Dan poured himself half a cup of that morning's left-over coffee and downed it cold. “I figured this was coming.”
“What do you mean?” Maxine asked. “Mel, get your shoes on.”
“Can I stay here buy myself?” Mel asked.
“No, get your shoes on.” She turned back to Dan. “What do you mean you figured this was coming?”
Dan thought back to his talk about money with Kendra on the front steps. “Just a feeling.”
“PI intuition?” Mel asked.
“Get your shoes on, Mel” Dan roared, and then reached for his cell. He put the phone to his ear. “Bev? It's Dan. Can Mel stay with you for an hour or so?” He paused to wait for an answer. “Thanks.” He hung up and pocketed his cell phone. “Mel, go over to Bev's … and take Buddy with you.”
“Aye-aye,” Mel responded with a smart salute. He slipped on his sneakers without untying them. “Come on, Buddy,” he said, and slapped his thigh twice.
Buddy jumped up from his bed and followed Mel out the back door and down the steps.
“Close the back door!” Dan shouted.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Dan pulled into the circle in front of the Atlantic Inn Hotel and he and Maxine jumped out of the Ford Focus. Dan tossed the keys to Billy.
“Hey, Mr. Coast,” Billy said.
“Dan,” said Dan.
The doors parted and Dan and Maxine entered the lobby. Dan looked to his right at the registration desk; he didn't recognize the woman behind the counter. He looked to his left into the bar.
“Check the bar, Maxine,” Dan said. “See if Harvey is in there. Don't approach him. I'm going up to Kendra's room. If you don't see Harvey, come on up.”
Maxine turned and headed toward the bar. Dan went straight ahead to the elevators.
The elevator door opened and Dan stepped out onto the seventh floor; the hallway was empty. When he reached Kendra's room, he knocked on the door, there was no answer; he knocked again.
“Who is it?” Kendra called out.
“Kendra, it's me, open the door,” Dan replied.
The door opened. Kendra's eyes were bloodshot and puffy. There was a purple crescent shaped mark under her left eye. Her cheeks were red.
“Where's Harvey?” Dan asked.
“I don't know. Our flight leaves in a couple hours. I haven't heard from him in hours.”
Dan stepped into the room and shut the door behind him. “What happened?”
“We got into a huge fight.”
“He hit you?”
“Yes.”
Dan leaned in for a closer look at her eye. “What was the fight about?”
“Money.”
“Money?”
“Yeah. I asked him how much money I had.”
Dan walked through the living room, through the kitchen, and to the open sliding glass door.
“He got that angry because you asked him about money?” Dan stared down at the pool five floors below.
“It started last night. I danced at the Golden Girl, and then signed autographs.” Kendra sat on the sofa and pulled her legs up under her. “There were eight or nine guys there from a stag party. They gave Preston money and Preston said I had to sleep with the groom and his best man. I told him I didn't want to. He was furious with me. He told me if I didn't go back to their hotel with them, I would be sorry.”
“Did you go?” Dan asked.
“No. I pretended I was going to go and then when Preston left the room I walked back here.”
“When did he find out?”
“Not till this morning when the guys showed up wanting their money back.”
There was a knock at the door.
“Who is it?” Kendra asked.
“It's Maxine.”
Dan went to the door and let her in.
“Preston's not down there,” Maxine said. “I asked the bartender, he said he left a few hours ago.”
Kendra threw her arms around Maxine, and burst into tears. “I don't want to do this anymore, Maxine. I thought doing porn would be my ticket out of an ordinary life. I thought it would my springboard to Hollywood. God, how stupid I was! It's an empty, ugly, demeaning way of life. A trap. And I want out.”
Maxine put her arms around the young girl and rubbed her back. “It’s okay, Kendra, you don't have to do anything you don't want to do.”
“Preston said he owns me. He said I have to do whatever I'm told.”
Dan felt the heat in his face as his blood pressure rose. “Come on, let's get you out of here.”
Next door they heard Preston Harvey's door open and then slam shut. Maxine put her finger to her lips to hush Kendra. She could feel Kendra shaking in her arms.
Harvey pounded on the door between the two rooms. “Open up, you little whore. Preston's gonna teach you a lesson.” Harvey's speech was slurred. He spoke slowly and deliberately.
No one moved. They could here Preston's key as he slid it into the lock and turned the knob. He shoved the door open. He was holding a half empty bottle of Jameson Irish whiskey. He took a big swig.
“Well, if it isn't Sir Lancelot,” Harvey said when he saw Dan standing in the room. “You call your protectors, did ya, you little bitch?”
Dan put up his hands. “We're leaving, Harvey, and Kendra's coming with us.”
“You're leaving, but she's staying right here,” Harvey argued.
“Please take me with you,” Kendra pleaded. “Don't leave me here.”
“We won't leave you here,” Maxine assured her.
Harvey looked Maxine up and down with an evil grin as she spoke. “I could make some money off you, you sexy piece of ass,” he said to Maxine. “Put that little nursing outfit of yours—”
Dan lunged at Harvey, grabbing him by the front of his shirt with both fists.
Harvey smashed the whiskey bottle against the dresser and swung it at Dan's abdomen, slicing Dan's shirt open, and cutting his stomach with the jagged bottle.
Dan winced in pain as he slung Harvey around and onto the sofa. “Get her out of here!” he hollered.
Harvey hit the arm of the sofa and flipped over it onto his back on the floor. The bottle rolled across the room.
Dan looked down at the blood trails coming from his wound. Sonofabitch!
Maxine and Kendra ran for the door.
Dan went at Harvey again as Harvey was clumsily climbing to his feet. Dan grabbed him by the shirt again lifting him up and tossing him back on the couch. He drew back his right fist and hit Harvey in the face as hard as he could. Then he hit him with a left. Dan yanked him off the couch and threw him to the floor and then scanned the room for the broken bottle, found it, and let go of Harvey to retrieve the bottle.
Harvey rolled over and climbed to his knees.
Dan grabbed the broken bottle.
Harvey was crawling toward the door. Dan grabbed him by the waist band and pulled him backwards across the rug. Harvey dug his nails into the carpet. Dan stood and gave him a swift kick to the ribs, flipping Harvey onto his back.
Dan straddled Harvey, sitting on his chest, and shoved the broken edge of the bottle against Harvey's neck. Harvey's eyes filled with fear, as he lay frozen on his back. Dan pushed the bottle a little harder.
“Your plane leaves in a little under two hours, Harvey. You better be on it or the next time you see me, I'll kill you.”
Harvey tried to pull his head back into the floor to escape the whiskey bottle.
“You understand me?” Dan snarled. He pushed the bottle harder. Blood seeped out from around the broken glass.
Harvey did his best to shake his head yes.
“Good,” Dan said. “And she better never hear from you again.”
Dan tossed the bottle to the other side of the room and was about to get up when inspiration struck.
“I might not ever have the opportunity like this, Harvey, and I'm going to take advantage of it,” he began. “You listening?”
Harvey feebly raised his eyebrow
s in reply.
“It's bad enough you hit Kendra. Real men don't do that. But you're way lower than that, Harvey. You must have the dick the size of a Vienna sausage to get your rocks off making a living exploiting young girls. Scumbags like you deserve to have their balls cut off and fed to them. Kendra's somebody's daughter. Maybe somebody's sister. Somebody's friend. She's not just a piece of meat that you put in a showcase with a price tag. She's a person, a person with feelings—”
“Nice speech, Coast,” Harvey wheezed. “Tight young ass makes the world go round—always has, always will. Yeah, I ride the gravy train. So what? Get off your high horse, Coast! Who the fuck you think you are, the morality police?”
Dan held up his fists and looked from one to the other. “Yeah, Harvey, I guess I am. And now it's time for Officer Left and Officer Right to read you the riot act, ya piece of shit.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Dan stood in his living room on his cell. He had changed into a new T-shirt, but a small amount of blood was seeping through. “Thanks, Michael, I owe you one.”
“My pleasure, Daniel. Don't you worry about a thing,” Michael purred. “I'm sending someone up to Ms. Hunt's room as we speak. You can stop by anytime tomorrow and pick up her things.”
Dan thanked him once again and then hung up. “There, all taken care of,” he said.
“If Preston didn't take all of her things with him,” Maxine said.
“We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.” Dan headed for the back door. “I'm gonna walk over to Bev's and let Mel know we're home. You want to come?”
“No,” Maxine said. “I'm going to check on Kendra, and see how she's doing.”
Dan gave her a peck on the lips. “You okay?”
Maxine smiled. “That was pretty exciting.”
“Now you see why I do it.”
“Scary, though.”
“You did great. Maybe I'll start taking you with me instead of Red.”
“I'll pass.”
Dan went out the back door, into the darkness of the night, and through the back yards to Bev's house. Buddy was lying on her deck in front of the back door. “How's it going, boy?” Dan said. Buddy jumped to his feet and Dan patted him on the head.
Dan gave a quick knock and went in. “Hey, neighbor!” he called out.
Buddy lay back down
“In here,” Bev returned.
The floor plan of Bev's bungalow was a mirror image of Dan's. Dan went from the kitchen into the dining room. Mel sat on the couch with his feet up on the coffee table, staring at the screen of his new cell phone. Bev sat in her recliner watching Forensic Files.
“How did everything go?” Dan asked.
“Good,” Bev answered. She threw a thumb toward Mel. “He's not much for conversation now that he's got that that damn phone.”
“You're welcome,” Dan joked.
“How did everything go with Kendra?” Bev asked.
“Good, I guess. Her manager left, she stayed.”
“What the hell happened to your stomach?”
Dan pulled his shirt away from the wound. “It's nothing. Just a little cut.”
“Looks like more than a little cut.”
“I'll have Maxine put a couple Band-Aids on it when I get home.”
“What's Kendra going to do now?”
“Good question.”
“You want a drink?”
Dan sat down next to Mel. “That would be fantastic,” he said. He stretched his arms over his head and let out a big yawn. “I'm exhausted. I'm glad this day is coming to an end.”
Bev got up and went to the kitchen to make Dan a drink.
“What's on television tonight, Mel?”
“I don't know,” Mel replied, never looking up from his phone.
“Did you eat anything?”
“Uh-huh.”
“What are ya playin'—Angry Birds, or some shit?”
“No.”
“You're worse than a kid. Ya know that?”
Bev returned with Dan's tequila and 7Up. “Sorry, no limes.”
“See if I ever drink in this bar again,” Dan said, taking the glass from her.
Mel chuckled. “They're eating the muffins,” he said.
“What?” Dan asked.
“The guys at Skip's house, they're eating the muffins.”
“What guys?” Dan asked, and leaned closer to Mel to get a better look at his cell phone.
Mel tilted the screen toward Dan. “The two guys at Skip's house,” he repeated.
“Jesus Christ!” Dan shouted. He reached in his pocket for Maxine's car keys. “Bev, I gotta go.” He set his drink on the coffee table and ran for the front door, stopped, turned, and ran for the back door.
“What’s the matter?” Bev shouted.
On his way out the door Dan hollered back, “Keep Mel here!”
Dan jumped over Buddy and leapt from the deck, over the steps, and into the backyard. Buddy let out a bark.
Dan ran as fast as he could to his house, yanking the screen door open when he got there. “They're at Skip's!” he shouted.
Maxine jumped up from the couch. “Who's at Skip's?”
Dan ran past her and turned down the hallway. He dropped to his knees in front of his bedroom closet, pulled back the carpeting, and removed a wooden plank in the closet floor. He reached into the dark compartment and pulled out a black duffle bag.
Maxine came into the bedroom. “What's the matter?” she asked.
“The guys who took my money, they're at Skip's house right now.” He unzipped the bag, reached inside and pulled out his 9mm. He released the clip, checked its contents, and shoved it back into the grip.
“Should I call the police?” Maxine asked.
“No. I don't need them pulling in there with their goddamn lights flashing.”
“What do you want me to do?”
Dan jumped to his feet, kissed Maxine. “If you don't hear from me in forty-five minutes, call Rick and tell him what happened.”
“Let me call him now.”
“No!”
Dan ran down the hall for the front door.
“I love you!” Maxine shouted.
It was too late, Dan was already out the door.
Chapter Thirty
Dan Coast took a left off of Flagler Avenue onto Sixteenth Street and then a quick right onto Eagle Avenue. He killed the lights and pulled to the curb. With his 9mm jammed into his waistband he ran around the corner onto Seventeenth Avenue. He ran halfway down the block and climbed, as stealthily as he could, over Skip's chain link fence, and then duck-walked up to the kitchen window. He peered through the open window. The kitchen light was on and he could see down the hallway into the living room. The living room was also lit; there was no sign of Skip or the other two men.
Dan put his ear to the screen but could hear nothing but his own breathing and heartbeat. He moved down the side of the house and to the front where he could look through the living room window. When he peeked in he saw two men walking down the hall, back toward the kitchen. Still no sign of Skip. Dan thought of his friend, dead and stuffed in the bedroom closet, like the Murphy's.
Getting down on his hands and knees and pulling the pistol from his waistband he crawled under the living room window and around to the side door. A window next to the door was open and he could now hear the two men talking; he knew that time was of the utmost importance.
“Just get in there and put a bullet in the idiot's head,” one of the men said.
Dan breathed a sigh of relief. Skip wasn't dead—yet—but the lovable doofus's life hung in the balance.
“I did it last time,” the other man argued.
Dan got to his feet and peered through the window. Neither man was holding a weapon but they were packing. Dan wished Red were with him. He always felt safer when the big man was near, but this couldn't wait.
Pulling the screen door open as quietly as he could he slid the holding bracket up the closer arm propping the
door open. He gripped his weapon, placed his finger on the trigger, and gently pulled back the slide and pushed it back into position.
“Okay, I'll do it,” the man said.
Dan took a deep breath and kicked open the door. Both men turned toward the door. Dan fired once, hitting the taller man in the shoulder and driving him back against the countertop. He trained the 9mm on the other man, who was reaching into his shoulder holster for his own weapon. Dan fired twice. With a shriek the man sprawled backwards into the cabinets, staggered drunkenly for maybe two seconds, and collapsed to his knees with twin bullet holes in his chest at nine and three o'clock.
Dan turned the weapon back to the first man and fired two more times, once into the man's chest and once into his forehead.
Both men lay dead on Skip's kitchen floor, blood pooling on the white ceramic tile.
Dan exhaled through his mouth slowly and then took another breath. He returned his gun to his waistband.
Dan dropped to his knees and felt for each man's wallet. He pulled three hundred dollars out of the shorter man's wallet and one hundred and fifty-two out of the other guy's.
“What the Christ?” he said. “Still down forty-eight bucks.” He shoved the money into his pocket and went to look for Skip.
Pulling open the bi-fold door to Skip's bedroom closet, Dan gazed down at his friend, sitting on the floor, bound and gagged.
“You ready to come out of the closet?” Dan asked.
Chapter Thirty-One
The next day, Monday morning, Maxine Myers sat in one of the Adirondack chairs next to the fire pit. Kendra Hunt was seated in the other chair. Kendra was scratching Buddy's head as he lay on the ground next to her chair.
Mel was seated at the picnic table, staring into his cell phone. Dan sat on the picnic table with his feet on the bench.
They all turned their heads when they heard Bev call out, “Mornin' neighbors!”
Mel jumped up to grab her a lawn chair from the tool shed.
Bev carried with her a large mug of coffee. “How's everyone this morning?” she asked.
“Good,” everyone replied.
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