Danvers watched me, but didn’t speak for a moment. “Land won’t tell you anything about it, and I’m certainly not going to say a word, so good luck with that.”
“Thanks. I’ll be buying that food truck any day, and then we’ll see who has some luck with that.” He had me heated, and I hoped that I was not just running off my mouth here.
“I already told you. They’re not going to sell you a piece of evidence. It’s too important to the murder case.”
I nodded. “Half of your surveillance team is being wheeled off. Your known courier is dead, and no one has come for the papers that were delivered at Janelle’s place. Now you’re wondering if these people were looking for the papers at Land’s place…and if Land had them. Spain is not all that far from Morocco, you know?”
Danvers looked at me with surprise written all over him. “I never said a word about where the terror cell is.”
“You didn’t have to. I recognized the Moroccan flag at the Nolans’ house in a photo there. I went home, did a little Googling, and I learned about their stand-off with Algeria. They’re all just a Gibraltar away from Spain.”
Danvers glared at me, but he didn’t deny a thing. “You think that Land changed sides?” he asked finally.
“No, not for a minute, but I know the way that your mind works. You doubt everyone and everything. The fact that these people might have found papers at Land’s apartment suggests that Land might have had access to the papers. He could have taken them or made copies.”
Danvers ran both hands over his face. “This case is going to be the death of me yet. Every lead I have seems to lead to a dead end. Three weeks I’ve been working on the espionage angle, and I’ve got nothing. My superiors call me in daily to find out what I haven’t learned today. They’re not happy with the little I’ve done.”
Heaven help me, but I honestly felt sorry for the guy. “Okay, listen. I have a few things that might help you. Come by my place tonight, and I’ll show you what I’ve uncovered so far.” I hadn’t originally planned it this way, but Danvers would likely have a much easier time, in the era of the Patriot Act, finding out where Janelle’s money came from and where the $400 a month was going.
“Just give it to me now. I don’t feel like fencing with you later.” The fact that he was even considering a visit to my place showed how anxious he was.
I stopped and turned for a moment. Land had been moved into the back of an ambulance. I gave the EMTs my name and phone number. I had no idea if Land had any family in the United States, much less Capital City, and I wanted to make sure that he had a contact person if anything was needed. The EMT took the information, slammed the doors, and the ambulance drove off.
“Okay. I don’t have all the information here. It’s at home,” I lied. It was in my backpack at the food truck. I panicked a second, thinking that Carter could easily break into it and take the papers if he wanted to. “So anything I gave you now would just have to be followed up on later.”
Danvers very reluctantly agreed to the time and place. I looked around. I had taken a taxi from downtown to Land’s apartment, but an apartment in the suburbs is not the best place to look for a taxi.
Danvers agreed to take me back to the food truck. He was driving that way anyway. The case was less than a priority to the CCPD, since it was only an assault compared to passing state secrets and locked-room murders. He certainly couldn’t tell the CSI guys that he wanted the information because Land was part of a team looking into espionage. That wouldn’t do at all.
Danvers was actually nice enough to drop me off at the food truck. A few weeks ago, I suspected that he would have left me at the highway off-ramp, but now he needed something from me, so he could be pleasant. I remembered Land’s words about not trusting Danvers. I was beginning to see his point.
I was nearly freaked out when I entered the food truck. I’d left a newbie in charge of my business, my only source of income. If I’d had any doubts about Carter’s abilities or loyalties, this situation was definitely the acid test.
However, I had to say that he’d done a decent job with the truck while I’d been gone. There were only three customers in line at the window, and Carter seemed to have enough food and condiments on hand as he served coffee and food to the people waiting. I still had my apron on from when I was there earlier, so I washed my hands and began to help.
Within about 20 minutes, we were all caught up with the customers, including a few who had come to see why both Land and I were gone. I took a look into the till and found the money had been properly lain out in the correct segments of the drawer. If anything, it appeared that we had a little bit more than normal. Carter went back to the prep area and started getting ready for lunch.
I felt like I’d already lived through a full day, but it was only 10 a.m. I still had the busiest part of the day ahead of me. I tried to focus on the work, but my mind kept flashing back to what I’d found in Land’s apartment. I wanted to know who had done this to him and why. The people who had been in his apartment, and presumably ransacked it, had left by nine and Land had not returned until 11 p.m. Had the ransackers returned, or was someone else interested in harming Land? I had no idea who would want to harm him, unless it was related to Janelle and her truck.
I probably miscounted changed a couple of times that lunch, but I didn’t care. Money was the least of my problems in this situation. I’d be down one chef, which meant that I’d either be doing what Carter had done this morning—cooking and running the cash register by myself—or asking Carter to come on full-time. Neither one of those seemed very workable.
We finished out the shift in relative silence. I was a little surprised that Carter didn’t ask about Land or why I’d been dropped off at the food truck by the police. He was certainly one of the least curious men I’d met.
The till was well above average for the day. I was impressed again with Carter’s ability in the situation. He’d done everything and made it look easy. I cleared my throat. “So about tomorrow?” I started.
“How is Land?” he interrupted. “I wanted to ask earlier, but so much was going on. I’m taking it that, if you’re asking me about tomorrow, then it wasn’t good.”
“Someone hit Land on the back of the head. He was out when I found him, and an ambulance took him to the hospital.” It felt far less real, retelling the story now. It almost felt like I had dreamed it or imagined it; I was in the food truck, after a long day and too much seemed like it always did.
“Which is why you were asking about tomorrow?” Carter said. “Yeah, I could come in, but I’ll need to take another day off this week to get my mom to the hospital for some testing.”
“Are you sure it’s okay?” I asked. While I’d been caught up in this world of murder and spies, I suddenly realized that the world went on as normal for other people. What an odd feeling that was.
“Sure,” he said with a smile. “I’ve got a new recipe I want to try out, and this will give me a chance with Land gone.”
For a second, I considered Carter as a suspect. After all, he had more freedom to experiment when Land was out of the picture. However, I scratched him quickly, realizing that I was becoming massively paranoid.
I gave up on thinking about the attack anymore. We closed up the food truck. I drove back to the lot, and then off to the bank.
By the time that Danvers showed up that evening, I’d already heard from the hospital. I suspect that it was mainly to get all of his insurance information, but I did wheedle out of them that he was awake and unhappy about being observed overnight. If Land was grumpy, that meant that he was on his way to recovery. It was by far the best news I’d heard all day.
I knew that Danvers would have information on Land’s condition—and I was equally sure that Danvers would have a statement from Land about what had happened last night. I could get that information from him without bothering Land.
Sure enough, Danvers was right on time for our meeting. He came to the door and knock
ed loudly. I opened the door and looked at him. He was showing all the signs of exhaustion that Land had suffered a few days ago. At least Land would get some rest in the hospital. I wasn’t sure what Danvers would do to get energized.
I pointed to the sofa and went to put a pot of coffee on. I always kept some of Land’s particular blend of beans at the house. I called it promotion for the business, but Land called it stealing from the food truck.
I brought out a large cup for him. I didn’t need any, because I was going to bed after this conversation so that I could get up around four a.m.
“So what did Land have to say?” I started.
Danvers took a healthy sip of the coffee and leaned forward to stare at the papers I had on my coffee table. “He didn’t see anything. He apparently makes a habit of not turning the lights on at home, and he didn’t get to see their faces since it was dark. He had no idea why they were there or what they wanted.”
I nodded. “That’s not much help at all, is it? So what now?”
“We’ve dusted the place for prints, but we’re not finding anyone’s other than Land’s and yours. So they must have worn gloves. We’ve pulled a few things for possible DNA testing, but I’m not hopeful. These people seemed to know what they were doing. They’re not going to just leave pieces of evidence around for us to find.”
Danvers yawned, not even bothering to cover his mouth. I thought back to the dapper man that I’d met so many months ago. He apparently lost his manners when he didn’t get enough sleep.
“So here’s the information I have. I’ve written it all down for you.” I spread out the financials that I’d been given by the Nolans just yesterday. It was hard to believe that so much had happened so quickly. “Two things caught my eye when I was going through this. First, Janelle was given a large sum of cash to start the business. There’s no indication of where she got it, but if what you said is true, it might be a pathway to find out who is supporting her. If they wanted the truck for a drop-off point, then they might have paid for the truck.”
Danvers nodded. “We can certainly take a look at her finances and see where the money came from. That shouldn’t be too difficult.”
“Good,” I said, pushing the other papers in front of him. “She also makes a payment to an unnamed source every month. Four hundred dollars was wired electronically from her account on the 15th of each month. There’s no notation regarding its purpose or use.”
Danvers took a little time in glancing over that one. “Good, this is another lead we can follow up on.” He looked at the paper where I’d written it all down. “You didn’t make quadruplicate sets of these papers? The copy queen? You must be slipping.”
I hadn’t wanted to tell him the story of the theft, but under these circumstances, I didn’t feel like I had a choice. I told him the whole story about being knocked down outside and getting up to find that all the copies were gone.
“You should be happy that it was just that. Land had it much worse. I don’t know what they didn’t want you to find, but there must be something in the financials to warrant that type of behavior.” He leaned back on the couch as if to ponder life. “I wonder if the financials were what they wanted to get from Land as well. They’d likely know that you’d pass on any materials you’d gotten related to the food truck.”
I left him to think for a moment, cleaning up the mug of coffee and such. I deposited it all in the sink and returned. Danvers had fallen asleep on the sofa.
I tried to rouse him, but he didn’t budge. He was out. Shaking and shouting only made him turn away from me. Giving up, I brought out a pillow and a blanket. I tucked the pillow under his head and threw the blanket over him. Then I went to my own bed to sleep.
Chapter 10
Sleeping with an unwanted guest in the house can be difficult. I tossed and turned most of the night. For starters, I was going into a work situation where Land was out of commission. This concerned me both as his friend and as his employer.
The thought that I could be spread too thin, having only Carter to help if we had two trucks, scared me somewhat. With Land out, the plans would be put on hold, since I wouldn’t have another person to manage the second food truck. I suddenly had worries about what I was doing.
The other part of my anxiety was the fact that Detective Danvers was sleeping like the dead in the next room. Granted that, like Land, he’d been working nights to keep tabs on Janelle Nolan, and later her apartment, but even so I was not looking forward to the awkwardness of the morning.
As it turned out, I didn’t have to worry. I dressed quickly and quietly in the morning, skipping a shower and buying coffee on the way to the secured lot to pick up the food truck. I had left a note for Danvers telling him where the coffee and extra towels were in the apartment.
I was setting up the coffee and the register when Land entered the food truck. I was gobsmacked. I hadn’t heard that he’d been released from the hospital; much less that he’d been planning on coming to work.
In spite of my best efforts to maintain a professional relationship with him, I ran over and threw my arms around him. To my surprise, he hugged me back. I’d expected a nonchalant rebuff, but Land had his arms around me and held on tight.
“Should you be here?” I asked finally after I let him go.
He shrugged, which was a much more Land-like thing to do. “They didn’t say not to.”
“Great,” I said, trying to play off my display of emotions casually. “If you pass out on the floor, try to do it in the corner, so I don’t have to step over you.”
He gave me a smile, which warmed my heart. I mentally cursed that four hours ago, I’d been staring at the ceiling wondering about what to do with the second food truck, and here was Land back and ready for work. I truly wished that I had those hours of sleep back.
Carter showed up a few minutes later. His eyes widened as he saw Land. He looked toward me. “I thought you said he was out today.” Carter was carrying a bag of groceries, which indicated where his mind was. I’d offered to let him make some new ingredients for coming in on his own, and yet Land had shown up for work. He was likely wondering the fate of his condiments.
“You’re still going to work today, Carter,” I said, taking control of the situation. “Land’s here, and he’ll help, but you’ll be in charge. This is like your dress rehearsal. So if you have the ingredients for some new condiments, go for it.”
The words seemed to energize him. Carter pulled out a large plastic bag that vaguely looked like blood. “What exactly is that?” I asked tentatively.
“My own recipe hot sauce,” he beamed. “I made it at home last night to save time. I brought it in and thought I could put it in one of the unused containers.”
Land took that as his cue, and he reached down into the cabinets on the right side of the sink. He moved slowly and deliberately. I was guessing that his macho stunt of coming in was not working as well as he’d thought it would.
“I’ll do that, and you can start on the rest of the condiments,” Land said. I knew he must not be feeling well, because he was talking in full sentences and playing well with others.
Carter, in a very judicious move, started making all of the standard condiments for the day, leaving his own until last. I liked that. Since he was the new guy on the truck, he was trying new things, but not forgetting the old. My nighttime worries were starting to fade somewhat.
Meanwhile, Land put the hot sauce in the plastic container. He allowed a few drops to land on his finger, and he nodded at me. The new condiments seemed to be a hit with the main chef. Of course within about 10 seconds, Land had to shuffle over and get a drink of water, but that was to be expected.
Carter ended by cutting up some onions and making caramelized onions for the other condiment. Land and he discussed a few minor changes to the dish, but Carter seemed pleased with the collaboration and the results.
I was so busy watching the two of them that I nearly forgot to open the window on time. There w
as already a line of people waiting to be served, and I didn’t get to see what was going on at the grill for a good half-hour.
The early morning rush is usually coffee, but a few people ordered hot dogs and complimented Carter on the new condiments. He beamed as he readied more dogs for the morning rush.
I continued working, and Carter kept up with the business. Land helped from time to time, but mostly he stood back and offered suggestions about the different aspects of the truck. The morning went smoothly, compared to the last few days of my life.
Danvers showed up around lunch. It was more than a little obvious to me that he hadn’t showered at my apartment. He had a couple of places where bed head was pretty visible. I thought about pointing them out, given how much pride he put into his appearance.
Land gave him a hard look. “You didn’t go home last night.”
It was a casual sentence, offered without judgment, but Danvers turned beet red. “Long night,” he replied, trying to look cool under the heavy blush. It wasn’t working. He looked like a school kid who had been busted for missing curfew. Carter gave Danvers a few odd looks but kept working. “Apparently, you did though,” Danvers said, trying to switch the conversation away from his own nighttime activities.
“They let me go. The nurse told me that I wasn’t a good patient.”
Danvers looked him over. “How are you feeling?”
“Good enough to come in, but not good enough to stay up all night, if that’s what you’re asking,” Land replied. I was glad. I would have worried even more if I thought he was continuing with the late night police work.
Danvers nodded. “We’re shutting down the surveillance per se. The family has allowed us to put in motion detectors and cameras in the apartment, so we’ll have the whole thing covered.”
“It almost sounds like you’re giving up,” Land said, again without judgment in his voice. I wanted to learn how to do that. When I tried to make an announcement like that, it always sounded preachy.
THE REAL GYRO (Food Truck Mysteries Book 4) Page 9