Killer on Call 6 Book Bundle (Books 1-6)

by Gwendolyn Druyor

  “Really?” This got Kay’s attention.

  “Sure. You’re worried about getting an audience. How about we give them a preview?” He knew he’d have to convince Mitch with a musical excuse so he added, “Plus I’m not solid on Kevin’s latest tweaks to the B section. Do you mind?”

  Kevin was on board instantly. Nothing interested him as much as singing. “Let’s do it.”

  Scout counted them off and Kevin led them in. Within thirty seconds, they’d attracted a crowd. By the time Kevin wrapped the song with a fading cymbal crash, they were surrounded.

  “Yeah, that works for me. Thanks.” Avi bumped fists with his friends and kissed Kay on the cheek then slipped away.

  He hopped over the railing separating the wooden walk from the cobblestoned street and headed for the square.

  “Hey Kee.”

  Avi stopped. He turned to see Officer Clint Davies holding Conner’s brown wrapped package.

  “A kid from your high school gave me this for you.” Davies handed him the package. “I guess they miss you.”

  Avi turned the package over in his hands. It was covered in doodles. “Thanks. It’s nice seeing a lot of them out tonight. How did you get stuck with this shift?”

  “I volunteered,” Davies explained. “I don’t have family and I can’t dance so why not let the other guys have a night off?”

  “You’re a good guy, Davies.” Avi shook his hand. “I’ve got to go get ready for later. It was good to see you.”

  Davies held onto his hand, keeping him from walking away. “You’re a good guy too, Kee. No one believes what they’re saying about you.”

  Davies pat him on the back and jogged over to help a woman juggling a kid and two ice cream cones. Avi watched the guy for a moment, wondering what they were saying about him. He considered following the cop and asking but then he saw his girlfriend, Kissy in her new red coat heading down the stairs from town hall.

  Avi made his way across the square to meet her at the back booth of The Friendly Diner. He unwrapped the package as he went, tossing the brown paper in one can and the shoe box in another. He slipped the bundles of cash into the sturdy canvas satchel at his side before he reached the bright lights illuminating the entrance to the diner. Fumbling with the envelope as he pulled open the door, he sliced his finger on the flap. He sucked on the cut for a second before pulling out the single folded sheet of paper.

  He froze in shock. He read the top line of the typed paper again before he realized he was standing stock still in the middle of the busy diner. He glanced around to see if anyone had noticed and then pushed aside the deep red privacy curtain and slipped into an old fashioned booth to find Tim, dressed up as Red Logan sitting across from Kissy.

  “Did you know?” he asked.

  Tim nodded, his ridiculous faux hawk bouncing. “Yes.”

  Kissy looked back and forth between the boys. “What? What is it?”

  Avi slid the paper over to her. “He’s been hired to kill the mayor.”

  Four

  Kissy read through the paper as Avi and Tim argued.

  “He’s an elected official,” Avi pointed out.

  “He’s a politician,” Tim retorted.

  Avi hissed, “He is the most recognizable person in the community.”

  “So we think we know him.” Tim’s voice was calm and reasonable. “But we don’t, really. Everyone is equally capable of doing evil. Let others overlook clues because he’s an upstanding member of the community. I—“

  “You can’t just kill this man!”

  Kissy slammed a hand on the table. “And he won’t, Avi. Tim always makes sure he’s got the right guy. You’d be dead if he didn’t.”

  Avi glared at Tim, but he stopped arguing. Tim clearly wanted to keep arguing. Tim liked arguing. But he played with the unfamiliar jewelry along his right ear and waited for Kissy to continue.

  She slid the paper over to him. “These accusations are ridiculous. But if they’re true. . .”

  Tim glanced down at the paper and then up at Avi. “How much money was there?”

  “At the drop off?” Avi asked. “I don’t know.”

  He flipped open Tim’s MacGyver satchel and pulled out six bundles of cash. Tim took one and riffled the bills to see if they all matched the hundreds on the outside. Kissy grabbed another and did the same. Avi checked a third. Then they each checked another.

  Tim slid the money back at Avi. “It’s too much.”

  “Sixty thousand dollars is more than what you charged?” Kissy asked. “Evelyn Crella paid fifty.”

  “Evelyn paid fifty because she couldn’t pay thirty up front. Made her feel better,” Tim said. “I asked The Kingmaker for sixty thou yesterday. There was no haggling, no it takes time to get that kind of cash. This is too much too easy.”

  Kissy poured herself a glass of water from the pitcher on the table. “You’re calling this client The Kingmaker?”

  “If I kill Mayor Sutton,” he explained, “Hoss Davids automatically wins the runoff election for governor and Councilwoman Patrice Coldman becomes de facto mayor until an election can be arranged here.”

  “Aren’t they already arranging one for January in case the mayor becomes governor?” Kissy asked.

  “Nope.” Tim shook his head. “Nobody has made any plans for that contingency.”

  “That’s kind of odd.” Kissy chewed on a piece of ice.

  “Not if no one expects him to become governor.”

  “He shouldn’t be governor if this letter is true,” Avi muttered.

  Kissy scoffed, “We know the third accusation isn’t true. He didn’t kill Kevin Koehler.”

  “Yes,” Avi admitted, “but what about the other two accusations? First, does he run a dog fighting ring and has he been using his position to shut down the competitors? The police have busted two breeding and training facilities in the last couple of months.”

  Kissy looked at him in horror. “Did you see them?”

  “One of them. And if the mayor is involved, well,” Kissy saw him change what he’d been about to say, “I wouldn’t vote for him again.”

  “If that one’s true, it would make it easier to believe the second accusation, that he burned down the Parkside housing project.” Kissy traced a finger through the condensation on the side of the metal pitcher. “Seven people died.”

  “And nearly everyone else lost all they owned in the world including their homes.” Avi took her hand under the table.

  She stared unseeing at the ugly reindeer on his sweater. “I don’t want to believe it. I like Mayor Sutton. I hate to think he’s killed people.”

  Avi laughed.

  “What?” Kissy pulled her hand back and looked over at Tim to see if he got the joke.

  The ghost of a smile haunted his lips and sparkled in his eyes. He looked down at the letter and smoothed it on the tabletop. Then he folded it neatly in thirds and slipped it back into the envelope.

  “What?” she repeated.

  Avi caught Tim’s eye and then turned to his girlfriend. “You like Tim.” When she still didn’t get it he clarified, “He’s killed people.”

  Kissy blushed. “That’s just a list anyway. There’s no proof.”

  “So let’s find proof,” Avi suggested, “one way or another.”

  “Agreed.” Tim tapped the envelope against his hand. “We can’t act on this alone. But if any of it is true, we can’t let him become governor. Tonight’s party would provide excellent cover for an accident or a heart attack so you two find proof.” He slapped the envelope down and slid it back over to Avi. “I’m gonna find out who the client is.”

  Tim pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and then looked up sheepishly. “Either of you got a twenty? All I’ve got are hundreds.”

  “Twenty?” Kissy spluttered. “We didn’t even eat anything.”

  “Exactly. We took up the booth and didn’t spend anything. Consider it rent.” Tim added, “I’ll pay you back. Oh, can you get the li
ttle blue case out of the left front pocket of my satchel there?”

  Avi set a twenty on the counter and put the blue plastic retainer case on top of it. Tim popped it open and picked out two kidney bean sized devices. One was nearly black, the other a deep olive. He handed one to each.

  “In-ear one-way radios. See?” He turned his head and pointed inside his right ear.

  A tiny pale kidney bean blocked the ear canal. Kissy set her earpiece in her ear and then tilted her head and used a pinkie to set it in place. Avi did the same. Tim tilted the retainer case and handed them each a silver button the size of a pea.

  “It connects using a magnet.” He pulled the back off of one to show them. “I’ve got mine on as one of my earrings. That might not work for you Avi. Just tap the button and it’ll activate your radio as a transmitter and the other two as receivers. Hit it again to turn it off.”

  Fumbling with his huge fingers, Avi had Kissy attach the button to the cuff of his shirt. She put hers on as an earring like Tim.

  “How does it work?” Avi hit his button and they were all flooded with static.

  Tim reached over and tapped the button again. “Too close. Don’t use them when we’re in the same room. I linked them to the bluetooth setup on your phone for power and connected them to a satellite relay.”

  “When?” Kissy asked.

  “You don’t want to know.” Tim set a key on the table in front of her. “You’ll need this.”

  Kissy picked it up. It was a silver door key with a pink sock monkey cover. “What is it?”

  “The key to the mayor’s office.” Tim slid along the seat and out of the booth. “Let me know when you’ve got proof.”

  Kissy watched him slip past the curtain and head for the back of the diner. She sighed.

  “He is such a jackass.”

  Five

  Kissy stopped in to check on Jessica behind the bar at the town hall poker game. The players were still gathering, mingling with the crowd as they passed through to their chairs around the table. The music was turned down and the lights turned up a little at the Commissioner’s signal.

  “Can you deliver these drinks to the table?” Jessica slapped a hastily written order on the bar in front of Kissy.

  “Sure.” Kissy kept glancing at a nearly empty silver dish on the bar top as she collected two whiskeys, two waters, and a tonic with lime. “Is this what they’re serving over in the dance club?”

  “You mean the council chamber?” Jessica asked, pouring three tequila shots on the back bar.

  Kissy laughed, “Come on. Get in the spirit. Tonight it’s a dance club.” She set her drinks on a tray and lifted a spoonful of the greasy liquid in the silver dish to her nose. “What was it?”

  “Used to be shrimp. Now it’s just the good stuff; butter and garlic.”

  Kissy automatically flashed a glance at Tim who was talking with the mayor. He’d kissed her with a mouthful of ick his first night back in town. Time for a little payback. Grinning, she shoveled a spoonful of garlic in her mouth and chewed while she gathered up her new red pea-coat from behind the bar.

  “Thanks for the help, Kissy-face.” Jessica kissed her on the cheek and recoiled. “Ew! Brush your teeth immediately!”

  Kissy giggled, “No. Not yet. I’ll be back in a bit.”

  “Hey!” Jessica stopped her. “If they’re still selling potato balls outside, bring me all of them.”

  “You got it.”

  Kissy wormed her way through the little crowd and was allowed past the velvet rope to deliver the drinks around the table. Chief Woodsen cupped a peppermint hot chocolate in his hands as he leaned back in his chair to watch the fun from the most expensive seat in the house.

  Tim was chatting with the mayor in his ridiculous Australian accent. Kissy stepped between them, holding her breath as she handed the mayor his water. Then she turned to Tim and pushed her breath into his face as she handed him his tonic water.

  “Here you go, sir,” she exhaled.

  Tim’s face blanched as he caught the waft of garlic. He looked down at his drink for a moment and when he looked up again, his eyes were sparkling. Kissy tried to back away but the mayor was right behind her. Tim grabbed her in time to keep her from running into his honor. He pulled her closed and planted his warm lips on hers, kissing her in spite of her garlic breath. Her toes tingled.

  When he pulled away she was grateful for his arm around her waist. But as soon as she got her knees under control, she pushed out of his embrace.

  “That’s how we thank a Sheila down under.”

  Kissy held out a tumbler of whiskey to him. “Would you like to take Ms. Coldman her drink then?”

  Both the mayor and Tim looked over to where the councilwoman was schmoozing by the velvet ropes, her too red lips spread in a false smile. The mayor kept his expression bland. Tim grimaced.

  “Wouldn’t dare take the pleasure from you.”

  “Thanks.” Kissy started to walk away, then turned back. “That’s how we thank a person in America.”

  The mayor laughed as Kissy headed over to the table and set the councilwoman’s whiskey on a napkin by her cards. She gave the distracted commissioner his water, waving him off when he tried to tip her and then turned with the final whiskey to Trevor Bagwell.

  “How’s Moira?” she asked.

  Trevor looked up, searching her face.

  Kissy explained, “my best friend found her back in September.”

  “Julia.” Trevor smiled but he also shook his head. “She talked Moira into taking classes at Circus Freaks, you know.”

  “Yes, I know. I’ve seen her at Julia’s school.” Kissy grinned. “She’s not very good.”

  “Well, she’s always been a smart girl, a reader. This whole athletics thing is new for her.” Trevor sighed, “She comes home covered in bruises and blisters. But she absolutely adores it.”

  “Good. Good luck with the game.” Kissy turned away.

  “Uh,” Trevor stopped her, “do you know how many classes seven thousand dollars could buy?”

  “What?” Kissy laughed.

  “Moira asked if I knew how many circus classes seven thousand dollars could buy.”

  “Wow. I guess she really does like the circus.”

  Trevor smiled ruefully and went back to counting his chips. Kissy stepped back out of the inner circle and slipped through the crowd to the doors. In the busy hallway she stole a few half empty glasses off a service station, combined the drinks, and worked her way down to the executive wing. She opened the double doors as if she had every right to and walked confidently down to the mayor’s office. His door was locked but that wasn’t a problem for Kissy and her little sock monkey friend.

  Mayor Rory’s Sutton’s office was as large as she had expected. He had a private conference table near the door. On the far side of the room his walnut desk was covered in folders and papers. The wall behind the desk was lined with overcrowded bookshelves. Every other wood paneled wall was covered with movie posters. Mayor Sutton leaned toward action and sci-fi super heroes.

  Kissy hurried over to the large desk and set her tray down on some of the folders. One folder was open on the center of the blotter. Kissy had to step back when she glanced down at the pictures stapled to the papers. Dogs. Some dead, some alive but mangled. They were awful pictures lined up beside fighting stats and breeding lines. She slid her tray over the folder.

  It took her two tries to break through the password encryption on Mayor Sutton’s computer. After the first attempt, she rifled quickly through his drawers. Taped on the bottom of his center drawer, under a complicated ring of keys, was a piece of paper with the password. On instinct she took the keys and slipped them into her pocket. In seconds she’d pulled up his browser history, including the activity he thought he’d deleted. Considering how lax his security was, she was shocked to see he’d visited a couple of darknet sites. She was unable to launch the site on arsonists, but she easily broke into the site listing upcoming d
og, cock, and homeless fights in the region. It featured a notice warning organizers of a major crackdown in the local region. She was about to dig deeper to see if the site identified any of the organizers when she noticed a tiny icon of a purple and green Earth almost blending in with his background image.

  That was the icon for the onion routing network browser. If Mayor Sutton was visiting deep dark secret websites on the darknet using Safari with minimal protections, what kind of horrible sites was he visiting using the untraceable Tor browser?

  Kissy tapped the silver button on her earlobe with one finger while she double clicked on the Earth icon. “Doesn’t look good, boys. I think he really does run a dog fighting ring. Plus, he’s been searching the darknet for arsonists for hire. Oh shit.”

  Kissy didn’t get a chance to even try to break through the encryptions. As she took a breath and cracked her knuckles to begin, the mayor’s right hand, City Manager Nancy Burton walked into the office.

  Six

  “Kissy? Kissy?” Avi stood up from the park bench and stepped away from the old woman and her son. “Excuse me for a moment.” He took two strides off the path and crossed behind a tree cupping a hand to his ear to hear better. He said “Kissy?” one more time before he remembered that the earpieces were one-way devices and she wouldn’t be able to hear him unless she turned off her transmitter.

  “Yeah, I’m working the bar in the poker room tonight.” Kissy started talking to someone else in the room with her. “I was sent in to clear some glasses and I just saw these pictures.”

  “The dogs, yeah.” The other person was close enough that Avi could hear her voice. “You don’t want to see those. I can’t believe Rory had people back here for drinks. He doesn’t usually do that. But he has been acting strange recently, working from home an awful lot.”

  “From home?” Kissy asked. “Really? Oh!”

  Then the line went dead. Avi hit the button on his shirtsleeve.

  “Kissy, do you need help?” He hit the button again to turn off his transmitter.