Road Kill

by Carolina Mac

  “She sent him to watch the hospital and find out where the AG was going.”

  “Annie’s taking him to the ranch.”

  “Roger that.”

  “I’ll call Travis,” said Blaine. “Keep on her.”

  “Ten four, boss.”

  The Blackmore Agency. Austin.

  BLAINE had barely scratched the surface of the army connection when Luke called. He scrolled to Annie’s number.

  “What time are they letting Madill go?”

  “After ten. Is there a problem?”

  “The boys heard Mrs. Kryssa talking to the shooter and he’s watching the hospital.”

  “Okay, he’ll follow us,” said Annie. “Best place to take him out is at the ranch. I’ll tell Mag to expect trouble and put the security team on alert.”

  “Roger that. Keep me in the loop.”

  “I will, baby.”

  Next, Blaine called Travis at home. He was meeting Annie at the hospital which was two blocks from his apartment above Annie’s store.

  “Hey, boss. I’m having a lazy morning.”

  “You deserve one but listen.”

  “I’m listening. Shoot.”

  “Luke said the shooter from the ramp is watching the hospital.”

  “Okay, good to know. I’ll go at nine and clear the parking lot. Maybe I can make him before Madill is released.”

  “Good idea. If not, be ready at the ranch. Annie’s putting Mag on alert.”

  “Roger that.”

  Blaine blew out a breath and focused on his screen. “I’ve got to find this army connection and see who these guys are. Once I ID them, I can watch all of them.” He picked up his cell and called Jesse.

  “Morning, partner. Need me today?”

  “The wounded guy in the infirmary—the one Annie shot in the foyer of Madill’s house…”

  “Yeah, what about him?”

  “Try him again. Carlos picked up an army connection. He saw a picture of Edward Kryssa and the Carpenters and a squad of other guys in uniform.”

  “Can you get a list of names?”

  “That’s what I’m doing now,” said Blaine, “but it wouldn’t hurt to question that guy again.”

  “I’ll leave here in ten.”

  “Thanks, partner.”

  Ross Harley Davidson. East Austin.

  FARRELL parked his red Silverado at the back of the lot behind the double garage attached to Annie’s Harley dealership.

  He jogged to the open overhead door and waved a hello to the boys who ran the garage. Lucky and Nevada Gallagher were dark-haired twins Annie had rescued from a tough Dallas gang. One was a bike mechanic and the other an air brush specialist. Farrell couldn’t tell them apart. “Hey, guys, my baby ready?”

  “She’s ready, Farrell,” said Lucky. “Never looked better, and never ran better. Had her out for a road test yesterday and she’s flying.”

  Farrell grinned. “Fantastic.”

  “You want a hand loading her into your truck?”

  “Nope, gonna ride her for a few days. Give the red devil a rest.”

  Lucky raised a dark brow. “Any special reason you ain’t driving your truck?”

  “Just one,” said Farrell. “Bullet holes. Don’t want any.”

  Lucky chuckled. “That’s a good reason.”

  Nevada was listening in and said, “We’ll throw a tarp over her for you, bro, case anybody is looking for a red truck.”

  “Aces.” Farrell gave him a thumbs up.

  “That Forty-eight Special you ordered for Neil should be in next week,” said Nevada. “Mack will call you when it comes.”

  Farrell grinned. “Can’t wait until he sees it.”

  “For sure,” said Lucky. “The kid’s gonna lose it.”

  Farrell couldn’t stop smiling.

  Ranger Headquarters. Austin.

  JESSE knocked on the door of the infirmary, flashed his ID and asked to see Pedro Herrera. The nurse on duty pointed down the row of beds. Only room for half a dozen and four were empty. They didn’t house many wounded prisoners at one time.

  Jesse strode to the third bed and greeted Herrera. “Hey, how you doing today?”

  Herrera nodded. “Okay.”

  Jesse pulled up a chair and sat down beside the bed. “Let me tell you what I know. You were in the military with Edward or maybe you call him Ted Kryssa, you and the Carpenter brothers and some others. Ted was wrongly convicted of a crime he didn’t commit, and a gang beat him to death in Huntsville before the verdict was overturned. Right so far?”

  Herrera nodded.

  “At some point Mrs. Kryssa contacted you and asked you to do her a favor,” said Jesse. “It seems she’s trying to kill Brad Madill because he was the prosecutor who tried her husband’s case. You and the Carpenter brothers must have owed Ted Kryssa a lot for you guys to break the law and kill people to get even for his death.”

  “We owed Teddy.”

  “Want to tell me why?” asked Jesse.

  “We owed him.” Herrera turned away and the conversation was over.

  Fayette Memorial Hospital. La Grange.

  ANNIE AND TRAVIS stood in the ambulance garage as the attendants loaded Brad Madill’s gurney into the back.

  Protesting as always, Brad said, “I don’t need to lie down. I’ve been sitting up in my room.”

  “This is a safety issue,” said Annie. “Lie there and enjoy the ride. It’s only for ten minutes.”

  “Am I that close to your ranch?”

  “You are. Travis and I will be with you all the way. Try to relax.” The attendants closed the double back doors and locked the AG inside. Annie winked at Travis. “Let’s mount up, soldier.”

  Travis smiled. “Nothing makes me happier than working with my partner.”

  The Blackmore Agency. Austin.

  BLAINE toiled diligently all morning on the army angle and came up with the names in the squad. Ten in all. Two deceased besides Jeff Turkovich and Sergeant Edward (Teddy) Kryssa. That left six including the Carpenter brothers and Pedro Herrera. With those three in jail there were only three possibilities.

  Woodrow Zurba

  Mitchell Meyers

  David Daniels

  He was looking up current addresses for them when the dogs barked at the front door. Mary was coming to do a follow up story on the sniper picture, and the paper might possibly run the sketch again. All the calls had been checked out and nothing solid had come out of it. The sniper was lying low.

  I’ve got to get to the door before Farrell.

  Blaine hurried down the hall and was too late.

  FARRELL ran to open the front door when the dogs barked. He’d skipped breakfast and gone straight to the Harley dealership to pick up his bike and get rid of his truck, then returned to the Agency for a quick snack and a coffee before his next job.

  He pulled the door open and Mary Polito was standing right in front of him. His heart gave a skip-thunk thing and he sucked in a quick breath. “Mary, didn’t know you were coming.”

  “Umm… I didn’t see your truck and Blaine said you wouldn’t be here.”

  “He’s working in his office and didn’t know I was back. I’ll get out of your face.” He wheeled and bolted for the kitchen feeling like the shit ex-boyfriend he was.

  Mary stuck her head in the kitchen door, tears rolling down her cheeks. “We have to work together, Farrell. I’ll be okay soon.”

  “Maybe I won’t be.”

  Blaine took Mary’s arm and steered her down the hall.

  Carm stared at Farrell across the island looking like she might cry too, then she hurried around and held him in her arms. “Mi bebe.”

  North Loop. East Austin.

  AFTER MARY LEFT, Blaine sought out Farrell who was hiding out on the back porch smoking and drinking coffee. “Did you switch out your truck for your bike?”

  Farrell nodded. “Parked the bike at the side of the house. Boys are throwing a tarp over my truck at the shop.”

&n
bsp; “Good. We’ve got some guys to bring in.”

  “They live around here?”

  “Only two on the list do. One is in Arizona.”

  “Let’s go get em,” said Farrell. “You can drive.”

  “Sorry about Mary,” said Blaine. “I told her you weren’t here.”

  “She was okay. It was me. It’ll pass.”

  “Put this address in the GPS,” said Blaine and read it from his phone. “It’s in the east end. North Loop.”

  “Ain’t that far from the Carpenters,” said Farrell.

  “The first guy is Woodrow Zurba. Hope he’s home.”

  “If he ain’t home, then he’s the guy watching the ranch, ain’t he?”

  “Yeah, he could be, or he could be out buying smokes or getting his wife a breakfast taco.”

  “He got a wife?”

  “Yep.”

  “Either way, we’re getting close to busting this open.”

  “Left on the next street?”

  “Looks like half a block down on the right.” Farrell pointed. “Brick bungalow. Just got the driveway resurfaced.”

  “Is that something you do right before you blow away the AG?” asked Blaine.

  Farrell shrugged. “Never know when it’s a thing these days.”

  “True enough. Fresh tar does it for some people. Let’s go see if Woodrow is our man.”

  Blaine parked at the curb and they walked across the neatly cut lawn to the front door. He rang the bell and a short woman with a paint brush in her hand opened the door. The smell of paint wafted towards them.

  “Hi, help y’all?”

  Blaine held up his creds. “Is Mr. Zurba home? I’d like to have a word with him.”

  “Sorry, he’s at work.”

  “Where does he work?” asked Blaine.

  “He’s a supervisor at Samsung. Is Woody in trouble?”

  “Nope. Just need to ask him a couple of things.”

  “I don’t want him to be in trouble with the police.”

  “Has he been before?”

  “Not that I know of.” She smiled. “But he used to get a lot of speeding tickets when he had his Camaro.”

  Farrell grinned. “I would too.”

  East Austin.

  BLAINE DROVE back through the city the way they’d come with Farrell complaining in the shotgun seat. “Mitchell Meyers don’t live that far from us. We should have rousted him first.”

  “If he ain’t home, I’ll call Samsung and verify that Woody is there supervising the way he’s supposed to be. Then we’ll zero in on Meyers.”

  “Hey, we’re down to two. That’s progress.”

  “Unless they imported a hitter from Arizona.”

  “Yeah, there’s that,” said Farrell. “Two and a half.”

  “Apartment building at the end of the street,” said Blaine. “Could be it. He’s got an apartment number listed on his DL. 306.”

  “Third floor,” said Farrell. “Apartments ain’t my fav for a take down.”

  “Hear ya.”

  “Hate those fuckin stairwells. Almost got taken out in one of those death traps.”

  “Let’s go get him. Stay out of the stairwells.”

  They stood in the hallway outside 306 and there was no answer to Blaine’s knocking. He tried three times and they decided that Mitchell Meyers was not in his apartment.

  “He got a job?” asked Farrell.

  “None listed.”

  “Phone the tech place and see if Woody is on the job.”

  Blaine phoned as soon as they got back to the truck. He got transferred three times and talked to three different departments before he got Woody Zurba’s boss. “Okay, thank you sir. Appreciate your time.”

  “He’s there?”

  “Supervising his ass off,” said Blaine. “That leaves us with Mitch—AWOL.”

  “Luke said Mitch was watching the hospital. Maybe he followed the ambulance and he’s lurking around the ranch by now.”

  “Want to go see?”

  “Hell, yeah.”

  Coulter-Ross Ranch. La Grange.

  “PUT HIM in the room next to yours, sugar pop,” said Annie. “Be easiest for you.”

  Declan winked at her. “You make my life nothing but easy, darlin.”

  “I try, baby. I try hard.” To Brad: “Declan has worked for me for a long time and he’s tops in his field. He’ll take good care of you while you’re under my roof.”

  Travis stood watch as the paramedics transferred Brad from the gurney to the queen sized bed without a hitch. They propped pillows up behind Brad’s back and tucked one under the sling supporting his shoulder.

  “I’m happy to be under your roof, Annie. You’re generous with your care and your hospitality.”

  “My ranch is a secure facility, Brad. That’s what I’m counting on more than anything else. We need to keep you safe until all the players have been placed in custody.”

  “Do we even know who the players are?”

  “Blacky knows,” said Travis. “A little more time and he’ll have them all rounded up.”

  “He’s a diligent young man,” said Madill.

  Annie came out of the guest room and almost ran into Tyler going into the master suite. “I came to pick up my stuff, Annie. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t talk to me while I’m here. I want to pack up and go. Nothing else.”

  “Sure.” Annie’s eyes welled up and she noticed the set of Travis’ jaw as he watched Tyler.

  Travis took her arm and steered her in the opposite direction—away from Tyler. “Let’s go sit in the family room for a few minutes until Tyler is finished. We need to talk, Annie-girl. This just ain’t fair.”

  “He’s leaving me for good. He took the baby already and now he’s packing his clothes.”

  “He’s a goddam hotheaded idiot.”

  Annie couldn’t help but smile. “I’ve known a few of those.”

  “For sure you have, and I’m at the head of the list, but I’m here for you all the same.”

  “Thanks, Trav, and you’re the best partner a woman could have. You might as well stay here until this is over. Take the room on the other side of Dec’s. By the time the weekend is over we might be all clear.”

  He winked at her. “Not where I want to sleep, but okay.”

  There was commotion in the kitchen and Annie ran down the hall to see what was happening. “Hey, my boys are here.”

  “Checking out the perimeter, Mom,” said Blaine. “Is Mag around?”

  “Sure, I’ll page him. He’s on high alert and I haven’t heard anything. All is quiet, as far as I know.”

  “Where’s Brad?” asked Blaine.

  “I’ll show you. I put him next to Declan.” Annie walked down the long hall to the bedroom wing, opened the door and let Blaine in.

  Brad opened his eyes and tried to smile. “Ranger Blackmore.”

  “You all set here for a few days? I’m close to finishing this thing, so hold tight.”

  “Appreciate all your efforts, and Annie’s too. Thanks.”

  Quantrall Ranch. Giddings.

  TYLER burst through the front door and tossed all his stuff onto the floor in the foyer. Two suitcases, six pairs of boots, three hats, a couple of jackets and a dozen snap-front shirts still on the hangers.

  Jesse was in the dining room putting Charity’s bib on and he stuck his head out to see what was going on. “What’s all that stuff?”

  “I packed up everything I had at Annie’s. I’m out of there.”

  “You can’t be serious,” said Jesse. “Is this over Madill?”

  “Damn right it is. I don’t want him staying at the ranch.”

  “Come on, Tyler. That was a logical decision on Ace’s part,” said Jesse, “and nothing to do with you. You’re reading it wrong. Coulter-Ross is the safest place for him until we wrap up and that should be in the next twenty-four.”

  “Don’t matter how I’m reading it. I’m done talking to Annie. She won’t tell the guy she’
s quitting, so I’m quitting her. Simple as that.”

  “I can’t give you advice, bro. I’ve made all the wrong moves myself, but for chrissake think about what you’re doing.”

  Tyler turned his back on his brother and headed for the bar. “Thinking time is over. It’s a done deal.”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Saturday, October 6th.

  Round Rock.

  A CLEAR, COOL OCTOBER morning greeted Rainford Hillaby as he started off for work. He didn’t mind working on Saturdays. For twenty years he’d worked the job and put in all kinds of crazy hours. Made detective on the first try and solved a lot of cases in his career. Something to be proud of, but did he make a difference? Probably not. There seemed to be more crime every day all across the country. He and his wife avoided watching the news.

  At forty-seven, he pulled the pin and took his retirement, and he also did two things he always wanted to to—the top two on his bucket list. He bought a Harley and learned to play golf.

  Golfing was okay for the first summer, then he needed more than chasing a little ball around a course three or four times a week. Brenda couldn’t stand him hanging around the house all the time and Rainey could see a divorce looming large if he didn’t make a change.

  He’d read the want ads for a couple of weeks while Brenda searched on line for him and then, bingo, a gun shop not far from their place in Round Rock wanted help and he applied.

  Talk about the perfect job. All he had to do was talk to people about guns, show them how to use them safely, give lessons in the range out behind the store and run little workshops on cleaning, maintenance and minor repairs.

  He used skills and knowledge he already possessed, loved his job and he loved riding to work and home again on his Harley.

  He was happy.

  Brenda was happy.

  Life was perfect.

  One block past the underpass and he was there.

  Traffic was light as he slowed for his turn.

  The crack lasered through the morning air.

  Rainey’s trained brain said rifle.

  His last thought.

  Coulter-Ross Ranch. La Grange.

  ANNIE and Travis sat at the harvest table after the cowboys had eaten breakfast and gone to start their day.