by Tim Myers
“You could, but you don’t,” she said. “It’s severely out of character.”
I’d lost about every verbal match I’d ever had with her, so it was time to eat my pride and tell her why I was there. “Okay, you’re right. Melody, I need your help.”
Her smile was real in return. “Did Dalton arrest you for the Tommy Grace murder? You must be desperate if you’re coming to me. You really must learn to control that temper of yours. Did you really kill Tommy?”
“Apart from a good beating he deserved-which he survived just fine, by the way-I didn’t hurt him. This is about something else entirely.”
She picked up a pen and started wiggling it. “My, you’ve been busy, haven’t you? What else has been happening?”
There was no way I was going to tell her about the fight Bowen, Jim and I had been in. I was hopeful that particular event never got back to the police, or anyone else in Dogtown who might want to exact a little revenge on a fallen friend.
“Believe it or not, I’ve got a job,” I said.
“That’s a nice change of pace for you, isn’t it? I didn’t know anyone else was willing to hire you but me.”
That’s how we’d met, and it was a cheap shop, even for Melody. I’d worked a few cases for her as a private investigator, and soon enough, we’d shared something else that was private. “Apart from our differences, I’m good at what I do, and you know it.”
She showed the slightest bit of remorse. “You’re right. That was uncalled for. I’m sorry about that.”
I smiled at her. “Sorry enough to help me?”
She shrugged. “It depends on what you want.”
“Matthew Harkins is on a rampage in Dogtown, and he’s got a seventeen year old norm girl with him.”
That caught her attention. “He must have a death wish. I couldn’t even get him sentenced to New Pitcairn pulling a stunt like that.”
“Is he a client of yours?” I asked. I knew Melody would never violate that trust if she was working for him.
She shrugged. “No, at least not at the moment. I wouldn’t mind handling the case, though. There’d be some good publicity in it for me, and if Harkins made it to late night television with his execution, all of Dogtown would see me standing with him.”
“Don’t you think that might send the right message to potential clients?”
She laughed. “Don’t be so sure. Any publicity is good publicity.”
“I’ll be sure to slip him one of your cards after I find him,” I said, “but that’s the problem. I don’t have any idea where he is.”
“Trask, seriously, why should I help you? It’s not like we’re still married.”
“And whose fault is that?” I asked. “I wasn’t the one sleeping with a colleague.”
“Not that I could prove, anyway,” she said. “I always had my suspicions about you and Belladonna.”
I stood. “Forget it. I’m sorry I bothered you. I’ll find him on my own.”
“Sit down,” she snapped. “You always were impatient. I never said I wouldn’t help you. I just asked why I should.”
“There’s no reason I can think of,” I said. “It doesn’t sound like you’d do it for old times.”
“I might surprise you,” she said as she reached for her phone. “Go keep Shelly mesmerized with your charm, limited though it is, and I’ll see what I can do.”
“Thanks. I appreciate this.”
“Don’t thank me yet. I haven’t done anything yet.”
It appeared that I’d already seen the height of Shelly’s social bantering skills, so I finally gave up on her and waited impatiently for Melody. My ex wife, no matter what her flaws might have been, knew just about everyone in our corner of the city, and if anybody could find Harkins and the missing girl, I’d put my money on her.
Ten minutes later, my ex came out of her office. “Sorry, I couldn’t help you.”
“Did you even try?” I asked.
“What can I say? It’s just not your day.”
She surprised me by giving me a hug. “Thanks for stopping by, Trask. It was good seeing you.”
“Bye,” I said. After I walked out of her office, I checked my pocket. I was sure Shelly hadn’t seen the transaction, but while my ex wife had been hugging me, she’d slipped something into my pocket. I checked the note and saw the name of motel on the edge of the town named Barker’s. It was a place that rented rooms by the day or by the hour. No doubt Melody was being overly melodramatic by slipping me the address like she had, but I knew she had a reputation to protect, and if the underbelly of Dogtown knew she’d ratted one of their own out, it might be tough getting new clients after that.
I drove to Barker’s, and for a second I thought about calling Bowen, but in the end I decided to do this on my own. I didn’t like to rely on my friend do much. I might regret not calling him, but I’d taken this job on my own, and I was going to see it through that way, unless there was no way to avoid putting my friends’ lives at risk again.
I knocked on the door of #120, but there was no answer. I could bribe the maid to let me in, or even slip the clerk a twenty for the key, but I didn’t want anyone to know I was there, just in case of what might happen.
On the off chance it was unlocked, I tried the knob, and was surprised when the door opened to my touch.
As I walked inside, one thing was certain. Whoever had been there was gone.
I searched through the trash and found enough clues to tell me that Harkins had been staying there with a woman, including wrappers from an array of feminine hygiene products. But had it been Jennifer? There was nothing that told me that for sure, or where they might have gone, even if she had been the woman with him.
I left the room as I’d found it and approached the clerk after all. Taking Jennifer’s picture out of my pocket, I clipped a twenty to it before I handed it to him.
The young man behind the desk had a bad case of acne, and there was something about the way he smelled that reminded me of old people. Maybe it was just the office, but I had a feeling it was emanating from him.
“Have you seen her?” I asked as I slid the photograph across the desk.
“Nope, she’s never been here,” he said without looking up from his paperback.
“Look again,” I said, letting a little of the wolf creep into my voice.
It got his attention.
He looked up at me, dog-eared the page he was on, then took the picture. The look of recognition in his eyes when he saw Jennifer’s image was clear, but his response was not.
He slid the photograph carefully back to me, the bill still attached. “Sorry. I really haven’t seen her.”
I took the twenty off the picture and moved it toward him. “Are you sure?” I added its twin, but he still didn’t reach for the bills.
“Positive.”
He was shaking, the man was so clearly afraid.
“When did they leave?” I whispered.
He looked around the room, then said softly, “An hour ago.”
“Was the girl all right?”
He barely nodded, then said, “Don’t make me talk about him, okay?”
I gave him the money. “Thanks.”
He left the bills lying there, and I turned to go. Harkins, before he’d been hopped up on Bailey’s juice, had been scary enough. It was pretty obvious he was downright terrifying now. Not to me, though. I was hunting the hunter, and I was pretty sure he didn’t like being on the run.
Too bad. I was going to track him down, and if I had to put a silver bullet in him to get the girl back, I was ready to do it. Brothers of the Wolf meant something, but not at the expense of someone innocent.
But in order to put Harkins down, I had to find him first.
I thought about calling Dalton to see if he’d heard anything else, but was I ready to bring even more heat on Harkins? That was the problem with living in Dogtown. Most of us tended to think that the police were the last resort, and not the first. Added to that was my experience as
a private investigator, where I usually tried to step in where the police had failed, and it didn’t leave a whole lot of faith in the boys in blue on my part. Dalton was the exception-at least he’d listen to me if I had something solid for proof-but I was nowhere near having that yet. I’d already mentioned Harkins to him once, and if I did it again, I knew he’d grow suspicious about what I was up to. The Grangers had chosen to come to me, not the police, and I had to respect that wish, even if it meant putting their daughter in further jeopardy. It was fine distinction, but I was used to skating it in my line of work.
When I got back to my apartment, everything changed with a single message on my answering machine.
“Mr. Trask, you need to come to the house. There’s been a ransom demand, and the police are here.” Stephanie Granger’s voice sounded surprisingly calm, considering the message she was delivering.
I played it a third time, short and sweet, before I dialed the Granger’s home number.
Stephanie answered, and as soon as I identified myself, another voice cut in, one I was all too familiar with.
Dalton said, “It’s about time, Trask. Get your tail over here.”
“Bring me up to speed first,” I said.
“There’s not much to tell. The Grangers just got a ransom demand for their daughter. I don’t have to tell you about her, do I?”
“I’m sorry I didn’t say anything before, but I was on a case,” I explained.
“Save it, we’ll discuss that later. Just get over here.”
I wasn’t about to come when he called, though. “Hang on, there’s something you should know first. I know where they were staying, at least until this morning.”
That got his attention. “Where?”
“Room 120 at the Barker Motel. It’s over on 117th.”
“I know where it is. Did you touch anything?”
“Of course I did, but I didn’t disturb the scene. If you get somebody over there before they clean the room, you might be able to find something.”
He hung up without a word, but I hadn’t been expecting a thank-you. Dalton and I would have a confrontation about me keeping a kidnapping on his turf from him, but I’d deal with it later. We’d had some run-ins in the past, and I didn’t expect the present or future to be that much different, but we always found a way to coexist when we needed to.
I got to the Granger house and found it swarming with cars. There must have been people from every branch of law enforcement-local, state, and federal-and I didn’t doubt they were all there because of who the Grangers were. It’s amazing what money can buy, especially when you had as much as the Grangers apparently did. I wondered how much fuss they would have made if it had been a werewolf teen kidnapped instead of a norm, but I knew the answer to that without even posing the question. The law was supposed to apply equally to everyone, but it fell so far short of that, it was tough believing anyone felt that way but me.
I was patted down at the door, but I knew it was coming, so I’d left my gun in the car. If they wanted to search that, they probably wouldn’t be too pleased about me walking around with silver bullets in the chamber, but that was tough. I wasn’t going up against an enhanced Harkins without some kind of backup, with either my friends or some of my arsenal.
Dalton found me before I could talk to the Grangers. “Thanks for sharing the tip. We got there in time to stop the maid from cleaning up.”
“I’ve got a feeling you would have been fine for a few days. The place isn’t exactly known for their pristine linen service. Did you find anything?”
“No,” he said. “You sure nothing left there with you?”
“I’d offer to let you search me, but that would just piss both of us off. I didn’t find anything. Is there a ransom note?”
He started to say something when a nice looking young man in a dark suit approached. “Detective, is this the man you were speaking with earlier?”
Dalton rolled his eyes, but only I could see it. “Yes, sir. This is Jacob Trask. Trask, this is Special Agent Mulberry, FBI.”
“Wow, they brought out the big guns for this one,” I said.
“Trask, kidnapping is a federal offense, one we take seriously at the bureau. I understand you’ve been withholding information from local law enforcement. You should be aware that we’re urging them to prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.”
“So much for the spirit of cooperation,” I said. “If you’re going to be like that, why should I help you do anything?”
He got right in my face, and I could smell the garlic he had in his pasta for lunch. If I’d been a vampire, it probably would have been more effective than a stake in the heart.
“Are you trying to be smart with me?”
“No, sir.” I doubted it would be worth the effort, but I wasn’t going to go out of my way trying to piss him off, either. I didn’t want to admit it, but the guy could probably make my life pretty miserable if he set his mind to it, and I wanted to stay below his radar as much as I could.
“Good. Now tell me what you know so far.”
I nodded. Sometimes it’s easier to just roll over and get through it. If he wanted to, I knew he could lock me up in the deepest cell they had, and not even Melody would be able to get me out of it.
I said, “There’s not much to tell. I just took the case two days ago.” I shared what I knew, with the glaring exception of Bailey’s super werewolf potion. There was no way I was dragging my friend into this, and if it meant that I’d go to jail at some point down the road because of it, I was more than willing to pay that price.
“That’s it?” Mulberry asked.
“It’s the best I could do,” I said.
He frowned at me, then said, “The Grangers didn’t get much for their money, did they?”
“I’m not finished yet, so it’s too soon to say. Could I see the note?” I asked.
He’d already dismissed me in his mind, and looked surprised by my question. “That’s none of your business. Now get out of here. You’re not a part of this anymore. As of right now, you’re fired.”
It was time to make a stand. “You can’t fire me, since you weren’t the one who hired me.”
He got within an inch of my face again. Had he missed the day in kindergarten when they talked about personal space? “I don’t like you or your kind, do you understand me? If you ask me, New Pitcairn is better than any of you deserve. Now get out.”
He turned back to one of his minions, and Dalton motioned me outside before I could snap back at the FBIer. I hadn’t even seen the Grangers, and it didn’t look like I was going to. I wish I could say that Mulberry’s attitude was shocking, but I’d been facing his kind of racism all my life. It was all I could do not to zone into full werewolf phase and give him a demonstration of why it wasn’t smart antagonizing someone who could rip your throat out.
Outside, Dalton said, “He’s a real charmer, isn’t he? Don’t feel all alone, he’s already jumped on my back about this mess, and I didn’t even know about it until an hour ago.”
I let that stand. I’d eaten enough crap in the last ten minutes than I liked to swallow, and it was pretty clear Dalton knew it. Werewolves aren’t exactly known for our temper management skills.
I asked, “So, what did the note say?”
“I’m not allowed to tell you that,” Dalton said. As he took out a cigarette and lit it, he added, “I can’t tell you there wasn’t a note, that it was a phone call. I’m not supposed to say the ransom demand was for two hundred thousand dollars, or that Harkins is calling back the Grangers any time with the details of the drop.” He grinned at me, then added, “There’s about all I’m not supposed to tell you.”
“It’s a shame you can’t share,” I said.
It appeared that Dalton didn’t like being shoved out of the picture any more than I did, and that made us some kind of allies, at least for the moment, though I had no delusions we’d just become best friends.
“How long is it goin
g to take Granger to come up with that kind of cash?”
Dalton flicked the ashes from his cigarette. “That’s the odd part. If you can believe it, he likes to keep that much cash here all of the time. He told Mulberry when the world falls down around us, he’s going to be ready for it.”
“Did anybody point out to him that if civilization ended, all he’d have were pretty pieces of colored paper?”
Dalton shrugged. “It’s his money. Well, technically it’s hers, but he likes to act like he’s the one in charge. He didn’t have too many nice things to say about you.”
“I’m shocked,” I said, remembering how I’d showed him part of the beast inside me. I might regret my actions again and again, but he’d been a jack ass, and I’d slapped him down for it. “What did she say?”
“Mrs. Granger was surprisingly mute about you, as hard as that might be for you to believe.”
I shook my head. “I must be losing my touch. The ladies usually really go for me.”
Dalton was about to respond when one of the junior FBI agents poked his head out the door. “Get in here. Now.”
Dalton was the one who looked like he wanted to snap the guy’s neck now. It must have been going around. “I’m busy right now, but I’ll be right in.”
The junior agent shook his head. “I wasn’t talking to you, Dalton. The kidnapper’s on the phone, and he wants to talk to your werewolf friend.”
Chapter 6
I thought about protesting that I’d just been fired, but I wanted to talk to Harkins as much as he apparently wanted to talk to me. I followed the agent inside, and Dalton was close on our heels.
Mulberry had his hand over the phone’s mouthpiece when I approached him. “Keep him on the line as long as you can. We’re tracing it.”
I reached for his phone, but instead of surrendering it, he pointed toward one of the house phones. “Talk to him on that one.”
I picked it up, took a deep breath, then said, “This is Trask.”
“It’s Harkins,” he said. “You’ve been making quite a mess around town, haven’t you?”