Chapter 2 #4
It hit weird, and I wanted to blurt that I did mind, except my stomach twisted in a knot, and for whatever reason, my eyes burned. Luckily, before I stumbled over an awkward response, a steady vibration against my leg halted me.
My phone. Not a text, but a phone call.
Ecstatic and confused—I didn’t get many phone calls—I dug the device from my pocket and checked the screen, finding a number I didn’t recognize.
I swiped to decline and regretted it immediately. Heath’s expectant gaze warmed my face, and Bernice shifted in her chair, pinning me with a radiant smile, saying, “So, Diem—”
As panic rose, the phone rang again. Same number.
I pushed back from the table so abruptly that I almost toppled my chair. Motioning to the device, I blurted, “I’m so sorry. I have to take this.”
I glanced briefly at Tallus, whose brows knit as I swiped to answer and headed to the front door, figuring I’d step outside. It was the perfect excuse to have a cigarette and decompress.
“Yeah,” I grumbled, figuring it was a wrong number or a solicitor. I didn’t care. I would ride the momentum out the door and pretend it was someone important.
“Hello, um, is this Diem Krause, private investigator?” asked a tentative male voice.
“It is.” Only, why this person was calling my personal number made no sense.
Shadowy Solutions was a listed business with a website and email address.
We had a landline installed at the new office and an answering service for after-hours.
Apart from my name, my personal details were not attached to any of our listings.
“Oh good. I’m so sorry to disturb you on a Sunday night.
My name is Benaiah Scarrow. I was told you might be able to help me.
The lady at the home gave me your number.
She wasn’t going to, stating it was against policy, but she couldn’t remember the name of your PI business, and, well, I was desperate and didn’t want to wait for her to pass along a message. Don’t be mad. It’s my fault, and—”
“Look, Mr. Scarecrow. If this is to do with—”
“Scarrow. Benaiah Scarrow. You can call me Ben. Most people do.”
“Yeah. Sure. Listen, Ben, give me a sec, would ya?”
I stuffed my feet into my shoes, snagged my trench coat and hat off a hook, and muscled through the front door. I switched the phone to speaker and set the device on the closed lid of the mailbox as I dressed and dug the pack of smokes from a pocket.
With a cigarette lit and dangling from my lips, I grabbed the phone and wandered to the sidewalk, inhaling the first calming drag. Three glasses of wine and a single beer had given me a mild buzz, but nicotine was a balm on my still jangling nerves.
I exhaled a cloud of smoke and closed my eyes, stopping short of moaning at the relief. “I’m back.” I leaned against the Jeep’s bumper. “When you say someone at the home gave you my number, do you mean Evergreen?”
“Yes. My father is a resident. I need to hire you, Mr. Krause. I’m desperate.
I’ll pay whatever you ask. My father was targeted in a scam.
I don’t know by whom or how, but someone stole over thirty thousand dollars from his bank account in December, and the police have basically shelved the case, saying there isn’t much they can do. ”
“What?” I thought of Nana, but she didn’t have control over her finances anymore.
The Domingos’ front door opened as Benaiah’s statement settled. Scammed? At a nursing home? Christ.
“Can you help me?” Benaiah asked.
“Maybe.” I wasn’t in a position to make promises without more information.
Tallus appeared with no jacket. For all the money he spent on fancy clothes, he was notorious for not dressing properly.
I told Benaiah Scarrow to come by the office the following morning, explained about a retainer fee, and hung up.
With one last drag on the cigarette, I squatted and extinguished it on the driveway before wrapping it in a used tissue I found in my pocket.
I didn’t want to be the guy who left butts on his boyfriend’s parents’ property.
“Where’s your coat?” I said, getting to my feet. “Aren’t you the one who told me it’s freezing out?”
Hugging himself against the March wind, Tallus shrugged. “Thought your phone call was bullshit and you were escaping my mother’s wedding comment.”
“No. It was real. Guy looking to hire us. Something happened at the nursing home.”
“The nursing home? He called your cell?”
It was my turn to shrug.
Tallus shivered.
“Get over here.” I opened the flaps of my trench coat, and Tallus walked into my arms. I wrapped what I could of the coat around him, encasing him in a hug.
“You’re warm,” he said against my chest.
“You’re not.” I kissed the top of his head.
“Mom’s full of hot air. Ignore her. I didn’t tell her to say that.”
I didn’t respond and rested my chin on top of his head, closing my eyes. If he heard my heart thumping a faster-than-usual rhythm, he didn’t mention it.
“I gave you a ring.”
“I know.”
“Was it not enough?”
“It’s enough. You know it is.”
“Would you tell me if it wasn’t?”
“Yeah, D. What we have is perfect. You believe me, don’t you?”
“Yeah.”
And I did.
Mostly.