The Evan Buckley Thrillers: Books 1 - 4 (Evan Buckley Thrillers Boxsets)

by James, Harper

  ‘He wasn’t too happy about me, using your delightful phrase, sticking my telephoto lens up—’

  ‘Can’t say I blame the guy.’

  ‘Thanks a lot.’

  ‘Maybe he got carried away a little bit.’ Faulkner studied him for a moment before asking, ‘Are you sure that’s all there is to it? Seems a bit extreme.’

  ‘Stanton told me he’s got a very short fuse.’

  He brought his knees up and hugged them to try to ease the dreadful ache coming from his groin. He rested his head on his arms and closed his eyes and tried to go to a quiet place beyond the reach of the pain.

  ‘He says I’ve got something he wants, but the only things I’ve got are the pictures.’

  ‘Whatever. We can’t worry about that now, we’ve got to get you to the hospital. Your nose is broken.’ He took hold of Evan’s chin and turned his head to look at his ear. ‘Looks like just a scratch on your ear. You’ll probably have to buy a new shirt though.’

  ‘It doesn’t feel like a scratch.’

  ‘Don’t be such a baby. I’d suggest another drink while we wait for the ambulance but I don’t think they’d let you back inside looking like that. People would think the bouncers had done it.’

  ‘I can drive.’

  ‘No you can’t. Two small beers might be okay, but two beers plus shock isn’t.’

  Evan couldn’t argue and let him call the ambulance on his cell phone.

  ‘Lucky for me you came out.’

  ‘I changed my mind about having any more to drink. Suddenly I just didn’t fancy it any more. Probably talking about Brenda. The noise was getting to me as well. I don’t know why you suggested the place. I came out to see if you were still here to give me a ride.’

  ‘The benefits of self-control are manifold.’

  ‘I can have him picked up if you like.’

  Evan shook his head, flicking little drops of blood at Faulkner.

  ‘What’s the point? There are no witnesses; you didn’t see his face and you’re loaded anyway.’

  ***

  FAULKNER RODE WITH HIM in the ambulance. At the hospital his nose was cleaned up and realigned and they taped up his ear. Despite what Faulkner had said, it was more than a scratch as he’d suspected. The doctor said quite a large bite had been taken out of it.

  ‘You could probably match the biter’s teeth to the shape of this bite,’ he said.

  ‘Don’t worry, if I get the chance I’ll knock them out and bring them in,’ Evan replied.

  Once they’d dealt with the visible injuries, he asked the nurse whether she had any soothing lotion she could massage into his aching balls. She declined politely and professionally with a tired, heard-it-all-before smile, although Evan could see she was tempted. At least she didn’t report him for sexual harassment.

  Faulkner asked him where he was going to spend the night. ‘Does this guy know where you live?’

  ‘I’m not sure. He knows where my office is, so probably yes.’

  ‘You think he’ll come back to finish what he started?’

  ‘Those were his parting words. He’s certainly wired enough.’

  Evan told him about McIntyre chasing his car down the road. Faulkner laughed.

  ‘Sounds like he’s got some anger management issues.’

  ‘That’s what Stanton said. But I’ll be ready for him if he comes back.’

  Faulkner wasn’t impressed by the show of bravado.

  ‘Not if you’re comatose from all the painkillers you’re going to need tonight. You can stay at my place if you like.’

  Evan considered the offer.

  ‘You know, when I see cowboy boots like that I start thinking Brokeback Mountain, and I don’t usually go back to a guy’s place on a first date.’

  Faulkner punched him on the shoulder. Evan winced.

  ‘Sorry. Forgot about that.’

  ‘You’re right about the painkillers. Do I get the bed?’

  ***

  DESPITE THE PAINKILLERS, EVAN didn’t sleep well that night. The couch was uncomfortable and he could hear Faulkner snoring like a warthog with bad sinuses through the thin wall. His nose hurt like hell and he kept rolling onto his half-eaten ear.

  He also had too many things running through his mind. He was going to have to do something about the situation with McIntyre. He wasn’t going to let it drop, whatever it was. The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became that it must be something to do with the photos he’d taken. There just wasn’t anything else it could be. Perhaps there was something in them more damaging than just being caught in bed with your partner’s wife. He’d take a better look at them as soon as he could, even though he had no idea what he might be looking for.

  About five in the morning he gave up on trying to sleep. He got up and went and sat in the kitchen. He made himself a coffee and sat looking at the photographs on the wall. His gaze kept coming back to the one of Faulkner’s wife and her folks. He got up and went to take a closer look at it. There was something about it that he couldn’t put his finger on. It was taken a long time ago—forty years at least—and he didn’t recognize any of them. She had been a beautiful young woman in her youth, that was for sure. The old folks must have been dead for years and now Faulkner’s wife was dead too. But there was something that niggled him. And it was going to bug the hell out of him until he could work it out, even though he had more important things to think about.

  After Faulkner made them eggs and bacon for breakfast he dropped Evan off at the bar to pick up his car. He was relieved to see that McIntyre hadn’t come back to vent his spleen by trashing it. There was no doubt he knew which one it was because he must have been following him around for days. He was dismayed to think that he hadn’t noticed. Some private eye he was.

  Chapter 18

  EVAN HADN’T WORKED OUT what to do next to move forward with the Clayton case, so he went to the office to take a good look at the McIntyre photographs. He ran into Tom Jacobson in the parking lot.

  ‘What the hell happened to you?’ Jacobson said, getting out of his Volvo.

  ‘Our friend, Hugh McIntyre, caught up with me.’

  ‘I hope he looks worse.’

  ‘Afraid not. He blind-sided me with a baseball bat and I never got another chance. Luckily he was interrupted or I don’t know what would have happened.’

  ‘He’s definitely got it in for you. Persistent, too. You need to be careful.’

  ‘Don’t worry, I’m about to get onto it now.’

  ‘Just let me know if you need any stronger painkillers. How’s the ‘Clayton Case’ coming along?’

  Evan shrugged.

  ‘I’m not sure. The more I dig, the more complicated it becomes. Nobody knows a thing, but, despite that, they all manage to point the finger at each other. They’re like a bunch of kids.’

  Jacobson smiled knowingly at Evan.

  ‘So, the police aren’t complete idiots then?’

  ‘Not complete, no,’ Evan conceded. ‘It was actually one of the detectives who came to the office who put her onto me—the woman.’

  ‘Really? That was good of her. She must have some faith in you.’

  ‘I’m not sure if I’m grateful or not.’

  ‘At least you haven’t got your face busted up because of it. Anything in particular that’s holding you back?’

  ‘A couple of things. Did you ever hear anything about Robbie Clayton running off with another woman?’

  ‘I heard the rumors,’ Jacobson said carefully, ‘and some of them were a lot nastier than him just running off with her.’

  ‘I know, Linda told me.’ Jacobson raised his eyebrows. ‘She’s very forthright. You didn’t mention them.’

  He didn’t mean it to come out as an accusation, but he could see that Jacobson took it that way.

  ‘I’m not a gossip, Evan, and that’s all it was.’ His tone of voice implied there was no room for disagreement. ‘Insensitive bastards spreading tittle-tattle and not g
iving a damn what harm it might cause. I’m sure some of them actually enjoyed the hurt they caused.’

  ‘There’s a chance there could be some truth in it.’

  Jacobson looked surprised. Evan told him about Barbara Schneider and how she’d disappeared about the same time.

  Jacobson thought for a moment and said, ‘The Schneiders were patients of mine. The husband was very odd. I’m not sure I ever believed a word he said. He wasn’t who you’d call Mr Oral Hygiene, either.’

  ‘You said they were patients—what happened?’

  ‘They just stopped coming. I thought they’d moved away or found someone cheaper, that’s all.’

  ‘Were they married?’

  Jacobson frowned. ‘Yes, why?’

  ‘Because Max Schneider says that Barbara was his sister, not his wife.’

  Jacobson’s eyes widened. ‘That’s ridiculous. I know people who were at the wedding.’

  ‘He says she was playing around with other men before she disappeared. It’s probably a story he’s made up to make himself feel better. He’s not quite all there.’

  ‘As I said, he never was. I can definitely understand her running away from him, but Barbara and Robbie . . . no, I can’t see it.’

  He shook his head emphatically.

  ‘Apparently some of the rumors say Robbie and the woman he ran off with—whoever she was—killed the boy.’

  Jacobson’s face darkened. ‘I know, I heard it all at the time. It’s amazing what you hear when you’ve got someone in the chair. Sometimes I feel like going just a bit too deep with the drill to teach them a lesson.’

  Evan winced, a shiver running down his back, at the thought of it. They were outside Jacobson’s office now.

  ‘Don’t waste your time on that one, Evan. It just didn’t happen. What was the other thing that’s bugging you?’

  ‘It’s nothing to do with the case, just me being nosy really. The bus driver, Carl Hendricks, lives in this beautiful old farmhouse with acres of land and barns and who knows what else. How the hell did he do that on a bus driver’s wages?’

  ‘Nosy or jealous?’

  ‘Both, probably.’

  ‘Either way, I couldn’t say off the top of my head, but I know someone who might know. I’ll look into it and get back to you.’

  Chapter 19

  EVAN’S OFFICE HADN’T BEEN trashed either which was a relief. His computer was still on his desk. He fired it up and found the photographs from the Stanton file and was just about to go through them when Tom Jacobson walked into his office.

  ‘That was quick,’ Evan said. ‘I might offer you a job full time.’

  ‘No, I haven’t had a chance to ask about Hendricks yet, but I think I might have found out why friend McIntyre is so jumpy.’

  ‘Jumpy isn’t the word I’d choose, more like homicidal.’

  Jacobson dropped a copy of the local paper onto Evan’s desk.

  ‘Read that.’

  Evan picked it up. It was folded open at the business section and it didn’t take long for him to spot the news item Jacobson was talking about. There was a picture of Stanton and McIntyre standing smiling with an older man Evan didn’t recognize. The headline read ‘Suicide Jeopardizes Bailout Deal’. Evan started reading.

  The recent suicide of Kevin Stanton has potentially jeopardized critical funding for local software development company, McIntyre Stanton Associates Inc. Kevin Stanton and Hugh McIntyre started the business five years ago and, through a combination of cutting-edge products and innovative marketing solutions, have built it up to the point where it now employs almost fifty staff. However, the recent downturn in the economy has put the company under increasing financial strain and the business now requires an urgent injection of capital. A potentially life-saving deal has been brokered, but not yet signed off, between the company and local entrepreneur, Frank Hanna, for a rumored seven-figure sum. Hanna, a self-made multi-millionaire is the father-in-law of Mr Stanton, who tragically committed suicide last week. Stanton’s suicide has been attributed to severe stress caused by the company’s financial situation. In an interview yesterday, Hanna, who is said to be very close to his son-in-law, said: ‘I just can’t understand why Kevin did it. I know it’s been a really stressful time, but the deal was almost there. If the lawyers had just got their fingers out it would have been a done deal weeks ago.’ Asked whether the deal would still go ahead without Stanton, Hanna said: ‘I have every confidence in Hugh McIntyre. I just need a little time to think it all through now Kevin is out of the equation.’ Mr McIntyre was not available for comment and the company’s bankers refused to comment on whether they would continue to support the company if the deal falls through.

  Evan dropped the paper onto his desk, leant back in his chair and stretched his arms. ‘Ha! That would explain it.’

  ‘It certainly would. Reading between the lines, it sounds like Hanna is having doubts about the future of the company without Stanton.’

  ‘And if he found out McIntyre was playing hide the salami with his daughter—’

  ‘Which was the real reason his favorite son-in-law topped himself—’

  ‘He’d pull out of the deal in a flash.’

  They grinned at each other. Evan swivelled back and forth in his chair.

  ‘Then the good-time bankers would pull the plug and McIntyre would lose everything. He’s probably given personal guarantees, might even have put his house up as security,’ Jacobson said.

  ‘That’s why he’s desperate the photographs don’t come to light. He wants to make sure all the copies are destroyed.’

  Evan got up to get a glass of water and pop some more painkillers. Apart from a little residual tenderness, he was feeling okay below the belt but his head still felt like it had been used as a football.

  ‘I just can’t understand why he would be so stupid.’ Jacobson said. ‘With your whole future in the balance, why risk pissing off the one person who can save you for the sake of a quick screw in some seedy motel.’

  ‘People like that can’t help themselves. It’s like the politicians. They’re arrogant, they think they’re smarter than everyone else and won’t ever get caught.’

  ‘I bet he’s asking himself if it was worth it at the moment.’

  Evan was tempted to show him the photographs so that he could make his own mind up, but professional integrity prevailed.

  ‘It’s not just a case of getting the photos back either,’ Jacobson went on. ‘You made a fool of him in front of her, so his machismo demands revenge.’

  Evan touched his nose gingerly.

  ‘He’s had that already. You know, after last night, I feel like calling this guy Hanna and putting him in the picture. That’d serve him right.’

  ‘I can’t say I blame you. Unfortunately, if you did and the company goes down the drain, fifty other innocent people would lose their jobs too. It’s not just McIntyre.’

  ‘I’d forgotten about that. Not that I’d really do it.’

  Jacobson picked up the paper and waved it in front of Evan.

  ‘Now you know what’s going on, you need to decide what you’re going to do about it. You need to convince McIntyre you’re not a threat. And you’d better hope Hanna signs the deal or McIntyre is going to be looking for someone to take it out on.’

  ‘It’d be easier to blackmail him and leave copies in a safe deposit box with instructions to send them to Hanna if anything ever happened to me.’

  Jacobson gave him a disappointed look, like his favorite son had just been caught playing with himself in public.

  ‘I don’t mean for money,’ Evan said quickly. ‘Just to keep him off my back.’

  ‘Even so, blackmail is blackmail. Or is that whitemail? Anyway, it’s not your style.’

  ‘You’re right. Thanks for your help Tom,’ Evan said as Jacobson turned to go. ‘See if you can be as quick with the Hendricks assignment I gave you.’

  He ducked just in time as the newspaper whistled past his da
maged ear.

  Chapter 20

  EVAN COULDN’T JUST SIT around and wait to see if Jacobson’s network of neighborhood busy bodies would throw up any information. The question of how Hendricks was living where he was had really got under his skin, and he was going to have to do some digging himself.

  He decided to take a drive over to the county recorder’s office and dig out the property deeds to see if he could get any information. They would show who transferred the property to him. If it was his parents that would explain it, but, if not, Evan had a lot more digging to do. He wasn’t sure why he was so keen to find out. Even if he discovered Hendricks had bought the farm out of the proceeds of doing something illegal, it wouldn’t move him forward with his investigation, unless Hendricks had kidnapped Daniel and sold him to a pedophile ring.

  The clerk at the recorder’s office who showed Evan how to use the system was a real old battle axe. She had all the enthusiasm of a government employee a week away from retirement. He hoped he wouldn’t have to ask her for help. He started out searching for Hendricks’ name in the grantee index but came up with nothing for the property called Beau Terre.

  That wasn’t a good start so he searched the grantor index. There were plenty of Hendricks’s but none for the right property. Presumably that just meant Hendricks’ folks hadn’t passed the farm to him, so he got hold of it some other way. Unfortunately, that meant he was going to have to enlist the help of the battle axe. He found her at her desk and explained his problem to her.

  ‘That sounds like a real nice place.’

  ‘It is,’ Evan agreed.

  ‘I bet it’s got a big barn and one of those post and rail fences too. Maybe some horses.’

  ‘Two barns actually. And a big porch with a rocker. Not sure if there are any horses, but I think there could be chickens.’

  He couldn’t help himself.

  She’d been sitting there nodding her head absently, her eyes glazing over as she contemplated the idyllic scene he described. Until he mentioned the chickens.

  ‘I hate chickens. Lizards with feathers, if you ask me. Little bastards shit in your flower beds and eat all your plants. Never eat the damn weeds, mind.’