One Step Ahead

It's Gone!

November 6th , 4:20 PM

      Ashley pulled his motorcycle into a parking slot near the entrance of the Jade Lotus restaurant, placed his helmet on the back of the seat, and entered the building. Looking around the area, he spotted a middle-aged man, who bore a striking resemblance to Jeff Goldblum,  sitting alone at a table, and moved in that direction.

      He approached the man, and inquired "Excuse me, are you Lieutenant Sanger?"

      "Yes, I am, and I'm guessing that you're Mr. Purdy."

      "Just Ashley is fine. Didn't you say that there would be someone else joining us?"

      "Yes, she just called to say that she's on her way. She works at Paramount, and there's always a traffic snarl leaving that area this time of day." the detective responded. He then turned to the waitress who had approached the table, and informed her, "We're still waiting for someone, miss, so we'll hold off on ordering until she gets here, thanks."

      The waitress nodded and walked away, and Ashley glanced out the window toward the parking lot. He saw two cars pulling into the lot, and observed that both were driven by women. Drawing the detectives attention to this, he inquired, "So, do you know if one of them is our dinner companion?"

      Sanger gestured to the silver Mercedes which had just parked in the slot directly in front of the window, indicating the well-developed blonde, wearing a pale-blue silk blouse and a short black skirt, who emerged from the vehicle. "I probably should've gone through the DMV on my computer, but I didn't even think about it, to be honest. But from some of the background information I've pulled up on the case, she comes from money, and works at a major studio, so I'm guessing that would be her."

      Ashley glanced appreciatively at the woman as she made her way to the door, hoping that she wasn't as stuffy and uptight as she appeared. The detective stood as she approached, ready to pull out the empty chair beside him. "Ms. Malveaux?"

      "No, sorry." she said abruptly, not even breaking stride as she sailed past them

      "No, that would be me," another voice interjected, and they both turned to see a slender brunette, wearing a leather motorcycle jacket and black leggings, standing near the corner of the table.

      Quickly recovering himself, Sanger motioned toward the vacant chair, holding it as she sat down. "Good afternoon, Ms. Malveaux. I'm Lieutenant Garrett Sanger, and this is ..."

      Flashing an impish grin, she held up a hand to cut him off. "Totally unnecessary, Lieutenant, I'm well aware of who Mr. Purdy is. And just call me Briar, that sounded way too much like you were talking to my grandmother."

      "All right then, Briar. If the two of you are ready, we can place our orders, and then we'll talk. And I hate to tell you this, but the conversation is going to be even more serious than I originally expected."

      As they waited for their server to return, Ashley studied the young woman sitting on the opposite side of the table. She was perhaps in her mid-twenties, with large blue-gray eyes, set in a fine-boned, angular face, topped by glossy mahogany-brown hair cut in a short pixie style. As she removed her jacket to reveal a Ramones T-shirt, he noted that she was slim, and appeared quite fit, much like a dancer or gymnast. Not the type that he normally gravitated to, but not unattractive by any stretch of the imagination.

      "The Lieutenant says that you work for one of the movie studios. What exactly do you do there?"

      She glanced at him over the top of the menu. "Technically, I don't work for the studio, per se, I'm just doing some work there now. And as for what I do, it varies. Sometimes I crash cars, or jump off of buildings, or maybe dangle off of a helicopter. Whatever keeps the big-money people from getting hurt."