“Yes.” Relief coursed through me as I walked over and pulled out a chair, sitting as he did.
He looked my face over. “Is that from me? I’m sorry.” His long fingers played with the tie of his robe.
“Just one is from you. The rest are from ducking from bullets and then falling out of a tree.”
His face crinkled. “You have an interesting life.”
I nodded. “Yeah, so, I was wondering if you’d talk to me a bit. Maybe tell me where you got the blue pills and the other ones. The white ones?”
“Beast?” he asked, cocking his head. He’d slicked his thin hair back, and his eyes were clearer today than they had been.
“Yes,” I said, lowering my voice. “If you don’t mind. Where in the world did you get that pill?”
He grinned, showing a gap in his lower teeth. “At Bingo night. We do it right, baby.” He leaned forward. “Maybe you could come with me after I get sprung from here. Like a date.”
Man, I was popular today. “Maybe. Where do you play Bingo?” I was on to something. I could just feel it.
“At the rec center in the middle of the houses.” He looked around. “It has brighter colors than this place. I like it.”
“What houses?” I fought to keep the excitement out of my voice. Maybe I should go into investigative work.
He frowned. “Where I live. The Sunnyside Retirement Community.”
Oh. Wow. “Do you know Melvin Whitaker?” I murmured.
“Of course. I play Bingo with him every Thursday.” Charles’ expression dropped. “You like him? Everyone likes him. He’s not as young as he looks, you know. There’s something to say about experience.”
What. Whoa. Okay. “Right. Did Melvin give you the pills?”
“Yeah. I drove him to his work one day, and in exchange he gave me the pills. Beast and some edibles. His car wasn’t working.” Charles smoothed his greasy hair back. “Good stuff, too. Beast took all the pain away, even in my leg joints. Really good stuff.”
I tried to keep my expression mildly curious, but my heart was galloping. “You took him to his lab in Washington?’
“No. Not that one. The other one near the mountain closer to town.” Charles shook his head. “I don’t want to talk about another man. Let’s talk about you. What’s your favorite flower?”
“Tulips,” I said absently. “Can you at least tell me a little about where the lab is?”
“No,” he shouted. “Ask again, and I leave. Now. What is your favorite color?”
I bit my lip. “Green but I like pink a lot, too. What kind of car do you own?”
His eyes lit up. “A new Buick. Real fancy. You like fancy cars?”
“I truly do.” A newer car would have GPS in it, right? Oh, I had to get out of there.
Charles paused. “Wait a minute. If you don’t know where I live, how have you taken care of Snuffles?”
“Snuffles?” I frowned. “Who?”
“My baby.” His voice rose. “Oh God. Who has fed her? Oh no. You have to go let her out. She’s been in the house this whole, time? Oh, my baby.” He stood, his voice getting even louder. An orderly built like a building pushed off the far wall.
I held up my hand. “I’ll go right now. Give me your address and tell me how to get into your house.”
He calmed. Slightly. “Use the key under the pot by the front door.” Then he gave his address. His home was across the street from Thelma and Georgiana’s.
This case was finally coming together.
Chapter 35
I called Nick as I drove toward the retirement community.
“Basanelli.” He answered on the third ring.
“Hey. It’s Anna. I have permission to enter Charles Monroe’s apartment and feed his animal, who I’m assuming is a dog since it needs to be let out. Monroe seemed lucid when he asked me. Can I do this without a warrant?” I thought I could but needed to double check.
Nick was quiet for a second. “Yeah, there are exigent circumstances with an animal that has been left alone. You have valid concerns about its safety, and you do have permission from its owner.”
I didn’t like that I was thinking like a lawyer and not somebody concerned solely about the animal, so I sat with that for a moment. If we got the drugs off the streets, it’d save lives. Still, I wished for the luxury of just worrying about the pooch and not about evidence admissibility in trial. “If I check the GPS on his car, I might be able to find where the Beast lab is.” I filled Nick in on everything Monroe had said.
The pause was longer this time. “You will need a warrant for the GPS information. I’ll have Celeste type up the application and affidavit for you first thing tomorrow morning. You’ll have to take it to a judge since I’m heading up to Boundary county to handle several arraignments we can’t put off any longer.”
“Which judge should I ask?” I asked.
He exhaled. “Judge Hallenback is the easiest since he’s gone off the deep end, but you can only use him if he’s in the office. Since there might be some question as to your getting the information from a guy in the psych ward, I’d go for him. Anybody else might deny the warrant, and we really need to find that lab.”
Nick was right, but this felt kind of shady. Was the end result justified if it kept a dangerous drug off the street, or is that just how we lived with our decisions? “Okay,” I murmured. “I’ll check out the dog before heading home tonight.”
“Is the cop still on you?” Nick asked.
I looked in my rearview mirror to see Bud right behind me. “Yep.”
“Good. Devlin is back on the street. Pierce had a tail on him, but he lost the guy within five minutes.”
I swallowed. “I’m in no danger from Aiden.”
“Until you are,” Nick returned. “Don’t forget that Devlin has had more than his share of assault charges. Two with deadly weapons.”
I rubbed my aching temple. “That goes against everything I know about him.”
“That’s just it. You haven’t seen the guy in twelve years. You don’t know a thing about him.” Nick hissed out a breath.
I drove into the retirement community, impressed again by the organized landscaping. “I know.” I felt like I knew Aiden. Did I? “Let’s fight about that later.”
“Fine. By the way, I’ve finished interviewing all of the prosecuting attorneys and have now fired them. They can re-apply if they want. The DEA is still conducting interviews with former staff, and you’re up next. They want to talk to you about Scot, of course,” Nick said.
He’d fired everybody on a Sunday? What a butthead. “Of course.”
“Crap. I have to go. The paperwork will be ready for you first thing tomorrow morning because I’ll leave a note for Celeste before I take off tonight. Check in with me after you get a warrant, would you?”
“Sure,” I said, winding around and parking in the driveway of a light green single-family home across from Thelma and Georgiana’s duplex. “Bye.” I clicked off and stepped out of my car. The sound of night crickets droned in the distance, and the smell of freshly cut grass was all around. It’d be nice to live in a place where lawn and garden maintenance were included with the association fees.
I shivered and looked around carefully at the darkened night. Last time I’d been in the neighborhood, two men with guns had chased me up a tree. Of course, those two men were now dead.
Charles’ lawn was perfectly groomed, and I found the key under an overflowing flowerpot on the front porch, just like he’d said. His porch light was on, which meant it was probably set with a timer. “Snuffles, I’m coming in,” I called out, unlocking the door and gingerly pushing it inward.
Snuffles hit me full force with a happy bark, knocking me back several steps. I yelped, my arms windmilling, and fell down the stairs, landing hard on my butt. The dog jumped over my head, and I ducked, turning. “Hey!”
The dog was huge. Maybe part mountain dog and part mutt. His thick fur shaking, he ran for the nearest hydrangea b
ush and emptied his bladder, somehow wagging his tail the entire time. His fur was a light gray and his eyes a deep blue. Well, one was blue. The other looked green.
My entire body aching, I turned and stood to see Bud leaning against his patrol car, illuminated by the moon. He shook his head.
“Whatever,” I muttered, brushing grass cuttings off. The dog probably weighed as much as Bud. “Please keep an eye on him,” I said.
“My job is to keep an eye on you,” Bud returned, not moving.
I gave him a look and walked up the steps again, wincing as my ankle protested. The same one that had been burned by a bullet. Maybe being a lawyer was just too dangerous for me. I shook off the unease and pushed into Charles’ house, turned on the lights, and stopped short. Apparently, Snuffles hadn’t liked being left alone. Tuffs of fabric stuffing littered the entire floor, torn out of what looked like had been a nice leather sofa and chair set. The dog had chewed down to the steel frame.
Stepping gingerly over the mess, I turned right into the kitchen. Ah. The dog had figured out how to get into the pantry. Cornflakes, spaghetti noodles, and cookie wrappers covered the worn tile. A half-eaten dish rag was still on the counter surrounded by dog hair.
At least the puppy hadn’t gone hungry.
A smell caught me from the back of the house, and I winced, walking over the faux wood floor and turning on lights until I reached a neatly made up bedroom. The stench came from the other side of the bed.
If I was a really nice person, I mean super nice, I’d probably clean up the dog poop.
But I wasn’t feeling all that kind at the moment. Instead, I looked around. Charles was a neat freak. The pictures were neatly lined up on his dresser, and I looked them over, not recognizing anybody. A photo of him in a navy uniform caught me, and I picked it up, studying it. He’d looked young and sure and brave.
I headed for the kitchen to find garbage bags, wood cleaner, and hopefully gloves. I couldn’t let a veteran come home to this kind of mess. Man, I was ready for bed. It took about an hour, but I cleaned up the house.
After disposing of the garbage in the bins, I’d just finished checking the pristine garage to see the new blue Buick. The inside was clean, and I couldn’t see anything that would give me a reason to open a door. Yeah, I’d definitely need a warrant to access the GPS data.
I whistled for Snuffles, who came bounding inside happily. After petting him, I locked the door and kept the key before striding down to Bud. “Are you watching me all night?” I asked, trying not to yawn.
“Nope. We already have a car at your place. I’ll follow you there and then leave.” He smiled.
The man sounded way too happy to be dropping me off.
Then he frowned. “I’ll be there first thing in the morning to follow you to the office.” He sighed.
That made me smile for some reason. “Fine, but we have to come by here and feed Snuffles in the morning.” With that last thought, I all but skipped to my car, more than ready for a good night’s sleep.
Monday morning arrived with a soft breeze and a lovely blue sky. Sure enough, Bud was waiting for me as I pulled out of my driveway and drove to the retirement community again, this time singing along with Taylor Swift on the radio.
I pulled into Charles’ driveway and waited until Bud had parked behind me before striding up the walkway and unlocking the door.
This time, I knew to jump out of the way to let Snuffles bound out for his hydrangea bush.
I peeked inside. “Darn it, Snuffles.” He’d torn up the living room carpet. Now I had to clean that? “I’ll be a few minutes, Bud,” I called out, happy I’d worn slacks and a light sweater today.
It only took a half hour of cleaning until I was happy. Sighing, I turned back to the now clean kitchen and opened the sliding door to let in some fresh air. The small backyard was full of weeds, showing the association only worked on the front of the homes. About ten hummingbird feeders, all red, hung from the gutters along the back of the house.
I carefully shut and locked the sliding glass door and walked through the now clean house and out the front door to see Bud petting the dog. He straightened immediately, flushing as if being caught eating off somebody else’s plate. “It’s okay. He is cute,” I teased. Bud’s darkening cheekbones cheered me considerably. I patted my knees. “Come here, Snuffles. Time to go back inside.”
Snuffles sat near Bud and wagged his tail. “I have food and fresh water,” I said, trying to reason with a canine.
“Anna? What are you doing here?” Thelma came out of her garage dressed in a brightly flowered sundress complete with a wide and floppy pink hat. Her knobby knees were bare over flip flops covered with colorful fish drawings.
“Anna?” Georgiana came next, her hair in a bun held together with chopsticks as she hustled across the road to us. She held a cute white kitten with big blue eyes against her denim shirt. “Look what we—”
Before she could get the words out, I saw the disaster to come. Snuffles barked. The cat hissed and escaped from Georgiana’s hands before she could stop it, twisting high in the air and landing on the police car to skid across the hood toward Bud.
He made a grab for it, but the little animal found purchase with the windshield wiper and scrambled up the window to the top of the car.
Snuffles barked enthusiastically and knocked into Bud, throwing the cop against the car. Then the dog leaped up onto the hood, its nails skidding and its legs sliding out from under it.
“Betty White,” Thelma called, her voice panicked. “You come back here right now.”
The kitten howled in protest as the dog tried to lever up the front windshield. Its front paws hit the roof, and the cat wailed, jumping over Bud’s head and straight for me. I yelped and made a grab for the cat, but it zipped by me, followed by the dog.
I jumped for Snuffles, hitting the canine mid-center and locking my arms around his body. We tumbled to the ground and rolled right into the hydrangea bush, fur shoving up my nose. The dog kicked against me, fighting hard, his sloppy tongue against my neck. I held tight, my body heaving. “Knock it off,” I snapped.
The dog struggled.
Then Bud was there, grabbing the dog by the neck and yanking it away from me. “You okay?”
I sat up and picked flowers out of my hair. “No.” Everything hurt. My clothes were once again ruined.
Thelma walked around the corner of the house, the kitten safely in her arms. “Snuffles only goes in the fenced back yard unless he’s on a leash,” she said, rather helpfully.
The dog saw the kitten, yipped, and bunched its back legs. Bud lifted the canine against his chest and strode for the front door, setting the dog down gently and shutting the door. Then he came back to me and lifted me by the armpits, much like he’d handled the dog.
I slapped his hands. “Don’t even think of kissing me.” Nick and Aiden were enough for one week. Now I had a date with Pierce later.
Bud reared back. “I don’t even like you. Not at all.”
Huh. I pushed bark off my pants, wincing as slivers dug into my already scratched palms. “Why not?”
“Seriously?” Bud gingerly reached out to tug a full blossom from my hair. “You’re a disaster. Every time I see you. It’s lucky I haven’t been shot somehow.”
I’d take umbrage or at least be a little irritated if he wasn’t a hundred percent correct. Still. Lately it seemed like most of the men around me were a mite interested. Not that it mattered. I wasn’t looking for romance at the moment, especially since I was a disaster, as Bud so kindly put it.
Thelma reached out her bony hand to pinch Bud’s bicep. “What about me? You have such nice arms.”
“I’m taken,” he croaked, his eyes nearly bugging out. “Nice girl. Been together forever.”
Bud really wasn’t a very good liar.
“Well.” Thelma fluttered her thick eyelashes. “In case things don’t work out, keep in mind that I used to be a gymnast. I’m very bendy.”
> My phone buzzed, and I reached for it, but it wasn’t in my back pocket.
Bud shoved branches of the plant out of the way and drew it out. “Here.”
“Thanks.” I took it. “Albertini.”
“Hi, Anna. It’s Celeste. Your documents are ready, and Judge Hallenback is in his chambers, so you can catch him for the next hour or so. He usually works a few hours before heading off to parts unknown.”
“Thanks.” I clicked off just as a rumble of motorcycle pipes ripped through the peaceful community. Several bikes drove by, and I recognized Spider as well as Aiden. My chin lifted, and my body flared wide awake, even with the new bruises. How had they found me? Were they following me, or were they looking for Melvin?
Bud edged his way between me and the bikers, setting his stance wide and his hand on the butt of his gun.
Aiden grinned and opened the throttle, disappearing around the corner.
My lungs seized. I gestured toward Thelma. “Were you two going somewhere?”
She nodded. “Yes. We’re going to the vet and then shopping for a bed and food for Betty White. We’ll check on Snuffles and feed him dinner tonight.”
Good. “Okay. I’ll see you later.” I’d waited until the ladies had gotten into their car and driven away before looking at Bud. “Don’t argue with me, but you need to stay here and guard Charles’ car. I’ll have Detective Pierce execute the warrant as soon as I get it.”
Bud shook his head. “I go with you.”
“No. I’ll go straight to the office and then the courthouse, I promise.” I couldn’t let Spider get his hands on the car, if that’s why he had just ridden through the neighborhood. Were he and Aiden trying to tie off loose ends? “Trust me.”
Bud crossed his arms. “Fine, but you call me the second you get to the office. If you don’t, I’m coming after you.”
The sound of the motorcycles faded into the distance. “No problem.”
Disorderly Conduct (The Anna Albertini Files Book 1) Page 24