Anthony Carrick Hardboiled Murder Mysteries: Box Set (Books 1 - 3)

by Jason Blacker

  He thrust his chin up like he was trying to make a point. He didn’t need to. His language was quite poignant enough.

  “So you’re saying he wasn’t good enough for your mother because he was Hispanic. Because he was South American?”

  “No, that’s not what I’m saying. Jesus, man why you gotta go and put words in my mouth. He was ignorant okay? He wasn’t the right class. He didn’t have any education. He wasn’t interested in education or world events. He just wanted to bag my mother okay? And she probably just wanted to bag him. I mean he was a good looking guy okay, and well built. But I didn’t like him. And I didn’t like it that he was banging my mother okay?”

  “Yeah he was good looking,” nodded Jezebel. He looked at her sideways and punched her on the shoulder. Gently.

  “Well he was. Didn’t say I fucked him. You’re the only one I fuck Stevie.” They smiled at each other and kissed again. I thought about excusing myself but then I had work to do.

  “Okay enough already. Please. Was your mother sleeping around with anyone else that you know of Stephen?”

  They shifted and he put his arm around her shoulders again. She nuzzled her head up against him. They were cuddly. You had to admire the love amongst the ruins of their lives.

  “Yeah my mother was fucking around with this other woman Jane, I think is her name. I don’t know her last name. But I think she’s some kind of an actor or something. But I wouldn’t know how to find her. Also I think she might have been screwing around with Maria too.”

  “How do you know that?” I asked him.

  “Well I walked in on them once in the kitchen. My mother had her arms around Maria’s neck and as I came in the broke it off pretty quick and I’m pretty sure they were kissing. Or else they had just been whispering secrets to each other.”

  This whole incestuous little brothel was beginning to make me sick. Rich folk bored out of their minds just screwing around to pass the time. As a recreational sport. And here you have Stevie and Jezzie as the rubble of this crap. Maybe it was better people were dropping dead like flies around this whole rotten empire.

  “Okay Stephen and Jezebel. Down to brass tacks. Where were both of you this morning from around seven until nine thirty?”

  See if they could come up with a good alibi. Maybe they both killed him. I doubted that. But in this business you’ve got to put personal feelings aside and verify them. Most times those gut feelings are spot on, but verification always helps. They both shifted in their seats. Maybe they were getting uncomfortable. Maybe the seats were getting hot. One can only hope.

  “We were sleeping okay?” He said. I looked at her and raised my eyebrows.

  “Yeah we were sleeping.”

  “Guys, that is one tight alibi if I’ve ever heard one. I’m sure the cops will have no problem with that.”

  “Shit man, what do you want us to do? Make something up? Do we look like early birds to you?” I shook my head.

  “We were sleeping okay? We had a party here last night. Just the two of us and we only got to bed at around three or four in the morning. And we only got up at around eleven okay when we got a phone call.”

  I believed them. But it wasn’t much to go on. Hell, I had a better alibi than that and I was at home alone probably having breakfast. But at least I could tell what time it was.

  “Well it’s the truth okay? Whether you believe it or not. You know the fucking cops aren’t our biggest concern.” He stopped then, not sure if he’d said too much.

  “What do you mean the cops aren’t your biggest concern?” I was thinking he was talking about Fat Tony. I still wanted to know who that was. He looked at her and she looked at him and then she looked down at her lap and shrugged her shoulders.

  “I dunno man. Just when we asked you if you were Fat Tony, well we’ve been expecting him okay. But we don’t know who he is.”

  “Well what do you mean you were expecting him but you don’t know who he is? You get strange men calling you at strange hours saying they’re Fat Tony and they’re coming to see you. Is this like unsolicited pizza delivery or something?”

  I had an idea where they were going with this but I didn’t want to put all their eggs in their basket for them. You don’t get calls from your local pizzeria from a guy who calls himself Fat Tony. That’d be no way to sell pizza. ‘Hi I’m Fat Tony and we’ve got a sweet special here for you at Fat Flubbers Pizzeria. I’ll personally deliver your cheese lover’s pizza… if I can get through your door.’ No I didn’t think that’s what they meant.

  Stephen had a sip from his glass of water. I readjusted my fedora, it had been sitting to tight on my head. I fished out a cigarette and put it in my face. I didn’t ask permission. I didn’t think these folks would mind. I lit it up and tugged on it, blowing smoke towards them. A mystical veil to dazzle them into telling me the truth.

  “Can I have one?” Jezebel asked. I rotated my hands at her and raised my eyebrows. I needed a little more than that.

  “Please,” she said. Sure I said and tapped a couple further out of the box. I offered her one. Then I offered him one. We were close enough so that if we both leaned out of our comfy seats enough we could do this exchange. I lit them both on fire. They inhaled deeply like they had only just learnt how to breathe. Stephen took a second pull on his cigarette and blew smoke up towards the ceiling. I followed it with my eyes. I shouldn’t have done that. The ceiling was stained a vile nicotine yellow. I looked back down at him. The sooner I got out of here the less chance I’d have of picking up something ‘icky’ as Aibhilin would say.

  “Well we got a call from him yesterday and another one this morning just a couple of hours ago. This guy called and said he was Fat Tony. Said that my dad owed him a lot of money.” Stephen pulled on the cigarette some more. A quick, nervous drag. “I asked him what he meant by a lot of money and he said that my dad owed him five hundred grand. I asked him what it was for and he said my dad just wasn’t happy enough with all his millions from Hollywood. That he had to go betting other people’s money on the horses. Wouldn’t use his own, ‘cos the wife, Fat Tony said, wouldn’t like that. Besides it made it all the more exciting knowing that it was other people’s money. So I told him if my dad owed him this money, like he said he did, then he was pretty stupid to have killed him.”

  I admired the kid’s cojones. Only he was probably stoned at the time and didn’t have a clue what kind of trouble he was about to get himself into.

  “Well Fat Tony said it wasn’t his money he borrowed but his employer’s money, whatever the hell that means. So I said oh okay well now it looks like you’re not going to get it seeing as my dad’s dead and all. And I said he probably didn’t leave it for you in the will. He didn’t like that much and said that since it was my dad’s money that I was inheriting I need to pay off his debts like a good boy. That’s what he said. He called me a boy. So that’s when I told him to fuck off and that I was going to call the cops. I hung up on him. I guess that was the first phone call we got from him.”

  Stephen quickly sucked on his cigarette and looked out the window. Jezebel took a suck on her cigarette and picked at her nails while looking at them. I looked at them both a while and took my time to enjoy my cigarette. I figured I knew exactly who they were talking about.

  “And then what about the phone call this morning? What did he say today?”

  “Well he caught us by surprise. I mean Jezz answered the call. We were still pretty hung over and we were still sleeping. Tell him what he told you.” He said this to Jezzie. Jezebel leaned over him and tapped ash on the ashtray by Stephen. Stephen took the ashtray and balanced it on his leg. It was that old glass diner kind. The kind I had in my apartment.

  “Well,” she said looking up at Stephen and then at me, “he said is this Jezebel? And I said yes it was. He said, well you better get that boyfriend of yours to pay up that money. We’re gonna come and visit yous soon. And if we don’t get the money when we come and visit yous, your boyfriend ai
n’t gonna look as pretty as he does now. That’s when I gave the phone to Stephen and I told him I thought it was Fat Tony.”

  We both looked at Stephen then. He squashed out his cigarette. He’s a fast, nervous smoker. Jezebel had either forgotten about hers or she wasn’t as nervous.

  “Did he really talk like that, with the ‘yous’ and all?” I asked.

  “Yes he did and he didn’t sound like he was from around here. He sounded like he was from Boston or New York or something,” she said.

  “Yeah that’s true,” added Stephen. “He asked me if I had the money for him yet and I told him, Jesus it was just yesterday that he called. He told me he knew I’d come into a little over a million dollars and that half of that was owed to his employer. I told him it was only five hundred thousand and that it was my dad’s debt and not mine to repay. I told him I was still going to call the cops. He said he didn’t think so. He knew I was a crack head and that if the cops came they’d bust me so quick for drugs I’d never see the rest of the money. And that’s true. If I’m busted for drugs or any crime then my money goes to AA. That was my father’s idea. So he got me thinking with that one. So I told him that maybe he had a point, but how could I be sure that they wouldn’t keep coming around for more and more and just bleed me dry. He said that they didn’t work like that. They didn’t need my money that badly. That it was a matter of principle.”

  A matter of principle my ass I thought.

  “So he said he’d come by to collect the money soon. I thought maybe he was pretty eager so when you barged in I thought you could’ve been him. Only you’re not fat. Half a mill is a small price to pay to get these cocksuckers off my back. Plus I’ll be getting more in time.”

  “You’ll get more in time if I don’t send the cops down here to ruffle your feathers with a search warrant for drugs. This place reeks of drugs Stevie. Why shouldn’t I just do that? Let Fat Tony come and get his half mill and then have the cops come by and shut you out from the other millions you’re due.”

  “Aw, come on man. Jesus, what did we do to you?”

  “It’s not what you’ve done to me, though I can’t stand spoilt little rich kids. It’s what you’re liable to do to yourselves with your millions. With that kind of cash and your nasty habits you could both be dead in no time.”

  I’m not sure why I was feeling so magnanimous towards these young people. God knows they didn’t deserve my sympathy. But in a way I sort of sympathized with him. What with having his folks screwing around on each other and being brought up by nannies. That would leave a child hollow I’m pretty sure. And besides, you’ve got to admire the love these two share. In this rubble of their messed up lives, their love is like a tender flower growing up through the cracks. Yeah, I can get sentimental sometimes. And sometimes all people need is a leg up. Someone to offer them some hope and a chance to get well. Kinda like my pal Pirate. He’s done all right with the leg up I gave him.

  “Yeah, well we’re not crazy about being addicts okay. You think it’s easy being tied to something like that. We’ve tried breaking it but it’s not easy okay?”

  Jezzie was pouting at me now. Getting all victimized on me. That wasn’t going to work.

  “There are lots of programs in this city to help with that sort of thing. Free ones too. Not that you can’t afford to pay for something decent. To me it boils down to a will. You’ve got to want to change. And up until now you haven’t wanted to. I’m wondering if you want to. And it’s going to be hard. Especially for you Stephen now with your father dead. But I think things are just hitting the sewer now for you too. And I don’t think you’ve got the strength to live as sewer rats. Sewer rats are vermin anyway, and they don’t live long, not even the best of them. I can understand why a guy who comes from privilege would get into some trouble like you have. With no parents to help guide you, I can see how you’d get lost. But you’ve turned down the wrong alley son. People like Fat Tony, they’re just the beginning of your problems. That’s just the tapas, and they ain’t even spicy yet.”

  Stephen shifted in his seat. He put the ashtray back on the round, glass coffee table between us. I put mine out. All our cigarettes were bent over now in the ashtray leaning on each other for support. It was a touching scene.

  “So what do we do then? If we’re serious about going straight, what do we do?” he asked.

  I got up and opened the window. It was a good thing they were only on the first floor. Otherwise we’d all be naked, sweating in a sauna. Yeah, I could take off my jacket, but then my gat would just be stealing all of the attention. And we’d gone beyond that. Besides, I was ready to get out of here any minute now if I could just get these kids onto the right track. I sat back down. This time I took off my hat. It was just making me hotter. I laid it on my lap. I was worried about ‘cooties’ as Aibhilin calls them.

  “Well you’ve got to get in touch with a rehab clinic and sign yourselves in. I’d recommend a full thirty days as a good start. Then you’ve got to move somewhere nicer. Maybe up to Mulholland or Beverly Hills where you’re from. You’ve got to make nice with your mother. Not to say you’ve got to be close, but you’ve got to make amends there. And you’ve got to find some meaningful work. You figure that out for yourself, but idle hands do the devil’s work. That’s apparent. If you’re serious about all of this, then I can help you with Fat Tony.”

  “You know Fat Tony?” she asked. Her eyes got wider now.

  “Yeah I think I know Fat Tony. He works for a guy called Gianni Mancini. They’re from out east. From New York. They moved out here a couple of decades ago to improve their business. Mancini is part of the Bianchi crime family out east. This, young whippersnappers is big time.”

  “So how can you help us with Fat Tony?” she asked still wide eyed and chewing on her lip now.

  “Well, Gianni owes me a favor. But you’ve got to swear on your father’s grave Stephen that you’re going to go straight. And you to Jezebel. Because if I go out on a limb like this for you I need to know it’ll be worth my while. Because as sure as God made little green apples if you screw this up, I’ll cash out my chit with Gianni and he’ll send Fat Tony back after you in a mean way. And I’ll throw in the cops for good measure too.”

  Stephen moved a matted tail of hair away from his forehead.

  “Why would you do that for us? I don’t understand why you’d do that for us,” he said. I looked them both straight in the eyes.

  “Maybe I’m a sucker. Maybe I’m a big softy. Or maybe I believe in the laughter of small children the beat of a butterfly’s wings and the magic of love. And you two seem like you love each other. Sadly that’s rarer now than it ought to be. And I’m a sucker for human kindness, love in the midst of madness. And I think with your screwed up family you could use a break.”

  “If you think his family’s fucked up, you should hear about mine,” said Jezebel.

  I nodded. I’d heard enough, I’m sure she was just as messed up as he was.

  “Are you with me. I mean seriously. Don’t jerk me around. If you were just shitting me about wanting to clean up that’s okay. You can pay off Fat Tony and you’ll be all right there. But if you’re serious you let me know now. And mean it. Because you don’t want to jerk me around. If you’re worried about Fat Tony, and the cops, you’ve got bigger worries if you try and screw with me. You understand?”

  They both nodded sheepishly not really looking at me.

  “Are you in then?”

  Yes, they both said, we’re in. Look at me when you say it I told them. They looked up at me and both told me they wouldn’t let me down. They looked me straight in the eye and there was earnestness and honesty there if nothing else. Good, I said. Then you’ll be right as rain. And speaking of rain. That was something that the valley could use. Some nice slow rain. Something to clear the air. Maybe it could make me think better. I looked at these cracked humans in front of me. Wondering if I was crazy to believe in their youth. To believe in the love they shared. C
ouldn’t take it back now anyway. And I should have thought about that sooner before I mouthed off about going to see Gianni. I had to play that one really careful. Swell Anthony. Real swell. You’ve got enough problems without having to massage the mob out of half a mill.

  “We’ll do it Mr. Carrick. We’ll really do it. Honestly,” she said to me.

  I looked at them. “I hope so for your sakes. I’m not a patient or forgiving man. And I’m now just thinking I made a mistake. So prove me wrong. Don’t make me regret it.”

  They both nodded. We won’t they both said.

  NINE

  Fishing In Murky Waters

  “OKAY. So who else do you think I should look into as being a suspect who killed your dad?” I asked them. There was no hesitation.

  “You should check out this actress my dad used in a few of his movies. I think he probably fucked her too. But from what I overheard, she wasn’t really any good, in both positions I guess. So he let her go and she got a bit crazy and started to stalk him. I heard she left some pretty weird messages for him. And she sent him these fake severed fingers and black roses. This happened until pretty recently. I think her name was Jade. Jade Ocean or Meadow or something. I dunno. Something to do with nature I think. As I said, she was pretty fucked up,” said Stephen.

  “Jade Sky,” I offered.

  “Yeah, yeah that’s it. How did you know?”

  “I’ve been offered that name before. Anyone else you can think of?”

  Stephen rubbed his chin. He had nice molehill on it now. He was lucky. I hadn’t broken anything. Not his nose, not his jaw. I was out of practice. Luckily for him. Maybe luckily for me too. If he’d been in better shape. If he’d been a scrapper I might have had my own clock cleaned. Jezebel looked down at her fingers where she was trying to give a manicure to herself. Wasn’t working too good. She might need professional help with those hangnails.