CHAPTER 23 – Sinner or saint?
WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, TEN YEARS EARLIER
“It’s a con, it’s got to be,” Joe Pullo said, as he and Tanner watched Reverend Carlo Conti enter the women’s shelter on Bennett Street. There was also a soup kitchen at the other end of the building, and a group of people were lined up outside for a free breakfast.
Tanner read from the shelter’s brochure.
“‘The mission of the Teresa R. Rowen women’s shelter is to prevent abuse, change families, and save lives.’ How do you build a con out of that?”
“I don’t know. Maybe he’s turning the women out somehow.”
“That’s not what that madam said, she said Conti was the biggest pain in the ass she’s ever known, and that he actually talked three of her girls into giving up the life.”
Joe rubbed a hand over his chin.
“People don’t change, Tanner, and Conti, he killed an innocent woman, remember?”
“Yeah, so what do you want to do?”
Pullo said nothing for several seconds as he stared across the street. Conti had come back outside with a woman and child, and the child was hugging him around the neck as if he were Santa Claus.
“I need to think about this... figure the con out.”
“Why don’t we talk to some of the other people who work there?”
“Nah, it might tip him off.”
“I have another idea then, but it will cost you lunch at a good restaurant this afternoon.”
“It’s on Sam’s dime, so what’s your idea?”
***
The reporter turned out to be a tall blond named Cassidy, and she was giving Tanner ideas, but she seemed to have eyes only for Pullo, who she smiled at frequently.
They had contacted her with the story that they represented a family trust that was looking for worthy charities to donate to in the Wilmington area.
“That women’s shelter has done wonderful things,” Cassidy told them. “I worked the crime beat in this city for three years, and I saw them save more than a few girls.”
“The Reverend Conti, what do you know about him?”
“The girls working the streets love him. He beat up a pimp once and the cops looked the other way. I personally know a girl that he talked into going back home. After she graduated high school she went to work in the shelter, and at night she studies to be a lawyer.”
“Still,” Pullo said. “It seems odd, a man working inside a women’s shelter. Doesn’t it bother the women who come there?”
Cassidy grinned.
“You obviously haven’t met Reverend Carlo; he’s like a big teddy bear.”
“Un-huh, anything else you can tell us?”
Cassidy leaned across the table.
“I could tell you more over dinner, but just us, no offense to your friend.”
“None taken,” Tanner said, as he envied Pullo.
“Where should I pick you up?” Pullo asked, and Cassidy gave him her address.
After she left, Pullo saluted Tanner with his beer bottle.
“You’re on your own tonight; I’ll be pumping Cassidy.”
“For information?” Tanner asked.
Pullo just smiled.
CHAPTER 24 – No way to treat a lady
WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, TEN YEARS EARLIER
With nothing else to do, Tanner staked out the women’s shelter that night.
Joe had the car, and so Tanner was on foot. He was wearing dark clothes with a hood, and he stayed back in the shadows of a burned-out building.
He saw Conti twice, and each time there was a child nearby who hugged the big man as if he were a kindly old grandfather. The shelter was located in a bad neighborhood, but Tanner noticed that everyone who walked past Conti greeted him with a smile or showed respect, even the gangbangers.
If Conti were running a con, Tanner didn’t know what it was.
After growing bored, he moved onto the sidewalk and began the trek back to the motel. When the same car drove past him twice and parked up ahead, he assumed it meant trouble.
He was carrying a gun, but he had seen at least two silhouettes in the car, and if there were as many as four, Tanner wanted to even the odds by using the element of surprise.
When the sidewalk curved and placed him in a blind spot to the men in the car, he left the street and began cutting through backyards as fast as he could.
After traveling two houses farther down from where the car was parked, Tanner moved back towards the street and spotted two of the bodyguards from the whorehouse. They were both turned around in their seats and looking for him.
The driver was the man Pullo had struck with the ashtray, while the passenger had his right arm in a sling, and was likely the man who had tumbled down the stairs and dislocated his shoulder.
Tanner cursed silently. This was a complication they didn’t need. They had obviously followed him from the shelter and had plans for him. But had they just followed him, or had they followed both he and Pullo earlier?
Tanner slipped from the shadows and spoke when he was six feet away from the car.
“If either of you moves I’ll light you up.”
Both men twitched, but it was from surprise, and not an attempt to use their weapons. Afterwards, they slowly turned their heads to look at him.
“We just wanted to talk,” said the driver, and Tanner saw the huge lump on his forehead that resulted from the ashtray hitting him.
“Let me see your hands.”
The hands went up slowly, and Tanner saw that the man in the passenger seat held a sawed-off shotgun in his left hand, while the driver carried a Beretta.
“I see how you were going to talk. Toss the weapons in the back seat, and then I want the driver to get out.”
“Why just me?”
“Toss the guns. Do it now,” Tanner said.
The men followed instructions because they had little choice. By the time they turned to face Tanner, they would be dead.
Once the driver was out, Tanner had him stand in front of an overgrown hedge. Both men were dressed as he was, in dark clothing with a hood.
The traffic was sporadic and there was no one in sight but the three of them; it wasn’t the sort of neighborhood where many people traveled on foot at night.
“Are there men after my partner too?”
“We only saw you,” said the man still sitting in the car.
He seemed to be telling the truth, which meant that they had just picked up his trail. It also meant that Pullo was in the clear.
Tanner glanced into the car, saw the keys dangling in the ignition, and then shot the man in the passenger seat twice in the chest.
When he swiveled around, he saw that the driver had run to his left, but the man couldn’t outrun a bullet, nor three of them.
Tanner was headed for the driver’s side door before the punk’s body had even settled, and after checking to see that the other man had died, he pointed the car in the direction of the whorehouse.
***
The big man who had previously greeted Tanner and Joe at the door came outside onto the home’s porch, after having heard the car pull into the driveway.
Tanner was still in the car with the window rolled down, while his hood was up over his head. The face of the dead man propped up beside him was lost in shadow, but the coppery scent of his blood was cloying in the confines of the car.
When the huge thug walked over to the car, Tanner was leaning over as if he were trying to get something out of the glove compartment, and with no white skin showing, the man mistook him for one of the other guards.
The man leaned on the windowsill, and Tanner felt the car sink towards the ground from his weight.
“Yo, brothers, did you find them two assholes?”
“They found one of them,” Tanner said, even as he used his left hand to jam a long knife up under the man’s chin, through the soft palate of his mouth, and into his brain.
The man made a high-pi
tched sound that was incongruous with his huge frame, toppled backwards onto the lawn, rolled, and finally settled at the base of a rose bush.
Tanner never even bothered to check if he was dead, but left the car to walk up the stairs and lean beside the door.
It took nearly five minutes, but then the door opened and the madam stuck her head out. She was dressed all in red again, and Tanner idly wondered if it was the only color she ever wore.
When she spotted Tanner, a look of recognition lighted her face, before Tanner smashed his gun against her forehead
She staggered out onto the porch, spun around once, and fell on her ass.
There came the sound of heavy footfalls, followed by a hoarse voice filled with surprise.
“Emily, what happened?”
It was the fourth guard, the one he had kicked in the throat.
The man rushed outside, bent over to help the madam up, but then spotted Tanner.
“Oh shit.”
“Oh yeah,” Tanner said, and shot the man in the head.
The madam looked up at him, her eyes still glassy.
“You wouldn’t hurt a lady, would you?”
Tanner shot her between the eyes.
“No, not a lady,”
After pulling the body from the passenger seat, he got back behind the wheel and drove off.
CHAPTER 25 – Angels and bad boys
Hanna apologized for how rundown the motorhome was, but Merle and Earl told her that it was better than most of the places they had stayed at over the years.
That started a conversation about traveling, and the boys discovered that the girls were as well traveled as they were.
“Oh yeah, we’ve been all over the country. See, Savannah and me are singers and musicians, well, we were, but we got tired of the road and came home to settle down. We grew up right down the road in Kellyville.”
“Let’s hear you sing,” Earl said.
The girls looked bashful for a moment, but then began singing a familiar country song. They had good voices, and Merle and Earl were enraptured.
“You two should be on stage at the Grand Ole Opry.”
Hanna giggled.
“Oh Merle, you’re so easy to please.”
The four of them looked at each other silently, and then Hanna pointed back towards the house.
“It’s gettin’ late; we’ll see you boys in the mornin’,”
Savannah leaned over and kissed Earl on the cheek.
“Sweet dreams.”
“You too, Miss Cole.”
When the girls were gone, Earl turned to look at his brother.
“I think I’m fallin’ in love.”
“I don’t blame you, and let me tell ya, I like that Hanna too.”
“Merle, we have to think of some way to help them. I don’t mean give them the house, but we can’t send ‘em packin’ either.”
“Yeah, let me sleep on it.”
The boys lay down for the night, but were too excited to fall asleep right away.
“Merle, you awake?”
“Yeah,”
“They sang like angels, didn’t they?”
“Better,” Merle said.
***
In Tennessee, Susan’s other guest turned out to be Amy, the cop who had pulled Sammy over.
She was surprised to see Sammy, but also looked pleased.
Over dinner, they told the story of how they met, as Tanner and Sammy pretended to be strangers.
Tanner showed interest in her story about the drug dealing bikers, and when he asked her what Calabrese looked like, the description fit Bobby Volks.
“Calabrese sounds Italian,” Tanner remarked, and Susan shook her head.
“He has a slight accent, but it’s not Italian; I’d say it’s more Slavic.”
“I thought that meth would be a big city problem,” Sammy said. “How long has this been going on?”
“The meth dealing is new,” Amy said. “But the chief says that Calabrese has been a problem for years. He owns The Iron Horse; it’s a bar on the west end of town that used to be a small warehouse. Those bikers have taken the place over.”
“Calabrese wants my pub too,” Susan said. “He made me an offer just last week, but it wasn’t even half what the business is worth.”
After dinner, Sammy went out on the front porch to call Sophia while Amy went to see her boyfriend, and Tanner joined Susan in the kitchen for coffee.
“What sort of work do you do, Tom?”
“I’m a freelance researcher.”
Susan laughed.
“What’s so funny?”
“I had you pegged as a Federal Agent working undercover.”
“If I was, a researcher would be a good cover.”
“No fair, now I don’t know what to think.”
After another few sips of coffee, Susan asked a question.
“Were you recently divorced?”
“No, why?”
“I don’t know; you just have that look, like you’re a bit adrift.”
“I guess I am, but being around new scenery helps, and I’m enjoying your company.”
Susan was a widow whose husband had been a Marine, and the active-duty officer had died in a training accident three years earlier.
Tanner talked with her about books for a while, and found that Susan was well-read. She also spoke Spanish and French, and had taught both languages while a high school teacher,
“You must have been a young teacher.”
Susan smiled.
“I was twenty-eight, and that was eighteen years ago.”
“You do not look your age.”
“I stay busy and it keeps me young.”
They moved into the living room and Susan put on an old western, Winchester ’73 with Jimmy Stewart.
Five minutes into the movie, Tanner leaned over and kissed Susan. She kissed him back, and by the time Stewart got his man, Tanner had gotten his woman, and spent the rest of the night in Susan’s arms.
CHAPTER 26 – Oops!
Susan ran a hand over Tanner’s chest. They were both naked, and had just made love again after waking.
“My late husband had been wounded in combat twice, and he had less scars than you. Exactly what sort of research do you do?”
“The dangerous kind,”
Susan stared into his eyes.
“Your name is not really Tom Myers, is it?”
“Susan, if I was what you think I am, then I wouldn’t be able to answer that question, would I?”
She kissed him.
“You just did.”
She rose from the bed and Tanner enjoyed the sight of her nakedness. He had been with older women before and always found them less inhibited than their younger counterparts. Susan wasn’t without flaws, but she knew they didn’t define or detract from her overall beauty, and that self-confidence was arousing in its own right.
“I’m going to shower. Would you like to save water?”
Tanner answered her by standing, and when Susan looked down, she smiled.
“Whoever you are, you have great recuperative powers.”
Tanner placed his hands on her hips.
“You inspire me.”
Susan pushed him back onto the bed, and then climbed aboard.
“We’ll shower later.”
***
By the time they made it downstairs, Amy had already cooked breakfast, and she greeted the two of them with a knowing smile.
Sammy was seated at the table eating, and he sent Susan and Tanner a wave while his mouth was full of buttermilk biscuit.
“Amy, you’re a guest here, remember?”
“I don’t mind cooking sometimes, Susan, and you and I both know that you could charge me more than you do.”
Susan kissed Amy on the cheek.
“I like your company, and thank you for cooking.”
Susan’s phone rang while she was doing the dishes. As she listened to her caller, her expression grew worried.
“That was Millie; she opened up The Roundup today for the breakfast crowd. She told me that there are two bikers scaring away the customers.”
“What are they doing?” Amy asked.
“Nothing, they’re just parked out front on those bikes of theirs, but you know how most of them look, they’re scary looking.”
Amy grabbed her gun belt and strapped it on.
“I’ll come with you, Susan.”
“I’ll come along too,” Tanner said.
Susan spoke to Sammy.
“Oh Jack, there’s an older woman named Carrie who watches the B&B for me during the day. She should be here any minute, if you need something while I’m at bar.”
Sammy thanked her, but said that he’d tag along to get a look at the bikers. As they were leaving, he whispered to Tanner.
“Are we going to need the guns?”
“I doubt it,” Tanner whispered back. “There are only two of them.”
“Amy’s the law; maybe she’ll scare them off.”
Tanner nodded, but law or not, Amy was a small woman. She also had rules of conduct she had to adhere to, Tanner had no such restrictions.
***
Amy had left first, with Sammy following behind on his bike, and so when Tanner and Susan arrived, Amy was already talking to the bikers, as Sammy stood by and watched.
The bikers were a scruffy pair, with long dirty beards and wild hair. They both wore leather jackets even though the day was warm.
They ignored Amy after they pointed out to her that they were legally parked in front of meters, and had paid for their time. If they wanted to, they could sit there all day.
Tanner decided to make that option seem less appealing.
After telling Sammy to distract Amy, he walked past the men to the rear of the second bike and kicked it hard. The bike toppled over onto the sidewalk and cracked the mirror on that side.
As Amy spun around to see what had happened, Tanner smiled at the bikers.
“Oops, sorry guys; I must have bumped into it.”
Tanner was dressed in chinos and a blue polo shirt. He was clean-shaven, had the look of a tourist, and the bikers didn’t consider him a threat.
The man whose bike was damaged moved towards him, and as he drew near, he reached out for Tanner.
The TANNER Series - Books 7-9 (Tanner Box Set Book 3) Page 20
