“This show is over. Turn off the camera and shoot her in the gut.” My patience at an end, I stand and start to leave.
Both Suds and Lucky chuckle but Dahlyla, not knowing me so well, looks worried. “Okay, listen. Sure, I studied a little about voltage and shit but no one was supposed to die. It’s not my fault. Tubes told me what to do. He’s the one you should arrest, not me.”
“And the kidnapping?”
Clearing his throat, Lucky barges in. “If Sienna left town, missy here thought the cops would stop looking for a suspect. She might’ve gotten away with it, if not for you.”
Far off, sirens sound, and by the time the police make it up the hill, we have most of her story.
Trudging down the narrow trail, I try to put the case to rest. “Let me see if I got this right. Dahlyla follows Sienna’s career from prison, reads about her alleged affair with Cal, and hatches a plan.”
We come to the end of the path and once we’re belted up, Suds continues. “The first thing she did, once she got out, was to visit Tubes and convince him to help her.”
“I know he wanted the amp, but kill for it?” I shake my head. “He didn’t seem like a killer.”
“Agreed. That part of her story sounds weak. She probably fed Tubes a line a shit. Anyhow, she steals a hoodie, modifies the electronics, and places the amp back on stage.”
Lucky starts the engine and glances into the rearview mirror as he eases onto the dirt road. “You two got too close so she panicked and called her old boss, Buonanno. But what about the band manager, Simon Pershing?”
I show him an image of three men at a barbecue. “Jason emailed me this. The three men, left to right, are the crime boss, the band manager, and Peter Olafson.”
“Wow, so her ex-husband was pulling the strings, after all?” Lucky whistles through his teeth and as he hands my phone over his shoulder, I shudder.
“For sure he financed Dahlyla. However, Pershing works directly for Joe Buonanno who wanted to keep tabs on Sienna. The kickbacks from the Arabs were an added bonus.”
All the pieces in place, I grab Suds’ hand. “Well, Scooby-Doo. I think we solved the case of Fried Cal.”
“That’s right, Velma.”
“I grin. “Really? I don’t own any turtlenecks, certainly not an orange sweater. I think maybe I want to be Eve Dallas. You can be Roarke.”
I forget he hasn’t read any of my favorite romances. “Not following you, sugar. Is he as sexy as me?”
“Maybe more so. Not only that, he’s a billionaire.”
“Obviously, a fictional character.”
A couple days later, Sienna and I hug goodbye at the airport, then she rubs her belly. “Y’all come and visit real soon.”
“We will, I promise.”
Eyes moist, Andy slaps Suds on the back who retaliates by hitting him on the shoulder. Even without someone to man-splain, I’m quite sure it’s means, I love you, bro.
After the couple disappears into security, Suds and I take the escalator to the ground floor. With them gone, life will seem boring.
My clever partner reads my mind. “Lucky decided to stay in town for a few with Callie. They want to get together over drinks.”
“I’d like that.”
He takes my hand and holds up the time display on his phone. “Do you know how long it’s been since we made love?”
“Ah… three days?”
“Close. Three days, two hours, and twenty-two minutes.”
I grin. “You know down to the minute?”
He shrugs. “I downloaded an app.”
