“What does that mean?”
“I think that means you get to keep the car,” Vero whispered.
“I don’t want the car,” I said, yanking the papers back.
Vero’s hand chased them. “Yes, you do.”
“The car is yours, of course,” Kat said as I took the phone from Vero. “But unless you want to risk certain information coming to light, I would strongly discourage you from driving it.”
Kat was right. One minor traffic violation and a cop would pullthe registration. There were too many red flags. The car would have to be scrapped. Every single piece of it would have to be destroyed. Maybe Ramón could put it in one of those giant crushers. Then we could burn the paperwork and pretend it never existed.
“What does Feliks want from me?” I asked. He knew everything about me, which meant he knew I couldn’t possibly repay him the value of that car.
“For now, only your silence,” Kat replied. “Good day, Ms. Donovan.”
I should have felt relieved when the call disconnected. The car was handled. No need to bother Irina with the whole sordid story of how we got it. No need to make up a fake one for Alan, and no need to pay the money back. But two lingering questions weighed heavily on me as I slid the papers back inside the broken seal of the envelope: How had Feliks known about the car, and what hadfor nowmeant?
I tugged on my jacket and shoes and crossed the street to Mrs. Haggerty’s house, part of me hoping she wouldn’t answer when I knocked. That she hadn’t been home to notice Cam or the dark green Jaguar that had picked him up.
The chain lock rattled and a dead bolt slid open. Mrs. Haggerty opened her door, squinting at me as she reached for her glasses on their slim gold chain. She still looked confused, even after she lifted them to her eyes.
“Hi, Mrs. Haggerty,” I said quickly, hoping to avoid any uncomfortable small talk, which usually involved her criticizing the brief and humiliating moments of my life she could make out from behind her kitchen curtains. “I was wondering if you remembered seeing someone at my house yesterday evening. A police officer?”
“You mean the one that’s been parked outside your house for days?”
“No, a different one.”
“This street has been far too busy,” she said with an aggrieved harrumph. “I’m lucky if I can even keep track.”
“This would have been right around dinnertime. He’s about this tall,” I said, holding my hand above my head. “Blond hair, blue eyes, in his early forties. He says he spoke with you.”
Mrs. Haggerty thought about that for a moment as she scratched the thinning hair at her temple. “I did go outside to take my trash out just after dinner. There was a gentleman parked right there,” she said, pointing to where Roddy’s car normally sat. “He got out of his car to help me roll my bin to the street. He asked if I had seen you or Steven in the last few hours. I told him about all the comings and goings. Then he got a phone call and left before I had a chance to ask his name and write it down.”
“Do you remember what color car he was driving, or what he looked like?”
“It was dark and it was cold,” she said a little defensively. “The man was wearing a hat. I don’t know what color his hair was.” And she couldn’t see well enough to notice the color of his eyes, I was sure. But Joey had said he’d spoken with Mrs. Haggerty. And he’d also said he had gotten the call about Nick while he’d been here, sitting in for Officer Roddy. Everything about his alibi checked out, but I couldn’t shake the feeling he’d been hiding something.
“Thanks, Mrs. Haggerty,” I said, drawing my coat tighter around me as I stepped away from her door. At the last minute, I turned, catching her before she pulled it closed.
“Do you happen to remember if he was smoking?” From our few brief encounters, I suspected Joey couldn’t go long without a cigarette.
“I don’t recall. But now that you mention it, he did have something in his mouth while we were talking. For such a polite young man, you’d think he’d know better.”
Joey’s toothpicks. The ones he was always chewing on when he couldn’t smoke. My parting thanks rang flat as I turned for home, no further along in my search forFedUporEasyCleanthan I had been the night before.
CHAPTER 45
My feet froze at the foot of my driveway. A burgundy Jeep was parked outside my house. Julian stood at my front door, hanging something from the knob as I approached.
“Hey,” I said quietly.
He whirled at the sound of my voice. The sand dollar he’d hung from a loop of satin ribbon knocked gently against the front door. He started toward me but stopped an arm’s length apart, sliding his hands in and then out of his pockets as if he wasn’t quite sure what to do with them. “I didn’t want to bother you. It’s okay if you’re not ready to talk. It’s just… I bought you something when I was in Florida. For Christmas. I wanted you to have it.” He scraped off his hat, holding it in front of him as he came closer. His eyes were almost gray against the cold, damp sky. “I’m sorry. About everything. Parker had no right to get involved.”
“No, she did,” I said, arms folded around myself. A sigh blew from my lips in a thin, white cloud. “I asked you for help and she came to the station for me. And she’s your friend. She cares about you. She had every right to say what was on her mind.”
“She shouldn’t have put words in my mouth.” He looked hesitant as he said, “And neither should you. I wasn’t ashamed of you. Orof us. I admit, maybe I have been hiding, but it’s only because you deserve someone who’s ready to commit. And that’s not really where I am right now. I like what we are.”
“What are we?” I could see him wrestle with that, his lips parted as he waited for the right answer to come. But there was no right answer. “Maybe we both need some time to figure that out.”
