Shakedown

Chapter Fifty-two

It hit me when I’d driven Kate’s car two blocks from Latrell’s house. Pressure built behind my eyes, making me blink. I could see, but I was in a fog like my brain was wrapped in a layer of cotton. I didn’t remember turning the radio on, but a DJ was rattling on about something. I heard his voice but couldn’t follow what he was saying. I pulled to the curb, shaking from the inside out.

I knew the routine by now. I didn’t fight it by grabbing the steering wheel. I didn’t tense my body as if I was waiting to be struck. Instead, I went limp, letting the tremors have me, opening my eyes when they were gone.

Ruby lay on the front seat, her head up, watching me with her dark eyes. I rubbed her head and she licked my hand.

“What am I going to do with you?” I asked her.

She didn’t answer and I didn’t blame her. One of the paramedics had told me that they were taking Kate to the KU Hospital. I didn’t know how long they would keep her, only that I wouldn’t leave until I knew she really was all right. Pete amp; Mac’s didn’t pick up. Besides, I had a feeling I wasn’t going to be home much until this was over. That left me with only one other option. Joy answered on the fifth ring.

“Did I wake you?”

“No. It’s only ten o’clock. I just got out of the shower.” She was breathless, her voice pitched with anxiety. “Did they find Wendy?”

“Not yet.”

“Are they trying?”

I hesitated. I didn’t want to tell her that no news wasn’t good news but it wasn’t fair to keep what I knew from her.

“They’re trying hard. Troy’s checked their credit cards, bank accounts, and cell phones. There’s been no activity.”

“What does that mean?”

“If they had eloped or just taken a last-minute vacation or were just going about their daily lives, there would be electronic and paper trails. Since there aren’t any, we have to consider the possibility that something has happened to them or that they have a good reason to be hiding.”

“Don’t tell me that, Jack. What do we do?”

“Keep looking. Keep trying. That’s why I’m calling. I know it’s late, but I need you to do me a favor.”

“A favor?”

“I need you to pick up Ruby, maybe keep her for a few days.”

“Why? Are you going out of town?”

“No. I’m not going anywhere. It’s just that I can’t be tied down to the dog while I’m trying to find Wendy.”

“Okay,” she said, taking a breath. “You can bring her over in the morning.”

“Actually, I need you to come get her now.”

“You’re going out at ten o’clock? You must know something. Why won’t you tell me?”

“I don’t know anything, but I’m not at home and I won’t get home for a while.”

“Where are you?”

“I’m on my way to the emergency room at the KU Hospital. Can you meet me there and pick up the dog?”

“KU Hospital? What’s the matter? Are you hurt? Is it the shaking?”

“No, it’s nothing like that. I’m fine.”

“Jack Davis, tell me what in the hell is going on or I’m going to hang up this phone!”

I was trying to tell her as little as possible, not just to protect her but to avoid the additional fallout I knew was coming. I realized I couldn’t succeed at either and continuing to try would only make things worse.

“We found out who killed the people in the drug house. His name was Latrell Kelly. He lived behind the victims. Kate and I went to talk to him a little while ago. He surprised us and hit Kate in the head with a gun. She’s the one in the emergency room. He took a shot at me and mostly missed. I doubt if I’ll even need a stitch. Troy Clark shot Latrell. He died at the scene.”

I could hear her crying. The sound was muf?ed. I guessed she was covering the receiver with her hand. She gathered herself, coughing to clear her throat.

“I hate you, Jack, you know that?”

“I know.”

“But that’s not my real problem. You want to know what my real problem is? My real problem is that I don’t hate you all the time.”

Joy hung up. I started the car, found my way to Seventh Street and took it south until it turned into Rainbow Boulevard. The hospital was on the corner of Thirty-ninth and Rainbow. I turned east on Rainbow and followed the signs to the emergency room. Joy was standing next to her car when I arrived. She was wearing jeans and a hooded sweatshirt, the hood pulled tight around her face. I pulled alongside where she had parked. She opened the passenger door of Kate’s BMW, put Ruby in her car, and drove away. She never said hello.