Two for Flinching Read Free Page A

the second row
with plenty of spaces between them. I took a few shots of her.
Jenks got out of his car with the takeout and met her on the
walkway. I narrowed the focus and took a bunch of shots of them
together. She opened the door and I was able to get them going in.
I pulled out my cell, scrolled through the contacts and hit the
number I needed.
    “Chickasaw Falls Inn.”
    “Tom?”
    “This is Billy. Tom is off tonight.”
    The line of work I was in, it paid to be on
good terms with the hotel clerks in town.
    “Hey, Billy. This is Beason Camp.”
    “Hey, Bees. You need a room tonight?”
    I winced, checking the backseat to see if
Sarah had somehow heard the comment, might somehow know what it
implied. Luckily, she still had the headphones on, watching Alvin
and the Chipmunks on her portable DVD player.
    “No, not tonight. I was calling about the
woman you just checked in.”
    “Mrs. Driver? She’s a nice lady.”
    “She a frequent customer?”
    “Once a week, sometimes twice. Why?”
    “Why do you think?”
    There was a pause.
    “Oh.”
    “Yeah.”
    “Where are you?”
    “Parking lot. Do you think you could make me
a copy of the registration form?”
    “Ooo. You know we’re not supposed to do
that.”
    “Uh huh. While you’re at it, make copies of
the other times she’s stayed here.”
    “Like I said, we’re not supposed to do
that.”
    “Billy, let’s cut the shit about you doing
the right thing. We both know you’ll make more in five minutes than
you would pulling a double shift.”
    Billy laughed. “Gonna cost you for earlier
visits.”
    “Okay.”
    “Give me five minutes.”
    I disconnected the call. Headlights flared
and a full sized truck rolled through the lot. It stopped next to
my passenger door. The driver looked at me and smiled, then looked
into the back of the Jeep to see Sarah strapped in her car seat. It
was the same guy who came by my office. The big one. I had to
assume his partner was with him. I was still without my piece. He
shook his head and the truck roared off. The truck had Louisiana
plates and I wrote the number down in my notebook. Jenks hadn’t
been the only one not expecting a tail.
    I racked my brain, trying to figure out what
this was all about. I was not a man without enemies. Plenty of
ex-wives and ex-husbands out there who would love to see me get my
comeuppance. There were also criminals I had helped put away,
thieves, drug dealers and a murderer or two. Throw in the scrapes I
had been in dating back to my teens and the list got plenty
long.
    Whoever they were and whatever they wanted,
evidently they didn’t want it with my daughter around. I had to
give them credit for that. Which significantly narrowed the list.
Lowlifes were lowlifes for a reason, and most would be jubilant at
the opportunity to harm me with my daughter to witness.
    I gave it up. Insufficient evidence. Whatever
was coming was coming. Now I knew to be ready for it. No more
leaving home without the gun. And no more bringing the princess
along for a day with daddy.
    Back to the matter at hand. Jenks and his
companion would eat before moving on to their illicit activity. I
had plenty of time to get the records from Billy, but didn’t want
to leave Sarah alone in the jeep. Not with my new friends out there
somewhere.
    “Daddy?”
    “Yes, baby.”
    She had removed the headphones, her dark hair
a mess. “I gotta pee.”
    “Sure, honey.” When a four year old tells you
she has to go, there isn’t much time. Lessons learned the hard
way.
    I started the SUV and pulled around to the
front of the hotel. Billy was standing behind the desk, smiling. I
pointed Sarah to the restroom.
    “A little young even for you, Beasily.”
    “Not funny, Billy. Not funny at all.” We
shook hands and he slid a manila envelope across the counter. Sarah
came out of the bathroom. “Did you flush?”
    Sarah went back into the bathroom.
    Billy was scrutinizing the bill I had slipped
him. “I told you it was going