"You're lucky to find a part-time job that allows you to do that."
Penelope sniffed. "Yeah, lucky."
"It must be nice to work with a friend."
"Who? Oh, Juliet? Sure, it's nice to know someone."
"And have lunch with," I added brightly, thinking back to my temping days when no one wanted to have lunch with me. Come to think of it, I didn't have anyone to lunch with now on a regular basis.
"We didn't socialize much at work."
"At least, you can discuss being moms together. That must help."
"Juliet is not a mom."
"I mean a step..."
"Hardly the same thing," Penelope cut in.
I sucked in a breath. This wasn't going well. "How did you get the job?"
"Juliet recommended me for the position. I interviewed, and they offered it to me on the spot."
"That's great!"
"Well, I'm just so lucky to be overqualified and cheap," Penelope snipped. "So what did you want to ask me about Juliet?"
"Could you show me where her office is?" I asked, deciding I'd exhausted my time with Penelope.
"Oh, sure. Come this way." Penelope walked around the desk and motioned for me to follow. I did, admiring the cut of her business suit. The jacket was tailored well, accentuating her slim frame. The skirt was a knee-length pencil and she wore very high heels that made her calves look incredibly toned. She didn't wear any jewelry except for a pair of small gold studs. She looked very chic and more expensive than I would have thought someone on a paralegal's part-time salary could afford. I caught the scent of perfume, light and floral, as she walked past me. It smelled familiar.
"That's a great suit," I told her.
She smoothed a hand over the jacket, her mood lightening at the compliment I paid her. "Thank you. Don't buy cheap, I say. Buy once and buy good. I will admit, however, that I got it on sale."
"I like that philosophy, and any sale is good."
"You learn not to make mistakes as you get older. No more cheap clothes that fall apart for me. It's quality all the way. Dress for success. Can you tell I've been thinking a lot about this?"
"Since it's working for you, I'll say your thinking is successful."
Penelope smiled at the compliment and stopped outside a door. She tried the handle, but the door didn't budge. "This is, or was, Juliet's office. It's locked. I'm not sure whom to ask about a key, or getting access," she added, looking suddenly worried.
I spied Solomon walking towards us, his face full of purpose. "Don't worry about that," I told her, "my colleague will smooth things out with the right people."
"Do you need anymore help?" she asked.
I didn't get a chance to answer as Solomon came to a stop next to us. Penelope gave him a fast appraisal before glancing towards me, clearing waiting for an introduction. "This is my colleague, Solomon," I told her as Solomon gave her a nod. "This is Penelope Cera. She's a good friend of Juliet's." This time, Solomon stuck out his hand and gave hers a gentle shake.
"You work here?" he asked, skipping all pleasantries.
"Yes, I'm a paralegal."
"Do you work with Juliet?"
"Not directly. Like I told Lexi, I work with the firm's lawyer, looking over contracts. Juliet didn't send many my way, but she called on me from time-to-time if she had any legal questions."
"Good to know." Solomon produced a key and smiled. "Lexi and I need to take a look inside."
"Oh sure, yes, of course," said Penelope, sidestepping out of the way. "Do you need any help? I can show you around if you like?"
"No, thanks," said Solomon. "We can find our own way."
"Oh, yes, I didn't mean the office. I meant the computer and the firm's internal systems. It takes a little getting used to."
"Thanks for the offer, but we'll be fine." Solomon stuck the key in the door and the lock clicked open. He stepped inside.
"Perhaps a coffee? I don't normally offer, but since you're here to help Juliet..."
"We're fine," said Solomon, pushing the door open.
"Thanks," I told her. "I really appreciate your help, but we'll take it from here."
"Well, okay then, just shout if you need anything. Or dial 25 on the extension." Penelope gave us a little wave before turning to walk back the way she came. I shut the door, closing us into the office.
"How was your interview?" I asked as Solomon looked around.
"Didn't turn up much. People seem to like Juliet and are surprised by her recent nefarious activities. You?"
"Same here. I met a guy who had a run-in with her. Tom Oliver."
"What kind?"
"He wanted a promotion, she turned him down in a particularly scathing way by email, then congratulated him in person when he was offered a different promotion. He seemed puzzled by her behavior, and so am I."
"Any similarities to firing the assistant?"
"I thought so. I got a copy of the email. Juliet, if it was really her, was mean."
Solomon sat at the desk chair and fired up with the computer. "Let's assume it wasn't her."
"What are you doing?"
"Switching her computer on."
"I can see that. I meant, why?"
"So I can copy her hard-drive and have it analyzed back at the agency. I'm also going to comb her data and see if I can find some anomalies."
I held a hand up and pulled a face. "Yes?" asked Solomon.
I lowered my hand. "I already asked Lucas to be on the lookout for anything suspicious."
"I know. He told me. He asked for the hard drive."
"I feel redundant here. I don't know enough about computers to help. Or trading. Or finance."
"True. We need to split up."
I blanched, the blood drained from my face, and I swayed a little. Had Solomon become sick of waiting for my answer about moving in? It wasn't like I didn't think about it every few minutes. I just hadn't decided whether or not I was the one making all the compromises. And now, had I sealed my fate by confessing to diving beyond my depth? "We what?" I stuttered.
"We should split up. I'll stay here and do the computer stuff. You go out and interview Juliet's friends."
"Oh! Oh, yes."
"They might know something about Juliet's weird behavior. There could be a reason for her acting so far out of character, or maybe she mentioned why she felt she needed to be such a hard-ass at work. See if she told them anything about money worries or struggling at the office. Maybe she had huge aspirations that she couldn't meet on her salary."
"Got it. Anything that provides a possible motive."
"Existence or absence of motive. Let's meet up in a couple hours."
"How about at Juliet's house? Delgado is still doing the installation and I'd like to inspect it before we get it running. I want to check the audio and video feeds. It could be our best chance at finding the stalker; and once we have them, we might have someone tangible enough that Lucas can tie to the insider trading."
"Sometimes you say the sexiest things."
"I know," I said as I tossed my hair and sashayed from the office. At the door, I turned around and blew Solomon kiss, then beat a hasty retreat before I lost my cool.