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Alex studied the light fixtures. “Ma’am, we need to know where your . . . where Mr. Chavez is.”
She studied the cigarette’s glowing tip as smoke curled around her. “I think he’s out of town.”
“You think?”
“He didn’t say exactly where he was going, but he packed a gym bag with some underwear and stuff.”
“Look, little girl, Tómas Chavez may have been involved in the death of one of his own children. He definitely had a hand in the kidnapping of a young boy.” Cooper’s hand went to the cuffs on his belt. “If you know anything about it, you’re an accessory. We can take you down and charge you with aggravated kidnapping.. Go change into something decent. Now.”
“You don’t have to be ugly about it.” Big turtle tears appeared in the corner of eyes framed by smudges of mascara. She sat on the couch with a thud. “I didn’t have nothing to do with no kidnapping. Tómas doesn’t tell me anything. He treats me like a kid, but I think he said something about going somewhere. . . . He took the truck so I don’t have no way of getting home, and he didn’t pay the phone bill so I can’t call and the battery of my cell phone is dead and—”
“Going where, Miss . . .”
“Ana. Ana Limon.” She sniffed and stubbed out the cigarette in the overflowing ashtray. Butts fell on the floor. The stench of stale ashes billowed from it. She snagged a semi-soggy piece of paper from the table. “I think he mentioned Kansas. See here, it says Kansas City on it.”
The curl of her lips and the way her eyebrows shot up told Alex she was flabbergasted at the idea that anyone would want to go to a place like Kansas. He plucked the paper from her fingers. It was an American Airlines ticket confirmation. The reservation had been made online. Tómas Chavez was already on his way. He had a connecting flight in Dallas that would take him to Kansas City.
Cooper started for the door. Alex beat him by a half step.
“You ain’t gonna arrest me?” the woman called after them.
“Maybe later,” Alex pounded down the steps and across the yard.
“At least give me a ride somewhere!” She stood in the door, hands on her hips. “Come on, don’t abandon me, too!”
“We’ll call you a taxi.” Alex didn’t look back. He didn’t need anymore images of her half-naked body in his head. “I promise.”
Alex jammed the key into the unmarked unit’s ignition. Cooper slid in on the passenger side. The sheriff’s deputy face glistened with sweat. “You think he’s figured out that’s where his kids are?”
“I think he figured out his PI’s disappearance had nothing to do with retirement. Our messing around in this stuff must have given him the idea to do some investigating of his own.” Alex slammed his foot on the gas. “We need to get to Simon Phillips’ shop.”
The door of Simon Phillips’ detective agency stood open when they arrived ten minutes later. Alex pulled his weapon. He nodded and Cooper stepped inside.
The place had been trashed. Filing cabinets overturned, chairs on their sides, lamps upended. Alex advanced slowly, training the gun from side to side. He veered right, Cooper a close second, toward the back office where the records were kept.
Alex found her on the floor behind Phillips’ desk. BeBe Hamilton’s platinum blonde hair tangled around her head. Mascara dried in tear tracks on her still face. Her blue eyes were wide and empty. Anger and mind-numbing fatigue cancelled out the adrenaline of the past few minutes. He lowered his Glock with a shaky hand and knelt to touch her neck even though it was obvious she’d been dead for a while. “Chavez was here.”
Cooper sighed and stuck his weapon in its holster. “We’re in PD territory—you want to call it in?”
Alex made the call and waited. Neither he nor Cooper bothered to speak. Nothing to say. They’d led Chavez right to the woman.
It didn’t take long before the place was overrun. According to the ME investigator, it looked like someone had used his bare hands to strangle Hamilton. When Cooper left the building, Alex followed him. “So I guess we can assume Chavez knows where in Kansas he needs to go.”
“Yep.” Cooper tugged his keys from his pocket. “Can you handle wrapping things up here?”
“Sure, what are you going to do?”
“I need to call my boss. I’m going to Kansas.”
Alex held up a hand, palm out. “Wait. Wait two hours? I’m going with you.”
Cooper adjusted his Stetson, his lips pursed for a second. “I’d be glad to have the backup. Get someone to handle this, and we’ll run by your place on the way to the airport.”
Alex shook his head. “I’ll meet you at the airport. I need to get to the hospital—check on Deb—check on Benny and Daniel. And there’s someone I need to talk to there.”
Cooper frowned and glanced at his watch. “Fine. I’ll make the arrangements, stop by my place and pick up my stuff. I’ll call you with the flight information. Don’t be late, all right? It takes forever to get through security.”
Alex glanced back to see the guys from the ME’s office wheeling BeBe Hamilton’s body to the coroner’s van. “Don’t worry. I plan to stop this guy before he hurts someone else.”
