" I said shotgun, shoot him 'fore he run now, do the jerk baby, do the jerk now…" David belted out as he entered the office, bringing his sunglasses to rest on the tip of his nose. "Morning, Agnes."
"Good morning, Mister Addison." Agnes answered cheerfully. "Miss Hayes is already here. I think she has a client in her office."
"Great." David nodded, taking off his sunglasses and tucking them in his jacket pocket before sauntering toward Maddie's office door and swinging it open.
"David." Maddie smiled pleasantly. "So nice of you to show up. This is Martha Hawthorne."
"Martha Hawthorne?" David questioned as he strode toward Maddie's desk. "Of the Bakersfield Hawthornes? Great people."
"David." Maddie responded with clenched teeth.
"Right, right." David extended a hand. "David Addison. You've already met my partner, Maddie Hayes. So, what brings you here?"
Martha sat up a little straighter, patting her upswept hair before continuing. "As I was telling your esteemed colleague, there was a terrible fire at our home six months ago. I lost my beloved husband, Walter."
"I'm, uh, terribly sorry for your loss." David replied, taking a seat on the edge of Maddie's desk.
"I appreciate that, thank you." Martha nodded.
"But that's not why you're here." David concluded.
"No." Martha shook her head. "You see, before Walter died, he was planning on donating a very important sculpture to a private museum. It was only after everything had been cleaned up, and I started taking inventory, that I realized it was missing."
It was then that David noticed the two pictures on Maddie's desk. "Before and after." Martha explained.
"Got it." David nodded, examining the two pictures. "That sculpture? That's what's missing?"
"Yes, exactly." Martha replied.
David turned to Maddie. "It's like one of those missing object puzzles. You know, one of these things is not like the other, one of these things just isn't the same—"
Maddie shot him a look that stopped him immediately before turning her attention back to Martha. "We'd be happy to take your case, Mrs. Hawthorne. Of course, we can't bring your husband back, but maybe we can find that missing sculpture."
Martha managed a smile as she rose from the chair, extending a hand across the desk. "I appreciate it so much. I've simply been a wreck ever since Walter died. It would mean so much if you could find that piece."
"Of course." Maddie assured her.
"Yeah, we'll get right on it." David chimed in. "And if you think of anything that could help us, let us know."
David escorted Martha from Maddie's office and to the door before returning to the office. Maddie was absorbed in the two pictures, studying them carefully. "That poor woman. Imagine losing your husband and then losing something else so valuable. I don't even know where to start."
"Well, it was a fire, right?" David plopped himself down in the same chair Martha had just vacated.
"Right." Maddie answered absently.
"Right, so if there was a fire, and someone died, it was probably investigated." David jumped up from the chair and started pacing the office.
Maddie looked up, her brow wrinkled in thought. "I wonder if we could find out who investigated the fire."
"Sure, yeah." David scoffed. "What, we'll just call up the fire department and ask someone?"
Maddie shot him a glare before finding a phone book and flipping through it, running her finger down one of the pages. "There. Los Angeles Fire Department, Fire Investigation. You want me to call them?"
"And ask them what?" David challenged her. "Hey, we need everything you've got on a fire that killed some old bat's husband. And oh, by the way, have you seen this weird sculpture?"
Maddie merely arched an eyebrow. "Do you have a better idea?"
David wasn't quite ready to admit that Maddie might be right. "Give me a minute. I'll think of something."
Maddie rolled her eyes and picked up the phone, punching the buttons and waiting. "Hello? Yes, hi. I'm looking for some information on a fire from about six months ago…oh, of course. I'll hold."
David was skeptical that Maddie would actually get anywhere, but he also knew the woman could sweet talk anyone. Hell, she could have talked the birds from the trees, she could convince a turnip to give blood, she could—
"Yes, hi." Maddie smiled, laying on the charm as thick and sweet as honey. "I'm looking for some information on a fire from about six months ago. We've been retained by Martha Hawthorne…yes, yes, I agree, it's a tragic loss. Well, you see, something very important to her went missing after that fire and—oh no, of course we're not accusing your department of wrongdoing. I'm sure your investigators are above reproach…oh, you can arrange to have us talk to him? John Gage? Yes, yes, thank you so much. We'll be right there…if he's not busy, that is…Great, great, thank you so much."
Maddie wrote something down on a note pad before hanging up, sitting back in her chair with a look like the cat that caught the canary. "How would you like to take a little drive?"
# # #
"Now listen, you just let me do the talking, okay?" David told Maddie as he drove.
"You?" Maddie scoffed. "I'm the one who set this up."
"Yeah, but I'm the detective, remember?" David reminded her. "You're the pretty face, the charm—"
"The boss." Maddie pointed out.
"Yeah, the boss." David nodded. "Still, I'll do the talking. Man to man, you know."
"Right." Maddie replied sourly. "I certainly couldn't possibly understand what you two men are talking about. My delicate little mind couldn't possibly handle such high-level information. I'm just some dumb blonde."
David gave her a sideways glance as he parked. "Maddie, come on. Give the dumb blonde thing a rest, huh? You just don't know the right questions to ask, that's all."
Maddie decided it was pointless to argue with David. No, it was better for him to shoot off his mouth and make a fool of himself. She'd sweep in and clean up the mess, as usual.
She climbed out of the car with as much dignity as she could muster and followed David inside, approaching the counter. A dark-haired man was behind the counter, his back to them as he dug through a file cabinet. As if he'd heard them approach, he turned around. "Can I help you?"
"We're looking for John Gage." David told him. "David Addison, Blue Moon Detective Agency."
The man smiled, his whole face lighting up as he rested his hands on the counter. "You're talking to him."
Maddie immediately jumped in. "Maddie Hayes. I spoke to someone on the phone earlier."
"Right." John nodded. "The Hawthorne fire."
"Yeah, exactly." David answered, giving Maddie that sideways look again. "We were hoping you could give us some more information."
"I'll do what I can." John replied. "Come on back."
He walked to the end of the counter and opened the half-door, his eyes never leaving Maddie. It was slightly disconcerting, but Maddie was oddly flattered. John was a nice-looking man, she had to admit that.
She flashed him what she hoped was a smile in response as she followed the two men to a small office. "Go ahead and close the door behind you." John told them.
David did so, and they took a seat at the desk while John opened up the file folder and started spreading out some photographs. "This was a strange one. Majority of it was confined to one room. Looked like it had a lot of valuable art, like it was almost its own museum."
David leaned forward to study the photographs before stabbing one with his finger. "There's that sculpture, Maddie."
Maddie leaned forward to take a closer look. "Didn't Mrs. Hawthorne say that she discovered the piece was missing after the fire?"
John looked from Maddie to David and back again, his brows knitting together. "You know, funny you should mention that."
He found another photograph and set it on the desk. "That first set of photos was right after we were cleared to start investigating. We came back the next day to investigate further and take samples, and it was pretty obvious that someone else had been there. We had it all cordoned off, but you know, sometimes folks still manage to get in."
"Seems like it would be a pretty high-security situation." David threw out casually.
John acknowledged that with a nod. "You'd think. I mean, we don't investigate theft. We just investigate the cause of the fire, that's all. So I don't know how much help I'm gonna be."
"You've been a world of help, actually." Maddie assured him.
"You suppose we could get some of these photos?" David asked. "You know, just for our own investigation."
John looked skeptical at that. "I can probably make you some copies. I'll have to clear it with the higher-ups first, though."
"Oh, yeah, totally understand." David agreed. "If you can, great, otherwise…well, we might come talk to you again, I guess."
John glanced at Maddie with a smile. "I'm happy to help any way I can."
"I'm sure you are." David muttered.
Maddie resisted the urge to smack him, instead turning her attention to John. "If you're able to get copies made, you can bring them to our office. Or if you have any other information that might be useful."
What was wrong with her? She could feel her face heat up. This man had her blushing like a schoolgirl.
John nodded, that little smile never leaving his face. "Sure. I'll see what I can do."
"Thank you." Maddie rose from her chair and extended her hand.
"Yeah, thanks." David did the same. "Appreciate the help."
"Sure, yeah." John answered, shaking each of their hands in turn. He seemed to hold on to Maddie's hand a little longer than necessary before releasing it. "I'll walk you guys out."
Just as John let them out, David went for his back pocket, pulling out his wallet and finding a business card. "Give us a call if you're able to get us some more information."
"I'll do that." John replied, studying the card briefly before tucking it into his shirt pocket. Nice meeting you both. Maddie."
Maddie merely nodded, though there was something about the way John said her name that did something to her.
She quickly caught up to David as they started back toward the car. "Well, that was a waste of time." He commented as he climbed in and started it up.
"No, it wasn't." Maddie told him. "We know that the sculpture was there after the fire. Somehow, someone got in there in between both times the investigators were there."
"One common thread there." David commented casually.
"David, surely you're not accusing John—"
"I'm not accusing anyone." David cut her off. "Just saying there was an opportunity. And you know, those guys probably don't make a ton of money, so hey, who could blame them for taking advantage?"
"You're ridiculous."
"Listen, I get it." David continued. "Don't get me wrong, John seems like a good guy. But you know, we've been at this long enough to know that looks can be deceiving."
"Well, I don't believe it." Maddie told him firmly. "There's got to be another explanation."
They returned to the agency, each of them going to their own offices. Maddie found herself ruminating. She had known more than her fair share of handsome scoundrels, but John simply didn't seem the type.
No, there had to be another explanation. There just had to be.