First Star I See Tonight

18

Piper settled into bed, turned out the light, and tucked the sheet around her. Her life was a mess. She was sleeping with her boss, or maybe her ex-boss, who might or might not also be her ex-lover, but then why was he here, and why was she letting him decide this anyway? She was too miserable about her life to have a good answer to anything. She had no financial security. She was virtually homeless. And, in the only case she had that mattered, she was proving to be a shitty investigator.

The shower stopped running, the door squeaked open, and the mattress sagged. She moved as far away from him as she could, but he made no attempt to touch her. She was both offended and comforted.

She awoke in the middle of a blazingly erotic dream to find him inside her. She was wet and yielding, her body thrumming. His weight pressed down heavy, as if he were still half-asleep, both of them more animal than human. By the end, they were awake, not speaking, moving apart and finally falling back to sleep in the mess of what had happened.

When Coop awakened the next morning, he was alone and hungover. He dragged his arm across his eyes. For the first time since the club had opened, he’d gotten drunk. It had started a few hours before closing when he’d had a couple of drinks, then a couple more, a few more after that, until he didn’t trust himself to drive home. He’d never been a big drinker, preferring pot in his younger days and, as he’d gotten older, happy with a couple of beers. But last night, as he’d watched Piper moving around the club, things had gotten away from him.

She was everywhere at once-keeping an eye on the guests, the servers, and on him. She’d gotten her way with the bouncers, and one of them was always nearby. It was easier not having to watch his back, but he objected to the principle. Just because he was no longer in the game didn’t mean he couldn’t watch out for himself. He’d growled at Jonah to call off his boys, but the son of a bitch was more afraid of her than of him, and nothing changed.

He wished he could kick her out of this apartment. He needed the place for nights like this. He needed his life back, the way it had been before she’d barged into it.

Something twisted in his gut, the thing he didn’t want to look at. The thing that every day kept pushing closer to the surface. And for no reason. He had everything he wanted. Money. Reputation. He felt physically better than he had in years. As for Spiral… The club had been at capacity since they’d reopened three nights ago. And best of all, Deidre had invited him to her farm next Monday. The playful way she’d delivered the invitation suggested his waiting was about to be over. Everything was going his way.

And yet… He wasn’t happy.

It was because of Piper.

She had a dream-the same way he did. A single-minded focus that got her out of bed every morning and drove her through the day. A passion. So why did he feel as if his life had become a cloudy reflection in the mirror of hers?

She appeared in the doorway wearing jeans and a snarl. Her hair was still damp, so she must have showered, although he hadn’t heard her. She stood there looking at him. “I can’t do this anymore, Coop.”

He pushed himself up from the pillows. “Could you let me wake up first?”

“I don’t sleep with men who don’t respect me.”

That infuriated him. “Who says I don’t respect you?”

“How could you after the way I screwed up?”

“You sure as hell did.” He jumped naked out of bed and stormed into the bathroom, where he threw himself into the shower again. He hated being backed into a corner, and that’s what she was doing.

He hadn’t been able to fire her because he trusted her-not with his ring, that was for sure-but with his life. Somehow, she’d become the juice that made things worthwhile. Maybe that explained why he was so unhappy.

All his clean clothes were in his office, and he came out in a towel. She, of course, was waiting for him.

“I apologize,” she said.

“You should. Sometimes I think you live to give me a hard time.”

“I’m not apologizing for that. I’m apologizing for trying to have a straightforward conversation with you before you’ve had your coffee.” She held out a steaming mug.

As he took it from her, he realized she was staring at something. Him. It was his chest again. She was a sucker for his chest. And he was only wearing a towel. He took a long swig from the mug and let her look.

She dragged her eyes back to his face. “I don’t understand why you haven’t fired me, and I don’t like feeling that maybe you’re keeping me on because I’m putting out.”

She might as well have slapped him. “That’s bullshit! What kind of scum do you think I am?”

“I don’t think you’re scum at all.”

“Then why would you say something like that?”

“Because I can’t think of any other reason.”

“How about this? You’re the best bouncer I have.”

Even as the words came out, he knew it was the wrong thing to say. She stared at him with the saddest face he’d ever seen, then she turned and walked away.

He stopped her as she snatched up her messenger bag to leave. “You are, Piper. But that’s not why I didn’t fire you.” Hot coffee splashed on the back of his hand and he sucked it off. “I meant to fire you,” he said, setting down his mug. “You made a big mistake, and I’ve been pissed. But the thing is… You’re the underdog who’s willing to work twice as hard as anybody else. And those have always been the kinds of players I like best on my team.”

Until that moment, he hadn’t been able to articulate it, even to himself, but now that he’d said it, he felt better.

She looked a little starry-eyed, which he liked, and then troubled, which he didn’t like. “I appreciate that,” she said. “But the brutal fact is that I’m no closer to getting to the bottom of this than I was when you hired me. And I have no idea what to do next.”

“You’ll figure it out.”

“How can you say that?”

“Because that’s what you do.”

Coop’s faith put a knot in her throat the size of a football. She carried it with her all weekend. She couldn’t fail him. She couldn’t. But then she wondered if her determination to prove herself to Coop was all that different from her never-ending battle to win Duke’s approval. No, it was different. Duke’s misguided fear for her safety had kept him from giving her the opportunity she’d craved-the opportunity he’d raised her to take on. Unlike her father, Coop had given her the chance Duke had withheld, and she couldn’t disappoint him.

Monday morning found her in the main office building at the Stars Complex Headquarters in DuPage County. The team logo of three interlocking gold stars in a sky-blue circle was etched into the glass wall of the PR office-the wall that overlooked the building’s main lobby where lighted niches protected by bulletproof glass displayed the team’s major trophies and where visitors signed in at an impressive, crescent-shaped ivory granite reception desk.

With the football season in full swing, the PR office was humming with activity-phones ringing, computer screens glowing, people hurrying in and out. Coop had finally cleared the way for her to go through the mail that had accumulated for him, and a young publicist with cat’s-eye makeup and an earnest manner showed her to the room’s only empty desk and explained the procedure.

“We take care of most of Coop’s fan mail. We mail out autograph cards, his FAQ, and we have a special package for kids who write him. We work with his agent on appearance requests. Even though he’s retired, he still gets a lot of mail.”

“Any of it hostile?”

“Not much. He got some his first season with the Stars after a couple of bad games. ‘Go back to Miami.’ That kind of thing. The fans didn’t know he was playing with a broken finger.”

“What about women?”

“Thongs, nude photos. We’ve pretty much seen it all. And I do mean all.” She gestured toward the desk. “Go ahead. Take your time and let me know if you need anything else.”

“Thanks.”

Piper settled behind the pile of paper-both snail mail and e-mail printouts. The majority were requests for autographs and photos. Some of it was really sweet. Kids who idolized him. Fans who’d followed his career from the very beginning. One was from a man who’d lost his son in a car accident and found relief from his grief in remembering how his son had idolized Coop. Piper pulled that one out as something she thought Coop should personally respond to. There were also a number of notes from parents of athletically talented offspring looking for advice.

And the women. Photos accompanied letters that listed the sender’s credentials to be Coop’s next girlfriend: an athletic nature, a modeling career, a college degree in sports management, a super-special expertise in fellatio.

As Piper pondered that, she became aware of a subtle shift in the atmosphere of the room. She looked up.

In the doorway stood Phoebe Somerville Calebow, the owner of the Chicago Stars, the wife of the former head coach and current Stars president Dan Calebow, the mother of four, and the single most powerful woman in the NFL, if not the universe.

Piper jumped to her feet as the Stars owner approached the very desk where Piper was sitting. “Mrs… uh… Mrs. Calebow.”

Phoebe Somerville Calebow took her in. “So you’re Coop’s detective.”

The fact that Phoebe Calebow knew of her existence was so dumbfoundingly dumbfounding that Piper couldn’t muster anything more than a shaky nod.

“My quarterbacks do tend to get involved with unusual women,” she said.

Those involvements had been well publicized, and like everyone else in Chicago, Piper knew the history. Cal Bonner had married a world-renowned physicist. Kevin Tucker was married to a prize-winning children’s book author. An eccentric artist had made an unlikely match with Dean Robillard. And it wasn’t only the quarterbacks. The team’s legendary wide receiver, Bobby Tom Denton, was married to the current mayor of Telarosa, Texas.

Mrs. Calebow gestured Piper back into her chair, then perched on the side of the desk. Middle age hadn’t diminished her curvy, blond beauty, and not even her tortoiseshell smart-girl glasses could dilute her aura of ripe sexuality. “So what are your intentions toward my guy?”

Piper wasn’t used to anyone intimidating her, but being in the presence of Phoebe Calebow was being in the presence of greatness. She swallowed. “I don’t think I have any intentions.”

Mrs. Calebow arched one beautifully shaped and very skeptical eyebrow.

“We’re… That part is over,” Piper said. “It’s all professional now. I have a job to do. And… How did you know about me?”

“I keep track of my men,” Mrs. Calebow said with a wry smile. “Do you read?”

“Read?”

“Books.”

“Of course. Thrillers. Mysteries. Police procedurals. At least I did until the past month, when I started working so late.” She babbled on. “I like biographies and autobiographies, too. But only about women. Which, I know, is sexist, but those are the stories that resonate with me. Oh, and cookbooks. I hate cooking but I like reading about it. And technology.” She forced herself to shut up.

“Interesting.” Mrs. Calebow uncoiled her legs from the desk corner, legs that could still have found a place in the Rockettes chorus line. “Nice meeting you, Ms. Dove.”

She swept from the office, leaving Piper to wonder what had just happened.

Piper didn’t leave the Stars headquarters until midafternoon, by which time she’d dug through all Coop’s PR records. On her way to her car, she experienced her familiar frustration. Nothing she’d read had raised a red flag. As she eased onto the two-lane road marked stars drive, she once again tried to figure out what she was missing and once again came up empty.

Instead of heading east toward the city, she took the Reagan Tollway west. She hadn’t seen Coop since their sleepover three nights ago, but she’d called him yesterday morning to make sure he wasn’t planning to throw himself into any big crowds or take off on a solitary hike. “I’m going over to Heath and Annabelle’s to watch the Stars game,” he’d said.

She’d asked Coop why he didn’t go to see the games in person. He’d pointed out how unfair it would be to the Stars’ new quarterback having TV cameras track Coop’s reaction to every play.

“Deidre’s invited us both to an overnight house party at her farm on Monday night,” he’d announced.

“That should make you happy.”

“What will make me happy is getting a financial commitment from her.”

“You’re going ahead with it, then?” she’d said. “Building your empire.”

“Of course I am. Why would you even ask?”

Because running a chain of nightclubs didn’t seem right for Coop, but she’d held her tongue. She also hadn’t mentioned that he could easily get a more personal commitment from Deidre. But he probably already knew that.

“I like Deidre,” she’d said carefully. “Even though she fired me.”

“I like her, too. A lot.”

And why wouldn’t he?

Piper got off at the Farnsworth exit and headed north. She didn’t want to go to Deidre’s overnight house party, but she also didn’t want Coop out of her sight for two days, so she’d agreed to meet him there.

St. Charles was a pretty town on the Fox River about forty miles west of the Loop. The Joss family farm lay to the northwest, its entrance marked by stone pillars and a white rail fence. Burnished leaves from the trees lining the drive drifted over the hood of her car as she made her way to the large, two-story white house. She parked her car between Coop’s Tesla and a red Lexus. This looked like a working farm, with a stable, barn, and paddock. The fields had been cleared for next year’s planting.

Her only familiarity with country house parties came from reading English novels, but the farmhouse was distinctly American with its wide front porch and arrangements of multicolored pumpkins, corn sheaves, mums, and pots of ornamental kale at the top of the steps. A set of wooden rocking chairs with orange and brown cushions sat on each side of a hunter-green front door where a natural wreath of leaves, seedpods, and small gourds hung. It all belonged on a magazine cover.

A middle-aged housekeeper in jeans and a white T-shirt rescued her from an unfamiliar sense of yearning. “Everyone is out riding now,” the housekeeper said as she showed Piper her room, “but they should be back soon. Feel free to explore.”

Since she’d been sitting most of the day, she was happy to poke around the barn and the outbuildings. The housekeeper had told her that the farm grew corn, soybeans, and some wheat, but there was also a sizable vegetable garden where a few pumpkins remained on the vines, along with some cabbage, broccoli, and Swiss chard, a vegetable she wouldn’t have recognized if Coop hadn’t pointed it out in his garden. In the stable, three empty stalls filled with fresh beds of straw waited for their occupants to return.

She saw them before they saw her. Deidre rode a lively roan mare between Noah and Coop, who was on a dappled gray. With her upright carriage, dark hair knotted at the nape of her neck, riding hat, and breeches, she looked ready for a horse show. As for Coop… Piper had never seen him more comfortable. His body moved in perfect synchronicity with his mount, and she once again pondered how someone who so clearly belonged in the country was so at home in the big city.

As Piper stood inside the doorway, the stable hand who’d been listening to Lil Wayne in the corner got up to go to work. Coop dismounted as gracefully as he dodged defensive ends. Piper watched the way the denim tightened around his thighs and then made herself not watch.

After Deidre dismounted, Coop looped an arm across her shoulders. He looked like a man in love. Rumpled hair. Easy laugh. A dirty bomb exploded in Piper’s heart.

He finally spotted her and released the arm he’d thrown around Deidre-not out of guilt but to pass the reins over to the stable hand. “You should have gotten here earlier, Pipe. We had a great ride.”

“You’re a natural, Cooper.” Deidre’s praise was straightforward, without a hint of girlishness. “I can tell you spent a lot of time on horseback when you were a kid.”

“I never learned to ride pretty,” he said, “but I got the job done.”

Deidre gave him an open smile. “I think you ride very pretty.”

Piper wanted to barf.

For the first time, she noticed Noah. His high-end suede jacket and ironed denim shirt suggested he’d have been much happier behind a desk.

It quickly became apparent that Deidre had planned a very small house party-only the four of them. Piper didn’t need her detective skills to figure out that Deidre was playing matchmaker. Maybe she simply enjoyed fixing people up, or maybe she was hoping that Piper and Noah would hit it off so she’d have a clear path to Coop. But a relationship between Piper and Noah Parks would never happen. He was intelligent, and his squared-off profile wasn’t unattractive, but he didn’t seem to possess a shred of humor.

Coop gestured toward the field behind the garden. “How did your wheat do with all the rain this summer, Deidre?”

“I’m embarrassed to say that I don’t know. We have a tenant who farms the place. When my husband was alive, he knew everything that happened here, but I only ride and relax.”

“Sam loved the farm,” Noah said. “It was in his family for three generations.”

As they left the stable behind, Deidre talked about how she and her late husband had torn down the old farmhouse to build the new one. She spoke of Sam matter-of-factly. Deidre Joss was a woman who held her emotions close to her chest.

Noah fell in step next to Piper, and she did some not-so-subtle probing. “It has to be hard for Deidre. Losing her husband at such a young age. Snowmobile accident, right?”

“Driving too fast.”

“What was he like?”

“Sam? Easygoing, fun to be around. A little irresponsible. Everybody liked him. Hard not to. They were only married five years.”

“A good marriage?”

She expected Noah to freeze her out, but he didn’t. “They were crazy about each other, but she was the one who had to do the heavy lifting.”

They’d reached the house, and Deidre announced cocktails in an hour on the patio. “Coop, let me show you your room.”

Which wouldn’t be anyplace near Piper’s.

She washed her face and put on a little makeup but didn’t change from the slacks and sweater she’d worn to the Stars Complex. As she reached for her messenger bag to check her phone, she remembered she’d left it in her car and went downstairs to get it.

A light breeze ruffled the tree branches near the house. The smell of fall was hard in the air, a smell she loved. It was nearly dark, and the floodlights mounted on the corner of the barn shone on her Sonata, Coop’s Tesla, and the Lexus. As she walked toward the cars, she noted the Lexus’s license plate. ararat.

Overhead, an owl hooted and swooped toward a stand of trees beyond the barn. A wisp of memory tantalized her but wouldn’t take shape. She reclaimed her bag and texted Jen to find out if she’d returned Eric’s call. Then she made her way to the back of the house.

The three of them were seated around a blazing, stone fire pit. The patio had an outdoor kitchen with a built-in grill, a sink, and a tiled countertop. Garden torches illuminated the perimeter and cast a faint light over a swimming pool covered for the season. Noah was cross-examining Coop. “… and you’ve also gotten too much bad publicity. Forgive me for being blunt, but that’s a sign of bad management.”

“It’s a sign of bad luck,” Coop countered.

“You know I’ve been opposed to this from the beginning,” Noah said. “I’ve never liked the idea of trusting this large an investment to the whims of professional athletes who already have more money than they can spend. Yourself excluded, of course.”

“If that’s what the plan was, you’d be right, Noah. But you keep missing the point. Athletes retire young. Sure, some of them are more than happy to spend their time going through their money, but those aren’t the guys I’m after. I want the ones who are smart, ambitious, and out for a new challenge but not willing to bankroll themselves. There are a lot of them.”

Deidre stayed silent, taking in both Coop’s answers and Noah’s questions. “It’s too risky an investment for us,” Noah said. “We don’t know the industry, and we don’t understand the market.”

“Did you understand China’s market for water-purification systems when you made that investment?” Coop turned to Deidre. “Taking a few well-calculated risks makes business more interesting, doesn’t it?”

Deidre spoke for the first time. “I like the idea of diversifying into the so-called sin industries, even though Noah has raised some good points. The fact that he’s not often wrong has been my only hesitation.”

“This time he’s wrong,” Coop countered. “And, Deidre, as much as I’m enjoying your hospitality… and as much as I’d like to work with you, it’s time to make up your mind. I’ll give you another couple of days. Then I’ll have to move on.”

Coop didn’t want to move on. Piper knew that Deidre was the only partner he wanted.

Far from being rattled, Deidre smiled. “I don’t think we’ll need that long.”

“Piper!” Noah came to his feet. “Let me get you something to drink. Cocktail? Wine?”

“I’ll have a beer.” She walked out into the torchlight. “Whatever Coop’s drinking.”

“You and Coop appear to have a lot of the same tastes. It’s no surprise you like working together.” Noah moved to the outdoor bar. “That’s another question I have. You seem to be Coop’s confidante…”

Was it her imagination, or did he veil that last word with all kinds of hidden meanings?

He pulled a frosted mug from the small built-in refrigerator. “We know he was a great quarterback, but is he a great businessman?”

Deidre showed her first sign of impatience. “How do you expect her to answer that?”

“In her normal straightforward fashion,” Noah said. “Piper knows him better than either of us, and I’ve developed a healthy respect for her opinion. So tell us, Piper. Do you see Coop as a captain of industry?”

“I see Coop as being successful at whatever he sets his mind to,” Piper said carefully.

Noah walked toward her with a frosted beer mug. “But is running nightclubs what he should be setting his mind to? Tell us what your gut says.”

No. Absolutely not. Coop lifted an eyebrow at her, once again reading her mind. She took the mug. “I’m not going to second-guess Coop’s hopes and dreams, but I will say that you couldn’t pick anyone to do business with who’s more honest or hardworking.”

The housekeeper interrupted, looking flustered. The reason was immediately apparent as a pair of uniformed police officers followed her out onto the patio. “Deidre, these men are from the St. Charles police department.”

Piper came to her feet. Deidre merely looked curious. “What can I help you with?”

They ignored her to focus on Coop. “Mr. Graham, you’ll have to come with us. We have a warrant for your arrest.”

Noah stepped forward. “That’s ludicrous. On what charge?”

The officer regarded Coop grimly. “Sexual assault.”