"With any luck, you'll have a limp dick for the rest of your life," I said, resituating myself to get the correct angle.
He saw the stun gun start to descend and panicked as my intentions became clear. I had to hurry, knowing that I couldn't handle him for long. I found my target and dug in mercilessly, the voltage rendering him helpless. He couldn't even scream, his body reduced to a feeble lump of shivering Jell-O.
Knowing I had a savage smile of satisfaction on my face, I fried the beans until his eyes rolled back and he finally passed out. The fucker had lasted longer than I thought; I'd have to replace the batteries. I ran a gaze over him and lowered a hand to check for a pulse. It was still there.
I relieved him of the handcuffs and placed a copy of Tish's picture on the floor next to his face. It was the first thing I wanted him to see. Mission accomplished, I trekked down the steps and began the journey back to my car.
II
A few hours in the car and I traded farm country for dairy country. I amused myself by counting all the billboards that advertised genuine Wisconsin cheese, available of course at every exit. I wasn't a big fan of cheese, certain types tended to give me the trots.
Eventually, Madison loomed before me and I was forced to think about what I might possibly expect to find. At the most, just another name that would probably send me back to square one, and at the least, just Julie's name in an old ledger. The latter would leave me at another dead end. How long did Julie wait before assuming the identity of LaTisha Moreland? And where did a country girl get the money and the contacts to produce a quality alias? Where would I look next if I left Madison empty-handed?
I had more answers now than I had started with, but I was still sucking hind tit. Somewhere, there was a clue that tied everything together, a clue that would connect Gus to a group of ex-hookers and a killer. The more I learned, the farther away the answers seemed to be.
I sighed and took my exit, cruising the two blocks my map indicated and arriving in front of my destination. I cast an inquisitive look at the aging four-story, brick building and shook my head. It was transient hotel, which meant it went through guests and employees on a daily basis. Nobody would be able to recall a woman who had stayed here seven years ago. Hell, they probably wouldn't remember you if you had died in the lobby of blistering boils the day before.
Irritably, I parked and climbed out the car to plod inside disappointedly. The interior was much cleaner than I imagined and a middle-aged woman sitting behind the desk tore her eyes away from a little TV to shoot me a friendly smile.
"Whatcha need, honey?" she asked.
"I'm Maddie, you should've gotten a call from the Blaine County Sheriff?"
"I sure did. You here to go through the old books?"
"Yeah, are you the owner?"
"That's me."
"For how long?"
"Last ten years."
I whipped out Tish's picture and showed it to her. "You wouldn't remember her would you? She stayed here seven years ago."
She fumbled for a pair of reading glasses and looked down her nose at the photograph. "Sorry, honey. I can't place her."
"That's okay. Does the name Julie Booker sound familiar?"
She shook her head.
"Do you make everybody sign the book?"
"Of course.
"Well, I guess that's what I need to look at. Would you show me your ledgers from seven years ago?"
She chuckled. "I can show you the ledgers from the last ten years, but you'll have to dig through them for the one you want."
From her tone, I assumed it wouldn't be a pleasant task. "Lead the way."
She dug around in a drawer for a ring of keys and rose to lead me through a door that led downstairs.
"I keep the old records next to the boiler room," she said as she navigated the steps. "I imagine you'll be all day. There's a phone, gimme a ring if you get hungry, I usually order out around six."
I suppressed a groan.
"I hope you like to sweat, it's hotter than Hell down here in the winter time."
I did groan. "Can you set me up with a room if I need it?"
"Sure, plenty of vacancies today."
"Thanks."
"Don't thank me, honey. You haven't seen what you're getting yourself into."
I didn't have time to ponder that statement before the meaning became excruciatingly clear. We passed through another door and my eyes widened in dismay. The books were stacked one on top of the other, ceiling high, and several stacks deep. There had to be thousands, most of them covered in an inch thick dust.
"You're kidding me?"
"Afraid not."
"Are they at least dated?"
"Oh yeah, on the first page of each one."
"God."
"Sorry, sweetie. I'm not much for record keeping."
No shit. It appeared that when she had filled a book, she just opened the door and simply threw it on top of the pile. I did the math and came to the unpleasant conclusion that if she had owned this place for ten years, and Tish had stayed here seven years ago; the book I wanted would be close to the bottom. I stripped off my jacket and rolled up my sleeves, it was going to be dirty work and I was already sweating from the heat.
"Is there a soda machine close by?"
"Tell you what, I'll just fix you a little cooler and bring it on down."
I gave her a smile. "That'd be very nice, thank you."
She chuckled and gave me a swat on the way out the door. "Good luck."
I watched her go and turned to contemplate the mountain, choosing a place to start. Oh, yeah. This was gonna suck.
----------
Six and half hours later, I sat inside the prison I had created for myself. I was completely surrounded by piles of painstakingly separated books. I was soaking wet and covered with grime. Wiping my hand across my forehead resulted in a mud streak and my clothes were almost black from handling the dusty ledgers.
I was beginning to despair. Nineteen ninety-five had been a busy year for the hotel, and for the last hour or so I'd been reading through an endless list of names that were, for the most part, illegible.
What the fuck was I doing? If Tish hadn't used her real name when signing in, how the hell would I spot an alias? If she had used her real name, I'd just spent a miserable day toiling in a basement just so I could look at her signature. I was a dope.
Angrily, I tossed the book I was looking at aside and lit up a smoke. Why wasn't I at home with Anabel? The answer was immediate and my determination instantly assembled a second wind. I was toiling in this shitty little room because Gus deserved no less, and I'd spend the rest of my life chasing leads if I had to. Justice didn't have a statute of limitations.
I took a deep breath and cast eyes at the ledger I'd discarded. It had landed open and I stared at the page it displayed as I finished my cigarette. A name scrawled down near the bottom struck a faint cord and I leaned in closer, studying it intently. I knew it from somewhere and my mind labored to identify it. I gazed at it for so long the cigarette between my fingers grew hot and it startled me out of my trance, I hurriedly flipped it away and stood to step on it, extending a hand to snatch up the ledger and hold it up to the light.
Gooseflesh started at my ankles and rapidly spread throughout my body. The answer was there but mocking me as it dangled just out my reach. Swooping in to tease me, but nimbly evading every attempt at capture. I dug in, refusing to give up. It was so close.
When it hit me, it hit me hard and my knees refused to support me. My ass hit the floor with an unnoticed thud and I wanted to scream. It was a revelation that led to another, a double-bladed sword. I suddenly had a suspect and with that knowledge, pieces of the puzzle, related and unrelated, started to fall into place with a painful clarity. Voices tormented me, delighting in the irony of discovery.
"Sirico has several of her as a child, and those are the only ones anybody has been able to find. The family photos disappeared with her and there are no
yearbook photos or the like, she didn't even have a drivers license."
"Where's your car?" "I don't have a car, Maddie." "Huh?" "I grew up in the city, never learned how to drive."
"What happened to Sal's wife?" "Cancer got her a few years earlier."
"I don't know how people do this." "Do what?" "Say goodbye." "It isn't easy. I know what you're feeling." "Do you?" "I've said goodbye to both my parents."
"What's the longest relationship you've ever had?" "What was yours?" "Never really had one." "Huh?"
"I've always been busy, you know, business to run and all that."
"What do you mean and why do you think you know enough about me to say the things you just did?" "Gus was my friend. He talked about you often, long before he approached me as a possible suitor."
"I guess Gus didn't tell you…" "Tell me what?" "Uhm… he invited me over the other night thinking you'd be there. He was…uh… well…he was matchmaking."
"Maddie, is Sarah that girl I met over at Gus's?" "Yeah, she runs a shelter on the east side." "Really? The one on Foster?" "Yeah. How would you know?"
"Visited a friend there once."
"Annie, did you pick up my files?" "Hmmm?" "My files, I left them out and now they're all packed away." "Oh yeah, they were all over the counter so I put them back in the box." "Did you read them?"
"None of my business."
"And why I should I believe that?" "Because I could very easily have been sent to kill you, not talk to you." "Why not just kill me?"
"Because you have friends in the DiCarlo family, Matilda."
I clamped my hands over my ears to drown out the noise. The clues had been all around me, yet I'd taken no notice. Maybe, I just didn't want to. Fate had played me for a fool and she was one fuckin' cast-iron, vicious bitch. Oh, there was no doubt Fate was a female. No male, godly or otherwise, could be so vindictive. A male would just step in, blow the whistle, and tell everyone it was time to get out of the pool. If you disobeyed, the confrontation would be quick and easily forgotten. A female would ask nicely, and if you scorned her, she'd spend years taking her revenge. Give her a grievance and she'd save it like money, exploiting every opportunity to knife you yet never wounding mortally because she wanted you to suffer.
Thankfully, I was a big enough bitch to admit this and, as far as I was concerned, Fate could take it in the ass. I tossed the ledger back into the pile and rose to clear my way to the door. It wasn't like I'd need it in court.
When I got upstairs, I asked the lady for a room and went out to get my bag. I needed a long shower and some sleep because soon, very soon, I'd be going home.
----------
The rising sun hit me through the windshield already halfway to my destination. The night had been restless and sleep only a passing fancy. I had a suspect, but I didn't know the whole story. I wanted more to go on and many of the details still eluded me. I was required to read the fine print. A mistake would be unforgivable since the repercussions were fatal. Justice, in this case, could not afford to belatedly find itself in error. I needed to be sure.
As soon as I left the land of cheese behind, my cell phone let it be known that I had over a dozen messages. I didn't listen to them, wanting no distractions until all the cards had been played.
Monica Brentwood was part of the final solution. I just needed to ask the right questions and, this time, I would. This time, I wouldn't be fishing for a clue; I'd be seeking to validate what I already suspected. All she had to do was give me a connection. A confirmation, however circumstantial, would be the second to last piece of the puzzle.
The prison only twenty minutes away, I reached for the phone with the hope of speaking to the Warden. I wasn't disappointed and although he couldn't meet me personally, he made arrangements to accommodate me.
All too soon, I was standing in the hall outside a window, staring at the manacled woman who resided within. I turned to the guard who had accompanied me.
"Let's lose the restraints."
"The Warden didn't authorize that."
"He will if you call him."
The man grunted and considered for a moment. "Don't make me sorry I did this."
He entered the room and I flipped the switch to listen in, watching through the window as he approached her.
"I'm going to remove the chains," he said, pulling the baton from his belt. "Fuck up even a little bit, and you'll spend a week in the infirmary. Understand?"
She looked at him confusedly, nodding slowly.
No other words were spoken and I flipped the switch again when he was finished. He held the door open for me as he emerged. "Give me a knock when you're ready."
"Thank you."
When I entered this time, the look I received was wary but as close to pleasant as I could imagine her capable of.
"Maddie," she said as I took a seat.
"Hello again."
"The chains your idea?"
"Yes."
"Thanks," she said, her expression thoughtful. "Why?"
"Because everyone deserves a little dignity."
It took a moment, but she finally gave me a somewhat bewildered nod.
I took a deep breath. "Monica, I need to ask you some more questions. Some of them are personal and might be difficult to answer. Like before, no one is listening or watching. I promise that anything you say will not leave this room."
Her eyes narrowed, but she nodded again. "What do you want to know?"
----------
It was all moving rapidly now, almost out of my control. The queen had been taken, the knights had fallen, and the king was on the run. A few more moves and it would all be over.
I'd given no thought to what my life would be like afterward. Things would be different, of that I was sure. However, now was not the time to brood or feel sorry myself. There would be time for that later, and I had no desire to dwell on how lonely and unforgiving that time might prove to be.
An hour before dusk, I went through the routine to gain entry into the Frank's establishment. As I walked across the dance floor, I wasn't surprised to find them at their customary table surrounded by the usual assortment of sluts. They nodded in greeting as I took up a chair.
"We need to talk. Privately."
They both studied me for a moment and Bobby waved the chicks away. He waited until they were well out of earshot.
"What's up, Maddie?"
"The boogeyman. I need to speak to him."
Robby's eyebrows rose and Bobby took a deep breath. "Ask us for something else."
"I don't need anything else."
"No way, Maddie. That's playing with our lives."
"It's safer than you probably think."
"There ain't nothin' safe about that dude."
"I've met him. He's your contact so you have a number. That's all I'm asking for."
"If you've met him, then you should know better than to want to see him again," Robby said.
"He's not allowed to hurt me and I won't reveal anything."
They both blinked. "What do you mean he's not allowed?" Bobby asked.
"His boss wouldn't be pleased."
They absorbed this in a thoughtful silence. "If you have connections like that, you don't need us," Bobby said.
"It's complicated. Help me out here. It won't be forgotten."
A full two minutes passed as Robby scratched his chin in agitation and Bobby drummed his fingers on the table. I reached for my cigarettes, smoking half of one before Bobby spoke.
"If it gets back to us, we'll be dead by the end of the week."
"Trust me."
"You better be fuckin' sure, Maddie."
"I am."
They shared a look with one another and Bobby reluctantly rose to his feet, throwing me an uncertain glance as he departed. He returned as I crushed out my smoke and placed a scrap of paper on the table in front of me. His hand lingered over the top of it.
"Giving you this number could be the biggest, and the last mistake I'll ever mak
e."
I rose to my feet. "It won't be."
----------
I dialed the number as soon as I got back to my car. Two rings and I had an answer.
"Yes?"
"It's Maddie. We need to have another conversation."
A moment of silence.
"Would you like to tell me how you got this number, Matilda?"
"That's not going to happen."
"Another conversation could be perilous."
"I'd like one anyway, and there's no need to inform your boss. In fact, I'd be in your debt if you didn't."
"Interesting," he said slowly. "Do you have you any idea what a dangerous game you're playing?"
"Yeah, I do."
"It seems you're no longer in the dark."
"Possibly."
"Very well. There's a bench on the corner of 31st and State. Be sitting on it in two hours."
"You'll keep this between us?"
"For the time being. Goodbye, Matilda."
The phone found the inside of my jacket and I started the car.
----------
I looked at my watch for the umpteenth time; two hours had come and gone. It was fuckin' freezing and my patience was fast expiring. If he didn't show soon, I'd be forced to seek some warmth. I released a frustrated breath and watched as it practically crystallized in the air around my face. Suddenly entertained, I started breathing in and out rapidly, watching with interest the little clouds my labor produced.
"Good evening, Matilda," a voice purred from behind me.
I stifled a startled yelp. "You're late."
"Of course."
I was more than a little surprised when he moved into view and seated himself next to me. He was a devilishly handsome man that was gaining on his late forties. Long hair in a ponytail and an immaculate goatee only added to his appeal. However, his eyes told a story of barely suppressed violence and I could understand perfectly how easily intimidating his presence could be.
"No longer concerned about revealing yourself?"
"Not especially. Either way, it no longer matters."
"I'm not sure I follow."
"It'll work out or I'll have to kill you. It's still too soon to say for certain."
A chill ran up my spine and I struggled to ignore it. "If it's the latter, I'd appreciate it if you left a beautiful corpse."
Stories by Kiera Dellacroix Page 101
