Heart of the Devil

by Ali Vali

  * * *

  “Thank you for coming, Mrs. Richard,” the bail bondsman said to Heidi Richard while they both waited for Boone’s arraignment.

  Heidi nodded, barely moving her head. Her headache was about to make her pass out or throw up, and her body ached, but the only thing that would make her feel better was a hit. The guy who’d picked her up had said that coming here and getting her son Boone sprung would set her up with enough shit for a month, but he needed her to be sober enough to get through the process.

  “You remember what you need to tell him and the attorney we got him?”

  “Yeah, that Callie sent me, but you know they’re going to run the minute he hits the door, so don’t blame me for that. Those two only care about each other. It ain’t natural, I always said.” She scratched her forearm until it bled and only stopped when the guy put his hand over hers. “I get my stuff after this, right?”

  “You get through this and don’t screw up, and you’re set for life.”

  “Shit yeah.”

  They stood when the clerk called the court to order, and she waved to Boone when he came in wearing an orange jumpsuit. It didn’t take long for the public defender to get a fairly low bond and for Boone to nod when his mother explained Callie had sent her because she couldn’t come herself.

  They both got into the car with the bondsman, and Boone opened his window when Heidi lit her pipe. “It’s good to see you, baby,” she said, feeling her pain fly away as fast as the scenery on the interstate. “You don’t come around too often no more.”

  Boone took her pipe and tossed it out the window. “We’ve been busy, so I sent you some money to get by.”

  “You know that wasn’t enough for what I need.” She could sense her words were starting to slur, but she still wanted to rage against the fact that she was still having to hook to get by. Her eyes closed and everything faded away.

  “Where the fuck are we going?” Boone said, propping Heidi against the car door and off him.

  “After what happened, Callie moved to keep Casey off your ass,” the guy said, turning off the highway into an industrial area. “She was pissed, but you’ll be okay.”

  “Why the hell did she call Heidi to do this? Callie fucking hates her.” He glanced at the woman, who’d never given a shit about anything but the pipe, and wanted to despise her as much as Callie did, but Heidi was still his mother. She was fucked up, but she’d bought him cookies and sung to them as kids, so it hadn’t always been horrible.

  “I just paid the bail, man, so you’ll have to ask her that yourself.” The guy drove through an industrial park, then backtracked a couple of miles until he stopped by a warehouse. “Here you go. She’s right inside.”

  Boone looked at the place and hesitated before getting out. Something was hinky about this, and the guy standing next to Heidi’s side of the car confirmed his suspicion. The gun he was holding was pointed at his head, and the guy wasn’t alone.

  “Get out, asshole, and don’t get cute.”

  “If you’re going to fucking kill me, go ahead.”

  “Kill you?” The guys around the man laughed. “You think I’m going to kill you for cutting my sister? Well, technically, I am, but I’m not wasting bullets on you. Get out or we’ll get you out, but if we have to do it, think pain like you’ve never experienced in your life.”

  The bondsman took a thick envelope from the guys and drove away after they’d taken Heidi out with him. “What kind of son are you?” another one asked him. “Pick her up and let’s go.”

  The building was dark, but he could make his way with Heidi draped over his shoulder while trying to think of where the best place to fight was. He’d fallen for this shit like an amateur and thought of Callie always telling him not to be so soft, especially when it came to Heidi. She was right in that his hope of Heidi finally doing the right thing for him had overridden the reality of who Heidi was and what she was never capable of. Mainly that was being a mother.

  “Put your mama down, big man,” said the guy he figured was Billy Casey, pointing to the ground. He did it quickly, figuring it would free him up to make a move, but as he started to straighten back up, Billy popped that bubble. “I know what’s going through that pea brain, so think before you try anything. I’m not going to kill you, but I will shoot your knees and feet before you get within three feet of me.”

  “Okay, now what?”

  “Strip,” Billy said.

  “You asking for my dick, asshole? You just had to ask. I ain’t into that shit, but if you’re desperate, go ahead. I know what your sister likes, but I didn’t know it runs in the family.”

  “Once you’re done, get your mama undressed,” Billy said, totally unfazed by his taunts.

  He did what was asked, thinking he might make it out since Billy said he wasn’t going to kill him. “Okay. I’m fucking naked.” He spread his arms out and kicked his pants toward Billy. “My mama doesn’t have anything to do with this, so why not let her go?” He picked Heidi up and cradled her.

  “Not quite yet. You’ve got a lot of bonding to make up for before you can begin to forgive her for selling you out for a bag of rocks.” Billy threw him Heidi’s payment, and as soon as it hit Heidi’s abdomen, he was pushed backward.

  “Fuck,” he yelled, his face pressed up against the little glass window. It wasn’t until the door shut that he realized how fucked he really was.

  “Don’t sweat it,” Billy said and smiled. “I left you a lighter and a pipe, so you should be fine.”

  “Wait.” He banged on the door. “You let me out, and I’ll tell you something you and your sister want to know bad.”

  Billy opened the door but stood with his gun cocked and pointed at him. “Let’s hear it.”

  “It’s about your daddy. I know who pulled the trigger.”

  “Sure you do,” Billy said, moving back.

  “I’ll tell you, but after you let me go.” It was amazing how cold he was instantly.

  “You’re not too terribly bright, are you?” Billy spoke loudly as he slipped two padlocks in place, effectively shutting him in the industrial freezer.

  “It was me, but I was hired,” he said, shivering.

  “I know because you bragged to Heidi. Telling your secrets to a junky is how I know you’re not too bright, and in the couple of days of being Heidi’s candy man, I also know you’ve been a very bad boy in our neighborhoods.” Billy pocketed the keys and stepped close to the glass window. “What you don’t know is how imaginative my sister is at punishment.”

  “Fuck you,” he said, his muscles aching badly from the shivering.

  “I’ll leave with the hundred-and-third thing on my list of stuff I hope never happens to me,” Billy said, and smiled again. “That would be someone snapping my frozen dick off and shoving it up my ass, so what you should’ve said was, fuck me. Because when that happens for little Callie’s entertainment, you’ll be too far gone to care.”

  “You can suck my dick.”

  “Sorry. Small popsicles were never my thing.”

  * * *

  “We don’t have an inmate by that name,” the receptionist said, never looking up from her paperwork.

  “I got a call he was here, so check again,” Callie said, trying to be patient.

  “He isn’t here. They released him this morning,” the woman said with as much impatience. “He made bail.”

  “Does it say who posted the bail?” Her instant stab of fear made her have to hang onto the counter to stay on her feet.

  “Some woman, I think, but it’s not in the paperwork. You need anything else? You’re holding up the line.”

  Callie pointed to Ryan and asked him to take her to someone she figured might’ve been paid to spring him, but she couldn’t believe he wouldn’t have called her after getting out to keep some little twit happy. If that was true, she was now too pissed to be scared. She’d go see for herself.

  She knocked on the door. “Can I help you?” the young woma
n asked.

  “Are you Bea Weller?”

  “Yeah. What can I do for you?”

  “Plenty,” she said as Ryan pressed the barrel of his gun to Bea’s forehead. “Let’s start with where my brother is.”

  “Hey…wait a minute. Who’s your brother?” Bea asked, trying to back up fast enough to get away from the threat. “Look. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Sit down and shut up,” she said, and Ryan pushed Bea into a chair. “You were with my brother and now he’s missing. If he’s not here, then where is he?”

  “Are you talking about Boone? The police took him away—that’s all I know.” Bea held her hands out as if it would protect her from what was coming.

  “Tell me exactly what happened.”

  Bea told her side of the story until Boone was knocked on the head and taken away. “He stabbed Cain Casey right there, and I took him there. Do you know what Casey’s going to do about that? Is that why he wanted to meet her so bad?”

  “Did Casey say anything to you?” She took her switchblade out and sliced through Bea’s hand like she was cutting a ripe tomato. Ryan put his hand over her mouth to keep her quiet but almost couldn’t because Bea’s head was shaking so hard. “Did she?”

  “No. She told the guy to call the police, then left for the hospital. I got thrown out after that.” Bea held her wounded hand and cried. “If he’s missing, I don’t know anything about that.”

  Callie was about to cut Bea again when her phone rang. “Boone,” she said, relieved.

  “Actually we’ve got Boone on ice,” a man who wasn’t Boone said. “But he’s been asking about you.”

  “Is he dead?” she asked, sitting down and pressing her thumb into the center of her forehead.

  “No. He’s having a long conversation with your mother. Don’t take too long to decide if you want to join the family reunion.”

  “Who’s this?” She concentrated, trying to hear anything in the background that might give her a hint of something she could use.

  “Callie.” She heard Boone’s muffled voice. “Callie,” he said again, and she punched her thigh.

  “Him I think you know,” the guy said. “Remember, not too long.”

  The phone call ended, and she took a few deep breaths before she took her frustration out by stabbing Bea until she was a bloody, mutilated mess. “Fuck.”

  Ryan wiped his face, only smearing the blood that had landed on his cheeks. “Who was that?”

  “Some guy who said not to take too long to make up my mind about coming to get Boone. They’re going to fucking kill him, so I want them all dead.”

  “I’m with you, but we need a plan.” Ryan walked to the kitchen and rinsed his hands.

  “Make sure you wipe everything you touched.” Ryan moved around the room rubbing different surfaces. She called Boone’s number, and someone answered on the third ring. “When and where?”

  “Wait at the apartment and I’ll call you. Use the time to decide how you want to deal with the Dalton Casey issue. Your brother folded before anyone even landed a hand on him, so you shouldn’t have pushed him into this life. He certainly doesn’t have the balls for it.”

  “What did he tell you? We don’t even know who Dalton Casey is,” she said, the word “fuck” echoing through her head.

  “That’s the fear talking, Callie. Fear doesn’t get you any respect.”

  She hit the side of her head with her fist and couldn’t believe how fast everything had unraveled. “I’m not afraid. I’m confused as to why he lied.”

  “He’s not the only one who knows the whole story, and Heidi wasn’t as easy to get the story out of as Boone, but she backed him up.”

  “I need to see him.”

  “Patience, so sit and wait.”

  She threw down her phone and told Ryan, “Get every one of the crew to the house and tell them we’re going to war. I want everyone in the Casey family dead. They don’t know who they’re fucking with.”

  “Is Boone gone?”

  “He’s alive, and we’re going to get him. We’ll either free him or kill everyone trying, starting with that bitch Heidi.”

  * * *

  “Papa,” Bea said, using what seemed to her like the last of her strength to get to the phone. “You need to come.”

  “What’s wrong?” Palmiro Weller asked.

  “Remember the name Boone Richard,” she said as she closed her eyes. “His sister did this to me. I love you, Papa.” It was all she could manage before the phone fell out of her hand.

  Chapter Twenty-four

  “You want some ice or something?” Emma asked Cain, holding a cup close to Cain’s mouth.

  “Sit right here, lass,” Cain said, patting the spot next to her. “I’m okay, so take a breath.”

  “Who was that guy? He just stabbed you for no good reason,” Emma said, taking a bite of ice chips. “Why was Bea with him? She kept asking me to get together with her and that guy. You think she was in on it?”

  “That’s a good question,” the police officer who stuck his head in said. “Do you mind answering some questions, Cain?”

  “Hey, Norm. Did you arrest the guy?” Cain asked, holding Emma’s hand.

  “We did, but he made bond already. He’s out and saying it was self-defense.”

  “That’s bull,” Emma said, coming close to standing up. “He stabbed her right after saying hello.”

  “I know, there were plenty of witnesses, but that’s the story he’s going with. His name’s Boone Richard,” Norm said, reading his notes. “Do you know this guy, or did he not like you right off?”

  “I met him with Emma today, and he went for his knife without explaining what his problem was. He came with Emma’s friend.”

  “Do you have an address for her?”

  Emma gave him Bea’s address, and Norm thanked them and promised to keep them informed. While he was talking, Therese arrived with Billy, and Cain stopped Emma from moving away. She’d made that mistake once, and she wasn’t going to send Emma away again.

  “You okay, Derby?” Therese said, kissing her forehead first, then Emma’s. “And you, my darling?” she asked Emma.

  “We’re okay, or at least we will be, Mum.” She rubbed Emma’s back and glanced at her mum.

  “Come with me, Emma, and let’s get you cleaned up. We brought you a change of clothes,” Therese said, smoothing over the spots on Emma’s shirt that had blotches of Cain’s blood on it. “Marie was happy to lend you one of hers.”

  “It’s okay, love,” she said, kissing Emma. “Right now she might be the best person to talk to.”

  Therese took Emma out, and Billy took her place on the bed and sat close to her. He took a larger jammer from his pants pocket and turned it on, but even then he whispered in her ear. “We took care of everything so it’s waiting when you’re ready,” he said. “The next piece should be done soon.”

  “Make sure they do this without being seen. This was only one of our problems, but I doubt if any of the others will just walk in and shake my hand.”

  “There’s a little more.” He sighed, which meant it wasn’t good. “You know what Heidi said about Da? Well, Boone said he pulled the trigger, so it might not have been some drug rant on Heidi’s part.”

  “It can’t be that simple. Some gutter scum comes here and kills Da for no reason? I don’t buy it. There has to be more to it, and I need to know who he was working for.” She pressed her hand over her wound and shifted on the bed. “Does that big ape strike you as the mastermind that killed Da?”

  “In a way, yes, since it was an ambush, but he got the idea from somewhere else.” Boone’s phone rang, and he held it up for her to see. “Yeah?”

  “What do you want in exchange for my brother? I’m done waiting.”

  “You need to go to this address and wait,” Billy said, giving her the address of an abandoned building across the river that had no connection to them. “I’d tell you to come alone, but we both k
now you’re a lying little bitch.”

  “When?”

  “We’re ready now, and remember to not give my guys any problems since I assume you want Boone back in one piece and not in a closed-casket sort of way. Think about that as you start spinning ideas in your head.”

  “You’re going?” Cain asked when he cut Callie off.

  “That territory belongs to Jasper, so he’ll be happy to gift-wrap and deliver.”

  “He’s also pissed about the dynamic duo pissing where they didn’t belong, so make sure he delivers her alive and able to talk.”

  “He promised alive but maybe missing a few teeth.”

  “Tell him he can work on his anger management on her crew. A little target practice can be rather cathartic.”

  * * *

  “He just attacked her—he didn’t even say a word,” Emma said in the bathroom as she changed out of her bloody top. “I don’t understand.”

  “Come with me.” Therese led her to a bright sunroom that had one of Cain’s men stationed at the door. “Our family never discusses our business, but I’m sure you’ve heard the rumors, child. Derby told me your friend Bea talked to you about it.”

  “Bea can believe whatever she wants—I don’t care. After she brought that guy there, we’re no longer friends.”

  “Forget about her, and try to understand that Cain is at times in danger simply for who she is. She’s her father’s daughter, and she’ll carry on in his position until the next generation is ready to lead.” Therese took her hands, her eyes glassy with tears. “I lost my love because some fool thought they’d gain by his death, but they underestimated the Caseys.”

  “I’m so sorry for your loss,” she said, hugging Therese.

  “My pain will never heal, but I go on for my children. Ask yourself, if you go any farther with my Derby, can you survive days like today and move past them? I look at her and see how she feels about you, but before you commit you need to know and accept all of who she is. You have to accept the things she can’t let go.” Therese’s tears fell, but Emma didn’t think they had anything to do with any sadness over Cain’s choices.