Part 6 (1/2)
”No. My dad won't talk about her.”
The information must be on his birth certificate, although we'd learned the hard way with Noelle that legal doc.u.ments were only as accurate as the source. Surely Ray must know his mother's name. I would ask him in the morning.
”Jolene?”
”Yes, Danny?”
”You know that lady's arm ... the one in the cooler?”
As if he could be referring to any other arm. ”Yes?”
”Do you know that lady's name?”
”Josie Montalvo.”
”Did she work at The Cat's Meow?”
”Yes. How did you know?”
Again, he remained silent. But my suspicions grew.
”Danny, do you think that lady was your mother?”
”No ... maybe. I don't know.”
”Did you meet her?”
”No. I had to stay in the car.”
”Do you mean your father went to The Cat's Meow to see her and you waited outside?”
”Yes.”
”When?”
”Sat.u.r.day night.”
”What time on Sat.u.r.day?”
”After nine, I think.”
Ray had said that Josie didn't come to work for the last several days. Did that include Sat.u.r.day night? I was tempted to get him out of bed to ask, but I wanted to keep Danny talking for as long as he was willing.
”Was your dad driving his Camry?”
No answer once again, which was as good as a ”yes.” But the Camry with the arm in the trunk hadn't been stolen until Monday. Or was that just the day the used car lot discovered it was missing? They probably didn't work on Sunday. I would have to ask Ray.
”Why do you think she might be your mother?”
”Because that's the name my dad used to have on his tattoo.”
”Josie?”
”Yes.”
I pictured the heart tattoo with the sword running through it and the blacked-out banner underneath. I should have realized the blacked-out banner represented a lady who had fallen out of favor with her knight in s.h.i.+ning armor. ”Are you sure?”
”Yes.”
”Did your dad ever say your mom's name was Josie?”
”No, but he said he loved Josie. And once he told me that he loved my mom.”
I didn't want to argue with Danny's logic, but it was possible his father had loved two different women in one lifetime. He'd probably loved many if he and Danny moved around a lot. If Ray didn't know Danny's mother's name, I could ask his school for the name on the birth certificate. I hoped they would tell me.
If it was Josie Montalvo, then Danny's father would be tied to her murder by virtue of their relations.h.i.+p. If it wasn't, his visit to The Cat's Meow might be enough to connect him to the murder. And if convicted of murder, Danny might never live with his father again.
That might be for the best, but I sure didn't want to be the one to separate them. Danny seemed to love his father, and from all appearances, his father loved him. Could a man capable of killing and chopping up a woman also feel love? I preferred to think not.
”Danny, how long did your father have his white Camry?”
”He bought it on Sat.u.r.day.”
”Were you with him?”
”No. He left me at Chuck E. Cheese's while he went to pick it up.”
”By yourself?”
”Why not?”
If tested, I could think of a hundred reasons why not. I kept them all to myself. ”No reason. So when he picked you up, he was driving his new Camry?”
”Yes.”
”Then you went to The Cat's Meow?”
In the dim light, I saw him nod.
”And you waited outside. Then what?”
”My dad took me to his friend's house and dropped me off.”
”You slept there?”
”Yes.”
”What's the friend's name?”
Danny crinkled his brow. ”I don't remember.”