by Regina Duke
Russell was feeling nervous about his arrangements of the night before. He hoped she wouldn’t be furious if she found out about it, but he needed to be in the same car with her.
He tore a muffin apart on a paper plate, but couldn’t bring himself to eat it. He should ask her to ride with him instead of playing games behind her back. It wasn’t right to manipulate her that way. He began to feel guilty.
In less than ten minutes, Terri emerged from the bathroom looking fresh and delectable. The shorts she wore today were shorter than yesterday’s and showed off more leg. Russ found himself staring, unable to pull his eyes away.
“Uh, Terri? There’s something I want to suggest.”
“Sure. Go ahead.” Her tone was flat and disinterested.
Russ blinked and looked a question at her. “Are you all right? You sound upset.”
“Me? Upset? What could I be upset about? By the way, your wallet’s on the floor by the table.”
“Thanks.” He picked up his wallet and put it in his back pocket. “Now tell me what’s wrong.”
She continued stuffing her pajamas into her suitcase. “Nothing’s wrong.” She remembered Reggie’s collar and fetched it from the bed, then tucked it into her tote.
Russ wanted to press the matter, but he decided the timing was bad. Maybe she just wasn’t a morning person. He took the lid off her coffee to let it cool a bit. “The muffins are pretty good.” He sat down at the little table.
Terri glanced at the food. It did look good, and she was hungry. It was nice of him to bring up coffee and breakfast, even if he was a heel. Well, she didn’t have to be rude.
“Thanks for bringing coffee,” she said, taking the other chair. “What kind of muffin is that?”
Russ smiled and relaxed. Definitely not a morning person. “That one is banana nut, that one is blueberry—sorry, I tore it apart—and that one is chocolate chip.”
“Dibs.” Terri grabbed the chocolate chip muffin.
Russ laughed, and Terri had to smile. “Unless you want half,” she said. “I can share.”
“No, that’s fine.”
They ate in companionable silence. When they were done and Russ had disposed of the paper cups and plates, he said, “Terri, there’s something I want to talk about.”
“Sure.” There it was again, that flat tone edged with disappointment.
“Are you sure you’re not mad at me?”
“Not mad. No, I have no right to be mad at you. I’m angry with myself for letting my imagination carry me away.”
Russ looked confused. “How so?”
“I should have known that this was just a job to you,” she said, surprised as the words tumbled out whether she wanted them to or not. “I should have realized that you have people waiting for you back in Reno.”
Russ frowned in confusion and spread his hands. “Could I have a clue as to what we’re talking about here?”
Terri’s blue eyes flashed fire now that she was committed to discussing her painful discovery. “The phone call you made last night. I heard everything. I just wanted to return your wallet, and your door was ajar, and I heard you talking to your precious Lucy and telling her how much you miss her. Well, did you tell her how many times you managed to sneak a kiss in with me during the day? Huh? Did you tell her that?”
Then Russ did something that flabbergasted her. He laughed out loud.
“How dare you laugh about this!”
“No, no, Terri. Wait. You don’t understand. I’ve been trying to tell you about Lucy and Sheila since dinner last night, but we kept getting interrupted.” He went to her and laid his hands on her shoulders.
But Terri was miffed. She shrugged his hands off. “Go ahead. I’m listening.”
Russ dropped his chin to his chest, then reached for his wallet. “Here, let me show you.” He pulled two snapshots out of the wallet. “There. That’s Lucy. She’s six. Her full name is Lucille Frosted Break-of-Day, CD, CDX, UD and TD. And boy, that Tracking Dog title was a lot of work. And this is Sheila. She’s three. Frosted Break-of-Day Downunder, CD. I haven’t had time to get her beyond Companion Dog yet.”
Terri’s mouth dropped open. “Oh, they’re beautiful,” she gushed. “Sheila’s a black-and-tan and Lucy’s colored like Rin-tin-tin, just like my Reggie was.” She felt like a fool. “I’m so sorry. I guess I jumped to the wrong conclusions. How can I make it up to you?”
Russ grinned at her and took the photos back. “How about showing me those pictures of Reggie? Do you think you can bear to look at them yet?”
Terri nodded. “It’s the least I can do,” she said. “You’ll be amazed at how much he looked like your Lucy.” She fetched her tote bag. “I did obedience with Reggie when I lived at home with my folks. He earned his CD, but then I got caught up in high school activities, and we never finished his Companion Dog Excellent.” She pulled the orange and white envelope out of the tote. “He was fourteen when he died.”
She opened the packet, then stared in confusion at the first photo. “What’s going on?” She flipped through them, frowning at the second photo, then at the third, fourth, and fifth. “These aren’t my photos!” She emptied them out on the bed spread and fanned them out for a better look. “Oh, no! Someone else must have my pictures of Reggie.”
She plopped onto the bed and burst into tears.
CHAPTER TWELVE
RUSS WAS suddenly all thumbs. “Hey, don’t cry. Please, it’ll be all right. We’ll get your photos back. I promise. I don’t know how yet, but we will. Honest.”
“He lived with my parents and me,” she sobbed. “When they died, I brought him to Reno with me.” She wiped at her eyes with the back of one hand.
Russ sat next to her, then embraced her and rocked her gently. “When you lost Reggie, you lost your last link to your parents. It’s sort of like losing him and them all over again.”
Terri managed to stop crying and control her breathing. “Sorry. It was just such a shock. And whose photos are these, anyway? Someone was a terrible photographer. They must have liked dogs, though, because there’s a different dog in each photo. That’s strange.” Her fingers still trembled, but she shuffled through the photos again. “The man with the dogs is the same in every one.” One hand flew up to her mouth in surprise. “Oh!”
“What is it?” Russ didn’t want to let her go, but the moment for cradling her in his arms seemed to have passed. He let her go and moved for a better look at the pictures on the bed.
Terri pointed at the photo of a young man walking a chubby Corgi along a city street. “I think I know him. Look, there he is again, with a schnauzer. And there he is, full-on, with a mixed breed. He’s not looking at the camera, though.” Photo after photo showed a man in his mid twenties with thick honey-blond hair and a brooding, sensitive expression.
Russ examined the photos and frowned. “I don’t think he knew he was being photographed,” he said. “These pictures have the look and feel of surveillance photos. Someone was taking his picture without his knowledge.” Then it hit him. “I think these are DaSilva’s pictures. This must be the guy DaSilva is looking for. And that explains why he wants your tote bag. You accidentally picked up the photos of his assignment.”
Terri didn’t like the sound of that. “What assignment?”
Russ pretended to be absorbed by the photos. “Oh, you know. The person he was after.”
“After for what?”
Russ spread his hands in surrender. “Okay, I didn’t want to tell you because I didn’t want to frighten you any further. But DaSilva is a known felon. I’ve been watching him for quite a while, and when he bolted out of town, I came after him.” He wondered if he should tell her the whole story, but he decided against it. Terri had already had a bad shock, and he didn’t want to scare her out of her wits. “He doesn’t usually do this kind of thing, though.” He frowned at the pictures. “But maybe he’s branching out.”
“Doesn’t do what? Branching out to where?” Terri’s face was
a study in confusion.
Russ took a breath and let it out. “I’m not sure, but sometimes, when people want someone—you know—gone, taken care of, they hire somebody to do it. Maybe give him pictures and send him out after the target. That’s what this looks like. And this must be the guy he’s after.”
“You’re saying this fellow who’s chasing me is a hit man? No way. That sounds like a movie. These things don’t happen in real life. Not to me.” Terri was trying hard to convince herself of that. Unfortunately it wasn’t working. At last she picked up one of the photos and said weakly, “But I think I know this guy.”
“That’s good,” said Russ, still trying to cheer her up. “That will help us find him so we can warn him before DaSilva gets to him.”
Terri looked miserable. “But I don’t know him very well. I don’t even remember his name. I met him at a party one of our veterinarians gave.”
“Well, think back to the party,” said Russ, “and maybe his name will come to you. Does he live in Reno? What does he do?”
Terri shook her head in defeat. “All I remember is that he’s the reason I decided I had to visit the North Rim. He spent the whole party talking about it. He was on a waiting list for a summer job as a waiter at the Lodge so he can spend his off hours painting. Oh! He’s an artist!”
“See? It’s working.” Russ gave her an encouraging smile.
“But why would anyone be out to get him?”
“Who knows?” said Russ. “Maybe he has a dark side. Maybe he runs drugs or something.”
Terri dismissed that idea with a shake of her head. “My veterinarian bosses do not hang out with drug dealers.”
“Well, no, but he’s not one of your bosses, is he? Hey, if he was at a party at your boss’s house, he may know something about him, right?”
“She,” corrected Terri. “It was Dr. Kay’s party. Dr. Alice Kay is a woman.” Her forehead dimpled in concentration. “You know, you could be right. Let me make a call.” She reached for her cell phone and dialed the office. Calin answered. When Terri asked to speak with Dr. Kay, Calin said she was busy with patients. She promised to have her give Terri a call. Then she asked a dozen questions that Terri couldn’t answer with Russ sitting next to her.
“I can’t talk now, Calin. But I’ll call you soon, okay? I’ve got to get going. I’m still in Vegas.”
Once that was done, she said, “We really should get on the road. At least we know the guy in the photos should be at the North Rim, because he was planning to work there.”
“Great. Let me get your suitcase.”
Terri let him help. After all, because of him, she’d suffered all night. The least he could do was make her life a little easier.
On the way to the parking lot, Russ wondered whether he should mention his little trick of the night before or should he just come out and ask her to travel with him? Before he could decide, Terri’s horrified voice pulled him up short.
“Oh, my God! Look at my tires!”
All four were slashed. Her car looked crippled, sitting flat on its rims.
“He’s getting even,” she moaned. “I let some air out of one of his tires out on the highway. He knew what my car looked like! Now what do I do?”
Russ looked grim. He walked around the car, looking for any further signs of damage, but he found none. “Well, you can’t drive it like this.” He was surprised that DaSilva would bother to take revenge on Terri. He knew that Russ was nearby. At least, Russ thought, he wouldn’t have to confess to disconnecting her spark plug wires.
Terri took her cell out of her tote bag. “I’ll call Triple A.”
Russ had a bad feeling. “I’m going to check the Mercedes.”
“I’m coming with you.” She followed Russ across the parking lot where the silhouette of a Mercedes was shrouded by a snug-fitting gray cover.
Russ removed the cover with practiced speed. The tires were untouched.
“Everything okay?” she asked.
“It looks fine. Let me try starting it.” He got in and turned the key. The engine turned over immediately and purred almost silently. “Well, that’s good news. But I don’t understand why he didn’t disable both vehicles.”
Terri dialed Triple A and explained her situation to the operator. Russ loaded their luggage into the Mercedes.
A Triple A tow truck happened to be in the neighborhood, so within an hour, Terri’s car was taken to a tire dealership. Russ arranged for the tire replacements and for leaving the car while they continued to the Canyon. He decided to say nothing to Terri about her spark plug wires. He just quietly reattached them while she paid the tow truck driver. He didn’t want to give her any reason to distrust him. If DaSilva was this bold with Russ in the same motel, Terri would need him more than he originally thought.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
THEY WERE both quiet as they left Vegas. After half an hour Russ put a CD in the player to fill the silence. More than once they caught each other checking out the vehicles around them.
In St. George, Russ stopped for gas. Terri used the ladies’ room, then bought a couple of bottles of water for them in the convenience store. She clutched her tote under her arm the entire time and didn’t relax until they were on the road again. She served as navigator, directing Russ to turn off I-15 at the Hurricane exit. The two-lane highway slowed them down a bit, and Terri had to concentrate in Fredonia to make sure they didn’t miss their next turn.
Halfway to Jacob Lake Terri asked, “What do you think he was going to do if he’d managed to disable both our vehicles?” There was no need to specify who “he” was.
Russ looked grim but determined. “At that point, I would have called in the local police. You would have gone into protective custody, and I would have kept after DaSilva. In fact, protective custody is probably where you belong.”
“No way,” said Terri. She lifted her chin a little higher, determined to take control of her own life. “This is my vacation. I’m not spending it in jail for my own protection, or in some seedy motel room. Isn’t that the way it always is in the movies? The innocent victim winds up losing her freedom while the criminal runs loose. No, thank you.” She shook her head ruefully. “Yet another man messes up my life.”
Russ glanced at her. “I hope you don’t mean me.”
“No, of course not. I mean DaSilva. And I’m not going to let him get away with it.” A cell phone rang, and Terri jumped. “It’s mine,” she said sheepishly. She pulled it out of the tote and answered.
“Terri? It’s me, Calin. Dr. Kay is free now.”
Terri put the phone on speaker, then gave her boss a thumbnail sketch of events and asked about the party and the artist who wanted to work at the North Rim.
“Oh, yeah, I remember. His name is Chad Nething. He’s the son of a vet I know in Carson City. His father and I went to school together. Chad has real talent, but the road to fame as an artist is paved with part time jobs.” She chuckled at her own wit. “He just left a few days ago for the North Rim. He was on a waiting list and got the call to replace an injured worker. During the winter he parks cars at one of the casinos. He’s always drawing, though. He also sets up at craft fairs and does charcoal portraits for money. I hope he’s not in any trouble.” She sounded concerned. “His father has had a pretty rough year. He doesn’t need any more bad news.”
Terri scrambled for something safe to say. “Well, let’s just say Chad hasn’t done anything wrong. At least, not to my knowledge. We need to find him and talk to him, that’s all.”
“We? I take it Calin was right and you’ve met someone interesting?” Now she sounded curious.
Russ grinned.
Terri blushed and turned toward the passenger window. “I guess interesting is a good word. Dr. Kay, thanks a bunch for the information. I’ll let you know how it all turns out.” She put the phone away.
Russ looked pleased with himself.
“What are you so happy about?” asked Terri.
“I’m int
eresting.”
“What an ego,” teased Terri. She let her eyes roam to his bare biceps again, and that was a mistake. Her pulse raced, and she felt a desire to squirm against the seat cushion. She pulled her gaze away and cleared her throat. “Don’t you own any shirts with long sleeves?”
“Too hot.” He glanced down at her long, smooth legs and blue shorts. “Don’t you own any long pants?”
Terri laughed. “Touché.” She turned her eyes back to the passenger side mirror. “I wish we knew what kind of vehicle DaSilva was driving.”
Russ was thinking along different lines. “If Chad Nething works at a casino parking cars, he may have had an opportunity to come into contact with some very powerful people. And some of those people rate their privacy quite highly.”
“I don’t get it. It sounds like he’s a good guy. Dr. Kay is friends with his father.” Terri wondered silently if all the people in her life would turn out like Gavin. Did everyone have dark secrets that they kept from each other? Would her whole life be a string of unpleasant discoveries? She shuddered at the thought, then pretended it was the air conditioning that caused her chill and turned the stream of air farther toward the door.
Russ said, “Maybe those photos have nothing to do with his employment. It looked like he was walking dogs, not parking cars.”
“Well, his father is a veterinarian. He could have been walking the patients from his father’s practice.”
Russ nodded. “That makes sense. Maybe the person who took the photos just snapped him during a short period of time.”
“No. He was wearing two different outfits,” said Terri.
Russ shot her an admiring glance. “You have a good eye for detail,” he said. Then he shrugged. “Who knows? But one thing’s for sure. Chad made someone angry.”
“I think we can take that as a given,” said Terri wryly.