Jack Taggart Mysteries 7-Book Bundle

by Easton, Don

  “Wizard! It’s me, Red,” she whispered.

  Seconds later, Red was inside the room. Wizard, with his goatee and muscled arms covered in large tattoos, towered over her. Rolly was lying on the bed. In the corner of the room sat a third biker. A light behind him cast shadows down over his face. His forehead had a large circular scar from an incident years earlier when someone had caught his attention with the broken end of a wine bottle.

  “Well?” asked Wizard.

  “Yeah, he’s here right now,” said Red.

  “Did he hit you up?”

  “Oh yeah! Wants half a pound. I told him I’d make a call.” She looked at her watch. “And that was, like, not even five minutes ago.”

  “Good,” replied Wizard.

  “I think maybe I’ll cut his balls off instead of his tongue,” said Rolly. “We were too easy on Lenny!”

  “Shut your trap!” hissed Wizard.

  There was a brief silence in the room before Wizard continued, “So what’s he wearin’?”

  “You can’t miss ’im,” replied Red. “Jeans and a red sweatshirt with a big white band around the chest and arms.”

  “Okay, you know what to do,” said Wizard. “Give us twenty minutes to set up.” He flashed her a roll of money and said, “When you’re done, go home. I’ll drop over after.”

  “Thanks, Wizard,” replied Red, casting one more quick glance at the man sitting in the corner. He hadn’t spoken a word the whole time. Then she turned toward the door.

  “Red! One more thing. Make sure you keep your yap shut about this!”

  “About what?” replied Red, smiling as she left the room.

  When she was gone, Wizard turned to the biker in the corner and said, “Lance, you get the car and cruise the block until you see Red, then hit the alley.”

  Minutes later, Red joined Jack back in the bar.

  “You’re in luck,” she said. “My guy is a little nervous, but he said he’s willin’ to meet you, just to check you out.”

  “Good. He’s got nothing to be nervous about. When can we meet?”

  “In about twenty minutes. He wants to talk to me out front first. Give me about five minutes just to reassure him, then I’ll get him to drive me around back and you can meet us in the alley.”

  A few minutes later, Jack gave Danny a subtle nod and they met in the men’s room. Jack explained what was happening, and Danny said, “Just in case they want to take you for a little drive, I’ll get the car and stand by.”

  “Good idea.”

  “Think it will be Halibut?”

  “Maybe. Or some other striker. We’ll soon find out.” Jack returned to the table. Red left on time and headed out the front door. Jack looked at his watch and waited five minutes.

  Danny sat in his car and watched from the parking garage. He eventually saw Red walk out the front door of the bar and approach a green Volvo parked nearby. The Volvo drove to the end of the block and turned into the alley. He caught the plate number and noticed Red walk back toward the bar.

  Danny drove in the opposite direction and parked on the street at the end of the block to cover off the other end of the alley. If the Volvo did take Jack for a ride, this was the direction it would drive out. He radioed in the plate number. The name that came back wasn’t one he recognized.

  An arc of light briefly cut into the back alley when Jack opened the rear door to the alley. He stood in the doorway for a moment before stepping out. His red sweatshirt blended into the darkness, but the white stripe stood out like a beacon. He saw a car drive slowly down the alley toward him, then stop a short distance away. He walked toward it, using his hand to shield his eyes from the headlights.

  As Jack approached a Dumpster, Rolly silently moved in behind him, unsnapping a leather thong and removing his hunting knife from its scabbard while quickening his pace.

  Rolly was in striking distance when Wizard stepped out from the Dumpster and said, “Hey! Eddy!”

  Jack felt the adrenaline rush to his limbs as his brain told him to run. He tried to act calm and said, “Yeah? Do I know you?”

  “Pest control!” Rolly snickered when Jack spun around to look.

  Rolly brandished the knife at throat height and gave an evil grin when the lights from the car reflected off the knife and into Jack’s eyes. Wizard stepped forward and pointed a .22-calibre pistol at the back of Jack’s head. The headlights cast dark shadows on Wizard’s face as Jack turned and found the barrel of the pistol entering his nostril.

  “Goodbye, rat!” hissed Wizard, as his finger slowly squeezed the trigger.

  Jack chopped the inside of Wizard’s wrist with the edge of his hand, flinging the gun from Wizard’s grasp. It bounced off the side of the Dumpster with a loud clang. Rolly immediately plunged the knife toward the back of Jack’s neck, but Jack ducked while shoving two fingers into Wizard’s eye, and the knife glanced off his shoulder blade instead. Jack darted past Wizard toward the car.

  “Get him!” yelled Wizard, scrambling to pick up his gun. Rolly ran after him while Wizard wiped his eye with one hand before raising his gun with the other hand. Then he hesitated, fearing he might hit Rolly.

  Lance lurched the car forward, smashing the passenger side fender into the alley wall. The interior light went on as he stepped out of the car, blocking the alley. The snarl on his face further accented the scar on his forehead as he moved around in front of the driver’s door. His face didn’t look any prettier when his mouth gaped open as Jack ran up over the hood of the car.

  A bullet ricocheted off the car’s windshield as Jack dove over the roof and continued running.

  “Out of my fucking way!” yelled Wizard, running up to the car. He fired four more shots at the crouched figure zigzagging down the alley. His target ran faster.

  Wizard held the gun with both hands and rested his arms on the roof of the car, aiming toward the end of the alley. Briefly, his target was silhouetted in the light at the end of the alley. Wizard fired one more shot and watched as the body crumpled and fell.

  “Got ’im! Quick! Get in the car!” he ordered, grabbing Rolly by the arm and shoving him inside. He looked at Lance and said, “Back down the alley fast! Drive right over the rat-fucker! Make sure he’s dead!”

  Lance stepped on the throttle, and the tires squealed as the car hurtled backwards down the alley. Sparks flew off the side of the car as it briefly scraped along the side of a brick building, knocking the mirror off the passenger side door.

  Wizard and Rolly grabbed the dash as they tensed, waiting for the crunch of broken bones and the thump of a mangled body as the car bounced out of the alley.

  As Danny waited, he saw Red walk across the intersection. Why isn’t she meeting with Jack?

  His question was answered by the sound of gunshots from the alley. Adrenaline slammed through his body like a tidal wave. His car leaped out of his parking space, but the traffic was heavy and he had to slam on the brakes to avoid a collision. He fumbled under his seat to retrieve the red light to toss on the dash. He cursed as the cord for the light became entangled in the seat springs. Seconds later, he yanked it free and plugged it into the cigarette lighter. He reached for the hidden switch to turn on the siren.

  Lance slammed on the brakes and brought the Volvo to a stop facing the sidewalk and entrance to the alley. The headlights picked up a puddle of blood and the smear of tire tracks where he had backed through it.

  “I didn’t feel nothin’,” said Lance. “He ain’t hung up underneath.”

  “You fuckin’ missed him!” yelled Rolly, clenching his knife.

  “Out of the fucking car!” screamed Wizard, waving his gun in all directions.

  The three men scrambled from the car and looked at the blood.

  Wizard pointed to a trail of bloody marks along the sidewalk. “He’s gone this way, and you can bet he hasn’t gone far.” He stepped out on the street to look behind some parked cars.

  “He’s got to be right here somewhere,” said Lance
. “He hasn’t had time to make it to the end of the block,” he noted, while following splatters of blood to the edge of the curb.

  The piercing scream of a police siren cut the night air, followed by screeching tires. The flash of a red light reflected off the wall as it approached the opposite end of the alley.

  “Let’s get the fuck out o’ here!” yelled Wizard.

  All three men scrambled back into the car and sped off in the opposite direction. Five minutes later, they pulled into another alley.

  Lance retrieved a container of gasoline from the trunk and doused the car. He lit the rag on a beer bottle half-filled with a mixture of gas and oil and threw it on the car. Seconds later, the three men drove away from the blaze in another car.

  “Get hold of the boys,” said Wizard. “I want someone at every hospital and clinic there is. If this rat-fucker doesn’t die first, I want him dead before some fucking doctor gets his hands on him!”

  “Will do,” replied Rolly.

  “You and Lance cover off the nearest hospital and clinic. Get reinforcements. Try and whack him before he enters. Be less witnesses to take care of.”

  “Where ya goin’?” asked Rolly.

  “Red. She’s a loose end. If the rat makes it to the cops, they’ll know she helped set ’im up. I’ll let The Suit know what happened, too. Just in case he hears anything.”

  chapter twenty-one

  The tires of Danny’s car screamed as he rounded the corner into the alley. There were no other cars in sight and he realized that the Volvo had backed out the other side.

  He stopped briefly by the Dumpster and was relieved not to see Jack’s body. He jumped back in his car and continued on. At the end of the alley he saw a fresh patch of blood smeared by tire tracks. Fear ravaged his body as he slammed on the brakes and leapt from the car. His knuckles were white as he gripped his gun.

  Seconds later, Jack crawled out from under a parked SUV. Danny helped him into the car, and Jack fell over on the seat and hit the switch under the dash. The siren stopped instantly. Jack yanked the light off the dash.

  “What the fuck are you doing?” yelled Danny, scrambling into the driver’s seat. “You’re hurt! I’m taking you to the hospital!”

  “No! I’m okay. They think I’m a rat! Let them keep thinking that.”

  “You’re bleeding like a stuck pig! I’m taking you to the hospital.” Danny hit the gas and the car shot out of the alley and onto the street.

  “It was Wizard and two others. I recognize their faces from the pictures but can’t remember their names. If you take me to a hospital or clinic they’re liable to finish the job. I don’t want them to know what happened to me.”

  “Jesus Christ! I knew this would happen! You keep usin’ the fuckin’ alley — how am I supposed to protect you? Now you’re telling me not take you to the hospital! Goddamn it!” Danny hit the brakes and pulled over to the side of the road. “Turn around, I’m takin’ a look!”

  Danny pulled up Jack’s sweatshirt and he yelped in pain.

  “You’ve been stabbed in the back!”

  “Did you teach them that?”

  “Jesus Christ! Your arm! Looks like a bullet hole! You’ve been shot, too!”

  “Went clean through. Lucky break.”

  “Yeah, you’re real fuckin’ lucky,” said Danny sarcastically. “I’m taking you in. Then I’m calling in the troops and we’re going to find Wizard.”

  “The hell you are! Putting him in jail won’t help!” Jack grabbed for the cellphone.

  Natasha Trovinski looked in the mirror and quickly brushed her hair. She was pleased that Jack had finally called, asking if he could drop by.

  She hurried into the living room, grabbed some books from the coffee table, and replaced them on the bookshelf. Would she have time to vacuum before he arrived?

  The apartment security buzzer answered her question.

  Moments later, she tried to hide her disappointment. Jack hadn’t mentioned that Danny would be with him.

  “What a pleasant surprise! Come on in, you two. I’ll put some coffee on.”

  Natasha looked again. They’re arm in arm. Jack is staggering…. Have they been drinking? Jack’s sweatshirt — it’s stained with blood!

  “My God! What happened? Get him in here!”

  “I just want to make it clear that I did not fall on broken glass,” said Jack.

  “He’s been shot and knifed,” said Danny, as soon as she closed the door behind them.

  “You fools!” said Natasha harshly. “I’m calling an ambulance. You should have gone to the hospital!” she added, rushing to the telephone.

  “No! Don’t do that! It’s not that bad,” Jack insisted. “I don’t want anyone to know I’ve been shot. At least not now. I need time to figure this —”

  “A hospital or clinic might not be safe!” interjected Danny. “It might be a policeman responsible for Jack getting shot! Please! You’ve got to help him!”

  Natasha stared at the two men, then hung up the phone.

  “Okay, let me take a look,” she said calmly. “Sit on the kitchen chair.”

  Natasha quickly retrieved a first-aid kit from her bathroom vanity. She used scissors to cut off Jack’s sweatshirt, then she examined his wounds closely.

  A purplish line bored its way from near the centre of Jack’s back up across his rib cage, where it disappeared. A small puncture hole in the back of his arm looked black, but the flesh had closed in around the wound and there was little bleeding. Natasha gently raised his arm to expose an exit hole on the opposite side that was still oozing blood.

  “It looks like you were only shot once. I think the bullet reflected off the left side of your rib cage before travelling up through the biceps on your arm. I take it you were bent over at the time or in a prone position?”

  “I tried to make as small a target as possible, while running like hell.”

  “There’s another injury, exposing part of your left shoulder blade. You were slashed with a knife.”

  “That happened first. I didn’t really feel it much then, but I do now.”

  “So it’s not too serious? He’s going to be okay?” asked Danny, sounding hopeful.

  “Have you been coughing up or spitting up blood?” she asked, ignoring Danny.

  “No, but it hurts like hell to talk. Even breathing causes pain.”

  “You should be x-rayed. I’m sure you’ve got some fractured ribs. The humerus, too, but it’s your ribs I’m concerned with. A fractured rib could puncture your lung. The slice across your shoulder blade is going to require quite a few stitches. How long has it been since it happened?”

  “About half an hour,” replied Danny. “It was a policeman who did this?” asked Natasha, as she cleaned the wounds in preparation for the dressings.

  “Not exactly,” replied Jack. “I set up a couple of City narcs to think I was an informant. Three bikers tried to kill me, thinking I was an informant. They don’t know I’m a cop. Someone is leaking information. Could be one of the narcs, or maybe a secretary in their office. They were also dealing with our Homicide Unit, so it could be someone out of our building.”

  “You should be taken in and x-rayed.”

  “No. The guys who did this belong to a big organization. They’ll have every hospital and clinic covered. Even if they don’t finish the job, we’d never find out who’s behind the leak. If you will just patch me up, I’ll be on my way.”

  “I have to report all gunshot wounds to the police.”

  “Now you decide to talk to the police!” said Danny angrily.

  “You didn’t let me finish, Danny. You’re a policeman, so consider yourself informed. I won’t inform anyone else, providing Jack stays here where I can keep an eye on him for a few days. If his condition worsens, I will call an ambulance,” she said firmly.

  “I can’t do that to you. I’m sure I’ll be fine once I —”

  “You’re not going anywhere until I say so! I’ll sleep on the sofa a
nd you’ll use my room. I’m going to start you on antibiotics. Have you had a tetanus shot within the last ten years?”

  “Uh, no, I guess I haven’t.”

  “I’ll go to the clinic and pick up what I need. Danny, I want you to hold this compress tight to his back until I return.”

  “These people are really dangerous,” said Jack. “We can’t trust anyone. I probably shouldn’t even be here. I think I should leave as soon as —”

  “You’ll leave when I tell you to! Tomorrow is my day off. We’ll see how you are then.”

  “I think you should listen to her,” said Danny. “It’s not safe for you to go home like this.”

  Jack moved slightly, and the pain caused him to clench his teeth. “Perhaps you’re right. I don’t feel like travelling very far tonight. Sorry, Natasha. I’m sure that being a doctor on your day off wasn’t what you had in mind. Be careful. We don’t know who we can trust.”

  “You said they were bikers?”

  “Satans Wrath.”

  Natasha arrived at her clinic twenty minutes later. She walked past a car in the parking lot parked near the front entrance. Two men were inside. The driver was drumming the steering wheel with a nervous energy. Natasha noticed the numerous rings across their fingers. Oh, shit!

  She found a plastic bag in her office left over from buying a new pair of shoes. She filled it with what she needed, but her mind was still on the two men outside. She took a scalpel and held it in her jacket pocket as she walked to the car. She needn’t have worried. The two men paid her little attention and continued to stare at the front door of the clinic. She drove away from the clinic and breathed a sigh of relief when the other car remained where it was.

  It was three o’clock in the morning when Natasha ushered Danny out the door.

  “Don’t worry about him. I’m sure he’ll be fine,” whispered Natasha. “I gave him some medication to ease the pain and help him sleep. Say hello to Susan.”

  Danny nodded solemnly and said, “I’ll drop back around noon to see how he’s doing. And Natasha … thank you!”