The Sin Eater

by Lee McIntyre

  “Not hardly,” Tugg said, smiling at the woman. “My friend’s married and he’s got a daughter. That’s why he’s here. We’re looking for her.”

  “I’m somebody’s daughter,” the woman said.

  “You’re everybody’s daughter,” the sergeant said and the little group erupted in laughter.

  Adam felt sick.

  “So how old is she?” the sergeant continued.

  “She’s three.”

  “Shit. What happened to her?”

  Long-hair came back with the beers and handed them around, then took the clue and left when he saw that his seat had been taken.

  “CPS took her,” Tugg answered. “Out of the blue. That’s when he called me.”

  The sergeant appeared to have regained his bearings somewhat. “You hurt her?” His stare made Adam uncomfortable.

  “No, our nanny lied. We think she might have hurt Emma. We don’t know. Anyway, they came and took her away.”

  “Yeah, we know.” The sergeant blinked a couple of times. “Just wanted to hear you say it. Your friend told us you had a warrant out when he took the truck a few days back. That’s cool. You’re sort of hiding out. Good place to do it.”

  “I like to hide things,” the woman said.

  “You like a lot of things, darlin’,” the sergeant said.

  The bikers laughed and Adam looked down.

  “See, I told you he was a bad boy,” the sergeant said, pointing at Adam. “Wanted by the law. Handles a shotgun. All you need’s a tattoo and a cut and the cops’d never find you.”

  Adam tried to laugh a little, then turned serious. “But then I’d never find my daughter.”

  “Yeah, that sucks. But hey, wait a minute.” The sergeant looked over at the other bikers. “Jed’s ol’ lady works for CPS, don’t she? Maybe she can help.” The sergeant rose unsteadily on his feet, then sat back down. “Darlin’, go get Jed’s girl, willya.”

  The girl rose in such a hurry that her breasts seemed caught by surprise. They bounced up and down as the bikers on either side stood up as well.

  The trio walked over to Jed, who nodded and made a gesture to Wanda. She understood instantly and walked toward Tugg, Adam, and the sergeant.

  Though she was fully clothed, Adam’s mouth went dry.

  Chapter 37

  Wanda nodded at the sergeant-at-arms, then looked quickly at Tugg. She glanced at Adam, then back at Tugg, and gave a tight smile.

  “Nice to meet you guys,” she said. “I’ve been hearing the stories.”

  Adam could see that she recognized Tugg, but wondered if the sergeant would notice. In his current state of stupor, probably not. But they’d better be careful. Wanda must have already decided that it wasn’t in her interest to reveal that she knew who they were, or she would have told someone long before the bike run. Of course, it wasn’t in Tugg or Adam’s interest either, but they were the ones at risk. If Wanda got mad and ratted them out, things could get ugly in a hurry.

  “Sit down here and help us out for a minute,” the sergeant said.

  Wanda took a seat where Miss Plastic Surgery had been a few minutes ago, but Adam could see that this was different. Wanda clearly had standing because she belonged to Jed. If the sergeant really was number three in the club, then he outranked Jed, and that presented a golden opportunity. It was a calculated risk, but maybe they could get the information they needed.

  The sergeant fancied himself the chairman of this little meeting. “So Wanda, these boys are looking for a girl. His girl. A little girl. CPS took her. You know anything that can help them?”

  Tugg looked calm, but Adam knew that under the surface his brain must be racing. Tugg’s way wasn’t analytical, but more situational. He was like a tiger lying in the sun across the river, watching the gazelles.

  “No, I’m sorry I don’t know anything about her,” Wanda said.

  “Hon, we haven’t even told you her name yet,” the sergeant said.

  Wanda flushed, but Tugg never took his eyes off her. If she broke, they’d have to make an exit like Al Capone.

  “What’d you say her name was?” The sergeant was talking to Adam, but Tugg answered.

  “Emma Grammaticus. CPS in Portland pulled her about two weeks ago. Put her in protective custody.”

  Wanda smiled at the sergeant and knitted her hands. “See, that’s why I can’t help you. I don’t have anything to do with safe house placements. Those are confidential. Even from me.”

  Adam felt the ropes pull in his stomach. Had this all been a waste?

  “Shit,” the sergeant said. “I thought you worked for CPS. You’re tellin’ me there’s nothing you can do to help them? This ain’t just a Prospect and a civilian askin’, darlin’. This is me.”

  If Wanda wasn’t scared before, she looked a bit more intimidated. Her eyes were locked on the sergeant’s as if he were Darth Vader. Apparently Tugg wasn’t the only apex predator in the room.

  “Kurt, I’m being straight with you. With them. There’s no way I can get any information about a safe house placement. The only way I could get it is to break into someone’s computer.”

  “Which you’ll do if I ask you.”

  “Yes.” Wanda nodded. “But maybe there’s another way.”

  “Okay.” The sergeant slapped his knees and stood up. “I’m done playing matchmaker. You work it out. Prospect! Your friend needs to come with me. I got an idea of my own. Help him with the legal part of his problem, anyhow.”

  Adam looked at Tugg, but had to go. All this time the plan had been for Tugg to talk to Wanda. Here it was on a silver platter.

  The sergeant put his hands on Adam’s shoulders and lifted him out of his seat. “Gonna make a biker out of you yet. I saw you lookin’ at Candi. That girl’s got hidden talents. Makes a man think about doin’ bad things. Get over here.”

  Adam heard the crowd laugh as the sergeant-at-arms began to shout: “Bad Ass comin’ through. Got us some prime beef.”

  Under his breath Adam said Emma’s name like a prayer and knew that she was worth it.

  Chapter 38

  The tits were coming at him full in the face again, but all Adam could do was grin and bear it. Strong arms held him down on both sides. It would’ve been impossible to move even if he’d tried.

  “See, it don’t hurt a bit, does it?” the sergeant said.

  Candi swung over the top again as her nipples grazed Adam’s cheek.

  “Okay, so what’d you say your girl’s name was again?”

  Adam turned his head. “Emma.”

  “And that’s with one M or two?”

  “Two.”

  The needle felt like a hornet dancing on his bicep, as Candi contorted herself into a better position.

  “This’d be easier if I had a chair,” she said to the bikers. “Let him go now. He’ll hold still.”

  The bikers loosened their grip and Adam repositioned himself on the table, then tried to sit as still as possible.

  “Give him some other girl’s name and scare the shit out of his wife,” one guy said.

  “This is a family man,” Candi said, finally sitting down. “This tattoo’s for his little girl.”

  Candi’s enormous breasts kept brushing Adam’s arm, but the pain of the tattoo was sufficient to fight off any stimulation. The crowd seemed to be enjoying the spectacle, but after a few minutes, once Adam wasn’t struggling anymore, they all drifted away as Candi continued her work.

  “Got my first tattoo when I was thirteen,” Candi said. “But you can’t see it unless you want to.”

  “That’s okay.”

  “Your friend’s had some work done. He with someone?”

  Adam tried to see if Tugg was still talking to Wanda, but Candi’s endowment was blocking his view.

  “Huh? No.He’s single,” Adam finally said.

  “That’s very interesting. How old’s your little girl?”

  The buzzing of the tattoo needle sounded like a vibrator. In and out. In and ou
t. Adam couldn’t look, but he hoped it wouldn’t be awful.

  “She’s three.”

  “My girl’s six. She’s with her father. Her name’s Eden.”

  The line of sight past Candi’s boobs finally opened up. Adam saw Tugg and Wanda talking intently. Alone. Over by the chairs.

  “That’s a pretty name,” Adam said absently, trying to keep up.

  “Yeah. Well. She’s a good kid. She deserves better than her dad and I had when we were together. Her father’s like you. He’s a good man.”

  Adam caught Kurt’s eye across the room. Kurt tipped his beer bottle in a salute, then held his hands out in the universal male sign for “juggs” and raised his eyebrows.

  Adam forced a smile and looked at Candi’s face. “How long since you’ve seen her?” he said.

  “Three years.”

  “They took my daughter two weeks ago. It already feels like a decade.”

  “Something bad happen?” Candi’s voice was husky as she kept her face close to her work.

  “No.Just a bunch of liars. Common story, I guess.”

  Candi shook her head. “I didn’t fight the custody. Sometimes I think I should have. But she’s better off now.”

  Change the subject. Quick.

  “Hey, I heard you did the tattoos on a couple of the guys here.”

  “Yeah. It’s kind of my thing. I do ’em then I do ’em. You know? I don’t belong to anybody here yet. Just come for the parties. Your friend seems nice.”

  Adam looked over at Tugg again. The freaky guy with the long hair was standing over them, talking to Wanda.

  “He’s great. My best friend in the world. Other than my wife.”

  Candi looked up. “If you want I can give you a blow job when we’re finished. It’ll help with the pain. Better than a Tylenol.”

  The bikers’ voices over by the window were loud, like someone had just gotten to the punch line. Kurt, Jed, Doc and Spider were all standing with a crowd of other guys. Adam saw Kurt raise his foot, then cry “Ohhhh,” as he was obviously reliving Tugg’s moment of glory earlier that day at the motorcycle garage.

  “Thank you, no,” Adam said quietly. “You’re beautiful, but my wife is home waiting for me. It just wouldn’t be right.”

  “That’s okay. We’re almost done.” Candi’s voice didn’t sound like she was hurt. Maybe she was numb.

  Adam swiveled his head to Tugg’s side of the room and saw that the voices were raised over there too. But this wasn’t a joke. The skinny freak had his hand on Wanda’s shoulder and Adam could read Tugg’s lips: back off.

  “You ain’t the fucking king yet!” The guy had yelled just loud enough that everyone in the room could hear him, but still there was a moment’s hesitation as things grew quiet and Adam watched freaky-boy slip his hand underneath Wanda’s vest.

  In an instant, Adam was off the table, holding the tattoo gun.

  Jed yelled, “What the hell?”

  Adam took three steps and leapt into the air just as Tugg was going for his Ka-Bar.

  When Tugg saw Adam, he fell back and yanked Wanda out of the way.

  Adam landed on the freak with the point of the needle right at his neck.

  Half a dozen bikers ran past Candi to the other side of the room.

  “No! No! I didn’t mean it!” the guy wailed.

  Doc leaned down and grabbed a handful of hair and brought the guy to his feet. “Well, Jed, I guess you’ll do the honors.”

  “You’re goddamned right I will,” spittle flying.

  Jed looked down and gave a nod to Adam. Tugg held his hand out as Jed took the knife, then perp-walked the dude outside as most of the crowd followed.

  Wanda looked over and gave Adam a blank stare.

  After a few seconds of shouting and whistling Adam heard a piercing animal-like scream, immediately followed by an echo of “OHHHHHH!!!” from the crowd.

  Candi shrugged her shoulders. “Ain’t a blow job in the world’s gonna help with that.”

  Chapter 39

  Adam thrilled at the satisfying crunch of gravel as his motorcycle sped across the compound. This time he turned with plenty of room as the fence rushed toward him.

  “Different feel than a dirt bike, huh?” Kurt said.

  “Yeah and that was twenty years ago.”

  “It’ll come back. Like riding a bike!”

  Kurt was laughing so hard, Adam thought he was going to soil himself. This was different, but still at times it felt like no time had passed since his Honda XR-200. That was 220 pounds versus 870 for this Harley behemoth. Adam goosed the throttle and sped back the other way.

  “I think you’re ready for the road,” Kurt said.

  “You sure?”

  “No, but let’s do it anyway.”

  Adam couldn’t wait to show Tugg his progress. He’d been at it for three solid hours. It was 11:30 a.m. now, but Tugg still hadn’t shown his face. Few people had. After all the beer and debauchery last night, Kurt must be an iron man to have gotten up so early, let alone offered to teach Adam how to ride a street bike.

  “We can get you on the road in four hours,” he’d said.

  “Really?”

  "It won’t be pretty, but it’s possible. And we just happen to have an extra bike today.

  Adam probably should’ve felt guilty about taking the guy’s Harley after his spectacular ejection from the club last night. By the rules, the bike didn’t belong to him anymore, but Adam supposed it could’ve been worse.

  “He’ll live,” was all Kurt had said.

  “But he’s gone?”

  “Well, he ain’t going to be sitting on a bike for a while.”

  Adam sped back and forth across the compound a few more times.

  “Let’s do it,” said Kurt. “Let me go down to the garage and get you a heavy jacket and some boots, and I’ll get my bike. I’ll ride with you for a piece down the road so you can see what the highway feels like. Next bike run, you’ll be ready.”

  Adam smiled. He put his kickstand down and killed the engine but left his helmet on, while he watched Kurt disappear down the path. He wondered how he looked in the helmet, but the mirror on the handlebars was too small to give the full effect.

  Adam had spent a long time at the mirror that morning looking at his arm. The swelling was still pretty bad but, except for the “E,” at least the thing was readable backward. Candi had done a pretty fair job, but Kate would still have a fit.

  Yesterday a tattoo and today a Harley. Everybody joked about him hiding out with the club, but all Adam could think about was waking Tugg so he could hear what he’d learned yesterday. Then maybe they could get out of here and find Emma.

  Finally.

  Tugg stood in the doorway, with his hand up like a zombie in the sunlight. He walked over to Adam on the bike.

  “What, too badass?” Adam said, removing the helmet.

  “Something’s missing. Maybe it’s a leather jacket and some actual experience.”

  “Kurt’s getting the jacket now.”

  Tugg just shook his head.

  “Listen, Tugg, we don’t have much time. What’d she say?”

  “Hold on, easy rider. There ain’t much.”

  “What?”

  Tugg’s face was pinched against the blazing sun as he looked directly at Adam. “She wasn’t lying when she told Kurt she didn’t know. She doesn’t. Her idea for ‘another way’ was that we figure out this Indian thing. She thinks it might be connected.”

  “You mean what Edward told us on the reservation?”

  “Yeah,” Tugg said, opening a fresh pack of cigarettes. “She confirmed what he said. The placements in Salem. The cash. How much of a push there’s been to get this done in a hurry. But then she told me something we hadn’t heard before.”

  Adam knew that Tugg was probably feeling pretty rocky. Hungover. No coffee or food. And he’d probably been up all night with Candi to boot. But Kurt was coming back any minute. “Yeah, what?”

  T
ugg took a drag on his cigarette. “She said that almost overnight there were five or six white kids from the suburbs coming through the system. Emma wasn’t the only one. And Wanda said it seemed like there was pressure to get those kids run through real fast, just the same as there was pressure a few months back to get the Indian kids. Might be coming from the same place. So maybe they’re related.”

  Adam spied Kurt walking up the trail carrying a leather jacket and some boots. He was about 50 yards off.

  “So it looks like back to the reservation,” Adam said.

  “I guess.” Tugg stepped on his cigarette. “Whatever happened to Emma has been happening to other kids. There must be a pattern.”

  Adam didn’t want to solve a conspiracy. He just wanted his kid back. This all sounded pretty thin, but it was all they had. The holy grail of a conversation with Wanda was now behind them. Time to move forward.

  “When do we go?”

  Tugg made a grimace. “Let’s do it now. I’ll drive the first shift. To tell you the truth I can’t take much more of this shit. I’m starting to lose it again.”

  Adam stared at his friend’s face and noticed his hand tremble as he knocked the pack for another cigarette.

  Lose it. With Tugg that phrase could cover a lot of ground.

  Adam saw that Kurt had veered off and gone straight for his bike and was signaling him to come over.

  “Okay,” Adam said, “let’s get you out of here. But forget the truck. We’ll go like we came.”

  Tugg looked puzzled.

  “Gimme another hour and I’m gonna be a biker.”

  Chapter 40

  Fifty miles an hour was a long way from bad ass, but after four hours on a motorcycle, Adam was ready to redefine the term. At least they hadn’t gone through Idaho this time and had just headed west, straight for the reservation. Still, this being his first day back on a bike — with no spills yet — Adam didn’t want to press his luck.

  Tugg was right beside him, probably going out of his mind. Another drawback to taking the bikes was that they really couldn’t talk. Not to mention the amazing vibrating ass problem. And what they’d do if they happened to spot any Reapers.