“Fuck you, Lo!”
The cackle made its first appearance back in the office. Trish approached and hugged Lo, much to the Harpy’s surprise. The others followed her lead, including Steve.
“I’m glad you’re back, you old crone,” Trish said. “From what Bone pieced together from our CIA software key, you two did some spectacular shit. Want some help on the pricks that sold you out?”
“That’s a dish best served cold, Skipper. Hooterville and I have to maintain a low key existence for the time being. We’ve been together a long time. One thing we’ve always been in agreement about is we always pay our debts… no matter how long it takes. Back to business – I’m putting you and Hooterville on installs for a month, you cold hearted little skank.”
What the hell? Trish stared in confusion while the others enjoyed Lo’s sudden pronouncement without a clue where she was heading with it. “You can’t put me on installs, Lo… damn it.”
“Yeah, I can… and I did. We have a new client who contacted me personally. An old friend of ours was released from prison while we were away, Rick. Stacy wants us to install a state of the art system on the new software/smartphone business she’s a manager at.”
That tripped Trish’s switch. I don’t think anyone other than Lo and I had ever seen the deep down killer look Trish uses layers of psycho expertise to cover. Lo boinked her but good. Trish pointed a finger at Lo threateningly, lips drawn back in a deadly sneer of contempt. “Don’t play me like that, you old cunt! You’ve had your fun. Let’s get serious.”
“I’m serious as a heart attack, you two faced, cheating pond scum!”
I thought for a moment I’d have to kill Trish. I loved her, but Lo’s closer to me than family, or loves. That she’d tweak a killer like Trish without blinking an eye, because of an imagined slight Trish caused me, and she knew the ace might make Trish’s head explode was Lois Madigan from head to toe. I smiled at the silence. Trish relaxed with slow deliberate movements. I allowed my .45 Colt to settle into its holster once again. I knew the sudden reversal of my idyllic life with Trish had wounded Lo. She was closer to Trish than her own half-sister, Karen. Trish was everything Lo had been a few decades ago. They’d shared more laughs, mixed in with life and death situations during past months since Trish’s release from prison, than I’d ever seen Lo share with anyone other than her favorite target – me.
Lo handed me the file, smiling while completely ignoring the seething Trish. “Here’s Stacy’s new business site. Walk away if you see anything funky. You’ll never guess who hired her to run the place, Rick.”
It could be but one person Lo would ever pull a stunt like this for. “Cheech Garibaldi.”
“Damn good, Rick. Maybe the sand didn’t mind wipe you like I thought, partner. Cheech owns her lock, stock, and barrel. She dies the moment he takes back his protection. I’ll let you get the details of that deal made in hell. Make sure Skipper does her part or I’m docking her. At least I won’t have to worry she’ll talk you into any afternoon delights.”
There had been gasps of disbelief from our cohorts, except for Trish. They turned to uneasy amusement. “I’ll bet Cheech is laughing his ass off thinking of you handing me that file. I’ll bet you told him you would put his movie star on the install along with his brother’s killer when you confirmed this insanity, right?”
“That was why I didn’t get to the office until now. Cheech confirmed Stacy’s website order for me. We may have had a few laughs at your expense. How many did he have, Bone?”
“Two Irish, Lo.”
“I guess you’ll be fine, Hooterville. Get moving. Take number three. I want that install done before this afternoon. Cheech wants to have a Friday grand opening. Get your coveralls on, kids. Oh wait a minute… Skipper already has hers on.”
Trish hesitated, falling for Lo’s zinger, looking down at the dress and blouse she was actually wearing. She flipped off Lo, while striding toward the door. “I’ll be in number three whenever Granny Munster finishes getting her pound of flesh.”
Bone waited until Trish left with Granny Munster enjoying the hell out of her first few minutes back in the office. “Damn, Lo… we need Trish. She could hit the movie star trail permanently now and quit us.”
“Skipper can’t quit this gig any more than Rick and I can. For one thing she’d die rather than quit singing at the restaurant. She knows if she quits us, no more ‘Casablanca Nights’. Take off, Rick. See what your other old skank has planned. I thought for sure the first thing I did if Stacy got out of prison would be cutting her into little pieces. Using her to liven things up with Skipper is just so neat.”
I took a deep breath, gave my fellow workers a wave, and headed for the door. “You outdid yourself this time, Lo. We touched down a few hours ago, and you’ve already turned San Diego upside down while turning Trish inside out. Take a nap.”
“Remember what I said, Rick… no nooners.”
Lo received her second bird of the morning.
* * *
“Well… say something. Were you in on Lo’s ambush?”
I kept my eyes on the road, although she was driving. “I didn’t know whether Lo was taking the day off or not. I figured she’d stay at home for a day with Frank. Lo came to the office in Harpy heaven. She hates Stacy, but the idea of making you do an install on a Cheech Garibaldi business under Stacy’s management made her forget everything else. I could almost picture her reading the request from Stacy, loading her Glock to go and shoot Stacy in the head, while calling Cheech at the same time. After confirming the whole thing with Cheech, Lo had to sit down, and gather her thoughts for this morning’s ambush.”
I noticed appreciatively Trish’s hands white knuckling the steering wheel. She pounded the wheel once before getting a grip again. “I should have known better. For weeks I was ready to take anything she had to dish out. She really caught me off guard with the Stacy ace. How in hell does she conjure something like that?”
“You’re asking me? I had a couple Irish coffees with Bone before leaving for the office. Do you really think I would have done that if I’d known Lo would be coming in with one of her transcendental witchcraft maneuverings? The Gorgon owns me. She knows what I’m thinking before I do.”
“Yeah… I know. Rick… Sam and I flew to Las Vegas a couple weekends ago, and got married. I didn’t want you to be the last to know.”
Gee thanks. “Congratulations, Trish. It seems as if you’ve found someone a lot like Lo did with Frank. He’s never let her down in all the years I’ve known those two. You’re not as acid tongued as Lo. That will help. Are you going to try and have kids?”
“We don’t know yet. I’m sorry how this all played out. When I answered the door, and Sam was standing there, it threw me for a loop. I met him on one of my first jobs in Hawaii, working with Markos Campana on our second contract job together. He was fresh out of college, and already on his way to being a millionaire in software development. After Markos made the hit, he told me to take some time off and see the sights. He made a hundred grand on the hit in Hawaii. I seduced the mark, slipped him a few knockout drops, and Markos finished him off. He had a concoction that made it look like the guy died of a heart attack.”
“I met Sam on a tour the second day. Two weeks later, we were so hot for each other, Sam postponed his business back in the states. Then… Markos called. We had a political hit in Chicago. I was young, but I was a young killer with no conscience. Sam was a great guy with his whole future ahead of him. I knew we didn’t belong together. I left him a note, and never looked back. Me doing that stupid movie painted a bulls-eye on my ass. I’m not trying to explain it to you. I never meant for it to happen.”
“I’m glad it did happen for you,” I told her truthfully. What the hell could I offer her other than some uncomfortable years into my being a really old geezer. “Stacy came out of nowhere, set me up to be killed, and I still got involved. First loves are a weird dynamic. I’m happy for you, Trish. Don’t give i
t another thought. If I’d been around for a while after it happened, this wouldn’t have been so hard. Lo and I had to pay off our debt for my Adina fiasco.”
“I know,” Trish replied. “I thought you died during the payback. I’m not much on conscience, but I’m relieved you made it back alive… you lucky son-of-a-bitch.”
Now was the time to deal with reality. “Straight up, Trish… why the hell are you working this gig? You have a multi-millionaire husband, and you are a marketable new talent on the movie screen. Why don’t you retire to doing movies, and cocktail parties for the rich and famous?”
Trish drove to the curb. She eyeballed me for a moment, and then stared straight ahead. “I can’t make any of this work without the job at Madigan/Cantelli. I’m no fucking movie star! I’ll take the parts when offered, and I love being with Sam. He knows everything about me now, and he doesn’t care. Please help me stay with you and Lo. I know I nearly made you kill me this morning. I don’t mind the mundane installs, the boring stakeouts, or the paperwork. I love this shit, because there’s always the chance I can kill a bad guy legally. I’m addicted much the same way I figure you and Lo are.”
Well okay… at least I know enough background into her thoughts to plot a course. “I’ll help, Trish. Lo conjured a perfect test. You need to put anything of a killing nature concerning Stacy behind you. This one is serious. Cheech owns Stacy. I’m figuring he decided to put her knack for potential disaster into a positive format… God knows why, other than him taking a Lois type satisfaction out of it. He probably monitored her for just this type of a deal.”
“I can’t believe Lo would consider letting her live two seconds out of the joint after all the shit she’s put you two through.”
“My take is she’s using Stacy to put you through the grinder. She wants to know how committed you are to working with us. Lo hates Stacy with a passion, and Cheech hiring her on as a manager at a place he hopes to expand frosted her cookies. Lo doesn’t do kneejerk reactions. She’ll wait until this scenario plays out, especially since we get to charge for it.”
Trish didn’t reply. She nodded, and drove on toward our destination. “I give you my word I won’t kill her. You need to keep a tight rein on Stacy, or I will slice and dice her one moonlit night.”
Trish would have to race Lo for that action. “I will be at your side during all Stacy interactions. The first arrogant word out of her mouth will be met with a call to Cheech. Lo will back me in anything I notice, or take objection to. I won’t pretend to know what Stacy has in that feeble mind of hers, but we are not going to the mattresses over it with Cheech. Any bad threads I spot in this deal ends a moment after with us walking out, no matter how far we’ve worked the installation.”
“That’s good enough for me, Rick. You really must have had a thing for her back when you were a kid. I know how she played you after finding out where you were. What the hell is it about her that you haven’t killed her already?”
Good question. “I’d have to say it’s the fact she screws herself so fast, I don’t have a chance to do it myself.”
“She hasn’t died… which is the supreme mystery to me. I studied your paths while doing my workup to kill her. Working in the underground meth lab had me in open mouthed surprise, followed by my underestimating the bitch. I’ll let you do the talking. It would be best if she did not approach me in any way.”
“I promise to monitor that.” I pointed at her with real threat. “You will control yourself, Trish, or your ass will be out of the business. Don’t expect Lo or I to cover your screw-ups. We will fire you. If we can come to that understanding, self-control will be your key to staying with us along with pursuing your other endeavors.”
“Can I still play Batwoman?”
I grinned. “Case by case, Batwoman.”
“It’s a deal. I’m valuable, but my value depends on the people I’m working for knowing what I’m capable of. The afterhours stuff is an added adrenaline injection hard to pass up. If you’ll agree to backing my play, I’ll ride for the brand forever.”
“As long as you back off from your play afterhours, I’ll help in any way I can. You go rogue on us, and we yank your chain out of the water.”
“Agreed,” Trish said with quiet acceptance. “You’re not kidding this is going to be a test. I made a vow to myself I’d give Stacy a haircut at her Adam’s Apple the next time I saw her.”
“Stacy has that effect on people,” I admitted.
“The effect she seems to have on you involves her appearing unexpectedly with no clothes on, and you taking her in like a lost puppy.”
“I seem to remember you arriving with Chet shortly after, ready to kill and maim both of us. How’d that work out for you?” I saw my reminder of the day Lo and I captured Trish and Chet torqued her jaw to the max.
She resumed her death grip on the steering wheel. “Good one, Hooterville. I guess all the tracks aren’t rotten under your caboose… prick. I assume Bone told you Chet escaped.”
“That is an unfortunate fact. All the rest of this merry-go-round ride is the usual welcome home party. Chet being on the run… not so much. He’s no newbie. Chet will either blow us the hell up, or hit us long range.”
“Or he’s a professional, which is what I figure. He’ll head for parts unknown, hunker down for a year, and then start again on small stuff,” Trish said. “I don’t take anything away from his skill set at all. Chet is damn good, but unless he gets someone to pay for our demise, he won’t be after us.”
“I hope you’re right. I’m going to load my Barrett in the trunk whenever I go anywhere. I used to have a gut feeling back in the day when I was being hunted. Chet got screwed. He’d be smart to take his good fortune hunting somewhere else, but I’m an eye for eye, tooth for a tooth type too. I’ll be tracking his whereabouts with Bone and our hard earned CIA clearance. If rumor has it he’s in the area, he would have no other reason to be here than to hunt. I hate playing the part of the squirrel.”
“You aced a few hunting for you, huh?”
“I had to. Pretending everything’s okay never works… at least not in a killing business.” I became very attentive as Trish drove into our destination’s parking lot. “Wow. Cheech has a nice thing going here. I hope he has Stacy on a super tight leash, because I smell disaster otherwise.”
“This is it. You’re right. I’m not much of an accountant, but I can think of a hundred ways Stacy could ravage this place. I love Cheech’s play on words with the name.”
“Nice touch.” I stared at the huge sign proclaiming ‘Godfather’s Cell’. “It’s an attraction. Cheech didn’t get where he is gambling with losers. With him getting into the movies, along with moving into the area, this could be a real nice expansion for him. Hey… have you had to stop and sign autographs yet?”
“Not yet, except at the freak show red carpet rides. I wear this ball cap I have on when I’m not doing publicity stunts, and no one takes a second look. They made me wear one of those designer dresses at the public appearances. Sam fit right in. He guided me through it without a missed step. You’ll like him, Rick.”
“I’m certain of it. There’s Stacy. She’s dressed for the part.” Even I was impressed. Stacy wore a black skirt, white blouse, and I could tell her time in prison had leaned her out. She wore a modicum of makeup, and her dyed blonde hair was tied tightly at the back of her neck. For a sixty year old, she looked good to me, because I’m in the age group.
Stacy hugged me. “God, Rick… you look great. I bet you never thought you’d see me again, huh?” She waved at Trish. “Hi, Trish. I’m working for Cheech. He owns my ass in payment for not allowing the gangbangers and cartel to butcher me. I promise to make this work. I am not ripping off Cheech. He could find me anywhere I ran, and it would not be pleasant. I hope you’ll give me a chance.”
“I will,” Trish replied, staring straight at Stacy. “Don’t blow this you old skank. If you steal from Cheech, or ruin his new endeavors in any way, I wi
ll do your ass for free. Believe me, Stacy, if you fuck this up, I will find you in the night. You’ll awaken with me by your bedside. Oh mamma, what times we’ll have then. Rick will handle the interaction from now on. He’ll let you know what we need to do for the installation, so let’s keep this strictly business.”
Stacy didn’t like Trish’s upbraiding, but I noticed an acceptance I never saw before. The old Stacy expected people to fall all over themselves when she did her mea-culpa crap. I liked the new acceptance. I didn’t believe it for a moment, but I liked it. “Why not show us around the store, Stace? We’ll get an idea of what we want to do then for our install.”
“Sure, Rick… it’s a rather large store.” Stacy gestured for us to follow her in. “We have an excellent sales crew. It’s a high end selection for people to choose any plan with their tablets or phones, including the Internet offering companies with no required plan. Because of the outlay in money for our products, the store is closed down like Fort Knox. Mr. Garibaldi wants to prevent anything happening. He’s hoping to lower our insurance premiums with provable security services in addition to the physical ones.”
“I can guarantee we’ll put a security system in place, fully monitored, with oversee of both employees and staff, that will make Cheech’s store as theft proof as is humanly possible.” I meant it too. We don’t fool around making promises we can’t keep. Lo and I used to be the IT department. We’re good, but Bone is better. He has upgraded everything to fit into our plans for clients to choose from. I could tell seeing the merchandise in his place, Cheech would want the high end plan.
Stacy continued showing us around, introducing the sales and management staff as we did our walk through. I knew where we’d be going for our next smartphone/tablet upgrade. I’d have to forbid Bone from even walking into this place. I could picture his head spinning right off his neck. “This is quite an opportunity for you, Stace. You know all the scams, all the deadbeats, and I doubt any employee could con you. If you stay straight, this could be a very good thing for you.”
Rick Cantelli, PI: Into the Darkness (Rick Cantelli, P.I. Detectives Book 3) Page 5
