Spooky Business (The Spectral Files #3) - S.E. Harmon Page 0,99
he asked for my email and pecked it in as I gave it to him.
He tried to stand, and I waved him back down. “Not that I’m not enjoying this trip down memory lane and all, but I’m trying to earn a living here, guys. If this past week is anything to go by, they’re headed to a hotel on South Beach. I need to get some pictures. We square?”
“Almost,” I murmured. We waited in tense silence as I refreshed my email a few times. When the file finally popped up, I gave him a nod, and he popped out of his chair like a jack-in-the-box.
Danny’s face was stern. “Make sure that license gets renewed, Walker. Immediately.”
He nodded and hustled out the door. A few moments later, a blue Acura pulled out of the parking lot followed by Walker’s Silverado. I started downloading the file, which was ominously large.
“More suspects,” Danny grumbled. “This case is starting to feel like an onion. One of those bloomin’ kinds they have at the Outback that's way too big.”
“You mean the one you complained about and then ate the majority of yourself?”
He sent me a dirty look. “At least I didn’t start doing the accent.”
“It’s a wonderful accent.”
“Yeah, when it’s done well,” he said meaningfully. “Which you do not do.”
“Look, if they didn’t want me to call it shrimp on the bah-bie, they wouldn’t put it on their menu.”
“You said crikey when the waiter forgot our straws. That is not on the menu.”
It was my turn to send him a dirty look. “If you keep it up, I’m going to do that accent all night. Maybe even all week, depending on how Aussie I’m feeling.”
That was incentive enough for him to shut his crepe hole. The file finished downloading, and I opened it eagerly. I scrolled… and scrolled… and scrolled. “Christ,” I muttered. “We need a cleanup of Pandora’s box on aisle six.”
“That many?”
I handed him the phone silently. After a few moments, he whistled. “And here I was wondering what we were going to do after retirement.”
“I’m usually a little more jazzed at the idea of new suspects, but this is… daunting.”
His fingers worked busily as he tapped something on the screen. “I’m sending a copy to the rest of the team. Since Kevin is home, he can see if all this information is current. Maybe even filter out who’s dead, who’s been locked up, who’s….” He stared at me as I plucked a menu off the table and snapped it open. “And just what do you think you’re doing?”
“I’m ordering breakfast.” I sent him an arch look. “I know you didn’t think I was leaving a place that makes world-famous crepes without getting a taste.”
“We have an entire list of people to cover.”
“And they’ll still be there after I have a fucking crepe. Strawberry or blueberry?” I tilted my head thoughtfully. “Of course, I could just power through the morning without food. I’d probably just complain about it a lot. I know how you like hearing me complain.”
“Blueberry,” he growled.
“Excellent choice.”
I never got to eat my crepes. The waitress had just delivered an artfully decorated plate in front of me when Danny murmured, “Interesting.”
“What’s wrong?”
He handed me back my phone. “Take a look at entry number sixteen. That name look familiar to you?”
I cast my plate one longing look before I scrolled down. “Bee Williams. Disappeared from fairgrounds when she got separated from her friends. Worked as a real estate agent for—”
“Skip to the end.”
I did, scanning the rest of her bio data. I widened my eyes as I neared the end. “Survived by her husband, Keith Wakefield, and son… Milo.”
Danny’s expression was grim. “Now, what are the odds Joseph would wind up dating the son of one of his father’s victims?”
“Milo told me Joey came to the grooming shop three or four times. He thought Joey was trying to work up the courage to ask him out.” I frowned as I stared down at the phone. The screen had gone dark and I hadn’t even noticed. “Maybe he was trying to work up his courage to do something else.”
“Cancel the crepes,” Danny said, pushing back from the table. He pulled out his wallet long enough to toss a few bills on the table and headed for the door.
I had no choice but to get up as well. Of course, I snagged a blueberry from my plate before I did. And an orange slice. A pinch of crepe. A little blueberry sauce