8 Bodies is Enough(48)
“Okey-dokey.” He ended the call and pulled his hand down his face. He was a dead man. He let the realization sink in for a few seconds, then punched in Meg’s number.
“Hey, you said one call,” the guard sputtered through a mouthful of chocolate.
“Five minutes,” Wes said, then extended a Milky Way through the bars.
The guy snatched it. “Two minutes.”
He was planning to leave a voice message, but to his surprise, she answered.
“This is Meg.”
“Hi…it’s Wes.”
“This isn’t your number.”
“Lost my phone,” he lied.
“Ah. Well, when I saw it was a Vegas number I thought it might be you calling.”
He grinned. “You did?”
“Yeah. I miss you a little bit.”
He grinned wider. “You do?”
“Don’t let it go to your head. I miss RadioShack, too, and it wasn’t so great.”
He leaned back against the bars. “So you like the bracelet, huh?”
“Yeah. It’s nice.”
“Nice enough for a second chance?”
“Hm…we’ll see. Don’t get your hopes up.”
“I won’t.”
“When do you get back?”
“Soon,” he lied.
“Maybe I’ll see you.”
“Yeah, maybe.”
“Gotta run,” she said. “But I’m glad you called. Put a quarter in a slot machine for me.”
“I will,” he said. “Bye.”
Wes ended the call and handed the phone back to the guard. “Thanks, man.”
“That must’ve been some phone call. You look drunk.”
“I have a date. With a girl I’m crazy about.”
The man scoffed. “A date? You’re not getting out of here, Money Man.”
Wes sighed. “Yeah, there’s that.” And if he ever did, Leonard would be waiting for him.
Chapter 20
JACK AND LIZ SEEMED as taken aback as Carlotta, and for a few seconds, everyone froze.
Liz recovered first. “Carlotta…what a surprise.”
“Hi, Liz…Jack.”
“Hi, Carlotta,” he said, looking pretty uncomfortable considering he was dressed down in jeans and black T-shirt. Liz was dressed casually, too, in a dress that emphasized her growing baby bump. Jack’s gaze immediately went to Priscilla. “Who’s this?”
“I’m Priscilla,” the girl said, staring up at Jack with a look Carlotta recognized as pure female fascination.
“Priscilla is a friend,” Carlotta said quickly. “The daughter of a friend, actually.”
“Nice to meet you, Priscilla. I’m Jack, and this is Liz.”
“Hello,” Liz said with a tentative smile, as if she were afraid Priscilla would bite.
“Are you a lumberjack?” Priscilla asked Jack.
He squatted down to be on her level. “No. I’m a policeman.”
“Can I see your badge?”
He chuckled, then pulled out his wallet and showed her his shield.
“Wow,” she breathed.
He opened his wallet and pulled out a sticker of a gold shield with space for a name. “You can have this if you like.”
She nodded happily.
He pulled a pen out of his pocket. “How do you spell your name?”
“You can call me ‘Prissy.’ P-R-I-S-S-Y.”
The little flirt. But the girl seemed to have found an admirer in Jack. Carlotta was fascinated to see him interact with a child, and was surprised how much at ease he seemed.
He wrote Prissy’s name in block letters and handed the sticker to her.
“Thank you,” she said with a gap-toothed grin.
Carlotta knew the instant Jack recognized the telltale family trait. He pushed to his feet and gave Carlotta a questioning look, but she pretended not to notice.
“Carlotta,” Liz said, “have you had a chance to talk to Wesley?”
“I tried today. Hard,” she added, referencing Liz’s text. “But he wouldn’t see me.”
“Are you having a baby?” Priscilla blurted, staring at Liz’s stomach.
“Yes, I am.”
“Is it a boy or a girl?”
“Actually,” Liz said, smiling up at Jack, “it’s a boy. We just found out.”
A zing of envy barbed though Carlotta’s chest, but she kept smiling. “Congratulations,” she said, and found she meant it. Jack would love having a boy.
He inclined his head in thanks.
“Are you two married?” Priscilla asked.
Carlotta winced inwardly. But she had to admit it was a little satisfying to see Jack squirm.
“No,” he said. “We’re not married.”
Priscilla looked up at Carlotta. “See? I told you, you don’t to be married to have a baby.”