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Authors: Mary Maxwell
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lady. And in my line of work, I meet lots of different types of
people.”
“Including murderers?” Sonja said.
“Hey, I can tell you’re pretty
worked up,” Carter said. “But you need to dial back the passive-aggressive mumbo-jumbo.
I’m trying to help out so you’ll both leave and let me get back to work.”
“What’s the other guy’s name then?”
I asked. “Your friend that put you in touch with the blonde?”
With a mumbled string of expletives
and another booming laugh, Carter told us to go back to where we came from.
“I’m not giving you his name,” he said. “But I will tell you that she drove a
black Escalade.”
“How do you know that?” I asked. “I
mean, if you don’t know.”
He plucked another tissue from the
box on the counter. “Because she picked up Warren here on Saturday,” he said.
“Right around noon or so. He came by and waited inside until she pulled up and
honked. I never saw her. Never saw them together. And that’s all I’ve got to
say.”
“Did you see her—”
Carter held up one fleshy hand.
“What part of ‘that’s all I’ve got to say’ do you not understand, lady?”
“She had one of them personal
license plates,” the woman behind the counter suddenly offered.
Carter’s head whirled on his thick
neck. “What was that?”
“The blonde you’re talking about,”
the woman said. “You know those license plates that some people have? With
little abbreviations or their dog’s name or whatever?”
“What was it?” I asked.
“Uh, you know, I only got a little
glimpse,” the woman answered. “I was coming in to work about then, and I
noticed the Escalade because it was so pimped out and shiny.”
“But you saw the plate?” Sonja
asked.
The woman nodded. “Yep, but I don’t
really remember the whole thing,” she said. “The first part was a word, like
maybe ‘zebra’ or something.”
Sonja frowned. “Zebra? Like the
animal?”
“Yep,” the woman said. “Although it
might not have been exactly zebra. It could’ve been some other word and then a
number.”
The door opened and a pair of
teenaged girls came inside. They were like mirror images: slim and pale, with
pitch-black hair and gold hoops through their noses.
Carter cleared his throat loudly.
“Yeah, so this is all really fascinating,” he said. “But we’ve got a busy
afternoon.” He motioned for the two girls to come over. “Hey, Brenda,” he said.
“I see you talked your friend into it.”
One of the girls giggled and said
something I couldn’t catch. Then they followed Carter through the black velvet
curtain into the back of the shop. As he walked away, he gave us a slight nod
of his head.
“Catch ya later,” he said. “Maybe
next time you’ll be here to get inked.”
“I doubt it,” Sonja said under her
breath. “Let’s get out of here, Jana!”
When we were back in the car, I
checked my messages. There was one from Dora about Rosemary’s memorial service
and another from my mother about a family reunion she was planning. After I
listened to the latest update on the gathering, I dropped my phone into my
purse and asked Sonja if she wanted to have a late lunch.
“That would be perfect!” she said,
managing to smile. “How about that new Mexican place at Oak Woods Mall?”
“And it’ll be my treat,” I offered.
“For doing all the driving today. And for being a girl’s best friend.”
Chapter 14
My husband was perched on the front
steps when I pulled into the driveway around six o’clock. He was talking on the
phone as I came up the sidewalk.
“…whenever you’d like, Mr. Truscott,”
he was saying. “I can be there in the morning or we can do it next week.”
I gave him a kiss on his forehead
and waited. It sounded like he was planning a meeting to finalize acquisition
of Truscott’s company. When he finally said goodbye and slipped his phone into
his back pocket, I gave him another kiss.
“How was your day?” he
people.”
“Including murderers?” Sonja said.
“Hey, I can tell you’re pretty
worked up,” Carter said. “But you need to dial back the passive-aggressive mumbo-jumbo.
I’m trying to help out so you’ll both leave and let me get back to work.”
“What’s the other guy’s name then?”
I asked. “Your friend that put you in touch with the blonde?”
With a mumbled string of expletives
and another booming laugh, Carter told us to go back to where we came from.
“I’m not giving you his name,” he said. “But I will tell you that she drove a
black Escalade.”
“How do you know that?” I asked. “I
mean, if you don’t know.”
He plucked another tissue from the
box on the counter. “Because she picked up Warren here on Saturday,” he said.
“Right around noon or so. He came by and waited inside until she pulled up and
honked. I never saw her. Never saw them together. And that’s all I’ve got to
say.”
“Did you see her—”
Carter held up one fleshy hand.
“What part of ‘that’s all I’ve got to say’ do you not understand, lady?”
“She had one of them personal
license plates,” the woman behind the counter suddenly offered.
Carter’s head whirled on his thick
neck. “What was that?”
“The blonde you’re talking about,”
the woman said. “You know those license plates that some people have? With
little abbreviations or their dog’s name or whatever?”
“What was it?” I asked.
“Uh, you know, I only got a little
glimpse,” the woman answered. “I was coming in to work about then, and I
noticed the Escalade because it was so pimped out and shiny.”
“But you saw the plate?” Sonja
asked.
The woman nodded. “Yep, but I don’t
really remember the whole thing,” she said. “The first part was a word, like
maybe ‘zebra’ or something.”
Sonja frowned. “Zebra? Like the
animal?”
“Yep,” the woman said. “Although it
might not have been exactly zebra. It could’ve been some other word and then a
number.”
The door opened and a pair of
teenaged girls came inside. They were like mirror images: slim and pale, with
pitch-black hair and gold hoops through their noses.
Carter cleared his throat loudly.
“Yeah, so this is all really fascinating,” he said. “But we’ve got a busy
afternoon.” He motioned for the two girls to come over. “Hey, Brenda,” he said.
“I see you talked your friend into it.”
One of the girls giggled and said
something I couldn’t catch. Then they followed Carter through the black velvet
curtain into the back of the shop. As he walked away, he gave us a slight nod
of his head.
“Catch ya later,” he said. “Maybe
next time you’ll be here to get inked.”
“I doubt it,” Sonja said under her
breath. “Let’s get out of here, Jana!”
When we were back in the car, I
checked my messages. There was one from Dora about Rosemary’s memorial service
and another from my mother about a family reunion she was planning. After I
listened to the latest update on the gathering, I dropped my phone into my
purse and asked Sonja if she wanted to have a late lunch.
“That would be perfect!” she said,
managing to smile. “How about that new Mexican place at Oak Woods Mall?”
“And it’ll be my treat,” I offered.
“For doing all the driving today. And for being a girl’s best friend.”
Chapter 14
My husband was perched on the front
steps when I pulled into the driveway around six o’clock. He was talking on the
phone as I came up the sidewalk.
“…whenever you’d like, Mr. Truscott,”
he was saying. “I can be there in the morning or we can do it next week.”
I gave him a kiss on his forehead
and waited. It sounded like he was planning a meeting to finalize acquisition
of Truscott’s company. When he finally said goodbye and slipped his phone into
his back pocket, I gave him another kiss.
“How was your day?” he
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