by Marnie Perry
Lomax had assured him that he would contact his friend the lawyer the moment he heard anything and Lando had thanked him, not just for that but for everything he had done. He told him he would find a way to repay him. Lomax had frowned and said that friends didn’t expect favours in return, that was the whole idea of friendship. Lando had been taken aback, and suitably rebuked he bid Lomax farewell and got into the car with the two agents.
The two feds, after initially trying to engage him in conversation which Lando had rejected by answering only in monosyllables or not at all, drove in silence. That suited Lando, he was used to silence and he knew better than to chat with them. One, because they would never have answered his questions so why should he answer theirs, at least until they arrived at their H.Q. And two, they might be recording their conversation in the hope of using it against him later. But something was off, they had read him his rights but had not cuffed him, that in itself was unusual, maybe Lomax’s influence again, still once out of his sight there was no longer any need to placate Lomax and they had every right to restrain him.
As they drove he thought about the woman, indeed he could think of little else, the sight of her lying there so small and fragile looking would stay with him for a long time. He thought about what Hennessey had said about her always believing she was worthless, unwanted and unloved. It was just as tough being a rich girl as a poor one, maybe she had been sent off to boarding school away from her parents. Maybe her father had sent her there away from the alcoholic mother that Hennessey had mentioned and that’s where the unwanted and unloved idea had originated.
But what about unworthy, where had that come from? Is that why she had come here, to search for something she could not find at home? Is that why she had fallen so quickly and so easily for the first man who showed an interest in her? Well, that was none of his concern.
Eventually they arrived at the federal building and Lando was escorted into a small room consisting of one table and four chairs two on either side, that too was unusual, there were usually two on one side and one at the other where the suspect sat. He was offered refreshment and he asked for coffee, he needed it, he had not slept for almost seventy two hours and he was exhausted beyond measure. He looked at himself in the two way mirror, he saw his pale unshaven face and the dark circles under his eyes and there was blood on his shirt, well Lomax’s shirt. It reminded him of the last time he had been in a room similar to this one and at the memory he shifted uncomfortably and looked away from the mirror then realised that would make him look furtive so steeled himself to stay perfectly still.
Just then the door opened and a man came in carrying a briefcase and a mug of coffee. He said, ‘hey there, Jonas, my name is Jason Berringer, I’m your attorney and you look like shit, pal.’
As he said this he plonked the mug down in front of Lando and sat down opposite him. He placed his briefcase on the table next to him but didn’t open it.
Lando had almost laughed at the guy’s frankness but restrained himself. He said, ‘yeah, well, you try staying awake for 72 hours and see if you look as fresh as a daisy.’
The man’s laugh was loud and hearty; in fact everything about Jason Berringer was loud and hearty. He had a huge Santa Clause type face which went with his huge belly. He was wearing a very loud grey and red chequered suit and a purple tie. He looked like a children’s entertainer, if you dared to let your child anywhere near him that is. But his blue eyes although they twinkled Lando could see the cold calculation and keen intelligence there. He said, ‘been there, done that, pal, just ask your friend and mine, Wendell Lomax.’ He winked.
Lando afforded himself a small smile and Berringer said, ‘well, Jonas, I can call you Jonas can’t I.’
It wasn’t a question so Lando didn’t answer; anyway he didn’t have time because Berringer was speaking again. ‘Well they’ve given us thirty minutes so don’t waste a second of it, and don’t worry we ain’t being spied on,’ he nodded over his shoulder at the mirror, ‘they knows better than that. So let’s have it, what, when, where and why? Go.’
Lando was nonplussed but began to talk. He talked non stop for thirty minutes and not once did Berringer interrupt, although his eyes did get wider at some points in the telling.
When he had finished Berringer let out a long breath as though he was the one who had been doing all the talking. He said, ‘well, that’s quite a story, Jonas old pal. One question though, where did this Hennessey guy go?’
Lando shrugged, ‘I have no idea.’
Berringer sounding brusque now said, ‘don’t lie to me, Jonas, he’s important, we need him to back up your story…and Miss. Faraday’s.’
At the mention of her name Lando sat further upright. The man played dirty. He said just as brusquely, ‘look, he left, I don’t know where he went, maybe to an assassin’s monthly meeting, I don’t know. But wherever it is I hope he stays there.’
Berringer studied Lando’s face but not by a flicker did he give away the lie. After a short stand off Berringer said, ‘you’re in a heap of shit, boy. You joined forces with a killer for hire and together you made an illegal entry into the residence of a very influential man, then killed him and God knows how many of his men. It looks bad for you, boy.’
‘And there was me thinking it looked real good.’
Berringer chuckled but then was quickly serious as he said, ‘the fact that you’ve done time don’t help either.’
‘You don’t say.’
Berringer gave his hearty laugh this time and just then the door opened and two men entered, not the two who had brought Lando here but two different guys.
The first man was tall aged around thirty and very handsome with blonde hair and ice blue eyes which Lando was to learn could be very gentle and at the same time said “don’t fuck with me.”
The second guy was short and younger still, maybe late twenties. His face was pockmarked as though he had suffered from acne in his youth, which was not that long ago. Lando felt old in comparison to the two agents.
The taller agent said, ‘times up, counsellor, we need to talk to your client.’
Berringer said, ‘can’t this wait until tomorrow? My client is exhausted.’
The man shook his head, ‘sorry. It took us a while to track him down after we’d been given the run around by your friend the sheriff. I think we’ve been patient long enough.’
‘A few hours then?’
‘I’m sorry.’ He did sound apologetic but also very firm.’ The sooner we get this over the sooner your client can rest.’
Yeah, Lando thought, in your lock up, very cosy.’
Berringer gave Lando an “I tried look” and went to sit next to him leaving the two chairs opposite free for the agents.
They sat down and the taller agent put several envelopes on the table in front of him and said, ‘I’m Special Agent Jake Montayne and this is Special Agent Gill Spencer.’
Lando nodded in acknowledgement of the introduction and Montayne said, ‘would you like more coffee, Mr. Lando?’
‘No, thanks.’
‘Okay. But if you change your mind just ask.’
This was odd thought Lando, why the nicey nice? He took a deep breath in anticipation of retelling his story but was surprised when Montayne said, ‘well first off, Mr. Lando, it’s come to our attention that you’ve been doing some investigating of your own into the comings and goings of certain people.’ He opened one of the envelopes and pulled out sheets of paper, maybe a dozen or so.
Here we go thought Lando, this is where they charge me with impersonating a police officer too, as if they didn’t have enough on him as it was. He almost laughed; well that was the least of his worries.
But the amusement faded to be replaced by an astonishment so great it made his head spin and he stared at Montayne as though he had sprung not one, but two extra heads.
The agent was saying, ‘we’ve discovered evidence that you were investigating Dashiel Glissando and his not so legal activiti
es in your own time, and in your own way.’
He flicked through the papers until he found the one he was seeking, ‘here we have evidence of Glissando’s nefarious dealings. His involvement in drug and people trafficking,’ another paper, ‘his involvement in child pornography rings,’ yet another paper, ‘his connection to organised crime.’ He held one piece of paper at arms length, ‘this paper here is proof that he hired a contract killer to murder one of his rivals, one Duncan Blakemore.’ He looked pointedly at Lando as he said this, ‘there is also proof that he hired the same man, who we now believe to be Sterling Hennessey, to kill Miss. Adela Anne Faraday, an English tourist, who is now lying in I.C.U at the General.’
Lando thought it must be the blood rushing through his head that prevented him from hearing the man aright. How the hell had they gotten this information? The answer that came to him caused him to lean back so hard the back of the chair almost gave way.
The agents and Berringer obviously took his reaction as the shock of them discovering his secret hoard.
Montayne was speaking again, ‘we also discovered that he paid the assassin five million dollars to kill Miss. Faraday and to bring back an escaped, for want of a better term, slave girl, known as Desdemona. We also found Glissando’s torture chamber.’
The young agent next to him shivered then looked embarrassed.
Montayne gave a deep sigh as though reluctant to continue but continue he did, ‘we’re currently investigating your accusation that certain law enforcement personnel and government agents were in Dashiel Glissando’s pay. We also have names of lawyers, judges, politicians and other influential, not to mention powerful, people who accepted bribes from him for services rendered. It may interest you to know that two of these people have already offered to turn states evidence in return for immunity from prosecution.’ Montayne looked disgusted when he said this.
Lando tried to maintain a neutral expression as he stared at the agent. The other man leaned forward and resting his arms on the desk said very quietly, ‘where did you get this information, Mr. Lando?’
Lando wished he knew. Eventually he found his voice but it seemed to come from deep within his throat as though he didn’t want to speak but felt compelled to, ‘where did you get it?’
Montayne hesitated and Lando wasn’t sure if that was because he didn’t really want to tell him or because he thought he was the one should be asking the questions. But eventually he said, ‘from your cabin.’
Lando shook his head, ‘my cabin and everything in it was destroyed by fire.’
‘Not everything. Your townsfolk worked quickly and efficiently and managed to save the basic structure as well as some of your things.’ He paused a moment here and looked into Lando’s eyes, ‘including a metal coal bucket. That’s where we discovered these documents and tapes.’ He tipped up the envelope and out fell several small tapes.
Trust the feds thought Lando to always keep something back; he was surprised Montayne had shown him the tapes now. Montayne said, ‘we have recording’s here of Glissando hiring Hennessey to kill Blakemore. You can hear Glissando offer him money and Hennessey accepting the contract, although Hennessey refers to it as an assignment.’ Somewhere in Lando’s confused, befuddled and oh so bewildered mind there was a recollection of the woman telling him that Hennessey called his hits assignments.
Montayne said, ‘how you got these is a mystery to me, to all of us. On one tape you even have Glissando saying his own name.’
Lando didn’t tell him it was a mystery to him too. He must have become immune to shock because not by any sign did he betray his surprise.
Montayne said, ‘we also found this in the same bucket.’ He picked up a jiffy bag and spread the contents onto the table.
Berringer gasped and Lando stared wide eyed at the long piece of hair tied at either end with a rubber band, the hair almost reached from one end of the table to the other. This gave the lie to the thought that he was immune to shock.
Montayne said, ‘I don’t think we have to do a D.N.A test to know that this is Adela Faraday’s hair. It’s the same colour and length.’
Lando continued to stare at the hair until Montayne asked gently, ‘did the assassin cut this off to send to you as proof that he had her? To blackmail you into giving him this information?’
Lando looked at him uncomprehendingly before shaking his head, ‘no. She did it herself.’
Montayne looked incredulous, ‘why would she do that?’
‘Because she was being hunted by Glissando and the hitman that he’d hired to kill her, she thought her hair made her stand out, and it did. She tried to cut it thinking she could disguise herself with shorter hair.’
‘I see. So why’d she stop? Changed her mind?’
Lando opened his mouth to say no, I stopped her, then thought better of it and said instead, ‘something like that.’
‘I see.’ Montayne said again, ‘but it was clear he didn’t believe him and to Lando’s relief didn’t ask why he had put it in the coal bucket with the papers.
Montayne leaned back in his seat and let out a huge sigh before saying, ‘well, Mr. Lando, you’ve been a very busy ex- cop.’ Lando stiffened and sat up straighter but Montayne said, ‘oh don’t worry, I’m not going to ask you again where you got this stuff, I don’t think I want to know the answer, and neither do my superiors. Neither am I going to ask why you did it, I already know the answer to that one. To be honest I don’t really care about the whys and wherefores. I only care that we have this vital information that will enable us to wheedle out the corrupt cops, politicians and judges. But I would like to thank you, because of you there’s a few less cockroaches roaming the earth today and there’ll soon be even fewer.’
Amidst his shock Lando also felt a rush of guilt. He had of course helped to bring down Glissando but not alone. He said, ‘I don’t want your gratitude, Agent Montayne. And I didn’t do this alone, I had help.’
‘Oh?’
‘Have you forgotten about Detective Ellis Leyton? If you want to pin any medals on someone, he’s your man. He was tortured by Glissando and then shot and even when severely wounded he saved our lives. He showed exceptional bravery, above and beyond the call of duty.’
Montayne and Spencer exchanged glances and Berringer grinned. But Lando had not finished. ‘And Sullivan, he was doing his job when he was gunned down by Glissando’s men. And the woman, she’s the one saved the girl from Glissando’s henchmen and got her out of the country, and because of that benevolent act she was hunted down, kidnapped, and subjected to an horrific ordeal. It’s because of her that you have that information that’s so important for exterminating bugs. It was her own courage and determination that eventually exposed Glissando for what he was, not me, her. And it’s because she wouldn’t give up, because she stood strong that she’s lying in that hospital fighting for her life right now.’
Lando told himself that the break in his voice was caused by all the unfamiliar talking he’d done and hoped the other men thought so too.
All three men certainly looked taken aback by Lando’s vehemence. Montayne kept his eyes for a long while then picked up the piece of hair, put it back in the bag and handed it to Lando who didn’t attempt to take it from him but just stared at it. ‘She might want it, as a memento perhaps.’ Montayne said softly.
Lando doubted that but guessed that Montayne knew he was the one who would keep it as a memento. Keeping his expression blank he reached out and took the bag from his hand.
Montayne said, ‘there was one other there too wasn’t there, at Glissando’s place, a friend of yours.’
Lando tried to prevent the surprise from showing on his face. He knew Sheriff Lomax wouldn’t have told the FBI about “Marcus Brutus,” so how had he known that someone else was there? He said, ‘yeah, that’s right, a friend.’
‘Name?’
‘Is it important?’
Montayne shrugged, ‘not really, not as long as he knows to keep his mouth shu
t and doesn’t blab about his exploits to anyone who would listen.’
‘He won’t do that, he don’t mix well with people. He’s very shy.’ Lando could almost hear Hennessey’s howls of laughter at this.
Montayne studied him for a moment, ‘that’s good to know. Anyway, you mentioned Detectives Sullivan and Leyton, you might be interested to know that Leyton has regained consciousness and by all accounts is going to be okay. He’ll be permanently scarred from the whipping he took, but apart from that there’s no reason to believe he won’t make a full recovery.
Lando closed his eyes with relief; he owed that guy, he owed him a hell of a lot. He wondered if they had told Leyton about the woman, probably not yet. Maybe he should tell him.
Montayne was speaking again, ‘of course we’ll take into account what you’ve said about him and we’ll make sure he’s taken care of. He’ll get whatever he wants, a promotion, or if he wants to take early retirement he’ll get all the benefits due to a cop who’s served his time.’
Lando knew that all the consideration for Leyton was not totally philanthropic, they didn’t want him going around telling all and sundry what he had seen and done. The rewards would come with a proviso, the carrot rather than the stick. Montayne was saying, ‘and Sullivan’s wife, and more than likely his ex- wives, will get the benefits he would have gotten had he lived and stayed with the department to retirement age.’
Lando nodded and said, ‘and the woman?’
Montayne leaned back in his seat and regarded Lando intently before saying, ‘Miss. Faraday is of course free to do whatever she wants when she is recovered and released from the hospital. She can go home,’ he tipped his head to one side thoughtfully, ‘or maybe stay, ‘when Lando eyed him warningly Montayne gave him a speculative look and finished ‘to continue her vacation. Whatever she decides she can do it unmolested by either us or the Mississippi P.D. And please extend to her our thanks for her contribution and our respect for her courage.’
Lando looked surprised but nodded, ‘so how will you explain what happened at Glissando’s place?’ Montayne looked uncomfortable for a moment and Lando smiled wryly, ‘I see. The official line will be that Glissando was taken down in a shoot out with federal agents. Then you discovered these documents and tapes implicating several influential people in his home.’
