by Ed Teja
“Ever read Céline?” Bill asked.
“Can’t say I have. Did he have any observations on snipers?”
“You jest, but actually he does. Unfortunately, they aren’t from the first world war and not entirely applicable to our current situation. Sit.” He poured me a mug of coffee and I sat.
“I kept dreaming of killing Donna,” I told him.
“That’s a waste of good fantasy time. By the way, I’m glad you are up. Sally told me, no, she informed me, that we are to come in early this morning. Gazele wants to fix us breakfast. It sounds like a command performance.”
“She’s up for that?”
“Apparently, the local wisdom is that you can’t go hunting on no empty stomach and she feels a need to see that we don’t.”
“Hurrah for local wisdom,” I said.
“And wise women.”
When we motored in, Gazele greeted us, looking bright and fresh. After she brought us steaming plates of eggs and bacon, she brought her coffee and joined us. “Let’s go over the plan,” she said.
I didn’t bother asking why she thought we were part of a plan. Some things aren’t worth worrying about. I pointed to the tourist map of the island laminated to the table and traced the path along Back Street, up the hill, and back down again to the square. “The police are taking care of the arrival of the VIPS,” I said. “We just need to make sure that the path up the hill and back is free of vipers and dangers.”
“You don’t think she gonna shoot them as they get off the boat?” Gazele asked. “They will be right out there in plain sight.”
“I don’t think so,” I said. “It’s good for making the shot, but she needs an escape. The Coast Guard is bringing the men here and would be in a perfect position to pursue her. And, if she isn’t going by boat, every policeman on the island would be free to chase her to ground.”
“True,” she said.
I looked at Bill. “I think we should start with a quick check of possible sites up the hill, identify any anything promising. Not a rigorous search, just a quick scan. We can hope to get lucky and catch her while she’s on the move, still heading to her spot.”
Bill seemed as edgy as I was. He stood. “In that case, we better get moving.”
“You in a rush?” Gazele teased.
Bill smiled. “I’m only thinking of you, darling.”
“How is that?”
“If we can grab this evil doer quickly, we could still make it back here by lunch time. Then, after a great meal, we can toast our victory at low cost during happy hour.”
“You are pretty optimistic,” I said.
Bill laughed. “Well, I have a date tonight, so it has to work out.”
Gazele patted his hand. “You don’t want to do too much toasting your victory if you ‘spect to keep Sally happy tonight.”
“I’m a big man, young lady, and I can accommodate many diverse and intoxicating activities. Catch a killer, have a few drinks, go dancing, make love all night... That sounds like an ideal, if full, social calendar.”
“It does indeed,” I said, hoping things might unfold even close to that straightforward.
“These might be useful,” I said, taking a pair of small binoculars I’d brought from the boat out of my pocket and putting them on the table. “I have a pair too.”
“Should make searching a little easier,” he said uncertainly.
Before we left, I called the inspector again. “We are starting a sweep,” I told him. “Since the Coast Guard is bringing the men over, I was thinking… being on an island means that if she kills this guy, things will get locked down fast and she could get trapped. She’ll probably make for the water and have arranged an escape. Do you think Everett can block the basin until this is over?”
He laughed. “I had the same thought. I called him, but that isn’t happening. His plate is over full and since we are just speculating, I didn’t think I could press the matter.”
“At least you are on the record as asking for it.”
“I’d rather that never became an issue.”
“I understand.”
Bill drank the last of his coffee and stood up. “I better get started up the hill. Sally said that she heard on the news our target has decided to help Donna out by making the ride in a convertible and they’ve promised the folk that they will roll along nice and slow so they can wave at the admiring crowds. I’d like to eliminate her chance at playing Oswald popping a shot at JFK,” he said.
That’s exactly the bleak thought that had come to my mind, but I just nodded. “Call me if you see anything that makes that fantasy possible.”
“Is your phone charged?” he asked.
“It is. Oh, and in case you didn’t think of it, while you are searching, looking for a hot woman with a rifle ready to kill someone, also please keep an eye out for booby traps or even an ambush.”
“Like a bomb in a culvert?”
“Well, you might let people know about those if you find them, but I was thinking more personal. The kind of thing a sniper would set to kill anyone looking for a sniper. A trip wire with a grenade or some other trap such as a little black woman pointing a Glock at your head. She might try to get us while we look for her.”
“Gotcha. Just cause we are doing some hunting doesn’t mean we ain’t being hunted.”
That was too true, and I didn’t much like hearing that being said out loud. “Just be careful.”
“Where are you headed?”
“I’ll start from the docks. Someone might have noticed a little woman wandering around with a rifle. You never know. Then I’ll walk up Back Street from the other end and we can meet in the middle.”
With Bill singing, “You take the high road and I’ll take the low road,” off key, to annoy me, we went our separate ways.
I stood outside The Barracuda watching Bill trudge determinedly up the hill on the opposite side of the square before heading down to the docks. From there I walked back toward the square, stopping to chat with people going about the business of life, asking them if they’d seen a woman carrying a case of some kind, one about the size of a rifle. I found that people had seen her, but not that morning.
“The other day,” a man cleaning a fish in a bucket told me. “I see a woman with one of them going fishing the other day.”
“Fishing?”
“She got her a long case with her, fancy like. I recollect it’s the same kind I seen some of them men that go out on the fancy fishboats to catch the Marlin carrying.” Then he scratched his head. “Course, it don’t make much sense.”
“Why not?”
“This ain’t much the right time for that kind of fishing, and I didn’t hear about no one taking a boat out for that recently. A man hears about such things, you know.”
I did know. “Well, maybe she did pick the wrong time,” I said. “She’s not from around here and wouldn’t know.”
“That the truth,” he said, satisfied with my explanation.
I knew the kind of case he was talking about — an upmarket case for a deep-sea rod and reel. I remembered that the first time I saw one, my first thought was how nice and handy one of those would be if you ever wanted to carry a rifle around without getting people all stirred up. Donna had experienced the same epiphany and put it to good use.
Talking to other people along the way, I found that case marked her nicely, and their recollections led me along a trail that led, more or less, back to the deserted office. At that point it went cold.
I was going in circles and breadcrumbs I followed were only the ones she didn’t mind me following. Donna was damn good. She’d stayed out of sight except when she had a task to accomplish, whether it was blowing smoke up my ass or killing Nick.
I had to assume her plan would be simple and let her keep control over the entire process. If she was in close, she’d have a boat handy and she would be a problem for Everett and the inspector. If she was using
elevation to her advantage, her favored spot would have to be up on the hill.
I looked up the steep hill the road took up above the town and groaned. Just as I took out my phone to call Bill, to give him a heads up that I was starting up the other side, it rang. Bill messed with my stupid phone as a joke. Now, every time I get a phone call, the damn thing plays Barnacle Bill the Sailor. I’ve never changed it back to something better. More to the point, I don’t know how, and I hadn’t found a seven-year-old to do it for me yet.
I didn’t recognize the caller’s number, but it sure as hell wasn’t Bill.
“Hey, Captain,” Donna said.
Fuck. This didn’t seem good.
“Hello Donna,” I said. “You took your time calling me. I thought we were going to get the police to help you out with your little problem.”
“That was your plan. As it turned out, I had other pressing business to take care of. You know how it goes.”
“Business like shooting Nick?”
“Nosy. Do I ask you about your cargo business?”
“No. But you said you wanted to chat?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Well, you called me. It’s implied.”
“I called because I saw you snooping around, obviously and awkwardly following my trail.”
“You left a trail?”
She laughed. “There is always a trail if you know how to look. Anyway, I decided, since you’ve been so nice, to give you a friendly warning.”
I glanced around, certain that wherever she was, she was watching me. I didn’t much care for the feeling, but I was glad Bill and I had split up. If I had her attention, that gave him a chance to find her. “That’s nice of you.”
“It is. Now, pay attention, cause here is your free warning: Looking for me isn’t a good idea. I could have killed you a couple of times already. You are starting to become a serious pain, and I almost did, but I like your attitude.”
“Unlike Nick’s?”
“Absolutely. You probably didn’t get to know him, but Nick was a complete asshole.”
“And Gazele?”
“Who on earth, or what, is that?”
“The woman you shot at the other morning when we came ashore.”
“Oh, that,” she laughed. “Maybe I was jealous. You did spend the night with her.”
“I don’t see you as the clingy type who has to act out those kinds of insecurities.”
“That’s true. And it’s also true that if I had intended to shoot the bitch, she’d be dead.”
“After seeing how neatly you blew Nick’s head off, I can believe that. So why the call?”
“I’ve got a job to do and I don’t want you getting in the way.”
“Getting sentimental?”
“Sure, all sloppy and teary-eyed. No, it’s more that if you make an effort to stop me, that makes more work for me. I’ll have to kill you in a pre-emptive strike, and that fucks up some of my other plans. I have nothing against doing hard work, but I like to get paid for it. I won’t get paid a penny more for killing you or your pal.”
“I bet you didn’t get paid for killing either Nick or the young constable.”
“Unfortunately, that is also true. Letting that poor police boy get that close was sloppy of me. I should have paid more attention to where he was. It wasn’t like I didn’t notice him, but he arrived faster than I expected. He had unfortunate timing.”
“And killing Nick?”
“That was just regular business. If you eliminate the competition, that means more business for the surviving participants. It’s a dangerous business. Nick understood that.”
“So he is, or was, a competitor?”
She laughed. “You still haven’t figured this mess out, have you? No, Nick was muscle. Nate was my competitor. Nick worked for him. But with Nate gone, and Nick being moderately ambitious, I couldn’t take the chance that he wouldn’t see himself as the rightful heir to this job. He might either do it himself, or worse, he’d let me do it and then try to take me out and claim credit and payment.”
“He’d be a threat when he’s in jail?”
She laughed. “Forgive me for doubting that he’d have been in there for long.”
“Point taken.”
“Oh, in case I have to kill you before we have a face-to-face, I wanted to thank you for taking Nate out for me.”
“It wasn’t me, I’m afraid, and it wasn’t for you. One of the constables hit him with an ugly statue. Nate fell and broke his neck.”
“So sad. Still, you staged that elaborate charade and put your life on the line, yet you aren’t even paid a lousy cop salary for all that effort.”
“Since you put it that way — ”
“You do-gooders worry me. At least the inspector and his lads draw pay for taking risks.”
“It’s your fault. You dragged me into this.”
“Not on purpose.”
“Still, you left things ambiguous. I had to make it clear that I didn’t kill Warren Davis, and I gave the inspector my word I’d stop you.”
“My! You really shouldn’t have done that, darling. Trying to fulfill a rash promise like that will make my life so much more difficult and yours so much shorter.”
As I talked, I trudged up the hill, hoping I’d find her and that I wasn’t already in her crosshairs. I couldn’t be certain she was actually watching me. She could be stalling me while she got in place.
The hill was steep, and soon I found it harder to breathe than I should. I was out of shape. I promised myself I’d get back to my training routine once things got back to whatever passed for normal. It’s amazing how you can train every day for years, make it a habit, and finally get in some kind of decent shape, but when you back off the schedule, you lose the fitness as fast as the morning light chases away dark.
“You sound worn out, darling,” she said.
“Just a little short of breath,” I told her. “But to your point… this doesn’t need to complicate your life. You don’t need to do this job.”
“Of course I do. And I’ve accomplished so much already. Why, this is practically the end of it. I’ve eliminated the competition, with your help — ”
“It wasn’t me.”
“You set it up. And it was a nice ruse, making him think you had me tucked away like that. You offered a trade, knowing all the time that Nate would choose to come and get me himself.”
“I’m glad you approve.”
“So, in thanks, we get back to the reason for my call — a generous friend giving you one last chance to walk away. You should think about taking a day off. That’s all you need to do. Grab your girlfriend, drag her out of the line of fire and into bed. Fucking her silly will do you both some good and be so much nicer than dying pointlessly.”
“Not much chance of that happening.”
“That’s too bad. If you or your friend get in my way, I’ll have to kill you.”
“Funny, that’s the same thing Nate told me. See how it worked out for him?”
“Nate wasn’t that good,” she said.
“Well, don’t count on things working out well for you.”
“Oh, why not?”
“Because the police have asked that I point out to you how impolite it is to visit a country and then start killing people left and right. Your behavior has been bad and I think I can help you see that.”
She chuckled. “I do like you.”
“I’m afraid that the feeling isn’t mutual,” I told her.
“Just so we both know how things stand, sweetie,” she said. “I hate misunderstandings.”
“Me too,” I told her.
I’d meant that to be a threat, but when she ended the call, I didn’t think she felt particularly intimidated.
26
As I went up the hill, I called Bill and, between puffs, told him about Donna’s call.
“Ballsy,” he said. “Do you think sh
e was just taunting you or was there a real point to her call?”
“Who knows? Maybe she was just bored.”
“Is that good?”
“I don’t think so. A bored killer isn’t going to be predictable.”
“Well, I haven’t seen hide nor hair of her so far.”
“I’m coming from the other side. As you check out high elevations, take a peek down at the square. She might be lurking down there somewhere. I got the feeling she was watching me.”
“Doncha hate it when the bad guys are good at what they do?”
I did.
All we could do was look for her and try to find her — stop her before she could act.
I moved fast, searching the area and trying to balance speed with thoroughness. If she had a good spot and had already ensconced herself, she could stay hidden until she was ready to act.
I stopped to catch my breath (pretending I was looking around) when a particular spot called to me. It looked perfect for her purposes — shooting from cover. A church sat just off the side of the hill a bit on a slope. It had a bell tower, open on all four sides, that would offer a perfect view. It was a perfect vantage point. The escape issue would be complicated, but being this far away from the scene, when the shot rang out no one would know for certain which direction it came from for some time. If she moved calmly, she could easily clear the area before the cops or anyone else arrived.
Like a dog on a fresh scent, I headed toward it, glad of a candidate with potential. The bad news was that I knew it would have a steep set of narrow stairs; the good news was that if she was in place up there, I’d have her cornered and she’d have no way out except through me.
At least, I think that was good news. I had no idea how good she would be when it came to a fight in close quarters. I was good, but in the fight game, there are always faster guns, people with new tactics. I hoped to find out soon.
I made my way to the church, vaulting a short wire fence which made a small, yellow dog very angry. Happily, he was chained and didn’t slow me down. I jumped the far side and went up a grassy slope to the church. Looking up, I couldn’t see anyone in the tower, but I had doubted she’d be standing there in profile.
