Fallon's Flaw

by Dale Mayer

  “Wow,” she said. “Another stalwart citizen.”

  “Hardly, and surely not the mastermind,” Fallon said, with a smile. “But that tends to be the level of people we’re talking about.”

  “Right, so he’s had lots of access to move around the countries.”

  “Exactly.”

  “But it still doesn’t explain his obsession with these photos.”

  “Just because you don’t like what they’re calling art doesn’t make it not art,” Fallon said, laughing. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders as they walked to the vehicle. He stopped beside their multiple choices, looked at Quinn, and asked, “How dangerous do you think today will be?”

  “Dangerous,” he said cheerfully. “At least we’re assuming. Let’s take bulletproof, all the way.”

  With that, they chose one of the smaller trucks with bulletproof glass, one of Bullard’s favorites.

  “I forgot he spent so much money on his toys,” she murmured, as she got into the middle of the seat.

  “Some things that may appear to be toys are actually tools,” Fallon said.

  “Well, at least that’s the excuse you gave yourself,” she said, laughing.

  “True. Besides,” he said, “if it saves our lives, I’m all for it.”

  “Me too,” she said. “Do we have an address?”

  “I’ve got two of them,” Quinn said, as he gave Fallon directions. Before long they pulled up in front of an address with raw acreage surrounding a run-down house.

  She looked at it and frowned.

  “Yeah, it doesn’t look terribly appealing.”

  “Do you think somebody still lives here?” Linny asked. “It looks so derelict.”

  “Again, it’s possible.” Fallon shrugged.

  “I’ve looked for a birthdate on senior but haven’t got very much,” Quinn added. “Just 1935.”

  “Well, definitely senior.” Fallon laughed. “This could be his place, though he may not even still be alive.”

  “It’s possible,” Quinn said.

  “So, given the age of the one guy,” she said, frowning, “do we expect this to be a grandparent then?”

  “That’s what I was thinking,” Fallon said. “Just because it’s a senior and a junior, it doesn’t tell you how old the junior is.”

  “Right.”

  They pulled up to the front door and parked, looking out the windows, watching for movement. Finally the guys shared a glance, then Fallon looked at her and said, “Please stay here.”

  She frowned and then nodded. “Fine. The house is probably empty anyway.”

  She settled back and watched as both men slipped out of the truck and headed to the front door. They knocked on the door, and, when there was no answer, the two men reached for the knob, as if to open it. She wondered at that. Quinn opened it and called out, asking if anybody was there. When they got no answer, or at least she presumed so, they stepped in. She frowned, hating to think of them going into somebody’s place, but honestly it looked like nobody could even possibly live here. The windows were broken; paint was chipping, and it definitely looked like the roof had seen better days—like a decade ago.

  She waited as the men searched inside, before they stepped back outside again. When they did come out, she froze when she saw Fallon’s face. She immediately hopped out of the cab of the truck and asked, “What’s the matter?”

  “Well, Doc, you want to come and take a look?”

  “I won’t like it, will I?”

  “Not a whole lot, no,” he said.

  She walked over and followed him into the back of the house. “This place is nasty,” she said.

  “Yep,” he agreed.

  As they came around the corner, she saw a corpse on the floor. Not a recent corpse. Somebody who had died quite a while ago. She frowned, as she studied it. From where she was, it almost had a mummified look. “He’s been gone for quite a while,” she murmured, as she stepped closer.

  “Yeah. And I don’t see any visible cause of death.”

  “Not very easy to see in a lot of cases,” she said. “Unless we’re talking about a bullet hole or something obvious like that, which I’m not seeing any sign of.”

  “Exactly,” he said. “It looks more like he died from natural causes. Or, looking at the condition of the body, I mean, maybe he starved? And he’s on the floor. What are the chances that he fell and couldn’t get up?”

  “Good, unfortunately,” she said. “That happens a lot in circumstances like this. An isolated house and, if he doesn’t have anybody living close by, it could easily have happened that way.”

  As she studied the position of the body, she nodded. “I’m not in any way saying that is what happened, but it’s definitely a possibility.”

  “So another phone call needs to be made.”

  “Yeah,” she said, pulling out her phone.

  As soon as she contacted Wagner, exasperation filled his tone when he asked, “Another one?”

  “Yes, another one,” she said. “But hardly our fault. An old man. But we’re searching for both a senior and a junior.”

  “Well, you didn’t give me the ID of the man. Instead you headed off to check it out yourself.”

  At that, Fallon took the phone from her and said, “And, if we had sent you on a wild goose chase, you wouldn’t have appreciated that either,” he said. “We checked it out, and now we realize it needs your attention.”

  “Great,” he said. “Do you have an address for the other guy too?”

  “Yes, two addresses were in the phone book,” he said. “We’ve checked this one, and now we’re about to head out to check the second one.”

  “Well, you go do that,” he said. “Let me know what you find.” With that, he hung up.

  They backtracked from the house, and she stood there for a long moment, staring.

  “Are you okay?”

  “I’m okay,” she said. “But it’s sad, you know?”

  “You mean the fact that somebody lived and died here, and nobody knew? And that he could have been dead for months or even years?”

  “Yes,” she said. “Exactly that. Everybody should have somebody who will mourn them. Everybody should have somebody to be there with them on their last days.”

  “In a perfect world it would happen that way,” he said. “But you and I both know, a lot is wrong with today’s world, and looking after the elderly is just one more of those aspects.”

  Sad, she hopped into the truck, and they reversed down the driveway. “Wagner will come today, won’t he?” she asked, twisting to look behind her.

  “It really bothers you that he’s there alone?”

  “I guess in a way, yes,” she said. “I don’t think anybody should die alone, but, at the same time, I don’t think a body should be there alone either.”

  “He’ll be coming today,” Quinn said. “We’ll make sure of it.”

  She smiled at him and nodded. “I guess another day won’t make a whole lot of difference, will it?”

  He shook his head slowly. “Not to that guy anyway.”

  “I suppose this happens all the time, when you think about the world over.”

  “That it does. That it does.”

  With his mind churning with unanswered questions, Fallon drove to the second address. He couldn’t imagine anybody not checking up on a senior member of the family like that. So, unless there were mitigating circumstances, like no family, maybe there was no connection between these guys, or maybe it was a relationship that had broken apart years ago. The old man had found himself in a tough spot at the end of the day. It was sad, like she’d said. But it wasn’t the worst thing Fallon had seen in his life, that’s for sure. He also didn’t know just what this guy had been like when he was younger.

  But, with nothing left to do but carry on, he drove steadily, following Quinn’s directions. When Fallon pulled up outside a small apartment building, he said, “This makes more sense. It’s similar to the apartment of the other g
uy.”

  “It is,” Quinn said. “Not sure how much on the inside will match though.”

  “I don’t like apartments,” she said. “I’ve spent so much of my life in them, in some of the smallest accommodations because of the work I did and the hours I kept. So I didn’t care that much at the time, but it’s not what I would choose for my life.”

  “No, I don’t think most of us would,” Fallon said. “Me, I’m looking for a couple acres and a house in the middle, where I don’t have to deal with people.”

  She laughed at that. “Yet you deal with a ton of people and live in a compound, where lots of people are around you all the time.”

  He just grinned.

  As they hopped out, she asked, “Am I coming?”

  He looked at Quinn and then at her and said, “You might as well. Let’s see if he recognizes you.”

  “Right,” she said. “That would be an interesting reaction to watch. Or not.”

  As they hopped out, it was midday but a Saturday. So hopefully he was home.

  “If we found him,” she said, “like, if this is him, which of course we don’t know for sure, does that mean Interpol’s not after him?”

  “He was taken down off their site, so they could have him on a bail program or something like that, where he doesn’t get to leave the country until he goes through a trial or something. It’ll take a little more digging to get that kind of information.”

  “And did you notice that Wagner didn’t offer us anything?”

  “Wagner doesn’t give us anything if he doesn’t have to,” Fallon said shortly. “I think it’s the rule of these assholes.”

  She nodded. “Well, let’s go see what we’ve got here.”

  Inside the building they moved toward the apartment in question. They had passed nobody on the way. Linny stepped up and knocked on the door. No answer. She looked back at Fallon.

  He frowned and rapped on the door, harder. Checking his watch, “He shouldn’t still be in bed.”

  “Says you,” she said, with an eye roll.

  He just shrugged, and, when he heard a shuffling sound inside, he stepped back slightly.

  The door opened to show an older lady, quite elderly, standing in front of them. She looked up and winced. “Who are you?” she asked.

  He confirmed the address and said, “We’re looking for Jesse Limerick.”

  “My grandson,” she said, with the nod of her head.

  “Is he here?”

  “Who’s asking?” Something crafty was in her voice.

  At that point, Fallon realized it wouldn’t be quite so easy. “A friend of his has passed on,” he said. “We were wondering if you had any information about it and the pictures.”

  She just rolled her eyes. “Those pictures,” she said. “He’s pretty addicted to them.”

  “Is he around? Could we talk to him about the pictures?”

  She frowned and then said, “He hasn’t been home for a couple days.”

  “Ah, does he have another place to stay?”

  “No,” she said. “I thought maybe he would have been with his grandpa, but they don’t get along.”

  “So you don’t live with your husband?”

  “Haven’t in years,” she said. “Why?”

  “Does his grandfather have the same name as him?”

  She nodded. “Yep, he does. We raised him for years. His parents died, many, many, years ago. Now I live here with him.”

  “That’s nice,” he said. “Have you lived here with him for quite a while?”

  She frowned and said, “You’re asking an awful lot of questions.”

  “I am,” Fallon said gently. “We were just at the grandfather’s house.”

  “If you could even get in,” she said. “That place is a pigsty.”

  “When did you last talk with him?”

  “There you go, with the questions again,” she said. “I don’t talk to him. I haven’t talked to him in a very long time.”

  “Ah,” he said. “Then maybe you don’t know.”

  “Know what?” she said, rubbing her eyes and staring up at him, her rheumy eyes almost teary, as if something was in them.

  He suspected it was some eye condition. “We were just there this morning,” Fallon said. “It appears that he passed away quite a while ago.”

  She just stared at him and blinked. “Who passed away?”

  “Your ex-husband,” he said, stepping forward.

  The woman looked at him. “I told you. I haven’t seen him in forever.”

  “Right, and is this the address of his house?” he asked, as he ran off the address.

  She frowned and then nodded. “Yes, that’s my old house. But I haven’t lived with him for a long time,” she reiterated once again.

  “I see,” he said gently. “Well, we went there and checked.”

  “Don’t know why you’d want to do that,” she said, with a sneer. “It’s not like he ever had anything to do with us.”

  “We found him deceased,” Fallon said.

  She looked at him and blinked. “You saying he’s dead?”

  “Yes,” he said. “The police will be there now to take care of the body.”

  She looked at him in shock for a moment, then she started to laugh.

  He winced. “I gather that news doesn’t upset you.”

  “That’s pretty funny actually,” she said. “He always told me that I would die before him. Proved him wrong, didn’t I.” Then she started to hack and wheeze.

  He stepped back in alarm, as she seemed to lose control.

  Linny stepped forward and patted her gently on the back. “Maybe you should go lie down.”

  But the older woman brushed off her arm. “I’m fine. I’m totally fine.” She shook her head. “Imagine that. The old coot’s dead.” She shook her head again.

  “We’re still looking for your grandson,” Linny said. “Do you know where we could find him?”

  “Huh. Why do you need to find him?”

  Fallon thought about explaining it all over again with her, but Linny said, “We wanted to tell him in person that his grandfather was dead.”

  The woman looked at her, nodded, and said, “That makes sense. He should be downtown with his buddies.”

  “Do you know where that is?” Fallon asked.

  “Where downtown is?” She looked at him, puzzled.

  “Yes, but where downtown?” he asked, striving for patience.

  “He likes to play pool,” she said. “He’s supposed to be getting a job, so he can pay for all the rent here that I pay for. He thinks I don’t know about it, but I know he’s not trying to find a job.”

  “Well, he’s got a court case coming up, doesn’t he?” Quinn asked.

  She looked at him in surprise. “No, he’s never been in trouble. Not my boy.”

  “Ah,” he said, with a nod. “Good for you. You’ve done right by him.”

  “Of course I did. He’s a good boy.”

  “Fine. We’ll go down and tell him about his grandfather.”

  “He won’t care,” she said. “The last time he saw his grandfather, he beat him up pretty good.” And she shuffled to shut the door.

  “Okay, so the grandfather beat up the grandson?” Quinn asked Fallon, as they stepped out. “Or the grandson beat up the grandfather?”

  “I don’t think she was very clear herself,” Fallon said.

  But finding Junior in a pub with pool tables on Main Street in this tiny little town didn’t sound too challenging.

  “She didn’t sound very upset about the death of her husband either,” Linny said.

  “Remember, in a perfect world …”

  “I just struggle with all that,” she said.

  “Struggle all you want,” he murmured. “Just remember. It’s not that easy for people to change.”

  “I know.” She smiled and slipped her fingers into his. “Glad you’re in my life.”

  “Me too,” he said.

  “H
ey, if you guys are getting all lovey-dovey,” Quinn said, with a big grin on his face, “I’m leaving.”

  “Huh,” she said. “You won’t be leaving. Besides, take notes. Maybe you’ll be next.”

  “I’m not next, no way,” he said adamantly.

  “I wouldn’t put too much emphasis on that,” she said. “Because, sure as hell, it’s not something you can count on.”

  “No,” he said. “Which is why I’m glad you guys finally got past your differences.”

  Back in the vehicle, Quinn ran down the local pub on his phone and loaded the GPS directions. They drove up toward town, choosing a parking spot a block away.

  “Guess it’ll be a little obvious if we all walk in there at once, won’t it?” she asked the guys.

  “I’m going around the back,” Quinn said. “I bet Junior takes one look at her and pulls a runner.”

  “Wouldn’t that be good,” Fallon said, with a big grin.

  “Why?” she asked.

  “Because it shows guilt.”

  “No,” she corrected. “It just shows he’s afraid of the law. Although you don’t look exactly like the law.”

  He just stared at her in surprise.

  She shrugged and said, “Yet you’re scary, so anybody in their right minds would run.”

  At that, Quinn burst out laughing and took off around to the back of the alleyway.

  “I suppose we give him a few minutes, huh?” she asked.

  “Yep, that’s exactly what we’ll give him,” he said. “Then we go in and have a little talk with our guy, if he’s here.”

  Chapter 12

  Linny automatically stepped behind Fallon, as they walked into the door of the bar. He tried to usher her in front, but she chose to stay behind him. That way the shock of Junior seeing her would come up a little bit stronger, after Fallon had already broken the ice. As they walked in, the bar was shadowy and dark. A typical pub pool parlor, as far as she was concerned. Particularly in this part of town, which would never be a high-class area. As they walked in, nobody even looked up or gave a shit.

  About six guys were in the place, only one at the pool table. The others weren’t even hanging around, so if that was the guy they were looking for, he was playing pool by himself. As she and Fallon walked up closer, she peeked around Fallon and realized it could be him. He was fairly small, and his face was definitely covered in pimples.