Checkered Past (A Laurel London Mystery Book 2)

by Kappes, Tonya

  I walked at a fast steady pace with the gun to my side. My eyes scanned the area for Sally Bent’s car. The tracker said he was here somewhere.

  “Laurel!” Derek called out again, this time closer. “He is not worth it. Let the cops take care of it. Let me!”

  As I got closer to one of the trees, I saw a piece of paper stuck in the tree with a knife. His knife.

  “Mother. . .” I spat out a few curse words that would make Lucifer blush. He had taken the small tracker and stabbed the knife through it. The note read: not time yet.

  I yanked the knife out of the tree and slipped it into my pocket to use on him later.

  “What the hell?” Derek asked from behind me.

  “I’m going to kill him,” I warned.

  “No you aren’t.” Derek took a couple deep breaths. “You are going to kill yourself if you don’t stop acting so crazy. Let the police find him.”

  He bent down and picked up the note.

  “How did you know he was here?” He held the note up.

  “I tracked him.” I bit the corner of my lip. “I’m going to tell you why I was at the bank and you can’t go all cop on me.”

  “Fine,” he agreed. He shifted on his right. His white tee shifted and gave a hint of the muscles underneath. His blue eyes waited patiently for me to start talking.

  “Years ago, I found out Sally Bent had been keeping in contact with Willie Ray in prison. Louie had slipped and told me how she went to see him, wrote notes to him and everything. He even told me she had slept with him the night before my. . .” I couldn’t bring myself to say wedding. “You know.” I rolled my hand in the air. “Anyway, Sally was in The Cracked Egg and when our eyes met she mouthed ‘Willie Ray Bowman escaped.’”

  Derek sucked in a big breath. His head tipped back. He crossed his arms across his body.

  “This was all before the leather pouch appeared in my car, so I knew she had something to tell me.” I shuffled my foot and knocked around a rock. “I went to the bank to see if I could talk to her, but Pepper Spivy went all nuts.”

  “And . . .” He pointed to the ground between us.

  “The guy I picked up from the airport is an FBI agent looking for Willie Ray and he is an old friend of Jax Jackson’s. The FBI has asked Jax to help locate Willie if he is in Walnut Grove.” I cleared my throat.

  “Jax Jackson doesn’t know about you and Willie?” he asked.

  “He knows Willie was an orphan, he knows we skipped school.” I motioned between us. “But I didn’t tell him the full story about the Nashville thing.”

  I could never bring myself to say the word marriage. After the whole Nashville thing, I swore off marriage forever.

  “Jax asked if I would help.” I pointed back to the car. “He gave me the file on Willie and all the evidence against him. I took a tracker from the office because I know Sally Bent is harboring him.”

  “And you want to talk to him?” Derek asked a great question.

  “No. I want to shoot him.” I put the gun in my waistband. “And I was right. I saw Sally Bent’s car at Lucky Strikes. You know as well as I do, Bud and Sheila McKay would keep him safe or give him money to get him out of town.”

  “Yeah, they crossed my mind when I heard he had escaped,” Derek said.

  “When I saw her car, I knew he was in there. I popped the tracker on the roof of the car and put a bug under the bar. Sheila knew I was in there looking for him,” I sighed. “She wasn’t bending. His cigarettes were in there. The TV was on his favorite show. Everything added up. My phone chirped the car had been moved and led me here.”

  “He’s toying with you. Just like when we were teenagers,” Derek reminded me of all the conversations where he begged me not to get involved with Willie Ray.

  “I don’t want to hear that,” I warned. My eyes narrowed. “Where is he hiding out?”

  There were so many out of the way places he could go and not be seen, but not in Sally Bent’s car.

  “I have no idea. But I do know when your little boyfriend came to see me, he made it clear he expects me to keep an eye out and turn Willie in.”

  “Can you do that?” I asked. Derek wasn’t a snitch, especially on one of us. Orphans.

  “I’m on vacation this week.” He held his hands in the air letting me know he was going to see where this situation with Willie Ray took us.

  “I guess I’m going to have to see where he strikes next.” I looked out in the distance. Clearly I could see me lying on the blanket Willie had put on the ground for us to eat and watch the movie; the veggies he had stolen from Curly and Bo Dean’s garden were so crisp and fresh.

  My heart sank.

  Chapter Eight

  On my way back into town, I decided to turn down Fifth Street and take a left on Main. Trixie Turner was going to be livid when she found out Willie had decided to escape from prison and Jax was looking for him. And I wasn’t so sure Jax hadn’t gotten to her first.

  He was making pretty good time going around town and putting together the pieces of Willie Ray Bowman’s life here. Including me.

  The orphanage was located on the outskirts of town to the west. The old home was gorgeous in its day and Trixie was hard at work trying to restore it. She had bought all sorts of Better Homes and Gardens magazines, Southern Living, and Cottage Homes. If the house design were up to her, she’d have a hodgepodge of items. Me, I wanted to keep it simple. Neutral colors and leather furniture. Trixie, she had other thoughts. A green kitchen, blue family room, pink bathroom, the more colorful the better.

  She even went as far as ripping out pictures from the magazines and taping them on the wall. I never knew what design ideas I was going to come home to.

  The old house had a big wrap-around porch with wicker style outdoor furniture and big puffy cushions. These were the first items Trixie bought when we moved in. She loved sitting on the front porch with a big glass of iced tea. It might be spiked with a little moonshine, but not enough to get Trixie tipsy. She claimed it was to add flavoring.

  “Well I’ll be.” My jaw dropped and my heart sank at the sight of Sally Bent’s car. “That no good sonofabitch.”

  With the handgun tucked neatly in my pants, I marched around the back of the house where the kitchen was located because if I knew Willie Ray and Trixie like I thought I did, she was fixing him up a good home-cooked meal and they couldn’t hear me pull up from back there.

  The sound of his voice not only stopped me in my tracks, it stopped my beating heart. I closed my eyes and swallowed. The last time I had heard his voice was the night before I was to board the Greyhound Bus. Trixie had kicked him out of the orphanage and he snuck in to kiss me goodnight and make promises that made me believe I was finally going to have my happily ever after.

  The thought of it stirred anger in me. I crept up the few steps to the back porch. The door was open and the screen door was shut. I could hear every word, every laugh coming out of Trixie’s mouth.

  Jax obviously hadn’t gotten to Trixie yet and she definitely hadn’t seen the news. Of course she hadn’t. The only channel she watched was the SyFy channel, which made her believe aliens were watching us.

  “You big piece of shit.” I pushed open the screen door with my foot and glared down the sight of the gun. I had a clear shot right to his heart just like he’d put a clear shot right through mine.

  “Baby.” He stood up from the table with his hands in front of him. He shifted his weight. His Wranglers were a little baggy, but I knew what was underneath. The black tee hung in all the right places over his muscles. He had a way of looking at you, but not straight on. He tucked his chin, lowered his gaze, his thick brows hooded. His eyes danced with amusement. His chiseled jaw line highlighted when he grinned.

  He was toying with me.

  Even with our past, I found him disturbingly handsome. The big house had been good to him. He had beefed up a little. His hair had grown out on top, making his very loose curls hang a little on his forehead. He
was hot in a bad boy, James Dean way.

  In fact, we used to joke how he was my James Dean and I was his Marilyn. And we see how both of them ended up. Dead.

  “Baby.” He put his hands out. The hands that gave me so much pleasure, so much comfort when I didn’t think I had a family who loved me.

  I could feel the power of his gaze and how the hunger in him arose without warning.

  I jutted the gun when he took a step.

  “Don’t you dare,” I warned. “You are a criminal and I’m going to turn you in.”

  “Laurel London,” Trixie spat. “You put that gun down. We have company.”

  I ignored her. I kept my eyes on the prize.

  “I’m not going to give this two-timing, bank robber, FBI killer any leeway.” My eyes narrowed.

  “I’m none of those, baby.” He tapped the table with his finger, all cool and collected.

  “You cheated on me with Sally Bent. I’m no one’s second place and I’m certainly not a backup plan, so you mosey your little ass on over to Sally’s to hide while I call the FBI.” I shoved the gun forward. “Go on, Trixie. Call the police.”

  Henrietta purred happily, jumping up on the table. She bounced over to Willie. Like me, she couldn’t resist his charm or his hands.

  “Did you get my letters?” he asked picking up Henrietta and rubbing down her back.

  Of course I got his letters. Burned them without reading them.

  “Did you read my letters?” he asked a better question. “I didn’t do it, baby.”

  “Liar!” I screamed. A tear dripped down my cheek. “Put her down.”

  Trixie stepped forward. “Laurel, I said to put the gun down,” she warned.

  “Aww.” His lips kissed Henrietta’s head. “She won’t shoot me with Henrietta in my hands.”

  “Stay out of this Trixie.” Hate spewed from my veins and out of my mouth. “You are harboring a hardened criminal who escaped from the state penitentiary. Call the authorities before I put some lead in his ass.”

  “I wouldn’t say he was a hardened criminal,” Trixie whispered. “Honey, put the gun down.”

  “Not a chance.” I could see out of the corner of my eyes, she was dialing a number. It had to be Derek’s and I didn’t care. He would be more than happy to have his time with Willie.

  There were so many times I had dreamed of this moment. Me. Him. My gun pointing directly at him.

  “You think you’re slicker than cat’s guts. You think I’m going to take one look at you and melt. You’re wrong.” I held the gun steady. I’m glad he didn’t know I only had one bullet in it.

  A few months ago, Derek let me borrow it just to scare anyone if I needed to, and he didn’t realize I had taken one of his bullets.

  “Baby.” Willie Ray’s eyes softened. He eased down and put Henrietta back on the table. She scurried off. “I’m telling you I was framed. Why do you think I’m here?”

  “To haunt me.” I sucked in a deep breath.

  Trixie eased her body along the wall of the kitchen and around the crown molding of the open door into the hallway.

  “Stay in there, Trixie,” I called and turned my attention back to Willie.

  Do not lose it. Do not cry in front of him. I was good at self-talk. Being on my own for all of my life, I did a lot of self-talk to reason me through some sticky situations. This was one of those times.

  “No. I heard you were working with some retired FBI guy in investigations.” He pointed to Trixie. “If anyone in this world would be good at that shit, it’s you, baby.”

  “You are so good,” I said, sarcasm dripping from my lips. “You always knew the right things to say. And I’m not your baby.”

  “I knew the right way to love you too.” He grinned, taking a couple more steps. “Does FBI boy make you feel like I do?”

  “Shut up!” I shook the gun again, but he got closer. Who was I kidding? I’d never shoot him even though in my dreams I did.

  He pulled me in his arms. My heartbeat skipped and skipped again. His smell, Willie Ray’s smell sent my memory into overtime. The warmth of his grasp, the tightness of his grip made it hard for me to tame the demons inside. The demons that wanted to be back in his arms. Safe.

  “I didn’t do it, baby. And I need you to help me.” He kissed the top of my head. “God, you smell so damn good. And you feel even better.” His hands did a little too much wandering.

  I shoved him off me. The gun fired and the bullet ricocheted off the leg of the table and hit the screen door.

  “Wait, wait, wait.” Willie put his hands up and backed away. “What happened to the fearless girl I love?”

  “I guess she wised up when you left her standing at the altar in the used wedding gown from the money her fiancé talked her into stealing so they could get married.” Anger boiled in me, sending me over the edge. “Do you think I would up and forget all these years? Not to mention Sally Bent.”

  “Altar?” Trixie questioned and bolted back in the room. “What altar?”

  “Sally Bent? Hell, she’s the only one who kept in contact with me over the years,” he spat back. “I went to the bank that day to get some money so I could get you a ring.”

  “Well, well.” I waved the gun in front of me. “Now you admit you robbed the bank and killed the FBI guy?”

  “No!” His jaw tensed. His eyes bore into me. “I did not rob the bank or kill that guy. I had a safety deposit box where I kept some cash I had been saving so I could get you a ring.”

  “I’m listening.” Anything with bling (as in a ring) got my attention and we weren’t going anywhere fast. He knew and I knew he never had a safety deposit box.

  “There can only be one person in the vault at a time. The teller had no idea there was someone in there.” He threw his hands in the air. “Next thing I knew, gunfire rang out and two people were dead. The teller and the FBI guy.”

  “Really?” Did he think I was stupid?

  “Really? Check it out. I’m begging you.” He shoved his hands into his pocket.

  My phone chirped. I took one hand off the gun and pulled my phone out of my pocket.

  Sally Bent reported her car stolen from the bank parking lot. I’m guessing Willie Bowman stole it. Any leads on your end? Has he tried to contact you? I read Jax’s text.

  “Is that your new boyfriend?” His eyes were dark and insolent.

  “He’s not my boyfriend.” I felt the need to say that and I wasn’t sure why. I was attracted to Jax and at times I felt like he was attracted to me, but Willie Ray made my mind mushy and confused. “He said Sally Bent reported her car stolen.” I watched his expression.

  “Good girl.” His mouth widened with approval.

  “So Sally did come pick you up and drove you here?” I asked.

  “Yeah. Like I said, she’s the only one who kept in contact with me and believes in me. What happened to you? Did you lose your edge? Did you forget how unstoppable we were?”

  “Unstoppable? You mean by petty criminals?” I shook my head in disbelief. Did he really think he could come back here, escaped from prison and pick up where we left off? “It took me a long time to get the people in this town to forgive me for all the bad stuff I did to them. And you aren’t going to come back here and destroy it.”

  “All I’m asking is for you to check into some things,” he begged. “Look into what I’m telling you. You are good at hacking. Get the surveillance or something.”

  “What about Jax?” I asked.

  “Your boyfriend?” He stared blankly with an open mouth. A sure sign he was jealous.

  “He’s not my boyfriend,” I repeated, not feeling good about denying I did have some sort of attraction to Jax. This was the effect Willie had on me and I hated it. I hated him.

  “I saw you two a few days ago coming out of the bowling alley and you looked awfully chummy to me.” His eyes lowered. “What about him?”

  “He is working with the FBI to locate you. They know you are in town and leaving
your little tobacco pouch in my car wasn’t very smart.”

  “I had to let you know I was in town. Sally said she couldn’t tell you because you two still hate each other and people would think it was weird you two were talking.”

  “I don’t hate Sally,” I lied and waved the gun all willy-nilly. I wasn’t going to admit it stung a little when he said she was the only one who came to visit him all these years.

  He pointed to the gun. “Can you please put it away?”

  “Listen to him,” Trixie coaxed. She walked toward me. “I’m not going to have you behaving like this.” She grabbed for the gun.

  I held it up over my head before I twisted around and stuck it back in the waist of my pants.

  Willie reached down, pulled up the hem of his Wranglers and pulled out a flask full of whiskey from his boot.

  “Here. It’ll take the edge off.” He unscrewed the metal lid and poured some of it in the glass of tea sitting on the table. He eased back down on the kitchen chair, never taking his eyes off me.

  “I can’t believe Sheila would give you a flask of whiskey.” I tsked. “Unbelievable.”

  “Don’t go around blaming Sheila.” Rancor sharpened his voice. “Charlie Haskel was hanging out down by the docks when I got into town. He offered.” Willie shrugged. “I took it. You have no idea what I have been through.”

  “Oh.” Conflicted emotions roused in me. How could I feel sorry for him? How could I hate him? How could I still be attracted to him? “You have no idea what I have been through either.”

  “This isn’t going to settle anything.” Trixie poured me a glass and sat it next to Willie’s spiked tea. “Sit down. Calm down. Ain’t nobody gonna get hurt right now.”

  “Who did you call?” I asked and took a seat across from Willie. The only thing between him and me was the table. The table we had made love on several times in the middle of the night when the rest of the orphans were sleeping.

  He brushed his hands along the top and a devilish grin crossed his lips. That was the problem with Willie and me. We always knew what the other was thinking.

  “I called Ben Bassman. He’ll know what to do.” Trixie referred to the lawyer handling The Gorilla’s estate and money I had received.