Shoot from the Lip (29 page)

“No, he died before Emma was born.” But I knew Xavier Lopez’s widow sent money for Emma. Maybe she also sent Christine money in exchange for her silence. “Were there any other times you remember she had cash to burn?”

“Only that time she went to Vegas to make her million—that’s what she said, make her million. She wanted me to go with her, said she’d pay my way, but I couldn’t. Jimmy would have killed me.”

“Jimmy is James Caldwell?” It wouldn’t hurt to remind her I pretty much knew her whole life story.

“That’s right.” She crossed her legs and one foot began to bob.

“When was this trip?”

“You know, I think it was the same year she had the baby—yeah, it had to be, because I remember her saying she wanted to get rid of the leftover baby weight before she took the trip.”

“Did she leave town often?”

Loreen sat back. “That’s the only time I remember.”

“How did she get to Las Vegas? Did someone take her?”

“Who would do that? It’s not like there was all these rich dudes hanging around the bar.” Loreen squinted, seemed to be thinking. “She was only gone for a couple days, if I remember right, and when she came back she went on this giant binge, told me she lost almost every penny playing the slots.”

“But she’d had enough cash for a plane ticket and a vacation before she gambled away most of her money. Think hard. Are there any other times you recall her having extra cash?”

“She always had money for booze, even if it was just beer, but I thought that was because she was working more, spending less time at Rhoda’s—that was the place we drank together. Christy could clean a house like nobody’s business when she wasn’t on a binge.”

“And you’d been helping her with the cleaning? Maybe took up the slack when she was too drunk?”

“Yeah, but she wasn’t as much of a drunk that year before she disappeared, and you probably think this is weird, but Christy and I? We worked good together. Drunks and whores can do
some
things right. We were a team.”

“Such a good team you decided to go into business together?”

Loreen tilted her head. “How did you find out all this stuff?”

“I’ll explain later. What about your business plans?”

“I thought she was serious, but then she split ... sorry. That’s not right, is it? She got herself killed.”

“How did you plan on getting the money to start up? You’d need more than the flyers Emma made that you stuck on telephone poles.”

For the first time since I’d arrived, Loreen smiled. “Emma made those? Christy always said Emma was the real mom in the family. That’s why I called CPS when Christy didn’t come back.”

“You called CPS? I thought they showed up because Emma was missing school.”

“She was. I went to Christy’s house to see if she was sick or something, ’cause she hadn’t been around. This kid answers the door and she’s covered in chicken pox. I asked where her mother was, and she said she’d been gone a long time. She said her big sister, Emma, went to get milk but she’d be right back. So I left and called CPS. It’s anonymous, you know. You can call and no one checks on you or anything.”

I nodded. “How did you find Emma again after CPS took custody?”

“I was still living around there when the kids moved back into the old house. People talk. I heard. I watched them, sorta looked out for them, you know? I’d found out I could never have kids. Too many infections. Anyway, Emma took this one bus all the time, so I went to the stop. Talked to her. Got to know her. Christy was such an idiot to miss out on Emma and the other kids.” She smiled again, but it quickly disappeared when Loreen’s attention switched to the window. “Did you hear that?”

“Hear what?”

“That sound. Someone’s out there.” She hurried to the window and peeked through a crack in the drapes. “Did anyone come with you?” she whispered.

“No.” But I got this sick feeling inside and thought,
No one that I know about, anyway.
“Do you see anyone?”

She carefully pushed open the drapes a tiny bit wider. “Maybe it was a bird or a squirrel in the bushes.” She returned to the sofa but didn’t take her eyes off the window.

“There’s something else you need to know,” I said. “Christine had a friend named Jerry Joe Billings.”

“Him? A
friend?
Pure scum, drunk or sober. When I’d come into Rhoda’s and sit next to Christy he’d always say, ‘The whore is here. Let the party begin.’ ”

“Mr. Billings was murdered last Friday—killed after he promised to give me information about Christine. I think he knew something about her murder, and—”

“What?”
Loreen closed her eyes for a second, then wrapped her arms around herself and began to rock. “If he got killed because he knew something, that means ... you know what that means.”

“I can protect you, Loreen.”

“Did you promise to protect Jerry Joe, too?”

I took a deep breath. “I had no idea that if I talked to him, he’d ...”

“End up dead? But you have an idea about me, right? You figured out I know a whole lot more about Christy than he ever did.”

“And there may be other things you know that are important and—”

“Important enough to get me killed. Why in hell did I ever let you in here?”

“We have to catch this killer, Loreen. That’s the only way you’ll ever be safe. And you may need protection for another reason. James Caldwell was just paroled. The police asked him questions about you.”

Her face paled. “Oh, God, no.” She stood and started pacing in front of the sofa. “That’s who was outside. He found me just like you did. I gotta get out of here.”

She started to leave the room, but I went after her, gripped her shoulders and turned her to face me. “Don’t you want to stop hiding?”

She struggled a little, but she couldn’t weigh more than a hundred pounds, and I had no trouble hanging on to her.

“I have to get away. I have to—”

“Listen to me, Loreen.” We were practically nose-to-nose, and I could smell the tobacco on her breath. “I’ll help you if you let me—but first I need more information.”

“I’ve told you everything I know.” But she didn’t shrug me off. She kept staring over my shoulder at the window, looking as frightened as a rabbit in a trap.

I shouldn’t have told her about Billings, at least not until I’d probed for more information about the possible baby switch. I released my hold on her. “You want me to see if anyone’s out there?”

“No. I don’t want anyone to know you’re here.”

I guessed she didn’t realize my car was sitting in front of her house. “I can take you to a safe place. I have police friends and—”

“No police.” She was shaking her head vigorously. “Jimmy will find out. He can find out what the cops are doing as easy as that.” She snapped her fingers.

“All right, what about my place?”

“Are you crazy? I’m not going anywhere with you. You said yourself you led a killer straight to Jerry Joe.”

I sighed. How the hell could I make sure she felt safe? My gut told me she knew more than she realized and I needed to keep picking her brain. But she wouldn’t be much help while she was this afraid.

“I have a suitcase to pack,” Loreen said, jerking me back to reality.

“Wait,” I said. “Let me think about ... No, I’ve got it. I have a friend. He’s my boyfriend, as a matter of fact.” She didn’t have to know that he was a cop, too. “He’s big and strong and he’ll protect you.”

She took a pack of cigarettes from her uniform pocket and stared at them, licking her lips. “I don’t know. That’s a short-term thing. Besides, how would he get me out of here without Jimmy finding out?”

“See, that’s the problem, Loreen. You need help getting away, and I’m willing to do that.”

“How?”

“You have a fence in the backyard?”

“No.”

“You could cut through the yard and hit the next block. Jimmy can’t be watching the front and the back of the house at the same time, right?”

She was turning the cigarette pack over and over. “Then what? This guy picks me up over there?”

“That’s right.”

“But he won’t know me, and Jimmy could be—”

“I’ve got my gun in my car. I’ll walk with you. My friend’s name is Jeff, and he can take you to his place.”

She stared at me while she considered this. It seemed as if shadows had formed under eyes in the last few minutes. With her too-thin face, the uniform hanging off her like she was a kid wearing her mother’s dress and those dark circles, she looked like she belonged in a concentration camp. But then, maybe that was what her whole life had been like.

Her gaze returned to the window, and she started pacing again. “I’ve had hundreds of strange men use me, and you want me to go ride off with another one to God knows where?” She’d gotten a cigarette out of the pack and was rolling it between thumb and index finger. “I don’t like this.”

“It won’t be just you two. His sister lives with him. She’ll come with him to get you.”

She bit the side of her lip. “For real?”

“For real. Now let me make the call, okay?”

She carefully returned the cigarette to the pack and looked at me. “Guess I have no choice. But don’t bother getting your gun. I’m taking mine.”

When Loreen went to her bedroom to pack a bag, I called Jeff and explained the situation, emphasizing that Loreen did not know he was a cop and would probably shut down on me if she found out. Without asking any questions aside from directions, he said he was on the way. Bless the man. He was as reliable as the sunrise.

Once Loreen was ready, we went through her tiny, immaculate kitchen and out the back door. I’d noticed the shuttered windows and understood even better how paranoid Loreen was about her past being exposed or Jimmy showing up on her doorstep.

I took the overnight bag and she held the gun. It was a Smith & Wesson .22—very much like my own .38 Lady Smith. By the way she’d checked the ammo and handled the small handgun, I figured she knew how to use it.

It was dark when we left the house. I used the flashlight on my key chain to guide us through several yards to the next street over. I heard nothing except a few cooing doves and the distant sound of an ambulance, but Loreen looked over her shoulder and whispered, “Did you hear that?” over and over.

We reached the sidewalk without drawing attention, and I searched for Jeffs car. I spotted his sea green Altima parked at the end of the block. We hurried to the car and I opened the back door, since Doris was sitting next to Jeff. Loreen climbed in and I breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn’t balked, as I thought she might. Maybe she was too scared.

“Hi, Abby. Jeffy says we’re having Pizza Hut pizza when we get home. Get in quick.”

“I have my own car, Doris. I’ll be there in a little while. This is my friend Loreen. She’ll ride with you.”

“Hi, Loreen. Jeffy already has Abby for a girlfriend, and you know what that means.” Doris smiled.

Loreen actually returned the smile. “I do know what that means. I’ll be very careful.” She looked at Jeff then. “Where are we going?”

He gave her the general location of his apartment, then looked at me. “Abby, remember that problem with your bumper the other day? I know you got it fixed, but check it again before you drive through traffic. I don’t trust that body shop you used.”

I hadn’t thought to check for
another
GPS device. “I’ll do that. Now you guys get going. I’ll catch up with you at the apartment.”

Loreen handed me her gun. “Take this. You shouldn’t walk back to your car without protection. I know Jimmy’s out there.”

I started to protest, but she insisted.

I was surprised she didn’t want to keep the gun, since she wasn’t exactly thrilled about this whole arrangement. Must be that some part of her trusted us, and that was a good sign. I stepped back, closed the car door and watched Jeff drive away.

Rather than take the shorter route through the grass, I chose to stay on the sidewalk to go around the block. I kept the gun tucked into my waistband. Loreen’s paranoia seemed to be contagious, and I stayed alert for any indication that someone was watching or following.

I made it to the Camry without any trouble. But when I checked under the bumper, I kept the gun ready in my right hand.

A minute later, damned if I didn’t find another little black box, this time stuck beneath my front bumper. It was different from the other one. Smaller. I wanted to stomp on the thing, smash it into a million pieces, mostly because I’d been played for a fool again. Guess I’d have to put a mirror on a stick and check under my car every time I went anywhere. At least I’d partially learned my lesson by sneaking Loreen out the back way. Good thing I had Jeff thinking for me, since I’d totally screwed up.

Still steamed, I got into the Camry, locked up and removed the GPS device’s batteries. When I turned the ignition I decided that beating myself up wouldn’t help. I took a few deep breaths and pulled away from the curb. Time to see if I’d learned my lesson about dumping a tail. It would be side streets and running every yellow light for this trip. I wasn’t about to lead a killer to another victim.

On the way to Jeff’s apartment, I pushed my anger about the tracking devices as far to the back of my mind as possible. I had no clue who had put them on my car, and until I knew, they were only a distraction. Instead, I thought about what I’d learned from Loreen and what it could mean. Where had the extra money for Christine’s trip to Vegas come from? A baby sale? Probably.

The other money, the cash Christine always seemed to have to buy booze, most likely came from Gloria Wilks—money intended for Emma. But it wasn’t enough to start a new business. Christine had probably gone to whoever took the child she’d given up and asked for the start-up money for the cleaning business. What if that person figured out her requests would never end and killed her? A child you’d raised, probably loved with all your heart, would be a powerful motivator, especially if the child had no idea she was bought or adopted.