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  “How ya feelin’, Nicki?” he asked when they both got out. “And you must be Izzy Andre. I’m Nate Price. Pleased to meet you.” He stuck out his hand toward the tall, leggy brunette.

  The woman blinked and stared as she shook hands. “I’m fine, thank you, Mr. Price. I believe we met in high school. You’re Nicki’s new boss?”

  “That’s me. Somebody has to teach this greenhorn the ropes.” Unfortunately, his response would have been more appropriate at a hometown reunion instead of their present circumstances.

  “Danny mentioned Nicki was pursuing her dream of becoming an investigator.” She placed her hands on her slim hips.

  “Well, Izzy, we’re here to help any way we can.”

  “Only my closest friends call me Izzy. I don’t really know you, Mr. Price.”

  Unfortunately, the Mississippi River was too far away to throw himself into. “I beg your pardon, Miss Andre. I got used to hearing Nicki—” Nate shook off the pointless rationalization. “I stand corrected, ma’am.”

  “What did you learn upstairs? The police shooed me out when the sight of so much blood made me queasy.”

  “Understandable. I saw obvious signs of a struggle but not of forced entry. Danny apparently let whoever he got into a fight with into the apartment. They’re also looking for evidence of drug use.”

  Isabelle glanced at Nicki as though for confirmation. “Go on.”

  “Somebody rummaged through his drawers, but it could have been Danny earlier today. Maybe he was looking for a particular garment. Although there’s a bit of blood, the amount wouldn’t indicate a loss of life.” Nate stuck his hands in his pockets.

  “Is that it, Mr. Price?” Isabelle’s voice rose with intensity.

  “For now, ma’am. The police will run the blood samples against their databases. They also bagged his razor from the drawer to determine his blood type in case Danny isn’t in the system.”

  “We’ll know more after forensic techs process the apartment.” Nicki interjected, wrapping her arm around her friend.

  “I will wait by the phone until I hear from my brother.” Isabelle faltered, unsteady on her feet. “Or until I receive an update from the police department.”

  Nate bristled for the second time in fifteen minutes. “I didn’t say Nicki and I were finished. We intend to find him, Miss Andre.”

  Isabelle pulled away from Nicki. “How can you help? You didn’t know my brother very well. Danny didn’t use drugs, and he wouldn’t tear apart a drawer to find a piece of clothing, not even on his wedding day. And as far as being in the system?” Her tone became brittle. “He’s not because he is the sweetest, gentlest man on earth. Nicki, I hope you’ll stay for as long as you can, but there’s no reason for you to remain, Mr. Price. I’m sorry you made a pointless trip to Memphis.”

  THREE

  To say that Nate and Izzy hadn’t hit it off during their initial introduction would be an understatement of epic proportions, but what did Nate expect? Her cousin was always so happy-go-lucky, so casual with everyone he met. Whether young or old, male or female, Nate treated everyone as if they were future friends instead of commensurate with their acquaintance. Nicki remembered running into one of their former teachers while at the mall in Natchez. Nate called the woman “Carol” instead of “Mrs. Bennett” like everyone else. The woman’s three grandchildren nearly doubled over with laughter, but Nate never realized his faux pas.

  Izzy had always been sensitive about overfamiliarity. Maybe a deportment class or book had taught her the maxim: “People will only respect you if you’re respectable.” So she treated people courteously and demanded nothing less in return. She didn’t know Nate, and apparently she didn’t remember him from high school. And considering the day’s frightening chain of events, she wasn’t at her best.

  Nicki felt that Nate shouldn’t have gotten his nose out of joint. Not every woman on earth would find his shaggy blond hair, tanned and trim physique, and boyish charm appealing. It was bound to happen eventually. She just wished it hadn’t been today. What if Nate dropped her at the hotel and headed back to the airport? What would she say to Hunter? She knew very well he didn’t want her in Memphis alone.

  Fortunately, by the time they got back to her suite Nate seemed to have recovered his dignity. “Hand me my bag. I want to find my room and get unpacked.”

  “Does this mean you’re staying?” Nicki asked, unable to stop herself.

  “Of course I’ll stay until we find your friend. Nothing has changed.” Nate leaned on the doorjamb. “Did you think the Ice Queen would run me out of town?”

  “She’s been known to have that effect on people.” Nicki walked around the bed to retrieve his bag.

  “I’m sure that’s true, but I’m here for you, Nic. I know you’ll want to call Hunter and catch your breath for an hour or two, but call me when you’re ready to get something to eat. Neither one of us had any lunch today.”

  Nicki shuffled her feet on the plush carpeting. “I would rather not leave the hotel in case the police call here instead of our cell phones.”

  “Agreed. That’s why I had the lobby coffee shop in mind. I’m sure they have barbecue on the menu, but don’t take too long. There’s no basket of fruit like you promised.” Nate offered her his signature wink before closing the door.

  Alone in her room, Nicki took a few minutes to scrub her face and hands and let her tears fall. So much blood… so much of Danny’s blood. Maybe she wasn’t cut out for her chosen vocation after all. She’d worked so hard to get this job with Price Investigations, but the sights and smells in that apartment almost caused her to become physically ill.

  Signs of a struggle. No forced entry. Blood spatter inconsistent with arterial spray. All the jargon heard on television took on new meaning when it referred to someone you loved. And Nicki loved Danny Andre as a friend. He was the kindest person she had ever met, just how Izzy described. Poor Izzy had no idea what to do with herself. She couldn’t remain at Danny’s apartment, and she couldn’t come with them after verbally thrashing Nate, and she didn’t want to go home alone. Nicki decided she wouldn’t be able to relax until she was assured that Izzy was all right.

  Izzy picked up on the first ring. “Hello, Nicki. Have you heard from Danny?”

  “No, but I tried several more times. Why doesn’t he have an answering machine?”

  “He had one, but he hocked it.”

  “Any close friends? I hope that wasn’t his blood we saw. It will probably be hours before the police process the apartment and come up with leads, so why don’t you grab a bite to eat with Nate and me? Just something casual here in the hotel.”

  “Thanks, but I need to stay by the phone.”

  “You have a cell that can go with you. Anyway, you need to keep your strength up, girl.”

  There was a moment’s hesitation before Izzy spoke. “I couldn’t face your partner after being so awful. Please pass my apologies to Mr. Price. I haven’t been sleeping well for the past few weeks.”

  “Hey, at least you didn’t try to run him down with your car.” Nicki tried to smooth her friend’s discomfort with a joke.

  “Sounds like a story you’ll have to share another time. I’m going to heat a frozen meal and check Danny’s recent Facebook posts.”

  “By tomorrow Nate and I will have a battle plan for tracking him down. Are you sure you don’t want to stay here with me?”

  “No thanks, Nicki. Please tell your cousin what I said, and I’ll be in touch.” Izzy disconnected before Nicki could begin her next round of arguments.

  A few minutes later, Nate handled the apology delivered through an intermediary rather well. “It’s fine. Her reaction was to be expected, really. Miss Andre is under a lot of stress. Look, they have a table ready for us.” He nudged her toward a booth on the right.

  Nicki glanced around the less fancy of the two restaurants in the hotel, which was anything but unfancy. The lush opulence of the lobby and her suite was evident in the coffe
e shop as well, but at least they had ribs on the menu.

  “Good grief. Check out these prices,” Nate whispered under his breath. “Let’s sneak out when the hostess turns her back. They must have a Joe’s Rib House within walking distance.”

  “Nothing doing,” she hissed back. “You promised we would stay inside the Carlton until we heard something. Besides, Hunter’s paying for our meals here, and he made me promise we would eat someplace nice when I called him with an update.”

  Nate crossed his arms. “This trip is no longer a fun getaway. We may be in Memphis a while.”

  “I know, but I’m too tired to walk anywhere right now. Please, Nate?”

  “Sure, Nic. It’s fine with me.” He patted her hand. “I’m just trying not to drain Hunter’s bank account. He’ll need money for a villa in the south of France for his bride.”

  “Maybe we’ll go abroad for our honeymoon, but I don’t want to live anywhere but New Orleans.” Nicki’s eyes unexpectedly flooded with tears.

  “Glad to hear it. Now I know where to go for holiday meals for the rest of my life.” Nate squeezed her fingers. “Pick out something so we can order as soon as the waiter arrives. And no lollygagging during the meal. I want to listen to the police scanner when we’re done to hear about anything going down in this town.”

  Nowhere near as hungry as she should be, Nicki selected a broiled chicken breast with herbed rice and a house salad. The food arrived within a reasonable time and tasted as delicious as she expected it would. After dinner, Nicki headed back to her room, where she stripped off her wrinkled outfit and stepped into a hot, soothing shower. She needed to wash away the afternoon’s bad miasma, as her Mamaw would call it. Although she hadn’t touched anything connected to the crime scene, Nicki tried to wash away the memory of Danny’s depressing apartment.

  Why didn’t I stay in contact with him? Why haven’t I been a better friend? She wasn’t arrogant enough to think she could have changed what happened, but once she was under her covers, shame over her complacency kept her tossing and turning.

  Hours later, after finally drifting into a fitful doze, the annoying ringtone of her cell brought her fully awake. Pawing at her nightstand in the dark, Nicki located the phone. “Hello?” She pulled up the covers for protection from the unknown.

  “Nicki, it’s Izzy… ”

  “Did you hear from the police?” she asked. At first all she heard were choked gasps and stifled sobs.

  “Yes, I just hung up with… Officer Ryan. They found a… body… someplace downriver. They gave me an address.”

  “Is it your brother?” Nicki felt the chicken and rice churning in her stomach, along with two glasses of sweet tea.

  “They won’t say for sure. They want me to come to where they are. Whoever they found has no identification… on his person.” Izzy made small mewing sounds. “Will you meet me? I don’t want to be alone.”

  “I’ll do you one better. Nate and I will pick you up. Give me five minutes to get dressed—”

  “No, Nicki. Your hotel is right next to the river. All you need to do is head down Third Street, which turns into Route 61. Write down the address and I’ll meet you there.”

  “If that’s what you prefer. Is it okay if I bring Nate?” She was already shrugging off her nightgown.

  “Of course. He’s your partner as well as your cousin, and I’m sure he’s very good at what he does.” A raspy cough punctuated her sentence. “Please hurry, Nicki. I don’t think I can face this alone.”

  Nicki repeated the address back to her and said goodbye. She was already sobbing as hard as Danny’s sister. The body the police found could be some hapless hobo who fell from a railroad overpass, or possibly a delta angler who had enjoyed too many cold ones while fishing that afternoon. Or it could be someone from so far upriver identification wouldn’t be possible for days.

  But somehow, just like Izzy Andre, Nicki knew exactly who it would be.

  FOUR

  It was a good thing that little traffic remained on city streets during the early morning hours. And that Memphis’s finest men and women in blue were busy with more serious crime than speeders. From the time Nicki called, waking him from a pleasant dream of bygone success on the gridiron, Nate hadn’t slowed down. He got dressed, grabbed his wallet and car keys, and walked out the door.

  His cousin met him at the elevator with a face devoid of makeup and hair that looked like a haystack after a windstorm. Nicki didn’t say much as they climbed into the rental car, except for repeating the address provided by Isabelle. Nate tried to fill the car’s dead air space with comforting words such as “It might not be Danny,” and “Plenty of people go missing on any given weekend in the city,” and “That body could have floated down from Iowa for all we know.” When none of them elicited a response, Nate concentrated on closing the distance between the hotel and their intended destination as quickly as possible.

  When they reached a small community park, they had no trouble locating the crime scene. The only cars present were two squad cars and the van from the crime lab. Techs were just climbing from the vehicle as Nate shifted the car into park. Nicki sat motionless, staring at the river cloaked in a blanket of fog. Flashlight beams bounced erratically as officers cordoned off the area with yellow tape.

  “I don’t see Miss Andre’s car. Doesn’t she drive a Prius?” asked Nate, remembering the car at Danny’s apartment.

  Nicki pivoted on her seat as a car crept toward them. “This must be her now.”

  When the vehicle pulled into the adjacent space, it indeed was a dark green Prius. Isabelle climbed out, looking far less imposing than she had earlier.

  “I’m so happy to see you,” she said as Nicki jumped out of the rental car.

  The two women hugged while Nate watched like an uninvited interloper. Then he approached them cautiously. “Why don’t you two wait here while I check out the situation?”

  Isabelle pulled from Nicki’s embrace. “Thank you for coming, Mr. Price. The officer who called said I might need to confirm identification.”

  “I understand, but let me speak with the police first.”

  “We’ll wait here.” Nicki slipped a supportive arm around her friend.

  But Nate got no farther than the yellow tape stretched between plastic cones. “That’s far enough, Mr. New Orleans.” Stepping from the fog, Officer Flynn was so close Nate could smell cigarette smoke on his clothes and coffee on his breath.

  “Good morning. I would have thought you’d be off duty by now.” Nate mustered his most cordial tone.

  “Just my luck to catch this at the end of my shift. What are you doin’ here? Nobody called an out-of-town PI.”

  “You called Miss Andre, and she called us. Besides, as I said earlier, I knew Danny from high school, so I can make the identification and spare Isabelle the trauma.”

  “Nobody’s looking at anything until the medical examiner gets here for a prelim. Nobody’s trashing my crime scene.”

  “You’re sure a crime has been committed?” Nate felt his proverbial hackles start to rise.

  “Considering my stiff looks younger than thirty, I doubt he dropped dead of old age.” Flynn pulled a cigarette from a new pack. “The county ME is on her way. Why don’t you stay in your vehicle with Miss Andre until we need her.”

  Because the request hadn’t been a question, Nate swallowed his reply. Nicki was now inside Isabelle’s car, so he waited in the rental. The windows on the Prius began to steam up as the women talked and ran the heater against the damp air. About an hour later, as the first streaks of dawn appeared in the sky, the ME arrived carrying a quart-sized travel mug. Soon the riverbank sprang to life. Nate watched as two men in suits ducked under the tape without hesitation. He hoped the detectives wouldn’t resent their private-for-hire counterparts as much as the uniformed cops apparently did.

  “Good morning,” he called out, approaching the crime scene.

  Both detectives peered up from squatting positions.
One frowned at the interruption, while the other slicked a hand through his hair and straightened to his feet. “Say, don’t I know you?” His thick accent pegged him from the hills rather than coastal areas.

  Nate smiled with recognition. “Chip Marino, the best wide receiver ever to play for the Bulldogs.”

  “Nate Price. Or are my bloodshot eyes playing tricks on me? You must be the PI sticking his nose in police business.” He stretched out his gloved hand and then seemed to rethink the gesture.

  Nate pretended not to notice. “That would be me. Are we still in the city’s jurisdiction?”

  “Yep, for another quarter mile or so. Otherwise, he would be the sheriff’s problem.” Marino hooked a thumb at the covered corpse and motioned for Nate to move away from the technicians. “You living in Memphis now? Can’t believe I haven’t run into you before today.”

  They walked to a thicket of briars close to the riverbank. “No. This is my first time in Memphis. My cousin and I came to help out a high school friend, Danny Andre. But by the time we got to his apartment, something bad had happened and the police were there.”

  “So that’s how you crawled under Officer Flynn’s skin.”

  “Danny’s sister asked us to come to his apartment. Then the police called her a couple hours ago saying they found a body. We’re here to see if it’s her brother.”

  “Man, I can’t believe they didn’t have her come to the coroner’s office.” Detective Marino opened a leather portfolio and jotted down some notes. “So you think our stiff might be this Danny Andre you went to high school with?”

  “Maybe. His sister, Isabelle, is waiting with my partner to make positive ID. Officer Flynn doesn’t believe I’m capable of facial recognition.”

  “Probably a good idea since she saw him more recently. So this Isabelle Andre and your PI partner from New Orleans are also in the parking lot at 5:00 a.m.? This is turning into a three-ring circus.” He chuckled with amusement.

  Nate failed to see the humor, but he tempered his irritation. He needed a friendly face in law enforcement. “My partner and I are both originally from Natchez, same as Danny and Isabelle. We’re here to find out what happened, whether there was foul play or not. And we’d appreciate a leg up. Not all my professional brothers appreciate those on the hourly dole.” He gestured toward Flynn.