In Your Wildest Dreams (42 page)

He got out his wallet and peeled out a fifty. The blonde plucked it from his hand. "A pleasure."

"I imagine so. Thank you, ladies. You've been helpful."

He headed back down the bar, seeing red when he found Stephanie looking enraptured by whatever the bartender was leaning over to tell her. He plopped back on the stool. "I've got what we were lookin' for," he said loud enough to get her attention.

She and the earring boy parted and the guy went on his way, thank God. "What?" she asked. "They know Raven?"

He nodded. "I know where we can find her." "Really?" She sat up a little straighter, her eyes gone wide.

He dropped some money on the bar. "Let's go." As he followed her to the door, he added, "Hope you won't miss your bartender friend back there too much."

"I won't. But
he
might miss
me.
Bartenders seem to have a thing for me."

* * *

They took a cab to his place, transferring into the pickup, Jake explaining that they were headed someplace where it wasn't wise to be walking around at night. He hoped they could prowl around in the truck and locate Raven along the street. Things between them remained tense, and Stephanie could barely decipher her own feelings. Adrenaline roared through her veins at the prospect of finding Tina's friend—and fear, too. Getting closer might mean good news or bad. And she continued to seethe with anger at Jake, trying to mask the ugly wound he'd gouged in her heart that morning. Acting tough with him was her best defense, but it wasn't easy.

Once in the truck, he said, "Listen,
chère,
you might want to brace yourself."

She turned to look at him across the long seat. "What do you mean?"

"I got the impression Raven might be strung out on drugs. At the very least, sounds like she's livin' on the street, so this might not be pretty."

Stephanie's stomach twisted, worrying she might discover the same fate for her sister. She just nodded and turned back ahead, not willing to let Jake see any more of her emotions.

"Somethin' else," he said. "I didn't want to get your hopes up, but I might have another link to Tina." He told her Shondra had met a man named Nicholson, who was having an affair with a girl called Tiana—and the guy was known to patronize prostitutes. Jake explained that sometimes working girls didn't use their real names. "Just never occurred to me before that Tina could be goin' by something else. Might be a dead end," he said. "But it also might not. I'll be lookin' into it."

Within a few minutes, they'd reached an area that reeked of depression. Stark, identical brick buildings lined a street where the sidewalks were cracked and Uttered with broken glass. They passed a small group of young black men standing in a tight circle and one of them looked up at the vehicle moving slowly past. The threat burning in his eyes beneath the streetlamps gave Stephanie the idea something shady was taking place, and her skin prickled.

A block later, as they drove along the white
wa
ll
surrounding an old cemetery, they came upon a woman trudging up the street in a soiled white micromini and high heels that had seen better days. Jake
pu
ll
ed
up next to her and rolled down the window.

Before he even spoke, she said, "Want me to get in your truck with you, mister?" Stephanie could see the
li
ght
-skinned black girl had once been a beauty, but now her eyes were sunken and her skin
sa
ll
ow
. Her halter top revealed shoulders of skin and bone.

"Is your name Raven?" he asked.

She didn't even look surprised, just tired. "That's right. You want some company?"

Stephanie supposed the girl didn't see her—or was too strung out to notice her.

"Raven, I'm lookin' for a friend of yours," Jake said. "Girl named Tina. But she might go by Tiana. Any idea where I could find her?"

Raven blinked. "Last time I seen Tiana she was with a dude named Nicholson."

Stephanie drew in her breath and Jake exchanged looks with her. What Shondra had heard confirmed Tina was still with this guy. Finally, a real break in her search, and evidence that Tina was alive and probably well!

"What you want her for?" Raven asked, suddenly looking suspicious.

Stephanie scooted across the seat and leaned up past Jake to the window, anxious to glean any more information she could. "She's my sister. I've lost contact with her and I need to find her."

"What can you tell me about her and Nicholson?" Jake asked.

"We met up with him at the Riverwatch Tavern a couple months ago," Raven said, pointing vaguely in the direction of the CBD. "He took a real liking to Tiana— dude was all over her, couldn't get enough. Last time I saw her, she said he wanted her for the whole weekend. She got in his fancy car and took off."

"And you haven't seen her since?" Stephanie asked.

Raven shook her head. "But I wouldn't worry none. That guy's rich. Knows how to treat a girl right. Fancy car, expensive suits—even gave her a diamond necklace before she went off with him."

Again, Stephanie made eye contact with Jake.

"Listen, Raven," Jake said, "this Nicholson—did you ever get the idea he was involved with drugs? He ever try to give you any? Or sell 'em to ya? Maybe ask you to pass 'em to somebody else?"

The girl just blinked, stayed quiet. Somewhere a siren rang out.

Finally, Raven turned and started walking up the street.

"Raven, wait," Jake said, easing the truck forward. She walked faster and he sped up. "Raven, listen to me. I'll pay you for the information. I'll pay you a lot."

The girl stopped and looked over her shoulder. Jake pulled alongside her again and she said, "How much?"

"How's two hundred bucks?"

The girl pursed her
lips
, looked down at the sidewalk, then raised her gaze once more. "I don't want to get in no trouble with
Ni
—" She stopped suddenly. "With nobody."

"This is just between you and me."

"You a cop?"

"No. I'm just somebody who
...
Well, let's just say I have a good reason for wantin' to find out who's runnin' drugs around here. They
...
took somethin' from me."

Raven let out a sigh, finally saying, "He didn't bring up drugs to me or Tiana
...
but I knew of him before, knew some girls who were selling for him. That was a few years back, but he was into it then, big time."

Jake's heart started beating faster at suddenly getting a leg up on answers that had evaded him two years ago and which, since that time, he'd tried to convince himself he didn't care about. He'd never looked for the people who'd ordered a hit on him—he'd been too lethargic, convinced it didn't matter because it wouldn't change anything. And he
still
wasn't sure it would change anything, but the mere possibility had his mind racing. "These girls—can you tell me their names?"

She hesitated. "That'd cost more."

"How much?"

"Another hundred."

"Done."

Raven looked a little taken aback, like maybe she hadn't expected him to agree so easily, but she replied, "Was a girl named Lena back then—skinny brunette, real pale white girl. And another one called herself Tori—red hair and wild green eyes."

"You know if they're still in the business?"

"Selling or whoring?"

"Either."

"See 'em both in the CBD sometimes looking to pick up tricks. Check in the hotels on Canal. But you didn't hear none of this from me."

"No worries—this is a private conversation."

"That everything?" she asked.

He nodded.

"Give me the money." She approached the truck, hand outstretched.

Jake dug in his wallet, counting out fifties and pressing them into her hand. She stank, and he hated to think about what she'd use the cash for—probably more of whatever drug she was on. It ate at his stomach. "Can I give you some advice?"

The girl shrugged. "Whatever."

"Get yourself in a cab and go to a motel tonight, and in the mornin', get yourself over to the Salvation Army on Claiborne or to a place called Bridge House on Camp Street. They can help get you on the road to gettin' well and havin' a better life."

This time she worked hard to look unconcerned and aloof.

"Think about it," he said. "Best possible thing you could do for yourself. Good people there who can help." He knew because he'd made a few phone calls when he'd hoped he might talk Shondra into going to a shelter.

Raven stuffed the money into the waistband of her skirt, taking care to make sure it was well hidden before turning to walk away. He wished she'd do what he'd suggested, but knew she probably wouldn't.

He'd just started rolling up
his
window when she said, "Wait."

He stopped. "Yeah?"

"You find Tiana, you tell her I said hey?"

"Sure," he said. "Anything else?'

She shook her head. "Just that. She was real nice. I hope Nicholson's giving her everything she ever dreamed of."

As Jake eased the truck away from the curb, Stephanie scooted over, away from him. "So if she's with this Nicholson guy," she asked, duly excited, "what now?"

"Next
step'
ll
be stakin' out his house, seein' if he goes to Tina when he leaves."

"Why not just ask him?"

He turned to look at her. "Go to the guy's house, where his wife and kids live, and ask him about the prostitute he's seein'?"

She looked belligerent and determined, as always. "I couldn't care less if his wife finds out he's a scumbag. In fact, I'd prefer it."

"Me too,
chère,
but as usual, you're ignorin' the danger factor. If this guy is big into the drug game—and he may or may not be, we don't know at this point—he's a dangerous guy. If he's in any way linked to the people that killed Becky, he's a
real
dangerous guy. The kinda guy we don't wanna piss off, especially since we have reason to believe your sister's doin' fine. The thing now is to be patient. We'll get to her, don't worry. In the meantime, I'll make some phone calls tomorrow, see if I can track him down some other way."

"If you find out where he is, you can't go without me," she said. "You have to take me with you."

He sighed. "It'd be better if I went alone."

"Why?"

"Because I'm havin' a hunch this is a
bad guy.
There's no need for you to be anywhere near him when I can go by myself and get the same information."

She wore a familiar look of desperation that her heavy makeup couldn't hide. "She's my sister, Jake, and if she's with him—I can't be apart from her a second longer than necessary, okay? I've looked for her for too long and worried too much. I've felt too guilty that somehow this might be my fault."

Jake drew in his breath. Guilt. That he understood, far too well. "All right," he finally conceded. "I won't go lookin' for the guy without you."

"Okay." She sounded appeased.

Quiet filled the truck cab, making Jake relieved to reach LaRue House. Unfortunately, there was no free space along the curb to pull over, and one didn't appear until a block later.

Without a word, she got out and slammed the door.

Only when she heard his shut, as well, did she look back. "What are you doing?"

"Seein' that you get in all right."

She issued a sigh of disgust. "I'm fine, Jake. The B and B is right there." She pointed up the street, then walked on. "Go home."

"I'll go home once I see you're safe inside," he said, catching up with her. She took long strides that showed off her slender legs in that sinfully short dress. "And frankly, I'd feel better if I could lock you in the place. It'd be the only way I could be sure you won't do anything stupid."

She cast him a sideways glance. "I called you before I went out tonight, didn't I?"

"A shockingly smart move,
chère.
Still pisses me off that you had to go and take matters into your own hands, but I'm glad you called."