Rose Pressey - Chase Charley 02 - Seems Like Old Crimes (19 page)

“I’m a big girl,” Courtney said. “I think I can handle it.”

“She’ll be fine,” Dangerfield said.

It looked as if I was outnumbered.

I sighed. “Okay, I guess you can take my car. Just be careful with it though.”

I handed her the keys. We walked across the street. Dangerfield had parked right beside my car. Courtney winked as she walked over to the driver side of my car. I would have a talk with her later since she thought she was playing matchmaker.

Dangerfield held the car door open for me. I reluctantly walked over. I couldn’t believe I was staying with Dangerfield. Courtney waved as she climbed into my car.

Courtney cranked my car and pulled out of the parking lot. It was too late to turn back now. I did want to continue to look for Jeff, so I guessed I had to stay with Dangerfield.

He shifted the car into reverse and then pulled out of the parking lot. He smiled as he glanced over and then pulled out onto the street. “Where would you like to go first?”

“There’s a place where a lot of tourists and locals go. It’s called the Wharf. I think there are stores, restaurants, a movie theater, and they have concerts there too,” I said.

“Do you know how to get there?” he asked as he turned onto the main highway.

I nodded. “I’ve been there a few times.”

“How do you know so much about this town?” he asked.

“My parents brought me here for vacation every summer.”

“Did you have fun?” he asked.

“It was a blast. They still come every year, but I don’t make it often with work and all,” I said.

After a short drive, we pulled into the Wharf. There was a large sign out front. Next to the burger joint was a large Ferris wheel.

“Where should we start?” Dangerfield asked.

“Well, I doubt he would be in the women’s boutiques. We should check the restaurant, the movie, and maybe a few of the men’s stores,” I said.

Dangerfield pulled into the parking lot and found a space. He cut the engine. “Sounds like a good plan.”

We hopped out of the car and headed in the direction of the action. The place wasn’t crowded, but a few people strolled up and down the sidewalks.

We walked over to the burger place, but no one in there had seen him. Next, we tried the movies, but they hadn’t seen him either. We walked over to the small sporting goods store. When we walked through the door, the female employee approached us. I pulled out the picture and showed it to her.

She nodded. “He bought a fishing rod in here yesterday. I remember him because he has a very loud voice.”

I shoved the picture back into my purse. That sounded just like him. “Thank you,” I said.

Dangerfield and I left the store.

“That didn’t really help us much since we already knew he was here this morning,” I said.

“And that he was going fishing,” Dangerfield said. “Maybe he’ll go again in the morning.”

I cut a look over at him.

He smiled. “What? We might as well stay the night. It’s getting late and we’re already here. Unless of course you want to leave without finding him,” he said.

“There is no guarantee that we will find him if we stay,” I said.

“There are no guarantees for anything,” Dangerfield answered.

I guessed he did have a point. It would make sense to stay. It was too bad that Courtney hadn’t stayed around too. Now I would be alone with Dangerfield overnight.

There was no way I was staying in the same room with him. If he thought that was going down, then I would just have to set him straight. We made it back to the parking lot.

“I’m starving, what about you?” Dangerfield said.

I nodded. “I guess I could go for some dinner. I know of a great Italian place.”

“What about the places here?” He gestured.

“They’re good, but this place is great.”

He smiled. “Then let’s go.”

We climbed back into his car. After a short drive, we had pulled into the parking lot for Franco’s.

“They have the best bread and salad you’ll ever taste,” I said as we walked toward the door.

“What about the pasta?”

“Oh, yeah, that’s good too.” I waved my hand.

Dangerfield held the door open for me. We sat at the back of the restaurant. It was decorated with wine bottles, grapes, and a mural of the Italian countryside on the far wall. After a short time, the waiter brought our food.

We’d just finished when I glanced out the window. “Wait, isn’t that Jeff?”

We jumped up at the same time. Dangerfield tossed money onto the table and we ran out of the restaurant. I’d kept my eyes on Jeff the whole time. He’d gotten into a black truck.

Once we were in Dangerfield’s car, we pulled out onto the road behind the truck. My adrenaline pumped through my veins. What was I going to do when I found him? I wasn’t a bounty hunter. It wasn’t like I could drag him back to New Orleans.

We followed the truck down the highway, but traffic picked up the closer we got to the main intersection of town.

“I think we’re going to lose him,” I said.

“Wait. I think he pulled into that parking lot up there. What is that place?” Dangerfield asked.

“The pink building? It’s a bar.”

“It’s pink,” Dangerfield said.

“Yes, but it’s still a bar,” I said.

Once we got past the traffic, Dangerfield pulled into the parking lot. He parked the car and we got out. Sea gulls flew in giant loops over the parking lot, cawing loudly for our attention. We walked the long wooden ramp that led up to the entrance. Once inside the club, it was dark and hard to see anyone. People stood at the bar with beers in hand and the rock music blasted from overhead speakers.

“How will we ever find him in here?” I asked over the music.

Dangerfield ran his hand through his hair. “I don’t think we will.”

A brunette stumbled past and brushed up against Dangerfield. She winked and giggled.

“I think she likes you,” I said.

“She’s also drunk.” He laughed.

After looking around the bar, and not seeing Jeff, we decided to leave.

“I don’t think we’re going to find him tonight. What should we do?”

“I guess we should find a place to stay,” Dangerfield said.

I bet that had been in Courtney’s plan all along.

“It’s a nice night. Why don’t we walk a little?” he asked.

Other people were walking up and down the street. I nodded. “Yeah. I guess that would be a good idea.”

The sky was covered with stars and the breeze from the water brushed across my face. The smell of salt from the sea drifted in the air.

We set out down the side of the road. I had no idea where we were going, I guessed just anywhere. I hoped that we could find a place to stay on such short notice. I didn’t want to sleep in the car with Dangerfield. We walked side by side.

“I’m glad that I was able to track you down,” he said. “I’ve had a nice time tonight.”

“I hadn’t planned on this turning into a date. I had planned on finding Jeff,” I said.

I hoped I didn’t sound too harsh. My words didn’t always come out right.

“I suppose things don’t always work out as planned,” he said.

Before I knew it, we had reached Kristine and Dean’s house.

“That’s Tim’s sister’s house.” I pointed toward the blue house.

“It looks like they’re home,” he said.

“I’m not sure when they’re leaving for New Orleans,” I said.

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Dangerfield said.

“Well, Jeff did stop and talk to them. He does know where they live. I just hope he hasn’t harmed them,” I said.

Dangerfield and I ran toward the house. We climbed up the front steps and stopped in front of the door.

“I think I pulled a muscle running so fast.” I massaged the back of my leg.

“Remind me I can massage that for you later.”

“You’d love that wouldn’t you?”

“As a matter of fact, yes.” Dangerfield didn’t crack a smile when he said it. As we stood there, I felt vulnerable in the darkness. Who was watching us?

“If he’s here he probably won’t answer,” Dangerfield whispered.

“Or he might answer with a gun,” I said.

Just then the front porch light popped on, bathing the area in a yellow glow.

“I think we’re dead now,” I said.

The front door opened and Kristine stood in front of us. For a moment I wondered if she recognized us. I blinked adjusting my eyes to the light.

“Is everything okay?” I asked.

She looked strange, but she smiled. “We just decided to leave in the morning instead,” she said.

I nodded. “Oh, okay. I was worried when I saw the lights on and I knew that Jeff was still in the area. We just saw him about an hour ago.”

Kristine looked over our shoulders out into the dark night sky. “Would you like to come inside?” she asked.

I nodded. “Sure, we can for a minute. This is my friend Bill Dangerfield. He’s helping me look for Jeff.”

“Nice to meet you,” she said.

“Thanks for inviting us in,” Dangerfield said. 

We stepped inside the house. Luggage sat on the floor by the door. So it looked as if they were all packed and ready to leave in the morning.

“Please have a seat.” She pointed toward the sofa.

I didn’t see Dean anywhere, but I heard footsteps upstairs. Dangerfield and I sat on the sofa. Did he have to sit so close? And smell so good? Maybe if I found some fish and tossed it on him. Would that even make him unattractive? Kristine sat in the chair across from us.

“Can I get you something to drink?” she asked.

“I’m okay,” I said.

“No, thank you,” Dangerfield said.

“So you saw Jeff?” she asked.

“Yes, he went to the Pink Pony Pub,” I said.

“But you didn’t find him there?” she asked.

“He must have parked his truck there. When we came out the truck was gone,” I said.

“He’s good at giving you the slip then,” she said.

I nodded. “I’m afraid so.”

Footsteps sounded from the stairs, and then Dean stepped into the room. “Oh, I didn’t know we had company,” he said.

Dangerfield stood and shook Dean’s hand.

“I’m sorry for disturbing you so late,” I said. “This is my friend Bill Dangerfield.”

Dangerfield stood and shook his hand. “Nice to meet you.”

“They were checking on us because they saw the lights and thought we’d already left.” Her smile was forced.

Dean and Kristine exchanged a look. I couldn’t quite read the look, but I knew something was going on. Our visit was beginning to be awkward. I was ready to get out of there.

Dean came over and sat down next to Kristine on the sofa. Maybe it was my imagination, but it seemed as if she scooted away. I wondered if Dangerfield had noticed that too.

“I was just telling Kristine that we saw Jeff again,” I said.

He looked at Kristine and back at us again. “Where was he?”

“We saw him park at the Pink Pony, but lost him after that.”

He nodded. “He likes to drink from what I’ve heard.”

Dean seemed to know a lot about Jeff.

“Did you know Jeff well?”

Dean coughed and then said, “No, just what Tim told me.”

My liar radar was going off.

“So you decided to leave in the morning?” I asked, trying to make some kind of conversation.

Dean forced a small grin on his face. “We thought it would be best to travel in the morning and get a fresh start. It’s been a rough few days for Kristine.”

She looked down at the floor. It was definitely time for us to excuse ourselves. Maybe we had come when they had been arguing. Then again, she had lost her brother. Obviously she wasn’t up to talking with a stranger. I felt bad for even coming here.

I pushed to my feet. “I guess we really should be going now.”

Dangerfield looked at me and I gestured with a tilt of my head. He took my cue and pushed to his feet. “Oh, yes, we should take off.”

Kristine jumped up from the sofa and followed us to the door. “Are you sure you have to go now?”

I opened the door. “Yes, we need to find a place to stay overnight.”

“Oh, you’re staying in town?” Dean asked.

“Yes, we’ll probably go back in the morning,” I said.

His stare made me uneasy.

As we stepped out onto the deck, Dean said, “I heard Jeff say he was staying at a house off Fort Morgan Road. The street is Mobile. I doubt you can miss it. The house is yellow and the one closest to the beach.”

“Thanks,” I said.

When we reached the bottom of the steps, Dangerfield said, “We’re going to check out this house, right?”

I gave him an exasperated look. “Of course. With police looking for Jeff, I doubt he’s still staying at the house.”

“That’s true, but we can see what’s going on there,” Dangerfield said.

Kristine had followed us all the way outside. She acted as if she might want to grab me and pull me back inside. Dean appeared and touched her arm, guiding her back to the door.

“Good night,” she said.

“Thank you for everything,” I said as walked down the steps.

Dangerfield and I walked away from the house. I glanced back, but didn’t see any movements from the windows.

“Don’t you think the police should be around here looking for Jeff?” I asked as we walked along.

“Well, I had thought about it, yes,” Dangerfield said. “If Jeff was here earlier and he killed Tim, then wouldn’t Tim’s sister possibly be in danger too?”

“She should get out of here,” I said.

“Just because he had something against Tim doesn’t mean he would kill Kristine too,” Dangerfield said.