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“Rumors?”
“You know the history of Glitz and how my grandpa took over the city. Just stupid rumors. It’s nothing, but to Bonnie, it may have been something.” I wasn’t sure if he was hiding something out of guilt or protecting his family out of habit, so I let him keep talking.
“She did try to get me to go to church with her, even knowing my own issues when it came to those soul-sucking perverts. She missed it. Probably from her upbringing. Her parents fucking suck. She felt guilty as hell after her drug use. Shit, I gotta go.”
“Welp, until there’s evidence of wrongdoing, believe what will give you the most fucking peace, man. All right?”
“So you’ll look into this? FBI style? And no one can know.” Calvin held up a red flash drive, eyes eager and pleading.
“Damn right, I will. Everyone at the precinct has their panties in a fucking wad over this crime, and we’re all working around the clock to figure it out. If you think of anything else, let me know, and I’ll do my best to keep you out of it.”
“You will? Why?”
“Because it seems like you have enough shit on your plate right now.”
“Thanks.”
Cal walked away, and I stood there, about ten feet from the corner, wondering what, if anything, he planned to do about it. I wasn’t naïve or foolish enough to think he’d tossed this intel in my lap only to forget about it. No, Cal planned to use it somehow, too. I didn’t really give a shit how he used it, unless it meant more dead bodies littering the city.
I turned and strolled back into the precinct.
“I knew you’d end up being more than just a pain in my ass.” Beck’s voice broke through my thoughts, and I fought hard to roll my eyes. “I knew you’d be more asset than ass hat.”
“Ha,” I deadpanned. “Did you come up with that all on your own?”
“Yep. Right off the top of the old noggin,” Beck shot back and tapped her head with a laugh. “I’m impressive like that.”
“If you do say so yourself.”
Beck shrugged and bumped my shoulder. “So, what did baby boy Ashby want?”
There was still something about the woman that rubbed me the wrong way, so I told her what I wanted her to know, knowing she’d listen because that’s just who she was.
“Seems like there’s a divide in the family. Might be useful to you for the other reason you’re so interested in this case.”
Surprise flashed in her big blue eyes. “You’re good, Ellison. Really good. And when you tell me what Ashby really said, maybe then I’ll share my secrets with you.”
She flashed a teasing smile and walked off, all the tension from last week seemingly forgotten.
But her words confirmed that Agent Beck did have secrets she wasn’t sharing, and I wondered if I could find them out on my own. At least before it ended up biting me in the ass or worse.
Maybe I’d text Beau for intel on Agent Beck.
Later.
For now, there was actual police work to do.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Madison
I had a death grip on the steering wheel—ten and two, thank you very much—as I drove toward northern Nevada.
Not to Reno or some other fun city in Nevada, but some in-between city that non-locals had never even heard of because Calvin had finally come through and told me the location of Molly’s last sighting–alive.
I was beyond hopeful I might set eyes on my sister for the first time in almost two years.
Cal had slipped me the name of the diner where she was rumored to work. I found it easily and pulled into the parking lot and pushed the heavy glass door open. Typical greasy spoon.
I grabbed a seat as close to the middle as possible. I wanted to look at everyone who came through the front door, the kitchen doors, and even the hungry dogs who begged for scraps at the back door.
“Welcome to the Roadside Diner. What can I get you today?” The voice belonged to an older woman in a waitress uniform with the tightest silver curls I’d ever seen, but she seemed nice, so I flashed a smile in return.
“Can I get a plate of chili cheese fries with black olives and extra jalapeno peppers? Oh, and salsa too? Thanks.”
The woman’s eyes lit with mischief. “All that just for you, honey?”
“I have a fast metabolism. Everywhere but my chest, it seems.”
Why was I talking to some stranger about the size of my tits? Must be anxiety.
The waitress didn’t appear offended at all. She tossed her head back and laughed. “Had the same problem in my day. Now the damn things pull me down the other way. Enjoy it while you can.”
We shared another laugh. “So, listen, I was hoping you could help me with something.”
