Eighty-five

In desperation, I hefted one of the five-foot boards Tony had moved.

“What are you going to do with that?” Nancy asked.

“Watch!” Using the plank as a battering ram, I bashed the passenger side window and the glass exploded into crystal shards.

With a gloved hand, I reached in and unlocked the door. When the interior lights sprang on, I saw Tony’s arms were covering his face. I gently shook him, and his arms dropped away, exposing his cold, dead expression and lolling tongue.

Nancy yelped once, then stumbled away.

I didn’t have that luxury. With care, I examined his body. There was no blood that I could see. No visible wounds. And no notebook. I glanced at the ignition. The keys were gone.

“What happened to him?” Nancy asked.

“It looks like he was poisoned, just like Mason, but I don’t see any gummies around.”

I reached a gloved hand under the car seat. Then I checked the sunscreens and the back seat. There was still no sign of the notebook. I popped the trunk and searched it with no luck.

Steeling myself, I took another look at the corpse. Tony wasn’t wearing his blue hoodie, but something else was missing from his usual wardrobe.

“Nancy?”

“Yes,” she replied in a choked voice.

“Tony’s vest is gone. Remember? The one with all those pockets. He always wore it. Do you remember what he kept in those pockets?”

Nancy sniffed and wiped away tears with her sleeve. “His keys, his wallet, and his portable card reader. He put his two phones in the big pockets with the zippers. He kept a lot of candy and energy bars, too, and a little pad he wrote in when he stopped for gas.”

I closed the car door.

“Did he get robbed?” Nancy asked.

“I don’t think so. It makes no sense. Why would a thief take the keys and leave the car? And why would a thief lock the car after the robbery or poison their victim when a gun or knife would be quicker and more efficient?”

Suddenly, my phone buzzed, a cacophony on this silent street. With shaky hands, I checked the screen.

Tucker was reporting in.

“I just talked to Dina Nardini,” he said breathlessly. “She doesn’t have the notebook. She says Lachelle LaLande had it last. I called Esther to tell her, but she didn’t answer. She must be with Lachelle at the First Class Club already.”

He paused to catch his breath. “Have you found Tony?”

I told Tucker exactly what we found.

“Listen, Tuck, I’m going to have Nancy stay here at the crime scene and call 911. I’m texting Dante to come here quickly and join her. He knows Tony better than any of us and can help with answering questions for the first responders.”

“What do you want me to do?” Tuck asked.

“I want you to meet me at the First Class Club as soon as you can get there. If Lachelle has the notebook, I’ll take it straight to Detective Russell and this nightmare will be over.”