Joker picked up his keys, shrugged on his cut, and moved to the door, his attention back to his phone, his thumb moving to Nightingale’s contact.
He listened to the rings long enough he figured he’d get voicemail before Lee answered on, “Joke.”
“Lee. Callin’ for some follow up on Robinson,” Joker told him.
“What do you need?” Lee asked.
“He got kids?”
“Nope.”
Fuck.
“How thorough were you?” Joker pushed.
“How thorough are we usually?”
He had everything.
“I know he and his wife lost a baby eight years ago. Wanna know where that led.”
“They’re still married.”
“Need more, Lee,” Joker said quietly. Having walked through the building, he was pushing through the front door to the Compound.
“Retained enough to report to Tack. Don’t know specifics of the file. I’m out of the office. Hang on, I’ll patch in Shirleen.”
Shirleen was Nightingale’s receptionist, and Shirleen used to be one half of a formidable aunt and nephew team that dealt dope in Denver. Shirleen and her nephew pulling out of that shit years ago opened it up for Valenzuela to wreak havoc.
Regardless of the consequences, it took balls, huge ones, for Shirleen to do that. He’d met her. He liked her. Because of that and because she was fucking hilarious, said it like it was, and had been a cold-as-ice drug dealer that hid a heart of gold, a heart she let shine now, it was impossible not to like her.
Suddenly Shirleen piped in. “This better be good. My nails are wet.”
“Shirleen. Got Joker on the line. Need you to pull up the Robinson file,” Lee ordered.
“You’re lucky clickin’ on my mouse don’t mess up my new manicure,” she muttered.
Joker stopped by his bike and grinned at his boots.
“File up, need direction,” Shirleen stated.
“Medical records. The wife,” Lee told her.
“What am I lookin’ for?” she asked.
“Babies,” Joker told her.
“Scanned the file already, son. Man’s got no babies,” Shirleen confirmed unnecessarily.
“Attempts at getting them,” Joker clarified.
“Oh. Right. Hang on.”
Joker waited.
Lee waited.
Shirleen came back. “Three miscarriages. A stillborn, which breaks my heart. Another miscarriage. More of Shirleen’s heart breakin’. Looks like after that, they gave up. Hang on again.”
Joker hung on, but he did it feeling his entire chest squeeze.
“Another file. Luke just added it this mornin’,” Shirleen said. “They adopted. Momma pulled a fast one, took their money to keep her all good during the pregnancy. Handed over the baby, they had him ten days and she changed her mind. I’m scannin’ as I’m talkin’ but what I see, seemed the girl was legit. She was young and scared. Took one look at her baby, changed her mind. Her prerogative. Still breaks my heart yet again for your guy and his woman.”
“Jesus Christ,” Joker hissed.
“That what you need?” Lee joined in.
It was. It wasn’t want he wanted, though.
“Yeah.”
“You wanna share with us why you want that shit on this guy?” Lee asked, and Joker knew it wasn’t a request. He also knew Lee wasn’t big on sharing in-depth information about a man that was good on paper with a random curious biker.
“He was my high school teacher. He looked out for me. Last time I saw him was at the hospital after his wife lost their stillborn. I’m lookin’ to reconnect, wanted to be sure he was good before I did that.”
“Well, my guess is, he’s not,” Shirleen gave her opinion.
Joker stared at his bike as the thought came to his mind at the same time his lips moved. “I’ll pay, owe a marker, don’t give a shit, but need you and your boys on another one.”
“That would be?” Lee asked.
“Whore. Named Heidi. Last name is Smith, which means her last name ain’t Smith. She was in Valenzuela’s stable. She dropped off radar a few days ago. I need her found.”
“This through Tack?” Lee asked carefully.
He asked carefully because he knew the Club had issues with Valenzuela. He also knew that Tack and his brothers were working it alongside the crew of brothers Tack had outside the Club. Namely Hawk and two cops named Mitch Lawson and Brock Lucas. The Nightingale boys were not in that, and Joker knew by the way he asked the question that Lee didn’t want them to be.
“This is me,” Joker answered.
“Need you to explain, man,” Lee told him so Joker explained.
“Heidi Smith dropped off radar a few days ago because she’s knocked up, Valenzuela would rough her up if he knew, and she wants to be healthy because she’s lookin’ for a buyer for her baby.”
“Oh Lordy,” Shirleen breathed.
Lee said nothing.
“You’ll get on that?” Joker prompted.
“I get you, Joke,” Lee said quietly. “Says a lot about you what you’re lookin’ to do for this man. But he and his wife have been through hell. They don’t need a prostitute lookin’ for a payday fuckin’ with their lives.”
“Some young girl might change her mind one look at her baby, Lee, but do you think a bitch like Heidi would take Chaos for a ride?”
Lee was silent a beat before he said, “I get you.”
“You’ll find her?”
“Fuck yeah, we’ll find her,” Shirleen agreed for Lee.
“Jesus,” Lee muttered.
“I’ll give it to Luke. No, Vance. Whatever. We’re on it,” Shirleen declared.
“You heard her,” Lee added, sounding pained.
“Keep tabs, send me an invoice. Or accept a marker. Whatever, it’s done,” Joker told them.
“We’ll sort it out,” Lee replied.
“Right. Great. Thanks.” Joker swung his leg over his bike and finished with “Later.”
He got their laters, disconnected, and was about to put his phone in his back pocket when it rang in his hand.
He brought it back around, looked at the screen and smiled at his bike grip.
He put it to his ear. “Yo, Butterfly.”
“Hey, Joker,” Carissa replied, but her voice sounded funny.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
“Uh… I just got a call from Angie.”
Fuck.
“Your ex?” he prompted when she didn’t continue.
“No, though she did share that Aaron’s attorney reached out to her to set up a meeting.”
“You gonna take that?”
“Angie advises I should. Test the waters. So she’s doing it.”