Authors: Kylie Brant
Waking Evil 02 (26 page)
To help the woman make up her mind, Ramsey named a price that would have her checking account bleeding. Urdall’s eyes widened.
“Just one of each, you said?”
“I’ll want the entire plant. Root, stem, leaf.” Were there other parts? She thought that should cover it. “If you could put each in a clear plastic bag and label it, that would be a help.”
“I can have them ready by tomorrow mornin’. Will that be soon enough?” Urdall’s sudden metamorphosis into business-woman was hardly surprising, given the look of her property. Ramsey imagined the amount she’d promised was more than the woman saw in a month.
Taking a card out of her pocket, she scribbled the name of the motel she was staying at, and the cabin number. “When you deliver them, you’ll get paid in full.”
“You’ll be doin’ Ms. Clark a huge favor with your generosity,” Dev put in.
Recognizing the glint in his eye, she mentally sighed. Too often she forgot the niceties considered so important in social discourse. Manufacturing a smile, she stuck out her hand. “You certainly are. I appreciate all your help. And I’m sincerely sorry to hear about your son.”
Visibly cloaking herself with dignity, the woman inclined her head. “Life ain’t always fair, and that’s a fact.”
They exchanged a look, a thread of understanding passing between them. Life sure as hell wasn’t fair, Ramsey agreed silently. But she’d spent the last several years of her life trying to even that score.
Some days it even felt like enough.
Chapter 13
“If it’s all the same to you, I’d like to put off stoppin’ to see Rose Thornton until later on this evenin’.”
Ramsey shot Dev a look. “We can’t wait until too late. She was probably in bed by the time I stopped in last night, and it was barely nine thirty.” At least she’d figured the woman had turned in. The more she considered her age, the more Ramsey was convinced the woman hadn’t been the one tromping around the woods with a flashlight.
Which meant someone else had been.
“Agreed. How ’bout I pick you up at seven or so? Better yet, we’ll make it six. You can pay me that dinner you owe me, then we can head out to the Thornton place.”
The idea wasn’t as unwelcome as it should have been. She blamed that on the spotty breakfast she’d had. It was dinner that beckoned, not more of Stryker’s companionship.
She had the thought, tried to believe it.
“All right.” She could use the time this afternoon to return to the motel and follow up on those ViCAP hits. And if there was any time left, she’d drop in to nag Jonesy and do a little research on plant roots and their effects. “What will you be doing this afternoon?”
He leaned forward to fiddle with the radio. A moment later, some sixties rock filled the interior of the vehicle. “Haven’t been to see my granddaddy for a coupla days. Just might drop in to have lunch with him.” His mouth quirked. “Don’t want to cramp his style, though. He’s got a full stable of interested ladies that seem to be hangin’ ’round every time I’m there.”
“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me,” she said drily. The apple certainly hadn’t fallen far from their particular family tree.
She went silent for a time, watching blindly as the scenery whipped by the window, emulating the thoughts crashing and colliding in her mind. Herbs for medicine, healing, and for magic spells. And then there were flowers, trees, and shrubs related to the same. A dull throb began in her temples. She needed a list. A clearly labeled diagram that cross-referenced plants indigenous to the region.
But wait. She raised a hand to rub at the ache. Even if a plant wasn’t natural in this setting, it could be grown inside, couldn’t it? People had greenhouses these days. She’d once busted a guy outside Memphis who had turned his entire basement into a pot garden. Given the right incentive, a person could grow any damn thing they wanted.
So she needed more information from Jonesy. And possibly from the medical examiner, regarding the rootlike substance in the victim’s stomach. If one could estimate how much mass the root had, she might be able to eliminate some of those Urdall would be delivering.
Because it was damn certain that she couldn’t expect the scientist to compare a sample found in the stomach contents with every known plant root in the area.
“Thinkin’ ’bout what you’re gonna wear on our date tonight?”
“What?” Her head swiveled to face him. “Why would I do that?”
“Because you want to dazzle my eye and befuddle my senses?”
Settling back into her seat, she said with a smirk, “Something tells me you’re easily dazzled, and befuddlement is too effortlessly accomplished to be considered much of a feat.”
“I’ve been befuddled since meetin’ you, and that’s a fact.” He made the turn that would lead them into town again. “Spent more time than I’d like to admit wonderin’ all sorts of stuff ’bout you.”
Her guard skated up and clanged shut with a decided slam. “Like what?”
“Oh, li’l things. Important things.” He raised a hand to the couple walking along the side of the road. “Like whether you prefer
The Munsters
or
The Addams Family
. Personally I find
The Munsters
more entertainin’, but
The Addams Family
had Thing, which was sorta creepy.”
The Munsters
or
The Addams Family
. Personally I find
The Munsters
more entertainin’, but
The Addams Family
had Thing, which was sorta creepy.”
Ramsey could feel the tension easing out of her body, bit by bit. “Yeah, those old Nick at Nite reruns are pretty vital, all right.”
The Boss came on the radio then, singing the merits of being born in the USA. “There’s other things I think ’bout. What kind of music you like. How you manage to turn that drawl on and off at will. How many of those suits you own. And what sort of lingerie you just may wear under them.”
“Springsteen’s always a good . . .” His last statement registered belatedly, and she sent a jab to his shoulder, satisfied when he flinched. “At the rate you’re going, you’ll never find out.”
“Never say never, Ms. Clark.” There was a look of pure masculine amusement on his face. “Admit it. A few days ago you’d never have considered you’d be ridin’ down the road with me and contemplatin’ dinner together.”
Because his words were true enough, she remained silent. And tried not to worry about the way they resonated. Maybe she had more in common with every other woman in Buffalo Springs than she wanted to admit. The thought made her squirm. But there was no denying he elicited a response from her, one she was usually careful to deny.
One she was becoming less and less certain she
wanted
to deny.
wanted
to deny.
Since she left Cripolo—although escaped seemed a more accurate word—she’d had one brief disastrous marriage before she figured out the obvious: she wasn’t made for hearts and flowers. Wouldn’t know what to do with that kind of relationship if it appeared. She had, however, perfected the no-strings, no-backward-glance hookup with none of the sticky entanglements other women seemed to relish.
She’d never met a man yet who wasn’t happy with just that sort of encounter. Shoving aside the thread of doubt that threatened, she settled more comfortably in her seat. If she did decide to try the man on for size, there was no reason to believe that Devlin Stryker would be any different.
When Ramsey returned to the cabin they used as an office, Powell was as animated as she’d ever seen him. For a moment, she suspected the man had broken down and gone off his bland diet. Maybe eaten some BBQ ribs or fried chicken.
But apparently a break in the case had a similar effect on him.
“Quinn Sanders,” the agent informed her with a hard glint in his eyes, “is a lyin’-ass dog.”
“What’ve you got?” she asked as she shut the door behind her and walked to the table where he was working. Her gaze dropped to the pages strewn across its surface. “Frost’s LUDs?”
“Damn straight.” Powell stabbed a finger at the circled numbers on the top sheet before flipping through the pages to show several others similarly marked. “Son of a bitch didn’t call her from his cell phone. Probably figured the sister would be checkin’ that. He cheated with her on the first one, right? Bastard can’t be trusted. But this number corresponds to that of the health club he owns, a 24 Hour Fitness. Thirty-seven calls to the vic’s cell phone since she left town. At least,” he amended, “since the date her sister says she left.”
Intrigued, Ramsey crowded in next to him, scanning the pages in question. “Looks like she called him a few times, too.” Pulse quickening, she quickly counted up the number of calls to the club from the victim’s cell phone. An even dozen.
“Who else works there? Any chance she might have been talking to a friend there, another worker?”
“Not unless she was a friend with the custodian or bookkeeper.” Powell linked his fingers, cracked his knuckles. “The custodian only works nights and the bookkeeper comes in once a week, so neither could account for all those calls. It’s the type of place that can be accessed around the clock. Every client has a fob to unlock the door. According to Matthews, the phone is in the office, which is locked by a separate key whenever Sanders isn’t there. Not much doubt that he made them.”
The question, Ramsey mused, was
why
he’d made them. “Do we have Frost’s financials yet?”
why
he’d made them. “Do we have Frost’s financials yet?”
As an answer, Powell reached for a separate file folder and handed it to her. Flipping it open, she quickly skimmed over the bank statements. “Doesn’t look like blackmail,” she murmured. Up until the time the woman left her home, there had been twice monthly deposits from her bank job. Since then, the deposits had been spotty and less than half what she’d made earlier. Ramsey checked the savings records. It appeared as though Frost had been hitting her savings regularly to supplement her income.
Not for the first time, a stab of sympathy pierced her. She understood the need to run from the past. But from the looks of the phone records, Frost’s past hadn’t been willing to let go of her.
“Be nice to get a look at Sanders’s LUDs and financials,” she muttered.
Powell was matter-of-fact. “Not even close to that yet. But I told Matthews to stay put in Memphis. I want you to join him there tomorrow for another run at Sanders. A little harder this time.” They exchanged a glance. “Man flat out lied about havin’ any contact with the victim since she left.”
“So he’s either stupid, or thinks we are.”
“He’s got somethin’ to hide. I want to know what it is. Either he’s a slime-suckin’ slug trying to work it with two women, or he’s got reason to stay in contact. Find out which.”
“How hard do you want me to push?”
“As hard as it takes.”
Ramsey nodded, satisfied. “I’ll take off early tomorrow. I’m expecting a delivery in the morning.” Briefly she filled the man in on the events of the day and her suppositions.
Powell looked unexcited. “Tryin’ to match the roots seems like a needle in a haystack at this point.”
“Maybe,” she admitted. “But I still think it’s an integral part of the ritual. No reason Jonesy can’t be checking it out while I’m running down detectives from the ViCAP hits on similar homicides.”
The other agent lifted a shoulder as he began to shuffle the phone records into a file folder. “I’m due to meet Rollins at the sheriff’s office to bring him up to date. When you get back from Memphis, you should probably talk to him more in-depth about the lead you’re followin’ on the root. Always need to be careful about extendin’ professional courtesies when we’re called to a case. Even more important when dealin’ with a small-town department.”
She nodded, although she didn’t need the reminder. Hopefully she’d have more to tell the sheriff by the time they discussed it. Maybe she’d get lucky on one of the calls she was about to make to—she mentally calculated—six detectives across the country who had worked a homicide with similar elements to this one.
Riffling through the contents on the table, Ramsey came up with the ViCAP responses. She said good-bye absently as Powell left, her mind already on the upcoming phone calls. Given the time change, she’d start with the hit from the east coast first. She knew she’d be lucky to catch any of the cops at their desks.
Stealing a quick look at her watch, she dialed the first number. There’d probably be plenty of time before dinner to harass Jonesy, as well. Depending on how these calls went, that might prove to be the highlight of the afternoon.
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