Shadow Dance_ A Novel Part 18

"This isn't negotiable," she said. "I'm not leaving." To emphasize her decision she tried to stare him down.

"She's a lot like her brother," Chadd.i.c.k commented, smiling.

"She's a lot prettier," Noah said. After thanking the two men for their help and promising to stay in touch, Noah opened the car door for Jordan, then circled and slid into the driver's seat. "Let's go for a ride."

"I'd like that," she said. "If we have the time, I'd like to drive to Bourbon and buy a new cell phone."

"You can't get along without a phone for a few more days?"

"You don't understand. It's my PDA, my camera, my Rolodex, my global positioning system, and, most important, my personal computer. I can access the Internet and e-mail. I can also send pictures or text or video clips electronically."

"You know what else you can do? You can make phone calls."

She laughed. "That too. And after I purchase a phone, I'd like to stop by the police station and talk to the detectives and find out what happened to my laptop."

"Nick already talked to them. They said they never saw it."

"It didn't just dance away. It was in my rental car, on the seat next to me. Maggie Haden must have seen it too when she went through my purse to get my identification. I'll bet she took it. She did go back to the grocery store lot when she locked me in a cell. She could have taken it then."

"We'll keep looking, but for now we're meeting Joe Davis at MacKenna's house, remember?"

"After he talks to Sheriff Randy," she reminded him. "I'm surprised you didn't insist on being there when he talks to him."

"I'm more interested in his brother." He handed her a slip of paper. There were two addresses with directions from the motel.

"What's this?"

"I thought maybe we'd drive by J. D. d.i.c.key's place. See if he's home."

"And if he is?"

Noah started the engine and put the gear in drive. "I'd like to stop in and say hey."

"Hey?"

"Just trying to fit in, Sugar."

"What's the other address?"

"Maggie Haden, your old friend."

"Why do you want to drive by her house?"

"I've got J. D.'s license plate number. He drives a red pickup truck. He could be with her. You did tell me that she has a history with both d.i.c.key brothers."

Jordan flipped on the air conditioner. "And if he's there?"

"We'll see."

"Do you mind?" she asked as she lifted the envelope Chadd.i.c.k had given to Noah. "I'd like to look at his bank statements."

"Go ahead. Add up all the cash deposits," he suggested.

"If it was five thousand dollars every two weeks for six months, that's sixty thousand dollars."

After she added all the deposits, the total was actually ninety thousand dollars. "The last two months the professor was alive, the deposits had increased in both amount and frequency. Where did the money come from?"

"That's the ninety-thousand-dollar question."

"What do you think he was into? You think maybe drugs? Or gambling? He didn't seem the type to get into either one of those vices."

"Exactly what type gambles? Was he the type of man to lie about getting an inheritance?"

"Point taken."

"Read me those directions to d.i.c.key's house."

Jordan did as he asked, spotted Hampton Street, and said, "Turn right at the corner."

She then returned to speculating. "The professor told me that he had changed his plans and was leaving for Scotland earlier than he'd originally intended."

"Anything else?"

"He was jumpy at dinner when he noticed how crowded the restaurant had become. I thought he might be claustrophobic."

Noah slowed the car. "That's d.i.c.key's place on the corner."

It was a ranch house, no larger or smaller than any of the other houses on the street, but certainly the nicest. It had recently been painted a dark gray, and the black shutters also had a fresh coat of paint. The roof was new, and the yard was surprisingly well tended. There was even a flower bed with blooming marigolds along the front of the shrubs.

"This can't be his house. It's so nice," Jordan said.

"This is the address Agent Street gave me. It's d.i.c.key's house all right. I guess, when he isn't beating up women, he takes care of his lawn."

d.i.c.key's truck wasn't parked in the gravel drive.

"You didn't expect to find him home, did you?" she asked.

"No, but I wanted to see where he lived. I'd sure like to look around inside."

"Me too," she whispered as though admitting such a thing would get her into trouble. "We can't even look in the windows because the blinds are down." She bit her lower lip. "I wonder if my laptop is in there."

She'd sounded so earnest, he tried not to laugh. "Sugar, you've got to let it go."

"My laptop? I don't think so. I want it back."

"You might have to get a new one."

He didn't understand. She'd programmed the laptop, changed out all the chips, added a ton of memory. Her life was in there.

"If you lost your gun, how would you feel if I told you to let it go and get a new one?"

Her laptop was obviously a sensitive subject. Noah let it drop.

"Give me directions to Haden's house," he said.

They only had to drive a couple of blocks. It was exactly as Jordan expected-stark and uninviting. The yard was a combination of dirt, gravel, and weeds. Like d.i.c.key's house, Haden's didn't have a garage, and there were no cars or trucks in her driveway.

"I don't have any desire to look inside her house," he said. "She probably sleeps in a coffin."

"With my laptop."

"Jordan, you really need to ease up. The police are looking for it."

He was right. She was was obsessing about it. "Maybe Haden packed up and left town." obsessing about it. "Maybe Haden packed up and left town."

"I doubt she'd leave. No, she won't give up that quickly. She had too much power to let it go without a fight."

"She must know she couldn't possibly get her job back," said Jordan.

"She's probably gone off somewhere to think up a strategy to force the council to make her chief again right now."

Noah turned the next corner and headed back toward the center of town. "Where do you want to eat?"

"There's only one place we can go. Jaffee's. There are other restaurants around, but if we eat anywhere else, he'll hear about it because they all talk to each other about everything."

"So what if he hears about it? What's the big deal?"

"His feelings will be hurt." She wasn't joking.

"Why do you care...?"

"He's been so kind to me," she said, "and I like him. Besides, you enjoyed the food, didn't you?"

He nodded. "Yeah, okay. We'll go to Jaffee's."

He drove back to the motel and parked in the back lot. Jordan carried the envelope Chadd.i.c.k had given them, as they made their way to the restaurant. When they pa.s.sed Lloyd's Garage, she felt a s.h.i.+ver go down her spine.

"For a while there I thought Lloyd killed the professor and put him in my car, and that's why he was so nervous. I didn't know what his motive was, but I knew that eventually Chief Davis would find one. Now Lloyd's dead. Want to hear my new theory?"

He smiled. "Sure."

"Lloyd must have seen the murderer put the professor's body in the trunk of my car. Don't you think that's what happened?"

"Could be."

"You don't sound too enthusiastic, but I know what you're thinking. Why didn't the murderer kill Lloyd right away? Why did he wait? I think he didn't know that Lloyd had seen him, but if that's the case, how did he find out?"

Noah didn't have to answer any questions. Jordan was doing that all by herself. She'd pose the question, work it out in her mind, and come up with what she considered a plausible explanation.

Jaffee's place was nearly empty. There were just a few businessmen lingering over iced coffee as they discussed the news of the day. One of them was Kyle Heffermint, the man she had met at the insurance office.

"Do you know any of these men?" Noah asked as they walked past the front window.

"Just one," she answered. "Kyle Heffermint. He's what I'd call a name-dropper."

Noah didn't have much use for anyone whose claim to fame was that he knew someone famous. "I don't like name-droppers," he remarked as he opened the door for her.

The group stopped talking as Jordan and Noah walked past. She smiled at Kyle when he nodded to her, and continued to their table in the corner. Angela greeted them with her usual iced tea as the men continued to watch them. The waitress put her hand on her hip, glanced over her shoulder, and then looked at Jordan again.

"Don't mind them," said Angela. "They're just talking up the news of the day."

"Why are they staring at me?" Jordan asked.

"First of all," replied Angela "you're easy to look at, being so pretty, and second of all, you're the news of the day. We all heard about you finding Lloyd and all."

"I've brought a blight on Serenity."

"Well, I wouldn't say that. You just have a habit of finding dead people, that's all. It's kind of like that movie. You know the one where dead people talk to the kid? Except they don't talk to you. Either one of you in the mood for beef today? Jaffee's making beef burgers. He also made a big pot of beef stew."

Angela had just walked back into the kitchen to place their hamburger orders when Kyle sauntered over. The light reflecting off his belt buckle, as big as a Cadillac grille, signaled his approach.

"Hey, Jordan."

"Hey, Kyle. It's nice to see you again."

"Who's your friend?"

Jordan introduced Kyle to Noah. He shook his hand and then turned back to her. "I understand you're going to be staying in town a little longer, Jordan. You think we might have dinner tonight?"

"I'm sorry, no. I have plans with Noah. Thank you for asking though."

This time he didn't press. "Jordan, I heard about what happened to you, and I have to tell you, Jordan, I don't know what I would do if I ever found a body in my car, and look at you. You've found two bodies. That's got to be some kind of a record, Jordan, don't you think?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

While he talked to her, Noah put his arm around the back of her chair. Each time Kyle said her name, Noah gently tugged on a strand of her hair.

"Agent Clayborne, I might have some information for you. I happened to drive by Lloyd's Garage the other night, and noticed a light on in his office. I thought to myself that it was mighty odd seeing someone in the office so late, 'cause Lloyd never worked late."

"Did you see Lloyd?" Jordan asked.

"I saw a shadow of a man, Jordan, but I don't think it was Lloyd. I only saw him for a second or two. The shadow didn't seem to be as big or as wide as Lloyd." He raised both eyebrows as he asked, "Is that information helpful to you, Agent Clayborne?"

"Yes, it is," he said.

"Jordan, I really would love to see you again. There's this-"

Noah cut him off before he could say another word. "She has plans with me."

Jordan tried to soften Noah's curtness. "Thank you for asking."