In Sickness And In Death Part 8

I tried to find her yearbooks, but failed. I'd have to go by my dim memories of Maury Boor for now.

I shut off the lights and led Danny out to the driveway again. "Danny, I need to go to The Cat's Meow. Would you mind staying in the car while I go inside?"

He shrugged.

"Will you promise to stay in the locked car and wait for me? I don't want to come out and find you missing again like at Dr. Albert's office."

He gazed at the floor. "I promise." He lifted his head. "Do you think Erica is at The Cat's Meow?"

I slid into the car and started the engine as he scrambled into the back seat. "I don't know. She was there the other night. She was at a motel near there this afternoon. I just have to ask if they've seen her." With any luck Briana Engle, Gumby's wife, would be there to answer my questions. I didn't feel like sidling up to anyone else in the place.

I backed out and headed out of town.

"What's wrong with Erica?"

"What do you mean?"

"She's weird."

"She is not weird." I glanced at Danny in the rearview mirror but couldn't make out his features in the dark. "Why do think she's weird?"

"I don't know. She's just different."

I had to give him that. Erica was different. When depressed, she was unapproachable. But with the right medication and phase of the moon, she was exuberant, charming, outgoing, and talkative. These days, she seemed dark and restless, a precursor in the past to hospitalization. Her heavy drinking was new. She'd stayed away from alcohol in the past because of her medications. I mentally kicked myself for not paying more attention to her. I'd fooled myself into believing her days in the psychiatric center were over.

But Danny didn't know Erica was different from the usual. He meant she was different from everybody else, and not in a good way.

I couldn't decide if he was very intuitive or just becoming a bigot like his father.

Either way, my number one priority was to find my sister.

Sunday night at The Cat's Meow didn't draw a full house, judging from the parking lot. Only a dozen cars sat in it, surrounded by the dead cornstalks that looked on like sentinels. In one vehicle, a couple was steaming up the windows. I parked as far from them as possible and crossed my fingers Danny wouldn't notice them.

I turned around to look him in the eye. "Now remember, you promised to stay in the car. Do not get out. Do not unlock the doors. Do not speak to anyone. Okay?"

"Okay." Again, I heard the "yeah, right, lady" in his voice. I knew my fears for his safety far exceeded his confidence in his ability to care for himself.

I ran across the muddy parking lot and opened the front door. A bouncer sat alone in the foyer.

"You got ID?"

I pulled out my driver's license, flattered he thought I might be underage.

He looked at my picture. I had long hair when it was taken several years ago. "You were hot." He handed it back to me.

In an instant, I felt old and ugly, two things only amplified by the interior of the strip club.

At first, the loud music and disco lights stunned me. It took several seconds for my eyes to adjust. Then I spotted the dancer gyrating on the stage with a G string, feather boa, and pasties, sporting b.o.o.bs the size of cannonb.a.l.l.s. I felt shortchanged, overdressed, and embarra.s.sed for her and me.

The half-dozen men seated around the stage paid no attention to me, perhaps because I had all my clothes on, but more likely because their eyes were riveted on the stage. I crossed the room to the bar and asked for Briana Engle, Gumby's wife. The bartender sent the half-naked waitress standing at the bar to get Briana from her dressing room.

"What else can I getcha?" He smiled at me with two broken front teeth.

"Nothing, thank you."

He hitched his pants up and walked to the other end of the bar to watch the football game.

"Hey, Jolene. I haven't seen you since the wedding. How are you?" Briana enveloped me in a hug that brought me in contact with her own two cannonb.a.l.l.s. They didn't flatten an inch under her red silk robe as her chest met mine.

"Worried. My sister, Erica, is missing. I know she was in here Tuesday night. Did you see her?"

Briana pursed her lips, which were as red as her robe. "I saw her singing at the top of her lungs and hitting on all the boys. She stole my thunder. I didn't make any tips that night. Gumby finally called Ray."

So he called because his wife was losing money, not because my sister needed help? Surely Gumby was a better officer than that. "I'm sorry about your tips. Has my sister been back since?"

Briana called the bartender over and asked him. He shook his head. Briana shrugged. "Guess not."

"She wanted a man to take her home that night. Do you know his name or what he looked like?"

"No name, but he's a big, redheaded guy. Really big. Meaty. Erica kept asking him if he was big all over."

Lovely. And unfortunately, not the same man as the one from The Lincoln House. Now I had two potential suitors for her affections, and no name for either one.

"If Erica or the redheaded man comes in again, can you call me?"

"Sure, Jolene. No problem."

"Thanks, Briana." I started to turn away then felt Briana's hand on my coat sleeve.

"Can you do me a favor, too?"

"Of course."

"When you find your sister, tell her to stay away from my husband."

____.

After Danny went to bed, I climbed into the bathtub and tried to soak off the lingering sleaze dust I'd picked up inside the strip club. I hadn't been able to think of anywhere else to look for Erica when we left there, and I knew Danny should be in bed by nine before his first day at Wachobe Middle School.

I must have dozed off in the tub because the next thing I knew Ray was sitting on the side of the tub, giving me a soapsuds beard.

He bent to kiss me on the nose as I wiped away his handiwork.

"How was the rest of your day? Did you find Josie Montalvo's body?"

"Not even a lead. She rented her apartment a little over a month ago. Her landlord didn't require any information from her, just a $500 deposit, which he's now going to have to use to hire a professional service to clean the blood off her bedroom carpet. They released the scene today."

"I went to The Cat's Meow to look for Erica tonight."

"I heard. Briana called Gumby."

"I have no secrets, do I?"

Ray gazed down at my body. "Not without the soapsuds."

My cheeks burned. I tried to attribute it to the hot water, but the temperature of my bath had turned cold long ago. "Could you hand me a towel?"

He rose and pulled a bath sheet off the rack, holding it out so I could step into it.

I would have preferred to have him hand it to me and leave the room. Even though we'd been together for over fifteen years, I felt a little shy to step out naked in front of him. I knew where it might lead, and I couldn't remember the last time we'd had s.e.x. Most likely it had been in the days following Noelle's departure, when I'd been inconsolable no matter what Ray tried.

I could tell from the look on Ray's face what he'd like to try tonight. My hands started to shake even as I told myself how ridiculous it was to feel nervous with Ray.

Erica's nonsense about becoming a born-again virgin crossed my mind. Absurd. Totally absurd.

I stood and stepped over the side of the bathtub with as much grace as I could muster. I slipped on the wet tile. My leg went out from under me. I flailed my arms in an effort to catch my balance.

Ray's arms and the towel enfolded me, holding me upright. He picked me up and set me on the rug in front of the mirror then tucked the edge of the towel in securely, brushing the top of my breast with his dry hand. He met my gaze in the mirror.

"Tired?"

His voice was husky.

A tingle rippled down my back. "A little."

I grabbed another towel and wrapped it around my head, careful not to b.u.mp him in the shrinking room. "I took Danny to The Lincoln House for dinner and asked Bernie if any guys had shown an interest in Erica."

Ray's hands pushed mine aside as he took over gently toweling my hair. "And?"

"Bernie said she left the other night with a quiet, dark-haired guy. He didn't know his name."

"A quiet one, huh?"

Ray always says to watch out for the quiet ones. I pulled the towel from his hands and nodded. "What if the guy is a serial killer? What if he's the guy you're looking for?"

He took off his badge and laid it on the countertop. "Then he picked too small a town. We'll find him fast."

"Briana said Erica tried to take home a redheaded guy at the club. Do you know any guys with red hair?"

He wrestled off his belt and laid it next to his badge. "I don't even know any redheaded women."

I started brushing my hair. "I might. Cory said our new customer is a redhead. He said she had a brother. In fact, I saw a red-haired woman come out of The Cat's Meow the day Danny stole that car. I took Erica there to pick up the Porsche."

"What's her name?"

"I don't remember. Cory wrote it down for me. I'll have to go to the office tomorrow." I put my hairbrush back in the drawer. "Which reminds me, are you off tomorrow?"

"I'm not off again until we find Josie Montalvo and her killer."

"Oh."

Ray stopped unb.u.t.toning his shirt. "What's wrong?"

"It's just the princ.i.p.al wanted to see us about the Nintendo. I was hoping you could handle it."

"Sorry, Darlin'. You'll have to handle it." He reached for the towel encasing my body, wrapped his fingers in it, and pulled me toward him. "You can handle anything."

I slammed my hand onto his chest, bringing me to a halt inches from him. I could feel the heat of his body, and my own body's reaction to it. It had been a long time.

But I wasn't feeling the love at that moment. "Ray, you just stuck me with Danny. Whatever made you think bringing him home was a good idea?"

His gaze roamed over my shoulders and the tops of my b.r.e.a.s.t.s. "You said you wanted to help people."

"I did, but I wanted to do it in my own way, not yours."

He released my towel and took a step back. "Do you want me to call Social Services and request another placement for Danny?"

My heart leapt with relief. Then I felt the all too familiar waves of guilt and responsibility. "Not now. He's got a room here and clothes and books and ... and ... we're committed to him. That's not my point. My point is you should have consulted me first."

"You're right. I'm sorry. I saw his need, remembered what you said, and went with my gut."

I didn't see any point in arguing with him about it any further. "I understand."

He bent and ran his lips down my neck and along my shoulder, sending chills down my spine. "So am I forgiven?"

I rested my hands against his chest, feeling his heartbeat.

Mine accelerated. "Yes."

He leaned in to kiss me. His lips grazed mine. The pressure increased, drawing me in. I almost let go.

Then I heard crying. I shoved at his chest.

It was like trying to move a mountain, but he stopped. Irritation flashed in his eyes. "What?"

"I hear crying."

Sadness replaced the irritation. "Jolene, Noelle is happy and healthy with her mother. You have to stop this."

I slapped his chest in frustration. "No, Ray, I hear Danny crying."

He tilted his head and listened with me. Through the open bathroom door came the distinct sound of sobbing.

Ray glanced at my towel. "I'll talk to him."

I pulled on my pajamas and slippers and chased after Ray.

When I entered Danny's room, his lamp was on. I could see his red face and the tear stains on his pajamas as he sat sniffling. Ray had one hand on his shoulder, patting it soothingly.