“Great,” I said, “let’s go.”
Indy kept glaring at them both deciding to include Hank in her unhappiness. I grabbed her arm deciding not to go the way of the glare; I’d already been rude enough. I dragged her to the door.
We were in Hazel and on our way to the Nightingale Investigations offices before I asked about Hector.
“Lee, Eddie and Darius were all best friends for as long as I can remember. As kids they were wild, serious wild, crazy wild,” she told me, then stopped.
“Yeah?” I prompted. I kept my eyes on the road but I heard and felt her move in her seat to turn to me.
“It isn’t my place to say, but we all loved Darius, we all still do,” she said, shocking me.
I didn’t respond.
“He was a great guy. I think he still is that guy, somewhere deep. When he was in his late teens, his Dad was murdered. Long story, sad and ugly. Darius had a rough time, fell in with a bad man, lost his way and never found it back.”
I nodded. Some people were born bad; some people were forced into it. It was interesting to know which sort of person Darius was.
“Lee and Eddie had different reactions to this. Lee straightened up and went into the Army. Eddie straightened up and went into the Academy. Regardless, they’re all close to this day.”
“And Hector?” I asked.
“Hector’s a wildcard. No one knows what he’s into and he’s gone off the radar. Eddie and Lee are trying to get a lock on him but they’re getting nothing. I told you about Lee, Eddie and Darius because they could get into some big trouble, hotwiring cars, bar fights, shit like that. Rumor has it Hector’s giving them a run for their money. We’re talking bad shit far beyond hotwiring cars and bar fights.”
I pulled in my lips, catching her meaning. I didn’t respond and simply drove.
Indy went silent until we got close to Lee’s offices and she directed me into an underground parking area. I parked next to Vance’s Harley.
The sight of it made my heart skip a beat.
“Vance has a great bike,” Indy breathed, staring at it.
“You can say that again,” I told her.
She smiled at me. “You ride on it yet?”
I nodded.
“Is it hot?” she asked.
I nodded again, this time on a grin.
“Lee has a Ducati.”
“Nice,” I said slow.
She started to giggle and for some reason so did I.
After we finished giggling, we got out, went into the building and walked up some flights of stairs. Outside the door that had a plaque that said “Nightingale Investigations” on it, I stopped and turned to her.
“I hear anything about Hector, I’ll let you know. You can do with it whatever you want.”
“I’d appreciate that,” she said then she went on, “so would Eddie.”
I figured I could use a favor from Eddie, especially since he intended to “take me down”.
We walked into the offices. All the lights were on and I was surprised at the reception area, it screamed money. The place was decorated richly, cowboy chic, gleaming wood, leather couches and a bronze bucking bronco on a column in the corner. Behind the huge reception desk sat a blonde woman who was so gorgeous, she looked cut out of the pages of a fashion magazine. The woman looked up, her brows drew together and she stared at us with undisguised dislike as we approached the desk.
Yikes.