by Kim Smith
I watched the part I had previously seen and when it went beyond that section, things got more interesting. Mourners came and stood around the casket.
I slowed down when the camera captured the faces of Mr. Thames and Carrie standing by the casket’s side. They were in a deep discussion with a woman who looked amazingly like Shelly.
I hit pause and sat back to sip at my coffee. What was the inventory clerk at Scott’s funeral home doing in a heart-to-heart talk with the deceased man’s sister and father? And where was the mother?
I hit play. Mrs. Thames never appeared. I wished I had used more than one camera for this event now. Hard to capture all the activity with just one machine.
The mourners wandered away from the dais as the music began in the background. I fast-forwarded through the service and slowed down at the point of catching people leaving.
Three men in black suits stood talking with Theo a few feet away from the stream of people. One was definitely Hispanic, but he wasn’t Rafe. I tried to zoom in on his face, and especially his eyes. Then I cupped my hand over his lower face to allow only his eyes to be seen.
He certainly could be my Ninja attacker. Then, another man was obviously familiar and it took twice through on rewind before I remembered where I had seen him.
Flowerman from the wholesale place. Damn.
He stood out from the rest like a red flag now. His suit coat was tight over his big belly, and I remembered the butcher’s apron. The third man remained aloof until Jason appeared, then he took directions from him to head for the cars.
I kicked the speed of the footage up a notch and watched as the men all dispersed in different directions after Jason arrived. Except Theo. He lit a cigarette and watched the door where people kept coming out. I berated myself for not paying more attention to the funeral home workers and spending too much time watching guests.
I thought about calling Sal. It would be nice to have someone to ground me. I was like a runaway truck. This footage could mean something, but I needed someone else to try to identify the people in it.
Of one thing I was certain. Theo and Flowerman were involved. But how did Ninja Man and the other guy fit in? Was the whole of Jason’s employ involved in underhanded deals? Why were Shelly and Bubba killed? How did it all fit together?
The million-dollar question, Wallace.
I hauled out my phone and punched in Sal’s number. As it rang, I checked my computer clock realizing too late that Sal was very likely at church. After leaving a message for him to call, I dropped the phone back into my purse.
What to do next? Dwayne was missing, people were dead, and all I had was a video with possibilities. I drained my coffee mug and considered making a new cup when the office phone rang. The digital readout touted a number that I didn’t recognize. It could be Dwayne.
It could be a client.
I feared missing Dee’s call and at the last minute scooped it up. Too late to catch the caller, but not late enough to beat the answering machine.
Dwayne’s recorded voice told the caller we were out of the office and for the caller to leave a number and brief message and we would call them back.
A disguised male voice came on. “I have Mr. Brown. Don’t do anything stupid.”
Click.
Oh, shit.
###
Later, in the office with me peering at him, Sal listened closely to the recorded message. “Sounds serious. Guess that answers one question. Somebody with dangerous tendencies has Brown.”
“Oh. Um. No kidding. Damn it, Sal. Where are they holding Dwayne and why all this crap? I mean, just tell me what is what and let’s do it. I’m sick of all this.”
He took me by the shoulders. “One step at a time, Chica. Let the police do what has to be done.”
I pulled away. “Right. Don’t get involved, Shannon. Don’t play detective, Shannon. Leave it to the cops, Shannon. Same story, different day. Well, get a load of this.” I fired up the video on my computer screen and motioned him over. While it ran, I pointed out people and gave him my suspicions.
He viewed it with no comments until I cut the power.
“Interesting,” he said.
“I told you someone might show up on there, someone involved, important. Now I think so for real. Are any of them familiar to you now?”
“I don’t know who some of the people are, but I’m beginning to feel a new suspect list growing. The drug enforcement guys might be interested in some of those faces.”
“The fat one will turn out to be affiliated with Flowers, Inc. I have met him before, and he is not a nice person. I truly think the other one, the swarthy one, could be my gunman from the night at the cemetery when Shelly was found.”
“Can I have the tape?”
“It’s on a disk. I’ll rip a copy for you.”
“Will it come out clean and not all fuzzy like a convenience store video looks?”
I smirked. “Heck yes. We have only the best at Video Angels.”
“Good. We’ll need it to be in order for us to use this footage.”
He hit replay on the phone and listened while I made him a copy. I inserted a DVD into the tray on the computer, and clicked around until I had it going. He hit replay again, then leaned down, ear nearer to the speaker on the phone
“What is it?” I asked.
“Noises in the background. Do you have any way of playing this in a machine with meters? If we could isolate the noises—”
“We’re good, but we’re poor. I don’t have anything like that. But I’ll bet a sound studio where they record singers and bands would have.”
He smiled. “Good! Can I have it?”
I nodded, and he disconnected the power cable and slid the whole phone and base into his man-bag.
“Um, Sal, can we not pack that up right now? I mean isn’t it better to keep that hooked up? Maybe that guy or someone, hopefully Dwayne, will call back.”
He thought about it a moment and replaced the phone back where it had been. After hooking the power cable back into the wall, he walked to my desk and stood looking down at me. “If any one calls, you can’t go off and do anything they ask of you. You’ll need to contact me first.”
I ruffled at that. “As if I would just play Miss Macho or something.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “You did before, remember?”
Last summer returned to me, and I did remember. I had met with Rick’s killer in the local park, hoping to get proof he’d done it.
“Yeah, well, that was a special deal. I wouldn’t do that again.” I stood and walked a few steps away from him.
“Bullshit,” he said. “This is Brown we’re talking about. He’s your best friend. I’m sure he ranks as high as Rick. Right?”
I shrugged and turned away.
“You’ll consider it, Shannon. I know you. Don’t do it. Are you listening? I mean it.”
I turned to gape at him. “You mean it? Do you think you can order me to behave? He’s being held against his will, maybe in danger of being murdered, and you want me to sit idly by and just twiddle my thumbs? Do you think you’ll chunk me in jail if I don’t behave?”
His brow wrinkled. “Yes. If you make me put you in protective custody while we work this case, I will detain you. I will hold you for a busted tail light.”
“My tail lights are fine,” I sighed, pulling the DVD from the machine. I opened a clear jewel case and slid it inside, snapped it closed. “And I don’t speed.”
He took the case from me and let his hand linger on mine a little too long.
“I’ll find a way. Don’t go off trying to help Brown. These people are masters. They’ve killed two people that we know of, and if you think they’ll hesitate to do you next, you’re mistaken.”
His hand was warm, and I let my gaze travel up. His eyes were warm, too, and caring, too caring. I could have melted right then, but I conjured up resolve to resist. “Quit with the puppy dog eyes. I ain’t buying,” I said, pulling my hand away. T
o emphasize my meaning, I took a step away.
He followed, pulling me under his arm, in a semi-hug. “I’m not trying to use a weak moment on your part, Chica. I’m trying to keep you safe. You have to stay out of harm’s way so you can help me find these creeps. Dwayne’s life may depend on you staying safe, so don’t forget that.”
I pulled free and watched as he prepared to leave. He decided to wait on taking the phone. If the kidnapper called again, it would be another chance to get info off the unit.
“Call me with anything you get,” I told him.
He smiled and patted my shoulder on his way out.
I was about to shut everything down and go home when the phone rang. The loud jingle of it made me turn to stare at it, my heart stopping. What if it was the kidnapper?
I hurried over, yanked it up, and said, “Hello?”
“Is this Shannon? Shannon Wallace?” a man’s voice asked. He sounded familiar.
“Yeah, you got her. Who’s this?”
“This is Herbert, Nan’s friend? Over at the paper?”
Relief flooded me. “Oh, hey there. What’s up?”
“I told you I’d call if I found anything that might help with your friend’s murder. I thought I’d give you the exclusive before I take it to the cops. Hope you don’t mind my calling your office. I couldn’t get in touch with Nancy.”
“Hot damn, Herbert! Tell me.” At last!
“Well, I really don’t want to go into the details on the phone, but if you’re interested, I might show up at Starbuck’s coffee with the right encouragement.”
“Done. What time?”
“Now. Better be quick about this business. This scoop won’t wait.”
I grabbed my tote, and was halfway down the stairs before I realized I’d left my gun stuck in my jacket pocket. I voted against a return trip to get it. Starbucks was an unlikely place for needing a gun.
At least, that’s the stupid thing I convinced myself of.
Chapter Twenty-Two
I drove around the lot once before settling on a spot to the rear of the small building. As popular as Starbuck’s Coffee had become, I couldn’t understand why they weren’t making them the size of a normal restaurant. It was packed inside, but Herbert had found a window seat and quietly sat sipping an iced coffee.
“Couldn’t wait,” he admitted when I sat down. “You going to indulge?”
I shook my head. “Don’t think I could right now. My stomach is all tied up in knots.”
He took a deep breath and rubbed his hands together before looking around and leaning closer. “You just wait until I tell you what this is all about. Your stomach will be doing somersaults.”
I tried to disassociate the noises of the shop and listened closely.
“Maybe I’m just out of my mind, but you can be the judge. So here it is. There’s a certain local drug lord who’s using caskets to transport his goods. We’ve infiltrated the ring, and have the names of the ones who have been doing all the grunt work. It’s only a matter of time before the top dog is overthrown, too, because it seems the drones are getting restless. We’ll be lucky if they wait for payment until the appointed time.”
“Names, Herb. Names.”
He shook his head. “Not yet. Can’t tell you names. Have to protect my informants. I can tell you that several locals are involved, and I suspect Bubba was, too. Reason enough to kill someone who was in, then wanted out, see? I mean, these guys are into everything from laundering to distribution. This contest that’s going down is just a front for the biggest drug deal in history.”
I pressed my knuckles into the bridge of my nose to release the pressure building in my head. “Explain. Don’t give names if you don’t have them, or can’t give them, but tell me what’s going on and how this plays. My friend Dwayne’s missing now and I just know this is all related.”
He stopped in the middle of slurping his coffee. “Missing? Since when?”
The genuine look of horror on his face made my heart twist with fear. “Since yesterday. Why? What’s the matter?”
He set his cup down and shook his head. “Truth be told, I’m not sure. Something’s about to change. Informant let on like there’s so much trouble brewing, the leader wants to finalize things and blow town. You don’t think it could be your friend made waves?”
I closed my eyes against nausea rolling through my stomach. “Oh my God, please don’t tell me that.”
He touched my hand and I looked at him, tears blurring my vision.
“Let’s go tell the cops. This thing’s bigger than the both of us,” he suggested.
I nodded and we scraped our chairs back. I pulled my purse from where I’d left it on the floor and felt the tell-tale signs of a vibrating phone. In the noise of the coffee shop I hadn’t heard Dwayne’s ring tone. Aguilera blended in with the sounds of African drums and cymbals unfortunately.
I flipped it open and peered at the screen touting an unknown number. “Hello?”
“Shannon?”
“Dee! Where are you? Oh my God, I’ve been so worried—”
“Listen up. You gotta come and get me. I’m at the club. You remember how to get here?”
“Black angus burger place?”
“Yeah. Hurry.”
Shuffling noises.
“Dwayne? Dee?” But the phone screen had gone black.
Icy fear slid cold waves down my back. I gaped at the phone for a moment before turning to Herbert. “You go on, Herb. I can’t go. That was Dwayne. I have to do something.”
He put out a hand to stop me, but I brushed past him and out the door to my car. Betsy purred as I started her and backed out. Herb stood looking at me with his hands on his hips.
I rolled my window down. “Go to South Lake PD. Tell Salvador Ramirez what you have, and tell him I found Dwayne. Tell him...I’ll be fine.”
I took off, praying I wasn’t wrong again.
Traffic was light as I rolled through midtown. On Saturday everyone was out to eat at the popular eateries around town. No one sat parked in the lot of the club as I pulled in front and looked around. No Dwayne.
I drove around back where twin dumpsters overflowed with garbage. I didn’t know what was on the other side of them or if I could pull all the way around and make it back out front, so I stopped and slowly reversed.
Dwayne stepped out from the end of the building. He was holding his hurt arm and squinting at the sunlight. His shirt was un-tucked, his bald head was not shining, and he generally looked like hell. I had never been happier to see him.
He got in, slamming the door awkwardly. Rank body odor, stale cigarette smoke, and something unidentifiable, maybe booze, quickly assaulted my nose.
“Take off.” He pointed at a hidden drive to my left. I took it and roared down the street which led into a rundown neighborhood.
“What’s going on? Where have you been?” I asked, focusing on the road. Small children gaped at the car flying down their narrow street from the safety of their front yards. “Am I being followed?”
“No.” In that one word he sounded tired and beyond annoyed.
I didn’t know what I should do or say. This was the first time in our history I felt cut off from him. It occurred to me that I knew very little about his life aside from how it intersected with mine. My worry about his safety also made me realize how much I cared about him.
“Where’s my phone?” he asked, and I sighed in relief. He was going to be fine if he was asking for his phone.
“Pursey.” I had always named my cars and purses something off-the-wall since high school. Dwayne got me.
He dug around with his good hand and pulled it out, tapped the screen a few times, listened for a few moments, then dropped it into his shirt pocket.
I ventured a glance. “Dee? What’s up? What happened? I was really worried about you-”
“I’m gonna tell you all you need to know in a little while. Right now you gotta take me to the trailer. I wanna shower and eat, and then
I’ll be ready to talk. I don’t know whether cops need to be in on this or not yet. I need time to think. For now, play the quiet game.”
No way was I going to do that. “Uh, uh. No way, man. You tell me what’s going on, right now. Are you all right? You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?”
He let out a short laugh. “Hurt? No. All right? Never.”
“What’s that mean?” I glanced at him. He shook his head in disbelief at something I still knew nothing of. “What is it, Dee? What’s happened?”
“A lie. It’s all a lie. And my Granny always says a lie don’t care whose mouth it falls out of.”
I inhaled and exhaled quickly. “Who lied?”
“Doesn’t matter who told it. I believed it. My dumb ass bought it, hook, line, and bobbin’ cork.”
We were getting nowhere fast, and I was not familiar with the part of Memphis where we’d traveled to. “Where am I anyway?”
“Turn left at the next stop sign and you’ll be back out on Airways. Don’t go past the airport. I don’t want to hear planes for a long time.”
I didn’t ask questions, but the plane comment bothered me.
I put on my blinker. We drove in silence for some time. To appease him I turned down Winchester Road and drove out of the way to avoid the airport. I took us down Tchulahoma and back roads until we got to Stateline, then doubled back and headed for South Lake.
All the while he kept his seat tilted back and his eyes closed, and I thought he had fallen asleep until he spoke at last.
“Shannon, you’re about the best friend any dude ever had. I want you to know if I never told you. You mean a lot to me. I can trust you. You would never lie to me.”
Tears welled and fell silently down my cheeks. The emotional see-saw I’d been on for the last day brought a lump to my throat and wouldn’t allow my voice to work for a few moments. Finally, I swallowed hard around it and croaked, “Nothing but love over here, too, Dee.”
###
Sitting at the kitchen table sipping chocolate mocha coffee, I noticed the place was cleaner than it had ever been. Yoshi had done an excellent job fixing the broken glass, and I reminded myself to add some real money to his paycheck as soon as I could afford to.