think you’ll find Ray?”
“Maybe not, but I’ll find something.”
“You seem so sure of yourself.”
“I’m Irish. We can’t help ourselves.”
“Touché.” Karen tipped her glass my way, then paused.
“What is it now?”
“You’re gonna say it’s the beer talking, but I think I can help you.”
“With Ray?”
“Yes.”
“You’re right. It’s the beer talking.”
“I’ve got good instincts about people. I could be your sounding board.”
“And why would I need a sounding board?”
“Why not? I know Ray. I know a lot of his friends. In a few months, my charity will be shutting its doors, and I’ll be on a bus out of town. Probably never to return.”
“People have helped me before.”
“And?”
“And some of them wound up dead.”
That brought the conversation to a standstill…at least for a moment. “I don’t plan on winding up dead, Michael.”
“Neither did they.”
“It’s not like I’m going out on a raid or anything.”
“You mean it’s just talk in a bar?”
“That’s it. Talk in a bar.”
“Can’t do it, Karen. Sorry.”
“Why not?”
“I told you. Too dangerous.”
“I already know you got a text from some highway guy. Tell me more about that.”
I scratched my jaw. Karen sat patiently and watched.
“I’ll give you one more piece of information. Just because you might be in a position to help. There’s a company called Beacon Limited. You ever heard of them?”
She shook her head.
“They donated a lot of money to Ray and got a huge chunk of work out of it.”
“What kind of work?”
“It’s a little complicated, but they own a lot of other companies that build roads. Illinois roads.”
“So what about them?”
“If you ever hear anything, just let me know.”
“What would I hear?”
“I don’t know. Probably nothing.”
“You think this Beacon had something to do with Ray’s disappearance?”
“It’s possible.”
Karen frowned. “It’s not.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Ray disappeared because he wanted to. Not because anyone forced him to. And certainly not because of some evil cabal of road contractors.”
“So Ray was just trying to avoid the prison time?”
“Probably.”
“You don’t seem totally convinced.”
“I told you Ray’s personal life wasn’t right.”
“And when you say ‘personal life,’ you mean his marriage?”
“Bingo. You want another beer?”
I put a hand on her arm. “In a minute. So you’re saying Ray disappeared to get away from Marie?”
“I think Ray loved his wife, almost to a fault. In some ways, his marriage was a life sentence. And that was probably just as hard as anything the judge was handing out. When he disappeared, Ray killed two birds with one stone. Whether he meant it that way or not, I don’t know. But that’s what happened. Now, do you want another beer or what?”
CHAPTER 19
W e had two more beers, bummed a couple of cigarettes from the table next to us, and left around ten-thirty. I was hungry. Karen was starved. So we got in her car and drove. Actually, I drove. She sat in the passenger’s seat and played with the radio. I tried three different places, two Italian and one Thai, but they were all closing up for the night. The last, a place in Ravenswood called Baffeto’s, was still doing takeout. Baffeto’s had a woodburning oven, and their thin-crust pies took only three minutes to cook. Sold. We got a large
margherita
pie and brought it back to my place. It was past eleven by the time we walked through the door. Maggie was waiting.
“She’s adorable.” Karen crouched to scratch Mags behind the ears. The pup liked that so much she rolled over on her back for the full treatment. I went into the kitchen to get us some plates and a couple of beers. By the time I got back, Mags was on high alert, wagging her tail and looking expectantly from me to the heavenly aromas emanating from the pizza box.
“Just ignore her,” I said.
“Did she get
“Maybe not, but I’ll find something.”
“You seem so sure of yourself.”
“I’m Irish. We can’t help ourselves.”
“Touché.” Karen tipped her glass my way, then paused.
“What is it now?”
“You’re gonna say it’s the beer talking, but I think I can help you.”
“With Ray?”
“Yes.”
“You’re right. It’s the beer talking.”
“I’ve got good instincts about people. I could be your sounding board.”
“And why would I need a sounding board?”
“Why not? I know Ray. I know a lot of his friends. In a few months, my charity will be shutting its doors, and I’ll be on a bus out of town. Probably never to return.”
“People have helped me before.”
“And?”
“And some of them wound up dead.”
That brought the conversation to a standstill…at least for a moment. “I don’t plan on winding up dead, Michael.”
“Neither did they.”
“It’s not like I’m going out on a raid or anything.”
“You mean it’s just talk in a bar?”
“That’s it. Talk in a bar.”
“Can’t do it, Karen. Sorry.”
“Why not?”
“I told you. Too dangerous.”
“I already know you got a text from some highway guy. Tell me more about that.”
I scratched my jaw. Karen sat patiently and watched.
“I’ll give you one more piece of information. Just because you might be in a position to help. There’s a company called Beacon Limited. You ever heard of them?”
She shook her head.
“They donated a lot of money to Ray and got a huge chunk of work out of it.”
“What kind of work?”
“It’s a little complicated, but they own a lot of other companies that build roads. Illinois roads.”
“So what about them?”
“If you ever hear anything, just let me know.”
“What would I hear?”
“I don’t know. Probably nothing.”
“You think this Beacon had something to do with Ray’s disappearance?”
“It’s possible.”
Karen frowned. “It’s not.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Ray disappeared because he wanted to. Not because anyone forced him to. And certainly not because of some evil cabal of road contractors.”
“So Ray was just trying to avoid the prison time?”
“Probably.”
“You don’t seem totally convinced.”
“I told you Ray’s personal life wasn’t right.”
“And when you say ‘personal life,’ you mean his marriage?”
“Bingo. You want another beer?”
I put a hand on her arm. “In a minute. So you’re saying Ray disappeared to get away from Marie?”
“I think Ray loved his wife, almost to a fault. In some ways, his marriage was a life sentence. And that was probably just as hard as anything the judge was handing out. When he disappeared, Ray killed two birds with one stone. Whether he meant it that way or not, I don’t know. But that’s what happened. Now, do you want another beer or what?”
CHAPTER 19
W e had two more beers, bummed a couple of cigarettes from the table next to us, and left around ten-thirty. I was hungry. Karen was starved. So we got in her car and drove. Actually, I drove. She sat in the passenger’s seat and played with the radio. I tried three different places, two Italian and one Thai, but they were all closing up for the night. The last, a place in Ravenswood called Baffeto’s, was still doing takeout. Baffeto’s had a woodburning oven, and their thin-crust pies took only three minutes to cook. Sold. We got a large
margherita
pie and brought it back to my place. It was past eleven by the time we walked through the door. Maggie was waiting.
“She’s adorable.” Karen crouched to scratch Mags behind the ears. The pup liked that so much she rolled over on her back for the full treatment. I went into the kitchen to get us some plates and a couple of beers. By the time I got back, Mags was on high alert, wagging her tail and looking expectantly from me to the heavenly aromas emanating from the pizza box.
“Just ignore her,” I said.
“Did she get
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