Motor Mouth
off, he’s going to be an orphan.”
Five minutes later, we were all stretched out on the pool table.
TWELVE
Hooker, Beans, and I were awake but still on the pool table when Ralph staggered past us on his way to the kitchen.
“Morning,” Ralph said.
I looked at my watch. Six thirty. I had no good reason to get up, but I was uncomfortable enough not to want to stay where I was. I crawled over Hooker and wriggled myself clear of the bumper. I expected Ralph to make coffee and pause for breakfast, but he ambled through the kitchen and out the back door. He got into a truck parked in his small backyard and drove off without a backward glance.
Hooker came up behind me. “Ralph’s not a morning person. He sleeps in his clothes so he doesn’t have to decide what to wear when he rolls out of bed.”
“No shock there. Do you think he’s got coffee?”
“Ralph’s only got beer and takeout.”
I felt my shoulders slump. I really wanted coffee.
Hooker hugged me to him and kissed the top of my head. “I can see you’re crushed by that news. Never fear. You take a shower, and Beans and I will go out and get coffee.”
“Do you think it’s safe to take a shower in there?”
“Sure. Just leave your socks on.”
When I came out of the bathroom, Hooker had hazelnut coffee waiting for me. My favorite. Plus a fruit cup and a bagel with lite cream cheese. Not subtle, but thoughtful. He’d also bought newspapers.
“‘Body found inside championship race driver’s million-dollar motor coach,’” I read. “‘Police are withholding information until relatives can be notified, but sources close to the driver say the deceased was part of the Huevo race team. The body was discovered as the result of a bizarre seventeen-car crash in which the motor-coach driver fled on foot and then stole a car from an innocent bystander. The motor coach was heavily damaged in the crash.’”
Hooker sipped his coffee. “Does it say anything about the driver? Has he been identified?”
I read through the article. “He hasn’t been identified, but they give a reasonably good description of him. It says he was limping and thought to be injured. The car he stole hasn’t been found. At the end, there’s a quote from Spanky where he accuses you of masterminding the entire disaster.”
“Nice. I wish I could mastermind us
out
of the disaster.”
“I was counting on you to have a clever plan.”
“I’m out of plans. I’m at a dead end.”
“What about beating the crap out of people?”
“Turns out, it doesn’t entirely work. And it’s embarrassing because you’re better at it than I am.”
“Here’s part of the problem. It would be better if Ray had done the actual killing. Eventually, Rodriguez would have ratted Ray out. Unfortunately, there’s no reason for Ray to feel sufficiently threatened to talk to the police about Rodriguez.”
Hooker’s phone rang, and I looked at my watch. It was early in the morning to be getting a phone call.
“’Lo,” Hooker said. “Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh. Thanks, but I’ll take care of that myself.” He disconnected and grinned at me. “The Lord works in mysterious ways, darlin’.”
“Now what?”
“That was Ray Huevo. And he sounded…nervous. He wants the chip from the gearshift knob. Said maybe we could work something out. He wanted to fly us down to Miami so we could negotiate in person, but I declined. I didn’t think it was healthy to get on Ray’s private plane.” Hooker tapped a number into his phone. “I need a favor,” he said. “I need a ride to Miami.”
I mentally cracked my knuckles until he disconnected. “Nutsy?”
“Yeah. He said the police are watching the airport in Concord. He suggested we drive to Florence and catch his plane there. No one will think to watch Florence. It’s a three-hour drive, so we should get moving.”
I called Felicia from the road. “We’re coming back to Miami,” I said. “I was wondering if we could stay with you again? And it’s a secret. We don’t want anyone to know we’re there. We’re trying to keep a low profile.”
“Of course you can stay,” Felicia said. “My neighbor’s boy will be so excited to see Hooker again. And my cousin Edward was out of town last time. I have to go buy hats to get signed. I have a list.”
Hooker glanced over at me when I disconnected. “She’s not going to tell anyone, right?”
“Right.”
Two hours out of Concord, Hooker’s phone rang and he did a
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