Marja McGraw - Bogey Man 02 - Bogey's Ace in the Hole (12 page)

Chapter Nineteen

Glancing in
the rearview mirror, I saw the truck duck down a side street.  Could I convince the copper that we’d been in danger?  I didn’t really care.  At least he’d gotten rid of the goon for us.

Pulling over, I asked Lila to answer the cell phone.  “It’s Chris,” she said.

“Would you tell him I’ll call him back in a few minutes?”

“Pamela says she’ll call you back after the police officer lets us go,” Lila said, turning back to the cell phone.  She moved the phone away from her ear and I had the distinct feeling that Chris might be yelling.

I reached out and she handed me the cell phone.  “I’ll call you back.”  I closed the phone and hung up on my husband, probably not the best way I could have handled things.

By this time the copper was tapping on my window.  Two yellow Labs were grinning and panting, watching my every move.  They’d both plopped their heads on the back of the two front seats.  They’d never met a stranger
, so to speak, and moved their gaze from me to the police officer.  They appeared to be very excited.

“Officer,” I said,
rolling the window halfway down, “would you mind if I get out of the car?  One of the dogs is beginning to drool on me.”

The copper looked inside the car and saw two elderly women in vintage clothing and two very happy dogs.  I glanced back and saw that May’s hat was now lopsided, almost falling off her head.

“Have you ladies been drinking?” he asked.

“No, sir.  Well, one of the ladies had a glass of wine, but that was about an hour ago.”

He motioned me to climb out of the car.

“You were driving awfully fast.  Why
was that?”

“Well, Officer, you see, it’s like this.  There was this man following us, and we thought if we could
– ”

“What man?” he interrupted, glancing around.

“He turned the corner when you pulled up behind us.  I swear that there really was a man.  We were frightened.”

“Why was he following you?” the officer asked.

“I have no idea,” I lied, “but he didn’t look very friendly.”

“What are you ladies doing out at this time of night?”

I glanced at my watch; it was almost eleven-thirty.  “My husband and I own a restaurant in town and I was giving my friends a ride home.”

“What restaurant?”
  This copper sure could ask a lot of questions, but then that’s his job.

“
Bogey Nights
.”

“I know that place.  My wife has been bugging me to bring her in sometime.  How’s your food?”

“Excellent, and the ambiance is great, too.  We have music and a dance floor.”  Never pass up an opportunity to advertise.  I’d have offered him a free meal, but he might have misconstrued that as a bribe.

I hadn’t rolled the window
back up and by this time Sherlock had climbed into my seat and had his head hanging out the window.  Drool was dripping down the lower half of the window.  I’d have to pay for a carwash for Jasmine.

The copper didn’t miss the action; he was grinning.  “Okay, I’m going to let you go this time with a warning.  Take the ladies home and get those dogs out of your car before they ruin it.”  He shook his head.  “I have Labs, too.  I know firsthand what they can do.”

My first reaction was relief.  My second was fear.  “Is there any chance you might be willing to follow us as far as the freeway?  It’s only two blocks away.”

“So you
were really being followed?”

“Yes, sir.  The man was in a
black truck, a dually, with a white camper attached.  If you should happen to see him, could you stop him to stall him until we can put some distance between us and him?”  I did my best to appear helpless and bewildered.  It seemed to be working.  “You can’t miss the black and white combination.”

“You don’t want much, do you?”  He shook his head.
  “Get in your car and I’ll follow you until I know you’re safely on the freeway.”

Before opening my door for me, he glanced inside one more time.  May had coaxed Sherlock back to the rear of the car.  The two dogs
’ long thick tails were swinging wildly, and the two ladies had their heads bowed with their hands clasped together.  Watson’s tail kept hitting May’s hair, causing the hat to slip even farther.

“Is there something wrong with them?” the copper asked.

“No, they’re praying for our safety since we’ll be driving on the freeway.” 
I
recognized a freeway prayer when I saw one.  Besides, Lila kept glancing up at the freeway sign.

“Maybe I should start doing that,” he replied, smiling politely before he turned and headed back toward his cruiser.

Climbing into the car, I turned to the ladies.  “Okay, he’s going to follow us for a few minutes.  We won’t have any more problems tonight.”

I pulled
away from the curb and watched in my rearview mirror as the copper pulled in behind me.  Relief was right up there with my feeling of let’s-get-this-over-with-I-want-to-go-home.

May gave me directions to her house and I dropped her off after checking and double checking to make sure we hadn’t somehow caught the goon’s eye again.
  There had been no sign of him.

“God bless you,” she yelled from her front porch.

Lila turned in her seat to look at me while we drove to her house, a few blocks away. 
“You know, I have to admit that I did feel a bit safer with the dogs in the car.  Why, if that nasty man had made us pull over, I think the dogs would have protected us.”

I laughed.  “Sherlock and Watson? 
They probably would have licked him and then held up their paws to shake hands.”

“Really?”

“No, I’m joking.  They surely would have watched out for us.”

“Well, no matter.  I know the good Lord was watching over us.  And I want to thank you, Pamela, for putting up with us silly old Church Ladies, as everyone likes to call us.  I know we can be annoying, but we mean well.
  We just want the best for everyone.”

“I know, Lila, and you’re certainly not annoying me.”

“I’m not sure about your husband though,” she said quietly.

“Oh, I can guarantee that he likes you ladies.  He’s just not used to people who bless him and pray about everything.”

“But you pray, don’t you?” Lila asked.

“I do, but I generally don’t pray in a group.  I’m kind of private about it.”

“Oh, you should open up a little.  We may be old, and we may be the Church Ladies, but we do have a lot of fun.  The Lord blessed us with our friendships with each other.”  Lila was grinning, a beautiful sight if I’d ever seen one.  Her eyes were bright and she appeared totally at peace with life and herself.  Her timidity had melted away for the moment.  “Who knows?  One of these days someone may be referring to
you
as a Church Lady.”

“You never know,” I replied, pulling in
to her driveway.

She blessed me and climbed out of the car before our conversation went any further.  I had to admit
, I was sorry to see her leave – in a way.

“Church Lady,” I said to Watson, who’d climbed into the front seat.  “Can you imagine anyone calling me a Church Lady?”

She tipped her head, trying to figure out what this human was saying to her.  “
Woof
,” she replied.

Pulling back onto the freeway, I kept my eyes open for the
black truck.  Surprisingly, I didn’t see any black trucks at all.  I took the off ramp that would help me find my way home, glad I was moving closer to familiar surroundings.

My cell phone rang and it suddenly struck me that I’d never called Chris back.  “Uh oh.  I’m in for it now.”  I pulled to the side of the road.

“Hi, sweetie,” I said, as cheerfully as possible.

“Where have you been?” he demanded.

“Uh, I was taking the ladies home.”

“First I get a frantic call from Lila, and then she tells me the police have
stopped you, and you tell me you’ll call me back – which you didn’t do, by the way.  What the hell is going on?  Where are you?”

“I’m only about five minutes away,” I said.  “I’ll explain everything when I come home.”

“Why did the police pull you over?  Lila said the police would have to let you go.  What’s going on?”

“Trust me,
Chris, everything is fine.  I’ll be there in a few minutes, but for now I’m pulled over talking to you.  I’d like to hang up and drive home.  The dogs are tired of riding in the car, too.”

“Oh.  The dogs.  Yeah, hang up and hotfoot it home.  Wait.  Really, why did a copper pull you over?”

“Because that John guy was chasing us and I was speeding.”

“What…?”

I hung up and pulled back onto the street.

A
black truck pulled in behind me.

Chapter Twenty

Fortunately there wasn’t a white camper on the back of the black truck, but for just a moment my heart wasn’t sure it could take all the excitement.  I patted my chest, willing it to slow down.  The truck turned left after one block and my breathing returned to normal, along with my heart rate.

Pulling into the driveway, I glanced up and saw Chris standing on the front porch waiting for me.  I walked around to the passenger side of the car and let the dogs out.  I knew they’d distract Chris at least long enough for me to pull myself together.  Running over and jumping up on Chris, they almost knocked him over.
  He seemed to know what to expect and he’d braced himself against the side of the house.  After all, they are a combined weight of over one hundred eighty pounds.

Chris
figured out my ploy though.  He opened the front door and shooed the dogs inside.  Walking across the lawn, he met me halfway.  “I want to know what happened tonight, and I want to know right now.  Pamela, I honestly thought something had happened to you.”

“It almost did.”  I told him about the goon and how he’d pulled up next to us at a red light, and how the chase was on when the light changed.

Chris walked inside with me while I told the story, after checking up and down our street for the truck in question.

I kept talking while I let the dogs outside.  “So, at least he wasn’t killing Victor or chasing Addie tonight.
  Well, I guess at first he thought he was chasing Addie.  ”

“Not funny, Pamela.” 

He’d said my given name too many times during the course of the evening.  He usually called me cookie, or angel, or some other nickname.  It made me nervous because it told me how upset he was. 

“Why didn’t you check in with me at some point
?”

“
I was a little busy.  Besides, what could you have done?” I said, beginning to fume.  I can take care of myself – but did I want to?

Chris sat down at the kitchen table, looking defeated.  “I guess I couldn’t have done anything.  It would have all been over by the time I got there.”

“Yeah. Well…”

“But understand.  You’re lucky that copper pulled you over or there’s no telling
what
might have happened.”

I smiled.  “I had two of the Church Ladies with me.  There wasn’t any luck involved.  You know how they pray about everything.  Why, I’ll bet they were praying the whole time that guy was chasing us.
  And don’t forget Sherlock and Watson.  You know they’d stick up for me; protect me.”

“Uh huh.”  Chris crossed his arms across his chest and leaned back in his chair.  He wasn’t going to budge an inch.

“Let’s go to bed,” I suggested, suddenly feeling overwhelmingly tired.

“You go on up and I’ll be there soon.  I want to check the dogs’ water and think for a few minutes.
”

I didn’t argue with my husband, but climbed the stairs, ready for some sleep.   It was a long time coming,
and so was Chris.

~ ~ ~

As much as I would have liked to sleep in, I didn’t.  Chris and I were up early, ready for whatever came our way.

We fed the dogs outside and then let them back into the house.  It was a warm day and I figured they could hang out in the house with us for a while.

I called Constance’s house and spoke to Mikey.  “How’d you sleep last night?”

“Fine.  When can I come home?”

“Soon, sweetie, very soon.”

“You and dad are on another case, aren’t you?  You don’t need to answer me.  I figured that one out.  It has to do with a hit man, doesn’t it, Mom?”

“You’re one smart cookie, Mikey.  I’m just not sure it’s safe here right now.  You can stay with – ”

“If it’s not safe for me, then it’s not safe for you and dad either,” Mikey interrupted. 
Intelligent kid.

“We’ll get it all figured out.  I don’t want you gone any longer than you have to be,” I said.  “Just give us a couple of days.  I’ll call you and come by Constance’s house
this afternoon on my way to work.”

Chris tapped me on the shoulder.  “Tell Ace I said to trust us.  I’ll go see him, too.”

I repeated Chris’s comments to our son.

Mikey had to get ready for school, so we didn’t talk much longer.  I could hear the worry in his voice and that concerned me.  We shouldn’t be in this position, but it was our own fault for becoming involved.  I voiced my thoughts to Chris.

“Pamela, you were trying to help your friends.  When we first got involved, we had no idea that Addie had overheard a gun-for-hire talking about a job.  We can’t walk away now and leave those ladies unprotected.”

“You’re right, although I’m thinking more and more that we should call the police in on this.”  It certainly couldn’t hurt to talk to Janet Riley.  After all, she is a friend and
she works in the Homicide Division.

“Call Janet.  Tell her what we know and ask if there’s anything she can do.”  Chris had read my mind again.  Actually, he knew me so well that he could follow my thought process
es without much effort.

“I’ll call her
today.”

We decided on cold cereal
for breakfast, which was out of the ordinary for us.  I usually prepare a healthy meal before we begin the day.

The phone rang and Chris stood up.  Sherlock sat up, alert and ready to race Chris to the wall phone.  He
didn’t usually try to beat me to the phone, just Chris.  I wondered briefly what that crazy dog might have on his mind.  You’d think he’d learn that every time he ran in the kitchen he slid into the wall.  Maybe he’d knocked himself silly once too often. It seemed like I’d had the same thought not long ago.

“Sit down,” I said.  “I’ll get it.  I don’t know how many times Sherlock can race you for the phone before he knocks a hole in the wall.”

Chris sat down and continued eating.

“Hello?” I said, picking up the receiver.

“Mrs. Cross?  This is Victor.  I wanted to let you and your husband know that things were quiet here last night.”

“I’m not surprised,” I replied.  “Your attacker was busy following me and my friends.”

“Oh, no!  Are you okay?”

“We’re fine.  One of L.A.’s finest stopped me for driving too fast and scared him away.”

“That’s a relief.  Will you be coming by to see me anytime soon?”

“
Yes, and I’d like to stop to see Florence, too.  She’s such a sweetheart.”

“
That she is,” Victor said.  “She tires easily though.  You might want to keep that in mind.”

“
I will.  Victor, have you seen anything of the truck we described to you?  It was parked at a mall not too far from your house for a couple of days.  And what about your retired cop friend?  Is he spending time with you?”

“No, I haven’t seen the truck, but I haven’t been watching closely.  My friend was here yesterday and he stayed until late last night.  I feel pretty safe.  Since I haven’t seen the truck, I’m beginning to wonder if this is all just a big mistake.”

“I don’t think so,” I said.  “This guy has been trying to get to the lady who overheard him talking, and he chased us last night, thinking she was in the car with us.  I think he wants to deal with us before he comes after you.  If anything happened to you, we’d be here to point the finger at him.”

“Good point,” Victor said.

“We’ll be over to see you in a while.  But, Victor, keep your eyes open for that truck.  It’s more important than you seem to realize.”

“I will.”

We hung up and I repeated what Victor had said to Chris.

“I could guess what he was saying by hearing your end of the conversation,” he said.  “For some reason this guy doesn’t seem to be taking things seriously enough.  Doesn’t he get that his life is in danger?”  Chris
seemed frustrated, as he’d frequently sounded throughout this situation.

“Here’s the thing,” I explained.  “He can’t understand why anyone would want to kill him.  Therefore, it doesn’t seem real to him.  I don’t think he’ll take it seriously unless something actually happens.  Even seeing that truck might wake him up.  He’s heard about it, but he hasn’t seen this guy cruising by his house.  He needs something concrete before he’ll watch out for himself.”

“You’re pretty smart, cookie.  I wish I understood people as well as you do.”

“
It’s a gift,” I said, smiling.  “Now let’s get moving.”

We picked up the Jeep at the restaurant and I returned Jasmine’s car.  I didn’t want to disturb the ladies,
knowing they’d had a busy night, so I left the car key in the mailbox without knocking.  I’d call her later and tell her where I’d left it. 

Within an hour Chris and I were on our way to Victor’s house. 
He took the route that I suggested instead of his shortcut and we cut fifteen minutes off our trip.

At my request, Chris stopped at the mall so I could pick up some mascara.  I was running low.  There was a sale going on and we took a little longer than we’d meant to.

Arriving at Victor’s, we could see him peeping out of the curtains, apparently watching for us.  He opened the door before we could knock.

“Come in.  Quickly!  That man just drove by my house about five minutes ago.  You were right.”  He sounded surprised
, and frightened.  “I was out in the yard and as he drove by he aimed his hand and finger at me and acted like he was firing a gun.  I don’t understand.  I’ve never seen this man before.”

“So it wasn’t the man you thought it might be?  From the bar?”

“I don’t think so.  I guess I actually couldn’t see him that well.  I was too busy watching the finger he was aiming at me.”

Chris walked over to the window and pulled the heavy curtains apart, looking out.  “I’ll be back,” he said.  “He’s driving by again.”

He ran out the door, slamming it behind him.  Victor and I watched out the window while he ran to the Jeep and jumped in.  He pulled away from the curb and raced off in pursuit of the black truck with the white camper.

“I wonder why that guy has a white camper instead of a black one to match his truck,” I said, still watching out the window.

“He got a deal on the camper,” Victor said.  “At least, that would be my guess.”

“Good guess.  You’re probably right.”

We continued to watch, and we waited for Chris to return.

My cell phone rang and I walked over to the couch to answer it.

“Pamela, is that you over at Victor’s house?” Jasmine asked.

“Jasmine?  Where are you?”

“The girls and I are visiting Florence.”

I hadn’t noticed Jasmine’s car when we pulled up.

“Is Addie with you?”

“No, she’s hiding out again, bless her heart.”

“I didn’t see your car,” I said.

“We’re using May’s vehicle now
because that man has seen mine.”

“Ah.  Well, I’ll be over as soon as Chris gets back.”

“Where did he go in such a hurry?” Jasmine asked.

“Didn’t you see the
black truck drive by?”

“No!  We just saw Chris run out and leave in a hurry.  If we’d seen the
black truck go by we would have given chase ourselves.”

“
No, no, no!
” I said adamantly.  “No following, no chasing, no getting into trouble.  We’ve got enough of that already.”

“You can say that again,” Victor called from the window.  “Here he comes again, but I don’t see your husband.”