“Do you have her social?”
“No, but her date of birth is November eleventh, 1984.”
“I’ll find her. How much did you want transferred?”
“Make three transfers over the next year. Each one fifteen grand. Don’t let her find out where it’s coming from.”
“No problem, Mr. Hodges. Do you have a number I can reach you at if I need to?”
“Tulley, are you serious?”
Tasker felt sweat drip into his eyes as the drawer inched open and he prepared to spring into action. The cover of the book, a formation of helicopters, appeared, and nothing else. The drawer was empty. He blinked hard and ducked his head a little to check the back of the drawer. The only thing inside was the fucking W.E.B. Griffin novel.
Norton calmly turned toward him. “What d’ya think, we’re stupid?” He pulled Tasker’s Beretta from the rear of his waistband. That’s why he’d stayed behind Tasker on the way into the bedroom.
Tasker sagged onto the bed.
Norton added, “Billie Towers makes really good reports.”
Tasker felt the blood rush to his face. “What’d she say about my date with Renee?”
Janzig cackled at that. “Watch out. Now you hit the magic button.”
Norton kept his eyes on Tasker, but said, “Shut up, Henry.”
Janzig kept laughing. “His love button.”
Tasker said, “You used Billie and now got her tied up in this scheme.”
Norton said, “I didn’t use her. I included her.”
“Why’d you have to kill the professor? You include Billie in that?”
“That was an accident. We didn’t expect him in the middle of the day. We just wanted to keep his artifacts from going to the university.”
Even though he was scared, he had to smile as everything seemed to fall into place. “It all goes back to the private prison site.”
“You’re making too much noise. Shut your yap. We need to get going.” He grabbed Tasker by the upper arm and pulled him toward the living room, then shoved him ahead toward the front door.
Tasker decided his only chance was to break for the cane fields once he was outside. In this little apartment he had nowhere to go. At least in the open, he might have a chance. It wasn’t TV and these two weren’t used to handguns. He figured he had a pretty good chance to make the cane and get lost in the heavy field. Then he’d get help. Maybe Rufus Goodwin, or better yet get ahold of some FDLE agents and have them kick some ass. He steadied his breathing to get ready for his move.
He walked out the front door first, with Norton right behind him. It was darker than he expected and he decided to give his eyes a second to adjust to the lack of light.
Now both of his captors were on the front porch with him. Norton had stuck the Beretta in his waistband and Janzig had the revolver still pointing at him. He looked toward the field. If he ran down the porch, he’d have better footing, but he’d be a much easier target. If he jumped to the ground then sprinted, he could be tripped up, but he’d be harder to hit. He weighed the options and took another breath.
forty-three
Tasker had a deep breath in him, a plan of action and now enough adrenaline to make it down to the parking lot and toward the cane field in one quick motion. Janzig was too far away to strike so he decided to at least slow down Norton. As they headed down the porch toward the far side of the complex where Janzig’s Bronco was parked, Norton tried to keep him calm.
“We can still work this out. I’ll even give you back your fancy pistola here.” He patted the Beretta. “We just need a little time. You’re gonna have to come with us.”
Tasker said, “Okay, I’ll . . .” He swung his left arm hard and back-fisted Norton right on the nose. As he turned to leap off the porch, he heard a gunshot. He glanced over his shoulder and paused. He took a longer look. Henry Janzig toppled to the ground and his revolver clattered on the porch. Tasker just stared as blood pumped out of a hole in the rear of his head. He let his eyes follow the trajectory of the bullet and saw Renee Chin standing at the end of the porch near his apartment with a modern revolver in both hands, still sighting down the porch. Her eyes were wide as she tried to comprehend what she had just done. Tasker knew the feeling all too well. But she had just saved his life. That might help her come to terms with it.
Tasker looked at Norton, who was leaning against the wall holding his bloody nose. Tasker reached over and snatched his pistol from Norton’s waistband. He ran a finger over the barrel to feel the tiny metal indicator showing there was a bullet in the chamber. He hesitated, then raised the pistol to Renee.
“Drop the gun, Renee.”
She stared at him, then blinked hard. “Why? I’m on your side.”
He raised his voice a notch. “Drop the gun. Do it now.”
She lowered the big black revolver, then squatted down and set it on the porch. “What’s gotten into you, Bill?”
“We need to sort out who’s who.”
“I’m the one who just saved you from getting killed. Is that confusing? Do you appreciate my efforts at all?”
“I appreciate it, but I know about the corporation.”
“What corporation?”
Tasker shoved Norton closer to Renee so he could keep his gun on them both. He stooped and picked up Renee’s pistol as they passed it. He stuck it in his own waistband.
Norton looked down at Janzig’s body. “Jesus, Henry, I’m sorry,” he muttered. “I had no idea it’d ever go this far.”
It looked like the burly captain was going to cry as he looked down at his friend’s cooling body.
Norton gulped and said, “He was a good man.”
Now Renee cut in. “What corporation are you talking about and why do you think I need to be held at gunpoint?”
Tasker said, “The GM Corporation for the property that you wanted the new private prison to go on.”
She shrugged. “Bill, I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”
Tasker looked at her, then at Norton. “What about it, Norton? She’s on the corporate papers.”
Now Norton shrugged but stayed silent, still looking at Janzig.
Tasker said, “You think, after all I’ve been through, that I won’t do something stupid to you?”
Norton looked up and studied Tasker and apparently agreed he shouldn’t push things. He looked down at the porch. “I included her.”
“Louder.”
He spoke up. “I said, ‘I included her.’ ”
Tasker said, “In what?”
“The goddamn GM Corporation.”
“Why?”
“I thought she might see the light and didn’t want my partners to cut her out.”
Renee looked at Norton, then Tasker. “Cut out of what? Somebody tell me what’s going on.”
Tasker said, “I think this moron has a thing for you and included you in his scheme to rent property to the state for the new prison.” Tasker turned toward Norton, who appeared to be a beaten man. “I see what happened. You were too cheap to go to an attorney, so you had Luther Williams draw up the papers. You just threw Renee’s name in the mix.”
Norton remained silent.
“Pretty sharp. Until you lost control of Luther.”
Renee slapped Norton’s arm. “You son of a bitch. You implicated me in your crazy scheme. Why on earth did you do that?”
Again Norton shrugged, beaten. “Did it for you. Besides, he says you killed the Dewalt boy. You ain’t no angel.”
“I killed who?” She looked at Tasker.
He shrugged. “I was trying to buy time and confuse them. At least I didn’t list you on a state document.”
She looked back at Norton. “Sam, how could you?”
“Once the cash started rolling in, you wouldn’t have cared.”
“Yes, I would have.”
Tasker turned at the sound of a car pulling into the lot. A Crown Victoria’s headlights fell across them as it pulled in directly in f
ront of the apartment.
Tasker had the gun in his hand, but relaxed when Rufus Goodwin stepped out of the car.
“Finally there’s a cop around when you need one.”
Rufus walked toward them like it was an ordinary scene. “What’d you get into now? Why you pointin’ that gun at them?”
“Now I’m just pointing it at Norton. He’s your killer, Rufus.”
“How do you figure?” As he started to climb the three steps to the porch, he noticed Janzig’s body and said, “Holy shit. Who shot him?”
“It’s a long story.”
Rufus looked drained and uninterested in long stories.
Tasker said, “I’ll go through it later. You got a set of cuffs?”
Rufus reached behind him and pulled out a set of stainless steel handcuffs. He offered them to Tasker. “You better cuff him because I’m not buying all this just yet. I’d rather not get named in the lawsuit.”
Tasker stuck his gun in the small of his back, tucking it into his belt. He flipped the cuffs and positioned them to slap on Norton. He took a step, then noticed Norton smiling.
“What’s so funny?”
Norton pointed at Rufus. “That.”
Tasker turned and saw Rufus with a gun trained on him.
“Okay, Mr. Elite State Cop, reach for either pistol and you’ll be dead before you hit the ground.” He looked at Renee. “Step over here, sweetheart. You need to be near your boyfriend.”
Norton reached across and reclaimed the Beretta from the stunned Tasker. He then took Renee’s revolver from him. “Got partners all over the place, Tasker.”
Tasker looked back at the Gladesville cop and studied his face. He said, “You have a jigsaw puzzle face.”
Rufus said, “What?”
“Rubie, the crazy homeless guy, said his friend with a puzzle face gave him the card. Now I see your freckles look like a puzzle.”
Norton said, “I told you not to pin it on that crazy English fucker.”
Rufus said, “He’s not English.” He said it like it mattered. “And you don’t need to worry about it anyway.” He shoved Tasker onto the porch.
Tasker couldn’t help but smile. He had pieced together more of the scheme and gotten under Rufus’ skin, and had the partners exchanging sharp words. Maybe there was a way out of this.
Renee Chin leaned in close to the handcuffed Bill Tasker. They were sitting on the porch in front of Tasker’s little apartment next to the body of Henry Janzig. Even as Norton and Rufus discussed their fate a few feet away, she wanted to be certain Tasker knew she wasn’t involved in this mess at all.
“Now do you believe me?”
“Yes. I believe you.”
“When did you find out? I mean about my name on the papers.”
“Yesterday morning.”
“Is that why you’ve been dodging me?”
“Yep.”
“I thought you knew me better than that.”
“Can we argue about this later? It may be a moot point.”
She suddenly felt a little sick. There was no way two men she had known for a long time were planning to kill them. She refused to believe it. Then Norton and Rufus finished their hushed conversation and rejoined them.
Rufus said, “Okay, missy, where’s your little Jeep?”
“Why?”
“Because we have to drop you off and we’re deciding who to drop first.”
She felt a wave of relief. “It’s just on Dead Cow Lane—”
Tasker cut her off. “Renee, don’t—”
Rufus kicked him in the side to shut him up.
“Oh my God, you are going to kill us.”
Norton said, “Just relax, babe. We’ll figure something out. But we gotta get goin’.”
Rufus said, “Get Janzig’s car and follow us. We’ll all ride in the city car.” He waited and, when Norton didn’t say anything, added, “Now get going.” As Norton walked away with Tasker’s and Renee’s pistols in his hands, Rufus nudged Tasker and said, “You two get up.” He looked over at Henry Janzig’s body and said to Renee, “Give me a hand with the sergeant.”
She hesitated but realized she shouldn’t push too hard. She had never been in a situation anything like this before and had no clue what to expect or do. She hoped Tasker had some ideas.
Rufus kept his pistol in his hand and leaned down to grab Janzig’s arm. Renee took ahold of his other arm. It wasn’t stiff or cold like she thought it might be. She still hadn’t come to grips that he was dead because of her. They dragged the body off the porch, letting his feet drop against each stair with a sickening thud.
Rufus kept looking up at Tasker, his hands cuffed behind his back. Just watching them. “You stay right there,” ordered Rufus. Once they had the body at the rear of the car, Rufus looked up at Tasker and said, “Come on down. You can help hoist him into the trunk.”
Renee noticed how Tasker never took his eyes off Rufus, like his mind was working out all the possible courses of action. He came down the steps and toward them silently.
Rufus popped the trunk just as Tasker arrived at the car. Renee looked in the big trunk and froze. “Oh, Rufus, you didn’t.” She couldn’t take her eyes off the small body of Billie Towers, her dark eyes still open.
forty-four
Tasker didn’t actually see Billie’s body until he had squatted down to grab Janzig. With his hands secured behind his back, it was awkward leaning into the dead sergeant. Then, as he stood, he looked in the trunk and realized what Renee was talking about. Billie looked like a child thrown in the rear of the trunk, wrapped around the outer edge of the spare tire, her black hair framing her face then fanning out over the tire. He dropped Janzig back to the ground.
“You motherfucker.” He started to lunge at Rufus, his head down like a bull. Rufus stepped to one side and raised his pistol.
“Save it, tough guy.” He waved his gun at them both and added, “Toss Janzig in.”
Tasker’s mind started to race. Now he didn’t just want to escape, he wanted to kill this son of a bitch. But he needed some time. He helped Renee lift Janzig and set him in the trunk, careful not to hit Billie.
Rufus said, “All right, Tasker, you sit next to me. Renee, sweetheart, you’re next to the door. And remember, if either of you tries to run, the other one gets shot first.” He looked at Renee. “Understand, beautiful? You decide to open that door, your boyfriend won’t live to see you start to run.”
They both nodded. Rufus watched them climb in the big Crown Vic and then he opened the driver’s door. He cranked the car and pulled out past Norton, who had been waiting at the edge of Dead Cow Lane in the Bronco. The two cars stopped at the end of the street.
With his hands cuffed, Tasker couldn’t do much but think things through as they turned west on US 27. Everyone was silent as they picked up speed on the paved, four-lane road, with Norton in the Bronco following them at a distance.
Rufus laid on the gas as soon as they were westbound on the empty highway. Tasker stole a glance behind them and saw Norton way back in the Bronco. He had no idea where they were headed, but he wasn’t in a hurry to find out.
A mile after they were on the road, Rufus blew past a car on the side of the road. A few seconds later, Tasker saw the reflection of blue lights in the rearview mirror.
Rufus said, “Not a peep or this trooper is a dead man and so are you. You got it?” He showed Tasker the revolver in his hand.
“Let him go, Rufus. He’s got no part in this.”
Before Rufus could answer, there was a rap on the trunk as the trooper paused.
Rufus lowered the window.
The trooper stepped up, then leaned down to look in the car.
Tasker cut his eyes, then had to turn his head as he saw Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Tom Miko.
“Well, well, well, looks like I pulled over a damn law enforcement brain trust here.” He looked at Rufus. “I guess you’ve heard my safety and speeding speech a few times.”
&n
bsp; Rufus said, “You mean where you own this highway?”
“That’s the one.”
“I heard it.”
The trooper relaxed a little and squatted down to chat with everyone in the car.
Tasker’s eyes cut to Rufus’ right hand with the revolver held low. There was no way he’d let Rufus shoot this poor guy. As soon as he made a movement, Tasker was going to do his best to stop him. Cuffed hands and everything.
Trooper Miko said, “I stopped the FDLE agent a while back and the inspector last week. No one in this car much cares about setting a good example, do they?” He smiled, just joking with them now.
Rufus was careful to look straight ahead so he’d catch any movement or signals from his passengers. “Sorry, Tom. We’re in the middle of something.”
“Need a hand? It’s slow tonight.”
Just as Rufus was about to say something, Tasker saw the headlights in the rearview mirror and heard the horrible thump as Norton, in the Bronco, swooped in on the unsuspecting trooper.
Tasker cried out, “You fucking assholes,” as he saw the trooper fly onto the ground in front of Rufus’ Crown Vic and roll to a perfectly still heap about twenty-five feet away. Tasker couldn’t tell if he was dead or not.
Next to Tasker, Renee whispered, “Sweet Jesus, what have I gotten into?”
Rufus pulled back onto the road and followed Norton, who had hardly slowed down. “He is certainly a man of action, isn’t he?”
Tasker said, “Does any of this shit bother you?”
Rufus was quiet for a minute and then said, “Yeah, I don’t like doin’ it, if that’s what you mean. But the cash will make it all right.”
“You guys really think this scheme will still work?”
“It’ll work. We just had a few glitches.”
After a few miles, they turned left, away from the lake on a dirt road next to a long, wide South Florida Water Management canal heading from a catchment basin near the lake. Cane fields rose up across from the canal as they continued down the bumpy dirt road. Tasker felt his body knock into Renee, then Rufus as he thought about his options. The sight of the motionless trooper stuck in his mind. Then he had a flash of brilliance and took action before he could talk himself out of it.
Escape Clause Page 29
