Jason thought about this for a moment. He was wondering if there was something he could do to scare the McKinneys into admitting what they’d done. He could strike back at them. He couldn’t let them attack his organization like this. He had to build a good part of his organization back up. As it was, he was at half the men needed to keep his business going uninterrupted. That assumed that he didn’t suffer further losses. How could he be sure that the McKinneys, assuming it was them, wouldn’t continue to strike at his organization?
“Alright, I want you to find out all you can about the McKinneys. I want to know everything about their lives, their families, their friends, travel, and what they drive. I want that information early tonight.” Mr. Roberts continued with his instructions. He wanted no stone unturned in finding a weakness. He wanted whoever it was that was attacking him to pay, and if it was the McKinneys, too bad for them. They’d be an example of what happened to you if you messed with Jason Roberts.
* * *
“Pat, I talked with Mike this morning. He was out of it. He couldn’t even hold a conversation. I can’t believe that he’s still all fucked up over Julie. I really think he’s done some permanent damage to his brain. I mean he sounded like Rain Man or something. I thought by telling him that some of the guys that killed Julie were dead, he’d snap out of it, but I don’t even know if it registered.”
Pat and Joe were sitting in Joe’s apartment talking over the events of the last few days. They were baffled about how their plan could have gotten into someone else’s hands. Why would anyone carry out these executions for them? Pat was going over every detail that he could think of, where someone could have found the plan. It had to be written down somewhere in a place that was accessible to some tough bastards. Joe was in the Marines. Maybe he had a copy and some of his jarhead buddies got hold of it and carried it out for Joe; some kind of Semper Fi brotherhood thing. But Joe had said that he never had a written copy anywhere, not even a scribble. He had it all committed to memory. It was all he thought about while in boot camp, when he wasn’t learning the details of how to be a proficient killing machine.
Pat’s face was stone cold. He was deep in thought about the whole turn of events. Here, they’d laid out an entire plan for revenge, and they couldn’t even carry out a fraction of it before someone stole their fire. These bastards stole their lives, at least for a while, and now they were supposed to pay for their sins at their hands, not some unknown person. Now this other person stole their rightful vengeance. How were they ever going to be made whole? At least Pat was able to take out Danny. One small victory, but that was just to make sure that he had the balls to carry out the real executions. The four murderers were the real targets. How else could they satisfy their need for justice? “
“Who were these guys working for? I mean who is the real supplier?” Pat asked Joe. You mentioned his name once; Robert Jess, Rob Jason, something like that.”
“Jason Roberts. He runs a load of grass and more recently, some coke and crack. He’s been expanding his operations this summer. He was recruiting new faces to be mules. Bill Grimes was one of them. His career was short lived, in more ways than one. Why do you ask?”
“Well, we can’t get the dead guys, so who’s left?”
“Pat, we can’t go around killing everyone that knew these guys. What do you want to do, go find their parents, old girlfriends, anyone they slept with? Where do you draw the line? We’re not vigilantes.”
Pat looked at Joe and said, “Where did they draw the line? They killed an innocent girl. She had nothing to do with our business. She was just a victim of circumstance. Those bastards destroyed so many lives when they took hers. Why shouldn’t we destroy the guy who helped them?”
“Because we’re better than they are now. We can’t stoop to their level. Look, they’re dead. That’s what we wanted. It’s over, Pat. You’ve got to get over this need to get revenge. We got it, or it was handed to us. Even better than that, we don’t have to worry about ever being blamed for this. We were nowhere near the scenes. We’re clean as far as the law is concerned. Let it go, man! Go home to your beautiful wife and kids and love them with all your might. Spend your energy there. Protect them from things like this.”
Pat thought about his little brother’s words. There was genuine knowledge in them. “You’re right you know. I do have my outlet. What are you going to do with your energy?”
Just then, the doorbell rang. Joe opened the door to Lisa Goddard and said, “My alibi. Come on in.” She smiled that beautiful smile of hers and took a few steps into Joe’s apartment. She was dressed in a long shirt and had a beach towel thrown over her shoulder. Pat couldn’t tell if she had anything on underneath, but he assumed there was a bathing suit under the shirt.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” she said to Joe. “I didn’t know you had company.” She looked over at Pat, then back at Joe and said, “Wow, you two could pass for twins. This must be Pat.”
“Yes, it is. Pat, Lisa Goddard, Lisa, Pat McKinney.” They shook hands, Pat smiled. Lisa smiled back. “Pat was just leaving.”
“Oh, yes I was. Are you too headed for the pool?”
“Yes, we are. I have a bet with Lisa that I can beat her this time in a fifty lap swim. She won by a hair last time.”
“Last time?” Pat asked.
“Last time was the first time, and I owe her a dinner. I want to win a dinner back. Maybe we’ll bet a movie this time.”
Lisa laughed and said, “Or maybe a real night out on the town. How about a Brian Purcer Concert? He’s supposed to be touring starting next month after they cut their CD.”
Pat chimed in and said, “That won’t be too expensive. I can get you free tickets to one of Brian’s concerts. I think I can even get you backstage passes if you like.”
“No way!” Lisa exclaimed. “How do you pull that off?”
“Brian and I are best friends. I’ll bet that Joe can probably get you into the recording studio to listen to him record a few sets.”
Pat looked at Joe who was smiling. Lisa looked up at Joe with her excited face and asked, “Can you really do that?”
“I’ll sure try. I think that if we end our swim early, I can contact Brian and make the arrangements. If we’re going to do that, we need to get our swim in soon. I want to talk with Pat for a few minutes. Why don’t you head down to the pool, and I’ll be right down.”
“Alright, but don’t be long.”
Lisa headed down the steps and headed towards the pool. Joe turned to Pat and said, “There’s where my energy is going. She is the most gorgeous creature on earth. And she is so wonderful to talk to and swim with and lift . . .”
“Alright, already. I get it, she’s great,” Pat said. “I’m happy for you, Joe. It looks like you’re happy, too. Take it slow, brother. I’ve got to head home. I’ll call you tomorrow. Are you going to call Brian or do you want me to call?”
“Why don’t you call? He’s really your friend. I just know him through you.”
“I’ll do that. Later man.”
The brothers shook hands and Pat headed down the steps towards his car. He didn’t see the car slowly driving by, rolling down the two windows facing Joe’s apartment. As he was about to get to the bottom step, two men leaned out the car windows and unloaded two 9mm pistols in Pat’s direction. Pat dove from the steps behind a car near the base of the steps. His heart raced as he hugged the bumper. As quickly as the firing started, it stopped and the car sped away, turning left at Silver Star Road. Pat didn’t have time to see anyone, only a plain looking, dark colored car. He scraped his elbows and his right knee. He also hit his head on the bumper, but his head just bounced off the rubberized plastic. Joe raced down from his apartment with his Glock 9mm in his hand, but he wasn’t able to get a shot off. The car was already out of sight. Joe’s neighbors started to peer out of their apartments to see what all the commotion was about.
Lisa heard the shots and headed back to Joe’s apartment from the pool area.
She’d just taken her shirt off and was getting ready to jump into the pool when the shots were fired. She saw Pat sprawled out on the sidewalk, and Joe at the foot of the steps with a gun in his hand at his side. She screamed as she ran towards Joe, “What happened? Oh my God, is your brother alright?”
The wood railings on the steps were splintered in several places. The car that Pat jumped behind had several bullet holes and a shattered back window. The smell of cordite hung in the humid air. There were streaks in the parking lot where the car accelerated when it left the scene. The crowd was getting bigger as more neighbors came out to see what all the commotion was about. Pat tried to get up, but he was sore and still shaken from the ordeal. Joe came over and grabbed Pat by the hand, “Let’s get up. We can get cleaned up in my apartment.”
Pat slowly got to his feet while Joe helped steady him for a bit. He looked at his knees and elbows and felt his head. It was already starting to swell. “Got any ice?” Pat asked his little brother.
“You bet.” Joe turned to Lisa, “Can I get a rain check on the swim?”
“You can but I’m going with you. I think you’re going to need another alibi,” she said and tried to smile. She was looking around nervously, as if she was afraid that the shooters would be back any second.
“Are you sure? We aren’t going to be much company.”
“Oh yes you are. You’ve got some tough questions to answer. First one is ‘who the hell is shooting at you and your brother?”
“Lisa, for once I can honestly say that I don’t know,” Joe said.
Lisa, Joe, and Pat headed up the stairs to Joe’s apartment. Joe had already told Lisa about Mike’s wife. Joe explained that he didn’t know who the shooters were, because their enemies were all supposedly dead. While Joe was talking with Lisa, Pat called Diane and told her he’d be late. When she asked why, he’d said that he’d scraped his knee after falling down Joe’s apartment stairs. It was only a little lie and really just a stretch of the truth.
A few minutes later, a knock on the door made them jump a bit. Joe looked out the kitchen window before approaching the door. Just as he thought, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office sent a couple of deputies over to question Pat and Joe and anyone else who was willing to talk. After about twenty-five minutes of questions and answers that really answered nothing, the deputies left. They said a crime lab team would look the scene over, but would probably only find bullet fragments in the wood. Maybe they’d get lucky and find an intact bullet somewhere in one of the cars. Not real likely. The guy who owned the car that was shot up the worst was pissed, but there was really nothing to be done, except call his insurance company in the morning.
Pat cleaned up a bit, taped his knees up and borrowed a pair of jeans from Joe. They were a bit tight and a bit long but they’d do in a pinch. Apparently married life agreed with him. He was showing the extra couple of pounds that Joe kept off. Pat said his goodbyes to Joe and Lisa and headed out the door. This time he looked around a bit nervously for any strange cars or goofy looking characters. There were none. He hopped in his car and headed for Dunnellon.
Back in Joe’s apartment, Lisa was hugging Joe tightly. She was scared for him and Pat and she wanted to know why. “Joe, why are people shooting at you and your brother?”
“I wish I knew, Lisa. I thought that our problems were over this afternoon when the last of the creeps were killed. Now I have a feeling that all the creeps aren’t dead. I mean, the guys that killed my sister-in-law are, but apparently there’s more lurking out there. There are always more creeps than good guys it seems.”
“What are you going to do? You can’t just stand by and be targets for someone that you don’t even know. Do you have any ideas about who these guys are?”
Joe thought about whether to tell Lisa about the Jason Roberts connection. He figured that he and Pat would have to do something about this. Just then he had a terrible thought. Diane and the kids. They’re back in Dunnellon unprotected. Joe’s face turned red and tightened with worry.
“What is it, honey?”
“Pat’s family. I have to call Diane right now. Pat just left and I can’t reach him. Listen, go down to the pool and get your things together. I’ll call Diane and tell her . . . I don’t know what I’ll tell her, but we’re going to Dunnellon as soon as I get off the phone. Maybe we can catch up with Pat.”
“Alright. I’ll be right back up.” She grabbed Joe’s face, turned it to her and kissed him deep and hard. She headed out the door and down to the pool. She was back in less than two minutes. But would it be two minutes too late?
Chapter 41
Diane hung up the phone from Brian Purcer. Brian was planning to bring Ginny by to meet Diane, Pat, and their two kids. He’d just finished another day in the recording studio and was feeling pretty good. It took a while to get used to playing partial songs, stopping, starting in the middle of a song, then adding overlays onto already recorded material. By the end of the day, the tunes were really sounding excellent. Diane had told Brian to stop by. Pat was on his way home and would be there in about an hour.
When Diane hung up the phone it rang almost immediately. It was Joe. He sounded a bit tense. “Diane, this is Joe.”
“Yes I know, Joe. You sound worried. Is everything alright?”
“Not really. I need you to lock up the house and close the curtains. Keep the kids away from the windows. Pat’s on his way, but it’s gonna be about an hour or so. I’m coming, too. I hope to catch up with him. We should both be there at the same time. Pat didn’t want to tell you earlier when he called, but somebody tried to kill Pat. They drove by my apartment and shot at him as he was leaving. He’s okay. He didn’t want you to be concerned.”
Diane felt like panicking. Her head was spinning with this news. What was going on with this husband of hers? Was his past going to destroy their family? “Is Pat alright? Is he hurt?”
“No, he’s fine. He really did scrape up his knees when he hit the sidewalk, but he wasn’t hit. But you’ve got to stay in the house and away from the windows. Don’t let anyone in. Try to call Brian back and ask him to wait for a little while. Pat can call him when he gets to the house. If anyone you don’t know comes to the door, do not answer it. Look out one of the bedroom windows that have a clear view to the front door to make sure you know who’s there. Did Pat teach you how to use a gun?”
This frightened Diane a bit. She hated to even have guns around the kids but she knew how to use one, if it were necessary. She knew where Pat kept his 9mm and the ammunition. And she knew where the key was kept just in case. The kids were in the family room which had an eight foot sliding glass door.
“This may be nothing. It could be random, but with everything going on right now, I doubt it. Get going Diane. I have to get on the road. Don’t worry, this is just a precaution.”
Right. She was becoming tense. “Okay.” She hung up the phone, then she tried to reach Brian and Ginny but couldn’t. So she went on with making preparations like Joe instructed.
It was early in the evening. The August air was thick, but Diane had the air conditioner on to keep the house at about 75 degrees. That was pretty comfortable for most folks. Native Floridians thought that 75 degrees was too cold. Some even complained of sinus problems at the ‘cold’ temperature. Diane was one who enjoyed this temperature. Diane went to the sliding glass door first and closed the curtains. Then she went to each room and closed the shades. The windows were already locked. Diane said to her kids, “How about if we play back in Sean’s bedroom for a while? Dad’s going to be home soon. Let’s make something for him.”
“Alright,” Anna yelled.
“Okay. What should we make?”
Diane hadn’t thought that far ahead so she said, “How about if we talk about some ideas and we can decide together.” That seemed to satisfy the kids. So they started to toss around ideas on what to make for Daddy. How about a bullet proof vest. Diane’s thoughts were distracted but she kept her cool for the
kid’s sake.
After they decided on a picture, they set about coloring the picture. It was a beautiful mountain scene that Diane started and the children filled in the colors. They also cut out some shapes that they pasted on the picture for birds, clouds and the sun. It was taking shape when Diane thought that she heard a car door shut, then a second car door. Her heart rate quickened. She put her finger up to her mouth in a ‘quiet’ gesture. The kids didn’t understand so she whispered, “Let’s be real quiet so we surprise Daddy. You stay here and keep working on his present. Okay?”
They both nodded. Diane stepped out of Sean’s room and went to her and Pat’s room where she had a good view of the front of the house. She carefully looked through a slit in the curtains. There was a truck across the street. Two men were approaching the house. One of the men was a big guy, probably six feet five inches and well built. He looked like a linebacker for a pro football team. The other was not as big, maybe six feet tall, and less muscular. Diane couldn’t see their facial features, but they were dressed in jeans and T-shirts. They both had hunting vests on, but the vests looked new. They walked directly towards the front door. Diane went to Pat’s office, opened the desk drawer, and reached in to get the key box. She took out Pat’s keys and fumbled for the key to his gun drawer. She was very nervous now and dropped the keys once. She finally got the right key and opened the drawer. She picked up Pat’s 9mm, and shoved in the clip. She looked the gun over, made sure that both safeties were in the safe position, and walked towards the office door to the hall. When she reached the hall, a loud knock at the front door startled her. She kept her cool. Then Sean asked from his room, “Is Daddy home?”
She whispered back to him, just loud enough for him to hear, “No Sean. You keep your sister in the bedroom.”
Then another knock, this one a little louder. Diane was petrified. Her breathing was deep and her fear grew with each passing second. She felt she had to do something, but what? The walls in the hallway seemed to be closing in on her. She moved closer to the doorway where the children played and decided that was the best place to stay. At least she’d try to protect her children.
A Lifetime of Vengeance Page 27
