For Old Crime's Sake (Chase Charley Mystery Book 1) (12 page)

She honked at a car moving into our lane, and then calmly asked, “There has to be, right?”

I nodded. “I’m afraid I think you’re right. We just have to find out what that connection is.”

That seemed almost impossible now, but I had to give it a shot.

“I got info on that guy Doug,” Courtney said when I answered the phone.

“That’s fantastic. Let me have it,” I said.

“Don’t you want to know how I found this info?” she asked.

I had to ask her or I wouldn’t hear the end of it. “Okay, tell me how you found out,” I said as I walked down the sidewalk.

“I called a few people and was lucky enough to find out about this courtyard tour. Apparently he works there on occasion.”

“The tours of courtyards in the French Quarter?” I asked.

“Yes, that’s the one.”

I released a deep breath. “I guess I’ll head over there and see what it is all about.”

“Do you want to wait for me to go with you?”

“I would love that, but I don’t think I have the time. I think I should go now.”

She sighed. “I’m not so sure that is a good idea.”

“Yeah, probably not,” I said, “but I have to do it anyway.”

“I would ask you not to, but I know you won’t listen,” she said.

She was right about that. 

After hanging up, I immediately went to my car. I had some reservations about going alone, but I had no other options right now. Courtney was busy with her store. I certainly wasn’t going to ask Dangerfield to come with me. He was nothing but trouble. Sexy, but trouble.

I drove the short distance to the location. The small sign advertising tours was near the entrance for a courtyard. I parked down the street some distance away so that no one would see my car. Of course if I needed to make a fast getaway I would be in big trouble. I hoped that would be the case, but lately I had to get away quite a few times. Ever since I had seen the cop my life had been out of control.

The homemade-looking sign advertised the cost of the tours along with the times. Glancing at my phone, I looked at the time and saw that there was a tour starting in five minutes. It certainly wasn’t a popular tour if no one was here. Maybe it had been canceled. I would just have a quick look around. Maybe I would find some useful information. Then again maybe I wouldn’t.

After moving over to the entrance and finding no one was there, I decided to step closer so that I could see inside the courtyard. Inching forward, I stepped inside the open iron gate. It groaned as I pushed it wider. Brick walls surrounded me on each side. Small white iron tables and chairs were placed sporadically around the area. Lush greenery and other full trees enclosed the courtyard creating a dense canopy of shade. Once I was inside, I headed toward the bubbling fountain in the middle of the space. Glancing over my shoulder a couple times, I still couldn’t believe I was poking around here. Why had I come here alone?

Once at the fountain, I looked out over the space again. Still there was no one around. I’d barely had the thought when a group of people stepped inside the courtyard. This was not going to end well. I had no way to get away from them. I thought could run off away if someone showed up, but now I realized that wouldn’t work.

I knew this was a crazy idea, but I didn’t know what else to do. I would just have to wing the tour myself. They probably wouldn’t know the difference between me and the real tour operator. At least I hoped they wouldn’t know the difference.

“Everyone gather around please.” I started the tour and prayed that I remembered a little bit about the nearby French Quarters homes. If someone realized I was an imposter they would probably call the police.

I moved through the courtyard as if I knew exactly what I was doing. So far they hadn’t noticed that I had no clue how to give a tour.

I rushed the group across the area. “This majestic courtyard is for this house…” Oh dear heavens. What had I gotten myself into this time?

I heard a few complaints, but I wasn’t worried about my review. I thought I was doing a pretty good with my speaking skills. At least I was used to being in front of an audience. It was a good thing these people were tourists otherwise they may have recognized me.

I took the group back to the entrance in the hopes that I would know where to take them next. Would it be possible to ditch them once we got to another location? No, that would be mean of me. I had to finish what I started.

“On the left we have another home. And if you look closely you will see the details of this home built in 1792.” I had no idea if that was actually true. I glanced back and noticed I was getting more than a few strange looks.

When I cast a glance at the courtyard entrance I spotted Doug and Russ. I knew they’d probably kill me if they caught me. My goal was not to be caught though. If they spotted me I would be in trouble.

“You’re not very good at this,” a man said from the back of the group.

“Are you sure you know what you are doing?” a woman asked.

“Of course I know what I am doing,” I said. “What makes you think I don’t?”

I hoped she didn’t answer that.

“I thought the tour would be a little more informative.”

What more did they want? They had brochure with most of the information.

I couldn’t go back to the entrance right now. It was probably a matter of live or death. I couldn’t lead the guests around all night either. They were getting a little restless and I didn’t think they’d take much more of my bad tour. I steered the group around and headed down the back alleyway.

“Are we supposed to go this way?” a woman asked.

Why did she ask so many questions?

When I saw another courtyard, I knew that I had to leave the group there. I walked in that direction.

“Where are we going?”

“I thought we would stop here and we turn around back to where we started.”

I didn’t want to go back in that direction, but I had to make it back to my car. It was just luck that I had found the other entrance.

“Why are we stopping here?” a woman asked.

They asked entirely too many questions. “It is a fun part of the tour. You get to look have a self-guided tour through that courtyard.” I pointed.

“But I don’t want to look around by myself,” she said. “I came to hear the tour guide.”

And that was exactly what she had gotten for a few seconds. What more did they want? I had to think of something quickly before they stuffed me in a nearby trashcan or tossed me out into traffic. “This is a special part of the tour.” I tried to sound enthusiastic so that they would believe me.

“I didn’t sign up for this kind of tour,” the man said.

I supposed that was a valid argument, but I couldn’t help it now.

“How about a refund?” I said as hurried across the alley.

What did I have to lose by offering a refund? It wasn’t like it was my tour.

“Yes, we would like a refund,” she said.

“No problem,” I said over my shoulder as I walked away.

I’d barely gotten away from the courtyard when I spotted Doug and Russ coming toward me. I had to get out of there before they caught up with me. The guests would probably point me out. After all, they weren’t very happy with the way the tour had turned out. I raced away from the guests.

“Where is she going?” one of the tourists asked.

I made my way through the gates. The sun was setting and it would be dark soon. I had to get back to the house.

After the long trek I finally spotted my car. It had never looked so good. Just a little bit more and I would be safe within its confines. I had just a few more steps and I would be home free.

I’d just reached my car when I saw the men. I fumbled with the keys and finally pushed the button for the car to unlock. The car beeped and I wished I could have shut it up. The last thing I needed to do was draw more attention. When I glanced back, the men were running toward me. It was time for me to get out of there.

I jumped in the car and cranked the engine. They’d made it to the back of my car when I pulled away and out onto the road.

It took the whole ride home before I finally calmed down a little. Of course I was still nervous, but at least I’d put distance between us.

As I drank my coffee and read the morning paper on my iPad I almost dropped the mug. How had I not gotten this news before it was published? The owner of the house where I’d first seen Officer West was missing. That explained a lot. It had to have been his body Officer West carried out. Did Dangerfield already know? He was probably already on his way to the house. He had a knack for finding out things before me.

I ran for the shower. After a record speedy shower, I slipped into my khaki pants and white button-down blouse. It finished the outfit with my favorite pink shoes with the green alligators adorning the tops and my pearl necklace. My hair was still wet, but I had no time for styling it now. I grabbed my purse and rushed out the door. I didn’t want to garner too many strange looks, but I still loved dressing in eighties fashions. My favorite style was preppy with plenty of pink, green, pearls, plaid, and khaki. I stopped short of wearing a sweater tossed over my shoulders.

I had to find out more. My neighbor was waiting for me.

She waved the sticks through the air. “Look what I found again. When is this going to end?”

I grabbed the sticks from her. “With any luck it will end very soon.”

“Well, it had better,” she said.

I didn’t look back as I walked out the door into the bright sunshine. My latest plan was for a visit back to the scene of the crime. I would snoop around and see what I could find. There had to be information that would lead me to the missing owners inside that house.

The police wouldn’t take me seriously because they were involved in the crime. Sure, Marc would try to help, but he was one cop and a new one at that.

Of course I could always come up empty-handed. But then I wouldn’t be able to say I hadn’t attempted. Trying was better than doing nothing at all.

It was a big house and I wasn’t sure how I would get through the rooms. Heck, I didn’t even know how I would into the house.

I couldn’t walk right up to the door though. That would probably not go over well. That was when I decided that I needed a disguise. There wasn’t a lot of options in the disguise department. Sure I couldn’t put on a wig and sunglasses, but they would want to know why I wanted in the house. I needed a disguise that would let me in the house for a good reason. A uniform of some kind was what I needed. Now if I could just think of what. Maybe Courtney could help me.

I arrived at Courtney’s house.

“The door’s open,” she called. 

I walked inside to find Courtney staring absentmindedly at my television.

“Have a seat and watch this with me.” She tapped the leather chair beside her.

Tori Spelling was on the TV talking about her husband cheating on her. Courtney couldn’t get enough of reality TV shows. I slipped into the chair and watched a few seconds of the show. As interesting as it was to watch their lives displayed for everyone to see, I had to get on with my plan.

“You know what I need?” I drummed my fingers against the arm of the chair.

“What?” Courtney asked without looking away from the TV.

“A disguise when I go back to that house,” I said.

She finally looked over at me. “You mean you are going back there? Why would you do that?”

“Because I need to look around for a clue.”

“You know that isn’t a good idea,” she said.

“That’s why I need the disguise. It gives me an excuse to be there. What do you say? You have any ideas?”

She tapped her index finger against her chin. “You could dress up as the cable person. Tell them that you need to go in and work on their cable.”

“What if they don’t have cable?” I said.

“It’s a big house, I’m sure they have cable. But if you don’t like that idea, maybe we can think of something else.”

“Okay, let’s hear what you got,” I said.

She tapped her index finger against her chin. “Hey, what about a police officer?”

I shook my head. “Bad idea.”

“Hey, I have another idea.”

I hoped this one was better than her other ideas. With all the bad ones she was due for a good one. “What’s your idea?” I asked, almost holding my breath.

“I have a friend who works at this bakery. She could get you one of their uniforms.”

Hm. I contemplated what she’d suggested. “You know, that is a good idea.”

“See, I knew I would come up with something that you like.”

She dialed the phone and I waited with bated breath. It was tough listening to a one-sided conversation. I wanted to know what was being said.

“I wouldn’t want you to get in trouble,” Courtney said.

Uh-oh, it didn’t look as if this plan was going to work. What would I do if this didn’t work? I’d have to go back to the beginning and think of another plan. Maybe I would have to try the cable delivery after all. What kind of uniforms did they wear?

She hung up the phone. “We’re all set.”

“Does that mean you are going with me?” I asked.

“I will go with you to pick up the uniform.”

“Good, because since I don’t know this person, I would feel awkward asking for their uniform. Are you sure it isn’t a problem? I don’t want her to get into trouble, or even worse get fired.”

“No, she said it was fine. Just make sure to bring the uniform back. Oh, and don’t tell anyone that she did it.”

“I don’t have anyone to tell,” I said.

We hurried across town to pick up the uniform. I waited in the car while Courtney went inside. After a few minutes she came out with the black and white uniform and two glazed doughnuts. When she got in the car, she handed me the uniform and the doughnut.

“Bless you,” I said.

“Be careful when you go back there.” Courtney licked the icing off her fingers.

I wiped my mouth with the napkin. “I will be extra careful.”

“I should probably go now. Are you sure you will be okay?” She pulled up in front of my apartment and I climbed out.

“I’m peachy,” I said as I waved over my shoulder.

I slipped into the pants and the shirt and studied my reflection. It wasn’t bad as far as uniforms went. It could have been better, but could have definitely been worse. I couldn’t go there without a delivery of something. I couldn’t go all the way back across town to pick up pastries from this place—I would have to stop somewhere else for the items. I’d probably get some strange looks buying food from another bakery in this uniform.

I made the short drive to the house where all of this had started. It was a risky move, but I wouldn’t gain anything by not taking risks. Since the cop was now threatening me, I had no choice but to find out what kind of trouble he was into.

Looking both ways, I crossed the road. I just knew that Dangerfield would show up here soon. If he didn’t already know about the missing homeowner I’d read about in the news, he probably would soon. I made to the courtyard. I paused and looked down the sidewalk.

I peeked inside the window. It was dark, but I didn’t think anyone was in the room. I hoped that they didn’t have a guard dog, but they probably had an alarm. It wouldn’t matter because surely I wouldn’t be able to get inside. This was a wasted trip.

It was too silent and I felt at any moment someone would walk through the door. My heart thumped wildly in my chest as I gazed around the room. There was a desk by the far window with two leather chairs in front of it. This was probably the office. Where was everyone?

The desk had a pile of papers on top and I had to know what was in that stack. Surely no one would leave a clue on top of the desk. What made me think that I would find anything?

As I stood there with the papers in my hand a noise sounded from the hallway. Male voices and footsteps sounded as if they were headed my way. As the footsteps grew closer I ran toward the French doors that led back into the courtyard.

Where would I hide? I didn’t have many options. I figured they’d see me behind the potted plant in the corner of the room. This room didn’t have a closet, so it looked as if my only option would be to hide behind the sofa. Maybe I could ease out the door once hidden.

Doug and Russ walked over to the desk. I assumed they sat down, but I wasn’t about to stick my head up in order to find out.

As I knelt on the floor, a gigantic spider headed my way. If that thing got on me I wouldn’t be able to silence my bloodcurdling scream.

What were they talking about? Why did they have to speak as if talking in code? Didn’t they know that I couldn’t understand them? Have a little compassion for the person snooping around where she shouldn’t be.

“We’ll meet the men at the location tonight at eight. They won’t walk away from there.”

I had no idea who they were talking to, but it didn’t sound as if that person was having a good day.

Doug and Russ stood. Their footsteps sounded across the hardwood floor. If they caught me behind this sofa I would be a goner. I would meet the same fate as they had planned for the men they were meeting tonight. I had to stop it before it happened.

Once the door closed, I let out a deep breath. It was time for me to get out of there. I eased to my feet, still unsure if Doug and Russ would return before I could get out of there. When I didn’t hear their footsteps I rushed for the door.

I’d barely made it across half the courtyard when Doug and Russ’s voices sounded. I glanced back and saw that they were now in the courtyard with me. So far they hadn’t seen me, but I knew it was only a matter of seconds before they spotted me.

I pulled on the gate. How could it have been open when I came in and now it was stuck? Of all the damn luck. I pulled on the gate again, but it still wouldn’t budge. I kicked it as if that would help, but it only hurt my foot.

I jumped and reached for the top of the gate, but tumbled to the ground in a pitiful display. I wished I had spent more time in the gym. I glanced over my shoulder and Doug and Russ had almost reached me. It was now or never, so I made one more attempt to get up.

One of them wrapped his hand around my arm and yanked me to my feet.

“Well, what have we here?” he asked with a wicked grin.

I glared at him. “Take your filthy hands off of me.”