“That’s where you’re wrong, Peter. I promised his sister no more killing, so you get to live. Of course, how you live after this is up to you.”
“Fuck you.”
“Let’s try something simple. Who is it you work for?”
He looked ahead stoically, but didn’t answer.
Ronald blew out his breath and said, “I mean it Peter, how you leave here is up to you.”
Peter still didn’t answer. I looked over at the tools lying on the floor and then reached down and picked up the hammer and a large nail.
“You know Peter, my good friend over there is not really in the mood right now for your emerita, so I’d start talking if I were you,” Ronald said.
He didn’t budge or make a sound.
Ronald shook his head and then stepped back. He nodded his head at me.
My hand gripped the hammer tightly as I walked up to him. He looked sideways at me and the hammer, but didn’t speak. I thought about my kids losing their mother. The anger began to creep back into my veins. I placed the head of the nail in the center of his taped hand. I saw him take a deep breath as he waited for the nail to be driven into his hand. I wanted to hurt this man badly, but couldn’t bring myself to do it. He saw the hesitation on my face and then grinned at me. “Not so easy, is it boy scout?”
I backed away and shook my head, embarrassed at my own weakness to carry through. Ronald nodded, then walked over and took the hammer and nail away from me. Then in one swift motion, he drove the nail home through the top of his knee.
Peter started to yell, but Ronald cupped his hand over his mouth. Silas bucked and squirmed in agony for several minutes. Ronald’s calmness over what he had just done unnerved me. I said, “Fritz Washington, head of CCO is your boss.”
Ronald looked back at me in anger, but didn’t speak.
Peter said through Ronald’s hand, “Yes…”
I nodded and approached him again. Placing my hand on Ronald’s shoulder, I pushed him away so I could look him in the eye. “You’re the head of security, right?”
He nodded.
“Fritz gave the order to kill me and everyone around me?”
This time he didn’t answer. So I placed my hand on the top of his knee and pushed ever so slightly. As he started to yell, Ronald came up behind him and pulled off another strip of duct tape, slapping it over his mouth.
I waited for his muted cries to stop before I said quietly in his ear, “Not too late to talk while you still can.”
He shook his head again and then head-butted me. I staggered backward a few steps and rubbed my head where he had connected. Ronald started forward. I waved him off and walked back over to Silas and leaned down again. I whispered, “Number and address and I swear I’ll take you to the hospital myself.”
“Yuck ooh,” he mumbled through the tape.
Then something broke inside of me. My mind started to go black and then, as if I were in a dream, I felt myself walk over to where the tools on the floor were. I reached down and picked up the nail gun and portable compressor, then I turned back around and stood in front of Peter Silas. I heard Ronald ask me, “What are you going to do with that?” I felt my head shake off the question and watched my hand reach out and grab his testicles. Grabbing one of his balls, I put the nail gun on top of it. I looked up and met his eyes. He was shaking his head violently and began twisting and rocking in the chair.
“Walt, what the fuck are you doing?” Ronald asked.
“Number and address,” I said again.
Now he was screaming through the tape and gesticulating wildly in the chair. My eyes never left his as I pulled the trigger and drove the nail straight into his testicle. His eyes bugged out of their sockets as he shook violently in the chair, almost knocking himself over until he passed out.
I stood up and looked down at him.
“Jesus, Walt,” Ronald exclaimed. “Now he’ll never talk!”
“Get me a glass of water,” I barked at Ronald.
Ronald looked at me, then shrugged and walked back into the kitchen. While he was gone, I went over and picked up the tape from the floor and tore a piece off of it. Then I walked back over and took his flaccid penis, pulled it as far as it would go and then taped it to the inside of his left leg.
When he came back Ronald said, “Never took you for a gay man. Here’s your water.”
I didn’t respond. Taking the glass of water I threw it in his face. His head rolled around, but he didn’t wake up right away. “Refill it,” I said gruffly.
Ronald took the glass and went to refill it. I slapped Peter in the face. He started to come around and then he began to wretch like he was going to throw up. I reached up and pulled the tape off, then stepped to the side as vomit began to pour out of his mouth. The stench filled the room and I began to wretch in response to the smell. I covered my nose and began to breathe through my mouth.
When Ronald returned he too had to cover his nose. He handed me the water and I again threw it in his face. This time he woke up. He groaned in pain but was still listless. Grabbing him by the back of the neck, I slapped him hard across the face. His eyes focused and my eyes met his. “Phone number and address for the hit team that tried to kill me,” I said forcefully.
He groaned and then cried out, “Oooohhhh my nuts… Jesus, this hurts.”
“I nailed your testicle to the chair. You still got one good one left. Answer my question or I’ll nail the other one to the chair!”
“I don’t know the number,” he groaned.
I didn’t hesitate and nailed the other testicle to the chair. He screamed and then threw up again. Only this time his vomit flew across the room and hit Ronald in the face and chest. Ronald’s eyes went wide in shock. He began to violently wipe it off his face and clothes. “Son of a bitch!” he screamed. “Fucker threw up on me!”
“You had it coming, asshole. Now shut your mouth and pretend just for a second you’re a mime!”
“I’m the asshole? He just threw up on me because you nailed his nuts to the chair!”
“SHUT THE FUCK UP, RONALD!” I screamed.
Ronald stared at me in disbelief. “And I’m the one without a conscience? I’m a lot of things, but I’ve never nailed a man’s nuts to a chair before.”
I whirled around and pointed the nail gun at him. “One more word and I put the next one through your skull!”
He opened his hands out in a placating gesture. “Fine! It’s your show.”
I turned back to Silas. “One more time: phone number and address!”
This time he rattled off the number and address of the hit team. I wrote it down and asked him one more time to repeat it back to me. He said it again. I nodded and said to Ronald, “Call Marcie and give her the number and address. Tell her to scramble a swat team and have them picked up.”
This time he didn’t argue. He nodded and then walked over to where he had left his phone and made the call. I heard him talk to her. He turned back to me when he was through and nodded.
“Good,” I said. “Now Peter, I need you to tell me where Fritz Washington is and how to get in touch with him.”
“You’re making a mistake. You think you can just waltz in and arrest him?” Pete mumbled.
“I didn’t ask for your thoughts on the subject and unless you’d like to fuck like an earthworm for the rest of your life, I suggest you tell me.”
He shook his head, “It’s a mistake.”
I raised the nail gun up in front of his eyes. He shook his head and then rattled off an address and phone number. “Call him,” I said to Ronald.
He nodded again and began to dial the number. I reached out my hand for the phone. Ronald looked at me and then handed it to me. It rang several times before it went to voicemail. The male voice on the other end identified himself as Fritz. No last name. I ended the call and turned back to Pete. “That sounded like his office number. I want his mobile number.”
“Swear to god, that is his number,” he plead
ed.
I waved the nail gun again.
“Jesus… please, that’s all I know,” he groaned.
I nodded my head, satisfied I wouldn’t have to nail his dick to his leg. I turned around and looked at Ronald.
He nodded in agreement, “Alright then.”
“We’re leaving here now,” I said to Peter. “When the cops show up you’re going to confess to all the shitty things you’ve done and if you mention our conversation. I swear to god I’ll finish what I started here. You reading me on this?”
He nodded his head and said, “I promise. Not a word.”
“We’re done here. Pack up and let’s go.” I dropped the nail gun on the floor and turned around to head for the door. I needed fresh air. Once again, I had crossed a line I swore I never would, only this time there was no good reason or justification for what I had just done. I loathed what I had become. I hated myself for becoming everything I hated. What business did I have in wearing a badge? None. Now it was only a matter of time before I’d feel the bite of metal around my wrists. If I was lucky, my sentence would only be life.
I felt the weight of the badge I had put on my belt. Disgusted, I pulled it off and as I stepped outside, I threw it into the cornfield. Just then I heard Peter scream. Turning around, I rushed back inside. Ronald was standing over the top of him with the nail gun pointed at his crotch.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“Seemed like a waste to go off and leave his dick taped to his leg.”
I marched back over and pushed him aside. Ronald had nailed his penis to the side of his leg. I shook my head. “You’re like a kid, you know that?”
“What? You’re the only one who gets to take his frustrations out? He tried to kill me too, you know.”
“Fucking animal,” I said disgustedly. “Clean up, we’ve got work to do.”
I walked back outside and breathed deeply. The smell of a fireplace somewhere nearby lingered. The air had gone crisp, the sky was clear. Looking up at the night sky, I studied the stars. I saw the big and little dipper and the Milky Way and thought for a moment about the last time I had seen so many stars. My thoughts were interrupted by the throbbing in my hand. It was hard to see in the dark, but I could tell the beating I had given Peter Silas had left an impression.
What was worse was the knowledge that my blood would be all over the crime scene. I thought about going back inside and trying to clean up, but I knew that was a fool’s errand. Instead, I dug into my pants for the keys to the jeep. I could hear noises coming from inside Pea Green but not the kind I associated with Ronald beating Silas. I blew out my breath and contemplated our next move. Of course, with what I knew I could always turn myself in, tell my story and let the chips fall where they may. Guilty people ran. The innocent relied on the law for protection. At least that’s the speech I gave when I was a cop.
Then there was option B, which was the polar opposite of the first option. With one big modifier, we wouldn’t run, but rather hunt down Fritz Washington and get him to confess. That, however, was a long shot. I felt pretty sure we would run him to ground, but getting him to confess was a nonstarter. Men like him didn’t rise to prominence for being stupid. Peter’s confession was going to be fraught with difficulties. First and foremost, it was coerced. Also, he was more than likely to give me and Ronald up for the beating and the nail gun.
No, the only option was to find him and hope and pray he was stupid enough to leave damning evidence that would at least mitigate what I had done. I was about to go back inside and check on Ronald when he appeared at the door. He had packed up his toolset and had both arms full. I walked over and took the nail gun and air compressor.
“This it?” I asked Ronald.
“Yep, it’s everything.”
“And our guest? How’s he doing?”
He hesitated and then shrugged. “Still inside.”
“But he’s alive, right?”
Ronald’s eyes slid off mine and then he shrugged again. “Uh huh.”
I started past him. Ronald raised his arm and stopped me. “Better not.”
“What’d you do?” I asked.
“Walter, later on, there will be a trial. There are some questions you’re better off being able to answer truthfully.”
“You fucking killed him, didn’t you?” I seethed.
He leaned in close and said, “Going through that door right now will color everything from here on out.”
I straightened up and looked him in the eye. “You swore no more killing.”
“And right now, he’s alive. Take comfort in that knowledge. I can honestly say with a clear conscience, I didn’t kill anybody.”
“Confessions of a serial killer. Nice.”
“Walter, I’m not really in the mood right now for a morality lesson. Also, if I recall, you were the one who both beat a defenseless man and nailed his nuts to a chair.”
Defeated and deflated, I nodded. “Won’t make much difference later on.”
He winked at me and smiled, then he chucked me on the shoulder. “Cheer up, ole sport. Sometimes you find options where you thought none existed,” he said gleefully, then continued on past me to the cars.
“What have I done… what have I done…” I said meekly.
Chapter 32
We opted to take the jeep and leave the Cadillac behind. Neither of us spoke until we were clear of Delta. I hadn’t asked where we were going because at this point, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to know. The savagery with which I had beaten and tortured Peter had left me numb and uncertain. I thought six years ago, when I had allowed Ronald to kill Chaney Shannon, that would serve as my low point as a cop. I had been wrong. I looked over at Ronald and his face looked both calm and serene from the glow of the instrument panel.
“How do you live with it?” I asked quietly.
He glanced over at me and shrugged. “Been hurting and killing for longer than I can remember.”
“You ever have trouble sleeping?” I asked.
He shrugged again. “Not really,” he replied casually. “Now can I ask you something?”
I blew out my breath and shrugged, “Shoot.”
“Nice turn of phrase,” he said sarcastically. “Back there you seemed to know who the players are. Mind telling me who we’re going after?”
“Earlier I called my employers in Florida and asked them to run a check on Common Core Oil…”
“Common Core? Why?”
“Don’t know really. Except since I’ve been here, I’ve seen those CCO trucks all over the valley. Also, their CEO gave an interview that just struck me as odd.”
“Odd how?”
“Just a hunch.”
“So what’d find out?”
“Sundance and a tool pusher named Tyler Washington.”
He blanched and then shook his head. “Not sure I follow.”
“Yeah, you do. Don’t lie about it now.”
He shook his head and blew out his breath. “All this is over that?”
“You killed his son, Ronald. And all this…” I said, waving my arms around, “Is retribution for killing his son.”
“Shit Walt, I didn’t kill him!”
“No, you just tied him up in chains and threw him over the side of an oil derrick in the middle of the gulf.”
He was quiet for a while and then said, “Give me the rest of it.”
I told him everything Karen and Bill had told me.
He didn’t speak for a long time after I was finished. “It was only a matter of time before my chickens came home to roost.” Ronald shook his head thinking of the call he would have to make at some point and said, “Walt, just don’t worry about it right now.”
“Pretty cavalier attitude, don’t you think?”
He shrugged. “Can’t change the clock now.”
“What did you mean when you said, ‘Don’t worry about it’?”
“Not something you need to know right now. Let’s just say I have a chit to cash in
if I need it.”
“Pretty sure we’re well past needing it.”
He nodded. “Yeah… way past time. I’ll make sure you’re clean on all of it.”
“Does Jessica knows what you do? Also, what happened in Florida today?”
His shoulders sagged, then he told me about Barry Davis and what he had done to try and protect all the parties involved. This time it was my turn not to speak. When he was through, I said, “Thank you, Ronald. A lot’s changed since this morning. I need to talk to my kids and Jessica. And that cop, Sienna, is going to want answers too unless the Feebs talk to him first. You didn’t answer me about what my sister knows”
“Later. Right now we need to finish this, once and for all. Then we can hash out the rest of it.”
“I know you’re right but Ronald, when we find this guy he goes down the right way. He lives to see the inside of a jail cell. We clear on this?”
He nodded, then scoffed, “Scout’s honor.”
I felt my anger flush my cheeks and my blood started to boil. My hand started to throb again. I opened it and closed it a few times and then asked Ronald about the night I was almost killed. He told me what had happened and when he was through, I asked him about the killer known as ‘Freeze’ and about Big Max Benson.
“For all I know, he got away clean. Either that or he’s dead and just hasn’t been discovered yet. Max assured me he’s taking a powder until all this is sorted out. If I need something though, he’s willing to help out.”
I nodded into the night and then turned my attention to the night sky. The moon had started to rise off to the east, which blanked out the Milky Way and most of the stars. I looked for the seven pleated sisters, which was a group of stars I had discovered when I was a boy. They used to bring me peace, now they were just dimly lit stars in the sky. I wondered when my innocence had faded. I shrugged into the night and continued to stare out the window like I did when I was young. For the first time in years, I missed my mother and father. I wondered if they were looking down on me and if so, what they would say. I shook my head to clear the feelings of loneliness and self-loathing. ‘Jesus, I needed a drink,’ I thought.
On The Devil's Side of Heaven Page 30
