by HD Smith
“You three,” Hill said to the Tweedles and the Russian, “wait outside. Townsend stays.”
“Fair enough,” Kalen said, then waited for the others to clear the room.
“Now. What’s this about?” Hill asked.
“I’ve been hearing rumors, and I don’t like what I’m hearing.”
Hill raised one of his eyebrows. “What kind of rumors?”
“The kind that involve Quinn and Chicago.” Kalen said.
Chicago ... the guy that rolled on Quinn mentioned Chicago, Matty remembered.
Hill didn’t say anything, he just stared as if waiting for Kalen to continue.
Kalen’s hands came up, then he stilled as if he’d caught himself fidgeting. Relaxing his arms, he added, “I think Quinn’s being compromised by outside influences.”
Townsend eyed Mr. Hill, but Hill didn’t react. “What makes you think that?” Hill asked, calmly.
Kalen ran his hand through his hair, giving up any pretense that he wasn’t nervous or scared. “I’ve been hearing a lot lately about some guy named Carter, but I don’t know no guy named Carter. There seems to be a lot I don’t know lately.”
Lenny said Carter was from Chicago.
Hill pursed his lips as if thinking. “You’re Quinn’s top man. How do you not know what’s going on?”
Kalen jutted his chin toward Townsend. “Does he know everything that you know? Or does he know what you want him to know?”
Hill seemed to consider that, then said, “What do you want from me?”
“Nothing. I just want you to be aware of the situation,” Kalen said. “I can’t exactly go to Parrish. Quinn would find out. But I’m planning to keep my eyes open. I just want to know someone will listen if I have information to share.”
“Not very loyal behavior.” Hill stated, and Matty agreed.
Kalen shook his head. “Let’s just say I don’t think Quinn has my best interest in mind, and if he’s trying to take control, he’s not planning to include me,” Kalen paused, “and my loyalty is to the family first.”
Hill’s lip curled up on one side. “So you want me to tell Parrish that you have decided to be our eyes and ears in Quinn’s organization.”
“That’s right.”
Matty didn’t like where this was going, but maybe it was the only way to find the real culprit. Of course Matty wasn’t sure he’d trust a man willing to sell out his boss.
“Why should I believe you?” Hill asked.
Kalen shrugged. “You shouldn’t. But the way I see it you have no choice. If Quinn is doing what I think he’s doing, we could both be out of a job, or worse.” Kalen looked at Townsend. “You remember, five years back, all the shit goin’ down. It was bad. I don’t want that again.” Kalen looked back at Hill. “I don’t want to die. You can count on that.”
Hill paused for a minute. He brought his steepled fingers to his lips, studying Kalen, then nodded. “All right, I’ll tell Parrish you dropped by, but don’t screw up.”
Kalen straightened, as if offended, then visibly relaxed and gave a quick head nod. “But I’m only talking to you. Parrish will have to hear it second hand.”
Hill nodded.
“Don’t spread it around that I was here,” Kalen said, “and make sure your goons don’t say anything.”
Townsend stiffened. “You should be more worried about your people. We have everything under control here.”
Kalen left without saying another word. Matty stayed focused on the room below. This was why the hideout was so awesome. He actually got to hear what Mr. Hill and Mr. Townsend thought—not just what they were willing to say in front of him.
“Do you trust him?” Townsend asked.
Mr. Hill chuckled, shaking his head. “Hell no. I think he’s playing both sides, but we might get some information out of him. I’ll let Parrish make the final call.”
“Do we need the car?”
“Yeah, this message needs to be delivered in person. I want to see Parrish’s face when I tell him Kalen wants to roll over on Quinn.”
Mr. Townsend’s lips turned up in a wicked smile. “I’ll get Reno.”
“No,” Hill said, stopping him. “Just you and me for this one.”
Matty waited while the men left, keeping as quiet as possible. Finally, after hearing a car start and pull away, he whispered. “That sounds serious.”
“Hell yeah,” Juli whispered back, “What do you think Parrish will say?”
Matty shrugged. “Let’s get out of here.”
~#~
Nothing new happened for days. Matty never heard anything specifically discussed about Kalen’s visit or what Parrish said when Hill and Townsend delivered the news. It was business as usual as far as Matty could tell.
Matty and Juli were hanging out at the hideout watching the activity in the back room. It was pretty dead today and Matty was getting bored. He and Juli were waiting for Ronny and Lenny to get there, or he would have already suggested they leave. Matty’s attention was piqued when Townsend answered the phone, then checked to make sure his gun was loaded.
“That was Kalen,” Townsend said, holstering his weapon. “He said the guys that jumped Matty are at the Peach.”
Matty’s eyebrows rose. He glanced at Juli, who mouthed, “Awesome!”
Hill put down the paperwork he’d been reviewing. “How does he know?”
“Didn’t say,” Townsend replied.
“Reno,” Hill barked, getting the drivers attention.
“Yeah, boss.”
“Get down to the Peach—the two guys that jumped Matty have been spotted there.”
Townsend eyed the Tweedles. “You two go with him.”
They nodded and followed Reno out the back.
Turning to Townsend, Hill said, “Find Matty and Julian, we’ll need them to ID the men.”
Matty’s eyes widened. Oh, crap, they couldn’t be found here.
Juli must have been thinking the same thing. “We better head over to Demarko’s—that’s where they’ll look first,” he whispered.
Matty nodded.
Ten minutes later Mr. Townsend pulled up to the curb outside Demarko’s Pizza. He and Juli were sitting at their usual table drinking a soda.
“Julian, Matty,” Mr. Townsend called from the car, “Hill needs to see you at the pub.”
“What’s up?” Matty asked as he climbed into the back seat.
“We need you to ID the guys that jumped you.”
“You caught em?” Juli asked.
“We’ll see,” Townsend answered.
The back room was empty except for Mr. Hill when Townsend ushered Matty and Juli in through the back door. Mr. Townsend motioned for them to sit at the card table, then went over to talk with Mr. Hill.
Juli picked up the deck of cards. “Rummy?”
Matty shrugged. “Why not.”
They had just started their second game when Matty heard the screech of tires outside. His heart beat a little faster, as the door swung open. Reno and the Tweedles came busting through with two very unwilling companions.
“What’s goin’ on man? We didn’t do nothin’ to you,” Buzz Cut said with a lazy slurred drawl. He sounded stoned.
His clothes had changed. He was now wearing faded jeans and a torn rock band t-shirt. Nothing like the overdone wannabe poser he’d been before. Of course, he was still wearing the red cowboy boots. Buzz Cut struggled to get free from one of the Tweedles, but he wasn’t going anywhere.
Knife Guy, the stockier of the two, was being held by his long dark hair. The Tweedle holding him had his arm wrenched back, which made him scream like a little girl as he was manhandled into the back room.
“Take it easy, or I’m going to break your arm,” Tweedle number one said to Buzz Cut.
The Tweedles forced the two into the straight back chairs that were waiting in the middle of the room. Mr. Townsend and Reno cuffed each man to his chair while the Tweedles held them in place. Once they were secure, everyone stepped back, watching th
e two men struggle a bit against their cuffs, until they realized they weren’t going anywhere. The Tweedles cracked their knuckles and stretched their necks from side to side like they were getting ready to box.
Mr. Hill waited patiently for the two to settle down, then looked at Matty. “Do these two look familiar? Did they jump you and take the package?”
“Yes sir,” Matty said.
“The kid’s lying, man. We never seen him before,” Buzz Cut argued.
“It’s them. I’m sure,” Matty confirmed.
“It’s definitely them,” Juli added. “Who else would wear red cowboy boots?”
The Tweedles chuckled.
Mr. Townsend stepped up in front of the bound men. “Matty, Julian, you two get out of here—go home.”
Matty and Juli left the back room, but they didn’t go home. As soon as they were outside, Matty looked at Juli and cocked his head toward the hideout. Juli nodded.
Matty had expected to find Ronny and Lenny on the roof waiting for them, but they still weren’t there.
Unlike the last guy Hill’s men had strapped to one of the interrogation chairs, these two were sticking to the Carter story. They never once mentioned Quinn.
Matty watched, wincing once or twice as the Tweedles pounded the crap out of those two. “I guess we now know why they were hired,” Matty muttered.
It wasn’t long before it was obvious the two didn’t have anything else to say. Mr. Hill had the Tweedles take them away, then he made a call.
“It’s Hill. We just took care of that problem you mentioned.”
Must be Kalen, Matty realized.
“No,” Hill continued, “they didn’t give up Quinn’s name. Where’d you find these guys?”
A pause, while Kalen spoke.
Hill stood, pacing as far as the phone cord would allow. “Did you see them talking to Quinn?” Hill’s voice raised. “So you don’t know if they were taking their orders from Quinn or not? Do you think Carter had something to do with it?”
Hill shook his head at Townsend as the person on the other end spoke.
“Let me know if you hear anything. I’ll update Parrish.” Hill hung up the phone.
“What does Kalen know?” Townsend immediately asked.
Hill sighed. “Not much. He said the two had been hanging around for a few weeks, but he never saw them talking to Quinn.”
“What do you think this means?”
Hill shrugged. “Hell if I know.”
Matty heard someone coming up the stairs. He looked back, hoping it was just Ronny and Lenny. He breathed easier when he saw Lenny coming through the door.
“Where have you guys been?” Lenny asked quietly.
Matty push off the ground and motioned for everyone to follow him back downstairs. Once on the ground floor, he slid out the crate he’d salvaged from the dumpster behind the pub and sat down. Ronny leaned against the empty shelves along the wall, and Juli snagged the stool with the wobbly leg—another find from the dumpster.
Lenny hopped up on the counter, his usual spot. “Where were you guys?”
Matty answered. “We were here earlier waiting on you guys, but we had to leave.”
“Hill found the two that jumped us,” Juli said. “We had to leave so they could find us and bring us down to the pub.”
“How’d they find the guys that jumped you?” Ronny asked.
“Kalen,” Matty and Juli both answered.
Lenny pulled his right foot up to retie his shoe laces. “How did he find out?”
Juli shrugged. “We don’t know.”
Ronny straightened. “So that’s who was in the car. The two guys with the Russian, they were the ones that jumped you?”
Matty shook his head. “No, man. It couldn’t have been. Reno and the Tweedles picked them up. We haven’t seen the Russian all day.”
Lenny looked at Ronny, brows furrowed. “When did you see the Russian?”
“I don’t know. Earlier. Before I ran into you.”
“What did the two guys with the Russian look like?” Juli asked. “Have you seen them before?”
Ronny held up his hands, as if his brother was interrogating him. “I didn’t really get a good look. I just noticed that the Russian was driving two guys toward the city.”
Matty wondered if the Russian had been given that job before they’d made it to the hideout. Maybe Hill had tasked the Russian with a job in the city—but what if he didn’t? “Should we tell Hill?”
Ronny shook his head. In a voice a little higher pitched than normal, he said, “I don’t want to tell Mr. Hill that. The guy was just driving—”
“With two guys you didn’t recognize, bro—Dad said to keep an eye out.”
“Come on Juli, you want me to tell dad and Mr. Hill what I saw when I don’t really know what I saw. It’s probably nothing.”
“We should at least keep our eye on the Russian. We can tell dad and Mr. Hill if he does anything else. Agreed?”
Everyone nodded. Mr. Hill had told Matty to keep an eye out, but there was no reason to jump the gun and cry wolf if it was nothing. The Russian could have been driving two people around that had nothing to do with anything, but Matty agreed with Juli, they couldn’t ignore it completely.
“Okay, we’ll follow him around for a few days,” Juli said. “If nothing comes up we drop it.”
Everyone agreed.
Chapter 7
2015
Lenny asked the best finder in the business, Ruben Walsh, to discover everything he could about Matthew Larson. He was waiting impatiently for the information when the old desk phone in the back room rang. He’d kept everything exactly like it was when his father ran the business—including the old rotary-dial monstrosity, which looked more like a museum exhibit than a working telephone.
“Yeah, this is Hill,” Lenny answered.
“This is Walsh. I have the information you requested.”
“What did you find out?”
“Everything.”
Lenny closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose—everything included the one thing he vowed never to speak of, think of, or discuss ever again.
“How much do you want?” Lenny asked, praying Walsh wasn’t planning to be too greedy.
“Ten thousand dollars.”
“Ten-K? This is normally a two-K job,” Lenny said, hoping to make it sound like he had nothing to hide.
Walsh chuckled. “The other eight-thousand is to forget what I know about Matthew Larson. Unless, of course, you’d prefer I not forget what I know, Mr. Hill.”
Lenny clenched his jaw, grinding his teeth together. He wasn’t sure how Walsh discovered the one thing Lenny had buried so deep it shouldn’t have found the light of day ever—the thing he refused to even think about.
“Fine, but how do I know you have the information I need?”
“In good faith I’ll provide a teaser—most of which you could have acquired for twenty-nine ninety-nine via an online background search had you bothered. Again, not what you’re paying me to forget.” Clearing his throat, Walsh began, “Thirty years ago Matty Dunmore and his mother moved to Florida, where Audrey met and married a man named Peter Larson. Peter adopted Matthew and gave him his last name. Peter and Audrey died in a car crash three years ago. Matthew is married to Faith Larson, and they have one son, Pete, who is twelve years old. I assume the child was named after Matthew’s adoptive father, but that’s just a guess. Matthew and a man named Jay Baxter started Larson & Baxter Consulting sixteen years ago. It is a well-established successful company on the cusp of major growth. Larson is worth about four million dollars.” Walsh took a breath before continuing. “I’ll need payment if you want the rest. Once I’ve confirmed the funds have been transferred, I’ll send you a link with download instructions, and forget we ever had this conversation.”
“Where does he live now?” Lenny asked.
“He still lives in Florida. The address will be in the download. I expect the money within the hou
r, or I’ll sell this file to the highest bidder.”
“Is that a threat?” Lenny asked, voice low.
“No, it’s encouragement not to dawdle,” Walsh said, then hung up.
Lenny slammed the phone back on the cradle. He drummed his fingers on the desk—the same desk his father had used. Looking around, he realized the back room wasn’t as big as it had seemed when he was younger. He should just rip it all down and start over, then maybe the ghosts of his past would leave him alone. Unfortunately he couldn’t bring himself to change it. Not one damn thing.
Lenny pulled out his cell phone and opened the banking app to initiate the transfer. He was staring at his empty email inbox thinking about Matty’s family when Ronny walked in.
“What did you find out about Matty?” Ronny asked.
Lenny narrowed his eyes at Ronny. “Did you tell Julian about this?”
“You said to leave him out of it.”
Lenny studied Ronny’s face. He could read people. He’d been doing it all his life and he was good at it—but he’d never been able to read Ronny, which either meant his friend never lied to him, or he just had the ability to lie without remorse. Of course his answer was vague.
“You told him nothing, right?” Lenny pressed, hoping to hell Ronny had left Julian out of this.
“He cancelled on me. I haven’t even seen him. So, what did you find?”
“Walsh is still looking into it.” Lenny glanced at the screen when his incoming email sounded. It was the download link from Walsh. “You don’t need to hang around. You can take the rest of the day off. But if you see Julian later, leave him out of this. That’s an order.”
~#~
Julian got up early the next day. He dressed as a bike messenger, sans the bike, and headed for Matty’s hotel. He had business to take care of later, but first he wanted to check out Matty’s room. Ronny called last night and let him know that Lenny contacted Walsh, which meant there was probably a file out there with pictures of his kids, if he had them, his wife, if he were married, and anything else that a man like Walsh could find—which was everything. It might even have his dental records, back taxes, and anything else stored as electronic data. Walsh was that good. Julian told Ronny to get a copy if he could and email it to him.
