“Great. I could use the fresh air.” The small park with shade trees and decorative benches sat beside a circular drive in the middle of the downtown district, only a block away. “Find out anything new with the case?”
“Not really. There doesn’t seem to be any connection to former employers, and I found out from Barry that Troy only did odd jobs here and there before coming back to the mortuary. Barry didn’t know more than that, and, if Troy got paid, it was probably in cash, so there are no records of who these people were.”
“Dang… that’s not helpful. Well… maybe we’ll find out something at the food truck. By the way… how are your cat wounds?”
He shook his head. “You’re not going to let me forget about that, are you?”
I snickered. “It’s just that… every time I think about it, I burst out laughing.” I chuckled, even though I tried not to. “I’m sorry… I don’t mean to laugh so much. It’s just… so funny.”
“Yeah… I guess it’s funny now, but feeling those sharp claws puncturing my skin was awful.”
I winced and nodded, but still couldn’t hold back a chuckle. “I’ll bet. Did you tell Billie what happened?”
“I had to after she got a good look at the marks. She didn’t laugh as much as you, but she still laughed pretty hard, only instead of captioning a police report, she made it into a headline.”
“Oh yeah? What was it?”
He raised his hand to shoulder level and swept it to the right. “Missing Cat Mistakes Detective for Tree, Climbs to Safety.”
Laughter bubbled out of me. “I love it.” My phone began to play here comes the bride, the tune I’d made for Billie when she got married. “Oh… speak of the devil.” This was the worst timing, but I had to answer now. “Hey Billie. What did he say?”
“Michael said yes!” Her enthusiasm was hard to miss. In fact, I was pretty sure Dimples had heard her voice. “But he only said I could go for a couple of days. I can come Monday and Tuesday, but I’ll have to leave Tuesday night, or Wednesday morning at the latest. At least it will give me a taste of the experience. And, if you end up finding the mine after I leave, I want first dibs on the story.”
“Of course. And you’re okay with the non-disclosure agreement.”
“Absolutely.”
“Great. I’ll let them know so they can get it ready for you.”
Dimples stepped closer to get my attention, and his brows drew together. What was going on? I raised a finger. “Hey… I’m actually standing next to your husband. He’s wondering what’s going on, do you want to give him the news?”
“Uh… no. That’s okay… you go ahead, but call me back with the details. What time do we need to leave on Monday?”
“Probably around eight in the morning.”
“Okay… call me back.”
She disconnected, leaving me with my mouth hanging open. Damn. I still held the phone to my ear, so I kept it there, to stall for more time, and risked a glance at Dimples. The scowl on his face wasn’t as bad as the thoughts running through his mind.
He shifted his weight and glanced skyward. “I know she hung up, so you can stop pretending.”
Oops. I put my phone away, but found it hard to talk.
He let out a breath and began to calm down. “Okay. What’s going on?”
“Well…” I sent him my biggest smile. “You’ll never guess what happened. You remember the press conference Billie and I went to? Well… I got invited to go prospecting with the professor and his crew. Naturally Billie wanted to come too, and Michael just gave her the okay. But it’s only for Monday and Tuesday.”
“Next week?” At my nod, Dimples rubbed his chin. “And who exactly is backing the venture?”
I swallowed. He was daring me to tell him it was Manetto, and that I’d orchestrated the whole thing. Since he had that right, how could I deny it? “Uh… yeah… that’s mostly right, but it was Billie’s idea to begin with… you know… to ask Uncle Joey?” I knew it wasn’t nice to throw Billie under the bus like that, even if it was true.
He sputtered out a breath. “Okay. So what’s the non-disclosure about?”
“Well, they can’t have Billie telling everyone where the mine is, right?”
His eyes widened. “So they’ve found it?”
“No… but if we do find it, she can’t tell anyone where it is. I don’t think they’ll want her to tell anyone where they’re searching for it either, you know?”
Dimples sighed. “Yeah, yeah, I get it. So is there a whole crew going up there or what?”
“Uh… sort of. But we’re keeping it small… you know… because no one wants the location to get out?”
“Sure.” He wondered how I’d persuaded Manetto into backing the venture. And now I was taking Billie with me? “It’s not going to be dangerous, is it?”
“I’m sure we’ll be fine. Nobody’s out to get anyone, and, if they were, I’d know… so it’s all good. You don’t have to worry about a thing.”
He sent me a half-hearted nod, knowing how easily I managed to get into trouble. And now I was dragging Billie into it too. Between the two of us, we’d probably be okay; either that, or it was a recipe for disaster.
I tried not to be offended and motioned to the truck. “Uh… should we order lunch?” The line had thinned in front of us, and the woman at the window waited for us to order.
“Oh… right.” He stepped up to the open window and ordered the mini two-slider combo of a pulled-pork and a cheeseburger slider with fries. I just ordered the cheeseburger with fries. After she wrote down our orders, Dimples asked her about Troy. “Hey… do you know Troy Hudson? He was friends with someone here. Was it you?”
She froze, staring at Dimples and taking in his suit coat and tie. “Who are you?”
“So you know him?”
She shook her head. “No. Your order will be ready in a minute. Pay at the next window.” She motioned to the next person in line, but Dimples wouldn’t budge. Exasperated, she spoke. “Look… you need to get out of the way.”
Dimples held up his badge. “You want to come down to the station, or come out and chat?”
Letting out a big sigh, she stepped away from the window and spoke with someone behind her before returning. “My boss will come out once it slows down. Now please move.”
Dimples stepped to the next window where an older woman stared him down. “That’ll be seventeen eighty-five,” she said.
He handed her a twenty and waited while she made the change. I picked up the unease she tried to hide behind her sullen expression. She wondered why the police were here, and did Alberto screw it up? She handed Dimples his change, and we stepped away.
Dimples motioned to a small, outdoor table and chairs nearby, and we sat down to wait. “Did you pick up anything?”
“Yeah. The older lady was wondering if Alberto had screwed up, and that’s why we were there. That’s all I got.”
He nodded. “Let’s hope he comes out to talk.”
“Yeah. Hey… I’m going to make a quick phone call, but I’ll be right back.”
“Sure.” Dimples nodded, thinking that I was probably calling my ‘uncle.’ Why did I even call Manetto that? It made no sense.
Stepping away, I quickly called Uncle Joey’s cell. “Billie’s coming, so you’d better have Chris write up the non-disclosure.”
“Okay. What about Jackie? Did you speak to her?”
“Yeah. She’s good. Hey… can I call you back in an hour or so? I’ll explain everything then.” He agreed, and we disconnected.
I hurried back to Dimples, and our wait stretched on and on. Several people, who’d been in line behind us, got their food before we did. Dimples was getting angry. A minute later, he’d had enough and stood to confront the worker. Before he took a step toward the truck, a man hurried out with a tray of food.
He caught sight of Dimples and marched over, placing our food on the table with a flourish. “So sorry for the delay. I had to wait for a break
before I could step out. My daughter said you needed to speak with me. What’s this about?”
Dimples motioned for him to sit down, and he slid into the bench across from us. “I’m Detective Harris, and this is my partner, Shelby Nichols. We’re hoping you can help us with a case we’re working on. We have reason to believe you know a man who was murdered not long ago, Troy Hudson?”
Shock rippled through him, but he kept his expression blank. “What makes you think I know him?” He kept a puzzled expression on his face, feeling a moment of panic. Troy was dead? Who would kill him?
I smiled to put him at ease. “You’re Alberto, right?”
He pinned his gaze on me, and his eyes narrowed. “Yes. So?” He’d never used his name in his side business, so how did we know that? Troy was the only one who knew his name, and, if he was dead, he couldn’t have told us.
“We know Troy used his crematorium for… uh… getting rid of bodies,” I began. “We think you transported them to his mortuary in your truck, but this last time, something went wrong. Did you have a disagreement? Did he want out of the arrangement, so you killed him?”
“Of course not. I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I would never do such a thing.” Alberto relaxed. If we thought he was behind it, we were fishing, and there was nothing to tie him to Troy’s death. Troy made all the arrangements and he just followed instructions.
Hmm… now I’d have to try a different approach. “Okay… so let’s say, hypothetically speaking, that you worked with Troy in a little side business he orchestrated, and the last delivery job you did is connected to Troy’s death. Would you have any idea who that delivery was for? I think that person could be Troy’s killer… so again, hypothetically speaking, who did Troy know who’d want him dead?”
Alberto shrugged. “I have no idea. If I were helping Troy in this so-called business, he knew the value of secrecy, and he would hardly tell me anything about it.” He was thinking that Troy arranged everything so no one knew who anyone else was.
“Okay… so you know nothing about Troy’s business—only that you were the pick-up and delivery guy?”
“I didn’t do anything like that. I am just a food truck manager. I think you’d better eat your food before it gets cold.”
“Sure… but one more thing. Do you know anyone who was close to Troy? Did he have a girlfriend?”
Alberto stood, thinking that Troy might have confided in his old girlfriend, Rayven. “Like I said, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I need to get back to work. Enjoy your meal.”
“Thanks.” I watched him walk away and turned to Dimples. “He was thinking that Troy’s girlfriend might know something. Her name is Rayven spelled with a y… R-A-Y-V-E-N. That’s weird, isn’t it? That I picked up the spelling in his head?”
Dimples shrugged, not overly impressed. “I guess… anything else?”
“Alberto didn’t exactly think it in so many words, but I got the impression from him that Troy was using the crematorium to pay off a debt of some kind. He owed someone a lot of money, and this was his way of getting out from under his debt.”
“So—kind of what we were already thinking.” Dimples pulled a slider from the bag and took a bite. After swallowing, he continued. “I guess we need to find this girlfriend, even though this is the first time we’ve heard of her.” He checked his watch. “Hey… she might be at Troy’s funeral. I think it started at one, so they should still be there. Let’s go.”
We rushed back to the precinct and took Dimples’s car to the mortuary. Troy’s service had already begun, so we slipped into the back of the room. There weren’t many people, so I began to scan their thoughts, starting at the front with Barry’s family.
His wife was there, along with several family members, none of whom had any idea who killed Troy. I picked up a few thoughts that Troy’s death wasn’t a surprise, given how wild he was. I moved on to a few other people until I came to a woman on the other side of the chairs opposite the family.
Her hair was so black that I knew she’d colored it, and it was pulled into several knots all over her head, with long strands left out to frame her face. I could only see her profile, but she had the whole goth look going for her with a whitened face and black eyeliner around her eyes. She was also completely dressed in black, even wearing black lace gloves on her hands. She had to be Rayven.
A wave of sorrow and grief, tinged with regret, radiated from her. She was thinking that Troy had gone too far this time, and he was a stupid idiot. Why hadn’t he listened to her? Now he was dead.
I caught Dimples’s gaze and motioned my head her way. He nodded, thinking that we’d wait to talk to her after the service. I nodded back and listened to her some more in case I could pick up anything else.
A few members of Troy’s family sent her suspicious glances, and she grew uneasy. Maybe it was time to leave so she wouldn’t have to talk to them.
“Get ready,” I whispered to Dimples. “She’s going to bolt.” As soon as the service concluded, she hurried out a side door. We followed right behind her, and she sent a worried glance over her shoulder.
“Rayven, wait!” I called.
Shocked that I knew her name, she slowed to a stop. Taking in Dimples’s attire, her eyes narrowed. Were we cops? We reached her before she could outrun us, and she gave us a haughty stare. “Do I know you?”
“We just need a few minutes to talk,” Dimples said, showing her his badge. “We’re looking into Troy’s murder, and we were hoping you could help.”
“I don’t know anything. I can’t help you.” She began to walk away.
“Wait. We know what Troy was doing. He was trying to pay off a debt, but something happened, and he was murdered. Please. We want to find the person who did this.”
She stopped and glanced around us, noting that we were still alone in the parking lot. “Look. I don’t know a lot, only that he got in with some bad people. When they found out his brother had a mortuary business, they made a deal with him to get rid of a few bodies.”
She shook her head. “If I tell you who they are, they’ll come after me, and I can’t risk it.”
“If we track them down, are you sure they won’t come after you anyway?” I asked.
Her gaze met mine before she pulled away. “I don’t think so.”
Since I’d already picked up a name from her mind, I had to warn her. “It’s a vigilante group called The Punishers… right? They target people who’ve crossed them, and, with Redman in charge, they’ve gone off the rails. But it wasn’t him who Troy dealt with… it was someone under him. Who was it? Jinx?”
She sucked in a breath. “How did you…” Glancing around, she stepped close to me. “Look… Jinx had clients of his own. Clients who wanted people dead without getting their hands dirty. It didn’t have anything to do with Redman, so don’t go poking around him, or we’re all dead. All I know is that Troy owed Jinx, and something must have happened that Troy objected to, otherwise, he’d still be alive to do his bidding.”
She stepped away. “You didn’t hear any of this from me, got that?”
“Yes. Got it.”
She whirled toward her car, swearing in her mind. Her fingers shook so badly, she could hardly get the car door unlocked. Without a backward glance, she pulled out of the parking lot and took off down the street.
“Holy hell,” Dimples said. “I guess we got our answer.”
I glanced his way, dread pooling in my stomach. “I think we just stumbled into a hornet’s nest.”
“Could be.” Dimples led the way to his car, and we both got in.
After slipping on my seat belt, I turned his way. “Have you ever heard of them? The Punishers?”
“Yeah some, but I don’t know much. They keep a pretty low profile. Some say they’re assassins for hire, but I’ve also heard this Redman person deals with guns. Now it sounds like Jinx, whoever he is, is Troy’s killer.”
“Yeah. But why kill Troy? I’d imagine Troy was
pretty useful to their business.”
“True. Maybe he objected to his part in it?”
“But that doesn’t make sense. Even if he’d finished paying off his debt, it seems like they would have compensated him for his services. It would be a nice side-business for him. So why object?”
Dimples shrugged. “Maybe Troy recognized the dead person, or maybe he was tired of working for Jinx and wanted out? Who knows?”
I nodded. “I think Jinx knows. Now we just need to track him down.”
“That shouldn’t be too hard, now that we know the gang we’re dealing with. I’m going to check the police records for missing people around the time of Troy’s death. Maybe one of them will be the body in the crematorium. At the same time, I’ll try to find more information on Jinx. Maybe someone working in vice will know more. This is a great lead. Thanks Shelby. I think we’re onto something.”
“Good deal.”
“While we’re at it, maybe you could ask Manetto about Jinx, too? Or maybe Ramos would be better, although either of them would do.”
“Yeah… Ramos would be the better person to ask, because if I went straight to Uncle Joey, you know what would happen, right?”
Dimples’s brows drew together. “No. What?”
“You’d have to reciprocate. A favor for a favor. That’s how it works. Are you ready to do that?”
“No way.”
“That’s what I thought.”
“Okay… you’ve made your point… unless…” We pulled into the precinct parking lot, and he glanced my way, wondering if I’d already passed information to Manetto. Was it something I’d been doing all along?
I drew in a sharp breath. “What? How can you say that? Of course I wouldn’t do that.”
He closed his eyes, regret rolling through him. “I’m sorry, Shelby. I didn’t mean it like that.”
I met his gaze, but I couldn’t hold it for long, mostly because there had been a few times when I’d done exactly that. But it was because Uncle Joey was innocent, so I didn’t feel too bad about it. “It’s okay. I don’t blame you for wondering.” I pulled on my door handle to get out, but Dimples grabbed my arm to stop me.
High Stakes Crime: A Paranormal Women's Fiction Novel (Shelby Nichols Adventure Book 15) Page 11