Cam Derringer Box Set

by Mac Fortner

  It was nine o’clock. I stopped at a coffee house long enough to drink a cup and eat a donut, then I hailed a taxi and went to see James Osborn.

  The address was that of a run-down apartment building in Queens. I looked for his name on the door registry. There were only two names on it that hadn’t been crossed out. His wasn’t one. I tried the door, and it swung open. The hallway was littered with food sacks and beer cans a few large trash bags, which I had no interest in finding out what was in them, and a man on the floor leaning against the wall. He was staring at me, but I’m not sure if he could see me.

  I pulled a twenty from my wallet. His eyes got bigger. He could see me. I said, “Which apartment is Jimmy’s?”

  He looked at the twenty. “Jimmy who?”

  “Osborn,” I said.

  He looked at the twenty again and then back at me. I pulled one more from my wallet.

  “Three C,” he said, holding out one dirty hand.

  I gave him the forty and walked up the steps. The door to Three C was ajar. I pulled my nine millimeter from its holster on my belt and pushed the door slightly with my foot.

  “James,” I said.

  No answer. “James,” I said louder.

  “What you want,” a voice answered.

  “My names Cam Derringer. I want to talk to you about your brother.”

  “He’s dead,” the ghost voice answered.

  “May I come in?”

  “Sure, but if you’re holdin’ a gun, I’ll cut you down.”

  I holstered my gun and pushed the door open. Nothing happened, so I entered. James was sitting in a recliner reading the newspaper. He was not what I expected. He was a tall, well-built, clean-cut man. His right arm was wrapped in a white gauze. He had a two-inch scar under his right eye. The apartment was also clean and very well furnished. Artwork was hanging on the wall.

  “James?” I said.

  “Yes. Have a seat, Mr. Derringer,” he said, motioning to the sofa. “Would you like something to drink.”

  “No thank you,” I said, sitting on the sofa across from him. “I’m fine.”

  “Are you a cop?” he asked.

  “No, P.I.,” I said. I thought it better not to tell him I was a lawyer.

  “How may I help you?” he asked, pulling a gun from under the newspaper and placing it on the table next to him, but still in reach.

  “I’m investigating the murder of your brother. I just have a few questions,” I said, still taking in the room.

  “Not what you expected, is it?” he said.

  “No, not really.”

  “My brother gave me money every month. He had an excellent income. I’ll miss that,” he said, dismissively waving his hand. “All good things. Right?”

  “Yes, I’m afraid so,” I said.

  “Do you have any idea why anyone would want your brother dead?”

  “His name is Brady,” he said.

  “Sorry. Do you know why anyone would want Brady dead?” I said.

  “Yes,” he said.

  I stared at him for a moment. He stared back. This wasn’t going to be easy.

  “Who, why?” I asked.

  “William Arlington,” he said, “Because Brady was blackmailing him.”

  “For what?” I said.

  “Murder.”

  “Who did he murder?”

  “Brian Wessel. His partner,” he said.

  The name was the one Jack had given me.

  “Any proof he’s the one who killed Brady?”

  “Yes, I have proof. Until I was shot by that Bloodshot guy, Brady was safe. Then when he came to the hospital to get me, his cover was blown.”

  “How do you think they found you?” I asked.

  “That I don’t know. I didn’t think they would try to get to him through me again.”

  “Again?”

  “Yeah, about five years ago they found me. They followed me for a month. I spotted them right away, so I stayed away from Brady. At first, I thought, they thought I was Brady, since we are almost identical. I gave up my apartment in Manhattan and moved here. It’s dirty, but I was alive, and so was Brady.”

  “Anyone else want him dead?” I asked.

  “Not that I know of.”

  “Did you tell the police all of this?”

  “No. I didn’t want them to drag Brady’s name through the mud, and I plan on picking up where he left off,” he said.

  “You mean, you’re going to blackmail William?” I said.

  “Yeah. I have all the proof. I was there. I saw him do it.”

  “May I say that I think that might be very foolish and dangerous?”

  “Yes you may, but that won’t change my mind. I tried to stop Brady from blackmailing him, but he wouldn’t listen to me. I told him he would end up dead.”

  “Now you’ll end up dead,” I said.

  “One of us will,” he said.

  He stared at me again. “Why are you so interested in Brady?”

  “Bloodshot, who by the way, was not the one who shot you, is shooting my friends. I’m afraid one of them will be killed.”

  He smiled, “Yes, I know he isn’t the one who shot me. It was a copycat, who was sent by William to flush Brady out. Maybe William is connected to this Bloodshot person.”

  “I don’t know about that. If he is, do you know who he might want dead, assuming that Brady was an afterthought?”

  “Who’s death would benefit him?” James asked.

  “I don’t know. There doesn’t seem to be anyone,” I said.

  I thought for a moment.

  “Do you know why William murdered Brian Wessel?” I asked.

  “Brian wouldn’t go along with some of William’s dealings. Bill took it as a threat to his freedom.”

  “I guess that wasn’t such a good idea,” I said.

  “No, it didn’t turn out well for him,” he said, “but the last laugh will be on William,” he said smiling.

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  He just smiled even more. “Is there anything else I can help you with?”

  I guess we are done here. “No, not right now,” I said, standing. “Thanks for your cooperation.”

  “You’re very welcome,” he said, “and if you have any more questions, ask them now. I won’t be able to be found again.”

  I thought for a moment. “Do you know anything about his daughter Alexis or his wife, Kailey?”

  He smiled again, “Goodbye Mister Derringer. Good luck,” he said.

  Chapter 46

  I returned to the office where my desk was starting to look like a library. I need help.

  Chad stopped at my door. “Want to go get a drink?”

  I looked at my desk and pointed.

  He said, “You need help.”

  I nodded.

  “I’ll get you some.”

  He did. Jackie Fairchild, our legal secretary, came in five minutes later and looked at my desk. I could see her turning white.

  “Really?” she said.

  “I’ve been busy,” I said.

  “Get up. Chad is waiting for you. I’ll do the best I can.”

  “Thank you.”

  I got up, and she sat down and immediately started going through my files.

  “Good luck,” I said.

  She didn’t look up. I got my suit coat and left.

  Chad and I went to a local bar, The White House, where we liked the bartender. She was worth the high prices they charged for Wild Turkey.

  We found two stools at the bar, which was almost full. The tables were empty. I guess we weren’t the only ones who came here for the view.

  “Hi ya, Cam, Chad,” she said, as she pushed two Wild Turkeys toward us.

  “Hi ya, Ginger,” we said.

  “Heard your name while ago,” she said, looking at me.

  “Really, from who?”

  “Don’t know. Big guy. Wore a hat.”

  “Oh?”

  “He was on his phone. All I caugh
t was–I already talked to Cam Derringer in the park.”

  “Yeah, that was Eric. You didn’t hear anything else?”

  “No. He wasn’t happy with whoever he was talking to, though.”

  “Have you seen him in here before?”

  “A few times, just lately, though.”

  “Thanks. Will you let me know if he returns?” I said and wrote my number down and handed it to her.

  “Sure will. Can I call for anything else,” she said, placing the paper in her bra.

  “If you need to,” I said, and then wondered how I would get out of it if she did call. I enjoyed looking, but I’m a one woman at a time kind of guy.

  When she left, I filled Chad in on my meeting with Eric and McNally. I left out the conversation with Kailey and James and felt guilty about doing so.

  “Sounds like this thing is getting more complicated at every turn.”

  “It is. Now we have a hit man, after a hit man, that’s after us. We don’t know who he wants to kill, but I do know he wants me out of it bad enough to go to Key West and take my daughter out.”

  “At least he was a gentleman with her. I don’t think he wants to hurt anyone other than his final target.”

  “Yeah, it looks that way.”

  We sat and sipped our drinks and watched Ginger bending down to get a beer from the cooler. She caught us and smiled.

  “How’s Robert doing in his adventure with the resort?” I asked. “Maybe it does have something to do with that.”

  “He got word this morning that another offer has hit the table. He’s going back down there to talk with his partners.”

  “What if the hit is on him? Maybe, the competition is trying to clean the table a bit.”

  “Maybe, but I don’t think so. I think they would have killed him the first time instead of wounding him,” Chad said.

  “What about Kailey?” I said. “If she bent down just as the shot was fired, maybe he missed his target.”

  “Yeah, I thought of that too, but don’t you think he would have taken another shot?”

  “Don’t know.”

  We watched Ginger again. We got caught again. She came to us and leaned down, placing her elbow’s on the bar, spilling out of her low-cut blouse. “Are you guys ready for another drink, or are you just looking?”

  “I’m ready for a drink,” I said, then pointing at Chad, “but I think he’s just looking.”

  She brought us two more drinks and a very sexy smile.

  “I’ll order the limo for tonight,” I said, “and we’ll pick you and Alexis up around six.”

  “Sounds good. Kailey will be so happy to see you,” he said and chuckled.

  “I hope she doesn’t do anything that could get me killed.”

  “I love the way you take the heat off of me,” Chad said, finishing his drink and standing.

  “Already?” I said.

  “Yep, gotta get back to work.”

  “Wait for me,” I said, finishing my drink and motioning for the check.

  “No Cam,” Chad said, moving closer and whispering.

  “No?” I whispered back.

  “I feel it’s better if you take a few days off,” Chad said.

  “Why?”

  “I think you’re too close to this Bloodshot case. It’s been consuming you. You need some time to work on it without worrying about the office. This isn’t a punishment. It’s for our own good.”

  “But what about the cases on my desk?”

  “Jackie will go through them and allocate them out evenly to the interns.”

  I thought for a moment and realized he was right. I wasn’t doing the firm any favors hanging around taking up space. I do need some time to work on the Bloodshot case. He’s made it personal.

  “Alright,” I conceded. “Thanks for understanding.”

  “Good. I’ll see you tonight,” Chad said and left.

  I ordered one more drink and pulled a pen from my coat pocket. When Ginger brought the drink, I asked her for a piece of paper. “I gave you my last one,” I said.

  When she brought the paper, it had her phone number on it. “Call me,” she said.

  “Right,”

  I wrote down all the clues I had. The more I wrote, the more confusing it was.

  1. Did Bill kill Brady?

  2. Did someone set Brady up by finding James?

  3. Who hired Bloodshot? William-Alexis-Kailey-Robert-Chad

  4. Why did James smile when I asked about Alexis and Kailey?

  5. What was Eric Meninx’s roll in all of this? Why did he tell me he was hired to kill Bloodshot?

  6. Names and players-Eric-Bill-Alexis-Kailey-Robert-Chad-James-Brady-me-Brian Wessel

  The only two that had not been shot yet were Bill and Alexis. I wrote that down also.

  James was a good candidate in my book. He wanted Brady to stop blackmailing Bill. What better way than to have him killed, but now he wants him alive so he can blackmail him.

  I picked up my drink and moved to a table for privacy. I called Jack.

  “You busy?” I said when he answered.

  “Always. What ya need?”

  I gave him my list slowly so he could copy it down.

  “Can you try to connect any of this,” I said.

  “I’ll research it all again,” he said. “Do you have anyone special in mind?”

  I thought, then said, “Try digging deeper into the murder of Brady. It seems to have a lot of ties to Bill and Bill has ties to Bloodshot.”

  “Will do,” he said.

  I filled him in on my talk with James and gave him a description of him and his apartment.

  “Thanks. I’m going to text you Brady’s obituary. Call me back today if you get anything.”

  “Alright. Talk to ya later.”

  “How’s Diane?” I asked.

  “Sweet as ever.”

  “Goodbye,” I said.

  He laughed, “Goodbye Cam.”

  Chapter 47

  Andrei arrived in New York at two-fifteen, dropped his rental car off at Hertz and took a taxi to the Roxy Hotel.

  He had time to shower and change clothes. He decided to grab a bite to eat at the restaurant and then went to the Roxy Bar for a drink.

  A guitar player was singing a mix of classic rock songs. Not bad, Andrei thought. I might have to take up the guitar after I retire.

  His drink was delivered by a beautiful and very young, waitress, whose breasts were spilling out of her half unbuttoned blouse.

  “Here you go,” she said. “Can I get you anything else?” and batted her eyes at him.

  I wish I had time for you, “No thank you. Maybe later.”

  “Just let me know,” she said and left, turning back to look at him again. She caught him checking out her ass. She smiled.

  His phone rang. “Yes,” he said.

  “We’re on for tonight?” the voice said.

  “Of course,” Andrei stated.

  “Only one death; you choose the victim.”

  “I will try for your number one target. If that doesn’t work, I’m obliged to hit the second.”

  He sipped his drink and thought about his next eight hours. It was going to be an eventful night for the Arlington party. I wished the game would last longer. I would like another chance to draw blood from Cam.

  I hate to leave a failure on the table, but my orders were to let it go. Tonight would be the grand finale. Someone was going to die.

  ~***~

  I called Robin to see if she was going to be able to attend the party with me. It would help to keep Kailey away from me if Robin were there.

  “Maybe,” she said.

  “I understand, but I hope you can make it.”

  “Me too. I need a break. I’ll do my best.”

  “Okay. I know you will. Any leads?” I asked.

  “No. Not a sign of him. He could be back in New York by now.”

  I thought about telling her about my meeting with Eric, Kailey, and James. />
  She said, “If I could just get an idea of what he’s here for, it would help tremendously.”

  I stepped into the hall to avoid the bugs inside and told her the whole story. Except for the parts where Kailey told me she loved me and kissed me and got in the tub with me and kissed me some more and told me about her suspicions. I also left out James.

  Robin was silent for a moment, then, “You held all of that back from me.”

  “I was confused as to what to do. I thought if I had some space I could figure it out before the FBI got involved. I know how they like to rush in on hearsay.”

  “I’m the FBI,” Robin said. “You don’t trust me?”

  “I trust you. I just don’t trust your team. I’m sorry, but that’s the way it is. If I didn’t love you, I wouldn’t tell you now.”

  More silence. “What time will you pick me up tonight?” she said.

  “Six-fifteen.”

  “I’ll be ready,” she said and hung up.

  Oh boy, it’s going to be a really fun night.

  ~***~

  Chad left the office at three o’clock, picked up a bottle of Tor Cabernet Sauvignon, One hundred eighty-five dollars, then met Alexis at their condo.

  “Hi honey,” Chad said as entered, “Look what I have,” and held up the bottle.

  “Alexis laughed and pointed at the bar.”

  There was an identical bottle opened and breathing.

  “Great minds,” she said.

  They poured their wine and sat on the terrace admiring the view and each other.

  “Is it going to be a big party tonight?” Chad asked.

  “Looks like it. Maybe forty or fifty, it keeps growing.”

  “I hope Bloodshot wasn’t invited. We don’t need that much action,” Chad said.

  “Anything new on that case?” Alexis asked.

  “A little. It seems there is a hitman in town to kill Bloodshot.”

  “Really?” Alexis said, “How do you know that?”

  Chad told her what Cam had related to him.

  “Sounds scary. I wish this was all over with,” she said.

  “It will be soon, but we don’t know the outcome. That’s what scares me.”

  “I’m sure you and I will be just fine when this is over,” Alexis stated.