by D D Loomis
Tony hitched around, trying to get comfortable. “That’s one gas I knew we could get that wouldn’t accidentally kill us or the neighbors when we aired out the building. Takes a high concentration to kill you in a short time, like in a car or a building that’d been sealed up. And dissipates pretty fast, too.”
“I was surprised to find out there were industrial uses for it,” I said. “Always thought of it as the reason you didn’t leave your car running in a garage with the door shut.”
Nate stood. “Me, I don’t care what it was long’s it worked. I’m beat. See you guys when I wake up.”
* * *
The last police officer clattered down the stairs. Marty stood at the top, a smile on his face as he waved. “Don’t be a stranger, Officer Hedley.”
Alice cuffed him on the back of the head, a loud “Pop” resounding through the office. “At least keep your eyeballs in your head. Ogling every woman who shows up in front of your pregnant wife is gonna get you killed.” After another glare at him, she stomped back to her desk.
I tried to cover a snort of laughter. The fact Officer Hedley happened to be a slim beauty was one thing. Add to the mix she’d been eyeing Marty the whole time she was here made it unbearable for Alice.
Marty shook his head and rubbed it while grumbling back to his desk. “Gotta get her to stop watching those NCIS re-runs.”
“This the T&M Security office?”
Startled, I spun around at the rough-sounding voice. A grizzled looking man in a wrinkled brown suit stood just inside the second floor entrance to T&M.
Alice smoothed the scowl from her face, attempting to replace it with a smile. “Yes, it is. Can I help you?”
“I’m Agent Browder. You got a Francis Baker here?” He stepped forward and handed his identification to Alice. On closer examination, the suit wasn’t wrinkled so much as a couple sizes too large.
I strolled over, offering my hand. “I’m Francis. What agency you with?”
“FBI,” he said, taking my hand as he gave me a slow up and down look. “Mike Hilyard in our Charlotte office asked us to drop in and look things over. Seems you had a little disturbance last night.”
“Ah.” A light dawned. I turned to Alice. “Could you bring us a copy of the Crosby file when you get a chance?” I waved him towards our smallest conference room. “C’mon in, be glad to talk with you.”
Once settled down with our cups of coffee, I gave him a questioning look. “Why’re you guys interested in something simple as a break-in?”
He took a sip before answering. From close up, it was apparent he wasn’t a spring chicken, like most of the FBI agents I’d seen lately. Must be in his early sixties.
He looked up with a smile, icy grey eyes twinkling. “M’first name’s Alfred, Al to most folks. From the look on your face, you must be wondering why they sent an ol’ curmudgeon like me.”
Tony had been hovering outside the door ever since we’d entered. I waved him in. “Uh-yeah, to put it bluntly.”
“Because my higher ups don’t agree with Mike on this. They know you’ve been doin’ some work for Mike and the Charlotte office, just don’t think there’s a connection with what happened out this way. So they sent a bench warmer in.”
Tony sat next to me. “You remember me, Mister Browder?”
Al’s smile grew. “How could I forget Tony Bacca? You’n me really did a number on those assholes at the border.”
I looked at Al, then Tony. “When…”
Tony shook his head. “Just before joining the Army, I did a few things with the Sheriff’s Department around here. Al was my handler, and we had us some wild times, didn’t we?”
Al chuckled. “I was surprised they let a kid go undercover on the stuff we were doing. Until you told me how old you were.”
“And also the fact I was working off a car theft charge. But that’s water under the bridge,” Tony said. “What’s going on with you now?”
“I retired from the County, and got the FBI to pick me up for admin work. Thought I’d put in a few more years and get a federal pension along with the county one.”
“So what brings you here?” I asked.
Leaning both elbows on the table, he stared at me. “My present boss knows my background. Even though he doesn’t fully agree with Hilyard on this, he wanted me to get the lowdown. Knows I’m halfway proficient at lookin’ into things.”
Alice silently entered the room, dropped a thick file in front of me and left. I handed it to Al. “Here’s a copy of what we were doing in Charlotte, and how I became involved with some of the criminal elements back there. And how it tracked back to here.”
He chuckled, reached out and turned off the intercom. “Good. Like you guys already. Nice and efficient. But maybe we shouldn’t record anything we say from this point forward, okay?”
I glanced at Tony, and back to him. “Okay with me.”
He eyed the file. “This got the info about Marianne in it?” At my nod, he continued. “It just so happened that I got another report before comin’ over here. They found eight dead guys twenty blocks from here. Some of them worked for her.”
I raised my eyebrows. “And?”
And it just so happens at the same time they were dyin’, her house burnt down. With her in it, from all accounts.”
I shook my head, trying to look sad. “Too bad. Some kind of accident?”
His eyes gleamed with suppressed humor. “Probably not. Too many bullet holes in the corpses.”
Tony stood. “C’mon, we’ll give you a tour of the place. I think you’ll be impressed with our security system.”
“Y’read my mind,” he said, coming to his feet.
Forty-five minutes later, we were on the front sidewalk saying our goodbyes. He handed me a broken pair of glasses. “Interestingly enough, one of the guys who died so mysteriously last night was missing his glasses. Y’could see the creases on his temples. Searched the vehicle he was in, too. But no luck so far.” He turned to Tony. “Hope that ass heals up okay. It’s a bitch when you stick your own screwdriver in it.”
I struggled not to laugh. “Uh–been nice meeting you, Agent Browder.”
“Likewise.” He turned away, then back. “Oh, and by the way. Tell Marty he can quit trying to hide from me. I forgave him a long time ago.”
I watched him stroll away, a smile building. “Okay, I’ll bite. What’d Marty do?”
Before he spoke, Nate strode out of the building, followed by Dave. “Tanks are taken care of. Anything else come up while we were gone?”
Tony’s smile grew wider than mine. “Only a visit from an old friend. Looks like we might, just might be in the clear after all. Oh, and go tell Marty the cop whose vehicle he stole when we were young and foolish remembers him and is gonna get even.”
By next afternoon I’d resigned myself to the fact we weren’t going to find Willie anytime soon. All our contacts said the same thing: he’d dropped off everyone’s radar. I checked my watch. Even with the three hour time difference, Lenny wouldn’t be at dinner yet. Good time to update her. I reached for the phone and began punching in numbers.
“H’lo?”
Her quiet voice sent shivers down my back. “Lenny? This is Francis. Thought I’d better call and update you.”
“Update?–um–Oh, sure. Sorry, I’m a bit fuzzy. Just waking up from a nap.”
I hesitated, aching to see her face. She sounded different. I shrugged it off. “We had a little excitement last night. Someone tried to break in our office, but I guess the security system we use was too tough for them. Plus, somehow all of Crosby’s gang were found dead. You should get the information today, since…”
“Mike sent me a copy of the police report. Said he didn’t trust strange happenings around you guys. Especially when they benefitted you.”
“Yeah, well, he also had
the local FBI send out a person to quiz us on what happened.”
“He said Al would be paying you a visit. He show up yet? Tell him Lenny sends her love when he does.”
What the heck? I tried to keep the surprise from my voice. “Sorry, you just missed him. Seems like everyone but me knows him.”
A quiet chuckle worked its way down the phone line. “Is that a hint of jealousy I hear? And we’ve just met!”
My breathing quickened. “Which brings up the main reason I called,” I said, surprising myself. “Would you object if I came calling after this is all over?”
“Wha-What did you just say?”
“I was wondering if you’d mind my courting you?”
“Um–Francis, normally I’d be thrilled. Under the circumstances, it might not be such a good idea.”
“You mean your medical condition?” I stood and began slowly pacing.
“Yes, especially since the condition doesn’t want to go away. The doctor hasn’t said permanent damage yet, but he doesn’t have to. I can feel it in my brain.”
I stopped pacing and took a deep breath. “Even though I find your intelligence attractive and desirable, that isn’t what I want to kiss.”
This earned another moment of silence before she could speak. “What do you mean?”
“Just lean back and listen to what I mean.” I started at the top of her head, kissing her light brown hair, down the nape of her neck, around to her luscious lips. After addressing each ear, I kissed my way down her body, stroking with my fingers as I went.
“…Running my tongue around each nipple, with close attention being paid to…”
By the time I’d reached her toes, the breathing on the phone had changed to quiet sighs.
“Francis, I’m shifting the phone to my left ear. Would you mind repeating what you just said?”
CHAPTER TWELVE
Five days passed with agonizing slowness. I sighed, shut down my computer and leaned back in my chair. Nothing. You’d think between the FBI and other agencies at least something would have been uncovered about Willie by now.
Tony sauntered in. “You want to go to lunch with Dave and me? The others got things to do, so begged off.”
I looked at the mess on my desk. “Sure, not much else going on. Hey, you look like you’re walking normal. That extra hole in your ass healed up?”
He nodded, heading for the stairs. “Yep, all normal. Now you guys’ll have to find someone else to pick on. Alice was beginning to repeat her ‘Buttface’ jokes.”
Tony stuffed the last French fry in his mouth and leaned back, a contented look on his face while he chewed. “Jeez, glad we don’t come her all the time. With burgers and fries this good, I’d gain fifty pounds in a month.”
I shook my head. “You’ve been skinny as a rail since I’ve known you, no matter how much you cram in your face.” I glanced at Dave who’d been abnormally quiet, even for him during lunch. “What’s going on with your salad? I think you’ve only taken two-three bites of it all meal long.”
He pushed it away, giving a shrug. “No appetite, I guess.”
Tony lifted an eyebrow at him. “Up until last night, you’d managed to loosen up and actually tell a joke or two. What’s changed?”
Dave leaned back with a sigh. “Yeah, you’re right. Something Alice said this morning got me thinking about what I’d been doing the past few years. Y’know, the revenge thing. Then I called my sister, to let her know how things were going. She said her kids missed me, and hoped I’d be home soon.” He paused, rubbing his face. “I expected to be in jail by now, or maybe even dead, so hadn’t thought about the family I still have alive.”
I looked closely at him, noting how deflated he looked. “What’d Alice say?”
“She was on the phone talking to one of her girlfriends. Talking about how much fun they’d have with their babies once they were born.” He wiped his eyes with a napkin. “Brought the whole thing crashing down on me again.”
I straightened. “Maybe you’d better…”
“No.” He vigorously shook his head. “Not till this thing is done. It’s bad enough living with the ghosts. Don’t want to add to it with unfinished business.”
“You’re probably right,” Tony said, taking a drink of coffee. “No sense adding to the load if you can help it.”
“Thanks.” Dave wiped his face with a napkin. “Damn, didn’t mean to start blubbering away like that.”
I gave a half-smile. “No problem, man. I’m not sure any of us would be any different, if we had the load of crap build up like it has on you.” I shifted uncomfortably. “Been there, done that.”
Tony snatched the last fry from my plate. “And on that note, I suggest we head for the office and get some work done. Tomorrow promises to be busier than today.”
* * *
The ringing of my phone startled me. “T&M Security, this is Francis.”
“Francis, you gonna be in for awhile?” The quavery voice…it was Wilbur.
“Yeah, what’s up?”
“Tell you when I get there. Half-hour at the most.” The line went dead, leaving me with a sinking feeling in my gut. Something wasn’t right. I hurried out of my office. “Alice, you know if anyone’s gotten a call from Charlie or Wilbur in the last few days?”
She flipped through her phone log, shaking her head. “Nope, not since you told ‘em to disappear.”
I turned away, head shaking. He’d sounded stressed. Hopefully things were all right.
It was a relief when Wilbur finally pushed through the entrance. Until I looked at his tear-filled and haunted eyes. “What happened, man?”
“Charlie’s dead.” He shambled into the office, limping heavily. I quickly seated him at the large conference table, while everyone gathered ‘round. “My fault. All my fault,” he muttered, accepting a cup of coffee from Alice.
“His leg,” Alice said. “Got blood on it. I’ll get the first aid kit.” She hurried off while Tony and Marty busied themselves cutting away the pants leg.
Wilbur was holding his face, tears leaking through his hands. “You told us to move, Francis. I talked him into waiting until after we got married in Reno. Be time to move then, I thought.”
Alice almost dropped the first aid kit in surprise. “Married?”
He lowered his hands, showing the tortured look on his face. “We been lovers for over a year now. When we got that money from you guys, we decided it was time to tie the knot.” He took a large gulp of coffee, grimacing as he burnt his lips. “We had ourselves a party, just the two of us, when we got back. Even before we went to our apartment. Shot both of us when we were on a pier down by the waterfront, just west of city enter.” He groaned when Tony unwrapped the makeshift bandage on his lower leg.
“Through and through the calf muscle,” Tony said, gently lowering the leg. “We need to get a clean bandage on this and take him to the E.R.”
Wilbur raised his head, teeth gritted. “Not ‘til I tell you everything. They caught us on the pier stargazing early this morning, ‘bout three o’clock. Two guys let loose with pistols that must’ve had silencers on ‘em. Not very much noise when they shot us. They hit Charlie three or four times. I dropped down, but got this leg wound before I did. Also had a bullet ricochet off my belt buckle, I found out later.”
I grabbed his hands that were clutching at each other. “How’d you get away?”
“Charlie pushed me in the water. He turned and shoved me, even while he was dying.” He sobbed, pulling his hands away to cover his face.
Once somewhat calmed, he began again: “I managed to swim under the pier, and hang on to something. They didn’t search for me too hard. Some woman with a raspy voice told ‘em to put chains on Charlie, then they dumped him.” His face was changing, from anguish to hate. “I know it’s my fault, and I want to make up for it by catching
these bastards. Whatever it takes, I’ll do it.” He looked at each of us as he said this. “I want you to hire me as a computer analyst. I don’t need money or equipment. You gave me money already, and I’ll make sure to get top of the line computer gear to help catch these-these assholes.”
I put a hand on his arm. “Did you say a woman? With a raspy voice?”
“Yeah. She was running the show. Got a glimpse of her just before they started shooting. Red hair with lots of white streaks through it. Face looked blurry, not sure why.”
I let out a shuddering breath. “Damn it, she’s still alive.” We all looked at one another, then at Wilbur.
Tony finished wrapping Wilbur’s leg. “You got a job with us long as you want it,” he said. “That last bit of news helped us a lot.” He gave Wilbur a sharp look. “Think hard. Did you hear her say anything else?”
After a calming breath, Wilbur lowered his head in concentration. “There was something…what was it…Oh, yeah. She said ‘Next week we’ll finish the job.’ Whatever that means.”
I nodded, mind whirling with plans. “We need to think about this. But first, let’s get you to a doctor. Then we can go check out your apartment.”
Wilbur wiped his eyes, a determined look on his face. “Already checked when I went there for dry clothes. They trashed the place, took a computer and other stuff. Don’t worry, though. We moved all our electronic gadgets that were involved in the sting to a safe place. Charlie, bless him, insisted on it before we went to Reno.” He began tearing up again, silent sobs shaking his body.
Alice pointed at Nate. “Let’s get your car. We’ll run him to a doctor, while the rest of you deal with what we’ve just heard.”
I watched them go, despair creeping in. Was I to always be surrounded by death? Each friend that died in the manner Charlie had was another knife in my heart. I leaned both hands on the table, head down. A deep anger built in me, not as sharp as the rages I’d suffered in the past, but more purposeful. This time, I’d clean the slate of our enemies, and be done with it. After this one, no more…
