by James Carol
He wanted the applause. He craved the validation it brought.
Chief Kalani needed to get his people to check out news footage from the crime scenes. That’s how they were going to catch this guy. Check the crowds for a bad actor who was doing his best to make out like this wasn’t the best show ever.
38
I parted the drapes and looked out the window. It had just gone six-thirty and the sun would be up soon. The sky was beginning to lighten in anticipation of the main event, black turning to grey with a hint of purple. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and the light breeze blowing in through the open window promised another hot one.
Apollo’s was still closed and Morrow Street was as deserted as it had been last night. I shut the window, then hit the shower. I ran it as hot as I could stand to get rid of yesterday’s grime before turning it to freezing to blast away the fatigue. Another couple of hours’ sleep would have been good. Another six would have been divine.
By the time I’d got dried and dressed, Apollo’s was open, the flickering neon rocket lit up blue and red and blasting off to wherever. I was the first customer of the day and I took the window seat I’d had yesterday. Lori looked exactly the same as she had the day before. Same make-up, same smile, same beehive hair-do. Same retro uniform as well, but this one was clean on and still smelled of fresh laundry.
‘Early riser,’ she said.
‘Borderline insomniac.’
She smiled. ‘You and my Frank would get on just fine. That’s him banging around in the kitchen. He’s not a morning person, let me tell you. Like a bear with a sore head. Me, I sleep like the dead. My head touches the pillow and boom, that’s me out until the alarm goes. Coffee?’
‘That would be great, thanks.’
There was a sudden loud crash from the kitchen followed by a whole lot of swearing. Lori shouted out, ‘It’s right there at your feet, honey,’ and Frank swore some more, making her smile. She shook her head and started pouring my coffee.
‘How long ago did your sister die?’ I asked.
Lori paused mid-pour, then carried on. When she’d finished, she straightened up. The smile was gone. That was all the confirmation I needed. Up until this point I’d been ninety-nine per cent certain that Hannah had been lying when she told me her mother had Parkinson’s. Now I was a hundred per cent certain.
‘Cissy passed away almost a year ago.’ She shook her head. ‘I can’t believe it’s a year already. I still miss her every single day. She was my baby sister, and she’ll always be my baby sister, and I loved her. Thing is, I’m going to get older and she’s not, and that’s just plain wrong. I was the older sister. It was my job to protect her. Have you lost anyone close to you?’
‘I’ve lost people, yes.’
‘So you know what I’m talking about?’
I nodded because I did, but not from first-hand experience. Deal with death day in, day out and you get to see more than your share of grief. The truth was that I hadn’t shed a single tear for either of my parents.
‘What happened to Cissy?’
‘Breast cancer. She’d done chemo, thought she had it licked, but cancer’s a sneaky disease. It came back twice as bad and spread like wildfire. There was nothing Cissy could do. Nothing any of us could do except watch her wasting away.’
Lori wiped her eyes, smearing her mascara.
‘How did Hannah deal with it?’
‘She was an angel. She nursed her mom all the way through to the end. And she managed to keep the guesthouse going.’
‘I take it Hannah’s father isn’t in the picture.’
Lori shook her head. ‘He ran out when Hannah was still in diapers. Worthless no-good son of a bitch.’
‘The guesthouse doesn’t seem that busy right now.’
‘Peaks and troughs. It’s always been like that. A couple of weeks ago it was packed. No way you would have got a room. This week it’s empty. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, though. It means Hannah gets a break.’
‘She’s on her own over there, isn’t she?’
Lori nodded. ‘Me and Frank try to help out as best we can but we’ve got enough on our hands with the diner, so, yeah, she’s pretty much running that place single-handedly. I’ve told her a hundred times to hire someone but she won’t hear of it. It’s almost like she’s punishing herself, like she’s blaming herself for her mother’s death.’
Lori sighed and pulled herself together in a way that made it obvious this conversation was over. She put down the coffee pot and took out her pad and pencil. ‘So what can I get you to eat?’
‘Ham and eggs would be good.’ I smiled and clapped my hands together, making Lori jump. ‘So are you ready for the morning rush?’
‘You’re kidding, right? You saw what it was like yesterday. I don’t know why we bothered opening. Not that I’m surprised. Something like this happens and folks are going to be scared. It’s only natural. I mean, I’m scared. The idea that there’s a killer out there somewhere frightens me half to death.’
‘People still need to eat, Lori. And anyway, Sam Galloway’s already yesterday’s news. A good night’s sleep generally helps to restore common sense and get everything back into perspective.’
‘And I’m guessing you’re a coffee-pot’s-always-full kind of guy.’
‘Always.’
Lori laughed and hustled back to the counter. She shouted my order through to Frank, and he shouted back that it would be his pleasure in that flat, world-weary voice. This was obviously a conversation they’d had a hundred thousand times over the years, a well-rehearsed double act. I stirred two sugars into my mug and took a sip. Then I took out my cellphone and made two calls. Taylor first because, theoretically, he had further to come, then Hannah since she only had to come from across the street. The conversation was the same both times: breakfast was being brought forward.
39
I’d just started eating when Hannah arrived. She smiled when she saw me, eyes sparkling, the stress, worry and years melting away. Today she was wearing a Death Parade T-shirt, another band I’d never heard of. I was wearing a Lennon T-shirt. She thumped down into the seat opposite.
The diner was already getting busier. There was a group of three guys in tan police department uniforms at a table opposite the till, and a single guy in a red plaid shirt had his head buried in the pages of the morning paper at a table in the far corner.
‘Hi, Hannah,’ Lori called from the counter. ‘The usual?’
‘Thanks, Aunt Lori.’
Lori shouted the order through to Frank, and Frank shouted back that it would be his pleasure in that flat comic voice. Then she came over with the coffee pot, topped up my mug and poured a fresh mug for Hannah. They exchanged some small talk and Lori headed back to the counter.
‘Tell me Taylor’s first name and I won’t take your money.’
‘And why would I do that?’
‘Because I am going to work it out, and when I do you’re going to be two hundred bucks out of pocket.’
She grinned and shook her head. ‘No, Winter, you’re not going to work it out, and I’m going to be two hundred bucks richer.’
‘I’ll give you a hundred now if you tell me.’
Hannah made the sign of the loser on her forehead, thumb and forefinger making an L.
‘Okay,’ I said, ‘If you’re so sure, let’s make it four hundred.’
‘You’re on.’
There was no hesitation, which was a slight worry. Hannah could probably take a two-hundred-dollar hit, but four hundred would sting. Whatever Taylor’s name was, she was convinced I wouldn’t find out.
There was also a more intriguing implication to consider. Taylor wasn’t advertising his name. If he had been I would have found out by now. He was acting like it was a state secret and he was the only person in the world who knew the truth, apart from his parents, of course. But Hannah was acting like she knew what it was. The way she’d jumped at my suggestion to double the wager, she couldn’t
not know.
The bell above the door ting-a-linged and Taylor came in. He said ‘Hi’ and Hannah scooted along the seat to make space for him. Lori shouted over a ‘Hi’ and made her way over with a Pepsi. According to my watch, it had been exactly five minutes since Hannah got here. I glanced out the window. A black sedan with sheriff’s department markings had appeared outside the guesthouse. My money was on this being the same car we’d used yesterday.
‘Anything you kids want to share?’ I asked.
‘We don’t know what you’re talking about,’ said Taylor.
‘We,’ I said, with plenty of emphasis.
Hannah nudged Taylor in the ribs. ‘Idiot,’ she hissed.
Taylor made a what-did-I-do face. He looked so pathetic I almost felt sorry for him.
‘Don’t be too hard on him,’ I said to Hannah. ‘I already had it worked out before you guys got here.’
‘How?’
‘The name thing was the big one. You know Taylor’s first name, don’t you?’
She nodded.
‘Then there was the way you two were bickering last night. My first thought was that you were going at it like an old married couple. My second thought was that if a bird’s making quacking noises, chances are it’s a duck. Then there’s Taylor’s clothes. Yesterday I sent him away to change out of his uniform and he came back dressed like one of the Men In Black. He might as well not have bothered changing. Today he’s wearing his off-duty clothes. Blue jeans, a grey T-shirt, sneakers. Those are the clothes he keeps at your place. You don’t want him dressed like a cop when he’s off duty, right?’
Hannah nodded again.
‘The cop car was a nice touch. Last night when I headed up to my room, Taylor drove the car around the corner so I wouldn’t see it from my window. Before he got here, he snuck out the back of the guesthouse and went and got the car and parked it across the street.’ I took a sip of coffee. ‘So when do I get my wedding invitation?’
‘We don’t advertise our relationship,’ Hannah said. ‘This isn’t the fifties, but it is northern Louisiana. There are some people around these parts who wouldn’t approve.’
‘You don’t strike me as someone who’d care about something like that.’
‘And you don’t strike me as someone who’s ever tried to run a business in a small Southern town. Sometimes you need to play the game. I don’t like it, but I’m not about to cut my nose off to spite my face.’
‘So how serious are you guys?’
‘Serious enough for Taylor to get down on one knee.’
‘The old romantic. I take it you said yes.’
‘Of course I said yes. I’d be a fool not to. He’s the best man I know.’
‘Guys, I’m sat right here,’ said Taylor. His cheeks were redder than I’d ever seen them. It was kind of endearing.
Lori arrived with two plates. Six blueberry pancakes for Hannah. Taylor had ten plain ones, and steak, and eggs. You couldn’t see his plate for food. ‘Enjoy,’ she said, then headed off around the room, topping up coffee mugs. For a while we ate in silence. I finished first, drank some coffee.
‘My guess is you guys are on a three-year plan.’
‘What are you talking about?’
‘I know your mom’s dead, Hannah.’
For a second I thought she was going to deny this. She didn’t. Instead, she stared at me with her big fawn eyes, then gave me an almost imperceptible nod to go on.
‘The other thing I know is that you wouldn’t be hanging around here working your ass off in the guesthouse unless you had a damn good reason. Reason number one is you need money. You’re going to get a chunk of cash when you sell the guesthouse, but not enough to build a new life.’ I nodded to Taylor. ‘He’s reason number two. For whatever reason he wants to be a cop, but he needs more experience, so you need to hang around here a while longer.’
‘You’ve got it all worked out, don’t you?’
‘It’s what I do. So where are you going?’
‘San Francisco,’ Taylor said.
‘Nice city, if you like fog. And they get their fair share of murders too, so that’ll keep you busy.’ I turned back to Hannah. ‘What about you? What are you going to do?’
‘I’m going to start my own internet business. I’m going to buy stuff in cheap and sell it on for a profit. Anything and everything. Clothes, shoes, electrical gear, you name it. The one thing I’m not going to do is clean another toilet as long as I live.’
‘The American Dream made real for the twenty-first century.’
‘You’d better believe it.’
‘So what’s the magic number? How much is enough to put your escape plan into action?’
‘Half a million.’
Hannah said this without any hesitation. She’d crunched the numbers so many times she could probably recite them by rote.
‘How much would you get for the guesthouse?’
‘The business is valued at a third of a million.’
‘And how much have you got saved?’
Hannah glanced at Taylor, then looked back at me. ‘Where are you going with this?’
‘That’s fine. You don’t need to answer.’ I thought things through for a second then said, ‘Okay, you would have inherited some cash when your mom died, and you’ve been planning your escape for a while, so let’s round it off at, say, seventy thousand. Does that sound about right?’
Hannah said nothing but her expression indicated I was in the right ballpark.
‘If it’s okay with you guys, I’d like to make a few alterations to our wager. If I don’t work out Taylor’s first name then I’ll pay out a hundred grand. That should be enough to get you up to that magic half a million.’ Hannah went to say something and I put my hand up to stop her. ‘Also, I’ll put in a good word for Taylor with the San Francisco PD. I’ve helped them out in the past, so they owe me.’
‘You can afford to lose a hundred grand?’
‘First off, I’m not going to lose. Secondly, I wouldn’t be out of pocket. Jasper Morgan would, but I wouldn’t. As far as I’m concerned this would qualify as a justifiable business expense. And thirdly, if for some reason Jasper didn’t pay up, and if by some miracle I lost the bet, I can afford to take the hit.’
‘That’s a neat trick for someone working in law enforcement. Taylor can barely afford to make the repayments on his car.’
‘I like to dabble in the stock market.’
‘And, if you can afford to give away a hundred grand, you must be doing okay.’
I shrugged and did my best not to look smug. ‘Yeah, I do okay. Anyway, that’s beside the point. I have no intention of losing.’
Taylor shook his head. ‘Maybe you can afford to lose a hundred grand, Winter, but we sure as hell can’t.’
‘And the beauty of this deal is that you won’t have to. If I do work out your name, you guys pay me a buck. You can afford that, can’t you? A single dollar bill? One tiny little portrait of George Washington?’
Both Taylor and Hannah were staring at me like they were trying to work out what the catch was.
‘Let me get this straight,’ Hannah finally said. ‘If we win, you pay us a hundred thousand. If we lose, we pay you a dollar.’
I nodded. ‘And I’ll help Taylor get a job with the San Francisco PD. Don’t forget that.’
Hannah and Taylor turned to each other and started discussing my proposal. They were communicating in their own secret language, lots of hand gestures and head gestures and whispering. I understood the odd word, but they might as well have been speaking Swahili. Taylor nodded. Hannah nodded. They turned to face me.
‘There’s no catch?’ she asked.
‘No catch,’ I assured her.
‘Okay, you’ve got a deal.’
I shook Hannah’s hand first. It was small and her skin was rough from all those hours spent working in the guesthouse. Taylor’s skin was smoother, his handshake much gentler.
‘Right,’ I said. ‘Back to busines
s. We’re going to keep quiet about Dan Choat, make the unsub sweat.’
‘And what if that pushes him to kill again?’ asked Taylor.
‘Then that one’s on my conscience since this is my call. You two are off the hook. Sometimes you’ve got to take risks. This is one of those times.’
Reluctant nods from both Hannah and Taylor.
‘Hannah, you get the day off from cleaning toilets and making beds today. You’ll work with me and Taylor. Three heads are better than one.’
‘What about the guesthouse?’
‘I’m the only guest, and I’ll live if my bed doesn’t get made and my suitcase doesn’t get searched.’
I smiled at Hannah and she fired a bright sunny smile right back at me.
‘We need to find the place where Sam Galloway was murdered. That’s our number-one priority. My money’s still on the oil refinery.’
‘But we checked it out last night,’ said Taylor. ‘Remember we found nothing? Shepherd had some people checking it out yesterday as well, and they found nothing either.’
‘That place is huge. Judging by the maps, and what I saw when we flew in, you’re looking at an area that’s roughly twenty square miles. Five miles from east to west following the interstate, and four miles from north to south. We’re talking haystacks and needles here. We could easily have missed something.’
‘Or maybe it’s not the right place.’
‘It’s the right place. The padlock was oiled recently. An old abandoned place like that, who the hell’s going to oil the padlock? If you’re the security firm employed to patrol it and the padlock gets all rusted up, you cut it off and go buy a new one. But that’s not what happened here. Someone went to the trouble of getting a can of oil and spraying the lock. And that someone was our unsub. It had to be.’
Taylor was shaking his head slowly from side to side. ‘Let me get this straight. You’re basing this hunch on a padlock.’
‘It’s not a hunch, it’s a fact. And the padlock is only part of it. You saw how easy it was to pull the gate open. The wheels had been oiled, too. Believe me, nobody’s going to do that, Taylor. Not in a million years. Our unsub wanted to get in quick, and he wanted to do that without making a sound. He didn’t want the gates squeaking, so he oiled the padlock and he oiled the wheels.’
