“I admit it. I’ve been where Dan is a couple times. I imagine cold blooded psychos are immune to entities like Easy Loans, huh Nick?”
“No, but we usually revisit the situation with a solution.”
“I’ll bet.”
* * *
Nick entered Dan’s home, feeling the dread permeating the atmosphere in sad waves as he followed the old man from the entrance. He shook hands in the kitchen with Dan’s son and daughter, whom he’d met when they visited a few years before. The solemn, tear stained features said more than words could ever express. Dan took him into the living room where Carol reclined on their loveseat with pillows braced everywhere, covered by a quilt he knew she had made. An ice water circulating pump flowed in and out of a pad Nick could see was braced between the seat and her left side. A table against the nearby wall held syringes and pills. Carol’s head lay against the loveseat, her face pallid and drawn. Oxygen through small tubes at her nose, delivered from a system pump on the other side of the couch, worked to help her labored breathing.
“The cold pad’s the only relief she gets from the pain in her back,” Dan explained.
Carol groaned slightly, hearing Dan’s familiar voice. Her eyes opened in a wide eyed stare of incomprehension at first. Dan sat on the armrest next to her, his hand gliding soothingly over her forehead. “It’s okay, baby. Nick made it over to see you. Are you feeling well enough to talk?”
Nick cringed at the transformation. Dan’s gentle touch brought Carol back for a moment. She sighed, but then smiled at Dan. Nick saw the old man bite his trembling lip, his eyes filling as he bent over to kiss her head. Dan held a cup with bent straw to her mouth. “Have something to drink, Hon.”
Carol sipped the water, gripping the cup over Dan’s hands. She pushed the cup away, reaching out to Nick, who knelt in front of her. He grasped her hand carefully, seeing the bruising all along her wrist and arm from intravenous needles. “Oh, Nick… I’m spoiled now. Thanks… for coming over. I…I’ve been reading your first novel again.”
“Dan told me you’re stuck on one of the chapters. I brought this for you to see we all miss you.” Nick held the digital frame with images and sound he and Rachel had put together.
“My goodness. This is lovely. I’m sorry about not having everyone over. I can’t do that anymore.”
“Don’t be sorry. They all understood.” Nick remembered their digital picture creation had been halted many times with tears.
Carol leaned forward, gripping Nick’s hand with both hers, features tensing as if she held her consciousness in place. “I have to know. Was there ever an Adara? I…I know writers use personal experiences. The chapter End of Days makes me cry every time I read it, but…but it’s a good cry. Was there?”
Nick glanced at Dan. He made a decision before putting aside the digital picture frame, and grasped hers with both his too. He stared into her pain ridden features, trying to smile reassuringly, and failing. “Yes. It wasn’t in Beirut. I met her in Tehran. Her name was Fatima.”
Carol’s eyes brightened, excitement overcoming the pain for a moment. “It has always been like you joked. You are Diego.”
Nick allowed the cold blooded killer to surface into his own features. “As I told my Rachel, Diego’s a campfire girl compared to what I am. You’ve made me confess, old girl. I hope it isn’t too much.”
“Oh no… not at all. I suspected.” Carol lifted a cold hand to frame Nick’s face for a moment. “You are so much more though. Will you say the line to me, Nick?”
“Sure I will,” Nick agreed as Carol moved her hand from his face to her husband’s hand as it rested on her quilt. Nick recalled the moment near the end with Fatima dying in his arms as if it happened only minutes ago. “It is a long hard road sometimes to the end of days, baby, but I will travel it with you as far as I can go.”
Nick saw her hand tighten around Dan’s.
“Did you Nick… travel it with her?”
“Yes, old girl, I surely did as far as I could go. Then I sent a bunch of guys responsible all the way with her.”
Carol closed her eyes, leaning back as Dan held the cooling pad for her to rest against. Nick felt her hand release his. “Thank you for that… Nick. Please tell everyone thank you… for me.”
Nick patted her hand. “I will indeed, Carol. Goodbye for now, old girl. I will see you soon.”
“You’d… better not,” Carol mumbled, drifting off into labored slumber.
Nick said his goodbyes to the kids, who rejoined Carol, while Dan walked him out to his car. Nick handed him an envelope from inside his jacket. “The Easy Loans thing is over, Dan. Sergeant Dickerson will have a squad car drive by your house until we’re sure there will be no retaliation. I have some contacts with the FBI’s financial investigations people. They’re going to fix Easy Loans. You take care of yourself. I won’t say a bunch of meaningless crap. Carol’s the best.”
“Thank you. You weren’t only writing make believe stories. It’s all true what you write.”
“Much of it is worse,” Nick admitted. “I have credentials for the US Marshal’s Service, FBI, the Company, and I have consulted with all of them. It was the reason I met Rachel and Jean. I was sent to kill them. Instead, I killed the man who ordered it done. Then I helped Rachel and Jean so they could become my family. Carol deserved to know, and so do you. I’m more legit than I have been in the past, but I still can’t make it public knowledge.”
Dan shook his head. “That is amazing, and I am glad you told Carol. That is the most animated she’s become in days. I won’t ever forget what you did for me with Easy Loans. I will pay you back, Nick.”
“What if I could use you for something else? You wouldn’t be an errand boy. You can look like you belong anywhere. I need someone who can occasionally go somewhere, and keep their eyes open without drawing attention. I believe you could do that easily. I’d like that far more than you paying me cash. Think about it, Dan. Goodbye for now, my friend.”
Dan shook his hand, and turned to walk away. “I will consider your kind offer. I could tell in there you knew you would not see my baby alive again.”
“I did. Thank you for inviting me into your home.” Nick watched Dan walk to his doorstep, his shoulders squaring as he neared the door. May God be merciful to Carol, my friend, and to you.
* * *
“Did Nick help you with Easy Loans, or should we get a lawyer?”
The old man met his son Dan Jr.’s inquisitive look with a nod. “He did. I have the receipt here that he gave me.”
“I know he’s a famous author,” his daughter Sally said, “but why would he do something so huge for you, Dad?”
“In his way, I think he loves your mom and me. I don’t know why, but we became close over the years, seeing him at Otter’s Point, and sharing coffee at the Monte Café. It’s God’s blessing we became friends.”
“I know Mom loved his novels, but she always said she didn’t really know him,” Dan Jr. said.
“I know this much,” the old man said, “he’s one of the most dangerous men alive. I must leave it at that, or betray a confidence. He made your Mom very happy tonight for a moment. That’s all I care about. She was haunted by a chapter in his first novel. He cleared something up for her that she thought very important. Then he said her favorite line to her. It was her brightest moment in days.”
“Would you want him to come with us… I mean when…”
The old man hugged his daughter. “I know what you meant, Honey. Yes, I would like him to come with us to Mom’s favorite beach very much.”
“Are we going to try and move her to the bed tonight?”
“No, son. It’s too painful for her. I’ll sleep next to her on the loveseat. That way I’ll be able to renew the ice in her pump reservoir easier.”
“What was the name of the chapter Mom questioned him about?”
“The End of Days,” Dan answered after a few seconds hesitation. He turned away from his kids, hands ov
er his face, regaining control a moment later. He took a deep breath, turning back to put his arms around Dan Jr. and Sally. “C’mon. Let’s go settle Mom in for the night.”
* * *
Rod Matger awoke in a sweat, sitting up in the bed feverishly gasping for breath. Matger’s silk pajamas, wet and clinging coldly to his body, radiated an odor of decay. Glancing at his mistress, he noticed her snoring form appeared blurred in the darkness. Rubbing his eyes, the pain began lancing through his ribcage, forcing him onto his back once again. An equally grainy form hovered over him, as his bedside lamp flicked on.
“Hi there, Rod. Remember me from earlier?”
Matger peered at the smiling face, squinting against the light. “McCarty?”
“Yep. Right the first time. My partner and I were going to allow the forces of law and order to hound you for a while over your nasty loan sharking business. Then I visited a real lady who I’d probably murder a hundred of you just to make her smile. When I left her side, I noticed an ache I could do nothing about. Then I thought of you and your buddy Saul. Although you’re not feeling too good, my untouchable ache has receded slightly.”
“My God! Wha…what have you done?”
“I’ve killed you, but I wanted to share your end of days all the way to the finish. I’ve already made sure Saul had a nasty accident. It seems he pitched down a flight of stairs at his apartment building, and snapped his neck. Don’t worry. I stayed with him, watching life fade from his cheap thug eyes before coming here.”
Matger’s eyes closed, his fists clenching under his heart, pain building in an irresistible wave. “You bastard! You…you’ll never… get away with it!”
“Ah contraire, my small time hoodlum. I will get away with it. Not only that, I will mark where they bury you and Saul. A couple months from now I’m going to piss on your fucking graves,” McCarty related to Matger in a matter-of-fact tone. “Maybe the ache will have gone away by then. Don’t worry about your girlfriend. I only gave her a little whiff of ether to help her sleep through this unfortunate turn of events.”
Matger tried to curse the fading form over him, his mouth working without sound until darkness descended in a final black curtain.
* * *
At a few minutes after five in the morning, Nick and Gus sat on beach chairs, watching the slate gray horizon, crashing waves, and rocky Otter’s Point beach with solemn faces. Gus replenished their high octane coffee, pouring carefully into each of the mugs. In a few hours, they would walk Jean to school with Deke, who lay near Nick’s side, his empathy for the humans who cared for him in tune at all times. Deke sensed frolicking in the sand was not in line with the day ahead.
Gus never questioned the mission when Nick called. “What do you think will happen when Rod and Saul are discovered mysteriously dead within the same time frame?”
Nick sipped his brew, but remained silent. He couldn’t describe the ache he mentioned to Matger. Instead, Nick absorbed the unfamiliar emotion with a predator’s recognition of reality. He wasn’t meant to feel things, and yet now he did. His choice to wipe Matger and Korbin from existence would remain a visceral statement he would deal with at a later time. For now, he enjoyed the company he shared, and the fogging elixir in the cup at hand.
Gus sighed at Nick’s silence, smiled, and leaned back. “It’s okay, partner. You don’t give a shit. I texted Paul to erase their names from the database. He was inquisitive about why we called Easy Loans into question at all if we planned on putting them down like a rabid dog. I merely agreed due to circumstances beyond our control Rod and Saul found out why sometimes it’s just plain bad Karma to be assholes. He texted back an LOL, and that he’d fix it. I like that guy.”
Nick held his cup in toasting position. Gus quietly tapped it with his.
* * *
Nick followed Dan, Dan Jr., and Sally toward the beach, watching the old man’s erect form carrying his wife’s ashes in a backpack he had insisted on shouldering. The Pacific Grove coastline at night surged in majestic form under the bright sliver of moon. The fog, a usual participant along the coast, took a time out as if ordered by a higher authority. Nick had requested Sergeant Dickerson keep the usual coastal patrol cars away for the evening.
“It’s a small thing, Sergeant.”
“Consider it done, Nick. If any uniformed wankers intrude, put them on the phone with me. It won’t happen, but if it does, you have my number.”
“Thank you.”
“It’s a small thing, my friend.”
So now, their cadre of mourners treaded silently down the hill. Crossing the coastal road, they approached the nearly pitch black darkness with care. Dan led the way to a large rounded rock near the low tide emptiness.
“This was Carol’s rock. She could sit here for an hour without moving,” Dan said, as he scraped the sand at the rock’s base away into a deepened indentation. He then withdrew the plastic bag carrying his beloved’s ashes from his pack, removed the small twist tie at the top, and spread some down below the rock. Dan stirred the sand, covering his wife’s small occupancy with gentle strokes of his hand.
Dan straightened, and moved forward toward the ocean to a small tide pool where even in the darkness, the mourners could see the silvery glint of ocean water under the moonlight. The old man knelt, and poured the remains of Carol’s ashes into the tide pool, stirring with steady strokes until all of her physical remains lay absorbed into the pool.
Dan stood again. “Carol loved Clint Eastwood movies. She never got to meet him, although we would visit the restaurant he owned at the time called the ‘Hogs Breath Inn’ in Carmel frequently. Once, I went there at nearly closing to have a drink with a friend. Clint was there, and I stupidly mentioned it to her. I don’t think she ever forgave me.”
Dan chuckled at the memory. “We saw the movie ‘Outlaw Josie Wales’ many times. There is a line in it she liked very much when Clint’s character Josie finds his young companion has died from wounds received. I think she’d like the slightly revised line now for this moment – She was born in the time of blood and dyin’, and never questioned a bit of it. She never went back on her folks or her kind. I rode with her, I’ve got no complaints.”
The old man then knelt, his hands clasped. “If you’d like, please join me in the Twenty-Third Psalm, which was also her favorite prayer. We shared it every night for the last two months.”
Beneath the moonlight, amidst the sound of waves smashing onto shore, the small group followed Dan’s lead with only hushed sobs and solemn recitation. After many remembrances, and shared touching moments, the small cadre of survivors paced up the hill towards Dan’s house. At the point where Nick’s journey home split away, he moved forward to put an arm around Dan’s shoulders.
“This is my road home, Dan. Thank you for inviting me along to settle Carol on her way. It was magnificent. Please call on me first if you need anything. I will not intrude in any way unless you ask.”
Dan gripped Nick’s shoulders, his eyes filling with tears. “Thank you for coming, Nick. It meant a lot to me. I will speak with you at a more pleasant time in the future.”
“I understand completely. Until then, my friend.” Nick shook hands with Dan Jr. before giving Sally a quick hug goodbye. “Stay well, kids. Dan has my number if you ever need anything. You have only to ask.”
* * *
Dan and his kids watched Nick walk away until darkness obscured their view. Without another word, Dan started home once again, only to be brought short by his son’s hand.
“Did you read the papers today? That Easy Loans guy Matger and his associate are dead. The news claims one had a heart attack, and the other had a tragic fall at his apartment. Dad, who is this guy McCarty?”
Dan glanced at his two kids with a wan smile. “Nick is someone you never want to meet in anger, revenge, or violent intention.”
When their father continued on, Sally hurried next to him. “What the hell does that mean exactly, Dad?”
Dan
didn’t slacken his pace. “It means justice sometimes arrives in a mysterious form, cloaked in darkness. The funny part is, that particular justice doesn’t give a crap what we think about any outcome it considers justified. If you’re looking for answers beyond that, I don’t have any. My advice, although he is a God blessed friend, leave Nick alone.”
Sally exchanged vivid glances with her brother, and then followed their Dad silently.
* * *
When Nick walked into his house, he faced the contingent waiting for him. “It was simple and heartbreaking. Carol would have loved it. If you bunch are looking for something more tangible, forget it. I have some drinking to do.”
Rachel walked forward with a large shot glass filled with amber liquid. “We loved Carol. She was a beautiful person without peer. We minions are here for you. I know I’d like to hear all the exchanges you must have had with her over the years. I also know you have a photographic memory to provide them. Care to share?”
Nick took the glass and drained it. He walked toward the stairs with Deke immediately shadowing him. “I will be on the deck, recounting tales of deception and laughter shared about one of the most impressive women I’ve ever encountered. If you wish to be enlightened, then follow me… with the Bushmill’s bottle.”
Jean ran her head into Rachel’s side, wrapping her in a death grip of angst and loss, swallowing her sobs in quiet imitation of Nick. Rachel stroked her hair. “I know, baby. Let’s all put our game faces on and hear what only Nick can tell. I know this about that cold blooded zombie, he will make us all cry before he finishes his retelling of interactions with Carol.”
“Amen,” Gus said, putting an arm around Tina, who covered her face, wracked with sobs. “It didn’t take long to become someone who loved Carol. She will be missed unconditionally… and her loss… unimaginable.”
Cold Blooded III: Sins and Sanctions (Nick McCarty Assassin Series Book 3) Page 29
