Free Crime by Sofia Cruz Page A

smile. "Agreed. Thank you, cher."

Melanie let out a sigh, starting to feel the pinch. Here she was, butting her head against wall after wall, still without a single thread to pull in terms of finding her thief, but she was having some of the best sex of her life with Felicia, and falling in love with Jessica. "God, but I'm screwed," she thought with a groan.

##

Melanie paced the lobby of Matthews Enterprises. She had called her friend Mike, the computer ace, and asked him if he could recommend anyone he might know in this area. She wanted a pro to go over Felicia and Jessica's computers, in case she missed something. Mike had called his friend Mason, a fellow computer geek who lived in the area. Mike had promised Melanie that Mason would meet her in the lobby at 10 a.m., but so far, the guy was nowhere to be seen, and it was now 10:30.

Suddenly, Melanie spotted a teenager making a beeline for her. He was tall, at least six feet, lean and very handsome. "I'll bet the girls in his high school are lined up down the block for this guy," she thought to herself. But that still didn't explain why the kid was headed her way. Finally, the young man stopped in front of her, stuck out his hand, and introduced himself as Mason, apologizing for being late because he missed the bus.

"Oh shit! Mike didn't tell me he was sending a baby." She was really aggravated. Things were starting to escalate and she didn't have time to baby sit some wet behind the ears kid.

Mason stiffened, taking offense at Melanie's outburst. "Most babies are a hell of a lot shorter than I am, ma'am," the kid shot back, his accent thick. Melanie had to contain her smirk. "Ok," she thought, "so the kid's got a spine."

"Mike tells me that there's very little you don't know about computers. Was he lying, or were you bullshitting him?"

"Neither. I'm the best. I'm sorry if you're too old and Feliciad to believe that."

Balls too, apparently. "All right, baby boy, I'll give you a shot. But you better be able to back it up. I don't have time to spare here." That said, she headed for the elevators, motioning Mason to follow her. While they stood and waited for a set of doors to open, Melanie regarded him with narrowed eyes, "You're not skipping school, or anything, are you?"

"It's summer, ma'am," Mason replied, sarcasm dripping from every word. Melanie could tell from his tone that his temper was on a short leash. This kid might just do after all.

Twenty minutes later, she had Mason set up in Jessica's office and had already shown him how to find Felicia's. Jessica had joined them, and was now explaining to Mason how the company's computerized accounting system worked. Melanie figured while he was at it, she'd have him check out the accounting entries. Maybe he could tell if someone had overridden, or altered, the initials of the person who had made them.

Moments later, she and Jessica were heading back to David's office. "Is he even old enough to shave?" Jessica asked, glancing back at Mason, who they could see slurping on a coke while he worked the keyboard, one handed.

"He isn't old enough to have been born yet, but he's all I've got. Besides, I really do trust Mike, so if this is who he sent, then I've gotta believe he really is that good." Shaking her head, she placed her hand at the small of Jessica's back, gently steering her back towards David's office.

##

Hours later, Melanie and Jessica had joined the sisters' friends at The Kitty Club. Lisa and Felicia had gotten there early, and Melanie had been glad to see that Lisa had made the women get a set of tables against the wall. They were still in their usual spot, just farther back, away from the main line of traffic. This way, Lisa and Melanie could sit with their backs to the wall and have a good visual of the entire club.

Melanie was nursing a coke when Jessica got up and announced she was going dancing. "No, you're not. Sit down, Jessica. I can't watch you on the dance floor, it's too