AllFreeNovel
Share Us
How much else had he been hiding from me and the rest of the family?
Dexter nodded as if it were no big deal. Maybe to him it wasn’t. “Sure. That’s one of the ways we follow the trails of clues.”
Well, I guessed I had a better idea now of how the Vigil managed to solve crimes the cops couldn’t. I was pretty sure the police didn’t have any hackers on staff.
I directed my attention at the paper again, drawing the curves of the Celtic knot as well as I could remember them. Then I passed the sketch over to Dexter. “That’s about what it looks like. Nothing too fancy, like I said.”
Dexter examined the drawing and tucked it into his bag. “Thank you.”
“Is that what you’re going to do next?” I asked. “Start asking around?”
“With a little more direction than that,” Dexter said. “We need to determine what smaller chop shops are currently active in the city, since they’re hiding behind fronts, and check them all out.”
“Will that take a lot of time?”
“It depends on luck, really, unfortunately. We’re going to touch base with a contact or two tonight who might be able to point us in the right direction.”
I immediately perked up. “I’ll come along too, then. I know my car way better than any of you. I should hear what these contacts have to say.”
Dexter tensed up all over again. His gaze slid to the floor, and his mouth opened and closed a few times before he seemed to find his words. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
Guilt pinched my gut at how uncomfortable I’d made him, but I squared my shoulders. I’d promised myself I wouldn’t back down. Logan had probably sent Dexter on this mission because he’d figured I’d be too much of a softie to put pressure on his shy friend. He wasn’t putting me off that easily.
“I’m not asking,” I said, standing up. “I’m insisting. You guys shut me out last night, but I want to be a part of the investigation. It’s my property that got stolen, after all.”
Dexter spread his hands awkwardly. “Madelyn… It’s not that simple…”
“Sure it is. As long as you’re not letting Logan boss you around, which I don’t intend to do. You don’t have to make the call. Bring me to the other guys wherever you’re meeting up, and I’ll make my case with them.”
Dexter shook his head. “I’m not bringing you to the apartment. No one goes there except the three of us. That’s the rule.”
Not even casual hookups, which it’d sounded like Slade at least was keen on? Interesting. I folded my arms over my chest. “Fine. Then call them and tell them to come to campus, and I’ll talk to them here.”
Dexter hesitated, his posture painfully rigid. I swallowed hard, knowing he was straining his mind for a way to get out of this—a way to convince me to back off. He needed to understand that wasn’t an option.
Did he have a specific problem with me, or was it just because of Logan’s objections? Well, it didn’t matter either way.
“Look,” I said quietly, “I know there was some drama around taking my case. I realize Logan’s been a jerk about it. But this is my car, my memento of my dad. It’s mylife. I won’t get in anyone’s way or screw things up, but I want to be as much a part of the investigation as I can be. Isn’t that a reasonable request?”
Dexter’s mouth twisted, and then he let out a brisk exhalation. “I’ll text them. But I don’t think Logan will be happy.”
A sly smile curved my lips. “You don’t have to tell them I’ll be there. Let me handle Logan.”
Dexter looked skeptical, but he tapped out a message on his phone. A moment later, an answering ping carried through the room. He glanced at the screen and then shoved the phone back in his pocket. “They’ll be in the parking lot outside the main library in ten minutes.”
He got up, not looking at me but not objecting when I followed him. I kept a careful distance as we walked through the hall and down the stairs, not wanting to push into his personal space.
From the brief observations I’d made of Dexter back in high school, I knew he wasn’t the touchy-feeling type. I’d seen him flinch from as simple a gesture as a guy giving him a friendly clap on the shoulder. He’d always stood a little farther back from any group he was part of than the others.
He’d done me a favor, and the least I could do was keep his comfort in mind in every way I could that didn’t jeopardize my own goals.
As we stepped out of the residence building, a gust of cool spring air whacked me in the face. It’d been pretty warm by daylight, but any lingering heat had died with the setting sun. Dexter strode a little ahead of me on his long legs, and I hurried to keep up as we headed along the darkened concrete paths toward the larger of the campus libraries.
Just as we came around the looming brick building to where the parking lot lay, Logan’s car, a black Subaru, cruised into the space, headlights streaking through the dusk. Logan parked near us, and I could already tell from his face through the windshield that he was pissed.
He and Slade both got out, Slade leaning against the side of the car with an amused air and Logan marching a few steps toward us. “What’sshedoing here?”
“She wants to come with us,” Dexter said before I needed to explain.
