With Vics You Get Eggroll (A Mad for Mod Mystery Book 3) (15 page)

TWENTY-TWO

We walked out together. I was getting tired of driving the camper, but if it was between that and his Jeep, I had a feeling I knew which would win. He surprised me.

“If you can drive the camper, then you can drive the Jeep.” He tossed me a set of keys. “That work for you?”

“Sure.”

It was going on six a.m., an hour that only morning people cherished. Sunlight filtered through the trees, casting a glow on streets that too soon would be filled with cars and angry drivers. The sound of birds chirping were audible, as they’d remain until horns and radios drowned them out.

We made quick time to Crestwood. Like most of the regulars, I scheduled my workouts between Monday and Friday. The good thing about showing up early on a Saturday was the people who did show up slept in, so at this hour the pool was mostly empty.

Tex went into the men’s locker room while I set my bag down on the bleachers. I waved to Bobby the lifeguard.

“Hey, Madison. Brought a friend today?”

“Yep. I guess he got tired of hearing how great the pool was and wanted to find out for himself.”

“Where’s Rock?”

“He’s with a friend. A different friend,” I finished.

“I guess I figured you wrong. All these years I thought you were a loner.”

I pulled my blond hair back and twirled it around my finger, and then shoved the ponytail up into the rubber cap. The muscles in my body were either sore or tired. I stretched out my arms, shoulders, and neck while I waited for Tex to join me. It was taking him longer than I had expected to change. Was he having second thoughts? I started to suspect he’d left out the locker room window when he appeared.

The extra time he’d used in the locker room had been spent shaving. Gone were the whiskers that had grown in over the past week, and in their place was smooth tanned skin. I’d never seen Tex without a shirt on, let alone in swim trunks. He had a series of scars on his left pec. His fit torso showed off toned abs, a washboard stomach, and a faint trace of blond hairs that traveled south from his navel. When I’d met him, I remember noting a layer of softness that often comes with age. Any sign of softness was gone. I tore my eyes away and focused on the deck of the pool.

He grinned. “Thanks for that, Night. Feels good to be noticed.”

I turned around and jumped into the water.

We worked out the logistics of circle swimming and I pushed off the wall and swam through the lane, propelled more by a desire to loosen my stiff muscles than to burn calories. Tex waited until I flipped at the far end before pushing off. We swam in tandem, passing mid-way each lap, for two hundred yards. I stopped at the end of the lane and caught my breath. Tex flip turned next to me and kept going.

“There’s enough lanes that nobody has to share today,” the guy in the lane next to me said. I pushed my goggles up and looked at him. I hadn’t recognized him without his purple cap.

“Jake,” I said. “Seems like you’re finding your own schedule at the pool.”

“Got a lot of free time on my hands these days. I finished working on the basement a couple of days ago. Hard to sit around waiting for the phone to ring. You’ll keep me in mind if you have any work, right?” he asked. There was a trace of desperation in his voice.

“I’m between jobs at the moment,” I said, “but I still have your card.”

Tex glided to the end of the lane. He shook his head so his hair was out of his eyes, and looked first at me, and then at Jake, and then back to me. “You want a kickboard?” he asked.

“Sure.”

He hoisted himself out of the pool as if he’d been doing it for years. Jake watched him cross the deck. “Have I seen that guy here before?”

“I don’t think so. He’s not a regular like me.”

Tex came back and jumped into the lane. He pushed a kickboard in front of me. He was trying to be nonchalant, but I saw him take in Jake in a split second, memorizing his face, his physique, his presence. If we hadn’t all been coated in chlorine, he probably would have memorized his scent.

Jake picked up his own kickboard from the deck. I didn’t want to get caught up in any more conversation than what had already transpired. There was something about him I didn’t like, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. The desperation of being new in town and trying to drum up business through me? Or was there something else about him and his at first angry, but now overly friendly manner? Was he the man who had shot at Tex all those years ago?

I set the kickboard on the deck, pulled my goggles down, and pushed off. Several laps in, Tex stopped at the end of the lane and positioned himself in the corner by the red and white plastic lane dividers. I’d found my rhythm, though, and didn’t stop again until I’d finished a mile. I glided into the wall and joined him.

“Done already?”

“Thought it was more fun to watch you than to keep going. How long have you been coming here?” he asked.

“Three years? Somewhere around there. It’s good for my knee. I started when I moved to Dallas.”

“You make it look easy.”

“So do you.” When I’d first suggested that Tex work out his frustrations by hopping into the pool, I hadn’t known what to expect in terms of skill level. Crestwood catered to anybody with an interest in doing something good for their bodies. Since the median age was somewhere around seventy, it wouldn’t take much for him to be among the younger swimmers like me. He’d surprised me with his ability.

“I used to compete in triathlons in my early days. Hated the swimming part at first, until I found out most other triathaletes hate the swimming part, too. That meant if I could learn to love it, I’d have an edge. I’m out of shape, but the muscle memory is still there.”

“You faked yourself into liking what you didn’t like. There’s a strategy you don’t hear every day,” I said.

“It worked. I was unbeatable for a while.”

“Why’d you stop?”

He bent his knees and bounced low in the water. “Joined the force. Put my energy into the job.”

“But you still needed an outlet.”

“Different stress called for different outlets. Going to the gun range blows off a lot of steam.”

“Did it work today?” I asked. Until now, neither one of us had mentioned Tex’s tree shooting incident.

“I let things get the best of me. Sorry about that.”

I wasn’t an expert, but from the cheap seats, it looked like Tex was headed down a dark and dangerous path. “How about a couple more laps before we call it quits?” I asked, even though I was near exhaustion.

He tipped his head and studied me for a moment. “Sure. You first.” I put my goggles back into place and pushed off.

By the time we left, the lanes had been taken over by members of the swim team who wanted to squeeze in an extra workout, and a couple of young children who were getting lessons from Bobby the lifeguard. We each headed to our respective locker room. When I was dressed, I found Tex waiting for me in his Jeep. This time I’d be the passenger.

“Well, Lieutenant? Did the swim help?”

“Night, I don’t want you coming back here until this case is solved.”

“You can’t tell me—”

“Yes, I can. That was him. Jacob Morris.”

“What are you going to do about him?”

“I can’t do anything. I’m on leave, remember? But I don’t want you around him. Get in the Jeep and I’ll take you to get your car,” he said.

“My car won’t do me a heck of a lot of good without my keys.”

He dipped two fingers into the cup holder and pulled out a keychain. I snatched them from his hand. “They jiggled lose when you were driving.”

“I’m curious. After you found my keys, did you fall out or jump out?” I asked.

“Doesn’t matter, does it?” In the broad light of the morning, the lines of exhaustion and determination stood out on his face. He’d aged years in a week. “You took a turn too wide when you hit Greenville. The doors flew open. I hit the curb and rolled.” One side of his mouth pulled up in a half smile. “I wouldn’t go applying for your bus license any time soon.”

“So where’d you go?”

“Someplace safe.” I waited for him to elaborate but he didn’t. He started the Jeep and drove us away from the pool. “It would have been a bad idea to leave your car at Jumbo’s. My cousin Mickey owns a towing company. I called in a favor and he moved it to the police impound lot.”

“Police impound!”

“Night, they gotta tow it somewhere. Jumbo’s doesn’t have an impound lot. The signs out front are deterrents, but if you left your car, it would be there in the morning, and it might have picked up some graphic illustrations on the windows. This way your car was safe, and you can get it without a lot of red tape.”

“What are you going to do in the meantime? Lay low at Thelma Johnson’s house?”

“I’m not staying there anymore. I already told you. I don’t want you involved.”

“But where are you going to go?”

“I got a place. Listen, Night, I need a favor. Get the camper to Nancy and Lee at the Woodshire RV Park. Tell Lee I said thank you.”

“Why can’t you do it?”

“Night, don’t ask questions you don’t want answers to.”

TWENTY-THREE

Tex dropped me off at the impound lot and told me to ask for Mickey. I hoisted my raffia tote bag onto my shoulder and walked toward the small white wooden booth in the center of the lot. A red-haired man was rearranging keys on a wall of hooks.

“Excuse me. Can you tell me where I can find Mickey?”

“I’m Mickey. What can I do you for?”

“My car was towed here last night. Lt. Allen told me to ask for you.”

Mickey tucked his chin and laughed. “So you’re Madison?”

“Yes.”

“You just cost me twenty bucks.”

“How’s that?”

“Tex bet me you’d call him ‘Lt. Allen’ even though he told you to call him Tex. I’ve met some of the other women he gets involved with, and I thought it would be easy money. Follow me,” Mickey said. He headed between two rows of cars and turned left when he reached the back of the lot. “Pretty little car you got there. You ever want to sell it, you let me know, okay?”

“As far as I’m concerned, this car is two months old. I’m planning on keeping it for a long time.”

“Roger that,” he said. “Did Tex say when he was planning on returning the camper?”

“He told me to get the camper back to Woodshire RV Park. He got it from you? Why would he lie?” I asked, shocked.

“Mighta had something to do with keeping you busy. Sorry, toots, Tex is family. Can’t say I always agree with him, but blood is thicker than water.” He laughed again and walked away.

I stopped off at a gas station on my way to Thelma Johnson’s house and topped off the tank, then parked in the garage and headed back out in the camper. I wanted little more than to turn it in and be done with Tex’s game of musical cars, but that little more that I wanted included Rocky’s company. And that meant a trip to Hudson’s.

It took most of my concentration to navigate the giant white camper through the streets of Dallas, which was exactly what I’d wanted. Otherwise I’d call myself on the excuse-to-visit-Hudson-in-the-camper plan I’d just created. I was nervous to see him after how I’d left things last night, and I foolishly thought the anonymity of the camper would somehow make my arrival less obvious.

I pulled the camper up behind Hudson’s blue-and-primer colored truck. He was in front of his house with his sister and niece. They stood to the side while he loaded one of many suitcases into the back of a minivan. He glanced at the camper for a few seconds, but then turned and hugged his sister. His niece stood next to him, her right hand balled up into a fist that rubbed at her eyes. Her left hand held her stuffed bunny. Rocky sat on the ground in front of her, tail wagging against a patch of grass. It seemed I was watching a good-bye.

Not wanting to spy on their familial moment, I stood up from the driver’s seat and moved to the back of the camper. I gave myself a pep talk about getting out of the car, and braced myself for whatever reaction I’d get. Before the pep talk took effect, there was a knock. I fumbled with the locking mechanism and then pushed hard on the doors. They swung open and Hudson jumped out of the way.

He had a red and white bandana folded down into a three inch strip that was tied around his forehead. His black hair jutted up on top. The outline of a star was tattooed on the side of his neck above the collar of his black T-shirt. He held two cups of coffee and a leash. Rocky was on the end of the leash, trying, unsuccessfully, to jump into the back with me.

Hudson held out a cup of coffee and I took it and set it on the counter. He then scooped up Rocky and set him inside. Rocky immediately stood on his hind legs, paws on my knee, yipping for a hug. I dropped to my knees and wrapped my arms around his furry body and held him like the lifeline he was after what I’d seen last night.

After a reunion of puppy kisses, I turned to face Hudson. He watched me with a mixture of happiness and concern. “I want to see my sister off. Will you stick around until after she leaves?”

“Sure.”

I unclipped Rocky’s leash and set him on the ground. He jumped a few paces forward and then turned back and ran around my ankles to make sure I knew he was there. I waved at Nettie and Heather and walked around the side of the house to the back patio, where I lowered myself into Hudson’s hammock. Rocky jumped up and a paw went straight through the open rope weave. He pulled his paw out and walked the length of my thigh, and then flopped on my belly.

Minutes later, Hudson came out the back door. I shifted Rocky and sat up and Hudson joined me. We sat side by side for a few seconds, my feet dangling above the grass, his foot on the ground, gently rocking us back and forth.

“I heard about the victim they found last night. Do you still think it could be Lyndy?”

“Lt. Allen recognized his name. He said he arrested him for drunk and disorderly on more than one occasion.”

“Being drunk in public isn’t the same thing as impersonating an officer and forcing women to get into your car.”

“Hudson, I told the police about him. If he’s responsible, they’re going to find out.”

We rocked back and forth a few times before Hudson spoke. “Nettie and Heather left. It’s too dangerous for them to stay here. I’d like to pack you up and take you away too.”

“Going away won’t make it stop.”

“It’s not your job to make it stop.”

“But if I have information—if I see something or know something that will help the police catch whoever is doing this, then I have to tell them. Somebody is out there terrorizing the women of Lakewood. Last night I saw another one of his victims. Effie’s terrified, and who can blame her? Cleo is getting released from the hospital today. I need to check on her. It’s going to take longer for these women to recover than the time it’ll take for their bruises to heal.”

“You’re willingly putting yourself in danger and I don’t know if I can watch that.”

“I’m not used to answering to someone when it comes to the decisions I make. I’m not going to pretend those decisions are rational and well-thought-out, but they’re mine. I’ve had forty-eight years to become the person I am and I think it’s too late to expect me to change.”

He reached over for my hand and sandwiched it between his. “I don’t want you to change. It’s you—the person it took forty-eight years to become—who I’m in love with.”

I wasn’t prepared for that. I thought of how long it had been since I felt loved, and then about the women who’d been loved who were now gone.

“Maybe love isn’t enough. My softball coach had an expression: if your head’s not in the game, there’s no point in playing. I don’t know if my head will ever be back in the game.” I was quiet a moment. “I don’t want to hurt you. And I don’t want you to hurt me. And the only way I can see those two things not happening is for us to leave things as they are and not cross that bridge.”

“Madison, do you have feelings for me?”

I nodded.

“Then how can you not see what you’re suggesting is the one way to guarantee we’ll both get hurt?”

“I need time, Hudson, and I don’t know how much time I need. I came here to get Rocky. I think it’s a good idea if I didn’t stay here anymore.”

“What about your apartment building?”

“I’m going to sell it.”

“Can I ask where you’ll be?”

“Remember that house I inherited a couple of months ago? Thelma Johnson’s house?”

“Doesn’t sound like much of a home if you’re still calling it ‘Thelma Johnson’s house.’ Besides, I thought you loaned it to—never mind.”

“Lt. Allen isn’t staying there anymore.”

“You can stay here as long as you want. I have plenty of room, and Rock seems to like it.”

“I think Mortiboy and I might have some issues.”

“You’d be surprised. Just last night he told me he wanted you to move in.”

“That’s a pretty bold statement.”

“Mortiboy is a pretty bold cat.”

He put his hand back on top of mine and we sat there, holding hands, while a playful breeze danced around us. A part of me was pulled toward Hudson in a way I couldn’t explain to anybody. He knew me without knowing me—something he’d demonstrated over and over. And the longer I knew him, the more I knew I wanted him in my life, regardless of the capacity. I tabled the attraction and built a connection to him through my business instead. And here he was, offering to take me in and give me an oasis in the middle of a storm.

The part of me that was drawn to everything Hudson stood for was having a hard time ignoring the offer and that scared me. I stood up and let Hudson’s fingers drop from my own. “I promised Effie that I’d bring Rocky by today. She’s having a hard time adjusting to life at her boyfriend’s apartment.”

He nodded a few times. “Be careful, Madison. Whoever’s making trouble for the lieutenant probably knows you two have a relationship.”

I started to deny it, but cut myself off. Hudson saw things the way they were. The only person I’d be denying it to would be myself, and I was getting tired of pretending. I clipped Rocky’s leash on and led him out the front door.

“Do you want to tell me about this camper?” Hudson asked.

“It needs to go back to the police impound, but I can’t figure out how to do that without ending up stranded.”

“How about I follow you there and give you a ride to your car? And if you say one word about inconveniencing me, I’ll either charge you mileage or start up a tab that you can repay when you’re in the mood.”

I blushed.

“That’s not what I meant,” he said with a smile. “But it’s nice to know where your mind went.” He winked and pulled his keys out of his jeans.

Rocky hung his head out the window while I drove, and Hudson followed. We reached the impound lot without incident and I turned the camper and keys over to Mickey. He looked behind me at Hudson’s truck. “You didn’t trade the Alfa Romeo for that, did ya?” he asked.

“Not yet,” I said. “But the day is still young.”

Hudson dropped me at Thelma Johnson’s house. He stuck around until I pulled out, and then drove the opposite direction and waved goodbye. I waved back and took off for Chad’s apartment complex.

The early morning swim had only touched the surface of letting my mind wander, and I’d needed all of my concentration to keep the camper between the yellow lines, so I took the scenic route now. Monticello doglegged by Greenville but I stayed on it, eventually turning right on Abrams, which turned into Gaston and took me past my apartment building. The middle of the day on a Saturday, normally the front door would be propped open, people would be coming and going. The scent of food cooking would permeate the air, and the sounds of music would let me know where the party was at. Today the building was desolate and depressing. I fought the urge to run inside and shout to the walls that I was sorry about the neglect.

I ended up weaving through a series of diagonal streets until I crossed the highway and ended up at Chad’s Loft. A valet attendant stood out front. I was not the type to valet park my car at an apartment building, so I drove around the block twice, finally squeezing the Alfa Romeo into a narrow spot by a cemetery. Rocky and I walked toward the overgrown foliage on the corner first, where he lifted a leg and watered a small shrub, and then turned around and headed toward the apartment building.

In the lobby, a group of young men stood by one of the tall marble pillars. They were in various versions of the same outfit: backward baseball hat, short sleeved T-shirt over long sleeved T-shirt, cargo shorts, and sneakers. Every one of them had their heads down, staring at their phones. I half wondered if they were texting each other.

I buzzed Chad’s apartment and Effie answered. “Hi Effie, it’s Madison. I brought you a visitor like I promised.”

“Come on up!” she said. The doors buzzed. I hung up and stepped through, and then set Rocky down on the clean marble floor. We walked to the elevator, where Rocky sniffed the brushed metal trim. When the doors opened, he ran inside and resumed sniffing. I was glad we’d made the detour to the corner shrub, because I wasn’t prepared to mop the marble floor in the event of an unplanned pee break.

When the doors opened and Rocky saw Effie in the hallway, he charged. She jumped backward a step, but then dropped down. He put his paws on her knees and licked her check. Squealing, laughter, and barking filled the hallway. A door opened and a man looked out. Effie apologized for the noise and stood. As we made our way, parade-like, to her boyfriend’s apartment, two of the three of us kept the noise down.

She closed the doors behind us and giggled. “I’m usually pretty quiet during the day. That guy has probably never even seen me before! I hope he doesn’t tell Chad.”

“Effie, you sound a little afraid of him.”

“He just likes things a certain way, you know?”

I did know, and I wanted to tell her to run for the hills. Effie was caught between being a girl and being a grown-up, and her recent scare had made her vulnerable. She’d turned to her boyfriend for comfort. I didn’t blame her for that, but instead of stepping up to the challenge, Chad seemed to be taking advantage of her fragile nature.

I sat in the black and chrome chair. It hadn’t gotten more comfortable in the last twenty-four hours.

“How are you doing? Is it better, being here with Chad?”