Page 28 of Astrid
“Okay,” Astrid said as she jumped to her feet, and when she felt the tingle of excitement for some action coursing through her veins, she hurried up to her room to change out of her sweats, and into a pair of jeans and a nice shirt. In under fifteen minutes she was making her way out to the garage, and paused when someone called her name. She frowned as she looked up and saw John striding toward her.
“What’s up?” Astrid asked when she saw he was dressed in clean clothes, and held a briefcase in his left hand.
“I’m on my way to meet with a potential new client. Want to go with?”
“Sorry, but I have to go out and check something out.” She took a step back from him when his face clouded over. “It’s my job, John. Don’t be getting pissy with me, because I’m doing my job.” She ended up crossing her arms over her middle, and glared at him.
John ran his hand through his hair, and nodded. “Right.” Then, he turned and headed toward the garage. Astrid frowned, but didn’t follow him until one of the overhead doors had opened, and his truck pulled out. Only then did she start forward. Thirty minutes after John left, she was strapped into the black Jeep, and with the address programmed into the GPS system, she headed to her destination.
* * *
Five hours later,Astrid sat in a local diner nursing her water, and waiting for her meal to be delivered. When she’d been checking out the address given to her, she’d called Morgan back, and asked exactly what she was supposed to be looking for. After getting her information, she’d done some surveillance of the surrounding areas, and didn’t see much of anything. She’d called into Morgan and reported in, then said she was going to lunch.
When the tiny set of bells above the door rang, she looked up and sat straighter. Three men just walked in, and she happened to recognize them from being the first three men from a few days ago when she’d gone with Alan out to Neil Mason’s house. These three were the ones that’s first greeted them, and had taken their phones from them.
The men’s appearances hadn’t changed any since the last time she saw them, and it took everything in her not to gag when the man in the lead still had tobacco juice in his beard. Astrid was sitting at a table designed for two, which was a good thing, in the middle of the restaurant, which was a bad thing. The three men looked at her, then the one in the lead abruptly stopped, and as the ones behind him ran into him, he quickly ducked into the booth directly across from Astrid. She was distracted when her burger and fries were delivered just then, and the waitress went over to the new arrivals. In no time she had their order. From overhearing their conversation, it seemed like the men were regulars there at the diner.
Tobacco Man, the name Astrid called him in her head looked over at her and smiled. Astrid was taken back by the whiteness of his teeth. She never would have suspected it, based on the grossness of his beard. As she studied him closely, she realized that he wasn’t anything that she’d thought he would be. Shaking her head, she picked up her burger and began to eat. No one said a word until after their meals were delivered, and Astrid was almost done with hers.
That was when Tobacco Man spoke to her for the first time, “Do I know you?” He frowned at her.
“Nope,” Astrid said, trying to be quick, then a thought came to her. This would be the perfect opportunity for her to get answers on Neil Mason, or Nelson Carter. Maybe these three might even know of people from the Cartel and the mob. When Tobacco Man continued to stare at her, she frowned. “Actually, now that I think about it, we did meet a few days ago.”
“Where?” he barked out, ignoring the burger in his hands and the condiments that were dripping onto his fries on the plate. He continued to glare at her, and for some reason, Astrid wasn’t afraid.
“My first day of work was when I went with my boss to talk to someone about putting in a set of kitchen cupboards.” Astrid leaned toward them, and the three of them leaned toward her, and she whispered, “You three were at the entrance and took our phones. You were holding guns.” She sat back and watched the expressions flit across their faces. Not one of them seemed shocked by her revelation.
“Oh, well, sorry about that, just doing our job,” Tobacco Man said as he set his burger down, picked up several napkins, and wiped his hand before he held it out to her. “Griff.”
“Grit?” Astrid asked, purposedly mispronouncing.
The man grinned at her. “No, Griff, as in Andy Griffin, you know, from Mayberry?”
Astrid shared in the laugh, and shook the hand she still held. “Jane.”
“Nice to meet you, Jane, this here is Paul, and Harry.” Griff introduced the other two men, and the vibes Astrid were getting was that they were good guys. Before she could say anything, Griff squeezed her hand, and asked, “So, you want to go out sometime?”
Taken aback, Astrid thought fast, and smiled regretfully. “Unfortunately, when you saw me, that was my first day on the job. I have yet to get unpacked and everything turned on in my name. My boss is a tyrant, and I’ve been working long hours.” When she saw disappointment on his face, she again thought fast. “Why don’t you give me your number, and I’ll call you when I get settled. It should only be for a couple more days.” She bit her lip, and held her breath, not knowing whether it shocked her or not when he grabbed a napkin and wrote on it. He smiled at her when he handed it over to her.
“I put Paul and Harry’s numbers down too, maybe you have a couple friends that we could all hook up with?”
Astrid immediately thought of Joyce and Ava, but before she said anything, she looked up when the bells above the door tinkled again, and didn’t know if she should be mad or glad when John walked in. However, her feelings turned to indifferent when she realized he had another woman with him. Ignoring the newcomers, she nodded to the men across the aisle from her. “Thanks, I do have a couple of friends that might be able to join us. Can you wait a week or so until I get settled?”
“Absolutely,” all three men said at the same time. They resumed their eating, then Griff scowled when his phone when off. He answered it and only gave non-committal responses. As soon as he hung up, he swore quietly beneath his breath.
“Let’s go,” Griff said as he grabbed a napkin, wiped his mouth, then stood, tossing some bills on the table. The other two men did the same thing, and as soon as they left, Astrid waited for several minutes, then took a napkin from the dispenser on her table, hurried over to theirs, and picked the three napkins with their DNA on, and wrapped them in one, shoving it in her pocket. She looked up into John’s eyes, and only shrugged when he stared at her with wide eyes.
Instead of tossing bills on the table, Astrid picked up her check and went to the counter, frowning at John as she went by, and the woman with him happened to reach out at that moment and put her hand over John’s. Astrid didn’t catch what they were saying, but she glared a John, then paid her bill and left the restaurant, not knowing if she should wait for an explanation from him, or go off on him as soon as he got home. Sighing deeply, she climbed into her Jeep, and made a quick decision. She left the parking lot in such a hurry that she didn’t see John stood in the entrance to the restaurant looking at her.
CHAPTER13
“May I help you?”a young man that didn’t look over the age of twelve asked Astrid as she strode into the local police department. Because he wore a police uniform, she knew he had to be older than he looked, but it was hard to wrap her head around it.
“Sheriff Erwin in?” Astrid asked from halfway across the room.
“Yes, just a minute.” The man stood, and strode toward her, then took a quick right away from her. Astrid watched as he strode down a short hall, and disappeared through a doorway. In under two minutes he was back, shaking his head.
“Go on back, Tom will see you.”
