I was about to approach it and ask what was going on when the phone in my hands rang.
I answered.
“Where are you?” Corey asked.
“Just left Blake’s, the house was leveled,” I said and then tacked on. “Where’s Marc? Is he in trouble? I think the car is getting towed.”
He made a grumbling noise. “That’s what I was calling about. Don’t go near it.”
“Why?”
“Marc was just picked up for questioning about the SUV. Someone reported it stolen.”
My breath caught. I didn’t see a police car anywhere on the street. “How can that happen? You all own it, don’t’ you?”
“We do, but someone reported it for us anyway. It sounds like a mix up. He’s having to go downtown to straighten it out. Technically, his name isn’t on the vehicle. Brandon has to go down there and take care of it.”
What in the world was going on? “Is he okay?”
“He’ll be pretty safe. He’s with police. Probably safer than we are.”
“But who would report it stolen?”
“I’m working on that. I’m getting into where the report came from.”
A tight knot formed in my chest and hovered. There was nothing I could do for Marc. I was just here. I could have ended up with him. How did the police find him so quickly?
“Is someone following us?” I asked. “Like via this phone.”
“Probably not your phone. I’ve got it secured,” he said. “Maybe they put a tracker on the car, but we usually scan for those.”
I hadn’t noticed anyone doing that today. “Brandon took it a few places, including to the hospital. I didn’t see him scanning.”
“Hm,” Corey said.
“What can we do for Marc?”
“Nothing,” he said. “There’s nothing you can do. Brandon is taking care of it.”
“What should I do next? I need to get to Doyle. We need to find out what happened to Blake.”
“First thing you need to do is to get back here. You’re not far.”
I debated getting a taxi, but waiting for a taxi might take just as long in the backed-up traffic down here. “Do you think this was Alice?” I asked.
“I don’t want to make guesses,” Corey said. “Do you know how to get here from where you are? I’ll meet you halfway. If you walk fast enough, I’ll be on the other side of the lake next to the apartment building. Stay on the phone with me.”
I jogged, staying on the line with him. I was sick to my stomach thinking I was abandoning Marc to fend for himself with the police, but I wasn’t sure what else to do.
The only thing left was to keep looking for Blake, and hope he wasn’t dead.
UNSETTLED GROUND
Corey met me on the sidewalk a block past the lake. We hung up on the phone when we were within hearing range, and we headed back to the Sargent Jasper.
He was wearing jeans and a blue Star Trek shirt and sneakers. His cheeks were flushed. His lips tight and his eyes downcast, tense.
It was confusing how he looked so much more like his brother these days.
“Do we have another vehicle we can use?” I asked.
He walked with his hand at my lower back, monitoring the cars going past and paying attention to any alleys and anyone approaching us. “Yes, but we should be careful. Whoever reported the one, they could report the others. We shouldn’t travel in anything we personally own. Not until we can get to the bottom of this. Axel would say no one is going anywhere.”
“So we can’t go?”
“He hasn’t given a direct order yet. So technically…”
“Let’s get another one. Maybe a cab?”
He pondered what I was asking. “Do you have the number to your friend, Avery?”
“Avery? I have one, but I’m not sure he does taxi service anymore.”
“I’d just hate to call in favors from other people right now. If this is Alice, let’s keep the circle closed. And let’s not get into cabs with strangers.”
No Academy. No strangers. We had limited numbers. It wasn’t going to be easy handling this. But it was the only way to get answers, and we had to go direct to the source. I couldn’t just call up Doyle. I wasn’t so sure he’d answer anyway.
I crossed my fingers the old farmhouse hadn’t been blown up as well.
We had to go back inside the apartments for me to find the card Avery had given me at one point. I met Avery in high school, and I’d barely remembered him when we met again. The pot-smoking cab driver had moved up since, working alongside Mr. Ethan Murdock, heir to the Murdock Empire. He more or less kept an eye on the naïve CEO.
I borrowed a burner phone Corey took out. Limiting cell phone use from their main phones for a while seemed a good idea. He took Marc’s phone and stashed it.
Avery answered on the first ring. “I got you, but I don’t do taxiing anymore. I can redirect you to--”
“Avery,” I said quickly so he wouldn’t redirect the call. “It’s me.”
Pause. “Kayli?”
“I need a favor. Are you in town?”
“A little busy. Mr. Murdock has been up to his neck in,” he paused again. “I don’t know if I can say. They don’t want us talking to anyone. I think the police are on to finding his dad.”
That was good news. “I don’t need to know,” I said. “Sorry. I was just hoping for a ride.”
“Where to?”
I told him the approximate location. “We’re at the Sergeant Jasper.”
“Right. I got you. Let me get myself out of here. I need the break.”
??????
Within twenty minutes, Avery arrived but in a brand new Tesla.
I got into the front seat next to Avery. He was looking sharp, his hair trimmed back away from his face and his clothes a dark pants suit and dark dress shirt.
The car had just the slightest hint of weed smoke. I suspected he’d partaken while on the way.
Corey whistled as he got into the back seat. “Nice ride.”
Avery’s face lit up, maybe not just from Corey’s compliment. “I miss my tank, that old steel car I had before, but this will do.”
“Where is your old car?” I asked.
“Ethan is getting it redone for me.”
I smiled at this. “He’s really nice. It’s great you’re getting along.”
“Yeah,” Avery said with a strange glint in his eyes. “You could say that.”
I caught there was more he wanted to share but when he didn’t say anything, I left it Not for m
e to ask. “Anyway,” I said. “Got time to take us?”
“Are we going to get shot at again?”
I almost said no, however, given what was happening…I hated to make any promises I couldn’t keep.
??????
Later, we were heading through back roads and past forested areas. Somewhere in the rural areas of Hannahan, we turned down a lane of an old farmhouse surrounded by furrowed land, reclaimed by grass. The house was two stories with peeling paint and two, old red brick chimneys on either side of the house.
Out on the lawn, between the old barn and the dangerously slanted garage, were strewn boxes, computer cases, a file cabinet and other office equipment.
Doyle was carrying another box out from the main house to add to the collection. He’d a mop of unruly hair and a cigarette hanging from his mouth. His pale nose wrinkled, and his eyes squinted at being out in the sun.
When he spotted our car in the drive, he dropped the box at his feet and rolled his head back. I could almost feel the slew of curses against all our mothers he was uttering. Or maybe he was praying, I don’t know. He just didn’t look happy to see us.
Avery parked near the house, a bit away from Doyle’s collection of stuff.
Doyle approached us, waving his hands and doing some sort of imitation of flight crew trying to direct a plane. “Go,” he shouted at us. “Just get going.”
I jumped out before Avery could switch off the engine. “Where is he?” I called to him.
His lips dropped the still-burning cigarette to the ground, and he pointed a finger at me. “Listen here, harpy! You and your friends, they need to go.”
I circled the car. Corey was getting out but before he could get to me, I was nose to nose with Doyle.
“Where is Blake?” I said, trying not to breathe in too much of the smoke cloud he was puffing into my face.
“Easy,” Corey said. He took my wrist to draw me back, but I ignored him.
“None yer business,” Doyle said to me, almost mimicking an American accent before sliding right back into Irish for the next part. “See what I’m doing here?” He waved at the computer pile he’d made in the yard. “This is your fault.”
“I didn’t pile your computers out here.”
“This is worst case scenario. It’s been initiated. Abandon ship. All hands bail into the water.” He leaned into me until our noses touched. “You did this.”