“So I get the money back…” Blemmy’s pudgy face screwed up. “But I lose a major attraction… well, I guess I ought to just cut my losses—”
Verona wrapped an arm around Blemmy’s shoulder. He pulled him close, like a lover. “You ought to cut something, buddy,” he said. “But not your losses. Let me tell you, Blemmy-boy, everyone in the Outfit thinks of you as weak. You ain’t even a paisan, so that’s one knock against you. But you roll over on this, and everyone’ll know you’re a woman. Come on, Blemmy. Let me have a crack at the lounge crooner. I’ll have him singing a different tune and everyone will know how tough you are.”
I could tell right away that it was working. Blemmy’s eyes got dark. “Yeah,” he said. “I get stiffed a lot. By unions, by wiseguys – hell, by everybody! Maybe after I have a guy whacked, people will think twice.” He was nodding to himself, getting used to the idea. He turned to me. “We’ll all go,” he said. “Let’s dangle. We’ll follow your car.”
“I refuse to be part of such cold-blooded murder!” Weatherby cried. He turned away, but I grabbed his shoulder. If he pissed off Blemmy and Verona now, he, his sister and even Chad would pay the price.
“We’ll work something out,” I whispered. “We’ll think of something.”
“Like what?” Chad asked, his arms folded. “You talk real big, Candle – but you’re just some thug, I think. And you’re more interested in money than doing the right thing. Weatherby should stay with me and Selena, and not you.”
I would’ve slugged Chad, but Selena shook her head. “That’s not true,” she said. She looked sadly at the mob hitmen. “Come on. It doesn’t look like we have much of a choice.” She headed out into the hall, and we all followed her.
We left the Royal Crown Lounge and drove into the cold night. The road to Crystal Grove was empty, and there was only my auto, followed by two cars packed with wiseguys and heaters. We rolled down that narrow band of road, passing through the trees until we reached our destination. Blemmy gave a c-note to the ranger in the guard house, and we all got in after hours.
Then, it was just a matter of finding the spot where Gabriel’s clothes were and following those three-clawed footprints. Weatherby, Chad, Selena and I walked first, with Blemmy close behind, and then the wiseguys bringing up the rear. I didn’t doubt for one second that Verona would try and stab me in the back. He blamed me for ruining his face, his career and his sanity. He wanted me dead, tortured and ruined, and he was only biding his time.
The winding forest path led us past the changing trees and then to the river bank in the Lizard World. The mob guys got nervous, raising their guns into the seething jungle, and staring and pointing at the prehistoric animals that scattered when we approached. Tommy Gabriel was sitting on a rock at the water’s edge, dipping his clawed feet in the water. His dino pals had left him alone. I regretted having him send them away.
He sprang up and looked at us. “Blemmy,” he said, hurrying to the side of his employer. “Bet you never expected to see me like this, eh?” He carried the suitcase in his hand and held it up. “Here you are, Mr. Blemmy. And I was thinking – why don’t I come back to work for you? This world’s no place for me. I’ll let you withhold pay for me, for a year or two, in exchange, and to say sorry for everything. How’s that sound?”
I looked at Blemmy. He looked at Verona. I could tell the club owner wanted to agree. His eyes got big and sad, staring at Gabriel. “Uh, sure, Tommy. I guess that’ll w-work.” Ben Blemmy realized that he didn’t want to kill anybody. But Joey Verona was a different story.
He pulled out a pair of long-barreled automatics and shot Blemmy in the back. The club owner wheezed and fell forward. Verona swung his pistols around to face Gabriel as Blemmy writhed on the mossy ground.
“Sorry, lizard boy,” Verona muttered. “But I’m afraid tonight ain’t ‘the night for love,’ as your song goes.” He turned back to his gangsters as I reached for my guns. “What are you waiting for?” he asked. “Take Candle and Stein alive!”
A big bruiser came toward me, hands outstretched. I drew my automatics and shot him in the shoulder, knocking him back against a tree. Before his body hit the ground, two mobsters grabbed my hands. My pistols hit the dirt. I slipped a hand free and slugged the guy on my right, hard in the chin, knocking him onto the dirt. I used my free hand to grab the Ka-Bar from my boot. The guy on my left got the blade in his throat, in one end and out the other. He fell down, grabbing his neck as he bled out.
Verona sighed. “You dumb mooks!” he shouted. “You’re doing it wrong.” He grabbed Weatherby’s shoulder and pulled the kid close to him. He put his pistol right to the boy’s head. Weatherby tried to grab his revolver, and Verona cracked a pistol handle against his arm and made him drop it. Selena screamed at her baby brother’s pain. Verona faced me. “Come on, Morty. Drop the shiv or I’ll kill him slow.”
I knew Verona would kill him, me, Selena and Chad slow anyway. But I couldn’t stand to see Weatherby hurt. There was nothing I could do. I dropped the knife.
Joey Verona holstered a pistol and grabbed my knife and guns, pushing them aside. He motioned with his finger, forcing me to go onto my knees, and then pushed Weatherby next to me. Selena ran to her brother, wrapping him in her arms. Chad was forced down, staying close to them – and right near a sharp gray rock, poking up from the dirt.
My eyes met his. He gave me a tiny nod. Joey Verona walked around us, his mobsters standing in a semi-circle with their guns drawn. Tommy Gabriel crouched over Blemmy, holding up his head. Blemmy wasn’t shot too bad and he might make it – but the chances of any us surviving were getting pretty slim.
“Well, well, isn’t this nice?” Verona asked. “Here we all are. I got a ton of guns on Mort Candle, and I’m about to start getting me some vengeance. I can’t remember when I’ve been this happy! Hell, I actually don’t want it to end! I want to keep Morty alive for as long as I can!” He swung his boot into my chest, knocking me hard onto the dirt. “Or maybe not. Maybe I ought to kill him, right now.”
I glared up at him, feeling pain racing through my body. “You’re an idiot,” I said. “You’ve loused up an Outfit operation, and doomed yourself. Every mob boss in the country will have you on their list of mugs to be bumped off.”
“I can spin this however I want. It’s not like there’s gonna be any witnesses. I’ll say you and Gabriel and Blemmy were in on it together, and I had to kill you all.” Joey Verona touched his face, resting his palm on the blemished skin. “Or maybe they won’t believe me. You know, I really don’t care anymore. In fact, there’s only one thing that’s got me interested – how to cause you the most pain.”
He pressed the muzzle of the pistol to my forehead. I felt the cold steel ring right above my eyes. I wasn’t scared. He wouldn’t let me off that easily. Instead, Joey Verona drew a switchblade from his coat and snapped it open. “But what to do, what to do? Should I torture you? Mess your face up? Gut you? Melt your eyeballs with a lighter and crush your skull with my shoes? Oh, that’s just for starters. But first, I gotta do something that’ll really get you steamed.”
Then his eyes went to my friends. I felt something cold growing inside of me, reaching out from my heart, through my veins to frost my whole body. I saw that Verona was looking at Selena. “You’re Stein’s sister?” he asked. “Yeah. That must be it. Let’s start with you.”
Weatherby screamed as Verona pulled Selena away from him. He slammed Selena against a tree on the riverbank, making her cry out. She bit her lip and didn’t say anything, even as Joey slapped her face, and held the switchblade close to her eye.
“Selena! God, don’t hurt her!” Weatherby tried to run to her, springing up from the grass and dashing to Verona. Two of the mobsters grabbed him and held him back, slugging him in the chest for his trouble. Chad stayed on the ground, his hand carefully wrapped around the rock. If he moved, he’d be lucky to get a bullet through the skull and he knew it. But he kept quietly working on that rock anyway, br
eathing slowly as he heard Selena whimper.
“You’re such a pretty girl,” Verona told her, pulling himself closer and closer to Selena. “You would’ve liked me. You know, before I got left with a bunch of zombies and hit with a nuclear bomb. All the girls liked me.”
“I assure you, sir,” Selena muttered. “Even if you were as handsome as the devil, I would never feel affection for you.”
Her words made Joey Verona take a step back. “Mouthy little slut,” he hissed, pulling back his switchblade. “Let’s make you ugly.”
That’s when Chad moved. I guessed the mob boys figured he was nothing more than some rich kid beatnik pansy – like I did – because they didn’t pay much attention to him. But he grabbed that rock, stood up and charged Verona. The gangsters tried to stop him. A torpedo’s bullet whistled past his shoulder. But he ran to Joey Verona, and swung his rock into the hitman’s scared face.
Verona fell back, and Chad grabbed Selena’s arm and pulled her away. I stood up, diving for my pistols and blade. I sheathed the knife and came up shooting, killing the two gangsters holding onto Weatherby. Verona was screaming as he held his bleeding face, and Tommy Gabriel sprung up, holding onto Blemmy.
“Move!” I shouted, picking a random direction of the jungle and making a mad dash. I helped Weatherby along, but he was trying to reach his sister. Chad and Selena stayed together, joining us as Blemmy and Gabriel did the same. Blemmy could walk a little, and surefooted Gabriel helped him along.
We hurried away into the jungle, with mob bullets burning through the air behind us. They tore bark off trees and shredded vines and leaves. Dinosaurs that could fly and little ones the size of rodents scurried away, terrified by the sudden intrusion. I pounded through the jungle until my lungs burned and my feet ached. Weatherby fared even worse. Terrified and hurt, the poor kid finally came to a stop when we neared the sheer edge of a roaring river.
I looked at the water and then listened for the sound of Verona and his goons, crashing through the jungle like hunting beasts. There was no way we could ford the river in time. I turned to Gabriel. “This is your world, Gabriel. You got a solution?”
“I-I could get help.” Tommy Gabriel set Blemmy down. His boss collapsed onto the grass, holding his chest. He wouldn’t last long. But then again, neither would we. Gabriel nodded, reassuring himself. “Yeah. I could dash off, find some of my subjects and get them over here. But it might take some time.”
I raised my automatics. “I’ll buy you some. Get moving.”
He hurried off without another word and dashed into the jungle, his long scaly legs carrying him swiftly away. I looked at Selena, Chad and Weatherby. I noticed that Chad had grabbed the kid’s revolver as we ran. He sheepishly handed it back to Weatherby, but I shook my head. “Better let the beatnik have it, kiddo. I bet he’s a better shot than you.”
“True,” Weatherby said. He stayed close to Selena, not letting go of her. “You saved her, Chad. You risked your life to save my sister. And you continue to do so, by staying to defend us.”
Chad shrugged. “I love her, little man,” he said simply. “I’d do anything for her.”
I saw Selena smile, still holding close to Weatherby. I looked at Chad. “Well, Chad, get ready to do some killing,” I said, pointing to some trees near the riverbank. “Take cover there. Wait for my signal.” I moved over, taking the tree furthest away from the river – and closest to Verona’s approaching gunmen.
It didn’t take long for them to show up. I leveled my two pistols at the woods, and then some lean gangster with a tommy gun wandered into my sights. I fired. It gave away our position, but dropped him in a single shot. I dove for his fallen sub-gun, as Chad covered me, cracking away with his revolver. He didn’t hit anything, but he kept Verona’s men back and gave me the time I needed to get the Thompson. My boots kicked up jungle mud as I ran, and then I dove down, grabbed the tommy gun and opened fire.
It chattered away, the blaze of sudden gunfire illuminating primordial darkness. The gangsters took cover and started throwing lead back. A bullet crossed my leg, knocking me hard to the ground. I felt the pain rush up my leg, burning like fire had slipped into my veins. I started crawling to the shelter of the tree, hearing Chad’s revolver blaze away again.
Verona was shouting above the gunfire. “Shoot straight, you numbskulls! You useless bums! If you don’t kill him, I’ll kill you!” He was seeing his perfect vengeance drift away, and it made him angry. Now he was a cornered animal, losing patience as he lost his mind.
For a few more seconds, we all crouched behind cover and shot at each other. I reloaded my pistols, swiftly exchanging clips and then returning the fire. I had done this before, many times in the forests and fields of France and Belgium and Germany. But I always had competent soldiers backing me up. Now, I had Weatherby, Selena and Chad.
Just after I reloaded, things went wrong. “I’m out!” Chad cried, and I cursed that he revealed it.
I peered out from behind my cover and saw the gangsters making a wild charge, all at once, firing wildly as they ran. Verona ran behind them. “Rush them!” he shouted. “Rush them and kill them all! Take Candle alive! Let me finish him!” His own long-barreled pistols were blazing in his hands, and then his eyes met mine and I didn’t think it was possible to squeeze so much hatred into a single glance.
I left cover, opening fire with both automatics. I emptied the clips, even as a bullet scraped my cheek, stinging like a bee and drawing blood. Another bullet took a chunk of flesh out of my arm, and I nearly dropped my pistol. They were getting closer, with Joey Verona staying behind, ready to pick me off while his men took my bullets. I cursed. Weatherby, Selena, and even Chad – they were all the family I had. And I was going to get them killed.
Then I heard a low roar come from behind me. I thought it was a gunshot and turned around, wondering how the gangsters had managed to sneak behind us. But it wasn’t a gun. It was a lizard, bigger than an elephant, standing on two lean legs, with a long tail, a wide mouth full of teeth like Bowie knives and tiny arms that seemed delicate enough to play a piano. The creature had dark green scales, and let out another roar that echoed through the jungle like thunder. You didn’t have to be a scientist to know that this was the top predator, the big boss of Lizard World.
Tommy Gabriel was riding on its back. The lounge singer held tightly to reins that wrapped around the dinosaur’s neck, and he turned it in the direction of Verona’s trouble boys, giving it a whack on the side with a long riding crop. The dinosaur turned on them, pouncing with its mouth open. It reached down and grabbed a gangster, biting the man in half like a kid munching on candy.
The gangsters didn’t last long. Some of them stood their ground and opened fire. They got ripped apart by the dino’s teeth, crushed under its clawed feet, or bashed by its tail. The others took off and ran. I left my cover, looking for Verona. This was a chance to finish him.
But he was already turning to run. He looked back at me and gave me a little grin. “Gotta go, Morty!” he called. “But I’ll remember the lady. I’ll remember how you care for Weatherby. Newsflash, big man – long as I’m alive, they’re not safe.” Then he took off for the jungle. Lizard World was a primordial hell of ancient monsters. I had no doubt Verona would survive in it – and find his way back.
Gabriel finished his rampage and reigned in his dinosaur. He patted its nose and slid off, landing nimbly before me, Selena and Weatherby. Chad came out of his hiding place, helping Ben Blemmy along. We all stood there in the jungle, beaten to hell, terrified, and in an unknown world. But we were together and we were safe.
Blemmy looked up at Tommy Gabriel. “You saved my life…” he said, coughing as he put a hand over his chest. “Your debts are cleared, kid. You can stay here. Come back to work. Whatever you want.”
“Thanks, boss.” Gabriel pointed into the jungle. “Come on. I know the way back to the portal to Crystal Grove.”
“You’ll stay in our world?” Selena asked, as w
e started down the path, helping Blemmy along.
“Sure,” he said. “I may be a prince in the Lizard World, but I’ve got friends and a career and stuff I care about in the human world. I think I’d rather stick with the people I know and care for, no matter how much they annoy me, instead of going off to be some prince out here.” He paused, putting a clawed finger on his chin. “Know what I mean?”
I nodded. “Yeah,” I said. “I think I do.”
We left Lizard World and got Blemmy to a hospital. He managed to stay conscious just long enough to pay me and Weatherby, right out of the suitcase of stolen cash that Tommy Gabriel had carried along. Gabriel had put his silver suit and trench coat on, so he did a decent job of blending in with a human crowd. He decided to head back to the Royal Crown Lounge, and get back to his room – and his mask. We said our goodbyes and then got a room at a nearby motel for the rest of the night.
Selena looked over my wounds in the room, carefully bandaging every cut. Weatherby sat at the small coffee table, across from Chad. The beatnik had been real quiet, and after Selena finished her work and sat next to him, he looked up.
“All right,” Chad said. “I’m sorry, but I gotta know – what’s the verdict?”
I shrugged. “You saved Selena’s life – and my own. You’re a little pink, not too bright, and you’re greatest aspiration is to be poor and hip. But I guess you’re okay in my book.”
“Thanks,” Chad replied with a grin. “But I wasn’t really talking to you, Mr. Candle.”
Weatherby stood up. “Perhaps I might agree with some of Mort’s observations, Mr. Albright. But my sister loves you. That is undeniable. And your love for her is equally obvious. You appear to be a good man, and a fine companion of my sister.” He stood in front of Chad, and held out his arms. “Welcome to the Stein Family.”
Chad embraced him. “Thanks, little man. I knew we were gonna be pals.”
I watched Weatherby. He was watching Selena. She was smiling at him. The kid would learn to like Chad, for the sake of his sister, but maybe that wouldn’t be so hard. With Chad’s arrival, Weatherby and Selena weren’t nearly so alone in the world. And like it or not, neither was I.
The Stein & Candle Detective Agency, Vol. 3: Red Reunion (The Stein & Candle Detective Agency #3) Page 9
