Kelly covered her surprise and kept her tone casual. “Who else asked?”
“The sheriff came by around three o’clock. I told him the same thing I’m telling you. I haven’t seen Johnny all day. I’m afraid I’m not much help.”
“Thanks, anyway,” Wade said and turned as if to go.
“You said you had no idea where Johnny went.” Kelly took a stab in the dark. “What makes you think he was going somewhere?”
“When I went out to pick up my newspaper, I saw him place an overnight bag in his car trunk. I might have stopped for a conversation, but the baby started crying, so I just waved and headed inside.”
“Okay. Thanks again.” Wade handed the man one of his business cards. “If he shows up, would you ask him to call me?”
“Sure.” The neighbor shut the door, and Wade started to steer Kelly back to the car.
They’d reached a dead end. Kelly wondered what Cara would do if she were on a story. Cara never gave up, which was what made her such a good reporter. Her friend would knock on doors, pester every neighbor.
“Maybe we should question the other people in the building,” she suggested.
“Good idea.” Wade hugged her a little tighter. “It was also great that you picked up on Johnny having gone somewhere. I didn’t catch that.”
“Thanks.” Wade didn’t mind that she’d thought of something that he hadn’t. In fact, he seemed pleased by her initiative. Kelly had never realized before how often she’d hid her intelligence when she’d been with other men. She’d learned early in life that men liked to believe they were smarter, and she’d let them, but in doing so she’d suppressed a part of herself that she missed. Using her brain was satisfying, and she appreciated being with Wade because he had enough confidence in himself not to be threatened by her intelligence.
She complimented him in turn. “I’m not sure I’d have had the courage to knock on his door if you weren’t here with me,” she admitted. “And now that Johnny’s left town, he seems even more suspicious.”
“He could be perfectly innocent. Maybe he had a hot date or went to Fort Worth for a job interview.”
That was another thing she liked about Wade. He could disagree with her, presenting another possibility without putting down her or her idea. He simply mentioned another side of things and he didn’t seem to care who was right—as long as they solved the mystery.
They strode around to the other side of the building, and Kelly rang the doorbell. A white-haired lady cracked open the door and peered at them. “I’m not buying anything.”
Kelly chuckled. “We aren’t selling anything, ma’am. We were hoping you might know where your neighbor Johnny Dixon has gone.”
“Never heard of him.” The neighbor slammed the door.
“Okay.” So much for Kelly’s polite demeanor making friends and influencing people’s help, but she wasn’t about to give up. “Let’s try this last apartment.”
Wade knocked, but there was no answer. “Looks like we struck out.”
Disappointed, Kelly headed back along the sidewalk to where Wade had parked the car. “We can try again tomorrow.”
But she halted as an old souped-up Mustang pulled into the space opposite the apartment door they’d just tried. A man got out of the car from the driver’s side, a woman from the passenger side. With her short, curly blond hair, petite figure and snappy dress style, she would have been pretty without the frown marring her face. The man scowled first at the woman, then at Wade and Kelly who were blocking his path.
There was a tension about the couple that suggested they’d been arguing. The woman had drawn her red lips into a pout, and her eyes brimmed with tears that had yet to escape down her cheeks. The man’s body language, his too-stiff shoulders and ramrod straight spine, plus the set of his tense neck told Kelly that she and Wade could have picked a better time to ask their questions. But they were there. The couple probably didn’t even know Johnny—after all he had just moved to town several weeks ago.
“Excuse me, sir.” Kelly shot the man her best friendly grin. “I’m looking for Johnny Dixon.”
“You and every other slut in this town,” the man sneered.
Beside her Wade bristled. Kelly took his hand and squeezed his fingers, signaling him to stand down. She wanted information not a fight, and let the insult slide. “You mean Johnny has someone besides…”
“Yeah. You’ll have to get in line behind my wife.” The man barreled around them and went inside. Apparently his wife knew Johnny better than her husband liked.
The woman stared after her husband, clearly reluctant to follow him inside. Kelly strolled over to her, and the woman lifted her chin. “Don’t mind Kevin. He’s jealous of every man I talk to.”
“So you’ve spoken to Johnny? Do you know where we can find him?” Kelly clued in on the hesitation in the woman’s eyes. “Please, it’s important.”
“He left this morning.”
“Did he say where he was going?” Wade asked.
“Yeah. He said he was heading to Fort Worth and that if he returned it might be to pack and leave for good.” The woman sighed. “It’s probably just as well. Kevin, my husband, and Johnny might have got into a shooting match if he had stayed—but there was nothing going on between us. I swear it.”
“Johnny had a gun?” Wade asked.
“Yeah. It was the only thing he and Kevin had in common.”
WADE THOUGHT HARD while Kelly thanked the neighbor. He took her hand and pretended to head toward the car until the neighbor disappeared behind his front door. “Why don’t you wait in the car?”
She peered at him with suspicion. “You trying to get rid of me?”
For once he cursed her sharp intelligence that let her see right through him. But he didn’t bother to lie and hoped she wouldn’t give him an argument over his plan. They needed more clues, and right now he saw only one way to obtain them.
He kept his voice low. “Unless you’re up for breaking and entering, I suggest you do as I asked.”
Her blue eyes narrowed but not before he saw a glimmer of excitement mix with blatant disapproval. “You’re going to break into Johnny’s apartment? How?”
“That lock is so flimsy, it wouldn’t keep out those stone-throwing juvenile delinquents.”
Wade extracted an army knife from his back pocket and opened a thin blade. He picked the lock as easily as if he’d used a key. Striding inside, he perused the living area. The overstuffed chair and threadbare couch probably came with the place. The tiny kitchen that extended off the living area had a peeling linoleum floor but was spotless—probably never used.
“If you’re coming inside, hurry up before someone sees you,” he instructed.
Kelly stepped over the threshold and shut the door, but just stood there as if she couldn’t believe she’d actually accompanied him. “What are we looking for?”
“Anything connected to Andrew. Anything that might tell us where Johnny went. And I’d like a look at his gun—that is, if he didn’t take it with him.” Wade headed into the bedroom to search, figuring that was the likeliest place to stash a weapon.
Johnny’s clothes hung in the closet. He still had socks and underwear in a battered bureau. A stack of law books sat piled on a rickety nightstand. Obviously, Johnny intended to return and pick up his things.
Wade searched under the mattress, in the closet and bureau but he found no sign of a gun. He found no notes in the nightstand. No diary. Nothing to go on.
A quick search in the bathroom revealed a bottle of aspirin, a half-used bottle of shampoo. No razor. No toothbrush. The man expected to be gone at least overnight, just as the neighbor had claimed.
“Wade.”
“Yeah?” He left the bedroom and joined Kelly in the living room.
She pointed to an answering machine. “I played back his messages. There’s one from the sheriff, two from campaign headquarters asking his whereabouts. Now listen to this.” Kelly pressed a button.
Kelly peered at the machine. “She left that message last night. I think Johnny got the news and forgot to erase it.” She looked at Wade. “Did you find the gun?”
“No.”
“Neither did I. Maybe he took it with him. Or maybe he keeps it in his car like I do.” Kelly looked around, her eyes bleak. “Can we get out of here?”
Wade checked his watch. “If we hurry we might catch Lindsey at Lambert & Church before she goes home for the day. I’d like to know why she called Johnny and what was so important.”
When Kelly and Wade caught up with the attorney, Lindsey Wellington didn’t look as if she would be heading home for several hours. The last time they’d been in her office, her desk had been immaculate, but now notes covered the surface. She’d taped a plat map to the wall. Obviously she was busy, yet she greeted them with a friendly smile.
“Wade. Kelly. I’m just going over the paperwork for the Wests’ sale of their property. It was Andrew’s deal, but I know he was concerned over the details. I figure it’s the least I can do for the fiancée and her family. Please. Come in. Have a seat. What can I do for you?”
Kelly took a chair. “Thanks. Andrew would have appreciated your help, I’m sure.”
Wade could see that Lindsey was busy and got right to the point. “We’re looking for Johnny Dixon. Do you have any idea where he might be?”
“As a matter of fact, I might. Johnny’s work on the mayor’s campaign was only temporary. Andrew had hoped to find him a permanent job at city hall but it didn’t pan out. I happened to speak with a friend of mine in Fort Worth, and she mentioned that her firm was looking for a law clerk and I suggested Johnny.”
“Would you have the address of the law firm?” Wade asked.
“You’re going all the way to Fort Worth to find him?” Lindsey’s Boston accent thickened. “What’s so important that you can’t wait until he comes back?”
Wade exchanged a long look with Kelly. He would leave it up to her to decide whether or not to tell Lindsey that Andrew had been murdered. And that one of their prime suspects was Johnny Dixon.
Kelly didn’t answer Lindsey but asked a question of her own. “Can you tell me what Johnny’s attitude toward Andrew was like?”
“What difference does it make now?” Lindsey asked. She paced behind her desk, as if setting her thoughts in order. “I only saw the two of them together twice. Once here at Lambert & Church and once at lunch at Dot’s. Andrew treated Johnny like one of his lost sheep. He seemed to collect people who needed his help.”
“But what was Johnny’s attitude toward Andrew?” Kelly pressed.
“If you’re asking me if he murder—”
“Who said anything about murder?” Kelly asked.
“I heard a discussion when I was at the coffee machine.”
Kelly shrugged. “I should have known. After all, this is Mustang Valley. Word gets around.”
Lindsey spun around and headed back in the opposite direction, her quick steps eating up the distance. “Johnny is desperate to get a job. I had to lend him gas money to drive to Fort Worth.”
“So he won’t be staying overnight in a hotel,” Wade surmised, but then, why had he taken his toothbrush?
Lindsey stopped pacing and leaned over her desk, peering at a bunch of notes. “Actually, the company where he’s interviewing said they’d put him up for the night.”
So much for the missing toothbrush.
“It’s odd that he took off without telling anyone at the mayor’s campaign headquarters,” Kelly muttered, probably recalling the messages on the machine. Wade would also like to know why the sheriff had left a message and also stopped by the apartment but he might be following up on Andrew’s case.
Wade went back to a statement Lindsey had made earlier. “So what’s your opinion of Johnny?”
“Obviously, I wouldn’t have recommended him if I didn’t think him qualified.”
“I was talking about whether he still harbored any ill will toward Andrew,” Wade explained.
Lindsey folded her arms across her chest. “I’m not a mind reader.”
“But you have an opinion?” Kelly pressed.
“My opinion is that under extreme pressure any person is capable of losing control of themselves.”
“And was Johnny close to the edge?” Kelly prodded even harder.
“I’m a lawyer not a psychiatrist.”
“We aren’t in a court of law asking for expert testimony. I’d just like your opinion.” Kelly walked around the desk. “Please, Lindsey. Is there anything else you can tell us?”
“All I know is that Johnny was broke and dejected about his future.” She rustled through her memos and plucked out a piece of paper. “Here’s where he intended to stay, the law firm where he interviewed and the name and phone number of my friend.”
“Thanks.” Kelly took the paper and began to walk toward the office’s exit.
“Oh, there’s one more thing.”
“Yes?” Kelly turned, her forward progress halted.
“Please let me know if you find him. I’m a little worried,” Lindsey admitted.
“Why?” Kelly asked.
“He promised to call me back after his interview and let me know what happened. I haven’t heard from him.”
Chapter Nine
Kelly had mostly stopped feeling bad over enjoying Wade’s company. But she still felt occasional stabs of guilt that she was alive and could talk to Wade and enjoy his friendship when Andrew couldn’t. Although she was doing her best to find Andrew’s killer, her brother would have wanted her to live life to the fullest, and she planned to do that.
If Johnny didn’t return to Mustang Valley to work by tomorrow morning, Kelly and Wade would get up early and drive to Fort Worth. With their investigation on hold for the evening, Wade fed Kelly a bowl of his famous chili for dinner. She contributed the garlic bread and dessert, a decadent topping of melted butter and brown sugar, syrup and pecans spooned over rich vanilla ice cream. After cleaning up the kitchen, he’d checked in with his manager at the saloon, and she’d ended up on Wade’s back deck in the hot tub, wondering how to get him to join her.
By now she could have supplied herself with a swimsuit, but that would have been counterproductive to her plan to seduce Wade. Except how could she begin to sweep him away when the stubborn man refused to come anywhere near her?
She tilted back her head, allowing the heat to soothe her tense muscles, but she had difficulty ignoring her nipples that pebbled every time she thought about Wade joining her. Instead, he sat several frustrating feet away on the porch swing, fully clothed, his mind clearly set against her.
Backlit by indirect lighting, he peered off in the distance—deliberately she was sure—not looking her way. His dark hair gleamed and his face appeared calm in repose, but the jut of his jaw reminded her of a man gnashing his teeth. And he kept pulling at the neck of his T-shirt as if it were too tight, letting her know that he was a lot more edgy than he was trying to appear.
What would Shotgun Sally do? Pretend to drown and then drag him into the tub with her? At the ridiculous thought, Kelly chuckled.
Or maybe Sally would pull out her gun and force him to join her naked in the tub and then let nature take its course?
She cursed under her breath.
“I heard that,” Wade teased, his tone knowing, as if he could read her mind and knew exactly what was wrong. “Did Andrew know that you use language like that?”
“Andrew was my brother. My older, protective brother. And he preferred to think of me as a kid, not a woman with a mind of her own.” She cupped some water and let it trickle through her fingers, enjoying the feel of the wet heat in the cool night air. “Andrew didn’t take into account that I like to be kissed and held and pursued.
Hint, hint.”
“I have no interest in pursuing you,” he told her with a mix of both laughter and irritation.
“I suppose I should be grateful.” She splashed water in his direction, sprinkling him with a few drops.
He moved his chair back another twelve inches. “Why?”
“Because after our kiss, I’d imagine that if we made love it would be…wonderful.”
“You aren’t making sense.”
“Sure I am.” She didn’t bother to restrain her sarcasm. “Why would you want to feel wonderful when you can sit over there by yourself and brood?”
“I’m not brooding.”
She chuckled. “If you say so. But you know shooting that gun caused me to exercise muscles today that I don’t ordinarily use. I guess I’ll just have to ease that soreness myself. My fingers and palms, all the way up to my forearms, require massaging.” She lifted one hand out of the water and rubbed at the sore spots with the other, lingering, playing with the water, allowing the moonlight to glint off the water droplets clinging to her skin, her motions a giant caress meant strictly to entice him out of that chair.
He didn’t budge. “You don’t play fair,” he complained, staring at her, his voice husky.
She took her time, stroking first one arm, then the other, as if she were applying suntan oil. “Too bad you won’t join me because I’m sure your fingers could work out…my…aches…better than I can myself.”
He choked on her double entendre. “You’re shameless.”
“I know what I want,” she countered with a boldness that she must have inherited from her famous ancestor, because she sure as hell had never acted like this before. But she found herself enjoying the challenge of pursuing him—even if it meant throwing caution to the gods of lust and recklessness. She turned in the tub and folded her arms on the top ledge, then rested her chin, keeping the water up to her neck.
“You don’t have a clue what I want,” he said.
Out for Justice Page 11
