Page 90 of A Rose of Steel
“He said that Chase was telling the truth.”
“What does that mean then?” she asked.
I shrugged. “Probably that I should cross Chase Turner off my suspect list.”
“Well, that was a waste of time, and now we’re running behind,” she said. “We’ve got to get inside.”
But then I saw something that stopped me dead in my tracks. “Auntie,” I said.
“C’mon, Sugarplum. We gotta hurry.”
“Auntie, look,” I said and pointed to the back of a black truck.”
“What is it?” she said. She kept walking, not even turning around for her inquiry.
“This is the truck that ran me off the road,” I called after her.
She turned around, squinted her eyes, and put her hand on her hip. “I thought you said they didn’t run you off the road. You hit something and got a flat tire.”
“Technically that is what happened,” I said. “I guess I exaggerated a little.”
“I told you about reigning in your hyperbole,” she said and turned around. She waved her hand over her head and waved. “Come on, now. We’re late.”
I shook my head. That’s what I get for lying. I should have told her the truth, I just hadn’t wanted her to worry.
I looked at the back of the truck. The fleur-de-lis, it wasn’t blue, it was purple. And the yellow was gold. There was an eye in the middle. The tags were from Louisiana and the decal I’d seen across the back window, I had been right, was for the state university.
None of my suspects were from Louisiana.
I wonder where Mighty Max’s headquarters are...
Now I just sounded silly.
Chapter Forty
I jotted down the license number. Pogue had no jurisdiction in another state, but I’d have to figure out some way to check it out.
I got to the door, opened it and then stopped. The person who gave me such a scare was inside. Should I go in there? I peeked inside. It was full of people. At least two hundred. That person knew what I looked like, but I didn’t know what they looked like.
What if they came to get me...
“Can’t decide whether you want to go in or not?”
I turned around, already knowing whose voice it was. It was Rhett.
“I’m considering leaving,” I said.
“That might not sit too well with Babet.”
“I’m sure it wouldn’t,” I said.
“Why don’t you come in with me?” he said and stuck out the crook of his elbow. “I can escort you in.”
“I just saw the truck that was on the road that night you found me at the ME’s office.” He knew about it, maybe he could help.
“Really,” he said, and turned back and looked toward the parking lot. “Who got out of it?”
“I didn’t see who it was,” I said. “It was already parked when I noticed it.”
