The second I hung up from my dad, Cindy called. I was never going to get out of the house at this rate.
“You sound terrible, Lucy. Bad news?”
“Not exactly. I just finished talking to Dad.”
“Is he back yet?”
“No.” I headed for the closet and my coat. “He’s still in England with Christine. Of course he had to drop a few comments about how successful her diplomatic career has been.”
“And yours isn’t.”
I shrugged into the coat with Baskerville nipping at the hem. “Something like that.”
“You can’t compare yourself with your sister, Lucy. It’s not healthy.”
“Tell that to my dad.”
“Larry James should know better.”
“I imagine he does but since Mom died, he feels it’s his job to point out my deficiencies.”
Cindy laughed her musical laugh. “As if that’s going to stop you.” She paused. “I’m done here in an hour. Will you be home?”
I shook my head. “Nope. Got a stakeout to do.”
“Joe and the dogs?”
“Right.”
“Sorry I can’t help.”
“That’s fine. Baskerville is having a small fit that I’m going out again. Can you walk him when you get in?”
“Sure. How about Napoleon?”
“I fed him and covered him with a cloth. He looks sleepy, you know… for a parrot.”
“Be careful, Lucy. Don’t do anything stupid.”
“Says you,” I laughed. “You just don’t want to miss out on the action.”
“That’s right.”
I hung up, patted Baskerville and tugged my Sherlock cap on my head. I couldn’t wear this getup at jobs with the detective agency, but it made me feel closer to my mentor when I donned similar clothes. And tonight, I was going to need all the help I could get. It had been over two weeks now and I was no closer to finding out what had happened to Joe’s dog and those of his neighbors. Something needed to happen and soon. I was going to keep a sharp lookout on the hunting grounds tonight.
Once on the scene, I moved my car two streets over from Joe Warner’s block this time. It was a block over from where Cindy and I had chased down the guy chasing his own dog. That episode had netted us more information so it wasn’t a wasted stakeout but man, could stakeouts be boring.
Yawning for the third or fourth time, I grabbed my water bottle to splash water on my face to keep a sharper lookout. The brick homes in this neighborhood were similar to the ones I’d watched so far, but these seemed somewhat older. The yards were smaller with fewer fences. All the steps were similar and made of concrete, while the front doors were encased in small porches or enclosed mudrooms. It was a nice family neighborhood with children’s toys in some yards and lights on in most houses. It seemed homey and not a place disaster might befall. As soon as I had that thought, a van drove right past me.
Parked on a dark side of the street, I had scrunched down in my seat the instant lights flashed in my rear view mirror. I was able to watch the van for some time. Possibly a Dodge minivan, it had been painted light blue at one time but the paint was worn off on the hood. The car doors had white dots where the paint had apparently worn off there too. It drove slowly, especially by fenced yards but no one got out. When it turned the corner, my neck started tingling so I started my car to follow behind. Sometimes all you have to go on is a hunch and that’s all I had now. If my hunch didn’t pan out, well, it wouldn’t be the first time.
I’ve had experience following suspicious vehicles and it can be difficult trying to stay invisible. It was harder than usual trying to stay behind this van because of its speed—too slow for me to logically stay with him. So I drove by to circle around. I caught the license plate and circled the block as quickly as I could. It wasn’t quick enough. The van was gone and I didn’t know in which direction.
I glanced at my watch. It was after eleven and I felt the stakeout was over. But I did get the license plate number. I thought about calling Mr. Warner in the morning but what did I have to tell him? The license plate could be a dead-end and I’d be back to square one. I drove home feeling only a little less depressed than after my date with Eric. I had nothing for Mr. Warner and wondered what the heck I was doing with Eric.
I felt lower than the flat tire Cindy had yesterday.
* * *