Part 43 (2/2)
”Thanks again for Clint.”
”I think he means it this time.”
”G.o.d, I hope so.”
Dom hung up.
Gage held the phone for a moment. Dom's reaction to his questions had been so muted it was difficult to read. But Dom had always been difficult to read.
He looked at the photo again. The young man had been a teenager. He'd been clean-shaven with dark hair that needed a cut. Dom's face was fuller and he had a noticeable scar on one side, a souvenir of prison. He looked, in fact, a little like a prizefighter whose nose had been broken once too often. However, he had an intensity and charisma that drew people to him, and he certainly had magic with alienated youngsters.
Gage would have liked to explore the matter more, but Meredith was more important at the moment. He called Meredith's cell phone. He was invited to leave a message.
Frustrated, he found Sarah's phone number and called.
”Are you all right?” Sarah asked.
He wished everyone would stop asking that question. He wasn't sure of the answer and he didn't like that feeling. Not at all. ”Perfectly,” he replied. ”I'm looking for Ms. Rawson.”
”She'll be gone for the next few days. She said she had to get away.”
”Dammit! Did she say exactly where she was going?”
”If she didn't tell you ...”
”She might believe she's no longer in danger. I don't agree.”
”Then you don't think Rick Fuller was involved in the other.. .”
”If he was, I don't think he was the only one. I knew Fuller. He wasn't that complicated a man.”
Sarah hesitated.
”She told me about Memphis,” he finally said. ”Where in Memphis did she go?”
He waited patiently, letting her reach her own conclusions in her own time.
”I don't know. Just Memphis. She went to look for anyone who might have known her great-aunt.”
”The address?”
Again she hesitated.
”Sarah, her life might depend on it.”
Sarah gave it to him.
'BISBEE'.
The steaks were wonderful.
Holly hadn't realized men could be such good cooks. Doug had grilled the steaks outside on the grill along with corn on the cob and kabobs of fresh vegetables. He had prepared tamales as an appetizer.
Harry was enthralled. He helped at the grill, occasionally squirting water on the fire.
”It's nice having another male in the house,” Doug said as they all sat down at the table.
She couldn't remember tasting a better steak. But it might have been the company, and the knowledge that he had been cooking for her.
Jenny showed Harry her collection of stuffed bears, then took him out to see a garden where Doug grew a number of vegetables, including the corn they were eating.
Doug poured a gla.s.s of wine for himself and for Holly and they watched as dusk approached and shadows shaded the land with different hues. She felt more relaxed than she had in years. Perhaps more than she ever had.
She had been popular as a child, mainly, she knew, because of her looks. In turn, she had envied the studious girls who made good grades and served as president of the Latin club. At the urging of her mother, she'd tried out for the drama club but she'd been abysmal. Even she understood that. Her one talent had been her hands. And a whimsy that no one recognized.
Now she relaxed. She had merely run a brush through her hair and added a dab of lipstick. Her only concession to a ”date” was a pair of slacks and a checkered short-sleeve s.h.i.+rt rather than shorts and a T-s.h.i.+rt.
Doug was relaxed as well. He stretched out in a pair of jeans and a blue cotton s.h.i.+rt with the sleeves rolled up. He looked masculine and confident and ... s.e.xy.
He took a sip of wine. She noticed he was very careful about how much he drank. He'd probably had a total of two small gla.s.ses. But then he was the driver.
”We had better go,” he said reluctantly. ”The movie's at eight.”
It was going to be a late night for Harry, but this was a special treat. For both of them.
When they arrived at the movie, Doug spoke to nearly everyone. She knew several of the crowd and everyone eyed her curiously. Apparently, he was a prized bachelor.
The movie was excellent. Jenny sat on the outside with Harry next to her and Doug sat on Holly's other side. She was uncomfortably aware of his proximity, of his hand resting on the arm of the seat. She kept her hands clasped in her lap but at some time during the movie, his left hand inched over to take her right one.
Their fingers intertwined.
In a particularly scary part, Harry took her other hand.
She felt loved and secure and safe.
She wanted tonight to last forever.
'MEMPHIS'.
Not one of the immediate neighbors of her late great-aunt had lived in the community more than fifteen years. Certainly none for thirty years.
Several remembered her great-aunt, who had been killed in a brutal robbery several years ago. But none knew of a young girl who might have lived there briefly decades ago. Neither did they remember her great-aunt mentioning one.
All of them had been horrified by her death. Apparently, they had truly liked her.
'A brutal robbery.'
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