The Auction House

by Vito Zuppardo

  “Looks like everyone came prepared but me,” Howard said, strapping a second Glock on his left side and pocketing a few clips.

  Howard carried the bag, and they all took a seat. The water barely parted as they cut through the lake.

  “Want to give me a clue to where we are going?”

  “Howard, it’s Heinz’s birthday. I am going to wish him a happy day, show him the pictures, collect my money, and we leave,” Julie said with a fake smile.

  “I take it’s not his birthday?” Howard asked.

  “Hell no, that was to get past Jackson and give him a reason for a pop-in visit.”

  The boat hugged the shoreline at a reduced speed as they got closer to the Heinz compound. From a distance, Howard took in things that were important to him. What appeared to be an eight-foot stone fence seemed to go on for more than the eye could see. He was sure there was a slope to each side of the wall by about four feet where the grass met the concrete support, making the wall over twelve feet high should someone want to scale into the property. The main stone house stretched out across the lawn with wraparound glassed-in rooms that gave a beautiful Lake Tahoe view. The grounds looked to go on forever, and even Howard mentioned he’d not seen a place so protected since a palace he broke into in England.

  “They can build all the walls they want. A good thief or killer can still get in.”

  At the waterline, Julie pointed out two empty boat docks. Like Heinz’s airplane, the boats had a covered garage they float in for the winter months or repairs.

  The boat docked and Julie lead, followed by Howard and Fritz. The pilot stayed at the pier. The pier let through the garage into the basement of the house. The cameras had blind spots, and Julie knew them all. She hugged walls and around corners dodging the roaming camera. Howard and Fritz followed her closely. A stairway led to the main house, and Julie stepped into a room off to the kitchen.

  She came face to face with a housekeeper she had met only once. Fully dressed in a black dress and white apron, she surprised her in the kitchen when she arrived with two men coming from the cellar.

  “I’m Julie Wong,” she said quickly before the woman could scream.

  The lady stared Julie down and then gave a pleasant smile “I remember you. Ms. Julie?”

  “Yes,” she replied. “Where is everyone?”

  The lady pointed to the security monitor. “Two cars pulled up at the front gates, a lot of men demanding to see Mr. Heinz. Something about the casino workers union.”

  “Is he in his office?” Julie asked.

  She got a nod from the woman, who still appeared shaken by the surprise visit.

  “Mr. Heinz is expecting me,” Julie said, petting her arm. “Sorry to frighten you.”

  Howard peeked at the monitor and viewed the two black SUVs parked at the front gates. Men surrounded the entrance. It wasn’t the men Julie sent that concerned him—there were way more of a security team that protected Heinz than he expected.

  “Julie, we need to do whatever is your plan and get the hell out,” he whispered, following her through the house.

  She motioned with her hand for Howard and Fritz to watch her back, and she opened a coat closet. Inside on the wall, a gray metal boxed housed the wiring to the security system. She routed through the wires, talking to herself. “Come on—where are you?”

  She pulled a red wire from among all the others, and with a cutter, she snipped it in half and curled the wire apart, then clipped three wires tagged phone system. She came out with a smile. “Heinz should have never had purchased the system I recommend. The only camera working is the one facing the front gates.”

  Julie continued to a set of double doors that lead to the office. Howard and Fritz watched the house security team prepare to drawdown. Then Howard pulled his weapon and screwed a silencer on the barrel.

  “Surprise, Mr. Heinz,” Julie said.

  Howard listened intently, ready to move the second anything got out of line.

  “Julie?” he answered. His tone was calm as Julie expected.

  She walked directly to his desk, never taking her eyes off him. From her purse, she pulled the pictures of Jin.

  “I’ve come to collect.”

  “I would have sent your money the usual way,” Heinz said.

  Julie watched his eyes roam. First to the security monitor. Her plan worked. Anybody approaching the main gates unannounced was going to get stopped by security. With as many guys she sent, the entire security team would go. She wasn’t wrong.

  He looked the pictures over several times very carefully. “Well done.”

  “You knew Jin was my brother.”

  “I don’t know who you hire for jobs. But you do know I’m not too fond of witnesses for high profile clients.”

  “All clients are high profile.”

  “There you go,” Heinz said with a smile that sent chills through her.

  “You wanted my brother dead because he worked too many jobs with me.” She paused and walked the room but never putting her back to him.

  “Julie, what do you want?”

  “I told you—my money.”

  “Why is this time so different?”

  “Because your plan was for me to kill my brother.” She tried not to show emotion. “Then you were going to have me taken out.”

  “Julie, Julie, Julie,” he said as his hand slid to the corner of the desk.

  “You can press the button as much as you like,” she smiled. “The wires are cut. Now open the safe and give me my money.”

  She wasn’t sure of Heinz’s next move, but he did go to the wall and open the safe. He was old school and had one in the wall behind an oil painting.

  Heinz stacked three bundles of cash on the desk. “One hundred and fifty thousand, right?”

  “No, I killed my brother for you! Another hundred thousand.”

  Heinz went back to the vault, his back to Julie. “You know I had no plan to do away with you. You’re my number one.”

  “Not anymore, I’m out. Done, finished,” Julie said, reaching for a crystal paperweight from his desk.

  “You see, Julie ... ” He gave a slight head turn back to her.

  While Heinz’s hands fumbled around in the vault, she slipped behind a leather chair.

  “Killing your brother saves me the time chasing him down.” Heinz turned from the vault and got off three shots from a small handgun. All three bullets hit the wall.

  Julie threw the paperweight from the side of the chair, landing it across the room. Heinz shot in that direction. She followed with a perfect throw of her favorite weapon, a ten-inch Stiletto knife to his neck, landing him in his desk chair. From the doorway, Howard got off three rounds hitting Heinz in the chest.

  “Guy’s we have company coming,” Fritz shouted from the foyer.

  Julie pulled a vinyl string bag from a pocket and stuffed as much money from the vault as she could.

  “Thirty yards!” Fritz shouted.

  The three took off through the house.

  Julie stopped in the kitchen and found the housekeeper. She threw her a packet of money. “Get out of town. You talk, remember I know where your grandson lives. Take the money and don’t be a fool.

  Julie caught up with the others in the basement. Through the boathouse, Julie led at a full sprint with the men behind her. The captain had the motor running, and as soon as the last person got in, he pulled the throttle. No longer was the captain using the electric motor. The four hundred horsepower diesel stood the hull up high until it leveled off. The boat cut through the water and made the bend in the lake before Heinz’s bodyguards got a look at them from the pier.

  The boat ran the ground back where they originally started. Howard and Fritz headed to the Jeep.

  Julie pulled a small packet of money from the bag and tossed it to the captain before exiting. “It’s been a great ride working with you over the years” She jumped to land and ran.

  The Jeep showed its power when it claimed the
incline to the highway with ease. They drove one mile to an open area. The last piece of Julie’s plan was on target. A helicopter sat blades running, ready for takeoff. The jeep cut through the grounds as if there was a road to the chopper. Howard threw his canvas bag into the helicopter.

  “This is where we part, Fritz. Thank you for all the years you protected me,” she said and reached in the bag and handed him a bundle of money, too.

  From the compound until the chopper was airborne, it took seven minutes. They cut across Lake Tahoe, and in twenty-four minutes, they landed at Reno Airport alongside a jet-fueled and ready for taking off.

  The plane taxied, and the engines roared. The aircraft rolled down the runway at a high rate of speed and lifted off.

  “What?” Julie asked, catching Howard staring at her.

  “I always thought I was the best,” he said. “You just pulled off an international hit on the most powerful man in crime organizations.”

  “I didn’t plan to kill him, but had a feeling my time was up. When he went to the safe so willingly, I knew he’d come back with a gun.”

  “You just killed the most powerful man in the organization.” Howard’s smile broadened.

  “Not really. He was powerful and had many enemies. A while back, he screwed over the wrong Russian,” Julie said with a smile. “I turned down his offer to kill Heinz several times. He must have pissed this guy off badly. The Russian upped the bounty to one million dollars. I not only cleaned out Heinz’s safe but collected on the bounty, too.”

  “Where to now?”

  “In the next three hours, we’ll drop you in New Orleans, and then I’ll head to Aruba. I’ll stay with Jin for a few days, and then I’m off.”

  “His people will hunt you down forever.”

  “No, not really. There is no one above Heinz that is offering a contract on me. Maybe a few bodyguards with a personal vendetta, but after a few months tops a year, they too will give up.”

  “So, where to go?” Howard asked.

  Her frown showed, but she said it anyway, “I’ll tell you, but then I have to kill you.”

  Chapter 32

  The following day Mario sat on his patio sipping coffee. It was way too early to be out. The sky barely broke daylight through the clouds at six in the morning.

  A sleepless night thinking of his future rolled him around the bed until he finally got up. For the first time in his life, he thought about what he would do after his cop gig. He’d hoped to make it to full retirement for the maximum payout for years of service; the days of fighting crime from instinct had caught up with him. Now everything was by the book, and in the last five years, the police commissioner enforced every action with hash consequences. He’d heard violations knocked some cops back to street patrol, others terminated.

  His mind wandered from opening a security firm, which was natural for the number of details he’d worked over the years. It was like two people talked in his head. One is spitting out job options, and the other disputing. Mario like’s chasing criminals, not some cyber thief from a desk and a laptop.

  Mario never made a step without his cell phone, and this was one time he wished he had. It sat on the table next to his coffee cup, and it vibrated.

  He checked the screen. “Oh shit. It’s way too early for any bad news.” He answered, “Good morning, Chief.”

  That was all Mario got out of his mouth before the Chief took over the conversation. It was short and sweet; he had to meet her at Mr. B’s on Royal Street within an hour. When he asked for a heads up on the early meeting, she just said, “don’t be late.”

  Why she wanted to meet so early had many theories running rapidly in his head. None were good options and they all ended with him being fired.

  Mario pulled the plastic off his best suit that came from the dry-cleaners earlier in the week. When dropping it off, there wasn’t plans to use it for his dismissal dress ware. He thought about going in with blue jeans and a NOLA police shirt. “What the hell?” he said to the mirror. “Fire me with a three hundred dollar suit or fifteen dollar T-shirt. Who gives a crap?”

  He fiddled with his tie and never could get it right, threw his coat on, and headed to the elevator. In the lobby, the cheerful doorman gave Mario a good morning greeting, and he returned with a smile. “Not today, Mr. Jovial,” he mumbled.

  The Eighth District Police Station was a block away from Mr. B’s, so Mario parked at his usual spot—half on the street and walkway. He arrived just as the Chief was being seated, so he followed.

  “Good morning, Chief,” he said as he slipped into a corner booth. Perfect, he thought, no one seated next to them.

  “Mr. Mario,” she said. “How long we know each other?”

  “Chief, why the bullshit?”

  “Answer me.”

  “I don’t know, Chief, twenty years? You just made detective, and I patrolled.

  “All those times I bailed your ass out of trouble. Water up to your nose, but I bailed you out—not sure why? Yes, coffee, please,” she said to the waiter as he approached the table.

  “I’m a big boy. Give me the news.”

  “That’s the problem, Mario. They cut me out of the loop. I know that Senator Peterson arrived last night and met with the governor and some guy from Washington DC. Not sure if he’s military or with diplomatic relations. That’s all I know.”

  “Chief, this Frederick Grenfell was about to take off with millions of dollars in counterfeit currency.”

  “Mario, get it through your thick head. You told the Fed’s he showed his United Kingdom Ambassador credentials. You just as soon arrest the ambassador himself. They have immunity to all United States laws.”

  “That’s just bullshit,” Mario said way louder than he should have when heads in the restaurant turned.

  “I’m here to tell you I did everything I could. I even overstepped the Police Commissioner went to the governor. We talked about how much you put into the community, your programs at the prison, arrest and conviction status.”

  “And?” Mario asked.

  “He listened, but in the end, he said.” She paused shook her head. “Once the Fed’s got involved, his hands were tied. He is coming in only to show support as the top Louisiana official.”

  “So I’m screwed?”

  “Mario, I have no more strings to pull.” The Chief wasn’t one to show emotion, but she almost lost it at this point. “I asked you to join me this morning so that I could tell you face to face. I did all I could.”

  “Gretchen, we go way back.” He saw she was concerned but also openly upset. “I overstepped the process—I’ll take the consequences.”

  They talked about the old days and Mario’s recklessness with department vehicles and sidestepping the law but always coming out on top making an arrest.

  Mario reached over took the Chief’s hand. “I appreciate everything you have done.”

  She looked at her watch and didn’t answer or look his way. “We better get going.”

  Chapter 33

  Howard dodged three of Monique’s texts. He hadn’t heard from her since he dropped her at the hotel after their blowup. The last thing he wanted was to hear more drama from a girlfriend he’d wish would head home. In this case, far away back to Trinidad. Sooner or later, he’d have to hear her out, but what he needed now was rest.

  He arrived home late last night from his flight from Reno. As of the time of hitting the bed, there was no word on any murders in Lake Tahoe on the internet news.

  He rolled around the bed, for the most part, thinking of the flight to Lake Tahoe earlier in the day, a Jeep ride through the woods, a boat ride on a crystal clear lake, killing the bad guy, catching a helicopter to Reno, and jet back to New Orleans all in the same day. He laughed. “Pretty typical day for an assassin.”

  Howard couldn’t help but envy Julie. He’d done it many times, too. Fulfill the contract obligation, then head to a sunny destination and relax until the next job, like the contract to kill the m
ayor of Monique’s hometown in Belle Gardens. He remembered thinking that Port of Spain was too beautiful of a country to pop in and out. So he stayed for a few days.

  The difference between Julie and him was Howard always worked alone. He understood she wanted to make sure Heinz made the first move—which he did. It was then she decided to kill him. The boat pilot and Fritz must have been highly trustworthy because he would have never left them alive.

  “Maybe it was Belle Garden’s that kept me up?” he said to himself in bed, deciding to get up or not. Then ruled it out. An assassin has no conscience—a job never haunts them.

  He heard the front door lock click and open as the bottom brushed lightly against the rug in the foyer. Howard jumped, pulled his gun, and pointed around the door into the hallway. Hugging the wall, he made it to the archway leading to the kitchen. The refrigerator light came on, and Howard made his move.

  “Don’t move!” he shouted. Then flipped the overhead lights on.

  “It’s me, Howard!” Monique screamed when seeing the gun pointed at her.

  “What the hell, Monique? Looking to get yourself killed?”

  She studied him as he lowered the gun. “That’s a good look for you, Howard. Boxers, socks, no shirt, slinging a gun.” She laughed, then grinned. “It kind of a turn-on.”

  “I’m about to fill you with lead, and it’s a turn-on?”

  “What can I say? I like the bad boys.” She pulled some leftovers from the fridge and sat at the table.

  “I wouldn’t eat that if I were you—it’s older than me. Howard pulled the clip from the gun and discharged the bullet in the chamber. “What are you doing here, Monique?”

  “If you didn’t want me to pop in, you should have asked for the key back.”

  “It doesn’t answer why you’re here?”

  “Because you haven’t answered my texts.” She paused and looked upward. “Not one or two but all six.”

  “Has it been that many? I’ve been a little busy, Monique.”