“You know you’re not, but I get what you’re saying.” Val would never forget the first time right after the divorce when she’d called Josh to share that Jackson aced a science test he’d been worried about.
Kid’s gonna be a nerd like your fancy friends.
That was it. No joy. No pride. He’d said “it was a joke” when she’d gotten upset, but it wasn’t a joke. Not even a little bit. They both knew it.
“Josh is such a jerk.” Val let out a long breath. “I still hope he’s all right.”
“Where do you want to start tomorrow?”
“Only one place to start.”
West. She was going to see West.
* * *
They took Monica’s minivan even though Val knew it would cause endless ribbing from Josh’s old garage buddies. The minivan had awesome legroom, a built-in cooler, and a full tank of gas. It was a no-brainer.
They parked on the curb in front of West’s Custom Body Shop on the industrial east end of Bridger City. The shop was surrounded by auto body and repair shops, paint and customization places, and more than one bike shop. The foothills around Bridger were home to a couple of different bike clubs, and most of them got their work done at West’s or across the street at Bridger Motosports.
At one point, Josh was building custom bikes for West and making good money. When the bike shop wasn’t busy, he’d work on high-end sports cars and anything else West wanted him to do. Val and Josh spent holidays at West and his wife Georgia’s home. Josh and West were as close as brothers.
Then Josh slept with Georgia. Because of course he did.
Monica and Robin eyed the garage. “What do you want us to do?” Robin asked.
“I’m not sure.” She glanced at Monica. “You see anything familiar?”
Monica’s visions would often come like dreams, long and elaborate clips like a movie scene taken out of context. She also had flashes of intuition that popped into her head. Those, she’d once explained, were harder to interpret. Who was to say what was a vision and what was normal imagination?
Monica squinted at the three-bay garage. “I can see him here, but I don’t know if I’m projecting or seeing something important. He worked here for so long.”
“Gotcha.” Val kept her sunglasses on as she opened the minivan door. “Maybe just wander around. Robin might find someone to talk to.”
Robin smiled. “Very possible. Let’s see if any spirits thought West’s garage was their happy or sad place.”
According to Robin, spirits who didn’t move on to… whatever the afterlife was tended to hang around in places they had a strong emotional connection to. A beloved home or the site of an untimely death were common hangouts, but ghosts could pop up in weird places too. Like an auto-repair shop.
Val sauntered toward the first bay, where she could see West leaning over the open hood of a car. He was wearing dark blue coveralls and heavy boots in the cold, and he’d grown out a full grey beard. She couldn’t lie—if you were into the older, slightly seedy biker look, West was not hard on the eyes.
His hair was steel grey and clipped short, other than the beard. His tan skin was clearly friends with the sun, and years of squinting had left creases around his eyes. Colorful tattoos peeked over the collar of his coveralls and at his wrists. Val knew his body was covered in them, but it worked on West.
Really worked.
West looked up when he heard her approach. “Can I help you?”
Val took off her sunglasses and smiled. “Really?”
West squinted his dark brown eyes. “Aw, hell. I hardly recognized you with the hair. What the fuck, Val?” He walked over, wiping his hands on a red rag before he gave her a hug. “Where ya been?” He looked her up and down with undisguised admiration. “You’re looking hot as hell.”
Val’s thick hair was clipped short around the sides and back, the short sides dyed a purplish red, with the long fall of her natural dark brown skimming past her shoulders. She’d worn skinny jeans and a tall pair of boots to the garage along with her favorite shearling-lined black parka.
She was as punk as she could be in thirty-degree weather, and she knew her audience. West had always been attracted to her. Unlike Josh, however, she didn’t fool around with married people, and West had never made a move.
“I’ve been around. Still in Glimmer Lake.”
“You got a café or something, right?”
“It’s just a coffee shop, West.” She shifted and shoved her hands in her pockets. “We’re not that fancy.”
“How’re the boys? Jackson graduating soon?”
“He’s got a couple years yet,” she said. “But he’s doing good. Andy’s a little genius. I don’t know where he comes from.”
West squinted. “Eh, his parents aren’t too dim; I’m not surprised.”
“His dad could be smarter.”
West grimaced. “Being intelligent and being a dumbass aren’t mutually exclusive. You know that as well as I do.”
Val shook her head. “I was pissed to hear about Georgia. He’s such an idiot.”
“Yeah.” He shrugged. “She made her bed. Took off. Somewhere down south now. Good riddance.” He looked at her legs again. “You want to get a drink?”
“It’s eleven in the morning.”
The corner of his mouth turned up. “And?”
Val couldn’t stop her smile. “Sure. You know I’m here to ask about Josh, right?”
“Yeah.” He ushered her toward the small glass-walled office at the front of the garage. “Doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy ourselves.”
“Are you hitting on me while I’m looking for the father of my children?”
“No.” He held open the door. “I’m… comforting an old friend in her hour of need.”
“Right.” She reached for her phone and texted Monica.
Having a drink with West.
He’s hot, she texted back. Like TV biker hot.
Too complicated.
We’re getting a cup of coffee at this deli on the corner and walking around the neighborhood.
Val texted back, I’ll text you when we’re done, then put her phone away.
She walked into West’s office and immediately remembered why Josh had always loved working for him. Despite his rough demeanor and devil-may-care attitude, West was meticulous. The office floor was immaculate and the parts desk was clear of clutter. His own desk was in the back corner, also ruthlessly organized.
He pulled over a chair and Val sat across from his desk. He poured two cups of coffee from the carafe on the counter, plopped down at his desk, then brought out a bottle of Johnny Walker from the bottom drawer. He poured a decent shot of whiskey in both glasses and shoved one toward her.
Val cautiously took off her gloves and reached for the mug. After all, if she was going to use her extra sense to search for Josh, she had to deal with the consequences.
The mug touched her skin. Nothing clear. The level of relief surprised her.
“To cheating exes.” West raised his mug. “And not having to deal with their bullshit anymore.”
“I hear that.” Val clinked the edge of her mug against West’s, then took a sip of coffee and almost burned her mouth. “Did it happen more than once with Georgia? It surprised me when I heard. Not Josh. He was a dog. I didn’t think that about her though.”
West frowned. “We were going through a rough patch when it happened. My dad had just died and I was being a prick. But she picked checking out and cheating as a way to deal. I’m not about that.”
“I hear that.” As far as Val knew, West was a straight arrow when it came to relationships. He couldn’t stand a liar, and cheating was a lie. “Josh—”
“Josh…” West’s eyes narrowed. “Josh should have known better. He didn’t have respect. For you or any woman. The police made a call last week. I didn’t have much to tell them.”
“Do you think he did it?” She took a sip of coffee, and the whiskey made her eyes burn.
&n
bsp; “Moonlighting?” West shrugged. “I wouldn’t be shocked. In his defense, Luxury Pro Autoworks charges their customers up the ass and they pay their people shit. There’s a reason the owner’s office is that fucking fancy. So if Josh was moonlighting, it wouldn’t surprise me. Don’t know why the police care though.”
“What about the money?”
“What money?”
She took another drink of coffee. The whiskey was warming her up. “That’s why the police were asking about him. One of the customers he was moonlighting for says Josh took ten grand for parts and then didn’t do the work. They think he took off.”
“The fuck?” West shook his head. “No. That’s not Josh.”
“That’s what I told them, but I guess this guy knows people or something. I don’t know. Do you know anyone who owns a black Maserati in Pheasant Creek?”
He let out a low whistle. “No one around here is driving anything that nice. I’d notice. I can ask around. There can’t be more than one or two in town, but Josh is definitely who you’d want working on a vehicle like that.”
“Yeah.”
West finished his coffee and looked out into the garage with his eyes narrowed. “If you find him… tell him I’ll hire him back, same arrangement we had before.”
“Seriously?”
“I don’t have a wife for him to poach anymore, so… yeah, probably. I’d take a couple of swings at him first, but I’d hire him. Damn hard to find mechanics with the same touch Josh has.”
“You’re a peach, West.” She set her coffee cup down, already feeling her head swimming a little. She really wasn’t used to drinking in the morning. “I’m trying to think where he’d take off to.”
“He still seeing that girl? Does she know?”
Val rolled her eyes. “She doesn’t know her ass from her elbow. No help there.”
West grinned. “That’s what you get for hooking up with a girl instead of a woman.”
“I see what you’re doing here, but it’s not going to work.”
“Don’t tell me you’re still hung up on the dumbass.”
“No. I only want to find him for the boys.” Val set her mug down and didn’t know what to do with her hands. She dropped them on the arms of the chair and immediately got a flash of West in a compromising position with a woman she didn’t recognize.
“Oh.” She pulled her hands away and folded them in her lap. “Um…”
West frowned. “You okay?”
Her cheeks felt hot. She’d probably looked a second longer than was strictly necessary. Half a second. “I’m fine. Just not used to whiskey in the morning.”
“Right.” He was still frowning. “You drive yourself?”
“No. Remember Monica and Robin?”
“A little. They drove you?”
“Yeah, they were just going down to Gino’s to get a coffee while we talked.”
“I don’t know what else I can tell you. If he shows up, I’ll call you.”
“When was the last time you talked to him?”
West scratched his beard. “Ya know, I actually got a call from him last week. Saw his name on my phone and ignored it. Wasn’t in the mood. But I was going to call him back eventually. Then I heard about all this shit.”
“You think he was involved in anything illegal?”
“Pshhht.” West narrowed his eyes. “It’s Josh. Half the guys out there? Yeah, they might get into something dirty. Josh wouldn’t. Not on purpose, anyway. He wasn’t a great father, but he loved your boys enough to keep his nose clean.”
“Thanks.” She had to keep remembering that. Josh loved the boys. He was a piss-poor example, but he did love them. “I probably needed that reminder. This isn’t fun.”
She was currently keeping her hands stuffed under her knees, trying to keep from accidentally touching anything else. Not fun was an understatement.
“Tell you what,” West said. “I’m gonna find out whose car this is, and I’m gonna call you. Because I think there’s something else going on. The boys don’t need to be wondering about this shit.”
“Thanks, West.”
“No problem.” He got to his feet. “I better get back to work.”
Val stood and put on her gloves again. She wasn’t risking touching anything else in the office. “Thanks for the time.”
He put a hand on the small of her back and led her toward the door. “You got my number?”
“I think so.”
“Call if you or the boys need anything.”
“Sure.” She wouldn’t call. Not West anyway. He meant well, but he was Josh’s friend first. “I’ll call if I hear anything.”
“Cool.”
Val saw Robin and Monica waiting near the minivan. “That’s my ride.”
West squinted into the sun. “Who’s the chick in the purple?”
“Monica?” Val looked at him from her corner of her eye. “That’s Monica. She was married to Gilbert Vasquez.”
“Was married?”
“Gil died a couple of years ago. Heart attack, really sudden.”
“That’s fucked up.” He hadn’t taken his eyes off Monica. “That minivan hers?”
Val waved a finger at West. “Don’t disrespect the minivan. She loves the minivan.”
“She needs to be driving a muscle car with curves like that,” he said under his breath, his eyes still locked on Monica. “Take care, Val.”
“You too. I’ll call you.”
Val walked toward Monica and Robin, hopping over the low shrubs near the sidewalk. “He doesn’t know anything about Josh, but he’s gonna ask around about the Maserati.”
Monica said, “He’s staring at my car. He better not be judging my van.”
“Pretty sure he’s staring at your ass, not your car.” Val crawled into the second row. “Come on. Let’s head back. I’ll fill you in on the way.”
Chapter 8
“Why would he be staring at my ass?” Monica started her car. “What’s wrong with my ass?”
Robin said, “I’m pretty sure he thinks nothing is wrong with your ass.”
“You mean he was… like, checking me out?” Her voice rose. “What?”
Val snorted. “Monica, you can’t be serious.”
“He’s like TV-biker hot.”
Robin shook her head. “False modesty doesn’t suit you.”
“I’m just saying I’m in jeans and a hoodie. It’s not like I’m dressed up.”
“Pretty sure your ass does not need dressing up to attract attention,” Val said. “But getting back to Josh, did you guys find any leads?”
Robin said, “Monica, turn down that alley behind West’s garage.”
“Right.”
“So you did find something?”
Robin looked over her shoulder. “Not exactly something. More like someone.”
Monica drove past two porta-potties and stopped near a trio of large shipping containers across the alley from West’s garage.
“What are we looking at?”
Robin rolled down her window, and the cold air rushed in. “Hey, Harry. You still around?”
Val’s mouth formed an O, but she stayed silent. Now she knew what Robin was talking about. Someone might not be living, but that didn’t mean they weren’t a valuable source of information.
“Hey, Harry?”
Monica asked, “Did you bring your sketchbook?”
Robin shook her head. “I’ll bring it tomorrow and we can try again. He’s gone.” She turned to Val. “Pretty sure Josh has been around here recently. I can’t say for sure, but I think this ghost saw him around the shipping containers.”
“The shipping containers?”
“Weird, right?”
Robin asked, “Did Josh keep anything in storage? Would he have used these?”
“I don’t think so. I think these are West’s.”
“Interesting,” Monica said. “Then why would Josh have been hanging around West’s storage unit?”
“Are w
e sure he was?” Val asked. “How well do ghosts tell time? Could it have been years ago?”
“Completely possible,” Robin said. “The best thing to do would be to ask about hairstyles or things like that, because ghosts are super bad at telling time as far as I can tell.”
Monica continued through the alley. “Okay, so tomorrow bring your sketchbook, but right now I think we better head out. It’ll take us an hour to get back to Glimmer Lake.”
“Where are we going tomorrow?” Robin said. “I can leave earlier tomorrow.”
“I’d like to visit Luxury Pro Autoworks and take a look at Josh’s house,” Val said. “If we have the time.”
“Do we need permission from what’s her face?” Monica asked.
“Who? Rachel?” Val shrugged. “I’ll call her, but I know where Josh left a key.”
“He told you where he left a key to his place?”
“Yep. I’m still on his life insurance too.”
“He has life insurance?”
“Weird, right? It’s like the only responsible thing he ever did. He got a big-ass life insurance policy right when Jackson was born. He was racing bikes right around then, remember?”
“Oh, I do remember that,” Monica said. “I think Gil was the one who harassed him into it. Glad he kept it up though.”
“Me too.” Val took a deep breath. “But I really, really hope I don’t have to think about that anytime soon.”
They pulled into Misfit to drop Val off just as she saw Americano Asshole pulling out of the parking lot at high speed. He was driving a silver-grey sports car Val didn’t recognize instead of his usual blue BMW.
“That guy,” she muttered. “He’s such a jerk. Rich as hell and yet so cheap.”
“That’s annoying,” Robin said. “Have you met his wife though? She’s really sweet. She bought a dresser from me last month. Said it was for her new ‘me room.’ I thought she was so cute.”
Monica said, “And yet married to Allan Anderson.”
Semi-Psychic Life: Glimmer Lake Book Two Page 7