Never Look Back (12 page)

Rob studied the card. "A boat dealer. Wow. Never met one before."

Michael grinned. "It's pretty neat."

"Hey, thanks for helping me out. Do you think I can use your restroom before I leave?"

"Sure. As soon as you enter, make a right and you'll see the bathroom."

Rob stepped inside the house. The inside looked surprisingly modern compared to the outside. He pulled out his digital camera to snap photos real quick.

After they exchanged goodbyes, Rob hopped into the Range Rover and sped away. To the mic, he said, "I didn't see anything unusual, but that doesn't mean anything."

"How does he look?" Felicia asked.

"Seems like a charming man, mid-forties, brown hair, average height and built. He can blend in with a crowd."

"Thanks for cooperating with us, Rob," Agent Wayne said. "We'll let you know if we have any latest developments."

"A pleasure working with you, but like I said, I won't stop searching for Dana."

***

Kerry took a sip of water while Felicia peered out the window, which overlooked Michael Downey's house.

"Remind me again why we're at this dingy motel?" She asked.

Kerry mumbled, "If we find more clues about Downey, we can catch the next plane outta here. That will teach you to pack light."

"Yeah, yeah. Didn't Rob say there weren't any clues?"

Kerry groaned. "We need to double check."

Kerry and Felicia stepped out of the rented Corolla across Sarah Winter's house.

"Are you sure you got the right address?" Kerry asked.

"For the tenth time, when are you going to stop asking me that?" Felicia rolled her eyes.

"All right, I'll just let you do the talking."

Felicia skipped up the steps and rang the doorbell of the house down the street from Michael Downey.

A plump lady with dark hair popped outside. "Can I help you?"

"My brother and I are here for a wedding of Sheila Downey." Felicia paused. "We just got in from California, and we're not sure we have the right address."

Looking above, the woman said, "Not sure about a Sheila Downey, but we do have a new neighbor named Michael Downey who lives right there." She gestured her hand.

Felicia followed her gaze. "Looks pretty empty to me."

She shrugged. "I never met him. Seems to keep to himself all the time."

"Really? You don't think he's related to Sheila?" Kerry interjected.

"I'm not sure, and I don't think anyone is home." She stepped inside her home then came back with a bunch of letters. "Would you be so kind enough to do me a favor?"

"Sure," Felicia said.

"Can you give these to him? They mailman dropped them here by mistake."

"Sure," Felicia said and bid her goodbye. “She went over the mail.”

They walked back to the Corolla and climbed inside.

Felicia made a face. "What is it with people from small towns? Why are they so trusting?"

"Tell me about it." Kerry cleared his throat. "What if we were serial killers?"

"Should we knock at his house?"

"Let's try the other neighbors."

The agents walked to other side of the road and knocked on the door of the home on the corner.

A clean-shaven man with wind-swept hair greeted them. "Can I help you?"

"Oh, hi, you must be…" Felicia paused, as if gathering her thoughts. "We're looking for our cousin Sheila Downey. I'm not sure we got the right address."

The man studied them. "Don't know anybody by that name."

"Is this Twenty-One Cauliflower Street?" Kerry asked.

"It's the third house on your left."

"Do you know her?"

The man huffed. "Who are you, the cops?"

"We're going now." Kerry tugged Felicia. "Have a nice day."

As the two agents trotted down the street, Felicia asked, "How many more houses do we have to knock in?"

"One, his."

They surveyed the lakefront property. Kerry rang the doorbell and waited. When nobody came out, he tucked in the letters underneath the doorstep.

"Looks like he's neighbor is right, Michael doesn't seem to be around."

***

Vladimir watched the man and woman leave letters underneath his doorstep and waited until they left to put his phone make a call and put his phone on speaker.

"How's my favorite cousin?" Constantine asked in his cheery voice.

"Listen, I need you to check on this guy, David Benson, a realtor from Seattle."

"Are you planning to buy property there?"

Vladimir eyed the business card. "Nope, he appeared on my driveway. Slashed tire."

"Let me guess. You helped him."

"Too obvious if I didn't."

"Okay, will check on him. Is that all you need?"

He leaned toward the window. "Order me a hidden camera. The street has been busy lately."

"Right on."

Fuck!

Three months had passed since Dana moved to Albuquerque and she was finally getting used to her new life. While the library patrons were busy reading books, Dana surfed the internet. She typed in "Vla" then backspaced. How will she be able to find Vladimir if she didn't know where to look?

An ad for her favorite retail shop that sold black and white clothing flashed on the screen. Her mouth watered. If only she could buy a dress or two. Jake didn't make her pay anything at home with her humble salary and now that she left earlier than usual to pick up Molly from school, there was no way she could afford to buy these extravagant dresses.

But she did have her debit card number memorized. She clenched her hands as temptation tugged her intestines. Should she buy it?

What's one dress?
She accessed the Bank of America website and typed in her username and password. Her jaw dropped.
Why do I have more money than I had? Oh… The sale of Dad's house.
She switched back to the online shopping site and went on a shopping spree.

Sarah nudged her from behind. "So, you took my advice seriously."

Dana lunged her hand on her chest. "You scared me."

"I'm sorry."

Contemplating between pressing the purchase button, Dana stared at the screen.

"C'mon, buy it," Sarah dared. "You deserve it, you know that."

Flashing her a sheepish grin, Dana said, "I don't think I should."

"Silly, if you don't do it, I'll buy them for you."

Dana tapped Sarah's hand. "You don't need to do that for me."

"I insist."

"Sh." Dana placed her finger on her mouth as the patrons glanced at them.

Sarah whispered, "If you're scared that Jake will think you're overspending, you can have it delivered to my house and I can tell Jake I gave it to you." She winked.

A smile spread across Dana's lips. Little did Sarah know that Dana had bigger problems than that, but Sarah's solution seemed great. She needed to find a way to get her money and blamed herself for failing to discuss this with U.S. Marshall Collins and Adams. Her
hard-earned
money. "Sarah, you don't know how much that means to me. I will take your offer."

"Sure thing. I'll let you know when the package arrives."

***

After work, Dana lined up at the bank. As she reached the clerk, she handed over the check.

"Can I see your ID, Lucy?"

Digging inside her purse, she pulled out her fake driver's license and gave it to the clerk.

The clerk glanced at it and looked up at her. "Would you like to open an account with us? It will save you the trouble of—"

"That's all right. Can you please give me the cash?"

"Sure. You want them in twenties or hundreds?"

"Hundreds should be fine." She sighed. The cash she had was only one-tenth of what she really owned and she was looking forward to the clothes she ordered. Surely, U.S. Marshall Collins hadn't realized what these outdated clothes were doing to her self-esteem.

***

Jake stepped inside the house, holding a paper bag, while Dana and Molly were curled up on the couch watching cartoons that evening.

"You're early," Dana said.

"Thought I'd surprise you both. Let's go out to dinner tonight." He arched her a smile.

Molly insisted he carry her piggyback. He laid the bag on the couch and ran around the living room while Molly giggled. Moments like this got her all misty-eyed. She missed her father so much. She appreciated him more now that he protected her and wished she had visited him more often.

Jake bent down and released Molly. She continued to laugh as she smudged her nose against his.

"Daddy has to take a shower. Then we'll go to dinner at your favorite restaurant," he said and signed. Jake picked up the paper bag and pulled out a pink dress. "So you can wear this new dress."

Molly gave him a huge embrace then swirled around the living room, holding her dress.

Dana watched them in delight.

Locking eyes with Dana, Jake plucked out another dress and gave it to her. "I figured you were a size zero, but wasn't sure. We can return it in case you don't like it."

Dana studied the black and white dress and welled up in tears. "It's beautiful. Thank you. And yes it fits."
How could he possibly know black and white were my favorite colors?
She kissed him on the cheek.

Silence crossed between them before he said, "Let me take a quick shower so we can go."

She nodded, wiping the tears from her face.
How thoughtful of him. Maybe I shouldn't have gone in a shopping spree.

Jake excused himself while Dana tidied up the house. Molly had rushed to her room with her dress.

***

At the Italian restaurant, Dana twirled her spaghetti in silence. Wearing the dress Jake gave her made her feel beautiful again, something she hadn't felt in months. Her hair had grown a little bit above her shoulder, and some patrons threw her admiring glances. However, she was surprised Jake had shaved his beard. His eyes spelled gentleness and the sacrifice and love he bestowed his daughter melted her heart. But she couldn't get too close. This was only temporary till she got her old life back.

Her thoughts drifted back to her glamorous life at the catwalk. She missed the makeup artists polishing her face while the hair stylist worked wonders on her hair. When was the last time she got a manicure and pedicure done? Perhaps she would convince Sarah to have a girls' day out.

"Lucy, you okay?"

She morphed back into reality. "Yeah. Sorry."

"Is your food okay?" He eyed her spaghetti.

"Yeah, it's good."

"You haven't touched it."

She plunged the fork inside her mouth and chewed. "It's really good."

Molly was oblivious to them both as she colored while chewing her pizza.

Dana reached for her glass in time for Jake to rest his hand on hers. "I want you to be happy," he said.

She steadied her gaze then drank water. "Thank you."

From the corner of her eye, Dana spotted a tall man with a leather jacket looking toward them. She blinked.
This guy looks familiar. Where have I seen him before?

The man followed the waiter escorting him to a table.

Jake snapped his fingers. "Lucy."

"Oh, sorry." She flinched.

"Are you ready to go?"

"Sure." She took Molly's hand, and they exited the restaurant.

***

"Look at this, Vladimir," Towering high, Constantine looked down at him and pointed on the computer screen as he typed in codes. "Someone from New Mexico went on a shopping spree."

Vladimir fixed his glasses and bent down to check. "Now look at that, you hacker."

"Yeah. The press is making it appear that Dana Simmons is traveling in Europe, but somebody ordered clothes from The Black and White shop..." He Googled Dana Simmons. Images of the supermodel flashed on the screen. "Voila, this woman loves black and white."

Vladimir rubbed his chin. "Could be a coincidence."

"A coincidence? I don't think so. Do you think a supermodel like Dana could survive in a small town in New Mexico?"

Vladimir smirked. "Could be someone else trying to provide a distraction."

"What's the matter with you? You don't seem interested in finding her."

"Well, I could make some calls in their town and try to get him some leads."

Constantine glared at him. "You know that ain't a good idea. We need to do these ourselves. You can't be too obvious."

Vladimir took a big gulp of his coffee. "I understand how aggressive you can be since it's only your first year in the business. Wait until you reach twenty years, and you'll think it's the same shit and just another day."