Randi studied the woman in front of her as she quietly sipped her cup of tea, which had been graciously offered by her host, Mrs. Maria Nashwood. They sat in the living room in ottomans facing a large, crackling fire with tea and small treats on a silver tray between.
Maria assumed she was there as a casual visit, which is what she'd initially told her, but she was actually breaching the Nashwood sanctuary as a favor to Mac.
Wanting to look the part of a business client simply paying a casual visit to a good, respectable customer, she was wearing low-rise jeans decorated with attractive black lace and beadwork appliqué going up one leg. In keeping with the low temperature of the fall-but-more-like-winter temperatures of New York, she was also wearing a long sleeve angora-lambs wool turtleneck sweater in a rainbow-mix of bright colors with ruffled cuffs. On her feet were black toggle-closure faux suede boots with spillout faux fur lining and a three-inch heel. Wanting to go for a classy look for the meeting, a large red, white, and gold enamel and rhinestone padlock necklace glinted in the light, as did large gold hoop earrings. On her wrist was a wide gold cuff-bracelet watch with a mother-of-pearl face and earlier the butler had taken her duster-length sheepskin coat and leather gloves.
"This is an unexpected pleasure, Miranda," Maria said, also sipping her tea. She was dressed in a classy, but pricey, wine pantsuit made by Givenchy that made Randi mentally cringe at its plainness, in her personal opinion. She liked the colorful and the unusual for a reason; they stood out from the plainness of the wealthy.
"But a pleasure indeed," Randi replied. She had to play this game carefully, she knew, because one wrong move could have her booted out the door with Maria's high-heel shoe-print on her butt. "How is life treating you these days?"
That lead to a discussion about the latest parties and rumors, the later of which Randi allowed to go in one ear and right out the other. This lasted about ten to fifteen minutes and then Randi made her move.
"I understand young Edward managed to get himself in to a spot of trouble with New York's finest; something about refusing to co-operate with a murder investigation involving Jake Dales," Randi said.
Maria laughed but it was a forced laugh. "Where could you have possibly heard such a rumor? I was under the impression Jake Dales had been the victim of an unfortunate accident. "
"With the people I come in contact with, Maria, you'd be surprise by what comes my way. Surely you know that," Randi replied, setting her cup down on the tray and leaning back in her chair, crossing one knee over the other, and assuming an air of casual authority. "As for the 'accident' part, you get a few knocks and bruises from taking a tumble down a rock-strewn hill, sure, but those leave distinct marks, marks that are not the same as when you get used as a human punching bag."
"I would imagine so," Maria said uncomfortably.
"In fact, my sources are saying that all the police are asking for is a simple DNA sample to eliminate Edward as a possible suspect and he's not co-operating. In fact, he's being downright difficult. Makes one wonder just what that boy has to hide," Randi continued on conversationally.
"He has nothing to hide!" Maria denied vehemently.
"Really? Maria, you know as well as I do that it's only the guilty who refuse to play nice. If Edward has nothing to hide, if he really wants to help solve the unfortunate murder of Jack Dales, then wouldn't he be willing to submit a DNA test?" Randi shot back, leveling the woman with a steady, unflinching gaze. "All he's doing is casting even more suspicion upon himself and his family name. You know as well as I do that people are going to wonder."
"This isn't just a casual visit, is it?" Maria demanded, her face catching fire as Randi's logic hit home.
Randi just looked at her. "I'm here as a friend, nothing more. I'm also telling you like it is. Cops don't care if you have money coming out of your ears, especially the officer investigating Jack's murder, if your son is guilty, they will nail his sweet tush to a cell without hesitation."
"And if he's not guilty?"
"They'll leave him alone and consider him an eliminated suspect."
"How do you know all this?"
"I did some work for the NYPD and with amount of close-contact I had with them, well, I learned a few interesting things. People talk to me, Maria. Remember?" Maria nodded. She did indeed remember. Randi switched tactics and went soft. "I believe you when you say Edward is a good kid but this whole refusal to co-operate with a murder investigation is casting some seriously dark light on not only him but you and your family as well." She smiled sympathetically. "Let the cops have their DNA sample; it's just a swab of the mouth and probably takes all of ten seconds to do. What's the harm in that?"
Maria had to admit that Randi was right. It would make the family look good if they co-operated with the police and if they co-operated, maybe the police would leave them alone.
"If it makes you feel better, I can be there when they do the swab," Randi offered. "Or you can call your lawyer and have him present."
"Would that make the police suspicious?"
"It might since a suspect lawyering up usually means they have something to hide."
"In that case, there is no need to call our lawyer. I must admit though, I will discuss this with my husband."
"That's fair and understandable. If you need anything from me, if there's anything I can do to help, simply call me on my cell and I'll do what I can. However, Maria, there's one thing I need you to do for me and I'm afraid I must ask this of you," Randi said.
"If I can then I will," Maria said, wondering where this was going.
Randi sighed heavily, as if reluctant to bring this up. "Believe me when I say that I believe you when you say Edward is a good boy. However, I'm afraid you're only seeing what he wants you to see. As much as I don't want to hurt you, both you and your husband need to see this," she said, reaching into her purse and pulling out a CD and handing it to the woman. It was a complied collection of videos from various sources showing Edward at his not-so-finest moments. Randi had suggested it to Mac and Danny and they had worked with the AV lab and various other sources to create the disk. For Edward, it was the visual equivalent of his curtain-call.
"What is it?" Maria asked, accepting the disk and studying it curiously.
Randi stood up and said, "The truth about a few rumors about your son." She smiled sympathetically. "Thank you for the tea but I'm afraid I must be going. You know how it is; too many things to do and not enough time to do it all."
Maria nodded in understanding and summoned her butler to escort Randi out, as well as summon her a cab.
Once she was safely away from the Nashwood home in the cab, Randi took out her cell, dialed a number and waited. Then she spoke to the person on the other end. "Hook, line, sinker. I'd give it twenty-four hours, max, before you get a visit from the Nashwood family with Edward in tow, sans lawyer." She smiled at something the person on the other end of the line said. "Don't worry about it but don't be too surprised if Mama Nashwood asks me to be there. She likes me, I think."
A/N: got your attention? No, you didn't miss a chapter, I promise. This is sort of an experiment in where they do those stories that dump you straight into one confusing mess and work backwards to where the mess all originally started, which then starts to make sense. Keep reading; it gets interesting, I promise. :D