“I sent a request. I’ll forward it to you if I get it,” he said.
“Good. We’ll be landing in Nashville shortly.”
“Are you coming home at all?”
“I don’t know. I need to, but—”
“Stay with her. She’s safer with you than anyone else, especially if he’s in Nashville. Text me a list of what you need. I’ll get it and have someone bring it to you.”
Shane hesitated for a second. “Rich,” she called.
“Yeah,” he answered, staring at her like everyone else.
“Is it possible to change our flight plan?”
“Ugh…yeah, sure. I guess.”
“I need to get home,” Haley countered.
“I know,” Shane said, meeting her eyes. “Do you trust me?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” She crossed her arms.
“When you touch down in Nashville, everyone is going to want to interview you. You’ll be all over the news. He doesn’t need to know you’re home, until we want him to.”
“Are we back to that again? I honestly don’t give a shit about this letter writer guy. Fizzy is dead! I’m going home to bury him and figure out how to get my tour back in line.”
“About that…I think you should take some time off. Not necessarily cancel, just a long postponement, or maybe play some small venues to make it easier to control your surroundings. At least until we’ve caught him.”
“I agree,” Dennis said through the phone.
“Shit,” Shane mumbled, forgetting he was still on the line. “I’ll call you back,” she said, ending the call.
“I’m not stopping my tour or anything else. You’ve lost your mind.”
“Now, Haley. She has a point.”
“No way, Rich. I’m not doing it. The tour will continue. Find me a damn bus, already.”
“I don’t mean the tour, although playing some smaller venues before we head back out isn’t a bad idea. We’re dead in the water at the moment anyway, so we have the option to make changes. No, I agree with you not going back to Nashville. At least not with all of the pomp and circumstance. What’s your plan?” he asked, turning back to Shane.
“Drop us off in Memphis.”
“Memphis?” Haley huffed. “What the hell for? That’s three hours away.”
Ignoring her, Shane continued. “I live there. I can get what I need from home, and drive us to Nashville. No one will know she’s coming home. We’ll arrive later tonight.”
“What about the band?”
“No one knows she was coming home on this private jet. You can still proceed as planned. We just didn’t want someone to see her and alert the press.”
“No one knows what we look like anyway,” Joey laughed.
“Hey, that’s not true,” Haley said. “You’re my band. I don’t go anywhere without you guys.”
“I like it,” Rich said, calling the stewardess over. “Have the captain divert to Memphis for a quick layover.”
“Yes, Sir,” she stated with a smile, then walked away.
“This is crazy,” Haley said.
“You’ll be home tonight, it’ll just take a little longer than expected,” Shane replied.
Haley folded her arms a little tighter and forced her eyes back to the window. This is bullshit!
***
Shane waited for the plane to touch down and roll to a stop before removing her seatbelt. She grabbed her duffle bag and moved towards the exit door.
“You have my new cell number,” she said to Rich as she checked her watch. “We should be in town just after dark.”
“Drive safe. I’ll be in touch.”
Haley hugged her band members, then walked over to Rich. “You can keep the clothes.”
He smiled.
“Just so you know, I’m over all of this shit,” she added. “Right now, all I want to do is bury my friend and grieve with his family.”
He nodded in agreement. “I understand. Let’s get through the next couple of days and go from there.”
Haley sighed and stepped through the open doorway. Shane was waiting for her at the bottom of the staircase, and a black SUV was parked nearby with Dennis standing just outside the driver’s door.
“This is Dennis Williams. He’s the owner of the private investigation security firm I work for. He’s also the one who brought my stuff to me in the hospital,” Shane said. “Dennis, this is Haley Nielsen.”
Haley smiled politely and shook his hand.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Nielsen.”
“Please, call me Haley. And thank you for picking us up.”
“My pleasure,” he replied, opening the rear passenger door for her.
Shane slid into the front passenger seat. “Did you get what I asked for?” she said as she buckled her seatbelt.
“I’m still working on it. It may take a couple of days. There are a lot of strings to pull,” he replied, putting the vehicle in gear before driving across the tarmac towards the airport’s rear exit.
Shane still had connections with the Marshal Service, but they weren’t in Tennessee. Even so, she would only use them as an absolute last resort.
Chapter 21
Haley watched the scenery through the window as they drove across town. The nearly silent drive took about twenty minutes, and ended when they turned into a high-end apartment complex on the north end of Mud Island, the peninsula between the Mississippi River and Wolf River Harbor.
“Let me know if you need anything,” Dennis said, pulling to a stop in front of one of the buildings. There were three levels and a row of single car garages side by side across from the unit, similar to town houses.
“Thanks,” Shane replied, shaking his hand.
As she got out and walked around the back of the vehicle, Dennis looked up into the rearview mirror at Haley. “I know it’s not the best of circumstances, especially right now, but you’ll be safe. If there is one thing that woman won’t do, it’s let something happen to you.”
Haley smiled thinly and nodded as she opened her door. Shane was already waiting in position, scanning the rooftops, then back and forth, an instinct she’d grown accustomed to. As soon as Haley shut the door, Shane fell in step next to her.
“This way. I’m on the third floor,” she said, leading her towards the staircase. “We won’t be here long,” she added, pulling her key out of her pocket as they reached the second level and continued upwards.
***
Shane’s apartment was about what Haley had imagined: small, only one bedroom and bath, sparsely furnished, and very orderly. All of the walls were the same crème color with white trim. There was light, tan-colored carpet in the bedroom, but the rest of the place had dark wood floors. The kitchen had stainless appliances with a matching sink and faucet, and dark stone countertops. The bathroom sink had the same stone counter. The tub was white porcelain, and the large tiles surrounding it were white with a dark swirl pattern.
The dark gray couch in the living room had a chaise lounge on one end, while the other end reclined. Across from it sat a black TV stand, with a modest sized flat screen TV on top of it. The bedroom had a queen-sized bed with matching nightstands and a long dresser, which were all black wood.
“How long have you lived here?” Haley asked, standing near the French doors that looked out at the river. Joggers ran and walkers passed by on the concrete path along the bank. It was a gorgeous view. Haley could see why she’d chosen that location.
“A year,” Shane called from the bedroom as she packed a suitcase that matched the one she’d lost in the accident.
Haley raised a brow, wondering if she was ever home because the place didn’t look lived in at all. In fact, it looked like the model unit they would show people or take pictures of for the property website.
“It came furnished. The only things that are mine are what’s in the closet…and the towels and sheets,” Shane added, wa
lking out of the bedroom with her suitcase and a hanging bag that contained a black suit for the funeral. “I’d offer you something to eat, but obviously, I haven’t been here in quite some time. I have bottled water, though.”
“I’m fine.”
“Okay. Give me a few minutes to get the rental car ordered, and we’ll be on our way.”
“Rental car?” Haley questioned, finally walking away from the serene view. “You don’t have a vehicle?”
Shane pursed her lips, hesitating for a second. She knew the apartment was stuffy. It had reminded her of an expensive hotel suite when she’d first seen it, but it was easy to maintain, and she liked easy. She was new to town with nothing but a couple of suitcases, and liked the tranquility of Mud Island, so it was a winning situation. Throwing caution to the wind, she went back into her room and walked out with another set of keys. “Come on,” she said, nodding towards the door.
Haley raised a brow, but followed along as they took the stairs all the way to the ground floor. Shane took a precautious look around, then walked over to the row of garage doors, stopping at number 318. She used one of the keys to unlock the door, then pressed the button on the key ring to make the door rise up.
Haley’s jaw nearly hit the floor when she saw the classic muscle car parked inside. It was black and chrome and hand-polished with a mirror shine. The soft top was down, so she was able to see the two light-gray, low-back leather seats and matching door panels, along with the black leather and chrome steering wheel and the eight ball on the end of the chrome gear shift lever. The rest of the interior was black, except for the glove compartment door. It was light gray and had the word Corvette on it. The gauges were also black with chrome rings around them. Black exhaust pipes ran down both sides under the doors between the custom wheels, which had tires with thin white walls.
“You look a little surprised,” Shane laughed.
“A little?” Haley squeaked. “Holy shit.”
Shane smiled and shook her head.
“This is your car?”
“Yep.”
“What year is it?”
“1964.”
“We are definitely taking this. Forget the rental,” Haley said with a low whistle as she walked around, checking out the car.
“You really want to ride 200 miles in this?”
“Hell yeah,” Haley said with a big smile.
Shane wasn’t too worried about the mileage. The car barely had ten thousand miles on it. “Alright,” she agreed with a shrug.
***
After the suitcase and hanging bag were loaded into the small trunk directly behind the seats, Shane put the soft top on, then climbed down into the driver’s seat. She looked over at Haley, who still had a huge grin plastered on her face, and turned the key. The small block V8 engine thundered to life inside of the garage. Then, it idled with the throaty sound of any old muscle car as she slipped the gear shift into reverse and let off the clutch. The car rolled slowly out, glistening in the sunlight. Shane pushed the clutch in, and put the car in neutral while she waited for the garage to close. There was no sense in using the extra locking system because the car wouldn’t be inside, so as soon as it was down, she pushed the shifter into first gear and drove away.
As they made their way out of the complex and onto Island Drive, Shane barked the tires while changing gears.
“Whoa…Deputy Crowley’s a badass. Who knew?” Haley said, smiling.
“Former deputy,” Shane corrected. “I used to drive a Tahoe every day, but this became my daily driver a year ago.”
“Why did you leave the Marshal Service?” Haley asked.
Shane stared straight ahead, avoiding the questioning eyes looking at her. “We have a long drive. Let’s save that one for later,” she replied, turning on the radio, which had been upgraded to a much better sound system when the car was fully restored. It was tuned to the local classic rock station which was currently playing Bon Jovi’s Bad Medicine.
Haley gave her a sideways look.
“Sorry. I don’t listen to country music,” Shane said, “at least I didn’t until we met.”
“Uh huh,” Haley laughed, reaching for the knob to turn the volume up. “Bad medicine is what I need!” she sang. “Shake it up, just like bad medicine!”
“This is going to be a long ride,” Shane mumbled to herself as she crossed the bridge onto the mainland and took a side road towards the interstate to avoid going through downtown.
“Are we anywhere near Graceland?” Haley asked. “I’ve always wanted to see it.”
Shane shook her head. “No, it was out by the airport. We can take a detour if you want,” she said, downshifting as they came to a light. The entrance to the interstate was just on the other side.
“No,” Haley sighed. “I need to get home. Maybe another time.”
When the light turned green, Shane got onto the interstate, but instead of going north, she headed south. Haley paid no attention to the road signs, as she was too busy singing along to the radio.
When the song changed to Whitesnake’s Still Of The Night, Haley belted the lyrics and played the air guitar with her fingers. You’re so beautiful. If only you weren’t so damn mean and feisty, Shane thought, fighting hard to keep her eyes on the road. Haley was only inches away in the small cockpit of the car, and she looked sexy as hell rocking out in Shane’s clothes that were a couple of sizes too large.
“You’re clearly a rock and roller. Why do you sing country music?” Shane said.
Haley laughed. “Country will always be my first love. That’s where my roots are. You can take the girl out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the girl, know what I mean? Rock and roll is just fun. Sometimes you need to let loose a little and rock out.”
“I see,” Shane chuckled.
“You’re obviously not from Tennessee,” Haley said. “Let me guess…up north somewhere.”
“No,” Shane grinned and shook her head. “Arizona…Phoenix to be exact.”
“Really?” Haley crossed her arms.
“Yes.”
“You don’t look like you’re from Arizona.”
Shane laughed. “And what is that supposed to be?” she asked, downshifting and getting off one of the exits.
“I don’t know…just not this,” Haley said, waving her hand up and down.
Shane shrugged as she rolled to a stop at a red light. She quickly changed the radio to a different local station. Elvis Presley’s Jailhouse Rock was just starting. The light turned green and she drove on for a couple of miles, then got into the far-right lane and slowed down.
Haley’s jaw dropped when she saw the two planes behind the fence, next to a large building.
“That’s the Lisa Marie and Hound Dog 2,” Shane said.
“No way,” Haley uttered, staring out the window as they rode past the two jets.
Shane went down and turned around, and came back down the other side of the street, driving slowly along the famous wall in front of Elvis’s mansion. “Welcome to Graceland,” she said, rolling to a stop in front of the gates. The huge house was slightly visible through the trees.
“Oh my God.” Haley’s face lit up like a small child on Christmas morning. “I thought it was out of the way?”
“It is, but I can take a different route. No big deal. Do you want to go inside?”
Haley noticed the tourists milling about. “I probably shouldn’t.”
“I wouldn’t offer if it wasn’t safe,” Shane said. “No one knows you’re here, so they won’t be looking for the wild and reckless country star. Besides, I have a jacket and hat that will disguise you. Or…we can get back on the highway,” she said, putting the car back in gear.
“Wait!” Haley squeaked. “Let’s go in!”
“Alright.” Shane smiled and got back into traffic so she could go park in the lot up the street.
***
After paying the fee to
tour the mansion only, Shane gave Haley the thin leather jacket from her suitcase, and a pageboy hat she kept in the car. Then, they boarded the tour bus that rode up the long driveway to the mansion. As they got back off, Shane nonchalantly felt the butt of her Glock pistol in the shoulder holster under the zip up hoodie jacket she’d put on to cover it.
The people in the group were all on self-guided tours, meaning they didn’t have anyone rushing them around or explaining everything. That made it easier for Shane to keep most of them away from Haley as they did their own thing. She was fairly certain no one would recognize her.
The first room they came upon was the large living room. The carpet, walls, and furniture were all stark white. There was a gorgeous stained-glass partition separating that room from the one further behind it, the music room, where a black grand piano was sitting. The blue and gold tones of the curtains and décor had a very fifties and sixties feel to them.
Goosebumps rose on Haley’s skin as a wave of nostalgia washed over her. She’d heard stories about other people’s experiences at the mansion, most of which she thought were just marketing ploys to get people to come there, but no…she felt it too…his presence. Haley chanced a glance at Shane through the mirror as Elvis’s song Can’t Help Falling In Love played softly over the speaker system throughout the house. She quickly pulled her eyes away when she saw Shane looking back at her.
They made their way around the first floor of the large house with the rest of the tour group, moving from the drab, dark brown kitchen that literally looked like you’d stepped into 1975, to the beautiful dining room with an Italian glass chandelier hanging over the massive oval table. The basement had three separate rooms that all represented the seventies as if time had stopped. The first, a pale-yellow room with a dark blue couch and a matching bar. Three TV sets were recessed into the wall side by side by side. The next room had pleated fabric in a floral pattern on the walls and ceiling, and a pool table with a tiffany lamp hanging over it. The final room was the jungle room, complete with green shag carpet on the floor and ceiling, wood panel walls, hand-carved wooden furnishings, fur fabric covering the cushions, and a waterfall running down one of the walls. The room was decorated with ferns and other types of greenery all around.
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