“He can’t. He’s on leave, remember? He can’t be connected with his brother’s case, and all those other people that Senator Anderson’s going to bring down will find it first if we don’t hurry. We need to go out there and let Charley have a look around. Besides, Parker may still be there and maybe Charley can get more information out of him.”
“Great idea,” Charley said. “I want to check out her bedroom some more.”
Amanda looked at him.
“For more documents!”
Teresa clasped her hands. “Please? You and I don’t even have to get close to the house, just close enough Charley can go in.”
Amanda had not forgotten the time she did that very thing at Mayor Kimball’s house. That had not turned out well.
“We’ll be in and out in ten minutes. I’ll drive really fast to get us there, and the whole thing won’t take more than an hour. Then you can go home and see your sister.”
Hang out in the weeds at Lila’s house while Charley explored or head home immediately and listen to her sister. Neither choice held a lot of appeal.
Amanda sighed. “All right. I’ll do it.” This best friend thing could definitely be stressful.
Chapter Twelve
They crossed the parking lot to Teresa’s cute little convertible in the shelter of covered parking.
“Can I drive?” Charley asked then laughed. “Just kidding.” The expression on his face said he hadn’t been kidding. Charley had been a fan of fast cars, fast motorcycles and fast women. Now he was without all three.
Amanda waved a hand at the car. “We can’t take this. Parked along that farm road, it’ll stand out like a race horse in a herd of mules. We’ll have to take my bike. It’s black and small enough we can hide it off the road.”
Teresa’s eyes widened. “Your bike? You want me to ride on the back of a motorcycle?”
Amanda gave a slight shrug. “I’ve ridden in your car. Riding on my bike can’t be scarier than that.”
“I like riding with her,” Charley said.
Teresa arched an eyebrow at him. “You’ve only ridden as a passenger on her bike since you’ve been dead. If you were still alive, you’d fear for your life.”
Amanda lifted her hands, palms outward. “That’s my offer. Take it or leave it. I’m not really excited about this trip anyway.”
“I don’t have a helmet.”
Helmets weren’t required by law in Texas, but it would be foolish for Teresa to ride without one. “You got a bicycle helmet?”
“Well, yeah, one from high school.”
“Go get it, and change those slacks for jeans and those sandals for something sturdier, something more weed-worthy.”
Ten minutes later Teresa returned wearing tight jeans and cowboy boots with inlaid patterns. Her hair was tucked up under a bicycle helmet that looked as if it would be better than nothing...but not a lot.
Amanda climbed on her bike and Teresa got on behind her.
Charley settled between the two. “This is going to be fun, just like the time you took me to Kimball’s house so I could look around for evidence. We had a good time, didn’t we?”
“Yeah, if you think having handcuffs slapped on your wrists is a good time, I had a great time.” She pulled down the faceplate of her helmet and started the bike.
Only half the sun blazed above the horizon as they headed south for the second time that day. It would be almost dark by the time they got to Lila’s house. A good thing. The area didn’t have a lot of trees to hide behind.
Amanda got as close to Lila’s house as she could, then stopped and lifted her faceplate. “Climb off and I’ll pull to the side of the road and park the bike next to that tree.”
A few gnarled mesquite trees and clumps of weeds dotted the barren landscape, but it was twilight and getting darker. They should be able to do this. The moon was barely a quarter, and they would be out of there in ten minutes.
Charley darted happily toward the house.
Amanda started through the brush.
Teresa hung back. “This is close enough, isn’t it?”
“Come on!” Charley called. “I’m almost inside! You need to move a few feet closer.”
“Does that answer your question?” Amanda asked.
Teresa shivered. “Okay, all right. I guess if she decides to shoot us, Charley will warn us.” She looked at Amanda. “Won’t he?”
“Oh, yeah, Charley’s a great security system.”
“Are you being sarcastic? I never know when you’re being sarcastic.”
“Come on!” Charley motioned them forward.
Amanda turned and began crunching through the underbrush.
“You’re not leaving me alone!” Teresa followed close behind.
When they reached the edge of Lila’s yard, Amanda stopped behind one of the larger mesquite trees. With its gnarled limbs and scant but still-intact foliage, it provided decent cover.
Charley gave them a thumbs-up and disappeared inside.
Teresa wrapped her arms around herself though the evening was warm. “So you’ve done this before?” she asked softly.
“Yeah, Charley and I went to this guy’s house one night so Charley could search it. It was the man who murdered Charley.”
“What happened?”
“The man had security gates and cameras and the whole paranoid setup. He knew the minute we broke into his gates. He called the cops and let us wander around until they got there. I don’t think Lila’s likely to have any of that stuff.” Nevertheless, she scanned the branches above for a hidden camera.
“She’s got the windows open and the lights on. We can see right inside her house. We should have brought binoculars.”
“That’s what Charley’s for. He explores and reports back to us. You don’t want to tell Ross what you find out from peeping in Lila’s windows. You want to tell him what the spirits find out for you, right?”
“I guess so. I feel strange, just standing here in the dark.” Teresa shifted. “Ow!”
“Sh-h-h-h! With the night this still and her windows open, she could hear us.”
“Damned tree stabbed me!”
“There’s a reason they’re called devil trees. Keep your voice down. Remember, she might have killed Parker. She may have a gun.”
“You’re right. We don’t want to get too close to the house. Look, she’s getting undressed!” Teresa pointed at a window toward the back of the house.
Lila was definitely pulling off clothes. “I bet Charley’s enjoying that.”
“What is she doing? It’s too early to go to bed.”
“I don’t know. Maybe she has company.”
Teresa shook her head. “There’s only room for one car in her carport. If she had company, there’d be another vehicle in the yard.”
“She’s probably going to take a shower.” Amanda shifted her gaze to another window, away from Lila’s progressively more nude body.
“She really is skinny,” Teresa said. “I can see her ribs from here.”
“That’s not an image I want to take home with me.”
“She’s doing some kind of a dance, spinning in front of the mirror and laughing.”
Against her better judgment, Amanda looked at Lila. She was indeed writhing in front of the mirror in a provocative manner. Charley would definitely be enjoying that. “You don’t think she’s getting ready to have sex with Charley or Parker, do you? I mean, is that even possible?”
“No!” In the gathering darkness Amanda couldn’t see Teresa’s face, but she could hear the eye-rolling in her tone. “Well, I don’t think so. Oh, she’s getting dressed again. Something red.”
“Short, red, and tight. I’m pretty sure that’s not a night gown. She must be expecting company.”
“Or going out.”
Amanda squinted, trying to see more of Lila’s bedroom. “You’re right. We should have brought binoculars.”
“I’ll remind you to do that next time
we’re spying on somebody.” Teresa shrieked, ducked and waved her hand in front of her face.
Amanda cringed. Teresa’s scream had split the quiet of the night.
“Something attacked me!”
Lila looked briefly in their direction then went back to dressing, adding a sparkly necklace to her evening ensemble.
“Be quiet,” Amanda cautioned. “It was only a bat. He wasn’t attacking you. He was just getting that mosquito on your nose.”
“You’re making that up, aren’t you?”
“The mosquito part, yes. Where’d she go? I don’t see her.” Maybe she was coming outside to investigate the noise. Maybe they should leave.
“There she is. She was sitting on the floor. Strange.”
Lila stood and looked down at the floor for a long moment. Finally she sighed and walked out of range of the window.
“That was weird,” Teresa said.
“This whole thing is weird. Look, Charley’s coming through the side of the house.”
“And Parker’s right behind him.”
“We gotta get to the bike!” Charley shouted as he darted up to them, his form glowing faintly in the gathering darkness. “She just picked up her car keys. She’s leaving!”
The light went out in the bedroom.
“Why don’t we just stand here in the shadows and wait till she’s gone?” Amanda asked.
Charley shook his head. “We have to go with her.”
Amanda gave him a scathing look. “No, we don’t.”
“Yes, we do,” Teresa said. “Parker says we need to find out what she’s up to.”
“We only need to know who that call was from. Charley, did you find out?”
“Yeah, it was Stanley Wagner.”
Amanda frowned. “The same Stanley Wagner, brother of Clyde, the guy out target shooting by the well where we found Parker’s body?”
“I don’t know.” Charley pointed to the house. “She’s leaving.”
Lila walked across the front porch and headed for her carport.
“The woman’s obviously got a hot date,” Amanda said. “So what?”
Charley held out his hands in a supplicating manner. “Parker says we have to go with her. He’s worried about her. He said she did some meth just before we got here.”
Amanda sucked in a sharp breath and looked at Teresa. “Did Parker really say that?”
“Did you?” Teresa tilted her head and looked at the air. “Yeah, her source of income is gone, and she’s back on drugs. He’s worried she might also be going back to her old trade.”
“Her old trade? I assume he’s not talking about being a waitress. I don’t think the waitresses in the Waffle House wear outfits like that.”
“Prostitution,” Teresa affirmed. “He wants us to find out and if she is, stop her from doing it.”
Amanda rubbed her forehead. “And just how do we go about this? Have a stern talk with her? Threaten to put her in time out?”
Lila’s white sedan pulled out of the carport and headed down the road.
“She’s getting away!” Teresa charged into the brush, heading toward the bike. “Come on! The way you ride, you can catch her if we leave now. Let’s go!”
Charley looked toward the empty space between Teresa and him. “Okay, okay!” He sighed. “Parker says please. Just follow her and see what she’s going to do. Be sure she’s all right.”
“I think she passed the all right stage when she did meth.” Amanda threw her hands up in resignation. “Fine, we’ll follow her, but I want it on record that I do not think this is a good idea.”
Amanda reached her bike first and pulled it onto the road. “Helmets on and let’s roll.”
Soon the three of them—make that four since Charley and Teresa vouched for Parker’s presence—caught up to Lila’s car on the highway, heading toward Dallas. At least they’d be closer to home when this crazy run was over.
Lila took Woodall Rogers Freeway and turned into the downtown area.
Amanda had expected her to head for a different area, but amidst the downtown night life such as homeless people and drunks, there were some luxury hotels probably crawling with luxury prostitutes. Maybe one of them was her destination.
Lila turned down a dark alley. No luxury hotel in sight.
Amanda rode past then parked on the street. Surely no cops would be coming by at this hour to give out parking tickets. And if they did, oh well, a parking ticket was no big deal. Didn’t raise her insurance like speeding tickets.
She killed the engine. The world became suddenly and eerily quiet.
“This is a scary part of town,” Teresa whispered.
Amanda pulled off her helmet. “You wanted to follow her.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of you ladies,” Charley said.
“That’s very reassuring.” He could send a cold chill through an attacker or make their cell phone go wonky. Not exactly traits treasured in a bodyguard. Amanda hung her helmet on the handlebars. “You want to help? Go see what she’s doing in that alley.”
Charley curled his lip. “I don’t know if I want to see.”
“I do.” Teresa slid off the bike.
Amanda grabbed her arm. “One minute you’re scared and the next you want to rush headlong into a dark alley?”
Teresa shook off her hand. “I didn’t say I was scared. I just said this is a scary part of town.”
“Whatever. I don’t think we want to get caught snooping on this woman when she’s doing whatever it is she’s doing. Let Charley and Parker go. She can’t shoot them.”
“Come on, buddy,” Charley said, encouraging the air to follow him.
He—they—disappeared around the corner, into the alley.
A man across the street waved. “Hey, ladies, looking for a little action?” He smiled, revealing a few gaps in his teeth, then staggered slightly as if tripping on the jeans that hung loosely on his thin hips.
Amanda shook her head vehemently and motioned for him to go away.
He dangled a small plastic baggie.
“Is that meth?” Teresa whispered.
“I have no idea, and I don’t want to find out.”
Charley darted back around the corner. “She’s sharing her drugs with some scuzzy guy. He doesn’t look like he can pay very much for her services.”
“She probably doesn’t charge much.” Teresa flinched. “I’m sorry, Parker. I shouldn’t have said that. I know you care about her. I know she’s your sister.” She turned to Amanda. “He’s pretty upset to see that she’s apparently...well, you know.”
Amanda straddled her bike. “I know more than I want to know. Let’s get out of here. Now.”
“Good idea.” Teresa got on behind her.
Amanda lifted her helmet above her head...and Lila came around the corner with a man in tow.
Lila’s eyes widened in recognition.
Busted!
Amanda slammed on her helmet, started the bike and roared away.
Damn all the one way streets! She rarely went downtown and made several wrong turns before she finally got back on the freeway.
Okay, so Lila had seen her. What was she going to do? Amanda had no intention of turning her in to the cops for using drugs or for solicitation. She wasn’t a threat to Lila.
Nevertheless, she was perspiring by the time they pulled into Teresa’s parking lot.
“She saw Amanda,” Charley said.
“Lila?” Teresa asked.
“She was probably so wasted, she won’t remember.” Amanda hoped she was so wasted she wouldn’t remember.
Teresa looked at the empty space beside her. “I’m sorry, Parker, but I don’t know what we can do.” She listened for a minute then pulled off the bicycle helmet, shook out her hair and turned to Amanda. “He wants us to try to help her. He says she’s suffered enough and underneath it all, she’s a good person, someone who can be redeemed.”
Amanda wasn’t feeling a lot of sympathy for Lila. “Short of k
idnapping her and hiding her in a cave in the middle of Big Bend National Park, I don’t know how we’re going to stop her from doing whatever she wants to do.”
Teresa nodded. “Go home. I’ll talk to Parker.”
Home. What a beautiful word after their crazy day.
“You ought to call your sister,” Charley said. “She’ll be worried. She’s probably already called the cops, the FBI, the CIA and your mother to report you missing.”
The beautiful image of home evaporated.
Even so, it was better than spying on a meth head prostitute in an alley in downtown Dallas.
Amanda checked her watch. A little after eleven. “Jenny’ll be in bed by now. I don’t want to wake her.”
“Chicken,” Charley accused.
“If I call her now, we’ll be on the phone for an extra hour. Get on the back. We’re leaving.” She groaned. “What am I saying? You can’t get on the back. You’re just a...”
Charley settled on the passenger seat. “There’s no need for name calling.”
“Good night, Teresa.” Amanda flipped down her faceplate.
The ride home was familiar and only a few miles. She usually enjoyed riding at night, but now the inky darkness hid unknown terrors, transformed benign trees, street signs, and toys left on lawns into strange creatures. She couldn’t decide if this onset of panicked delusions was caused by their visit to the underbelly of society or by the thought of dealing with her sister for another night.
When she turned into her parking lot a few minutes later, her sister’s Mercedes was still there.
“Guess she hasn’t gone home to Davey,” Charley said. “If she waits much longer, that baby’s going to come and you can learn how to change diapers.”
Amanda pulled her bike into the shop, yanked the key from the ignition and slid off. “Shut up.” She closed the shop door behind her and tromped upstairs.
“Amanda’s going to be an auntie!” Charley sing-songed. “A hands-on auntie! Ah, the sound of little feet pitter-pattering across the floor and the smell of spit-up.”
Amanda jerked open the door of her apartment.
Jenny struggled upright from the sofa and yawned. “Hi, Amanda. I must have fallen asleep waiting. I’m so glad you’re home!” She waddled toward Amanda, arms extended for a hug. “I was getting worried about you. You keep really strange hours. Well, I guess you always had that tendency. I remember when mother caught you trying to break into the house at two o’clock in the morning.”
The Ex Who Saw a Ghost (Charley's Ghost Book 4) Page 10