When I pulled into the hotel lot a half hour later, I spotted the rented Caddy right away, but DeShay wasn’t there. I found him on the other end of the parking lot, and as I handed over the GPS device, he told me he’d spotted someone he thought he recognized-a local PI named Louie Titlson-sitting in a car with the window down, and smoking.
“I think Louie and I need to talk. Want to come?” DeShay said.
I smiled. “I would love nothing more.”
I climbed in the T-bird and we made the short trip. DeShay didn’t bother to find a parking spot. He just braked when we reached Tillson’s car. DeShay got out and rapped on the driver’s-side window, which was now rolled up.
Slowly the window came down, revealing a man with the perfect face for PI work. If I had to describe him to someone else, the only word I could think of would be ordinary.
“Hey, Peters. What’s going down?” Tillson said.
“Nothing, man. You working?” DeShay said.
“You wouldn’t be knocking on my window if I wasn’t. Who’s the lady?”
I was leaning against the T-bird and planned to keep my mouth shut, as DeShay had suggested on the drive across the lot.
“I’ll bet you’ve seen her before, isn’t that right?” DeShay said.
“Me? No way.” He laughed.
But all three of us knew this was a lie, and I wondered if Louie Tillson had followed me to that dry cleaner with Paul Kravitz in the passenger seat.
“Louie, I’ll pass on your bullshit,” DeShay said. “Why are you hanging around here? No, don’t bother answering. Emma Lopez, right? And if she finds out, she might have to resort to that nasty stalker law.”
“You know that ain’t gonna fly, Peters. Public streets are a PI’s domain.”
“But see, this isn’t a public street, man. This here is a private parking lot, and I don’t think you’ve rented a room at the hotel. Or am I wrong?”
Tillson’s face colored. “You running me off? Is that it?”
“Depends on who hired you and why you’re here.”
“You know I can’t tell you that,” Tillson said. “I’ll go park in the street if that’s what you want.”
“From what I saw on the drive here, you won’t find a metered spot unless you go about five blocks.”
“I can do my job without any help from you, Peters.”
“Sure. That’s right.” DeShay turned to me. “Abby, you got your phone handy?”
I pulled it from my pocket. “Right here.”
“Take a picture of my friend Louie, would you?”
I flipped open the phone, hit the camera button and pressed capture before Louie could blink. I didn’t even get his ear in the shot, but I nodded, saved the worthless photo and closed my phone with a satisfied smile.
“Thank you,” DeShay said. “Now here’s the deal, Louie. You tell me why you’re here-not who hired you, ’cause I know you got your ethical standards to uphold-and maybe I won’t show this picture to hotel security and tell them they’ve got a pest on their property. If I do that, I’m thinking they’ll throw your ass out of here every time you show up.”
“She’s an investment, a reluctant one, they say,” Louie replied. “They want her protected, want to see where she goes and with who.”
“And what about my friend Abby? Are they protecting her, too?”
“Nah. They’re just interested in what she’s up to. I don’t know if anyone’s even on her anymore.”
DeShay walked over to the T-bird for the GPS device. He then brought it back to Louie and held it out. “This belong to you?”
“What the hell is that?” Tillson asked.
“Don’t play dumb, Louie.”
Tillson squinted and then said, “A GPS monitor?”
“If I look under Ms. Lopez’s rental, am I going to find one like it?”
“You think I need GPS to tail someone, Peters? What do you figure me for, some kind of amateur?”
DeShay laughed. “And do you figure me for some kind of stupid? Tell me you’ve never used one of these things.”
“Okay, I’ve used them, but not one like that, and not on this case. Go ahead. Check her car if you don’t believe me.”
And that was exactly what DeShay did. He found nothing.
Before we parted ways with Louie Tillson, DeShay pointed at the phone still in my hand. “If I find out you’ve lied to me about anything, I’ll make sure you lose your nice fat paycheck from those TV assholes by getting you kicked out of this lot.”
“What the hell would I lie about, Peters?”
“That’s the problem. I don’t know.”
I thanked DeShay, left the GPS device with him and drove on to Jeff’s apartment. He and Doris helped me carry the groceries inside. Putting away the food was like Christmas for Doris. Every box of cereal, every vegetable, every piece of fruit was like a prize. Then I showed her the other best Texas drink: caffeine-free, sugar-free Dr Pepper. I thought it would be an easier sell than something with the word Coke printed on it. Then I realized I didn’t even know if Doris could spell. Gosh, Jeff and I had a whole new learning curve ahead.
The Dr Pepper was a hit, and we shared a late dinner of deli rotisserie chicken, potato salad and fruit. Doris seemed to savor every bite and had better table manners than me. She even offered a halting, “May I leave the table?” when she was finished eating. Dr Pepper in hand, she went straight to Jeffs ancient recliner and used the remote to turn the DVD player back on. Once Jeff and I tossed the paper plates and loaded the dishwasher with glasses and silverware, we could hear Doris snoring loudly.
“Been a long day for her.” Jeff pulled me close.
I tossed the sponge I’d wiped the card table with into the sink and wrapped my arms around him. “Long day for you, too. DeShay was asking about you.”
“I called him about five minutes before you got here. I had to tell him I was back, Abby. I couldn’t lie to him.”
“I know the feeling, but I wish you would have done that earlier. I was dancing all around the topic of Jeff Kline. Or should I say Jeffy Kline?”
He smiled down at me. “When Doris was little, she couldn’t say Jeffrey-that’s what my Mom always called me. I became Jeffy.”
“You’re taking on a big challenge, but I’m glad you brought her here.”
“Nothing else felt right. But my place is too small. I’ll have to find a bigger apartment, get her bedroom furniture and-”
I put a finger to his lips. “Kate put a contract on a house today, and she’ll be moving out. We can stay at my house while you hunt for apartments and find Doris a good caregiver. At least then everyone will have a bed to sleep in.”
“Abby, I can’t ask you-”
“You don’t have to ask. Now do something better with your mouth than talk. She’s asleep and we need to make good use of our time.”
21
The following morning, Kate and I ate breakfast on the back porch. She’d made a bagel run and as promised brought home cinnamon raisin as well as the two-ton, whole grain, generously seeded kind she prefers. Kate wasn’t in when I got home the night before, so at least I didn’t have to lie about being at Jeffs place. In fact, both of us avoided the subject of the previous night altogether, instead focusing on the house she’d fallen in love with and how she hoped they’d take her cash offer.
“Who wouldn’t?” I said.
“I’m afraid the owner will change his mind or something,” Kate said.
“The house is empty, Kate. Why would he change his mind?”
She grinned. “If I don’t have something to worry about, life seems so empty.” But despite the joke, she and I both knew who the pessimist in the family was.
She said, “The armoire and the bedroom set I let Aunt Caroline keep when I moved in with Terry will soon have a new home.”
“I picture her being completely shocked that you would take back furniture you’d given her.”
“She knows they’re mine, Abby.”
“Hey, I’m preparing you, okay?”