It was Juliet and it wasn't Juliet. "Lily?" I asked, taking in her new look. The wig was good; I could barely see where it joined her own scalp. The trenchcoat was just like Juliet's, but up close, I could see the piping was a different color. The purse was almost the same, and from a distance, I confused the two. The bump, however, was definitely bigger.
"Totally fooled ya, didn't I?" Lily smiled widely as she twirled the belt of her coat.
"But how..." I faltered. Where did she get all this stuff? A few minutes ago, she was blonde and wearing a totally different outfit. Now she was smart and sleekly dressed, albeit with a bump considerably bigger than Juliet's.
"Honey, you know I love a good disguise. Have you seen my trunk? I have at least four different wigs to cover all occasions, along with several jackets and hats, and a whole box of useful props."
"Where did you get the purse?"
"I bought it yesterday."
I peered at it. It was no cheap knockoff. "It's just the same as Juliet's. It's exactly the same!"
"I didn't steal it. I have the receipt." Lily gasped as if I said something offensive. "I am not the stalker! I was there when you first met her, and I never saw her before then!"
"I know you're not the stalker, but you had me convinced you were Juliet."
"Just like the stalker convinced everyone that it was Juliet buying a ticket. And now you have a video to prove it!"
"I'm not sure it proves it."
"It proves reasonable doubt. If I can fool you into thinking I'm Juliet, someone else could fool Kimberley and the cameras."
"I like the way you're thinking," I said, knowing I could present it to Solomon and Donahue in exactly the same way until Lily turned around, and they got the punchline to the ruse. I just hoped the two men were in a listening mood.
"Spy 101 training. It's all in here, even if there's no more surveillance duty." Lily tapped her head.
"It supports my theory that a woman is behind this," I told Lily as we made our way from the terminal towards the parking lot. "No man could fool the check-in clerk, even if she were myopic."
"And short-sighted," agreed Lily. "It's pretty brazen of a woman to break in to Juliet's house at night. What if Rob had woken up? Juliet isn't very tall or broad, so she couldn't fight him off, and I guess this woman couldn't either."
"There's no telling what a person might do if they're crazy enough to break into someone's house while the owners are sleeping."
"True. I'd go totally ninja if someone broke into my house."
"Remind me to always call ahead." We climbed into the car and I dialed Delgado for an update. He didn't answer so I hoped he was busily wiring something. "I hope the security installation is progressing smoothly. And I really hope Juliet and Rob don't tell anyone and blow the plan."
"What if they do?"
"Our chances of catching the stalker go from slim to zero; and without the stalker I have no way of proving that Juliet is being set up. Unless..." I dialed a new number.
"Graves," said Lucas when he picked up. "You don't write, you don't call. This is nice."
"Lucas?" I replied. Out of all the guys I worked with, only Lucas insisted on being called by his first name. Since it sounded like a surname, I figured there must have been someone who simply assumed it was. "I do write. I sent you an email last week. I'm actually calling for a favor."
"Shoot."
"I need some expert analysis on a client's computer history. Well, that and more."
"Sounds interesting. What did they do?"
"It's what they might not have done that I'm interested in," I said, explaining the case as succinctly as I could.
"This sounds a lot like something Solomon asked me to do on his case." Lucas paused, and I instantly realized he knew. Fortunately, that was no bad thing.
"It's the same case, but we're working opposite angles," I admitted.
"How very mathematical. You know what kind of angle I am?"
I couldn't help smile. "Acute?"
"I am a cute angle! Thank you for noticing! Remind me to tell my fiancée that. Maybe it’ll keep her on her toes. What do you need from me?"
"Can you hack into..."
"I don't hack, you know that. Whoever is listening needs to know that too."
"Whatever you call it, and no one's listening. You're just being paranoid."
"Tell that to the CIA."
"They're not listening, Lucas."
"That's what they say. Fine, but just to be clear, we have full access to your client's work computer since we are working for her employer. That means everything I do will be legal and above board. I can access their network too."
"That's great! I need you to track anything to do with the case that came from her computer. I need to know if it were she who logged in, if the emails were sent directly from her computer, or elsewhere. Also check to see if there's any spyware on her desktop, or if her emails are being cloned. Anything you can find that could prove her innocence. I already know she wasn't present when one of the trades was made."
"That's funny you should ask because I'm doing all that already for Solomon, except he's looking for irrefutable proof that she is the one responsible."
"Essentially, it's the same thing. Can you please go that extra mile to look for a possibility that whoever made those trades and sent those emails wasn't Juliet? I'll send you a list of specifics."
"No problem. I'll contact you once I've completed the task."
I thanked Lucas and hung up, wondering if I should run my request past Solomon. I figured not, since we were already sharing case notes. So what if I benefited from his instructions to Lucas? It was all the same information and Solomon would have shared it eventually. This way, I just got it at the same time he did. Mentioning the emails reminded me, I needed to speak to Juliet's assistant, the one who filed the strange claim about being fired without warning. I called Lucas back.
"I'm not that fast," he said. "You need to be patient."
"Actually, I need an address. Jane O'Dowd. She used to work as Juliet's assistant."
I heard the tapping of keys and a long pause; then, "1278 Spring Street."
"Thank you!" Hanging up, I glanced at Lily. "Do you want to come interview Juliet's former assistant?"
"Since I'm so good at the shakedowns?"
"Sure," I agreed, not wanting to discourage her as we exited the parking lot, aiming for Montgomery.
The smile from Lily's face disappeared. "I'd love to, but I have to pee."
"Why didn't you go at the terminal?"
"I was so excited about the development in the case, I forgot I needed to!"
"Lily! This is like traveling with a child!"
"I know! Good preparation, right? Are we nearly there yet?" she joked, pulling a face.
"I don't need the practice. I'm not the one who's pregnant!"
"Maybe it's catching."
"What is? Pregnancy?"
"Sure. I've heard of it happening. One friend gets pregnant, then they all get pregnant."
"We need to talk about sex. That is not how pregnancy happens."
Lily looked affronted. "I know that. Did I tell you about the night I think I got pregnant? Oh, we were having so much fun! Especially when Jord started doing that thing with the Cheerios. Let me tell you..."