Laugh or Death (Lexi Graves Mysteries Book 6) (23 page)

"Yeah, you did. Let me make a phone call while you deal with these guys."

"We'll need to take your statement too," Harrison reminded me as he approached Lily.

"I'll be right back," I told him. "I just have to make a phone call." There really wasn't anywhere quiet to make a call since the scene in the street soon attracted a crowd of interested onlookers. They cheered as the two men were read their rights and each loaded separately into the back of a cruiser. The crowd was comprised of Dolly Partons, Marilyns, a couple of Shania Twains in top hats, and Diana Ross, but that was besides the point. They were pleased and not afraid of showing it.

"You go, girl," said Diana Ross a
s she high-fived me.

Away from the crowd, I sat on a bus bench and dialed the Hansons. Carl answered the phone
, which pleased me because the Hanson parents were hard work, and he appeared to be the most forthcoming of the family.

"Can I help you with something?" he asked after I
identified myself. "I'm sure we told you everything."

"Actually, there is something you can help me with. Can you talk?"

"I don't know. My dad had someone from a surveillance company come in and sweep the house after you guys left. He found a bunch of bugs. Someone has been listening to us. There was even one attached to the phone line."

That surprised me
, but it shouldn't have. I wondered what else Solomon had advised the Hansons to do. "Let's be cautious. Can you get to another phone outside the house? Not your cell phone or a workplace?"

"Yeah, I can..."

"Don't tell me where. Just go to it and call me back on this number."

Two minutes later
, my phone rang with an unlisted number. I answered it, relieved it was Carl. "Where are you?" I asked.

"My neighbor's house across the street. I'm feeding their cats while they're on vacation."

"You remember telling me about the message board you used to contact Peta?"

"Yeah."

"Did you ever access it from a home computer?"

"No. Never. We didn't want anything to link us to Peta."

"That's good thinking. That means whoever was spying on you doesn't know which site you used. I need you to do something for me. Is there a computer in your neighbor's house?"

"Yeah, there's one in the kitchen that their kids use."

"Is it hooked up to the internet?"

"I guess."

"Switch it on."

"What's this all about?"

"I want you to send a message to Peta from me."

"Okay, I'm logging on now." With the bar patrons bursting into
a round of “Cabaret,” I couldn't hear the computer powering up so all I could do was wait for him to speak again. "I'm in and I'm online. Okay, I have the message board on my screen."

"What do you normally do when you contact Peta?"

"We send a private message and she replies whenever she can. She never says any kind of personal details so we don't know where she is, and we never use each other's names, just Mom or Dad or Bro."

"Okay. That's good. I need you to tell her to contact me, that you've met me and it's urgent.
She trusts you. Add my phone number, too." I read my number out as Carl typed, hoping Peta would trust him. He was my only hope of contacting her now.

"Is that it?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"What happens when she contacts you?"

When, I thought, sounded much more hopeful than if. "We'll get her to a safe house while we find Leo."

"You think it's him too? You still haven't found him?"

"Yes, and we only started seriously looking for him yesterday," I replied. "We've got eyes all over town. It won't be long."

Carl sighed. "You really think you can catch him?"

"Yes," I said, hoping I sounded bright and positive. Hell, Lily and I just caught two bad guys. Catching another one didn't seem so hard now. It was a shame two were opportunistic idiots, and the other one mastered his craft over many years. Still, small differences.

"Call me when she's safe?"

I promised I would and hung up. It seemed silly to cross my fingers with hope and I hated that it was, yet again, another time to wait patiently. I looked over at the twin cruisers, noting that Solomon's SUV had turned up somewhere in the midst of my phone call. Behind the SUV was a beaten-up sedan, out of which climbed my brothers. All three of them. Jord jogged over to Lily and wrapped her in his arms, which was sweet. They broke apart, and judging by Lily's stabbing gesticulations, she was telling him how she prevented the thieves from escaping.

Solomon saw me and waved so I walked over to him and he kissed me. "My pro
bono case is all wrapped up," I told him, "and I barely did a thing. This one is all Lily’s."

"So I heard. Her hunch paid off."

"It was more than just a hunch. She's followed him all week. She's got detailed notes. She did a better job on her investigation than I did with mine."

"Are you beating yourself up because we haven't found Leo yet?"

"A little."

"Don't. You two just caught
the thieves that have terrorized Montgomery's bars and restaurants..."

"Terrorized?"

"Sure. You were there when they shot up the restaurant we were in. Did you know the manager here got shot?"

"No!"

"There's an ambulance out front. It's a superficial wound, thankfully, but things could have been a lot worse. I'm glad you didn't confront them."

I wasn't sure
how to respond to that, but my cell phone rang, saving me from any dire contemplation. An unknown number flashed on the screen. I put a finger to my lips and answered. "Carl?" I asked, thinking he must have remembered something else to tell me.

"This is Peta. Peta Hanson."

Chapter Nineteen

Catching
Solomon's eye, I made some pretty frantic gestures, which made no sense to either of us. Lily, however, looked over and mouthed, "No way? Really?"

I nodded and she gave me
a thumbs-up.

Solomon frowned and waited.

Peta continued, "My brother said to call you, and that I could trust you. He says you came to the house and spoke to him and our parents."

"That's right," I said, mouthing
Peta
and jabbing my forefinger at my cell phone. Solomon nodded, waiting as I spoke into the phone. "I really need to talk to you."

"You were the one who came into Pretty Paws. How did you work out who I
was?"

"It took some time," I admitted, "but
when I saw your photo in a missing persons file of my FBI buddy's, I discovered you weren't Nancy at all."

"I hated taking Nancy's name
, but I knew she would have understood," Peta said. "Why are you looking for me? Everyone assumes I'm either missing or dead. I know my family didn't hire you, so who did?"

"Don't panic
, but it was a man named Leo Chandler. Do you know him?"

After
a sharp intake of breath, Peta said, "Yes. I know him. He was Nancy's boyfriend and he..."

"He was stalking you," I finished.

"Yeah, I think so."

"We think that's highly probable.
Forensics is analyzing the gifts he left you and checking for prints."

"Really? I hope the creepy bastard left
his grimy fingerprints on something."

"We hope so too."

"Bring her in," said Solomon softly. "Tell her we have a safe house."

I nodded, continuing, "Listen, Peta, we want to
take you somewhere safe."

"I'm safe now. I'm with a friend. I'm
leaving town. I saw Leo here in Montgomery and I can't stay any longer. I think he set fire to my apartment."

"I know you're with Joelle
, and she's a good friend, but she can't keep you safe from someone like Leo. We can."

"You can't. No one can. That's why I have to go," Peta said, her voice soft and
sounding utterly defeated.

"How are you getting out of town?" I asked.

"I..."

"You can't
use public transportation. You could be seen. And you can't take Joelle's car because we already know about it, and I’ll bet Leo does too. Your brother said you can trust me so you should."

"But you're working for Leo."

"Leo hired us originally, but we aren't working for him anymore. We know he duped us, so now we're working with the FBI and local police enforcement to arrest him."

"Just a minute." The line went quiet
, but remained open. As I gave a hands-up,
I don't know
gesture to Solomon, Lily arrived and stood next to us.

"Is it really her?" she asked. I nodded
, but didn't have time to say anymore as Peta returned.

"Joelle said she's read about you in the Gazette. She says you're legit
," Peta sighed.

"Joelle is right
," I agreed, wondering why Joelle couldn't have been helpful earlier. "Can we come and get both of you?"

"Who's we?"

"My boss, John Solomon, and me."

"And me," said Lily.

"And my friend, Lily Shuler-Graves."

"What happens then?" Peta asked
For the first time, I sensed some optimism in her voice, a willingness to comply, as well as a desire for this all to be over.

"Let me ask my boss," I told her, covering the mouthpiece. "What do I tell her?" I asked.

Solomon took the phone from me. "This is Solomon, and here's what's going to happen. We'll pick you up and take you to a safe house that is operated by my risk management division. You'll remain there until we get Leo into custody. We'll liaise with MPD on your behalf until he's charged, then it's up to you. If he remains in custody, you can go home. If not, I have contacts that can help you disappear for good. It's your choice." Solomon waited, then said, "I know it. We'll be there in ten," before hanging up. "Let's go," he said to Lily and me.

Lily handed off her keys to Jord before the three of us climbed into Solomon's SUV. Somewhere on the road, a similar SUV joined us
with Delgado behind the wheel. His biceps bulged in a short-sleeved t-shirt and he wore a pair of dark-lens sunglasses. Minus my niece in his arms, replete in her frilly dresses and blushing cheeks, he appeared much scarier. I suspected my sister liked both sides of him. My sister's taste in men grew considerably better since her divorce. Even if Delgado looked daunting, his heart was made of solid gold.

Peta and Joelle were holed up in the first floor apartment of a three-family building. How they
got access to it, I didn't know, but Joelle was the one who answered the door when I knocked with Solomon beside me. She took a furtive look around before ushering us inside. Peta was waiting, seated on a small, red couch. I didn't really remember her from the few seconds I saw her in the pet parlor, but Maddox's photo of her was firmly implanted in my brain. Her hair was a little shorter and she was considerably thinner. Her clothes were plain: a clean pair of dark-washed jeans and a pale blue shirt, with two buttons undone at the neck, and sneakers. A simple pair of gold studs in her earlobes and an inexpensive watch were her only adornments. Two bags lay at her feet.

"Peta?" I asked
. Of course, that was absolutely pointless and rhetorical. Recovering, I said, "It's so nice to meet you at last."

"Likewise," she said, rising. Her hands shook, I noticed,
which she tried to conceal by clasping them together. "When are we leaving?"

"Now," said Solomon. "Th
ose your bags? Do you have anything else?"

"This is all I have. I got used to packing light, you know."

"Where are we going?" asked Joelle, coming to stand behind her friend and crossing her arms.

"We can't tell you that. We just have to go
now," said Solomon.

"I'm coming too,"
insisted Joelle.

I opened my mouth to say why Joelle couldn't come
, but no reason came to mind. Instead, I turned to Solomon, hoping he had an answer.

He simply nodded. "You come too," he
replied.

The five of us climbed into the car
and Lily sat in the back with our two guests. I didn't even have to call shotgun. Solomon took off with Delgado behind him. "The safe house is a little distance," he said without telling us where. Even I didn't have a clue where it might be. I still knew very little about the risk management team Solomon headed alongside the private investigations team. I didn't know how it operated, or what their cases involved, or how they divided up the work, or the backgrounds of any of the new employees. The few I encountered seemed friendlier to me, however, with their greetings. Until today, I didn't know we even
had
a safe house. It perturbed me a little that Solomon still kept things from me, but my rational mind explained it was a business decision, and a sensible one. The part of me that was his girlfriend remained puzzled nonetheless, over not knowing such a crucial detail.

My cell phone rang,
and Maddox's name flashed on the screen. "Hey," I said, on answering.

"Hey, you. I got your message. Is she with you now?"

"Yes. I'm with Solomon and Lily, and Delgado is following."

"Good."

"Where are you with the other task?" I asked, hoping he would get what I meant without having to say Leo's name. Peta had been through enough. She was sitting quietly on the rear seat, looking pale, and I didn't want her to overhear a one-sided conversation about the very man who terrorized her.

"Leo? No dice. He hasn't returned to his hotel
, and we haven't been able to locate his vehicle. I'm starting to wonder if he skipped town already."

"You think?"

"I just don't know. I alerted Greenacre PD to let me know if and when he returns to town. They said they would send a car to keep an eye on his cabin."

"Good thinking. Want me to call you when we
arrive at the safe house?"

"No. Actually, I was hoping Solomon could spare you
. I need to get your files. You guys ran surveillance on Leo. I'd like to read the results, and see if we can get any leads on other places where Leo might hole up."

"That's Solomon's file. I didn't run point on that aspect of the case," I
replied, glancing over at Solomon. Yes, he was listening. He nodded, too. "That's not a problem," I continued to Maddox. "I can give you access to the full caseload. Can I have it ready in the morning?"

"
Just a moment." Before I could answer, Maddox put me on hold.

"The files are on the shared server," Solomon told me while we waited for Maddox
to return. "Use your regular password to download them. If you need a memory stick, try my office. There's a stack on the shelf. Don't email anything."

"Thanks," I said just as Maddox came back on the line.

"We think we got a lead on Leo," he told me. "A uniform just called in a sighting, and MPD are checking it out. The files can't wait until morning. I need to see everything you've got now."

"He says now," I mouthed to Solomon
.

O
nce more, he just nodded and added, "We're five minutes from the agency. I can drop you off there."

"I'll be at the agency in five minutes," I told Maddox, "but I don't have a car. Can you come
and get everything in person? Solomon says no to emailing any of it."

"He's right. This guy
, Leo, is smart. I heard he bugged the Hanson household. If he was really smart, he could try hacking your network so a hard copy is best. I can be there in twenty minutes. Do you have anyone with you that can stay until I get there?"

"Lily can come with me," I said.

"I was thinking of someone with a higher level response to danger."

"Who's around?" I asked Solomon.

"Fletcher's still there," he told me and I repeated the information to Maddox.

"Good. Keep him with you
at all times. I want you covered until we pick up Leo. I'll meet you there. Keep Fletcher with you from now on, okay?"

"Okay," I agreed.

"Where am I going with you?" asked Lily, leaning forward to hold onto the back of my seat.

"Where are you going?
!" asked Peta, scarce seconds later, her voice rising in panic. "You can't leave me here!"

I shifted in my seat to give her my attention. "I have to get some files. It's unavoidable, I'm sorry."

"But... don't... I... I..." Peta hiccupped to a halt, looking around like she was seriously contemplating jumping out of the car.

Taking
her hand, Joelle took over talking. "This isn't right. You can't pick us up, and not tell us where we're going and then just bail out."

"You're right. It isn't okay, but Solomon is the best man to look after you."

"And I'll stay," said Lily, noting the nervous glance Peta flashed towards Solomon. "I'm really nice, and can solve crimes, and I'm lots of fun, which should make you feel better."

Peta didn't look like it
made her feel better as she simply nodded and muttered, "Okay."

I
sent a text to Fletcher saying I was on my way. He was already waiting for us when Solomon pulled over in front of the agency. He jogged down the steps and opened my door. "According to Special Agent Maddox, tonight I'm your personal bodyguard," said Fletcher. "For the record, I don't sing or provide any romance."

"Shame," I said, unbuckling
my belt and sliding out. Lily opened her door and got in the front, tugging the door shut after her. The window rolled down.

"As soon as you've passed the files to Maddox, call me. Fletcher will bring you to the rendezvous point," said Solomon, leaning over.

"Not to the safe house?" I asked.

"I don't know where
that is," said Fletcher.

"
In circumstances like this, it's better for everyone to only have pieces of information, not the whole pie," Solomon explained. "You remember how important it is to keep a safe house safe."

Of course,
I remembered. In the short time I spent in a safe house, I discovered it could also be infiltrated. During my brief stint, Maddox was assaulted, and I got shot. It wasn't one of my favorite memories, but also a blessing in disguise. It was partly how I got my job. No one could appreciate that more than I, who knew what “safe” meant for the safe house. "Yes, I do. Okay, I'll call you soon." I checked my watch. "Maddox will be here in fifteen, so I'll be about thirty minutes, okay?"