Haunted (Michael Bennett 10)

Dell Streeter stepped out onto his porch and performed an exaggerated stretch. He smiled and waved at Sandy. Then he looked more closely and saw me in the front seat. He casually came down the steps and across the yard to the car.

“Oh, great,” I muttered.

Sandy dutifully rolled down her window. Dell leaned down as if he were talking to a couple of his neighbors on their way to the grocery store.

“Howdy, folks,” said the Texan.

Neither of us answered.

Streeter said, “How funny is it that we kicked your asses the other day, and now you’re supposed to protect us? Life can be a hoot, can’t it?”

Sandy said, “Sometimes I just can’t stand how much fun it is.”

He looked past Sandy to me and said, “How about you, Mr. NYPD? Are you having a good day?”

I turned my head to face him and calmly said, “You know, Dell, guys who run their mouths too much always regret it later on.”

“I might agree with you, except the man I’ve tried to model my life after has proved too many people wrong about that.”

“Who have you modeled your life after?”

Streeter had a broad grin when he said, “Jerry Jones, of course.”

As soon as he said it, I had to agree. The answer was obvious.

Chapter 75

While sitting in the front seat of Sandy’s car, I dozed off. That’s not accurate. I fell asleep. Deep sleep. For some reason I was dreaming about the movie Jaws. I guess the boys’ little impromptu skit about fishing had stuck in my head.

I awoke to Sandy shaking my shoulder.

She said, “Jesus. I was about to check your pulse.”

“Sorry. You know how vacations can wear you out.” I looked around and wondered why she bothered waking me. “Is everything okay?”

“I don’t know. It’s just a feeling. There hasn’t been any activity at the house for a few hours. And I thought I saw a vehicle on the back road.”

“When did you see the vehicle?”

“About two hours ago. That’s when everything went silent.”

I looked around the yard and said, “I see Streeter’s pickup truck and the other two cars that were here before.”

Sandy said, “I have no idea how many cars are parked in the back or in that run-down barn. They could’ve used any of them if they wanted to sneak away.”

“Why would they sneak away? We’re protecting them. It’s not like we’re on a surveillance of the house.”

“I don’t know, but it makes me nervous.” Sandy’s ringtone was a pleasant chime. She picked the phone up off the seat and said, “Hey, Charlie, what’s up?”

All I heard from Sandy was a couple of “Uh-huh”s and a “No shit?”

She put down the phone and looked at me. “One of the men who was at the meeting last night was just shot outside a sports bar in town.”

“You think it could be connected to Dell Streeter? You think it might actually be Dell Streeter?”

Sandy said, “I can’t just sit here and guess. Let’s go knock on the door.”

“I don’t want to talk to that snot again. But if there’s a chance to make some kind of a case against him, I’ll do whatever you want.”