Total pages in book: 144
Estimated words: 133531 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 668(@200wpm)___ 534(@250wpm)___ 445(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133531 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 668(@200wpm)___ 534(@250wpm)___ 445(@300wpm)
Pam nodded her approval.
Sally beamed at her. “You know what I think of him. I spent a little time talking to him after the break-in at my apartment when he walked me back from the bar, and he was so nice. He didn’t have to be. I don’t think any of the other detectives would have taken the time with me when I was so distraught. I don’t know why I thought I was going to be skipped over, but I did.”
Rory could feel Lydia’s gaze on her. She forced a smile. “I already told you, hon. Detective Larrsen is clearly a good man. You have good judgment. You don’t need any of us to tell you what you should do.” She put down the to-go mug. “We’ve both got to work tonight, and I still need to try to catch up on sleep.”
* * *
The crowd seemed rowdier than usual, which was saying a lot. Rory leaned across the bar to better hear the orders being shouted to her from customers two rows deep.
“Utter chaos,” Brad yelled, grinning from ear to ear. “This is what success sounds like.”
“I suppose so,” Rory called back as she lined up eight shot glasses and poured tequila for Dana’s customers. She added two whiskey sours to her tray and handed four more to customers seated on barstools. As soon as they vacated their seats, four more people replaced them. Rory noted one of them was the man who had stood beside Scott Tinsdale in her parking garage.
She ignored him, made seven Bloody Marys and handed them to the row behind those on the barstools. Two groups of what appeared to be college boys were hollering for beer. That was an easy order to accomplish, and she did so quickly, getting the ten of them out of the way. A round of martinis for two tables was next, and then she made gin and tonics. Her barback was right there, ringing up drinks and keeping tabs for her.
She’d never seen her boss so happy. Lani was working a bartending station and so was Lydia. Brad filled in on breaks. Brad worked as a barback if necessary. He rang up tabs. Work was going smooth even with how chaotic it was.
Rory slapped napkins down in front of the customers on barstools, including the man who had been talking to Tinsdale. “What can I get for you?” He and three of the others were repeat customers. The other three were new. She didn’t know the man’s name, but he’d been in before and he’d ordered whiskey. No ice. No frills. The other three repeat customers had ordered whiskey sours.
“Ballard,” he volunteered. “Theo Ballard. Whiskey. No ice.”
The other three ordered their usual, and the new three wanted rum and Cokes. Rory made small talk while she made the drinks. To her surprise, Ballard vacated his seat to allow others to take it and order. He joined another man at a small table near the back exit.
Rory kept her eye on them as the night wore on, but neither man gave off the kind of energy that set off her radar. They weren’t in her section, and Trudi was their waitress, not Dana. Had they been in her section, she might have thought Theo Ballard had been sent by Harvey to deliver another message, but he didn’t seem to be paying attention to her. Other than watching him as she did everyone, Rory dismissed him to the background of the bar and concentrated on keeping up with her work.
Toward the end of the night, Brad bumped her with his hip. “Mandatory break, Rory. You need to use your inhaler. Seriously. You haven’t slowed down for a minute. I’ve got this.”
She’d been in the zone and hadn’t noticed time passing. Brad was right. She was beginning to find it hard to breathe. “Thanks.” Switching places smoothly, she hurried to the employee bathroom, not realizing how long it had been since she’d been able to go.
As she unbolted the door to step back out, Theo Ballard blocked her way, pressing a hand to her belly to push her back inside. He followed her in and slid the bolt.
“I’m not going to hurt you. Harvey wanted you to know that a gun was supposedly found in his apartment. That weapon fired the bullets that killed Ramsey, Ret and Jarrod, and also the bullet that was fired into Dustin after he was tortured and hanged. Harvey didn’t own a gun. He didn’t touch that gun. Also, the suitcase Jarrod was found in did belong to him. It was taken out of his room.” Ballard slid the bolt and ducked out of the bathroom before she could say a word.
Rory stared after him in shock. There were no cameras in the back. Brad couldn’t afford them. She didn’t know how to respond to what Ballard had just told her. How would Harvey know that kind of information? Was that why the detectives had shown up in force at the apartments to question her and her friends again? She guessed they couldn’t tell them about the gun or the suitcase. They had said Harvey was a person of interest.