“How’s that?”
“Two guys about the same age as Zoe and me. They searched the apartment after we did. They’re good. The blond guy picked the lock in like three seconds.”
“Did they see you up there?”
“Zoe broke into the apartment across the hall and we hid inside until they entered the girlfriend’s place. After that, we went downstairs, then ran into them like we were just entering the building.”
“They’re both hot,” Zoe said, “especially the blond one.”
“You two can play once we capture Roscoe,” Farnsworth said.
“I don’t think he’s here. There was no sign of him in the apartment.”
“And where are the boys now?”
“They’re parked down the street there in a red sports car. I think they’re running surveillance on the building just like we are.”
“Hmm, I think I’ll go have a talk with those two tonight. They must be after the bounty.”
“We’ll come with you,” Zoe said.
“No. You two stay here. You’ll be my secret weapons if these boys don’t back off and leave Roscoe to me.”
The girls laughed.
“You’ve got something planned for them?” Kayla asked.
“Only if they don’t back off.”
Zoe grinned. “Being a bounty hunter is fun.”
Farnsworth winked at his granddaughters. “It beats workin’ 9 to 5.”
73
Head Hunting
STATEN ISLAND, NEW YORK, MARCH 2018
At 10:24 p.m., Tanner and Andrea were inside the empty home that offered a view of Kent Mead’s property. Other than the appearance of a middle-age woman Tanner took to be a housekeeper and cook, no one had entered or left the home.
Andrea had decided to stop flirting, which pleased Tanner. He would have preferred that she had let him handle things alone, but if she was going to involve herself she needed to be serious about it. Andrea had something else on her mind as well. Tanner didn’t bother to ask what it was. It was his experience that most people talked whether you wanted them to or not. If you waited them out, they would spill what was bothering them. Andrea was no exception and finally revealed what was on her mind.
“Tanner, I know why you were meeting my father in the desert years ago. He was hiring you to kill Mr. Smith, wasn’t he?”
“Yes.”
“What was my father? Was he like your agent or something?”
“It wasn’t that formal an arrangement. If he was approached by someone who wanted someone else dead, he would contact me or some other assassin. I only handle the tough ones, which Mr. Smith certainly proved to be.”
“I knew my father wasn’t legit, but I didn’t know he dealt with murder.”
“He was a go-between and worked on a percentage. He was good at it and kept you clothed and fed by doing it.”
Andrea placed a hand on Tanner’s arm.
“I wasn’t putting Daddy down, or you. It’s just that he was such a gentle man. It seems odd that he would involve himself in violence.”
“Your father, Herb, he didn’t deal with lowlifes looking to have their spouses killed. Your father handled the higher end of the trade. The deals I did with him never involved the innocent, unless it was an innocent hiring him. I killed men like Smith on the contracts your father handled, while one was a serial rapist that escaped the legal system on a technicality. Your father was a good man, Andrea. When I kill Smith, I’ll be doing it for him too. Smith had no right to kill him, and threatening you, a child at the time, was definitely out of line.”
“I still miss my father.”
“And you will forever, the pain never goes away.”
Andrea was about to ask Tanner why he knew so much about the pain of loss when Kent Mead’s limo appeared. The huge vehicle parked in front of the home and a man stepped out of the passenger compartment. After gazing about, the man, whom Tanner took to be a security guard, entered Mead’s home after inputting an alarm code.
Because of the late hour and the heavy tinting on the limo’s windows, Tanner and Andrea were unable to see inside the vehicle.
The security guard reappeared and gave an okay signal. Two other men emerged from the rear of the limo; one of them was Kent Mead.
“There’s the bastard,” Andrea whispered, as Tanner studied Mead through the zoom lens of a camera.
Kent Mead was escorted inside his home as the limo driver backed the car into the attached garage. The garage was big enough for two cars, but most of the space was filled with boxes and old furniture. One of the guards stayed outside and observed the street until the limo was tucked away for the night.
As the limo driver emerged into the glow of the streetlight, Andrea gasped. The man was wearing a black suit, while perched atop his head was a white cowboy hat.
“That’s Cord. Tanner, that limo driver is Cord.”
Tanner zoomed in on Cord’s face, then smiled.
“He’s got a long scar on his right cheek. It looks like you marked him for life.”
“I only wished I had killed him back then.”
Cord and the security guard entered the home just as a light came on in an upstairs window.
“That must be Mead’s bedroom,” Andrea said, “and I don’t like that security system. Even if we got past Cord and the guards, we would then have to deal with the police.”
“We won’t take him inside the house. We don’t need to thanks to a mistake.”
“What mistake?”
“Mead keeps his garage so cluttered with junk that the limo barely fits in there. It’s why he enters the home through the front door. We’ll use that to our advantage and take him on the street when he leaves in the morning.”
“Tomorrow morning?”
“No, first we need to observe his routine. We’ll also do some stage-setting.”
“What do you mean by stage-setting?” Andrea asked.
“Are you a jogger?”
“I run on a treadmill at my gym.”
“You’re going to put on a show tomorrow morning for the guards. I want to see how they react.”
“What sort of show?”
Tanner studied her.
“We need to get you in costume.”
“What costume?”
Tanner smiled.
“You’re going to play the part of the sexy jogger.”
At 8:24 the following morning, Andrea went running by Kent Mead’s house after Cord had driven the limo out of the garage. The two security guards were standing on the front steps of the home, but Mead was still inside the house.
Andrea was wearing a blonde wig, a pair of blue-tinted sunglasses, and little else. Her running shorts were small and tight, while her skimpy top allowed her breasts to jiggle as she ran. The two guards on the steps watched her approach. When Andrea waved to them, one man smiled and the other waved back.
Since he was in the limo, Tanner didn’t know what Cord’s reaction had been, but he doubted that the man could have missed seeing her. Andrea had no fear that Cord would recognize her beneath the wig and sunglasses. She was running down the street half naked. The man would not be scrutinizing her face.
By the time Andrea had circled around and reentered the house, Kent Mead had left for the day.
“That was good,” Tanner said. “By the time we strike, the guards will think of you as the sexy jogger lady in the neighborhood.”
“How many days do I have to do that? I felt like an exhibitionist, and it’s chilly outside too.”
“We’ll let them see you again tomorrow while I make sure Mead keeps a morning routine. On the third morning we’ll grab Mead.”
“Are you going to kill the guards along with Cord?”
“I’m not planning on it, but that depends on you.”
“How so?”
“I want you to lure the guards down to street level after I handle Cord inside the garage. After that, we’ll disarm them and take off with Mead.”
“Won’t the gu
ards see that you’re not Cord?”
“I’ll be wearing his cowboy hat and sunglasses, and they’ll be watching you anyway.”
“It sounds risky.”
“It is risky, but you don’t have to be a part of it. Say the word and I’ll grab Mead by myself.”
“By killing the guards?”
“I won’t kill them unless I’m forced to, but I will hurt them if I’m working alone; I would have to do that in order to be quick.”
“I still want to help. Let me change out of this outfit and we’ll leave.”
Tanner looked her over and Andrea noticed.
“Do you like what you see?”
“I do. You’re beautiful, Andrea.”
She smiled.
“It’s nice to know you noticed.”
74
Boundaries
PHOENIX, ARIZONA, APRIL 1999
Farnsworth sidled up to the open driver’s side window of the boys’ red sports car and smiled down at Cody, who was behind the wheel. There was a baseball magazine sitting open on Cody’s lap. Farnsworth figured he had snuck up on Cody while he was reading.
“Hello there, sonny.”
Cody looked up at him and Farnsworth smiled.
“Those are some eyes you got there, kid. Are you an intense young man?”
“What’s going on?” Romeo said. It was after midnight. Romeo had been sleeping while Cody kept watch for Roscoe.
“This old man wants to talk about something. Isn’t that right?” Cody said.
Farnsworth rested his elbows on the window and peered inside.
“I’ll speak plainly. You two are here looking for Pete Roscoe, but I’ll tell you right now that he’s mine. Phoenix is my turf, and I don’t like competition.”
“You’re after Roscoe too?” Romeo said.
“That’s right. That three-thousand-dollar bounty is mine.”
“What are you talking about?” Cody asked.
“Don’t play dumb, son. You wouldn’t be sitting out here if you didn’t know Roscoe was wanted for missing his child support payments.”
“You’re a bounty hunter?” Romeo asked. “An old dude like you?”
“Watch your mouth, boy, or this ‘old dude’ will kick your ass.”
“Chill, man. I didn’t mean anything by it.”
Cody was shaking his head in disgust. First the two girls had seen them in the apartment building and now this old man was on to the fact that they were looking for Roscoe. They might as well have taken out a full-page ad.
“You do your thing and we’ll do ours,” Cody said, “and we’ll see who gets to Roscoe first.”
“It’ll be me, boy. I’m better at this then you’ll ever be, and one more thing.”
“Yeah?”
“You best keep your eyes open. If I had been Pete Roscoe I could have killed both of you. You never saw me coming.”
Cody brought up the gun he’d been hiding beneath the magazine and showed it to Farnsworth.
“I spotted you when you crossed the street two blocks back, and don’t call me boy.”
Farnsworth laughed.
“Well hell, you two might be some competition after all. Let the games begin.”
Farnsworth walked away, to head back to his van by an indirect route. Romeo was watching him and made an observation.
“He doesn’t walk like an old dude, and look, he keeps his head on a swivel as he moves.”
“We can’t let him get to Roscoe first. If Roscoe doesn’t show up here by noon tomorrow I say we check out our next lead.”
“Yeah,” Romeo said. “I think this is looking like a bust here.”
Two hours later, a car parked in front of the apartment house. Both boys were awake, and they readied themselves in case Pete Roscoe emerged from the car. It wasn’t Roscoe, but one of the car’s occupants was his ex-girlfriend, the stripper named Janna. Janna was with a guy in his thirties. They began kissing at the door of the apartment house then disappeared inside.
“That wasn’t Pete Roscoe,” Romeo said.
“No, and it looks like Janna has a new boyfriend.”
“That’s that then, we’ll keep watch until noon and then take off.”
Cody agreed, then told Romeo to wake him in four hours.
Three blocks away in the other direction, Farnsworth was lowering his binoculars.
“That Janna is a looker, but the man wasn’t Pete Roscoe.”
Zoe was still awake, while Kayla was asleep on an air mattress in the rear of the van. Zoe was staring through her own binoculars.
“I can just make out the bumper of the sports car. It looks like those guys aren’t going away.”
“They will sooner or later. When they do, I want you and Kayla to slow them down.”
“How?”
“You’ll think of something, honey. You girls both inherited my devious nature.”
Zoe laughed, then she kissed her grandfather on the cheek.
“I’m glad we’re working together. Kayla and I missed you all those years you were on the move.”
“I only wish I had spent more time with your dad.”
“He understood. He said you changed after Grandma died. I wish I had known her.”
“You and your sister resemble her, and yeah, I changed. Your father was better off being raised by my sister and her family.”
“What did you do all those years? Were you a bounty hunter then too?”
“Yeah, I guess you could say I’ve always been a hunter.”
Kayla slid up front and sat beside Zoe. After yawning, she asked a question.
“Did I miss anything while I was napping?”
“Roscoe’s girlfriend has a new boyfriend,” Farnsworth said. “I think we’re wasting our time here.”
“Are those two boys still hanging around?”
“Yeah,” Zoe said. “Granddad says we get to have some fun with them tomorrow. He wants us to slow them down.”
Kayla smiled. “The dark-haired one is mine.”
“Don’t be getting all sweet on those boys. We’ll be putting them through their paces,” Farnsworth said.
“Don’t worry, Granddad. Zoe and I will show no mercy.”
“That’s what I like to hear,” Farnsworth said.
75
You’re A Vegetable
STATEN ISLAND, NEW YORK, MARCH 2018
Tanner and Andrea made their move on Kent Mead as planned.
Andrea, while wearing yet another revealing outfit, ran toward the home after Cord entered the garage to bring out the limo. Tanner was waiting for him in there, having broken into the garage minutes earlier. While the garage had been locked securely, its doors and windows weren’t monitored as the entryways of the home were. Tanner got inside the garage with ease, to await Cord’s arrival.
He knocked Cord unconscious with a leather blackjack, then donned the man’s white cowboy hat and dark sunglasses. Like Cord, Tanner was wearing a black suit. He eased the limo out of the garage just as Andrea went jogging past. Tanner sent her a nod and she went into the act they’d rehearsed.
Andrea let out a yelp of pain, then sat on the bottom step of Kent Mead’s home. The two bodyguards came down the stairs to see what was ailing her.
“I think I twisted my ankle,” Andrea said. She was leaning over as she spoke, causing both guards to look down at her enhanced breasts, which were half exposed beneath her small top.
Meanwhile, Tanner had parked the limo in front of the home. He exited the vehicle and walked toward the guards and Andrea. Tanner’s head was down, like he was checking his phone, and with the cowboy hat and sunglasses, his face was largely hidden. One of the guards glanced at him, but then looked back at Andrea.
“The lady twisted her ankle, Cord. Call for an ambulance.”
When Tanner was three feet away, Andrea jumped up and ran toward the limo.
“Hey!” one of the guards said. While he was speaking, Tanner was using the leather sap on the back of his partner’s hea
d. Tanner followed the movement up by catching the other guard under the chin with the sap. The first man was out cold, but the other needed another whack. When it was done, both men lay at the top of the driveway, senseless.
Andrea was behind the wheel of the limo. When Tanner looked her way, she signified with a smile that she was okay, and ready for the next part of their plan.
Still wearing Cord’s cowboy hat, Tanner was about to enter the house when Kent Mead stepped out the front door. Mead was staring down at a computer tablet while issuing instructions to Tanner, who he had assumed was one of his guards.
“Tell Cord we’ll be stopping by the bank this morning. I’ve a meeting to attend.”
“You’re not going to make it,” Tanner said.
Mead raised his head and opened his mouth in shock. Tanner showed him the gun he was holding.
“Stay quiet and walk toward the limo,” Tanner said. When Mead simply stood there in shock, Tanner added. “Start walking or I’ll toss you down the stairs.”
Mead broke out of his trance and began moving.
“Are you working for the union?”
“My name is Tanner. You might remember me.”
Mead spun around so fast that he nearly lost his balance on the steps. He stared at Tanner, then he caught sight of his two bodyguards, who were lying in a heap.
“Are they dead?”
“Get in the limo… Mr. Jones.”
There was movement in a window across the street. When Tanner gazed up, he saw a woman in her underwear talking on a phone. Mead’s neighbor must have been in the middle of getting dressed for work when she glanced out the window and saw Tanner’s activities. It was not unexpected, and Tanner was prepared to avoid the cops.
After Mead entered the limo, Tanner closed the door and told Andrea to drive. Tanner took away Mead’s tablet, then demanded his phone. Once he had the phone, Tanner removed the battery. Mead was staring at the back of Andrea’s head.
“Driver, this man is a criminal and he plans to kill me. If you don’t want to become an accessory to murder I suggest you call the police.”
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