Page 38
“You’re sure he meant the town?” Cheever asked, perplexed.
“I’m not sure of anything,” Jessy told him.
“Same here, unfortunately,” Dillon added.
“Coffee,” Sandra announced from the doorway. She came in with a tray holding four steaming cups of coffee and all the necessaries.
It took a minute for them to fix their cups, and then they sat back down and started talking again, with Sandra sitting on the sidelines trying to look invisible.
“I’ll be damned if I know what it means, either,” Cheever said, and looked at Dillon. “Why would anyone commit murder because of a ghost town?”
“I don’t know,” Dillon said. He certainly wasn’t about to tell Cheever that ghosts—including one with ties to Indigo—were real, or that he and Jessy both had ancestors who’d lived—and presumably died—in Indigo, since what that meant was still a mystery, as well.
Cheever sighed. “All right, both of you need to think. Do you remember anything about these guys that might help us find them? Tell us where to look for them?”
“Green,” Jessy said.
Cheever looked at her. “First Indigo, now green? I need something more than colors here,” he said wearily.
“The big one had green eyes,” Jessy said.
Dillon looked at her, surprised and pleased. He hadn’t noticed either man’s eye color, but then again, he’d been busy pulling them off Jessy, more concerned with how well they fought than what they looked like.
“The other guy, I don’t know…”
“There’s someone out there running all this, and I don’t think he’s as scary as he’d like to be. This is the second time he’s used drugs. LSD on Green, and ether just now with Jessy. He hires guys with real muscle, but he goes one better and drugs his victims. He doesn’t want to meet with resistance,” Dillon said.
“Great. I need to look for a rich guy with a drug problem in Vegas. That narrows it down,” Cheever said sarcastically.
“Bring in those limos,” Dillon said. “And do it soon. ”
“What the hell would I find in one of the limos at this point? Even if Tanner Green was in one of them, any evidence would have been sanitized away by now,” Cheever said.
“People miss things,” Dillon reminded him.
Cheever stared at him. “You’ve been in at least one of those limos, haven’t you?”
Dillon started to answer, but Cheever lifted a hand and cut him off. “Never mind. If you did something illegal, I don’t want to know. Which limo am I tearing apart first? And what should I expect to find? In your educated opinion, of course. ”
“A button,” Dillon said. “You know how easily buttons fall off. ”
Cheever rose, setting his coffee cup down. “Thank you,” he said to Sandra, and offered her his hand. “We haven’t been introduced. I’m Jerry Cheever. ”
“Oh, sorry. Sandra Nelson. It’s a pleasure—I think,” she said.
“I’ll get a car to keep an eye on Miss Sparhawk’s place,” Cheever said, turning to Dillon.
“She’ll be with me,” Dillon told him.
“Right. Well, I can get a car out here in—”
“That’s not necessary. They’re not going to come here, and even if they do, I have a few protective devices of my own. ”
Cheever groaned. “Yeah, I’m sure you do. Well, then, if you hear anything, call me…”
Sandra stood. “I have to get going, too. I have a teenager waiting for me,” she explained to Dillon.
“We’ll get you home,” Dillon assured her.
“I can take you,” Cheever said. “If you’d like. ”
“Yes. ” Sandra looked at Jessy, then walked over and reached for her hands. “You’re sure you’re okay? You know I’d stay, but Reggie will be home alone. ”
“Go. It’s fine, honestly, and thank you. ”
Dillon and Jessy walked with Cheever and Sandra to the door, where Sandra paused to give Jessy a hug and look questioningly into her eyes one more time.
“Sandra!” Jessy laughed. “I’m fine, and I’ll see you tomorrow. ”
Sandra and Cheever left at last, and Jessy and Dillon turned to look expectantly at each other. But before either of them could speak, they heard the clink of spurs.
Ringo walked into the entryway from the hallway that led to the bedrooms and office.
“Where have you been?” they demanded in unison.
“Sorry to be late, but I was following your man Green until I heard what was going on with Jessy,” Ringo said. Hands on his hips, he stared at them for a minute, then shook his head in disgust that was clearly aimed at himself. “I thought it was important to know what he was doing when he wasn’t stalking Jessy. And you—” He looked at Dillon. “You didn’t tell me to stick with her like glue. You never said that. ”
Dillon gritted his teeth, seething with anger at himself. He’d known Jessy was in danger. He’d known it in his gut, and he had left her alone anyway.
It wouldn’t happen again.
Jessy was staring at Ringo. “So—where did Tanner Green go?” she asked.
“Now, that’s the odd thing,” Ringo said. He walked over to the sofa and sat down comfortably, resting his arms on the back of the couch and resting one booted foot on the opposite knee. He stared at them for a long moment and then said, “The craps table. ”
“And…?” Dillon persisted. “What did he do at the craps table?”
“He watched it for a while. Didn’t try to touch anything, didn’t interfere. He just stared at it, looking really sad. ”
“And that’s all he did?” Jessy asked.
Ringo shook his head. “After a while he went to the penthouse elevator. He couldn’t make it work. Eventually one of Landon’s people came down, and he got in when they got out. You need a key card to make it go up, though. ”
“Wait,” Jessy said. “Tanner Green couldn’t just…um, materialize up there?”
Ringo shrugged. “Green’s only a novice ghost. He knows he’s dead by now, but he hasn’t accepted it, and he isn’t dealing with it very well. I don’t know what powers he’s figured out yet. I know I wandered around Indigo for a few years before I even learned to travel any distance. ”
“So?” Dillon asked, interrupting impatiently. “What happened then?”
“He just stood there in the elevator. I think he sees me but doesn’t trust me. Anyway, I hung with him a while, and then made my way back here. Turned on the television and saw what had happened, then heard you coming, so I turned off the television—and listened while you guys talked to that cop. I’m so sorry I wasn’t there to help when you needed me, Jessy. ”
“You should have pushed the button and followed him up to Landon’s place,” Dillon said.
“I told you. It needs a key card, and I didn’t have one. The only way I’ve ever been up there was on my own power, and that wouldn’t have helped Tanner any. Plus, with him refusing to see me, I couldn’t explain to him how to get up there. ”
“Right, sorry,” Dillon said.
“Whatever Landon is up to, he’s careful. I didn’t see anything but business going on in that suite when I was up there,” Ringo said. “I may not be much of a spy, but I am a damn good ghost. ” He looked at Jessy. “And I’ll prove it to you. I won’t leave your side again until this whole mess is over. ”
“It’s all right, Ringo,” Dillon said. “I plan to be with Jessy. ”
“You can’t be with her all the time,” Ringo said, then looked at them and started laughing. “Okay, let’s not go that route again. I don’t intrude in the bedroom or the outhouse. But I’ll be with you everywhere else, and I won’t fail you. ”
“Maybe Green was in the suite before he died. Drinking spiked drinks with his boss before going for a ride,” Dillon said.
“Maybe, maybe, maybe—we need something that isn’t maybe
!” Jessy said forcefully, then looked at Dillon. “I need fresh clothes and some dinner,” she told him, smiling suddenly, as if she hadn’t been in mortal danger just a few hours earlier.
She stopped speaking and stared across the room, then said softly, “Dillon, look. ”
He turned. Fading in and out as he sat in one of the wingback chairs by the fire was Tanner Green.
“It’s all right, Mr. Green. Please, don’t leave,” Jessy entreated.
Dillon kept his own voice low and calm, “Tanner, we’re trying to help you. Everyone in this room wants to help you. ”
But Tanner Green faded away, despite their pleas. They all stared at the chair as the seconds ticked by, but Tanner didn’t reappear.
“Why won’t he stay?” Dillon murmured.
“He’s trying. It’s just not as easy as you’d think,” Ringo said.
Clancy woofed suddenly, and Dillon frowned, listening. Finally he heard what the dog had already sensed: a car coming down the street and pulling up in front of the house.
In the police car, Sandra tried to pull herself together, but she couldn’t help feeling as if she’d let Jessy down.
“It’s all right, Ms. Nelson,” Cheever said when she confessed her guilt to him. “No one can know ahead of time that this kind of thing is going to happen. ”
“I should have been with her,” Sandra said.
“Think about it. Even if you’d been there, what chance would two women have had against two trained thugs?”
“It’s just all such a mess. I mean, poor Jessy. First a guy just ups and dies on her, and now she’s in danger herself,” Sandra said.
“You’ve got to stop worrying or you’re going to make yourself sick. Dillon’s with her, and he seems pretty capable of protecting her. Now, how about some directions so I can get you home?”