Page 71 of Hiss and Make Up
Freddy cringed. “Can you fix it?”
Marc considered that check in Sierra’s bag and shook his head. No way she would forgive him for writing her off like that. If there was one thing he knew about Sierra, it was that she could hold a grudge. And she was good about keeping herself from getting hurt by the same people more than once. He couldn’t believe she was sticking around this time, giving him a second chance. He was positive there wouldn’t be a third.
All morning he’d fought the urge to call or text her. To apologize. To grovel. To sneak into her work and her purse and take that dang check back. Clearly, she cared about more than the reward. The game notes proved that. But he couldn’t face her inevitable anger. Not yet.
Plus, he’d spent all morning convincing himself this was for the best. If Sierra was mad at him and cut him off, she’d be safe. He could live with that.
Well, eventually he’d be able to live with that. He’d have to.
Marc spotted the rental car through the glass door at the same time his phone rang. He should have known better than to hope it was Sierra, but his heart gave a little jump anyway.
No such luck. An unknown number.
Probably someone calling him back from that morning. While waiting for Sierra to take a quick shower, he had run over to Denise’s to get the documents he never got the night before. Bank and credit card statements and Denise’s list of account numbers and passwords. She’d kill him if she caught him snooping, but he’d rather her find out and be furious with him than ignore a suspicion.
He didn’t find anything major. A few minor cash withdrawals. No large purchases Denise didn’t know about. Nothing suspicious enough to get Josh in the kind of trouble Marc suspected he was in. But Marc still made a few calls and left messages on some charges that weren’t clear.
Of course, it wasn’t like anyone would hand a bookie a credit card. Well, maybe Josh would. Either way, Marc needed to make sure Josh was in the clear or find solid evidence that his brother-in-law was in over his head.
“Hello?”
“Marc Dugas?”
“Yes.”
“You leave a message about finding a guy?” His voice was deep and thick, like the muddy waters of the Teche.
“Not exactly. I was investigating some charges on a credit card.”
“You ain’t the police, are ya?”
“No, I’m just looking into a guy.” He debated how much information to give. “For my sister.”
“Ah. Well, we like to keep our clients…confidential. Know what I mean?”
Marc’s heartbeat raced and his stomach lurched. Who keeps confidential clients? Or gets nervous about cops? People doing illegal stuff, that’s who.
“Look, I only need to know what kind of client this guy is and what kind of business he’s doing with a guy like you.”
“A guy like me? What’s that supposed to mean?”
Marc turned to Freddy, who held up his hands and mouthed,What’s going on?
Marc was in no mood to play games with a bookie or whoever the hell Josh had gotten mixed up with. “Look, sir, I don’t even know who you are, so the last thing I want is to offend you. I just need information about this guy.”
“Aw, I’m yankin’ your chain.” A heavy laugh rolled through the phone speaker. “But I’m still not in the habit of getting guys in trouble with other guys’ sisters.”
Marc was losing him. He was so close to finding out what Josh was mixed up with and if it was a link to the snakes or the fire or the theft or his car. He couldn’t let this guy slip away.
“Tell you what,” he said before he could chicken out and second guess himself. “How about I buy you lunch? A good-faith gesture. You can decide then how much you want to tell me.”
A few moments of silence passed between them before the guy said, “All right. T-Roy’s? In half an hour?”
T-Roy’s was a little burger place just outside of Lafayette. If the traffic wasn’t too bad, he could make it there in half an hour.
“Great. I’ll be there. How will I know—”
“I’ll find ya.”
