Skin Puppet: Reightman & Bailey Book Three

by Jeffery Craig

He filled her in on his conversation with Janine Laramie and explained what he was intending to do.

  “That’s not a bad idea,” she replied when he was finished. “But you’re right, it may take a while if you go about it that way. I think you began in the wrong place.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, I think you should start with the name of the girl’s father and work from there.”

  “Oh! I get it now. Thanks. That’s why you’re the senior investigator.” He logged into their database and entered in the name and the city. “I wish I had a street address or something.”

  “Didn’t the school have it?”

  “They probably did, but I couldn’t think of a good way to ask for it. They’re protective about that kind of information. Wanting the address to snoop around to try and find out more about Lucy’s friend isn’t really directly tied to Lucy’s disappearance.”

  “It could take a warrant to get it, unless you fool them into giving it to you.”

  “That’s how I got the name,” he answered smugly. “I just thought about what you or Madame Zhou would do, and the idea just popped into my head.”

  “I’m not sure whether that’s good or bad.”

  “Me either, but it worked.”

  After a few minutes waiting, several names appeared on the screen. “Who knew there were so many Nathan Fields? This is going to take me a while. It’ll be easier than going through all of the transportation companies, but there’s still a lot to do.” He scrolled through the basic information on the main screen, and then remembered something. “Hey, do you know what company advertises on the evening news? Janine Laramie said the company he works for has commercials on then.”

  “Did she say what station?”

  “No, and I didn’t think to ask. I guess I didn’t do so well after all.”

  “Don’t beat yourself up over it. You made a good start. It just means we’ll have to dig more. You’ll improve with experience, I guarantee it. Once you spend the better part of a day going through databases, you’ll ask everything possible to avoid having to do it again. Believe me, that’s my own experience speaking.”

  “You’re probably right. I guess I better get on it, then.”

  “I have an idea. Call the TV stations in the morning and speak to the programming manager. They’ll be able to tell you who advertises, then you can go from there.”

  “That’s a good idea. I guess I can wait until morning. It’s probably a dead-end anyway.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Toby called the television stations on Tuesday morning, but wasn’t able to connect with anyone directly. He left a number of messages, hoping he’d hear back later in the day.

  He jotted down a reminder to follow-up and leaned back in his chair. “What time is Madame Zhou supposed to be released?”

  “I haven’t heard yet. I think sometime after lunch,” Melba answered. “Were you able to track down which company advertises on the news?”

  “Nope. No one was at their desk when I called. I left messages. What are you working on?”

  “Paperwork for the State. Just when I think I’ve completed everything, something else pops up. I think there’s some clerk somewhere specifically assigned to bombard me with forms to see if I’ll crack. How about you?”

  He stretched and opened his textbook. “I guess I’ll try and get a little studying done. I think our professor is going to hit us with a pop quiz this week.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “The rumor mill. It’s usually right.” He turned a few pages, occasionally highlighting an important phrase or concept.

  They worked in comfortable silence, each focused on their own tasks. After a couple of hours, the phone on his desk rang.

  “Toby Bailey here.” He slipped a small piece of paper into the book to hold his place, and reached for his notebook. “Yes, that’s right. I’m trying to track down a transport company in the area that might advertise on your station during the evening news.” After listening to the response, he concluded the call and hung up.

  Melba looked up from her work and raised a hopeful eyebrow. “Any luck?”

  “Nope,” he answered, crossing the station off of his reminder list. “But at least they called back and I didn’t have to hunt them down.” He opened his book again, and then shut it and tossed it to one side. “I’m going to get something to drink. You need anything?”

  “Sure. If you’re headed that way you could fill my mug up with hot water. And see if there are any snacks in the fridge. I skipped breakfast.”

  A few minutes later, he placed her mug on her desk. “Sorry, but there aren’t any snacks, unless you count carrot and celery sticks. I checked ‘em out and they felt slimy, so I tossed them.”

  “Really? We ate all of that food?”

  “We ate some of it, as did everyone else who stopped by yesterday. Agent Garfield demolished the container of tarts, and I think I saw her wrap up a few and drop them into her purse. SarahJune took a huge load of stuff to her book club last night, which pretty much took care of the rest.”

  “I guess that means an early lunch. You want to go with?”

  “Sure. Did you have anywhere in mind?”

  “I thought I’d just run over to Earth Fruits. I want to tell Bernice how much everyone liked the food. She was a little bummed when the party broke up early.”

  “Okay. Let me finish this chapter and then we can go. I just have a few pages left.”

  “What’s the topic?”

  “It’s about questioning witnesses. I should have read it before I went to the school. Maybe I wouldn’t be sitting here waiting on a call back from the other stations if I had.”

  Melba snorted at his despondent tone. “You’d probably be sitting right where you are now. Get used to it. Investigation is about twenty percent doing and eighty percent waiting, and when it all comes together, it happens at once and then it’s a scramble. Enjoy the relative peace while you can.”

  Toby turned the last page of his chapter and closed the book with a thud. “You think it is going to all come together?” he asked hopefully.

  “I hope so. Usually, it just takes time.”

  “I get the feeling those missing kids don’t have much of that left.”

  He looked across to where she sat, not at all comforted by her expression.

  “I think you may be right, Toby, and I wish, with all my heart, that I felt differently. Still, all we can do is keep teasing at the threads, hoping something starts to unravel.”

  He nodded in unhappy agreement, before standing and motioning her to her feet. “Come on. Let’s go find some food. Hopefully, a little fuel will change my perspective.”

  “It can’t hurt,” she agreed, grabbing her purse.

  They ambled down the hall to the reception area, and stopped to ask SarahJune if she wanted to join them.

  “No,” she replied. “But thanks. I brought something from home. I decided I’d better try and eat healthy for the rest of the week. I want to be able to fit into my skinny jeans this weekend.”

  “Big date?” Melba asked.

  “Yeah, kind of. Barry, the guy from the jazz combo, is playing at a local club this weekend and asked me to come by. I’m not sure it’s a date exactly, but it’ll still be fun. And who knows? After a night of smooth jazz, I might just get asked to play a little music of my own, if you know what I mean.”

  Toby filled her in on the calls he was expecting, and they headed out the front door and started across the street. “Want to see if Lindsi wants to join us? She could probably use a break, and Zhou Li usually closes for lunch anyway.”

  “Sure, sounds good.”

  When they reached the other side, Toby stuck his head in the door to Green Dragon. “Hey, Lindsi. Melba and I are going over to Earth Fruits to get some lunch. You want to join us?”

  She did, and soon, the three of them were ensconced in a booth near the back a few yards away from the television mounted on th
e back wall. The popular local lunchtime show, “Lunch with Lydia,” was muted, so at least they wouldn’t have to listen to the odd blend of news and entertainment stories which attracted an inexplicably large audience of area viewers.

  “This is kind of weird,” Lindsi told them once Tori, another regular waitress, passed them each a glass of ice water then left them to decide what they were going to have. “I’ve never been here as a customer before.”

  “Yeah, I guess would be a different experience,” Melba agreed. “Does it make you uncomfortable?”

  “No, not really. But I keep thinking I need to get up and help clear tables or something.”

  “What are you going to have, Melba?” Toby asked, after reading the chalkboard on one side of the dining area. “I can’t decide.”

  “Hmmm, maybe the special. I like Bernice’s corn chowder and it comes with a slice of onion and tomato pie. That sounds pretty good.”

  Toby wrinkled his nose slightly at her choice. “Not me, The chowder is good, but pie is supposed to be sweet. What about you, Lindsi?”

  “The mixed green and grilled beet salad with walnuts.”

  “You like beets?”

  “Yes. They’re good for you.”

  “Maybe so, but I can’t stand beets. Grams tries to get me to eat them all the time, but something about the red juice turns me off.” He craned his neck to see around the head of the large man who was partially blocking his view. “Oh, the sweet potato fries are on the menu again. I think that’s what I’ll have.”

  Lindsi stared disapprovingly across the table. “You can’t just eat fries.”

  “Sure I can,” he grinned. “They’re healthy and nutritious and they taste good. Sounds like a winning combo to me.”

  She didn’t verbally comment, but shook her head in disgust.

  Once Tori took their orders—and convinced Toby to add the fried okra to his order—they talked over the highlights from the party, although they did skirt around the topic of Zhou Li’s confrontation with Vassily Grokov.

  “How have things been over at Green Dragon?” Melba asked, curious about how Lindsi was handling things in the absence of the owner.

  “Okay,” Lindsi shrugged. “It’s been kind of slow.”

  Before Melba had a chance to comment, Tori arrived back at the table with her arms loaded with heaping full plates. Once she’d plunked them down in front of the respective owners, she refilled their ice water and turned away.

  They all dug in to their lunches. After taking care of the worst of their hunger pangs, Melba resumed the interrupted conversation.

  “I know you’ve been reading some of Zhou Li’s herbal books. How’s that going?”

  “Pretty good,” Lindsi replied, after disposing of a forkful of beets and greenery. “It’s interesting, but it’s kind of hard to keep all of it straight in my head. I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to remember it all. I hope I don’t disappoint Madame Zhou. I like working over there.”

  “I’m sure you’re a big help to her, and I think she has a pretty good idea of how complicated the reading material is,” Melba assured her. “Just do your best. That’s all she expects.”

  Lindsi thought over the comment as she chewed another mouthful of greens. She glanced up and froze, hand holding a forkful of food.

  Concerned by her suddenly stricken face, Toby turned to see what caught her attention and was causing such an extreme reaction. Usually, Lindsi was pretty stoic.

  She dropped her fork, letting it clatter unheeded onto her plate, then slid out of the booth and hurried over to the counter. Finding the remote control next to the covered pie case, she pointed it at the television and turned the volume up.

  “Hey!” one of the lunchtime regulars complained. “We don’t need to hear that crap!”

  Lindsi ignored his comment, riveted to the screen.

  “…the fire caused significant damage to the property before firefighters were able to contain the blaze,” Lydia informed her listening viewers. “Police have confirmed one body has been found, but have not yet confirmed the name of the victim. If anyone has information which might be helpful to the investigators, please contact the number you see on your screen…”

  “Oh, no…” Lindsi whispered before tossing the remote back on the counter. “I have to go.”

  “What’s wrong, Lindsi?” Toby crossed the room to her side, concerned by the worried expression on her face.

  “I know that house,” she informed him in a low, sad voice. “I babysit there sometimes.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes. That’s Jessica’s house.”

  His conversation with Janine Laramie came rushing back to him. “You know Jessica Fields?”

  “Yes,” she nodded. “I have to go.”

  Melba joined Toby at Lindsi’s side. “Whose house did you say this was?”

  “Apparently, that’s the house where Jessica Fields lives. Lucy Escabar’s friend,” Toby clarified.

  “The girl whose father you’re trying to track down?”

  “Yep,” he confirmed. “This is kind of a coincidence, don’t you think?”

  “I have to go,” Lindsi told them again, cutting off Melba’s response to the question.

  Toby took one look at her and found himself wondering if shock was setting in. “Okay. But you don’t look like you’re in any condition to drive.”

  Melba met his eyes and nodded. “Lindsi, let me pay the check, and I’ll take you.” She rushed to the booth and grabbed her purse and picked up the bill. “Toby, can you put a sign on Green Dragon’s door? Anyone who needs something can call across the street.”

  “Sure, I can do that. Give me the check—I’ll take care of it. Are you sure you don’t want me to come along?”

  “Yeah, it’s better for you to stay here in case you get a call back regarding the transport company. After this, I have a feeling that’s going to be an important piece of information.”

  “What company?” Lindsi asked.

  “Toby’s been trying to figure out the name of the company where Jessica’s dad works.” Melba explained as they made their way through the labyrinth of tables to the front door.

  “Gro-Transport,” Lindsi replied.

  “You’re sure?”

  “Yes. He gave me a business card in case I needed to get in touch with his office while I was staying with Jessica.”

  Toby finished paying the bill and joined them at the door. “I heard the last part, but I missed the name of the company. Tell me again.”

  “Gro-Transport.”

  “Like ‘growing’ things?”

  Lindsi nodded confirmation. “But without the ‘w’ on the end.”

  “Got it. Call me if you need anything. I’ll have SarahJune come over and put the sign on Madame Zhou’s shop door while I do some digging. Now that I have a lead, maybe I can find something helpful.”

  “Good idea,” Melba agreed before stopping to dig her keys out of her bag. “I’ll see what I can find out from the officers on the scene, but I doubt they’ll tell us much.” She headed toward the parking lot, but his called question stopped her in her tracks.

  “Could this be related to the case we’re working on with Edmondson?”

  She looked back over her shoulder and gave him a tiny nod. “Maybe. Call me if you find anything. It may be a coincidence, but you know my thoughts on that.”

  Toby nodded. His partner wasn’t much of a believer in those.

  After making it back to the office and spending several minutes on the computer, he had to agree with her. Everything he found pointed in a very disturbing direction. Everything almost had to be related. Now, they just had to figure out how.

  He picked up the phone and punched in the number, forcing him to be patient until Melba picked up.

  “There’s a link,” he told her, without preamble. He shared what he’d found, listened to her response and then ended the call. He opened his desk drawer and took out the small business card he’
d been given a few days ago. Taking a deep breath, he dialed the number on the card, and waited for Special Agent Allen Edmondson to answer.

  ***

  Edmondson finished his call and slid the phone into his pocket. He quickly filled Agent Garfield in on his discussion with Toby. “We better round up Thorton and Mitchell.”

  “Why? Do you think this is the break we’ve been waiting for?”

  “I’m not sure if it is or not, but it’s the best lead we’ve had since we got into town. Anything from the team in Atlanta?”

  “No, not yet. They told me yesterday it would be late this afternoon before they’d have everything compiled. They also want one of the analysts to look over the info. You think I should set a fire under their butts?”

  “That might be a good idea.”

  She nodded and pulled out her own phone. “Do you really think he’s connected to all of this?”

  “Call it a hunch. I find it very interesting that another child is missing from school, her house burns down, a victim currently presumed to be her father is found in the wreckage, and according to Toby Bailey, said victim was employed by Gro-Transport, which happens to be owned by Vassily Grokov.”

  “Gro-Transport is kind of a catchy name,” she quipped. “I see your point, but it could all be happenstance.”

  “Did you just use the word happenstance? I didn’t think anyone really used that word anymore, at least not in a normal sentence.”

  “Blame it on the word of the day calendar you gave me for Christmas. I’ve been working hard to improve my vocabulary.” She dialed the number and waited. After the call had been answered and she’d given her colleagues her own special brand of encouragement, she disconnected and began to gather her things. “The Atlanta office is making this a priority now.”

  “Good. You headed to the scene of the fire?”

  “I thought I might. I’ll hitch a ride with our two detectives. I think a chat with the fire marshal might be in order. Just to see if his initial read gives any hint that the fire started under mysterious circumstances. How about you?”

  “I get the best job of all,” he answered wryly. “I get to walk down the hall and bring Chief Kelly up to speed.