The Baby Scheme

A pucker formed between the photographer’s eyes as he stared past her at the entertainment center. “What hit your clothes, a hurricane?”

Alli gave a little cough, wishing he could have avoided the touchy subject. She hadn’t missed Kevin’s dismayed reaction earlier to her attempt at livening up his decor.

Her true motive had been more self-defense than aesthetics. Despite the spotlessness of the house, the man’s essence infused the place with he-man hormones. As she’d started to hang her things in the hall closet next to a leather jacket, she’d realized that his pheromones were likely to pervade her clothes forever.

That was all she needed: to carry Kevin’s scent around with her, arousing images of the two of them dancing cheek to cheek and thigh to thigh. Mr. Law-and-Way-Too-Much-Order was not even remotely the kind of guy she wanted imprinted on her psyche.

“I threw them up in the air and that’s where they stuck,” she improvised for Larry’s benefit.

“Unfortunately, I wasn’t around when it happened,” Kevin said. “Do you think it looks too revealing?”

Larry cleared his throat. “I guess you’d know more about that than I would. Right?”

He was trying to figure out the relationship between the two of them, Alli thought, and tried to figure out how to describe it. Reluctant colleagues? Victims of circumstance? People who bucked a trend by moving in together before their first date?

“I think we should have it shellacked and preserved for posterity,” Kevin replied, and headed for the kitchen.

Alli rattled the article in her hand. “I appreciate this. Did you have any trouble checking it out of the library?”

“I didn’t take it from the library. They make you fill out a form to say what you’re working on,” Larry said. “I got paranoid that the editors might start asking questions, since photographers don’t usually research stories. So I tried another route.”

“What route is that?”

Kevin returned with three beers. “I could pour these into glasses if you prefer, but that takes half the fizz out.”

“I like my beer out of the can,” Alli said.

Larry accepted his with thanks. There was nowhere to sit without knocking down her tent, so they stood there sipping while he continued.

“I asked Madge if she remembered any stories about those doctors. She mentioned she’d written one, and she photocopied it from her files without asking who it was for. I think she knew it must be you.”

“Please thank her for me,” Alli said. “I’ll tell her in person the first chance I have.”

They stood there in increasingly awkward silence. At last Kevin turned to Larry. “Want to go to a party tomorrow night?”

That was the last thing Alli had expected him to say. Why would he invite her friend to join a bunch of cops? “What kind of party is this?”

“A casual gathering.” Kevin swallowed more beer before adding, “With plenty of women.”

“Then why did you invite me?” she asked.

“They’re the wrong kind of women. For me,” he added quickly. “But Larry might hit it off with someone. Unless you’re busy?”

The photographer managed a weak smile. “No, I’d like to come.” Alli was surprised, since at social gatherings with staff members, he always stood around looking uncomfortable. “Uh, where and when?”

Kevin wrote the details on a pad and handed them over. “There’ll be plenty of food. When you arrive, just tell whoever’s at the door that I invited you.”

“You’re sure they won’t mind?” he inquired.

“They’ll be thrilled.”

Something was wrong with this picture. Alli began to have an unpleasant suspicion about the whole party scenario, at least as far as it concerned Kevin. However, she didn’t want to air her concern in front of Larry.

She made polite conversation until they finished their beers. Then she escorted her friend outside and thanked him again for the article.

“I’ll keep my eyes open for anything else about those doctors,” he told her.

Alli wanted to hug him. “You’re my lifeline. I miss you and everybody else, with a few exceptions.”

“About this Kevin guy,” Larry said. “Is he…I mean, are you two…?”

“Dating?” She shook her head. “I had to get out of my apartment. Don’t tell anyone, but I think Mayor LeMott was having me followed.” She decided not to mention the shooting. That would be too big a deal to expect him to keep hush-hush. “So here I am.”

“You and Kevin are old friends?”

“Sort of.” Seeing his confusion, she clarified, “He’s a private detective. We’re helping each other on a case.”

“I think he likes you,” Larry warned.

“He probably likes a lot of women,” Alli said. “But not particularly me.”

“Oh, yeah? I’ll bet he doesn’t let them hang their underwear in his living room.”

“I didn’t exactly obtain his permission to do that.” She resisted the urge to pat Larry’s freckled cheek. “Trust me, there’s nothing going on.”

“It’s none of my business, anyway,” he replied. “And it was nice of him to invite me for tomorrow. I would like to meet a girl.”

She hoped Kevin was right about Larry’s chances. “See you at the party.”

“You bet!”

After he drove away through the tree-lined neighborhood, Alli remembered Kevin’s advice, so she borrowed his garage opener and put her car away. When she returned, she found him standing by the fireplace reading Madge Leeky’s article.

“Anything useful?” she asked.

“It’s mostly puffery,” he said without looking up. “But there’s some interesting background.”

Alli strolled to the master bedroom. She kept expecting Kevin to ask what she was doing, but he seemed to be absorbed in the article.

It was time to check out her suspicions about what he had up his sleeve. She intended to be prepared for whatever might happen tomorrow night.

Out of his sight, she opened the master closet, where a row of dry-cleaner–bagged suits and shirts met her gaze. Pairs of perfectly creased jeans lay folded over hangers. Even his sweatshirts appeared ironed.

But there was nothing here to confirm her theory. She didn’t see so much as a forgotten skirt tucked in one corner or a high-heeled shoe left on the carpeted floor.

Quietly, she moved into the kitchen. A peek into a few cabinets and drawers revealed only that Kevin’s passion for order extended to hanging pot lids in place and organizing utensils in plastic trays. The man was seriously in need of some craziness.

The refrigerator offered Alli’s last hope. Opening it, she nearly uttered a whoop of triumph.