“You know I can’t talk about it,” Chance said, as we stood outside the coffee bar. Kate sat in a parked car writing notes while Chance picked up their drinks. Even if I didn’t already know the two detectives had been working nonstop, I could tell by the fatigue in Chance’s face.
“No, of course not. I was really just asking how you’re doing,” I said.
Chance looked over at Chava, who’d stepped back a little after saying hello.
“It’s been quite the introduction to Bellingham,” he said, including both of us in his response.
“When did you move here?” Chava asked. “I understand it hasn’t been long.”
“Just a week ago,” he said. “They only get a few homicides a year. I wasn’t expecting this kind of investigation so soon. All I’ve discovered about my new city so far is where to get the best coffee.”
“When things calm down I’d be happy to show you around,” I said, the words leaving my mouth before I could stop myself. How bad was I going to feel if he said no?
He looked at me a beat longer than I would have liked before answering, but his noncommittal “We could do that,” made my heart soar just a little.
It was better than no, right?
Chava patted my arm as we watched him climb into the driver’s seat. “That was a yes,” Chava said. “Even if it didn’t sound like one. Let’s get some lunch. I think we can both use a timeout from the men in our past.”
Leaving all the complicated stuff behind for the rest of the day, we spent a quiet night playing cards and watching TV. I turned in early, tired from three restless nights without enough sleep.
Let it go, I told myself before I drifted off. Let it all go. Things have been over with Chance for two years. It’s crazy to think he’s still got feelings for you. And you’ve lived this long without your father in the picture. Why do you want to get to know him now? Especially given his line of work. These thoughts faded as sleep overtook me.
But letting go wasn’t to be.
The shrill of my cellphone brought me out of a sound sleep.
“Eddie Shoes,” I said, struggling to wake up. Calls in the middle of the night were never good news.
“Eddie? It’s me, Kendra.”
“Where the hell have you been?” I asked. “Everyone’s—”
The sound of Kendra sobbing cut off my words. This time I knew it was genuine. Her fear climbed through my cell and grabbed hold of the back of my neck.
“What is it? Are you hurt? Are you all right?” I said.
Kendra continued to sob, though I could tell she was trying to speak.
“I …”—sob—“I …”—sob—“need help.” Was all I managed to make out through the strangled sounds she made.
“Kendra, listen to me. Calm down. Take a breath.” I could hear her taking deep breaths. “Where are you?”
“I’m not totally sure,” she said between large gulps of air.
“Are you hurt?”
“No. Not really.”
I decided the “not really” couldn’t be that bad or I’d hear pain in her voice, not just fear.
“Is someone holding you?”
“Yes.”
“Is he there with you?”
“No. But he’s coming back.”
“Get out now and call me again when you’re safe.”
“I don’t know how to get out. I’m locked in.”
“And you don’t know where you are?”
“No.”
“And you’re in danger from this man?”
“I think he might kill me.”
The cellphone she was on should have GPS, but I had no way of knowing what the number was to trace, and it could be a burner cell with no way of determining the owner. Contacting the police to trace the call would take time I didn’t know if Kendra had. Just when I thought it couldn’t get worse, I heard a beeping sound.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“I think the cellphone is going dead,” Kendra said, the panic rising in her voice.
“Okay. Think fast. Tell me everything you can about where you’ve been taken. The vehicle you were moved in. Do you know who he is?”
“His name is Christopher Leeds. He drives a silver Lexus.” Kendra paused a moment and I heard the low battery beep again.
“Hurry, Kendra, what else can you remember? Are you still in Bellingham?”
“We drove about half an hour after we left his house.” That sounded like she went willingly. If that was true, why was she in danger now? And wasn’t that a silver Lexus I saw her get into outside my office Thursday afternoon?
“His house? You were at his house? Voluntarily?”
“Yes. Don’t be mad at me.”
I decided I could be mad later, after I knew the whole story.
“Where’s his house?” I asked instead, thinking it might give me a place to start looking for Kendra. She gave me an address not too far away.
“Couldn’t you see where he went—after you left his house?”
“I was in the trunk.”
“He stuffed you in there?” I asked, wondering if she’d done something to anger him that caused him to turn on her.
“No. We didn’t want anyone to see me.”
“And then what happened?” I asked.
“We arrived inside some kind of warehouse. I got out, but nothing was what I expected.”
What had she expected?
“You’ve got to help me, Eddie. Me and my baby.”
The cellphone Kendra called from chose that moment to give up the ghost, and her voice went dead in my hand.
Cursing, I extricated myself from the sheets, blankets, and comforter that had entangled me when I struggled to answer the phone. I got up and made my way to the kitchen, where my laptop sat from earlier that evening.
Apparently I wasn’t done with my search for Kendra Hallings.
I’d just gotten it turned on and connected to the Internet when Chava’s door opened and she padded into the kitchen.
“What’s going on?” she asked, rubbing sleep from her eyes.
“Kendra,” I said, clicking away on my keyboard. I wanted to see what I could learn about this Christopher Leeds as fast as I could.
“She called?” Chava said, plunking down across from me at the table. “Is she all right?”
I brought her up to speed while I typed, finding little about any Christopher Leeds in Bellingham, only that he did have a silver Lexus registered to the address Kendra had given me. I debated about doing a further check on him; perhaps he owned property under a “doing business as.” But a part of me just wanted to do something more active.
Chava got up and started making coffee with the beans I’d brought home yesterday. “I’ll get dressed and we’ll head over to the address she gave you,” she said.
“First off, you aren’t coming with me, and second, you aren’t coming with me.”
“Don’t argue with your mother. You need backup. Two heads are better than one.”
“This address is a residence. Kendra said he had her in a warehouse. So it isn’t even where she’s being held. I do not need backup. And …” I raised my hand to stop her from interrupting. “And if I did, it would be from the police or a trained professional. We don’t know what we’re dealing with here, and I can’t look out for you.”
“You don’t need to look out for me,” she said, pouring a cup of coffee and putting it down in front of me. “Drink your coffee while I make toast.”
“Chava! I don’t need toast.”
“You do. You can’t work on an empty stomach.”
As if to prove her right, my stomach chose that moment to growl. I looked at the clock on my computer screen and saw it was 3:00 in the morning. Chava started to bustle around in the kitchen.
“What I should do,” I said, “is call the police and let them handle it.”
“You could call your friend about it,” she said without looking up from the counter where she was popping bread into the toaster. She clearly meant Chance, not Iz. Chava knew I didn’t want to call Chance and this would increase the chances I’d bring her along with me.
I spent a moment stewing. Should I contact him now, before I got pulled any further into this mess? Would I be hindering the police investigation if I didn’t? What did I know at this point?
I knew that Kendra was alive and claimed to be held against her will, but I also knew Kendra lied. The possibility that I would report her kidnapped to the police only to find out she was fine and just looking for my attention for some reason was pretty darn high.
This would make me look foolish and waste the detectives’ time. I was already on thin ice with Chance Parker after how I left Seattle. If I wanted to repair our relationship, that wouldn’t help at all.
I also knew someone killed Deirdre and stuffed her body into a wall, which might be connected to Matthew Hallings owing the Mafia a lot of money. But I had no proof his financial situation had any connection to Deirdre; in fact, given the relatively calm conversation I’d had with Mr. Careno and my father, there didn’t appear to be anything to report to the police about that either. I certainly didn’t want to put my mother on the spot, having to explain how she knew the Mafia or who her connections were in Vegas.
“Do you really think they’re going to find Kendra before this Leeds comes back?” Chava said. “And what, hurts her? Kills her? What can the police do you can’t?”
“Legally enter properties with search warrants for starters,” I said.
“How fast are they going to respond to this? Kendra told you she went willingly.”
“The woman called me because she’s trapped,” I said. “The police would take that seriously regardless of how it started out.” I didn’t share my idea with Chava that Kendra could be lying to me; that would just give her ammunition.
“But how long will those search warrants take?”
I had mixed feelings about skirting the law. For the most part, I didn’t do anything illegal. I followed procedures in my investigations. I drew a line between the type of people I followed around for my job and myself, preferring to think there was a difference between us. Besides, I liked law enforcement. Even if I didn’t want to bother Chance Parker, he wasn’t the only detective in town. But Chava had a point: the wheels of justice turned slowly and I didn’t have much to go on. Combine that with the other complications, and I could justify my continued investigation without contacting Chance or his partner Kate. It might piss him off, but I wasn’t doing anything illegal.
Or at least, less illegal than going into Matthew Hallings’s house with Chava. So my present behavior showed a marked improvement.
As much as I didn’t trust Kendra, I also didn’t want her hurt, and if she needed my help, I should give it to her. Plus, there was an unborn child in the middle of all of this. I wouldn’t usually get caught up with that, except Chava’s revelations about her feelings for me shifted things. Maybe my mother was right and Kendra could change. And even though I now knew she wasn’t an innocent damsel in distress, there was still something about her that made me want to protect her.
Maybe it was just her resemblance to my old high school friend, though that friendship had ended badly; I should only use it as a cautionary tale, not a reason to help her.
“The residential address is the only clue you have, right?” Chava said, no doubt reading into my body language I was starting to cave.
“Yes. The car is registered to the same address.”
“So let’s just start there. You said she can’t be held there. How dangerous could it be to take me with you?”
“He could be there now.”
“So we follow him, and he’ll lead us to Kendra. I could be your wheel man.”
“I’ve seen how you drive.”
“Be nice. I’ve made you a sandwich.” She handed me a turkey on rye, lightly toasted. “See, I’ve already got your back.”
How could I argue with that?
“All right, you win. Let’s go.”
Despite my assurance to Chava I didn’t anticipate trouble, I thought I better bring my gun. Telling Chava I’d just be a minute to change my clothes, I collected my Colt .45 and tucked it into my holster. With all the heavy winter clothing I was wearing, not even Chava would notice the slight bulge it created, though I’d either have to leave my outerwear unbuttoned or have my gun hopelessly mired in goose down and Gore-Tex. Zipping up my coat, I decided I wouldn’t need direct access to my weapon while driving around.
Just what had Kendra gotten into? And was it related to the death of Deirdre Fox? Maybe whatever Chava and I found tonight would answer those questions, for better or worse. And I could solve the case and hand it over to Chance Parker.
That would be an olive branch even he couldn’t ignore.