by Dave Stanton
I walked over to Cody and Abbey. “All good?” I asked.
“This should be interesting,” Abbey said, as the deliveryman set the flowers on a chair.
A moment later a tall, attractive woman with strawberry-blond hair and an undeniably curvy figure came from a door behind the counter. When she saw the flowers, her jaw dropped. Then she saw Cody, and she put her hands on her hips and shook her head.
Cody walked toward her and she smiled shyly and met him in the middle of the lobby. He bent to kiss her, and someone started clapping, then a few more joined in, and a second later even the people waiting in line began applauding and whistling.
When Cody lifted his head, Denise Culligan’s face was red with embarrassment, but also had a happy glow that suggested Cody might have an active evening.
I turned away and walked to where Lillian sat.
“You’ve done what you’ve been hired to do. You may go now,” she said.
“I’ll email you my bill,” I said.
She looked away, apparently uninterested in further conversation. At least we were on the same page in that regard. Even though I understood the weight of her burden, I had no desire to speak with her for longer than necessary.
“What’s her problem?” Abbey asked, when I went to where she stood away from the commotion.
“Negative energy.”
“Sounds like a bummer.”
“I tried to tell her, ‘Don’t worry, be happy,’ but she didn’t buy it.”
Abbey elbowed me. “Is that a joke? Like, you’re trying to be funny?”
“I get like that sometimes.”
“Don’t quit your day job,” she said with a laugh.
Cody came over after Denise went back into the squad room.
“I need a lift to my truck,” I said. “Over at the Plaza.”
“Dan,” Melanie said, standing, her arm around Mia. She motioned for me to come closer. “I need to talk to you before you go.”
“All right. Out front?”
She followed me outside, bringing Mia by the hand. We stood near where I’d spoken with Walter.
“I want to give you something, as a way of thanks,” she said.
“Not necessary,” I replied.
“I know, but I want to.” She reached into her purse and pulled out a rough diamond nearly three quarters of an inch round. She held it out on her palm, and said, “It’s for your girlfriend.”
The diamond sparkled in the cold sunlight. “Put it away, Melanie. That stone’s probably worth a fortune.”
“There’s something I haven’t told you yet. When I went to the safe last night, I was searching for the right ammo. I emptied all the zippered compartments and started pouring the bullets out, looking for the big ones. Guess what was in three of the ammo boxes?”
I looked at Melanie and saw Mia was staring up at me. Her little girl eyes were round, and definitely her mother’s eyes.
“More diamonds,” Melanie said. “Three more pouches, even more full than the first one you found.”
I stared silently at her, then gazed out to where the boulevard led into the desert flats. My thoughts went to Bur Jordan. I wondered what the CIA agent was thinking when he decided to steal millions of dollars’ worth of diamonds from African criminals who considered the most horrific atrocities trivial. I wondered what had motivated his greed, and how he so tragically miscalculated the risk, not only to himself, but also to his son and his son’s family. I’d never know the answers, but I was satisfied with the knowledge that those who sought to harm Melanie and her daughter were either dead or facing long prison sentences.
I looked back at Melanie. “That’s a lot of diamonds,” I said. “No wonder the bad guys tried so hard to get them.”
******
Cody dropped me off in front of the Plaza twenty minutes later, and when I steered my truck out of the parking lot, he and Abbey were standing in front of the hotel. I beeped my horn twice, stuck my fist out the window, and gave them the thumbs up. I watched in my mirror as they smiled and waved back.
Within fifteen minutes I was rolling northbound through the desert, heading toward a horizon dwarfed by columns of sunlight spilling from the white clouds. I did not ruminate as I drove, not on Cody and Abbey, nor on what the future held in store for Melanie and her daughter. Instead, once the last signs of Las Vegas faded behind me, I called Candi.
“I’m on my way home. Should be there in about seven hours,” I said.
“Is your case done?”
“Yeah.”
“And you’re in one piece?”
“Of course. Listen, I’ve got a surprise for you.” I felt the sharp edges of the diamond through my jeans pocket.
“What is it?” she asked.
I wedged my hand in my pocket and adjusted the diamond so it wouldn’t jab my leg.
“If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise,” I said.
“Well, hurry, then. I hate being left in suspense.”
My foot pushed down on the gas pedal as if I were wearing weighted boots, and my pickup launched forward, chasing the horizon and everything that waited beyond it.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1960, Dave Stanton moved to Northern California in 1961. He attended San Jose State University and received a BA in journalism in 1983. Over the years, he worked as a bartender, newspaper advertising salesman, furniture mover, debt collector, and technology salesman. He has two children, Austin and Haley. He and his wife, Heidi, live in San Jose, California.
Stanton is the author of six novels, all featuring private investigator Dan Reno and his ex-cop buddy, Cody Gibbons.
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More Dan Reno Novels:
STATELINE
Cancel the wedding-the groom is dead.
When a tycoon’s son is murdered the night before his wedding, the enraged and grief-stricken father offers investigator Dan Reno (that’s Reno, as in no problemo), a life-changing bounty to find the killer. Reno, nearly broke, figures he’s finally landed in the right place at the right time. It’s a nice thought, but when a band of crooked cops get involved, Reno finds himself not only earning every penny of his paycheck, but also fighting for his life.
Who committed the murder, and why? And what of the dark sexual deviations that keep surfacing? Haunted by his murdered father and a violent, hard drinking past, Reno wants no more blood on his hands. But a man’s got to make a living, and backing off is not in his DNA. Traversing the snowy alpine winter in the Sierras and the lonely deserts of Nevada, Reno must revert to his old ways to survive. Because the fat bounty won’t do him much good if he’s dead…
DYING FOR THE HIGHLIFE
Jimmy Homestead’s glory days as a high school stud were a distant memory. His adulthood had amounted to little more than temporary jobs, petty crime, and discount whiskey. But he always felt he was special, and winning the Lotto proved it.
Flush with
millions, everything is great for Jimmy—until people from his past start coming out of the woodwork, seeking payback for transgressions Jimmy thought were long forgotten.
Caught in the middle are investigator Dan Reno and his good buddy Cody Gibbons, two guys just trying to make an honest paycheck. Reno, struggling to keep his home out of foreclosure, thinks that’s his biggest problem. But his priorities change when he’s drawn into a hard-boiled mess that leaves dead bodies scattered all over northern Nevada.
Speed Metal Blues
Bounty hunter Dan Reno never thought he’d be the prey.
It’s a two-for-one deal when a pair of accused rapists from a New Jersey-based gang surface in South Lake Tahoe. The first is easy to catch, but the second, a Satanist suspected of a string of murders, is an adversary unlike any Reno has faced. After escaping Reno’s clutches in the desert outside of Carson City, the target vanishes. That is, until he makes it clear he intends to settle the score.
To make matters worse, the criminal takes an interest in a teenage boy and his talented sister, both friends of Reno’s. Wading through a drug-dealing turf war and a deadly feud between mobsters running a local casino, Reno can’t figure out how his target fits in with the new outlaws in town. He only knows he’s hunting for a ghost-like adversary calling all the shots.
The more Reno learns more about his target, the more he’s convinced that mayhem is inevitable unless he can capture him quickly. He’d prefer to do it clean, without further bloodshed. But sometimes that ain’t in the cards, especially when Reno’s partner Cody Gibbons decides it’s time for payback.
Dark Ice
Two murdered girls, and no motive…
While skiing deep in Lake Tahoe’s backcountry, Private Eye Dan Reno finds the first naked body, buried under fresh snow. Reno’s contacted by the grieving father, who wants to know who murdered his daughter, and why? And how could the body end up in such a remote, mountainous location? The questions become murkier when a second body is found. Is there a serial killer stalking promiscuous young women in South Lake Tahoe? Or are the murders linked to a different criminal agenda?
Searching for answers, Reno is accosted by a gang of racist bikers with a score to settle. He also must deal with his pal, Cody Gibbons, who the police consider a suspect. The clues lead to the owner of a strip club and a womanizing police captain, but is either the killer?
The bikers up the ante, but are unaware that Cody Gibbons has Reno’s back at any cost. Meanwhile, the police won’t tolerate Reno’s continued involvement in the case. But Reno knows he’s getting close. And the most critical clue comes from the last person he’d suspect…
Hard Prejudice
The DNA evidence should have made the rape a slam dunk case.
But after the evidence disappeared from a police locker, the black man accused of brutally raping a popular actor’s daughter walked free. Hired by the actor, private detective Dan Reno’s job seemed simple enough: discover who took the DNA, and why. Problem is, from the beginning of the investigation, neither Reno, the South Lake Tahoe police, nor anyone else have any idea what the motivation could be to see ghetto thug Duante Tucker get away with the crime. Not even Reno’s best friend, fellow investigator Cody Gibbons, has a clue.
When Reno and Gibbons tail Tucker, they learn the rapist is linked to various criminals and even a deserter from the U.S. Marine Corps. But they still can’t tell who would want him set free, and for what reason?
The clues continue to build until Reno and Cody find themselves targeted for death. That tells Reno he’s getting close, so he and Gibbons put the pedal to the metal. The forces of evil are running out of time, and the action reaches a boiling point before an explosive conclusion that reveals a sinister plot and motivations that Reno never imagined.