Worked to Death (Working Stiff Mysteries Book 2) (17 page)

"Oh my stars and garters." —Things We Say in the South

"Yay. I'm glad you're here. Could you give me and Page a ride over to Sundae's shop?" I grabbed Paget by the hand as I walked by and pulled her down the steps.

I didn't wait for him to answer but slid into the front seat of the cruiser with Paget before shutting the door behind me.

Ty was still standing outside the car, but finally sat back inside and looked over at us—the picture of innocence.

"What in the world are you doing?" he finally asked.

"Well, Stella is not here, and we need a ride. Do you mind?" I asked, looking in his rearview mirror, expecting Cletus to pull up and block us in the driveway any minute.

He let out a long sigh before finally cranking the car and backing out of the driveway.

"I came to talk to you about all this business with Colin," he said and cut his eyes at me.

I kept looking straight ahead. I wasn't sure what all he knew about what was going on, but I had this idea that he and Colin had started working together sometime in the last day, and I was a little irritated about that for some reason.

"Let me guess, you're working with him on this Mr. Brown thing, and you stayed over at Allyson's last night to keep a close eye on her. Does that about sum it up?" My smart mouth couldn't stop itself.

He looked over at me, then back at the road, and then back at me.

I turned to face him. "Would you please keep your eyes on the road?"

He put on his turn signal and turned into the parking lot of Mane Street Styles. I was prepared to make my escape as soon as the tires rolled to a stop.

"We need to talk and not…now." He pulled the car into the lot and shifted into park. He motioned with his head to Paget, who was biting her nails and staring at the buttons and switches that were covering Ty's dashboard. She was probably counting them or something.

"Let's chat later. We have an appointment." I scooted out of the car, and Paget followed.

"Mandy, please." His voice was strained. His face matched his tone.

I took a deep breath.

"Paget, go on inside, and tell Sundae that I'll be right there."

She didn't argue, just marched up the stairs and inside the shop.

I leaned back inside the car and waited. "What is it Ty?"

"I don't know how you've gotten involved in all this, but it is nasty business and has almost gotten you killed not once but twice in the last day." He recapped the story of my life.

"Tell me something I don't know." My sarcasm was evident, and I thought I detected a small flinch in his face.

"Look, I don't want you involved in this, but Brooks says he may need you to wrap this up and bust this whole thing wide open. He may have to bring you in to snag the big fish and bring down this huge federal case he's been on for months. I think…I think you've been through enough." He looked at me, green eyes digging into my heart.

I stared into his eyes and tried not to feel a little love and compassion for him. But I couldn't help it. I did care for him. Not a mad, passionate love. But something that might not ever fade. He'd always protected me—well, except for that one time in high school—but he'd mostly always been there for me, and it seemed that old habits died hard.

"Ty, I thank you. And I don't want to be involved any more than you want me not to be involved. But let me talk this through with Colin. If he feels he needs me to wrap it up and if I can get these people out of our lives and our town—I might have to consider it." Gosh, I sounded really grown up and reasonable just now. I wasn't sure where that came from.

The door to the shop opened, and Sundae peeked out. She saw Ty and me and slammed the door, the bell above the door ringing in her wake.

"I've gotta go. Sundae and Paget are waiting on me."

Ty blew air out of his upturned mouth, and it made the hair over his forehead fan out. "Mandy, things haven't been easy for you since you came home. I don't know how you always end up in the middle of stuff, but I wish I could protect you better."

I got out and shut the door of his car. Walked around to his side and motioned for him to lower the window.

"Ty, I'll be okay. I've survived the last couple of days, and I'm still out for a morning at the salon with Paget. I have no less than three members of law enforcement watching my back—and I even got rescued by Allyson Harlow last night. I think I'll make it through another day." I tried a reassuring smile, but he didn't return it.

"About Allyson…" he started to say, but I reached in and covered his lips with my fingertips.

"That's none of my business. I just want you to be happy. So, if you're happy—" I smiled at him again and leaned inside the window. I gave him a kiss on the cheek and then backed away.

A finger twirl wave and then I raced up the steps to the salon and in the door.

Being a grown up was hard.

*  *  *

"I don't know anything about Mick and his secret lover, but I'll find out before the sun goes down," Sundae guaranteed, and I believed her.

"When you do find out, let me know first. I really want to be the one to tell Matty. She's so torn up right now, and I just don't want this finding its way back to her when she's alone." I gave Sundae a look, and she nodded.

"Yep, I saw how she reacted on Wednesday night, and don't forget that I went to the bathroom with her several times myself. Don't want a repeat of that puke-fest." She smacked her gum and blew a bubble in between rolling Paget's hair in hot rollers. She brushed out another strand and grabbed another roller.

"Yeah, there's that. And I think Mick might have been involved in something less than legal too." I wasn't sure if telling the queen of "Gossip Central" was the best idea, but something had to get rolling on this little investigation. I couldn't just sit around waiting to be kidnapped a third time.

"Shut your mouth," she said and then blew a large bubble, sucking it back into her mouth and smacking it back into submission.

"Yep. There is definitely something going on, and I need to find out how Mick was involved. I just cannot believe that he'd do something criminal, ya know? And, speaking of criminal activities, your fantasy guy—that Hank O'Hannigan—he forced me at gunpoint out to the Indian reservation. "

She gave me a shocked look and then closed her eyes for a moment. "Well, there goes that. I guess I'll have to have the hots for someone else. If there's one thing I know for sure," Sundae said while clipping the last roller into Paget's hair and beginning to spray her hair in a cloud of Aqua Net aerosol, "sometimes the culprit is who you least respect."

She spun Paget around, removing her cape as she spun.

"I think you mean someone you least expect…" I offered.

"Well, I guess. But you wouldn't respect them either, would you?" She wiped out the seat and crooked her finger at me to take Paget's place.

Something clicked in my mind, but I couldn't quite decipher it. It was like static-filled television, and I couldn't make out the program.

Someone I least respect. Or maybe someone I did respect? What was it?

"Now, what are we going to do with this hair?" Sundae grinned at me in the mirror and a chill of fear swept through me.

"No color change. Don't even think about a color change." I was still recovering from the last supposed temporary change she'd given my hair in the fall.

"Aw. Okay. But you're no fun, Mandy Murrin. You're like a teenager in love. You're afraid the boy won't like you anymore if you change one little thing about yourself." She fussed over me as she combed through my hair and started straightening one section of my hair with a hot flat iron.

A teenager in love?

No. It couldn't be that simple, could it?

*  *  *

An hour later, we were in the park with Colin Brooks. Interestingly, there wasn't a single other soul in the park this Friday at noon. I figured that most people were still traveling home from the holidays. The schools were starting back on Monday, and the weather was chilly but not uncomfortable. Still, there must have been other things worth doing today other than sitting out in the park.

I was just surprised that my secret agent man was out here doing something so utterly domesticated with Paget and me. It was weird.

"I like what you've done with the hair." Colin studied my new hairdo and gave me an earth-shattering grin.

"Yeah, it's Sundae's new creation." I'd been too tired to fight with her. We'd managed to keep my dark, auburn locks untouched, but she'd straightened out the sides and curled the back. It was kind of like a combination platter from the Chinese buffet place.

"Well, nothing looks bad on you," he said as he gazed at me under lowered lids.

I heated up a little, despite the breeze.

I glanced around in search of Paget, and she was doing some cartwheels in the nearby grass. She'd been very quiet today. Something was on her mind—most likely all the news about Adam that Denise had filled me in on last night. I made a mental note to talk to her later. I wanted to be the one to tell her about Dr. C. and Ms. Quick before she found out about it some other way.

"Apparently, it's what all the kids are doing," I said, bringing myself back to the topic at hand.

"What's that?" he asked, sitting on the wooden picnic table next to me and handing me a Styrofoam container of hot chili from the café.

I opened the container and lifted it to my nose, inhaling the scents of meat and chili sauce, peppers, onions, and other delicious ingredients. I let the warmth heat my face.

"Uh, the hairstyle," I said, trying to remember what we were talking about before he'd introduced food into the picture.

"Oh, I thought you knew about the drugs."

Drugs?

I snapped back to attention and looked from him to Paget and back at him again. My heart racing a little.

"You don't mean—" I pointed at Paget. She couldn't do drugs. That was a huge "no no" where she was concerned. I just couldn't deal with that right now.

He took my pointing finger and brought it to his mouth, planting a small kiss on my fingertip and then placing a plastic spoon in my hand.

I swallowed. My throat hurt. I was torn between being turned on by his simple kiss and being terrified of what he was bringing up at our supposed peaceful picnic.

"Not Paget. Stay calm." He said the words, and at the same time I watched his face. Scanning the park. He was always on duty. Always alert.

But I wasn't calm. I was suddenly feeling like a nervous wreck. Teenagers and drugs and dealers and death were fighting for attention in my mind. My stomach let out a loud rumble.

I caught a tiny smile in the corner of his mouth.

I dug my spoon into the chili and filled my mouth with the savory goodness. Might as well feed the beast. Who knew? I might need my energy to fight off another idiot this afternoon. The day was still young.

"So, a couple of months ago, we got word that someone in the area had started selling Oxy on a pretty regular basis. But it was some hybrid mix—really potent stuff. They were also moving it in large quantities in and out of here on a semi-regular basis. It was enough to get our attention."

"Oxy as in hydrocodone?" I saw the compound formulas dance through my head from the paperwork that Matty had given me the previous night.

"Yes. And I took the case because it was happening around here, of course." He gave me a heated glance.

I tried to ignore it by taking another spicy bite of chili. "Who is this 'we' you're referring to? 'Cause Ty didn't know you were in town until yesterday morning when you rescued me from that Barefoot Redneck guy."

He stared at me wordlessly.

"Oh, you mean the government, the feds, big brother, or whoever it is you really work for these days?" I ate more chili. I hated that what he did was such a secret and that it kept him away from me all the time. It wasn't smart to start something romantic with someone who couldn't even communicate with you about what he did on a daily basis.

He handed me a cup of sweet tea and bent the straw on top for me. I accepted it and gulped down the ice-cold beverage, which cooled the burning in my throat. The chili was hot, but I hadn't noticed how hot until after I'd squelched the flames with the tea.

"Upon further investigation, we found that they were transporting the dope inside the trunk lining of used cars and shipping them in and out of town via Big Hawg's Motors lot."

I coughed and accidentally inhaled some tea, which produced more coughing. I stood up and set down my bowl and cup and held my arms up over my head. Walking around in front of the table, I worked through the coughing fit. He lifted his brows as if to offer help, but I waived him off.

Finally, when I could speak again, "So that's how you got Allyson involved in all this? She works there."

He nodded. "I contacted her, and she did some snooping around for me."