by HELEN HARDT
“Maybe not my best move, but I needed to get you here.”
“You could’ve just asked me to come over.”
“You wouldn’t have come. Stop—”
She held up her hand to keep me from talking.
“You know I’m right.”
I nodded in defeat. She was right. I wouldn’t have come.
“Seriously, what’s going on?” she asked.
I shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine. He’s gone.”
“Tal? Where did he go?”
“Again, your guess is as good as mine.”
“Oh my God. What happened?”
“I have no idea. He freaked out that I was going to get a tattoo.”
She shook her head. “That doesn’t sound like Talon.”
“Well, it dawned on me none of your brothers have any tats. You guys have something against them?”
Marj shook her head. “Of course not. I’ve known you wanted one forever. We were supposed to get one together, remember?”
I let out a sigh. “Yeah. You’re right.” It sure made more sense than what I had just been through.
“I thought you stopped before you got the tattoo.”
“I did, but Haley had already put the transfer on my back. You know, the temporary outline of the tattoo, for her to follow while she’s doing it.”
“Is that how it works?”
“Sure. Didn’t you ever watch Miami Ink?”
“I’m not the tattoo-head that you are, Jade.”
“Well, anyway, he freaked out. Threw me in the shower, made me wash it off, and then he left.”
Marj closed the book she’d been reading, her eyes troubled. “Makes about as much sense as anything Talon does.”
That was for sure.
“I think I’m going to go ahead home, Marj. I’m exhausted. Thanks for dinner.”
“I wish you’d stay.”
“No. I don’t want to. Besides, I have to unpack. But you have to drive me home.”
“Ha! I’m exhausted too. Please just stay tonight. You can sleep in your old room, and I’ll drive you to work in the morning.”
I sighed. “Marj, I can’t wear the same clothes to work tomorrow that I wore today.”
“That’s no problem. I’ll lend you something.”
I looked at my nearly six-feet-tall and slender best friend. “Right, because we’re so similar in size.”
“Look, those black leggings you’re wearing are classic. No one will know you wore them yesterday. I’ll give you a long, stretchy top. You’ll be fine.”
I relented. I couldn’t ask Marj to drive me home at this hour, and I didn’t really feel like going through all my luggage tonight. I’d do it tomorrow.
“Agreed,” I said. “And good night.”
After Marj dropped me off at the office in the morning, I started some coffee in the drip coffee maker I’d purchased for my office. I had picked up some great Arabica beans from Costa Rica while I was in Grand Junction for those few days. Decent coffee for a change, and I sure needed it this morning.
Larry was in court all day, so I had the office to myself except for Michelle and David, who were happy to leave me alone. I went back to the computer to do more research on the Steels.
Where to start? The article about Talon’s heroics, of course. It had been in the local paper, but it was such a huge deal, I figured I could find national or at least state coverage. A search proved nothing. The Award of Honor wasn’t worth a bit of national news? And why not the Medal of Honor?
I went back to the original article. No byline, but at the bottom was a name.
Wendy Madigan, NNN.
The National News Network? If this story originated from the National News Network, why hadn’t it actually been in the national news?
Maybe this Wendy Madigan would know.
I did a quick database search. Turned out she had been a NNN correspondent until about two years ago, when she retired.
Her image was easy to find, and I recognized her. She had been a staple on the news, and I was surprised I hadn’t remembered the name. She was an attractive older woman with short light-brown hair and blue eyes.
Since she was no longer with the National News Network, I had to find her on my own. I found a few e-mail addresses and phone numbers but decided against e-mail. I wanted to talk to her.
The first number I tried had been disconnected.
The second number, however, rang until someone answered. A Denver area code too. What luck.
“Hello?”
“Hi, I’m trying to reach Wendy Madigan.”
“May I ask who’s calling?”
“Sure. My name is Jade Roberts. I’m a city attorney in Snow Creek, Colorado.”
The woman cleared her throat. “May I ask what this is regarding?”
“I’d rather keep that between Ms. Madigan and myself, if you don’t mind.”
“All right.” A short pause. “Wendy, phone.”
“Thanks, Mom.” Then, “Hello?”
“Ms. Madigan?”
“Yes.”
“This is Jade Roberts from the city attorney’s office in Snow Creek, Colorado.”
“Snow Creek? Where did you get this number?”
“It’s one of your numbers of record.”
“This is my mother’s landline.”
“I don’t know what to tell you. At some point, it became a number of record for you.”
“Look, Ms. Roberts, I’m sure there’s nothing I can help you with. You know I’m no longer with the news.”
“Yes, I know. But I’m doing some investigation on the Steel family. There’s precious little information out there about them, but your name did pop up on an article about Talon Steel.”
Silence on the other end of the phone.
“Ms. Madigan?”
“Yes, I’m here. I guess I should’ve expected this phone call eventually.”
My heart thumped. What had she meant by that? “So you know why I’m calling, then?”
“Why don’t you tell me why you’re calling.”
Smart woman. She knew what she was doing.
“I’m doing some research on the Steel brothers and their ranch here in Snow Creek.”
“Why would a city attorney be interested in the Steels?”
“I’m afraid that’s classified at the moment, Ms. Madigan.” I hated the words as soon as I’d uttered them. I sounded like Larry. Sleazy Larry.
“Then why should I answer any questions?”
“You’re certainly within your rights not to. But I’m most interested in an article that appeared in the local paper about three years ago, when Talon Steel was discharged from the Marines and returned to Snow Creek. Clearly the man was a hero, and he received the Award of Honor, but this news did not appear anywhere else. I found your name at the bottom of the local article.”
“I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Perhaps you didn’t want your name there, but it was, Ms. Madigan. Why didn’t this appear in the national news? You were a national news correspondent. This man was a hero. Shouldn’t this have been sprawled on the front pages of all of the national papers? Shouldn’t it have been on the network news? Shouldn’t he have gotten the Medal of Honor?”
A throat cleared on the other side of the line. “The Steels are very private people, Ms. Roberts.”
That was the understatement of the year. “Do you know how the story ended up in this little local paper, then?”
“I’m afraid I don’t.”
“Well, it was obviously your story.”
“Perhaps my name was a misprint.”
I couldn’t help a soft chuckle. “Ms. Madigan, you’re an accomplished newswoman. Now, I may be a new attorney, but I know better than to believe the bull you’re spewing at me. There’s a reason why this story was not on the national news.”
“I’m sorry. I sympathize with your plight, but I really can’t help you.” The line cl
icked dead.
I had only been investigating for a couple of weeks, but already I knew when someone was lying to me. That number had a Denver area code, and with the databases at my disposal as a city attorney, I easily found the address for the landline. Now, how to get to Denver? The easiest way would be to fly, since I didn’t have a car. I buzzed Michelle.
“Yes?”
“Michelle, could you get me on the first flight to Denver, please? And call George to drive me over to the airport, as well.”
“You mean you want to go today?”
“If possible. It’s early yet. I should be able to get there by midafternoon if there are any seats left. Get me on a return late tonight.”
“Should Larry okay this?”
“Larry’s not here, and he wants me to get information on this case. I think he’d probably be okay with it. The fare’s pretty cheap.” I hoped she’d buy the lie.
“All right. I’ll take care of it, Jade.”
Fifteen minutes later, I had a seat on a flight leaving in two hours.
Wendy Madigan, here I come.
Chapter Thirteen
Talon
“Yeah?” the heavily tattooed bald guy at the front desk said to me. “What can I help you with?”
“I need to see Toby.”
“He’s not in today. Just Haley and me.”
“All right.” I sighed. “Last night, a woman named Jade Roberts came in for a tattoo. Were you helping her?”
“No, that would’ve been Haley.”
“Get her up here, then.”
“She’s in the middle of a project.”
My ears burned. Surely smoke was coming right out of them. My skin was on fire. I threw a couple of twenties on the counter. “Get her up here. I need to talk to her.”
The guy played with his lip ring and took the cash. “Haley, there’s a guy up here who needs see you.”
“I’m busy,” a voice called.
Baldy lifted the corners of his lips into a smirk. “I think he’ll make it worth your while.”
A couple seconds later, a Goth girl with tattoos everywhere appeared. “Yeah? I’m Haley.”
“A woman came in here last night wanting a tattoo. Jade Roberts?”
Haley nodded. “Yeah. Uptight businesswoman type, but she was wearing leggings. Go figure. I was really surprised she wanted a tat.”
“You’re the artist she was working with?”
Haley nodded again, popping a wad of gum.
“She wanted a particular image. A phoenix. Can you tell me where you got that image?”
“She found it in one of our books. It wasn’t anything I had done before, but I was pretty easily able to copy it for her. We were about to get down to business when she got a phone call last night.”
Thank God Marj had called her. If Julie hadn’t shown up at my house last night, Jade would have that damned thing on her back right now. Permanently. I shook my head. I never thought I’d be thankful for my sister’s meddling.
“Listen, I need you not to do that tattoo on her.”
“Dude, I tattoo anyone who wants me to tattoo them. It’s kind of what I do for living. You know, how I pay my bills?”
I pulled a couple hundreds out of my wallet and set them in front of her. “Is this enough to convince you not to tattoo her?”
“Well, it’s enough to convince me not to tattoo her once. I charge about two fifty to three per tattoo.”
Was she serious? Three hundred bucks to draw on someone’s body? Unreal. Time to attack this from a different angle. This woman wasn’t the only tattoo artist in Colorado. Hell, she wasn’t even the only tattoo artist in Snow Creek. I knew Toby. I could go straight to the top and tell him not to tattoo Jade. Of course, that would piss Jade off. I seemed to be good at that.
“Okay. Yu can keep that. It’s for your time that was wasted last night. What I need you to do now is show me the book where Jade found that phoenix tattoo.”
“No prob.” Haley pulled a couple thick books onto the counter. “Phoenixes are under mythological creatures, and there might be some under birds. Take a look. I gotta get back to work. I’m in the middle of a tat.”
I nodded. “Understood. Thanks. I’ll take a look at these.” My heart beat rapidly as I started thumbing through the book. I turned to the birds section. A psychedelic peacock nearly jumped off the page. There was even a chicken and a turkey. Who the hell tattooed a turkey on himself?
No phoenixes, though. Why hadn’t I begun with mythological creatures? I found the requisite section and began perusing, my fingers sweating. Some of the dragons were pretty cool. I slowly turned pages, finding nothing.
A couple minutes later, Haley trotted back up front. “Dude, I forgot. I wrote down the page number of the book when I drew the image. It should be on page 307, mythological creatures.”
Page 307… Ice penetrated my skin.
I gripped the sides of the book, my knuckles whitening with tension. The red bird, colorful wings ending in orange and white-blue flames… My stomach dropped, and acid crawled up my throat.
Identical, or nearly so…and the photo was of a forearm.
I gulped down a giant lump that had lodged in my throat.
Was it the same?
The same?
My knees buckled beneath me, and I grasped the counter for support.
I cleared my throat, desperately trying to dislodge the caustic lump. Keep it cool. Keep it cool, Talon.
Images whirled into my mind, conjuring themselves from the blackness. The walls filled with photos of tattoos inched forward, the colors pulsing, vibrating. No. No flashback. Not here. Not now.
“Hey, Haley!” I yelled, the room spinning back into focus.
She trotted back up to the counter, looking pissed. “Yeah?”
“Are all these photos from tattoos that were done here in Snow Creek?”
“I haven’t the foggiest. Some of the photos are really old.”
“Maybe over twenty years old?” I asked.
“Oh, yeah, probably. Toby bought this place from some dude a while back. He’d know better than I would.”
“When’s he coming in?”
“Probably later this afternoon. I think he’s got an appointment scheduled.” She strode quickly back to her client.
Quietly, I pulled the photo out of the book. The colors had faded. Yes, it was an older photo. Toby and I would be having a chat.
“What’s Toby’s cell number?” I yelled back to Haley.
“Not sure I should give that out.”
I pulled out another twenty and waved it at her. “How about now?”
Haley laughed and returned to the counter. She wrote a number down on the back of a business card. “Here you go. Pleasure doing business with you.”
The boy emptied his stomach.
He wasn’t sure why they bothered to feed him. He didn’t keep much down anyway. His wrists were noticeably skinnier than when he had been brought to the cold, dark cellar.
They laughed at him, taunting him. “Makes you puke? You can’t take it like a man?”
No man should have to take what the boy took. No woman, either. Especially no little boy or girl. No, nobody.
Nobody but him.
He’d been forsaken. No one had come for him. No one would. Did he deserve this? This horrific fate that had been thrust upon him?
He must. Because no one came.
Tattoo clocked him upside the head. “You know you get hit whenever you puke, boy. But still you insist on puking.”
The boy gagged again and heaved, the sharp pain from the punch making his eyes water. Nothing remained in his stomach to come out.
Cramps churned his gut. One of them kicked his bare ass, and his head hit the concrete wall.
Blessed blackness, where no pain existed. No masked men. No flaming bird.
Just nothing.
Nothing was good.
I quickly keyed in the number Haley had given me.
“Yeah
?”
“Hey, Toby. Talon Steel.”
“Steel, what’s up? I’m not sure you’ve ever called me before.”
“I got your cell from Haley at the shop. I need to talk to you. In person.”
“Yeah? What about?”
God, my heart was going to fly out of my chest any minute. “A tattoo in one of your books. It’s a phoenix on someone’s forearm. I want to find out who you tattooed it on.”
“I respect my clientele’s privacy, Steel.”
“I’ll make it worth your while to give me the information I want. Can you meet me over at Rita’s?”
“I honestly wish I could help you,” Toby said, his blond hair falling into his eyes. He sat across from me at Rita’s, sipping on some coffee. “But that’s not one of mine. I bought the place fifteen or so years ago, and that tat was done by one of the previous guys.”
“Do you know when it was done?”
Toby shook his head. “Sure don’t. But I can tell you who I bought the shop from. That might help you.”
I racked my brain, trying to remember the name of the tattoo shop fifteen years ago. I’d been twenty, spending most of my time in the city drinking and fucking. Shit. “I’ll take whatever information you have.”
Toby grinned, a gold tooth glinting on the edge of his smile. “So how worth my while are you making this?”
I slid a hundred across the table. “How’s this for a start?”
Toby nodded, pocketing the Benji. “I’d say that’s a great start, Steel. Here’s to the beginning of a beautiful business relationship.” He chuckled.
Money. Never stopped surprising me how cooperative people got when money was involved. So often I had been willing to give up my entire fortune just to have a normal life, to erase the horrors of my past, but at times like these, I was grateful I had a boatload of the green. “When can I get this information?”
“I’ve got all the records at the shop. Come on over now, and I’ll show you what I have.”
Perfect. Absolutely perfect.
Chapter Fourteen
Jade
My pulse raced as I stood on the front porch of the address where Wendy Madigan lived. Get a grip, Jade. This is work, nothing more.
