Andrea grabbed the wig off her head, then stared at Mead in the rear-view mirror.
“I’m Andrea Barker, you piece of shit. Do you remember me?”
Mead looked puzzled for a moment, then recalled the name.
“Herb Barker’s daughter… oh no.”
“Oh yes,” Andrea said.
After traveling for only a few minutes, Andrea drove the limo down an alleyway. Unaccustomed to driving a vehicle so large, she scraped the front bumper once along the wall.
“Sorry, Tanner, but this thing is a beast of a vehicle.”
“You’re doing fine,” Tanner said.
At the rear of a restaurant they prepared to transfer Mead into a green SUV. Mead looked horrified when he saw the duct tape come out. He opened his mouth to protest. Andrea kicked him in the stomach and he shut his mouth and moaned.
“What’s wrong, Mead? You liked it when my father was hit in the stomach. It’s a bit different when it’s happening to you, hmm?”
Mead was gagged, and his hands and feet bound. Tanner threw him over a shoulder, then tossed him into the vehicle without care. As Tanner walked to the limo, Andrea grabbed his arm.
“Did you kill Cord?”
“No.”
“Why not? You know that bastard was as guilty as Mead and Mr. Smith?”
Tanner opened the trunk on the limo. Inside was an unconscious Cord. He was bound and gagged like Mead, only Cord’s hands were cuffed behind his back.
“Cord will be useful when we confront Smith.”
Andrea laughed. “You have another plan?”
“Always,” Tanner said.
Thirty-six minutes later they were off the island and in an abandoned warehouse in Perth Amboy, New Jersey.
Cord was still out cold and lying in the rear of the SUV, while Mead’s eyes revealed the terror he was feeling. Tanner had sat him on the warehouse’s filthy floor, so that he and Andrea could stare down at the man. As Tanner had driven, Andrea had thrown a modest dress on over her jogging outfit.
The moment Tanner removed the gag from Mead’s mouth, the man started talking to make a deal.
“I’ll give you Smith’s real name if you’ll release me.”
There were several pieces of old pipe laying on the floor. Tanner picked one up, judged its heft, then used it to deliver a solid whack to Mead’s right knee.
Kent Mead bellowed in pain as tears flowed from his eyes.
“You’re not dealing with a union lawyer, Mead. You’ll tell me everything I want to know, or you’ll die after suffering great pain.”
“Dalton Geary,” Mead said between gasps. “Smith’s real name is Dalton Geary.”
“How do I find him?”
“I don’t know.”
Tanner hit the knee again. The second blow seemed to make Mead go weak and he fell flat on his back and moaned in agony.
“Tell me how to find him.”
“I don’t know! I swear it, but I know someone who will. His ex-wife Cynthia. She’s the one who started this whole thing.”
Tanner cocked his head.
“Geary’s ex-wife hired Herb Barker?”
“Yes.”
“You’re lying. Barker didn’t handle domestic situations and he damn sure knew I didn’t go around killing cheating spouses.”
“Don’t hit me again. I’m not lying. Barker took the contract after Cynthia proved to him what a monster Geary is. Dalton Geary wasn’t just married to Cynthia. He owned Cynthia. He married the girl when she was only sixteen and he was forty, then he made her a slave to his needs. Cynthia went to the police, but they did nothing… so, she reached out to Herb Barker.”
“Why didn’t she just run away?” Tanner asked.
“She did, twice, but never made it very far. Dalton hired people to kidnap her and drag her back to him.”
“How do you know all this?”
Mead had gone pale, but a bit of color returned to his cheeks. He was sitting up again and had pulled up his pant leg to examine his knee, which was bruised and bloodied.
“Cynthia and I were lovers for a time. After returning from the desert, Geary moved Cynthia to New York and I became his liaison between himself and Cynthia. The sex sort of just happened.”
“Are you still sleeping with her?” Andrea asked.
“It ended years ago… Cynthia is a little strange.”
“Give me her address?” Tanner said, and Mead gave him a street address in Mount Vernon, New York.
“Why move her to New York State? Does Geary have interests there?” Tanner asked.
“He conducts all business through surrogates these days, but he did mention once that he had a sister in Manhattan.”
“Why wouldn’t a man like Smith, or rather, Geary, have had this Cynthia murdered,” Andrea asked. “After all, she tried to have him killed.”
“Dalton thinks he loves Cynthia, but he doesn’t. He’s just obsessed with her.”
“He’s close by, isn’t he?” Tanner said.
“I don’t know, but I know he visits her once in a while. Maybe he flies in from somewhere. He’s become very careful over the years and rarely meets in person.”
“He uses lackeys like you as front men to do his dirty work.”
“Call me names if you want, Tanner, but I made over a million helping Geary to raid that union pension fund.”
“You robbed a bunch of decent hard-working people, you bastard,” Andrea said.
“It’s not my fault that there were loopholes I could exploit. And those hard-working people are fools. They get what they deserve, and so did I, for being smart enough to see the possibilities.”
Andrea made a sound of disgust as she heard the pride in Mead’s voice. The man had helped to rob the pockets of thousands of innocent people and was pleased with himself. She picked up a piece of pipe and whacked Mead across the face with it.
The pipe was heavy, and the blow delivered with brutal force. Mead’s eyes rolled back in his head. A moment later, one eye looked downward, while the other looked right. Mead soiled himself, then began babbling nonsense.
“I hope he gave us the right address for Dalton Geary’s ex, because we won’t be getting anything else out of him,” Tanner said.
Andrea dropped the pipe. She looked aghast at what she had done.
“I didn’t…I mean. Oh God, we can’t leave him like that. I hate him, but I didn’t mean to turn him into a… a vegetable.”
“Get in the car. I’ll take care of him.”
“No, Tanner. I want to watch him die. I waited years for this.”
“Suit yourself.”
Tanner removed a small pistol from a pocket, pressed it against Mead’s head, then pulled the trigger. The small gun made a mighty sound as it sent forth a bullet into Mead’s skull, but the .25 slug lacked the force to create an exit wound. Mead collapsed onto his back and was still.
“That… that was so quick,” Andrea said.
“And better than he deserved,” Tanner said.
They left the body where it lay and went to find Cynthia Geary.
76
Double Trouble
PHOENIX, ARIZONA, APRIL 1999
As they agreed to do earlier, Cody and Romeo quit their surveillance on the apartment house of Pete Roscoe’s ex-girlfriend.
Having not eaten much in nearly a day, they went looking for a restaurant. After passing a burger joint that served breakfast, Cody U-turned and pulled into the parking lot. It was a warm spring day with brilliant sunshine, so the boys ate outside at a picnic table beneath a tree.
A group of guys with motorcycles were on the street in front of the place. They weren’t hard-core bikers, but rather, the type of men who enjoyed riding and took time off to do it every so often.
When the boys were halfway through their meal, they saw Kayla and Zoe walking their way with cups of coffee.
“Small world, hmm?” Kayla said, as she slid next to Cody. Zoe took a seat beside Romeo and made a point to press her hip ag
ainst his.
“Yeah, small world,” Cody agreed, then wondered if it was true, or whether something else was going on. Spenser had taught them to be suspicious of coincidences.
Kayla’s bright smile ended Cody’s wariness. The girl was so beautiful that Cody wanted to take her in his arms.
Zoe pointed at Cody.
“Okay, so we know his name is Jack, but what’s your name, sexy?”
Romeo grinned. “I’m Brett.”
“Brett is a cool name. Do you remember mine?”
“You’re Zoe, and she’s Kayla, and you’re both gorgeous,” Romeo said.
The girls laughed in their musical tone, then Kayla wrapped her arm through Cody’s.
“What are your plans for today?”
Cody thought about it and the smile left his face.
“Um, unfortunately, Brett and I have to hit the road.”
“Oh, that’s too bad, but is there a chance that you’ll come back this way someday?”
“Hell yeah there is,” Romeo said. “We’ll make a point of it.”
“Good,” Zoe said, “I’ll give you my number, but first I need to visit the ladies’ room. Coming along, Kayla?”
Kayla kissed Cody on the cheek.
“I’ll be back in a jiff.”
After standing, Zoe pointed at the group of bikers out by the curb.
“Look, Kayla. Isn’t that Uncle Joe over there?”
“It is; we should go say hi. Don’t leave, boys, we’ll be right back.”
Kayla and Zoe put on angry expressions as they walked up to the motorcyclists. The men were all middle-aged fathers, but they couldn’t help but stare at the lovely young duo who approached them.
Zoe crossed her arms over her chest as she stood before the largest of the men. He had been talking when the girls approached, and the others had been listening to his every word.
“Can we help you, young ladies?” the man said.
Kayla tossed her head in the direction of the table where Cody and Romeo sat.
“I thought you should know that those guys over there are making fun of you.”
“What?”
“They called you a group of biker wannabes and said you were too cowardly to join a real club,” Kayla said.
Zoe nodded “They were going to come over here and start trouble, but we talked them out of it. If they say anything to you, please just ignore it. They’re jerks.”
“If they’re such jerks, then why do you girls hang out with them?” asked one of the other men.
Kayla put her arm around her sister’s shoulders.
“They make us. The last time we tried to break up with them, the dark-haired one broke Zoe’s arm.”
“Say again?” asked the big man.
Zoe pretended to cry.
“Now they’re after our little sister too… and she’s only thirteen.”
Cody and Romeo had watched the girls head over to the bikers and talk to a man who was six-foot-six, covered in tattoos, and wore a sweatshirt with the Teamsters’ logo on it. In the center of his scraggly beard, his mouth moved into a tight line, as his gaze locked on Cody and Romeo.
As one, the six men headed toward Cody and Romeo. The boys could tell by their expressions that the men were out for blood.
“What the hell?” Romeo said.
“I don’t know, but it looks like we’re about to get in a fight.”
Cody was right. After ducking a fist thrown by the big man with the beard, he caught a punch in the stomach from another man. The blow made him bend over, and that’s when he heard Romeo swear and tell him to check out the street. Cody did so and saw Kayla and Zoe’s smiling faces. They were getting into a blue van, and the driver was old man Farnsworth.
Farnsworth gave a toot of his horn as the girls blew the boys kisses, then Farnsworth and his granddaughters drove away.
77
Purple Drapes!
MOUNT VERNON, NEW YORK, MARCH 2018
Dalton Geary’s ex-wife, Cynthia Geary, lived in a Tudor-style home on a quiet street lined with trees.
The house and the grounds were well-cared for and grand.
“Talk about your gilded cages,” Andrea said. She and Tanner were observing the home from a distance in case Kent Mead’s bodyguards had recovered in time to contact Dalton Geary and tell him of Mead’s abduction. When that happened, Geary might send men to check on Cynthia, but Tanner doubted it.
“How much time do you think we have until Geary reacts to Mead being taken?” Andrea asked Tanner.
“It shouldn’t be much longer, but he won’t suspect that we’re the ones who did it.”
“Why not?”
“As far as those bodyguards are concerned, Cord was a part of what happened. They assumed I was Cord and they never got a good look at me. Also, they’ll describe you as a blonde with large breasts. That won’t make Geary think of the girl you were six years ago.”
Andrea smiled. “That’s why you kept Cord alive, to turn him into a patsy?”
“That’s right, along with the added bonus that it keeps Geary’s mind off of us. My guess is he’ll react the same way that Mead did and assume that this has something to do with the union pension fund they swindled. Maybe he’ll think Cord threw in with them for money.”
Cord had come around and was still in the rear of the vehicle and lying on his side, but he couldn’t hear a thing that was being said. Tanner had stuffed his ears with pieces of a tissue, then placed tape over them. There was also duct tape covering Cord’s eyes.
Those eyes had narrowed with hate when he’d awakened and seen Andrea. Before being gagged, Cord promised that he would kill her.
Tanner left the SUV on foot and alone, after telling Andrea that he was going to have a closer look at the house. He walked past the home and went around the block, then climbed over a fence and moved toward the residence.
If there were cameras, they were well hidden, but as a precaution, Tanner was wearing Cord’s cowboy hat. Hearing the sound of a TV playing, Tanner looked into a window and saw a kitchen. There was a black woman in there who was too old to be Cynthia Geary. She turned off the TV and called out in an accent Tanner recognized as being Portuguese.
“Miss Cynthia, lunch is ready.”
A woman entered the room who was about twenty-five. She was Cynthia Geary, who, according to Mead, was the object of Dalton Geary’s obsession. Tanner saw nothing special about her. Cynthia Geary was five-foot-five with brown hair and brown eyes. She was pretty, but far from stunning.
Perhaps it was her fashion sense that attracted Geary to her. The woman was wearing a turquoise necklace, emerald earrings, nearly a dozen gold bracelets, and leopard skin pants with a bright pink top and green shoes. Tanner was no arbiter of sartorial splendor, but he thought the style odd.
Cynthia Geary thanked the black woman and told her that she would see her again tomorrow. The older woman, who was named Amanda, grabbed her purse and jacket off a chair and headed for the front door.
Tanner watched Cynthia Geary eat her lunch, a pasta dish. As she ate, she skimmed through a magazine about celebrities. When she didn’t call out for anyone to come join her, Tanner thought it likely she was alone.
He returned to the SUV and described to Andrea what he had observed.
“It sounds like she leads an easy life, that is, if you don’t mind being treated like a possession.”
Tanner ran a hand over his chin.
“She does have it easy, doesn’t she? That makes me wonder if she would want it to end.”
“You think she’s grown used to it?”
“It looked that way to me. Geary has given her everything but freedom. There are people who would make that deal in a heartbeat.”
“But she tried to have him murdered.”
“That was six years ago. I think we should feel her out before we tell her who we are. She might not be willing to help us after all.”
Minutes later, Tanner parked the SUV in front of the home. He
told Andrea that he would gain entrance on a pretense if possible, since he didn’t want to tell Cynthia Geary who they were.
He and Andrea had to wait a few moments for Cynthia to open the door. When she spotted Tanner, Cynthia’s eyes widened in interest, then she saw Andrea and frowned at them.
“Are you two selling something?”
“Did you know a man named Herb Barker?” Tanner asked.
Cynthia Geary looked surprised by the question. She remained silent.
“He was murdered years ago and we now have reason to believe that you might have information about his death.”
“Are you the police?”
“We just need to ask you a few questions,” Tanner said to her. If Cynthia thought they were cops she might cooperate and not try to slam the door in their faces.
Cynthia hesitated, and Andrea, seeing Tanner’s play, went along with it.
“Ma’am, we need to talk to you inside.”
“All right,” Cynthia said. She swung the door wide and Tanner and Andrea entered. The living room furniture was orange, the walls pink, the drapes purple, and the carpet black. Andrea looked around in distaste.
“Has anyone else questioned you about Mr. Barker?” Tanner asked.
“No, and I don’t understand why you’re here.”
Tanner had gone through Cord’s wallet; Cord’s surname was Givens.
“A man named Cord Givens made a statement that your ex-husband arranged to have Mr. Barker murdered six years ago. If so, he’ll also be charged with the deaths of four other people who were found dead along with Mr. Barker.”
“Dalton might go to prison?”
“If Cord Givens’ claims can be proven, Mr. Geary will likely end his life behind bars. Mr. Givens pointed us toward you. He said that you could provide information that might tie your ex-husband to these crimes. Is that true?”
“I know a man named Cord. He wears a cowboy hat, is that the man you mean?”
Young Guns Box Set - Books 1-4: A Tanner Series (Young Gun Box Sets) Page 27