by Leanna Sain
“Yeah, but before you do…” He stared at the tabletop like he was trying to memorize it. “I don’t know how you feel about this, but I was thinking about hiding in that alley again later tonight. I don’t know if it’ll do any good, but three inter-connected things have happened there so far: one…Lily found that bag of money; two…she saw Mark Spencer beating up that man; and three…we overheard that conversation last night. It wouldn’t hurt to try to make it four for four.”
“Sounds as good as anything else. It couldn’t hurt, right?”
“Let’s hope not.” He motioned with his head toward the back. “Maybe you need to go check on her.”
“Yeah,” I said, as I scooted out of the booth. “I think you’re right.”
****
Lily was gone, of course. I had a waitress ask in the kitchen, and the cooks confirmed her exit out the back door. It didn’t really surprise me.
I also wasn’t surprised when I returned to our table and found Ellie sitting in my vacated seat across from Jonas. I was surprised she wasn’t sitting next to him.
“Cleo!” she greeted me joyously, as if we were long lost friends instead of mortal enemies. “It’s so good to see you!”
“Ellie.” Her eyes narrowed at my mispronunciation, but she didn’t correct me. I gave her a cold stare. The only thing that kept me from yanking her out of my seat by her dark rooted, bottle-blonde hair was sheer, iron will.
“I saw you come in earlier,” she trilled in her fake-friendly voice. “I wanted to be sure to come tell you “hi.” Imagine my disappointment when I finally made it to your table and found you were gone. But luckily…” she gave Jonas an impudent smile. “…this nice man was good enough to let me sit here and wait for you.”
Finally made it to my table? Yeah, right. I was sure she’d waited—on purpose—for me to leave before she swooped in. I’d seen this act before, and I thought I was ready for it, but I guess I wasn’t. When she finished her little performance with a wink, I think I may have growled.
“Well, that worked out well for you, didn’t it?” My smile was brittle. One false move and my face might shatter into a thousand little pieces. I waited stiffly for her to vacate my seat. Could a person’s blood actually boil?
Jonas was casting an uncertain look between the two of us. I’m sure he was astute enough to feel the undercurrents. He might not understand them, but he had to be aware of them.
Then he sort of jumped, shoulders stiffening, eyes widening in shock as he stared across the table. What was that about? I glanced at Ellie, looking for an answer. Uh-oh. I knew that look. I’d seen her use it often enough. It was her “come and get me” expression—gazing up through her mascara thickened lashes, a seductive smile curving her lips, promising things I didn’t even want to know about—the look that reduced men to puppy-like creatures, eager to please. A movement under the table caught my eye and my jaw dropped. Ellie’s stiletto-clad foot was rubbing suggestively up and down Jonas’ leg. Obviously, Ellie had no intention of relinquishing her spot at the table.
Oh, no you don’t, girlfriend! Not this time!
I made a totally out-of-character and utterly rash decision, praying that Jonas would just go with it and that it wouldn’t backfire. I slipped into the seat beside him, snuggling up close. “I like it better on this side, anyway.”
I’ll have to hand it to him. It only took him a split second of startled uncertainty before he dropped his arm around my shoulder, pulling me even closer. He put his lips to my ear, whispering, “I guess you’ll explain what’s going on later?”
His warm breath against my ear caused goose bumps to shiver along my arms and down my legs, but I dimpled up at him and answered, “You know I will.” Turning to Ellie, I almost shouted over an explosion of laughter from the bar. “Isn’t he a sweetheart? I just love him to death!”
Ellie’s expression had become a bit frosty and I almost giggled with delight. It felt wonderful to be vindicated. Not to mention, it was very, very cozy to be snuggled up against Jonas like this.
She slid toward the outside edge of the seat. “It was good to see you, Cleo. Happy holidays. Nice to meet you, Jonas. Maybe we could meet for a drink sometime?”
“Sounds good,” he said. “I’ll let you set it up with Cleo.”
Ellie’s jaw tightened. “Of course. See you later.” She spun around and stalked away, swaying a little on her four-inch heels.
I turned toward him, nearly beaming. “Thank you so much for playing along. You will never know how much I appreciate it. She’s deserved something like that ever since high school!” I attempted to slide away from him so I could move back to my former seat, but his arm tightened. I glanced at him, both eyebrows raised in question.
“Who said I was playing?” he replied, his voice a little gruff around the edges. His chocolate eyes were serious…warm and dark, and my heart started hammering erratically. “Besides,” he grinned. “She might come back; you don’t want to take any chances, do you?”
As soon as I opened my mouth to answer, I felt a vibration against my hip. It took a couple of seconds for me to realize that it was his phone. He leaned away just far enough to be able to reach it, and gave the screen a brief glance. His eyes narrowed a bit and he clenched his jaw, then he turned it off without answering.
I wasn’t trying to look. I really wasn’t, but I noticed the name on the screen said, “Jill,” and the green-eyed monster reared its ugly head. Who the heck was Jill? Jeez! First Ellie and now Jill? A line was forming!
I silenced my desire to swear by taking a sip of tea.
I didn’t trust my voice. I was afraid I’d growl again if I tried to say anything, and since I didn’t want him to know I’d seen the name, to think I was nosy.
“So…do you?” he repeated.
“Do I, what?” I asked.
“Want to take a chance on Ellie coming back.”
I just shook my head.
“Good answer,” he smiled.
Chapter Fourteen
Cleo
Lily was waiting by the car when we came out.
I rushed over to her and grabbed her shoulder, impulsively pulling her close in a quick one-armed hug. “Why’d you do that?” I demanded. “Didn’t you think I’d be worried about you? Why’d you sneak out on us like that?”
“Look at me, Cleo. I don’t belong in there. You know it…I know it…and so did everyone else in the restaurant. If it wasn’t illegal for her to do so, that seating hostess would’ve barred me from coming in there in the first place.”
I couldn’t argue with her so I dropped the subject, handing her a doggie bag containing the food she’d ordered before her escape. “Here’s your food, at least.”
She immediately opened the bag, releasing the wonderful aroma of its contents. Garlic-rosemary fries were a Moon River specialty and I had to admit they were pretty darn terrific. By the next morning they made your breath smell like a troll had slept under your tongue overnight, but it was worth it. She retrieved a fry and popped it into her mouth. “Thank you,” she breathed, closing her eyes in apparent ecstasy.
Jonas beeped the car doors open and smiled. “My pleasure.”
“So, where are we going now?” Lily asked around another mouthful of fries. “What’s the plan?”
I turned around as much as the seatbelt would allow. “Jonas and I think we should hide out in the alley again. That seems to be where most of the action is—or has been so far. Maybe we’ll get lucky and find a clue that can help us find Raymond.”
Lily nodded, sending the bells jingling again. “When nothing goes right, go left.”
Jonas looked confused. I cut my eyes at him and shook my head slightly. “Lily has an arsenal of famous—and infamous—quotes she likes to fit into her conversations. Sometimes they’re a perfect illustration, but sometimes it takes time to figure out how it fits.” I looked back at her. “I don’t understand this one.”
“You will.”
Hmmm.
We reached the spot to turn into the alley and I sprang to attention. “Oh, I get it!” I exclaimed, making them both jump. “When nothing goes right, go left. This is a one-way alley with a one-way road approaching it. You can only go left. That’s it, isn’t it?”
She cocked her eyebrow at me. “Told you.”
I laughed. “Yes, you did.”
We pulled into a slot reserved for a realty business on the corner, inching forward into the deep shadows as far as we could go. The headlights went off, followed by the engine. The sudden silence seemed very loud to me. I stared straight ahead where Lily’s building hulked in the darkness. No lights shone from any of the five floors. A shiver travelled down my spine.
“You have any other wise sayings before we start this stake-out?” I whispered.
“Experience is what you get when you don’t stop trying.”
I blew out a breath. “Okay, then…Let’s go get some experience.”
****
For the second night in a row, I found myself crowded behind a line of garbage cans in the dark. My nose wrinkled at the smell emanating from our hiding place. Evidently, the city sanitation crew hadn’t made it by this morning, after all. I leaned away from the cans as far as I could—which wasn’t far enough—and breathed through my mouth to keep from inhaling the stench. Great! Now I could taste it! I ordered my gag reflex to take a hike, and tried to think about something else, while grape ivy leaves tickled my ears, and sharp stems dug into my back and neck. Thank goodness it wasn’t poison ivy. I hoped this reconnaissance mission was worth all this.
The alley was as black as my mood ever since seeing that name on his phone. Maybe I should just ask him who this Jill was…get it over with. No! It wasn’t my business. If he wanted me to know, he’d say something. It didn’t matter anyway. He was just a reporter, doing a story. Once he completed it, I’d probably never see him again.
That thought hurt me more than it should. I needed to snap out of it.
Why was it so dark in this alley? The rest of town wasn’t like this. Okay, so there wasn’t a streetlight here. You’d think there would be some sort of illumination…perhaps a faint glow from a nearby window, or maybe some reflected luminance from the many other streetlights posted at regular intervals around the city.
But there wasn’t. All the walls facing this narrow street were just as black as the rest of the alley. For some reason, being tucked between these rows of multi-storied nineteenth century buildings made it as inky as the inside of a coal mine; so shadowy that it was impossible to distinguish one shape from another, everything seemed to merge together. I peered up at the strip of sky above our heads. There were a few weak stars up there, intermittent pinpoints of light, but their dim glow was simply unable to penetrate the gloom down here.
Dark was good, though, I reminded myself. In our present predicament, lighting the alleyway kind of defeated the purpose, and would be detrimental to our health if any visitors showed up since they’d be able to see us. Complete darkness made it much easier to remain incognito, which was the status we were after.
But what were we hiding from? There was nothing here, and it looked like that wasn’t going to change. Although last night we’d heard Mark Spencer say the work would begin tonight, apparently, the nabbing of Raymond had caused a change of plans. We’d been here nearly an hour with nary a hint of movement anywhere, other than some rustlings in one of the trashcans.
I tried to convince myself it was just a cat.
My legs were asleep, as was my butt. The rest of my body wanted to follow suit, but I didn’t think that now was the time or place to mention it. And if that wasn’t enough, I was cold. I was trying my best not to think of how warm it had been snuggled up next to Jonas in the restaurant. The stark contrast between then and now was just too painful.
Wah, wah, wah! Stop being such a cry-baby! My mental order helped, but if something didn’t happen soon, the effect would be short-lived.
I leaned toward Jonas and whispered, “How much longer do you think we should stay?”
“I don’t know,” he whispered back. “I thought they’d be here by now. Maybe they’re waiting a day or two before starting things back up. I knew it was a long shot, coming back here tonight, but I was kind of hoping—”
I was about to ask him why he stopped, when I heard the smooth purr of an engine. From this angle, the only thing I could see was that the car was large and wide, taking up nearly the width of the alley. A Lincoln or Cadillac, maybe? They were both big cars. The color looked dark—black or navy blue—blending in with the shadows except for the faint, twin beams of orange cast by its parking lights. But then again, everything looked the same in this alley. That car could probably be white and still look dark in here.
It pulled forward until it was directly in front of our shield of trashcans, and then stopped. The engine turned off and there was silence. After a minute or two, I caught a whiff of cigarette smoke.
Perfect. Here we sit, in the dark, in the cold, wedged like paperbacks crammed in a cardboard box, while this joker sneaks a smoke.
That’s when I heard a second car.
It moved just as stealthily, but when its engine cut off, there was the sound of two car doors opening, then closing. Footsteps, and the sound of a trunk popping open were followed by a bit of a scuffle, a grunt, and then more footsteps that were accompanied by the sound of something dragging. After they faded away, a door on the first car opened, then closed. Heel clicked against pavement, then nothing.
Silence stretched to the breaking point in this narrow slice of space and my nerves felt just as stretched. I leaned toward Jonas again and whispered, “What now? Sounds like there are at least three of them. Do we make a run for that window again?”
“I don’t know,” he replied. “What if there are four? What if someone stayed behind in the car as a lookout? We can’t see anything from here so we don’t know for sure.”
“Yeah, but we can’t just keep sitting here either. We need to hear what’s being said in that basement. They were dragging something. What if it was Raymond? Maybe there’s a chance we can save him. We have to try.”
I felt a slight movement to my left where Lily was hiding. I reached toward her and my hand hit nothing but air. “Lily,” I hissed. My hand waved about frantically, trying to find her in the inky blackness. “No!”
But she was gone.
For a very long minute, we sat in frozen silence, tensed, listening for a shout, a scuffle, something to indicate that she’d been discovered, but heard nothing.
As I waited, it finally sank into my fear-frozen brain, that her exit had been silent, in other words: no bells. She must’ve taken off her hat. The absence of the familiar jingling that was so much a part of Lily, felt so odd to me that it was hard to concentrate on anything else.
I jumped and barely kept from shrieking out loud, when she touched my arm. “C’mon! The coast is clear. There’s no one in the cars.”
With the lower half of my body numb and lifeless, scrambling from our hiding place was easier said than done. I took a couple of stumbling steps before collapsing in a heap.
Jonas was right beside me. “What’s wrong?” he murmured.
“My legs are asleep. I can’t feel a thing.”
Without a word, he slung my arm over his shoulder and, with his arm around my waist, he carried me across the open space and over to the small window. By the time we settled ourselves as soundlessly as possible, light was already glowing behind the textured glass. A low voice was speaking, but I couldn’t hear it. I
was too busy concentrating on staying completely motionless. Blood was finally coursing through my lower extremities and the sensations it was causing made me bite my lip to keep from screaming. I prayed that no one would accidently bump me until it was over.
It seemed like an eternity of complete focus, but it was probably no more than a minute, before I was able to take a deep breath and move a little closer to the window so I could listen.
I heard a voice—not Mark Spencer’s, but another man—speaking. “No, he didn’t actually mention the money, boss, but he was sure hinting at it. I doubt he could’ve kept from spilling the beans much longer. He was actually bragging that he wouldn’t have to work anymore.”
“Tsk, tsk…is this true? Even after I warned you about talking?”
I couldn’t make out the response, but it sounded like the person was crying. I pressed my fist to my mouth, horrified.
“I know, I know…but even if you didn’t actually say the word, money, you hinted at it. In my book, that’s just as bad.”
I strained my ears, trying my best to understand the mewling response, but couldn’t.
“I have to tell you, I’m very disappointed. I thought we had an agreement…a mutually beneficial arrangement. I thought we understood each other.”
A long pause stretched my nerves to the breaking point, then I heard a sigh. “It’s regrettable. You finally understand just how serious I am about my “no talking” rule, but now we have a problem. I don’t give second chances. You can’t stay in Savannah.”
Another whimper.
“No, you can’t come back…ever. I’m going to have to insist that you accompany these gentlemen on a little excursion. They’re going to take you out of town, and drop you off in a previously determined spot.”
I felt a tap on my shoulder, and jumped. In the light from the window, I could see Jonas motioning for me to follow him. I silently crept back a few feet before standing upright, then practically flew, like my feet had wings, along the tiny walkway. Our movement toward the front of the building was a carbon copy of the night before, only faster. When we reached Oglethorpe Street, we turned left and dashed to the corner. I was sure I was breaking all kinds of land-speed records, but Jonas was right beside me and unbelievably, Lily was breathing down my neck. I had no idea that old people could move that fast. She must’ve run track in her younger days.