Page 30 of Blind Trust
Turning in the passenger seat so she was looking him straight on, she had to swallow against the earlier feeling of disappointing him. “If you say leave, I’ll leave. No pushback.”
A second passed before Nicolás gave his nod and Lyla exhaled.
“Okay, let’s do this.”
Nicolás led the way to the glass door and held it open for her, and the inside of Galaxy Bowl-O-Rama was everything Lyla had imagined it to be. The walls were painted in wide stripes of turquoise, pumpkin orange, and chartreuse, circa the 1960s or ’70s. It reminded Lyla of an old cartoon she used to watch with her grandfather,The Jetsons.
“Stay on my left.”
She barely heard Nicolás over the sounds of falling pins, voices laughing and cheering, and the blaring disco music that was interruptedby a man with long hair and a goatee behind the shoe counter on a crackling microphone.
Nicolás put himself between her and the bowlers sitting on semicircle benches covered in turquoise pleather. They walked past a wall of tiny orange and white lockers and a snack bar offering a special on nachos and beer.
“Do you see him?” Lyla yelled over the noise.
“Not yet.” But then Nicolás paused. “There.”
Ahead of her was the group of women in their turquoise bowling shirts from the picture. Two men were sitting in the back at a picnic-style table, enjoying the snack bar special. One was facing them, but he had a gray beard and wore glasses, which didn’t match the most recent photo Terrel’s parole officer sent over. That left the man with his back to them.
Nicolás started forward, but Lyla quickly grabbed his arm. “Wait.” Suddenly she wasn’t so sure this was a good idea. “What are we going to say? What if he has a weapon of some sort?”
“Lyla.” Nicolás looked adequately offended, and it was the most Kekoa thing she’d ever witnessed from him. “I’m just going to talk to him.”
At the table, Nicolás’s imposing six-foot-two frame towered over Terrel Baldwin and the man sitting across from him. Both of them looked her and Nicolás over, no attempt to hide their suspicious assessment.
“Terrel Baldwin.”
Terrel moved a toothpick between his lips. “Who are you?”
Lyla blinked before sending Nicolás a frown. She stepped forward. “I’d think you’d recognize the woman you’ve been sending threatening letters to for the last three years. Or maybe you should ask your nephew Connor what I look like since he’s the one you paid to smash my windshield.”
The toothpick fell out of Terrel’s mouth, his eyes bulging for a second before he tried to recover. Scooping up the toothpick, he narrowed his eyes on them. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Nicolás straddled the bench next to him. “Why don’t we try this again? Right now, your nephew is sitting in a jail cell for throwing a brick through my friend’s windshield. The brick was wrapped in a note that a forensic handwriting specialist from the FBI has matched to your probation paperwork. And by the way”—Nicolás pulled out his cell phone—“your PO is wondering why you missed your check-in today.”
Terrel cursed. “Man, I told Jerry we was gonna get caught.”
The woman Lyla recognized from the photo walked over and put a protective hand on Terrel’s shoulder. “Baby, what’s going on?”
“Nothing, Shondra.” He kissed her palm. “Go bowl and have a good time.”
She didn’t move right away, but the man sitting across from Terrel stood and walked her back to the group. Lyla heard him mention something about fixing a mess.
Lyla took the vacated spot and leaned her elbows on the table. This was more than fixing a mess. “Why are you sending me threatening letters?”
Terrel eyed Nicolás. “You gonna turn me in to my PO?”
“Yes.” Nicolás didn’t hesitate. “But not before you answer our questions.”
Blowing out a breath, Terrel let his head fall into his hands. “I needed the money. Jerry promised me fifteen large if I did him a favor. Another ten for the last letter, to make sure she got it.”
Where would Jerry get twenty-five thousand dollars? As far as Lyla knew, all his assets had been used for restitution.
“Why did Jerry pay you to send the letters?”
Terrel shrugged. “I guess he didn’t want to get his hands dirty. But I figured what’s the harm.” He locked eyes with Lyla. “Sticks and stones but words never hurt.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Nicolás growled. His posture shifted forward, causing Terrel to shrink back. “Jerry had to have had a reason why he wanted to send those letters. You look like the curious sort, so why don’t you tell us what he told you.”
