Chapter Thirty-Two
Friday afternoon
Blu put his phone on speaker while Pelton rattled off what they’d found. Of course Crome wouldn’t make the call. He was probably too busy contemplating the many different ways he was going to disembowel the individual who started this whole mess. At least Pelton and Crome were back in the Mustang and on their way home.
The detective that Pelton and Crome had worked with had been very helpful. Following his new protocol of working with the police, Blu shared his information first with Powers. Pelton had emailed a name and plate number.
In the long stretch in the middle of the Francis Marion National Forest, Crome awoke from a nap and found Pelton cruising at a hundred and ten miles an hour, the car’s V-8 burbling along.
The kid had a lead foot.
Crome asked, “Can you get a move on?”
“Might not be able to stop if a deer runs out as it is.”
Either Pelton didn’t realize Crome had been kidding or was ignoring it. Crome liked him anyway. He liked it even more that his source had paid off big. Blu was tracking the abductor down as they spoke. Patricia had some pull with the mayor’s deputy and they were busy getting the paper trail in order for when the guy was brought down.
Friday afternoon
Blu had a name that didn’t set off any alarms and an address that didn’t mean anything to him either. And he had the initials MLM ECO. At least he had something.
He also had Tess. More like he was stuck riding shotgun in her car.
“You’re sure you don’t recognize the name?” she asked.
“No.” He pulled a nine millimeter Glock from his waistband and verified the chambered round for the fifth time. The act was done more out of habit than necessity. A round was always chambered. It settled his nerves. So did vaping and he did that next.
“What flavor is that?”
“Blackberry.”
“It’s different than what you normally have.”
She was right. He normally liked one of the tobacco flavors.
“You pay attention to my vape choices?” he asked.
She turned and gave him her made-for-TV grin. With her dark-rimmed glasses, the smirk really got to him. But he had to stop himself from doing something stupid. He had Billie, or at least he hoped he still had Billie. He would know for sure if she ever called him back.
Tess said, “I know a lot about you. And Crome.”
“Like what?”
“You worry a lot. About your daughter. About Billie. About getting too close to me and Harmony.”
“Yeah?” What concerned him most was how close to target she’d hit.
“Yes. And you worry about Crome.”
“Wouldn’t you?” he asked.
“He’s a grown man. I think he can take care of himself.”
“He didn’t do a good job of that for a long time,” he said. “And not lately, either.”
“You’re wondering if Billie is going to say yes. And you’re wondering what you’re going to do if she doesn’t.”
“That’s enough,” he said. She was cutting deep.
“You asked,” she said.
“What about you?”
“What about me?”
He leaned forward and stuck the gun in his back waistband. “You and Harmony hit this town like a wrecking ball in the wake of Darcy Pelton’s absence. You both get a lot handed to you because of how you look.”
“How do we look?”
“You know what I mean.” He felt his cheeks flush. “People underestimate you in particular. Harmony wears her visage on her sleeve. You keep people a few arms’ lengths away. It makes you more dangerous than she is.”
“Dangerous?” she asked. “You think I’m dangerous, too?”
“In a way,” he said. “Crome’s also dangerous, but in a different way. He will kill for the right reason. You, on the other hand, can gut a man without him even knowing it.”
“Do you think I would do that to you?” she asked.
“No,” he said and meant it. “I wouldn’t let you.”
The smirk was back.
This conversation would not—should not—have occurred with someone still in their twenties.
They pulled to a stop at a light. She leaned over and kissed him on the lips.
He didn’t stop her.
It felt more intimate than he expected, not that he even expected to be kissed. Especially by her. There was passion and longing and understanding.
Straightening up in time to see the light turn green, she accelerated.
He vowed to himself that no one would ever know about what just happened.
Luckily, his cell phone buzzed in his pocket and he was able to change his thought pattern. It was Powers.
“Yo,” Blu answered, still flustered from Tess’ act of what he really hoped was pity.
“I’m standing here at that address you gave me with three other units.”
“You find the women?” he asked.
“There’s no one here.”
“Damn.” Blu didn’t know what to do next, so he said, “Thanks” and ended the call.
Friday afternoon
Crome wanted to punch something, but didn’t think Pelton would appreciate him hammering on the interior of his car. Especially after he said it had been a gift from his wife. So, he sat there seething.
The lead had just fallen apart.
The address the police had gotten from the license plate was to a house the police verified had a layer of dust covering the empty interior. The women were gone, probably dead, and the guy was in the wind. He’d vanished, never to return unless he decided to pick off another one of their friends and make them disappear as well.
As if reading his mind, Pelton said, “This sucks.”
“No kidding.”
They were on the Cooper River Bridge on their way to meet Blu, Tess, and Detective Powers and the three units he’d brought with him at the empty house. The only intel they’d been able to get that was worthwhile, or so he thought.
Crome pulled his phone out, made a call, and was surprised when it was answered.
“Yes?”
The bastard who really needed to die in the most horrific manner Crome could come up with actually answered the phone.
“I’m coming for you,” Crome said, “and God won’t be able to help you.”
The man laughed. “I wouldn’t expect anything less, Mick. But first you have to find me. How’s that working out for you?”
The call ended.
Pelton said, “You’ve got his number?”
Crome ignored him and made another call.
After the call from Crome, Blu explained to Powers what they needed, and added, “And I mean right now.”
Powers listened, nodded, and made a call.
If they could triangulate the signal from the man’s phone, they might have a shot.
Why the hell the guy actually had the phone on and answered it was a tactical mistake. Either that, or he already had it covered in some way.
It was all they had left. It was a long shot, and if it didn’t work, they were back to square one and none of them wanted to be back to square one.
Powers ended his call. “They’re on it. I had to use my last favor. But we’ll have something.”
Tess said, “The guy actually answered his phone?”
“Yes,” Blu said, “and I hope it’s the last mistake of his life.”