Windy waved her hand in the air that rushed by the VW as she hung it outside the passenger window. An Eagles song was blasting out of the radio as Dora drove down the highway, and Evie, Windy, and Dora were singing along. It should have made Dora happy, but she was losing patience with Windy.
The woman refused to tell them where they were going or where the flash drive was until they were safely out of California. The moment Dora saw the sign welcoming them to Oregon she turned off the radio.
“Hey,” Windy said. “That song’s a classic.”
“Where’s the flash drive, Windy. We told you Jared killed Kyle and solved his murder like we promised. Time to live up to your end of the bargain.”
“I am,” Windy said coyly. “We’re headed toward where it is.”
“So, you don’t have it?” Dora felt her voice rise in volume at the end of the sentence, and she took a deep breath to try to calm down.
“Nope. Took a page from the book you two girls are writing. I mailed it to a little place of mine in Montana.”
“Montana?” The plan to remain calm wasn’t working, and Dora let out a frustrated sigh. “What exactly is this place we’re headed to? It had better not be another illegal business you’ve been tending all these years. Did you even pay taxes on what you made off your pot farm?”
“Dora,” Evie said softly.
“No, it’s okay,” Windy said to Evie, who was leaning in between the bucket seats from the back. “I get why she’s upset with me. You can take the girl away from the rules, but you can’t make her stop wanting to follow them. And we had a deal. One Dora expects me to honor.”
Dora knew she was worked up and perhaps not being completely rational, but she was tired of feeling jerked around, and the latest development was another delay to getting her life back. Getting Evie’s life back. “I do expect you to honor it, Windy. We’re saving your butt right now, and you’re not being truthful with us.” Dora was tempted to threaten to leave the woman by the side of the road, but she couldn’t if she wanted the flash drive, and Windy knew it. Not to mention the fact that it was Windy’s car they were driving. “I’m not feeling all warm and fuzzy about things right now. We trusted you.”
“I know,” Windy said. “But I did what I thought I needed to do to keep the flash drive safe. You should be glad I did. Otherwise, it’d be sitting in a police locker right now and you might never get your hands on it.”
Dora shot Windy a glare. While the woman was probably right, Dora was struggling to feel kindly toward her at the moment.
“You know what?” Evie said. “I’m starving, and I bet that’s why we’re so cranky. Now that we’re in Oregon can we please get something to eat?”
Evie was right. Dora was really hungry too, and that probably did affect her mood. “We need gas,” she offered, “but I’d really like something more substantial than junk food. I need a big shot of protein.”
“Yes,” Evie said. “Like a burger. A big, juicy beef patty with lettuce, tomato, onion, and mayonnaise.”
“And a pickle,” Dora added.
“Fries too?” Windy asked.
Dora let out a moan now that her focus was on food. “Yes. Heck, I’m even going to get a sugary cola instead of something diet.”
Evie chuckled. “Craziness, Dor. Let’s do it.”
Dora smiled, feeling a little better about her current situation now that she had a plan she knew she could complete. “There’s food and gas at the next exit.” She looked over at Windy with a sudden burst of charity. “And if it makes you feel safer, we can go through the drive through. You can hide in the back.”
“Sure. That’s a good plan.”
“Excellent,” Evie said. “Sunshine, hon, I think you can splurge and get a burger too. The diet can start tomorrow.”
Sunshine let out a low growl. “Careful,” Dora said. “She’s very touchy about her weight.”
Windy asked, “Why does Sunshine need a diet? If anything, she needs to put on a couple pounds for what she’s about to go through.”
Go through? Dora envisioned a harrowing journey across the Canadian border in the middle of the night, days without food or water and…
“Wait,” Evie said. “What do you mean by that?”
Windy grinned at them. “She’s pregnant. She and I have known for a while now. I take it you’re just catching on.”
Dora thought about how Sunshine had been eating more than usual, and how every animal she’d encountered was drawn to the pup. She’d certainly had ample opportunity to get pregnant too.
“Oh my god, Sunshine!” Evie exclaimed. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Sunshine let out a moan that sounded like annoyance to Dora. She thought about how the dog had growled at them when they’d mentioned her weight. “She tried.”
Evie gasped. “Goodness, who is the father?”
Sunshine hopped into Windy’s lap. “Evie,” Dora warned. “No judgement.”
“I’m not judging. I just want to know what the puppies are going to look like.”
Windy had her forehead against Sunshine’s as if they were communicating telepathically, which Dora was close to believing because Windy said, “I think that’s going to have to remain a surprise. And it will be a wonderful one when the time comes.”
Dora reached over to ruffle the dog’s head. “It sure will. Congratulations, girl. You’re going to be a wonderful mother.”
Sunshine leaned into Dora’s hand and let out a little noise of pleasure.
After the car was filled with gas, the women stopped at a roadside burger joint and sat at a picnic table that overlooked the Pacific Ocean while they waited for their orders. It was unusually warm, and Dora tilted her face toward the sun, trying to enjoy a simple moment that didn’t revolve around running from the police or solving murders.
The moment was short-lived, however, when Windy said, “Matt—Kyle called me right before his death and gave me a set of numbers.”
“What?” Dora whipped her head around. “You didn’t tell us that.”
Windy chewed on her bottom lip, appearing sheepish. “I know. I just wasn’t sure if I could trust you at first. I was going to pass on the information when you got back from town today, but you went and solved the crime before I had a chance. I don’t even know what they mean, anyway.”
“Do you still have the numbers?” Evie asked.
“Sure.” She pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket and rattled them off, but both Dora and Evie stared at Windy with blank expressions. “You don’t know what they are either then?”
“No idea,” Dora said, annoyed that she couldn’t place a series of numbers. Numbers were her thing. She should be able to place them. But there were too many to be a bank account number, address, phone number, social security number, or any other obvious combinations. She eyed the paper still clutched in Windy’s hand. “Do you think I could see that for a minute?”
“Sure.” Windy handed it over without hesitation, making Dora believe that the woman had come to trust them.
Evie moved to stand over Dora’s shoulder. “It’s not a combination or safe lock. Too many numbers.”
Dora nodded. “I was thinking maybe coordinates. But there are even too many for that too.” She pulled their phone out of her pocket and tapped in the numbers. Nothing at all useful came up. After blowing out a frustrated breath, she ran a hand through her short hair.
“It’s time to call Luke,” Evie said.
Dora turned to look at her and raised an eyebrow. “For what? Just to make myself miss him more?”
Evie gave her a sympathetic look. “No, sweetie. That man seems to know things. Like lock-picking and alligator charming. His talents are… unusual. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he figured this out, too.”
Dora couldn’t argue with that logic. Luke was full of surprises. “All right.” She took a long sip of her soda, delighting in the sweet flavor coating her tongue, and then pulled out a burner phone they’d picked up along the way and dialed his number. After the call, she’d trash it just in case his line was being monitored.
“Hello?” His familiar voice nearly brought tears to her eyes.
“Hey you,” she said.
“Dor,” he practically breathed into the phone. “Are you all right? Did you get the flash drive?”
“Not yet. We’re on our way to pick it up.” She launched into the story of solving Kyle’s murder.
“You handcuffed him to his steering wheel?” Luke asked with a chuckle.
She snorted. “We had to do something, and it was better than tying him up and shoving him in the trunk.”
“That’s what he deserved,” Luke said. “So, you never found out if Kyle killed the woman or if it was her husband?”
“Nope. We just know that Jared killed Kyle, but Kyle left Windy some numbers. We don’t know what they mean, and we figured since you seem to be full of surprises that you might know or be able to figure it out.”
“You never know. Hit me.”
Dora recited the numbers and glanced over at Evie and Windy, who had their heads down while they devoured their burgers. Her stomach growled as she stared at her own untouched lunch.
“Hmm. Could be a combination of numbers or a cipher of some sort. I’ll work on it. Once I figure it out, I’ll find a way to tip off the investigation team.”
Dora was quiet as she thought about what Evie had said about Luke. He did seem to know things. More things than a regular everyday chef should know. “Luke?”
“Yeah?”
“What did you do before you went to culinary school?”
He chuckled. “What most people do. I went to college for a while before I dropped out, and then I worked a variety of odd jobs before I realized I wanted to cook for a living.”
“Odd jobs, huh? Like what?” she asked, intensely curious.
“Too many to list right now,” he said, sounding slightly amused. But then his tone turned serious as he said, “Listen, Dor, I need to see you. Where are you now?”
“Um, should I really be saying that over the phone?” Her heart was beating too rapidly. She wanted to see him more than anything.
“It’s all right. My line is safe.” He said it with such authority that she didn’t even question him.
“Southern Oregon, on the coast. We’re headed east,” she said.
“Can you be in Reno by noon tomorrow?” he asked.
“Um, probably. Let me check.” She pulled up the map on the smartphone and frowned. “It’s a little out of the way.”
“That’s probably better in the long run. You don’t want to take a direct route to your final destination.”
He had a point. She nodded as she said, “Yeah. I can see that.”
“Tomorrow, noon at the London Tower casino. We can meet at the buffet.”
Her mouth watered, and without another thought, she said, “We’ll be there.”
“Good. I’m looking forward to it.” The phone line went dead, and Dora couldn’t help the goofy grin on her face as she rejoined her crew.