Chapter Nineteen
Gordon paced the living room, doing his best to hold his temper. He hadn’t been in the apartment ten minutes when Maggie told him about the excursion to Debra’s and what she’d learned.
“I know I shouldn’t’ve gone out, but when I saw her mother was living so close, I just had to.” She leaned forward on the sofa, hands in her lap like a little girl.
“You could’ve wound up like Margo.” Gordon stopped his pacing, cut Maggie with a glare. What could she have been thinking?
“I said I was sorry.”
“Okay, you told me about your day, let me tell you what I found out. Your pal Norton was right about Nighthyde. He was arrested for breaking and entering when he was twenty-two. Striker was the arresting officer. He put in a word with the court and Nighthyde got probation.”
“We already knew that,” Maggie said.
“Here’s something you didn’t know. I did a check with DMV. Striker drives a black BMW.”
“So, he was the one who chased me into the bay,” Maggie said.
“Looks like it,” Gordon said. “And it seems pretty obvious Nighthyde is still working for him.”
“Brrr.” She crossed her arms in front of herself.
“So, I figured I’d talk to Nighthyde. I got his address from DMV and his number from the book. The guy’s some kid of hit man and he’s listed. Go figure. I called and his mother answered, apparently he lives with her. She said he wasn’t home. I told her I worked for the IRS and wanted to schedule an audit and needed to talk to him as soon as possible. She told me he was a process server and worked for the district attorney’s office, maybe I could get him there. Not only does he not work for the DA, there’s no record of him having ever worked anywhere. I called her back and she told me she’d just got off the phone with him. She said he was on his way to Mexico with a girl named Sadie and he wouldn’t be back till the day after tomorrow.” Gordon sat in one of the rattan chairs, looked Maggie in the eye. “So, it looks like we have a couple of days to figure out what we’re going to do.”
“I hate the thought that there’s somebody out there who wants to do to me what he did to Margo.”
“Maybe we should go to the FBI. I have friends in the Los Angeles field office. We could say you’re Margo and your twin sister Maggie was killed and that you think the killer’s coming after you. You could identify Nighthyde from the picture you saw in the mug book.”
“Nick would find out. He’d want to meet his dead wife’s twin. How would I face him? I’m already treading on thin ice as it is. I don’t think I could pull that off. And Bruce Kenyon would see right through it and take Jasmine. No, I don’t like that idea.”
“I thought that’s what you’d say, so I guess we’ll go with plan B.”
“Which is?”
“Tomorrow morning I’ll pay a visit to Striker at Nakano. I’ll tell him everything we know. I’ll tell him it’s all written down and in a safe place and, for added emphasis, I’ll tell him if anything happens to you, I’ll personally come by and cut his balls off.”
“I like this plan better.”
“But to make sure nothing happens to you or Jasmine, I’ll also have to tell him you’re letting it lie.”
“What do you mean?”
“They grabbed Margo here. They dumped her body behind the Whale. They followed you from the police station when you were Margo. They followed us from my house, where Maggie lived. Let’s face it, unless they’re stupid, they’ve made the connection between you and Margo. And they know they killed Margo. They know you’re Maggie and they know you’re masquerading as your sister.”
“I hadn’t thought it through that far.”
“I’ll have to tell Striker if he stays away from you, you’ll forget anything you might’ve learned about him, Nishikawa, Nakano and Nighthyde.”
“They get away with Margo’s murder?”
“And you get away with Margo’s life.”
“What about Norton’s mother?” She got off the couch, started for the kitchen. Stopped, turned back. “And… and, what about Wolfe’s little boy and his wife? What about them?”
“What about Jasmine? What about your baby?” He got up too, went to her, took her hands. “What about them?”
“It’s so unfair.”
“Yeah, well you know how that goes. Besides, we don’t know for certain they had anything to do with that. It could just be coincidence.”
“Norton said he doesn’t believe in coincidence,” Maggie said. “I don’t either, not anymore.”
“If you want to raise Jasmine and your baby here, you have to forget it.”
“I hate it.”
“I’m sorry, it’s the best I can come up with.”
“What if he doesn’t go for the deal?”
“He will.” He looked into her eyes, gave her hands a squeeze. “You’ll see. He’ll think you’re doing it for Margo’s money. That’s something he can understand. It’ll be over, really over.”
“I really, really hate it.” She let go of his hands, backed away, slumped on the sofa. “But I guess I don’t have any choice.” She looked fragile.
“I know it seems lousy, but sometimes you have to go with the flow. I’ll see Striker first thing in the morning. Then you can get on with living your new life.”
He came over to the couch, sat next to her and put a hand on her stomach. “I don’t feel anything.”
“You will soon.”
“It’s going to change your life, this baby.”
“My life’s already changed.”
“Yeah, I guess it has.”
The front door burst open and Jasmine and Sonya poured in. They were home from school. “Girl’s night out,” they squealed in unison.
“What?”
“Sonya and I decided you and me could go to the mall with Gay and Sonya,” Jasmine said. “We’re gonna have dinner, then the movies after.”
“Oh, we decided, did we?” Maggie said as Gay came through the front door. “And it’s you and I, not you and me.”
“Yeah, me and Sonya. So, you should hurry.”
“Alright.” Maggie threw her hands up in mock surrender.
“I’ll get my coat.” Jasmine ran into her bedroom with Sonya right behind.
“Do you have a cell phone?” Gordon asked Gay.
She patted her purse. “Got an iPhone. I take it everywhere.”
“Keep an eye on the rearview. If you see a black BMW or anything else that looks suspicious, call 911.”
“You’re not coming?” Maggie said.
“Girls night out,” Gordon said. “Besides, I’ve got a call to make. You know, to set up that meeting for tomorrow.”
“What meeting?” Gay said.
“We’re ready,” Jasmine said as the girls came out of the bedroom.
“She can tell you all about it when there’s no little ears around,” Gordon said.
“I hate it when adults do that,” Sonya said.
“Tough break.” Gordon saw them out. The sun was hanging over Catalina Island, twenty-six miles away. It reminded him of Norton’s mother and Wolfe’s wife and son. Nobody should get away with murder.
He got Nakano’s number from information, made an appointment with Striker for 10:00 the next day. Then he stretched out on the sofa and closed his eyes, just for a minute. He opened them as the sun was going down. Hungry, he decided to walk up to Johnny Rocket’s and get a burger. He liked the ’50s art deco decor, the jukeboxes on the tables, the young crowd and the good food.
