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He flicked her another glance. “Sure I can’t give you one?”
“Positive.” She smiled.
Vic held the door open for her and they walked out to his car. When they got in, he eyed her speculatively. “You’re such a natural at this, it’s spooky. I guess you realize that guy was checking you out.”
“Hey, honey—I’m a hard-boiled private eye, so I don’t mind as long as there’s no touching,” she teased.
He burst into unexpected laughter. When it subsided he said, “Where’s the second shop? I want you to take the lead again. You’re a pro.”
With that compliment she took a quick breath before giving him the next address. Vic had no idea how much she wanted to be of help.
The next parlor was very modern and had a myriad of designs mounted on the walls. She saw a pink eye and a whole slew of snake tattoos. This time a woman covered in tattoos with ruby red hair approached them. Her gaze fastened on Vic. “Hi, I’m Zena and I run this shop. What can I do for you?”
No question this was Vic’s turn.
“Sorry to bother you. My name’s Jim. This is Elaine. We’re private investigators working on a case for an insurance company. Have you ever seen this man in your shop?” He pulled the picture of Leroy from the pocket of his sport shirt. “He has a green eye tattoo on his inside wrist and two snakes on his chest.”
She studied the picture for a minute and shook her head. “Never seen him before.”
“Do you think one of your employees might have worked on him?”
“I know everyone who gets a tattoo here. Sorry I can’t help.”
“So am I,” Vic said. Claire could hear the disappointment in his voice.
“If you ever want a tattoo—”
“I’ll keep you in mind,” he said before she could finish her sentence.
Claire followed him outside to the car, wishing she could do something to boost his spirits. “Let’s go to Buda Graphic Design for autos and trucks next. I looked it up. They sell stickers and logos for cars. Maybe we’ll get lucky.”
“Maybe,” he said without much conviction.
When he pulled up in front of the store, he turned to her. “I’ll run in. Be back in a minute.”
Since he wanted to be alone, she looked up the name of the local high school and found out there were two of them. On a whim, she called the office of the first school and got the secretary on the phone.
“Hi. I’m only in Buda for the day and wondered if I could speak to the librarian please.”
“I’ll see if Mrs. Marchant is available. Just a moment.”
While Claire watched for Vic, she waited.
“Hello?”
“Hello. My name’s Elaine Jarvis. I live in Austin, but I’m in Buda for the day, and I’m trying to find out if a friend of mine from long ago attended the high school here. His name is Leroy Bennett. I’ve lost track of him. He served in Iraq and probably would have been a student here twenty years ago. Maybe he was in the ROTC?”
“Oh, my goodness. I wouldn’t have any idea.”
“What I was hoping was that you could pull out a couple of yearbooks from nineteen or twenty years ago to see if his name was listed as one of the students.”
“I’m afraid I don’t have that kind of time. If you come to the library, I could show you where to look.”
“Would that be all right?”
“Yes. You’ll have to report to the office first and they’ll give you a pass.”
“I have a friend with me. Could he come, too?”
