“I guess you better take your medicine and start eating right.” I grinned.
“I guess I better.” She shook her finger at me. “And don’t you go around telling people I’m dying or taking medicine. I don’t want anyone knowing my business.”
“I won’t.” I used my finger to cross my heart.
Sharon didn’t talk the rest of the way. I could tell she was chewing over all the information the doctor had given her, hopefully making the right decision to take better care of herself.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” I said to Sharon. I put the car in park and waited for her to respond.
She confirmed with a nod, but no words.
My phone chirped a text from Jax. Meet me at my office. Alone. Now.
I pulled out of Sharon’s driveway and headed Jax’s way. It didn’t look like making it to the library was going to happen today. I had to see Sally Bent, and wait. Willie Ray was going to show up somewhere, but where?
“Do you want to tell me about Willie Ray Bowman?” Jax asked as soon as I walked into the door of the office.
He was alone. He took three steps toward me and stopped, standing there in a hush. Questions flickered in the back of his eyes.
I could hear my own swallow.
“I told you what I know.” I could feel my cheeks flush. If only I’d swiped on a little lip gloss, I sighed, a little embarrassed about how I looked just in case Jax decided to lay one on me.
“You told Eric what you wanted him to know.” Jax scratched his hairline. His eyes shifted from the floor to my face. “Laurel, I can’t express how important it is to find him. He killed an FBI officer.”
“I understand that.” I agreed.
“To my understanding he was the bad boy of the orphanage. Got kicked out a few times. And you weren’t exactly on your best behavior as a child.” He shrugged. “It would seem likely that the two worst kids in the orphanage would probably hang out together.”
Jax took a notebook out of his pocket and flipped a few pages.
I took a deep breath. There was no way I was going to say anything about my past with Willie Ray.
“He hasn’t contacted me.” I technically didn’t lie.
The leather pouch might not have been Willie’s. It could’ve been someone who had used my Drive Me app to and from the airport. At least I tried to talk myself into believing someone else could’ve left it when I clearly knew it was the one I had stolen for Willie.
I knew and Willie knew I would remember it.
“When I talked to a few Walnut Grove citizens, they clearly remembered Mr. Bowman hanging out with Derek Smitherman and you. Sometimes Gia.” He read from the notebook I wanted to shove up his you-know-what. “He is a little older than you. The day he robbed the bank, you, Derek and Gia had skipped school.”
Curly Dean. I glared at Jax. It was clear Jax was going to help out the FBI as much as possible. He was on a mission to talk to anyone and everyone in Walnut Grove. It was only a matter of time until he found out how my connection with Willie Ray Bowman wasn’t only because we were both orphans.
“Given your history.” He tilted his head. “And your little ATM scheme at the bank around that time, I’m not feeling it was a coincidence the three of you skipped school on the day a big bank heist was going down.”
“Are you accusing me of helping Willie Ray knock off the bank?” My jaw dropped.
“You want my opinion?” he asked.
“Yeah. Let’s hear it.” Anger boiled deep within me and I couldn’t let it show on my face.
I wasn’t sure if I was mad about what Willie Ray had done to me and was reliving it after all these years. Or if I was mad at how easily Jax was figuring out what happened.
“I think you four had something planned.” He didn’t take his eyes off me. They narrowed. “He needed a getaway car. Derek Smitherman had one. You hated it here, just like everyone with you.”
“And Gia?” I questioned. “Why on earth would Gia risk the luxurious life she has?”
“Gia.” A sneaky grin crossed his lips. If he weren’t so damn cute, I would think about smacking it right off his face. “She loves the thrill you provide for her. She likes living on the edge—going down to your secret spot on the riverbank, drinking, smoking God-knows-what, and skinny-dipping.”
Silence hung between us.
“But that’s just my opinion. And Eric’s got some good ideas about what is going on around here.” He closed the notebook and slipped it back into his pocket.
“Well you know what they say about opinions.”
“What?” Jax asked.
“Opinions are like assholes, some are just louder and smellier than others.” I turned on my toes, tossed my hair behind me and walked out of the door. Of course I sashayed a little to give him something to remember me by.
If I wanted Jax Jackson’s help, there was no way I was getting it. He had already made a deal with the other side. Not that I didn’t think Willie Ray was guilty, nor had I forgiven him; I just wasn’t so sure I was going to be able to give him over as effortlessly as they wanted me to if he did make a personal appearance.
Before I headed to the house to see if Jax and Eric had made their way out to see Trixie, I thought I would make a drive through Walnut Grove and see if there was anything out of place or catching my eye. If Willie Ray was here, I’d know it.
Sally Bent’s car in the parking lot of Lucky Strikes struck me odd. It was far from quitting time at the bank. My curiosity was peeked more than Henrietta’s would be if a mouse scampered across the floor, so I pulled in and parked.
Lucky Strikes wasn’t open for bowling, but it was the only beer joint in town that was open.
“Two birds with one stone.” I grabbed my hobo bag.
Before I got out of the car, I looked around trying to decide how I was going to slip the car tracker on Sally’s car without anyone seeing me. Luckily I had picked a GPS tracker the size of a quarter. It would send up-to-the-minute information to my smartphone. Things like where she was, how fast she was going, really cool stuff.
Sally drove a Honda CRV and she wasn’t as tall as me, putting it on the hood would be a good spot.
I strapped my bag across my body, peeled off the paper to expose the sticky side of the device and got out of the car. When I casually walked by, I smacked the top of her car as far back as I could reach and kept walking. I put my hand in my hobo bag and turned on the wireless device, linking it to my cell. The flashing red light told me it was a go.
“Laurel London?” Sheila smacked a wet bar towel on the bar top and wiped vigorously when she saw me walk in. “It’s a little early for you to be drinking isn’t it?”
My eyes took a minute to adjust from the beating down sunshine. The bar was on the backside of the bowling lanes. It was strange seeing the lanes pitch black and the neon not lit up.
The TV’s behind the bar were on the local MeTV channel where reruns of the Andy Griffith Show played. Was it a coincidence Andy was Willie Ray’s favorite show?
I think not.
There was a half a bottle of Bud sitting on the counter along with a lit cigarette resting in an ashtray. The men’s bathroom door swung back and forth until it finally came to a stop.
“I thought I might have an afternoon whiskey.” I plopped down on the stool next to the ashtray and beer. “Sheila, when did you start smoking Marlboro Red?”
The type of cigarette along with the beer bottle had Willie Ray Bowman’s stink all over it.
Sheila had taken a perfectly good crew neck Lucky Strikes shirt and cut a big V in the front of it. Her cleavage spilled out of the tattered shirt. Her long red hair hung down the front of her shirt. Her age showed in the lines around her eyes and the heavy black eyeliner didn’t help her any. Her lips and nails were painted with the brightest red lipstick I had ever seen.
Ignoring my question, she threw the towel in the sink behind the bar. She grabbed the remote and put it on an afternoon soap opera. “Trixie wat
ches this doesn’t she?”
“She sure does.” I took another look at the cigarettes and bottle. Not a smidgen of lipstick was on either. “I thought I might get an early start on league night.” I drummed my fingers on the bar and looked around. Waiting. Waiting to see who came out of the men’s bathroom.
Sheila picked up the beer bottle and took a swig. She held the cigarette between her finger and thumb. She squinted her eyes and took a drag before smoke bellowed out in her coughing fit.
“I’ll take a Makers and Coke.” I nodded my head toward the liquor section of the bar.
Even if my hunch about Willie Ray being in the bathroom was wrong, I still could use a stiff drink before facing Trixie. When, or if, she knew about Willie Ray escaping, she was going to be on me like a hawk. Watching my every single move.
“Where’s Bud?” I asked.
“He’s off in Lexington renewing our liquor licenses.” She let out a deep sigh and put the very small glass filled with bourbon and Coke in front of me. I scooted the ashtray closer to her. If anyone would be helping Willie Ray with no questions asked, it’d be Sheila and Bud McKay. Willie had bellied up to this bar to quench his taste for beer more times than I could count and that was way before we were of legal age.
“I suggest you stop smoking.” I grabbed the drink and downed it in one gulp. “Ah.” I let out a long sigh. “Is it me, or have your glasses gotten much smaller?”
“Lunch time.” She slid her eyes to the bathroom door as it swept open.
“Urp.” Charlie Haskel put his hand up to his mouth and burped a few more times. “Pardon me, ladies.” He rubbed his dirty stained hands through his stringy, oily hair.
Charlie stumbled back to the bar adjusting his too big pants by pulling his belt as tight as he could. He grabbed the beer bottle and drank the last of it.
“Damn. You can’t go around drinking everyone’s beer!” Sheila grabbed the bottle and threw it in the trash, crashing along with the other bottles in there.
“Urp.” He belched again and fumbled around the bar toward the door.
“I’ll take another one.” My past was playing tricks on me. Though it was pretty early for their trashcan to be filled with beer bottles. “This time make it a double.”
Maybe I was wrong and Willie Ray wasn’t in town to see me. Hell, it wouldn’t be the first time I was wrong about him.
“Is there something going on?” Sheila slid the drink on the bar top, leaned over the bar and folded her hands in front of her. “I’m not used to seeing you in here this early.”
“I’m not used to seeing Sally Bent’s car in your parking lot either.” I held the glass up in a mock cheers before I tipped my head back and let the smooth taste glide down my throat. “Ahh. . .” I let out a long sigh and put the glass back on the bar top. “I think I’m going to get out of here.”
I took the hobo bag from across my body and put it on the counter. I opened it and plucked a ten-dollar bill out. It caught on the tobacco pouch.
Shelia’s eyes popped open. She didn’t say a word, just swiped the ten. Her reaction didn’t go unnoticed.
When she turned to put the money in the cash register, I took the small listening device and snugged it up under the bar top. I tapped the counter.
“I guess I’ll go,” I said in a loud voice in case someone was there and I wasn’t going crazy.
“Are you sure you can drive?” Sheila tugged on her homemade top.
“As watery as those drinks were?” I lifted a brow and questioned her pouring skills and the pricey drinks. The drinks tasted like straight Coke.
“Lighter at lunch. We don’t want a lawsuit on us for over-serving someone on their lunch break.” Sheila grabbed the glass and stuck it down in the sink, twirled it on the scrubber before dipping it again and drying it.
“I’ll see you tonight.” I tipped my head back.
I took one last look at the bathroom door. My mind might be playing tricks on me, but I wasn’t going to discount the evidence.
Leather pouch. Marlboro Red cigarette burning and several in the ashtray already butted. Beer bottles in the trashcan and one half drank on the bar top. Sheila was awfully suspicious and watched my actions.
My phone chirped from deep within my bag. I dug down until I found it.
Alert: moving at 20 mph on Second Street.
“Shit!” I ran out the door. There wasn’t a trace of Sally Bent’s car.
I hopped in the Belvedere and threw it in gear. Willie Ray wasn’t too far ahead of me and I was going to catch him. He had some explaining to do for me before he needed to explain to the law.
“Damn!” I beat my hand on the wheel, taking a sharp right on I-25 and trying to keep the wheel steady as I read the screen on my phone. I was ahead of the voice chirping the directions. “Here we go with our little cat and mouse game,” I whispered.
The same gut wrenching feelings of chasing him all over this town as a love struck teenage girl tore at my soul.
Once again, he loved leaving me a little trail to follow. The pouch and now this; Willie Ray knew I was looking for him and he wanted me to find him.
Chapter Seven
The tires of the Old Girl shrilled with each turn. I wasn’t letting up on the gas. And I kept both hands on the wheel. Willie Ray wasn’t going to get away from me. I’d get my answers and I’d take pleasure in turning him in.
“Right on I-25. Right on I-25,” the tracker GPS blurted out of my phone.
“I’m on I-25!” I yelled back to my phone.
I jerked the wheel right and skidded through the stop sign avoiding the tractor with the mower on the back. The driver of the mower took his hat off and said a few unnecessary words. Didn’t he realize a criminal was on the loose?
“Right on River Road,” the tracker said.
I yanked the wheel a sharp right and ran the stoplight. I floored the Belvedere and kept my eye on the empty pavement. Images of catching Willie Ray played in my head and I rehearsed the tongue-lashing I was going to give him. The curvy road headed straight out of town and I knew exactly where he was going. He wasn’t going to the secret spot; he was going to our spot.
Just as I had the Old Girl up to a decent speed, a construction worker waved a big stop sign in the middle of the road.
“Stop! Stop!” he screamed; the sign in one hand, his other sticking straight out in front of him. “Stop!”
I skidded to the left, then slid to the right before the Old Girl came to a complete stop. Thank God I did, because the cement truck rolled across the road toward the river where the state was pouring the new parking lot for the future casino boat coming to Walnut Grove.
I had heard they’d started construction, but didn’t realize they were already pouring the concrete. I didn’t take this road much since I had been fired from Porty Morty’s, which was a little bit away from the casino site.
“Can you please have them hurry?” I asked and grabbed my fake FBI badge out of the glove box.
Months back I had used my incredible criminal skills to make a fake badge. I was finding it coming in pretty handy.
“Sorry lady.” The guy shrugged.
The tracker showed Willie still heading out of town on River Road and I still had time to catch the fool.
Finally I had the Old Girl going and almost up to a reputable speed for a chase when I passed by Derek’s mechanic shop on the left. My heart dropped when I saw him head first under a car. He pulled out from under the car. His eyes caught mine as the Old Girl flew by.
Derek was a side mechanic in Walnut Grove. His first love was fixing up old cars. His first job was at the Gas-N-Go with Baxter and Clyde. He watched Baxter with a close eye and learned many of his skills from him. Derek also took vocational school classes while I was bored to death in English class at Walnut Grove High.
Trixie gave Derek the shop and he started his own business; it wasn’t until years later when he decided he wanted to be a cop.
The squeal of tires shrieked be
hind me. I glanced in the rear-view mirror. Smoke poured out of two big exhaust pipes sticking up over the cab of Derek’s red-neck truck. He was gaining speed.
“Right point two miles ahead,” the tracker said. “Target stopped.”
I sucked in a deep breath. Did I continue going after Willie Ray or keep going? Did I want to keep Willie Ray to myself to give him a good beating or did I turn him in and let the cops take care of him?
Derek was gaining speed. His windows were rolled down and his arm was flailing out of it. His horn blared in the wind; I kept going.
The tracker had stopped exactly where I knew it would. My chest pumped up and down with anticipation of coming face-to-face with the ghost of my past.
Willie Ray and I didn’t have a lot of money, but we spent our time together. He was good to me. He knew all the right words to say—he told me I was pretty and he promised to give me the world. I wanted his words to be true. I wanted the love he promised.
Trixie did her best to show affection, but it was an orphanage with a lot of kids and only one Trixie. I acted tough. I didn’t need her to waste her love and her comforting words on me. When Willie Ray was transferred to the home, my heart melted.
I’ll never forget him standing in the foyer with handcuffs on. He had been transferred from a Cincinnati boy’s home where he created all sorts of havoc. Willie Ray was right up my alley. He even wore a tattered leather jacket with a pack of smokes in the pocket. He didn’t care what people thought of him.
Rebel Without a Cause became a favorite of ours. He had stolen the video reel from the Walnut Grove Library along with the projector and screen. It was one of the most romantic nights of my life. That was where he was leading me. To the very same spot where he stole my heart.
I jerked the wheel to the right on the old gravel road, rocks spitting out from underneath my tires. Next to the two dead trees on the left was where I needed to park. I threw the car in park, grabbed my Colt Defender out of the glove box and jumped out. Derek wasn’t too far behind.
“Laurel!” I heard Derek’s boots hit the ground running. “Stop! Don’t go without me! Put the gun down.”
Checkered Past (A Laurel London Mystery Book 2) Page 5