The Tanner Series - Books 1-11: Tanner - The hit man with a heart

by Remington Kane

“Without me?”

  “No, you’ll be coming along to create a diversion, and then I’ll—”

  The rumble of motorcycles filled the air. The three bikes turned the corner and headed toward them. The rider of the first motorcycle was huge. After rounding the corner, the two men with him stayed back, and the lead rider pulled up in front of Susan’s house.

  “Be cool,” Tanner whispered, knowing what was coming next.

  And when the man removed his helmet, the face revealed belonged to Bobby Volks.

  339

  A Changed Man

  WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, ELEVEN YEARS EARLIER

  The morning after the attack on the brothel, Pullo looked impressed by Tanner’s news. They were in Pullo’s motel room.

  “You killed them all?”

  “I had to, Joe; otherwise, they would have kept coming.”

  “Yeah, they knew we were interested in Conti, so they staked out the shelter. But Tanner, you took a risk doing it alone.”

  “I’ve killed more than that by myself before. Did you learn anything new about Conti last night?”

  “Yeah, the man’s a saint now, or so it seems.”

  “What’s our next move?”

  “I want to confront him and see how he reacts.”

  “If he’s a fake running a con of some kind, he’ll run.”

  “Yeah, but he won’t get far.”

  “He walks to that shelter, so he must live nearby,” Tanner said.

  “He does, somewhere three or four blocks east of it, according to Cassidy.”

  “Do you want to go look for him now?”

  “Yeah, and maybe we can end things and head back to New York.”

  They left Pullo’s room, and Tanner stared over at the man guarding the door across the way. It was a different man than the first. He eyed Tanner and Pullo with suspicion.

  “Before we leave here, I want to know what’s in that room,” Tanner said.

  “I don’t blame you; they’ve got me curious too.”

  They were on their way to find Carlo Conti’s apartment when they spotted him walking down the street toward the shelter.

  Pullo circled around, and when Conti reached the next corner, Tanner approached Conti from the front, as Pullo came up behind him and spoke.

  “Carlo, Sam Giacconi sends his regards.”

  Carlo Conti was huge. Tanner thought he looked taller than the six-foot-six he was reported to be.

  The big man sighed. “I guess the Lord is calling me home now. But please, not here in the street, not where the children can see.”

  Tanner and Pullo exchanged glances. The man didn’t seem afraid to die but was only concerned that a child might view the violence. Before they could say another word, two teenage boys came out of the hallway of an apartment house, and one of them was carrying a knife.

  “Reverend Conti, are these two bothering you?”

  Conti’s face grew red with anger. “Hakeem, what are you doing with that knife?”

  The boy looked down at his hand, then pointed at Pullo and Tanner.

  “They look like trouble.”

  “There will be trouble if I catch you with a knife again.”

  “I’m sorry, Rev.”

  “All right then, but you and Randy go inside and eat breakfast; school starts in an hour.”

  Hakeem hung his head. “My moms is drunk again, Rev.”

  “Go down to the soup kitchen and tell Kelli I sent you, she’ll feed you boys,” Conti said, and then he looked at Pullo and Tanner. “And let her know that I might be late.”

  Hakeem handed Conti the knife and the big man broke the cheap blade in two and tossed the pieces down the sewer drain.

  “Could we take this back to my apartment? Boys like those two don’t need to see more violence.”

  “We’re just talking,” Pullo said. “We want to know what the con is.”

  Carlo Conti laughed, and the booming sound of it filled the air.

  “There’s no con, friend. The Carlo Conti they sent you to kill is gone. He died the day he killed Teresa Silva.”

  Pullo cocked his head. “That’s the woman you murdered, Tony Silva’s wife.”

  “Before she married Tony Silva, she was Teresa Bondi, and Teresa Bondi was the only woman I ever loved.”

  “I don’t get it,” Pullo said.

  “Teresa and I grew up in the same neighborhood and she was my girlfriend, but she came to despise my violent streak and she refused to marry me. That only made me meaner, although I never stopped loving her.”

  “Then why did you kill her?” Tanner asked.

  Conti looked skyward, as tears filled his eyes. “I was all coked up and full of hate that day. Tony Silva wasn’t even a hood, he was a jeweler, but the rumor was that he kept cash in the house. I broke in there and fired at the bed without even looking at them, and when… when I, oh God, Teresa. I didn’t even notice that it was Teresa, not until I had filled my pockets with money and jewelry from a lock box Silva kept on his dresser. I killed her, I killed the only person I ever loved, and as God is my witness, it drove me mad.”

  “Is that what you call this Father Flanagan act, madness?” Pullo said.

  Conti wiped the tears from his eyes. “Think what you want, but it’s no act.”

  A young black woman called out Conti’s name from across the street and waved with a smile. She then crossed over with her two little girls, and the kids ran to Conti. When the big man bent over, the little girls each kissed him on the cheek.

  “Good morning, Reverend; I wish I could stop and talk, but I have to drop these two off at daycare and then get to work.”

  “I understand, Gloria, but stop by the shelter sometime soon.”

  “I’ll do that, goodbye.”

  After the woman moved on with her children, Conti continued his story.

  “I crawled into a bottle and lived like a bum on the streets of Philly for five years before coming down here. That’s when I met a man who changed my life. He got me help, sobered me up, and he told me I could change. He said I didn’t have to stay who I was, that I could help others, and that I could be forgiven any sin.”

  “I guess he never met Sam Giacconi, because Sam is not the forgiving type.”

  Conti smiled at Pullo. “You can’t scare me, so don’t even try. If it’s my time, so be it.”

  After saying that, Conti walked off toward the clinic.

  Pullo stared at Tanner. “What the hell do you make of that?”

  “I think he’s for real.”

  “He’s still Carlo Conti, and Sam sent us here to kill him.”

  “No, Joe. Sam sent you here to kill Conti. He sent me here to back you up, and I will, no matter what call you make.”

  Pullo hung his head. “There’s only one call, Tanner. I do what Sam asks me to do.”

  “He asked you to kill an animal, a son of a bitch, and that’s not Conti, not anymore.”

  “We’ll watch him and see if he runs.”

  “And if he doesn’t?”

  Pullo grimaced and started walking. “The car is back this way.”

  Tanner followed without a word, then waited to see what Pullo would do.

  340

  The Man Himself

  “You’re Myers, hmm? I thought you’d be bigger.”

  “I hear that a lot,” Tanner said.

  Calabrese, who was really Bobby Volks, was a large man dressed all in leather. He wore a full beard that showed hints of gray, and his brown hair was as long as Sammy’s raven hair, but it looked greasy and uncombed. When his flinty eyes left Tanner, he stared over at Sammy and spoke to him with his gravelly voice.

  “Who are you?”

  “You can call me Sammy.”

  “Well, Sammy, why don’t you run along, kid?”

  “Why don’t you make me?”

  Tanner shot Sammy a warning look. This was neither the time nor place to kill Volks and provoking him might make him aggressive.

  Volks laughed at
Sammy. “I remember being your age. I thought I could kick anybody’s ass, but I couldn’t, kid, and neither can you.”

  “Why are you here?” Tanner said.

  “Let me introduce myself, I’m Johnny Calabrese. I’m always looking for good men, and anybody who could take on two of my guys and not get a scratch is a good man.”

  “The two at the restaurant this morning were trying to get by on ugly. It works with most people, but not with me.”

  “Goddamn if I don’t like you, Myers. And with those clean good looks you can go places my other guys can’t. I’ll pay you two grand a week, what do you say?”

  “Why don’t I come out to that bar of yours and talk? It’s somewhat public here, you know?”

  “I hear you, come by at ten.”

  “Sammy comes too.”

  “Is he old enough to drink?”

  “Does it matter?”

  “Not at my place. Hell, we had these two high school girls there last week. You should see the things they’ll do with the right incentive.”

  “Such as free meth?”

  Volks grinned. “We’re getting ahead of ourselves; we’ll talk business tonight.” Volks jammed his helmet on his hairy head, revved up his bike, and peeled away.

  Sammy spat on the ground. “If I had my gun, I would have killed him.”

  “And then you would be sitting in a jail cell. We do this smart or not at all. Do you understand me?”

  “I get you, but I don’t like it.”

  “You will, because in the end, Volks dies.”

  Susan came running out of the house. “Was that Calabrese?”

  “Yeah. He invited Jack and me to his bar.”

  “What? You’re not going, are you?”

  “I’m going, and I’ll be fine.”

  Susan looked back and forth at Tanner and Sammy. “Could you two stop playacting for a moment and at least tell me your real names?”

  Sammy stared at Tanner with a surprised expression. “You told her we were working together?”

  “I didn’t have to; Susan is smart. My name is Tanner, he’s Sammy.”

  Susan studied Tanner. “Yes, that name fits you better, and there’s no first name either, is there?”

  “He’s like Cher or Madonna,” Sammy said.

  Susan kissed Tanner on the cheek, then turned to go inside. “I have to get back to my food, and I’ll keep your secret.”

  They watched her go, then Tanner asked Sammy about Amy.

  “What about her? There’s nothing going on between us if that’s what you’re asking? I wouldn’t cheat on Sophia.”

  “Relax, that’s not what I meant. But I do want you to talk to Amy and find out more about the meth business, particularly about how difficult it’s been to discover how Calabrese is transporting it. I got the impression that the cops think it’s the bikers.”

  “They do; it’s why she was so rough on me when she pulled me over. But every time they check one of them, they’re clean. Amy said that before meth hit the streets, their biggest problem was homegrown pot.”

  Tanner stared at Sammy. “Tonight is just reconnaissance. I want to see the inside of that bar. Susan said that Volks lives there, and maybe that’s where we’ll kill him.”

  “What if it’s a trap and he just wants payback for what you did to his guys?”

  “I’ll change his mind.”

  “You’re a cocky bastard, Tanner.”

  “Yes, I hear that a lot too.”

  As they ate dinner, Tanner asked Amy about Calabrese. A concerned expression formed on her face.

  “Understand something, the man has been charged with no crimes and everything I tell you is just hearsay and guesswork.”

  “I’m not a judge and this isn’t a courtroom; I just want to get a better sense of the man.”

  “Why?” Amy said.

  Susan answered her. “Tom’s a researcher. I guess it just makes him naturally nosey.”

  “Oh, but you might not want to stick your nose into Calabrese’s business. It’s not healthy.”

  “He’s hurt someone?”

  “Nothing we can prove, but before Calabrese came to town the local thugs were three brothers named Dobbs. They ran the pot trade, some cocaine maybe, and definitely some girls. Allegedly, Calabrese tried to buy his way in and was refused, and no one has seen the Dobbs brothers since, and now we think Calabrese is running things.”

  “Tell them about Kevin Ryan, Amy,” Susan said.

  “Kevin Ryan was a town council member and a part-time preacher. He was determined to run Calabrese and his bikers out of town and he would badmouth them to everyone. One day after church, Mr. Ryan just disappeared.”

  “Like the Dobbs brothers disappeared?” Sammy said.

  “There have been others too; it seems that Calabrese doesn’t like to be criticized,” Susan said.

  “What about Garrett Bates?” Tanner asked. “He seems to be going after Calabrese in that paper of his.”

  Amy lit up in a smile. “He’s a brave man, Mr. Bates is. The chief has asked all of us deputies to watch out for him.”

  “I see,” Tanner said.

  When it was time for him to visit Calabrese, Susan kissed Tanner goodbye.

  “Try not to acquire any new scars, okay?”

  “Don’t wait up; I don’t know how long this might take.”

  “I won’t be able to sleep until you get back, and you’ll find me in your bed.”

  “Talk about in-room amenities.”

  Susan laughed, then grew serious. “Be safe, Tanner.”

  “Count on it.”

  As they were driving away, Sammy made an observation. “Susan really likes you, and she’s a good woman.”

  “That she is,” Tanner said, and they went off to see Bobby Volks.

  341

  The Offer Of A Lifetime

  After eating a late dinner, Savannah brought out a Twister mat, and she, Earl, Hanna, and Merle played the game until they collapsed on top of each other in a pile, while laughing.

  The two couples then sat around talking, and the girls asked about New York. When they learned that Merle and Earl had driven for Johnny Rossetti, they seemed impressed.

  “He was famous,” Hanna said. “I remember hearin’ about him.”

  Earl sniffled. “I liked him a lot. He let us both drive him around even though he only needed one chauffeur.”

  “And you say your sister is marryin’ this other fella, Joe?”

  “Yeah, and he’s not as nice as Johnny was, but he treats Laurel Lee like a queen, and that’s all that matters,” Merle said.

  “Hanna and me went to New York about five years ago, and Lordy was it ever a busy place. I couldn’t live there, not for always. I like farm life better.”

  “Merle,” Hanna said. “Why did you and Earl leave here?”

  “We were gonna get rich, but instead, we just drifted around.”

  “You could stay here, for a while at least.”

  Merle looked over at his brother. “What do you think, Earl?”

  Earl reached over and took Savannah’s hand. “I can’t think of anywhere else I’d rather be.”

  Hanna smiled. “All righty then.”

  The sound of a car came from outside, prompting them to all rise and look out the window. It was the chief of police; he was dressed in civilian clothes and was stepping out of a blue SUV. There was a man with him; the man wore a suit and carried a laptop case.

  They strolled out onto the porch and Hanna greeted the men.

  “Hey there, Chief, is somethin’ up?”

  The chief smiled and gestured at the other man, who was trim, with a scalp going bald in the middle.

  “Hi folks, sorry to call so late, but it’s good news. This here is Mr. Wilson. He represents some people that would like to buy the farm from you.”

  “Buy it? How much?” Merle said.

  Mr. Wilson mentioned a number that made the Carter brothers and Cole sisters gape at him in surprise.
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  “That’s a lot of money,” Savannah said.

  “The people I represent are looking to build new housing and a shopping center. This is a good area for the project.”

  Hanna shook her head. “Some folks tried that last year. They bought up that swampland to the north and took to drainin’ it, but it cost more than they thought. By the time they got the swamp drained, they wound up goin’ broke.”

  Wilson smiled. “I’m well aware of that, because I acquired that land for a song after they did all the work. They quit too early because they ran out of financial backing, but a little more effort will make that parcel viable. If we add your farm to it, we’ll be able to proceed right away.”

  Wilson walked up the steps and handed out cards with the amount he was willing to pay written on the back. “Think about it for a day or two and then let me know.”

  Hanna took a card and smiled at Wilson. “Would you like to come inside and have some iced tea or coffee?”

  “No ma’am, but thank you. I’ve taken enough of your time.”

  They all said goodnight to Wilson and the chief, and then stood looking at each other.

  “Merle, are you gonna sell?” Hanna asked.

  “I don’t know, but if we did, we could give you back all the money you lost and still have a bundle.”

  “But then we’d have no farm and no place to live,” Savannah said.

  Merle looked at his brother. “What do you think?”

  “I think we should sleep on it, and besides, we gotta call Laurel Lee and ask her about it too.”

  “Yeah,” Merle said.

  Hanna looked sad as she opened the screen door, but then she looked back at Merle.

  “You would really give us our money back?”

  “Sure, it would be fair with all the work you did here.”

  Hanna let the screen door shut and went to Merle. “You’re a good man, do you know that?”

  Merle thought about it a second and said, “No.”

  Hanna laughed as she took Merle’s hand. “No more sleeping in the RV for you.”