Here I Am. Send Me.--Chapter Thirty-Six

Evelyn's all-nighter brings out a potential new clue.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

         The relief of taking his pain pills led to a few hours of deep sleep and, the following morning, Chris felt better as he pulled into the office at 8:30 and noticed Evelyn’s car already there. He made his way into the office, walked past her empty desk, and found her sitting in the small conference room with her right hand switching between clicking feverishly on her laptop and making notes in a pad next to her mouse. There was no steam rising from her coffee cup.

         After a quick rap at the door, he stepped in. “Is that the same shirt you were wearing last night? Did you go home?”

         She looked up. “Yes, it is. No, I didn’t. And, yes, I should have. But I found something.”

         He sat next to her and leaned in to see her screen. Her coffee breath would stop a car, but he maintained his position. She had over twenty windows minimized along the top of her computer screen. As she spoke, she opened the ones that proved her points.

          “The trucking company that Cal works for is Overland Haulers. It’s a small local shop and not part of a big conglomerate. It doesn’t have a website.”

         “A trucking company without a website? That’s odd. It seems that would be a business that would use the internet for everything.”

         “They have no digital footprint whatsoever. No social media. Nothing. The various internet yellow pages sites have them listed but there’s almost no information about them other than an address in Mount Juliet and a phone number. Then I checked a couple of chamber of commerce sites and found that Overland Haulers is not incorporated. Not even an LLC.”

         “What does that mean?”

         “That means that their legal footprint is almost as small as their digital footprint.”

         “But what does that have to do with Leyla or us?”

         “I don’t know. Nothing we found out yesterday explains why you and I were targeted. Until we figure that out, we may still be in danger and so might Leyla or Josey.”

         “And you think that Overland Haulers might be a key to figuring things out?”

         “I have no idea but we’re going to drive over and talk with them. See if we can get some kind of information about something... anything.”

         “Any chance of you getting some rest before we go?”

         She shook her head firmly. “No. The police are trying to get arrest warrants for Rachel, Courtney, and Cal today. After they arrest Cal, no one will answer any questions about him.”

         “How about going to your apartment, taking a shower, and changing clothes.”

         “We don’t have… Wait. Do I smell?”

         He grimaced slightly. “Not like a Spring morning.”

         “Oh. If you can stand to be in the car with me, we’ll head over to my apartment, and I’ll clean up and then we can head out to Mount Juliet.”

         He smiled his biggest smile. “That sounds like a plan.”

         She gathered up her laptop and notes and tucked them into her backpack as they headed toward the back door to see what company cars were available.

         Amanda’s voice stopped them in the hallway. “Where are you two going?”

         Evelyn tried to bluff her way through. “We’ve got a couple of minor things to wrap up on the Leyla case.”

         “Let’s step into my office.”

         “We can see you when we get back. It shouldn’t take long.” That was probably a lie.

         Amanda turned on her stern face. “Now.”

         They followed her through the office like two scolded children and then sat in the visitor’s chairs in front of Amanda’s desk.

         The older woman wrinkled her nose. “First question… which one of you smells?”

         Evelyn’s hand went up. “That would be me.”

         “I take it that you pulled an all-nighter which is why I found a detailed and completed report in my inbox this morning.

         Evelyn nodded.

         “According to the police department, the Leyla case is closed, and you closed it.”

         Evelyn had been mentally sidetracked by the focus on her body odor, so Chris handled this one. “There are still some things that don’t make sense. Evelyn and I are not one hundred percent sure that the child or her mother may not still be in danger.”

         “Which mother?” Amanda had read Evelyn’s report.

         “Josey Marshall.”

         “She’s in a protected environment.”

         Evelyn took over. “Leyla’s life is about to be completely turned upside down and we’re not even sure that we have all of the facts.”

         “Are you sure that we don’t have all the facts?”

         “I would like to find that out.”

         Amada was shaking her head. “It seems to me that we’ve already had a conversation like this one.” She pointed at Evelyn. “You have worked all weekend, been in a car accident, and not slept in probably over twenty-four hours.” She turned to Chris. “And you look like the practice dummy from a first aid class. Neither of you are in any condition to be working today. I’m sending you both home. Get some rest, let the police do their job, and we can discuss this again tomorrow morning.”

         Evelyn’s counter was half-hearted. “But…”

         “No buts. Go home and rest. You two have done outstanding work on this thing but it was not our work to do. The chief of police just spent ten minutes on the phone with me making sure I understood that you had overstepped while pretending to congratulate me on having such fine people on staff. Let’s just all keep our heads down for a couple of days and get back into our real jobs when you get back.”

         Evelyn bit back a bitter retort. “Fine.”

         Amanda turned to Chris. “And you?”

         “Be back here tomorrow. Got it.”

         Neither Evelyn nor Chris made eye contact with Amanda as they got up, left her office, and headed outside. They stopped next to Evelyn’s car.

         “We’re still going to the trucking company, aren’t we?” Chris queried.

         “Yes. And that’s just what we told Amanda. She’s not stupid. She just wanted personal deniability. We gave it to her. Welcome to the world of bureaucracy. Follow me over to your church and you can leave your truck there while we go to my apartment and I do something about this smell that everyone keeps bringing up.”

         He followed her out of the lot, still uncomfortable with the conversation with Amanda. The church lot had about thirty cars nestled near the office entrance—the staff and usual group of lay members attending meetings planning the various programs of the church. The retirees also hung out in the church on weekdays, playing board games, chatting, and snacking on the homemade treats that each had brought.

         Chris changed over to Evelyn’s car, and they crossed town to her apartment in Madison. He looked at the collection of buildings. “This is a big apartment complex.”

         “Yeah, they just finished it last year. It’s part of the mass immigration of the last few years. But it’s clean and puts a roof over my head.”

         “Do you want me to wait in the car?”

         She looked at him quizzically. “No. Of course not. Come on up.”

         Evelyn usually took the stairs but, although Chris was moving better today, she stopped and waited for the elevator. When they stepped inside, she nudged him with her elbow.

         “Hey.”

         He looked down at her, and she raised her lips toward his. They shared a quick kiss before the elevator stopped and let them off. It felt good to smile.

         When she opened the door to the apartment, Beth, of course, was sitting on the sofa staring at her computer. The roommate was in full make-up and dressed in business attire which meant that she had teleconferences. Evelyn held her fist up against her ear with pinkie and thumb extended in the universal symbol for are you on the phone?

         “Nah. I’m just checking metrics. Most of my…” Beth perked up when Chris followed Evelyn into the room.

         Evelyn decided that she would try the word out to see how Chris reacted. “Beth, this is Chris, my boyfriend.”

         Beth’s mouth dropped open. “Since when do you have a boyfriend?”

         “It’s a recent development. I’ve been told that I need to take a shower. Entertain each other, or stare silently into space, whichever feels more natural.”

         Beth looked at Chris and grinned. “I assume that you’re the reason that Evelyn didn’t come home last night?”

         He shook his head. “No. She pulled an all-nighter at work for a case we’re working on.”

         “That’s more like her. You two work together? Are you the one that I talked with on the phone?”

         “Yep. That’s me. It’s nice to meet you in person.”

         She looked at his still-bruised face and his bandaged arm. “Are you also the one that went to the emergency room?”

         “Me again.”

         “Are you a cop?”

         Chris couldn’t help but be pleased with her roommate’s perception of Evelyn as a workaholic with limited social and romantic life. But he kept his head in the conversation. “No, I’m a pastor.”

         “Like, in a church?”

         “Yeah, just like that. I volunteer with the Partners-in-Care program.”

         “I wasn’t aware that being a preacher was so dangerous.”

         “It has its moments.” He had been trying to for days to deliver a macho line. He nailed it.

         Beth laughed. “Yeah. Right.”

         Okay. Maybe he didn’t nail it.