Hook, Line and Blinker (A Miss Fortune Mystery Book 10)

by Jana DeLeon

  “We were at Gertie’s,” Ida Belle said, without any hesitation.

  I nodded. Technically, it wasn’t a lie. We had just been at Gertie’s.

  “I’m sure that was true a couple minutes ago,” Carter said, “but what about the rest of the night?”

  Busted.

  Ida Belle looked over at me, and I understood that she wanted me to take the lead. That way, I got to decide how much to tell Carter. She would go along with whatever I chose to offer. But this was a tricky one. I’d just made a deal with Big Hebert, and I wasn’t about to tell Carter how deep we were in with him. I also didn’t want to tell him about the key until I knew more about it. There was still the odd chance that it had nothing to do with what happened to Hot Rod. I didn’t really believe that, but it was as good an argument as any. Besides, I was certain Carter had been over the records at Hot Rod’s place by now, and he hadn’t bothered to tell Ida Belle she might be in danger, which troubled me.

  “I’ve never known Ida Belle to wait on a plumber to fix a leak,” Carter said. “Besides, most leaks can be isolated by simply not using that area of plumbing. You usually don’t have to shut off your water and abandon your home. So why don’t you tell me what’s really going on here.”

  I didn’t like his tone, and that is never a good thing.

  “Why don’t you tell me what’s going on here?” I asked. “Why are you hell-bent on assuming that we’re up to something unless you’re certain there is something for us to be up to? I’m not the only one keeping secrets.”

  He rose from the chair. “Refusing to talk about an open investigation is not keeping secrets.”

  “It is when the information you’re withholding is about the safety of one of my friends,” I said.

  His eyes widened and I knew I’d hit a nerve.

  “You knew, didn’t you?” I said. “Of course you did. You knew that Hot Rod said he had to warn Ida Belle before falling unconscious. You knew she might be in danger and you never said a word. So I moved my friend in here to protect her and you have a problem with me? From where I stand only one of us is wrong, and it’s the one who broke into my house and questioned me about the things I do to protect the people I care about.”

  He flushed a bit and I could tell that despite the fact that he was mad, he also felt guilty. “I planned on looking out for Ida Belle myself,” he said.

  “Yeah, because you’re always around what with having no job or anything to do,” I said. “And I’m sure Sinful residents wouldn’t bat an eye if Ida Belle moved into your house. And hey, while we’re talking about things that make no logical sense, let’s talk about how Ida Belle would be safer alone in her house with your occasional patrol rather than bunking with someone whose entire life’s work consisted of killing people.”

  Ida Belle looked from me to Carter, and I could see how badly she felt for the trouble between us, but I didn’t blame her for any of it. This was totally between Carter and me, and if we couldn’t figure out how to be ourselves when it came to things like this and not be at each other’s throats, then it was going to be the shortest great relationship I’d ever had.

  “This is exactly what I didn’t want,” Ida Belle said.

  “This has nothing to do with you,” I said. “It would have happened eventually, regardless.” I looked at Carter. “Here’s the bottom line. I’m never going to stop doing anything necessary to protect my friends. And when I leave the CIA, I guarantee you, it will not be to take up a profession that requires me to sit behind a desk. Given that, the likelihood of us running into this problem again is so high it’s astronomical. So either you accept me for who I am or we don’t have anywhere to go from here. Because I’m the last person who’s going to back down when a friend is in trouble.”

  Carter sighed. “I don’t expect you to back down. But that doesn’t mean you have to get involved.”

  “I’m already involved. Do you really think I’m going to sit here in the kitchen, talking about knitting and eating Gertie’s cookies while there’s someone out there who tried to kill Hot Rod and might be targeting Ida Belle?”

  He shook his head. “I guess not. I suppose that means you’re not going to tell me where you were tonight.”

  “Are you going to tell me what is missing from Hot Rod’s shop?”

  “Black SUVs.”

  I blinked, a bit surprised that he’d spit it out just like that.

  “That’s what we were afraid of,” I said, leaving out the part where we’d sorta checked for ourselves. “Did you really think we wouldn’t put that together? The only interaction Ida Belle’s had with Hot Rod was purchasing her SUV, and it was recent. Then someone breaks in his shop, tries to kill him, and the only thing he manages to say is about warning Ida Belle.”

  “It was still a bit of a leap,” Carter argued. “Hot Rod might have been talking about something he realized was wrong with the car.”

  I nodded. “And we thought about that as well, but I’ve been trained to prepare for the worst possible situation and then be pleasantly surprised if things turn out better. Doing the opposite results in unnecessary casualties.”

  Carter looked over at Ida Belle. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you as soon as I knew about the SUVs. It was wrong, but I promise you, I wasn’t going to leave you unprotected. I’ve asked the state police for backup, and I was going to keep watch myself until they were in place.”

  “I’m more qualified than the state police,” I said. “And a whole lot more motivated.”

  Carter nodded. He couldn’t really make an argument on either of those statements. “Is the SUV in your garage?” he asked Ida Belle.

  She looked over at me, clearly not wanting to offer more than I was willing to.

  “No,” I said. “We secured the SUV in a safe place. That’s where we were tonight.”

  “What safe place?” Carter asked.

  “The storage units up the highway,” I said.

  Carter threw his hands up in the air. “You’ve got to be kidding me! You put the SUV in the Heberts’ facility? For all you know, they could be behind all of this.”

  “I don’t think so,” I said.

  “Oh, you don’t think so,” Carter said. “Because mobsters are such nice people who never hurt anyone.”

  “They liked Hot Rod,” Ida Belle said. “He did the work on their Hummer.”

  “And that means they had no reason to get rid of him?” Carter asked.

  “What do you think?” Ida Belle asked, and I could tell she was beyond exhausted and her patience was completely gone. “They dropped the Hummer off at his shop with a body in the back and then months later decided to make sure he never told anyone? Look, you can sit here and gripe at Fortune all you want, but it’s not going to get you anywhere. All of this was my decision. Fortune is just a great friend who stuck her neck out for me. And now I’m exhausted and aggravated, so I’m going to bed. Anything else you have to say will have to wait until I’ve gotten some sleep.”

  She gave me a nod, shot Carter a dirty look, then headed upstairs.

  “I’m not backing down from this,” I said. “Don’t even insult me by asking.”

  He shook his head. “Why couldn’t I fall for a nice, boring accountant?”

  “Because you’d never be happy with a nice, boring accountant. That’s something you need to accept about yourself. I’m also exhausted and aggravated, so I’m going to bed too. Lock up when you leave.”

  I started up the stairs and Carter put his hand on my arm to stop me. “I’m going to need to see that SUV.”

  I nodded. “When I wake up, I’ll call you.”

  I headed upstairs for the long-awaited shower and pulled out my cell phone to send Little Hebert a text. I didn’t want anyone surprised when I showed up at the storage unit with the police.

  I hid the key in the secret room in Marge’s master bedroom closet that contained her personal armory, then headed for the shower. I felt a tiny twinge of guilt for not telling Carter abou
t the key, but the twinge quickly disappeared. I’d promised Big and Little I wouldn’t get them involved with the police, and I was already breaking that promise. Not that I had any choice, and I’m sure they would understand, but it didn’t mean I was going to spill out everything else.

  Carter had exposed his hand by keeping the missing SUVs a secret from Ida Belle and me. If he had the key, I was positive the withholding of information would continue in earnest. So I’d hold on to the key and move forward as planned. I’d do my own investigation, and when I figured out what the key opened, I’d call Big and Little for backup.

  I just hoped I was doing the right thing.

  Chapter Ten

  My internal clock betrayed me and tried to force me awake at 6:00 a.m. I gave it the mental finger, rolled over, and went back to sleep. Finally, my overactive mind won and I rolled out of bed after a series of confusing dreams featuring alligators, exploding handbags, and cars that used odd-shaped keys to start them. Once I was upright and mostly awake, the dreams weren’t as confusing as I’d originally thought. At least the elements made sense.

  I checked the clock and saw it was 8:00 a.m. I’d officially slept late. It wasn’t something I managed often, but then when you didn’t fall asleep until after four, things like this were bound to happen. I pulled on yoga pants and a T-shirt and headed out of the bedroom. The smell of coffee hit me as soon as I stepped into the hallway, so I didn’t bother to check the guest room on my way down.

  Ida Belle was sitting at the kitchen table with a full mug of coffee. A quick glance at the coffeepot let me know it was either her first cup or she was on her second pot. Based on her lackluster greeting and her unusual slouch, I was going with option one. I poured a cup, sat down across from her, and took a big sip. Just a hundred or so more of those and I’d be good to go.

  “I’m sorry I put you in this position,” Ida Belle said.

  I stared at her, somewhat surprised. “You didn’t.”

  “It’s my vehicle.”

  “So how does that make it your fault? Trust me, I put myself in this position by virtue of being who I am. I didn’t know who that was for most of my life, but now that I’m starting to get a good idea, I have no intention of pretending something else. And if Carter decides he can’t handle that, then it’s unfortunate, but I’ll get over it.”

  Ida Belle gave me a rueful smile. “I know exactly who you are. Probably could have saved you some time and filled in the blanks while you were working up your character bio, but I think it’s something everyone needs to come to terms with themselves.”

  “I’ll bite. Who am I?”

  “You’re me. The person I was many decades ago, anyway. I think that’s one of the reasons that I took to you instantly. I look at you and I see myself at a time when I was younger, faster, stronger, and my whole life stretched in front of me like an endless sunset.”

  I frowned. “You say that like you have regrets.”

  “If you live to a certain age, you’ll always have regrets. Most of them will be selfish.”

  I studied her for several seconds. I’d always known Ida Belle ran deep, unlike Gertie, who mostly showed you who she was up front. But Ida Belle rarely talked about personal things this seriously. In fact, I could probably count the times on one hand if you weren’t including talking about the cases we’d gotten mixed up in.

  “Is that ‘certain age’ not quite thirty?” I asked. “Because I already have plenty of regrets.”

  Ida Belle shook her head. “You shouldn’t feel that way. You’re a young woman who made decisions about your direction in life using what information you had. You’re intelligent and very successful at what you do. Of all things, don’t ever regret that. It helped make you the person you are today. And that person still has plenty of time to do all the things a young woman ever dreams of.”

  “Right now, I’m dreaming of a blueberry muffin.”

  Ida Belle sighed. “So much like me. I used to deflect just like that. Then I got tired and settled in my ways and just started saying exactly what I thought all the time. Neither is a good long-term plan, although they both have their usefulness.”

  I frowned. “I’m not sure what you want me to say.”

  “I don’t want you to say anything. Maybe I’m just an old woman who didn’t get enough sleep and now I’m rambling, but I think what I’m trying to say is I see you doing the same things I did. And I want to be certain you’re thinking about all the ramifications.”

  Ah. The coffee was kicking in and it was starting to make more sense.

  “You’re talking about you and Walter.”

  The General Store owner had outright admitted to being in love with Ida Belle since the crib and still was. He’d never been married, preferring instead to carry a torch for the woman who wouldn’t say yes to a relationship. I still didn’t quite understand why, but every time I’d asked her about it, she gave me a piece of an answer, but never anything complete.

  “You and Carter have something good started,” Ida Belle said. “I just want you to consider all your options when you’re making choices.”

  “Okay. You’ve danced around this since day one, but if you want to give me relationship advice, then you’re going to have to explain to me why you never said yes to Walter. I mean, I’d totally get it if you don’t have those kind of feelings for him, but I don’t think that’s it.”

  Ida Belle stared into her coffee cup, frowning, then finally looked back up at me. “I had a lot of reasons…good reasons, or so I thought. They made my choice easier. But I think the real reason is because I never trusted him enough.”

  “I don’t understand. Walter would lie down and die for you.”

  Ida Belle nodded. “And that’s the problem. Walter has never approved of the things I involve myself in because they put me at risk. He can’t bear the thought of something happening to me. But putting myself at risk is who I am, and I’m not willing to pretend to be someone else, even for Walter. It might have worked for a little while, but in the end, I would have resented him for not accepting me the way I am and he would have resented me for putting him through hell.”

  “And you’re afraid I’m in the same situation with Carter. But if you know we’re so alike, then what makes you think I’d be any more likely than you were to give up who I am for a man?”

  “I don’t think that for a minute, but you’re still discovering who you are. You’re in a state of flux. Oh, there’s things about you that aren’t ever going to change, and if Carter is being honest with himself, those are the very things he loves most about you and that also scare the daylights out of him. My point is, you still have an opportunity to find balance. A way to be yourself but not outside the realm of what Carter can live with.”

  “You really think it’s possible?” I asked, because the longer I thought about what my future might look like and what Carter would prefer it look like, the more I felt our differences were a giant chasm that would be almost impossible to bridge.

  “I think you have a really good chance,” Ida Belle said. “Based on who he is and the things he’s done, Carter has a good understanding of you and what makes you tick. He could no more give up law enforcement than you would leave me to fend for myself with this car thing.”

  “Understanding is one thing, but can he accept it as part of his everyday life? That’s a huge leap. Can we really make this work if we’re constantly keeping secrets from each other?”

  “That’s where the trust part comes in. You have to trust each other that the only secrets you’re keeping have to do with your work. You have to believe that it’s not personal.”

  “I think I can do that. I know that Carter isn’t legally allowed to give me information, although I still think he was out of line for not telling you that you might be in danger. The fact that we’d already figured it out doesn’t matter. The problem is if I pursue this PI thing, will Carter respect my clients’ privacy and let me do my job? If I continued to work for the fed
eral government, he wouldn’t have a choice, but confidentiality isn’t a legal requirement for PIs. It’s an ethical standard.”

  “I don’t know if he can respect it. That’s something the two of you will have to figure out. But I do think you’ve got a far greater chance of Carter accepting you as you really are than I ever had with Walter. I would have put that man into an early grave. And I love him too much to do that to either of us.”

  I stared at her, surprised that she’d admitted something so personal and so important. “It’s not too late, you know. You’re both still here and healthy.”

  Ida Belle shook her head. “And we’re both still the same people we were all those years ago. I’m not made to sit in a rocker, knitting and exchanging casserole recipes. Odds are, I’ll go out right smack in the middle of something that everyone else will say I had no business poking my nose into.”

  “Don’t you think after all these years, he’s used to it? Do you really think he cares less about you just because you aren’t in a relationship?”

  Ida Belle never answered. After about thirty long seconds of silence, I was about to say something else when my cell phone signaled that I’d received a text. I checked the display. It was from Little.

  Everything is ready.

  I had no idea what that meant exactly, but I trusted that when we showed up at the storage unit with Carter, he would see whatever he expected to see and nothing that Big and Little didn’t want him to see.

  “They’re ready at the storage unit,” I said, and explained my text to Little the night before.

  “It’s good you warned them,” Ida Belle said. “I wouldn’t have wanted to surprise them by showing up with Carter.”

  “Yeah, that fell directly under ‘things that are a bad idea, especially when I promised no cops.’”

  I heard the front door open and Gertie called out from the front of the house. Several seconds later, she shuffled into the kitchen, looking like an extra for The Walking Dead.