Page 75 of Skeletons in the Closet

“Yep.”

“Where’s he going?”

“Dunno.”

I kept a tail on Sean, leaving a few car lengths between us. Traffic was steady enough I didn’t want to lose him. He weaved through the busy downtown streets, and a few times, the stoplights didn’t work in my favor, and he got ahead of me. Then, a couple blocks down, I picked him up again when he stopped at a red.

Tallus shifted, drawing my attention. I quickly glanced in his direction, catching him massaging the side of his neck and flexing his jaw with a pained expression.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Eyes forward, Guns, or we’ll lose him.”

Sean drove for fifteen minutes. In a shadier part of town, he pulled off to the side of the road in a no-parking zone. I cursed and drove past, doing the same a short way down the block, taking over a loading zone.

Tallus spun in his seat, and I angled the rearview to look behind us. My line of sight was obstructed by other parked cars.

“I can’t see anything,” Tallus said, still wincing with a mark of pain on his face.

“Stay here.” I got out of the Jeep and slipped between the Wrangler’s back bumper and the car parked behind me, pokingmy head out to get a better look. Streetlights cast artificial pools of yellow over the pavement and up the sides of buildings, but I didn’t see Sean or his car from where I stood.

A second later, as I contemplated my next move, Tallus appeared, standing boldly in the middle of the sidewalk.

“Get back in the Jeep. What the fuck are you doing?”

“Shh.” He dug his phone out and acted as though he was busy with it as he marched toward where Sean had parked. No compunction. Tallus being Tallus.

“Christ.” I poked my head out to see what was happening. Tallus stopped two dozen feet down, leaning against the side of a building, still acting engrossed in his phone. Farther along, Sean was out of his car, talking to a man in business dress.

The man carried a briefcase and, at one point, removed something from the case and handed it to Sean. A manila envelope.

Sean dug something from a pocket and gave it to the man. It was smaller, but I couldn’t make out what it was. The man pocketed it. They shook hands, and the guy in business attire headed down the street in the opposite direction. Sean peeked inside the bulky envelope and returned to his car.

Tallus bounced off the wall and walked at a fast clip to the Jeep. “Hurry up, Guns. He’s leaving. Get in.”

I barely had my seatbelt done up when Sean’s BMW passed me on the left. I pulled into traffic and was on his tail again.

“Did you hear them talk?” I asked.

“No. They were too quiet.”

“Who was the guy?”

“I don’t know.”

“What did he give him?”

“I don’t know. An envelope. Sean gave the guy a piece of paper or something. I couldn’t see. I got a few pictures. I’ll send them to you.”

“Dammit.” It wasn’t good enough.

“I’m sorry. I tried.” Tallus leaned his head against the side window and fiddled with his phone. I felt mine vibrate in my coat pocket. “Sent.” Then he stayed motionless, squinting at the BMW’s taillights.

Something was wrong. Tallus’s vibe was off.

Sean ended up back at the harbor front and the vigil.

I parked in the same spot as before, and we watched him return to his parents and children. A quick scan didn’t turn up the other man we’d been curious about. Whatever had happened to him, I had a feeling we would never know.

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