Second Chance

Chapter 50

I COULDN'T BELIEVE IT. I stood there gawking. I looked at Cindy, then back at Winslow, my surprise slowly giving way to a blushing smile.

“Lieutenant.” Winslow nodded, cutting through the awkward murk. “When Cindy said she was meeting friends, I wasn't expecting to find you here.”

“Yeah, me too,” I babbled back.

“We're headed to the Blue Door,” Cindy said to the crowd, going through the introductions. “Pinetop Perkins is in town.”

“Terrific.” Claire nodded.

“Beatific,” snipped Jill.

“Anybody care to join?” Aaron Winslow asked. “If you haven't heard it, there's nothing like Memphis blues.”

“I'm in the office at six tomorrow,” said Claire. “You two go along.”

I leaned over to Cindy and whispered, “You know, when we were talking foxholes the other day, I was only joking.”

“I know you were,” Cindy said, looping her arm around mine. “But I wasn't.”

Claire, Jill, and I stood with our jaws open and watched the two of them disappear around the corner. Actually, they looked kind of cute together, and it was only a date to hear some music.

“Okay,” Jill said, “tell me I wasn't dreaming.”

“You weren't dreaming, girl,” Claire replied. “I just hope that Cindy realizes what she's getting herself into.”

“Uh-uh.” I shook my head. “I hope he does.”

Getting into my car, I entertained myself with the notion of Cindy and Aaron Winslow. It almost pushed out of my head the reason we had gotten together in the first place.

I turned my Explorer onto Brannan and waved good-bye to Claire, who was heading over to 280. As I made the turn, I caught a glimpse of a white Toyota pulling out down the block behind me.

My mind was wrapped up with what I had just done, getting the girls involved in this horrible case. I had just countermanded a direct order from the mayor and my commanding officer. This time, there was no one backing me up.

No Roth, or Mercer.

A Mazda with two teenage girls in it pulled up behind me.

We had stopped at a light on Seventh. The driver was talking a mile a minute on her cell phone, while her companion obliviously sung along to the stereo.

As we started up, I kept my eye on them for a block, until they veered onto Ninth. A blue minivan took the Mazda's place.

I got onto Potrero under the underpass to 101, heading south. The blue van turned.

To my surprise, I saw that same white Toyota lurking thirty yards behind.

I continued on. A silver BMW sped up in the left lane and pulled up behind me. Behind it, a city bus. It looked as if the mystery car was gone.

who could blame you for getting a little jumpy, with what's going on? I said to myself. My picture had been in the paper and on the TV news.

I made my usual right on Connecticut and started the climb up the Potrero hill. I was hoping Mrs. Taylor next door had come by to walk Martha. And I was thinking of stopping in the market on Twentieth for some Edy's vanilla twirl.

Two blocks up, I glanced a last time in my rearview mirror. The white Toyota crept into view.

Either the sonofabitch lived on the same block I did, or the bastard was following me.

It had to be Chimera.