by Jenna Night
But visiting with someone was nowhere near the same as being with them full-time, seeing up close how they dealt with everything, the bad as well as the good. And really, it always came back to the same argument, anyway. Why risk messing things up and possibly losing the best relationship of his life by throwing romance into the mix?
“Okay,” he finally said, after taking a few seconds to stand, tuck his phone in his pocket and get his thoughts focused back on the task at hand rather than on his feelings for Daisy. “Let’s go.”
Steve, who was manning the front counter, as usual, lifted a hand in a casual goodbye. He’d already taped a sign to the front door letting people know that only one client would be allowed inside the office at a time—no family members or friends allowed with them. They were still open for business, but the door was being kept locked for now.
“I think Steve and I should go out to the university instead of you,” Alvis said, heading over to a row of hooks on the wall to reach for his jacket and his battered old slouch hat.
Steve turned in his chair so that he was facing everyone in the back of the office, his eyes wide with excitement and a broad smile plastered on his face. He’d recently expressed an interest in being trained as a bounty hunter.
Daisy turned to Alvis, wearing a guarded expression. “Why?”
“There’s a lot of open space on that campus,” he answered, shrugging into his jacket. “A shooter could plug you from a long way off. And then get away without being seen.”
“I don’t—” Daisy started to speak again and Alvis cut her off.
“I know the odds are there isn’t an assassin roaming the grounds there just waiting to take a shot at you this morning. And I know you’d keep your eyes open after you left here. You’re good at spotting a tail. Good, but not perfect. Steve and I will go.” Alvis reached for the photos in Daisy’s hand. A lot of bounty hunters went old-school with printed pictures. The last thing they wanted to do was hand their phone over to strangers so they could get a good look at a picture on a screen. Especially given the types of strangers they often talked to.
“I used to have informants at the university,” Alvis continued, “but I don’t anymore. It’s time I got out there and got me some new ones.”
Steve was already on his feet. He’d put on his jacket and looked ready to go. Martin watched Millie walk over to take Steve’s seat at the counter, smile in response to the excited grin on his face and then pick up a clipboard and take a look at the names of high flight-risk clients scheduled to check in during the day.
“Did you hear anything back from your son?” Martin asked Justine. “Has he ever heard of Tony Valens? Did he recognize his picture?”
Justine leaned back in her chair, crossed her arms and shook her head. “Robbie doesn’t know the guy. Doesn’t know anything about him.”
“Could Robbie meet up with Alvis and Steve?” Daisy asked her. “Maybe help them out. Introduce them to people or show them where students tend to congregate off campus.”
“I’ll send him a text right now and ask him.” Justine glanced at Alvis. “I’ll let you know as soon as I hear back from him.”
After Alvis and Steve left, Millie asked Daisy, “What do you and Martin plan to do today?”
“Well, we know law enforcement are doing their high-tech research and tracking to find Daltrey and Bunker, as well as Tony Valens,” Daisy said slowly, clearly thinking out loud. “Meanwhile, bounty hunters do our best work when we find out our target’s habits, or small details about them, and then go out and talk to people. It was the low-tech leads we found, the shopping bag and the pizza box at the rental house, that got us to the part of town where they had that industrial space off the alley and were hiding my mom.”
“So, you’re saying you want to go back to that part of town?” Martin asked.
“I am. I’ve tried calling Louis at QuickStop several times and he won’t pick up. Same with Janis at the hair salon. So the idea that those informants didn’t want to talk to me in plain sight of anybody, but that they might talk to me on the phone instead, didn’t pan out.
“Something happened in that part of town that spooked people,” she added. “I want to talk to the tenants in the buildings around that abandoned building where Valens stashed Mom and me. I have no idea where to even look for Daltrey and Bunker at the moment. That makes Tony Valens the best lead we have. And we know from the cops that he frequents the old part of downtown. Somebody has to have seen him around there. Seen something that would be helpful to us. If we get enough small bits of information, maybe we could piece together a bigger picture.”
“That sounds like a good plan to me,” Millie said. And then she pointed to a figure standing at the front door.
“Detective Gerber,” Martin said, walking past Daisy to open the door for him.
After a quick greeting, the detective cut to the chase. “I came by to let you know that we found Tony Valens.”
Daisy’s face lit up. “Have you gotten any good information out of him?”
Gerber sighed. “I’m afraid not. He’s dead.”
Martin felt his stomach drop with disappointment, while he kept his eyes on Daisy. He watched her smile settle into a more somber expression. And then saw her lift her chin. He could almost see her strengthening her resolve. It reminded him of the months after her father was killed, when she was determined to help bring the hit-and-run driver to justice. And just like back then, his heart filled with admiration for her.
“What happened to him?” Daisy asked.
“He was murdered. Shot execution style.”
“Just like an organized crime hit man would do it,” Martin said. “You figure the killer was Daltrey or Bunker?”
“We’re determined to consider all possibilities until the facts are in,” Gerber said. “The crime techs are processing the scene right now. But yeah, we strongly suspect Daltrey or Bunker were involved. Or both of them.”
“This whole situation is spinning out of control very quickly,” Millie said quietly while looking at Daisy.
The detective nodded. “I wanted to keep you in the loop. Be careful.”
He left, and Millie picked up her phone. “I’ll text Alvis and let him know that he and Steve can come back to the office.”
Daisy turned to Martin, her stubborn, determined chin still lifted. “We’ve got to get out on the streets and find Daltrey and Bunker before they murder anyone else.”
That was exactly what Martin thought she would say. He was proud of her. But he was also a little bit scared for her, too.
* * *
“Hey! Louis! Don’t run from me, I need to talk to you!” The second Daisy had walked up to the QuickStop door, she’d locked eyes with Louis through the glass. And as soon as she pushed through the door, he’d scurried toward a passage from the main floor of the store to his back office, where there was also an exit out of the building. He was trying to get away without talking to her. And Daisy was having none of that.
“What are you doing?” she demanded, going after him. Louis may know the layout of his store better than her, but Daisy was younger and more limber, and she managed to hop a counter and get in front of him before he could escape.
“I’ve got nothing to say to you.” Louis stubbornly set his jaw and shook his head while the two clerks at the register watched, goggle-eyed.
Daisy heard Martin behind her. He’d walked in for only a few steps and then he’d stopped in a position where he’d have a wider view of the whole store. He’d have a good view of everything going on, including any people who might be in there shopping.
“Look, I just want to ask you a few questions,” Daisy said to Louis, holding up her hands in a placating gesture. Now that she had him cornered and he’d stopped trying to flee from her, she took a couple of steps back to give him some space and tried to cool down a bit. The man did not
have to talk to her if he didn’t want to. She wasn’t a cop. He could call the actual cops and have her tossed out. So, much as she wanted to push him to quit playing around and talk to her, she needed to calm things down.
“I’m not getting myself killed for you,” Louis said. “I know we’ve helped each other out over the years, but I’ve got a family. I’ve got—”
“Tony Valens is dead,” Daisy interrupted. She reached into her pocket and pulled out one of the photos of Valens she’d printed. She unfolded the paper and held the image in front of Louis. “You know him, right?” she said. “You’ve seen him around?”
Louis nodded wordlessly.
Finally, she was getting somewhere. She exhaled a sigh and relaxed her stance. “I need you to help me find the people who killed him. So let’s start from the beginning. Where did you first see him?”
Louis crossed his arms over his chest. Daisy could see that he was biting down on his lips. Something people often did when they were afraid they would blurt out something.
“Valens can’t hurt you,” she said, struggling to keep the tone of impatience out of her voice. “You can tell me the truth.”
“I’m not taking a chance. I don’t want the people who killed Valens coming after me.”
“Why would they do that?” Daisy could see from his wide eyes and pale skin that he was truly afraid. “They don’t even know who you are. Look, the killers had a problem specifically with Valens. That’s why they went after him. And they have one with me, too. So I really need your help. Please.”
“They know who I am,” Louis said, breaking eye contact with her and looking down at the ground.
“You know who killed Valens? How is that possible?”
Daisy heard Martin move up closer behind her.
“I started seeing Tony Valens around here about a year ago. Hanging around, meeting up with people for a few minutes before they’d quickly walk or drive away. I figured he might be selling drugs in the neighborhood, but I didn’t know for sure. I’m not a cop. It’s not my job to know that stuff.”
His gaze flicked up to meet Daisy’s for a few seconds, then he looked down again. “I saw him with a couple of guys who didn’t look or sound like they were from around here. I’d see them in here, or sometimes out walking on the sidewalk together. I didn’t think much about it. But then a day before you showed up asking questions about your two bail jumpers, Tony came by and told me to keep my mouth shut if anybody—bounty hunters, cops, whoever—came by asking about him or his friends. Told me if I didn’t stay quiet, that some mob people would come after me and make sure I stayed quiet forever.”
When she was here before, Louis wouldn’t even look at the photos she had of Daltrey and Bunker. Because he’d been terrified. She knew that now. She didn’t have any paper photos of the two hit men with her now, so she found the photos on her phone and then held it up to Louis. “Are these the men you saw?” she asked, showing Daltrey and then swiping the screen to show Bunker.
Louis didn’t answer. Which, in a way, was an answer.
Daisy would alert Detective Gerber to check out the store, get any video footage they could, check sales transactions and see if either of the hit men left a trail of any kind of useful digital information.
“The cops might come by here later,” Daisy said.
Louis’s shoulders slumped.
“But I am not telling anyone that you, personally, helped me in any way.” She would leave it up to him to decide what he wanted to say to the police. “Is there anything you can tell me that might help me find Daltrey and Bunker? Something you noticed about either of them? Something they said to you or that you overheard them saying to one another? Did you notice what they were driving? Any scrap of information could help.”
“They came in for cigarettes, mostly. Sometimes beer or food. And gallon-sized jugs of bottled water. That’s all I can tell you. It’s not like they hung out in here.”
Bottled water. Probably because they were staying in that abandoned building with no utilities.
“Thank you,” she said, reaching into her pocket for the money she’d tucked in there before she got out of her SUV, and handing it to him. She hadn’t learned anything that could help her find the fugitives, but maybe law enforcement would be able to glean something when they came here later. As always, small bits of seemingly random facts could eventually coalesce into useful, actionable information.
“If you really want to thank me,” Louis said, “don’t come back here for a while.” He glanced toward the clerks, who weren’t close enough to hear their conversation but were still watching them intently. “And don’t try to grill any of my clerks for information. They don’t deserve to be put in danger.”
That would be something else for the police to deal with.
“Okay.” Daisy turned to Martin. “Let’s go.”
“Wait, I have a question,” Martin said to Louis.
A stubborn expression settled on the store owner’s face. “I don’t know you.”
“I realize that,” Martin said easily, and then he flashed a smile that had Daisy transfixed. Martin had such sharp features that he tended to look severe much of the time. But then when he flashed those pearly whites, the gentle, playful Martin came through clearly. And Daisy loved seeing that.
She realized where her thoughts were going and she was annoyed. Annoyed with herself, and annoyed with Martin. This was not the time or place to let her thoughts turn in that direction, to consider how charming Martin could be. What was wrong with her?
“Ask Louis your question,” she snapped.
Martin’s smile grew broader. Great. What a time for him to be able to guess her thoughts.
“I was just wondering how Tony Valens and his criminal buddies would know that you had a connection to Daisy,” Martin said to Louis. “I don’t imagine you go around telling people that you work with a bounty hunter.”
Louis shook his head. “How would I know?” He looked at Daisy. “You and I talk in here and sometimes outside in the parking lot in broad daylight. I don’t tell people I help a bounty hunter. But it’s not like we hide, either. I just figured they must have seen us together.”
With a huff of impatience, Louis stalked off toward his office and out of sight. The interview was officially over.
“What do you want to do next?” Martin asked Daisy as they walked out the door.
Daisy needed a few minutes to consider that. The problem was, she couldn’t afford to waste any time.
Daltrey and Bunker were planning to skip town eventually. She had no doubt about that. They’d already murdered Jimmy Nestor, who’d shown them the rec center at the lake where they’d tried to set their trap for Daisy. Now they’d killed Tony Valens. They apparently liked to tie up loose ends as they lived their criminal lives. And Daisy was one of those loose ends. They weren’t planning to let her live.
* * *
“Welcome to our home,” Jessica Cassidy said to Martin after she gave her niece, Daisy, a lingering hug at the threshold of the front door. “It’s been a long time since you were last here.”
“Yes, ma’am, it has.” Martin accepted the welcoming hug she offered him and then stepped inside and shook hands with her husband, Tim.
Jessica was Shannon Lopez’s older sister. Martin had been to the house, on the edge of a fifty-acre parcel of land with a stocked pond in the center of it, a few times back when he and Daisy and Aaron had all been in high school together.
He’d also been there, helping out however he could, after the funeral services for Daisy’s father. Jessica and Tim had hosted an open house for everyone who wanted to come by and visit with the family. Martin had stayed out of the way, cooking, cleaning, doing his best to entertain bored, cranky kids who had no way of understanding the gravity of the situation. He hadn’t needed to visit with the family because he’d been with them
since he’d learned of Mr. Lopez’s fatal accident. As soon as he got the call, he’d blasted over from Stone River and ended up staying for about three weeks.
“Hey, how are you kids holding up?” Shannon met them in the living room.
Like Daisy, she had dark circles under her eyes and some bruising on her face. Heartbreak, anger and determination formed a knot in Martin’s throat. He took a couple of deep breaths, pushed the grim emotions aside and did his best to smile when she looked in his direction.
Jessica and Tim hung around to chat for a few minutes. Then, after Daisy and Martin politely turned down their offer to make some coffee, they left the room. “We’ll let you talk privately,” Jessica said before they headed toward the den at the other end of the house. “If you get hungry, help yourselves to anything in the kitchen.”
Shannon dropped down onto the sofa and Daisy sat close beside her, reaching for her mom’s hand and squeezing it.
This had been Daisy’s idea, coming here late in the afternoon to talk to her mom. She wanted to ask her some questions and maybe get some leads, depending on the answers. She told Martin that she’d thought about doing it ever since she was released from the hospital, but she wanted to give her mom time to rest and recover a bit.
“I’m sorry to have to make you go through all of this again,” Daisy said to her mom, “thinking about what happened from the time you were kidnapped to the end of it all. But since I was getting checked out at the hospital while you were being questioned by the police, and Martin was wasting his time hanging around with me instead of working on the case and listening in on your statement to the police, I don’t know a lot of the details about what happened to you.”
Daisy glanced at Martin with a serious expression on her face, but also a teasing glint in her eye.
