Part 16 (1/2)
She was silent for several seconds. ”I'm sorry.” Her voice was quiet and not entirely steady.
”Yeah, me, too.”
”Do you think it was the Colombians?”
He wanted to tell her that it absolutely was them, to at least put a name to her fears. But that might be minimizing the danger. ”I don't know, babe. They're probably trying to track down the diamonds Banner bought, so it's possible that's what they were after. But that's not all Sleazy dealt in, so it also could be someone who followed us in an effort to trace the Pellinni Jewels. The jewels won't interest our Colombian friends. They're worth a fortune, but only if they remain in their original settings. Pry the stones out, and you've got a handful of ordinary pearls and one big spinel. Not something drug runners would use to move money offsh.o.r.e.”
”You mean someone besides the Colombians might have killed Sleazy?”
”If they were after the Pellinni Jewels, yes. I'll call Ben and have him contact the cops here to see if that gun I confiscated earlier could have been the murder weapon. Maybe we'll get lucky and solve this quickly.” When she didn't answer, he imagined her fear building, wondering if the same fate awaited her. He rushed to rea.s.sure her. ”You're not like Sleazy, Janet. You're in a safe place, and you don't go anywhere alone. And that's the way it's going to stay until we catch whoever did this.”
”I'm on my way to see Banner, Rocky. But I'm with Ben's guard, I'll be surrounded by police officers, and I'll go directly home afterward.”
He gritted his teeth. ”Once you're home, stay there. It's safer.”
He heard a deep sigh. ”I suppose you're right.”
Maybe she finally trusted him. But maybe it didn't make any difference, because no matter how much they protected her, she would feel like a prisoner. He ached inside, wanting to make her feel better and knowing there wasn't much he could do. ”Look, this could take a while. I'll have to talk to the officers, probably a homicide detective, too. I'll come see you when I'm done.”
”You better.” She sounded as emotionally drained as he felt. ”It's not your fault, Rocky. You tried to warn him.”
She was trying to make him feel better? G.o.d, he needed to see her, to just hold her. ”I'll talk to you soon, babe. 'Bye.” He flipped the phone closed and leaned against the wall, suddenly exhausted. It had been three days since he'd stepped back into his former life, and the contrast between his two worlds had been even more staggering than he'd expected.
When he'd begun his criminal career, he hadn't thought twice about what he had to do. It had been necessary, and so he'd become as skilled as possible until he'd accomplished what he'd set out to do. The jail stint at the end was a fluke, but a lucky one since there he'd met Jack Payton, his best friend. And through Jack he'd met Ellie, who'd become his business partner. And through Ellie he'd met Janet, who'd become-well, he suspected she might become even more important to him than Jack. It would have been a perfect transition, except that it had led him full-circle to his previous life, and he'd stepped back into a fetid swamp of thieves, p.a.w.nbrokers, and killers.
He closed his eyes, shutting out his surroundings while he waited, hearing nothing but the sound of traffic outside and the occasional clicks and hums from the computer on the counter. And a tiny scratching sound.
He cracked his eyes open. The noise had come from his left, in the small s.p.a.ce where Sleazy had once sat, smoking. Rocky stepped past the computer and looked around.
It came again, one little shuffling sound. This time he knew what it was, and turned with the first sense of relief he'd had since entering the shop.
”Adolf. How ya doin', little guy?”
The pup wiggled, his paws making the same soft sound on the cage floor. He didn't move from the back of his cage but one ear c.o.c.ked toward Rocky, oversized and too big for his puppy head. The other ear flopped over, still not strong enough to stand up. The dog gave Rocky a confused look, like he couldn't choose between happy and sad. He whined.
”Bad day, huh?” He could only imagine what had gone on in the shop to cause the puppy to slink to the back of his cage and stay there. Things would only get worse for the poor guy-he'd be confiscated and sent to the pound. Or if he was lucky, a shelter. Either way, he'd just become homeless.
Rocky didn't give his impulse a second thought. Grabbing the nylon leash beside the cage, he opened the door. ”Come on, pup. Let's get you out of here. You're making a break for it before the cops come.” Whatever the dog had witnessed, he couldn't testify to, and Rocky needed to salvage one good thing from this mess.
”Come on,” he coaxed again, patting the floor. The puppy crept forward, wriggling at Rocky's feet. ”Some watchdog you are. First thing we do is get you out of here. The second thing will be changing your stupid name.”
Adolf stuck by Rocky's side as they walked to the car. The dog's submissive demeanor made him feel a little less upset about Sleazy. He cracked the windows, even though it had started to rain. ”Sorry, fella, you have to stay here for now. It can't be any worse than that kennel.” He locked the doors and hoped his carpet and leather seats were stain-proof.
It was nearly an hour before the police allowed him to leave the p.a.w.nshop. The puppy hadn't done more than track wet paw prints along the seats. Rocky walked him to the sidewalk where Adolpf piddled on a sorry sc.r.a.p of gra.s.s, then put the pup in the car and called Janet.
”I'm on my way, but I have a few stops to make first.” He needed to buy food for Adolf, and a new cage. He hadn't wanted to risk removing the pup's old cage, since it was now part of a crime scene.
”Okay. I'm about to go inside the jail, so I'll meet you at Elizabeth's.” She paused. ”You know, I was beginning to feel inadequate. I flash you in my s.e.xiest bikini, and you disappear for hours.”
”Not because I wanted to, believe me.”
”Good, because I wasn't done with you.”
He liked the sound of that. ”I'm sorry, babe, but we may have to stick around the house for a while. I have someone with me.”
He listened through the tense silence, until she said one terse word. ”Who?”
”A friend. I think you'll like him.”
”I already don't.”
”Now, now. You're just being grouchy because you want to ravish my body.”
”Yes. Is your friend listening to this?”
”Yeah, but don't worry, he's kind of young and not too bright.” He didn't give her a chance to call him on that. ”Hey, is Elizabeth home today?”
”Yes, why?” She was beginning to sound suspicious.
He reached out and scratched the pup's floppy ear. ”I have a present for her.”
”For Elizabeth?” He could almost see confusion, swimming in those beautiful eyes.
”Yup. See ya soon.” He clicked the phone off before she could ask more questions.
If he was lucky, Elizabeth would be in a better mood. He suspected he'd picked up some residual anger earlier just by benefit of being a male of the same species as Ben. Adolf was male, but a different species. It might be enough of a difference to get him through the ma.s.sive Westfield front door.
Chapter.
Ten.
Janet wanted to see Banner as much as she wanted a pelvic exam. No, make that a lobotomy, because that's what she should get for putting herself through this torture again.
The private security guards who Elizabeth had insisted escort her to the jail had been forced to wait outside. Janet sat in the bare waiting room with eight other people. Ten chairs sat in a row facing a clock on the wall, the room's only adornment. She'd been there for an hour and seventeen minutes already and was rethinking her visit when a uniformed woman with a gun on her hip opened the door, followed by a male officer.
”Men over there,” the woman barked, pointing to the far wall. ”Women over here.”
Janet lined up with the five other women. She'd been through this once before, but knowing what was coming didn't make it any easier.
The fact that the guards had been through it hundreds of times showed in the female guard's stern expression as she planted herself in front of the line and gestured with her handheld metal detector. ”Take your shoes off.”
They complied, most of them quickly.
”Arms out,” she told Janet.
The guard ran a wand over her body, then patted her down. The procedure made her feel like a prisoner herself.