I knew he didn’t like me being a bounty hunter because it could be dangerous at times. Still, I always thought that he trusted me and believed in me enough to realize that I was a professional, and that I knew what I was doing.
And yes, I did often risk my life, but it was never done for anything frivolous. I have saved lives by risking my own, and like my father, I find it a life worth living.
I met Becca for coffee and told her what had happened. We’ve been friends our entire lives and she was closer to me than my own sister. We were supposed to have gone for a jog, but instead we ate chocolate donuts and talked.
By the time I said goodbye to her, I felt better, but no less confused about what to do.
After moping around the house until noon, I decided to stop by the office. I still hadn’t heard back from Blondie, and it worried me. I also wasn’t able to contact Brenda. If I didn’t hear from her soon, I would call Diego and tell him what she told me about the fate of the armored car robbers. When I opened the door to the office, I walked in on a scene. George and Randy were there, along with Ron, and all three men looked as if they wanted to cry.
“Jesus, guys what’s wrong?”
Randy released a deep sigh.
“Brenda’s dead, she shot herself.”
“What?”
“Yeah, and the cops are saying that she was the one who killed Joe and Marcus, along with Burt and those other guys.”
“What’s their proof?”
“They confirmed that Burt’s blood was found in her trunk, as far as Joe and Marcus, who knows.”
I almost told them that I knew it wasn’t true, but did I really? All I knew was what Brenda told me about what happened. I had no idea where they buried the truck or the money, and Brenda’s allegations seemed absurd. I commiserated with them a while longer, then I went outside and sat in my truck.
I thought about everything Brenda had said, I thought about what I knew of Blondie, and what I felt in my heart. I spent nearly an hour running things over in my mind, seeing where the different pieces did and did not fit, and when I was done, I was certain that someone I knew was a murderer.
My phone rang. It was Blondie.
“Hello Blondie.”
“Blue, I need you to meet me somewhere.”
“And where would that be?”
There was a pause, but then she spoke again.
“That old refinery, I need you to meet me there.”
“Are you all right, Blondie?”
“Yes.”
“You don’t sound like yourself?”
Another pause, but then, “I’m just bummed out; I had a fight with my boyfriend, Ramón.”
Good girl! I thought. She had managed to warn me.
“Blondie?”
“Yes?”
“Everything is going to be all right. Now hand the phone to him.”
“What?”
“Put Burt on.”
This time there was a long pause, but in the background, I could hear a slap, followed by a gasp.
“You always were a smart one, Blue. Who else knows?”
“Only me, and I just figured it out.”
“How?”
“Brenda and I talked yesterday. I thought over everything Brenda told me and realized that it all hinged on you. You were the one who told her all those things about Blondie, setting up the frame, and you’re the only one not confirmed to be dead.”
“Brenda never should have talked to you. This would all be over if she never talked to you.”
“Are you planning to kill me, Burt? Is that why you’re using Blondie, to make me come to you?”
“Blue, I’m begging you. Split the money with me. Don’t be pig-headed like your father.”
“And then what happens to Blondie?”
“Maybe you trust her, but I don’t… I’m sorry.”
“I’m coming to the refinery. Don’t you dare hurt her.”
“It doesn’t have to be that way, Blue.”
“Yeah, Burt, yeah it does.”
“I’m sorry, Blue.”
“Don’t hurt her; I’m coming.”
“Yes, you are, and you’re going to keep this line open while you do it. If I let you hang up, you’ll call the cops.”
“Put Blondie back on.”
“No, and no more talking, but you leave the line open or I’ll take care of her and then disappear.”
“I’ll leave it open, and I want to say one more thing. Think about what you’re doing, Burt. Think about the man you used to be.”
“That man died with my son. Now stop talking, and drive.”
I started my truck and headed for the refinery. Facing him alone was far from ideal, but by making me keep the line open, he prevented me from using the phone to call the police. But then, when I remembered what was in my glove box, I nearly shouted for joy.
I had a second phone. It belonged to José Muneaz, the “whatever” guy. I still had his phone in my glove box.
When I was at a red light, I reached over and plucked the phone out of the glove box. Afterward, I dialed a number that I knew by heart. When the screen indicated that the call was answered; I began talking to Burt again, but this time I put the call on speakerphone.
“Burt, why did you kill Brenda? I think she would have split the money from the armored car with you.”
“One million instead of two? No thank you… that is, unless you’ve changed your mind. I really don’t want to hurt you, Blue.”
“We’ll talk things over when I get there, but that abandoned refinery is a big place; where do you want to meet?”
“Just come in like you did last time and I’ll find you, now stop talking and just drive. I need to think.”
I looked down at the other phone and saw that the line was still active, and that the other party must have heard the conversation.
“I’m almost there, Burt. I’ve just gotten off the Raytown exit.”
“Fine, and remember, you’d better be alone.”
“You made sure of that by making me keep this line open.”
“Just being careful, now stop talking.”
I stayed quiet as ordered and hoped that the other call worked. I knew that even if it did, that help wouldn’t come right away, and I could already see the refinery looming ahead.
Six people, Burt had killed six people, and three of them were complete innocents. I thought of Blondie and said a prayer that the count of innocents wouldn’t climb any higher.
Burt would assume that I’d enter through the hole in the fence, add that to his bad knee and an unwilling hostage, and I had a good idea where he would be lying in wait for me.
There was an old guard shack near the gate that offered a clear line of sight to the hole in the fence, while also granting concealment.
The chain link fence that surrounded the facility was old, but still formidable. It stood eight-feet-high and was covered with barbed wire on top. I parked my truck as close to the fence as I could manage, then scrambled up onto the truck’s roof.
Burt’s voice came over the phone.
“What’s that noise?”
“I’m here; I just got out of the truck.”
“I don’t see you?”
“I’m walking toward the fence now; you’ll see me soon.”
I had grabbed a jacket from the cab of my truck. I draped it atop the fence, and then straddled it, I could still feel the painful pressure of the metal barbs digging into me, but they were rusted, and thankfully didn’t cut through the jacket. Now came the tough part, getting down on the other side.
“I still don’t see you, Blue.”
“I’ll be right there,” I said, then I jumped the eight feet to the ground.
“What was that noise?”
“I tripped.”
Pain shot through my left leg, but I was otherwise good and could come up on him from behind. It would cheat him out of the opportunity to shoot me as I bent down to crawl through the gap in the fence.
> “Did you say you tripped? I couldn’t hear you, the call is breaking up.”
“It’s the tanks; they interfere with the signal.”
“Damn it, Blue, where the hell are you?”
“I’m right behind you.”
I could just make out his forearm, it was sticking out the small window in the booth, but then he came out. He was holding Blondie in front of him like a shield. She looked as frightened as I’d ever seen her.
“Damn sneaky, Blue, you don’t trust me?”
“Has he hurt you, Blondie?”
“My left shoulder hurts; he twisted my arm behind me.”
“Put that gun down, Blue, or the shoulder will be the least of her worries.”
“I’ve changed my mind.”
“What?”
“Let’s split the money.”
“And what about Blondie? Are you ready to do what needs to be done?”
“She can have half of mine.”
“Can’t risk it, she might talk or do something stupid.”
I kept looking for an opportunity to shoot, but Burt held Blondie in front of him in a firm grip. His gun arm was resting on her shoulder, weapon aimed at me.
“She lives or there’s no deal, and you know that I’m a good shot, Burt.”
“I know; it’s why I have to do this.”
He fired twice, barely missing both times. I dropped to the ground and took aim at his legs. After his next shot passed through my hair, Blondie turned her head and sunk her teeth into his arm.
Burt screamed in pain but held on to his gun. Before I could stop it, he shot Blondie in the stomach. She fell to the ground as blood sprayed from her wound. I now had a clear view of Burt. I sent three shots into his torso, then scrambled to my feet as he crumbled to the ground. When I reached him, I saw him take his last breath.
“Blue?”
“I’m right here, Blondie, I’m right here. You saved me, kiddo. You saved my life.”
“I love you, Blue.”
“I love you too, Blondie, now you hold on and I’ll get you to the hospital.”
Her wound was serious, and there was so much blood, so damn much.
I had just helped her to her feet when I heard it. It was a helicopter. Help had arrived.
The facility had a helipad at its center, and the pilot set the craft down there. As Blondie and I inched toward it, three men came running toward us. One of them was the man I had called on the other cell phone. It was Diego Ramirez, the cop looking into the armored car heist, and a longtime friend.
“Where’s the perp, Blue?”
“Dead.”
“Are you hurt?”
“No, but Blondie needs immediate help. Let’s load her in the chopper.”
The other men turned out to be FBI agents. They each took a side of Blondie, picked her up, and ran her toward the chopper. Seconds later, it was in the air, headed for the nearest trauma unit.
Diego and I talked as I led him over to Burt’s body.
“As you can guess, I got your call. It took me a minute to figure out what was happening, but once I did, I brought in the Feds.”
“Thank God you’ve had the same cell phone number for years. I knew it by heart.”
Diego stared down at Burt.
“Shit, Mr. Tucker? Hell, he was my little league coach back home. Was he one of the people who robbed the armored car?”
“No, he came in after that. It’s a long story, but let me tell it to you on the way to the hospital. I have to see how Blondie is doing.”
Two patrol cars pulled up at the gate. After I gave a brief statement, Diego and I left the scene with a promise to return. As I drove to the hospital, I told him the whole story.
Diego shook his head in disgust. “God, more lives ruined by the lure of easy money, and now it may be lost. There’s no one left alive who knows where it is.”
“I may have an idea there. I remembered earlier that years ago, when Burt’s father died, that the old man left him a piece of land near Dallas. I think that might just be where they buried it.”
“You may be right. I’ll have them check public records and find that parcel.”
Diego flashed his badge, and as we entered the trauma unit, an antiseptic odor filled my nose.
When I asked the nurse about Blondie’s condition she looked confused, and then I remembered.
“I’m sorry, Blondie’s her nickname; her name is Susan Holden.”
“Oh, honey, I’m so sorry, Miss Holden passed away. She died on the flight here.”
“What? Oh God, oh no… ooohh Blondie.”
I began crying and Diego hugged me, then he helped me to my truck and got behind the wheel. I cried some more. Blondie had saved my life, and the last words she ever spoke to me were to tell me that she loved me. I felt like a complete failure for not having saved her.
My hunch turned out to be right. The money and the armored car were found buried on Burt’s property. Inside the vehicle were the corpses of the robbers.
The fact that the notes sent to the reporter had been written by a woman caused speculation that Burt may have had a partner. That ended when a hooker came forward after seeing Burt’s photo on TV. She claimed that she wrote the notes for Burt. He paid her for performing that service, among others, but that she had no way of knowing that they were tied to murders. A check of her handwriting seemed to confirm her story.
I had spoken to Gary only once since the night of his proposal, but we had agreed to meet for a Sunday brunch in a small restaurant we liked.
Despite the out-of-the-wayness of the place, the shadowy booth, and his lack of appetite, I was as clueless about his intentions as I had been the night he proposed. And so, I was taken aback when he revealed them.
“You’re breaking up with me?”
“I think it’s best. I don’t see how we can have a future together. I love you, Blue, I swear to God that I do, but I can’t stand being with someone who is so… casual, about their safety, about their life. When your friend Blondie died, and you were nearly killed, I thought that maybe you’d see the light, but no, no, you just keep on going the same as always.”
I heard every word he said, but I still asked the question.
“Is it Janelle? Have you gotten back together with her?”
“No, goddamn it. Did you not hear a word I just said?”
“No, I heard you. You find me unacceptable and if I don’t change to please you, then there’s no point in being together.”
“I don’t find you unacceptable. I find what you do unacceptable.”
I stood. He wasn’t going to change his mind and I’d be damned if I was going to beg him to.
I leaned over, kissed him on the lips, and walked away, while once again feeling like a failure.
I went home, and although it was barely past noon, I went straight to bed. When I awoke, my pillow was damp, and I knew that I had cried in my sleep.
My bedside clock told me that it was seven a.m., I moaned and headed for the shower. I had a funeral to attend.
Ron came to the funeral and held my hand throughout it. He knew that I had grown to love Susan, our Blondie, and that her death had affected me. Despite having recently lost so many of his people, he insisted that I take some time off. I took him up on it, although I had no clue what to do if I wasn’t working.
That night, I sat alone in the dark, drinking, and thinking about my life.
I loved Gary, but he could not accept me as I am, and so once again I was alone. When I began thinking of Blondie, I poured a second drink. The amber fire flowing down my throat felt so good that I poured a third, then a fourth, and I kept pouring until I lost track, but I did become keenly aware of something else.
I did not want to be alone.
I don’t remember getting in my truck or driving there, but I do remember running over a hedge when I arrived, of thinking, Whatever, and of hearing my own foolish giggling.
It was after two a.m. when he opened the door. I
saw a look of surprise light his face and it was followed by a look of pleasure.
At least one man wanted to be with me.
“Chica? Are you all right?”
I smiled at Ramón, said, “It’s your lucky day,” then kissed him hard on the mouth. He took me in his arms and shut the door against the night.
BLUE STEELE - VENGEANCE
BLUE STEELE – VENGEANCE - Book 3 of the Blue Steele Series
Chapter 7
I woke up in a strange bed with my hair in a tangle, as if I’d been tossing and turning all night. There was also a steady throbbing in my skull that was so painful it made my face hurt. I then did something stupid. I opened my eyes.
The room was filled with light from a setting sun that made the throbbing in my skull beat faster. When I turned my face to the pillow to avoid it, I caught the masculine scent of its owner. I was in a man’s bed, but whose?
I forced my eyes open again, just a crack, and gazed about the room. The bed I laid in was king-sized and matched the huge room. I realized that I could almost fit my entire apartment inside its dimensions.
Then I noticed the moldings, the filigree, and the stone fireplace. They told me that the house was very old. I had figured that out, but I still had no clue whose bed I had slept in. I continued looking around and saw no photos, but I did spot a hand drawn picture. I recognized it as the work of my nine-year-old niece, Amy. It was done in crayon and showed a tall man standing beside a little girl. The detail in the drawing was impressive and below the artwork was the caption—Me and My Hero, Ramón.
I was in Ramón’s bed, and with that revelation, it all came crashing back.
Blondie was dead.
Gary had dumped me.
And I threw my drunken self at Ramón.
I hadn’t made a fool of myself in quite a while, now it seemed like I had rectified that.
I got out of the bed slowly, and as I walked toward the adjacent bathroom, I noticed something.
I was fully dressed.
I wore every stitch I had arrived in except for my boots, which sat at the foot of the bed. So, I hadn’t slept with Ramón, or, I should say, he didn’t sleep with me, since my recall of the events after my arrival seemed non-existent.
Blue Steele Box Set Page 15
