As expected, then. “Keep watching. Call me if anything changes.”
“Will do.”
He hung up. I set the phone down and went back to staring at my laptop screen, where Salvatore Gomorra’s face stared at me from between two dog snouts.
Down on the floor, Edwina sighed dramatically from the comfort of her doggie bed.
I knew exactly how she felt.
Chapter Three
Rachel left the office at five on the dot. She’d spent the last hour eyeing the clock and checking her makeup in her compact mirror, which told me everything I needed to know about how seriously she was taking this bar venture. Or maybe it was just Daniel. More likely that.
“Have fun,” I called after her as she headed for the door, purse slung over her shoulder.
She paused, one hand on the doorknob. “Are you sure you don’t want to come? There’s still time.”
“Positive,” I said. “You know as well as I do how Daniel is going to react if I show up there, let alone Kenny. I’ll take a look at it later, if it works out. Someone has to hold down the fort while we wait for Zachary to report in. Plus, Edwina needs to go home.”
At the sound of her name, the Boston Terrier’s ears perked up from her spot on the dog bed. Rachel nodded. “I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow.”
Of that, I had no doubt whatsoever. The problem was getting her to talk about anything else. Nonetheless I told her, “I look forward to it,” and watched her walk to the door.
When it closed behind her, I counted to thirty before I grabbed my purse and Edwina’s leash.
“Come on, girl,” I said. “Car ride.”
Edwina didn’t need to be told twice. She was off the bed and at my feet in seconds, mini-tail wagging so hard her entire back half moved. I secured her leash and we headed out to the parking lot.
I told myself I wasn’t spying. I was just… curious. Professionally curious. Rachel was my business partner, and Daniel’s track record with business ventures was spotty at best. And then there was Kenny, who was my stepson. I had some responsibility there, didn’t I? If he had really put his entire inheritance into this bar, and if Daniel was managing it, then it was my duty—or at least my prerogative—to know what they were getting into.
Or so I told myself, anyway.
Edwina took a second to empty her bladder in the flower bed, and then she hopped into the front of the car, and from there into the passenger seat. I pulled out of the parking lot and headed towards East Nashville. Rachel’s Toyota was halfway up the next block, brake-lights flashing as she got close to a yellow light, and hopefully she wasn’t keeping an eye on her rearview mirror, because if she was, she’d see me leave the Fidelity Investigations parking lot and know what I was doing.
Tailing someone through rush-hour traffic isn’t too hard to do. I kept the Toyota in sight, but allowed as many cars between us as I could manage. Down 16th Avenue we went, past the SONY offices and the old Country Music Hall of Fame—now relocated into downtown—and past the Musica statue at the roundabout at Buddy Killen Circle. Rachel must have decided to avoid the interstate—probably a good move at five minutes after five on a Thursday night—because she took a right on Division Street toward the Gulch instead of continuing straight down the last stretch of Music Row to I-40. I followed half a minute later, after a string of three other cars had made the same turn.
My phone rang just as we reached the traffic light on 8th Avenue South. I turned on the speaker and returned my attention to the road. “Yes?”
“Gina? It’s Zach.”
“I know.” I hadn’t seen much, but I had seen that. “What’s going on?”
“The Body Shop is closing up. Everyone’s heading out. Nick just got in his car, and so did Megan.”
“Into Nick’s car?”
“No.” I could picture him shaking his head. “Into her own.”
“Are they going the same way? Following each other?”
“Not that I can see,” Zachary said. “Nick went west on Charlotte, and Megan looks like she’s heading east. Who do you want me to follow?”
I resisted the urge to knock my head against the steering wheel. How could I not have thought about this?
Yes, I was still new to this job, still figuring out all the things that should have been obvious, but there was no excuse for not realizing that two people might leave work at the same time and go in different directions. I should have been there along with Zachary at the end of the day, instead of wasting my time on Rachel and Daniel and Kenny.
But that was something I’d have to rectify tomorrow. For now, Zachary needed to know what to do.
