Page 6 of An Eye For Illusion

I sigh. This woman grates on my nerves like no other client I’ve worked with. At least in the last few years.

I speak slowly, borderline condescendingly. “I can’t give you something that isn’t there. He follows his schedule nearly to a T.”

“Nearly. What’s he doing that’s not on the schedule?”

She heard the word nearly and latched onto it for dear life. Telling her about the stops at this little dive bar will just send her reeling with a hundred more questions. Questions I don’t have answers for.

“Let me do my job, Jade. I’ll update you when there’s an update. Okay?” I try to soften my tone.

“You’ll update me daily, okay?” It isn’t a question. It’s a command, one that she sarcastically delivered in the same tone I just used.

She challenges me at every turn and frustrates me to no end. Yet, I don’t hate her for it.

I blow out a frustrated breath, knowing it’s better to concede at this point than argue with her.

“Fine,” I say simply.

“Goodnight, Mr. Brooks.” She ends the call without waiting for a response.

“Goodnight, Mr. Brooks,” I mock her out loud to myself in my car.

Ugh. Why does she get under my skin so bad?

My phone rings again, and my jaw automatically tightens. I know that crazy woman isn’t calling me again. To my relief, it’s my mom instead. It’s been a little while since we’ve talked, so I don’t hesitate to answer.

“Hey, Mom,” I say, pushing my aggravation with Jade to the back of my mind.

“Hey, Son, what are you up to? Are you busy?” Her voice instantly makes me smile. She sounds like home. She’s the only home I had after my dad disappeared.

“Eh, just working a case for a crazy client. What have you been up to? I haven’t heard from you. You better be staying out of trouble,” I tease.

My mother is a saint. She’s never been in trouble a day in her life. After my dad left and never came back, she devoted her life to giving me the best life she possibly could. For so many years, it was just the two of us.

“Well, don’t be mad, but I got a job.” She waits silently for me to respond.

“Is it money? I can send more money if you need it, Ma.”

When I got hired at Dunn, it was a significant pay increase from bouncing from solo gig to solo gig. I started sending Mom money every month, so she wouldn’t have to worry about anything. It’s the least I could do. She worked two jobs for years to make sure we never went without.

“No, Colin, geez! I have so much money from everything you’ve sent. I had to start hiding it from myself. It isn’t that. This job just gets me out of the house; that’s all.”

For some reason, it still bothers me. She shouldn’t have to work, even to get out of the house. “You could travel, take some trips to places you’ve never been. That’s why I send it, to give you back a fraction of what you spent after all the years you worked so hard for us.” I can’t understand why she’d rather keep working than go travel and enjoy herself.

“Well, now, I do have a little trip planned with a—a friend.” She stammers her words, which is definitely out of character for her.

“That’s great! Where are you and your friend headed?” I want all the details.

I’m glad she’s going, but the PI in me wants to know who the friend is so I can run a quick background check to make sure she’s safe. I can’t help but roll my eyes at myself. My mother has always shown great judgment, so I know she wouldn’t go with just anyone.

“We booked a cruise to the Bahamas. It’s just four days, but Tom seems to think that’s a good start.” I hear the smile in her voice, but who the hell is Tom?

I clear my throat. “Tom?” I ask the single word question.

“Yes, dear, Tom is a friend of mine. I hope that doesn’t upset you…” her voice trails off.

“How long have you known Tom?” I have so many questions, so I’m back to private investigator mode.

“We met about… eight months ago?” she answers, but it sounds more like a question with the pause in the middle and inflection at the end.

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