“Hey asshole, we’re going to kill him, that’s our next move, but we have to find him first,” Gorgon said.
“How do you plan to do that?” Moloch asked.
Gorgon looked blank.
“I’ll have to think about it.”
“I got a plan, want to hear it?” Moloch said.
Several of the Demons shouted “Yeah!”, but Gorgon said “No!”
When he realized it couldn’t hurt to hear the plan, he told Moloch to spit it out. Moloch did so, and it pissed Gorgon off that it was a good plan. Actually, it was a great plan, but he would be damned if he’d admit it.
Gorgon nodded to Moloch.
“We’ll do it, but if this shit plan don’t work, that’s on your ass.”
Moloch grinned at him.
“It’ll work, you wait and see.”
“A short wait, we’ll do it tomorrow afternoon. And hey, you fuckers quit makin’ noise. We don’t need the damn cops coming by here. Now I’m going to bed, wake me when the old lady comes back.”
Gorgon was almost out of the kitchen when Moloch called to him.
“What do you want now?”
“Hey man, I’m sorry about Ronny, you know?”
Gorgon let out a heavy sigh.
“I’m gonna miss him.”
“Me too,” Moloch said. “Now get your ugly ass to bed, you could use the beauty sleep.”
“Screw you,” Gorgon told him, but there was no fire in it.
Gorgon went upstairs and entered the master bedroom. To his surprise, his woman, Andrea Kasseri, was still wearing the dress that was stained with Al Finder’s blood. She was sitting in a chair by the window and smoking. On the floor at her feet was a bottle of tequila.
Gorgon’s face showed disgust as he looked down at her.
“Yo, baby, why are you still wearing that? You need to get out of that dress and let me get rid of it.”
Andrea looked up at him with glassy eyes. She had been very beautiful once, but the drugs and booze had muted that a long time ago. Her blonde hair held streaks of gray, still, she was good looking, but bore a scar on her left cheek from a deep cut she’d received long ago.
Gorgon loved her. He had loved her since the first time he laid eyes on her. Andrea had been Moloch’s girl, and Gorgon had stolen her away.
That love hadn’t protected them from hard times and Andrea had sold her body often in the early days. Sometimes it was for money, at other times, it was to help the Bay Street Demons get in good with a drug connection. She had also committed violence when necessary, and none of it mattered to her, not as long as she and Gorgon were together.
“I killed that cop, didn’t I?”
“Well, yeah baby, I mean hell, you stabbed that fucker a shitload of times.”
“He grabbed me and kept touching my scar. You saw him, the son of a bitch grabbed me, and you know that I can’t stand to have anybody touch me but you.”
“I know, and it will be all right. If you ever get picked up for it, we’ll blame it on somebody else, or threaten a juror. You’ll never see a day in jail, now take that shit off and go shower, the damn blood is turning black.”
Andrea held up her right hand.
“I was so mad that I cut myself while I was stabbing him, but it’s not bad.”
Andrea rose from the chair and Gorgon moved back so she wouldn’t get any blood on him. The room had an attached bathroom, and Andrea headed for it. When she reached the doorway, she turned and stared back at Gorgon.
“I don’t have any other clothes.”
“You won’t need them in bed, and in the morning you can go through the closets.”
“The closets? It’s all old lady shit.”
Gorgon smiled.
“Yeah, and you’re my old lady. Now get your ass clean and come to bed. I want some.”
“Tonight?”
“Every night, you know that.”
“Go see that skank Darla. I’m too tired.”
“I don’t want Darla, baby, I want you.”
Andrea smiled.
“Why not. You don’t last more than five minutes these days anyway.”
Gorgon scowled.
“Bitch.”
“Asshole,” Andrea said, and then they smiled at each other.
Gorgon lay atop the bed as Andrea closed the bathroom door. When he noticed that the blinds were up, he lowered them, just in case the soldier boy was lurking around.
CHAPTER 6
Pierce made it back home about three a.m. and was surprised, but pleased, to see that Val had waited up for him.
She endeared herself to him even more when she told him she had made lasagna. After Val heated up a plate for him, Pierce, who hadn’t eaten since morning, ate the lasagna with gusto. Pierce rarely ate more than once or twice a day, but thanks to Val’s delicious home cooked meals, the thin Pierce had gained five pounds since she moved in with him.
Pierce’s house had been in his family for generations. It was four-stories high and had real plaster walls and gold filigree on every doorframe.
The home had five bedrooms, and each bedroom had its own full bath, while three of them had working fireplaces. Four of the bedrooms were on the second floor, while the fifth bedroom, the master bedroom, comprised the entire third floor. It could rightly be called an apartment, except for one thing, it had no facilities for cooking.
The home was surrounded by farmland. It was acreage that Pierce rented out, while the home itself was his hobby. He kept it in immaculate condition, but it never truly felt like a home to him until Val moved in.
He often wondered how he had lived so many years without her.
She reached over and took Pierce’s free hand, to give it a squeeze.
“I’m so sorry about, Al, Rick.”
“Thanks, but I will find his killer, if he’s still living.”
“Why do you think the killer might be dead?”
Pierce went on to tell Val about the two dead Bay Street Demons.
“It sounds like they got what they deserved, and I hope that somehow you or the FBI can find that missing girl.”
“If the Demons had any sense they’d set her free, if they even know where she is. It’s possible that she was sold as a sex slave and taken out of the country.”
“How certain are you that it’s the girl’s brother that’s doing the killing?”
“Not certain at all, but he’s a likely suspect. He’s also in the wind, and his parents told the local cops that they haven’t seen him.”
“Be careful, baby. It sounds like you’ll be around a lot of dangerous people.”
Pierce gave Val’s hand a squeeze.
“What else is new?”
***
Pierce awoke the next morning after getting only three hours of sleep. After a shave and a shower, he kissed a still sleeping Val, and left the house.
He had a visitor who was waiting for him on his porch, and was smoking a cigar. It was Jimmy Drake. Drake’s normally unruly beard was combed and he was wearing chinos instead of jeans.
Pierce knew that was a sign that Jimmy, who was a PI, had a case. Chinos instead of an old pair of jeans was as dressed up as Pierce had ever seen Jimmy. If the man ever wore a suit, Pierce hadn’t witnessed it, and he’d known Jimmy Drake for over a year.
Drake was a huge man, but wasn’t fat. He was just big and tough and smart. Pierce had come to like the man a great deal, almost like a brother. He thought the feeling was mutual, despite the unusual beginning of their friendship.
It then struck Pierce that Jimmy’s motorcycle was nowhere in sight and he wondered how he had arrived at the farm.
“How did you get here, Jimmy?”
“My motorcycle, but I left it at the end of the driveway so that I wouldn’t wake Val.”
“That was considerate, thanks.”
Jimmy laughed.
“Considerate my ass, we’re talking self-preservation. Remember what happened the last time I woke her up early?”
Pierce laughed along with him.
“Oh yeah, she does have a temper at times.”
“I don’t think she likes me, man; I’m too rough around the edges for her.”
“Nonsense, you two are just opposites in some ways, but trust me, Val likes you.”
“If you say so, but anyway, I stopped by to see if you could use my help. Is there anything I should be looking for while I’m out and about. You know I talk to a lot of people during my usual day.”
“You have a case?”
“I will. A woman left a message on my phone. She wants me to track down someone, but I don’t have any details yet.”
“You could keep an eye out for any of the Bay Street Demons, the motorcycle gang. If you see them, call it in, but don’t get too close to them. They’re being hunted.”
Jimmy chuckled.
“Hunted?”
Pierce explained the case to him as they climbed in his car and drove over to Jimmy’s Harley.
“The girl’s brother, Bo Raines? He sounds like my kind of man,” Jimmy said. “He just might get his sister back if he kills enough of the Demons.”
“They’re scum, but the Demons are also witnesses to Al’s murder. I need them alive, or at least one of them.”
“Maybe you just need Bo Raines. If he was looking through a scope he might have witnessed Al’s murder.”
“You’re right, and I’m going to spend the day tracking him down.”
“Send photos of Raines and his little sister to my phone. You never know, I might come across him.”
“I’ll do it. But you know the drill. No one can know that you’re helping out. Ex-cop or not, my lieutenant would go ballistic.”
“I only hope I can be of help, and let me know when Al’s funeral is. I want to pay my respects. I didn’t know him well, but I liked him, and I respected his work. He helped a lot of runaways find their way back home.”
“But not his sister,” Pierce said.
“What’s that?”
“Al, I remember him saying that his sister ran away when he was just a kid. I think it was what made him do the job he did.”
“And what about you, Rick? Why do you chase after the really bad dudes?”
Pierce sighed.
“We both know the answer to that, don’t we? I chase them in the hope that I’ll never become them.”
Jimmy straddled his bike.
“Rick, my friend, if I believed that you were that far gone I would have put you down the day you showed me that cell you built.”
Pierce stared at Jimmy and saw that he was serious.
“Thanks for giving me another chance, Drake.”
Jimmy smiled.
“What are friends for?”
CHAPTER 7
At the station, Jake Collins had just arrived and noticed Stacey Hightower sitting at her desk. She was going over her interview notes from the night before.
Hightower’s partner, Mike Sanchez was out on medical leave after falling through a weak floor in an abandoned house. Hightower and her partner were chasing a shoplifter at the time who had stolen a pair of jeans.
Detective Sanchez broke his ankle, but was otherwise fine.
Stacey saw Jake walk in and sent him a smile.
“Hey, Jake, are you ready for another long day?”
Collins smiled back at her. Stacey seemed to be in a good mood and he might as well see if he can capitalize on it. He walked over and sat across from her at Sanchez’ desk.
“I felt guilty going home at all with Al Finder’s killer still out there somewhere, but like Rick said, we won’t be any good if we don’t get at least some rest.”
Stacey nodded, and then she went back to perusing her notes.
“Stacey?”
“Yeah,” she said, while not even looking up at him.
“I’m going to get some coffee, would you like a cup?”
Stacey pointed to the cup already sitting on her desk.
“Oh,” Collins said. He swallowed, and was about to ask her if she’d like to go out sometime, when Pierce entered the squad room and headed right for him.
“Hello Stacey, mind if I borrow my partner?”
Stacey smiled at Collins.
“Yeah, I do mind, but take him anyway.”
Pierce gestured for Collins to follow him into the empty break room, and told him about his plan to concentrate on locating Bo Raines.
“So what do you think? Is that a good idea, or should we keep trying to track down the Bay Street Demons?”
Collins said nothing. He was staring back into the squad room at Stacey Hightower.
“Jake?” Pierce said.
“What did she mean by that, Rick?”
“Hmm? What did who mean?”
“Stacey, she said that she would mind it if you took me away from her desk. Does that mean she likes me?”
Pierce gave Collins an incredulous look.
“Are you serious? What the hell do you think this is, Jake, high school? I’m trying to catch Al’s killer and you’re making goo-goo eyes at Stacey. Grow the fuck up, kid.”
Jake looked angry, then hurt, and it was followed by a conciliatory shake of his head.
“I’m sorry, Rick, really man. I’ll get my head on straight, I promise.”
Pierce let out a long sigh.
He had only blown up at Collins because of the stress he was under to find Al’s killer. The fact that he only had a few hours of sleep wasn’t helping things either.
“Stay here, Jake.”
Pierce marched out into the squad room and leaned over Stacey’s desk.
Collins was horrified. Was Pierce telling Stacey how he felt about her? As he watched, he saw Pierce turn and point at him, which caused Stacey to look his way.
Stacey nodded at Pierce in agreement about something, and then Pierce walked back into the break room.
“Rick, what the hell was that?”
“That was me telling Stacey that she was working with us for the duration of the case. I cleared it with the lieutenant on the phone while driving here. When I pointed at you, I was telling her that she would be teamed with you today. I want you two to search motels in the area for Bo Raines.”
Collins smiled.
“I’m working with Stacey today?”
“Um-hmm.”
“Just her and me?”
“That’s right kid, but it’s not a date.”
“Of course not, but thanks, Rick. It will give her a chance to get to know me better.”
“One thing, actually two things. If you do come across Bo Raines, call it in and we’ll assemble the SWAT team. The man is too dangerous to fool around with.”
“Gotcha, and what’s the second thing.”
Pierce laid a hand on Collins’ shoulder.
“Relax, maybe you and Stacey will hit it off and maybe you won’t, but you don’t do yourself any favors by acting like a lovesick schoolboy around her.”
Collins gazed over at Stacey and smiled.
“She’s just so damn beautiful, Rick, you know?”
“Tell her that, but at the right moment, okay?”
Pierce poured a large cup of black coffee and headed for his desk. Collins followed, so giddy about being paired with Stacey that he had forgotten all about coffee.
“Rick, what are you going to be doing today?” Collins asked.
“I want to talk with Bo Raines’ parents. I need to try to get a feel for the guy.”
“You think they’ll help you?”
“I don’t know, but they know him better than anyone, so it’s worth a try.”
Stacey appeared and smiled at Collins.
“Let’s get an early start, Jake, all right?”
“Sounds good to me,” Collins said.
Pierce watched them walk off together, and despite the age difference, he thought that they looked right together.
“Good luck, kid,” he whispered, and then he logged on to his computer.
CHA
PTER 8
Gorgon slapped Andrea hard on her bare ass and told her to get up and get moving.
The old lady had come home from her night job, and had actually been pretty cool about the break-in. Gorgon had heard that she had been some long dead biker’s woman back in the day, and that she only quit riding after taking a bad spill. Gorgon saw evidence that the spill had been serious, because the old lady still had the scars from road rash running up her left arm and the side of her chin.
Andrea also had scars. They were on her legs and were burn scars from a house fire she had been in while a young teen. That blaze had killed her father.
“Come on, baby, the old woman wants her bed back, but she said it’s cool that you take some clothes.”
Andrea looked up at Gorgon through squinted eyes.
“What time is it?”
“It’s time to go, Ho, now get up.”
Gorgon looked over at the open doorway and saw the club’s groupie, Darla, smiling at him. Darla was a petite young brunette who was the horniest woman he’d ever known. She walked over to Gorgon and grabbed his crotch.
“Good morning.”
Gorgon pushed her hand away.
“Not now, and who told you to come up here?”
“Moloch said that I needed to clean the room and help Andrea.”
Andrea spoke to Darla without opening her eyes.
“I don’t need your help, unless you brought me some coffee?”
Darla ignored her and walked into the bathroom. “I gotta pee.” She did so, but didn’t close the door, so that Gorgon could look at her.
Gorgon mouthed the word, “Later,” and Darla grinned.
“I need coffee,” Andrea said.
“Then get your ass up and come downstairs and get some,” Gorgon said, as he walked out of the room.
Andrea had fallen back to sleep before Gorgon made it downstairs, and Darla pulled up her pants. After gathering what she had come for, Darla placed it into a white, translucent garbage bag that had been in her pocket. Afterwards, she tied the top of the bag into a tight knot.
A short time later, Darla left the house and walked over to Moloch, who was seated on his motorcycle at the side of the house. When he saw the bag, he grinned.
“You got it?”
Darla kissed him and handed him the bag. Moloch saw streaks of red through the bag’s material. He had sent Darla up to the bedroom to retrieve Andrea’s bloody clothing. Her dress would be damning evidence that proved Andrea had killed Detective Al Finder.
Demons (A Detective Pierce Novel Book 2) Page 3
