“Do we want to just barge into the house and ask where he is or keep things a little more covert?”
“Do we have time to stay covert?”
Stallings smiled because he realized Patty was thinking more and more like him. “Not only do we not have time, I intend to scare this fraternity geek so bad that he won’t hold back anything. He’ll have nightmares about this conversation years from now.” He caught Patty’s smile at his comments.
Stallings pulled his Impala across a sidewalk, blocking the entrance to the building where the Tau Upsilon fraternity clubhouse was located. They walked through the front door and saw three young men playing pool in the corner of the empty room.
The boys didn’t even ask who they were. Stallings was sure Patty was a legend among the fraternity for the way she’d handled the smart-aleck boy out on the beach the first day of the investigation. Stallings said, “Is Bobby Hollis around?”
The three boys looked at each other, trying to decide if they should speak with the detectives.
Stallings didn’t raise his voice, keeping it even but putting an edge on it when he said, “I need to talk to Bobby Hollis right. . now.” Just putting a pause between
The tallest of the three boys said, “I saw him leave about an hour ago.”
Stallings snapped, “What’s his cell number?”
Lynn felt an edge of excitement sweep through her body as she saw Bobby Hollis stand and wave good-bye to his friends. She had sensed he was getting ready to leave for some time and had paid for her drinks. As soon as he stepped away from the table she slipped off the stool and headed out the door in front of him.
She was surprised by how much the temperature had dropped outside. It sent shivers through her as she dug in her purse for the Buck knife. The parking lot was half full of cars, but there was no one outside right now. She saw Bobby’s green Dodge Neon at the far end of the parking lot. Her Nissan was about three cars away. That would be the perfect place to wait and call him over like she was having car trouble of some kind. She could picture what it’d be like to send the knife straight up into his neck and pull it out in a slashing motion as he flopped onto the ground like a fish out of water and blood turned the white sand and gravel of the parking lot a tacky red.
She hustled over to her car and unlocked the door. Moisture clung to her blouse as she waited longer than she’d expected. She should’ve learned that all fraternity brothers take a long time to say good-bye to each other.
Finally, she saw the front door to the bar open and Bobby Hollis walk out. He pulled his sweatshirt over his head. He didn’t even look around the parking lot as he stepped out from the overhang that covered the front door to the bar.
Lynn leaned against her car like she’d had too much to drink and grasped the open knife in her right hand, shielding it from Bobby’s view with her body.
Bobby Hollis conducted his own personal sobriety test that the fraternity had developed. He stood erect and lifted his left foot so he had to balance on his right foot. Then he said the alphabet slowly and clearly. He’d only had four beers, but he couldn’t afford a DUI on his record. He would graduate this year and the job market was already too competitive. He didn’t need some manager at Smith Barney or even Charles Schwab-if all else went wrong-to have to worry about hiring someone who drank too much and got stopped by the cops.
He looked at parking lot to remember exactly where he had parked his car. The first thing he intended to do once he was in the working world was to get rid of that piece of shit and buy something with a little style-maybe not a BMW, but at least not the absolute bottom-of-the-line, basic-transportation American car. He had looked at the Mini Cooper, but was now leaning toward a Nissan Z car.
He felt his phone vibrate and pulled it out of his pocket. He didn’t recognize the number, so he didn’t answer.
He took a deep breath of Jacksonville’s night air and noticed a woman who looked like she might be drunk leaning against a car near his. He wondered if he should offer his help.
Stallings didn’t leave a message on Bobby Hollis’s phone. Instead, he looked at the three boys staring at him from the pool table and said, “One of you give me your phone.”
The boy who had been speaking with them said, “What?”
“I said give me a phone. Bobby didn’t answer and it might be because he didn’t recognize my phone number.” He snapped his fingers to speed them to action.
The boy said, “I’ll call him.” He dug a BlackBerry out of his pocket.
Stallings said, “You can dial, then hand the phone to me.”
The boy did exactly as he was directed.
Lynn’s heart rate increased as Bobby Hollis walked closer and closer. His gaze switched from the Dodge Neon to her. She could tell he was debating whether to walk over and see if he could help her get into the car. She yanked on the door handle with her left hand making it seemed like there was a problem. She still had the knife hidden in her right hand. Once he turned and stepped between her car and the pickup truck parked next to her, she didn’t intend to hesitate. She would turn and face him and before he realized what was happening she’d have the knife rising in a deadly arc.
He stopped in the parking lot not far from her car and turned slightly toward her. Lynn heard a familiar song but couldn’t place it. It wasn’t until he reached in his pocket and pulled out his phone she realized it was a ringtone. He stopped where he was and started talking on the phone.
FORTY-FOUR
Stallings heard a voice on the phone say, “Hey, Chucky.”
Stallings said, “Bobby, is that you?”
There was a hesitation; then he said, “Yeah, it’s Bobby. Who’s this?”
“Bobby, this is Detective John Stallings from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. We spoke a couple of times.”
“I, I remember you, sir.”
Stallings was satisfied the boy’s stammer indicated how terrified he already was. “I need to speak with you.”
“Okay.” It was hesitant at best.
“I need to speak with you tonight. I’m over at your fraternity house now.”
There was a long pause, and then Bobby said, “I, um, didn’t plan to be home until late.”
“How late?”
“Sometime after midnight.”
Stallings didn’t like the way this conversation was headed. He could tell the boy was scared of something and may be hard to pin down if Stallings went looking for him. He needed a few minutes to think.
Stallings was silent longer than he meant to be and Bobby said, “Do I need to speak to an attorney?”
“Why would you need to speak to an attorney? I was looking for one of your missing fraternity brothers and asking a few questions about some unusual deaths. Why are you so hesitant to talk to me?”
“I’m not hesitant. I’m just busy. I’ll give you a call tomorrow.”
The phone line went dead.
Lynn considered stepping away from her car and surprising him while he spoke on his phone. She was anxious to get this done. He turned and faced the building while he spoke on the phone. Bobby sounded scared. She set her purse on the ground and took three steps to the very front of her car. She was now about ten feet away from Bobby Hollis, who was facing the other direction.
She tightened her grip on the knife, ready to spring forward. Now she knew what a great white shark felt like
