Jackson. Yeah, I have been following you. Someone else is following your wife. I’m not the one you should be worried about. That black Mustang that went around you when you cut in front of me is who you should be worried about. He’s been following you also. It’s been like a damned parade for days now. I even know the skank’s name: Bill Donovan. He’ll do any job, break the law for a buck. I’m thinking he’s working for your wife or her attorney, but that’s just my guess.”
Gus lowered the Louisville Slugger and called Wilson to his side as he digested what the man standing in front of him had just said. “Are you telling me I have a tail on me?”
“For several days now, yes, that’s what I’m telling you. The guy’s a sleazeball, so when and if you ever see his report, most of it will be lies.”
“Why are you following me?”
“Orders. By the way, you’re boring as hell. I thought I’d go out of my mind when you were shopping at Target. What, you can’t make up your mind when it comes to towels and sheets?”
“Thread count is important. Towel thickness is just as important, for absorbency. Didn’t your mother teach you that? Boring! I’m a hell of an interesting guy.”
“I guess I missed that lesson. Okay, so you made me, now what?”
“Stop following me.”
“You sure you want me to stop? If I keep following you, then I can keep tabs on Bill Donovan. Would that dog really have bitten my ass?” Yee asked anxiously.
“Yeah, and loved every minute of it. Stop following me. I’ll deal with Donovan on my own. Go on, get out of here.”
“Hollister, hold on a minute. Listen, it’s not just Donovan. I saw someone else out at your grandmother’s farm yesterday. No clue who he was, but he was snooping around. Mud on his license plate, so I couldn’t run the number. I have a soft spot for old people, and I wouldn’t want to see anything happen to your grandmother and the people who come and go. I have to admit, they have me wondering what’s going on there, and don’t try to tell me they’re playing bingo or some such shit.”
“What did the guy you saw look like? And, they are bingo addicts. They live for bingo. They eat, sleep, and drink bingo.”
Mickey Yee looked disgusted. “Hey, the guy’s probably a dick, okay? What he looked like yesterday doesn’t mean he’s going to look the same today. And while he was driving a beat-to-shit Honda yesterday, today he might look like a movie star and be driving a high-end car. Old people are prey. I just gave you a heads-up. So, you want me off this or on it? Or are you still going to go this alone? Makes me no never mind.”
Gus realized everything the detective said was true. “No, okay, stay on it. But . . . I don’t want you to tell anyone I made you. Will you agree to that?”
“Hell yes, man.”
Gus swung the Louisville Slugger. “You go back on your word, you’re going to find out what a bite on the ass will feel like.”
“You got it. Can I go now?”
“Yeah. I’m going to the farm. If you see anyone at the farm watching my grandmother, call me, okay?” Gus rattled off his cell-phone number, and Yee punched the numbers into his own cell phone.
Wilson whined all the way to the farm. “Get over it, big guy. One of these days you’re going to get the chance to bite some bad guy’s ass, trust me on that.”
Wilson dropped his head onto his paws as if to say, promises, promises, promises. Gus reached over to scratch the dog behind the ears. He grinned. God, how he loved this dog.
The kitchen at the farmhouse smelled wonderful. Chili, if his nose was on the money. He also smelled the sweet scent of vanilla, and something baking. While the kitchen was huge, with two double ovens and two stove tops, every burner seemed to have something cooking and bubbling on it. He could see the trays of something baking in the double ovens.
Iris appeared out of nowhere and said, “Chili and rice pudding for dessert. We can send you home with some of each. We’re baking the fortune cookies. With all our new staff’s meals to prepare, this kitchen is getting a workout, and we’re stumbling over each other. The summer kitchen looks the same as this