When the Killing Starts
Page 26
"Right. Stay on the air." He left the radio, and I sat there, sinking into a daze. Then he came back on. "How bad you hit?"
"Shoulder," I said. "High. Collarbone, I think."
"Hold tight; they'll be there in a few minutes. Want me up there?"
It was almost beyond my power to answer, but I said, "No," and then added, "Thanks," and dropped the microphone.
TWENTY-THREE
The chopper came minutes later. I'd passed out, but Sam's barking woke me, and I saw a policeman trying to talk to Michaels. I called weakly, and Sam came, the policeman hurrying after him over the sloping beach.
"You're hit," he told me.
"Cuff that guy to the wheel of this car and take the keys out."
He ran back for Michaels and brought him over to the car. Michaels was arguing until he saw me, then he shut up.
The officer put him into the car. Behind him I could see the ambulance attendant checking the other men on the dock. He soon moved from the first one I'd hit and concentrated on Dunphy. Good. He would make it. I guessed the other guy was gone.
I struggled out of the car and put Sam outside, telling him, "Easy." He looked at me and whined. He knew I was hurt. Then the policeman waved at the ambulance guy, and he came running up the beach toward me. That was when I let go.
The rest of the afternoon was like a replay of 'Nam. I remember being put into the chopper and then nothing more until I woke up to find Fred hanging over me, looking scared.
When I opened my eyes, she bent down and kissed me, on the forehead, as if she were my mother. "Hi," she said.
"Hi, yourself," I said, and then started throwing up. Later she laughed about it. "I hope you're not getting allergic to me."
"Anesthetic. I'm sorry," I said. She was sitting next to me, holding my right hand. My left was in a sling, and I was bandaged up over the shoulder. "Will I play the violin again?"
"Never," she said, and added, "I hope," and laughed.
I squeezed her hand. "I'll be out tomorrow and we'll take a trip," I promised.
"A week," she said. "And then we sure as hell do take a trip."
I drifted off again, and when I woke up again, it was light outside. Fred was still sitting beside my bed, and Elmer Svensen and Inspector Burke were standing at the foot.
"Hi," I said. "Is there a drink here?"
"Just this stuff," Burke said, picking up a metal jug from the night table. "Hope it's not a urine specimen."
He gave me a paper cupful, and I said, "How's everything going?"
"Good." Burke nodded briskly. "Untangled the whole mess while you were nappin'."
"And?"
Burke almost purred. "Poetic justice. You know, living by the sword et cetera. Michaels was cooking up a big arms contract for some banana republic. Only he wanted to play both ends against the middle. He was going to hijack his own shipment, using his own private army, Dunphy's crowd, an' sell the same guns twice."
"Where'd the kid come in?" I was puzzled. "Surely a scam like that would be at arm's length. He wouldn't want his own kid involved."
"He needed the kid's money to swing it," Elmer said. He was excited enough that he was red in the face. With his red hair, he seemed like an overgrown boy at his first ball game. "The kid wanted to play soldiers, an' he made it a condition for lending the money. So the old man said sure, just to get him to go along; wanted him training until he turned twenty-one and could sign the money over."
"Only the deal fell through when the girlfriend found out what was going down," Burke said. "Seems she was political, y'know. She was anxious to get the kid out and explain what was going on down there, that he shouldn't get involved oppressing the poor brothers."
"So Michaels had her offed?"
"Right," Elmer said. "He didn't plan it that way. He sent Dunphy to convince her, only he couldn't, so they drowned her. Then the kid's mother got exercised and said she'd blow the whistle. So Michaels sent his guys to talk to her and they fixed her wagon. Only one of the guys made it a little more personal." He coughed and glanced at Fred, who was carefully checking her fingernails.
"And they interrupted this whole thing to come after George and me?" I shook my head. "Dunphy's too professional for crap like that."
"'Cording to Dunphy, it was the kid's idea," Burke said. "He felt centered out because he'd run, so he had to prove he had the balls to do it." He turned and held up both hands to Fred. "Pardon me, miss, I guess I got carried away."
She smiled at him and said nothing.
"While Wallace and the kid were up at the Harbour, they wanted to cancel your check as well," Burke said. "Wallace was sore as hell. Easy to understand why. Only his guys don' go at things like the Knights of Columbus, so he was going to get you."
"And where was Dunphy?" I frowned, making my shoulder hurt. "Was he here?"
"No, he was in Toronto, soothing the old man. Then, when they heard that Wallace and the kid were in hospital, Dunphy said he'd fly in and kill Wallace. Only that wasn't his real plan. He knew Wallace was solid. He wanted to shut the kid up."
I'm a slow learner; I frowned again. "Did the father realize that?"
"No," Burke said. "He had no time for the boy, but he'd already seen his girlfriend and wife killed. It was the last straw. He came apart, told us everything."
Elmer cleared his throat. "So, anyways, Reid, you won, except for the hole in your hide."
"I've had worse," I said. At that moment it didn't feel like it. I was one big ache from head to toe.
"Yeah, well, nice work. An' take it easy. You've got your kid sister all worried again."
"I'll be fine," I promised. "Fred and I are heading out as soon as I'm on my feet. See you two in Toronto in a few weeks."
He pointed one finger like a gun. "Don't forget, eh. A promise is a promise."
Burke shook my hand, doing it gently, which surprised me. "Thanks for the help," he said, then winked at me and turned away.
When they had gone, Fred stood up and came over to me. "I guess I should go as well, Reid. Now you're okay."
"Lots of room here," I kidded, and held the sheet aside for her.
She laughed and kissed me. "Save it, cowboy. You're going to need lots of stamina next week.”
All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 1989 by Ted Wood
ISBN 978-1-4804-9499-2
This edition published in 2014 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
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