Chapter Seventeen #2
Gene pulled out his phone and pulled up the photos of the other two victims. It was their driver’s licenses.
Then, he showed him.
He flipped back and forth between them.
“I’ve taken Ivey to the bar in town, and that woman works there. I think she’s a bartender. Ivey spoke to her once.”
That was interesting. She knew Megan? The second victim?
“Alone?” Gene asked.
He nodded.
“We were having dinner, and she looked over at the woman, and then said, ‘excuse me’, before she got up from the table. She went over to her, and they talked a couple of minutes.”
Gene needed to know.
“About?”
He shrugged.
“When I asked, she said, ‘just someone from my past’,” he admitted. “I didn’t push because I’m not that kind of a guy. Now that you tell me that they were found together, I wouldn’t be shocked if they were both fucking ROBERT.”
There was so much animosity there.
Instead of reacting, either way, Ethan went there.
“And the last one?” he asked.
Randal shook his head.
“Never seen her with that woman. Sorry,” he said. “Only that one.”
Well, that was still damn good information. That meant that Ivey knew Megan. They just needed to know how. That might give them the killer.
“And you didn’t ever see her before that moment?” Dannie asked.
He shook his head.
“No, should I have?” he asked.
They weren’t sure.
Dannie was curious.
“There’s a retail shop not far from that pub. The one with the black shades, and the mannequins in the window. Have you ever been in there?” he asked.
“Lux & Lineage?” he asked.
Dannie nodded.
“No, but I’ve driven by it plenty of times. I’m more a tailored suit guy. I’m dressed down now, but I spend most of my day in suits. Do they sell them there?”
Dannie nodded.
“Some,” he stated, knowing he’d bought Ethan some when he’d been in there.
He shrugged.
“Sorry, I didn’t know that.”
Gene was curious.
“Do you know if Ivey shopped there?” he asked, hoping to tie the third woman to the first two.”
He shook his head.
“No, sorry,” he said. “She taught science and liked those goofy sweaters with fun things on them,” he said, his voice hitching. “She loved being a teacher, almost as much as she loved fucking her boss, I guess.”
They might have to head back there and interview the two people who worked there to see if either of the other women went in there to shop.
“Any other questions?” Randal asked. “If not, I’d like to have three more drinks and pass out on my couch if that’s okay with you.”
They wouldn’t stop him.
“No, I think we’re good. Other than where were you two days ago around three?” Gene asked, knowing that was when Ivey would have gotten out of school.
He laughed.
“At work. I don’t leave the office before six. Ivey told me that was one of the reasons it wouldn’t work. Our hours…she said I loved my job more, but I was only killing myself at work so I could give her a life, so we could have a family. I guess she didn’t want all that.”
Gene felt bad for the guy.
“Some people make mistakes. This one might have gotten her killed.”
He stared directly into his eyes.
“Then, she got lucky because I have to live with this for the rest of my life. She’s got peace. I’m in Hell.”
Well, that said it all.
Now, didn’t it?
“Thank you for your time, Mr. Crest, and we’re sorry for what you lived through,” Gene offered.
He shrugged.
“Whatever,” he said, making himself a new martini, but this time, sticking a straw in the metal shaker.
Oh, boy.
Someone was down bad.
That was for damn sure.
Getting up, they headed out, and once back in the elevator, they began talking freely.
“We can now safely say that Ivey knew Megan, somehow. We have to figure out if she also knew Phylis.”
That seemed like the next logical step.
“We might have to go back to Lux & Lineage,” Ethan admitted.
Only, Dannie warned them.
“The owner said she was closing down early today because her employee was rattled, and she wanted to go to the memorial for Ivey to support her community. It might be closed.”
Gene made a mental note to then see if anyone at the pub recalled Ivey or Phylis coming in and talking to Megan. It looked as if Ethan had been right.
They had to connect.
“So, we’ll check at the pub to see if Phylis and her husband maybe dined there,” Gene offered. “Then, we need to hit up Robert Fergus with this new information. He neglected to tell us that,” Gene admitted.
Ethan shrugged.
“I mean, I’m not shocked. If you were banging someone, like a drum, and knew there were photos laying around to prove it, you’d be shitting your pants.”
Gene agreed.
“Yeah, likely, but he could have easily pulled us aside and not talked in front of others. I would have told the investigator. When shit like this pops up, it puts you at the top of the suspect list.”
He had a point.
“Maybe he couldn’t find the photos, or he didn’t care,” Dannie said. “Is he married?”
Ethan pulled up their research.
It only took him a few seconds to find it in his notes.
“Nope.”
Dannie considered it.
“So, he was having sex and was a consenting adult. Yes, she was cheating, but he wasn’t. Plus, he’s her considerably older boss. He’s got to be in his mid-forties, and she’s just around thirty-two. That’s tricky.”
That it was.
“We still have to hit him with this. When do you want to do it?” Ethan asked his partner.
Gene considered it.
“Tomorrow. First thing. Today is the memorial, and the media is going to be all over it. The last thing I want is to pick up a tail for this. We lost them and might not get lucky the second time.”
Yeah…
That was a good point.
“We know where they will be, so we’ll be elsewhere,” Gene stated. “I don’t want to keep giving the mad shooter an update as to where he can take more shots at us.”
Ethan knew that was one more reason why Gene wanted to keep today short and do more inside work than outside. He’d nearly been shot, and that wasn’t fun.
“So, The Tipsy Easel?” Dannie asked.
Yeah, that was the most logical place to go next. Phylis’ husband said she went there with friends. Maybe, that was how they tied together. Maybe someone saw the three victims there together.
“Yeah,” Gene said, as they reached the lobby of the fancy condo. “Hopefully, that interview gives us something we can use,” he stated. “Detective, call ahead and make sure the owner is ready for us.”
Dannie did what he asked.
He used his notes to find the number, pulled out his phone, and called the couple who owned the place.
His fingers were crossed that they managed to lock this down.
FAST.
As he was on the phone, Ethan glanced over at his partner.
“We’re getting closer. I can feel it in my balls. They connect, Gene. We just have to figure out how, and when we do, I think it will all fall into place. Collectors aren’t masters at hiding their sins. Their crimes are reflections of them.”
Oh, he was well aware.
One's reflections of sin always got them caught.
It was only a matter of time.
* * * Blackhawk & Cantrell * * *
The Hotel
Same Time
Fortunately, Callen was able to keep his lunch down. The whole time, it had been touch-and-go. At first, a burger sounded good, but once he began eating it, his belly rolled.
But it wasn’t because of the booze.
Or the hangover.
No.
This time, it was because he was thinking about what he’d done, what he’d said, and what had gone down with Ethan.
It was a hard pill to swallow.
Pulling out the note that Ethan had handed to him, the original one he’d left him at his cabin, Callen read over it.
Tears filled his eyes, and as he was reaching for the hotel notepad in the nightstand drawer, his cell rang.
Oh, and he saw who it was.
TIMOTHY.
It appeared his time for hiding was over, and he was about to get the lecture.
Well, so be it.
He deserved it.
“Yes, Granddad?” he asked as he tried to eat some ice cream to coat his stomach. It was raw from bile and vomiting all night.
The man’s voice said it all.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
Callen laughed sardonically.
“No, I’m anything but okay,” he said softly. “I’m falling apart,” he admitted. “Please don’t bitch at me. I know what I did, and why I did it.”
Timothy wasn’t upset.
Not anymore.
Ethan had told him what had gone down, and Timothy just needed to make sure his other boy was okay. After talking to Ethan, he went back into the tipi and sat in the smoke. In it, he saw the truth.
They were back on track.
His eldest grandson would be okay. The man who came for him would right the path, and they had averted the bullet on this one.
Thank.
Freaking.
God.
As for Callen, he too, would be okay with some time. He just needed to hold on longer before everything played out.
“I’m not going to bitch at you, Callen James. I just want to make sure you’re okay. Do you need a ride home?” he asked. “And by home, I mean here. Kaya Cheek is on the prowl.”
Callen was a little shocked his grandfather wasn’t tearing him three new ones. That alone told him how bad this situation was for him to cut him a break.
“That’s where I was headed. I’ll call my deputy to come get me.”
Timothy stopped him.
“I’ll come get you.”
That shocked the shit out of him.
What the hell?
Was he dead?
He had to be dead.
There was no way Timothy Blackhawk, the Shaman, was going to sashay his ass OFF the rez to come pick him up when he NEVER left.
“You’re leaving the reservation to come pick me up where the White people are?
Really? You told me you’d rather give up elk and venison and become a Vegan before leaving the reservation.
You told me you’d rather shove cooked carrots up your ass and be paraded around like the fucking Easter Bunny than leave the reservation. ”
Timothy laughed.
Well, never let it be said that his grandsons didn’t get their dramatic ways from him.
Yes, he said all of that, and he meant it, but sometimes, you had to make exceptions.
“Callen James, when I said I don’t leave the reservation, I meant further away. The hotel is a mile from the edge. I think I can figure it out. How do I start a vehicle again?”