high school."
"Odd."
"Flynn's an odd bird."
"You said he hired an investigator."
Pete nodded. "Former Charlotte-Mecklenburg cop named Noble Cruikshank."
"Cruikshank simply vanished?"
"Stopped sending reports and returning phone cals. I did a little digging. Cruikshank wasn't in the running to be CMPD poster boy. Got invited off the force in ninety-four for substance abuse."
"Cocktail of choice?"
"Jimmy B neat. Cruikshank's also a non-nominee for PI of the Year. Seems he's puled his disappearing act on other clients. Takes a job, colects an upfront fee, goes on a bender."
"Wouldn't a PI lose his license for that?"
"Apparently Cruikshank doesn't believe in paperwork. That was also a problem with the CMPD."
"Flynn didn't know Cruikshank drank and wasn't licensed?"
"Flynn hired him off the Net."
"Risky."
"Cruikshank's ad said he specialized in missing persons. That's the skil set Flynn needed. He also liked the idea that Cruikshank worked Charlotte and Charleston."
"When did Flynn hire him?"
"Last January. Couple months after Helene dropped out of sight. Flynn thinks their last conversation was in late March. Cruikshank said the investigation was moving forward, but provided no detail. Then nothing."
"Where did Cruikshank go on his other benders?"
"Once to Atlantic City. Once to Vegas. But not al Cruikshank's clients were unhappy. Most that I contacted thought they'd gotten their money's worth."
"How did you find them?"
"Cruikshank gave Flynn a list of references. I started with those, picked up new names as I worked my way backward."
"What do you know about Cruikshank's final activities?"
"Cruikshank never cashed the last check Flynn sent him. That was the February payment. There's been no activity on his credit card or bank account since March. He owed over twenty-four hundred on the former, had four fifty-two in the latter. The last phone bil was paid in February. Account's since been cut off."
"He must have had a car."
"Whereabouts unknown."
"Cel phone?"
"Terminated in early December for nonpayment. Wasn't the first time Cruikshank had been dropped."
"A PI without a mobile these days?"
Pete shrugged. "Maybe the guy worked alone, did al his phoning from home."
"Family?"
"Divorced. No kids. The split wasn't amicable. The wife's remarried and hasn't heard from him in years."
"Brothers? Sisters?"
Pete shook his head. "Cruikshank was an only child and the parents are dead. Toward the end of his stint with the Charlotte PD he'd become pretty much a loner, and wasn't close to anyone."
I looped back to GMC.
"If you can't get to Herron, what's your next step?"
Pete pointed a finger heavenward. "Fear not, fair lady. The Latvian Savant has just entered the footrace."
Pete was a law student when we met. He'd already adopted the nickname back then. I never learned who coined it. I suspected it was Pete.
Roling my eyes, I returned to the groceries and put a package of feta into the fridge.
Pete tipped back his chair and rested his heels on the table edge.
I started to object. Not my problem. Anne's? She invited him here.
"And how was your day, sugar britches?"
I retrieved the Post and Courier, dropped it on the table, and pointed.
Pete read Winborne's article.
"Hey, nice use of aliteration. 'Buried Body Barrier Beach.'"
"Pure poetry."
"I take it you're not pleased this kid talked to the press."
"I'm not pleased with any of it."
I hadn't even thought about Topher. When had Winborne buttonholed him? How had he persuaded Topher to give a statement?
"The photo's not bad."
I shot Pete a look.
"What's this cruise ship thing your friend screwed up?"
"I don't know."
"Gonna ask her?"
"Definitely not."
Roast peppers, salmon spread, and Ben & Jerry's into the fridge and freezer. Chocolate chips and pistachios into the cabinet. Then I turned back to Pete.
"A man is dead. His family doesn't know that yet. I view Winborne's story as an invasion of that family's privacy Am I way off base?"
Pete
"Odd."
"Flynn's an odd bird."
"You said he hired an investigator."
Pete nodded. "Former Charlotte-Mecklenburg cop named Noble Cruikshank."
"Cruikshank simply vanished?"
"Stopped sending reports and returning phone cals. I did a little digging. Cruikshank wasn't in the running to be CMPD poster boy. Got invited off the force in ninety-four for substance abuse."
"Cocktail of choice?"
"Jimmy B neat. Cruikshank's also a non-nominee for PI of the Year. Seems he's puled his disappearing act on other clients. Takes a job, colects an upfront fee, goes on a bender."
"Wouldn't a PI lose his license for that?"
"Apparently Cruikshank doesn't believe in paperwork. That was also a problem with the CMPD."
"Flynn didn't know Cruikshank drank and wasn't licensed?"
"Flynn hired him off the Net."
"Risky."
"Cruikshank's ad said he specialized in missing persons. That's the skil set Flynn needed. He also liked the idea that Cruikshank worked Charlotte and Charleston."
"When did Flynn hire him?"
"Last January. Couple months after Helene dropped out of sight. Flynn thinks their last conversation was in late March. Cruikshank said the investigation was moving forward, but provided no detail. Then nothing."
"Where did Cruikshank go on his other benders?"
"Once to Atlantic City. Once to Vegas. But not al Cruikshank's clients were unhappy. Most that I contacted thought they'd gotten their money's worth."
"How did you find them?"
"Cruikshank gave Flynn a list of references. I started with those, picked up new names as I worked my way backward."
"What do you know about Cruikshank's final activities?"
"Cruikshank never cashed the last check Flynn sent him. That was the February payment. There's been no activity on his credit card or bank account since March. He owed over twenty-four hundred on the former, had four fifty-two in the latter. The last phone bil was paid in February. Account's since been cut off."
"He must have had a car."
"Whereabouts unknown."
"Cel phone?"
"Terminated in early December for nonpayment. Wasn't the first time Cruikshank had been dropped."
"A PI without a mobile these days?"
Pete shrugged. "Maybe the guy worked alone, did al his phoning from home."
"Family?"
"Divorced. No kids. The split wasn't amicable. The wife's remarried and hasn't heard from him in years."
"Brothers? Sisters?"
Pete shook his head. "Cruikshank was an only child and the parents are dead. Toward the end of his stint with the Charlotte PD he'd become pretty much a loner, and wasn't close to anyone."
I looped back to GMC.
"If you can't get to Herron, what's your next step?"
Pete pointed a finger heavenward. "Fear not, fair lady. The Latvian Savant has just entered the footrace."
Pete was a law student when we met. He'd already adopted the nickname back then. I never learned who coined it. I suspected it was Pete.
Roling my eyes, I returned to the groceries and put a package of feta into the fridge.
Pete tipped back his chair and rested his heels on the table edge.
I started to object. Not my problem. Anne's? She invited him here.
"And how was your day, sugar britches?"
I retrieved the Post and Courier, dropped it on the table, and pointed.
Pete read Winborne's article.
"Hey, nice use of aliteration. 'Buried Body Barrier Beach.'"
"Pure poetry."
"I take it you're not pleased this kid talked to the press."
"I'm not pleased with any of it."
I hadn't even thought about Topher. When had Winborne buttonholed him? How had he persuaded Topher to give a statement?
"The photo's not bad."
I shot Pete a look.
"What's this cruise ship thing your friend screwed up?"
"I don't know."
"Gonna ask her?"
"Definitely not."
Roast peppers, salmon spread, and Ben & Jerry's into the fridge and freezer. Chocolate chips and pistachios into the cabinet. Then I turned back to Pete.
"A man is dead. His family doesn't know that yet. I view Winborne's story as an invasion of that family's privacy Am I way off base?"
Pete
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