That would give Prime Time Friends the exact same motive as his granddaughter. And when I really think about it, it’d be easier for someone who’s there all the time to lead him astray. If Amery did it, why didn’t anyone see her?”
I hadn’t thought of that. Sharp-eyed Reva hadn’t seen Amery at all in the last few months, and if anyone knew the goings on at Prairie Gardens, it was Reva. I didn’t see Boner trusting any of his shitty staff to do the job and keep their mouth shut. Nor did I see him doing the dirty work himself. Leading me back to square one: Amery.
Again, I listened to my gut instincts. Amery was responsible for Vernon Sloane winding up dead. She flat out admitted the cold and snow didn’t bother her. No one would’ve noticed her in the middle of a blizzard, with her back against the brick wall as she watched her grandfather die.
Like you knew in your gut your father had nothing to 467
do with Melvin Canter winding up dead?
What a fucked-up mess.
“I don’t know what to tell you, Luella, besides the five million will make lots of older, lonely people like Vernon happy. In Amery’s case, it’ll make one person happy. Sloane left the responsibility to you because he trusted you to do the right thing. I think you know what the answer is.” I didn’t need to pander and remind her of the Lakota philosophy, which, in a nutshell, was “share and share alike,” nor did I interrupt her internal struggle.
Luella sighed. “You’re right. What do I do now?”
I glanced down at the long silvery ash in the ashtray. Another cigarette burned to nothing. “I think you should talk to Bud Linderman, CEO of Linderman Properties Limited, before you approach Boner. Do you know him?”
“I’ve met him a couple of times. He hangs around the offices some nights.” She looked at me expectantly. “Since you know him, will you come with me?”
Not with a bodyguard dogging my every move. “I can’t. But I’ll call him. I’ll send my partner, Kevin, along with you.”
Her silence was weighted between fear and anger.
“Trust me. He’s the best choice. Hang on.” I dialed Kevin’s office and he scooted right in. I smoked and listened to Kevin’s quiet assurance and Luella’s acceptance of it and him.
Kevin said, “Call Linderman. Give him my cell 468
phone number.”
After a very brief conversation with Linderman, and Kevin and Luella’s departure, I was back to staring at four walls, feeling distracted and … disappointed?
Why? Had I figured there’d be a bloody end to this case? Amery and I wrestling in a snowbank in frigid temps before I attempted to rescue a bound and gagged Luella from certain death? Amery laughing and balling up the only copy of the will and tossing it into the creek? Me diving into the icy water to save it? Managing to retrieve it, fighting with Amery and knocking her unconscious, trussing her up like a turkey until the cops came, after I’d saved Luella to boot?
Right. Most cases ended with a whimper, not a bang. Some semblance of justice had been served. It was done. Over. Finito. I could leave this case. Walk away. Move on.
Or not.
469
Buzz and I ate lunch at Southside McDonalds. The Kinsey Millhone hangover special for me. Four double-cheeseburgers and a yogurt parfait for him. A few blocks down Mt. Rushmore Road I smoked the tail end of my cigarette and studied the travel agency, nestled in a remodeled 1940s ranch house. Why people didn’t buy airline tickets, cruises, and getaway specials online boggled my mind.
“What’re we doin’ here?” Buzz asked.
I’d called ahead to make sure Amery was working. “Kim is getting married in Vegas in a few weeks. I need to check on ticket prices for me and Martinez.”
“Bossman know about this trip?”
“Ah. It’s a surprise.”
“He don’t like surprises.”
“Well, I wouldn’t just spring it on him, which is 470
why I want to look at all the options before I bring it up. The different hotels. Suite sizes. Entertainment packages. You know what I mean.” I shouldered my purse and paused. “You coming in to help me?”
The pained look on his mug told me how much
the option appealed to him.
“No? That’s okay. I promise I won’t be more than five minutes.”
“Julie—”
“Listen. I’m not gonna ditch you. I’ll be in and out.” I pointed at the office drones working in front of the big windows. “You can even see me. I’ll stay in sight.”
“Five minutes or I’m comin’ in.”
Heeding his warning, I scooted inside and plopped right down in front of Amery’s terminal.
She blinked and glanced around. “Julie. This is a surprise.”
“Not as much of a surprise as it is for me to see you still playing the part of a working girl.”
“Excuse me?”
“God knows I wouldn’t be shilling cut-rate senior bus tours to Branson, Missouri, if I stood to inherit five million smackers. And that’s not counting the multimillion-dollar lawsuit you have brewing on the side.”
Her expression changed not one iota. “What do you mean?”
I leaned forward. “Cut the shit. The grieving granddaughter routine only goes so far, and you’ve 471
stretched it to the limits of believability with me.”
“I really—”
“—didn’t think we’d find out how much old Vern was worth? For Christsake, Amery, we are professional investigators.”
She bit her lip, but I didn’t buy her pitiful littlegirl act. “Does Kevin know you’re here?”
“No. Kevin and I don’t see eye to eye where you’re concerned. He sees you through a fog of lust. I see you taking advantage of his trust.”
She permitted a tiny simpering smile. “Maybe you should talk to your partner first before you try to intimidate me and ramble on when you don’t know the score. Because it sure didn’t seem like I was taking advantage of his trust when he was in my bed last night.”
Kevin, you randy dog. You literally did pump her. Not for info, but for revenge sex. I was impressed.
“Is that it? Came here to warn me off?”
“No, I’m here as a public service.” I leaned close.
“I’m onto you, doll. Every cold-blooded move you’ve made. Hiring Kevin to uncover the terrible things that could happen at your beloved Pop-Pop’s retirement home. Skipping off to his condo during a blizzard, right after you left your grandfather to fucking die alone like an unwanted dog. Then conveniently ‘forgetting’ your cell phone, so you’re out of touch. Jetting off to Vegas only to be called back to face the very tragedy you feared.”
472
Amery cocked her head prettily, like a beribboned cocker spaniel.
“Then, horrors! Everything you fretted about came true. But you forgot two teeny things. One—
you shouldn’t have dumped Kevin so soon after your potential cash windfall. He’s a guy. He’s gonna take the piece of ass if you shake it in front of him. If sex is throw-off-your-inhibitions-in-the-middle-of-the-workday-and-screw-on-the-conference-table fantastic then he’s gonna expect more of it.
“So, when you suddenly yank the hot sex away, not even attempting to replace it with the old standby of preferring cuddling time, he’ll get suspicious. Like you were … using him for something besides sex. And being the snoopy sort, he’ll start digging for answers.
“And because I’m the suspicious sort, I’ll start digging, too. We’ll compare notes. And because we are professional snoops, people who have a vested interest in the outcomes of certain legal grievances come to us with all sorts of theories. Paperwork that brings up more questions than answers.”
She didn’t take long to mull it over. “Fascinating theory. How is it that Kevin came crawling back for some of that hot sex last night if he’s so suspicious of my motives?”
I mock-whispered, “You think you’re the only one who can use sex to get what they want? He was in your bed la
st night? Interesting. I sure hope you didn’t fall asleep too hard and leave him unattended in your house.”
473
Little girl lost morphed into the “old soul” Kevin mentioned, but I just saw her as a cunning monster who’d led a man to an icy grave.
“I’m sure those unnamed ‘people with a vested interest’ won’t question your theories at all. Because you’d never drag your agency through the press, just for the press. Things’ve been awful slow without new cases coming in. Gee, it’s been months since you’ve been the lead story.
“And you’ve personally killed, what, two people in the last year? Now you’re going after a grieving woman whose only living relative was found frozen to death? After your agency was snooping around the very facility where he was found? A few days later you just happened to stumble upon the victim? Maybe you could’ve prevented the tragedy if you’d done your job. And, oddly enough, I heard that from your … partner. It’s such a shame when miscommunications and legal matters break up partnerships and friendships, isn’t it?
And there’s nothing you can do about it?”
Conniving bitch. She’d had this all planned from the beginning. Picking our small agency. Playing Kevin. Playing me against him. Using the storm. Finding her grandfather was just sheer bad luck on my part, and yet she’d discovered a way to spin it. Her crafty grin alerted me to the idea she thought she’d won.
Wrong.
Amery checked her watch. “Like I said. Fascinating 474
theory. But I am running behind. So if you’ll excuse me—”
“Sure. But you forgot the other teensy thing. I mentioned two, remember?” I inched on my left leather glove a finger at a time. “Better hope that lawsuit lottery holds up, because according to my sources, Grandpa dearest wrote a new will, and you ain’t in it. At all.” I locked my gaze to hers. “Oh, and that’s not just a fascinating theory; that’s a fact.”
I waved at Buzz through the window to let him know I was done before I waltzed out.
475
Jimmer called my cell while I was leaving
a message for Martinez. I clicked over and heard,
“Lemme talk to Buzz.”
“One of these days, Jimmer, you are gonna call just to talk to me, right?”
He snorted. I passed the phone to Buzz.
“You’re sure?” Buzz shot me a sideways glance.
“With her along? No fuckin’ way.”
Not good.
“Don’t matter ’cause I ain’t gonna ask her.”
“Ask me what?”
“Fine. Jimmer wants to know if you’ve got your gun with you.”
“Uh, yeah.”
Buzz sighed. “Five minutes. But if he—” He closed the phone and clutched it in a fist the size of an Easter ham. “Shit. Get to Highway 44. Fast.”
476
“What’s going on?”
“Jimmer’s got a lead on Jackal.”
“Jimmer? Since when did he turn into a divining rod?”
He shot me a look. “You’re fuckin’ kidding, right?”
I shook my head. Switched lanes when I saw the Blue Lantern Lounge. Waited for the light to change, and turned right on the ramp merging onto Highway 44 South. “Jimmer’s a hunting guide.”
“Tracking people is the same as tracking animals. Except people leave better trails.”
I Hate Myself for Loving You blasted out of my cell phone and I smiled. During the hours I’d spent attached to my cell, I’d programmed ring tones for my frequent callers: Joan Jett for Martinez, Aerosmith’s Janie’s Got a Gun for Jimmer, Mamma Mia by ABBA for Kim. Once I started, I couldn’t stop, pegging Private Eyes by Hall & Oates for Kevin. Yeah, I was pretty pleased with myself when I decided Ben’s special tone would’ve been Half Breed by Cher.
However, Buzz wasn’t amused when I said, “It’s your boss.”
“Fuck.” He flipped the cover open. “Hello? Yessir. No. Everything is fine. We’re just getting a snack.”
A lie? Interesting.
“It’s a bad connection because we’re in the fuckin’
Sonic drive-thru. She wanted a banana shake. Yes, I’m paying. Hang on. She says she’ll call you back.”
477
Click. He said, “Fuckin’ A.”
“What? Should I be worried?”
He grunted.
“You lied to your leader, Buzz.”
“Don’t fuckin’ remind me. I saw what Big Mike looked like, all right?”
“Martinez doesn’t know about us meeting Jimmer?”
“Nobody’s supposed to fuckin’ know. Especially not you. Turn left here.”
I bumped over the railroad tracks and slowed because the pavement ended. “Where to?”
“Straight up the hill and down the other side.”
Good thing I had fourwheel drive.
But the area at the bottom of the hill surprised me because it wasn’t out in the boondocks; it was its own mini-industrial region. An abandoned-looking section of town I’d never seen. With a junkyard. Metal buildings were scattered at odd intervals. We took another sharp right and stopped in the gravel parking lot between two buildings, where Jimmer stood in full winter camo. Whoa. No shotgun resting on his shoulder? No sign of Jimmer’s beloved Hummer either? Just a Bobcat and the backside of the salvage dump.
Buzz climbed out first. After the door slammed I shoved my gun in my jacket pocket and jumped out. Goddamn, it was cold out here. Spooky, too. Jimmer ambled up and said to Buzz, “We ain’t got a lot of time. Give me a breakdown.”
“Jackal hired an employee to take a shot at bossman 478
at his own place of business.”
“Ballsy, but stupid.”
“You heard what he did to her?”
“Why the fuck do you think I’m here? He oughta fuckin’ die for that alone,” Jimmer said.
Should I remind them I’d handled that situation on my own?
“You know what he done to his guard?”
“Yeah. The eyeball-slicing thing sounds nasty. So, if this is about retribution, I’m cool with helping out.” Jimmer’s face became placid, but his voice was pure steel. “But if it has to do with the missing product I’ve been hearing about, I ain’t gonna get involved. I’m a fence sitter, dig?”
Buzz nodded. “Bossman wants to be the triggerman, which is exactly why he shouldn’t be. Big Mike, Cal, Bucket, me, we’re all in agreement on this one.”
“You got a death wish?” Jimmer pushed closer to Buzz. “You’re going behind Martinez’s back? I never would’ve offered my help if I would’ve known he wasn’t in on it. What the fuck happens when he catches wind of it? He’s gonna go ballistic.”
They argued and circled each other, herding me against the truck behind them as they snapped and snarled like junkyard dogs.
“You’re safe. You don’t gotta follow the same rules as we do, Jimmer.”
“Neither do I,” I offered.
Buzz looked at me like I’d spoken Farsi.
479
Jimmer snapped, “Jesus Christ, Jules, get in the fuckin’
truck. Tony’ll castrate me if he finds out you were here.”
“The last thing bossman needs is to look weak. I get that, okay? He’s gonna be on the warpath when he finds out what we done,” Buzz said. “But he don’t need to take chances just because he can. Nobody wants him in jail.”
They eyeballed each other.
The low rent industrial ghost town gave me the creeps. I half-expected the weird old cars to morph into some giant robotic monsters and chase us off. My breath puffed out as I fought off an unexpected surge of panic. This felt wrong. Really wrong. A little voice was telling me to get in my truck and gun it back to civilization. Before I could voice my paranoid thoughts,
Martinez’s Escalade barreled around the corner. I hadn’t heard him coming. Jimmer and Buzz said
“fuck” simultaneously and stepped in front of me. Martinez eased out the driver’s side, wearing his leg
brace, Big Mike hot on his heels. Tony was mad as hell. Double fuck.
“Did I miss the invite to the Julie Collins fan club meeting?”
“It’s not—”
“Because that’s the only reason I can fathom you’d fucking lie to me about where you were going, Buzz.”
Buzz remained mute.
“Where’s the rest of my security team? Buying balloons and party favors?”
The air outside wasn’t nearly as cold as the glare he 480
aimed at Jimmer. “You in on this, too?”
“I have a stake in making sure you don’t do nuthin’
stupid, Tony. Buzz and I were discussing some options.”
The wind blew an icy blast across my face, but I didn’t dare look away.
“Last I knew, I headed the Hombres. You should be talking to me, Jimmer, nobody else.”
“And now I am.”
Gunshots rent the air, pinging off metal. I didn’t know if bullets hit my truck or Martinez’s vehicle or the building behind me or the Bobcat. I didn’t stick around to match paint chips; I ran for the biggest protective structure, and that sure as hell wasn’t a man. No way would I hide out in a junkyard, which left two other choices. I made tracks for the building behind me, the one closest to the road. Buzz and Big Mike’s priority would be Martinez. Jimmer would go after the shooter. I’d be on my own. Again. As I picked my way through the snow along the north side, gun in hand, I heard more shots. I couldn’t tell where they were coming from. Or where they’d hit. I didn’t dare stop moving.
I doubted the shooter was around the side facing the street, so that’d probably be the safest place for me to hide. I stayed low, even when my black coat was a bull’s-eye against the mint green metal siding and the white snow. The effects of my hypothermia came back full force in an instant. My teeth chattered. My limbs shook. I couldn’t catch my breath. The latter was 481
probably from fear, not forced exercise. Sad, that I was beginning to recognize the difference between terror and smoker’s overexertion.
My knees locked. Each boot step through the caked snow seemed thunderous in the deadly stillness. I counted steps. One, two, three. At twelve I reached the end of the boxy structure.
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