Read Online The Prophet (Ryan Archer #2) by William Casey Moreton - Free Book Online
Authors: William Casey Moreton
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chirped as text messages piled up. Webb ignored it.
“Rosemary?” Karla asked.
“Probably. I need to fire her.”
“I would divorce you if you did.”
Webb kissed her forehead. “I think all the women in my life conspire against me, even your daughter.”
“How is work?”
Webb watched the crawl at the bottom the TV screen. It mentioned something about Jimmy Cloud’s missing daughter. Webb’s eyes tracked from the screen to the lamplight reflected in the floor-to-ceiling glass. Another text rolled in. He put it on silent and turned up the sound of the TV. Setting work aside at home was the eternal struggle. His thoughts automatically drifted to Archer, Jimmy Cloud, and Tatum. For the moment, he didn’t have a feeling about the case one way or another. Archer’s gut feelings were always more precise and accurate, so Webb had learned to trust him, but that didn’t make the waiting game any easier. Tatum’s face floated in the reflection in the glass with the lamplight. Webb blinked it away.
He put his arm around his wife and hugged her to him. She purred contentedly.
“I love this house,” she said, “but I love you more.”
Webb set his empty wineglass on the floor and closed his eyes. Tatum Cloud’s face hovered in the darkness behind his eyes. He kissed Karla’s forehead again, lost in the perfume in her hair.
“I love you too, baby,” he said.
* * *
The address was in Culver City as Danielle had promised. Archer went alone. He didn’t need any of the girls tagging along for this. Danielle had given him a good enough description of Cecile that he thought he could pick her out of a small crowd. He watched his mirrors and spotted the Mercedes with the strange plates again. He had memorized the plate number and would call Webb in the morning to have him check it out. He had spotted the car hours ago and kept an eye on it. Whoever was driving had done a moderately good job of being discreet, but Archer’s eye was too sharp not to notice the tail.
Archer found the street and made a pass in front of the house but didn’t stop. He didn’t want the Mercedes to know where he was going. He double-checked the house number then drove several miles away and left the Land Cruiser in a massive Costco parking lot. He went inside and slipped out through the tire department exit. He hopped over the chain-link in back and grabbed a taxi a block away. The taxi dropped him at Cecile’s place and he tipped the driver to circle the neighborhood for ten minutes then pick him up at the top of the hour. He hoped the crowd at Costco would keep his friend in the Mercedes distracted long enough to buy him some time.
The address turned out to not be a house but one-half of a duplex. It was a two-story unit with windows on top and bottom. Danielle had said Tatum had slept in one of the upstairs bedrooms. He noted the second floor window overlooking the street and envisioned Tatum alone up there hidden away from the threatening rays of the sun. He couldn’t imagine what her days were like. All day, every day.
There was a light on downstairs. The porch light was missing the bulb. He wondered what kind of hardware Cecile and her fiancé kept by the door for unexpected visitors. He decided to take a quick peek inside to see what he was dealing with before ringing the doorbell.
The blinds were shut on the downstairs window in front and the garage door was down. Archer walked across the driveway and hooked around the corner into shadows. The blinds on the side window were also closed, so he continued on to the back of the duplex. The short patio in back was cluttered with crap. He didn’t want to risk making noise trying to get close enough to press his face to the patio door. So he returned to the side window. The blinds were closed but one of the lower horizontal bars had gotten mangled and was cocked up at a slight angle. It was enough for Archer to be able to hoist himself up and get a limited view of the
“Rosemary?” Karla asked.
“Probably. I need to fire her.”
“I would divorce you if you did.”
Webb kissed her forehead. “I think all the women in my life conspire against me, even your daughter.”
“How is work?”
Webb watched the crawl at the bottom the TV screen. It mentioned something about Jimmy Cloud’s missing daughter. Webb’s eyes tracked from the screen to the lamplight reflected in the floor-to-ceiling glass. Another text rolled in. He put it on silent and turned up the sound of the TV. Setting work aside at home was the eternal struggle. His thoughts automatically drifted to Archer, Jimmy Cloud, and Tatum. For the moment, he didn’t have a feeling about the case one way or another. Archer’s gut feelings were always more precise and accurate, so Webb had learned to trust him, but that didn’t make the waiting game any easier. Tatum’s face floated in the reflection in the glass with the lamplight. Webb blinked it away.
He put his arm around his wife and hugged her to him. She purred contentedly.
“I love this house,” she said, “but I love you more.”
Webb set his empty wineglass on the floor and closed his eyes. Tatum Cloud’s face hovered in the darkness behind his eyes. He kissed Karla’s forehead again, lost in the perfume in her hair.
“I love you too, baby,” he said.
* * *
The address was in Culver City as Danielle had promised. Archer went alone. He didn’t need any of the girls tagging along for this. Danielle had given him a good enough description of Cecile that he thought he could pick her out of a small crowd. He watched his mirrors and spotted the Mercedes with the strange plates again. He had memorized the plate number and would call Webb in the morning to have him check it out. He had spotted the car hours ago and kept an eye on it. Whoever was driving had done a moderately good job of being discreet, but Archer’s eye was too sharp not to notice the tail.
Archer found the street and made a pass in front of the house but didn’t stop. He didn’t want the Mercedes to know where he was going. He double-checked the house number then drove several miles away and left the Land Cruiser in a massive Costco parking lot. He went inside and slipped out through the tire department exit. He hopped over the chain-link in back and grabbed a taxi a block away. The taxi dropped him at Cecile’s place and he tipped the driver to circle the neighborhood for ten minutes then pick him up at the top of the hour. He hoped the crowd at Costco would keep his friend in the Mercedes distracted long enough to buy him some time.
The address turned out to not be a house but one-half of a duplex. It was a two-story unit with windows on top and bottom. Danielle had said Tatum had slept in one of the upstairs bedrooms. He noted the second floor window overlooking the street and envisioned Tatum alone up there hidden away from the threatening rays of the sun. He couldn’t imagine what her days were like. All day, every day.
There was a light on downstairs. The porch light was missing the bulb. He wondered what kind of hardware Cecile and her fiancé kept by the door for unexpected visitors. He decided to take a quick peek inside to see what he was dealing with before ringing the doorbell.
The blinds were shut on the downstairs window in front and the garage door was down. Archer walked across the driveway and hooked around the corner into shadows. The blinds on the side window were also closed, so he continued on to the back of the duplex. The short patio in back was cluttered with crap. He didn’t want to risk making noise trying to get close enough to press his face to the patio door. So he returned to the side window. The blinds were closed but one of the lower horizontal bars had gotten mangled and was cocked up at a slight angle. It was enough for Archer to be able to hoist himself up and get a limited view of the
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