“What makes you say that?”
“Dyle.”
“What?”
Kendra stepped on the elevator and punched the DOWN button. “Powers used his juice straw to write the name on his hand. Four letters. Barely discernable. He showed me his palm, and it was there, written in red tomato juice. He didn’t want his lawyer to know.”
“But who is Dyle?”
Kendra was already typing furiously on her phone. “I’m searching for the name right now. If we’re lucky, it may actually be the man who-” She froze. “It’s him. The man in the sketch. The guy I saw all those years ago.”
She turned the phone around to show Jessie a photo. “Meet Ted Dyle.”
“You Googled him?” Jessie’s eyes widened as she studied the man in a gray pin-striped suit smiling out of the photo. “Oh, that’s the guy in the sketch all right.” She took the phone and was reading the biography as she and Kendra left the hospital and walked across the parking lot. “Venture capitalist, owns a pharmaceutical company and two corporations that fund hospitals. Has interests in several hedge funds. Multi-investments in research projects at three universities. Something of a power broker and was said to be behind the scenes in electing the last two senators from California.” She handed Kendra’s phone back to her. “That’s all they have on him. Pretty scanty.” She frowned. “But he’s based in L.A. That’s my town. Why haven’t I heard of him?”
“Because he probably pays to stay out of the limelight,” Kendra said. “Thank God for Google. At least we were able to get this much information.” She could feel the excitement zinging through her. “He has to be connected to Night Watch.”
“And probably that attack on you, or Powers wouldn’t have recognized him.” She smiled. “A giant step closer, Kendra.”
“I know.” She couldn’t stop smiling. “And a step closer to Waldridge. I’ve felt like we’ve been going down blind alleys, but this is so damn promising.”
“Yes, it is.” She was gazing with amusement at Kendra’s face. “You look as if you’re on top of the world. We’ve still got a long way to go.”
“Don’t rain on my parade,” Kendra said. “Tomorrow, I’ll worry about all the bad things that could happen. Tonight, I want to think good thoughts and be happy. Do you think it’s too late to drive up to L.A. and try to see Dyle?”
“Yes.” She chuckled. “It would be midnight, and he’d have his staff toss us out. He might do it anyway. But we’d have a better shot in the morning.” They’d reached Kendra’s Toyota. “So let me worry about all the bad things that could happen tomorrow, and you try to keep your grand parade intact for the rest of the evening. Deal?”
“Deal.” Kendra didn’t know if she could do it, but right now, it seemed a wonderful idea.
“Well, now that we’ve settled that important detail. I’d like to announce that I’m hungry. You haven’t eaten either. Want to stop for a late supper?”
“Maybe.” Kendra watched with rueful amusement as Jessie jumped into the driver’s seat… again. “I’m a little hungry. It’s been a long day.”
“So where do you want to stop?” She started the car. “We could go to a pancake house. Or fast food…” She didn’t look at her as she backed out of the parking space. “Or I saw a Thai restaurant in your neighborhood. Is it any good? We could get takeout and go back to your place and eat it. I have to get my bike anyway.”
“It’s very good.”
“I thought it might be. It had people lined up at the door even this morning.” She smiled. “So where do you want to go? Your choice. I’m just your humble chauffeur.”
“Definitely the chauffeur. You won’t have it any other way. Humble? Not so much.” She laughed. “The Thai place sounds the most practical. We can take it up on the roof to eat it. It’s nice up there.”
“Whatever you say. Just as long as I get food and a chance to stretch out and move. I’m not accustomed to being this inactive.”
Kendra could see that it bothered her. She’d been aware of the other woman’s restlessness all day. She was surprised Jessie hadn’t opted out of sitting patiently in that car and waiting at Bill Dillingham’s. Ever since she’d met Jessie, she had been a dynamo of energy and activity. Yet their time together today had still been productive and amusing, and she found she was genuinely fascinated and curious about Jessie Mercado.
“Okay. Then we’ll stop at the Thai place. On the way there, I’ll text Griffin the photos I made of the sketch and ask him to check and report on Dyle.” She went around the car and got into the passenger seat. “And I’ll tell him he should use Dillingham more for his sketches and use muscle with the local police to have them do it, too.”
“Will he pay attention?”
“Sometimes. If it suits him. I’ll stress what an asset Dillingham is. He likes assets.” She was looking at the sketch again. “It’s not a lie. I think I’ll text a photo to Lynch, too. Along with the Google biography.”
“That sounds like a plan. Lynch doesn’t impress me as a man who likes to be kept out of the loop. Control, all the way…”
THE LIGHTS OF SAN DIEGO were sparkling, glowing in the darkness. There was a strong wind whipping occasionally over the rooftop, which was vacant except for Kendra and Jessie.
“We could go down to the condo if the wind’s bothering you.” Kendra grinned as she righted one of the cartons of Thai food on the table between their chairs. “But you did say you wanted movement.”
“No, I like this,” Jessie said. “For Pete’s sake, I own a motorcycle.” She lifted her face to the wind that was blowing her hair wildly back. “Wind is clean and strong. Both good things.”
“Except if it comes packaged in a tornado,” Kendra said dryly as she lifted her wine to her lips. “I think I’d choose to go inside if it escalated to that point.” She smiled. “But I like it, too.”
“Do you come up here often?”
“Not often.” The last time she had come up here was that night with Lynch, when everything had blown up both sexually and emotionally. Those memories were suddenly bombarding her, and she could feel her body readying, tightening at the thought of him.
Back off. Everything about her relationship with Lynch was full of pitfalls and uncertainties, including what she wanted from him.
Except sex. That was very clear at this moment.
“Did you ever come up here with Lynch?” Jessie’s gaze was narrowed on Kendra’s face.
Jessie was very perceptive, and she had probably been able to read Kendra’s response. “Yes,” Kendra said as she took another bite of Thai pepper steak. “This is really very good, isn’t it? How is yours?”
Jessie immediately took the hint. “Delicious. Some of the best Thai I’ve had since Delilah had a box of it flown in special from Bangkok.” She leaned back and lifted her wine to her lips. “But in that case, anticipation was a heady sauce, and that might have made it seem better.”
“Delilah?”
“Delilah Winter. I worked for her for a while.” She shot a glance at Kendra. “She’s a pop star. Have you ever heard of her? She probably doesn’t produce the kind of music that you teach your kids, but she’s pretty famous.”
“I’d have to live in a cave not to have heard of her,” Kendra said. “She won a Grammy last year, didn’t she?”
“Yes, she deserved it. That new song she wrote rocks.”
“She rocks,” Kendra said. “And I do use her in my therapy sessions. The kids don’t live in a cave either, and her rhythms are wonderful.”
“She’d be glad to hear you say that. Delilah is like a lot of teenage kids who made it big too early. She’s still not sure whether she has the talent or that she’s just fooling everyone.”
“Sad.” She asked curiously, “How did you come to work for her?”