by Carolina Mac
Good. Hit the road, Jack.
As Charlotte walked to the truck and hopped into the passenger seat, Rufin pulled me around the side of the garage and spoke to me privately.
“I don’t know what went wrong between us, Gilly, but I wish you all the best.” He hugged me and I thought it would be rude of me to knock him down and kick him in the nuts. I endured the hug and walked him to the truck.
What went wrong? What went right?
Whatever went wrong, I’m glad of it now. Clearly the work of the Fates. Farrell and I are back together and that’s all that counts in my book.
I gave Rufin a wave as he drove down the street and wondered how long he’d be happy with Charlotte. I couldn’t see the two of them together but maybe I didn’t know Rufin Pictou as well as I thought I did.
“Did that upset you dear?” asked Moonbeam as we walked into the house.
“Not as much as I thought it would. I’m fine, and Rufin is out of my life. It’s all good.”
Jody smiled an evil smile and I could feel how much he was enjoying my pain.
Fucker.
I should put a spell on him and make him crawl on his hands and knees for a day. I’m thinking of doing it.
Jody finished out the rest of the day reading the murder cases and asking me questions. By the time we wrapped up, I thought he had a good grip on the serial killer.
“There is nothing to connect this Vince Agostino to the murders, Gilly. What if it’s another member of the construction crew?”
“Could be. We have to figure that out. That’s why surveillance of the crew is important. So far all we have are three dead girls, one missing girl, and a possible suspect who might not be a suspect at all.”
“If he’s not the killer, I sort of feel sorry for the guy,” said Jody.
“Then you eliminate him,” I said. “You find something that says it absolutely wasn’t Vince in any of the first four cases, and Vince is off the hook. You’ll be doing him a huge favor.”
Jody nodded. “Okay. I get it. We need evidence for or against Vince.”
“Evidence is the only thing that counts to get a conviction in court and get the killer off the street. Without something solid, we can’t arrest anybody no matter how much we think they did it. A good guess is not good enough.”
Jody shut his laptop down and put it into a neat little leather case. He had some expensive stuff for an out-of-work guy who ran a little moonshine out of his basement. There were a lot of things about Jody that shouted faker, faker.
I need to investigate Jody more thoroughly before I trust him.
I was walking him out and talking about a departure time for the following day when the doorbell rang and Cynthia was in my face again.
This time there were two of them.
Cynthia had a mile wide smile. “My daughter surprised us with a visit and I wanted you and Moonbeam to meet her. This is Andrea.”
“Nice to meet you, Andrea,” I said. “Welcome to Elgin.”
She smiled, and I had to admit, she was pretty. I hadn’t met her father yet, but she must have got her looks from him.
Jody stared and I agreed with his stare. Tall and slim with long auburn hair. Luckily, Andrea didn’t live in a trailer park near where Harrison Paving was working or she’d be a goner.
After supper, Moonbeam cleaned up the kitchen while I fed Pete and began getting ready for the trip to Junction.
I pulled my overnight bag out of my closet and figured I’d take enough clothes for the whole weekend. Farrell had to be back for his shift with the Night Vipers on Sunday night. If we didn’t have Vince Agostino by then, or rule him out completely, I’d have to decide if I was going back for another crack at him without Farrell. Play it by ear.
Jody had already run over twice after dinner to ask about his packing. What should he take? What was he supposed to look like being a personal assistant? And then the weird questions like how long will raw meat keep in a cooler?
Made me wonder again what his animal half could be. Definitely carnivorous. Wolf? Bear? Hellhound? Something bigger and wilder? Hope not. I’d be just as happy if he shifted into a lop-eared rabbit.
That’s why Pete didn’t like Jody. Pete could smell the animal scent and it put my dog on alert.
I’m taking Pete with us so there might be a problem with Jody.
I have a problem already with Farrell not liking Jody. Why does Misty want him on my team? She must know something I don’t. She doesn’t make too many mistakes.
The next question was, should I take Zing?
Farrell called before I decided about my crow. “Hey, babe, I’ll set my alarm for noon. Is that soon enough for you?”
“Sure. You have to work all night and I don’t want you to be tired tomorrow. I’ll swing by and pick you up at twelve thirty.”
“Sounds good to me. Be like a honeymoon for us.”
“Except for one thing. Jody is going.”
“Aw, fuck, babe.” I could hear the disappointment in Farrell’s voice. “Is he necessary?”
“Misty hired him to be my personal assistant. It wasn’t me, sugar.”
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to snap at you. The guy puts me on edge. That’s all.”
“Uh huh. I’ve noticed that, but yesterday he read through all the cases and he’s anxious to catch a serial killer.”
“What experience are we talking here, babe? Did Misty happen to mention her reasons for hiring him? An out of work moonshiner is not necessarily a crackerjack investigator.”
“Nope. Just that he’d be helpful to me.”
“I’ll watch him on the job in Junction and form my own opinion. If he’s useless, and a waste of her money, I’ll have a little chat with Misty when we get home.”
“Sure, sugar. Do that. I’m not sure I need an assistant. I’m good on my own.”
“You don’t need a loser like Jody Smith—if that’s his real name.”
“We’ll have our own room, Farrell. I’m not sharing you with Jody at night.”
“Okay, then I’ll come with you.” Farrell laughed. “I’m not sharing you either.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Friday, November 13th.
Nine Hemlock Way. Elgin.
Friday, the thirteenth.
At breakfast, Moonbeam didn’t hesitate to point out what day it was. “This is an extremely lucky day for witches, dear. Everything should go your way today. The Fates will be in your corner every step of the way.”
“Fantastic. I could use somebody in my corner, Moon. Farrell isn’t happy Jody is going with us.”
“He’s your new assistant, dear. Isn’t he supposed to go where you go?”
“In theory, but that doesn’t make Farrell like him or want him tagging along.”
“Farrell may like Jody better when he gets to know him. Sometimes that’s all it takes.”
“I hope you’re right. You usually are. I’ll take a coffee and go finish my packing.”
“Remember what I said and try to relax. Today will be lucky for you.”
I smiled at Moon hoping she was right. “I’m waiting for it.”’
I finished my packing after breakfast and loaded my gear into the back of my truck. The cap was on to protect everything we were taking with us.
Charging through the front door for another load, Moonbeam called to me from the kitchen, “Don’t forget Pete’s food, dear, and take his bowls. The motel won’t give you anything to put his food in.”
“I’ll take water too in case he needs a drink and we’re not near a water source.” I was hefting the kibble bag when Jody came barging through the patio door. He’d obviously given up knocking now that he was my PA. The job came with right of free entry?
“I have quite a bit of stuff, Gilly, and I don’t want to lug it all the way around your house to your driveway. Can you drive over when it’s time to leave and load at my place?”
“Sure. Farrell’s getting up at noon. We’ll be leaving here at eleven thirty.�
��
Jody wore a sports watch I hadn’t seen before with a face the size of a small alarm clock. “What are all those dials?”
“Information. Things I might need to know at a moment’s notice.”
“What things? It looks like you’re flying the fucking Enterprise.”
“Yeah, like that.”
“You’re a fruitcake.”
He turned to run. “I have to finish getting ready.”
“Eat lunch early. We may not stop until we get to Junction. It’s not too far. Couple of hours.”
“Okay.”
I watched him sprint across the back grass and he was fast. Fast. Like an antelope? Gazelle? Cheetah? I was guessing, but it was kind of fun to speculate.
Seven Hemlock Way. Elgin.
I backed into Jody’s driveway and he had all his stuff stacked neatly in a mountainous pile. We’d be coming back on Sunday. Did he forget that?
“Whoa dude. That’s a lot of stuff for a couple of days.”
“I’m only bringing the minimum. Honest.”
“Okay. Let’s load it up and hit the trail. I don’t want to be late picking Farrell up. He’s getting up early just for me.”
“I’m out for a run a lot at night,” said Jody. “I don’t sleep much.”
Nocturnal.
“Where do you run around here?”
“Why? Are you planning on coming with me?”
“I might. I love to run and I have no running partner.”
“Doubt if you could keep up, but we can give it a shot if you want to.”
“Thanks. I do.”
Jody grinned and seemed pleased I wanted to run with him. A shifter’s life could be lonely, I guess.”
Does he run on all fours?
The Blackmore Agency. Austin.
At twelve-thirty we picked Farrell up at the Agency and headed for Junction. He was familiar with our destination and I didn’t have to bother with the GPS.
Farrell swiveled in the shotgun seat to say hi to Jody. He was trying to be friendly and I appreciated his effort. “Hey, Jody. How’s the new job going?”
Jody smiled. He was usually smiling. “Great so far. I’m keen to catch this guy.”
Pete growled at Jody while he talked to Farrell. Both of them were relegated to the back seat. “This dog doesn’t like me much and I can guess why.”
“Why?” asked Farrell.
“Umm…I have a lot of animal in me and Pete can smell it.”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” said Farrell. “You don’t have any more animal in you than the rest of us.”
Yep, he does. Pete can smell the animal even if we can’t.
Lazy Jay Motel. Junction. Texas.
Two and a half hours after leaving Austin, we checked into the Lazy Jay. An old-style two story motel on the edge of town.
The parking lot seemed empty, but it would be if the paving crew were all working on the highway.
In the office, I checked us in with my credit card and made sure we had two rooms side by side.
“Two rooms at the end on the ground floor,” the lady clerk said, “just like you requested.” She passed me a printed receipt and two keys.
“Thanks.” Her name tag said Francis. A middle-aged woman with steel gray hair wearing a business suit. I figured she was the owner.
“What time do the guys on the road crew usually come back here to the motel?”
She raised an eyebrow. “Do you know someone on the road crew?”
I shrugged wondering if I’d already said too much. “Not really. It was just a question. I heard from a friend they were staying here.”
“Six thirty. Sometimes earlier. Later the odd night if they’re trying to finish some work.”
“Are they almost done the work they were hired for?”
“I hope not. It’s nice having the motel full for a change.”
I smiled. “It would be. Lots of competition in town.” I had almost reached the door when I turned and asked, “Can you recommend a good spot for beer and country music?”
“I heard a couple of the paving boys talking about Texas Jack’s Saloon. They like it there. Good food and not too expensive.”
“Thanks. Sounds exactly what I’m looking for.”
I parked the truck at the end of the building and Farrell and Jody unloaded our stuff. While they were busy, I walked Pete around the motel property and made him familiar with our surroundings.
Jody was settling into his own room when I got back and I had a private moment with Farrell in our room. “What do you want to do until it’s time to watch Vince at the roadhouse?”
“I can think of one thing we need to catch up on. Do you want to rest for an hour?”
“Rest?”
An hour later I had a quick shower and got dressed for the roadhouse. Farrell sat on the side of the bed smoking and watching me fix my hair.
“Did you ask where the trailer park was?”
“Nope. I forgot. Maybe there isn’t one.”
“If there isn’t one, babe, then our killer won’t be active here. He has to take his victim from a trailer park. Did you forget that detail?”
“I did. And you’re right. Before coming here I should have made sure Junction met all of the killer’s criteria. Shit, Farrell, I’m sorry.”
He pulled me down on his lap and kissed me. “Ain’t all bad, little girl. We’re gonna get us some motel time.”
“There’s that. I’m dressed. Let me run back to the office and ask.”
“I’ll do it. She might think you’re asking too many questions.” He butted out his smoke and got dressed.
I unpacked my bag while Farrell was gone and he came back smiling. “Bingo, babe. A mile farther along there is a trailer park. Let’s go for a tour and look for tall redheads.”
“Should I get Jody?” I slung my purse over my shoulder and headed for the door.
“Leave Pete with Jody. We won’t be gone long.”
“Can’t. They hate each other.”
“Want to tell me why? I’m not buying Jody’s explanation. I know there is something you’re not telling me about our creepy neighbor.”
“Okay, here it is. Jody is a shifter. I haven’t seen him turn but Pete can smell the animal in him and Pete is on edge around him.”
“He’s feeding you a line of bullshit. I don’t believe in that stuff, little girl. Won’t believe it until it happens right in front of my eyes, I guess.”
“Okay, maybe it will. Jody may turn into Dumbo the flying elephant, flap his ears and fly. Let’s go to the trailer park.”
Riverside Estates. Junction.
Farrell drove my truck as we cruised around the narrow streets in the trailer park hoping to see a tall, slim girl with long auburn hair. Our aim was to find her in time to save her life.
Twice around and we only saw small kids playing tag, a couple guys drinking beer on a deck and a few dogs running loose.
“That was a bust,” said Farrell. “Maybe we’ll see her at the roadhouse tonight. I’d hate to see her turn up on a table in the morgue if we can prevent it from happening.”
“We can’t be sure there is a girl like that living in this trailer park,” said Jody. “If there isn’t then the killer will wait until he moves on and finds another perfect victim.”
“That’s true in theory,” said Farrell, “but if something happens to break his heretofore perfect modus operandi and he is compelled to kill a girl, then what happens?” Farrell tilted his head in my direction. “Tell Jody what happens, Gilly.”
“When Sonny found out the girl he had chosen as his next victim was a prostitute, he went crazy and completely lost it. He killed her and scattered her body parts far and wide—something he’d never done. The bodies of his former victims were well hidden and never found. So angered by his mistake, Sonny then killed her pimp too and chopped him into chunks. That was totally out of Sonny’s wheelhouse. As far as we knew, he never killed men.”
“Trust me,” sa
id Farrell. “Anything can happen, and it’s our job to be ready. Not always possible.”
Jody looked puzzled. “Who is Sonny, Gilly? You never mentioned that name to me.”
“Didn’t I? I wonder why? Sonny Hart was my husband for a short time.”
“Jeeze, I guess we don’t know each other very well.”
“You don’t know me at all, Jody Smith.”
Lazy Jay Motel. Junction.
The construction crew arrived back at the motel around six o’clock and the men, tired and dirty, piled out of their pickups and rushed into their rooms.
Less than an hour later, they began coming out their doors, chatting and laughing and all cleaned up ready for food and beer and fun.
I watched through a crack in the curtains as they headed out. “Time to go, Farrell. You ready?”
“Yep. Let’s go drink a pitcher and order us some barbeque.”
“I’ll get Jody.”
“Am I going?” growled Pete.
“Not this time, sugar. You’ll be stuck in the truck. I gave you your dinner. Have a nice nap until we get back.”
“I want to go with you in case you run into danger.”
“But they won’t let you in the roadhouse,” I said.
“I’ll wait in the truck with Zing. At least I can have some fun growling at people as they walk by.”
“Zing doesn’t like flying at night.” I glanced at my crow and she was perched on top of the TV with her head under her wing sleeping.
“You can watch the parking lot, Pete,” said Farrell. “That would be helpful.”
“How will I tell you if something bad is going down?”
“I’ll come out for a smoke and check in.”
“Okay, I’m up for parking lot duty. Better than staying here alone.”
“You aren’t alone. Zing is here with you.”
Pete growled.
I tapped on the door next to ours and Jody was ready and excited to get going. “This is our first undercover gig. I’m pumped for it.”
“I’m hungry,” said Farrell. “I hope the food is decent.”
