When I walked into Capricorn’s office, I smirked after finding him leaning back in his chair with his feet propped up on his desk. He was thumbing through an issue of Playboy. He glanced at me and noted my raised eyebrows and simply stated, “Research.”
“Yeah, umm hmm. I bet you’re conducting research. Look, Cap, someone just tried to kill me.”
Capricorn’s combat boots clicked together before pushing away from the desk and settling on the floor. He placed the magazine on the desk. “Talk to me.”
I told him what happened.
He shook his head. “That doesn’t mean the incidents are related to the congressman’s granddaughter. What else you got?”
“Nothing. But I’m sure it’s related. Calloway’s powerful.”
“Are you scared, Jinx? I’m gonna take you off this case and give it to Cowboy.”
“The hell you are! This is my case.”
Capricorn leaned back in his chair and formed a steeple with his two index fingers. “What do you think this was, Jinx? Some scare tactic? Perhaps intimidation was the intent, but I’m not taking any chances.”
My ribs tightened. But I pushed my shoulders back and thrust my chest out as if I was Pam Grier in one of her bad ass roles in the 1970s. There was no way my boss was going to deprive me of fifty grand. “If they wanted me dead, I’d be dead. This was a scare tactic.”
“By whom, Jinx?”
I shrugged. “Whoever doesn’t want me to find Elena Calloway. My money’s on Deebo.” After hearing the rise in my voice, I tried calming down, in order to reassure my boss that I was up for the job and more than willing to complete it. I couldn’t risk him thinking I was too scared to do my job, and therefore, I’d compromise the case. No. Somehow, I had to maintain Capricorn’s confidence in me while soliciting all the advice from him I could manage. “But I’m fine, boss. Really.”
Capricorn tilted his head back and pursed his lips in thought. “Uh, huh. “You’re not tellin’ me everything.”
“What?”
“What? You’re holdin’ somethin’ back, Jinx. What is it?”
I thought about the fifty grand and the money I owed Bam. One could get me taken off this case, and the other could possibly get me fired. So, I clammed up. “Boss, it’s nothing. Just trying to figure out who else would stalk me.”
Capricorn sighed and said, “Listen. I’ll have Cowboy track down some of your old cases to see if someone else could be involved. That’s a real strong possibility. That attack could be unrelated to your missing person’s case.”
I shook my head. “It’s gotta be about the Calloway girl.”
Capricorn shook his head. “Where my people are concerned, I gotta consider all angles. You just chose the narrowest one. Consider all possibilities, Jinx. That’s what will keep you alive in this business.”
I sniffed but didn’t say anything.
Capricorn stroked his goatee. “Cowboy is champing at the bit to take over this case if you’re unable to solve it. Would you like to shadow him while he solves it?”
I reared my head back. “Hell no. And miss out on some real money? I don’t think so.” I took the chair across from him and remembered Calloway’s promise of fifty G’s as a bonus. Plus, I remembered my one-week deadline of finding Elena or else I risked not having enough cash to pay off most of my bills. No. No one was taking me off this case. “I spoke with Deebo. I think he’s definitely got something to hide.”
“Everybody has something to hide, Jinx. The question is: is it worth killing for?”
I frowned, then my skin began prickling. “So, you think Elena’s dead?”
“That’s a possibility.”
I flinched. “B-but she’s just a b-baby.”
“Jinx, this isn’t your moma’s Charlie’s Angels or your granny’s Nancy Drew. It’s your granddad’s Shaft! Real people get killed, and sometimes we as an agency have to deal with the killers. Are you up for it?”
I wet my lips, cleared my throat, and said, “Of course.”
For a moment, Capricorn looked thoughtful, then he leaned across the desk. “Go back to Old Man Calloway. Ask to interview the family. See if you can pick up some clues there. This time I want you to obtain more background information on the family without making it look as if you’re targeting them. You feel me?”
I nodded. “I feel you.”
He smirked and noted, “Not lately, you haven’t.” Capricorn’s lips parted, displaying even white teeth that resembled piano keys.
“Get your mind out of the gutter, Boss.”
“I’m just thinking of you, baby.”
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