over to her closet in the bedroom area. After putting a few things in a suitcase, she pulled out a large gym-style duffel bag and put it on the bed. Then she removed a small strong box from the top shelf, opened it, and tossed him a stack of used fifty-dollar bills wrapped with a rubber band.
“Catch.”
He did. “What’s this for?”
“You’ll need it.” She put on a light tan suede jacket and stuffed a few stacks of fifties and hundreds into the pockets before replacing the box in the closet.
“How much is here?”
“Should be five grand.”
“Five grand?” The money started to burn his hand. He had never seen so much green.
“It’ll go fast, so don’t get used to it.” She closed the closet door. “Let’s go.”
Barry grabbed his suitcase and followed her to the elevator. The chandelier’s lights slowly dimmed as the doors opened. When they stepped inside, the doors closed and the elevator descended into a downstairs parking garage.
Nurse Smith flipped a switch and several florescent light fixtures brightened the area containing a Dodge Charger Super Bee, a Harley Davidson motorcycle, and the best car he’d ever seen.
“Whoa!”
“Like it?”
“Is this what I think it is?” Barry knew they existed, but seeing one up close put his adrenaline into overdrive.
“It is.”
“An XKR Jaguar convertible, V8 engine, automatic transmission, with a front splinter, rear signature blade, air intakes, and twenty-inch kalimos gloss black alloy wheels. Price tag, $122, 000 dollars.”
“$124, 000,” she shot back. “How does a kid from the East side know so much about a Jaguar?”
“My dad and I used to talk about getting one. It drove Mom crazy.” Barry asked the big question. “Are we taking the Jag?”
Nurse Smith laughed as she hit a button on her key chain. The car alarm disengaged and the doors automatically unlocked on the Dodge. “In your dreams.”
Barry didn’t mind. He felt privileged to be in the same room with one. After placing their baggage in the trunk, they entered the vehicle. She plugged an address into the GPS system, started the car, and traveled down a long, winding, underground tunnel.
“Had no idea this was here. I thought the only tunnels in Fort Worth ran from downtown to the stockyards.”
“That and the utility tunnels around Throckmorton.” She pushed a button on what appeared to be a garage door opener above her sun visor.
“You won’t find this on any map.” A metal door rolled up and she drove the car through an abandoned sewer system underneath a warehouse on South Main Street. Another push of the button and the metal door closed.
“Jane, where are we going?”
She looked at him and smiled. “It’s Casey.”
“What?”
“Call me Casey,” she reminded him. “That’s my name and we’re going to Lubbock.”
“Why?”
“To find out where Kelly ran off to.”
“But the website said she went to Los Angeles.”
“I know it did.” She followed the instructions on her GPS. “And for her sake, I hope she didn’t.”
Chapter 6
Barry couldn’t sleep. His adrenaline kept him awake for the duration of their trip. The drive to Lubbock took almost six hours, traveling west on I-20 and then straight up highway 84 after passing Sweetwater. He found out they had at least one thing in common: Casey liked George Straight. She played his latest CD three times before switching to Van Halen.
Probably partied with them too, he thought to himself.
Barry never said a word during the trip, although he had questions and needed answers. Like, why she needed him to help search for her niece.
I’m not an investigator and I don’t have her skills. So what gives? he thought.
They arrived shortly before three a.m. and stopped at the Panhandle Resort. The hotel looked like it came right out of a commercial for Las Vegas.
“We’re staying here?” inquired Barry.
“I may be dead, but I have class.”
Before handing the parking attendant the keys, Casey cleared the GPS to make sure the information couldn’t be read. Next, she pulled a lever next to the driver’s seat and the trunk opened. The attendant guaranteed the car would be safe and offered to retrieve their luggage.
“We’ll get it,” she replied.
A couple minutes later, Casey and Barry were at the front desk with their bags. “Good morning, my name is Benjamin,” greeted the desk clerk. “How may I help you?”
“We’d like a room, please,” Casey informed him.
“Of course.”
“Is the Dallas Suite available?”
Benjamin used the touch-screen computer system with ease. “Yes, ma’am, it is.”
“Good. We’ll take it.”
“May I see your credit card, please?”
“We don’t need a credit card,” her facial expression became more intense.
“I’m sorry. Hotel policy: you must have a credit card or a debit card to rent a room,” he announced.
“You’re not listening.”
Barry observed for a second time in one night the extent of Casey’s powers.
“This is Barry McElroy, the CEO of McElroy Industries,” she spoke softly. “He’s stayed here numerous times before. You didn’t recognize him, because you’re tired.”
“I’m tired,” Benjamin mumbled.
“He’s going to give you his driver’s license; you’ll apologize for the confusion and then complete the registration.”
“Yes, I’ll complete the registration,” he repeated.
“Mr. McElroy always pays with cash.”
“Cash. Of course.”
Barry produced his driver’s license and placed it on the counter.
The desk clerk read Barry’s name and came out of his trance. “Mr. McElroy, I apologize, sir. I didn’t recognize you.” He nervously completed the registration process. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” he yawned.
“That’s all right . . . Benjamin.” Barry smiled.
“Will that be one night or two?”
“One.”
“Two,” Casey corrected him.
“Um, yes, that’s right. Two nights,” Barry agreed.
“Two it is.” Benjamin informed them of the price.
Barry’s eyes widened. “How much?”
“It’s okay, Mr. McElroy,” Casey enjoyed the surprise. “Pay the man.”
Barry remembered the stack of fifties he had. He removed the rubber band, counted out $800 and handed the bills to Benjamin, who produced a receipt and $20 in change. “You’ll be in room 926. Sign here, please.”
He signed the form and accepted