Hard Case: Boxed Set Books 1,2 & 3 (John Harding Books)

by Bernard Lee DeLeo

  Clint stroked Lynn’s side with his right hand with slow deliberation. “I’m only a psychopath in one admitted parameter. I would have killed the entire population of Mexico to free you. I had logically erased your existence from my memory banks after I’d turned you over to my FBI partners. Do I have any idea why the hell you can fill every thought in my head… hell no! When our FBI groupies mentioned you in Mexico, it was me suggesting you be the bait for finding the three slugs that attended Harvard. Yes… I love you.”

  Montoya released Dostiene, her mouth open in surprise. It turned to tears. She whipped back around, gripping the steering wheel in a death grip. “God, Clint! Could you screw my head up anymore than it already is?”

  Dostiene frowned, his usual response to real life situations fleeing him like unwanted serial killers. “I get the distinct impression you think I’m still joking. Lynn, what the hell do you think this is all about? We’re fuckin’ evil. If we choose to do good deeds, so what? That I care for you? Whoopie do.”

  Lynn wiped away the tears streaming down her cheeks. “Fuck!”

  Moments paused as Montoya struggled with belief and action. Dostiene clasped Lynn’s right hand in both of his. “Hey… don’t over think this stuff. You already figured I didn’t just materialize out of nowhere to ‘White Knight’ you back to the ‘Stars and Stripes’. If me loving you makes you feel uncomfortable then just blow it off. We are psychos after all.”

  Montoya moaned and kissed Dostiene, pretense, parameters, and any concept of dignity fleeing in an intense moment of utter surrender. The salty taste of Lynn’s tears and her moaning intensity of feeling drove a hunger within Clint he could not conceal.

  Lynn broke away first, her hand reaching toward her lips. “This… this isn’t going to work. Is it?”

  “Do you mean whether we’re capable of loving each other? Who knows? If you mean my feelings for you will punt our partnership for finding criminals – you don’t know me very well. I shoot first and let God sort ‘em out later. I’ve put so many people in the ground, it’s a good thing my kills can’t follow me around like in that werewolf movie I saw one time.”

  Lynn laughed, hugging Clint. “Okay… maybe it’ll work. I saw that movie. It was… American Werewolf in London.”

  “That’s the one.” Clint kissed Lynn again with passion, drinking in her scent, her taste, and her tears. Dostiene pulled back only when the heat and intensity of their embrace threatened a squirming copulation right over the center console. “I should never have let you go after the trial. You could have come back up into the mountains with me and Tonto. They fired my ass anyway off the task force because they suspected I let you carve up that poor old baby killer.”

  Lynn gripped Dostiene’s face once again. “Jesus, Clint… all you needed to do was ask. Hell, didn’t you see it in my eyes at his house. I would have screwed you right on top of him. No one had ever come up on me like you did. I was impressed. Now I’m old and used up.”

  Clint burst into laughter with Lynn only able to keep a straight face a few seconds longer. She sighed after a few more moments and pulled back onto the road to Las Vegas.

  “You better get up to my room tonight, cowboy. Do you think our perp will go full bore tonight if he does chat me up, or play it cool?”

  “He’ll play you. If he hits on you in the Stratosphere you can bet he works there in some capacity. I’ll have to be careful making conjugal visits to your room if I see him laying the groundwork with you tonight. Have you given any thought to an extra play on this piece of shit?”

  Lynn glanced over with a smile. “Laredo was right. You are a believer. Yeah, I don’t like what he’s done anymore than you. I’m thinking bringing my knife along will satisfy us both.”

  Dostiene leaned back in his seat, hands behind his head. “Oh baby, you know what I like. Yeah, I’m thinking during capture you may have to defend yourself, possibly involving a rather sharp groin shot.”

  Clint sat up straight with a grim look. “He’s marked every one of those girls for life. I think it’s only fair we return the favor.”

  Lynn reached over and patted his shoulder. “Calm down, CD. I’m with you. I’ll do a little insert and twist he won’t ever forget.”

  Dostiene nodded. “It’s nice working with you, Officer Montoya.”

  Montoya chuckled. “Right back at you, CD. If that prick gets the drop on me, I hope you’ll fix him up real good.”

  “Not happening, my love,” Clint stated. “That happens and payback gets biblical, and fuck the G-men. He marks you in any way shape or form and I take him into the desert for a real bonding get together. Did you ever read ‘The Carpetbaggers’, with the Nevada Smith character?”

  “No.”

  “Some guys skin his Mom and Dad in the old west. He takes one of them into the desert, stakes them out over a red ant hill, slits off their eyelids so they can’t close their eyes, puts honey on their stomach and groin, and kicks back to watch them die. It takes days.”

  “Are you trying to impress me?”

  Dostiene laughs appreciatively. “I’m just lettin’ you know if anything happens to you, I get biblical, and not in a good way.”

  “Noted. Hey… here we are on the outskirts of the weirdest city on the face of the earth,” Lynn announced, gesturing out at the ‘Welcome to Las Vegas’ sign’ they were passing. Ever wonder what it would be like livin’ in a place like this?”

  “Hell on earth?”

  Montoya giggles. “Figures you’d say that. You could have a place up in the middle of nowhere around here, and drift on down for the nightlife any time you felt the urge, including a little Batman action.”

  “No thanks. There are so many faces of depravity here, it chills even my blood. I’m a live and let live guy, but this place overwhelms me if I’m here for more than a week. Does something here really sing an aria in your heart?”

  “Nope, but I do get a charge out of it messing with your head.”

  “Hey, this operation gets my blood flowing,” Clint admitted, “but it’s like operating in a different dimension. I adapt well. I choose to adapt only for short stints though. What do you think about spending Christmas up at my place in the mountains with me and Tonto?”

  “I’d like that more than anything. Do you have a house, or is it just a lean-to in the woods?”

  “I have indoor plumbing and all the conveniences.”

  “Well then… I am so there.” Lynn pointed at a crowded sidewalk area on the middle of the Las Vegas Strip. “Want out around here?”

  “This looks perfect. Remember, everything’s in your kit. We test out everything for sound and picture before you go out.”

  Lynn pretended to nod off and start snoring. “Yes, I remember. Don’t get mugged on the way.”

  Clint opened the door, extending his cane, before opening the rear door to pull out his bag. Tonto, already in harness, waited patiently. “C’mon Tonto, let’s go catch a taxi away from this know-it-all ingrate.”

  Montoya laughed. “I’ll only get a shower and nap before heading out, CD. I’ll go have a drink at the bar around seven.”

  “Ten-four, tulip,” Clint acknowledged to more laughter.

  Clint stood on the curb with Tonto and his bag. Not more than five minutes later a taxi pulled up.

  “Taxi, Sir?” The driver called out.

  “Just in time. Will twenty extra be enough for my partner here.”

  “You bet!” The driver hurried around to grab up Clint’s bag and store it in the trunk. He then opened his passenger rear door for Clint and Tonto. “Where to, Sir?”

  “The Stratosphere, please.”

  “I don’t think they allow dogs, Sir,” the driver informed him, hesitating at the curb before closing the rear door.

  “I called ahead. They allow service dogs.”

  “Oh… very good then. Next stop, the Stratosphere.” The driver closed the door and ran around to his driver’s door.

  Chapter Eight: Sin City
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  Fifteen minutes later, the cab pulled up at the front entrance for the Stratosphere. Clint quickly paid the driver, and accepted help with his bag, and a business card from the driver. One of the greeters immediately assisted Clint and Tonto into the casino to the hotel check-in. The front desk helped him get checked in with a minimum of hassle, after Tonto proved beyond any shadow of a doubt how trained he was. Dostiene put him through his paces, even though the front desk manager did not appear concerned. The demonstration made an impression on the nearby staff as Tonto turned back and forth by command, sat, stood, walked on his hind legs, and even danced in a circle at Clint’s twirling finger command. There was even a smattering of applause.

  “You have a wonderful dog there, Mr. Dostiene,” the manager said with a smile. She had red hair in a bun, and a nametag Clint avoided looking at, while staring at nothing in particular with a nod. “I’m Lois Christianson, Sir. I’ll have someone take you to your room. When you’re ready to come down for gaming or to dine, just call the front desk, and tell them your room number.”

  “Thank you, Lois. I will take my meals in, but when I’m ready to try my luck, I’ll give you a call.”

  “It will be my pleasure, Sir.”

  A young man took Clint’s elbow. “This way, Sir.”

  Clint and Tonto were escorted up to their room in minutes with their guide running interference. Clint tipped him well but noticed the man in his middle twenties eyed him with a predator’s bearing. Noting Tonto picked up on the same vibes, Dostiene knelt and stroked the dog’s head reassuringly before his canine partner did anything to indicate distrust.

  “Do you have a card, my friend, in case I find myself lost down in the casino area or at a loss somewhere else? You have been very efficient in settling us in.”

  Dostiene looked off casually while waiting for an answer as he straightened up away from Tonto. He chuckled in an offhand way. “Sorry… if you’re not available for that type of intercession, I understand completely.”

  Clint saw the smile of evil intent spread across the man’s features, reinforcing at once his initial feeling.

  “No… no, Sir, here is my card. Show it anywhere and I will be available if I am near your position. If not, I will be able to get you help very quickly.” He grasped Dostiene’s hand with both of his. “I am Edgar Constanza.”

  Clint smiled widely while shaking his hand, and taking the business card Constanza offered into his left hand. “Thank you, Edgar. It’s good to have someone at the hotel to contact directly if I have a problem. I know your managers are eager to help, but limited as to what they can do.”

  Clint turned and took another twenty out of his cash fold, pressing it onto Constanza. “If I need assistance Edgar, you will be my first call, and there will be of course a suitable compensation. I know when I take on an adventure like this, I need contacts locally if something doesn’t turn out the way I hope.”

  Dostiene liked the man’s reaction of putting a hand to his mouth in order to suppress an outright laugh. Constanza toned down his reaction immediately as Tonto crouched into a defensive stance.

  “I don’t think your dog likes me, Sir.”

  “Tonto is very protective yet gentle to a fault, Edgar. He doesn’t know you that well. Think nothing of it. In any case, if I get into a jam, I’ll give you a call if you don’t mind.”

  “I am at your service, Sir. Have a great day and don’t hesitate to call on me.”

  “Thank you, Edgar.” Dostiene watched the man exit the room with his peripheral vision. “Well, Tonto, I think Lynn and I have our first candidate. Something about that young gentleman has my spidy sense tingling. I should have done a preemptive strike on his ass, and buried him amongst the many in the desert.”

  Tonto offered a paw, which Dostiene shook. “Good one, buddy. Silence it is for now.”

  Dostiene’s throw away cell-phone rang. “Hey, Lynn. I figured you’d be asleep.”

  “I think I have a candidate already. He’s on the staff. His name’s Edgar. He’s creepy. He asks too many questions, and he insisted on accompanying me to my room with the bags. The prick set everything up and refused the tip I tried to lay on him. I’ve already uploaded a picture of him to you. I need to do surgery on him even if he’s not the guy… please?”

  “See, this is why I love you in our alternate psycho reality.”

  Montoya laughed. “Oh my God! We aced on the same guy. Tell me… c’mon, what did he do?”

  “We blind guys tend to evoke self expressions by suspects they would not normally reveal on their features. I don’t know if Edgar’s our guy, but he might be someone we should stick around for after we do find our perp.”

  “Agreed. I kind of miss you already. I’m thinking a hot tub reunion tonight after hours is in order. This luxury spa suite is pretty nice. Do you think I should have gotten the grand suite or something?”

  “No. You picked just right. If you’d have gotten too flashy, that might have given Edgar the wrong idea. Depending on how things go, I might be able to swing a visit after hours.”

  “Good. I’ll hit the bar for a drink as we agreed around 7. Then I’ll play the dollar slots big time for a while. If I get lucky, I might draw out some extra attention. The outfit I’ll be wearing is going to attract attention anyway, win or lose.”

  “I’ll bet it will. We’ll do a communications check at 6:55 then, okay?”

  “Ten-four, CD. Talk to you then.”

  Having napped the last couple hours of the trip, Clint put away his things, took a shower, and dressed in jeans, pullover black shirt, and black windbreaker. He gathered up a couple waste bags, hitched the attentive Tonto up, and headed out of his room. Tonto played his guide dog role perfectly, waiting at the Casino entrance for a Good Samaritan to open the door for the partners. Dostiene thanked the couple who preceded him and held the door open, looking away from them as he spoke. Tonto took over, instinctively heading around the hotel perimeter toward the area less developed in the direction opposite the main Las Vegas Strip. The two didn’t return to the hotel for an hour. By then, players in the casino were just beginning to spread around the gaming area in numbers. Tonto endured the attention of animal lovers they were stuck with in the elevator, shaking hands with the teen-aged girl and her parents.

  In the hotel room, Dostiene fed and watered the happy Tonto, giving him extra treats. “You were your usual amazing self, T.”

  Clint removed his electrical gear from the hotel room safe, going over the micro-circuitry device before sitting at the room desk with his satellite uplinked notebook. In moments, he used CIA access to break through the casino security firewalls, hacking into their camera feed archives. Dostiene found Edgar. In the hours until he needed to dress for his shadowing of Montoya, Clint poured over Constanza’s patterns and work schedule, crosschecking the victims’ recollected times at the Stratosphere casino. The tedious work led to a solid discovery – Constanza interacted with every victim, even the ones not staying at the Stratosphere. Delving into work times more closely, Clint found Constanza on casino video during three of the rapes.

  Widening his parameters, Clint traced Constanza’s movements in conjunction with the rape dates, and conversations with other men not in the employ of the casino. An hour later, minutes before he would have to get ready, a suspect materialized who matched all dates, times, and parameters. Constanza met the victim in nondescript places near each one of the victims. The man, dressed exquisitely in suit and tie, with hair coiffed perfectly, would watch the women marks, and eventually strike up a conversation with them. They let him buy them a drink, enjoying a lengthy conversation, after which he would excuse himself with class, leaving them looking after him as he exited. Dostiene closed up his laptop with a shake of his head as he eyed Tonto.

  “We have a live one, T. He has issues, and he has a playmate who helps him in his twisted endeavors. Little does he know, I’m going to put a real monster on his trail. She doesn’t care about his mommy issues, h
is rough childhood, or whatever perverse shit he’s warped his mind into thinking he deserves.” Dostiene bent down and stroked Tonto’s head affectionately. “We may eventually find out why these two butchers have done all this, but the way they communicate with us may be painful. If you’ll excuse me, partner, I have to call the real monster and make sure she gets her electronics hooked up right.”

  * * *

  Montoya swayed through the casino, enjoying the noise, crowds, and banter of passing people. Dressed in a thigh high, off the shoulder black cocktail dress, Lynn smiled at everyone on her way to the main casino bar, C bar. She attracted followers, both innocent and not so innocent. Lynn ordered a bloody Mary, which elicited approval from her small audience. When the drink arrived, Lynn turned to face her groupies, sipping at her drink.

  “Hey guys, would this be the appropriate time to let you all know I’m a lesbian?” Montoya watched everyone walk off with varying declarations of response. One hung around, matching Clint’s description.

  “That’s him, Lynn,” Clint’s voice confirmed.

  Lynn leaned forward on her elbows over the bar, drink in hand. She watched the perfectly coiffed, three piece suit edge toward her with an ingratiating smile Lynn figured he worked on in front of the mirror. Six feet of carefully scripted movement slid in next to her.

  “Hi, I heard what you said, but you intrigue me. Could we simply have a drink together? My name’s Aaron.”

  “I don’t mind, Aaron. I’m Lynn.” Montoya sipped her drink, meeting Aaron’s smiling gaze without looking away. “You look like you should be hanging out at the Wynn’s or the Bellagio.”

  “I like the people here at the Stratosphere. I win more here too.”

  Lynn acted surprised. “I get it. You’re a local.”

  Aaron smiled. “That obvious, huh? How about you?”

  “I live in LA. My Vegas trips are usually only biannually. I’ve never met a local other than the casino workers. What do you do around here for work?”