Swingin' in the Rain (12 page)

  “And if Rockland isn’t going in this direction,” I reasoned, “there’s no chance we’ll run into him.”

  “Unless,” he said, “Randy also had a phone book with these names in it, similarly marked.”

  “I can probably find that out,” I said. “After all, I’m the ex, the mother of his child. I’ll bet I can get into his place.”

  “You’d have to go through Rockland for that,” he said. “I could probably—“

  “No, let me do it,” I said. “It makes sense. If you ask him, you’re just going to tip him off to your involvement.”

  “You’re probably right,” he said.

  “I’ll call him and say I want to get into Randy’s place because he has some of Sarah’s stuff.  Besides, the house isn’t technically a crime scene, right?”

  “Well, the back is still taped off, at the top and bottom of the hill. The house is an extension of that, but it’s not sealed.”

  “Okay, then,” I said. “I’ll get in there and check Randy’s phone book, and his computer.”

  “Do you need a key?” Jakes asked.

  “Don’t worry. I’ll get in. I could go in without asking Rockland--“

  “No,” Jakes said. “Mention it to him. He’ll probably say yes,”

  “Okay,” I said. “I’ll call him.”

  “That’ll be good. Not only could you match up some names from Patti’s book, but you might find something in his computer that firmly connects him to the club. If he’s even a part owner, that makes the other owners suspects.”

  “What if he owns it outright?”

  “He still has to have some business associates,” Jakes said. “It would also make club employees suspect.”

  “And once we collect all this information?”

  “We may have to give it to Rockland,” he said. “It depends on how much we want to risk my job and your freedom.”

  “My freedom?”

  “If Rockland realizes you’re butting your nose into his case, he may want to lock you up.”

  “Couldn’t you keep him from doing that?”

  He stared at me and said, “Not if I’m right in there with you.”

  That shut me up.

  “All right,” he said. “Keep these photos safe.”

  Jakes wanted me to stay the night but I told him I had to get back home to Sarah. And I had to work the next day. Except it was the same day now.

  “What about Tonja?”

  “I think she may have had it going on tonight,” I said.

  I got a blank look so I told him that Tonja had been familiar with the club and had insisted on going with us. She’d claimed she’d been to a club like that once, with an old boyfriend. But when we got there, it seemed she may have been more involved with that scene than she let on.

  “For all I know,” I finished, “she’s still there. When we left she was kind of drunk and her skirt was on backwards.”

  I told him I had to get back to Sarah so Wayne and George could go home. “It’s almost one o’clock. I have to be up in just a few hours. We gotta go.”

  “We don’t know what went on with your car, and I don’t think you should be alone tonight. I’ll drive you and then I’m calling for a patrol car to stay in front of your house.” Jakes grabbed his keys and ushered me towards the door.

  “Oh, not that again! What will the neighbors say? They already must think I’m ‘the crazy actress that lives down the lane’.” This would not be the first time I’d had someone watching over me. I’d had cops parked on my street before when some lunatic had tried to run me off Pacific Coast Highway.

  “I’ve got news for you, Babe. You are ‘the crazy actress that lives down the lane.”

  I couldn’t argue with that one so I just elbowed him in the stomach, threw my head back and walked out his door.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  When Jakes and I got to my house, George and Wayne were sitting in the living room drinking wine. George had a blanket wrapped around him. I assumed he had told Wayne about our misadventure. They both jumped up when we opened the door.

  “Alex, are you okay?” Wayne asked as he hugged me. “Hello, Jakes. I don’t blame you one minute for being furious with these two. They could have gotten themselves killed. Again!”

  “I know, Wayne. Maybe you can talk some sense into George, cuz I don’t seem to be having any luck with this one.” Jakes put his arm around me and pulled me close. I smiled meekly. “Call if you need anything, okay? The cruiser should be here any minute. He’s not going to come to your door or anything. He’ll be very discreet.” He kissed me and turned to Wayne and George, “I gotta get going. You be safe, okay, George? No more stupid stuff? ‘Bye Wayne. Have a good night.” He walked out just as the police car was pulling up. He exchanged some words with the cop and pointed to me. I waved at them then closed the door.

  “Cruiser?” George and Wayne asked in unison. “Yeah. We don’t know for sure what was up with my car. It’s no big deal. Just a precaution.” I tried to sound blaze’.

  “You two are killing me! A precaution! How are you really doing, Alex? Really?” Wayne was in full mother hen mode.

  “I’m hanging in there,” I said in a very reassuring tone.” Any more of that wine left?”

  “I’ll get you a glass,” Wayne said, “and then I want to hear everything.”

  He went to the kitchen and I looked at George.

  “Are you really okay? That scared the shit out of me. How about you.”

  “Tell me about it, I’m still shaking. Do you really think someone was trying to kill us?” George’s eyes were wide.

  “I can’t imagine why. We didn’t do anything. Or find anything.”

  “Maybe it’s that clay blob you took.”

  “Okay. It’s a
dog
? And no one would want to kill us for that.”

  “You’re right. Maybe it was just bad brakes in the rain, right? And you! I can’t believe you managed to get the car stopped.”

  “I know. Don’t ever underestimate the power of ‘Dateline on NBC’.” George looked confused. “I saw a show about what to do in case of different emergencies. Stopping out of control cars was one of them.” I rubbed my face and sat next to him on the sofa. He shared his blanket with me. “Hey, is Sarah okay? I hope she’s been sleeping.”

  “Wayne said she’s been asleep since nine,” he said. “Tonja’s not home yet?”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  I was having coffee the next morning at about 6:30, feeling pretty crappy since I’d only had a few hours of restless sleep. I had been extremely amped up after last night’s festivities.

  I’d never heard from Tonja and was hoping she was okay. Maybe we’d made a mistake leaving her there by herself. What if something awful had happened to her? Something awful almost had happened to me and my explorer was out of commission because of it. I guess I’d have to take Sarah to school in my Porsche but there wasn’t much room. Maybe I could ask the cop that was parked in front of my house. That wouldn’t look so good, would it? My little girl being dropped off at school in a squad car?  Then the doorbell rang. I opened it to Tonja.

  “Good morning! How are you?” she asked me. “What’s with the police car out front?”

  “It’s a long story. I’ll tell you later. How are you?” I didn’t really need to ask because she was still wearing her cowgirl outfit and looked like she had never gone to bed.

  “Oh, I’m good. You said you didn’t have to go to work early, right?” She was avoiding the obvious questions.

  “No. You’re fine. I have to be there at nine o’clock. Come in.” I opened the door and she stepped inside reluctantly.  “Coffee?” I asked.

  “Oh God yes! Please! With cream and sugar.” She sat down at the kitchen table while I poured her a cup. “Is Sarah still sleeping?”

  “Yeah. I figured I’d get her up around seven. What happened to you last night, anyway?” I kind of knew all ready, of course.

  Holding her head in her hands, she looked at me from between two fingers in front of her face.

  “I had too much to drink. Ahh! Like I said, I ran into some friends and well...I had...fun.”

  “You seemed like you were having fun when we left you there.” I didn’t really need to know what kind of fun exactly and thought I’d leave that up to her to tell me. I handed her the coffee and placed a carton of half and half and a sugar bowl in front of her.

  “Thank you, thank you.” She poured some cream into her cup and a heaping spoon of sugar and took a sip. “Oh my gosh that’s good.”

  I sat silently and waited. “Okay, look. I wasn’t totally honest with you. I have been to those kinds of clubs before and I have done more than just, well, watch.”

  I gave her a look that said it all. Like I didn’t know that?

  “It had been a few years, though, since the last time I’d gone. Anyway, I hope you don’t think less of me or anything?” She winced.

  “Tonja, I don’t care what you do in your personal life. I mean, as long as it’s not drugs or anything dangerous. It’s none of my business.”

  “Oh great!” She seemed genuinely relieved. “So did you, find anything? I mean, you know . . . what happened after I left you guys? What’d you do?”

  “Uhhh, I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily for me, per se. Not really my thing, but whatever. You’re okay? I was worried about you.”

  “I’m fine. Tired. I need a shower.” She smiled. There was an awkward silence. I bet she did. “Did you, uh, find out anything about Randy last night? Anything helpful?”

  “Not really,” I lied. I figured it was best to keep her out of the loop from now on. Who knew who she hooked up with last night that might have known Randy? It was better to keep her out. The less she knew, the better.

  “We didn‘t really find anything. Look, why don’t you go home and get showered. I need to drive Sarah to school.”

  “Oh, yes, of course. Good idea.” She got up and was heading out the door with the coffee in her hand. “Can I take this? I’ll get the cup back to you.”

  “Sure. No worries. I’m glad you’re okay.”