37

by David Achord

  “Fuck you, asshole. We’re not going anywhere,” the girl said. She was sitting lazily in a chair without a care in the world.

  I stared in growing anger. She couldn’t have been any older than eighteen, stringy hair, acne, and a petulant scowl of her own. She was wearing dirty jeans and a T-shirt with a heavy metal band logo on it and I wondered when the last time either had been laundered. The second man wasn’t much older. He was rail thin and also had a face full of acne. Neither of them concerned me. It was the big one who was going to be trouble. He leaned forward and stood. He was almost as tall as me and had some muscle to him. Prison muscle, most likely. I guessed him in his late twenties. He puffed up his chest and fixed me with a challenging stare.

  “Who the hell are you?” he asked again. “You don’t live here.”

  “It doesn’t matter who I am. You three are leaving.”

  “We ain’t going anywhere,” he declared. We locked eyes and stared each other down.

  “You’ll leave,” I said in a calm tone. “The question you should be asking yourself is whether you’re going to leave in one piece or not.”

  His facial expression turned to disbelief, and then a small smirk crept onto his face. “What, you want some, old man?”

  I saw Percy stir out of the corner of my eye. I waved him off with a flick of my hand. The tough guy saw it too and thought he had his chance, his opening.

  “C’mon, old man,” he barked and tried to give me a forceful push. I think he might have been a little surprised when his push failed to move me. He then stepped back slightly and started to bring a fist up.

  I wasted no time and responded with a flurry of punches. The first one crushed his nose, and the second one caused his eyes to roll back in his head. That was enough; his knees were wobbling and he was going down, but I wasn’t through. I stepped in and finished with a right uppercut, knocking him off his feet. I jumped on top of him and unmercifully began pounding him. I was in a rage, and, looking back, if it wasn’t for Percy, I’m not certain I would have stopped until he was dead.

  “Easy, big guy,” he said in my ear as he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me back.

  I locked eyes with Anna as I got my breathing back to normal. She had a look of surprise on her face. The girl started to stand, but Percy wouldn’t have it.

  “Sit your ass down!” he barked. She sat quickly. Her smirk was replaced with worry.

  When Percy felt like I’d calmed myself, he let go and walked over to the now unconscious bruiser and frisked him. He found a snub-nose revolver shoved down in his crotch.

  He opened the cylinder and dropped the bullets to the floor. Closing the cylinder back, he stuck it in his waistband and pulled a wallet from the man’s hip pocket. I focused on the younger man and stepped over to him. He was visibly shaking and staring at me in mortal fright.

  “I didn’t do nothing,” he squeaked.

  “Stand up,” I ordered. He was reluctant to do so, so I grabbed him by the shoulder and hoisted him to his feet.

  “Do you have any needles on you or anything else that’s going to stick me?” I asked.

  “Uh, no,” he said, his eyes jumping back and forth between his unconscious friend, Percy, and me.

  “I’m going to search you, and if I get stuck by something, I’m going to take whatever it is and jam it in your eye, do you understand?”

  “I don’t have any needles, man, I swear,” he said anxiously.

  He was telling the truth. All I found was a wallet with three dollars in it and an expired driver’s license. Anna took my lead and searched the woman. She started to protest, but one look from me and she closed her mouth. As an afterthought, I pulled out my phone and snapped a few photos of all three of them.

  “Whose car is that outside?” I asked.

  “It’s mine,” the young man said.

  “What’s your name?”

  “B-B-B-Bobby,” he stammered. I pointed at his unconscious friend. “Uh, he goes by Steel Willie.”

  “And her?”

  “Uh, Barb. She’s my sister.”

  I stared down at the girl. Her fear was mostly gone and she fixed me with a sullen glare, like we’d committed an egregious offense against her.

  “Alright, Bobby and Barb, here’s how this is going to go. You three pieces of shit are going to get in your car and go back to wherever you came from and never come back.”

  I emphasized the point by turning and kicking Steel Willie in the side. He exhaled a painful groan.

  “If I ever see any of you again, if you even drive down the street in front of this house, I’ll kill him, but I’m going to take a knife to you two. When I get finished, you won’t even recognize each other. Understand?” I growled.

  Bobby nodded vigorously. Barb continued to look at me like she wanted to kill me. I felt like it was time to put the fear of God into her and pulled out my lock blade knife.

  “I guess you don’t believe me,” I said, opened it, and took a step toward her. Her angry stare instantly turned to fear. She threw her hands out.

  “Okay, okay,” she said.

  I stared at her a long moment before slowly closing my knife and putting it away. I then pointed toward the door. Percy and I carried Steel Willie out and unceremoniously tossed him into the passenger seat of the small car. We then motioned for the two younger ones to get in.

  “Uh, sir?” Bobby asked.

  “What?” I growled.

  “We have some clothes and stuff inside.”

  I looked over and nodded at Anna.

  “I’ll get it,” she said and went back inside.

  Percy took the opportunity to look through their car. He took his own photo of the vehicle registration before pocketing a checkbook and some credit cards he found in the glove box. He then found some paperwork that he stared at curiously before sticking everything in his pocket.

  “Where are you two from, Bobby?” I asked.

  “Mayfield, Kentucky, sir,” he said.

  “What about numbnuts over there?” I asked, referring to Willie, who was now conscious and tenderly touching his bleeding nose. He looked around and made eye contact with me, but the fight was gone from him. Instead, he used his shirt to try to staunch the blood.

  “Barb met him online and we went and picked him up when he got out of prison. That was two weeks ago. We’ve kind of been on our own since then. Like nomads, I guess you’d say.”

  “Nomads, huh? It sounds like a shitty life you’ve got yourself into, Bobby,” I said.

  He hung his head and didn’t respond. I looked over at Barb, who was staring out of the backseat window with one of those pissed off at the world expressions. I knew there was no hope for her. If Bobby was smart, he’d get himself far away from her.

  After five minutes, Anna emerged carrying two stuffed trash bags.

  “Nothing but clothes,” she said. “They have a couple of cell phones, but they’re probably stolen.”

  I took the bags and threw them on top of the tough guy. He flashed a brief angry stare at me but said nothing.

  “Alright, get out of here, and don’t think for a minute I’m not serious.” I then leaned in closer and whispered in Bobby’s ear, “You three thought Ronald was easy prey, and I guess he is, but I can assure you if we see you again, you three will go down hard.”

  “You guys are cops, aren’t you?” Bobby asked. “I’ve heard police departments have their own goon squads, that’s what you guys are.”

  “You’re smarter than you look, Bobby,” I said. “Alright, get out of here and don’t come back.” I pointed at Steel Willie. “Especially you.”

  He stared back for a moment before turning and staring blankly out of the window. When they got about fifty yards down the road, Barb held her middle finger up through the back window.

  Anna scoffed. “I should’ve slapped the taste out of her mouth when I had the chance. Okay, I’ve got Ronald in the bedroom. He’s pretty upset, so give me a few minutes to talk to him
.”

  We walked in and looked around. The place was a disaster. I started to pick up some trash, but Percy stopped me.

  “You might want to go clean up your hands first,” he said. “Remember what happened to Roger that time.”

  I looked down to see my knuckles skinned up. Percy was referring to a co-worker named Roger. A few years back, he had to fight a DUI suspect. One hard punch to the mouth was all it took to subdue the guy, but Roger had skinned up his knuckles, much like mine were. He got an infection and his hand ballooned up like a cantaloupe. It was touch and go for a while, and the doctors were actually considering amputation at one point. I hurried into the restroom and washed up.

  When I walked back into the den, Anna emerged from the back bedroom. She sighed and shook her head.

  “It was a setup. He met her on a dating website. He met up with her, took her to dinner, and they seemed to hit it off. She suggested they go back to his place, slept with him, and when he woke up the next morning, the other two were here. He said he tried to call, but the big one took his phone and they wouldn’t let him go out.”

  “How long have they been here?” Percy asked.

  “Four days,” Anna said. I started to walk into the room where Ronald was, but Anna put a hand on my arm.

  “He’s embarrassed and humiliated. Also, they’ve apparently pawned all of his computers and used the money for their meth habit. He’s pretty tore up about that.”

  Percy pulled the papers out of his pocket. “That would explain these pawn receipts.”

  “Shit,” I muttered and rushed down into the basement where Ronald ran his cyber domain. There was nothing but empty tables where his computers and monitors once sat; nothing but a few cables were left and dusty outlines on the tables. Ronald kept fastidious files in some file cabinets off in the corner. It did not take much of an effort to find an inventory sheet which included all of the serial numbers of his beloved computers. I walked back upstairs and showed Percy the list. He started making comparisons with the pawn receipts and nodded when he started finding matches.

  “If you’ll stay here and keep an eye on things, I’ll go try and get them back,” I said.

  “No,” he said. “Stay here with your boy. He needs you. I’ll take care of it.”

  I started to protest but he held up a hand, silencing me. I don’t know why I thought I’d have more success in getting the computers back; he was as good a detective as anybody. Better than most, actually. I nodded gratefully and handed him my keys.

  I watched him leave and then went into the bedroom. Ronald was curled up on the bed in the fetal position. His eyes were red and puffy.

  “They’re gone and won’t be back,” I said.

  “Okay,” he replied meekly.

  “Did they get into your bank account?”

  Ronald shook his head. “Well, sort of. I only had a couple of hundred in my checking account. They used my debit account to drain that and I told them that’s all I had. They didn’t know about my other accounts. I thought they’d leave then, but then Barb suggested they pawn my computers.”

  “Okay, I guess that’s good. Did they get into your stocks and bonds?”

  Ronald shook his head. I nodded gratefully. Ronald was a hobbyist investor, but he’d made some decent investments over the past years. I stood and motioned Anna out into the hallway.

  “Percy’s going to hit these pawnshops and get his computers back. In the meantime, let’s get this place cleaned up. Ronald has a thing about cleanliness.”

  “Okay.”

  Those crackheads had sure done a number on his house. It was trashed. Anna and I spent the rest of the day cleaning up while Ronald sat on the couch, watching us in silence and rocking himself. When we’d finished, we joined him on the couch. Anna put her arms around him.

  “Ronald, sweetie, it’s going to be okay,” she told him.

  Ronald glanced at her and then at me. “I can’t live without my computers,” he lamented and his eyes started watering up again. I patted him on the leg.

  “Don’t worry about that. Percy is going to get them back. If he doesn’t, we’ll get you some new ones.”

  He shook his head. “It’s not that simple. I’ve got them all specially modified.” An unbidden sob came out and I joined Anna in putting my arm around him. He ranted on. “I’ve upgraded them and they have my own personal programming. They’re unique. They’re my babies.”

  “Don’t worry, we’ll figure something out,” I said, to which Ronald sobbed some more.

  Percy parked in the driveway at five and honked the horn. Ronald, who had not moved from the couch, literally jumped up and ran outside. When he saw his computers lined up in the backseat, his face took on an expression of joy that was hard to describe. It took us another hour to get his computers unloaded and set up in his basement. His face lit up in joy as he began powering them up.

  “Did you have any trouble?” I asked Percy.

  He shrugged. “They pawned them at six different pawn shops. It took a while, but I got them all. Oh, by the way, you owe me five hundred.”

  I groaned in acknowledgment and pulled out my wallet. My phone gave a two-toned beep, signaling a memo reminder. I groaned again.

  “What?” Anna asked.

  “I forgot, I have a date tonight. I guess I’ll cancel.” I started to dial, but Percy put one of his big paws on my hand.

  “When is the last time you’ve been on an actual date?” he asked.

  “Um, well, it’s been a while.”

  “Then by all means, go,” he said.

  I made a face and shook my head. “I can’t leave him alone,” I whispered as I gestured at Ronald, who was engrossed in some type of computer language being displayed on one of the monitors.

  “I’ll stay,” Anna said.

  “I’ll stay too,” Percy added. “I don’t have anything else to do.”

  I saw a look pass between Anna and him. I tried to argue, but in the end, they convinced me everything would be okay. Anna rode with me and I hurried home. She gave me a kiss on the cheek before leaving in Percy’s car.

  “Have fun, and don’t worry. We’ll take care of him. Oh, and take the Cadi, it’s sexy,” she said with a grin.

  Chapter 8

  I texted ahead to Debbie to let her know I was running late and expected some flak, but she responded with a text full of smiley-face emoticons, which I assume meant she wasn’t upset. A teenage girl answered the door, and there was no mistaking this was Debbie’s daughter. Debbie rushed to the door wearing a black dress with a plunging neckline that looked stunning on her. She was one of those women who was no doubt a knockout during college. She’d added a few pounds as the years went by, but she was still a fine-looking woman and was smart enough not to deceive herself in believing she could wear the same dress size from fifteen years ago. She gave me a warm smile and gestured at the young girl.

  “This is my daughter, Missy,” she said.

  “Hi, I’m pleased to meet you,” I said.

  “Whatever,” Missy replied.

  Her mother scolded her, but then hugged her and told her not to stay up too late.

  “You’ll need a coat,” her daughter admonished. “It’s going to be chilly tonight.”

  Debbie looked at me for confirmation.

  “She’s right,” I said.

  Missy opened the coat closet in the foyer and handed her mother a full-length coat that looked like it once belonged to her grandmother. Debbie looked at her daughter with an arched eyebrow but didn’t say anything.

  “Is Missy your only child?” I asked as I drove.

  “I have another daughter who is with her father this weekend. Missy’s father currently lives in California. That’s where I’m originally from.”

  I silently added one plus one and deduced she’d been married twice. Well, that could’ve been incorrect. She had two kids by two different men, but that did not necessarily mean she’d been married twice. Not everyone got married when t
hey were pregnant these days. Not that I was judging. But I didn’t think it would be appropriate to ask the details and instead listened attentively when she changed the subject and began talking about the virtues of the country club. Traffic was about what you’d expect in Nashville these days and what once would have been a ten-minute drive was now twice as long. Even so, I liked listening to Debbie. She liked to gossip, but she made it a pleasant conversation rather than spending the twenty minutes badmouthing people.

  “When there is a big event, we have valet parking, but not tonight,” she said and pointed at an empty spot near the front. “Park in my spot.” It wasn’t necessary—there were plenty of empty spots—but I nodded and parked where she directed.

  “You’ll love the events we have, and we’re always having golf tournaments when the weather permits. I’m going to have to introduce you to our pro, he’s a neat guy.”

  She continued with the sales pitch as she led us inside and directly to the bar. She hung her coat and then led the way. I could not help but check out her backside as we walked. It was obvious she had on nothing underneath her dress, which caused more than one dirty thought. Surprisingly, they had Nashville Lager on tap. I ordered a glass and she ordered a glass of chardonnay.

  “Do you have any kids?” she asked.

  I thought about the answer for a moment. “I guess I’d have to say I have two adopted kids, a son and a daughter.”

  She looked at me in surprise. “Unmarried with two adopted kids? Impressive.”

  I chuckled. “I think I should explain.” I then told her about Ronald and Anna and the circumstances in which I’d met the two of them.

  “That’s quite the story,” she said after I finished. I don’t know if she was impressed or not.

  “So, you’re a private investigator?” she asked.

  “I am.”

  She nodded thoughtfully, and I could almost read her mind.

  “Let me guess. You are now wondering what kind of salary a private investigator earns and if I can afford the membership dues of this place.”

  She grinned. “Touché. I guess I should have asked sooner. You’ve never asked what it’ll cost. That’s usually the first question I get.”