“I’ll have whatever you are.”
“Bring us a double,” I said, then turned back to Slick. “Did you deliver the merchandise to Greer?”
“Yes, sir. The merchandise was hand delivered by me. Then I drove the truck back to New York and delivered the girls.”
“Good, good.” Hearing that made me feel as if I could relax, at least a little, for now. I picked up my glass and motioned toward the television screen. “You know, bringing you on board may have been the best decision I made since I fucked my son’s mother and got her pregnant in the back of my pickup.” I laughed then asked seriously, “You do realize we have one loose end that you haven’t taken care of?”
Slick lifted the drink the bartender placed in front of him. “What’s that?”
I waited until the bartender was out of earshot. “The one person who knows those dead girls came out of my truck. The driver, Johnny Brooks,” I told him.
“Well, then I better drink up. I’ve got work to do.” Slick gulped down his bourbon.
As I watched him leave, my phone rang. I took it out of my pocket. “Hello.”
“KD.” It was Greer, and he sounded emotional.
“Yes, sir, how can I help you?”
“I just wanted to say thank you. That blood you sent us was a perfect match. My daughter’s having a transfusion as we speak,” Greer said tearfully.
“Well, that’s good news, Leo. I’m glad we could help.”
“You did more than help. You saved my child’s life.” Greer continued to weep. “If ever there’s any way I can help you, don’t hesitate to call.”
“Thank you. Give my best to the missus and your fine daughter.” I hung up, feeling rather touched and a whole lot more confident about my next move.
LC
42
In Waco, Vegas and I went straight to the Dr. Pepper museum. We showed Nevada’s picture to every employee, but none of them recognized him or said they’d seen him. I was starting to wonder if I should have stayed in New York and helped with the search up there, because it was possible Nevada wasn’t with this guy Bob. We were back to square one, and it seemed that finding my grandson was going to be like finding a needle in a haystack. But, if our family was able to find a known drug lord in the streets of Kingston, Jamaica, then we’d locate Nevada.
“Any ideas?” Vegas asked as we walked toward the rental car.
“Not off the top of my head. Only thing we can do now is hope Junior finds us a lead,” I told him.
As soon as I got into the car, I got a call. “What’s up, Junior?”
“Hey, Pop, I got some information for you.”
“What did you find?”
“I went by Bob’s job, the Copy Hut, and found out he’s traveling in his company van. It’s wrapped so it shouldn’t be hard to spot. I’m gonna text you the make, model, and tag number.”
“Ask if he added the credit monitoring,” Vegas said.
I held my hand up to signal for him to calm down while I continued talking to his brother. “That’s good. Anything else?”
“Actually, there is. I signed him up for credit monitoring and got a pop on a credit card he’s been using. It was used at the Dr. Pepper museum, a gas station, and Victoria’s Secret yesterday in Waco. And it was used at a Best Buy about fifteen minutes ago,” Junior said.
“That Best Buy has Nevada’s name written all over it. Your grandmother takes him there all the time. Where exactly in Waco is it?” I was happy to hear we finally got some useful information.
“That’s the thing, Pop. It wasn’t used in Waco.”
“Damn. Where was it last used?” I asked. If this boy said New York, I was going to lose my mind right there in the car.
Junior hesitated. “In El Paso.”
“Shit!” I closed my eyes and exhaled my frustration. Of all the places for Nevada to have run off to, El Paso was probably the most dangerous for a Duncan.
“What’s wrong? What did he say?” Vegas pressed for answers again.
“What do you want me to do, Pop?” Junior asked.
“I want you, Sasha, and Paris on a fuckin’ plane within the hour. And bring enough fire power to wage a fucking war if we have to!”
“You got it, Pop,” Junior said. “I’ll see you in a few.”
I hung up, looking up in the sky. “Why do you keep doing this to me?”
“Pop, what the hell is going on?” Vegas was beyond frustrated at this point, which I could understand.
“Your son is definitely in Texas.” My phone chimed, and the information that Junior sent about the van came through. “This is the car they’re in.”
Vegas took my phone from me. “Okay, good. But what’s this about waging war? And why are Junior, Paris, and Sasha coming?”
“Because your son is in El Paso, which makes this entire situation a little more difficult.”
Nevada
43
Although I was only sixteen, I had been to more countries and islands than most people, thanks to my mother. But I had never been anywhere as hot as El Paso, Texas. The walk from the car to the entrance of Best Buy was a short one, but I felt like I was going to suffocate by the time I made it to the door. While Kia and Bob went to look for a laptop that we’d decided we needed, I went over to the cell phone section and picked up two burner phones and a couple of pre-paid phone cards. After waiting near the registers for a few minutes, I decided to go and see what the holdup was.
“Why would you even want this cheap thing?” Bob was asking as I walked up. “Get the MacBook. It’s a better laptop. And we can FaceTime each other on it.”
Jesus, did this guy ever quit?
“Bob, we don’t need anything expensive right now. This right here is fine.” She picked up the simple Chromebook she was standing in
