by J. A. Marley
“Darling, let’s pray together, shall we? Let’s show our Lord how much we love each other.”
She then took his hand, pulling it back towards her, placing it between her thighs, letting him feel her nakedness. His breathing quickened.
She reached around him, finding his belt and, unhooking the buckle, unbuttoned his trousers.
“Pray, darling… don’t forget to pray….”
And Vincent did as he was told, his voice a little hoarse to begin with. He started to recite the Lord’s Prayer just as June freed him from his boxers. She knew he’d be able to smell her body lotion as she pressed her naked form against him. She, too, joined in the prayer, moving her hand in time to the rhythm of their speech, the residue of the lotion on her hands helping her do exactly what she wanted.
She stepped around him, kneeling down, taking him in both her hands, raising her voice to match the volume of his as he started to recite “The Lord is My Shepherd”. She quickened her pace, touching him in exactly the way she knew he liked, pushing him towards the inevitable conclusion, but making sure she was in control of the timing of it. Yes, she had even thought that through.
Vincent was ecstatic, his voice booming out the scripture. “I will fear no evil: For thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”
She whipped the silk robe off his head, grabbed the back of his head and forced his face between her breasts.
Her other hand was still busy, the prayer more muffled. Soon, she knew it was time…
“I will dwell in the house of the Lord for everrrrrrrrrrrr.”
His orgasm convulsed through his body. She leant back, using their weight to roll off the kneeler and onto the floor. Vincent landed on top of her, her arms round his neck, her fingers running through his hair. The great cross loomed over them. Silence settled into the room.
After a few moments, June brushed the hair away from one of his ears and whispered, “I’ve been thinking about our little problem, and I want you to meet someone… I think I have worked out a way to make it all go away. Will you indulge me, darling? I think I’ve been a rather clever girl…”
A smile broke across her face as she felt him nod an affirmative into her chest, his head still nestled there in his post-orgasmic glow.
Timing… is everything.
Danny was hanging the phone up at his usual roadside call box when the police cruiser pulled up alongside him. He was grateful that he had concluded business with his pet lawyer before the arrival of law enforcement. But when he saw who was driving the green and white cop car, he was surprised. He had felt a flutter of excitement.
Deputy Sosa ducked her head a little so that she could see Danny out of her passenger window. “I thought that was you, Mr Franklin. How we doing today?”
Danny leant on the frame of the car, savouring the chance to look at her. “It’s another beautiful day in paradise, Deputy. Hope yours has been a good one so far?”
“Not long started, but I’m sure it will be the usual, either a fender bender or a tourist driving like a crazy person. I’m about to take an early break. Want to grab some coffee?”
Danny cocked an eyebrow at her. “Official business? Am I still on some kind of list?”
“Guilty conscience? Let’s just say, I have a question to ask you, amigo. Not strictly a professional matter, I would like to satisfy my curiosity.”
“Such a charming invite. Hard to turn you down. Where?”
“Midway has good coffee, mile marker eighty point five?”
“Yes, I know it. See you in ten.”
Danny jumped back in his jeep, the ex-military one that was converted into a flatbed. He was pleased that he was still driving this newer vehicle and not the truck she had been looking for earlier.
He pulled into the parking lot of the coffee shop. Deputy Sosa was already waiting for him at the roadside.
The inside of the shop was a riot of pastel colours, pink, lime green, soft blue all taking the Florida chic to its logical, explosion in a paint factory, conclusion. Danny blinked a few times to adjust his eyes.
“It wouldn’t be good to have a hangover in here, would it?”
Amparo laughed. “Yeah, they used every pastel coloured tin in the paint store. Coffee? Or do you drink something more exotic? Hot tea?”
“Regular coffee is fine. You lot don’t know how to make tea.”
They took their drinks outside. The picnic tables under the trees echoed the colour scheme from inside, but at least out there they weren’t so intimidating.
“I have to admit, Deputy, you have me curious, too. If I were a cat, I’d be dead by now. Go ahead, ask your question.”
“Okay, I was driving by your place on duty, making my rounds, and I was wondering why a man would be leaving a little model bus on your front stoop?”
Danny sat back, blowing gently on the liquid in his to-go cup. He paused before answering. “That question begs a few more in response, Deputy…”
“Call me Amparo. I did say this is not strictly official business…”
“Okay, Amparo. Why did you feel the need to stop at my gaff? Sorry, my home?”
“When we’re on patrol, we are on patrol. We check out whatever we feel needs checking out. When I think about you, my cop’s instinct kicks in, and when that happens, a good cop normally follows it. It’s something I’ve had drilled into me since my academy days.”
“Fair enough, I get it. I’ve tickled your… spidey sense. So, you saw the person leaving me that little present?”
“I did. He didn’t see me. He came and then left by boat at your dock. There was a fancy car parked in your drive, too, a Mercedes.”
“A regular ‘Amparo of the Yard,’ aren’t we?”
Danny could see that she didn’t get his British detective reference. He made a mental note to tone down his British expressions around her.
“My answer is that I am as mystified as you are. I have no idea who is doing it, but I suspect it’s an old friend indulging their English sense of humour. The bus was the second one they left; I also got a London black taxi cab a while back. Could you describe my little gift fairy for me?”
“He was tall, a strong looking man. I only really saw him from behind.”
“Shaven-headed?”
Amparo hesitated for a second. “Sí… sorry, yes. I think so.”
Danny counted his blessings. This happy coincidental meeting with the deputy had just confirmed that James Harkness was attempting to slip back into his life. It was a little troubling. Much as he liked Amparo, and he was admitting to himself that he did, he hadn’t yet shaken off her cop’s interest in him. If that was what it really was.
“I think I know who it is. Yes, a friend of mine, playing a little prank.”
“Something else, though, Mr Franklin…”
“Danny…”
She smiled, her face lighting up. “I noticed that there was no phone line going to your house. No TV service. These days… that’s a little odd?”
“I’m not a redneck, if that’s what you’re wondering. I don’t think Englishmen can be rednecks, can they? I don’t have a sofa or a fridge on my front lawn, do I?”
This brought another smile from Amparo. Danny liked making this girl smile.
“But you run a business. Surely you need at least a telephone?”
“My little sign on the roadside seems to bring me enough. I have an advert in the local paper, too, from time to time, and I do all right. I make enough money. That fancy car you mentioned earlier was a customer’s, actually. Maybe you should come out, fish with me sometime, see why I have such a strong customer base.”
She started to shake her head.
“Que Padre! I’m a dry land kind of girl, like to keep my feet on solid ground. All that pitching and swell… makes me feel a little chuke… sick. If I’m going to have a good time, I go dancing. There’s no chance of drowning on a dance floor.”
Danny liked the sound of a dance.
It was
time to make a move. Now he knew what was going on, he had to up his game and the schedule to go with it. He stood up.
“I am to dancing what David Duke is to race relations… but if you want to try and discover your sea legs someday… you know where to find me.”
She was laughing again, watching as he fished his key ring from his pocket, feeling for the jeep key he would need in a second. He instantly regretted the move, because he caught a flicker in her face.
“Have a great day, Mrs Amparo.”
“I’ll try and thank you for answering my questions… and it’s Miss, by the way…”
As he climbed back into his jeep, Danny looked down at his key ring, confirming his suspicion about the flicker that had passed over Amparo’s face. He still had the key to his other truck on the ring. The huge GM logo stood out proudly on the back of the plastic fob. And he was pretty sure she’d clocked it.
Danny sighed. He was still giving this delightful deputy reasons to keep sniffing. And with everything that might happen, that was a complication he didn’t need.
He drove back to the call box he had visited earlier, punching in the number of his lawyer for the second time that day. He had one more job for him, a task he had hoped he wouldn’t have to put in play, but with Harkness’s presence all but confirmed, it had become “Hobson’s choice”.
As the assistant placed his call on hold, Danny said a little prayer to the patron saint of criminals that the man whose help he wanted was still around and able to come.
15
Friends Reunited
At night, the Florida Keys collaborate with nature to pull off one of its favourite tricks. As twilight descends, cocktails are mixed, tourists and locals like to kick back and enjoy the sunset. Moments of undeniable beauty occur. Darkness then falls with all the immediacy of someone flicking off a light switch.
And that evening was no different. No sooner had Danny settled on his porch to watch his favourite time of day play out than he found himself sitting in darkness with nothing to show for his intentions but an empty bourbon glass and the sound of a mosquito flitting around him, hunting for a fresh bloodstream to dine on.
He was contemplating a refill of the Blanton’s, the Kentucky whiskey’s rich, woody taste a luxury he loved to savour. He was about to go to the kitchen when a noise changed his mind. It was subtle, but he recognised it instantly. It was the gentle plop of a paddle dropping into water, guiding a skiff. It came close to the edge of his dock, followed by a gentle bump as the craft hit home.
The boatman was being careful, but listening when in near silence was something Danny cherished and excelled at, so when even the smallest sound broke through, he was alive to it.
But this was a visitor he was expecting sooner rather than later. Given the description of the man Amparo had provided, the sudden appearance of June Cardell, and even what Slow Tina had said, Danny knew who this could be.
And he was ready for him.
Danny was impressed. For a big man, Harkness moved stealthily along the dock and up onto the wooden porch. Not even so much as a creak gave him away. Danny decided to greet his guest first.
The loud click of the Desert Eagle forty-four Magnum as he cocked it was enough of a welcome.
“Danny, Danny, Danny… there’s no need to be like that.”
“Give me a single reason why I shouldn’t put a bullet in your fucking chest right now, Harkness.”
“Is that any way to treat an old friend? Did you like my little gifts? The taxi? The bus?”
“I prefer the gift I gave you in London. Do your friends often leave you with an eye that looks like a half-sucked gobstopper?”
Harkness’s face was clear, lit by a crescent moon and framed by the midnight blue sky overhead.
“You know the rules, Danny. When you play rough, you have to accept that you might get hurt.”
Harkness leaned back against the porch rail, no sign of any tension or fear in his voice. Danny reached high up behind his head and hit a switch. The veranda was flooded with light. The big man instinctively put his hand up before his face, shading his vision from the sudden illumination. When he finally dropped the hand, Danny felt more than satisfied with the souvenir he had left on his enemy’s face.
“I take that back. It doesn’t look like a gobstopper, it’s more like a rotting lychee. Why, and how, are you here, you fucking cocksucker?”
“Napoleon said that ‘the truest wisdom is a resolute determination.’ You inspired that resolution in me, young Danny. After our… little tussle in London, I just couldn’t get you out of my mind. Me being here? It’s your fault.”
“Oh, fuck me sideways… I forgot how much you love a speech.”
Inwardly, Danny was wincing. He knew Harkness was right. Danny had read a lot about an idea called systemics. It posited that all things in life were systems. Families, friendships, companies, communities, even whole societies were all systems that grouped together to form a whole. Within those systems, certain rules could be defined and would then play out to their logical conclusion, no matter what. From his understanding of systemics, unresolved issues in our lives are like floodwater breaching the hull of a sinking ship. You plug one hole; the rising sea will simply find another one to overwhelm you. Leaving Harkness lifeless and in the hands of the boys in blue back in London was obviously not enough to stem this particular tide.
“I should have killed you when I had the chance.”
“But you didn’t. You see, I know you love me, really. That, plus all the coppers running about. You didn’t want to look bad in front of that detective bird… What was her name?’
“Chance… Christine Chance.”
“Yeah, her… If she knew I was here now, she’d just about self-combust.”
“And how did you get here?”
“You should be able to guess. Having done the things I have in the name of our beloved government, over in places like the Sandpit, Northern Ireland, everywhere and anywhere, you get to call in a few favours with a few big names, know what I mean?”
“You sound like Bryant. ‘If you’re not cop, you’re little people.’”
“What?”
“Never mind, it’s from a film… Blade Runner.”
“I like my little speeches, you still like your movies… plus ça change, eh?”
Danny thought he’d heard it all now, Harkness speaking French.
“… and I wasn’t just Old Bill, Danny. Military ops under a black flag give you a lot more pull. Fuck, I was even able to specify which open prison they put me in.”
“You did a deal? You landed Dexy with it all?”
“Ah, Dexy. Fine woman, thought she was a criminal mastermind, when in reality, she was only a club owner. You stitched her right up, Danny, not me. I didn’t have to grass Dexy up, I was just… brushed under the carpet. Too many stories I could tell, too many people shitting themselves at the thought. And now, I’m here to see my favourite blagger.”
Danny wanted to test something, right now, when Harkness would least expect it. Without warning, he suddenly tossed his empty bourbon glass in the Big Man’s direction. Harkness caught it. Effortlessly. He snatched it from the air.
“You managed to compensate for the one eye, then?”
“‘If thy right eye should cause you to stumble and sin… pluck it out.’ If it’s good enough for the bible…”
“Talking of which, how did you come across the bible bashers?”
“Oh, did you like June? I know her from back in Blighty. She had an ex-boyfriend… naughty boy, thought he could become a big-time drugs Charlie. She and I helped put him back in his place. What did you make of her?”
“Does she really believe all that Jesus malarkey?”
“Hard to tell, isn’t it? Did you bang her?”
Danny looked away.
Harkness roared with laughter. “You did! You fucking did an’ all! ‘Have at it’ is what I say. She’s on the more mature end of the scale for my tastes but I be
t she was… enthusiastic?”
Danny ignored the question. “I could smell you from a thousand miles away, Harkness. As soon as she started talking about the husband, the money, I knew you were involved.”
“What can I say? Always at the centre of the storm, me. This job is sweet as a nut, Danny.”
“I danced to your tune once before… I haven’t forgotten how that turned out.”
Danny stood, closing the space between them in an instant. He brought the big sliver handgun right up under Harkness’s chin, pushing it hard into the soft flesh. Harkness, caught off guard, strained onto his tiptoes, trying to lessen the pressure Danny was exerting under his chin.
“Did you think I would let bygones be bygones? Did you think I’d forget how you wound Big Man Boom up and set him loose on London? All those deaths? All because you wanted to throw me under the fucking proverbial bus?”
Danny was squeezing the trigger. He could feel the slack go out of the mechanism, sense that he was close to the biting point of the firing pin. One more little squeeze and Harkness would be dead, his brain pan flying high into the Florida night air.
But something had begun to stir in Danny. A flutter around his heart.
“You’re full of shit, Danny. You brought the ex-IRA bomb expert into play, you miserable fuck. You invited the psycho-terrorist to the table. All I did was remind him who he was. All that blood is on your hands, too. If you’d kept me in the loop, I’d have trusted you more, and maybe, all that Semtex wouldn’t have been needed.”
And that is when Danny felt the full force of it. Like a trapped bird at the back of his brain. His chest convulsing then constricting. A fug seemed to gather around him. His knees weakened. He closed his eyes for a second, trying to ward off the panic attack that was building.
“You played him, Harkness. You made it possible for all those people to get sideswiped. I planned to scare London; you set it alight. You… you… ”
The emotional deluge was too great for Danny to hold back.
Images of burning people assailed his brain. His heart felt like a panicked rat, thrashing against his ribcage, his breathing convulsing, air refusing to enter his lungs, the furious violence of what happened in London tearing through his mind.
