"No problem." Under the moonlight, Lily's teeth gleamed as she grinned. She held up a small knife. "They aren't going anywhere." A loud bang sounded outside the alley.
"What did you do?"
"Stabbed all four of their tires," she said, still beaming. She pulled out her cell phone, dialed 911 and waited for the call to connect before she told them what happened and where the thieves were now. I had a feeling she didn't need to; sirens already were screaming towards us. "Someone already called it in, but they're diverting them to the rear of the bar." A police car screeched past as we rose from our crouched positions. Doors opened, and shouts sounded. We looked at each other, broke into grins, and walked to the end of the dark alleyway. Sticking our heads around, we saw two uniforms with their weapons drawn. The thieves, in black ski masks, also held weapons, and one of the men had a small bag slung over his shoulder. Their car hit the curb and the rear tires were blown. Behind them, another squad car slammed to a halt disgorging two more uniforms with more shouting.
As we watched, the two thieves, now surrounded, set their weapons on the ground, dropped to their knees and folded their arms behind their heads as the uniforms rushed forwards, kicking their weapons away and cuffing them.
"I can't watch. Is it them? Is it?" Lily clapped a hand over his mouth as one of the uniforms gripped the top of the ski mask. "Just tell me, Lexi!"
"It's not him," I said as the man's face was revealed. It wasn't Kyle. It wasn't one of the men we spotted with him either.
Lily's mouth dropped open.
The second man's ski mask was removed and Lily screamed and punched the air. "I told you! I told you it was him! I knew it! Kyle Emerson, you suck! I never should have hired you. I hope you go to jail!"
The thieves and uniforms turned to us. "Mrs. Graves?" said one of the uniforms. "What are you doing here?"
Lily pointed to Kyle, his head bowed. "I've been following him since he robbed my bar. We found out they were going to rob this bar of all the prize cash and we followed him."
"You followed him?" repeated the uniform. "Ma'am, do you know how dangerous that was?"
"Uh-huh." Lily nodded vigorously. "And I slashed their tires so you could catch them. Thank you, me!"
"How did you find out they were going to rob this bar?" the uniform's partner asked. "Is that you, Lexi Graves?"
I stepped into the light pooling under the streetlamp. "Yep. Hi!"
"It's me, Brad Harrison! I was on swim team with your cousin, Siobhan."
He looked older, but I recognized him now. Siobhan had a huge crush on him at school. I wondered if she knew he was on the force too. "Hey, I didn't know you joined the police. Great to see you..."
"Oh, c'mon," spat Kyle. "Are you really going to have a catch-up now? We just got arrested."
"Shut up!" yelled everyone.
"I didn't even do it," said Kyle. "I was just in the car, picking up a buddy. He's got the cash! Not me!"
"You snake!" yelled his friend, head-butting him as we gasped. Kyle dropped to the floor with a groan. Two of the uniforms rushed to separate them.
"That true?" asked Officer Harrison, addressing us. "Did you see what happened?"
"Yeah! They both went inside the bar and we checked Kyle's computer at the cyber cafe and saw that he was looking at the bar's website," said Lily.
"You snooping bitch," groaned Kyle, rolling onto his side as Harrison pressed a tissue to Kyle's bloodied nose. "You self-entitled tramp. You deserved getting robbed."
"Shut up while I read you your rights," said Officer Harrison, pulling Kyle to his feet. "Kyle Emerson, you're under arrest..."
"Bitch!" yelled Kyle.
Lily began to move forwards, but I grabbed her by the arm. "Don't. He's not worth it."
"But I'd feel great."
"No, you wouldn't. Feel great because you caught the bad guys," I told her, sensing her muscles softening as she decided against hurting him. "Your hunch paid off. Even better, you gave me an idea about how to find my missing woman."
"I did?"
"Yeah, you did. Let me make a phone call while you deal with these guys."
"We'll need to take your statement too," Harrison reminded me as he approached Lily.
"I'll be right back," I told him. "I just have to make a phone call." There really wasn't anywhere quiet to make a call since the scene in the street soon attracted a crowd of interested onlookers. They cheered as the two men were read their rights and each loaded separately into the back of a cruiser. The crowd was comprised of Dolly Partons, Marilyns, a couple of Shania Twains in top hats, and Diana Ross, but that was besides the point. They were pleased and not afraid of showing it.
"You go, girl," said Diana Ross as she high-fived me.
Away from the crowd, I sat on a bus bench and dialed the Hansons. Carl answered the phone, which pleased me because the Hanson parents were hard work, and he appeared to be the most forthcoming of the family.
"Can I help you with something?" he asked after I identified myself. "I'm sure we told you everything."
"Actually, there is something you can help me with. Can you talk?"
"I don't know. My dad had someone from a surveillance company come in and sweep the house after you guys left. He found a bunch of bugs. Someone has been listening to us. There was even one attached to the phone line."
That surprised me, but it shouldn't have. I wondered what else Solomon had advised the Hansons to do. "Let's be cautious. Can you get to another phone outside the house? Not your cell phone or a workplace?"
"Yeah, I can..."
"Don't tell me where. Just go to it and call me back on this number."
Two minutes later, my phone rang with an unlisted number. I answered it, relieved it was Carl. "Where are you?" I asked.
"My neighbor's house across the street. I'm feeding their cats while they're on vacation."
"You remember telling me about the message board you used to contact Peta?"
"Yeah."
"Did you ever access it from a home computer?"
"No. Never. We didn't want anything to link us to Peta."
"That's good thinking. That means whoever was spying on you doesn't know which site you used. I need you to do something for me. Is there a computer in your neighbor's house?"
"Yeah, there's one in the kitchen that their kids use."
"Is it hooked up to the internet?"
"I guess."
"Switch it on."
"What's this all about?"
"I want you to send a message to Peta from me."
"Okay, I'm logging on now." With the bar patrons bursting into a round of “Cabaret,” I couldn't hear the computer powering up so all I could do was wait for him to speak again. "I'm in and I'm online. Okay, I have the message board on my screen."
"What do you normally do when you contact Peta?"
"We send a private message and she replies whenever she can. She never says any kind of personal details so we don't know where she is, and we never use each other's names, just Mom or Dad or Bro."
"Okay. That's good. I need you to tell her to contact me, that you've met me and it's urgent. She trusts you. Add my phone number, too." I read my number out as Carl typed, hoping Peta would trust him. He was my only hope of contacting her now.
"Is that it?" he asked.
"Yeah."
"What happens when she contacts you?"
When, I thought, sounded much more hopeful than if. "We'll get her to a safe house while we find Leo."
"You think it's him too? You still haven't found him?"
"Yes, and we only started seriously looking for him yesterday," I replied. "We've got eyes all over town. It won't be long."
Carl sighed. "You really think you can catch him?"
"Yes," I said, hoping I sounded bright and positive. Hell, Lily and I just caught two bad guys. Catching another one didn't seem so hard now. It was a shame two were opportunistic idiots, and the other one mastered his craft over many years. Still, small
differences.
"Call me when she's safe?"
I promised I would and hung up. It seemed silly to cross my fingers with hope and I hated that it was, yet again, another time to wait patiently. I looked over at the twin cruisers, noting that Solomon's SUV had turned up somewhere in the midst of my phone call. Behind the SUV was a beaten-up sedan, out of which climbed my brothers. All three of them. Jord jogged over to Lily and wrapped her in his arms, which was sweet. They broke apart, and judging by Lily's stabbing gesticulations, she was telling him how she prevented the thieves from escaping.
Solomon saw me and waved so I walked over to him and he kissed me. "My pro bono case is all wrapped up," I told him, "and I barely did a thing. This one is all Lily’s."
"So I heard. Her hunch paid off."
"It was more than just a hunch. She's followed him all week. She's got detailed notes. She did a better job on her investigation than I did with mine."
"Are you beating yourself up because we haven't found Leo yet?"
"A little."
"Don't. You two just caught the thieves that have terrorized Montgomery's bars and restaurants..."
"Terrorized?"
"Sure. You were there when they shot up the restaurant we were in. Did you know the manager here got shot?"
"No!"
"There's an ambulance out front. It's a superficial wound, thankfully, but things could have been a lot worse. I'm glad you didn't confront them."
I wasn't sure how to respond to that, but my cell phone rang, saving me from any dire contemplation. An unknown number flashed on the screen. I put a finger to my lips and answered. "Carl?" I asked, thinking he must have remembered something else to tell me.
"This is Peta. Peta Hanson."
Chapter Nineteen
Catching Solomon's eye, I made some pretty frantic gestures, which made no sense to either of us. Lily, however, looked over and mouthed, "No way? Really?"
I nodded and she gave me a thumbs-up.
Solomon frowned and waited.
Peta continued, "My brother said to call you, and that I could trust you. He says you came to the house and spoke to him and our parents."
"That's right," I said, mouthing Peta and jabbing my forefinger at my cell phone. Solomon nodded, waiting as I spoke into the phone. "I really need to talk to you."
"You were the one who came into Pretty Paws. How did you work out who I was?"
"It took some time," I admitted, "but when I saw your photo in a missing persons file of my FBI buddy's, I discovered you weren't Nancy at all."
"I hated taking Nancy's name, but I knew she would have understood," Peta said. "Why are you looking for me? Everyone assumes I'm either missing or dead. I know my family didn't hire you, so who did?"
"Don't panic, but it was a man named Leo Chandler. Do you know him?"
After a sharp intake of breath, Peta said, "Yes. I know him. He was Nancy's boyfriend and he..."
"He was stalking you," I finished.
"Yeah, I think so."
"We think that's highly probable. Forensics is analyzing the gifts he left you and checking for prints."
"Really? I hope the creepy bastard left his grimy fingerprints on something."
"We hope so too."
"Bring her in," said Solomon softly. "Tell her we have a safe house."
I nodded, continuing, "Listen, Peta, we want to take you somewhere safe."
"I'm safe now. I'm with a friend. I'm leaving town. I saw Leo here in Montgomery and I can't stay any longer. I think he set fire to my apartment."
"I know you're with Joelle, and she's a good friend, but she can't keep you safe from someone like Leo. We can."
"You can't. No one can. That's why I have to go," Peta said, her voice soft and sounding utterly defeated.
"How are you getting out of town?" I asked.
"I..."
"You can't use public transportation. You could be seen. And you can't take Joelle's car because we already know about it, and I’ll bet Leo does too. Your brother said you can trust me so you should."
"But you're working for Leo."
"Leo hired us originally, but we aren't working for him anymore. We know he duped us, so now we're working with the FBI and local police enforcement to arrest him."
"Just a minute." The line went quiet, but remained open. As I gave a hands-up, I don't know gesture to Solomon, Lily arrived and stood next to us.
"Is it really her?" she asked. I nodded, but didn't have time to say anymore as Peta returned.
"Joelle said she's read about you in the Gazette. She says you're legit," Peta sighed.
"Joelle is right," I agreed, wondering why Joelle couldn't have been helpful earlier. "Can we come and get both of you?"
"Who's we?"
"My boss, John Solomon, and me."
"And me," said Lily.
"And my friend, Lily Shuler-Graves."
"What happens then?" Peta asked For the first time, I sensed some optimism in her voice, a willingness to comply, as well as a desire for this all to be over.
"Let me ask my boss," I told her, covering the mouthpiece. "What do I tell her?" I asked.
Solomon took the phone from me. "This is Solomon, and here's what's going to happen. We'll pick you up and take you to a safe house that is operated by my risk management division. You'll remain there until we get Leo into custody. We'll liaise with MPD on your behalf until he's charged, then it's up to you. If he remains in custody, you can go home. If not, I have contacts that can help you disappear for good. It's your choice." Solomon waited, then said, "I know it. We'll be there in ten," before hanging up. "Let's go," he said to Lily and me.
Lily handed off her keys to Jord before the three of us climbed into Solomon's SUV. Somewhere on the road, a similar SUV joined us with Delgado behind the wheel. His biceps bulged in a short-sleeved t-shirt and he wore a pair of dark-lens sunglasses. Minus my niece in his arms, replete in her frilly dresses and blushing cheeks, he appeared much scarier. I suspected my sister liked both sides of him. My sister's taste in men grew considerably better since her divorce. Even if Delgado looked daunting, his heart was made of solid gold.
Peta and Joelle were holed up in the first floor apartment of a three-family building. How they got access to it, I didn't know, but Joelle was the one who answered the door when I knocked with Solomon beside me. She took a furtive look around before ushering us inside. Peta was waiting, seated on a small, red couch. I didn't really remember her from the few seconds I saw her in the pet parlor, but Maddox's photo of her was firmly implanted in my brain. Her hair was a little shorter and she was considerably thinner. Her clothes were plain: a clean pair of dark-washed jeans and a pale blue shirt, with two buttons undone at the neck, and sneakers. A simple pair of gold studs in her earlobes and an inexpensive watch were her only adornments. Two bags lay at her feet.
"Peta?" I asked. Of course, that was absolutely pointless and rhetorical. Recovering, I said, "It's so nice to meet you at last."
"Likewise," she said, rising. Her hands shook, I noticed, which she tried to conceal by clasping them together. "When are we leaving?"
"Now," said Solomon. "Those your bags? Do you have anything else?"
"This is all I have. I got used to packing light, you know."
"Where are we going?" asked Joelle, coming to stand behind her friend and crossing her arms.
"We can't tell you that. We just have to go now," said Solomon.
"I'm coming too," insisted Joelle.
I opened my mouth to say why Joelle couldn't come, but no reason came to mind. Instead, I turned to Solomon, hoping he had an answer.
He simply nodded. "You come too," he replied.
The five of us climbed into the car and Lily sat in the back with our two guests. I didn't even have to call shotgun. Solomon took off with Delgado behind him. "The safe house is a little distance," he said without telling us where. Even I didn't have a clue where it might be. I still knew very little about the risk management
team Solomon headed alongside the private investigations team. I didn't know how it operated, or what their cases involved, or how they divided up the work, or the backgrounds of any of the new employees. The few I encountered seemed friendlier to me, however, with their greetings. Until today, I didn't know we even had a safe house. It perturbed me a little that Solomon still kept things from me, but my rational mind explained it was a business decision, and a sensible one. The part of me that was his girlfriend remained puzzled nonetheless, over not knowing such a crucial detail.
My cell phone rang, and Maddox's name flashed on the screen. "Hey," I said, on answering.
"Hey, you. I got your message. Is she with you now?"
"Yes. I'm with Solomon and Lily, and Delgado is following."
"Good."
"Where are you with the other task?" I asked, hoping he would get what I meant without having to say Leo's name. Peta had been through enough. She was sitting quietly on the rear seat, looking pale, and I didn't want her to overhear a one-sided conversation about the very man who terrorized her.
"Leo? No dice. He hasn't returned to his hotel, and we haven't been able to locate his vehicle. I'm starting to wonder if he skipped town already."
"You think?"
"I just don't know. I alerted Greenacre PD to let me know if and when he returns to town. They said they would send a car to keep an eye on his cabin."
"Good thinking. Want me to call you when we arrive at the safe house?"
"No. Actually, I was hoping Solomon could spare you. I need to get your files. You guys ran surveillance on Leo. I'd like to read the results, and see if we can get any leads on other places where Leo might hole up."
"That's Solomon's file. I didn't run point on that aspect of the case," I replied, glancing over at Solomon. Yes, he was listening. He nodded, too. "That's not a problem," I continued to Maddox. "I can give you access to the full caseload. Can I have it ready in the morning?"
"Just a moment." Before I could answer, Maddox put me on hold.
"The files are on the shared server," Solomon told me while we waited for Maddox to return. "Use your regular password to download them. If you need a memory stick, try my office. There's a stack on the shelf. Don't email anything."
Laugh or Death (Lexi Graves Mysteries Book 6) Page 23