tonight that we can use?" Lilly asked.
"I don't know, sometimes you get lucky the first time and sometimes you spend weeks before you get anything of value," Rachel told her trying to be realistic with Lilly and not get her hopes up only to have her disappointed.
"I hope that this is one of the lucky times," Lilly said.
"I hope so too but all we can do is try," Rachel told her.
"I know," Lilly said and then she fell silent and Rachel's own thoughts turned to what lay ahead and what she needed to complete this job. The more time she had to spend with Lilly the more dangerous things would become. She didn't want things to become too personal if wasn't already too late for that.
End of Chapter One
To be continued...
Please let me know what you think of my story. I welcome all comments good or bad. You can email me at numlfl@hotmail.com