When the cards were all down, Chase made the first bet, tossing out a few nickels, but I hadn’t paid any attention. Instead, I was drumming my fingers on the table, staring out the window into the darkness.
“I’ll take three,” I told Chase. When he handed me the cards, I rubbed my jaw. Hopefully not a telltale sign of the cards in my hand.
“How serious are you about this girl?” Gabriel’s question was pointed. So was his expression. He was widely known for seeing through a liar in two split seconds.
Knowing he could smell if I lied to him, I sat back, tossing all my nickels into the pile.
“Wow. I’d say serious,” Chase muttered as he studied his cards. “So much so I fucking fold already.”
“I barely know her,” I offered, waiting to see what the other three did. When it was only Kendrick and me, I tried to get caught up in the game, but doing so was all but impossible. In a single night, the beautiful dark-haired girl with the spunky personality had managed to dig past the muck and get to me.
Had it been about the mystery, the deep clinging need regarding justice, or the hot sex? Maybe a little of all three.
“Show your cards,” Chase instructed. I’d be damned if he wasn’t dissecting me with his entire being.
“You bastard,” Kendrick huffed, waving his hand and immediately jerking up from the chair. “When you’re on fire, that usually means you’re onto something. Like some crazy voodoo magic trailing around you like a thick fog. Are you certain you don’t have any French Cajun in you?”
While sliding the winnings in my direction, I issued a subtle but effective bark. “You’ll need to read my books to find out. There are clues in every other chapter.”
“Nice try, but we know all we want to about you.” Gabriel couldn’t help teasing, yet I knew instinctively his questions were increasing in number.
So were mine. With every passing minute.
With a grin on my face, I continued raking the coins closer. “Now, we’re cookin’.”
“You mean you are. What are you going to do with your latest squeeze?” Chase leaned back in his chair, planting his arms behind his head.
“I just don’t know. I thought about taking a drive to the Federal Coleman Complex.” The maximum security prison was about four hours away.
“For what reason, obtaining a confession that Wells has been covering up for a ghost? You know he couldn’t have made the phone calls, but a single call of your own would confirm that.” Kendrick’s teasing continued.
“I don’t know what I’m interested in hearing him say. If a single visitation is what it takes to move the needle on truth and justice, then he can believe in the tooth fairy for all I care. Those victims deserve true justice and if the real killer is still out there,manipulating the decoy while using alternative killing methods, then all efforts to discover the truth need to be exhausted.”
As always occurred when we discussed potential missions we’d undertake, there was scrutiny all around. As there should be.
“If that’s what you think you need to do.” Hudson wasn’t so certain I was doing the right thing.
“Look, I know how these cases wear you down,” Chase threw in. “But you need to keep in mind that jumping with both feet into the backside of the case that still haunts you to this day isn’t going to soothe the demons who’ve been chomping at the bit to get to the actual truth. And don’t tell me that very issue hasn’t bugged you for years.”
“Yeah, it has. So what the hell should I do? Just let her walk away?” Not a chance in hell. I’d already figured that out. I couldn’t allow her to leave. At least not so easily.
“If even a single family member is listed on the lineage, then I say head to the prison and have a little chat.”
Chase’s idea was a good one, full of common sense.
“But don’t go shooting off your mouth to anyone in the court system. Judges get a little testy after a dozen years go by.” Hudson lifted an eyebrow, half laughing.
“I hear you. I’ll wait.” Although I wasn’t known as a man of patience. “Deal the cards. Now, I need to make a phone call.”
“Let me guess,” Chase said as he grabbed my arm. “A little protective custody?”
“What could it hurt? Two phone calls that I’d say should be considered threats. She’s pigheaded and thinks carrying a weapon in her purse is all she needs.”
“Ouch.”
“Exactly.”
Chase and I had gotten closer over the years. Enough so I knew when he was offering a warning. Not about the judicial system or pissing off a judge or a prosecutor, but about my psyche.
