Man Shy (15 page)

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Authors: Catherine Mulvany

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The pickup signaled for a left turn, changed lanes, then pulled into the turn lane across from the Blue Russian.

A bar,

said Brody.


Aren

t we going to follow?


Not just yet. Too obvious. We

ll go on up a little way and come back down the alley.

The alley was unpaved and largely unlit. A couple of the bigger potholes threatened to swallow the Jeep completely. Brody swung around onto the paved parking lot of the Blue Russian just as the driver of the pickup was stepping inside the bar.


Well, well, well. Our friend from the Yano robbery,

Brody said in satisfaction.

I

d know those hulking shoulders anywhere. That old coot, Davis, was lying through his teeth. Wonder what
his
connection
is?


Maybe he doesn

t have one. Maybe the big guy took the truck without Arlo Davis

s knowledge.

Mallory shrugged.

What

s got me curious is what a big ol

bubba like that is doing here. The Blue Russian isn

t exactly a redneck hangout.


Maybe I ought to go inside and find out.

Brody

s voice held a hint of steel. The hairs on Mallory

s arms stood up in response.

You

re not going to start anything, are you?


Why would I do that? Just because that guy

s the one who most likely coldcocked me, then stuffed me in that stinking Dumpster? Hell, I can take a joke.


Brody, I

m serious. You already found out what you wanted to know. Bubba has access to the truck you saw at Denny

s, despite anything Mr. Arlo

Upstanding Citizen

Davis may say to the contrary.

He scowled at the pickup.

True, but I

d still like to know what the hell he

s up to in there.


Fine, go check it out. If you pick a fight, though, he

ll realize you

re onto him. Why tip your hand before you have enough evidence to arrest him? That doesn

t make any sense.

A reluctant smile nudged the corners of Brody

s mouth.

What makes you so smart?


Years of experience dealing with hotheaded eleven-year-olds.


Guess I better watch it, huh?

Brody

s smile widened to a full-fledged grin.

If I were to start a fight on top of those two tardies
—”


Three tardies.


Okay, on top of those
three
tardies, I

d get detention for sure. Which might not be so bad

not if you

re the one in charge of my punishment.


You

re impossible.


No, I

m not.

He shoved her glasses up her nose.

Not impossible at all.

A tenuous thread of awareness stretched between them. Mallory held her breath, waiting. For a second she thought Brody was going to kiss her, and knew if he did, they

d both regret it.

Perhaps he saw the panic in her eyes and changed his mind. Or perhaps he

d never intended to kiss her in the first place. But in any event, all he did was flash a quick smile and say,

I

m going to slip inside and see if I can figure out what the big guy

s up to.

She released her pent-up breath in a sigh and swallowed hard.

Mind if
—”
Her voice came out in a squeak. She swallowed again and gave it another try.

Mind if I tag along?

Brody shook his head.

I

d rather you stayed out here. Davis is the only one we saw go inside. His passenger may still be in the truck. I need you to keep an eye on the pickup.


If the pickup leaves, am I supposed to follow?


No, just pay attention to which way it goes.


Okay. This might even be fun,

Mallory said with a smile.

I can pretend I

m a TV detective pulling surveillance.


Don

t get your hopes up,

Brody warned.

Real-life surveillance isn

t as exciting as the Hollywood version. If you get bored, feel free to listen to the radio.

And with that, he followed Davis inside.

Guys have all the fun, Mallory decided ten minutes later. She sat sideways in her seat, staring fixedly at the tailgate of the pickup. Like gawking at the bumper stickers was doing any good. She sighed in frustration. From here she couldn

t see the person in the passenger

s seat. She couldn

t even see what, if anything, was hidden under the canopy. Of course, if she were to wander casually over there and maybe glance inside on her way past
c

Mallory was out of the Jeep before she

d completed the thought. She shut her door quietly, glancing around to be sure no one was watching.

The pickup was squeezed into one of the narrow slots that edged the front of the long, low building. Brody had parked in one of the wider diagonal spaces on the east side of the small lot. Mallory cut across the pavement, thankful that she

d worn her sneakers. The rubber soles were perfect for furtive operations.

She made a beeline for the rear of the gray pickup, peering intently into the canopy before turning to cut between the truck and the burgundy car parked beside it.

The back end was full of something. What, she couldn

t say, since canvas tarps covered the contents, hiding them from view. Disappointing, but not really surprising. What crook worth his salt drove around town with the evidence of his crime on display?

What was surprising was the identity of Davis

s passenger. He

d been lying down on the seat, but when he heard Mallory

s soft footsteps, he jerked erect, and she found herself staring into a pair of big brown eyes.

A black Lab, the owner of the big brown eyes, opened his jaws in a doggy smile and woofed a soft greeting.


Great watchdog you are, buddy.

The Lab pressed his nose against the window, gazing at her wistfully. Bubba hadn

t impressed her, but his dog was a born charmer.


You

re a darling,

she told him,

but I don

t have time to pi
c”
Her words died away as she noticed what the dog was leaning against

a perfectly ordinary navy-blue duffel bag that wouldn

t have surprised her a bit if it hadn

t been for the red-and-black-lace-trimmed garter belt partially caught in the zipper.

Women

s underwear. Guess that might explain what a redneck like Bubba was doing at the Blue Russian. But oh, boy. The thought of Bubba in a garter belt boggled her mind.

Caught off guard, Mallory nearly had a heart attack as the door of the Blue Russian flew open and two men came out. One was the owner, the other, Bubba. So where the heck was Brody? she wondered, worried. Out back in the trash bin?

Before the two men had a chance to turn her direction, she ducked out of sight, flattening herself on the pavement and squeezing under the burgundy car.

Her heart slammed so loudly against the wall of her chest, she was half-afraid the men would hear it. Two pairs of shoes marched past her nose. The owner

s well-polished oxblood loafers offered quite a contrast to Davis

s scuffed work boots, making it easy to tell the two apart even from this vantage point.


What are you doing here?

The speaker

s voice was deep and faintly accented. The owner. Dimitri, Kyle had called him.

Not too bright using the old man

s truck again.


Oh, he don

t notice nothin

. Besides, I needed it. The boss asked me to run some errands.

This voice was coarser to match the run-over heels and knotted leather shoestrings of Davis

s work boots.


I

m busy, Arlo. What

s the problem?

Arlo?
As in Arlo Davis? Were there two of them? An Arlo Senior and an Arlo Junior perhaps?


The boss sent some stuff over. Says he ain

t got room for it.


Storage isn

t part of the deal. I

ve got too many nosy employees.


But the boss said
—”


All right, dammit. But bring it around to the rear. No need to advertise.

Dimitri stomped back inside and Arlo circled the truck and got in on the driver

s side.

Where the heck was Brody?

She slid cautiously across the rough pavement and out from under the car on the opposite side, crouching down between the next two cars.

She waited until the pickup had backed out of its space and eased around toward the rear of the building before she ran across the lot to Brody

s Jeep.


Where were you?

he demanded as she piled in on the passenger

s side.

Mallory nearly jumped out of her skin.

I thought you were still inside. How did you get here?

She took a couple of deep breaths in an effort to slow her adrenaline-charged heart.

I didn

t see you leave the bar.


I slipped out the side door.

Brody frowned.

But you didn

t answer my question. Where were you? I thought I told you to stay in the Jeep.


No, actually you asked me to keep an eye on the pickup. Which I did, turning up some very interesting evidence in the process.


Stupid move.

Brody was tight-lipped. His frown had grown into a full-fledged scowl.

What if the passenger had caught you snooping around?


I

m not an idiot, Brody. I was careful to make the whole thing look natural. And as it happened, it didn

t matter since the passenger is a dog.

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