First Grave on the Right

“I have a plan,” I said, thinking aloud.

“We already have a task force investigating him,” Ubie said. “If anything, we need to coordinate our efforts with them, take our cues from their investigation.”

“They’re taking forever. In the meantime, Mark Weir is sitting in jail, Teddy Weir is missing, and we have families who want answers.”

“What do you want me to do, Charley?”

“Set up a sting,” I said.

“A sting?” Garrett asked, his expression incredulous.

“Just give me a chance. I can get evidence on the man before the sun goes down today.”

While Garrett practically bucked in his seat, Uncle Bob leaned toward me, interest sparkling in his eyes. “You got something cooking?”

“Detective,” Garrett said in a scolding tone, “you can’t be serious.”

Ubie shook himself as if coming out of a trance. “Right. It was just a thought.”

“But, Uncle Bob,” I said, whining like a child who’d just been told she couldn’t have a pony for her birthday. Or a Porsche.

“No, he’s right. Besides, your dad will put a contract out on me.”

“Psh,” I pshed, raking my gaze over him in disappointment. “Can you say wuss?”

That had to sting. I didn’t psh him often.

“Charley, you were almost killed today.” Garrett’s silvery gaze glittered with anger. He was so moody. “And yesterday. Oh, right, and the day before. Maybe you should give it a rest?”

“Maybe you should bite my ass.” I turned back to Uncle Bob. “I can do this, and you know it. I do have a slight advantage over the average Joe.”

“What did you say?” Garrett asked. “You have a slight advantage over the average psycho? I doubt it.”

Well, that was just mean.

“What are you thinking?” Ubie asked, unable to help himself, and my smile shone bright with superiority. Would Garrett never learn?

“You said that you haven’t been able to get wiretaps in his office, right?” I asked.

“Right. Not enough evidence.”

“I can’t believe you’re listening to her,” Garrett said.

“We’re listening, too,” Barber said. Elizabeth nodded her head in agreement.

“Thanks, guys. As I was saying,” I continued, glaring at the traitor before turning back to Ubie, “he videotapes all his interviews with the new girls.”

“Yeah.” Uncle Bob’s brows knitted in thought.

“And he does all his interviews in his office, right there on a couch he has for just such occasions.”

“Okay.”

As I explained my plan to Uncle Bob, Garrett sat boiling under his hot collar. Honestly, the man was going to have a heart attack.

“That’s a pretty good plan,” Uncle Bob said when I’d finished my spiel, “but can’t you just walk up and whisper something in his ear like you did with Julio Ontiveros? You’re like the horse whisperer, only with bad guys.”

“That worked for one reason and one reason only.”

“And that would be?”

“Julio was not the bad guy.”

“Oh. Right.”

“My powers of persuasion are only as strong as the bullshit I have to back it up.”

“Well, I like it,” Elizabeth said. “And watching Mr. Swopes get spitting mad is entertaining.”

Barber and I agreed with a snicker.

“I’m glad you can laugh about all of this, Charley,” Garrett said with a nasty scowl lining his face. “You have no idea what kind of man Price is.”

“And you do?”

“I know what kind of man it takes to get involved with something as barbarous as human trafficking.”

“I get it, Swopes. He’s not the kind of man you take home to meet your stepmom.” I rethought that. “Wait a minute. Maybe my stepmom would like to meet him. Do you think he ships to Istanbul?”

“Charley,” Uncle Bob said in a warning tone. He knew only too well the stones that made up the foundation of the rocky relationship between my stepmother and I, even telling me once he’d never understood why my dad didn’t do something about it. That one stumped me, too.

“It was just a thought,” I said defensively.

While Uncle Bob started negotiations with the investigation task force already assigned to Benny Price, I decided to hunt down Sussman, who’d been MIA for some time now. Garrett stormed off in true Garrett fashion as I checked my phone outside the conference room. He could storm off all he wanted. While he’d retrieved his truck earlier, I had yet to fetch Misery, so he was giving me a ride. The faster he stormed to his truck, the longer he’d have to wait. Which worked for me on several levels.

I had two texts, both from Cookie, both saying, CALL ME WHEN YOU GET THIS. Must be important.

“I got ahold of one of the women at Reyes’s high school,” Cookie said when I called her. “She and a friend of hers remember our boy very well.”

“Nice work.” I loved that woman.

“They can meet you at Dave’s tonight, if you’d like.”

“I’d like. What time?”

“Whenever you can be there. I’m supposed to call them back.”

“Purrrrrfect,” I purred into the phone, doing my best Catwoman impersonation. “I have to go check on Sussman. He’s MIA. How about an hour from now?”

“I’ll call them. How are you, by the way? We haven’t had time to talk since your latest near-death experience.”

“I’m alive,” I said. “Guess I can’t ask for much more than that.”

“Yes, Charley, you can.”

After a long pause, I said, “Can I ask for a million dollars, then?”

“You can ask,” she said before hanging up with a snort. She knew me well enough to figure out I wasn’t going to talk about my latest drama at that time. I’d vent later. And she’d get the brunt of it all. Poor woman.

CHAPTER 16

Sarcasm. Only one of the services offered.

— T-SHIRT

Thirty minutes and one eerie ride later — Garrett stewed in his ire over my plan the whole way to my Jeep — I sat outside Sussman’s house, watching him through a second-story window. His back was to me, and I realized he was probably watching his wife.

Several cars lined the curb in front of his gorgeously decorated three-story abode. People came and went, talking softly. Unlike the movies, however, they were not all dressed in black and they weren’t all crying. Well, some were. But several were laughing at this or that, making animated conversation with their hands, greeting visitors with arms open wide.

I strode awkwardly to the front door and walked in. Nobody stopped me as I meandered through the crowd to the stairs. Taking them slow, I climbed to the second floor on thick beige carpet and found what looked like the master bedroom.

The door was slightly ajar, and I could hear sobbing coming from inside. I knocked hesitantly. “Mrs. Sussman?” I said, easing inside.

Patrick’s gaze landed on me in surprise. He was leaning on a windowsill, watching his wife. Another woman, large and dressed in true mourning attire, sat beside her, an arm wrapped firmly around Mrs. Sussman’s shoulders.