The Devil's Right Hand - J. D. Rhoades [3]
“I think the cousin’s going to be a dead end,” he said. You got anything on the other one, Crystal’s brother? They were allraised together. Find one, the other’s probably not far away.”
“No,” she said. “Leonard Puryear missed his last two appointments with his probation officer. The P.O. went out to his house, but the place was empty. They’re about ready to violate him. What happened to the sister?”
“I traced her as far as a strip club on Bragg Boulevard, but she’s not there. No one knows where she went, but she’s probably hooking. Escort service, probably.”
“I suppose you could work your way through all of those,” she said. “Poor Keller. You always get the tough jobs.”
He laughed. “Might be a little hard on the cash flow,” he said.
“Among other things,” she said.He heard the insectile clicking of computer keys. “Hold on a minute,” she said. “If she’s hooking, she probably has some kind of record.”
He leaned back in the seat and closed his eyes. He saw her in his mind, bent over the keyboard, biting her lower lip like she did when she was concentrating, brushing the long ash-blondhair back from her forehead.
“Got it,” she said. “Crystal Leigh Puryear. Known aliases Amber Dawn.” She paused. “Jesus,” she said. “Amber Dawn? sounds like a feminine hygiene spray.” Keller laughed. “Picked up on a solicitation charge 2 February. Pleaded to disorderly conduct. Last known address--.got a pen?”
Keller fished one out of the glove box. “Shoot.” She gave him the address. “Best bet’s to catch her in the daytime,” she suggested. “Saturday night, date night, you know.”
“Yeah,” Keller said. “Speaking of dating, you thought any about what we were discussing?”
There was a long pause.“Yeah, Keller, I thought about it,” she finally said. “ I like you, you know that, but I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to date someone who works for me.”
Keller thought for a moment. “I quit,” he said.
She laughed. “Nice try,” she said. “But I don’t date unemployed guys, either.”
“Looks like I can’t win,” Keller said.
“Sure you can,” she said. “Just not with me.” Her voice softened. “Get some sleep, Keller,” she said. “And not in the car. Check in somewhere and put it on the company card. Check out the girl tomorrow and find DeWayne Puryear, preferably by his court date next Thursday.”
“Yass, boss,” Keller said.
“Pleasant dreams, cowboy,” she said and hung up.
Keller leaned back and blew a long breath out through his teeth. He shook his head as if to clear it and started the car.
He considered her advice about getting some rest. He was bone-weary, but he knew from experience that sleep wouldn’t come easily. He decided to at least check out the address Angela had given him. Even if no one was there, he could reconnoiter the layout. He had been in this city a number of times before. He had a good idea of where he was headed.
The street was a dead end, lined with small brick houses that had once probably been marketed to young couples in the postwar years as “starter homes.” There were no streetlights. Only a few dim porch lights provided illumination. There was a flickering blue glow of television screens behind the shaded front windows of one or two houses, but most were dark. Keller couldn’t read most of the house numbers from the street. He snapped the headlights off and slowed to a crawl, giving his eyes a chance to get accustomed to the darkness. Finally, he located Crystal Puryear’s address. He parked across the street and rolled down the window.
The house at the end of the street was wooden and looked older than the others, with a more spacious yard and an attached two car garage. A yellow bulb cast a wan glow over the driveway in front of the closed doors of the garage. A picket fence ran between the street and the overgrown yard, ending at the driveway entrance. There was no other light and no sound other than the tick and pop of the cooling engine and the monotonous buzzing of crickets.
Keller sat and looked at the house. One part of his mind automatically mapped out possible approach and escape routes. The other thought