Chapter 47
"Last I saw her, she was passed out on the couch," the redhead said. "You should stick around. It’s probably going to get interesting."
"And your name is?" I asked.
"Erica," she said with a smile, extending her hand.
We shook. She had nice hands. Soft. Well manicured.
I gave her a card. "Get in touch if you hear any other rumors."
"I will."
Erica went about her way.
“I think she likes you,” Daphne said with a hint of jealousy.
I smiled and shrugged, feigning modesty.
JD and I scanned the room, looking for Rachel and Lance. They stood in another corner, still talking.
We pushed through the crowd and found Lauren passed out on the couch in the living room. I shook her shoulder just to make sure she was still alive. She brushed me away. In a drunken slur, she said, "Leave me alone."
I checked her pulse.
She was stable, and her respiration was normal. I saw no immediate threat, no need to involve the EMTs. But leaving a drunk girl passed out on the couch at a frat house was not a good idea.
Jack stayed with Lauren and Daphne, while I weaved through the crowd to find Rachel. "Is that your friend over there?” I asked, pointing.
She sneered at me. "Which friend is that?"
"The one passed out on the couch.”
Rachel glanced over my shoulder and acknowledged her friend.
“If you get her out of here and home safely, I won't cite her for public intoxication. Her vital signs are good now, but I don't know how much she's had to drink. Her condition could worsen. Someone needs to stay with her."
Rachel was annoyed by the interruption. "She's fine. She does this every weekend."
"Maybe she needs help."
I looked at Lance.
"I'll take care of her," he said.
He started away.
Rachel yelled after him. "Call me after you take her home. I want to know that she got there safely."
It was all an act.
“I’ll come back and pick you up,” Lance said as he continued through the crowd.
He scooped up Lauren from the couch, then carried her across the room and out of the house.
I said to Rachel, "I didn't mean to interrupt your fun with Lauren’s boyfriend."
Rachel’s eyes narrowed with hate. "We were just having a conversation. It's none of your business anyway. Quit harassing me.”
She strutted away, and I rejoined Jack and Daphne.
It was nearing the witching hour.
"Why don't you stay here and keep an eye on things? I'll go to the Mega Mart and see if anybody shows up,” I said. “I doubt Kenzie has any intention of cutting Levi in on the deal."
Jack dug into his pocket and handed me the keys.
“I want to go,” Daphne said.
“And leave me here all by myself?” Jack said, feigning abandonment.
“Something tells me you’ll be just fine.”
“Stay out of trouble,” I said to him.
“Me? When do I ever get in trouble?”
My skeptical eyes narrowed at him before I hustled out of the frat house with Daphne.
The street was lined with cars.
We hurried to the Porsche, and I grabbed Daphne’s door, then slid behind the wheel. I cranked up the engine, and the exhaust purred as I pulled away from the curb.
I drove across town, turned into the Mega Mart, then backed into a space near the entrance. From there, I had a view of the entire lot. Again, not the most inconspicuous vehicle in the world, but most people went through life oblivious. Too preoccupied with their own drama to notice anybody else.
We sat in the car, listening to classic rock, watching people come and go. The Mega Mart was open 24 hours, though at this time of night, there wasn't much traffic.
Overnight camping was allowed in a section of the parking lot.
There were RVs, vans, and trucks with camper beds.
It was a convenient place for nomads to call home for the night.
With access to bathrooms with showers and all the food you could buy, it was paradise for the bare-bones traveler, looking for gritty adventure.
It was mostly kids experiencing van life, but there were a few old-timers who had no intention of ever rejoining the system.
They sat in lawn chairs, drinking beer, gazing up at the stars, shooting the breeze.
“Is this all you guys do? Harass people, go to frat parties, get hit on by beautiful women?”
“Some variation thereof,” I said with a smile.
“Living the dream.”
“It’s not all sunshine and roses. Sometimes we run into trouble.”
“Like unruly informants?”
“Exactly. You might have a future as a place kicker in the NFL.”
She frowned. “Sorry about that. Does it still hurt?”
“I’ll live.”
“Want me to kiss it and make it better?”
She sure knew how to send a thrill through a man. “Trouble with a capital T.”
She laughed.
“How did you get out of the handcuffs?” I asked.
She hesitated, then came clean, wiggling her thumb. “Gymnastic accident as a kid. My thumb subluxes easily now. I can just slip them over my hands.”
She had nice hands.
“Tell me about this dagger,” I said.
“What do you want to know?”
“I want to know who in their right mind would pay that kind of money for it?”
“It’s special.”
“Define special,” I said.
“Are you a believer?”
“A believer in what?”
Daphne shrugged. “A believer in something more.”
I knew what she was getting at. After having a near-death experience, I knew there was something more to life than met the eye.
“The dagger is said to have magical properties. But like all magic, it comes at a price.”
“Do you believe in that kind of stuff?”
Her brow knitted as she thought. “I don’t know. But I know some people are willing to pay top dollar for what they believe in.”
“Tell me about these magical properties.”
“I can tell you Soulfang is dangerous.”
“Soulfang?”
“That’s the name people have given it.”
“I’m intrigued.”
“Well, legend has it—“
A guy pulled in the lot in a black truck and parked under a mercury vapor light. I was pretty sure it was Levi.
The dagger would have to wait.
This probably wasn't the best place for an inconspicuous meeting. There were cameras throughout the lot. It was hard to find an anonymous place anymore without surveillance. But there were better places than this.
He sat there waiting.
Midnight came and went.
I looked at my watch. It was five after. I told myself I'd give it another 15 minutes before heading back to the fraternity.
It wasn't long after that when the familiar white convertible pulled into the lot.
Kenzie drove next to Levi's truck. She’d taken the plates off her car. It was clear she was up to no good.
That's when it happened.
Muzzle flash flickered, and bullets rocketed from the barrel of a semiautomatic pistol.
Kenzie pumped half a dozen rounds into Levi and the truck.
Metal popped and pinged.
Smoke wafted from the barrel, backlit by the mercury vapor light.
Kenzie stomped the gas, and the tires barked as she sped away.
Everyone in the parking lot looked.
I dialed dispatch and told them to send emergency services. I put the car into gear and raced toward Levi's truck. I pulled alongside, jammed the brakes, then threw it into park. I hopped out and approached the truck with caution.
The door panel had mitigated some of the damage, but Levi wasn't in the best shape. Crimson blossomed his shirt and pants. He'd been hit in the shoulder and leg. I didn't know how deep any of the wounds were.
I told him to stay calm and helped apply pressure to the wounds.
It didn't take long before the distant sounds of sirens warbled, drawing near.
Soon, the parking lot swarmed with first responders. EMTs and paramedics triaged Levi, and I backed away to let them do their business.
Deputies surrounded the area and kept curious onlookers at bay.
I told them to keep an eye on Daphne while I went inside and washed the blood from my hands.
When I returned, Levi was transferred to a gurney and stuffed into the back of a meat wagon. The lights spun up, and the siren chirped. The ambulance pulled out of the lot, turned onto the road, and flipped the siren on as it headed toward the hospital.
I searched Levi's truck and found a pistol under the seat. It was a semiautomatic 9mm. The forensic team snapped photos, and I collected the pistol as evidence.
Paris Delaney and her crew arrived on scene, but she had missed the money shot. As I walked back to the Porsche, I said to her, "What's the matter, losing your touch?"
She sneered at me. “No. I have a life outside journalism.”
I laughed. “I don’t believe it.”
She stuck her tongue out at me.
Daniels put a BOLO out on Kenzie and the white convertible.
The rotor blades of Tango One thumped the air as the helicopter searched for the fugitive. Its bright spotlight slashed the night sky.
I hopped into the Porsche with Daphne, cranked up the engine, and sped across town to the Nautilus. There was a chance Kenzie would return to her condo. But with several million in crypto in an account somewhere, she might try to flee.
When I turned into the lot of the luxury high-rise, the valet drove Kenzie’s car into the parking garage. Kenzie had stopped somewhere along the way to put the plates back on the vehicle.
I pulled up to the main entrance and said to Daphne, “Don’t go anywhere. I will find you.”
“Be careful. That chick is crazy.”
I hopped out and banged on the glass door with my weapon drawn. With a flash of my badge, the concierge buzzed me in.
Kenzie had reached the elevators.
I raced across the opulent lobby and took aim. “Kenzie!”
She spun around, and horror filled her eyes. Her hand slipped into her purse.
I knew she was armed.
“Don’t move!” My heart raced, pounding my ears.
I really didn’t want to shoot her.