Riptide (Sam McRae Mystery 3)

I paused before answering. I wasn’t sure how much to share. And why was she asking?

“I’ll just keep looking around and talking to people.” A suitably vague answer that seemed to satisfy her.

“Well, if there’s anything else I can do for you, feel free to call,” Amber said. She pulled a card and a pen from her shoulder bag. “Here’s my cell number. You can reach me on it anytime.”

*****

As I drove away, my thoughts returned to Curtis Little. Who was the Spanish-speaking woman who answered his door?

Curtis was supposed to be Billy Ray’s closest friend. Perhaps he’d worked as an unofficial recruiter for Bower Farms. Could he also be working with Dwayne Sutterman, smuggling drugs from south of the border along with farm workers?

If Curtis and Billy Ray had a falling out, it could have jeopardized their illegal activities. These things happened all the time. One bad guy would turn against the other. The possibility of blackmail or extortion was ever present in such relationships. So much for honor among thieves.

These scenarios were only possibilities, but ones I needed to explore.

*****

I ran by Curtis’s trailer again, but no one answered my knock. It was getting late and I was tired. I decided to call it a day.

As I left the trailer park, I heard an old car cough to life. I turned onto the highway and headed for Ocean City as a beat-up green Chevy lumbered onto the road behind me.

Dusk was setting in and headlights were snapping on. The Chevy’s headlights shone at odd angles, making the car look walleyed. It made no move to overtake me. Nor did it lose distance. It stayed roughly three car lengths behind me.

As I hit the traffic waiting at the Route 50 drawbridge, I saw the car was still back there. The darkened windows allowed no view inside.

“Coincidence?” I muttered. “Probably.” Lots of people took Route 50 into town everyday. Even so, my heart hammered.

Traffic started moving. After we’d crossed the bridge, I turned right and glanced in the rear view mirror. The green Chevy followed.

I hung a quick left down a side street. An impulsive move, but a good test. At first, I thought I’d lost him. “Silly,” I said, shaking my head. Then, the car appeared in my mirror again.

When I reached the highway, I hung another left, then immediately pulled into a parking lot and tucked the car in behind a building with a high fence shielding it from the side road. I waited and watched, hoping they wouldn’t catch on.

The Chevy passed by the entrance I’d taken. They had no clue what I’d done. Either that or I was imagining things.

I realized I was holding my breath and exhaled with relief. I took a moment to close my eyes and relax my shoulders, which were grazing my earlobes.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

I sat in the shadows, recovering my composure. Was I being ridiculous? Or had I been followed?

My phone jangled to life. My eyes snapped open, and my head nearly hit the ceiling.

The caller ID said it was Jinx. Ignore or take?

The phone rang again. Finally, I answered.

“Yes, Jinx.”

“Have you decided?”

“Fine, thank you. How are you?”

“Waiting to hear back.” Jinx sounded annoyed. She didn’t seem to get the joke. What a surprise.

“That’s because I haven’t made a decision.”

A long dramatic pause. The kind babies make before they start screaming. To Jinx’s credit she didn’t do that.