by Jack Young
“So, I get to leave?”
Joe shrugged. “Yeah. I guess.”
“Glad you felt the need to haul us all the way here to have that chat.”
“Well, some shit has happened all over town recently and I thought maybe you and Carlyle could help us. That maybe you two knew some things is all.”
“I don’t.”
“So, you say.” Joe pulled the chair out as if to sit, but didn’t. “Listen, Paden, if you do know anything it sure would help. The last thing this town needs is an all out war and tons of bloodshed.”
“I agree.”
“You do?”
“Yeah. I grew up here and love how peaceful things have always been.”
“I see. So, if that’s the case, how does a gunman show up at an elementary school shooting at you and killing your girlfriend instead?”
Paden wanted to tell Joe everything, but the more he said, the longer he could possibly be kept at the station. “I don’t know.” His gaze went back to the center of the table.
“That it?”
Paden didn’t respond. He just stared. Joe picked up his notepad. “I was really hoping you’d help us, but I can see that’s not gonna happen.” He knocked on the door and a uniformed officer opened it from the outside. Joe pointed to the door. “You can go.”
Paden sat for a second and then stood to leave. Joe handed him his business card. “In case you change your mind.”
Paden grabbed the card and ripped it up letting the pieces fall on the floor.
25.
Davy wasn’t wearing his watch and figured a couple of hours, at least, had passed before anyone came into the interrogation room he was left in. This wasn’t his first time at the police station, so he knew the routine. His plan was just to stay silent and not say anything. The last time he was pulled into the station was nearly two years before. He didn’t say one word or even look at the cops questioning him. That went on for nearly two hours before they realized Davy wasn’t going to say anything. It was a bullshit reason he was brought in that time anyway. Pretty much like this time.
When the door finally opened, the older and bigger of the two detectives who brought him to the station walked in. “Alright, Carlyle. You can go.”
This confused Davy. “Really? That’s it?”
“Yep.”
Davy nodded and stood. “There’s two hours of my life I won’t get back.”
“Yeah. You and me both, kid.”
Davy exited the room acting as if he didn’t care about the wasted time for the cops which he didn’t, but he was irritated, and curious about what happened to Paden. He was sure Paden kept his mouth shut as well or else they’d both still be in those rooms or even formally arrested. Davy had a good idea the trip to the station was about everything he and Paden had been involved with recently.
Davy didn’t linger and made his way outside to the parking lot. He remembered he didn’t have a ride because the detectives drove him and Paden to the station. It wasn’t the first time he found himself stranded at the station having to walk home, so he took off on foot. As he walked, he thought of how killing Parker and Davis would resonate with Sean Brady. Both guys were low-level and their deaths wouldn’t affect any of Brady’s business, but he was a smart enough man to connect their deaths to some type of retaliation from someone. In this case, they tried to kill Davy and Paden. Brady would eventually know they would come for him as well.
Getting to Brady was going to be tough because since Alex moved away with the wedge he kept between him and his family, Davy seldom had a reason to be at Brady’s house other than being summoned there or going there with Big John. If he just showed up out of the blue, it would be suspicious. Whenever he did go to Brady’s house, Brady made it a point to visit with Davy. Usually about life and how he and Alex were friends at school. These moments always reminded Davy of sitting with an uncle who was handing out life lessons. He had a fondness for Sean Brady because he helped him fix things for his mother. Even with that, Davy saw over the years how ruthless Brady could be.
Davy tried to avoid jobs he believed were against even his own beliefs. He never volunteered for any jobs either and told Big John from the get-go he wouldn’t kill women and kids. Big John understood this and no job requiring the killing of a woman or even a young adult came to Davy. That was until the previous summer.
Her name was Gertrude Montgomery. Everyone called her Trudy though. Trudy hung around Penni’s, but didn’t work there. She was only seventeen. Her older sister, Nan, worked there. Nan was twenty-three and worked there because the money was good for her and her son. The two sisters were the only ones they could count on. Their parents left them years before when Nan was still in school. She took care of Trudy then and after Buster was born, Trudy helped out.
Trudy was a sophomore in high school when Davy first met her. He met her through Nan who he would see off and on. He wasn’t Buster’s father, but he looked after him enough when Trudy couldn’t watch him. Orrin went to school with Trudy and through their common connection he took her to his senior prom. They didn’t date though. They were too much of friends for that and didn’t want to make things awkward. Plus, Trudy was busy most of the time after school watching Buster. His real name was George, but one of Nan’s co-workers called him Buster once and it sort of stuck. Buster’s father joined the Army when Nan was a few months pregnant with him and the last they heard he was still in the Army. Nan received a check for five hundred dollars from him about four times a year. It was more than any of them expected.
When Davy began to see Nan socially, he came around the club more often. He lied when he told Paden he didn’t know him. He’d seen Paden at the club sometimes, but he never did anything worth Paden remembering who he was. Davy never went there as the jealous boyfriend making sure guys didn’t get too frisky with Nan. That was the bouncers’ jobs. He did enjoy watching Nan dance. When he would come in, he’d stay to watch her dance once or twice, have a drink or two, and then leave.
There were oftentimes slow periods of work for Davy and that was the main reason he took the job at the grocery store. Granted, he was stashing away money, but that money was for an emergency, and just like everyone else, Davy had bills to pay. He was getting ready for one of his shifts at the store when Nan and Trudy came to his place. They had Buster with them. Nan said they’d been kicked out of their trailer. They were current on their rent and never had parties or anything else in violation of the renter’s contract. Nan said it was because the couple who ran the trailer park found out where she worked and didn’t approve. Nan went to the husband one afternoon to try and reason with him. His wife was out of town visiting her sister and he told Nan he could try and get his wife to reconsider if Nan went down on him. Nan refused and he ended up speeding up their eviction by a week and told everyone she had propositioned him for sex in exchange for continuing to live there.
At first, Davy wanted to go have a talk with the man, but Nan told him it wasn’t worth it. Instead, Davy helped the three of them move in with him. What they couldn’t bring to his place, they put in storage. Nan insisted they would only stay until they found a new place, but Davy told them there was no rush. Nan stayed in the room with Davy, and Buster and Trudy had their own rooms. Big John caught wind of this living situation and gave Davy shit about it every time he saw him.
One afternoon, Davy came home for lunch to find Trudy crying and Nan comforting her. “She’s pregnant, Davy.”
This surprised Davy because he had no idea Trudy was even seeing anyone. He wasn’t naïve to think you had to be in a relationship to get pregnant, but between school and taking care of Buster, Trudy didn’t really have a social life. Davy did what he could to make the most of having these new roommates and trying to help them get ready for the baby. He even began to get excited to have a baby around. Granted, the baby wasn’t his, but there was always something about babies that warmed his heart.
A month or so after the three moved in with Da
vy, he found himself at a party at Sean Brady’s house. It was a birthday party for one of Brady’s grandchildren and Davy was invited so he went. Davy went wondering if his childhood friend, Alex, would be there. He hadn’t seen him in years and it would’ve been nice to catch up. After an hour, Davy realized Alex wasn’t going to show.
Davy sat at a table away from others, nursing a beer. He was beginning to think about leaving when Sean sat down next to him. “Enjoying yourself, kiddo.?”
Davy was taking a sip of his beer when he was asked this. He nodded and swallowed before answering. “Oh yeah. Hell of a party as usual, man.”
“Get enough to eat?”
Davy patted his full stomach. “That’s one guarantee about your gatherings, Sean. I never leave hungry.”
Brady took a sip from his drink. He was simple in his tastes, so Davy knew it was a Jack on the rocks. “That’s good to hear.” Sean adjusted himself in his seat and scooted closer. “Things going good for you?”
“Yeah.”
“Still at the store?”
Davy nodded and took another drink. “It pays the bills.”
“Big John hook you up still?”
“Yeah. Every now and then.”
“Easy jobs? Tough jobs?”
Davy knew the tough jobs Sean was referring to were hits. “Nothing too tough lately, but enough work to help with some of the bills.”
Sean nodded. “I bet.” He took a drink draining the remainder in the glass. “I hear you have some roommates.”
“Yeah. Just a temporary thing though.”
“How many?”
“Three.”
“Nan from Penni’s, right?”
“Yep. Her and her kid plus her kid sister.”
“I hear the sister is having a kid now.”
Davy wondered how Sean knew this because he, Nan, and Trudy were trying to keep it all under wraps until they couldn’t anymore. He looked at Sean and nodded while taking another drink.
Sean set his glass on the table. “I need you to take care of something tough for me.”
Although Sean never personally gave Davy “tough” work or any work at all he nodded. “Sure. What do you need?”
Sean let out a long breath. “Your roommate. The one knocked up.” Davy watched Sean nod and point to himself which Davy took to mean he was the father. “It’s a tough one I know, but it needs to get done.”
Davy felt his stomach turn as Sean got up and walked away. Sean was no saint when it came to his marriage, but to get with a girl still in high school was something else. Maybe it was more normal than Davy knew. He knew he couldn’t go through with it and he needed to talk to Big John about it and get his thoughts on the whole thing.
Big John was found by the barbeque grill tending to some chicken and visiting with some of the other guys Davy knew worked for either Big John or Sean. He patted Big John on the shoulder. “Got a minute?”
“Yeah. Sure, kid.” He pointed to the chicken and the guys he was visiting with. “Watch the chicken a minute. Don’t let them get burnt.”
They walked about twenty feet from the grill. “Listen, um, Sean just told me to handle something tough for him. He asked me personally and it’s something personal for him.”
Big John took a long pull from his beer as Davy told him this, He swallowed and let out a burp. “What? He usually tells me about that shit. What is it?”
“My roommate. The one in high school still.”
“What about her? I hear she’s knocked up.”
“Yeah.” Davy looked into his mentor’s eyes to see if he was getting the connection.
Big John took a deep breath and let it out. “Fuck. Okay. I’ll talk to him. Might just be a payment thing. A big payoff where she doesn’t ever have to worry about money.”
“Yeah. Money takes care of everything.” He knew it was just words coming out of his mouth. He hoped Big John didn’t catch the sarcasm.
Davy didn’t have reason to think Big John wouldn’t handle this without anyone getting hurt. Davy left the party feeling semi-optimistic about the whole thing. Two weeks later, Nan, Trudy, and Buster died in a car wreck. The authorities said the road was slick due to rain. Big John swore he had nothing to do with it, but deep down Davy knew Sean had someone do it. Since then, Davy had been waiting for an opportunity to get Sean. Big John was behind him on this because he, too, was waiting for the right time to take him out and take over all of his businesses. None of this was going to be easy. Davy needed to track down Paden. He knew Paden would help.
26.
After the police released him, Paden wasn’t sure where he should go. He thought about hanging around to wait for Davy, but wondered if that would give the police more of a reason to believe that he and Davy knew each other well. At least well enough for him to hang around waiting for Davy. In the end, he called a cab to get him and take him back to his place where he could sit for a moment and think.
He wanted the driver to take him straight to where he believed Sean Brady lived and finish things, but Paden knew Brady would have more protection that he alone could take on and come out alive. Even if he had Davy with him, the task of killing Brady wasn’t going to be a quick and easy one. The more he thought about it, the more Paden realized he may not make it through any of this alive. He was fine with that as long as he was the one who killed Brady.
Paden knew a little of Sean Brady from the clubs and didn’t mind him really. The guy had money and threw it around. This wealth had Brady sort of on the arrogant side as if he were better than most. Not with Paden, though. He was never rude to Paden, but after a couple of drinks Brady became annoying just like most people when they came into the clubs and had too many drinks. Paden worked long enough as a bouncer that he knew how to handle guys like Brady when they had too much to drink. The only real time Paden had to tell Brady to take it easy was when things became heated between Paden and some of Brady’s guys.
A couple of years earlier, Paden was working at Al’s. He and Joanne had hit a rough patch and he threw himself into his work to take his mind off their problems. He was on his eighth day in a row working and the last three were a set of days revolving around most of the pay days in town, causing the place to be busier than usual. It didn’t help that Paden turned forty a few days before and was having one of those moments where he was re-evaluating his life choices.
Paden liked working for Al because he was left alone to do his thing and Al trusted him that whatever he did on the floor Paden knew the club came first and never brought his personal bullshit to the club. Al paid him decent enough, too. Paden got paid three hundred dollars a night if Al called him in to work Sundays through Thursdays and five hundred a night on Friday and Saturday nights. A thousand if Al knew ahead of time a big party crowd was coming in, such as a bachelor or bachelorette party. Most parties like those ended up at one of the local strip clubs, but sometimes they came to Al’s club. Al was good to him and the money helped pay the bills.
On this eighth night Paden worked, things were slow. It was a Wednesday night and Paden waited for Al to tell him to go ahead and go home, but Al kept to himself in his office. Paden sat at the bar drinking a cup of coffee reading a Dennis Lehane paperback while glancing up every so often to scan the club. Besides him and the bartender, Les, there were only two guys in the bar and they weren’t anywhere near getting rowdy. In fact, they looked to be having a business meeting. They both had folders open and papers scattered on the table. One of them looked straight out of high school and was waving a set of papers around and pointing at them. Paden didn’t have a clue what he was talking about nor did he care. There was nothing wrong with what they were doing and he hoped the rest of his shift went as smooth as the current moment.
As the shift continued, Paden watched the group of men eventually leave and be replaced by various people from around town. He’d worked there long enough to know many of Al’s patrons and they knew him. They all seemed to get along fine, but a few had tested Pade
n over the years and seldom were they let back in. There was a general understanding around town that if Paden was working, no one dared to mess with him. Many knew to behave even if Paden wasn’t working because he would settle things when he next saw those who caused problems in any of the clubs he worked in.
As the late afternoon shifted to evening, the place grew louder with more people coming in and the music shifting from plain old house music to dance music. People began to gather on the floor to dance. Around ten that evening when Paden was halfway through his second pot of coffee for the shift, a group of seven men came into the club. All were dressed for a night of clubbing. None of them were new to the club and gathered at the bar to get their drinks. The obvious leader of the group sat at the bar to the left of Paden. Paden knew the guy and gave him a nod. When the guy received his drink, a beer, he returned the nod. “How’s it going there, Paden?”
“I’m good, Sean. I’m good.”
Sean Brady looked around. “Kind of slow tonight ain’t it?”
“Yeah. It happens.”
Brady took a sip as a Hank Williams III song came blaring over the speaker. He was singing about going straight to hell and Paden laughed to himself wondering who the hell requested that song. Brady chin-pointed to a big guy at the end of the bar. “It’s Big John’s birthday. You know him?”
Paden knew Big John from around Lanny’s various clubs. He made eye contact with Big John and raised his cup of coffee in a toasting fashion. “Happy birthday.” Big John held up his drink and toasted back.
The night continued and the crowd grew. The dance floor became active and Paden had long put away his book. It wasn’t as busy as a Friday night. Most of the people at the club seemed to have come for Big John’s party and were dancing. Brady and Big John didn’t though. They sat at a table in the corner drinking and watching the others.
