Julia

Chapter 9

What had been so easy to conceal when he came to work the last few days was much less so today. When he walked in the front door to the office and Suzanne said "Bonjour, Stuart" to him, he couldn't stop the smile that involuntarily appeared on his face.

"Good morning, Suzanne."

The French receptionist immediately noticed the change in greeting and the almost ecstatic look that occupied the senior partner's countenance. There was a bounce in his step that hadn't been there yesterday. He didn't have to say another word . . . she knew him well enough to know who had put it there. He'd been 'keeping company with' Julia Benson every night for almost a week, and from the change in his attitude, he had it bad.

He started to go directly to his office but she stopped him. "Stuart, you have messages." She held up the two slips of paper and handed them to him when he changed direction. He kept walking back to his office while he read the first one. The second message stopped him in his tracks.

"When did the message from Davis come in, Suzanne?" the voice was different, and when he turned to face her the smile and attitude were gone. She could tell that the message he questioned her about had thrown a black shroud over him.

"Around eight-thirty," she told him. "Do you want me to get Mr. Davis on the phone?"

"No. Just let me know when he gets here."

Stuart continued to his office and closed the door behind him. Once he got behind his desk he sat down and reread the message. 'On my way in to see you. Must have a status report.'

He'd been dreading this day but knew it would come sooner or later. Maybe sooner was better. He had to fire a client, and the reason was simple – Stuart Bailey was falling in love with the man's wife. 'No, let's be clear about that,' he told himself. 'She's his soon to be ex-wife.'

It didn't matter, really, wife or ex-wife. Stu had stepped over the line, and he knew it. But how could he have avoided it? Julia was sweet, and gentle, and kind. And that was only the beginning of the good qualities about her. She made him smile, she made him laugh, she made him feel . . . loved. He wanted to wrap her in his arms and hold her, protect her from Harvey Davis and all the evil things he'd done to her. To keep her safe . . . forever. He knew he should stop seeing her; should have stopped after the first evening. He couldn't bring himself to do it. The more time he spent with her the more time he wanted to spend with her. Long since dormant feelings began to surface in him, and he had no desire to fight them.

And now this. Well, it had to come, and he prayed he could get through it without giving Davis any hint of the real reason for it. Maybe, if he talked to Jeff – no, it wasn't Jeff's problem, it was his. And if he intended to continue seeing Julia, he had to face it. Today.

The intercom buzzed, jolting him out of his reverie. "Stuart, Mr. Davis is here."

"Send him in, please, Suzanne."

The door opened and Harvey Davis stood there, smiling at him. Stuart did not return the friendly greeting. "Have a seat, Mr. Davis."

"I hadn't heard anything from you, Mr. Bailey, and I wondered if you'd made any progress."

In that instant Stuart decided to evade telling the truth if he possibly could. "To tell you the truth, Mr. Davis, I haven't been able to work on your case at all. We have several large clients that occupy the majority of our time, and when they have a case for us our first obligation is to them. That's the situation I find myself in now, and I'm afraid we won't be able to handle your missing persons problem. I apologize for the inconvenience."

Harvey Davis sat there staring at Stuart for almost five minutes before he said anything. When he did speak, it wasn't at all what Stu expected. "Well, Mr. Bailey, I'm disappointed, to say the least, but I certainly understand corporate commitments. Perhaps you could recommend someone else to me?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Davis, I really can't. There are several fine private investigators in and around the Los Angeles area. I'm sure you can find the right one."

Davis stood and offered his hand to shake. Stuart accepted, and Davis left. Stu blew out a breath, thankful that was over. Then why did he feel like it wasn't, like there was still unfinished business between them? Was it just his guilty conscience nagging at him? Or was there something more? Maybe it was finally time to talk to Jeff.

Stu got up and walked to the door that separated their offices. He knocked quickly and opened it, to find Spencer's office dark and empty. Stu left via the office front door and went straight to Suzanne. "Suzanne, where's Jeff?"

"He's in Redondo Beach, Stuart. He had a meeting with Mr. Washburn, the Provident Insurance man there. Something about a stolen necklace claim."

"Do you know when's he's supposed to be back?"

She shook her head. "Not for sure. Somewhere around four o'clock, if everything goes well. Do you want me to call him?"

Stu thought for a moment. "No, never mind. I'll catch him when he gets back."

Stu went back to his office and pulled out his pipe. It was time to do some serious thinking.

XXXXXXXX

Harvey Davis turned the corner of the building after leaving 77 Sunset Strip and mumbled to himself while he waited for his car. "He's found her. I know he's found her. Lying bastard." He was still muttering when Kookie brought his car around, but all the carhop caught was "found her" and "bastard."

He ducked into Stu's side door. "Hey, dad, you just have somebody leave here?"

Stu looked slightly startled. "I did, Kookie. Why?"

"Came around the corner with his heels on fire, muttering something."

"Did you hear what he was muttering?"

Kookie shook his head. "I couldn't catch much, just something about 'found her' and 'bastard.'"

Stuart set his pipe in the ashtray. "I should have known. You're looking at the bastard, I'm afraid."

"Does this have to do with that Julia chick?"

"It does. That was her ex-husband. He hired me to find her and I just fired him."

"No kidding, dad?"

Stu shook his head. "No kidding."

"What now?"

"That's the sixty-four-thousand-dollar question, I'm afraid."

"Let me know if you need me."

"I will, Kookie, I will." Stu picked his pipe up and relit it as the door closed. So much for coming away unscathed. Should he tell Julia? Probably, but he'd wait and do it tonight when he saw her. There was no sense calling her at work and worrying her. Besides, it was up to him to figure out what to do now.

Jeff returned about three-thirty and went straight to Stu's office. "Hey, partner, Suzanne said you were looking for me."

"I was, Jeff. Sit down, would you? I've got a problem I could use your help on."

"Sure, what's up?"

"Have you got anything going the rest of the day?"

"No, not really."

"Have you got a date tonight?"

"Nope. Tammy's working ."

"Will you switch cars with me tonight?"

Jeff took out a cigarette and lit it. "You fired Harvey Davis and it didn't go well."

Stu shook his head. Jeff hadn't dealt with Harvey, so Stu wasn't sure if Jeff would understand his concern or not. "I fired Davis and he didn't raise a fuss at all. Matter of fact, he acted like a perfect gentleman. Until he got outside, then Kookie heard him muttering . . . "

"I know," Jeff interrupted. "Kookie told me."

"I thought if we could have Kookie put the tops up on both convertibles, we could switch cars so I could go down and get Julia and bring her back to my place."

"You think Harvey knows your car?"

"I'd rather not take the chance. I'll have it here by whatever time you want it," Stu offered. His pipe had gone out and he lit it again.

"That's fine with me. Just bring it to work in the morning." Jeff thought a minute before making his suggestions. "Have Kookie pull the cars under the awning when we're ready to leave, and we can go at the same time. That way even if Davis is watching the parking lot, he can't follow both cars."

"Good idea. Thanks, Jeff, I really appreciate it."

Jeff was hesitant to bring up the risk Stu was taking, but he had to say something. "Is Julia worth all this subterfuge, Stu? Does she mean that much to you? You can't imagine what her ex-husband is liable to try. You can't do this for the rest of your life."

"That's the problem, Jeff. I can imagine what Davis might do. He's violent, a cheat and a liar. I wouldn't put anything past him. And to answer your first question, Julia is worth whatever it takes to keep her safe."

"Alright, partner, I just wanted to be sure you knew what you were getting into. If she's the one, she's the one. I'll try to help all I can."

"Thanks. I'm not sure I love her, Jeff, I just know I have to make sure she's safe," Stuart explained. He picked up the phone and dialed the number where Julia worked. Jeff went out to the parking lot to tell Kookie what to do with the two cars. "Orlofsky's," Julia's voice came on the phone.

"It's Stu. Now listen, this is what we have to do tonight . . . "