as well as he knows you. I am deeply concerned about what might happen if Thomforde saw him.â
âThomforde will be suspicious if anyone goes looking for him,â Harry said. âBut McKenzieââHarry waved a fingerââisnât the cops. He isnât us. If Thomforde discovers that McKenzie is looking for him, heâll think itâs just McKenzie and not law enforcement. Heâll still believe that he has the upper hand. Heâll still think heâs in charge. He wonât panic.â
Honsa stared at Harry as if he were looking at a traitor. âNo,â he said.
âWe need to send somebody,â Harry said.
âIâm not going alone,â Karen repeated.
âNo,â Honsa said.
âYes,â Shelby said. âVictoria is my daughter. I say yes.â
We all turned toward her. She was still sitting on the staircase, still peering through the posts. I had forgotten that she was there.
âMrs. Dunston, itâs against my better judgment,â Honsa said. âIf Thomforde sees McKenzie comingâ¦â
I felt the weight of Shelbyâs eyes fall on me.
âHey, Scottie,â I said.
Honsa pivoted toward me. I walked up to him, slipped my arm around his shoulder, hugged him close. âScottie. Man, you gotta help me. For old timeâs sake. I know you donât like Bobby Dunston cuz of what happened. I donât blame you. But someone just took his kid. Someone kidnapped his little girl, man, and we canât tell the cops. You gotta help me. Youâve been around. You know people. You can ask questions, okay? You gotta help me find her. Will you help?â
Honsa stared at me for a moment as if I were drunk, dangling car keys in his face.
âI donât like this,â he said.
You think I do? my inner voice replied.
âBe careful,â Honsa said.
5
It was nearly 7:00 P.M. when we walked out of Shelbyâs Place, but daylight savings promised us at least another half hour of sun.
âIâll drive,â I said and led Karen Studder to my Audi 225 TT coupe parked on the far side of Wilder. She circled the light silver sports car, examining it carefully before speaking to me across the roof while shielding her eyes against the setting sun.
âYouâre not a cop, are you?â she said.
âNo.â
âI didnât think so. This carâif youâre a cop and you drive up to 367 Grove Street in this, Internal Affairs would be all over your ass.â
I let the comment slide, although she was right. You donât see many luxury sports cars in the parking lot of the St. Paul Police Department. I thumbed my key chain to unlock the doors. When we were both safely inside the Audi, Karen said, âI wish I had a car like this. How much does a car like this cost?â
âFifty thousand dollars.â
âWell, maybe someday.â
I snapped my seat belt into place, and Karen did the same.
âWhere to?â I asked.
âYou know, we could make this a lot easier on ourselves. Just make some phone calls, call the house, call Scottieâs employers, call his momâ¦â
âWhere to?â
Karen sighed significantly. âHis job first,â she said. âSee if heâs been in today. Then the halfway house.â
I fired up the engine.
âDo you have a gun?â Karen asked.
âI can get one.â
âNo.â
âAre you sure?â
âNo guns.â
âWhat if â¦?â
âNo guns,â she repeated.
âYouâre the boss,â I said.
âSince when?â
I pulled away from the curb. Bobby and Shelby were watching from the window as I drove off.
Â
Karen directed me to I-94 and told me to take the Dale Street exit and hang a left. As I drove, she said, âIf youâre not a cop, what are you doing here? Why are you doing this?â
âCall it a favor for a friend.â
âA