Don't Say Her Name: A C.T. Ferguson Crime Novel by Fowler Tom

Author:Fowler, Tom
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-03-07T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

T.J. came through for us. Joey and I would have separate seats on an American Airlines flight leaving Vegas at ten o’clock local time. We’d arrive in Baltimore before dawn after the nonstop trek. “I’ll buy some Dramamine at the airport,” I said as we packed our bags.

Joey zipped his roller and set it on the bed. “You don’t get motion sick.”

“No, but I’ll need to sleep. I can’t lose hours tomorrow being tired. I’ll be zonked out for the food service. I guess you’ll have to eat enough for both of us.”

“Consider it done,” Joey said with a pat of his belly.

We made good time going back to Harry Reid Airport. I again declined to play any slot machines. Gambling on getting some shut-eye on a plane zooming through the sky at five hundred miles per hour was enough of a risk. I downed the two pills while we waited to board and felt drowsiness creep in by the time we took our seats. I had a window near the wing. Joey plopped down somewhere behind me on the other side.

Shortly after takeoff, I lost the battle against my eyelids closing. I awoke to the announcement of the plane making its final descent into BWI. The suited man sitting next to me frowned as if I offended him by sleeping during the journey. I checked myself for drool, found none, and ignored him. We deplaned a few minutes later and waited for our luggage at baggage claim. I fought to remain awake. Thankfully, restaurants were starting to open. Once we’d retrieved our rollers, I ordered the largest cup of coffee I could find.

We retrieved the S4, and I dropped Joey off at his house. From there, I went home. Gloria’s car was missing. A note in the kitchen confirmed she’d gone home until I got back. It was probably better. Maybe her neighborhood watch received an alert every time a non-luxury car neared the neighborhood, and they could stop the Mustang before it caused a problem.

The coffee didn’t have much effect, so I napped upstairs for about an hour. After a quick shower, I texted Gloria and drove to work to find T.J. already there. She ran forward and hugged me. “I’m glad you guys made it back.”

“Me, too,” I said. Once she sat at her desk again, I poured another cup of java.

“Tara’s coming in soon,” she said. “Once you resolved everything with her dad yesterday, she wanted to settle up.”

“Which means my parents’ foundation gets the bill.” I kicked my feet onto my desk. “Were the tickets back to BWI expensive?”

“It’s not cheap to get two nonstops flights for the same night.”

“They were going to the hospital when we last spoke.” I glanced at my watch. “I’ll call them soon and see how they are. Make sure they have clean bills of health before we hit them with a big invoice.”

“You have any idea whose green Mustang is causing all these problems?” T.J. wanted to know.

“I wish I did,” I said.

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