THE REAL GYRO (Food Truck Mysteries Book 4) (9 page)

That caught his attention. “Yeah, we did some surveillance of Janelle’s apartment. Someone should be trying to break in and get the papers that had been delivered to her that day. But no one has come by. It’s odd, but still he was fine last night when I dropped him off.”

I thought back again to the scene at my apartment last night. I wondered now if I should have called Land last night. I had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. “I’m going over there,” I said, loud enough for everyone to hear.

I didn’t bother to take off my apron. I tossed the keys to Carter and prayed for the best during my absence. He’d barely worked with us—and never alone. I wondered if I would still have a truck when I returned, but now I worried that I wouldn’t have a chef if I didn’t go.

It doesn’t take long to get a cab if you are willing to stand out in front of them. The first one swerved into the other lane, but the next one was forced to stop for me. I got in and gave him Land’s address.

His apartment was dark when I reached it, but I would have expected that if he’d overslept. I knocked on the door, but got no response. His car was parked in the lot, not too far from his door, so I knew he was here. I knocked again, louder this time. Nothing. I practically pounded on the door, hoping to raise him.

An older woman came to her door. “What’s all the noise about?” she asked, holding a cup of coffee in her hands. “Let the poor man sleep. He’s been looking like a wreck the last few weeks. He told me that his boss has been working him too hard.”

I cursed him mentally, because in a few seconds, I would have to admit to being his boss. “Have you seen him today?”

She shook her head. “He had some people over last night. They left about 10, but that was it. I haven’t seen him since.”

I closed my eyes. The timing was such that my attacker could have easily made it here in time to do something to Land. I just wasn’t sure why they had been so gentle on me if Land was hurt and locked behind the door. “I need you to think clearly. Did you see Land when those people left last night, or did they let themselves out?”

The woman stared off into the distance as if she was trying to recall the scene. As the seconds dragged on, I became even more nervous. “They let themselves out. Land didn’t come to the door. I wasn’t being nosy, but my dog barks at strangers. I looked out the window and saw them walk away from his door. He could have been inside, but I don’t know for sure.”

“You wouldn’t have a key, would you? I’m worried that something has happened to him.” I took a deep breath, trying to still my nerves. Land had military training. He’d be far better off than I was in fighting off unknown attackers.

“Who are you?” the woman asked.

I groaned. “I’m his boss at the food truck, but I’m not the boss who has been working him so hard. He’s been freelancing for the police, and they’ve had him working nights. I’m concerned about his safety. He didn’t show for work today, and he’s not answering texts from me.” I stopped talking, because I could hear my voice getting shriller. In another minute, I’d be having a panic attack.

“I don’t have a key, but there’s a way into his place. He showed me one time, in case I ever had need to get in there.” She set down her coffee on a table inside of her place and came back out. We walked around to the side of what had to be Land’s unit.

The woman took a fingernail and popped out the screen. She put it down on the ground and tilted it against the wall. Then she grabbed hold of the window’s handle and shook it violently. For a second it held, and then it popped open. So much for the security system here.

I was younger and more nimble, but I didn’t need to tell the woman that. I pushed the window open enough to shimmy into the unit. The bedroom, where I had landed, was empty. There was no sign that Land had slept here last night—or ever. It was spotless with the bed made using real corners. Part of me wanted to snoop around for details about Land’s life, but that wouldn’t be now.

I checked the bathroom, but nothing was there except for a few men’s products on the counter. I sighed, thinking that he had his life much more together than I did.

However, those thoughts stopped when I got to the living room. The room looked like a tornado had run through it. Books were off the shelves and cushions had been cut open. Whoever had done this had been looking for something very specific.

I moved around the coffee table, trying not to step in the torn cushions and shredded paper. On the far side of the coffee table was Land, lying face down and not moving.

I called 911, Detective Danvers and Carter in that order. I had enough wits about me to know that he had a pulse and was breathing. I propped open the front door for help to arrive, but I stepped out onto the flagstone walk to his unit. The older woman came back around at the sound of my voice and joined me.

Danvers was on the scene nearly as quickly as the first responders were. They placed Land on a gurney and supplied him with an oxygen mask. I’d never seen Land look less formidable. Danvers walked over to the EMTs and then returned to me. “They say he was hit pretty hard on the head, but that he’ll come around with time. They’re guessing that he’d regained consciousness a couple of times because there’s vomit a few feet away from where you found him. So he hasn’t been out all night. His prognosis is good.” The EMTs were still checking his vitals, and they didn’t seem to be in a huge hurry to rush Land to the hospital. So I thought that counted as a win.

I sighed deeply. I hadn’t realized exactly how worried I’d been about him until I saw him like this. He’d been so out of character lately with the late nights and the lack of dedication to work. I wondered if he’d know how dangerous the work with Danvers could be. I couldn’t see our investigation into a locked truck murder as something worth being killing for.

Danvers continued. “Where’s the woman who saw the people leaving his apartment last night?” He must have been upset, because other than me, there was only one other person milling about on the flagstone tiles. Her presence could barely be missed, even by Danvers.

I introduced him to the neighbor. “This is Mrs. Abbott. She lives next door. She saw some people leave Land’s apartment last night. She didn’t see Land though.”

Danvers held up a hand. “Let her speak for herself. I don’t need anyone leading witnesses. So you saw some people leaving Land’s place last night?”

She nodded and told her story again. She added a few details like it had been two men, one younger and one older, and a woman, and that the woman had been pretty. I tried to think of three people who might fit that description. I wondered about Sam and Janelle’s parents, but that seemed like an odd trio to hurt Land. I couldn’t think of any reason why he would be involved in this case.

As I stood there, I also questioned my original assumptions as well. If the thief had knocked me down at seven o’clock and taken the papers, then why would he have needed to go to Land’s apartment for anything? The thief would have the papers he wanted. No one involved with this case had really interacted with Land—not the Nolans, not Sam, not anyone.

He thanked Mrs. Abbott for her time and moved me by the elbow to a corner of the apartment unit. “You realize that Land wasn’t even home at nine last night? He was with me until 11. So that means either these people broke in when he wasn’t home, or she’s lying. Once Land is in better shape, I’m sure he’s going to be able to give us some more details about this.”

I shared with Danvers the observations I’d just made about Land and his involvement in matters. “So who would want to hurt Land or look for things from your investigation?” I asked. “Because it sounds a lot like your case is the dangerous one.”

Danvers frowned at me, like he wanted to argue, but he didn’t. “If it’s the case we’re investigating, it could be a number of people. Those secrets that were being passed to Janelle Nolan are dynamite.”

I waited for him to continue, but he didn’t. “So where were you until 11? Did someone drop Land off or did he drive home alone?”

Danvers looked at me with his mouth open. “If you think I’m going to share any details of this case with you, you’re wrong.” I gave him a stare-down that told him I was beyond meaning business here. “Land was with me until 11, and I dropped him off here. No, I didn’t stay here and wait for him to go into his apartment. This was surveillance, not a date.”

“Yeah, well your dates are somewhat of an ambush too,” I started. “But if you think I’m just going to sit around and watch the people I care about get hurt because of your tactics, you’re wrong. Whatever you think is working by doing this surveillance—isn’t. You’ve been doing it for days, and it’s made Land tired enough that he fell into an easy trap.”

“Everything you just said is assumption and surmise. You have no proof.” Danvers crossed his arms over his chest.

I wasn’t done. “It won’t be when I’m done here, because I’m going to look into this myself. I’m tired of the boys playing super spy, while I pick up the pieces.”

Danvers watched me, but didn’t speak for a moment. “Land won’t tell you anything about it, and I’m certainly not going to say a word, so good luck with that.”

“Thanks. I’ll be buying that food truck any day, and then we’ll see who has some luck with that.” He had me heated, and I hoped that I was not just running off my mouth here.

“I already told you. They’re not going to sell you a piece of evidence. It’s too important to the murder case.”

I nodded. “Half of your surveillance team is being wheeled off. Your known courier is dead, and no one has come for the papers that were delivered at Janelle’s place. Now you’re wondering if these people were looking for the papers at Land’s place…and if Land had them. Spain is not all that far from Morocco, you know?”

Danvers looked at me with surprise written all over him. “I never said a word about where the terror cell is.”

“You didn’t have to. I recognized the Moroccan flag at the Nolans’ house in a photo there. I went home, did a little Googling, and I learned about their stand-off with Algeria. They’re all just a Gibraltar away from Spain.”

Danvers glared at me, but he didn’t deny a thing. “You think that Land changed sides?” he asked finally.

“No, not for a minute, but I know the way that your mind works. You doubt everyone and everything. The fact that these people might have found papers at Land’s apartment suggests that Land might have had access to the papers. He could have taken them or made copies.”

Danvers ran both hands over his face. “This case is going to be the death of me yet. Every lead I have seems to lead to a dead end. Three weeks I’ve been working on the espionage angle, and I’ve got nothing. My superiors call me in daily to find out what I haven’t learned today. They’re not happy with the little I’ve done.”

Heaven help me, but I honestly felt sorry for the guy. “Okay, listen. I have a few things that might help you. Come by my place tonight, and I’ll show you what I’ve uncovered so far.” I hadn’t originally planned it this way, but Danvers would likely have a much easier time, in the era of the Patriot Act, finding out where Janelle’s money came from and where the $400 a month was going.

“Just give it to me now. I don’t feel like fencing with you later.” The fact that he was even considering a visit to my place showed how anxious he was.

I stopped and turned for a moment. Land had been moved into the back of an ambulance. I gave the EMTs my name and phone number. I had no idea if Land had any family in the United States, much less Capital City, and I wanted to make sure that he had a contact person if anything was needed. The EMT took the information, slammed the doors, and the ambulance drove off.

“Okay. I don’t have all the information here. It’s at home,” I lied. It was in my backpack at the food truck. I panicked a second, thinking that Carter could easily break into it and take the papers if he wanted to. “So anything I gave you now would just have to be followed up on later.”

Danvers very reluctantly agreed to the time and place. I looked around. I had taken a taxi from downtown to Land’s apartment, but an apartment in the suburbs is not the best place to look for a taxi.

Danvers agreed to take me back to the food truck. He was driving that way anyway. The case was less than a priority to the CCPD, since it was only an assault compared to passing state secrets and locked-room murders. He certainly couldn’t tell the CSI guys that he wanted the information because Land was part of a team looking into espionage. That wouldn’t do at all.

Danvers was actually nice enough to drop me off at the food truck. A few weeks ago, I suspected that he would have left me at the highway off-ramp, but now he needed something from me, so he could be pleasant. I remembered Land’s words about not trusting Danvers. I was beginning to see his point.

I was nearly freaked out when I entered the food truck. I’d left a newbie in charge of my business, my only source of income. If I’d had any doubts about Carter’s abilities or loyalties, this situation was definitely the acid test.

However, I had to say that he’d done a decent job with the truck while I’d been gone. There were only three customers in line at the window, and Carter seemed to have enough food and condiments on hand as he served coffee and food to the people waiting. I still had my apron on from when I was there earlier, so I washed my hands and began to help.

Within about 20 minutes, we were all caught up with the customers, including a few who had come to see why both Land and I were gone. I took a look into the till and found the money had been properly lain out in the correct segments of the drawer. If anything, it appeared that we had a little bit more than normal. Carter went back to the prep area and started getting ready for lunch.

I felt like I’d already lived through a full day, but it was only 10 a.m. I still had the busiest part of the day ahead of me. I tried to focus on the work, but my mind kept flashing back to what I’d found in Land’s apartment. I wanted to know who had done this to him and why. The people who had been in his apartment, and presumably ransacked it, had left by nine and Land had not returned until 11 p.m. Had the ransackers returned, or was someone else interested in harming Land? I had no idea who would want to harm him, unless it was related to Janelle and her truck.

I probably miscounted changed a couple of times that lunch, but I didn’t care. Money was the least of my problems in this situation. I’d be down one chef, which meant that I’d either be doing what Carter had done this morning—cooking and running the cash register by myself—or asking Carter to come on full-time. Neither one of those seemed very workable.

We finished out the shift in relative silence. I was a little surprised that Carter didn’t ask about Land or why I’d been dropped off at the food truck by the police. He was certainly one of the least curious men I’d met.

The till was well above average for the day. I was impressed again with Carter’s ability in the situation. He’d done everything and made it look easy. I cleared my throat. “So about tomorrow?” I started.

“How is Land?” he interrupted. “I wanted to ask earlier, but so much was going on. I’m taking it that, if you’re asking me about tomorrow, then it wasn’t good.”

“Someone hit Land on the back of the head. He was out when I found him, and an ambulance took him to the hospital.” It felt far less real, retelling the story now. It almost felt like I had dreamed it or imagined it; I was in the food truck, after a long day and too much seemed like it always did.

“Which is why you were asking about tomorrow?” Carter said. “Yeah, I could come in, but I’ll need to take another day off this week to get my mom to the hospital for some testing.”

“Are you sure it’s okay?” I asked. While I’d been caught up in this world of murder and spies, I suddenly realized that the world went on as normal for other people. What an odd feeling that was.

“Sure,” he said with a smile. “I’ve got a new recipe I want to try out, and this will give me a chance with Land gone.”

For a second, I considered Carter as a suspect. After all, he had more freedom to experiment when Land was out of the picture. However, I scratched him quickly, realizing that I was becoming massively paranoid.

I gave up on thinking about the attack anymore. We closed up the food truck. I drove back to the lot, and then off to the bank.

By the time that Danvers showed up that evening, I’d already heard from the hospital. I suspect that it was mainly to get all of his insurance information, but I did wheedle out of them that he was awake and unhappy about being observed overnight. If Land was grumpy, that meant that he was on his way to recovery. It was by far the best news I’d heard all day.

I knew that Danvers would have information on Land’s condition—and I was equally sure that Danvers would have a statement from Land about what had happened last night. I could get that information from him without bothering Land.

Sure enough, Danvers was right on time for our meeting. He came to the door and knocked loudly. I opened the door and looked at him. He was showing all the signs of exhaustion that Land had suffered a few days ago. At least Land would get some rest in the hospital. I wasn’t sure what Danvers would do to get energized.

I pointed to the sofa and went to put a pot of coffee on. I always kept some of Land’s particular blend of beans at the house. I called it promotion for the business, but Land called it stealing from the food truck.

I brought out a large cup for him. I didn’t need any, because I was going to bed after this conversation so that I could get up around four a.m.

“So what did Land have to say?” I started.

Danvers took a healthy sip of the coffee and leaned forward to stare at the papers I had on my coffee table. “He didn’t see anything. He apparently makes a habit of not turning the lights on at home, and he didn’t get to see their faces since it was dark. He had no idea why they were there or what they wanted.”