“Thank you.”
He didn’t generally reveal a client’s personal information, in this case that the dead girl was Kate’s sister. But Tabby was practically family, someone he trusted.
She turned to Jase. “What can I do to help?”
“We know Chrissy Gallagher was using the name Tina Galen. The cops never found her phone, but we got her contact number off her website. Detective Benson said the number belonged to a burner. He said they tried to ping the last location, but it bounced around Russia and a bunch of other countries and they wound up with zip.”
“Give me the number. It might take a while, but I’ll see what I can do.”
“Thanks.” Jase handed her a slip of paper with Tina’s cell number written on it. “Also, her body was found in an alley behind a bar called Mean Jack’s in Old East Dallas. Cause of death was blunt force trauma. I need the names of men with arrest records for assaulting prostitutes, preferably in that area.”
“I can do that. Anything else?”
He showed her the photo of the tat on his phone. “This was behind her left ear...in case you run across a connection.”
Tabby nodded. “I’ll call or text as soon as I come up with something useful.”
“Sounds good. Thanks, Tab.” They made their way back out of the house into the bright sunlight. It was only the first week of May, but the temperature had already reached the low nineties. After the stifling heat in Afghanistan, it seemed downright cool.
“You think she can help us?” Kate asked as they climbed into the Yukon.
“If anyone can, it’s Tabby. Like I said, she’s a genius.”
His cell phone rang just as he pulled away from the curb. Jase checked his screen and recognized Tommy Dieter’s number. He put the call on speaker as he pulled into traffic. “Tommy, what’s up?”
“Hey, Hawk, I got something for you on Harding. When can we meet?”
It was already past noon. “Where are you now?”
“I’m at the Mustang.” A dive bar downtown.
“I can be there in an hour. That work for you?”
“That’s great. I’ll see you then.”
Jase ended the call, signaled and pulled out to pass a slow car in front of him. “That was one of my informants. He’s got info I need on another case I’m working.”
One of Kate’s eyebrows hiked up. “What do you mean another case? You’re supposed to be working for me.”
“There’s nothing more I can do for you until tonight. I’m heading down to Old East Dallas. I’ll stop in at Mean Jack’s, see what I can find out. In the meantime, Dieter has a lead on Randy Harding. He’s a bail skip lowlife I’m hunting. Beat his girlfriend and strangled her to death, missed his court date and went on the run. I tracked him to Houston, but he’d already left town. I need to find him before he hurts someone else.”
Some of the stiffness went out of her shoulders. “I’m sorry. Of course you have other cases besides mine.”
He checked the rearview mirror as he reached over and squeezed her hand. “You don’t have to worry, Kate. Finding Chrissy’s killer is my first priority. But working a case takes patience. We’ve talked to Will and Tabby. We’re putting feelers out. We’ll keep doing that until we turn up something that points us in the right direction.”
Jase pulled onto Highway 75 and headed back to Dallas. At Kate’s apartment building, he pulled up under the portico in front and stopped at the entrance.
Kate cracked open the passenger door. “Good luck with your informant.”
“Thanks.”
“I’ll see you tonight. What time will you be picking me up?”
Jase shook his head. “Sorry, darlin’. Too dangerous. You’ll have to wait this one out.”
She gave him a saccharine smile. “I don’t think so,darlin’. I’m going with you to Mean Jack’s—that was our deal. Either you take me or I’m going by myself.”
His temper inched up. “I don’t think you understand how this works, Kate. You hired me to find the man who killed your sister. That’s what I’m going to do. You need to stay home where you’ll be safe.”
