Archer’s head cocked, eyes flared. “Where?”
“One of the gems.” She jumped out of her seat and opened her filing cabinet with her fingerprint and then a code, and took out the mask. She returned with it in a bag, along with a small pouch that held the tiny circular camera.
Archer lifted the bag and studied the camera. “How did our bug scanner miss this?”
Penny shrugged. “It’s very expensive, very new technology. I suspect your scanner is outdated.”
Elise cringed at the flattening of Archer’s lips. People were getting smarter. Technology was changing every day. Even Elise knew it was hard to keep up, and she had Penny who stayed on top of all of it. Archer finally asked Elise, “Could this camera have taken the photographs that were published in the tabloids?”
Elise looked to Penny for the answer.
Penny nodded. “I saw that article come out today, and most definitely. Nowadays, you can buy these cameras off Amazon, but the quality of your pictures suggests it’s not a cheap knockoff.”
Archer cursed, crossing his arms. “I suppose that’s our confirmation then that Connie is behind this.” Elise nodded in agreement, and Archer turned to Penny and asked, “I take it that Elise has updated you on our case.”
Penny nodded, leaning back in her squeaking chair. “Here’s what I got so far. You tell me if I’m right. Connie and Isaac used to date, but for whatever reason, Connie ended up marrying Isaac’s older brother, Elijah. Now, Connie and Isaac both belong to a sex club where they don’t have sex together but watch other people get it on, and Connie’s husband isn’t a member. Do I have that right?”
Archer nodded.
“Okay, and then Connie brings a camera into the club and snaps pictures of herself in the mirror, and proceeds to sell it to a tabloid. Right?”
“Yes,” Archer confirmed.
“Weird,” Penny said.
Archer gave a dry laugh. “Is that your final report?”
Penny laughed along with him. “For now. I’ll dig into Connie and Isaac. Maybe they have money trouble and sold the photograph for that reason, but then how would they have the money to pay the Phoenix membership?” She glanced up at the ceiling, tapping her lip. “Weird.”
Elise laughed. “Welcome to our headspace on this case. I’m going to keep looking into them on my end and see if anything comes up.”
“Cool,” Penny said. She reached for a blank notepad on her desk and wrote her phone number down, promptly offering it to Archer. “That’s my secure number. If you’d like to get set up with me, instead of that shithead you use, call it. I’ll tighten up that security of yours at the club.”
Archer’s gaze swung to Elise and held, and Elise shifted under the weight of that stare. She’d like to say she was helping Archer because it helped and protected Zoey and Rhys, but she would be a liar.
“Thank you,” Archer said to Penny. “I’ll definitely call.”
“Great.” Penny swatted at them. “Now go. I’ve got work to do.”
As they turned away, Archer leaned down and asked, “Does she always dismiss you like that?”
“Always,” Elise said with a grin.
Archer smiled. “I like her.”
Elise figured he would. There was only one Penny in this world, and Elise was always glad to have her on her side.
Once they were back on the road, Archer asked, “So, where does this put us?”
“We’re in what I call ‘watch and wait,’” Elise said. “We need to let Penny do her job, and I’ll do mine, and we wait to see if Connie and Isaac make another move.”
Archer tapped his thumb against the steering wheel. “I could bring Connie in on the evidence of the camera in the mask alone. Scare her enough to make sure she doesn’t make another move.”
She believed he could put the fear in Connie. “But then you wouldn’t know her motive. Yes, it may protect the club now, but maybe not in the future. My advice: wait to see what it is Connie and Isaac want, then bring the world crashing down around them.”
He glanced her way again, and whatever he found in her expression made him nod. “All right, Elise, we’ll do this your way.”
She studied his relaxed posture and saw a shift there. They’d always played a pull-and-push game, but this wasn’t that. He trusted her.
When they arrived home, Archer hung back as Elise went into her bedroom to change, many things running through his mind. He set his overnight bag down near the end of the couch, not liking the lack of answers, but he agreed with Elise’s logic. They needed to see the bigger picture here before acting, and since Phoenix was closed for the time being, Connie and Isaac were distanced from the club. He liked to think they couldn’t do more damage than they’d already done, but he never said never.
Elise returned to him a few minutes later, wearing joggers and a tight gray T-shirt that revealed she’d taken off her bra. She grabbed her laptop and made her way to the couch. He was tempted to skip talking and indulge himself to the tight peaks beneath her shirt, but curiosity got the better of him. After she dropped down next to him on the couch, powering up her computer, he said, “About Penny. Why would you share her with me if she’s so good?”
Her fingers froze on the keyboard, but she lifted her gaze to him. “Why wouldn’t I?”
“From my experience in this line of work, when someone gets someone good, they don’t share.”
She watched him closely for a moment, then lifted a shoulder. “Penny is really good people, and the work she’ll do for you would earn her big bucks. So, why wouldn’t I help her?”
So Elise had a sweet side? Unexpected, but he liked it. Though her introducing Archer and Penny went above and beyond, especially considering the few PIs he knew weren’t the sharing type. “How’d you get into private investigation?” he asked, curious about how such a woman came to fruition.
She snorted softly, throwing him a flat look. “I have no doubt you know everything about me, so don’t you already know that?”
Also expected, but this was one thing she didn’t know about him. “What I know of you is that you’re a PI from Brooklyn who trained under Luke Hicks. That’s as far as I dug.”
Her head tilted to the side. “I hacked into your system. It’s bad practice that you didn’t dig more.”
He laughed softly at her rebuke. “I had Wayne dig and get everything on you possible. It was my job to do just that.”
“Then what happened?”
“Once I learned you didn’t access anyone’s private information at Phoenix and just got Zoey into the club, I didn’t want to invade any more.” Once he met her and felt that spark, he had wanted to learn about her the old-fashioned way.
She studied him, her eyes searching his before she addressed him again. “We’re in total agreement. There are lines to cross, and there are some you don’t.” She sent him a dazzling smile. “I’m starting to realize there’s something I like about you, Westbrook.”
Heat spiraled down to his groin at the spark in that smile. He leaned in and lowered his voice. “I’d wager a bet I can name a few things you like about me, Fanning.”