Page 97 of A Breath of Life
Kitty tittered. “Sounds marvelous. Adventures galore. You did say working in the records department bored you.”
“Yes, Kitty,truer words have never been spoken.” I coughed, emphasizing the importance of my final statement.
She fell silent, and I thanked god for her wise old brain. I’d presented as much about the case as I could while making it sound like an over-the-top joke, a chuckle, nothing serious. I was simply Tallus being his typical dramatic self.
The landline at the police department was monitored at all times for security purposes since a lot of nuts called the station, particularly in search of information on cases. I doubted anyone listened to recorded transcripts, but on the off chance I was wrong, I wanted the conversation to appear like regular banter among co-workers. The last thing I needed was to set off alarm bells and have the authorities knocking down my door asking questions.
Was it overkill? Maybe. Chances were, I could have spoken plain, and it wouldn’t have mattered, but Diem was worried, and the risks were too high.
Kitty might like to wear the mask of a senile geriatric, but under the surface, she was one of the most cunning people I knew. How she did it was anyone’s guess, but Kitty had ways of finding impossible information, and right now, that was exactly what we needed. Another set of eyes looking for Clarence wouldn’t hurt. An insider with the ability to help us track Ace.
Fuck Diem and his lone-wolf adventures. If he didn’t want me to play by my own rules, he shouldn’t have left me in a courthouse bathroom stall.
“Anyhoo,” I said, brushing off the story like it was nothing. “Never mind me. I’m actually calling because I forgot to leave you a note. Thatguy’s case file you were looking for. Clarence Audraine.” I emphasized the name. “It’s in your outgoing file. I called upstairs, and the people in charge said they needed the information compiled by the end of the day on Sunday. That’s the deadline. A weekend, I know, but we do as we’re told, am I right?”
“Ah, yes. We certainly do. No problem. I’ll work on that right away.”
“Thanks, Kitty. You’re the best. Since I’m up to my eyeballs in a pile of bear shit today, I might not get to my phone when you call. If that happens, call Costa. He’s taking my messages.”
“Will do.”
We hung up, and I pondered all I’d said, hoping Kitty caught the subtle clues. She was sharp as a tack, so I put faith in her and hoped she would find something useful.
Once off the phone, I cursed Diem for making me sit in a dirty bathroom while he escaped the eyes of his captors to hunt for their lair. He’d made me responsible for the card while he was gone so Ace and his cronies would believe him to be inside the courthouse.Nowhe trusted me with it.Now, when I didn’t want the fucking thing because it made my skin crawl. Oh, how the tides had turned.
I removed the encumbering object from its leather pouch to admire it with fresh eyes. It seemed less shiny and mesmerizing than the day we’d taken it off Clarence. The enthusiasm I’d carried out of the jewelry shop when Joshua had quoted us an astronomical price no longer existed. It was tainted, and all I wanted to do was dump it in the garbage and walk away like we were meant to.
I considered doing exactly that. How long until Ace’s guys found it? How long until they retaliated?
The minute these people discovered we were without the card, things could get dicey. Diem believed their threats, and I wasn’t aboutto put his nana’s life on the line. As it stood, the longer Diem was gone, the more suspicious they might be.
I hoped they didn’t send someone inside the building to hunt us down. It was why I was tucked away in a bathroom stall. Better to have them believe that I—Diem—was taking the world’s longest shit.
“Stupid card,” I mumbled, packing it inside its pouch.
I checked my phone. It was too soon for Kitty to have discovered anything, and Diem hadn’t texted. He’d been gone thirty minutes. On foot, it would take a while to scope the areas he planned to visit.
Sighing, growing more bored by the second, I pulled up a search engine, wanting to feel productive. But I didn’t know what to search for. Diem had studied the history of playing cards, specifically the ace of spades. What else could I do?
“Wait. Ace. Ace of spades.” I frowned. “A little on the nose.”
Shooting blind, I searched for local casinos. A handful appeared across the map, but they were all legal establishments. How did a person find illegal gambling organizations? It wasn’t exactly something a person could Google, but I had a feeling Diem’s buddy Ace was attached to something similar.
I clucked my tongue and froze when the bathroom door opened. Someone entered. Holding my breath, I waited and listened as they used the urinal and washed their hands. Before long, they exited, and I relaxed.
The card.
Illegal casinos.
How did I find illegal casinos?
Easy. I did what any smart PI did when locked in a courthouse bathroom under strict orders to stay put. I called my best friend.
“Bitch, save me. This day won’t fucking end. I’ve had a total of three customers since I opened the door at nine. Three people in five hours. Girl, I have resorted to playing solitaire.”
“Fitting. I have a gambling question.”
“Ugh. Go fish.”
