“Hello,” she said squarely to Carol, extending her hand to be shaken. Her voice was serious but hardly desperate. “I’m Laurie Cullen.”
“Laurie,” Streeter interjected, realizing he hadn’t even introduced Carol to Terry yet. “Laurie, this is Carol Irwin.” Then he turned to Nathan. “And, Carol, this is Terry Nathan, Brian’s partner.” As he moved closer to the two women, he got a whiff of the fading Donna Karan on Laurie. Carol smelled mostly of cigarette smoke.
“This must be very difficult for you, Ms. Irwin,” Laurie said with genuine sympathy. “I imagine those threats are a great strain.”
“I’d hardly recommend it,” Carol responded in a snide tone. “It’s a nightmare, but that’s not why I’m here. Laurie, I’m so sorry for what happened to your husband.” She emphasized the “your husband.” “I feel responsible. After all, I was the one who hired Brian to work on Kevin’s case.”
“Ex-husband,” Laurie corrected her, less friendly than before.
“Ex-husband,” Carol repeated. “That’s right, Streeter told me. At any rate, I’m sorry. If there’s anything I can do, let me know. When will he be able to have visitors?”
“I’m not sure.” Laurie shifted her weight to the other foot and threw her head back casually. “Maybe next week. I just hope there’s something they can do for his pain. Nothing hurts worse than burns.”
“Cullen’s too ornery to be hurting for long,” Terry said quietly. “My guess is it’ll be the nurses who’ll need medicating before that man walks out of here.”
Carol was about to say something when Sergeant Haney entered the room. He was a beefy, elderly cop who had a smoker’s rasp and a boxer’s blocky build. Given his green police-union windbreaker and checkered pants, it was obvious that fashion was of little concern to him. He glanced around and nodded at Streeter and Terry. He knew Streeter from a past case. When he saw Carol and the two uniforms, he winced hard.
“You shouldn’t be here, Miss Irwin,” he said. He turned to Ruiz, his tone deepening. “And just exactly why is she?”
The uniform shrugged. “I thought about shooting her in the leg to keep her at home, but I doubt if you’d approve of that.”
Haney glared at him for a second and then turned back to Carol, his voice mellowing. “I’m asking you nice if you’d let these officers take you back to Streeter’s place. You’ll be safe there.”
“Yeah, sure. Unless Kevin drops by to leave me another note.” She shot Streeter a glance. “Are you coming, too? We need to talk.”
“I’ll be along in a minute,” he told her.
Carol said goodbye to everyone and left. When she was gone, Streeter turned to Haney. “Anything new on where Swallow is?”
The sergeant stared back at him, his face dark. “Nothing yet. How ’bout you?”
“Terry and I had a lead up in Evergreen, but when I showed Carol the guy’s picture she said no. You find anything interesting at Cullen’s tonight?”
“A blown-up bomb made out of a can of deodorant. I’d call that pretty damned interesting. We dusted the bathroom for prints but I won’t be holding my breath on that one.” He took a step toward Streeter. “Keep a sharp eye on that guest of yours, okay? And another thing, I’d watch my own ass pretty close, too. I read the note he put in your garage, and my guess is that crack about a ‘bounty’ means you.” With this, Haney left.
“Charming man,” Laurie said. “I hope you’ll be all right, Mr. Streeter. This is turning into a much bigger risk than you bargained for.”
Streeter nodded. “I usually try to avoid this kind of thing. We have an unofficial slogan at Dazzler’s Bail Bonds: ‘If it’s difficult or dangerous, we don’t do it.’ ” Then he looked at Terry. “I’ll give you a holler tomorrow. Try and take it easy.”
“That I will.” Terry seemed steadier now.
On his way back to the church, Streeter was preoccupied with Haney’s warning. So much so that he couldn’t remember exactly what Carol had said that bothered him. When he got home, the officers were at their downstairs station and Carol was in the loft, sitting at the baby grand, tapping idly on the keys. She stood up when he arrived.
“When do you give your first concert?” She nodded back toward the piano.
“The way I’m going, about eight years from Thursday.”
“I’ll mark it in my calendar. Actually, I listened to you practice yesterday and you didn’t sound half bad.” They were standing in the middle of the loft and she moved closer. “I’m glad that Brian Cullen’s going to make it. According to my calculations, there shouldn’t be anyone else on Kevin’s list. Except for me, of course.”
“You don’t know that for sure. There’s still the judge, for instance. Maybe others who were involved with the case.”
“He’s retired and lives in San Diego now. Kevin won’t go out there first and then come back for me. Everyone knows what’s coming next. And soon.”
Streeter gave a small nod. “We’ll be ready for him. Haney knows the score.”
“Yeah, right. The only score that stooge knows is his bowling average. If my safety depended solely on that dipshit, I’d blow my brains out right now and save everyone the trouble.” She moved closer and stared into his eyes. Her voice suddenly got soft. “Street, would you give me a hug? I need some serious comfort tonight.”
He looked down at her for a moment and then slowly opened his arms. It was like he was moving on autopilot. Not resisting, but not really participating, either. She slid easily in to him, the top of her head settling just below his chin. He noticed that she’d put on perfume since the hospital. She smelled good and felt good. And her body seemed familiar.
“This remind you of anything?” she said into his chest. He didn’t answer, so she continued. “Feels like the old days to me.”
Streeter almost drew her up for a kiss. It seemed natural, somehow. He again recalled Nevers’ story. Almost imperceptibly, he shuddered and pulled back. “Carol, what are you doing?”
She looked like she was just waking up. “Getting some comfort from an old friend.” Then she glanced down to just below his belt and smiled. “Actually, it feels like two old friends. What’s wrong?”
Now he stepped back completely. “That’s not what we’re about here, and you know it.”
“ ‘That’s not what we’re about here,’ ” she repeated with an edge in her voice. “What kind of crap is that? We’re about whatever we want to be about.”
“And what is that, Carol?” His voice stayed even. “What are you about?”
She smiled again and stepped back toward the bedroom, keeping close eye contact the whole time. “Come in there with me and I’ll tell you.”
“Jesus, after all we’ve been through with each other, I’d have to be a real hog for punishment to start up something like that again.”
Her smile widened. “Punishment? That can be arranged. I’m sure you’ve got handcuffs around here somewhere. Just lighten up for once, Street. Are you afraid your little shrink lady’ll find out you’ve been a naughty boy?”
He shook his head. “It’s not about her.”
Suddenly her voice turned cold and mean. “I won’t tell. You can have your cake and eat it, too.” With a sharp lift of one eyebrow she added, “Like you tried to do way back when we were together.”
Her stunning shift made him gulp. “That was a long time ago,” he said, frowning.
“Big fucking deal. There’s no statute of limitations on that kind of low-rent move, Streeter. Always remember that.” Carol gave a quick nod and added, lowering her voice, “Good night.” With that she walked into the bedroom and slammed the door.
He stood there for a while, looking at where she’d gone and thinking how he hoped Swallow would make his move soon. Catch the man and get Carol out of here fast. That is one disturbed woman.
TWENTY
“They have you here twenty-four hours a day now?” Streeter asked Barrows late on Sunday morning. Jeff was on duty with a new male offic
er. “It seems like every time I turn around, there you are.”
“They switched me again.” Barrows had thick, dark rings under his eyes and he looked paler than usual. But his voice was steady, determined. “Better days than that damned graveyard shift.”
“I suppose you’re right about that.” Streeter nodded and then headed up to his loft. As he got near the top of the stairs he yelled out, “It’s just me.”
Carol was sitting at the kitchen table, making notes on a legal pad. A cup of coffee was in front of her. So was a full ashtray, which explained why the loft smelled like the waiting room for a midnight shuttle flight to Vegas. But, surprisingly, Carol looked rested and in control. Wearing blue jeans and a red Indiana sweatshirt, she seemed as relaxed as her clothes.
“Morning, Street,” she said as she put down the pen and legal pad.
“What do you use for oxygen in here?”
She ignored the question. “I slept like a baby and I feel a hundred percent better.” Then, after a pause, “I’m sorry about the way I behaved last night. Truce, okay? Let’s start over.”
He walked to the table and sat down. “There you go again.”
“I know, I know. It’s just that everything’s coming to a head. When I’m upset like that, I tend to lash out at the people closest to me. I didn’t mean to put you on the spot and then dredge up all that old crap.”
He was tired of her mood swings but he just said, “We’ve got too much else to think about today.”
She nodded and her face relaxed. “I spoke to Haney earlier. He’s coming over any minute now to talk to us. If Swallow’s going to make his move soon, Haney wants us all to be on the same page.”
Just then, Barrows came up the stairs. “Carol? Streeter?” he yelled as he got near the top. “Sergeant Haney’s here,” he added when he got to the loft. “You want to have him come up?”
Streeter shook his head. “No. Let’s meet in Frank’s place.”
The three of them went downstairs. Haney and Ruiz were in the hallway, and they all walked into the office together. Frank was behind his desk, drinking coffee and reading the paper. He spent at least part of every day in that room. Sundays, holidays, his birthday. It didn’t matter. He looked up and smiled broadly. “What’s this? A raid?”
“Mind if we meet in here, Frank?” Streeter answered with a question. “You have enough chairs and I’d like to get your thoughts, too.”
“Fine by me.” He waved his hand in front of him to indicate they should sit down.
“Do you know everyone?” Streeter asked.
Frank nodded. “Basically. Me and Haney go way back.”
The sergeant spoke first. “I won’t take up much time. I talked to my captain last night and we kicked around a few ideas. There’s not much doubt that this freak’s coming after Miss Irwin next. The case is getting more press and he’s got to be feeling the heat. Plus, there doesn’t seem to be anyone left except her.” He looked quickly at Carol. “I understand you have to be over in district court this week.”
“At least through Thursday. Maybe Friday.”
“My bet is Swallow knows that. He knows everything else about what we’re doing. Our thinking is that he’s either going to make his move when you’re walking from the car to court or he’ll put something in the car itself while you’re inside the building. He’d have to be nuts to make his move right in the courthouse. All the metal detectors and guards. We also don’t think he’ll pull anything near the church again. As far as the drive to and from court, that’s not likely, either. Swallow’s MO isn’t moving targets. His best chance is to either get to the car while she’s in court, or try it right in front of the courthouse. There’s a lot of activity and people out there. It’d be easy for him to get lost in the shuffle and pull it off. That’s where we’re going to concentrate our efforts. We’ll have plainclothes all over the outside. Not much we can do along the way except drive fast and take different routes. You going with her, Streeter?”
“Maybe, but there doesn’t seem to be much I can do sitting in court all day.”
Carol sat forward and looked at him. “Street, I’d really like you to be there with me. At least tomorrow.”
“We’ll see.” He turned to Haney. “I’m not sure I agree that the church is all that safe. Kevin knows the layout around here. Look how easily he got in the other night.”
Haney shifted slightly in his seat and looked annoyed. “You got a pretty quiet neighborhood. The courthouse gives Swallow cover. No offense there, Streeter, but you haven’t had much luck tracking this guy up to now. Might be you want to leave the detective work to us. What do you say?”
Streeter stared hard at the sergeant but remained silent. Then he glanced at Frank, who was frowning. He didn’t want to look at Carol. Barrows was unnerved by the exchange, but Officer Ruiz was flirting with a grin under his mustache. Finally, Streeter answered. “Whatever you say, Sergeant Haney. What the hell do I know, right?”
Haney sat up and was about to say something when Carol spoke. “No need to get defensive, Street.”
He turned to her and she shrugged innocently. Streeter just flashed a grin. “You’re right.”
Now Frank got into the act. “You might want to listen to what he’s saying, Haney. The way you come in and out of this place all the time, could be Swallow makes his move nearby.”
Haney turned to the man behind the desk. “We’ll look into it, Frank. We’ll look into everything.” He stood up. “If there’s nothing else, I’m sure we’ve all got better things to do with our Sunday. Unless you have questions, I’m going home.”
As everyone moved out, there was a nervous tension in the room. Streeter felt as though little had been accomplished, but he knew that arguing with Haney would do no good. Carol grabbed his arm when they got to the hall.
“I didn’t mean anything by that defensive crack,” she whispered. “Please come with me to court tomorrow. Just for the first day, okay?”
He nodded. “All right. Look, I need to use Frank’s phone.” Then he turned and headed back to the office. The bondsman was again studying his newspaper. Streeter closed the door behind him, walked to the desk, and called Terry Nathan.
“What’s up, Streeter?” Terry’s voice sounded tired.
“You want to stop by the church?”
“When did you have in mind?”
“How about now? I’ll throw on a pot of coffee and we can kick around a few ideas. Haney just left and I have a bad feeling about his strategy.”
“Give me about twenty minutes.”
When they hung up, Streeter looked at Frank. “What do you make of all this?”
Frank shook his head. “Haney’s in charge. It’ll be all right, Big Guy. And stick with Carol for a day or two. What else you got to do? But I’ll tell you one thing, when this is all over, I’d lose that woman like a bad smell. There’s something crazy about her. She’s different than she used to be, and I’m not saying it’s for the better.”
“You noticed that, too, huh?” He filled Frank in on what Jack Nevers had told him the night before. “She’s got real problems. Until this is over, I think we should do all we can to make her feel safe and calm. That and talk to her as little as possible.”
“I hear you,” Frank responded.
Streeter went to put on the coffee. Shortly before one, Terry knocked on the front door of the church. They went back to the office, which was now empty. The bounty hunter grabbed the big chair behind the desk.
“You have a problem with the sergeant’s plan?” Terry asked.
“I’m not thrilled with the approach he’s taking. By the way, you look like shit. Didn’t you get much sleep last night?”
“Much, hell. Didn’t get any, really.”
“Well, try to get a little tonight. You’re going to need to be sharp for the next few days. My money’s on tomorrow for Swallow making his move. By Tuesday for sure. And I think the cops are off base focusing on the courthouse. It leaves us exposed h
ere. I want to pay attention to that. Can you be out front first thing in the morning?”
Terry nodded.
“I’d like you to park down the street and then follow us to the courthouse. Do you have a cellular phone?”
“Back at the office.”
“Get it and keep it with you. In the afternoon, when she’s about to leave court, I’ll give you a call. I’d like you to follow us back to the church again. It’s asking a lot, but I’d like you to do that for a couple of days.”
Terry rubbed his chin. “No problem. After what he did to Cullen, I’ll stay with you all day if that’s what you want.”
“Good. Also, I’ll give you my piece before you leave. Keep it under your seat for the next few days.”
“No need for that. I’ll bring my own hardware.”
“It’s not for you. I can’t carry while I’m riding with the cops or sitting in court, but I want to know my .38’s nearby just in case.”
“Makes sense.”
“Haney and I had a run-in before. I don’t like his attitude or his ideas. And he sure as hell doesn’t like mine. My gut feeling tells me Kevin’s going to make his move within a few blocks of the church. Coming or going. No way I’m taking any chances right out here.”
TWENTY-ONE
Carol packed light for court. That surprised Streeter when he came up to the loft to get her on Monday morning. He wasn’t sure what to expect, but he thought she’d have more than just the thin, dark briefcase and her purse.
“Are you sure you have everything you need?” he asked as she sat at the table finishing her coffee. “That doesn’t look like much paperwork for a trial.”
She stared up at him. “It’s not a trial, Street. Just a long, boring arbitration where they’ll need some tax-law advice. Besides, I’m working with an in-house counsel and we’ve got it covered.”
“Okay.” He grabbed the briefcase and stood there waiting.
She got up and put her cup in the sink. “Do you know who’s driving us?”
Streeter Box Set Page 34