Logging roads laced the hills, old clear-cuts everywhere. Rory was certain that in one of these areas they’d find the base the two guys used. The two of them couldn’t walk in, and they’d have to find old logging roads. The oldest were nothing but tracks overgrown with salal and young trees. Rory had gotten maps from the logging companies that had worked this area. With help from a couple of their men, his search had been as thorough as he could make it. Still, there were so many possibilities.
Will’s call was a relief and an irritation at the same time. They were to end their search immediately, mark the maps, and return later if necessary. Rory would have liked to finish. Another day or so and he would have found them.
Rory reached most of his crew by cell and was waiting only for the stragglers. They’d be back in town in a couple of hours, well before nightfall. They’d all get a few hours of rest before deploying around the stroll.
Once back at the pickups, he pulled out the last of the sandwiches and water, and he and his crew rested for a half hour while he explained what was required. None of them was happy at the prospect of a night’s work on top of the day they’d already had, but they also knew the killers were still loose in town.
“What we’ll do,” Rory said as he sat on the tailgate of one of the trucks, “is sack out for two hours or so, meet at Alice’s before nightfall about seven. Keep your cells on. We’ll set up along the stroll and back in on the side streets from Albert over to Victoria. I’ll put two of you in the park back on the ridge where you can see everything. We’re gonna be patched in to Will on speed dial, so anybody spots them, he reports. No tailing, no rippin’ into them, we pass it on. Will’s got the cops on standby.”
This information drew a few rude remarks and derisive laughter. The cops were nobody’s friend in their end of town. Until Rory explained that the privates, Sabina, Harry, and Sally from the stroll, would be their contacts, he wasn’t sure his guys would play ball. Some were still shaking their heads as they piled into the pickups for the trip back.
◆◆◆
Harry and Will were around the desk in the office discussing the map photo Sabina had sent. They’d already talked to Rory and arranged to meet him and his crew at Alice’s restaurant at seven. They both heard Sabina on the stairs and straightened from leaning over the desk. They heard her throw a remark at Isabella and then she appeared.
“You guys got everything set up? Sally’s in. We’re meeting at her place at seven, but we’ll need to know what you’ve got planned.”
Will nodded and showed her where he’d marked his own positions and how they related to the prime spots Sally had picked. They spent a few minutes talking through how to coordinate once the guys were spotted.
By six, Will had gone off for some dinner at the Oxy, and Harry and Sabina went home. In their loft above the hair salon, the sun slid through the kitchen window slicing the wood floor into slabs of light and shadow. Rigging sounds pinged softly in the background. Harry stood in the kitchen doorway and listened. The sounds always comforted him, and the light was so mellow this time of day, it made the room feel magical. Sabina had gone straight to the bedroom to prepare her outfit and do her hair and makeup.
He supposed since she was busy and he didn’t want her to cook anyway, that a quick scotch was not out of the question. It would soften his edges in much the way the light softened the kitchen. He turned back into the living room, removed the bottle from the drinks cabinet, and poured two fingers into each glass. He walked to the bedroom door and watched.
Sabina had stripped down to basics, black panties and a lacy black bra, and was pulling on lace-top black thigh-highs. She glanced up, saw the two glasses in Harry’s hands, and winked at him.
“You bringin’ those over or you just tryin’ to perfume the air?”
Harry’s smile turned into a grin. He walked over, handing her one. She’d laid out the evening’s outfit on the bed and as he sipped, he nodded appreciatively.
“The red one again, I like that. You wore that one when I met you in Vancouver, and that top, that’s the one that won’t stay where it should, isn’t it? I like that one too. You gonna wear the knee-high boots again, the really high heels?”
Sabina stroked the skirt, smoothing the fabric. “The same, and yes, the boots. You wanna give them a shine for me while I get ready?”
She didn’t wait for an answer, just grabbed the clothes and headed for the bathroom.
Harry found the boots in the closet and got out the polish kit from the shelf. The boots were fine leather, soft and supple. He spread the polish on with the rag, rubbed it in, let it dry, then buffed until they shone. He set them beside the bed and wandered into the living room for another sip of scotch.
XXVI
They left the house just past six-thirty and drove to Alice’s restaurant on Nicol. Harry parked in the back of the large lot.
Sabina walked up Milton toward Sally’s place near the top of the hill. She had her runners in her bag along with the mace and a short-barrelled Sig Sauer. If she had to, she’d use both. Sabina wasn’t an expert shot, but thanks to Harry, she knew how to use the gun and was licenced to carry.
The door to Sally’s place was open a crack, so she walked in. Sally was at her small desk working on something.
“Boots! Super, come look at this. I’ve worked out a circuit we can use. See this alley here? We can cut up this way and come out on this cross street. There’s a traffic circle at the corner on Prideaux. Anybody takes that, he’s gotta slow way down or lose it.”
She was wearing a short mini and a tight, red, front-button sweater, her long, long legs encased in black knee-high boots. Bending over the little desk, she was more than provocative, she was blatantly sexual. Sabina sighed, walked over, and patted her ass. Sally whopped, stood, and planted a good one on Sabina’s lips. That led to other things.
Sally was the one to stop. “Jesus Boots, we gotta go to work, we gotta get out there.”
Sabina licked her lips. “You’re wearing strawberry again. I love that.”
Repairs in front of the mirror completed, they grabbed a couple of the sandwiches Sally had made, left the house, and walked down to the restaurant. Rory and his motley crew were in the lot just wandering off in different directions. Harry and Will were talking a few feet away. They turned as the girls approached.
“We figure we’re early enough those two won’t be around yet, but in case they are, we’ve sent Rory’s crew off to the spots you indicated, Sally. You two have your spots picked?” Harry said.
“Yeah, we know where we’re gonna be,” Sally said. “I brought you a route map like the other one but more detailed. See this alley here?” She shoved the hand-drawn map at Harry. “We’re gonna follow this circuit all night, hang out a bit over here. There’s a bench, and we can rest our feet with the other girls. Everybody hangs there for a few minutes. We’ll keep to that pattern. We’re linked by cell, right, so all I have to do is hit one on speed again for help?”
Harry nodded. “Will and I are tied to that; either one of us is close. Rory and his bunch are on speed two, so we can keep the traffic straight. If these guys show, don’t take chances, give us a heads-up. We see them, we’ll do the same. Rory and his guys are tied to each other by phone. Anyone spots them, he phones Rory, Rory passes it on to us. I’m linked to Alan and Spence and their crew. Those guys are parked in unmarkeds all around the periphery. Mostly in people’s driveways, so they won’t scare those guys off.”
Sabina turned to face Harry. “This isn’t going to be easy. We don’t know what those guys’ll drive, so we don’t know what to look for. Anybody spot the Native girl? Will, you see her yet?”
“We’re just getting started and it’s early. If we see her, Harry or me, we’re gonna pick her up and keep her out of it for the night. We’ll pay her and keep her with us. She knows these guys, maybe better than anyone except you two, and she can help us identify them.”
Sally nodded. “Good idea, and one of yo
u can keep an eye on us every now and then. We’ll be on the same route all night. If you can’t find us there, you’ll know something’s wrong.”
Nobody said anything else. They all looked at each other, nodded, and broke up. Harry and Will headed for their cars, and Sally and Sabina sauntered up Milton to Victoria and began to sweep the area. They didn’t see any of Rory’s guys, but they knew they were there in vacant lots, storefronts, people’s front yards, or slumped on the sidewalks even.
Their route took them up one side of Victoria as far as Needham, then down the other side to Selby. From there, they could see all the way down the hill past the office to the crescent. They turned and started back up toward Milton. They took the alley up to the cross street, then took Prideaux back to the stroll. They repeated that pattern again and again.
By ten, nobody’d seen anything. The creeps had run.
Will had called Sabina once to say that he’d picked up the Native girl. Rory’s crew had remained silent. There’d been nothing from Harry, but Sally and Sabina had seen him pass a few times. The cops, they assumed, were still in place and waiting.
Eleven passed, and still nothing. They’d agreed that everyone would stay in place until one, then regroup at Alice’s.
At about midnight, Sally and Sabina were turning up the alley when an old pickup stopped in front of the alley’s mouth, reversed a bit, and pulled in. The headlights were weak, one of them off center and wobbling.
Sabina put her hand on her cell and was about to punch in one when Sally said, “Wait, not yet. Let’s make sure. We have to get at least one of them out of that damn truck.”
Sally stopped in front of an old garage, bent down to straighten a boot zipper, slid one long leg out into the alley, and waited.
The truck paused, the passenger door opened, and one man got out. The driver sat in the truck, lights still aimed at the girls. Sabina put her hand in front of her eyes. She needed to see who was coming.
The truck edged forward, the passenger just a silhouette. He walked slowly along the edge of the alley in front of the truck.
Sally had her hand in her bag, standing tall, weight on her back leg. Sabina pushed one on her cell and smiled at the approaching man.
“You two lookin’ for some fun? We’re a pair, like, we come together.” She giggled at the pun. The guy didn’t.
“Hey now, you come over here and I’ll show you what you get, Sweetie. So will she.”
Suddenly, both ends of the alley were flooded with light. Two vehicles sped toward them, high beams sending the alley into high relief. The one who was lit up in front of the truck turned and bolted inside. The truck swerved, took out an old fence, roared through a yard and up a sidewalk, taking out trash cans as it went. They heard the sideviews smack the walls of the houses. The truck made Prideaux and sped off. Harry and Will slid to a stop either side of the girls and jumped out.
“You two okay? Those the guys? We called in the cops, they won’t get far.”
Sally shook her head. “We don’t know. The truck lights blinded us. All we saw was the guy’s silhouette. But the way they took off, maybe. You guys sure scared the shit out of them.”
“Yeah, but we’re happy you’re here,” Sabina said. “Those guys were weird too. They need to be off the streets.”
◆◆◆
There weren’t any sirens, but they could hear the truck’s engine screaming as the driver downshifted. They heard other cars now, all of them coming fast. There was suddenly the screech of brakes, a loud bang, the sound of shattered glass tinkling on asphalt. Then nothing.
Harry and Will got the cars turned in the same direction. The girls hopped in, and they took the alley to the top. Down two blocks at the back of the park, they could see lights, lots of them. The old truck’s rear reds were on but the front was a mess, hood up, steam rising in the lights of the unmarkeds.
“Looks like they tried for the turn and didn’t make it,” Harry said. “They plowed into the rock ridge at the back of the park.”
“I don’t think they got them though, all I see’s the truck.” Sally leaned forward to see better.
The street was pretty much blocked by police cars, so Harry nosed in between two of them and left the car partly on the road. No one was going to come through anyway. The four of them walked down to the scene of the crash, and among the many cops found Alan and Spence leaning on the side of their unmarked.
Sally slid in beside Spence. “You get those two guys or what?”
“Or what’s about it. Naw, but they took off on foot, so we’ll get ‘em.”
Sabina turned toward Spence. “Neither one of us is sure these are the ones, but they sure acted like them.”
“We’ll know soon enough. We’ve got four cars after them, and we saw them get out and make a run for it. Then too, you guys got the stroll covered every way to Sunday, so between us we‘ve got ’em. Just a matter of time.”
But Spence was uneasy, they could sense that, and Alan was tense. He’d said nothing since they arrived. He stood at the rear of the unmarked, rubbing his face with his thumb. Finally, he took a deep breath and joined them.
“I’m not sure about these guys. I’d have thought the pair we’re looking for would do better. The truck I understand, the driving I don’t. If what Will told us is true, our guy wouldn’t have missed this turn. He’s too good.” Alan shook his head. “We better get something tonight; Josie’s more than suspicious. She knows we’re messing around, but if we collar our guys, she’ll overlook anything. If we don’t, we’re screwed.”
They all turned when the shouting began. Harry saw one man running along the crest and took off after him. The rest followed the noise at the other side of the park. A group of men came around the playground with one in custody, and they weren’t gentle.
Sounds of a struggle peppered with curses erupted near the single lane. Harry and some of Rory’s guys, looking as disreputable as the one they’d caught, dragged the second man along the dirt at the side of the road.
Once the two of them were put together, Sally and Sabina had a good look at them. Sally shook her head. Sabina wasn’t sure but didn’t think so. Alan had them shoved in the back of a cruiser.
“They’re both drunk, which is why they ran,” Alan said. “Accounts for the damn truck too. Both have DUIs, and they’ve got no insurance. Driver’s got an expired licence. They weren’t trying anything in the alley except to get laid.”
Spence pushed herself off the unmarked and cursed. “I know these guys from before now that I think about it. They’ve been in and out a few times. Right now, they’re probably screaming entrapment. We’re not going to get our guys tonight. They see this commotion, they’re gone.”
“At least we got the girl safe,” Will said. “But I agree, we got no chance with the psycho. He’s gone.”
Harry approached, rubbing the scuffed knee of his pants. “Shit!” Then he walked away, limping a bit. Sabina joined him.
“We gonna give it another shot, big guy, or call it a night?”
“I’m gonna talk to Rory and Will. I think we give it the rest of the night. Maybe our guys are holding off ‘til late to get the Native girl. It’s worth a shot. Let’s round up our people and get back to it. I’ll fill in Alan and Spence, see what they’re gonna do.”
Harry walked to the group around the unmarked and talked to them. Then he waved Sabina over. “We’re set, I think. Sally’s in, and Will and Rory are already setting up. I’ll drive a grid, so’ll Will. Rory’s guys are going back to their positions. Alan’s sending the unmarked back to the yards. We’ll keep it going ‘til one, then meet back at Alice’s. You guys take your own route again.”
Sally walked up to them.
Sabina smiled. “Let’s walk back, Sally. The sooner we get going, the better. It’s well after midnight. The cops are gone. Alan’s sending the unmarkeds back to the places they were before, so we’re covered, and we got our two cowboys circling.”
She slipped her arm
through Sally’s and winked at Harry.
He watched them saunter up Selby past the turrets of the old condo building toward Victoria Road. Harry smiled watching them. Then he turned to Will and they walked back to their cars, now the only two on the block. They started up and drove off.
◆◆◆
One o’clock came and the stroll began its slow decline into late-night emptiness. There were fewer cruising cars now and only a straggle of the more needy girls. Still, there were a few transactions. Down the hill from Sally and Sabina, a single car stopped, and one of the regulars got in. The car, long and black, moved slowly past the two of them and disappeared up Victoria. A few other cars and a couple of pickups cruised the circuit.
Sabina and Sally paused at the corner, then walked up toward Milton and the lights. As they stood there waiting for a green, a couple more pickups rumbled by, one jacked so high, they couldn’t see the driver.
“How the hell do they get into those things?” Sally said. “You’d need a bloody ladder. And they expect to get a girl up there? I mean, you can’t even see them.”
They watched the truck turn on Nicol toward downtown.
“He’ll circle and come back up Victoria. Let’s just go up to Needham and see if he comes by again.”
“I don’t think our guys would be that blatant,” Sabina said. “I think they’d go for old and nondescript, like those drunk buggers in the alley. Man, they had me going. I thought for sure we had ‘em.”
“I was watching them, and they sure weren’t just there for a girl,” Sally said. “They might have been a little high, but they sure weren’t blind drunk like Spence said. They scared the hell out of me. I had the mace ready to go.”
“Here it comes again, that bloody big truck. Let’s see what he does. He’s really creeping along. There’ve gotta be two or three unmarkeds in driveways along here. He’s slowing down.”
NIGHT MOVES: The Stroll Murders Page 34