Joey Ketrousie was the one who had sent her to New York. Did that mean he was the killer? Her mind raced with questions. And she didn"t have good answers to any of them.
After a few minutes, a young man in a leather jacket walked in. She listened as he ordered coffee. Megan loved his New York accent, and his jet black, wavy hair. He sat down at a table across the room from her, and almost immediately began to stare at her.
She was flattered at first. But what if he was there to kill her?
Megan pretended her cell phone was vibrating. "Hey, Baby...okay, I"ll be right out." She put her phone away, and rushed out of the coffee shop, leaving her half-full coffee cup sitting on the table.
As she walked down the corridor, she thought she heard somebody calling out from behind her.
"Hey, Lady."
Megan walked faster. It sounded like the guy from the coffee shop. But maybe all New York men sounded that way.
"Lady." He caught up with her.
She stopped walking and turned around. It was him. "What?" Her first thought was to kick him in the b.a.l.l.s and run. But she froze.
"Back at the coffee shop-you left this on the table." He handed her some dollar bills and coins.
"Oh. My change from the coffee. Thank you so much." She wished she could get to know him and his deep blue eyes. Then she saw his wedding ring.
"No problem." He smiled. "Have a nice day."
She resumed her trek to the pa.s.senger pickup area. Megan hoped Gabby"s uncle was going to be there. She tried to remember everything Gabby had told her. His name was Melvin. He was in his seventies. He"d be wearing a Dallas Mavericks cap-a brand new one.
And there he was, plain as day-standing right next to a man holding up a sign with her name on it. "s.h.i.t."
Megan approached from the side, and spoke softly. "Are you Melvin?"
"That"s me," he said loud enough for fifty people to hear him. "Are you Megan?"
She shushed him, and nodded.
"Okay. Let"s go."
The man with the sign stayed put. But she saw him glance at her as they were leaving.
She tried to hurry Melvin, but he explained that his arthritis wouldn"t let him move any faster. Megan wished she could put him on a luggage cart and roll him out.
They got into Melvin"s old car and left the airport. Megan kept looking back. But there were too many cars for her to judge whether anybody was following them.
CHAPTER 22 - Tuesday, 5:55 p.m.
"Reservation for G.G."
The maitre d" studied the man before him in the navy business suit, long-sleeved white shirt, and maroon and navy silk tie. He checked his reservation book. "I"m sorry, Sir. I don"t see..."
He leaned in and whispered, "It"s me. Gabby."
A smile of delight spread across his face. "What are you doing?"
"Just play along, Arnie. Please."
"Oh. Here it is. Enjoy your evening, Sir."
"Thank you." Gabby winked at him.
If Gabby"s friend, Arnie, had not been working tonight, he might have been turned away. Or worse yet-exposed. The guy who was filling in for Arnie the night before had gushed over Gabby. He surely would have given away his ident.i.ty tonight.
Those years in the high school drama department had given Gabby no experience in acting. All he ever did was create costumes. But tonight he would prove he had acting talent. Suppressing his natural effeminate demeanor, he would become the most macho guy in the room.
Gabby had a wad of cash in his pocket, and he was ready to get up close and personal with a hot, young waitress. If she"d rub up against his arm with her bare a.s.s, he"d stuff her string with fifties.
His own thoughts made him cringe. Sure, he was only playing a character, but...he could never treat women that way. Dammit! He had to stop thinking it to death. Tonight he was an actor.
As the hostess led him to his table, he pointed to a particularly busty waitress. "I"d like one of those...with cherries on top. And some whipped cream-so I can lick it off."
The hostess stopped in front of an empty table. "Sir, we don"t allow that type of behavior here at the Cafe Nue."
Gabby laughed. "Oh, I know that. I was just s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g with you."
"Here"s your table, Sir. Your waitress will be right with you."
His eyes followed her as she walked away. Such a cute bouncy b.u.t.t-dancing cheek to cheek.
Gabby hoped he didn"t get the same waitress as last night. But there she was-walking toward his table.
"Good evening, Sir. My name is Cotton Candy, and I will be your waitress." She handed him a menu. "Would you like to start with a gla.s.s of wine?"
He didn"t bother to open the menu. "No. I"ll have a Bud Light and a cheeseburger. No fries."
"Very good, Sir. Thank you." She took his menu and walked away. She did not appear to have recognized him.
Gabby spotted Rebecca on the far side of the room, carrying a large tray of food. He hoped she would see him and come by his table.
After she delivered the food to her table, she walked around to see Gabby. "Don"t look at my body."
He checked her out, head to toe, and grinned. "You are smoking, Babe."
"Quit looking. They named me b.o.o.bsicles."
Gabby laughed.
"I could slice your head clean off with this tray."
"Sorry." He looked directly into her eyes. "I heard from Megan. My uncle picked her up at JFK. She"ll stay at his apartment for a few days."
"Good."
"Did you find out anything?"
Rebecca was about to speak when a large hand grabbed her left b.u.t.t cheek. Before she could turn around and clock the guy, she realized it was Bobby.
"This is not your table, b.o.o.bsicles. What are you doing over here?"
"I"m sorry," said Gabby. "It"s my fault. I motioned for her to come over. She"s just so d.a.m.n hot. I wanted to give her this." Gabby took out a fifty-dollar bill and stuffed it under Rebecca"s thong strap.
"Thank you." She offered a forced smile.
"Well, I agree. She is a very s.e.xy woman. But you must observe the house rules. You can only interact with your a.s.signed waitress."
"That"s fine. Cotton Candy"s smoking hot too." He grinned. "I just got a little greedy."
"It"s understandable, Sir, but-"
"-I know. No problem."
"We appreciate your cooperation," said Bobby. He finally released Rebecca"s b.u.t.t.
She walked away.
"Have a nice evening, Sir," said Bobby.
Bobby should have recognized Gabby from the night before. Not from the way he was dressed, of course, but from the sound of his voice, or his mannerism. Something. But he didn"t. Gabby was feeling very proud of his newfound acting skills.
Cotton Candy delivered his beer.
"Thanks, Babe."
"You"re welcome, Sir. Your dinner will be ready soon."
A familiar voice caught Gabby"s attention. He diverted his eyes to the middle of the restaurant. It was Wiley. And he was sober.
Gabby watched Bobby walk over to Wiley"s table. The conversation looked serious. Bobby put his big, fat hand on Wiley"s shoulder, and appeared to be lecturing him. Wiley pushed Bobby"s hand away and jumped to his feet, knocking over his chair. He stormed out of the restaurant.
Gabby wished he could have heard what they were saying. Last night, Wiley had told Rebecca that he would soon be the owner of Cafe Nue.
Yet Joey Ketrousie had told them that he was now the owner. Was that the cause of the conflict between Wiley and Bobby? Or did it have to do with one or both of the murders? He couldn"t wait to tell Rebecca what he"d seen.
CHAPTER 23 - Tuesday, 7:00 p.m.
As Rebecca walked into the dressing room to take her break, two large-breasted women walked past her without saying a word. Darcy was sitting at her dressing table, finishing up a sandwich. "Hey, Darcy. How"s it going?"
"Fine. How about you? How are your tips?"
"Not bad." Rebecca sat down at her dresser. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and quickly looked away.
"Did you bring something to eat?"
"No. I didn"t even think about it."
"I did the same thing my first night. I was so nervous that I forgot to bring food." Darcy reached into her cooler and took out another sandwich. "Here, you can have this one. It"s tuna."
"Oh, no, Darcy. I"m not going to eat your dinner. I"ll get a bag of chips out of the machine."
"Look. I"m full. So, you might as well eat it, or it"s just gonna go to waste."
"But you might get hungry later. It"s a long night."
"No, I never do. Got to stay thin if I want good tips."
Rebecca eyed her body. "Well, whatever you"re doing-it"s working."
Darcy giggled. "Thanks."
"You"ve been so helpful to me on my first night. I really appreciate it, Darcy."
"You"re welcome." She smiled warmly. "Well, it"s time for me to get back in there and make some more money. I"m saving up to buy a house." She stood up.
"Wow. Okay. See you later."
Rebecca tore into the sandwich like a wild animal. Either it was the best tuna sandwich ever made or she was starving to death.
As she gobbled down the last of it, she stood up, hurried to the doorway, and peeped out into the hall. It was clear. She casually but quietly slipped down to Joey"s office. The door was closed. She listened for a moment, but heard nothing.
After knocking lightly and hearing no response, she peeked inside. The office was empty.
Checking the hallway again, she rushed into the office and closed the door. She knew Joey could come at any second. What reason would she give for being in his office?
She sat down at his desk, quickly surveying it for anything of interest. Near the phone was a notepad with the message: CC 214-209-5555. She knew it wasn"t Carly Cinaway"s phone number.
Rebecca unzipped her tip bag and took out a twenty-dollar bill. In tiny numbers, she wrote 2142095555 on the edge of the bill and put it back in the little bag.