“I don’t have a partner,” Gertie said. “What about hip-hop?”
“Take the deal,” I said to Ida Belle. “It’s as good as it’s going to get. And besides, we have far more important things to deal with.”
Gertie nodded. “Like the key.”
“Like the fact that Carter was sitting in my living room when Ida Belle and I got home this morning.”
Gertie’s eyes widened. “Not good. What happened?”
I filled her in on our fight, Ida Belle’s declaration, and Carter’s insistence that he see the SUV today.
“I sent Little a text last night,” I said. “I just got word back that they’re ready.”
“Have you heard from Carter yet?” Gertie asked.
“No, but I told him I’d call when I got up.”
As if on cue, my phone rang. So much for waiting on me to call.
“Speak of the devil,” I said, and answered.
“I’d like to see the SUV this morning,” Carter said. “Is Ida Belle available to go to the storage unit with me?”
I frowned. So this is how it was going to be.
“No,” I said. “Ida Belle isn’t available to go to the storage unit with you. But Ida Belle, Gertie, and I will be happy to meet you there in an hour.”
“This is an official police investigation,” Carter said. “You have no business there.”
“Given that I’m the one who acquired the storage unit,” I said, “I’m going to go ahead and disagree with you. I can stay home, of course, but I seriously doubt the Heberts are going to let you into my unit without a search warrant.”
I heard him huff and knew he was mad. He’d thought he had an ace in the hole, but he didn’t. And while I had no doubt he could acquire a warrant, the waste of time was something I knew he wasn’t interested in.
“Fine. One hour.”
He disconnected and I put my phone on the table.
“That went well,” Gertie said.
I sighed. “I have a feeling this day is not going to get any better.”
Chapter Eleven
Carter was already at the storage facility when we pulled up. So was Mannie, standing in front of the security gate, arms crossed, and looking scary as only Mannie could do. Carter appeared more annoyed than impressed with Mannie’s display, but he was smart enough not to push the issue. Mannie might be hired muscle, but he was well-trained hired muscle. He knew to ask for a warrant if Carter started insisting.
I said good morning to Mannie, who nodded and opened the gate for me. We pulled around to the unit, Carter trailing behind. Mannie showed up a minute later and handed me a key to the padlock.
“Forgot to give this to you last night,” he said. “I’ll give you a card with the pass code for the security gate as well so you can come and go as you need to.”
He turned around and left without so much as a glance at Carter, but I knew somewhere in an air-conditioned office, Big and Little were watching the show from the security camera feed. I removed the padlock and rolled the door up. I was glad Carter was behind me and couldn’t see my face, because the scene in front of me didn’t look anything like it had the night before.
The completely intact SUV sat in the middle of the otherwise empty unit. No toolbox. No bench. No lift. Absolutely nothing to indicate that we’d disassembled a huge part of the vehicle the night before. Carter walked into the unit and around the SUV.
“Do you have the keys?” he asked Ida Belle.
“Left them in it,” she said. “What are you looking for?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “Something that’s not supposed to be there, I guess.”
“The vehicle has been heavily modified,” Ida Belle said. “Everything engine-wise isn’t supposed to be there. At least according to the manufacturer.”
I stood there watching as Carter started up the vehicle, then killed it and started peering under the seats. He still hadn’t said a word to me and I was growing more and more agitated by the minute. Finally, I walked over to him.
“If you don’t need us for anything else,” I said, “we’ve got some errands to run. I’ll leave the unit key with Mannie and let him know to lock up after you leave.”
“What kind of errand?” Carter asked.
“Ida Belle needs a new couch, and all three of us need to get our minds off this,” I said, “so we’re going to New Orleans to go furniture shopping. Unless, of course, couch shopping on Wednesday is against the law.”
“Only in 1973,” Gertie said, “but it was every day of the week, not just Wednesday. Horton Myer fell asleep smoking and caught his couch on fire. The whole thing went up as though it was covered in rocket fuel. The mayor thought it would be better if no one had couches, but residents argued that the existing ones had to be grandfathered in. So he just banned buying new ones. It was only in effect for a month though. The mayor’s couch broke right off its legs and he hated his wife’s sewing chair.”
“That is the most ridiculous story I’ve ever heard,” I said, “and in Sinful, that’s saying a lot.”
“The mayor was an idiot,” Ida Belle said. “We get to say that a lot. About all the mayors.”
“Not anymore,” Gertie said. “Now we have Marie.”
“Yes, that’s all lovely,” I said, “but I’d like to leave.” I looked at Carter. “Do you need anything else from us?”
He stared at me a couple seconds, but I couldn’t tell what he was thinking. His expression was a mixture of frustration and that look like when you want to say something but can’t. Or won’t. Whatever. It didn’t matter. What mattered was that I got out of there before I said something I might regret. Even if it was the truth.
“I don’t need anything,” he said finally. “I’ll drop the SUV keys off later at your house.”
“Great,” I said, and whirled around. “Then let’s go find something comfortable. I think one of those electric recliner couches is the best option. I saw a nice one on television last week.”
Gertie and Ida Belle hustled after me, Gertie glancing back at Carter.
“Well, that was uncomfortable,” Gertie said as we climbed into my Jeep.
“It’s not going to get any better unless he checks his ego at the door,” I said. “If anyone but Ida Belle had owned that SUV, Carter would have told them they might be in danger. He deliberately avoided telling Ida Belle because he didn’t want us sticking our noses into what he thinks is his business. Well, it stopped being only his business when Ida Belle became a potential target.”
Gertie frowned and shot Ida Belle a worried look. “Aren’t you going to say something?”
“What would you like me to say?” Ida Belle asked. “She’s right. He wouldn’t have withheld information from anyone else. How she wants to feel about that is up to Fortune. I have my own feelings on the matter and will have a talk with Carter about said feelings when all this is over.”