Ghost of a Chance

If he was right about why the glyph runewright and his friends had taken Leroy, Alex would need the help of the police to find him. Right now Alex was not their favorite person. If he wanted to have a chance of getting Leroy back to his wife alive, he would have to play a very careful game. He needed proof, or at least seriously compelling conjecture, in order to get the cops on board.

Of course, standing in the foyer waiting for Iggy, there wasn’t a single thing he could do about it.

It was frustrating, but Alex took a breath and resolved to wait for the evidence he needed. If he moved too soon, if he couldn’t convince the police that he was right, it would cost Leroy his life.

19 The Connection

Alex woke the next morning to his phone ringing. He knew that sound meant something important, but he couldn’t seem to wrap his head around it. Finally he managed to work up the energy to roll over and pick it up.

“Lo?” he slurred.

“Alex?” Danny Pak’s voice came out of the receiver at what seemed like an excessive volume level.

Alarms started going off in Alex’s head, but try as he might he couldn’t put together why he thought hearing Danny’s voice was important.

“You called me,” Danny reminded him. “About a missing Barton Electric truck?”

Synapses started firing and Alex sat up.

“I need a minute,” Alex said, then set the receiver down and poured himself four fingers of bourbon from the bottle on his nightstand. Downing it in one go, he felt the liquor burn its way down to his stomach.

Normally that would do the trick, but his head still felt like it was stuffed with wool. Whatever Dr. Kellin had done to the nerve tonic, it was making him sleep a little too soundly.

Alex forced himself to stand and staggered to the bathroom to splash cold water on his face. He tried not to look in the mirror at the dark circles under his eyes and the unkempt mop of white hair hanging down into his face.

You’re a train wreck, he thought.

Train!

Alex jumped as if he’d been jolted by a bolt of lightning. Tearing back into his bedroom, he scooped up the receiver and pressed it to his ear.

“Danny?” he said, trying not to yell.

“I’m still here,” his friend’s voice announced. “Were you asleep when I called?”

“Yeah,” Alex admitted, picking up his alarm clock and pressing it to his ear. The time read eight o’clock, but he couldn’t believe that was possible. The ticking of the clock told him it was.

“Rough night?”

“Rough week,” Alex said. “Did you find out about that truck? I expected you to call last night.”

“I got your message last night,” Danny said, “but I had to wait till this morning to contact the sergeant in charge of evidence at the abandoned factory. I just got off the phone with him and he said that there is a truck in there from Barton Electric.”

“Is it empty?” Alex asked.

“Yeah,” Danny said.

Alex let out a pent-up breath. So far, everything was lining up perfectly. If he was right, he might just have a chance to save Leroy, help Danny solve his case, and get paid double his fee. Not a bad day’s work.

“I didn’t have a Barton Electric truck on my list of stolen property,” Danny said. “How did you know about it?”

Alex started pacing, fully awake now.

“Andrew Barton asked me to find a stolen electric motor for him,” Alex said.

“But why did you think my thieves took it?”

“I’ll explain it all to you at the Central Office,” he said. “You’ve got to run this by Callahan as soon as possible. Can you meet me there in an hour?”

“Do you have a death wish?” Danny said with no trace of humor in his voice. “After that tabloid article yesterday, Detweiler has you on his shoot-on-sight list, and Callahan’s not far behind.”

Alex groaned. He’d forgotten about Billy Tasker of The Midnight Sun. Something would have to be done about that guy, but now wasn’t the time.

“That’s why I need you,” Alex said, thinking quickly. He had intended to let Danny bring his solution to Callahan and take the credit. Tasker burned that plan and now Danny might be risking his own career by helping. Alex hesitated for only a moment before continuing. “I need you to sell this to Callahan. Someone’s life is at stake, I can’t afford for the Lieutenant to give me the brush off.”

“Whose life is at stake?” Danny asked. “What aren’t you telling me?”

“Leroy Cunningham,” Alex said. “I promise I’ll tell you the whole story at the Central office. Meet me in the lobby at a quarter to nine.”

To his credit, Danny didn’t ask if Alex was putting him on. He just sighed and agreed to the meeting. Alex hung up with only a little trepidation. If his hunch proved out, Danny would get a very big notch in his belt. If he was wrong, though, he might lose his badge.

It was a tough spot in which he was putting his friend.

“Can’t be helped,” he said out loud, more to convince himself than anything. He peeled off his nightshirt and headed for the shower.