I headed out first and pulled him behind me. Once we were at the bottom of the stairs, I basically dragged him to the front door and opened it. “I’ll call ya.”
Of course the guy was sweet and kissed me just as the General was coming down the stairs.
“Bailey!”
I looked into Johnny/Jimmy’s eyes. “Get out of here. You don’t need to be here for this. I’ll look for you the next time I’m in town.” I gently pushed him out the door and closed it, turning toward my father to face him with my head held high.
“So now you know.” My heart was in my throat, anticipating his wrath.
Father’s face went pale. “Know what?”
Surely he wasn’t that dense? “I’m gay.”
There was no shouting. No hitting or threatening. The General shook his head and walked back up the stairs. He left the next morning before I got up, and we never spoke again. I never went back to Philadelphia until his funeral.
“Did he ever mention me again?” I knew the answer Thomas didn’t want to give.
“Come on, Bailey. Of course, h-h-he did.” He didn’t seem so sure, but I wasn’t going to take him to task over history that couldn’t be changed.
“Point is, Thomas, you’re making yourself miserable by trying to live two lives. I love you, little brother, and I don’t want you to be in pain.”
“I can’t leave her. Staying is for the best.” He put his coffee cup on the floor and left. I hoped it wasn’t the last time I saw him.
Chapter Sixteen
Jagger
“Jagger? Phone call.”
Denise stood in the breakroom doorway as I waited for the coffee maker to finish spewing my morning jolt of caffeine.
“Thanks, Denise. Do you know who it is?” I hoped it was Bailey, though he’d probably call my cell phone if he wanted to talk.
“Detective Spitzer with LVPD Narcotics.”
I nodded and grabbed my coffee to head back to my desk to take the call. I hoped Spitzer had some news for me.
The weekend had been long, but thanks to Dixie, I wasn’t too lonely. I spoke with Bailey several times about what was going on in Carson City, and I could tell he still wasn’t satisfied with his progress in finding out what was happening with his brother.
He’d hinted that someone close to the governor might have something to do with the blackmail threat, but he didn’t come right out and say who. I was suddenly very worried about him.
I picked up the receiver and hit the blinking light. “Jagger Hansen.”
“Hey, Hansen, it’s Spitzer. I have some news for you. I went to the evidence locker and pulled the used Chimi handbag. There was nothing inside it when it was pulled from the trash can. The liner was ripped at the seam, which could mean there had been something inside, under the liner.
“I’m going to the shop where the bag was stolen from to talk to the manager. I’m hoping to look inside a handbag like the one we have in evidence so we can get an idea of what it should have looked like.” Sounded simple enough.
“Want someone to come along?” I was itching to figure out this whole thing.
“I wouldn’t mind the company. Meet me there in half an hour.” He hung up, clearly not well-versed in telephone etiquette. I hung up the receiver, shaking my head.
If I could get Spitzer to put me in touch with Boyd Newton, could I get the guy on the phone with Bailey? Maybe Boyd had information Bailey could use?
Dixie was in the break room, napping in her large bed after having already eaten her breakfast. I’d taken her for a long run early this morning before the sun made the asphalt and concrete hot enough to burn her feet.
I considered getting a treadmill to put in the garage next to Bailey’s bike so Dixie could get exercise whenever the streets were too hot for her to run outside. It probably wouldn’t hurt me to use it as well.
Fitz touched my shoulder. “How was your weekend? Is Bailey coming back anytime soon?”
