Battle Axe

by Carsen Taite

  “But if they were working for Vedda and she had him wired, wouldn’t she know exactly where they were?”

  “Okay, okay, obviously I haven’t figured it all out, but I’m telling you, when they died, those guys worked for Petrov and I think Vedda took them out when he found out they turned.”

  “So, what are you going to do about it?”

  “That’s the thing. I already talked to Diamond. She says she’s off the case, bigger fish and all that. I think she knows exactly what happened and doesn’t plan to do anything about it.”

  “That sucks, but now that the Feds have taken over, if they’re not going to pursue Bingo, he’ll eventually be cleared.”

  “Cops. You think everything is black and white. Bingo will never be cleared. The Feds will just close their investigation without making an arrest. Bingo will be out of business. Permanently.”

  “Let me see if I get this straight. You want me to interfere with a federal investigation so I can clear your friend and allow him to reopen his gambling house so you can blow all your money close to home?” She shot a look at Maggie who nodded that she agreed it was one of my more stupid ideas.

  “I want you to do what’s right. Or I will.”

  I didn’t try to hide how pissed off I was. Did no one else give a shit about leaving Bingo twisting in the wind? I started to get up, but Jess grabbed my arm.

  “Calm down. Let’s talk.”

  She was right. She was usually right. I didn’t have to like it, but I should at least listen to what she had to say. I slid back into the booth. “Okay. What ideas do you have?”

  She released her grip on my arm, but she didn’t move her hand. “Give me twenty-four hours. I’ll make some calls, see what I can find out. If I don’t make any progress, we can talk again and make another plan. But seriously, Luca, if you go charging around, you’re likely to get Bingo killed. Let’s try it my way first. I promise you, I will do everything I can.”

  I couldn’t ask for more. Well, I could, but there was nothing more I wanted from her. As far as Bingo was concerned, anyway. I plunged into another subject. “Diamond asked me out on a date.”

  Jess slowly pulled her hand back across the table. “That’s nice.”

  “I may have asked her to Mark’s wedding.”

  “I’m sure you’ll have fun.” Jess’s frown told me she hoped I’d have anything but.

  “I’m not sure I really asked her. I may have just mentioned it.” My rambling trailed off. I didn’t have a clue where I was going with this. The words were just stumbling out of my mouth.

  Maggie tried to save me by chiming in. “She’s nervous about the wedding, being the best man and all.” Only Maggie would try to rescue me by sticking it to me in my most vulnerable spot. And she kept right on going. “Detective Chance, I hear you have a girlfriend. A doctor, no less.”

  “Actually, no, I don’t. No girlfriend, doctor or otherwise.”

  Maggie flashed me a harsh look, and I knew she thought I’d made her a liar. I started to protest, but Jess beat me to the punch. “She left town. Turns out she was more trouble than I was interested in taking on.”

  A wave of relief washed over me, and I had to resist the urge to smile. What kind of reaction was I supposed to have? Jess didn’t look happy, but she didn’t look sad either. After what Jess had said the night we met at Slice of Heaven, about how her “friends” knew about Deveaux, I decided she was throwing me a bone. But I guess I was still pissed off at the slight. “Do all your friends already know?”

  Ouch. I could see by the pain in Jess’s eyes, I’d hit a nerve. “No,” she said. “No one else knows. She left this morning.”

  My anger deflated, but I had another question. “Is she coming back?”

  “Wouldn’t matter if she did.” Her response was exactly what I wanted to hear.

  Maggie reached over and gave Jess’s arm a tight squeeze. “Can’t believe she took advantage of a nice girl like you.”

  Maggie didn’t even know Deveaux, but she acted like she and Jess were the best of friends, commiserating about being jilted lovers, apparently assuming “more trouble than she was worth” was a euphemism. I cleared my throat to remind them I was still here, and Maggie seized on the reminder, looking pointedly back and forth between the two of us. “Well, that makes things different now, doesn’t it?”

  I knew what she was implying, and I prayed she didn’t say more. But since nothing, including prayers, usually dissuades Maggie, I pointed at the bar. “Maggie, looks like that guy over there needs something.”

  She twisted in her chair. “I don’t see anyone.”

  “He’s there, behind that woman.” I pointed at a big group. “He was waving over here at you.”

  She stood and looked around, finally walking over to the bar. I could tell she didn’t believe me, but what was she going to do? When she was finally out of earshot, I said, “Sorry, didn’t know she was going to glom on to us.”

  Jess crossed her arms. “She’s trying to set us up, you know that, right?”

  I knew she was right, but I was too busy trying to figure out Jess’s reaction to respond. Her tone was easy, light. She wasn’t annoyed, maybe a little amused. “How about we get out of here while she’s distracted?”

  “Deal.”

  I left Jess’s side and walked over to Maggie as we were leaving. “We gotta go. Put dinner on my tab?”

  “On the house.” She looked over to the door where Jess was waiting for me. “You should ask her to the wedding.”

  “Not gonna happen.”

  “Scared she’ll say no?”

  I didn’t like being called scared, even when it might be right on. “Leave it alone, Maggie.”

  “Fine, I’ll leave it alone, but alone is what you’re going to be. For the rest of your life, until you learn to grab the opportunities that are right in front of you. What’s the worst thing that can happen?”

  A bunch of responses came to mind, but one kept repeating. She could say no. I’d always taken Jess for granted, solidly confident she would always be there for me. Lately, my confidence had been battered and I wasn’t in the mood to take risks. Not as far as she was concerned.

  I joined Jess at the door, and we walked into the parking lot. Two blocks and we’d be at my place. We wouldn’t have to talk there. Instead, we could rip off each other’s clothes and settle into the only feelings I’d ever been comfortable with—the rush of arousal, the explosion of an orgasm.

  But we were past that. Problem was, I didn’t know where that left us. “Do you want—”

  Jess stopped me from saying more. “I’m sorry about what I said.”

  “Huh?” I honestly didn’t know what she was talking about.

  “The friend thing. At the club. I didn’t mean it. We are friends. Good friends. I should’ve told you about Deveaux. Don’t know why I didn’t.”

  She was lying about that last. She knew it and I knew it. She didn’t tell me because she didn’t know how I’d react. And since I hadn’t reacted well, I guess she’d been right to keep it to herself.

  “I was a jerk. I’m sorry.”

  “I think we might be even.”

  “I want you to be happy. It’s just…” I let the words trail off not because I didn’t know what to say, but because I figured she already knew the rest and saying it out loud would just make us both uncomfortable.

  She saved me the trouble. “Are you really nervous about the wedding?”

  “Maybe a little.”

  “You’ll be fine. He’s your brother. Just focus on him and don’t worry about the rest. It’ll take care of itself.”

  I doubted that was true, but I nodded anyway. And then I jumped off a cliff. “You could come you know.”

  “What? And hang out with you and your date?”

  I flashed back to my dream, make that nightmare, with Diamond and Jess, both at the wedding. “She’s not my date. I didn’t really ask her.”

  “‘Didn’t really ask her?�
�� Seems like you might want to figure that out before you go asking anyone else.”

  “I didn’t ask her. For real. And I’m not asking you like a date.” The lie was easier than I thought it would be. “We’d go, like friends. You could make sure I don’t do anything stupid. You’re good at social stuff and I could really use your help.”

  “You’re a real charmer.”

  “You’ll go?”

  “I’ll think about it.”

  “Yeah, okay. That’s good.”

  We both stood in the parking lot, out of things to say. This awkwardness wasn’t us. All I wanted in that moment was to get back to where we’d been, before Deveaux, when our roles were defined and we both knew what would happen at the end of a night, but I knew it wasn’t going to happen. In the meantime, one of us needed to make a move, and I decided to step up. “Guess I’ll head home. Got an early morning planned. You’ll call me if you find out anything?”

  “Absolutely.”

  She walked to her car and I resisted the urge to call her back since I didn’t know what I’d do if she turned around.

  Chapter Twenty-one

  I got out of bed the next morning ready to make some cash. Now that I’d placed Bingo’s fate in Jess’s capable hands, I could concentrate on finding Shaw. By the end of the day, I’d be standing in Hardin’s office collecting my fee.

  Outside it was pitch-black. I couldn’t wait for daylight savings time to end. I didn’t mind the dark at night, but in the morning, it sure was hard for me to get going. First stop, the dumpy convenience store around the corner for coffee. I knew I’d regret it if I wound up having to stake out Shaw’s place, but I’d probably fall back asleep on the drive over without it.

  After careful consideration, followed by a coin toss, I decided to start at Shante’s place. Since Shaw had gone to the trouble of having his government check mailed there, he obviously thought of it as his permanent, at least for now, residence. I pulled onto Interstate 30 and merged into traffic. A lot of it. Who were all these people who not only rose before the crack of dawn, but had to actually be somewhere before the sun came up?

  Early morning work is an anomaly for me, but I hadn’t slept well the night before, and I’d finally decided to get up and scratch the last thing off my to-do list. Fairly certain my lack of sleep had something to do with my evening with Jess the night before.

  I tallied the events of the night. Deveaux was gone. Jess apologized, kind of, for being a bitch. She said we were friends and she meant it. I’d been worried about our friendship, so I should be relieved, right?

  I wasn’t. Something big had changed between us. Our normal deal would have been to end up in bed, but we’d walked away from each other. Friends without benefits. Like normal people. Maybe that was the problem. Jess and I, what we had, had never been normal. I wasn’t sure I liked normal. Well, shit, I knew I didn’t like normal, but I was willing to give it a try if it meant I got to keep my best friend.

  I focused on the road. Once I made it through the Mixmaster, traffic going my direction tapered off as most of the folks out and about this early were headed toward Dallas instead of away from it. I took my exit and noticed a big Chrysler sedan change lanes and exit right behind me. Gave me a little pause, but I shook it off. Petrov wouldn’t let any of his guys drive an American made car. Plus, I didn’t think he considered me a threat, even though I’d accused him of murder the day before. I was a nuisance that he only noticed when he needed my special brand of pestering.

  Shante’s neighborhood was quiet. Either these people didn’t work days or they’d already left for work. It was seven fifteen and the sun was just beginning to edge into view. I turned onto her street and noticed the Chrysler keep on going.

  From down the street I could see Shaw’s car parked in Shante’s front driveway. I needed to park close enough to Shante’s house that it wouldn’t be too hard to get Shaw in the car, but far enough away to keep him from recognizing my ride. I drove around the block and settled on a space on the cross street, three houses down from Shante’s. Before I climbed out of the Bronco, I loaded up. Two pairs of handcuffs, the Colt, the Sig, my favorite knife, and a twenty-two in each boot. I pulled my hair up and tugged on a Rangers ball cap. The team was in the pennant race for only the second time in over fifty years, and everyone in the city was a Ranger fan right now. I figured the cap might buy me some goodwill with nosy neighbors, and, combined with a pair of dark sunglasses, it might keep Shaw from recognizing me right away. My final accessory was a clipboard I pulled from the backseat.

  I was on my way to the house, working on a plan to get Shaw to the door, when front doors started flying open and the street filled with kids. Okay, so maybe it was only a few doors and about half a dozen kids. Of course, it was a school day, one of those facts of life I don’t relate to because I don’t have kids of my own and no one in my circle of acquaintances does either.

  I ducked back to the Bronco to wait them out. The kids dawdled, but I couldn’t really blame them. I skipped a ton of classes when I was in school. Boring, useless shit, like algebra and poetry. Besides, it was too early for anyone’s brain to take in information. If classes had started after noon when I was in school, I would have been valedictorian.

  When the kids finally scattered off to school, I started back toward Shante’s with a plan. I was giving away free Ranger playoff tickets for folks who would invite me in and answer a few survey questions. No one in this city would turn down an opportunity to win seats to one of the rare postseason games. By the time Shaw figured out I was bluffing, I’d have him in cuffs.

  I’d reached the sidewalk in front of Shaw’s house when my phone rang. I glanced at the screen. Jess. Maybe she’d gotten hold of Diamond first thing and was calling to report in. I started to answer, but I saw someone peeking out the curtains of Shaw’s house and decided I better make my move before whoever was inside decided I was up to no good.

  The woman who answered the door must have been Shante. She looked like a slightly younger version of Shaw’s baby mamma, Dalia. He’d probably keep repeating the pattern—get one woman pregnant, find another, younger model, get her pregnant—for the rest of his life. I gave Shante a year at best.

  I mustered my most engaging smile and plunged into my made-up spiel. “Hi, I’m with the Dallasites Who Care Foundation. We’re conducting a door-to-door survey and, if you’d be so kind as to answer just a few questions, you could win tickets to see the Rangers in the playoffs.”

  “I don’t want to buy nothin’.”

  She was brilliant. I tried again. “That’s the beauty. You don’t have to. We’re a nonprofit. We don’t sell anything. But the Rangers gave us tickets to help with our efforts to gather information for the survey. All you have to do is answer some questions. It’ll take ten minutes, tops.”

  I was doing my best to imitate survey takers everywhere, but I knew I sounded inane. I was about ready just to pull the Colt and muscle my way inside, when she nodded and swung the door open wide.

  “Yeah, okay. I can do that.”

  As I followed her into the house, I said, “Is your husband home? It really helps to get the couple’s perspective on these questions. And that way I can justify giving you some extra tickets.”

  She pointed at a rickety metal table in the kitchen. “Wait here. I’ll get him.”

  While she was gone, my phone rang again. Jess. Five minutes and I could call her back, but trying to talk on the phone now would totally wreck my plan, to the extent I had one. I shut off the ringer and started to put it back in my pocket when I felt the buzz that told me I’d received a text. I studied Jess’s message, but it didn’t make sense.

  Vedda’s there. Get out.

  Vedda’s where? Here in Shaw’s place? Not likely. And how did Jess know where I was? I took a second to type, I’m good. Will call u in a few, and then found a place to hide while I waited for Shaw to appear.

  A few seconds later, I heard voices. Hers pleading and his grumblin
g. I bet she’d had to wake him up for this golden opportunity. He’d never forgive her when he figured out his trip downtown did not include a championship baseball game.

  When they emerged from the hallway, I was ready. I pushed Shante out of the way and snapped a cuff on Shaw’s wrist before he knew what hit him. I pointed the Colt in his back and said, “Mr. Shaw, let’s try this again. You missed your last court date, and I’m here to take you in.”

  I should’ve brought a bazooka. Shaw roared and body slammed me back into the wall with superhuman power. The force of the jolt knocked the Colt from my hand, and while I tried to catch my breath, I watched it skitter across the floor.

  Shaw, on the other hand, was headed to the back of the house. I retrieved the Colt and took off after him. For a big guy, he sure had speed. He was out the door and in the alley before I made it over the chain link fence. Guess I was going to get my morning run after all.

  We tore down the alley, huffing and puffing. At least we were running in the direction of the Bronco. If I couldn’t catch him on foot, I’d jump in the car and run him down. As long as he was mostly alive, I could still collect my fee. We were only a few yards away when the game changed.

  The Chrysler I’d seen earlier spun around in the street and stopped square in front of my car. Before I had time to process what was going on, I heard another set of tires squealing and saw another car pull in behind mine.

  Jess’s text. Vedda. He must have followed me this morning, and now he had me surrounded. Car doors started to open. I glanced at Shaw. The big guy was frozen in place, likely confused. I barked at him. “These are cops. Here to take you in. They’re pretty pissed at you. Get in the Bronco, and I’ll make sure you stay safe.”

  Only took him a minute to figure out he had better odds against me than he did against two cars full of folks with guns. He opened the passenger door of the Bronco and started to climb in. I hunched behind him, but Vedda and his sidekick were too fast.