“You said this guy who is after you—his name is Jimmy?”
Nodding, she answered, “That’s what Antoinette calls him. Says he’s always chewing gum. He’s the one who shot the naked guy.”
Ross didn’t ask her to explain. Instead, he bolted into action. He dressed in seconds. Then he went to the closet to search for a metal box he’d put away a long time ago. It was right where he’d left it. The key that he kept in a secret compartment underneath the box was also in place. He used it and lifted the lid.
Claudia thought she was going to puke. “It’s a gun. What do we need a gun for? All we have to do is get Rosie and leave.”
“And go where, Claudia?” he asked sharply. “What are the three of us going to do, run forever? I’m not leaving this farm. Call Rosa May—the number is in the phone book downstairs. Tell her to stay put. Then I’m going to put you in the car and—”
“I don’t know how to drive, remember,” she shouted, jumping up and down in a fit of panic, wishing she’d been a better study. Not that it mattered. Stubbornly, she decided that this was going to end here. “I’m not leaving. They came here for me. If I go with them, they’ll leave you alone.”
“You are not going with them,” he stated firmly. “Go call Rosa May.” Ross lifted the .38 Special from the case and loaded it. He filled his pockets with the extra bullets and shoved the gun deep into his jeans. It wasn’t an automatic, which was what he would probably be facing, if not worse. But it was the only defense they had.
Claudia bolted back to her room and threw on the first thing she found in her closet. This was no time for matching. What was important was that she be dressed. If she was going to be murdered, she was not going to die naked. She knew from firsthand experience how humiliating that could be. Once dressed, she sprinted down the steps and found the phone book with the number for Rosa May’s friend. She bolted up stairs and stopped short when Ross came out of the bedroom, the handle of the revolver sticking out of his jeans.
It made her sick with worry to think that he was going to confront two mob hit men. Not that she didn’t trust his expertise, but he was one man with one gun. More than likely the Caravacci brothers would come loaded with an arsenal of weapons.
She wanted to plead with him again to run away with her, but the intense look in his eyes told her not to bother. His protective instincts had been alerted, and he wasn’t going to budge. Claudia moved around him and made the call. She didn’t talk to Rosa May as she was still asleep, but the friend’s mother understood the urgency of Claudia’s request. She would keep Rosa May with her until she heard otherwise.
Racing down to join Ross, Claudia found him shutting the curtains. For every curtain he pulled, he first checked outside for any signs of trouble.
“Do you see anything?” she asked.
“Get down,” he ordered.
Without thinking, Claudia dropped to her stomach. She’d been through this routine before at the house in New Jersey and the cabin in Virginia. But now it was much more frightening. Now she had Ross to consider. She couldn’t let anything happen to him, but he wasn’t letting her do anything to help.
“No sign of them yet. It will be hard for them to approach the house. Too much open space. More than likely they’ll ditch the car and come on foot. If we’re lucky they’ll run into some of the electrically charged fence we use to keep the cows in their sections.”
Claudia was familiar with the thin white bands that sectioned off parts of the farm. Thinking it harmless, she had attempted to lift it over her head so she could duck under the fence and had been treated to a jolting shock. Ross and Rosa May had found the whole situation hysterical. Just one more episode in the TV sitcom that was her life, appropriately titled Claudia: Down on the Farm.
“Shouldn’t we call the police for backup?”
Ross sighed and bowed his head. “I’ve considered that option. Freddy’s just a kid they elected sheriff because his dad held the office before him. He passes out speeding tickets and breaks up bar brawls. I don’t think he’s prepared to handle the mob.”
“So what do we do?”
“We wait. Let them come to us.”
“OH, MAN, what is this stuff?” Donald asked his brother as he pulled his leather loafer out of a pile of brown goop.
Irving noted the goop and the smell. “Trust me, you don’t want to know.”
“They were Italian!”
“Will you stop worrying about your shoes,” Irving ordered. “We’re here to make a hit.”
Donald lowered his head, but grumbled under his breath, “If you ask me, we never should have taken this job.”
“Yeah, well, nobody asked you.”
Irving had really good ears. “But Wisconsin? It’s not like we’re going to attract a lot of attention out here, Irving. If we want the big contracts, we’ve got to build our reputation in New York. And so far Claudia has been bad luck.”
Irving progressed slowly, carefully choosing his steps. He turned back to his partner, “That’s why we’re here. We muffed the first two hits. So we’ve got to finish the job. Didn’t you learn anything from Ma? She always told us—”
“You gotta finish the job,” Donald finished. He understood, but Ma wasn’t out here plodding through cow manure. Donald glanced up to judge the remaining distance to the house. It was about a quarter of a mile away with what looked to be a million cows between them and the front porch. His Italian shoes were never going to make it.
“Hey, Donald. Come here and hold this rope up while I crawl under it.” Irving pointed to the thin white band that was stretched between two poles.
“Not much of a fence,” Donald snorted. He handed his brother his gun then bent down to lift the band up. It was the shock of his life.
“OOOW!”
Inside the house, they heard the scream. Ross looked over his shoulder to where Claudia was still belly-down on the floor. “They found the fence.”
“But it won’t knock them unconscious,” Claudia recalled. It had only left her mildly stunned with really full hair for the rest of the day. No hair spray necessary. “Ross, I’m scared.” She army-crawled to where he stood watch by the window. “Please duck.” She yanked on his pant leg until he complied.
He crouched low and took her into his arms. “We’re going to be fine.” He didn’t know how much he believed that, but as long as Claudia was reassured, that was all that mattered. After a minute he released her, then stood again to check the window. He hated waiting. Even as an agent he’d never been any good at it. These men were on his farm. Here to attack his loved ones, and all he could do was sit and wait.
No, that wasn’t all he could do. “Claudia, I want you to stay here.”
“Ooohhh,” she whined. “The hero always says that right before he leaves the girl to go and do something stupid.”
Ross smiled gently. “It won’t be that stupid. I promise.” He left the living room and headed for the kitchen and the back door beyond. Crouched low, his gun poised in the ready position, he sprinted from the house to the barn. Once inside he searched the area for potential weapons. All he saw were the animals.
“OH, MAN, my hair is still sticking up,” Donald complained.
“It was just a small shock, get over it.”
Again, under his breath, Donald muttered about his brother not getting the shock so how would he know how big or small it was. All of that was interspersed with a few choice four-letter words intended for his brother to hear.
“Move cow,” Irving ordered as they were in the midst of cow central. The large bovines didn’t seem to mind the strangers. They went about their daily activities undisturbed. So oblivious they were, they didn’t seem to watch where they were going.
Irving and Donald were bumped about like pinballs in a pinball game.
“Ooof. Ouch. Hey, watch it you dumb animal.”
“Mooo.”
Donald gave one speckled cow a hefty shove. “Moo yourself. I told you this was a bad id
ea, Irving. We don’t know nothing about making no hit on no farm.”
“Stop your yapping,” Irving growled. “We’re almost there. Just one more fence to go.”
“I am not holding this one up!”
ROSS CROUCHED behind the barn door. He waited until he saw the two hit men clear the fence. Once they were in the yard he raised his pistol over his head and fired a shot that blasted through the barn. Since all the barn and stable doors had been opened, the animals did the natural thing and bolted. Ross pushed himself up against the door and out of the way of Devil, Shannon, the pigs and a cat as they all charged out of the barn.
It was almost enough to make Ross smile. He peeked around the door to witness the effects of his plan. The two goons stood in the middle of the yard, stunned by the sound of a gun. When they looked up, they saw that they were about to be stampeded by a menagerie of animals.
The horses got to them first. Shannon sniffed the air around them, bumping them with her backside, while Devil lifted his two legs high into the air and issued a warning cry. The one goon hit the dirt and startled to wrestle with the pigs, while the other tried to keep his balance, enough to aim the automatic in his hand. Gretchen was pecking at his leg making it difficult for him, but the goon was able to shake her off. He aimed at Devil as if to shoot, but Ross wasn’t about to let that happen.
His two fingers between his lips, he whistled to the horses, calling them back. They trotted off, giving Ross a clean shot. Patiently, he took aim, knowing he had to make each shot count. He fired once at the man standing. Instantly, the man clutched his hand as his gun went sailing into the air.
The other one had apparently already lost his gun in his tussle with Ham and Bacon.
“Freeze,” Ross called authoritatively. Slowly, he left the safety of the barn, his one hand wrapped around the gun, the other holding his wrist steady. “Arms high.”
The two hit men did as they were told.
“On your bellies. Arms stretched out wide in front of you. If either of you goes for your backup, you’re dead.” Ross moved forward as the two stretched out on their stomachs.
“Is it over?” Claudia asked as she carefully made her way into the yard, a large frying pan held high above her head.
“Get back inside!” he commanded.
“All right, already. No need to get grumpy. I’m going to call the police.” But as Claudia turned she realized that she vaguely recognized one of the men lying on the ground. Moving closer, she tilted her head side to side to get a closer look at their profiles.
“Irving? Donald?”
“Hi, Claudia.”
“Hi, Claude.” They reluctantly greeted her.
Flabbergasted, Ross questioned. “You know these guys?”
“Yeah,” she informed him, irritated that two old high school buddies would attempt a hit on her of all people. “Only their name isn’t Caravacci. It’s Schultz. Irving and Donald Schultz.”
“Caravacci had a better ring to it. You know…meaner. More Italian,” Irving explained.
Shaking her head, Claudia tapped her foot maternally, “Donald?”
“Yes, Claudia?” His tone was satisfactorily contrite.
“You asked me to the prom!”
“Yeah, and you turned me down. I’ve never forgotten,” he defended himself as if the ten-year-old jilt was still fresh in his mind.
“I attended the Brooklyn Academy of Beauty with your sister!” They were practically family. The nerve of some people. “How is Ingrid, by the way?”
“Good. You know she got promoted from head washer to stylist,” Donald said proudly.
Ross had been warped to another dimension. It was the only explanation for the conversation that was taking place between the girl with the frying pan and the two hit men lying belly-down in the dirt. “Are you finished?” Ross directed his question toward Claudia. “Or perhaps you’d like to relive your high school graduation party?”
She grimaced at his facetiousness. “Yes, I’m done,” she obliged. But she couldn’t help but add, “Excuse me for being a little shocked that my two very good friends from high school turned out to be two hit men who wanted to kill me.”
“You didn’t really like us in high school, Claudia. You called us geeks,” Irving reminded her.
“Only because you guys still dressed alike in the twelfth grade. You’re not even identical twins.”
“Our Ma made us do it,” Donald muttered.
Ross rolled his eyes in disgust. “I’m calling the police. Then I’m calling Frank. I think I figured out who our infamous Jimmy is.”
Smack. Smack. MacCurdy popped another Nicorette tablet into his mouth and chewed ferociously. He stood behind the couple, a gun pointed at their backs. “You always were the best, Ross. A legend.”
10
“MACCURDY,” Ross greeted, a grim smile on his lips.
“MacCurdy?” Claudia repeated, not sure she knew what was happening.
“Didn’t you catch his full name?” Ross asked Claudia. “Allow me to introduce James MacCurdy III. Or as he is more commonly known in mob circles, Jimmy.”
“Antoinette was right,” Claudia noted. “You do have beady eyes.”
He smirked and wiggled his brows for effect. “So you figured it out, Ross? I suppose it was that infamous gut of yours.”
“It wasn’t hard to put it together. Rocco found Claudia. Only you, me and Frank knew where she was. I know I didn’t tell Rocco.”
“And good old Frank certainly wouldn’t have turned out to be the leak,” MacCurdy returned, apparently repeating a familiar refrain.
“Frank is an honest man. You…Let’s just say I always had my suspicions.”
His face mocked surprise. “Me? Really? But I was clean when we were partners. I didn’t get into this whole gig until a few years ago.”
Time. Ross needed it to plan his escape. He’d been forced to drop his gun, and the Cara—Schultz brothers were collecting theirs and shuffling back to stand behind MacCurdy. All too soon it would be three guns to none. “Exactly what kind of gig is this, MacCurdy? A little moonlighting as a contracted hit man?”
Seemingly anxious to confess, MacCurdy shook his head. “Not at first. I started out just providing some inside information every once in a while. But you know how it goes. You do a good job, you work really hard and you get promoted.”
“Why was he naked?” Claudia wondered.
Ross didn’t see that information as pertinent, but what the hell, the more time they bought the better.
“I popped him in the shower. What you don’t know is that the naked guy lived in the apartment above Rocco’s. I was trying to take his body someplace to send the appropriate message to someone when some cops pulled up to the building. Rocco’s door was closer, so I hid inside, dumped the body in the bathtub, threw some bags of ice that Rocco had in the freezer on the guy so he wouldn’t stink up the joint, and left. I figured Rocco would keep his mouth shut until I could come back for him. What I didn’t figure on was his girlfriend and you finding the body and squealing to the police. You know you bumped into me that day on your way out the door. I knew then that I had to take you out. As a precaution, you understand.”
“Sure. A precaution,” she agreed as if that made all the sense in the world. Claudia tried to recall that day and the people she’d seen, but she’d been rattled by the dead guy and was too busy trying to escape from Rocco to pay much attention to her surroundings. “But why bring me out here?”
“By the time I got to you the FBI was already involved. I couldn’t take you out with a bunch of agents around you at every turn.”
“Sorry for not making myself an easier target,” Claudia tossed out sarcastically.
“Was it the money?” Ross prodded. He glanced toward the barn. The doors were still open. If he could shove Claudia aside, maybe she could reach the safety of the barn while he charged MacCurdy. Too far, he recognized at once. She’d never make it. He needed another plan.
; Just keep talking, MacCurdy. Tell me what a smart guy you are.
“That corrupted me?” MacCurdy clarified. “Is there any other reason? I was going nowhere quick living in your shadow. Everybody figured I’d been riding your coattails. I got tired of trying to prove myself. So I found a job where I could shine. My aim is accurate. And I know how to dispose of evidence.”
“Not very well,” Ross reminded him. “You missed Claudia, twice.”
“Yeah!” she cheered, backing up her man.
MacCurdy snorted. “I didn’t miss. These two idiots missed.” MacCurdy pointed his thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the twins. “It’s a good thing I didn’t leave anything to chance this time. Enough talk. I’ve got a lot to do today. These guys will make the hit. I’ll call Rocco’s number from your phone. Frank will think that Claudia once again gave her location away, and Rocco will go to jail in my place. See, neat as can be.” MacCurdy turned his head. “Okay guys, let them have it.”
“Are you going to stand there and take orders from a guy who just called you idiots? Really, Donald. Really, Irving. You can do much better than this loser.” Claudia looked over the shoulder of MacCurdy straight into the eyes of the Schultz brothers.
“Do it,” MacCurdy ordered. “Now.”
“Don’t do it. Think of the prom we might have gone to together. Do you really want to murder the girl who could have been your senior prom date?” Six point one, Claudia judged. Absolutely lacking any teeth. But she was desperate. “And think of Ingrid. You know she would have failed coloring if it hadn’t been for me. And then where would she be? Washing hair for the rest of her life, that’s for sure.”
Ross couldn’t believe it. The Schultz brothers actually appeared to be undecided. It was time to make his move, but MacCurdy still had a gun pinned on him. He needed a distraction.
Beeep! Beeep!
“Yo! Claudia! It’s me. Your for-real engaged friend and employee!”
“Antoinette!”
A large black Cadillac was tumbling over the ruts in Ross’s extended driveway. Ross couldn’t help but keep his eye trained on the big-breasted, dyed blond temptress that was hanging out the passenger window. With flailing arms and a voice that ricocheted off every cow on the farm, she demanded everyone’s attention.
The Doc's Double Delivery & Down-Home Diva Page 28
