Nate leaned his forearms on the bar. “So maybe Asa talked me into one last favor. One. Then I’m out.”
A flash of gold accompanied Benny’s grin. “Of course he did.”
“I only agreed because my cut of the bond will be big enough to see me through figuring out the next chapter of my life.”
Benny grunted. “Big bonds mean big crime.Which means big danger.”
“Nope, strictly white collar. Some chick got caught ripping off her boss, then skipped out on a two-fifty bond.”
“Ouch. A quarter-mil must have had Asa spitting bullets.”
“And worse. In any case, she hasn’t done a half-bad job of covering her tracks.”
Benny arched a shaggy eyebrow. “You sound impressed rather than annoyed. Pros always give me gas.”
“She’s no pro. Still, her credit card trail dead-ended, so now I’m canvassing known associates.” Nate straightened up when a brunette with an upswept hairdo and a tight skirt swished her way over to the booth in the rear. “One of whom just showed up.”
“You know the bitch has probably left the country. By now she’s sipping Mai Tais on a beach in Cabo.”
Nate watched the woman, who appeared to be strung as tight as a piano wire, chew nervously on a manicured thumbnail while she pressed her cell phone to her ear. She spoke in hushed, worried tones.
Benny slid a glance over where Nate was looking. “You want some backup? Women are trouble in high heels. And you’ve got the wild look of a man who hasn’t been laid in far too long.”
Didn’t he know it.
“No thanks, Benny. I think my luck might be about to change.”
“Watch your ass.”
Nate grabbed his beer and sauntered casually to the next booth over. When she sat with her back to him in the adjoining seat, he almost wanted to cheer. Personally, he’d have opted to sit facing the door so guys like him couldn’t get the drop.
A drink server wearing a bowtie and half-apron strode up and greeted the woman by name. Valerie ordered the house special, an apple martini, while Nate slid noiselessly into the seat behind her. The server left to put in her order, and she went back to her call. Meanwhile, Nate punched up a few buttons on his own cell phone and set it close enough to her to record the conversation he hoped might involve a certain missing bail skip.
He wasn’t disappointed.
He twisted around enough to notice Valerie shrug off her coat, and her perfume wafted over the back of the booth while he did his best to appear to the casual observer that he was innocently sipping his beer, not stalking the woman whose conversation he was eavesdropping on.
“No,” Valerie was saying to her caller. “No one has contacted me about you yet. It’s making me nervous. Although I suppose I should be grateful.”
Bingo, he thought. He slipped a hand inside his sport jacket and pulled out a small notepad and pen.
While Valerie listened to a response he couldn’t make out, he flipped open the pad and jotted down the date, time and location.
“Don’t worry about Angel. She’s fine.”
He frowned and wrote the name down. Who was Angel?
“She hates catnip, by the way. I tried bribing her with it to get her in the cage. I’ve never heard of a cat who doesn’t like catnip.”
He scratched out the name. Okay, so Angel was a pet. And Valerie was a good enough friend to cat-sit while its master skipped town.
“Have you decided what you’re going to do?” Valerie went on.
More talk followed that he couldn’t make out. Clearly there was a female voice on the other end, and there was no doubt in Nate’s mind that the voice belonged to his bond jumper, Lydia Jane Franklin. But Nate couldn’t make out more than an occasional word or an “uh-huh”.
“But is that enough evidence to turn this around? And what if you lose the documents?”
Valerie shook her head to whatever answer came to that, and another waft of intense perfume hit him. “I just can’t imagine what you’re going through, Ly. I’m sorry I can’t be there with you.”
Where’s there, he urged in his head. Just say where. Still, he probably wouldn’t get any more. Now that he knew she had the inside scoop, however, he would just have to see how much he could wring out of her using the direct approach.
“The day after tomorrow is your birthday. You remember our agreement, right? Good. Make sure you do it. And you know what? I’m going to send you a special present.”
Nate heard the “What? No!” through the phone as clear as day.
“Trust me, you’ll want this gift,” Valerie said. “Consider it a little nod to old times.” There was a pause, and she sighed. “I miss you too. I can’t wait until this nightmare is over. And it will be. It has to work out.”