by K. M. Hodge
“I could tell him the burned discs don’t work in CD players. Which is kind of true. Most of the time they don’t work on that shitty one I have in the trailer.”
Jude bent down and kissed her on the cheek. He needed to think about this new plan a little more. It seemed way too risky at this point to keep going. Hell, their client wouldn’t answer his phone and hadn’t deposited any more money into the account. Maybe he wanted out, too.
“Jude—”
“I’ll go so you can get some rest.” Jude zipped up his jacket. “Love you, Sal.”
“You’ll think about it?”
Jude paused at the door and glanced over his shoulder at her. “I’ll think about it.”
***
St. Mary’s Hospital
Ocean City, Maryland
December 1, 2005
7:00 PM
~~~
Alex shuffled down the hospital corridor towards Sally’s private room. He couldn’t stop himself from seeing her again, even though he didn’t have anything to report on the whereabouts of her son. The need to see her outweighed all the rational reasons he should run away from this relationship. But without Doc around to keep him in check, his sex and love addiction was quickly spiraling out of control and he was powerless to stop it. The chase for the next high kept him hurtling forward with his destructive behavior.
As he turned a corner, her friend Jude stepped in front of him, scaring him half to death. “What the hell? You’re gonna give me a heart attack.”
“You can’t go in there, man.”
“Why the hell not?”
Suddenly, Alex heard a commotion coming from down the hall in the direction of Sally’s room. He tried to push past Jude, but the guy pushed back hard.
“Seriously, Agent Bailey. I don’t want to have to fight you. You need to stay the fuck away from her right now.”
“You came to me for help. Make up your damn mind!”
Jude’s features relaxed a little and he took a slow breath. “And I still want it. Though not about the boy, but we’ll have to talk about that later. Right now, I’ve got to keep Sally alive, which means I need to make sure Billy doesn’t see you.”
Alex stopped in his tracks. “Her husband?”
“Yeah and he’s got the boy with him. Says they went on some fishing trip or some nonsense like that.”
“But the kid’s okay?”
“Yeah. The police are in there. One of them got a wild hair about it all. She keeps pushing Sal to tell the truth. The little piglet must not be on the payroll yet.”
Alex ran his fingers through his hair and paced back and forth. “She needs to tell the cop what really happened. Tell them what he did to her.”
Jude shook his head and gave Alex a sad smile. “You know it don’t work like that. Not around here.”
“Then what am I supposed to do here?”
“For now, go home, Agent Bailey. I’ll call you after everything settles down over here.”
Alex turned on his heels, stormed out of the hospital and lit up a cigarette. Instead of going back to work, he got in his car and called the escort service he used and asked for one of his regulars. The blonde with the big blue eyes. He picked up a bottle of scotch on the way home. By the time the girl arrived, he’d gone through enough of the bottle that he stumbled when he walked over to the door to let her in.
“Here.” He tossed the money at the girl, dropped his pants, and sat back down. “The usual.”
A moment of guilt washed over him, but he swallowed it down with another three fingers of scotch.
***
St. Mary’s Hospital
Ocean City, Maryland
December 2, 2005
5:00 PM
~~~
Billy ran his fingers through his hair and leaned against the wall in Sally’s hospital room by the open door. His patience began to thin like the ice on a frozen lake on a sixty-degree day. He didn’t have time for this police bullshit. The five-o had popped in as soon as he and the boy got to the hospital, like they’d tripped an alarm or somethin’. One of them, a little bitch in blue, got it in her head to put her nose where it didn’t belong. He wanted to go home and shower. He sniffed himself—the smell of fish guts clung to his clothes.
The cop shifted her weight to her back foot and scribbled into her flip note pad. “Sir?”
Billy crossed his arms over his chest and stared the bitch down. “The boy’s a natural on the water. Couldn’t hit shit with the rifle but there’ll be time to work on that.”
“That’s wonderful, sir, but that doesn’t answer my question. Why did you and your son leave town right after the incident in question? And why didn’t you tell your wife you were going?”
“I took the boy huntin’ and fishin’. It’s not like we ran off to Mexico. I promised the kid I would and I didn’t want his drunk mama ruining our plans. The kid needed to get away from her. She’s taken to the bottle a lot more lately. This last time really scared the boy.”
The cop’s narrowed gaze bore into him. He could tell she didn’t believe a word he said. But it didn’t matter since her partner and her superiors were all on the payroll. They were good about looking the other way when it came to him and Sally.
The nosey cop’s partner cleared his throat and glanced at his watch. “You about done here?”
The cop turned from him and moved on to Sally. “Ma’am, if you could just tell us what happened that night, we’ll get out of your hair.”
She smiled, a big toothy grin, and touched Sally’s arm like she really gave a shit. But Sally knew her place. She stared at the boy like she thought he would disappear if she looked away. Billy’s plan had worked just like he thought it would.
“I drank too much,” Sally said, nice and slow like she didn’t want to get it wrong. “I fell.”
“Are you sure that’s what happened, ma’am?”
Sally looked away from Zander and looked the officer straight in the eye. “Yes, I fell. I’ve got a drinking problem, but I think I’m ready to get some help for the sake of my family.”
The officer’s partner pulled her away. “I told you this was a waste of time.” He then walked over to Billy and placed his hand on his arm. Billy stiffened. He didn’t like being touched, especially by some slimy pig.
“Sorry to bother you folks. We’ll get on and leave you to your business.”
Billy nodded and waited until they’d walked out before going over to Sally’s side. “The boy and I went fishing in the family’s stock pond.”
“That’s wonderful. I bet he enjoyed it.” She smiled at him, but a slight tremor in her voice gave her away.
Billy grabbed her chin and pushed her head up. “Look at me, woman. I’m only gonna tell you this the once. Keep your damn panties on or start charging. ‘Cause if I hear even a whisper of you stepping out again, it won’t end well for you and the boy.”
Sally’s eyes brimmed with tears but her lips formed a thin line. Stubborn woman didn’t know when to quit. “I talked to Mama today.”
Billy narrowed his eyes, let go of her chin, and waited for her to finish.
“She wants to take Zane for December. She already bought his plane tickets.”
“He’d have to miss school. Since when do you not care about his schooling?”
“You were right. It’s only kindergarten. He needs to spend some time with his grandma while she’s still around.”
The officer from before walked back into the room and went straight for the stand she’d conveniently left her hat on. How had he missed that? I’m getting sloppy. The bitch wanted to catch him off guard. The boss would need to know about this new lady cop. She might serve to be a serious problem, especially if she wouldn’t let this nonsense with Sally go.
“Grandmothers are such a blessing,” the officer said, as she placed her hat back on her head. “What a wonderful idea.”
Billy grit his teeth together into a fake smile that wouldn’t fool anybody. “Yeah, Sal, that’s a good idea
. We could use some time alone. Help you kick this nasty habit of yours.”
Sally met his eye and nodded. “Yes, that’s my thoughts as well.”
“I’ll stop by in a few days to see how you’re doing, Mrs. Ride. And to make sure your son gets off all right to his grandmother’s.” The cop glared at Billy in warning. “And I hope to find you on the mend, Mrs. Ride. No more falls, okay?”
Sally paled. “No, I’ll be fine. You don’t have to—”
She tipped her hat at them. “I’ll see you in a few days.”
Billy listened to the sound of her sharp heels clicking on the linoleum until he couldn’t hear it anymore, then he leaned down to kiss his lying, cheating, bitch of a wife on the cheek and to whisper in her ear. “Next time I won’t stop until you’re dead.”
Chapter 11
Salisbury-Ocean City-Wicomico International Airport
Salisbury, Maryland
December 3, 2005
4:00 PM
~~~
As the plane took off down the runway, Sally let out a sigh of relief. “I can’t believe I just sent my son to stay with my mother.”
“Better than being around Billy,” Jude said, as he guided her out of the airport by the small of her back. “And besides, your mom’s not drinking anymore and your step-dad is pretty decent.”
“I know.” Her arm throbbed and it hurt to put her full weight on one leg. She winced as her ankle rolled. “He left this morning.”
Jude stopped walking and stared down at her with his face twisted in concern. “Didn’t the doctors give you something for the pain?”
Sally took the weight off her bad ankle and bit her lip as a wave of pain rolled over her. “Billy took the pills with him when he left town.”
“What? Why?”
“He can get fifty bucks at least for the Percocet and it’s not like he cares if I’m hurting or not.”
“You should’ve said. I can score ya some pain pills. My ma’s got a bad back and her medicine cabinet looks like a drug store. She won’t even notice a few pills missing.”
“No, I’ll be fine.”
“You stubborn Irish hood girls.” He shook his head. “When does he get back?”
Sally tested her foot by putting some weight back on it, but a bolt of pain shot up her leg. “I don’t know. A week I think.”
Jude looped her arm over his neck and let her lean on him. She didn’t want the help, but it didn’t seem like she had much of a choice at this point if she wanted to leave any time soon. “Michael wants to go out again.”
“Michael who?”
“Don’t be cute. You know damn well who I’m talking about.”
“I tried to block him from my mind and I kind of hoped you had too,” Jude said, pausing a beat. “You really want to move forward with this then?”
“Yes, of course. Why wouldn’t I? We’ve come this far, why not finish what we started?”
“Our client hasn’t paid us in a while or even called. We should drop it and move on to something else. Something where we actually get an income.”
Sally’s cheeks burned hot and her breath quickened with the strain of their walk. Jude stopped at the curb where they’d parked his car. He held open the door and looked down at her. “Don’t get your Irish up. I know you want to do this. I just wish you wouldn’t is all.”
“You don’t have to worry about me. I can take care of myself.”
“I didn’t want to tell you this, but since you’re already head strong about going through with this, I might as well.”
“What?”
“The bug in his bag crapped out. I got a couple muffled conversations. Mostly about what he wanted his secretary to order him for lunch. I think I have him on tape getting a blowy from someone. Might have been a client, but I can’t be sure. The sound is too distorted.”
Sally climbed into the car and closed the door. She watched as Jude ran around to the other side and got in. “See, I told you we need to keep going. We don’t have much of anything to hurt him at this point. Even if we aren’t getting paid, someone needs to make him accountable for what he did to that poor girl.”
“I know. I know. I just don’t like you getting this close to the guy. He’s dangerous.”
“Did I ever tell you why I married Billy?”
“No. Why?”
Sally slouched down in the seat and rested her broken arm on the door. “My mother did a lot of drugs when I was a kid and dated a lot of guys who thought it would be fun to mess with her teenaged daughter. Billy lived next door. I used to sneak over to his house to get away from my mom and her men. When I turned seventeen, we forged my mom’s signature and got hitched. My brother gave him a job at the shop a year later when he got out of prison.”
“Sally—”
“I’m not telling you this so you can feel sorry for me. I’m telling you this because things change. My mom got clean and married a half-way decent guy. I’m not giving up on getting out of here even if it seems like an impossible dream right now. And I’m not giving up on that dead girl because she’s never going to get a chance to make things right. But we can do that for her.”
“All right, Sal. I’ll put the CD together.”
Jude drove the rest of the way in silence towards the trailer park that she called home.
***
COSTCO Parking Garage
West Ocean City, Maryland
December 3, 2005
4:00 PM
~~~
Gary’s hand shook as he tried to unlock his car door. He hadn’t wanted to leave the house, but he needed to get a refill for his insulin. The constant threatening phone calls and the break-ins at his home had left him on edge. The day before someone had broken into his house and left a trail of ketchup all through the kitchen to the bedroom. The glass in the picture frames was broken and lay scattered all over the floor.
His phone and computer had been stolen, and even though he reported it to the police, they hadn’t seemed to be taking it very seriously. He doubted anything would be done to find his missing items or catch the assholes that terrorized him on a daily basis. For a minute, he thought about giving up and letting them get away with it all, but he couldn’t do that to his sister.
Screech. From the level above him the sound of squealing tires made him jump and drop his keys. As he bent to pick them up he heard the footfalls of someone coming up behind him.
Click.
Gary froze.
“Don’t move,” a gruff voice from behind him said.
“Please.” Gary held out his hands in front of him. “Please, don’t hurt me. I’ll give you whatever you want.”
“Shut up.” The man grabbed him from behind and yanked him around. Before he could say a word, he heard a crack and whine. It took him a moment to register the pain in his belly. He sank to the ground and the masked man hovered over him—going through his pockets and picking up the keys. He coughed and the acrid taste of his own blood filled his mouth. This is it. This is how I’m going to die.
***
Rita’s Cafe
McLean, Virginia
December 4, 2005
1:00 PM
~~~
Alex slipped into the smoking section booth across from his private investigator friend. “Do you have something good for me, Danny?”
His friend took a sip of his coffee and slid a manila envelope across the table to him. “See for yourself.”
Alex pulled the papers and loose photographs out of the envelope and looked them over. A waitress came up to the table and cleared her throat. “Can I get you anything, sir?”
“Coffee, thanks,” he said, not even looking up.
The first set of documents pertained to the lawyer, Michael David. “This guy is total sleaze.”
“The lawyer? Yeah. He’s in bed with the mob for sure. I can’t definitively tie him to money laundering, but I’d bet my right nut that he’s a part of shuffling funds. He’s represented some of the mob’s muscle, to
o, whenever they’ve gotten caught up in legal entanglements.” Danny lit a cigarette and took a puff. “The police in that area of Maryland are in the pocket of the mob though, so he doesn’t end up in court for them very often.”
“Yeah, I thought as much. I’ve heard rumors.” Alex pulled out a cigarette of his own and lit it. The waitress brought him his coffee and he alternated between sips and puffs.
“Now I don’t have any proof yet, but it looks like he might be skimming money from his client’s escrow accounts. There’s some talk about a disgruntled paralegal who wanted him to forge a notary’s signature and use her stamp. And that’s not all. There’s chatter about a dude making a stink about how this guy got his sister killed. But, of course, no one is doing anything about it, it being Ocean City and all.”
This got Alex’s full attention. “He killed someone?”
Danny shrugged. “More likely he got one of the group’s muscle to do it for him.”
“What about Billy Ride?”
His friend tapped his cigarette on the ash-tray and slouched back into the bench. “Low level stuff mostly. Though there were a few times when he was a suspect in a crime and a witness recanted or turned up dead. A few times evidence went missing too and he got off scot free. There’s been a few domestic dispute calls regarding his address, but the wife never pressed charges, even after he put her in the hospital.”
Alex took a sip of his coffee and set the papers aside. “What about his wife, Sally?”
“She’s got a juvenile record, but it’s sealed. It took some digging but I found out that it was for possession and running away from home. She had less than an ounce of marijuana on her and had run away quite a few times. Her mom is in AA, so that might have had something to do with it. Otherwise, it’s just been domestic disputes that she refuses to press charges on.”
“Did the lawyer ever represent Billy?”
“Nope.”
Alex scooped up the papers and photos. “Thanks, man. I appreciate it.”
“I haven’t seen you at the meetings in a while. Is everything okay?”
Alex paused for a moment. “Yeah. Just been busy with work.”
“Have you talked with your sponsor? Been working the steps?”
